This is how you Leftists support our troops?!?!

As reported here, anti-American leftist extremist protesters (who say they support our troops) are standing outside Walter Reed Army Medical Center - where troops wounded in battle come to receive treatment and rehabilitation - protesting against both the war in Iraq, and the troops participation in that war! Among some of the things they are doing is waving signs and banners saying, "Maimed for Lies", and "Enlist here and die for Halliburton" (which reminds me - why was it ok for Clinton to give Halliburton no-bid contracts, but it's not ok that Bush did it?). They have also laid out coffins on the sidewalk draped with American flags!

This is simply outrageous! Talk about shades of the Vietnam War protests! What's next? Are the protesters going to start spitting on our returning troops - wounded or not - and start calling them baby killers?

This is how you anti-American leftist extremists "support" our troops? If so, please stop "supporting" our troops!

Mark Steyn weighs in on Cindy

I have resisted posting about the anti-American, anti-Semitic, tool of the Left, "bereaved" mother of Casey Sheehan, because, as Mark Steyn puts it, " ... it seems obvious that she was at best a little unhinged by grief and at worst mentally ill."; besides, there have been so many stories in the MSM, and in the blogosphere, that I really didn't feel the need to put in my two cents worth.

But, having said that, let me say this. I am sypathetic for her loss, as I am for all of those who have lost loved ones in the GWOT, Afghanistan, and in Iraq, not forgetting to also mention, New York City, Washington D.C., and that field in Pennsylvania.

Mrs. Sheehan, in my opinion, you need to get beyond this anger stage in your grief, and move into the acceptance stage, before you suffer permanent damage to your psyche.

The Real Hollywood

As seen through the eyes of a Jewish screen writer, who just happens to be a Republican. Very eye opening article, brought to us by our friends at Front Page Magazine.

Democrats need to lose the shrillness

Over the past several election cycles, the Democrats have become increasingly shrill in their outbursts against Republicans, with their innuendos, twisting of facts, and outright lies, as they have lost power, from the House of Representatives, the Senate, and the White House.

You see it every day, it seems, in the MSM from the likes of Kennedy, Pelosi, Boxer, Reid, and from a possibly borderline psychotic Howard Dean (I hate Republicans!), among others. Even "Madame Hillary" is guilty of this, with her Vast Right Wing Conspiracy (of which I am a proud member, btw, in case you hadn't guessed) comment several years ago. And they wonder why they're having problems attracting moderates to their party?

In this opinion piece, George F. Will takes them to the wood shed about their shrillness, and gives them more than a few blisters on their back side.

Will (no pun intended) they take heed? Doubtful.

Obese woman files complaint against doctor

As reported here, an obese woman filed a complaint against her doctor with state medical authorities, because he basically told her she was too fat. The state medical authorities turned the case over to the state Attorney General, who has been "investigating" this "incident" for over a year now.

Earlier this past week, while listening to the Bob Rivers Show, the doctor in question was interviewed (see here), and I was more than a little angered to find out that the AG doing the "investigation" was a Republican appointee who, according to the doctor, received her position through dubious means. To read more of the doctor's story, go here.

This doctor sounded to me to be the kind of doctor I would want to have - while pulling no punches in describing the possible consequences of a condition someone may have, still maintaining his human compassion in describing what the person can do to make positive health changes in their life - and yet, a woman who is obese and has developed diabetes and acid reflux disease because of her obesity, became offended because her doctor told her something she didn't want to hear - that she is too fat for her own good, and that if she doesn't make changes in her life, she'll die.

I'm not entirely sure that this woman is claiming to be a victim (of what - being told the truth?) or not, but it appears to me that this could be the case. After all, what is the motivation for her to file a complaint against her doctor?

I've struggled with my weight from the time I was seven years old, growing up as a fat kid, and hearing all of the names other kids call fat kids. Did that hurt me emotionally? Of course it did. No one likes to hear things like that - especially if it's the truth - and I was no exception to that. After reaching 209 pounds at the age of 17, on a 5' 7" frame, I got motivated (by wnating to have a girlfriend - what else, eh?) to lose weight, eventually losing 59 pounds. At a later stage in my life, I once again ballooned up to 209 pounds, and after a major struggle, managed to get back down to 160.

People who were concerned about my health, implored me to lose weight. Did I like what I heard? Definitely not, but I knew they were right, and so I lost the weight - again. I've been up and down over the years, getting up to 190 or so, and am now right around 170, which I've managed to maintain for the last three or four years, but not without difficulty.

My point to this post? If you have a medical condition, and go to a doctor about it, expect to hear the truth - if your doctor is ethically responsible - even if you don't like it! When you hear the truth, act on it in a positive way, instead of running to your state's medical board and whining to them that your doctor is a meanie!

The woman who filed the complaint needs to quit being such a baby, grow up, get the "cure" for the obvious "hand to mouth disease" she has, face the reality that she's fat, and needs to lose weight! It's as simple as that.

Why do people oppose the death penalty?

As a Christian I am committed to the idea that all people are capable of changing and becoming a Christian. There are no individuals that are outside of this possibility. However, there are some individuals that have chosen to follow paths that take them where no one should go. I speak of sexual offenders. I speak especially of sexual offenses against children, whether boys or girls. The thing that is listed in the story has allegedly been involved in crimes that beg for it to be killed. Even if the thing has had any remorse for its actions, there has not been any change in its practices. If it is convicted of its crimes again, what should be done to it? Feed and clothe it for the rest of its life? Give it counseling so that it can feel better about itself? Give it a chance for parole in a few years so that it can go out and reoffend? What is it about some groups that oppose the death penalty that they would go out of their own way to try to stop these things from being prevented from reoffending ever again? Offenses against children, whether physical or sexual abuse when proven to be habitual, need to have the greatest punishments meted out to the offenders as is possible. One child being killed by abuse should rate in the highest category of murder. One child being sexually abused should carry with it punishment in the realm of a high crime and many years in prison. When these things get out, they should not have the ability to reoffend, even if they were only convicted of one offense. One child killed where sexual abuse has taken place should rate one sentence with no appeal allowed, death. The offenders have taken themselves out of the area of being able to change and taking the offenders out of life will enable more children to live a life that they should have. The death penalty is a harsh thing, but what about that of the dead abused?

Conduct unbecoming

As reported here, an Air Force Lt. Colonel was arrested for vandalism after admitting he was responsible for the obliteration of pro-Bush bumper stickers, and spray painting "F*** Bush" on the sides of vehicles.

The Air Force is taking a wait-and-see attitude in this case, allowing local jurisprudence to run it's course, before taking any action. If convicted, I would like to see the Air Force bring a charge of "Conduct Unbecoming an Officer and a Gentleman", and, "Bringing dishonor upon the Armed Forces of the United States" against this guy, which is a heavy charge, and could land him in the stockade (or even prison) and garner a dishonorable discharge.

Why? Because I'm pro-Bush? NO!

For one thing, in this country we are guaranteed the right to free expression by the Constitution, and for another, regardless of an individuals personal political leanings, ALL military personnel take an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution! This guy abrogated his responsibility and his oath by doing what he did, and he deserves the harshest possible punishment for his actions.

Hat tip - fellow blogger, reality hammer

Another trip down the road paved with good intentions

And we know where that road leads, right?

As reported here, Canadian law makers are considering legislation to give unprecedented powers to Canadian police to enable them to intercept your e-mail, and obtain data about you from your ISP, without obtaining permission from the Canadian courts.

The "good intention" here is to assist law enforcement to monitor, and deter, terrorist and criminal activities. This is a laudable goal, however, the end does NOT justify the means. If I was a Canadian, I would be very worried about this.

Hat tip - agtiger

American Imperialism?

This is an interesting opinion piece. Tell me if you agree or disagree with the stated position of the writer.

P-I editorial board gets it wrong - again

In this op-ed piece, the P-I editorial board uses too broad of a brush to paint the attitude about the Iraq War here in Seattle, citing the "vigils" the local leftist moonbats are having to show their support for Cindy Sheehan as being representative.

Note to the P-I editorial board - Not everyone here is opposed to the war in Iraq. But you wouldn't know that, now would you.

The Dems call for more documents about Roberts?

As reported here, over 38,000 documents relating to Judge Roberts have been released, and the Dems are salivating over some items, but are demanding the release of about 2000 more documents from the White House. Why? So they can see if there is more "ammunition" they can use against Roberts, of course.

38,000 documents aren't enough? Give me a break!

Voters need to take responsibility for how they vote

So says Washington State's Secretary of State, Sam Reed, as reported here.

Voters need to take responsibility for how they vote, to avoid another debacle as happened in 2004.

Well, all I can say is: DUH!

"You don't speak for me, Cindy"

I recently received an e-mail from the organization, "Move America Forward", which is planning a caravan to go to Crawford, Texas, to counter Cindy Sheehan, and to tell her that she doesn't speak for them. The text of the e-mail is below.

"Move America Forward's "You Don't Speak For Me, Cindy!" Caravan

MoveAmericaForward.org

Supporters of U.S. Troops and their Mission in Iraq Plan Caravans to Texas.

Move America Forward will be conducting the “You Don’t Speak for Me, Cindy” caravan beginning [this] week. It will feature military family members who have loved ones serving in the war against terrorism in Iraq or Afghanistan. The delegation will be led by Deborah Johns of Marine Moms. (Her son has served in Operation Iraqi Freedom).

Main caravan leaves from San Francisco, California on Monday, August 22nd. Other caravans will depart from around the country. If you want to be part of a caravan, email us with your name and location you will depart from and we will include in our caravan coverage so people in your area can depart with you.

Everyone arrives in Crawford, Texas for a giant “We Support Our Troops AND Their Mission” Rally on Saturday, August 27, 2005.

If you have a loved one serving in Iraq or Afghanistan and would like to join the caravan please contact Move America Forward’s Robert Dixon: Robert@MoveAmericaForward.org

This message brought to you by http://TroopsSupport.com"

I encourage any or all of you who can, to join in the caravans, and show Cindy what people really think about her.

Judge rules that Garrett can't run for Seattle Mayor

An update on a previous post of mine.

As reported here, Garrett can't run for Seattle Mayor, because as a convicted felon, he has to have his voting rights restored - which hasn't happened - before he can register to vote, and you must be a registered voter to run for public office in Seattle.

This is the guy who assaulted then Mayor Paul Schell in the face with a bull horn in front of several witnesses, some of whom were high ranking police officials, and then flat out denied that he did it. Not only was it proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that he in fact assaulted Schell, he was convicted of the assault, and because he has failed to do what is required to have his voting rights restored so he can register to vote, he can't run for any public office in Seattle.

We're not Washington, D.C., and won't be electing someone of the likes of Marion Barry. That is definitely a good thing.

AP not telling the whole story in Iraq

But, so what else is new?

As reported in this NY Times article, various editors of newspapers from around the country who make up the Associated Press had a little conference to "ponder how to present a broader picture" of what's happening in Iraq.

This was prompted by a series of "anonymous e-mail polemics", asking the recipients if we (meaning the general public) knew, among other things, that 47 countries had re-established embassies in Iraq, and that 3100 schools had been renovated, concluding with "Of course we [don't] know! Our media doesn't tell us!"

One of the editors, Rosemary Goudreau had forwarded the e-mails to Mike Silverman, managing editor of the AP, and asked if there was a way to check any of these "assertions" and "put them into context". Other editors made remarks that their reporters were developing a "bunker mentality ... preventing them from getting out and explaining the bigger picture beyond the daily death tolls."

Ms. Goudreau continued, saying that "It was uncomfortable questioning the AP, knowing that Iraq is such a dangerous place, but there's a perception we're not telling the whole story."

A perception? How about, it's a simple fact that the AP is not telling the whole story! "Bunker mentality"? Shades of Vietnam, where repoters rarely, if ever, ventured outside of their hotel, and literally phoned in their reports from the hotel bar. The same thing is happening in Iraq, folks. That is one of the reasons (another being leftist ideology) that the AP does not report what else is happening in Iraq.

Although there are areas in Iraq that are extremely dangerous, the majority of the country, for the most part, is relatively safe. Work is being done in those areas that we - the general public - need to hear about. Normal Iraqi's are going about their daily lives in these areas. We need to know about this! Repoters need to get off their "back sides", get out of the hotel bar, go to these areas away from Baghdad and the "Sunni Triangle", and tell us what is happening!

Progress in Iraq is being made! Don't believe me? Go here, and read all about it.

Note to the editors of the AP - want to check if these "assertions" are true or not? Then tell your reporters to get out of the hotel bar, and start doing their jobs properly, instead of just phoning it in. Not getting the whole picture from you is NOT a "perception". It's a fact!

Hat tip - littlebee55

Dean Logan to keep his job as KC Elections Director

As reported here, Dean Logan will keep his job despite the advice of a "high profile" task force appointed by King County Executive Ron "King" Sims. Although that's disappointing, it doesn't surprise me either, as Sims appointed Logan, and has been covering Logan's backside through all of the foul ups in last Novembers election (and the foul ups in 2003 and 2002!).

Why is Sims doing this? To cover his own back side, of course. It seems as if Sims can't admit making a mistake, especially when the mistake has been the whopper that it has been.

I think we can expect more foul ups this coming November with Logan still in charge.

Remorse for doing his job?

Hiroshima and Nagasaki each suffered the effects of an atomic bomb. As a result of the bombs being dropped, Hirohito chose to intervene against his own military council and ended the war. The bombs were devastating, yet they didn't do as much damage as had the fire bombing of Tokyo. It was a new type of bomb that caused Japan to see that they could not win. Their only course was suicide or surrender. Sixty years have passed since those bombs were dropped and none have been used in war since then. On the NBC news coverage of the event, Brian Williams asked the pilot of the Enola Gay, the plane carrying the bomb to Hiroshima, if he had any remorse for dropping the bomb. The response? "No, I was doing my job to try to end the war." We were being faced with the strong possibility of horrific casualties on both sides by invading any of the Japanese home islands. How come we have come to the point that many of the people of this country are sorry or remorseful for using a specific weapon? What makes them feel that a rifle with a bayonet is preferable to an atomic bomb? What makes them think that ending a war with more casualties on the enemies side is not a good idea? I realize that there were some awful pictures of the destruction both of people and the cities. This may have helped to keep us from using these weapons again, but I don't think that using them to end a terrible war with Japan was wrong or that we should feel remorse for using them.

A brief update

This post folks, ironically enough, is the post getting the most hits on our little blog, and yet - amusingly enough - there have been no comments posted. Zip, nada, none. Hmmmm! I wonder why not?

Oh, and an update - the City of Seattle employee who used a tax payer funded computer to do a search on this post, and visited our little blog twice - twice! - to look at this post while at work, has not made a reappearance ... well not using his/her computer at work, anyway.

Candidate for Mayor may get booted from ballot

As reported here, Omari-Tahir Garrett may get booted off of this November's ballot as a candidate for Mayor.

Why? Because he is a convicted felon, and has not had his voting rights restored. And what was he convicted of, you ask? For assaulting then Mayor Paul Schell, with a bull horn - in the face! - which Garrett said he didn't do, as he was nowhere near the scene of the incident at the time. This was proven to be false, as there was video of him doing the assault, plus several high ranking Seattle PD officials happened to witness the assault.

For once, KC Elections Director Dean Logan is doing something right!

Seattle only 16th most liberal city?

As reported here, Seattle ranked as only the 16th most liberal city in the US. I'm shocked - shocked I tell you! - at this result. From living here, it seems that - at least to me - there must be a flaw somewhere in that study, as I would have though that Seattle would have at least been iin the top ten!

I think I'll move to Hialeah, Fla., which ranked way down on the study, coming in at the 4th most conservative city, following Provo, Utah, Lubbock and Abilene, Texas.

Issaquah City Council gets it right

As reported here, the Issaquah City Council will be voting on a strict ordinance Monday, to prohibit convicted sex offenders from living within 1000 feet of schools or day care facilities. If passed (which is an almost certainty), this will go into effect at the end of this month.

How much do you want to bet the ACLU will sue to have this ordinance struck down, with the likely premise being that it unfairly "targets" a certain "segment" of society, totally disregarding the segment of society that this ordinance is designed to protect, namely children?

Another child found home alone

As reported here, a two year old toddler was found alone, and covered in his own excrement, while his father was out trying to find crack cocaine. The police eventually figured out that the father had been gone for over six hours!

Explain to me again, why we should legalize drugs?

Oh, what tangled webs we weave.

As reported here, a Libertarian public interest law firm has counter sued to have the Thurston County Judges decision regarding "in-kind campaign contributions" preliminary injunction over turned.

To bring you up to speed on this, I-912 is the Initiative to roll back the unnecessary gas tax hike the Dem dominated Legislature has foisted on us, and two talk radio hosts - John Carlson and Kirby Wilbur - urged listeners to sign the Initiative petition to get it on the November ballot. Well, the campaign for I-912 got sued by several state entities, who claimed that comments by Carlson and Wilbur were "in-kind campaign contributions", and that the I-912 campaign needed to report that to the State Public Disclosure Committee, and send in the money.

This has definite free speech implications, which could have an effect on all bloggers (including me) and radio talk show hosts, on both sides of the political aisle. For example, if I came out an advocated for a particular individual in an election, an their campaign didn't report my advocacy, their campaign could be fined, and I could be shut down - all thanks to that Thurston County Judges murky interpretation of the McCain-Feingold Campaign Reform Act.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again - I have the Constitutional right to say what I want, whenever I want to, and I'll fight - all the way to the US Supreme Court if needed - any attempts to stifle me.

How much debt is too much?

Bill Virgin, a business columnist for the Seattle P-I, asks a very important question. How much debt is too much for the region? It seems that no one really knows.

As a matter of fact, no one seems to know just exactly how much the tax payers in Washington are in debt, which is astounding! There is no one central record to tell us how much we owe for all of the programs the Legislature, and Initiatives, have obligated us to.

This needs to be dealt with as soon as possible.

Initiative 912 gains ballot spot

As reported here, I-912 will be on the November ballot. I-912 would repeal the unnecessary gas tax hike the Dem dominated legislature foisted on the people, but wouldn't affect weight fees, or other license fees.

In our state, a People's Initiative, to be constitutional, must limit itself to a single item, and then receive enough valid registered voters signatures to be placed on an election ballot. I-912 succeeded in both requirements, and I believe that it will succeed in November, too.

This guy is so wrong, on so many levels

Robert Jamieson usually gets it right, but not this time. But, Republican State Senator Pam Roach does.

What am I talking about? It's Sen. Roach's efforts to get bestiality to be a Class C felony in Washington State. Currently, there are no State laws against this sick and perverted act, and there should be!

Apparently, Robert thinks that this shouldn't be criminalized. I have a question for you, Robert. If you don't think this should be illegal, where do you draw the line?

My, my. Isn't this interesting?

As most of you are probably aware, we use a counter on our blog - StatCounter - and their little program does a really nice job. It tells us how many people have visited the site on any given day; whether they are a first time, or returning, visitor; how long they stayed; where they came from, along with some other interesting informational tidbits.

Among those other informational tid bits are the following items:

Your IP address;
Your computer host;
Your ISP.

Now, normally, I ignore that information, as I'm not quite that geeky, but our blog had a visitor today (Aug. 8th), who actually stopped by twice. Once at 12:29 PM, and again at 12:31 PM local time, to check out the post I did about the man who was killed by a horse (yes, that one). Ordinarily, I wouldn't give a whit which post a particular individual was checking out, but for this visitor? You could say I am intrigued. Why?

Because of the following information.
IP address = 156.74.250.7 (meaningless to most of you, I know. Bear with me, ok?)
Computer Host = global.ci.seattle.wa.us
ISP = City of Seattle

Now, as far as I know, only City of Seattle employees have access to that ISP, and that brings to mind some questions, and one assumption. The assumption is that this City employee was using his (generic form of the word) tax payer funded computer during lunch to surf the web, which I really don't have a problem with, to be honest.

The questions I have are, has this emplyee been tasked to search for entries regarding the subject at hand, and if so, why? Is there going to be a City Ordinance banning such practices? That would be my hope.

Or, is this City of Seattle employee a closet pervert, who is using tax payer funded City computers to search for porn?

I'd like some answers, Mr./Ms. City of Seattle employee. Just why were you interested in that particular subject, which you searched for on Google? If it was for an honest reason, please leave your answers in the comment section.

If your interest was not honest ... well, I wonder what your supervisor, or the Mayor, would think of your pursuits. Your IP address, which is a unique identifier of the computer you used, is now public information, and could be used to track you down.

The troubles facing Seattle

The problems facing Seattle are numerous, and it seems that many in power are wearing blinders, as are the voters. In this op-ed piece, Ted Van Dyk lays out what he sees are the problems with Seattle, and its politics. Are the problems insurmountable? Not if we - the voters and local politicians - act responsibly.

I don't often agree with much of what Mr. Van Dyk writes, but in this case I do.

A personal note

A short time back, I complained to some friends that although this blog was getting a lot of hits, almost no one was making any comments to what I, or my brother, had posted. I remarked that I was encouraged by the number of hits to our blog we were getting, but disappointed that no one was commenting.

One of my friends let me know that she wanted to comment on some of the posts, but that she didn't know how, and it occurred to me that perhaps others didn't know how to, either (okay, so I'm slow sometimes). So a brief tutorial is in order.

To make (or read) a comment on any post, simply click on the word "Comment" that you see in the lower left corner of every post. A small window will pop up, allowing you to type in your comment. When you are done, simply click on the "Publish" button at the bottom, and your comment will be added to the post.

I welcome any and all comments to any post, from anyone. I do ask that you keep your comment civil however, so please, no vulgar language, ok? I do read whatever comments are made, and will respond as time allows.

If you agree with what we have written, let us know, and let us know why. If you don't agree with what we have written, let us know that, too, and let us know why you disagree. Although both my brother and I are Conservatives, neither of us has a closed mind to reasoned debate. Debate is healthy, and is what our nation was built upon.

So, please, let us know what you think!

Thanks in advance.

The new Dem mantra

Byron York, in this commentary, tells us what the new Dem mantra is - "Abuse of power!". The Dems are all parroting this phrase over the recess appointment of John Bolton by President Bush as UN Ambassador, with Sen. Ted Kennedy saying it is a "devious manuever".

Sen. Kennedy needs to read the Constitution, however, as it clearly states that the President has the necessary authority to make recess appointments as needed.

Don't tie our hands

In this opinion piece, there is a push on in Congress to limit interrogation methods of suspected terrorists to an Army Field Manual on the subject, something the terrorists are well acquainted with, and receive training to counter.

The Army Field Manual on interrogation is a good place to start, but if terrorists are receiving training on how to counter those interrogation methods - which they are - and our interrogators are restricted from using other methods to obtain information, this could very well cost people their lives! Our interrogators must be allowed to change interrogation techniques as the situation warrants!

This is another example of PCism - be nice to those poor people, even though they misguidedly want to kill (all of) us! - based on "good intentions".

How does that old saying go? "The road to Hell is paved with good intentions."? Yeah, I think that's right.

Scandal? What scandal?

There is a scandal brewing that most folks don't know about, because the MSM is "sitting" on the story. Why are they "sitting" on it? Because it involves a media organization that is of like mind as the majority of the MSM - i.e. extremely liberal. And what media organization would that be, you ask? Why the "darling" of the liberal media, Air America.

For details on this, go here, here, here, and here.

Now, if this was about Rush Limbaugh, or the guys at Powerline, don't you suppose that this would be front page - above the fold - news? Oh, you know it would be! But, because it's about a "darling" of the liberal press, the rest of the MSM is just "sitting" on it, hoping it will all blow over.

Note to the liberal MSM - guess again!

Congress asked to probe ACLU

As reported here, Congress has been asked to probe the activities of the ACLU - the organization that hates America in general, and particularly Christians.

Congress should do more than just probe the ACLU, in my opinion. They should do whatever it takes to shut the ACLU down - permanently.

"Views" on "issues" vs. following the Constitution

In this opinion piece, Thomas Sowell weighs in on Senate questions regarding Judge Roberts' "views".

What is more important in considering a nominee for the highest court in the land? His "views" on certain "hot button issues", such as abortion, or whether he or she will follow established law and the Constitution (which, by the way, he or she will be sworn to defend and uphold).

I think you are all smart enough to figure that one out.

Blair gets it right, in getting tough

As reported here, Prime Minister Tony Blair, with Parliament backing him, is getting tough on extremists and hate mongers, by passing new laws, some of which take effect immediately. Of course, with the new laws, comes the hand wringing by the liberals, who say that these new laws are infringing on free speech, which will cause civilization as we know it to cease to exist.

Let me clue you in on something, folks. If we don't get tough on those pushing extremist views and hate mongers, and let them continue with spewing their vile bile, civilization as we know it will come to an end - and a most unpleasant end it would be.

Mayor proposes new fee on property developers

As reported here, Mayor Nichols has proposed a new fee on property developers to fund the creation of larger "green", and open, spaces in the city. Here are the pro's and con's of this proposal, as I see it.

The Pro's -

Pros are that possibly instead of the dinky little "green spaces" (that almost no one uses) developers are now required to provide on their property, this fund would go to larger "green spaces"; parks and open spaces are good.

The Con's -

Cons are that the fee could be from $1.00 to $2.00 per square foot of developed property, which may be cost prohibitive in some developers minds; if developers think this fee is too "onerous", they could leave the city, taking jobs and tax revenue with them. We need details to really determine if this is actually a good idea, or a "kill the goose that lays the golden egg" idea.

Stay tuned.

Energy audit to be done in new Seattle City Hall Building

As reported here, due to the high energy usage in the new Seattle City Hall building, an energy audit will be done to determine why the new building uses more energy that the old building did. Part of the reason is the start up period of the new building, as the building systems were brought on line and tested, which always results in high initial energy use and, hence, costs. Over time, the costs should come down, if it is as efficient as the builders said it would be.

I previously posted about this here, and here, and I'm still amused at the surprise - borne of ignorance in this kind of situation - of the city officials.

PCism run amok in the UK

As reported here, and here, cops in Bedfordshire must follow a strict list of rules before entering a residence owned by a Muslim. The first thing they must do is remove their shoes. Read both articles for the rest of the rules. If you're anything like me, you too will be shaking your head in disbelief at the stupidity of these requirements.

After the two recent terrorist attacks in London, you'd think that people would come to their senses, but apparently not. It's unfortunate that PCism has become global, as it is a scourge.

The question on my mind now is, are they going to not allow the cops to makes raids on suspected Muslim terrorist residences on Friday's?