Wednesday, December 03, 2008

Suttle's Pope-dream

Remember the movie "Night Shift" where Michael Keaton's character was an "idea man" who constantly came up with brain flashes?

Microwave pants! (Bake a potato in your pocket!)
Just feed the tuna fish mayonnaise!
Edible paper! (You eat it, it's gone!)
Well, Omaha City Councilman and announced Mayoral candidate Jim Suttle has given new meaning to the term "idea man", as evidenced in his recent interview with KFAB's Scott Voorhees. We present a brief outtake here, and ask you to please watch this two-minute masterpiece...



For those of you who couldn't watch, Councilman Suttle suggests for the balance of time that the new stadium is free, we

1) Get Archbishop Elden Curtiss to get Pope Benedict to come to the new stadium. (Because, you know, why wouldn't the Pope want to roll in and do a few gigs to help Omaha pay for their baseball stadium.)
and
2) wait for it...Put in a.... TOBOGGAN RUN!
We kid you not. He really said it.

You see:
"You look at how high it's gonna be, and how you could do twists and turns all the way down into the infield, and uh, how you could generate snow..."
And, yes, he seems to be serious about this proposal.

A few months back Councilman Suttle was railing against the whole idea of the new stadium, trying to save Rosenblatt. Sure, that was an OK idea. Lots of people agreed with that concept.

But Suttle's plan for how to generate the needed money for the stadium was almost (almost) as goofy as his Papal Toboggan Run.

We ridiculed him back then for his idea for a five-county tax -- including counties in Nebraska and Iowa -- to pay for improvements to Rosenblatt. We labeled him Councilman Kookypants. (It alliterated.)

But we never thought we'd see him come up with something this goofy.

Now we are just waiting for what comes next.
(Please leave your ideas in the comments section.)



***

How about Governor Dave Heineman passing along economic advice to President-elect Obama, in an envelope? That takes some gumption these days, eh?

By the way, Heineman is a former Airborne Ranger. He ain't afraid of much.

***

For your Mayoral campaign website clicking pleasure:
Hal Daub
Jim Suttle
Jim Vokal
Van Argyrakis
Jerry Odom

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24 comments:

Eric said...

What do we do with the baseball stadium when the CWS isn't in town? Oh I don't know, how about we get a baseball team to play there?

Anonymous said...

I think Mr. Daub has the best website of the 2008 & 2009 election cycles

Anonymous said...

This was hysterical. Congratulations.

Anonymous said...

I think Suttle has hired Lormong Lo as economic development advisor. Remember when Lormong wanted to build a canal linking Carter Lake to downtown Omaha. The Pope wouldn't have to bring the Pope-mobile when he visits. I'm sure the Pope has a gondola (probably called the Pope-gola) that he could ride in on from the airport to the ballpark and make his grand entrance on the Pope-boggan!

Maybe Suttle, if mayor, (I shudder at the thought) could then issue a proclamation renaming Omaha to Pope-aha.

Aahhhhhhhhhh the maddness!

Anonymous said...

OMG, yes. Hal's website is BY FAR the best one out there. If people are to vote by who has the best website, Hal wins hands down.

Anonymous said...

OK. I rescind my Suttle-is-the-front-runner statement from yesterday. Maybe he should take the Jim Esch approach to campaigning: put out yard signs and shut up.

Here's some more ideas: giant skateboard park. BMX track. Demolition derby. Farmer's market where the produce is actually grown at the staduim. Maybe go pick it yourself. Vala's Downtown. Flood it for an outdoor skating rink. Paintball. Rodeo. Bullfights. Outdoor concerts. Home of the Omaha Royals.

The Pope idea though...is the Pope going to come every year?

Anonymous said...

So, having the pope come here is supposed to make us money? Doesn't it cost about a gazillion dollars just to put the plastic bubble around him?

Anonymous said...

If the Pope doesn't visit, will Jim Martin? He's the Democrat who just lost the Georgia Senate run-off. Any comments (vulgar or otherwise) about this from the NNN crowd?

Eric said...

SS,

You've got an extra www in that Van Argyrakis link. But then again, his site doesn't appear to be working properly, so why should your link?

Street Sweeper said...

Who am I, Al Gore?
(Link fixed...)

Anonymous said...

What, no link for Jerry Odom?

Anonymous said...

Dave Heineman giving "economic advice" to President-elect Obama? Are you serious? His economic advice includes to balance the budget, lower taxes, fix education, and bring energy independence?

Is he serious? Did a 5th grader write the letter for him? Could he be any more simplistic? How embarrasing for the State of Nebraska! How fast do you think THAT letter ended up in Obama's circular file? Seriously! It sounds about as dumb as Lee Terry's "energy plan" or his "economic plan" he put out during his campaign.

Hmmmm, did the same person who wrote Heineman's "letter" write Terry's "plans"?

Anonymous said...

And why does it take gumption for a governor of a state to give a letter to the future president of the U.S.? Why should we expect anyone to be afraid of doing that?

Anonymous said...

What is the field going to be? Natural Grass or FieldTurf?

Anonymous said...

Ah yes, that's the Jim I know. Hand that man a pudding. Then again, I'll bet the Pope has a wicked curve ball, ya know, with his connections and all. He can throw out the first pitch. Plus, just think of THAT hat day. Or, we could go old-school Rome and make it like the Colliseum so Jim could exact vengence on people who disagree with him. Don't take my ideas Jim. I know how you all like to take things from others, and use side-deals to do it.

Anonymous said...

How much money can Vokal raise???

Anonymous said...

Vokal can raise about half of what he would need to win.

Anonymous said...

Home of the Omaha Royals? What a concept! I seem to recall Stein insisting on a new stadium right after he bought the Royals, and now that Omaha taxpayers are stuck with the bill for building one -- oh, it's too BIG! How pathetic. Instead of working to FILL it, he's decided to beg the taxpayers of Sarpy County to foot a $34 million bill for a smaller stadium -- and the county commishes are falling all over themselves to take productive land (ag or commercial) out of the tax base to be utilized for one of the four seasons. Here's an idea -- a baseball community, where Omaha and Sarpy residents ALL get hit with another tax burden to subsidize Stein and his boys of summer at the stadium they demanded. Or better yet, send them packing.

Anonymous said...

Sweeper your Night Shift quotes date you!!! Very funny...I always liked this one.. "Pimps?! Are you saying we should become pimps?......Pimps is an ugly word. We could call ourselves love brokers!"

So Jim, Jim and Hal are "Love Brokers"

Anonymous said...

MECA will take of filling the stadium. Suttle can start working on other things like the sewers, crime, and the municipal contracts.

How about a Renaissance Fair? Winter X Games! 'Cause, you know, the stadium will be very high.

Anonymous said...

Chuck said...
Home of the Omaha Royals? What a concept! I seem to recall Stein insisting on a new stadium right after he bought the Royals, and now that Omaha taxpayers are stuck with the bill for building one -- oh, it's too BIG! How pathetic. Instead of working to FILL it, he's decided to beg the taxpayers of Sarpy County to foot a $34 million bill for a smaller stadium -- and the county commishes are falling all over themselves to take productive land (ag or commercial) out of the tax base to be utilized for one of the four seasons. Here's an idea -- a baseball community, where Omaha and Sarpy residents ALL get hit with another tax burden to subsidize Stein and his boys of summer at the stadium they demanded. Or better yet, send them packing.

7:44 PM, December 04, 2008


Nice idea, not feasible. Last year the average attendance for any AAA team in the International, Pacific and Mexican leagues for 2008:

IL: 7,317
PL: 6,504 (Omaha Royals League)
ML: 4,850

So, lets stick them in a 25,000 seat stadium. Whatever!

I will most certainly take my kids to the park in LaVista. Much closer to my home.

Anonymous said...

I have my copy of the Blumenthal "Bowling for Dollars" New year's eve party funraiser invitation. Wow I can pay $50.00 to hang out with Baird Holm attorneys and special host Jim Vokal on New Year's Eve....Sign me up!!!this is better than watching paint dry...lol

Anonymous said...

Couple of interesting races since the Nov. election: Georgia Senate and Louisiana 2nd CD. Both had tremendous fall-off in turnout with Obama not on the ballot and the Republican candidate won handily. Doesn't bode well for the Dems in Congress in 2010 or Jim Suttle, but Obama could certainly use a Republican Congress to his advantage in 2012 just like Clinton did in 1996. (Bill Clinton might not have really been the 1st black President, but Obama is looking like the 2nd Clinton President). I was thinking Suttle was the front-runner because of the superb job the Obama campaign did getting out the vote, but apparently Obama's coattails work only when he's wearing the coat. I still think Daub needs to get Vokal out of the race somehow.

Anonymous said...

When I first read about Suttle's suggestions I thought "What on earth is he smoking?". But as I thought about it...heh...I realized it was no more nuttier than building the stadium in the first place.

I get weary of Omaha looking like a laughingstock due to situations like these. I also get weary of the constant increase in property taxes to pay for these fiascoes.