The whole thing is dumb. Mt. Vernon is a good place says this former MV and Skagit County resident. Unfortunately the mayor is also dumb. That isn't the main reason he was elected, but that doesn't hinder local elections. The mayor is a local good old boy who sorta' made good by getting drafted to warm an NFL bench. Consequently he is immensely popular even tho he is dumb, and has done what looks like to many as a dumb thing - extending a key to the city to another local boy made good - Glen Beck - who just also happens to be a dummy.

But the overall idea is good, and Mayor Norris should be commended for that. Even if Beck is dumb, he is popular with all the local dumb conservatives who soak up self righteous conservative talk radio like sponges. So they sold a ton of tickets at $25 a pop (900 I heard) to people who have nothing better to do with their lives or money to listen to Beck foam at the mouth. And the money goes to a good local cause, preserving and maintaining the Lincoln Theater which hosts plays and concerts that are actually attended by slightly more liberals than conservatives. Therefore it makes absolutely no sense for the liberals to get upset over letting Beck have a symbolic key and letting conservatives pay more than their fair share to preserve the Lincoln Theater.

So even tho it's irrefutable that Mayor Norris is dumb as a stump, this is actually one of the brightest ideas they guy has ever brought forth - a simple and effective fund raiser for the community. That there is a controversy is as dumb as the mayor is on a typical day. Yes I used to know Norris.

Sg