OC Blog News Roundup -- September 6, 2005

Today's top stories from behind the Orange Curtain:

Derailment Shuts Train Line -- OCR
Freight accident this morning near OC-Riverside County line halts Metrolink and Inland Empire service there. No doubt this is George Bush's fault.

Scouts Face Loss Of Treasured Site -- OCR
Laguna Beach may sell the land beneath Girl Scout house to pay for landslide damage.

Brothers In Arms Meet-Up -- OCR
OC deputies replenish Jefferson Parish, LA department's supplies.

Desalinization Plant To Get Second Chance -- OCR
Poseidon Resources going before Huntington Beach Council tonight.

Fullerton Talking About Sewer Fee -- OCR
City looking at commercial and residential levy to fix 100-year old pipes.

Editorial: Another Abuse Of Power In Huntington Beach -- OCR
The Reg opines on Pam Houchen's guilty plea.

Translating Anaheim For Asia -- LAT
Developers of Hong Kong Disneyland mindful of cultural sensitivities.

Comments

[Another Orange County PLA!!!]

Posiden has negotiated a PLA with the Orange County Building Trades Council on this Desal plant. Posiden did the same thing in San Diego. They are teaming up with the unions in the hopes of expiditing approvals. The Unions threaten developers like Posiden into agreeing to PLAs or else they will throw up environmental roadblocks to stall the projects. This is the kind of Blackmail or "Greenmail" that Unions are using to get work. If this is approved we are going to have a Large PLA in the heart of Orange County. Desal...yes! PLA...NO!

[Jimmy Madison]

Another Orange County PLA!!!-

On behalf of all Greek mythology fans in the world, please please please recognize the sea god's name is spelled P-O-S-E-I-D-O-N, not "Posiden." Learn it or he may smite you like he did Troy.

[Spelling Bee]

P-O-S-E-I-D-O-N, not "Posiden."

oops...I am not a known for my spelling.

[redperegrine]

Sorry Jim, I hate to be pedantic, but Poseidon didn't actually smite Troy (although he opposed the Trojan side during the War and acted as cheerleader late in the fourth quarter). In fact, much earlier he and Apollo had built the walls around the city.

Poseidon did, however, smite Laocoon, his erstwhile priest at Troy, by sending a giant sea serpent to eat him and his boys.

[Jimmy Madison]

Well, he indirectly smote (smote?) Troy by allowing the walls he built to be breached. (I knew he built the walls.) It's been a while since I read the Illiad, so I forget what changed his mind, but I know he supported the Greeks in the end. He didn't feverishly support the Trojans like Hera and Athena, but his support was certainly pivotal.

[Jimmy Madison]

OOPS! Please read "Greeks" in the final sentence of the previous post not "Trojans." BIG mistake. BIG mistake. My apologies.

[redperegrine]

Sorry again Jim, the walls of Troy weren't "breached." The Trojans brought the big wooden horse full of Greeks into their city. The latter then snuck out of the horse at night and opened up the city gates for their awaiting comrades. From whence we get the phrase "beware of Greeks bearing gifts" a somewhat awkward English translation of "timeo Danae et dona ferentes."

[Jimmy Madison]

Greek infiltration of the City-State of Troy was a breach of the walls, if not literally then figuratively. Walls are figuratively considered the boundaries of Troy. That the Greeks did so with Trojan cooperation and trickery, without destroying the walls' framework is not an acceptible objection to the use of "breach." Simantics my classics compadre. Simantics.

Dictionary def of breach: An opening, tear, or rupture.

In a hallowed wooden horse, through the front gate WAS an opening.

[Jimmy Madison]

of course I meant "semantics" not "simantics"

[redperegrine]

and "hollowed" not "hallowed."

[Union invasion]

Well now that that is out of the way...The Labor unions are using a trojan horse "P-O-S-E-I-D-O-N" to breach the Orange Curtain in order to attach their cancerous Project Labor Agreement to a major development project in the heart of Orange County.

[Jimmy Madison]

Thank you redperegrine.

[Jerry Amante]

Great Thread...although, as a BRUIN, I like neither Trojan's, Their Horses. or their PLA's...a pox on them all!

[Jimmy Madison]

I haven't a clue as to why I am all thumbs at the keyboard today.

[Allan Bartlett]

Right on Jerry! I hate that stupid horse they have on the sidelines. I'm a Bruin fan all the way. I even named my blog after them!

Powder Blue Report

[Jimmy Madison]

David-

Please recognize classics is merely a hobby of mine. I know you graduated cum laude in History. I do not aim to challenge your proficiency in the study.

[Jubal]

Allan:

I've long pondered the etymology of your blog's name. Thanks for putting my mind a little more at ease.

[Jim Lacy]

Yeah. As a Trojan I usually associate powder blue with fairies.

[Ouch!]

Wow Jim,

That was a bit harsh. It is a little scary when elected officials use such discriminatory language. What exactly do you mean when you say fairies in that conotation?

[C and G]

I won't speak for Jim. But if you read A Midsummer's Night Dream, you'll get the point.