Seafair says it’s official: No Blue Angels in Seattle this year

(August 2012 Blue Angels view from Alki, photographed by Les Crimmins)
This morning, Seafair says it’s official – no Blue Angels this year, because of federal budget cuts. Here’s the announcement the festival posted minutes ago on Facebook:

Today we were officially informed by the US Navy Blue Angels that their season has been cancelled, including the Seafair performance, due to Federal Budget Cuts resulting from sequestration. The Blue Angels have flown at Seafair for over 40 years and are an important part of our history. The team will be deeply missed by Seattleites, however Seafair will continue in its traditional fashion. The Patriots Jet Team, which we previously announced, will now assume the lead spot in our world-class air show. The six-ship aerobatic team electrifies spectators with fast-paced formation flying, choreographed four-ship diamond formation aerobatic maneuvers and are highlighted by a computerized red, white and blue smoke system. Many of the pilots include past experience with the U.S. Navy Blue Angels, U.S.A.F. Thunderbirds and Royal Canadian Air Force.

In addition to the air show, Seafair Weekend will include H1 Unlimited hydroplane racing, F1 PROP Tour boat racing, a vintage hydroplane exhibition, a wakeboard competition featuring the top athletes in the sport, live music and activities such as a zip line and water slide. Seafair Weekend, and the Seafair festival overall, has evolved over the years. It is a festival with many facets – an eight week celebration that includes over 75 events and reaches nearly two million people.

We’re grateful for the support of our fans, volunteers, sponsors and beyond. Together, we’ve connected and celebrated as a community for the last 64 summers. We look forward to carrying on this long-standing tradition.

The last time Seafair went without the Blue Angels was in 1995, because of a conflict over FAA rules. They came back in 1996 and flew over Elliott Bay – we remember watching from Hamilton Viewpoint – before the Lake Washington concerns were worked out.

110 Replies to "Seafair says it's official: No Blue Angels in Seattle this year"

  • RickM April 9, 2013 (8:11 am)

    Good riddance!

  • Mike April 9, 2013 (8:16 am)

    Bye. Big waste of tax money.

  • rick April 9, 2013 (8:22 am)

    Thrilled.

  • sam-c April 9, 2013 (8:24 am)

    bummer. oh well

  • Nw April 9, 2013 (8:24 am)

    About time should have happened sooner!

  • MCL April 9, 2013 (8:31 am)

    Hooray!

  • sc April 9, 2013 (8:35 am)

    Does this mean that the Navy ships will not come also? Doing a tour on those as a child was fun. Once we even went on a submarine!

    • WSB April 9, 2013 (8:38 am)

      Excellent question, SC. We’ll see what Seafair has to say.- TR

  • j April 9, 2013 (8:36 am)

    Booooo! I will miss them this year.

  • Diane April 9, 2013 (8:59 am)

    I’m very disappointed… This is a tradition my family enjoyed very much. We’ll miss them.

  • JAT April 9, 2013 (9:00 am)

    Gawd, I am tired of the ceaseless appropriation of the word Patriot, good grief!

    I’m not saying ex-Canadian Air Force Pilots can’t be patriotic or that a bunch of ex-military pilots and flight instructors who find a way to get paid for their really cool (and very expensive) hobby can’t be patriotic, but it’s not like they’re John Adams or something…

  • Wes C. Adle April 9, 2013 (9:01 am)

    This summer just won’t sound quite the same. Bummer, but I will still be down at the lake for the boat races! A Tradition in Seattle for over 60 years…embrace Seafair!

  • phil dirt April 9, 2013 (9:03 am)

    That’s good news. They make too much noise, it’s a waste of taxpayer’s money, they clog traffic and sooner or later one of them will crash into a neighborhood. I say good riddance.

  • OP April 9, 2013 (9:09 am)

    Dear anti-military, anti-patriotic liberals: Sorry, that money will not be destined for the social program ratholes you hold so dear. Have a great day sniveling and smirking like Grinches at the loss of a tradition many of us loved. — Sincerely, The Majority.

  • alkiobserver April 9, 2013 (9:13 am)

    That is disappointing news. We will miss the Blue Angels. Hopefully they will be able to return next year.

  • OP April 9, 2013 (9:13 am)

    Oh, BTW: The annual Blue Angels budget is roughly $39M a year. That goes into one $500M Solyndra approximately 12 times, or 12 years worth of SeaFair shows—ya know, just in case you’re so fantastically worried about what a waste of money the Angels are and all. Good day.

  • Kayleigh April 9, 2013 (9:14 am)

    What is wrong with some of you? You don’t like it, so no one else should enjoy it? Jeez.

  • Sassy April 9, 2013 (9:16 am)

    Wishes really do come true.

  • cr April 9, 2013 (9:20 am)

    OP,

    You took the words right out of my mouth, amazing post.

  • Kip April 9, 2013 (9:27 am)

    Whoo hoo!!! It’s about time. Imagine how many $$ could have been put into education, libraries, and other essentials had we cancelled this ear sore years ago.

  • CanDo April 9, 2013 (9:31 am)

    Dear OP… Some of my pro-military, conservative friends were not fans of the Blue Angels buzzing over their homes, either. Has nothing to do with politics… just the noise. Sincerely, Grinches.

  • ted nakahara April 9, 2013 (9:40 am)

    Amen OP.

    Why does the press release refer the the airplanes as “ships”? Are the aircraft dirigibles or something?

    Sigh. victimhood strikes again.

  • kate April 9, 2013 (9:46 am)

    Thank goodness! Dogs will be happier, that’s for sure.

  • JanS April 9, 2013 (9:52 am)

    Dear OP…why do you single out liberals as being anti-patriotic, anti-Blue Angels? I’m one of the most liberal people there may be around here, yet I’m a vet, and I love the Blue Angels. Why politicize this at all? Oh, and who’s sniveling and smirking? I just wish Congress would get it’s act together, get things done, and let us get on with life – to do the job they are being paid for, which ain’t happenin’ now.

  • craig britt April 9, 2013 (9:54 am)

    Thank-you OP,

  • Grack April 9, 2013 (9:55 am)

    Thank-you OP, signed Majority

  • Libby April 9, 2013 (10:05 am)

    This is great news! They scare my poor Lhasa Apso – Mr. Fru Fru – so so much!

  • wsn00b April 9, 2013 (10:07 am)

    Could we have a few drones do stunt fly-bys instead?

  • anti-obstruction April 9, 2013 (10:09 am)

    1) Beat on chest, show “strength”
    2) Burn fossil fuel needlessly
    3) Endanger civilian population with one false move during
    aforementioned chest-beating ritual
    4) Inconvenience commuters, snarl traffic, cause more wasted fuel
    5) Terrorize pets and wildlife in a broad radius

    I acknowledge the need for our military (all branches) and love my country…not applauding the list above does not negate that.

  • DTK April 9, 2013 (10:12 am)

    You’re right OP. That money will be going to help pay off the massive debt that you “patriots” so enjoy creating with unfunded wars and tax breaks for corporations and the wealthy. Nice job.

  • Dave April 9, 2013 (10:17 am)

    I am saddened. I always enjoyed the shows, AND particularly loved being able to see glimpses of them from my back yard.
    Noise? Seriously? Snippets of jet noise during 30 minute time spans, spread around the city never bothered me at all.

  • Rumbles April 9, 2013 (10:29 am)

    What a bummer, probably my most favorite part of Seafair! I’m really going to miss all the car alarms going off! Maybe next year, keeping my fingers crossed!

  • citizen April 9, 2013 (10:38 am)

    @JAT: LIKE & agree

  • quiz April 9, 2013 (10:50 am)

    Total bummer. To me they are a stunning celebration of human ingenuity and capability…inspiring to say the least.

    • WSB April 9, 2013 (11:14 am)

      For the person who asked about the Navy fleet that usually is also a Seafair fixture – I just got a reply from Seafair’s media person Melissa Jurcan. So far, she says, NO cancellations in that regard. – Tracy

  • Tuesday April 9, 2013 (10:59 am)

    Excellent! Obviously this is a tiny, high profile drop in the bucket cut designed to make the cuts as visible as possible when for the most part no one will even notice that cuts are being made. Well played.

  • The Original MB April 9, 2013 (11:12 am)

    I am heartbroken. The Blue Angels are one of my favorite childhood memories. Seafair just won’t be the same this year! I work a block off the lake and I love the heart pounding feeling I get when the house shakes as they go by. The 3 year old I take care of even LOVES them. Crossing my fingers they’ll be back next year!!! Enjoy the quiet while it last whiners ;)

    @Kayleigh, amen!

  • miws April 9, 2013 (11:12 am)

    Dear JanS, I heart you.

    .

    I have always enjoyed the Blues, they are as much of a tradition of Seafair as the Hydros.

    .

    I have to admit, though, that I sympathize with some of the “against” comments, mostly the folks that have pets with anxiety issues.

    .

    Mike

  • jiggers April 9, 2013 (11:15 am)

    The one’s who want it, pay for it with your own money. Its gonna be a nice quiet summer for a change.

  • newnative April 9, 2013 (11:15 am)

    I am with JanS, this transcends partisan politics. I am very anti military spending in places we don’t belong but really love the Blue Angels and other domestic displays of patriotism. I love the noise, the display and the fact that it’s just for us.

  • Bob H April 9, 2013 (11:17 am)

    I agree annual shows is a lot but maybe seafair can figure out a once-every-5-years type of plan for the angels once federal sanity is restored. I’d like to take my kids to see them some day. Floating on a raft while they fly overhead like I used to do was absolutely thrilling and memorable.

    And quit trolling OP, it’s pathetic, obnoxious, and doesn’t solve anything.

  • stephanie April 9, 2013 (11:20 am)

    Dave, I agree. I grew up watching these pilots in CA and they made me feel like I wanted to be a Navy pilot (armed forces not good for gay people so I didn’t join). I am sure they inspire many young people to become something great. It means more to others.

  • Kayleigh April 9, 2013 (11:32 am)

    For those of you who apparently didn’t grow up here in Seattle or who are too busy preening about austerity measures you, personally, like: the Blue Angels aren’t conservative or liberal. They aren’t making a political statement except that which you neurotically project onto them. They make a handful of (really cool, IMO) vroooom noises for two weeks during the summer. They remind a lot of us of our childhood summers and fun times during Seafair…on the lake or watching them with a house full of people at summer parties. Summer is one of the few things that makes Seattle a cool place to live anymore.
    .
    The impact on you Debbie Downers is minimal compared to the chaos that happens in WSEA on the 4th of July, Halloween, or the other fairs and noise at the Junction, especially when the Junction is closed to traffic. I mean, my god, the waste of fossil fuel in driving around and that infernal racket of loud music and people laughing and chewing their food on sticks…

  • Meghan April 9, 2013 (11:42 am)

    Hooray!!! Too bad it took sequestered federal government cuts to end this absurd waste of taxpayer dollars. I just hope the private group won’t be as noisy and inconvenient to everyone as the Blue Angels were. Between the traffic clogged practices and performances, the unnecessary potential danger to citizens and neighborhoods, and the absolute torture to pets an the elderly, it’s amazing the city has continued it till now. I just hope to god they never come back.

  • KC April 9, 2013 (11:56 am)

    It’s funny how people from “jet city” are complaining about airplane noise!

  • jane April 9, 2013 (12:05 pm)

    Does this cancellation have anything to do with Seafair possibly funding the Fourth of July show this year? Possible silver lining.

  • Wes C. Adle April 9, 2013 (12:17 pm)

    Your dogs make too much noise at the park. Please do not bring them any longer…

  • jedifarfy April 9, 2013 (12:30 pm)

    That’s a shame, I enjoyed them. I’m just glad they cut for budget reasons and not because the citizens of Seattle had a tantrum, again.

  • k2 April 9, 2013 (12:40 pm)

    This can be solved really easily…find the cost of having them fly in and perform and have a bake sale, start a fund raiser.

  • j April 9, 2013 (12:42 pm)

    Don’t worry fighter jet fans…there is a civilian jet team signed up for Seafair.

    http://www.patriotsjetteam.com/

  • The Original MB April 9, 2013 (12:47 pm)

    @Jane, Seafair itself didn’t have anything to do with this, the team’s season was canceled all together…

    “PENSACOLA NAVAL AIR STATION, Florida (AP) — The U.S. Navy has canceled the remainder of the elite Blue Angels demonstration team’s 2013 season and the Air Force is grounding about a third of its combat force because of automatic, across-the-board federal budget cuts.”

  • Breezy April 9, 2013 (12:51 pm)

    Stephanie, you made a very good point. Like the zoo which has a mission of educating the public about animals & endangered species, etc…, shows such as the Blue Angels serve to inspire young men and women. The men and women that make up the squadron, aviators and maintainers, are active duty navy & marine corps members, they are not retirees. The money that will be saved will not be put towards the programs that so many of you mentioned – it just doesn’t work that way. I am a fan of air shows, man’s ability to fly being one of the most amazing inventions of all time. I am also the spouse of a retired navy aviator, a maintainer, not aircrew. Air shows in his little home town in Oregon were the reason he ended up where he did, honorably serving the people of the USA for 26+ years.

  • Neighbor April 9, 2013 (12:59 pm)

    @OP-such love for your fellow Americans eh? How about getting the 1in 4 corporations that don’t pay ANY federal taxes to pony up what they owe? How about raising the corporate tax rate above 12% so that we can run this country as a First world nation? How about we actually support military vets and their families with all these revenues? Bread and circuses are for the simpletons and the manipulated to celebrate with patriotic fever.

  • miws April 9, 2013 (1:09 pm)

    This can be solved really easily…find the cost of having them fly in and perform and have a bake sale, start a fund raiser.

    .

    “$2,000.00 for a dozen homemade brownies?!?” ;-)

    .

    Mike

  • Jiggers April 9, 2013 (1:11 pm)

    k2 a bake sale? I take it that was supposed to be sarcastic….lol

  • Erika April 9, 2013 (1:19 pm)

    Wow. Don’t forget to complain about the waste of fossil fuels and the traffic congestion that fireworks, parades, and christmas lights can cause too! Bah humbug!

  • 4thGenWS April 9, 2013 (1:24 pm)

    So sad the angels won’t be here this year. Now that money will just go to something more useless of course. Now we don’t get to hear the complaining and whining of the few who hate America. That was one of the best parts. I guess they get to win this time. The best recruiting tool for the Navy is just taking a break and the Angels will be back. Don’t you worry.

  • JimClark April 9, 2013 (1:27 pm)

    I find it weird that Seafair is taking on the Fireworks when the loss of the Blue Angles is going to put them in a big budget crunch due to lack of ticket buyers. The Patriots are not even close to the Blues. It will be much easier for me to find a good place on the beach without the blues

    • WSB April 9, 2013 (1:39 pm)

      If you read the fireworks announcement, it mentions the Metro Chamber of Commerce too. I would suspect whatever is in the works would involve Seafair’s organizational muscle and maybe Chamber members’ funding. Just a wild guess.

  • Marty April 9, 2013 (1:30 pm)

    Aww, suck. I’m all for scaring small animals for the momentary ability to turn fossil fuels into noise.

  • sc April 9, 2013 (1:41 pm)

    I’m old enough to remember when the fireworks were over Green Lake.
    The Blue Angels every summer with the navy ships to take a tour on during Seafair are wonderful childhood summertime memories.

  • bridge to somewhere April 9, 2013 (2:02 pm)

    Love the Blue Angels, wish they would be here this year. But the Blue Angels are actually a sizable investment, above-and-beyond their cost per show or annual budget: they fly 12 F/A-18s, at a cost of about $30M per. That equates to about $360M in government spend. And this is in addition to the C-130 they use as a transport, which cost taxpayers about $60M. So, when you consider the aircraft, the aircraft hangers, the other facilities–the U.S. taxpayer has invested upwards and beyond half a billion dollars in the squad.
    .
    Again, I like the Angels and I will miss them this year. I think it’s a good investment for our military’s recruitment efforts, and I think it’s good that Americans can experience the skill of and power of their military. That being said, the Blue Angels do not cost just $39M/year.

  • bridge to somewhere April 9, 2013 (2:04 pm)

    Oh, I should also mention that I’m kind of interested in seeing what the Patriots team can do. They fly jets too, of course, although they are smaller and are less powerful. Loud though, I’m sure. :-)

  • dhg April 9, 2013 (2:14 pm)

    We all have a right to an opinion, OP. I don’t appreciate the disparagement, the labeling and the judgemental attitude.

    For myself, the image of the naked Vietnamese child running away from the napalm spraying from our patriotic fighters has been enough for me to not appreciate all the “fun” the Blue Angels offer.

    I have not initiated any campaign to stop the parade but I am happy to hear we have a respite.

  • Art Critic April 9, 2013 (2:55 pm)

    Safeco field, voted down, $500 million, Seahawks stadium built for Paul Allen, husky stadium $250 million. We got boatloads of cash for your entertainment. Can’t you trickle some down to mentally ill homeless or in prisons? Why don’t we start a couple more wars? Rant!

  • Del Griffith April 9, 2013 (3:35 pm)

    This is good news. Let’s stop celebrating machines designed for wartime, further polluting our skies, and causing anxiety in our pets and wildlife.

  • datamuse April 9, 2013 (4:13 pm)

    4thGenWS: There isn’t any money for it, that’s the point. That’s why it’s called a budget cut.

  • Vanessa April 9, 2013 (4:22 pm)

    i knew this would hit over 50 comments in a day. You either love em or you hate em……

  • anonyme April 9, 2013 (4:23 pm)

    Time for this to end. I won’t miss it.

  • Grack April 9, 2013 (4:36 pm)

    sickens me to witness what Seattle has become, even with all you poo-pooers it is my home. please go back to where you came from. Blue Angels are Seattle. long live JP Patches!!

  • Matt April 9, 2013 (4:38 pm)

    The coolest thing about SeaFair. What a bummer. Cannot wait to have them back.

  • Kelly April 9, 2013 (4:57 pm)

    Seafair just announced that the navy ships are canceled as well.

  • Daldart April 9, 2013 (5:07 pm)

    Don’t really care one way or the other about the Blue Angels, but thought it was weird that they closed down a crucial interstate highway while they practised and performed. Planes fly overhead all the time and highways stay open.

  • dcn April 9, 2013 (5:43 pm)

    Whether you love them or hate them, there’s no doubt the Blue Angels inspire awe and appreciation for our military and our technological capabilities, especially in kids. Same goes for the Fleet Week ships. I agree that this is a ploy to bring more public attention to the sequester cuts, like canceling White House tours.
    .
    But to cancel all these public events has a negative impact on our national morale and pride. These intangibles are as important (if not more important) than saving money or preventing tax increases. If we want the country to grow and prosper again in these economically depressed and dysfunctional times, we need people inspired and proud of their country.
    .
    I was surprised (maybe) to see people try to divide whether or not you like the Blue Angels along partisan lines. I am liberal, and I love the Blue Angels and the opportunity to tour the Navy ships with my son. The community events along the Lake Washington beaches to view the Blue Angels bring us together along both sides of the political fence. It’s sad if we lose this connection too and sadder that we are losing many things that inspire our children to go into technical fields.
    .
    On a related note, it also made me sad to see the Shuttle trainer at the Museum of Flight, especially since America doesn’t have the next generation of manned spacecraft flying yet. I once was able to sit in that trainer as a summer intern at NASA over 25 years ago. I’d like to think that my son and others in his generation will have similar opportunities to sit in something like that, only not as an artifact in a museum.

  • Jim Clark April 9, 2013 (5:49 pm)

    DALDART the FAA ordered the moving of the airshow center out further in the lake and also ordered that they close I-90 otherwise the airshow could not go on

  • G April 9, 2013 (6:34 pm)

    Cue the “sniggering intellectuals,” as George Orwell disdainfully called them in Britain, those who recoiled in disgust at the very mention of force, but were enarmored, hypocritically, with good ole Joe Stalin.

    The only quibble I have with Orwell – the most misundertood and misquoted figure used by the left – is that they are not “intellectuals” in any sense of the word at all.

  • M. April 9, 2013 (7:01 pm)

    Sorry they won’t make an appearance this year. I’ve enjoyed the show every year for several decades, hope they do return next year.

  • bswans11 April 9, 2013 (7:25 pm)

    How weird that a simple post on the Blue Angels becomes a conservative vs. liberal, stadium vs. none, proper tax distribution, blah blah blah! Many people, including me, have loved the Angels for years and will miss them, but, meanwhile, with our current budget issues, it does seem like a bit of a luxury, so i’ll do without this year. Personally, I put my dogs inside during Seafair and turn up some tunes for them, as I do on 4th of July. Both the Angels shows and 4th of July are so fun watching as a kid, and the noise is an awesome part of it! It’s a shame that some people are too old or jaded to remember those times, or they aren’t from here and have no idea what the fuss is about. The kind who feel Seattle has a woefully inadequate number of street corner Mimes.

  • Marcus M April 9, 2013 (8:23 pm)

    The terrists have won

  • Citizen April 9, 2013 (8:38 pm)

    We could use the money to take care of all the injured military coming home and helping them back into society. I heard some get traumatized by military jets and loud noises.

    I think it’s ironic about all the angry comments. Kinda like the pot calling the kettle black.

  • phil dirt April 9, 2013 (9:36 pm)

    The hells angels…….. oops, I mean the Blue Angels make too much noise, clog traffic, are a waste of taxpayer money and contribute to air pollution. I’m glad they won’t be at Seafair. I would have thought that all you Seattle ecology freaks would be glad too. Bye the way, Im definitely not a liberal.

  • sara April 9, 2013 (9:44 pm)

    I am glad they won’t be here. I don’t care about anyone’s political opinion on this or even whatever they represent to you, I just don’t like them, never did, never will. They are just too loud. Period. Happy my summer day won’t be ruined by that noise.

  • Bink April 9, 2013 (10:48 pm)

    So we should be happy that “now that loud noise is gone” even though you can barely hear it inside your house. What do you live outside or something? Now young minds can’t take advantage of this opportunity and all your worried about is money, noise and your annoying dog that no one cares about.. Pretty sad. All this “money saved” is just going to go into the wrong pockets with fewer young minds interested in air force and navy.

  • Nick April 10, 2013 (3:39 am)

    Stinks that it won’t be the Blue Angels but I looked up the Patriots Jet Team and they look just as good. The only thing I find a bit ironic is that they call themselves the Patriots and emphasize the red, white, and blue smoke that comes from the jets – and yet the aircraft the Patriots use is the Aero L-39 Albatros (a Czech-built aircraft)…

  • gh April 10, 2013 (5:51 am)

    Typical for this administration…fund the things that divide us and don’t fund those that bring us together.

  • Sherman Potter April 10, 2013 (5:54 am)

    Wow, just so really not sure where to go from here.

    First comes the spinal injury, then the spousal cancer, followed by the foreclosure on the rental home. The loss of both of our livelihoods. Shortly after the anger and despair.

    Then the threats from the dickwad that purchased the home. The loss of at least two of the life, liberty, happiness crap you are supposed to accept or believe in. USA!!!

    Now this.

    What does the loss of the BLUE ANGELS MEAN?!?!

  • JoAnne April 10, 2013 (8:02 am)

    Of course Obama still has money for his golf trips and Michelle and the girls’ expensive vacations.
    .
    Not to mention big parties with Justin Beiber in the White House.
    .
    You liberals won’t be happy until every last normal healthy person and thing this country is dead.

  • bridge to somewhere April 10, 2013 (8:53 am)

    “You liberals won’t be happy until every last normal healthy person and thing this country is dead.” Hyperbole much?

  • The Original MB April 10, 2013 (9:02 am)

    All of you who make EVERYTHING about Liberals vs. Conservatives are really just starting to sound like the damn teacher from Charlie Brown!!!! It would be nice if you could use all that angry typing energy for something meaningful. No wonder the government can’t get anything done…they sound just like all of YOU. Round and round we go. Sheesh.

    • WSB April 10, 2013 (9:08 am)

      Thanks, Original MB – And please note that we have rules against name-calling and even using political labels is veering there. While the budget matter may be a political issue in D.C., the issue of who enjoys the Blue Angels and who does not, is not. Please leave the vitriol at the door. Also, the “go back to where you came from” comments are not welcome either, on this topic or any other (they have been coming up more often lately in connection with development coverage) – you cannot assume that everyone who likes X is a lifelong West Seattleite and everyone who does not is a “newcomer” (which we are accused of being, even after 22 years), or vice versa. There are many other places online where people screaming at each other is tolerated. We need to get back to this being NOT one of them. Thank you. – TR

  • CR April 10, 2013 (10:26 am)

    Sad sad sad. The fact the complainers on here can’t handle a little bit of noise is just disappointing. Not sure how many of the Blue Angel haters take the bridges everyday, but I do. I don’t mind the slight inconvenience to watch the awesomeness of the Blue angels. Also, the person talking about the costs of the planes. We aren’t spending 30 million a year on these things, those jets are 30 years old. Sunk cost much? Sad that such Americana is gone. The angels cut is just a PR move for the president to pretend they are actually accomplishing something with this budget. Too busy vacationing, spending tax payer money inviting celebrities to entertain him. Seems more like a king than a democratically elected president.

  • melissa April 10, 2013 (11:27 am)

    Fantastic decision. Hope they never come back.

  • anti-obstruction April 10, 2013 (11:53 am)

    The inane, ridiculous commentary about the President and his vacation schedule/etc. is astounding, yet, in some ways, so predictable given the persuasions and tactics of his critics.
    How about researching the amount of time his predecessor spent on vacation???

  • john April 10, 2013 (12:02 pm)

    Wow people getting all political. I love our men and women over seas but I am not happy that we spend so much on high tech items to fight primitive people, its set up to milk us, that being said liberals… if they are gonna milk me can they at least give me an air show? Its the least they can do with all the money they extort from the people and never pass down to our soldiers… wanna stop wars, pay our privates what the ceo of ge, raytheon, and haliburton make in a year.

  • CR April 10, 2013 (12:08 pm)

    It’s not an either/or mutually exclusive. I am not some Rah Rah Bush supporter. Neither should be wasting our money. The fact that YOU keep referring to Bush is a predictable tactic.

  • CR April 10, 2013 (12:09 pm)

    But you’re saying that I, the American taxpayer, can’t have my Blue Angels, but he can have his trip to the Bahamas?

    Seems legit….

  • alkiobserver April 10, 2013 (1:16 pm)

    Oh, dear. How awful that the Blue Angels cause such disruptions for the few hours a year they fly around here. While we are at the chopping block, lets cancel Metro bus service as it disrupts my sleep and my animals’ sleep when they stop near my house and those large buses and their frequent stops reek complete havoc on my daily commutes. And that Vashon ferry… oh calamity! Couldn’t we could get that cut so that we don’t have to endure waiting for it to unload. Oh, and maybe we should see if we could get thunder and lightning storms canceled too. Those storms really are loud, they scare animals and they cause forest fires. How dreadful! With tongue firmly planted in cheek, I am chuckling to myself over all the hate comments on this thread. Nothing like first world problems to rile up the whiners in the neighborhood! Here’s to the politicians getting their heads out of their posteriors and the Blue Angels returning.

  • anti-obstruction April 10, 2013 (1:22 pm)

    …sigh…I give up.

  • MB April 10, 2013 (2:28 pm)

    absolute bummer.

  • datamuse April 10, 2013 (2:28 pm)

    lets cancel Metro bus service
    .
    In that, alkiobserver, it seems you’re likely to get your wish. (Yeah, I know you’re making a joke, but have you read the coverage lately?)
    .
    Folks, in case you think the sequester is just impacting stuff like this…I have a friend who’s a pediatric oncologist. He works for the National Cancer Institute at NIH and often works on last-ditch cases. Right now, he’s looking at a 15-40% pay cut, and he’s one of the lucky ones: he still has a job. He and his colleagues are taking these pay cuts because the alternative is turning away patients who can’t afford treatment.
    .
    This issue has the potential to kill people, and yet here we have complaints about an exhibition unit and presidential vacations. Hoo boy.

  • JoAnne April 10, 2013 (7:49 pm)

    The president cancelled White House tours, the Blue Angels, threatened to lay off fireman and teachers, etc. and anything else he thinks might upset people.

    It is a craven political tactic he is using because he doesn’t want to cut spending. He wants to raise taxes.
    .
    Bush did not take expensive vacations at taxpayer expense. His vacations involved going home to his ranch to clear brush.
    .
    The Obamas take many extravagant and costly vacations each year, and we taxpayers get the bill for all of it. That is common knowledge among everyone except the low-information voters.

  • Jeff platt April 10, 2013 (8:36 pm)

    If you blame obama u are nuts

  • qwerty April 10, 2013 (9:10 pm)

    FANTASTIC! No blue angels, at least this year!

  • Bink April 11, 2013 (1:41 am)

    Lmao @ joanne, bush taking vacations clearing brush.. Lol really?? Wow really? You really just typed that out?

    @alkiobserver nice post, made me laugh because thats sure what I’m getting out of it on some of the posts too.

  • Gyngersnap April 11, 2013 (4:29 pm)

    Lived here for 23 years now and have a question. What’s Seafair,anyway?

  • West Seattle Hipster April 11, 2013 (6:34 pm)

    “Seafair is a summer festival in Seattle, Washington, USA that encompasses a wide variety of small neighborhood events leading up to several major city-wide celebrations. While many small block parties and local parades occur under the auspices of Seafair, most Seattle residents associate Seafair with the Torchlight Parade (and accompanying Torchlight Run), Seafair Cup hydroplane races, and the Blue Angels. Seafair has been an annual event in Seattle since 1950[1] but its roots can be traced to the 1911 Seattle Golden Potlatch Celebrations.”

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seafair

  • cr April 12, 2013 (7:57 am)

    Yes Bink, I do believe that is what wJoanne posted…

  • Grack April 14, 2013 (9:47 am)

    well said Joanne

Sorry, comment time is over.