A request to open a wedding venue by Linda and John Cleaveland of 6171 Water View Way has opened up old animosities and put the Wellington Neck crowd on the war path.
The request is yet to be approved by the Northampton Planning Commission, however it somehow wound up in front of the Board of Supervisors Tuesday night.
The Board painstakingly poured over the
Public comments from the “we’ve got ours, and now we want to close the door behind us” crowd were mainly against.
Things got spirited when property owner Roberta Kellam offered her comments. In previous conversations with the
These somewhat unhinged comments caused the board members to laugh out loud, which infuriated Kellam, “I know you laugh a lot when you’re up there over this, but I don’t find it very funny.” Kellam is planning to run for County Supervisor, filling the vacancy being left by Spencer Murray.
This Special Use Permit, which has been tabled by the Planning Commission, will once again be their purview. If they don’t act within 90 days, the BoS will once again be forced to delve into this issue.
Considering the problems many folks in the County face, watching these marginal individuals go to war over this thing is once again proving that Northampton
Paul Plante says
And believe me, in this day and age of totally insipid and banal news from the main-stream media, the candid world who looks in at Cape Charles and Northampton County through the lens of the venerable Cape Charles Mirror just loves it.
william thomas says
race baiting any? why the “white” and rich? are they lesser citizens? would you do a “poor black people” headline?
disgusting
Note: All parties involved are rich and white and very angry. Duh.
Paul Plante says
If all humans regardless of external appearance, i.e. apparent skin coloration, belong to the human race, and that even includes the black folks, whether they will ever admit to that or not, then how on earth can there be “race-baiting” in this story, which is reporting on an actual event?
william thomas says
of course it is an actual event, but to combine “rich white people” contributes nothing to the story of a citizens complaint. in contrast, if there was a shooting or stabbing, would the victim or perpetrator be identified by his skin color or wealth?
this is shoddy, cheap, divisive journalism.
Note: This is really a rich time for the Mirror. Usually, we are called racist or white supremacist due to our support for the POTUS. And to answer your question: yes. Talk about white privilege and first-world problems. Oy-vey.
Blue Hoss says
I doubt he knows what ‘Oy-vey’ means without Google’s help.
Paul Plante says
william, first of all, check yourself out and make sure you are breathing, and then slow it way down because it sounds very much like you are distraught, overwrought and as a result, hyper-ventilating, which is not good for you, william, in the long-term.
Hyperventilation, william, and this is important, is a condition in which you start to breathe very fast, as you are doing in your posts above here.
Healthy breathing, which I am trying to get you to do, occurs with a healthy balance between breathing in oxygen and breathing out carbon dioxide.
You are upset this balance when you hyperventilate by exhaling more than you inhale, which causes a rapid reduction in carbon dioxide in the body.
Low carbon dioxide levels then lead to narrowing of the blood vessels that supply blood to the brain and that reduction in blood supply to the brain leads to symptoms like lightheadedness and tingling in the fingers, and severe hyperventilation can lead to loss of consciousness.
It’s important to try to stay calm in cases of hyperventilation, william, and I’m here for you to coach you through this episode, which seems to be based on your reaction to an actual event in Northampton County, as shocking and traumatic as it obviously was for you, anyway, involving some angry, white folks here in Northampton County being angry and wanting to take back the night from these other people who come here for no other purpose than to use the driveways of rich, white people in Northampton County to urinate, defecate and engage in randy sexual interludes, which was the basis of a rich, white person in Northampton County’s citizen complaint, so of course it made all the sense in the world in that case to combine “rich white people” in the title so that people would have a clue as to what the story is about, without having to take the time to read the story if it doesn’t interest them in the title.
If you want to catch people’s attention, william, you have to do it with the headline, not the third paragraph down the column, and its been that way forever.
You see what I am saying here?
And then you ask this important and relevant existential question, to wit:, if there was a shooting or stabbing, would the victim or perpetrator be identified by his skin color or wealth?
Most likely is my thought.
That’s how they do it in the main-stream media, anyway, and if that is shoddy, cheap, divisive journalism to you, william, you have every right as an American citizen to hold that opinion and have a wonderful day.
Hope Murphy says
It’s probably not just the tourists using Ms. Kellam’s driveway. Locals have been finding pull-offs for years. No offense to Ms. Kellam, but that’s probably why the Board laughed.
Karen Allums says
I agree with William Thomas, having the description “white people” in the headline was totally unecessary to tell the story. It should not matter what color the people are in the story as it has no bearing on the issues. However, if you had used the words “angry black people” in a headline you would have heard mega backlash. Shame on you.
Paul Plante says
Personally, as an older American who is not a victim of his uncontrolled emotions, having them thoroughly under control as used to befit one considered an “adult” in this country, I thought the story was about rich, white people in Northampton County being angry about having tourists and/or people from Accomack County or maybe across the bridge in Norfolk come to Northampton County and treat it as a place to urinate, defecate and engage in randy sexual interludes, which serves to prove that Northampton County, if it’s good for anything, provides a rich and varied resource for farce, absurdity and nausea.
It’s a NEWS STORY!
And the editor, using editorial perogative, called the story exactly what it is, a story about angry, white rich people in Northampton County wanting to take back the night from these other people who come here for no other purpose than to use the driveways of rich, white people in Northampton County to urinate, defecate and engage in randy sexual interludes, which is what you would hope an editor would do in these troubled times we find ourselves in, have the headline match what the following story is about, so you can make an informed decision as to whether or not to take the time to read it.
So, seriously, why is someone, in this case our dear erudite and intellectual friend william thomas, feeling any kind of need to interject in here with an easily debunked argument that people with black skin are some different race than are people with white skin, so that by some esoteric calculus only he apparently can comprehend or understand, the Cape Charles Mirror is “racist” because it identified notoriously rich white people in Northampton County as being white?
What exactly is his point?
Do you have a clue?
This need to inject some angry, poor, black people into this story, notwithstanding there were actually none in attendance, somehow reminds me of the GLAAD “Where We Are on TV Report – 2018, which analyzes the overall diversity of primetime scripted series regulars on broadcast networks and looks at the number of LGBTQ characters on cable networks and streaming services for the 2018-2019 TV season.
One must wonder if our dear erudite and intellectual friend william thomas is doing a variation on that theme in here, analyzing the overall diversity of news stories on the Cape Charles Mirror to ensure that the black folks are getting the same coverage as the angry, rich, white folks, because hey, the poor black folks are angry too, and their anger is every bit as good here in America as is the anger of someone like, say, Robert Kellum, which takes us back to the GLAAD Report as follows:
GLAAD is calling on the industry to make sure that within the next two years, 10 percent of series regular characters on primetime scripted broadcast series are LGBTQ.
This is an important next step towards ensuring that our entertainment reflects the world in which it is created.
end quotes
Is that where william thomas is coming from, do you think – he wants some percentage of the people in these stories in the Cape Charles Mirror to be black, even if they have to be invented like they are on TV shows?
william thomas says
Paul
you certainly have twisted my comments into something they are not. using the term, “rich white people” or any race, color, or creed was just cheap journalism/sensationalism. please don’t put words in my mouth, I’ve made my point quite clear.
i’m quite controlled in my emotions, unlike your verbal diarrhea.
Stuart Bell says
Easy now, he is a Vet.
william thomas says
as am I
Paul Plante says
Thanks for your service and welcome home!
A friend says
A veteran that at times can be quite obtuse…
Paul Plante says
I don’t think william thomas is obtuse (annoyingly insensitive or slow to understand, synonyms: stupid, dull-witted, unintelligent, halfwitted, doltish, lumpish, blockish and imperceptive), A friend.
I think he feels a lot of the, same anger and frustration that many in America today feel, an anger and frustration that goes back to Hussein Obama when he was running against John McCain and all this “you’re a racist” horse****” began cropping up on a daily basis on the internet as a charge leveled against everyone who dared to question something Obama said or proposed.
I was on the internet back then, and day after day after day, I witnessed swarms of Obama Harpies descending down on somebody’s head, screeching at them that they were a racist, and I thought it was shallow and disgusting, just as I did seemingly every day having to listen to Hussein saying over and over that he was America’s first “black” president, when he wasn’t black, at all, and even if he was, why was there a need for an American president to have to keep telling people he was black?
In that, J Lucy and I have much in common, although in this case, I have to agree with Don Green that she went a bit overboard in here, although probably from the same anger and frustration that motivated william thomas to make his post.
And if J Lucy really wants to have a crusade against the use of the words “white” and “black” in a news story, she really would be better spending her time going after the main-stream media, as opposed to calling the Cape Charles Mirror a “racist” publication.
Consider, for example, a recent New York Times story entitled “How the 2020 Democrats Diverged on Trump’s Attack on Ilhan Omar” by Astead W. Herndon on 14 April 2019, to wit:
“Black folks are watching.”
“Brown folks are watching,” said Jennifer Epps-Addison, the co-executive director of the Center for Popular Democracy, a liberal organizing group focusing on minority communities.
Zahra Billoo, the executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations chapter in the San Francisco Bay Area, said that, “as a Muslim and a woman of color and a daughter of immigrants,” these moments help give her clarity on who is willing to stand up for her community.
Diane Alston, a 24-year-old from Houston who had recently been quoted in an article about the New York senator’s most vocal superfans, nicknamed “Gillistans,” said the statement was enough to force her to rethink whom she planned to support.
“Ilhan didn’t minimize the pain of 9/11 victims,” Ms. Alston said.
“For Gillibrand to state that she did — when her words were blatantly taken out of context — is shameful and legitimizes a smear against a black Muslim woman already facing death threats,” she said.
end quotes
Where is the outrage of our dear friend J Lucy on that, one must wonder.
Stuart Bell says
Liberal, Democrat, Come-Heres…..period.
You all gave The Shore away one acre at a time. Make sure to thank your local real estate agent, they brought this element to our home.
J Lucy says
Paul,
A couple things I would like to point out regarding your response to William Thomas. To begin, you state “It’s a NEWS STORY!” Yes, it most certainly is a news story, or at least what is being passed off as one. The actual news story is about someone who has applied for a special use permit, and the problems they are encountering in their quest. What is NOT a news story is what color these people are. Why should that even matter? Why the need to bring up race at all? Or are you perhaps trying to make a distinction between upper class and lower class, wealthy and poor, or I don’t know, perhaps even the good ol’ boy system versus the people who have no clout in the county – it’s a very senstationalistic lead in, and I’m just not really sure how the use of race in this headline has any pertinence to the facts of the article itself. You further go on to state: “feeling any kind of need to interject in here with an easily debunked argument that people with black skin are some different race than are people with white skin” and please – take a minute to show me where Mr. Thomas stated that? On the contrary, what I took from his post is that it was a very poor choice of a headline – a headline designed to garner – as I stated above – a sensationalistic response from its readers. A headline that was completely unnecessary given today’s uncomfortable racial tensions. If this were a different story, covering perhaps a robbery of a local gas station, and the headline were to read “Poor, angry black boys rob local family owned store” do you not see a problem with that? The fact of the case would be that the gas station was robbed – it is not necessary to racially profile ANY story. Not only is it not necessary, it is completely unacceptable. And of course, your last statement in that post, that: “Is that where william thomas is coming from, do you think – he wants some percentage of the people in these stories in the Cape Charles Mirror to be black, even if they have to be invented like they are on TV shows?” Since you started this discourse with assumptions, then one may presume it is acceptable to continue on with assumptions – and that statement to me says that there are no black people reported on in the Cape Charles Mirror – since apparently they have to be invented like they are on TV shows. So, by default, is one to assume the Cape Charles Mirror is a racist publication, catering only to whites? Interesting … And we wonder why our country cannot get past it’s race issues – stop racial profiling – on ALL fronts, it is simply not necessary. A huge thumbs down to the Cape Charles Mirror for this pathetic headline choice.
Note: Oy-vey.
Paul Plante says
WOW, J Lucy is pretty much all I can say in response to what obviously is a well-thought-out post that manages to bring in all kinds of extra stuff into what was otherwise a pretty mundane and pedestrian story about about someone who has applied for a special use permit, and the problems they are encountering in their quest.
You say that what you took from the post of william thomas was that it was his opinion that he thought it was a very poor choice of a headline – a headline designed to garner – as you stated above – a sensationalistic response from its readers.
Except it didn’t – other than that sensationalistic response from william thomas @ APRIL 14, 2019 AT 11:45 AM, as follows:
race baiting any? why the “white” and rich? are they lesser citizens? would you do a “poor black people” headline?
disgusting
end quotes
Seriously, J Lucy, but that seems a bit over-the-top sensationalism and emotionalism to me, where “sensationalism” carries it usual meaning of “the use of exciting or shocking stories or language at the expense of accuracy, in order to provoke public interest or excitement.”
And please note, J. Lucy, that being on the mundane side, the story itself was not sensationalism, precisely because it did not use either exciting or shocking stories or language at the expense of accuracy, in order to provoke public interest or excitement.
It simply stated the facts as they were, and some of those relevant facts were that rich, white people were involved.
Or do you have reason to dispute those facts?
Are you saying that the Cape Charles Mirror invented an exciting or shocking story at the expense of accuracy, in order to provoke public interest or excitement?
And then you say, “A headline that was completely unnecessary given today’s uncomfortable racial tensions.”
And I ask you the same question I asked william thomas above @ APRIL 14, 2019 AT 12:13 PM:
If all humans regardless of external appearance, i.e. apparent skin coloration, belong to the human race, and that even includes the black folks, whether they will ever admit to that or not, then how on earth can there be “race-baiting” in this story, which is reporting on an actual event?
end quotes
Personally, I think all this “racial tension” crap you talk about is horse**** inside your own head.
Why you think that way is truly a mystery to me.
Perhaps you could explain it better while we have you in here on the line with us, so to speak.
And then you say, “If this were a different story, covering perhaps a robbery of a local gas station, and the headline were to read ‘Poor, angry black boys rob local family owned store’ do you not see a problem with that?”
And my answer is NO.
I don’t see a problem with that first of all because I have never seen a headline like that in the Cape Charles Mirror, and secondly, because I don’t spend my time scouring newspapers looking for things to get upset about.
And up here where I am, angry black boys robbing local family stores isn’t at all uncommon, so why get all freaked out when there are stories about it in the local media?
And YouTube is full of them, such as this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2gYwue7zZo
And then you say “Since you started this discourse with assumptions …”
But I didn’t begin this “discourse” with assumptions.
My first post in fact was in response to this sentence from the original post, to wit:
Considering the problems many folks in the County face, watching these marginal individuals go to war over this thing is once again proving that Northampton County, if it’s good for anything, provides a rich and varied resource for farce, absurdity and nausea.
Paul Plante says @ APRIL 14, 2019 AT 11:40 AM:
And believe me, in this day and age of totally insipid and banal news from the main-stream media, the candid world who looks in at Cape Charles and Northampton County through the lens of the venerable Cape Charles Mirror just loves it.
end quotes
Where’s the assumptions?
And I would close by stating the obvious – the country cannot get past its race issues because of people like yourself and Al Sharpton who won’t let loose and will continue to make racism an issue for the rest of your lives.
J Lucy says
Interesting response Paul, unfortunately, it is also pretty much the response I expected from you. The problem seems to be a difference of opinion as to what one considers “sensationalism” and although mentioning race may not be exciting or shocking, it is most assuredly a headline with controversial content meant to grab attention, in this particular case, without delivering. Even aside from that, you never bothered to address the entire issue of why it was a necessary inclusion in the headline in the first place. The important issues of the story were 1. That a special use permit had been applied for, and 2. That the special use permit was meeting obstacles in getting approved. There is absolutely nothing in the story that necessitates bringing race into the equation.
You seem to take quite a bit of pleasure in nitpicking these posts to the point of making them unrecognizable. Just as you did with William’s post, you have made accusations and raised questions for “points” that neither of us made, nor tried to make. At NO point did I insinuate or imply that the Mirror had invented the story. Perhaps while you’re dissecting posts for arguing points, you should learn a little reading comprehension. What I stated (again) was that the HEADLINE was sensationalistic. Wow, should I just go ahead and type that three or four more times so that it will sink in?
As far as the race baiting comment, that was William’s comment, not mine, and although I see where he is coming from, you will have to ask him to explain his exact meaning, as I may have utilized a different word choice there.
Once again, my issue is with the fact race was brought into the headline at all, it just simply was completely unnecessary and added nothing to the story, save a headline that was designed to carelessly incite a social issue that was irrelevant to the facts of the story.
As for asking me to “explain” racial tensions, I’m afraid that isn’t something anyone can explain, rather it is someone one experiences. Your comment regarding my question on the headline of poor black boys really tells me everything I need to know about you. I’m very happy that you live in a little bubble where you do not experience such issues and are not touched or affected by them. Sadly, the majority of the rest of the country isn’t afforded such luxury. Ask any teacher who teaches in a Title One school, ask any Police Officer who works in a high crime, low income neighborhood, ask anyone, anywhere – who doesn’t live in a protected, privileged bubble – and you’ll get the same response. Racial tension does exist. But perhaps more important is the fact that racial profiling is one of the main agitators of racial tension – and for the life of me, I do not understand why it is necessary. And for the record – yes, I do know that you asked me a question about what assumptions there were, and no, I will not dignify your question with a response … you know what you wrote, you know what you were stating, and no – I have better things to do with my time than argue a point and repeat myself ad nauseaum when you already know the answer. If you want an argument, go find someone who doesn’t mind typing the same thing over and over and over simply because you like to “hear yourself type” … In the meantime, might I suggest that before you accuse someone of keeping racism alive, you take a good long look in the mirror and ask yourself the question: “Just who is racial profiling?”
Have a good day sir, I’m done with a conversation that is going in circles. In the words of Thomas Paine: “To argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead.”
Paul Plante says
For the record, I am very familiar with Police Officers who work in high crime, low income neighborhoods, and here is an example:
71 police calls to 523 First Street
Albany police were called to 523 First St. more than 70 times between 2013 and 2019.
Chart
Day Date Time Call type
Saturday March 16, 2019 4:32 AM Medical
Saturday March 16, 2019 4:17 AM Medical
Saturday March 16, 2019 4:03 AM Loud party
Thursday March 14, 2019 4:04 AM Medical
Sunday March 10, 2019 6:38 AM Get a report
Sunday March 10, 2019 5:33 AM Fight
Sunday March 10, 2019 1:26 AM Property check
Saturday March 9, 2019 4:56 AM Unknown
Saturday March 9, 2019 4:51 AM Loud party
Tuesday March 5, 2019 5:25 AM Medical
Tuesday March 5, 2019 1:50 AM Medical
Tuesday March 5, 2019 1:48 AM Medical
Sunday March 3, 2019 3:33 AM Property check
Saturday March 2, 2019 5:07 AM Loud party
Saturday March 2, 2019 1:32 AM Property check
Sunday February 24, 2019 12:00 PM Loud music
Saturday February 23, 2019 4:13 AM Loud party
Saturday February 9, 2019 5:39 AM Group annoying
Monday December 3, 2018 8:26 PM Check a subject
Monday November 19, 2018 1:47 PM Get a report
Monday October 22, 2018 6:03 PM Person with a weapon
Wednesday September 5, 2018 2:32 PM Medical
Thursday July 19, 2018 12:06 AM Fireworks
Friday July 13, 2018 6:35 PM Fight
Saturday June 30, 2018 6:48 AM Fight
Friday June 22, 2018 11:39 PM Loud music
Tuesday June 12, 2018 9:51 PM Fireworks
Monday June 11, 2018 9:22 PM Fireworks
Thursday May 31, 2018 8:41 PM Fireworks
Monday May 28, 2018 8:55 PM Fireworks
Saturday May 5, 2018 11:45 PM Emotionally disturbed person
Thursday May 3, 2018 7:29 PM Fight
Tuesday March 27, 2018 8:56 AM Get a report
Sunday March 11, 2018 3:27 AM Loud party
Saturday March 10, 2018 5:00 PM Assist a person/agency
Sunday February 11, 2018 4:41 AM Loud party
Sunday January 21, 2018 4:15 AM Loud party
Sunday January 14, 2018 5:11 AM Loud party
Saturday January 13, 2018 1:13 AM Loud party
Wednesday January 10, 2018 1:45 PM Check a subject
Sunday December 24, 2017 4:55 AM Loud party
Saturday December 2, 2017 6:00 AM Group annoying
Saturday November 25, 2017 4:50 AM Loud party
Thursday November 16, 2017 7:24 PM Check a subject
Thursday October 5, 2017 10:23 AM Court order
Wednesday September 27, 2017 12:52 PM Other
Sunday June 25, 2017 9:37 PM Fireworks
Wednesday June 7, 2017 8:35 PM Executing a warrant
Tuesday June 6, 2017 8:47 PM Check a subject
Thursday April 13, 2017 5:50 PM Traffic stop
Wednesday March 29, 2017 8:35 PM Check a subject
Monday March 6, 2017 9:01 PM Traffic stop
Wednesday September 6, 2017 1:45 PM Vehicle annoying
Monday August 15, 2016 5:45 PM Larceny just occurred
Monday August 15, 2016 5:07 PM Group annoying
Saturday June 18, 2016 10:54 PM Check a subject
Saturday June 18, 2016 4:22 PM Group annoying
Monday November 30, 2015 5:52 PM Get a report
Tuesday September 29, 2015 5:32 PM Check a subject
Friday September 18, 2015 12:49 AM Loud music
Friday September 18, 2015 12:19 AM Check a subject
Friday September 18, 2015 12:15 AM Loud music
Monday August 31, 2015 12:14 AM Loud music
Sunday August 30, 2015 11:55 PM Loud music
Sunday May 31, 2015 12:53 AM Assist a person/agency
Saturday May 30, 2015 2:21 PM Medical
Saturday May 30, 2015 2:07 PM Assault
Sunday March 22, 2015 11:13 PM Get a report
Thursday April 10, 2014 4:04 PM Get a complaint
Thursday April 10, 2014 12:30 PM Police wanted unknown
Tuesday May 28, 2013 2:37 AM Person with a weapon
end quotes
And you know absolutely nothing about me, at all, and you are stupid as well if you think a Viet Nam combat veteran is unfamilar with “racial tensions.”
Paul Plante says
And no offence intended, J Lucy, because you seem like such a nice, caring person, but your comments above about the Cape Charles Mirror are absurd, idiotic, moronic and just plain wrong, which you would know if you had actually ever bothered to actually read the Cape Charles Mirror, and the comments I am referring to are these:
“Since you started this discourse with assumptions, then one may presume it is acceptable to continue on with assumptions – and that statement to me says that there are no black people reported on in the Cape Charles Mirror – since apparently they have to be invented like they are on TV shows.”
“So, by default, is one to assume the Cape Charles Mirror is a racist publication, catering only to whites?”
end quotes
That is asinine and just plain stupid, because I remember several issues ago seeing the smiling face of a “woman of color” (a black woman) who as I recall had won some kind of an award.
And if you go back to a CCM story entitled “Outstanding Teachers Recognized” from 16 July 2017 http://www.capecharlesmirror.com/news/outstanding-teachers-recognized/ lo and behold, therein you will clearly see the smiling face of a young “woman of color.”
So your comment that the Cape Charles Mirror is a racist publication, catering only to whites, is idiotic and wrong, which doesn’t mean you aren’t a nice person with a good heart; it just means you don’t have a clue as to what you are talking about.
As to a headline that was completely unnecessary given today’s uncomfortable racial tensions, how about this one from The Wall Street Journal: “Reparations for Slavery, Shelved for Decades, Is on the Election Table” by Joshua Jamerson on 13 April 2019.
You whine and bleat about “racial tensions,” as you call them, and then you cry out: “And we wonder why our country cannot get past it’s race issues!”
But if one bothers to stay abreast of current affairs, as you so obviously do not, having apparently found yourself a sanctuary from reality somewhere, there is nothing to wonder about, as we see from that Wall Street Journal article, to wit:
During that time, the most early prominent example of a presidential candidate speaking in support of reparations was Feb. 11, when Sen. Kamala Harris of California appeared on the popular New York-based radio program “The Breakfast Club.”
Speaking to host Lenard McKelvey, known professionally as Charlamagne tha God, Ms. Harris said: “America has a history of 200 years of slavery.”
“We had Jim Crow.”
“We had legal segregation in America for a very long time.”
end quotes
Talk about playing the race card and stoking up racial tensions for cheap political points while talking like a moronic idiot, there you have it in spades, first of all, because “America” DOES NOT have a history of 200 years of slavery.
That is an outright lie told for no other purpose than to PROVOKE racial tensions in America.
If one assumes the United States were born on 4 July 1776, then “America” is only 243 years old, and I am over 70, so if “America” really did have a history of 200 years of slavery, there still would have been slaves when I was young and almost into my thirties.
But there wasn’t, because slavery ended in “America” in 1863 with the Emancipation Proclamation.
So if we assume that “America” came into being on 4 July 1776, then we only had slavery in America for 87 years, at most, and that slavery was only in a part of “America,” the part that the slave-owning DEMOCRATS controlled.
For those of us who have actually bothered to study and learn the history of this nation, we know that the Declaration of Independence not only declared the colonies free of Britain, but it also helped to inspire Vermont to abolish slavery in its 1777 state constitution.
By 1804, all Northern states had voted to abolish the institution of slavery within their borders.
So we see the truth is quite a bit different than the race-baiting lies being told by DEMOCRAT Kamala Harris at the conference the racist and little hate-filled sack of toxic, noxious pus Al Sharpton, who incidentally has a net worth of some $5 million that he raises by stoking racial disharmony, as that is all that little sack of pus has to offer the world, held recently in New York for the purpose of stoking racial tensions for partisan political purposes.
Historically, slavery in Eastern North America in the 17th and 18th century began in the English colonies, but the English colonies were exactly that – colonies that belonged to a king in England.
So while it is true that slavery in the colonial US was established in each of the Thirteen Colonies, and during British colonization, the number of people in slavery expanded, primarily drawn from the Atlantic slave trade, it is false to attribute that slavery to the people of America, as this Kamala Harris is attempting to do here.
If she wants to be president, she should first fish her head from out of her ***, and then she should go back to grade school and really learn something about this country, because she obviously didn’t learn anything the first time through, which takes us to this statement of hers, to wit: “We had Jim Crow.”
Except “we” did not have “Jim Crow.”
The Democrats had “Jim Crow” in the southern states where they were in control.
In Connecticut in 1925, by way of comparison, there was an antidefamation statute that prohibited motion picture theaters from showing any film which ridiculed the Negro race, but you won’t hear mention of that from race-baiters like Kamala Harris and Al Sharpton.
And those Jim Crow laws are long since a thing of the past, so why are we still hearing about them today in 2019?
Afterall, it was in August 1953, 66 years ago (Kamala Harris, born October 20, 1964, is only 54 years old) that the first black family moved into Trumbull Park, a formerly all-white project of the Chicago Housing Authority, so Kamala Harris, who is reported to have a $391,100 minimum net worth, far, far more than mine, never lived with “Jim Crow.”
So why, 66 years later, is she still making an issue of it, other than for partisan political purposes?
And we wonder why our country cannot get past it’s race issues.
Yeah, right!
Don Green says
The only “race-baiting” I can discern is in Mr. Thomas’ mind and in the minds of his claque of politically correct hens. The article’s title was masterful–it led the reader to the heart of the article. It was designed to attract the reader to study the question of new economic activity on the area’s residents, and it did so. The article skillfully provided information on a conflict that apparently arises periodically in Cape Charles.
Once again, Mr. Thomas and his ever-so-sensitive following demonstrate that leftists have NO sense of humor. What they don’t realize is that the rest of us will not be “shamed”–we regard you people as jokes. Kindly return to your safe spaces, where, ideally, you can cool off.
william thomas says
wow! I make a comment on an article, criticizing the headline. I made my opinion known. but now, I’m labeled as “ever-so-sensitive”, “shaming”, “not in control of my emotions”, “hyper-ventilating”, “liberal”, etc.
I will chuckle to myself for days over how incredibly WRONG you are with your labels and assumptions.
have a nice day
Paul Plante says
You, as well, william.
william thomas says
how is that?
Paul Plante says
How is what?
You said, “have a nice day.”
Do you recall that?
And being polite and courteous and respectful as I am, I responded, “you, as well,” which means “have a nice day yourself, william.”
william thomas says
gotcha
J Lucy says
William, you never told me you were a liberal! My goodness, the things you learn about others online! And here I was ready to ask you if you wanted to go to the next Trump Rally with us LOL Give it up William, you aren’t going to get through so time to just walk away – if he wasn’t so obvious is his disdain for Democrats, I would have sworn HE was liberal the way he is fond of twisting words and being unable to comprehend a sentence without injecting his assumptions and turning it into something unrecognizable from the facts. His responses to both of us are laughable in their inaccuracies and I have no desire to continue speaking with someone so incapable of reading and comprehending sentences. Having worked in journalism for over 15 years, I absolutely concur with your original statement. Back in the day, we were recognized yearly for ethical and accurate reporting, and the funny thing is, we did that without misleading or sensationalistic headlines. Nice to know that there are people out there who still appreciate that. You have a wonderful evening, I’m going to go crawl back into my safe sanctuary from reality where I can have conversations with people who have the intelligence to do so. SMH assumptions. Wow.
Paul Plante says
HAW HAW HAW!
HO HO HO!
GUFFAW GUFFAW GUFFAW!
WOW, J Lucy, thanks for a great laugh and watch you don’t snap your arm into pieces like a brittle toothpick slapping yourself on the back so vigorously as you are doing there congratulating yourself on your perfection as a human being.
You must work in the entertainment section of what you call “journalism,” writing about TV comedy shows.
And have a great day!
Slide Easy says
What is with the two women in the pic?
Frank Edwards says
Siamese Twins, no doubt.
Slide Easy says
Who died and left you in charge?
Paul Plante says
Hey, J Lucy, YO. YO, while you are crawling back into that safe sanctuary you have from reality, and before you get yourself all the way in there, what did you happen to think of that headline in The New York Times today, 20 April 2019, entitled “Should a White Man Be the Face of the Democratic Party in 2020?” by Astead W. Herndon and Matt Flegenheimer, which incidentally was the real name of the mobster “Dutch” Schultz, born Arthur Simon Flegenheimer, so how is that for a coincidence.
Is that headline sensationalistic, do you think?
If so, do you plan on giving them the sharp side of your tongue as you did in here?
T’would be only fair, you know, to do so.
And really, should a washed-up old man like Bernie really be the face of the Democrat party today?
Wouldn’t they be a lot better off with someone gender-neutral like Clarabell the Clown?
Paul Plante says
And it seems somehow appropriate here in the light of all the outrage and angst (a feeling of deep anxiety or dread, typically an unfocused one about the human condition or the state of the world in general) expressed above by J Lucy to quote from a POLITICO article entitled “Omar rakes in cash online as controversies pile up” by Steven Shepard and Sarah Ferris on 16 April 2019, to wit:
Small-dollar donors rushed to defend embattled Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) in the first three months this year, as she faced charges of anti-Semitism from prominent Democrats, according to a fundraising report filed Monday with the Federal Election Commission.
Omar raised $832,000 in the first quarter, according to her FEC report — among the best totals posted by any House Democrat.
Roughly half of her donations, $415,000, came from people who gave less than $200 to Omar, and the majority of her funds, $631,000, came from online donors who gave via ActBlue, the Democratic online fundraising platform that has been such a boon to the party’s candidates in recent years that Republicans are scrambling to develop an alternative.
Omar received just $10,000 from political action committees, including two from other House Democrats: Fellow freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.) gave Omar $2,000 on March 28, and House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (S.C.) gave her $1,000 on March 29.
Her $832,000 haul puts her among House Democrats’ top fundraisers in the first quarter, topping every Democratic incumbent running in a vulnerable district, including prolific fundraisers like Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), who raised $830,000 for his reelection campaign inside the expensive New York media market, and freshman Rep. Josh Harder, who took in $800,000 in California.
Omar’s campaign spent $241,000 and had $607,000 in cash on hand as of March 31.
Paul Plante says
And for all the Internet Taliban or Mutaween who feel themselves on a mission from GOD to insure that ALL of us follow the rigid thinking they want to impose on us, as if this were Saudi Arabia and not America, VOX.com had an article just for you entitled “Research says there are ways to reduce racial bias. Calling people racist isn’t one of them.” by German Lopez on July 30, 2018, as follows:
This speaks to the point Margaret Renkl made on Monday in the New York Times: “If … you’re a white liberal whose goal is to foster a more equitable culture, you need to stop yelling ‘Racist!’ at anyone who doesn’t see the world exactly as you do.”
It’s the direct opposite of the kind of culture the internet has fostered — typically focused on calling out racists and shaming them in public.
This doesn’t work.
The first thing to understand is how white Americans, especially in rural areas, hear accusations of racism.
While terms like “racist,” “white privilege,” and “implicit bias” intend to point out systemic biases in America, for white Americans they’re often seen as coded slurs.
Imagine, for example, a white man who lost a factory job due to globalization and saw his sister die from a drug overdose due to the opioid epidemic — situations that aren’t uncommon today.
He tries to complain about his circumstances.
But his concerns are downplayed by a politician or racial justice activist, who instead points out that at least he’s doing better than black and brown folks if you look at broad socioeconomic measures.
Maybe he does have some level of white privilege.
But that doesn’t take away from the serious problems he sees in his world today.
So when they hear politicians and journalists call them racist or remind them about their privilege, they feel like elites are trying to distract from the serious problems in their lives and grant advantages to other groups of people.
When Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton called half of Trump voters “deplorable,” she made this message explicit.
end quotes
And my goodness, people wonder why we have racial disharmony in this country!
Go figure.
Maybe if the Democrats stopped provoking it for cheap partisan gain, we wouldn’t have any at all.
SkyW says
The natural person’s of Northampton should be weary of any person(s) running for public office that come from the Wellington Neck, Franktown, Nassawadox area.
It’s seems obvious that there is a corrupt political cabal located in this area of the Eastern Shore as is apparent from the last two decades of non-constitutionally based governance perpetrated by Northampton’s long time elected leaders who mostly reside in this area of the county.
I for one recommend the write-in candidate option for the upcoming BOS election provided it’s someone not affiliated with the local political group found in the Franktown/Nassawadox/Wellington Neck area of the county & that the potential writ-in candidate is thoroughly vetted as to avoid any major conflict of interest by serving on the Northampton BOS and/or Planning Commission.
Can someone please enact TERM LIMITS for the local Northampton County Government? We should not continue to have the same good ol’boys or good ol’ girls as elected county officials. Two 4 year terms is plenty for any political office. In fact imo the elected officials should probably only be allowed to serve one 4 year term to help prevent the corrupt leadership which has manifested itself for at least the last two decades here in Northampton County Virginia from ever occurring again.
PLEASE PEOPLE: DEMAND TERM LIMITS FOR ALL NORTHAMPTON COUNTY VIRGINIA ELECTED OFFICIALS!
Chas Cornweller says
I, for one, in my humble opinion, find “Labels” trite and very out of touch with reality. I try to avoid them, if it can be helped. When talking in “generalities” then it becomes a different matter altogether.
Consequently, I do not find this headline offensive or trite at all. It conveys a certain viewpoint that is endemic to the storyline. However, I find it interesting that the author conveniently left out the skin tone of the couple that wants only to start a lucrative business on Wellington. But, according to the response to one comment, all parties involved are rich, white and angry. What is more important in this story, however, is the fact that facts themselves don’t seem to matter much to some folks. Take for example, Lear jets landing at this site. I measured (using Google earth) the apparent airfield (private strip) located on Wellington, and I seriously doubt any self-respecting jet pilot would or could land, much less use, this short, grass strip to land a jet engine plane. Maybe in a case of emergency, but Melfa would be a much more advantageous landing spot. As far as defecating and urinating in other people’s driveways and yards, it seems highly unlikely, considering the social class status of these folks. However, if you want to use the Kentucky Derby as an example, maybe Ms. Kellam has a point. Even angry, rich, white folks, once they get their fill, can turn bestial. No, I find it funny and sad at the same time, that having acquired a nice quiet place to reside, now with plenty of time coupled with a close minded, and much too closely knitted community (translation: many mouths flapping and many ears hearing what they want to hear) even the best of communities can break down into a group of ill-mannered folks, armed with contorted logic, and hateful falsehoods left to attack their closest neighbors. Let he who is without sin, throw the first stone at that glass covered house! Too bad these neighbors couldn’t have hashed it out over a couple of bottles of wine while watching their beautiful sunsets off of their nice, long docks during some quiet, serene spring evening. Who knows, maybe they could have come to an amicable decision. You know, like good neighbors do. But, I guess rich folks are different. Too much of “I’ve got mine, the rest of you go to hell” mentality ingrained into their deluded superior and narrow-minded world view, I guess.
Personally, I am hoping the Cleavelands get their business approved and are permitted to have parties from dusk to dawn 24-7, 365. Might I suggest Motorhead or Sleazy Joe for the wedding reception band? That should humble Ms. Kellam a bit.
Paul Plante says
And a great day to you, Chas Cornweller, good to see you come around to put your two cents in here in what has turned out to be one of the more surreal threads comment-wise on the venerable CCM.
Paul Plante says
And speaking of people crawling back into their safe sanctuaries from reality where they can have conversations with people who have the intelligence to do so, and being very familiar with the newspaper bidness, having had it used as a weapon against me when I was a health officer tasked with cleaning up endemic corruption in the Rensselaer County Department of Health in the corrupt, third-world ****hole of New York state, and sensationalist headlines such as “Developers see a zealot in new county health officer,” and being inclined to seek information on a subject before pretending to be an expert on it, I just googled “are there rules for writing newspaper headlines,” and what a fascinating subject it is.
One of the rules is “The tone of the headline should match the tone of the story,” and clearly, at least to those of us not so emotionally blinded that we are incapable of seeing anything, period, this one quite clearly does.
And the Business Success Blog from 01.28.2019 has an article on the subject entitled “5 Simple Tips You Can Always Use to Write Attention Grabbing Headlines” by Troy Hollenbeck from Business2Community which provides the following guidance on the subject, to wit:
An attention grabbing headline can be useful for improving your email marketing, increasing conversion on your website, and for any other form of content marketing that includes its own header or title.
This is the first indication that a reader has as to what to expect from your content.
You don’t need to be a professional writer in order to create great copy for websites, landing pages, blog posts, and emails.
But you should start with a killer headline.
end quotes
I would say that if one was teaching a course in journalism, the headline for this thread would be a great example of a “killer headline,” which is to the credit of the Cape Charles Mirror and its editorial staff, so kudos there.
Getting back to that informative article:
Here are some extremely easy to follow tips for writing effective headlines.
Write a summary of your content
The first step is to summarize the main point of your content in a single sentence.
Don’t worry about how it sounds.
Keep it simple.
Just write a sentence.
You’ll edit it to improve the flair of the headline.
end quotes
FLAIR, of course, is defined as “a special or instinctive aptitude or ability for doing something well,” as in “the CCM has a flair for catchy headlines,” with such synonyms as aptitude, talent, gift, knack, instinct, natural ability, ability, capability, capacity, faculty, facility, skill, bent, feel, genius, as well as stylishness and originality.
Another rule for writing headlines that the Cape Charles Mirror rigorously adheres to is as follows:
Include exciting adjectives
Next, try to include an exciting adjective in your headline.
These words help inspire action and grab attention.
end quotes
Q.E.D.
Paul Plante says
And dear friend and fellow American patriot Chas Cornweller, let me say as a fellow American citizen that when you come in here to give a speech reminiscent of the speeches given by the great American orator Mr. Henry Clay, I think it makes the world just a slightly better place than it would have been if you had remained silent, as thankfully you didn’t do in here, where you have taken our attention and brought it back to where it really always should have been, which is the case of these fellow Virginians of yours being concerned, and I think rightfully so, depending on the local circumstances as to whether or not zoning is in place, and the local laws, about what you correctly point out is likely going to be a public nuisance, because as you say, the cacophony and caterwauling likely to be emanating from the place at a 150 decibels is much more likely to be head-banging **** like Motorhead or Sleazy Joe, than it is to be Mozart or Bach or Beethoven, and they are right to be concerned about that, I would say, although if there is no noise ordinance or standards, then these people as you point out should either soundproof their houses when receptions are going on, or find some other place to be during that period of time.
A friend of mine lives near one of those places, and when receptions are going on, you can hear that crap inside your house over a half-mile away, especially the muddy base, which is particularly annoying and travels the furthest distance and easily penetrates a buildings walls to assail whoever is seeking shelter inside, which brings up a point that the people of America who closely follow your words and guidance as an esteemed philosopher and ethologist would like you to address, and that is simply WHY?
Why do these A-HOLES who play music at these wedding receptions have to play the crap they play so loud that forget trying to talk to anyone at the reception because while you can see their mouths moving, you can’t hear any sound coming out, because the A-HOLE playing the music so loud it can be heard in the next county is drowning them out.
You understand and perceive human nature, Chas Cornweller, in a way most people less intellectually gifted as yourself don’t, so why is that, Chas Cornweller?
And for those of you too young to appreciate my comparison of Chas Cornweller to Henry Clay, according to the American history that used to be taught in this country, by 1831, the Kentucky senator enjoyed a national reputation as an outstanding orator, just as our dear friend Chas Cornweller does today, and that is thanks in some large part to the Cape Charles Mirror, which prints the speeches of Chas so they are available and accessible to not just the people of Cape Charles or Northampton County or even the Old Dominion itself, birthplace of so many statesmen as it has been in our history, but to the whole wide world itself, thanks to Al Gore’s gift to the American people of the internet, which connects us all in harmony like so many brothers and sisters all learning, with the guidance of Chas, to sing in three-part harmony.
Clay’s oratorical power, like that of Chas Cornweller, lay not in his choice of words or extent of his knowledge, but in his style of delivery, which is very important in any time period, but especially so today when communicating on the internet.
Raised in a western tradition that valued oratory for its entertainment rather than educational value, like our own Chas Cornweller, Clay tailored his remarks for a wide audience, filling them with popular allusions while omitting the learned quotations that other classical orators favored.
Unlike Calhoun, who delivered scholarly addresses with a maximum of speed and a minimum of ornamentation, Clay adopted a deliberative style that made effective use of calculated pauses, well-timed body gestures, and simple direct arguments.
Carl Schurz, who served in the Senate in the 1870’s with those who had known Clay, believed the Kentuckian possessed “the true oratorical temperament, that force of nervous exaltation that makes the orator feel himself, and appear to others, a superior being, and almost irresistibly transfuses his thoughts, his passions, and his will into the mind and heart of the listener.”
So, Chas, dude, what the heck is up with this need to blast everyone’s eardrums out of their heads at these wedding receptions, which seem much more like torture sessions to me, having had to endure them in the last so many years?
The candid world would really like to know your thoughts as a man of wisdom on the subject, and so would I and maybe Roberta Kellum, as well, whose driveway seems to have become to “go to” place for people from Cape Charles or Accomack County and maybe Baltimore and across the bridge in Norfolk who are looking for a place to urinate, defecate and engage in randy sexual interludes.
Paul Plante says
And if someone who has worked in journalism for over 15 years, and who was recognized yearly for ethical and accurate reporting without misleading or sensationalistic headlines really wanted to strike a blow for freedom in their war against misleading or sensationalistic headlines, which is admittedly from my perspective as an “intended victim” of misleading or sensationalistic headlines is a noble cause, as opposed to nit-picking and grousing about headlines in the Cape Charles Mirror, which headline in question was in accordance with the first rule of headline writing, which is to be factual, which this one clearly was, with their extensive experience and stellar reputation in the journalism field by teaching a college-level course in journalism titled “Sensationalism in the media as a potent political weapon” based on real-world examples of the true harm this mindless practice by the so-called “journalists” employed by the for-profit main stream media causes, they could do no better than to start with that headline in the Hearst-published Albany, New York Times Union entitled “Developers see a zealot in new county health officer,” and follow it along from there into what is truly a rich harvest of both intentionally misleading and sensationalistic headlines from the public records including the files of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation, which misleading and sensationalistic headlines caused the people of Rensselaer County in the corrupt third-world ****hole of New York state to be deprived of public health protection to their continued detriment.
That rich harvest includes false reporting by MSNBC superstar political reporter Christine Kapostacy Jansing when she was with TV channel 13 in the corrupt capital of New York in Albany, and such sensationalist and misleading headlines from the Albany Times Union as “Renss. Co. reins in growth,” which was intentionally skewed in an effort to mislead the public, and “School Septic system overruns blamed on Plante” from the now defunct Troy Record, which was yet another of the long train of false stories in the record in this matter, and “‘Nazi’ charge outrages health workers” from the Times Union along with “Good show in the theater of absurd” which are just a few of the many examples of misleading and sensationalistic headlines to be found in that treasure trove of misleading and sensationalistic headlines being used in real time in the real world as very potent political weapons with intent to cause harm, which incidentally, the main stream media can do with impunity with their “freedom of the press” immunity from civic responsibility, accuracy, integrity, fact and truth.
Chas Cornweller says
Wow, Paul…I had forgotten just how stimulating it is to be insulted in such a desultory manner. I mean, it takes at least five sentences in to really grasp the amount of damage you may have caused to my oratory skill. I am assuming that comparing me to Henry Clay was, on your part, an intent to insult me. ‘Clay, being known as the “Great Compromiser”, tailored his remarks for a wide audience, filling them with allusions while omitting the learned quotations that other classical orators favored.’ (your quote) And you go on…’Unlike Calhoun (South Carolina Senator and orator strongly in favor of slavery, a nationalist, and a strong proponent of States Rights) who delivered scholarly addresses with a maximum of speed and a minimum of ornamentation, Clay adopted a deliberative style that made effective use of calculated pauses, well-timed body gestures, and simple direct arguments.’ (again, your quote). Wow. I am truly not sure whether I’ve been complemented or slandered with that statement. And that comparison to Clay and Calhoun (who, at the time were oratory rivals of the highest order). Is that an allegorical nod to you and me? If so, wow…just wow. However, this is the finest piece of insult-injury I’ve endured yet in my entire lifetime. I AM flattered beyond recognition.
What drives my statement here is this; I did not aim to scatter shot my argument with Ms. Kellam. My post here was seventy-five percent tongue-in-cheek, five percent instruction and twenty percent good-neighbor-policy common sense. If my post appeared obfuscated, I apologize and readily admit, sarcasm does not play well on the internet. So, let me be blunt (just like that old scam John C. Calhoun – one nasty slave owner).
We get what we deserve, Ms. Kellam. Had you taken the time (and had the good sense) to approach your neighbor when you first heard of the Cleavelands’ plans, sat down like civil folks and good neighbors and hashed out the issues (Yes! Maybe even compromised), then perhaps an amiable agreement could have been reached. You’d been seen and known as a good neighbor and the dirty work would have been left to the Board of Supervisors and their codes and bylaws and let the chips fall where they will. If the music got too loud, you would have then had the collateral of good will in your pocket to approach your neighbor and make a genuine complaint. Ball would have been in their court. OR, and this is important, Northampton BOS could have rejected their request out of hand, and they would have been the villain in this saga and not you. End of story.
Succinct, clear and without ornamentation enough for you, Mr. Plante? Hope this note finds you in good health sir, and of sound mind. Till next time. Chas
Paul Plante says
Chas, as always, you are a positive hoot, and I mean that sincerely, and no I was not trying to insult you at all, enjoying your oratorical skills in here as I do, and I hope you have a wonderful day and weekend.
Paul Plante says
And Chas, I was referring to his very famous 1824 “American System” speech, which had nothing as I recall about slavery in it.
Paul Plante says
And Chas Cornweller, this is positively masterful writing on your part, managing as you did to get into the same sentence the words “stimulating,” a difficult enough word to use in a sentence in these insipid times we find ourselves surrounded by today, and “desultory, ” a word almost impossible to use correctly anymore, what with mindless communication systems like TWITTER abounding in America where “desultory” would simply take up too much space and wouldn’t be understood anyway, writing that is redolent of Hemingway, some are saying, although I think it is much more redolent of Shakespeare and Mark Twain myself, to wit: “Wow, Paul…I had forgotten just how stimulating it is to be insulted in such a desultory manner.”
I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed that, Chas!
As your writing so often is, this was a very educational moment for me reading that because truthfully, I had to learn all over again exactly what “desultory” really means, and here is what I learned in the exercise: of conversation or speech, which this is in here, desultory means going constantly from one subject to another in a halfhearted way; unfocused, as it were, which as you can imagine has a chorus of voices raised in opposition all saying in unison, “wait a minute, Chas, there is nothing desultory at all about that post, and it is right to the point when it clearly states the candid world would really like to know your thoughts as a man of wisdom on the subject of loud music being a public nuisance , and so would I and maybe Roberta Kellum, as well, whose driveway seems to have become to ‘go to’ place for people from Cape Charles or Accomack County and maybe Baltimore and across the bridge in Norfolk who are looking for a place to urinate, defecate and engage in randy sexual interludes.”
Truthfully Chas, people find it disturbing that the BOS would laugh at Roberta Kellum over that matter, and Chas, people think you yourself are being a bit heartless here in seemingly condoning that practice of people from Cape Charles or Accomack County and maybe Baltimore and across the bridge in Norfolk using Roberta Kellum’s driveway as a place to urinate, defecate and engage in randy sexual interludes.
People thought you should be more compassionate Chas, especially this time of the year, if you know what I mean.
But moving right along, the real issue is the nuisance from the noise, and there is where we would find ourselves engaged in debate should there have been an actual administrative hearing with cross-examination permitted.
Being as how this is a special permit, which really is pro forma, unlike a variance, it really is up to the citizens to demonstrate to the BOS that it has no authority, jurisdiction or discretion to create a public nuisance by issuing a special permit.
Otherwise, especially with a place for upscale wedding receptions that go tens of thousands of dollars where people are flying in on Lear jets, the BOS is going to give it its blessing, and then it will use the special perm it to protect the nuisance it created from the people who complaining about the nuisance, and that is the way it goes, dear friend Chas.