Why is it that when I say I don’t like a certain politician, I am being “mean spirited” and using “hate speech,” yet when you say something about my favored politician, I can’t call it “hate speech” in return?

Why is it that we need to control cattle flatulence in the herds of cattle here in the West when at one time there were maybe 3,000 times more bison?

How are we going to “save the Earth” when for millions of years it has done right good on its own – without man around at all?

If the billboard issue came up when there wasn’t an election going on, would we even have heard about it?

How many anti-billboard ordinance folks even had a clue about the billboard “problem” before the election? (And how many can locate them now?)

Here is another thought: What if it comes to the vote of the people? Where is the money coming from to mount an anti-ordinance campaign? From the grassroots Facebook folks? Maybe it could come from the companies that would like to compete for the contract. Speak of conflict of interest. The anti-ordinance campaign is going to cost a lot if it is going to be more than a social media phenomenon – meaning, if it’s going to prevail.

I wonder if the folks who want to defeat the ordinance have thought through all of the possibilities? From what I see, the same folks who started the “save our billboards” petition are those who thought the City Council and later the primary election would have far different results. As I read through their postings, I can see they were wrong about every one of the candidates they favored.

So they continue on with what they think is best … and they have a right to do that. But can they attack individual council members in the manner they have done, without loss of credibility (and thus support)? Bob Kellar has served our city for a long time and has carried a huge number of votes in past elections. Attacking Kellar is attacking many of the same voters who would be needed to pass an anti-ordinance vote. So be warned, my friends.

Personal attacks will not help any cause, and guess what? We can’t blame President G.W. Bush, either, for a change.

Guess what else? Remember those folks from other billboard and media companies who said, at the council meeting, that they could have given a better deal? Easy to say that when you already know what the other folks offered. So what was the better deal they wanted to offer? Do we know? Are we all being fair and open about this? Give us the facts all y’all may know. Prices? Contract length? Fair and open, please? That road runs both directions.

Since around 1997, I’ve been writing a little about our valley. Sometimes I’m right and other times I’m wrong about the political process here. I have made a few great predictions along the way, too. So, out on a limb I go now:

1) The ordinance will be modified in some manner and the City Council will pass it once again. That may satisfy the petition and still leave us with electronic billboards. I say this because it appears many in the anti-ordinance camp would want just to get a better deal and not stop the electronic signs.

2) Bob Kellar will be re-elected with the biggest super-majority of votes ever seen in the city, what with the change in the election process that allows people to vote for him three times.

3) Another councilman will leave office in the next council election, to be replaced by a more moderate candidate.

4) We will get a lot of rain next year, along with a huge snow pack for our water supply.

5) The high-speed train system will have another delay in construction while yet another route is considered.

6) Sasquatch will be found and studied closely in the next five years.

Place your bets, folks. You can only make them in cash. $20 minimum. Just write your choice and name and phone number on a $20 bill and drop it by the SCVTV studio on 14th Street. We’ll announce the winner after the little cruise we want to take.

Thank you.

Oh – Item 6 above won’t happen. Mr. Sasquatch doesn’t want to play. He just wants to watch the choo-choo.

Darryl Manzer grew up in the Pico Canyon oil town of Mentryville in the 1960s and attended Hart High School. After a career in the U.S. Navy he returned to live in the Santa Clarita Valley. He can be reached at dmanzer@scvhistory.com and his commentaries are archived at DManzer.com. Watch his walking tour of Mentryville [here].