From Stark
It’s April Fools Day again, and the Politics Blog security system has already fended off a press release announcing that Mayor Dan Pike has ordered the city to convert to the metric system to accommodate visiting Canadians. Nice try.
This April Fools Day is a special one for me. It’s the 30th anniversary of a hoax that was perpetrated on us 30 years ago by former Sheriff Larry Mount and the late Doug Gill, who was, I believe, undersheriff at the time.
Two days earlier, John Hinckley had become the most infamous man in America after wounding President Ronald Reagan in an assasssination attempt.
On April Fools Day, the Herald’s cops reporter was making his rounds at the sheriff’s office when he noticed a bulletin coming out of the office telex machine, which was used in those days to relay law enforcement information on fugitives and so forth.
This message was special. It informed the sheriff’s office that because of threats on Hinckley’s life, he would be transferred to a secret location: the Whatcom County Jail.
I wasn’t there, but as I remember the reporter’s retelling of the episode from 30 years ago, the reporter said Gill and Mount were yelling at him for peeking at this top-secret message.
The reporter raced back to the newsroom where a spirited ethical discussion broke out about whether we had a greater duty to our readers’ right to know, versus the legitimate security concerns of law enforcement.
This discussion lasted just a few minutes before someone realized what day it was. There was never any danger of this appearing in print.
I shudder to think what might have happened in a similar situation today. 
So, my plan to announce on this day, my candidacy for Mayor wouldn’t get through you scrutiny??? Oh, well, it was worth a try……….. Lisa McShane was to be my campaign chair; but, never mind…….
Thanks for the great story. But, it really makes me wonder just how much of our “news” might be complete and utter BS fabricated by some PR flack.
I’ve already heard rumors about the metric system. Are you sure it’s an April Fools day hoax?
On alert huh.
Which are true and which are not?
Bachmann says radiation is healthy.
Palin discounts autographed portraits for the homeless.
Haley Barbour says abortion deaths caused Social Security woes.
Gingrich opposes all sides at once in debate of Libya action.
Rand Paul bill makes Libertarianism mandatory.
Pfizer markets Limbaugh-based pharmaceutical mix.
Doc Hastings blames Kenyan Muslim for gas prices.
Trump reveals his own fake birth certificate.
Huckabee pulls even in race with Obama among Fox employees.
Hey, I just got a press release that the Oxford English Dictionary has announced that the word gullible shall be removed from being listed in its future editions.
And also, learn from my mistake, today is the worst day to let your guard down around anyone who says “pull my finger”.
Stan, why not give it a try? Shake people out of their complacency.
Its going around Facebook now, and I think I heard it on KISM this afternoon. Heres the link to the website but its listed in a ton of places online if you google WCLTPC you see a ton of articles.
http://wcltpc.com/
Has the mayor verified this is a hoax?
Haha, http://www.bellinghamherald.com/webcam/
Just to be clear, I know that Stan’s message was a hoax. Lisa McShane has already agreed to do double duty as my campaign manager, plus take on the new city position of Director of Metric Compliance.
I’m going to out myself. I, Shaun, am actually John Stark, (which is also another of my pen names,) and I am tired of doing restaurant reviews because there are too many wonderful, world class restaurants in Bellingham to write about any more and I am getting extremely fat (400 lbs last weigh in) doing it. But I will be on the next season of Biggest Loser
Oh and that picture of me is actually an old PR photo when I tested for a part in Harry Potter and photo shopped my head over Jared’s body. Of course the adam’s apples on both of us were also a result of photoshopping.
Also, not sure if everyone has heard that congress is passing a program to require early retirement of anyone over 50, they call it Retired Aged Persons Early program and you can read all about it here. You might also note at the end that due to the prices of electricity and gas, the light at the end of the tunnel has been shut off….
http://www.netjeff.com/humor/item.cgi?file=EarlyRetirementPlan
Wow, check out what the Govenor just announced!
http://www.educationvoters.org
Here’s a year round April fool’s joke…
Go to the main page of the bellinghamherald, and scroll down to all the blog links, then click on the business blog.
Not just for April fools. It’s always like that.
I am amazed at the number of people asking us to verify if the metric thing is really a hoax.
What makes you think it’s a hoax?
These peeps are building the wall around our country and they don’t give a peep about metric..
http://www.blinkx.com/watch-video/peep-floyd-the-wall/n2veUh7x320oe4Cncq3FfA
If only this were not true…..
http://www.zimbio.com/Japan+Earthquake+2011/articles/ByEu_2dERcU/Japanese+finally+admit+radiation+leak+seriousy this were not true….
And oh if only this were a hoax and a bad dream, but free speech is a beautiful thing that needs to be tempered at times…..and some nutsy Christians maybe need to frogwalk at Gitmo as well….How about waterboarding Terry Jones just for fun…..
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/two-beheaded-florida-quran-burning-triggers-massacre-at-un-office-in-afghanistan/
It’s about time. We should have gone metric 30 years ago.
@ Shaun
Why should anyone be punished for someone else’s deeds??? It is a sad day when you can blame someone else for a murder thousands of miles away.
Yeah nut, words and deeds have consequences. Especially when one nut is garnering attention for being the flaming sphincter of the planet and now this….re-education camps all around….
How different has any of it been?