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1

that big black cloud of smoke is a big black smoke-cloud of FREEDOM!

Posted by bing | April 21, 2007 3:03 PM
2

Not quite sure where you're going with this one, but planes do crash in the U.S., even military planes. This isn't such a singularly unusual event to warrant that kind of an alarmist head line.

Posted by COMTE | April 21, 2007 3:19 PM
3

Is it possible to put a measure on the ballot in Seattle so we can vote to stop the Blue Angels show at Seafair?

Posted by John | April 21, 2007 3:42 PM
4

What?! The noise of the planes causes my dog to freak out. It gives him a taste of what his cousins go through in animal testing. Otherwise, the meds would have never saved his life.

Posted by daniel | April 21, 2007 3:45 PM
5

I think the headline is referring to all the handwringing that comes out of some quarters of Seattle whenever SeaFair rolls around. There are a bunch of people who are terrified one of the Blue Angels is going to fall on their heads (or just object to them on principle but use this as an excuse). The reality is that far more people will die in fiery wrecks in the Seattle area every year while minding their own business -- they'll just be in cars.

Personally, I love air shows and I enjoy the Blue Angels; I'm happy to see them every year (they're certainly better than Folkfest or Fat Tuesday or any of the annoying parades we get every summer). And just imagine if the Defense Dept's budget was tied up in airshows instead of munitions: they could've never contemplated the war in Iraq.

Posted by Joe | April 21, 2007 4:05 PM
6

Can we put a measure on the ballot to stop air traffic into SeaTac and Boeing Field?

Posted by RonK, Seattle | April 21, 2007 4:36 PM
7

Way to Fight The Power, Josh.

"The Blue Angels are extra-disruptive!"

Since you only deal in sarcasm, please know that I take the things you write very seriously. Especially when it comes to dogs or (overall, harmless) tradition.

Posted by paulesantos | April 21, 2007 4:53 PM
8

I hate the Blue Angels and I hate how they make everyone's dogs freak out.

Posted by Heidi | April 21, 2007 4:58 PM
9

The blue Angels complicate my life. I'm just trying to eat some lunch here!

Posted by whineypants | April 21, 2007 5:04 PM
10

Props to CNN for finding the one-in-a-thousand eyewitness who saw a "big black cloud of smoke" instead of a "huge fireball" when the jet crashed.

Posted by Smarm | April 21, 2007 5:04 PM
11

The Blue Angels need to stop flying at SeaFair because:

1. Unlike planes coming into SeaTac or Boeing, they're flying at high speed and very low altitude over heavily populated areas of Seattle.

2. The noise they subject on the entire city is unacceptable. Have your airshow, fine, but do it out in Sammamish where there's nobody around to be harrassed except miles of strip malls.

3. The whole point of the airshow is to serve the military's ends. For us peace-loving tree-hugging homos and hippies in Seattle, that means reminding us exactly what country we live in. For everyone else, that means salivation and foaming at the mouth at our awesome military might. It's PR for the military, and will always help their budget more than it drains it.

Posted by DavidG | April 21, 2007 5:07 PM
12

"Do it out in Sammamish where there's nobody around to be harrassed except miles of strip malls"

Way to build inclusivity, DavidG. Now me and my East Side Stranger-reading brethren will have to start supporting the war, voting Republican and buying Ford Expeditions.

Honest to god, one of the only things I've come to dislike about living in WA since moving her four years ago is the hip, condescending attitude some Seattleites consider de rigeur towards the East Side.

Do unto others, man. Or, in more draconian terms, a helpful reminder: if the East Side votes Republican, you get Republican Senators and Governors. If we vote Democratic, you get Democratic Senators and Governors.

Posted by Big Sven | April 21, 2007 10:24 PM
13

I would be very happy if the Blue Angels took their imperialist death-from-above bullshit somewhere else. Say, Alabama. Every time they fly over head and people start running to out to watch them, I always remind them that in every other place on the planet you fucking run the OTHER way if you hear that noise.

Posted by samdinista | April 22, 2007 9:32 AM
14

I would be very happy if the Blue Angels took their imperialist death-from-above bullshit somewhere else. Say, Alabama. Every time they fly over head and people start running to out to watch them, I always remind them that in every other place on the planet you fucking run the OTHER way if you hear that noise.

Posted by samdinista | April 22, 2007 9:33 AM
15

Can someone PLEASE answer #3 - how might someone go about banning this? Initiative? Is it a city thing, or a King County thing? Do we control our airspace?

It's not just dogs and babies crying, it's tons of jet fuel wasted, summertime traffic, congestion and pollution, and blatent promotion of death and distruction at taxpayer expense.

If Seattle can't ban this, no one can. And if no one can, I'm worried.

Posted by Drake Bozarth | April 22, 2007 1:42 PM
16

I guess this isn't the "support the troops, oppose the war" portion of the anti-war movement.

Posted by MHD | April 22, 2007 3:54 PM
17

I love the Blue Angles. It's one of my favorite times of year when they come roaring by overhead.

I'm not a war monger either; I'm a unapologetic lefty who was against the war in Iraq from the beginning. Most displays of military might just make me roll my eyes.

I can't really argue that there is risk involved with the show. In my case, the risk that I'll die from being impacted by a Blue Angel is worth the enjoyment. It's not the only calculated risk I take in life, and hardly the riskiest. I can understand how someone who hates the show would feel differently. Anyway, It would be a sad day for me if the show got banned.

Posted by DJSauvage | April 22, 2007 5:19 PM

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