Diane Downs: Murder Mom Up for Parole Today

Diane Downs, the subject of true crime author Ann Rule's book, Small Sacrifices is up for parole on December 9 in the state of Oregon.

The horrific crimes against Diane Downs' children, and the person who committed them, gained the attention of the national press after Downs showed up at McKenzie-Willamette Hospital in Springfield, Oregon, on the evening of May 19, 1983. Inside Downs' car, hospital personnel found an unbelievable scene: tucked in Downs' blood spattered Nissan, all three of her children in critical condition from gunshot wounds, while an "ashen" faced Downs kept repeating the same phrase: "somebody just shot my kids".

The Bushy Hair Stranger

Downs, who had suffered a gunshot wound to her forearm, told authorities that while on a drive home from visiting friends, Downs, with her children in the car, had encountered a "bushy haired stranger" on a dark road. Downs claimed the man waved her car over. Thinking he needed help, Downs said she stopped and then got out of her car to talk to him. It was then, according to Downs, that the man, whom Diane described as a "busy haired stranger", demanded her car. When she refused, the man pulled a gun from under his jacket then leaned in and began shooting her kids: eight-year-old Christie, seven-year-old Cheryl, and three-year-old Danny.


Since Downs' injuries were non-life threatening and her children were being cared for by the emergency room staff, the Lane County Sheriff's office asked Downs to accompany them back to the scene of the crime. An all-points bulletin was issued for the "bushy haired stranger". Diane led them to Old Mohawk Road next to the McKenzie river.

It was Diane Downs' behavior that first alerted the hospital staff and authorities that perhaps Downs wasn't telling the truth. When she returned to the hospital and was given the news that the medical staff had been unable to save 7-year-old Cheryl, hospital personnel found her "too accepting" and stoic, instead of "hysterical". When told that her 3-year-old son Danny had a chance to survive, Downs responded with "Do you mean the bullet missed his heart? Gee whiz!".

Detectives questioned Downs at the hospital. They had learned, prior to the conversation with Downs, that the weapon used was most likely a .22 caliber pistol. They also learned that powder burns from the weapon were found on the children. This meant that whoever pulled the trigger had done so in very close proximity. At a later date, forensic investigation found blood splay patterns that indicated the weapon had been fired from the left, or driver's side. When detectives asked Downs if she owned any guns, she told them she owned a .38 caliber pistol and a .22 caliber rifle.

Detectives also learned that Downs was 27-year-old postal worker who had recently relocated to Oregon from Arizona after a divorce. The move brought Downs and her kids close to where her parents lived while she worked for the post office at the Cottage Grove district. Diane's father had also been a postal worker.


Downs told the detectives that when she saw the "bushy haired stranger" in the middle of the road, she thought he might need help. She purportedly stopped her car and then got out. It was then, Downs claimed, that the man pulled a gun from under his denim jacket and demanded her car keys. When she refused, she claimed the man leaned down and began firing into the car at her children through the driver's side window. When he reached for her keys, Downs claimed she fought back. She then managed to get into her car where the man allegedly fired yet another shot, wounding Diane's forearm. Diane told the detectives that she then "stepped on the gas" and "raced" to the hospital, leaving the man behind.

Continue reading:
Diane Downs, “Small Sacrifices” Murder Mom, up For Parole - page 2

Jennifer Moss: Construction Workers Complain about Naked Lady

Jennifer Moss is back in the news--this time in Portland, Oregon.

It seems the Naked Lady is still--naked?

ALSO at DBKP: * Jennifer Moss: To March Topless in July 4th Parade–or She Sues * Jennifer Moss: The Naked Lady Pictures and Videos * Pastie Lady Rolls North to Oregon * Jennifer Moss, Pastie Lady: Environmental Exhibitionist Too Liberal for Liberal Town

FOXnews refers to her as "Gennifer Moss".

Portland Police took a waterfront Lady Godiva down a notch this week.

Barely.

They were getting calls about a nude on-line skater whizzing past tourists and rush-hour commuters. But you can do that in Oregon, where occasional nude bike rides draw police only for crowd control and shows featuring live sex acts are protected as free speech.

The skater, Gennifer Moss, aka Earth Friend Gen, asked organizers for permission this summer to skate naked in the city of Ashland's Fourth of July parade. She didn't get it.

You know you're in trouble when construction workers complain about to the police about your nudity.


by Mondo
hat tip: pat
image: dbkp file

Kent Couch: Oregon Man Pilots Lawn-Chair to Idaho

9 Hours, 235 Miles, 150 Balloons




Kent Couch is no couch potato.

Couch, a 48-year-old gas station owner from Grants Pass, OR, attached 150 giant party balloons to a lawn chair, filled them with helium and sailed away into the wild blue yonder.

Well, into Idaho over the Fourth of July weekend.

Reports said that Couch's goal was to fly 300 miles or more from "his gas station in central Oregon to somewhere in Idaho, preferably Boise."

If at first you don't succeed, fly, fly again. This was Couch's third attempt at lawn-chair flying.

“The first time, nobody wanted to be involved at all,” Mr. Couch told the Associated Press in a phone interview Wednesday. “They were thinking I was a lunatic, I mean a balloon-atic. My friends shunned me. But this time it's different. “

Couch is part of a small, but dedicated group of flying lawn-chair enthusiasts.

* Priest Tethered to Helium Balloons Still Missing off Coast of Brazil, details the exploits of these brave, some say crazy, souls, including Couch's earlier attempts.

Mr. Couch made his first ascent in 2006, floating for six hours before shooting out a few balloons with his pellet gun to descend. He apparently shot out too many balloons because he had to use his parachute to land. He never found the lawn chair.

Last year, he flew 193 miles before running low on helium and landing in a patch of sagebrush. A gust of wind blew away that chair. It was found in May by a ranchers checking the fence line on their eastern Oregon property.

Couch said that while flying in a lawn chair tied to ballooons is "inherently risky, the ride is generally carefree".

Couch's flying machine may be somewhat primitive, but his flying technique is also low-tech.

“If I get up around 15,000 feet, I'll pop a couple balloons,” Mr. Couch said. “If I get too low, I'll release some water. All the way you go it's like a seesaw, up and down, up and down. You can't feel yourself going up and down. You have to look at the altimeter.”

So how did Kent Couch do? Did he make it, or will there be a fourth attempt?

The Aerodynamics of Flying a Lawn Chair Powered by Helium Balloons * LIFT: Each giant helium-filled balloon gives about four pounds of lift. Couch's lawn-chair getup weighs about 400 pounds; Couch and his parachute, about 200. About 150 balloons are needed to lift the total of 600 pounds into the air. * MEASUREMENTS: Couch uses an altimeter, a device which shows how high off the ground he is. Parachutists use an watch-like altimeter strapped to their wrists--Couch probably used one of these. Some reports also said he carried a Global Positioning System device. * CONTROLS: To descend, Kent Couch uses a BB-gun pistol to pop a few balloons. A blow gun with steel darts was also used, according to some reports. "I'd go to 30,000 feet if I didn't shoot a balloon down periodically," Mr. Couch said. To gain altitude, he dumps some of the 45 gallons of Kool-Aid he brings along. * COMMUNICATION: Couch's communication system consisted of a satellite phone.

Kent Couch created a sensation in the tiny farming community of Cambridge, Idaho, where he touched down safely in a pasture and was soon greeted by dozens of people who gave him drinks of water, local plumber Mark Hetz said.

"My wife works at the City Market," Mr. Hetz said. "She called and said, 'The balloon guy in the lawn chair just flew by the market, and if you look out the door you can see him.'"

"We go outside to look, and lo and behold, there he is. He's flying by probably 100 to 200 feet off the ground.

"He takes his BB gun and shoots some balloons to lower himself to the ground. When he hit the ground he released all the little tiny balloons. People were racing down the road with cameras. They were all talking and laughing."

The 235-mile journey by helium-balloon-in-lawn-chair took about nine hours.

Couch was encouraged by his trusty spouse, Susan.

"He's crazy."

What's does the future hold for Kent Couch?

One report said that "if all goes well this year, the lawn-chair pilot says he'd like to fly across the English Channel and even Australia."

The world is your oyster--once you've flown to another state in your lawn-chair.

Sources:
* Man flying to Idaho in chair
* The Flying Lawn Chair Open Registration Thread - Closed
* Lawn-chair pilot lands safely in Idaho

Oregon Health Care: Suicide is Painless--and Cheaper

The Oregon Health Plan:
When the Government Runs Health Care

"Elect me and your health care problems will all be over." The people of Oregon fell for that line almost 20 years ago. Expecting Utopia, what they got was a reality check: a lottery to pick who's covered and suicide coverage--instead of cancer drugs.

In 1989. Oregon became the second State, after Hawaii, to attempt complete medical coverage of it's citizens.

It has not gone as planned.

In fact, it seems to be approaching disaster. Within a few year:

In early 2003, the Oregon Health Plan (OHP) implemented cost saving strategies, reducing benefits and increasing cost-sharing for a substantial portion of its members

Cost-sharing meant that people were being charged premium for the previously funded care. So we have a reduction in Medical care and services, and increased cost. But the degeneration of the plan did not end there. In March of this year, wire services carried the following:

Tens of thousands of Oregonians queued up quickly for a chance at the state’s latest lottery, but this one is no game.

Officials began drawing names last week for a chance at some rare openings in the state’s healthcare plan.

Announced in February, the lottery drew 91,675 hopefuls in 30 days. The winners will receive a postcard notifying them that they can apply for the Oregon Health Plan.

"Budget limitations capped the Oregon Health Plan standard benefit package in mid-2004. Now the plan has room for a few thousand people. The lottery winners will be the first new applicants since the cap was imposed.

When it was fully funded, it was considered a trailblazing program.

In 1996, the benefit package enrolled five times as many people as are enrolled today, and only 10.7% of Oregon’s population lacked insurance, compared with about 16% today.

Yes, you read that correctly. Not only are the numbers of uninsured increasing dramatically, with only 24,000 insured, but to get on the 'Universal" plan, you must participate in a lottery.

In June of 2008, it got far worse.

The "Universal" plan does not, apparently include medical care for seriously potentially terminal disease.As The Catholic News Agency reported:

Oregon health plan covers assisted suicide, not drugs, for cancer patient"

Eugene, Jun 6, 2008 / 01:09 am ( CNA).- An Oregon woman suffering from lung cancer was notified by the state-run Oregon Health Plan that their policy would not cover her life-extending cancer drug, telling her the health plan would cover doctor-assisted suicide instead.

That was not a misprint.

On October 27, 1997 Oregon enacted the Death with Dignity Act which allows terminally-ill Oregonians to end their lives through the voluntary self-administration of lethal medications, expressly prescribed by a physician for that purpose.

In 2008, as a cost control measure, Oregon apparently incorporated the act into it's failing health care plan--because it is far easier to kill patients than to save them. The publicity of the story ultimately saved the patient. The manufacturer of the life preserving drug stepped up and offered it to the patient.

The story appears to be a happy ending for Barbara Wagner, who has been notified by a drug manufacturer that it will provide the expensive medication, estimated to cost $4,000 a month, for the first year and then allow her to apply for further treatment, according to a report in the Eugene Register-Guard.

But the word from the state was coverage for palliative care, which would include the state's assisted suicide program, would be allowed but not coverage for the cancer treatment drugs.

"To say to someone, we'll pay for you to die, but not pay for you to live, it's cruel," Wagner told the newspaper. "I get angry. Who do they think they are?"

Dignity?

Anything but. Oregon now has half the physicians it needs. It rations health care like no other State. It has become a bizarre replication of the Soviet health care system of old;socialism run amok.

The cure? You guessed it?

"We don't know, and the American public doesn't know, what is going to happen in the next two to three to four years nationally," Speight said. "There are things we can do at a state level that can work with a national model."

Yeah. They want you to pay for their failure and participate in this irrational death factory.

images:
* onthefencefilms
*

sources

* http://www.commonwealthfund.org/newsroom/newsroom_show.htm?doc_id=288798

* http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004255443_webinsurancelottery03.html

* http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=67565

* http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=12857

* http://www.oregon.gov/DHS/ph/pas/

Jennifer Moss: The Naked Lady Pictures and Videos

The following links will take you to Jennifer Moss pictures and videos. Be warned: they are all NSFW.

Photo #1 - Jennifer Moss: Naked Lady to March Topless in July 4 Parade-Photo 1

Photo #2 - Jennifer Moss: Naked Lady to March Topless in July 4 Parade-Photo 2

Video #1 - Jennifer Moss: Naked Lady to March Topless in July 4 Parade-Video 1
Jennifer like to skate.

Video #2 - Jennifer Moss: Naked Lady to March Topless in July 4 Parade-Video 2
"Earth Friend Jen" hugs and kisses a tree.

Video #3 - Jennifer Moss: Naked Lady to March Topless in July 4 Parade-Video 3
Jen skates around Ashland.

They are all separate links for the workplace-viewing-challenged.

by Mondoreb

Jennifer Moss: Naked Lady Threatens Lawsuit Unless She's Allowed to Go Topless in Parade

"I am wearing a hemp g-string. The real American fabric of our lives!"
--Jennifer Moss, formerly "The Pastie Lady" & "Earth Friend Jen"; new nickname: "The Naked Lady"

Jennifer Moss--with clothes on--campaigns
for the environment and hemp.


Jennifer Moss, the Environmental Exhibitionist--also known as "The Pastie Lady", "The Naked Lady" and "Earth Friend Jen"--is back in the news again. This time, the former resident of Ojai, CA has announced that she'll march--or skate--topless in the Ashland, OR (her new home) 4th of July parade.

This is not as big a step for Moss as one might think: she usually skates and bikes around town in a hemp g-string and pasties. So, she's losing about 5-6 square inches of covering for the Fourth of July event. But the town's Chamber of Commerce says the parade is a family celebration and she can't participate nearly nude.

If Moss can't roll in the parade, she says she'll sue.

No word on what she'll wear--or not wear--to court, in the event of a legal wrangle.

ALSO at DBKP: * Jennifer Moss: To March Topless in July 4th Parade–or She Sues * Jennifer Moss: The Naked Lady Pictures and Videos * Pastie Lady Rolls North to Oregon * Jennifer Moss, Pastie Lady: Environmental Exhibitionist Too Liberal for Liberal Town

Moss often rides topless through the streets of Ashland, a town that requires the groin to be covered. Apparently, the Ashland Chamber of Commerce isn't too thrilled about seeing more of Jen. They're saying that the parade is a family event and Jen's toplessness is more than most families want to see.

Moss says she'll sue the town if she isn't allowed to march, skate or ride topless.

ALSO at DBKP: * Jennifer Moss: The Naked Lady Pictures and Videos * Pastie Lady Rolls North to Oregon * Jennifer Moss, Pastie Lady: Environmental Exhibitionist Too Liberal for Liberal Town

Jen Moss has been known as "The Naked Lady" since she moved to Ashland in May from Ojai, Calif., drawn by the town's nudity laws. They specify only that people must cover their genitalia in a city park or the downtown commercial district, which means Moss need not cover her breasts.

The police in California, she says, harassed her when she rode her bicycle wearing a G-string and pasties.

The popular holiday celebration is a big deal in Ashland, drawing thousands of onlookers, including many families, according to reports.

The Ashland Chamber of Commerce learned of her coverage plans from an online posting. She promised to lead in-line skaters "wearing only a hemp G-string and blowing a conch shell."

"We don't feel that someone in the parade who is topless or nearly naked is appropriate for a family audience," said parade chairman James Kidd.

Kidd said that parade "entries must be appropriate for a family audience."

"She's welcome on any other day of the year to do that," he said. "But not on the Fourth of July while in the parade."

But not all of the City Council agrees with Kidd. Council member Eric Navickas said he's favors a topless Moss. He somehow worked in a reference to U.S. foreign policy to justify parading a topless Moss in front of the kids on the Fourth.

If she can't be in the parade, Navickas said, it would be "an interesting commentary on our society that we're willing to tolerate dead bodies through our aggressive foreign policy from the war, but not healthy, naked bodies."

Moss was arrested several times in Ojai for skating nearly nude in front of churches on Sunday as church-goers were exiting services.

After all that, she then packed up her pasties and headed north to Ashland.

The Environmental Exhibitionist professes a love for the earth, trees and hemp.

She didn't say, but her loves also include attention.

by Mondoreb
Sources/images:
* ojaivalleynews
* Oregon woman plans to parade topless on July 4
* Jennifer Moss: The Naked Lady Pictures and Videos
* Pastie Lady Rolls North to Oregon
* Jennifer Moss, Pastie Lady: Environmental Exhibitionist Too Liberal for Liberal Town

Jennifer Moss: Naked Lady to March Topless in July 4 Parade-Video 3

NSFW video
Not Safe for Work

----

Video #3: Jennifer Skates Around Ashland, OR (1:25 minutes long)
NOTE: Through about half of this video, the cameraman is taking footage of the sidewalk of Ashland.


Find more videos like this on EQ CONNECT


Jennifer Moss, formerly known as the “Pastie Lady” or “Earth Friend Jen”, when she pedaled the streets of Ojai, CA, rolled north to Ashland, OR. Now, she’s known as “The Naked Lady” and will march topless in the town’s Fourth of July parade.

Moss, pictured above, is wearing a hemp g-string. Tagged “The Environmental Exhibitionist” by DBKP, she claims that she wears her skimpy outfits to call attention to environmental issues.

Apparently, the cameraman was so moved by the persuasiveness of Moss, that he forgot to shoot her skating--for about half of the above video.

by Mondoreb
Source/image: connect.eq.tv

Jennifer Moss: Naked Lady to March Topless in July 4 Parade-Video 2

NSFW video
Not Safe for Work

----

Video #2: Jennifer Hugs and Kisses a Tree (1:14 minutes long)


Find more videos like this on EQ CONNECT


Jennifer Moss, formerly known as the “Pastie Lady” or “Earth Friend Jen”, when she pedaled the streets of Ojai, CA, rolled north to Ashland, OR. Now, she’s known as “The Naked Lady” and will march topless in the town’s Fourth of July parade.

Moss, pictured above, is wearing a hemp g-string. Tagged “The Exhibitionist Environmentalist” by DBKP, she claims that she wears her skimpy outfits to call attention to environmental issues.

by Mondoreb
Source/image: connect.eq.tv

Jennifer Moss: Naked Lady to March Topless in July 4 Parade-Photo 2

NSFW
Not Safe for Work

---

"I am wearing a hemp g-string. The real American fabric of our lives!"
--Jennifer Moss, formerly the "Pastie Lady", now known as "The Naked Lady"

Click on image to enlarge

Jennifer Moss, formerly known as the “Pastie Lady” or “Earth Friend Jen”, when she pedaled the streets of Ojai, CA, rolled north to Ashland, OR. Now, she’s known as “The Naked Lady” and will march topless in the town’s Fourth of July parade.

Moss, pictured above, is wearing a hemp g-string. Tagged “The Exhibitionist Environmentalist” by DBKP, she claims that she wears her skimpy outfits to call attention to environmental issues.

G-string: does the "g" stands for "Good golly, Miss Molly"?

by Mondoreb
Source/image: connect

Jennifer Moss: Naked Lady or Pastie Lady Photo 1

NSFW photo
Not safe for work

----

Click on image to enlarge

Jennifer Moss, formerly known as the "Pastie Lady" or "Earth Friend Jen", when she pedaled the streets of Ojai, CA, rolled north to Ashland, OR. Now, she's known as "The Naked Lady" and will march topless in the town's Fourth of July parade.

Moss, pictured above, is wearing a hemp g-string. Tagged "The Exhibitionist Environmentalist" by DBKP, she claims that she wears her skimpy outfits to call attention to environmental issues.

Makes one want to run out and hug a tree.

by Mondoreb
image/source:
* curvyjen

Jennifer Moss: Pastie Lady Leaving Ojai for Oregon

Jennifer Moss, the "Pastie Lady", who pedaled her bicycle up and down the streets of Ojai, CAL, wearing only pasties and a bikini bottom, to draw attention--she claims--to earth issues, is moving north.

To Oregon, to be exact.

The environmental exhibitionist is going to colder climes and, she's hoping, an area more hospitable to her unique discussion of environmental problems.

Jennifer Moss, 32, caused community strife and gained local celebrity for the bike rides she took daily through the center of town, clad only in a hemp G-string and pasties.

But last week, she said she'd grown tired of police harassment in the Ventura County city of 8,000, and moved to Ashland, Ore.

- - - -
ALSO at DBKP:
* Jennifer Moss, Pastie Lady: Environmental Exhibitionist Too Liberal for Liberal Town

Moss ought to be thinking of branching out--especially in a new locale.

Maybe she should see if she can add a pole to her bike.

by Mondoreb
source: Ojai's Pastie Lady Heads for Oregon

MySpace Mayor, Carmen Kontur-Gronquist Loses Her Job over Underwear Pix

Will the MySpace Mayor Ride Quietly into the Sunset?




The most famous underwear in small-town mayoral politics has surfaced--so to speak--again.

This time, it has cost Carmen Kontur-Gronquist her job as Arlington, OR mayor.

DBKP has been reporting on the curveous mayor since her sexy MySpace photos were passed around Arlington and she ran into trouble last month.

More DBKP MySpace Mayor stories: More on the adventures of the MySpace Mayor, Carmen Kontur-Gronquist and her battle to hang onto her job as the her town battled to hang onto its dignity. The stories include videos and pictures of Arlington's racy mayor and her adventures after she used the town's firetruck for a photo shoot for her MySpace page. January 13, 2008 * MySpace Mayor Poses in Underwear on Town's Firetruck January 29, 2008 * MySpace Mayor Quiet as Others Ride to Her Rescue February 26, 2008 * MySpace Mayor Loses Job after Losing all her Clothes but her Underwear

As we reported yesterday, Kontur-Gronquist, is now looking for work.

- - - - - - - - - -

From yesterday's story:

First, she stripped down to her bra and panties for pictures on the town's firetruck for her MySpace page.

Then, the town of Arlington, OR stripped Carmen Kontur-Gronquist of her job as mayor.

Voters in Arlington, population about 500, voted narrowly on Monday night to recall Carmen Kontur-Gronquist.

The tally was reportedly 142-139. City officials said the recall is effective Tuesday and at that time, the mayor will be looking for work.

Kontur-Gronquist said the pictures of her in black bra and panties were taken for use in a contest about fitness, but a relative posted them on MySpace in hopes it would improve the social life of the single mother.

The mayor was the center of a controversy when the pictures were circulated throughout the town.

Some of the citizens had a 'live and let live' attitude, saying that it was her private life and no business of anyone else.

Others replied that Kontur-Gronquist did her provocative photography on the town's property--the firetruck--and that wasn't exactly the image the small Oregon town was trying to project to the rest of the world.



The pictures predated her election, but she said she saw no reason to take them off the popular Web site, MySpace, once elected three years ago. Later, she closed access to them.

If one signed onto her MySpace page, the mayor indicated that her mood was "silly".

Opponents said it wasn't fitting for the mayor to be so depicted. They said they also disagreed with her on issues about water and the local golf course

.
And now, the MySpace Mayor will ride off into the sunset of media awareness.

Unless of course, the mayor gets a photo spread in Hustler or perhaps even Playboy, if she gets hard-up for cash, and re-enters the public consciousness.

She can take solace in one important point in her political favor.

At least her opponents can't say she had anything to hide.

- - - - - - - -

As DBKP regular pat commented, "I would have kept her."

That thought echoed many that have appeared in the recall of the lusty politician.

Carmen Kontur-Gronquist wasn't in the public eye--aside from her MySpace exposure, that is--for very long. But she seemed to us like a "fun-loving girl".

DBKP will try and ascertain what the mayor's next step will be. We haven't made contact yet, and our emails go unanswered.

Perhaps the mayor is weighing very important financial offers--like a photo shoot in something a bit more lucrative than MySpace.

Playboy, anyone?

Attempts to contact Carmen will continue. People seem to be interested in the plucky--if injudicious--politician. And we don't feel like we know anything about her, really.

We'd hate to see her just fade away.

Carmen, we hardly knew ye.

by Mondoreb
image: file; FOX
Source: Oregon Residents recall Mayor who posed in underwear on firetruck



Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.

MySpace Mayor Quiet as Others Ride to Her Rescue

MySpace Mayor Mum As Others Take up Her Cause

Who knew Posing in Bra, Panties Would Excite Such Debate?

MySpace: A Place for Friends--even Mayors

Carmen Kontur-Gronquist, the MySpace Mayor of Arlington, OR, has been laying low for the last ten days or so.

The mayor achieved her 15 minutes of fame by posing in her bra and panties on the town's firetruck for her MySpace page pictures.

She then faced the town and some irate citizens at the town's yearly meeting a few days later.

Finally, she showed up on ABC's 20/20 to plead her case, which was in effect, "Girls just want to have fun."

Since the 20/20 appearance, the MySpace Mayor is apparently a believer in the maxim, "No news is good news". She's disappeared from media sight.

The town's still talking about it, but the bigger media outlets have moved back to global warming, the 2008 presidential campaign and the latest in the Britney Spears' train wreck that is her life.

Voices are being raised in the predictable calls for "tolerance" and "not being judgmental".

A look at the controversy that still percolates in Arlington OR, and what others in the Pacific Northwest neighborhoods of other Oregon towns are saying.

Most of them are of the Rodney King variety: "Can't we just all get along?"

The mayor's opponents say Kontur-Gronquist did not deliver on a promise to lower water rates, and that she is trying to close the city golf course. But there is no denying the embarrassment that put this tiny town on the map.

“Placing provocative photos on the Internet using an elected official title is unacceptable,” says a statement written by Arlington's concerned citizens group. “Due to the seriousness of these concerns, we are asking for the mayor's immediate resignation. If she is not willing to resign, we are prepared to proceed with a recall.”

Other residents urged the community to come together and solve the problem diplomatically.

“We can't divide this town-- I mean, we can, it's up to you,” said Frank Burgese. “But I challenge all sides to sit down and pound out some sort of agreement with each other, so this doesn't rise to the level of a recall, so this doesn't rise to the level of national ridicule. It's kinda sorta already there right now.”

Those who stand behind the mayor say say the only people who should be embarrassed are the people who exposed the mayor by sending her photos to the media and turning their quiet town into a media circus.

The expected outpouring of support from those who don't want to be guilty of the modern world's worst sin--being judgmental--materialized.

From the Oregonian, someone named Scott Beckwith chimed in with his support of the MySpace Mayor.

Like a defense attorney pleading with the jury in a death penalty case, Beckwith wants to know, "What was the MySpace Mayor really guilty of doing?"

Arlington's mayor, Carmen Kontur-Gronquist, has taken a lot of heat since photos of her in her undies appeared on MySpace. Some say the entire episode brought disgrace upon the little Eastern Oregon city. I must say I agree. But what exactly was disgraceful? Was it the underwear? The fact that she posed on a fire truck? The fact that she has refused to resign? Hardly.

Mayors are often the butt of a lot of provincial jokes. You hear people chuckle at the insinuation of small-town corruption, of the mayor being on the take from businesses or developers, or being essentially a useless figurehead who panders to the locals for the sake of votes.

Beckwith then waxes nostalgic on the time he was elected mayor of a small town and a lady told him she liked how he looked in jeans.

Of course, he has harsh words--he calls them "fuddy-duddies"--for anyone not subscribing to his tolerant, values-free judgment. At the same time, he allows how he can appreciate all the hard work goes into the creation of an elected official hard-body.

Mayor Kontur-Gronquist is a credit to Arlington. The fuddy-duddies who have demanded her ouster have done far more damage to their city's image than their mayor's well-sculpted body ever could.

One Oregon newspaper theorized that the worst sin of all was--Puritanism. And it was taking place, not on MySpace, but in little Arlington, Oregon.

Apparently, a substantial number of people who read the Tri-City Herald didn't know that they were reading such an arbiter of social mores.

Although the Herald didn't mention it, some serious thought went into the editorial process about whether to include the phrase, "witch burning" in their editorial.

Another media voice crying out, "Come on! This is 2008! Everybody's doing it!"

Apparently a substantial number of people in Arlington, Ore., have never been to the beach or the mall.

Some of the little town’s citizens said they were shocked when Arlington Mayor Carmen Kontur-Gronquist posted on her MySpace site a picture of herself in a black bra and panties, standing next to a fire truck.

"Resign!" cried some citizens. And, when she wouldn’t, "Recall!" was the threat.

Less easily outraged citizens may see this as 19th century values trying to claw their way into the 20th century while the rest of us are in the 21st.

Bikini-clad women at any beach and models pictured in the windows of Victoria’s Secret shops at any mall are far more revealing than the mayor’s photos.

Mayor Kontur-Gronquist obviously works out and it’s no surprise she wants her friends to see what she’s accomplished.

The offended citizens of Arlington have no more reason to complain, however. The mayor restricted access to her site to her friends.

Puritanism lives. Not on MySpace, but in Arlington.

Readers in the Tri-City area who have opinions about what is--and isn't--acceptable behavior for a town employee on city property are guilty of Puritanism.

And they said it couldn't happen here.
How is it that the worst sins some people think can be committed are "Puratanism" and being "judgmental"?

Isn't it being "judgmental" to judge people guilty of those sins?

ORIGINAL DBKP story: MySpace Mayor Poses in Bra and Panties on Town Firetruck --pictures, story and video report of the original controversy and the town's attempt to recall Carmen Kontur-Gronquist.

by Mondoreb
image: kimatv
Sources:
* Arlington Residents Confront Mayor Over MySpace Photos
* Another Paper's View
* Arlington Mayor Deserves Support



DBKP.com - Bigger, Better!.
Back to DBKP at Blogger Front Page

MySpace Mayor Poses in Underwear on Town Firetruck

Victoria's Secret, Look Out!

Calmly Fights off Recall Efforts

Mayor is on fire;
So are some of her constituents

"I'm not going to change who I am. There's a lot of officials that have a personal life, and you have people in this community who have nothing better to do than scrape up stuff like this."

--Arlington, OR Mayor Carmen Kontur-Gronquist

Curvaceous MySpace Mayor, Carmen Kontur-Gronquist, now has her MySpace page set to "private", but the casual searcher can still see that the Arlington, OR Mayor describes her mood as "silly".

The townspeople who are leading the charge for her recall are a little more subdued.

And anyone can still see that the Mayor was logged in yesterday, a few days after her provocative MySpace pictures hit the public airwaves. Her MySpace account had already been set to "Private" by then, but not before someone had tipped off the local TV station, KATU, to the MySpace Mayor's photo shoot alongside the Arlington town firetruck.

Kontur-Gronquist also doubles as the fire department's executive secretary.

So, she's in the clear--she probably gave herself permission to use the Arlington firewagon for the "Mayors Gone Wild" backdrop.

Be that as it may, the town's annual meeting was this past Wednesday night.

Some citizens campaigned for the Mayor's recall. From all reports, she seemed as calm at the town meeting before the citizens who had gathered to voice their concerns.

One wonders if the Mayor was employing an old trick that speakers have used for years to cure "butterflies in the stomach".

Imagine that everyone in the room is in their underwear.

Or maybe not.

Mayor Carmen Kontur-Gronquist - who created a stir with her decision to post a photograph of herself, clad only in a black bra and panties, on her MySpace page - calmly listened to and then ignored calls for her resignation.

In a town of 500, as is Arlington's population, 30 citizens are about 6%--but how many of them were voters?

And how many had just showed up for the drama?

Nearly 30 citizens stood with Ron Miller Wednesday night as he addressed Kontur-Gronquist at a council meeting that attracted far more than the usual number of constituents. Miller listed five complaints against the mayor - the first four dealing with city business and, lastly, the photo of the scantily clad mayor on a town fire truck.

"The apparent lack of city leadership has become so blatant we feel a change needs to be made," he said. Miller said if the mayor was unwilling to resign, the group would proceed with a recall petition.

Earlier this past week, the following was the typical report that most of the nation saw on the MySpace Mayor's shenanigans.

Some of the mayor's roughly 500 constituents will want to know her views on the issues affecting the Eastern Oregon community; others will want to talk about her underwear.

The mayor's lingerie is a hot topic here, with some residents upset that she posted pictures of herself wearing only a black bra and panties on her MySpace page. She was on one of the town's fire engines.

Kontur-Gronquist's MySpace page is blocked to all but her friends, but the pictures were at one time available to all users. Someone sent the picture at the top of the page to local TV station, KATU, last week.

This is what the local station had to report.


In an interview with the (Pendleton) East Oregonian, the mayor said she did nothing wrong and those who are offended need to get over it.

"That's my personal life," she said. "It has nothing to do with my mayor's position."

Kontur-Gronquist, who is also the fire department's executive secretary, said the photos were taken before she was elected mayor three years ago, and she saw no reason to remove them from the Internet after taking office.

"I'm not going to change who I am," she said. "There's a lot of officials that have a personal life, and you have people in this community who have nothing better to do than scrape up stuff like this."

Lorena Woods is one of those residents who say the photos of a scantily clad mayor reflect badly on Arlington.

"It's a picture of her in bra and panties on a rural protection fire truck in a rural protection fire hall," Woods said. "This isn't the way we want our city to be portrayed."

Councilman Jeff Bufton said he's heard a lot of negative comments about the pictures but declined to say whether the council plans to address the topic.

Some residents said they were starting a recall petition.

And at least one city council member is speaking out, saying the photos are inappropriate and send the wrong message to kids.

"It gives the impression that it's just OK to do whatever you feel like doing, whenever, and not have any kind of concern about how it might affect other people, and that is a big concern I have," council member Alice Courtney told KATU.


Nothing up my sleeve...

Will the Mayor be recalled?

Will Carmen Kontur-Gronquist be thrown out on her ear, to fend for herself in a cruel and unfeeling world?

Will she apply to Victoria's Secret for an open model position?

Will the lingerie company tell her they'll hire her, but she has to supply her own fire truck?

The crisis in Arlington, OR continues.

UPDATE: January 30, 2008 MySpace Mayor Now Quiet as Others Ride to Her Rescue

by Mondoreb
Sources:
* timworstall
* Oregon mayor ignores call for resignation amid MySpace picture scandal
Back to DBKP at Blogger Front Page