Seattle Mayors "Urban Village Utopia" coming soon to a neighborhood near you!

As reported here, the Seattle City Council has approved the Mayors plan to let developers build fewer parking spaces for their new projects, in areas that already have high density and few parking spaces, enabling the moonbat "Urban Village Utopia" idea that is so near and dear to our Mayor, who is, what else, a Dem.

Why are they doing this? The Mayor has this grandiose idea that by increasing density in a neighborhood, people will be "encouraged" to not only live there, but find employment there as well, and by limiting the number of parking spaces, this will "encourage" people to get out of their cars, and use mass transit instead. A side issue that they are spouting, is that, because developers won't have to build so many parking spaces, it will save them money, and therefore the theory goes, developers will be able to build more affordable housing units.

So what's wrong with this idea? Well, first of all, they are targeting neighborhoods that already have to few spots available, and as the developers begin to build their projects, more spacces will be lost during the construction period. I know this first hand, as it happened in my neighborhood, and it hasn't changed, even though the projects here are finished.

Secondly, businesses need places for their customers to park while they shop, and for their employees who either just don't, or can't, use mass transit to commute, and business owners have already been complaining about the lack of parking in the targeted neighborhoods. How is this plan going to alleviate that? It won't - it will only make it worse - and some business owners have already stated that they may have to relocate simply due to the lack of available parking places. If businesses relocate, where are the jobs going to come from? Where the businesses have relocated to, of course. Which means that people will have to commute away from the "Urban Village Utopia" to get to their jobs.

Thirdly, residents who own cars need somewhere to park their cars, whether they use their cars to commute, or use mass transit. Many people that live in Seattle, work in other cities, and will not give up their jobs to work "closer to home". Why? Salary, for one reason. Another is the type of job they do. If I worked at, say, Microsoft, and was making a decent salary, I would be foolish to give that up to go work somewhere "close to home" simply for the convenience factor, especially if there were no jobs available in the field I worked in. Am I supposed to give up my higher paying job at Microsoft to go work at a pizza restaurant, just because the pizza restaurant is "close to home"? The Mayor seems to think that is a good idea for some goofy reason.

Fourth reason. Even though the Seattle Metropolitan area has one of the most extensive mass transit systems in the US, buses go where they go according to schedules and routes set up by someone else, and not by the people who use the buses. Many people have to make two or three, and some even more, bus route changes to get to and from work, spending upwards of two to three hours a day on the bus! I do use the bus to commute to and from work, and I consider myself fortunate that I only have to take one bus to do it, and that it only takes me about 20 minutes to get to work. If I had to take more than one bus, and if it took me more than 30 minutes, to get to work, I'd drive.

The Mayors and City Councils reasoning is beyond me, but rest assured, the "Urban Village Utopia" idiocy is coming soon to a neighborhood near you ... and probably me, too.

Washington State GOP wins a key issue

As reported here, the State GOP won a key issue in the recent pre-trial hearing, keeping alive their law suit to overturn the November gubanatorial election results. But, Judge Bridges also allowed certain motions put forward by the Dems. The key thing here, though, is that Judge Bridges allowed the GOP to move forward with their proportional analysis method to determine how illegal votes could be subtracted from the totals, although the judge still isn't completely sold on the idea.

How does it work? Say there were 10 illegal votes in a particular precinct, and Gregoire won that precinct by 60%, with Rossi picking up the remaining 40%. Subtracting the illegal votes proportionally would mean that Gregoire would lose 6 votes, and Rossi 4, out of the total of 10 illegal votes. Since the vast majority of illegal votes cast came from King County, which Gregoire "won" handily, if this method is applied, Gregoire stands to lose the most, including the Governors seat.

The trial is set for May 23rd, 15 days from now. Whatever the outcome is, it will be appealed to the state supreme court.

Why won't this guy go away?

As reported in this article, "Mr. Irrelevant", aka Sen. John Kerry, showed his face in Washington State again at a state Dem Party fund raiser for the former Attorney General, Christine Gregoire.

Why he thinks he has relevance is beyond me! Memo to Sen. Kerry: Butt out of Washington State!

Losing a friend

It has been a while since I last posted anything. Several reasons and some excuses can be put forward but one is probably more valid than the others. My wife and I lost a friend. He had been with us for several years and had brought joy and love (as well as some discomfort due to his temper) to both of us. His name was Buddy and he was a black cat with a white spot on his chest that looked like an ascot. He developed diabetes a couple of years ago and I had to give him a daily shot. Diabetes is what finally caused his bodily systems to crash and so my wife had to have him put to sleep. Now with the background established, let me say that my wife was really devastated by his death. There is a lot of research that indicates that cats and humans can bond with one another to a high degree and that bond can cause much distress when severed. (I have heard that that can happen with dogs but I can't argue for or against that idea since I haven't had a dog in over thirty-five years.) I cared for our cat but not to the depth that my wife did. We seem to invest much of ourselves into our pets. I think that is a good thing for us as well as them. I am thankful for Buddy's life with us. I expect that we will get a replacement for him in due time, although the next one won't be Buddy but a new personality.

My brother's blog about JLo and PETA is a good one. I have almost an aversion to the airheaded thought processes that they consistantly exhibit. Their beliefs are SO focused on one aspect of things that they won't even discuss anything else. They have been asked on several occasions about other issues and (they are at least consistant in their refusal to answer) they refuse to even consider discussion on other issues. They also have the belief that they are "right" about their beliefs to the extent that they are willing to shout down anyone else in their advocacy. Just one more group that refuses to accept alternate opinions.

I believe that humanity should take care of animals. Using some for food and some for companions and some for clothing, etc., realizing that humane treatment should be on the top of the way we care for the animals. I DO NOT believe that animals are on the same plain with humans (although there are some humans that fit beneath animals because of their treatment of other humans, child abusers, radical Islamists who chop people's heads off, rapists, etc.). Whether you believe in God or not, the simple fact is that humanity is demonstrably the top of the scale for almost everything and we do have dominion over the animal kingdom. We can eliminate or expand habitat for animals or humans in reasonably short periods. The idea that we have this "ability" should give us pause when we consider the consequences of our actions.

PETA moonbats protesting J'Lo

As reported in this article, moonbats from PETA are protesting the use of furs in J'Lo's line of clothing.

J'Lo's response to all of this is priceless!

Lopez was asked what she thought of the protesters. "I don't," she replied as she headed into the premiere (of her new movie).

KC prosecutors have identified 648 felon voters

The KC Prosecutors office has identified 648 felons who voted in the November elections, according to this article. Is this on top of the 726 felon voters the GOP has submitted in court filings? I don't know, as the article doesn't state if this new number - 648 - is in addition to, or part of, the 726 felons listed.

Whatever, that is way too many felons who voted illegally in the election. Will this help Dino Rossi's case? The State GOP Chairman, Chris Vance thinks so, as he is quoted in the article as having said, "The government is making our case for us.".

We'll see if it does, as things in the lawsuit move along.

The new gas tax - how they voted

Here is the list of who voted for or against the new 9.5 cent a gallon gasoline tax over the next four years. If you are as upset over this as I am, contact your local legislator to let them know, and then follow that up with your vote in the next election cycle.

New gas tax won't just hurt lower income families

If you've been reading my blog, you'll know that I've been posting on all the new taxes the Dem controlled Washington State Legislature has been pushing through, and how these new taxes will hurt lower income families the most.

Well, as this article shows, the new taxes - specifically the new gas tax amount that was recently passed - won't just hurt lower income families, but small businesses as well. Businesses that fuel our still fragile economy, and provide jobs. As more and more of business budgets go to pay for fuel, there will be less and less money for payroll, and that means lay offs, which translates into less money being spent by consumers in our economy, creating a 'domino effect'. As less money is spent by consumers, more businesses will be affected by the loss of revenue, which in turn will mean more lost jobs, meaning even less money being spent, etc.

In the early 1970's, when the SST project at Boeing was shut down by the feds resulting in mass lay offs, and the economy was in a shambles with high inflation and low employment, caused by the war in Viet Nam and unwise taxing and spending, someone put up a sign on a freeway leading out of Seattle that read, "Will the last person leaving Seattle please turn out the lights?". Does anyone remember that? I do.

Does anyone know where that sign went? We may need it again.

KC Election Director Dean Logan gets deposed

In this article, Dean Logan had to answer some tough questions in his deposition, answers that will be used by the Reps in their lawsuit over the gubenatorial election last November. I'll let you read the article, and come to your own conclusions about his answers, and whether they will aid the Reps case, or not.

There is also a link at the bottom of the page to the Washington Secretary of State's website you should also check out.

In my opinion, the former Attorney General's time in the governors mansion is drawing to a close. To quote Martha S., "that's a good thing".

Washington State House passes their portion of gas tax bill

Well, this comes as no real surprise. According to this article, the State House managed to stop their bickering to pass their version of the 9.5 cent per gallon increase in the gasoline tax over the next four years. They say that this will help pay for needed repairs to the Alaskan Way Viaduct, (which is needed, I'll grant) and also for expansion of I-405 on the east side, along with other projects.

All well and good, I suppose, but, my question(s) to the Legislature is this - what have you been doing with the 28 cents per gallon tax on gasoline that we have already been paying for lo these many years? Where has that money been spent, and could that money have been more wisely spent, so as to preclude having to increase it yet again?

This new tax amount will only hurt those who are of lower incomes, as many lower income folks have older, less fuel efficient cars, and can not afford to buy something newer. "Oh, this will 'only' add between $50.00 to $200.00 to the annual cost of buying gasoline. That's not that much." say the Dems. Maybe not to you twits, but that extra $50.00 to $200.00 a year to a lower income household can be a significant amount of money. Money that could have gone to buying more nutritious food for their family, or new clothes, etc.

Why can't the Dems seem to get that? Maybe they'll learn during the election cycle.

Two children rescued from abuse

As reported in this article, two children - a boy and a girl - who were bound with plastic zip ties, and gagged with masking tape by their step-mother, were rescued by police in Bonney Lake, a suburb in Pierce County, who then arrested the step-mother, and later the childrens father. Why were the children bound with zip ties - commonly used to hold bundles of cables together - and gagged with masking tape? Because they were "unruly", as later updated reports stated.

Unruly? Unruly? And for that, they get bound and gagged, and put out in a garage in 40 and 50 degree temperatures, the boy only wearing underwear, and the girl only wearing a thin dress?! That's outrageous!

Let me clue you all in to one important fact of life. Children will be unruly - that's their job! The parents job is to not only channel the energy that children have into positive outlets, but to allow them to be children!

A parents job is not to stifle a child's "unruliness", but to encourage the child to find ways of expressing themselves as a child. Do I mean that there should be little to no structure imposed by the parents on a child? Certainly not, as pure chaos would ensue, which would be detrimental to both the parents and the child. There absolutely needs to be structure in a childs life, but at the same time, I feel that the child needs to be free within that structure to be a child.

Too many adults these days are unable to cope with the day to day stresses of every day life, and when you throw a child into the mix, they become overwhelmed, and can see only one solution - control the one element in their life that has posed the most complications, and that is the child, or children. And to do that, they often resort to abuse, taking their frustrations in life out on the most vulnerable, the child.

I don't know what was going on in this couples life before they were found to have been abusing these children, nor do I claim to have all the answers for the problems they faced. However, I do know that the solution to their problems does not lie in abusing their children. I hope they get the book thrown at them.

Statistical analysis shows Rossi actually won the election

In this article, two political science professors - Jonathan Katz of Cal Tech, and Anthony Gill of the University of Washington - took the raw data numbers of improperly counted votes as supplied by the state GOP, looking at the number of felons who illegally voted, dead voters who voted, people who voted more than once, foreign nationals who voted, etc, crunched those numbers, and based on the percentage of votes won by each candidate in either specific precincts, or in the county as a whole, and subtracted those votes from the total. Their results? Katz came up with an approximate 100 vote margin in favor of Rossi, while Gill's total was closer to 200 votes in favor of Rossi.

The state GOP will be presenting this as an argument that the election results should be overturned and a new election be held, while the state Dems say that Washington State law doesn't allow this. Of course, the Dems have said other things aren't allowed by state law before in this case, and have been corrected. Hopefully this will also happen this coming May, when the case goes to trial on the 23rd.

Will Judge Bridges accept the GOP's argument, or will he side with the Dems? Guess we'll have to wait and see, but I have a hunch that he will side with the GOP.

KC Council approves second audit of Election Office

The KC Council unanimously approved the hiring of an outside auditing firm according to this article, to come in and examine the KC Elections Office, and they are even considering reinstituting a citizens oversight committee - like what was in place after problems in 2002 and 2003 (hmmm ... seems like a pattern is developing here - 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005. 2006, too?). All well and good, if they are allowed to really examine what has gone on, with no strings attached.

Now about the possibility of a citizens oversight committee. Who decided that disbanding the earlier versions was a good idea? While I grant that it was probably due to budgetary reasons, did the powers that be think that because the problems that were identified after 2002 and 2003 were maybe rectified that there wouldn't be problems again in 2004? I think that if a citizens group is re-formed, that it should be a permanent group - and a group that has "teeth", with the ability to force anyone who screws up out of the office, and to force the Elections Office to actually obey Washington State law. Otherwise, what use would it be?

Let's hope that the two audits show, without a shadow of a doubt, just where the blame for the November election fiasco lies - at the feet of King Sims and Election Director Dean Logan - and that something positive will be done to rectify this appalling situation.

Random ramblings

Just have a few random ramblings I wanted to jot down.

Today is my birthday - whoopee, you know? Just means I'm that much closer to the big 5 - 0. Where has all the time gone? I haven't a clue - maybe you do?

In case you were wondering about my not posting on a more regular basis, as I was previously, I started a new job at the end of February, and that has drastically cut into the time available for me to keep up with the events of the day, and forming and posting an opinion about them on a daily basis. I've just been too tired after work to do much of anything. What I have been trying to do, is keep track of stories from the MSM during the week, and then posting about those on the weekends. Unfortunately, a lot of what I want to post on gets superceded by other events happening later in the week, so I have to decide what is still "news worthy", and post on those events.

Speaking of a "news event", the AP had a short blurb they put out earlier today about the "Wendy's Finger Woman" - she was arrested! I found that to be a tad amusing, since it has been revealed that this woman (the one who alledged that she found a cut off finger in her food from Wendy's) is a litigious sort, and has made unsubstantiated claims against other corporations in attempts to get money. Could this be something in the same vein? My guess is, probably. But, where did she get the finger? Makes me shiver to think about that.

Last but not least, it's Friday, and the weather here in Seattle is gorgeous. Bright sunshine, and the temps are in the 70's today. Almost perfect weather in my opinion. That's all for now. Have a nice weekend.

Anne Coulter "throws" back

Do you remember the pie throwing incident in Arizona, involving Anne Coulter? Well, in this scathing piece, Anne "throws" back, and unlike the two idiots who tried to hit her with the pies but missed, Anne lands a haymaker by asking why Dems seem to have to resort to violence when they are confronted by an argument they can't refute. Be sure to read the whole piece - it goes down as easy as pie.

Way to go, Anne!

Are you ready for this?

As reported here, that vaunted civil liberties group, the ACLU wants to go global now. As if they aren't a big enough irritant here in the US, they now want to push their leftist agenda down the throats of the rest of the world.

Just what we need - NOT!

Ludicrousness abounds!

As reported here, about 100 protesters from a coalition of so-called 'peace' groups, demonstrated outside a large Caterpillar dealership in Tukwila. What were they protesting? The sale of bulldozers to the Israeli Army, because these bulldozers are used to demolish Palestinians homes, and because Rachel Corrie, a former student of that bastion of leftist thinking, Evergreen State College, was killed by a bulldozer, while neglecting to state the fact that she had ample time to get out of the way, but unwisely didn't. Oh, yes. One other tidbit from that incident. Rachel Corrie's parents are suing Caterpillar over their daughters death - as if the bulldozer itself had "evil intentions"!

How ludicrous! A bulldozer is a tool - nothing more, nothing less. The driver was doing what he was ordered to do, which was to demolish the home of a terrorist. It was Rachel's responsibility to get out of the way, so as to not get killed, but she abdicated that responsibility, and suffered the consequences. I realize this sounds harsh, and unfeeling, but I am firmly of the opinion that Rachel wanted to die, so she could become a martyr for her cause.

And her parents are suing Caterpillar because their daughter wanted to die, and put herself in the position to do that? Reminds me of the idiot woman who burned herself with hot coffee, and sued McDonalds, even though it was her own fault she got burned!

Ludicrousness abounds!

Another outside audit?

The KC Council is proposing an outside accounting firm do an audit of the KC election office, procedures, etc. This is apart from the 'blue ribbon panel' that King Sims has already set up, and guess what? It was proposed by - surprise! - Dem. Bob Ferguson, and co-sponsered by Rep's Kathy Lambert and Reagan Dunn, with Ferguson stating, as it appears in this article, "This would be a firm with no agenda whatsoever to conduct a top-to-bottom, detailed and unbiased report and bring that information right back to the council," said Democratic Councilman Bob Ferguson, an original co-sponsor of the bill. "Then, we let the chips fall where they may."

The KC Council is currently made up of 13 council members, 7 Dems and 6 Reps (which will soon be reduced to 9 members, as voted by the people), and I wonder how many of the other 6 Dems will go along with Councilman Ferguson's statement about letting the chips fall where they may. I mean, with all of the problems in the KC Elections office, and the fact that all of those problems benefitted the Dems, if this accounting firm says they found fraud (which I think they will), and that fraud points directly at the State or County Dem Party, do you think for one minute that the other 6 Dem council members (or even Ferguson himself) will sit quietly by, and let the chips fall where they may?

I certainly don't.

This guy just - won't - go - away!

Can you believe this? Almost 6 months after the election, Sen. John Kerry is still making baseless allegations about voters being disenfranchised, as reported here.

Among his allegations:

• Leaflets were handed out saying Dems vote on Wednesday, and Reps vote on Tuesday (yeah, sure ... riiigggghhhhhtttttt!);
• People were called on the phone and told that if they ever had a parking ticket, they couldn't vote (again, yeah sure);
• He also rehashed the allegations that led to the lawsuits in Ohio, about long lines, and not enough voting machines, in several inner city districts. Guess who was in charge of those districts? Yep, you got it - Dems. Districts run by Reps had no such problems - probably because they weren't trying to disenfranchise voters!

C'mon, Senator, you had your time in the sun, but it's over. If you have proof about the leaflets and phone calls, why don't you present that proof? It's because you don't have any, and all you're doing is repeating 'talking points' espoused by your moonbat supporters such as MoveOn, and that fat tub of lard, Michael Moore (the same guy who equated the terrorists in Iraq with our Minute Men!).

Senator, for the good of the country, please just go away. Even Dems are getting tired of your act.

Washington State Legislators are out of control

Over the past several weeks, I have been posting on what the State Legislature has been proposing in the way of more taxes. In today's P-I (surprisingly enough), there is an excellent opinion piece (by an attorney of all things - ha!) that spells out - better than I have - just what is going on. I encourage you all to read it, and you can find it here.

If this wasn't so serious ...

... it would be downright comical. From this P-I article, we learn that Dems in the State Senate and House can't agree on which watered down version of election reforms they can agree on.

Watered down? Yep, watered down. The provisions for requiring voters to show ID when they vote, and for new registrants to show proof of citizenship when registering have been removed from all of the pending bills in both houses - now get this. Who has removed these provisions? Dem Representatives have stripped provisions from Senate bill versions, and Dem Senators have stripped provisions from House bill versions. Hey, folks - can't you all just get along? (Snarky, aren't I? Heh)

The reason for stripping the proof of citizenship requirement? It would be 'too hard' to verify the proof documents. Hey, Dems! Ever hear of a passport? If the Feds are going to require us to show our passport when entering the US from either Canada or Mexico, why can't people be made to show one when registering to vote? Too hard? I think what is too hard is some peoples heads.

Could this alter Dino Rossi's legal strategy?

In this article from the Times, this question was posed: Could the newly found 94 uncounted absentee votes alter Rossi's strategy?

Possibly, in that they can now focus more on election workers errors (which are legion, by the way) which may (or may not, but I firmly believe it does) constitute outright fraud.

Also in the article is a timeline of the case, including the actual trial date, set for May 23rd. I have a distinct feeling that the former Attorney General shouldn't be getting too comfortable in the Governors Mansion.

There could be more uncounted absentee votes found?

In this article, it was revealed that KC Elections workers found another (on top of the 93 found earlier) uncounted absentee ballot, and Elections Department spokesperson Bobbie Egan says they might find more? This has moved from the realm of the improbable to being surreal!

You couldn't sell this, if you tried to make a movie of it or write a book!

Washington State Dems want to raise the gas taxes again

From an article in the Times, I see the State Dems aren't satisfied yet with all of the ways they want to get more of our money. Now they want to raise taxes on gas another 9.5 cents over the next four years to pay for highway projects - on top of the 28 cents per gallon we already pay for highway projects!

I apologize if I seem to be repeating myself here, but the Legislature (read, Dems) continues to fail to look at what they already are getting from us in the form of taxes, and seeing just what they (WE!) are paying for, and what 'fat' can be cut without cutting services, and what spending increases can be cut, also without cutting services. They also fail to see what impact these new tax ideas are going to have on those who have lower incomes - which if all of their tax proposals go into effect, would be devestating, not only to lower income folks, but for our still fragile economy. If you can't tell by now, this is a major pet peeve of mine.

Note to the Legislature (mostly Dems) - find, and cut, the waste first, before imposing any more new taxes!

Think they will do that? Well, I'm certainly not going to hold my breath.

Will 'King' Sims let Sam Reed do a review?

From an article in the P-I, Washington Secretary of State Sam Reed is ready and willing (not too sure about the 'able' part) to conduct a 'review' into the myriad problems found in the KC Elections office over the conduct of this past Novembers election.

However, he needs 'permission' from either 'King' Sims, or the full county council in order to do that (some of our laws here are so dumb!), and a spokesperson for Sims said that they would welcome an 'outside audit' of the election office.

Note to 'King' Sims and Sam Reed - this should not be a simple 'audit' or 'review', but a full blown investigation! Make it happen, and soon, Sam!

UPDATE: As reported today in the P-I here, a citizens commission has been formed to 'review' just what happened in King County during and after the election, with their report due sometime in July.

Will this commission be non-partisan? Will any recommendations they come up with be implemented? Hard to say right now, but we can always hope.

Legislature passes pregnant-divorce bill

In case you're not up to speed on this, a little background is in order. Late last year, a judge in Spokane denied a divorce to a woman from her abusive husband, because she was pregnant. The fact that she was pregnant by her current boyfriend (who wants to marry her as soon as she gets her divorce) didn't matter to the judge.

I was more than a little non-plussed by that decision, as were many around the state, and by many across the nation, once the story hit the news wires. Now for a brief personal disclaimer - I am divorced, but I don't think that divorce is a real solution to problems in a marriage, except in certain cases, such as spousal abuse, among others (which includes my case - which will remain private).

At any rate, the State Legislator has passed a law, which you can read about here, to prevent something like this from happening again - which I support - and has sent it to the former Attorney General for her signature. This is one time I can live with it, if she signs it into law

Study finds that foster kids don't do well after leaving foster care

That's news? Well, according to this article it is, but it shouldn't be, really, if you knew the facts.

Basically what the study says is this:

• Foster children come from home situations that are unstable. Duh! They wouldn't be in foster care if their home life was stable! (gee, ya think?);
• Foster children get moved from foster home to foster home, which creates more instability in their lives. Another duh, but this is true - they do get moved, several times in fact. Part of that is the age restrictions placed on foster homes, i.e; they can care for kids between ages X and Y, but not Z, and another part is that many foster parents aren't too 'stable', themselves, and can't 'deal' with the problems the kids have, and don't even bother to try to either (there are, however, many foster parents who do care, and do the best that they can to provide a stable, loving environment for the kids in their care);
• Foster children have difficulty after leaving foster care. Part of the reason for that is that the children have been moved so often, and another part is that many foster parents are only in it for the money, and really don't give a tinkers da*n about the kids. As a result of those, and other problem situations, foster kids aren't given the chance to learn the basics of living on their own - things such as looking for and applying for a job; getting into college; grocery shopping and cooking; coming up with a household budget, plus other things that many of us take for granted.

How do I know all this stuff? Am I some kind of child psychologist? Am I a foster parent? No to the second two questions. How do I know this stuff then? I used to work for a non-profit organization (that will remain nameless) that dealt with foster children that were 'aging out' of the foster care system in Washington State - foster children have to leave foster care when they turn 18, as they are now legal adults, and not children any longer- and my former co-workers had to deal with all, and more, of the 'educational' shortcomings of the young adults entering the program (my part in the program was unrelated to, but in support of, what my former co-workers were, and are still, doing - and I applaud their efforts!), and I learned from both my former co-workers, and from the program participants themselves, what foster care was about. Not a pretty picture, let me tell you.

Do I have the solution(s) to these problems? No, but I wish I did, so that we could shut down the foster care programs as being unnecessary.

KC Elections office suspend some workers

The problem with that move is that the (possibly) wrong people were suspended. Why does it always seem that the 'worker bees' are the ones to get the fall out dumped on them, while the higher ups - who usually give the orders for 'whatever' that ends up costing people their jobs - go scott free (like KC Election Director Dean Logan)?

At any rate, former Senator Slade Gorton has weighed in on the problems in the KC Elections office, which you can read here.

AARP's new ad...

As a little background, I am able to join the seasoned citizens group, AARP due to an accident of being in the early years of the baby boom generation. I once thought that AARP had a valid and useful part in the general culture of this country. Now, however, I see ads on TV that challenge their claims of truthfulness and relevency. Have you seen the ad that has a lady being told that because her sink is backed up she needs to have her whole house torn down? The problems in Social Insecurity are presented as being of minor consequence and easily fixed with simple solutions and the efforts of people to bring about a change in where a tiny percentage of the tax is left in the tax-payer's hand is considered "too extreme". To go over the numbers about how much could be accomplished by setting aside money under your own control for your own retirement is somewhat redundant. (Welcome to the Department of Redundancy Department.) Suffice it to say that even a small amount of money invested regularly in mutual funds adds up to a mammoth amount of money when held for twenty to forty years. So when AARP mouths the same propaganda that the Dems are pushing, I wonder at the level of truth and relevancy they have. Where have you gone, you onetime true advocate of retired persons? How in the world can you persist in presenting the ideas that living in poverty is the way to go in retirement? You complain that many retired people are living with the questions of whether to eat or get medicine and you resist the idea that making a longterm investment is a good thing. How do you live with yourselves?

The former Attorney General recently took a little trip to inspect SR-520, and made the decision that it needed replacement first, and not the disaster waiting to happen SR-99 Viaduct - even though I highly doubt that she has a structural engineering degree, which would make her 'assessment' a tad more credible, don't you think? - and yet, the Viaduct is still sinking, as reported here, and will need some remedial repair to stabilize the section that has sunk if (really, when) it sinks further. If the Viaduct continues to deteriorate at it's current rate, without an infusion of repair funds, it will collapse. Remember the double deck freeway expanse in Northern California that collapsed during the 1989 earthquake (during the World Series between the A's and Giants), killing several people? I do, and since I do use the Viaduct on occasion, I really don't want to be on it (especially on the lower, south bound, deck), when it collapses. Nor do I want to be on 520 if it were to suddenly sink into Lake Washington, either.

I used to live on the east side of Lake Washington, and work in Seattle, and used 520 to commute back and forth (now I both live and work in Seattle, so that is no longer part of my commute), and if I still lived on the east side, I may feel that - out of 'I need to be able to get back and forth between work and home conveniently' feelings - 520 should be dealt with first, but - and this may be because I live in Seattle now, but I like to think it's for more practical reasons - I believe that the Viaduct should be replaced first, preferably with a tunnel. I won't hash out the 'for' and 'against' arguments here on what replacement method to use, due to time and space constraints, but I am firmly convinced that replacing the Viaduct first will have the greater positive economic impact on the entire region - not just Seattle - than replacing 520 first would. Oh, it would be nice if we could do both at the same time, but since we are talking billions of dollars here, we simply cannot afford it. Heck, we really don't have the money to replace either right now, but we must replace them both, eventually.

The Viaduct was built around 1953, and the 520 floating bridge sometime in the 1960's (don't know the exact date because I wasn't paying attention back then to much of anything except my own insular life, and I don't want to take the time now to research it - if you want to that, please, be my guest, and if I have the time frame wrong, let me know), and 520 has been re-surfaced at least twice in the past 20 years or so (mainly due to studded tire use - another blog post for another time! - creating ruts in the road surface), and I know that the Viaduct has 'worn' better than 520. Why is that? Were the construction standards, materials, and or methods better in the early 1950's, or did 'someone' in the State Legislature of the 1960's 'get stupid', and allow lower standards for the construction of a floating bridge?

Let's not get 'stupid' now, and replace the wrong structure at the wrong time. Replace the Viaduct first, then deal with 520.

It's amazing what you can find when you're not looking for it

Have you ever had occasion to be looking for something, and during your search for that item, you stumble across something that you haven't seen for a while, but weren't looking for? The title of this post is a phrase I commonly use when this happens with me, and it appears as if election workers in KC will soon be using it, too, as during a search for something else, 87 more uncounted, valid, absentee votes have been found. Also reported in this story is the fact that absentee vote election workers have been reassigned, pending an investigation by, (get this!) Election Director Dean Logan, who is "concerned, and wants to get to the bottom of" the incompetence that KC Elections has demonstrated time after time after time.

Psst! Hey, Dean! It's April 3rd! The election was held on November 2nd, 6 months ago, and you're just now initiating an "investigation"? How timely, how courageous, how ... how come you didn't think of this earlier?

A direct quote from this story, from Washington State Republican Party Chief Chris Vance, pretty much sums up my feelings about this whole bag of worms - "It's unbelievable. You couldn't make this up if you tried," Vance said."

Yep, unbelievable all right.

Wa State Dems want to tax Spam now?

Sheesh! Not only are the Dems actively seeking to find new ways to seperate us from more of our money, but according to this, they are now thinking about taxing canned meats!

The Dems say they are for the "little guy", but almost all of the existing taxes, and all these new fangled idea taxes they keep coming up with, actually hurt the "little guy" the most. What's up with that? Simple - no Dem ever saw a tax he didn't like.

My question to the Dems is this. What's next? Rolaids?

The way the Dems keep trying to find new ways to tax us, a lot of us will be needing to use Rolaids, so they just might!

Mayor wants to expand his 'urban village' utopia

In this article in the P-I, we find that the Mayor of Seattle, Greg Nichols, is trying to expand his utopian 'urban village' concept by forcing more of us out of our cars, by allowing developers to build fewer parking spaces for new developements in areas (Capitol Hill, First Hill) that already have parking problems.

I live in the lower Queen Anne area, and parking here is tight, but not as ridiculously tight as in the above mentioned neighborhoods - at least not yet, anyway - but I have already seen the Mayors hand in the parking situation here, as over the past few years, a lot of condo's, apartments, and even some new hotels have been built here with few parking spaces built for those new developments - as a matter of fact, a lot of what were once "non-time-limited" (you can park for up to 72 consecutive hours in those) spaces either have meters (15 minutes max!) now, or are simply just gone - without any regard whatsoever for the already established residents of the neighborhood. I know I'm not happy about this, and most of my neighbors aren't either, but does the Mayor care how we feel? Not a Tinkers ... um, 'whit'.

The Mayors idea is to cram as many people and businesses as possible, into the smallest area possible, thereby creating 'urban villages' where people will live, work, and shop, all in their neighborhood, reducing (with the one day hope of eliminating) the need for cars, reducing pollution and bad traffic. Sounds pretty good, right?

Well, the whole idea is flawed from the get go, as most people do not work in the same area that they live, and I really don't know of too many business owners that will move their business to a "central location" to accomodate their employees, let alone the Mayor and his idiotic 'urban village' idea. Oh, and by the way, the Mayor isn't giving anyone (other than developers) any incentive to buy into his wonder-plan. If you live in one of the impacted areas, and need to own a car, and complain about the lack of parking, the Mayor's attitude is, basically, 'So what? Sell your car, take the bus, or sign up with FlexCar. Not my problem!' (he doesn't live there, you see, and rarely gets out of his office to visit neighborhoods).

See? Flawed. Will things change? Only when we unelect the 'Urban Village Idiot'.

Washington State Dem Legislators want to raise taxes again

This article in the P-I lets us know that, once again State Dems are targeting our wallets - which should be no surprise to anyone really, since the Dems are the 'tax and spend' party, after all.

The thing that really gripes me is that instead of finding ways to make cuts in spending increases, and trying to figure out how to do the necessary things that have to be done on what the state already is raising, the Dems just do "the usual", and look for ways to tax us.

I don't know if that (raising taxes) comes from a 'set in stone' mindset, or just plain laziness, but I do know one thing - I'm getting darned tired of it, and wish the Dems would come to the realization that the taxes they impose on us is still our money (whether it's still in our wallets or not), and that they work for us, not special interest groups, and that as easily as they can be voted in to office, they can just as easily be voted out of office.

Note to Dems: Be aware that the people are watching what you do, and you had better do what we sent you to do. Raising taxes that will harm our still fragile state economy is not one of those tasks we hired you to do!

A reasonable voice from the Middle East

A reasonable voice from the Middle East, Mr. Youssef M. Ibrahim, speaks eloquently in this opinion piece from the Times (via the WashPost), which is well worth the read.

Rarely is there any good news from the Middle East, especially in regard to Presdient Bush's policies, and the effects from his policies - especially from a native of the region - but, although he leaves some questions 'hanging', Mr. Ibrahim does give us some good news, from his regions point of view.

Rep. Governors having to raise taxes

Report here of Rep. Gov's finding that they have to raise taxes to meet needs of their state, and are having to ask voters for spending limit increases, saying that budget cuts "are untenable" - what about a freeze on budget spending increases? Eliminate spending increases, and your budget will almost automatically get 'tighter' (in a positive sense, that is), with a smaller deficit number. No mention of any Dem. Gov.'s doing the same, but you can assume that that is the case in regard to them as well. Another 'no balance' article by an AP writer (I'd say reporter, but I'm not sure any AP writer exactly qualifies for that title, as they all seem to have a politically motivated agenda, inserting their opinion in their 'reporting', rather than just reporting facts, and letting us decide whether there is any merit or not to what they report.).

Some Washington State counties purging their voter rolls of felons

No matter what happens in the Rossi law suit over the November election, he has accomplished at least one thing - at least some of the counties appear to be finally looking over their list of voters to see who is, and more importantly who is not, eligible to vote. This is something the counties should have done before the election, and should continue to do on an on-going basis to keep everything 'clean' and legitimate. (As reported by the Times here.)

Also from the Times is a partial list of what some counties have been doing. You can find that information here. It would, hoever, be nice to know what all of the counties have done or are doing.

Judge Bridges sets a hearing to set the hearing

Buried in the sixth paragraph in this short article in the P-I (seems they're taking writing lessons from the NYT, AP and WashPost) is the fact that Chelan County Superior Court Judge John Bridges has set an April 5th hearing date to set the schedule for the rest of the trial in the Dino Rossi lawsuit. Although the actual trial date has yet to be set, at least this is some progress!

Also, both parties want to depose KC election officials, and Judge Bridges has set the schedule for that, for the week of April 18th.

New data base to close some felon voting holes

But not all, as reported by the P-I here.

Right now, the voter rolls in Washington State are maintained by each individual county, and when a person is convicted of a felony, the court is supposed to notify the county of residence of the felon, that s/he has been convicted of a felony.

However, there is an immediate problem here. If a person, who has residency in one county, is convicted of a felony in another county, they often are not reported by the convicting county to the county where the felon resides. This new, state-wide voter registration data base (scheduled to go on line some time this year) is supposed to eliminate that problem, and I really hope it does do that.

The other problem that already exists, and will not be addressed by the new data base, is when someone is convicted of a felony in Federal Court, as the Federal Courts are apparently under no obligation to notify the state or county where the felon has residency.

Here's a simple solution to that, although it will involve politicians (which almost always seems to 'complicate' things) - enact a Federal law that, whenever anyone is convicted of a felony, whether that conviction is in State or Federal Court, the State/County of residency is automatically notified of that conviction. I know that Washington State isn't the only state to revoke a felons right to vote upon conviction of a felony, so it logically stands to reason that other states' have the same notification problem. This solution should eliminate that problem for all states.

Really all that needs to be done, on the Federal level, is add a new field in the NCIS data base of convicted felons, to have the "notify State/County" information. Yes, it would entail a certain cost to have that information added to that data base, and yes, it would entail a certain cost to have the states and counties notified, but I think the cost for that would actually be minimal in the long run. Corporations are constantly updating their data bases to include new information related to their business, so why couldn't the government do the same? (I know, I know - logic and simplicity and government usually don't mix, but still, it could be done.)

93 more felons found to have voted in King County

This brings the total to 192 so far, as reported by the P-I here. These additional felon voters were discovered by the Prosecutors Office, who will formally challenge their registrations.

In Washington State, anyone convicted of a felony loses their right to vote, and that right can only be restored after the convicted felon has served their time, paid all legal fees and any and all restitution ordered by the courts. Then, the convicted felon has to go through one more step, and petition for his/her right to vote to be restored once s/he has fulfilled all of the other items first. If s/he is successful in the petition, then their voting rights will be restored, and they then re-register to vote - but not before then.

Of course, there is no way to know exactly who these felon voters actually voted for, unless each of them is asked, under oath, who they voted for; guess what? The chances of that happening are slim to none, due to both the cost and time factors (not to mention the 'credibility' factor).

Those people who have been found to have voted illegally, and have had their names forwarded to the various County Prosecutor offices throughout the state to have their registrations challenged, should be, will be, and are being purged from the voter rolls, which is good.

My question is this - why wasn't this dealt with before the election?

Bald eagles being slaughtered in B.C.

Someone (or multiple someones) in British Columbia, Canada, has been slaughtering bald eagles lately, with another 8 dead eagles found recently as reported here.

That folks, in case you aren't aware, is our National Symbol that is being killed off. In Canada. So far, nobody seems to know why, yet, either.

Here are some possible reasons -

• The person(s) responsible thinks it's great sport;
• The person(s) responsible is doing it for body parts, to sell on the black market as 'medicinal aids';
• The person(s) responsible hates the US, and is 'getting back' at the US by killing our National Symbol (but why they would think that they are 'getting back' at the US that way beats me).

There are no legitimate reasons for this at all, and I hope that the Canadian authorities are able to find and stop the person(s) responsible for the slaughter.

Bald eagles are magnificent animals (beyond being the National Symbol of the US), and should be appreciated for that, not slaughtered.

MSM is still obsessed with when the troops will come home from Iraq

It seems the more I read about the war in Iraq in the MSM, the more I see them bringing up the old question of 'when will the troops come home?', such as in this article.

They just don't seem to get it, you know? Well, here's the answer to your question, MSM. Our troops will come home when the Iraqi's are ready for them to come home, and not a minute sooner, OK?

World War II ended in May of 1945, and we still have troops stationed in Europe (primarily in Germany). The Korean War ended in 1953, and we still have about 38,000 troops stationed in South Korea, with more troops (US Marines) stationed in Okinawa. That's 60 and 52 years respectively (for those of you who may be math challenged), so ... two years after the start of the war in Iraq, the MSM is obsessing over when our troops will come back from Iraq? Give me a break!

One more time folks, and repeat after me - our troops will come home when the Iraqi's are ready for them to come home, and not a minute sooner, and certainly not according to some timetable wished for by the MSM or the donks.

Do you get it now? Sheesh!

Terri Schiavo update

The feeding tube was removed Friday afternoon, dooming Terri to a slow, lingering death - which could take up to two weeks - unless the courts step in and order the tube re-installed.

You can read about this here and here.

Her death is a tragedy of 'convenience' that must not be allowed to happen. Contact your state and federal legislators and demand that Terry's life be spared.

For those living in Washington State, you can find your state legislator here.

For federal legislators, go here.

If you still would like to help monetarily, I posted links on how you can do that here.

I believe that the true measure of a society is how that society treats the least among it. What does it say about our society when we legally execute someone who cannot speak for themself?

Dems still looking for votes - just in case

State Dems are apparently still looking for votes, according to this article in the P-I, out of the more than 4,000 rejected provisional votes - just in case the Reps find a way to unseat the former Attorney General.

To me, this smacks of desperation on the part of the Dems. I mean, their candidate was certified, right? Then why are they trying to dig out more votes from rejected provisional votes? Are they afraid of what the Reps may turn up?

UPDATE: Stefan Sharkansky of Sound Politics has also posted on this subject here.

More improperly tabulated votes in KC

As (mis)reported in this article in the P-I, there are 660 (more) improperly tabulated provisional votes in KC.

Originally, 348 provisional votes were reported as being put through the vote counting machines, but now there are an additional 660 more improperly tabulated votes (in the article, it is reported that the total is 660, which is incorrect), bringing the total to more than 1,000 improperly tabulated provisional votes machine counted in KC. That alone should be grounds for throwing out the election for governor, but the Dems will 'spin' it all away, and convince the local MSM that this is not sufficient grounds.

1,008 far outnumbers 129 don't you think?

UPDATE: Stefan Sharkansky over at Sound Politics sheds some new light on the total number of provisional ballots put through the AccuVote machines here.

State Dems at it again

In this article in the P-I, it is reported that State Dems are trying - once again - to thwart the will of the people, by trying to weaken an Initiative limiting their ability to raise taxes.

Initiative 601 as passed by the electorate, limits the ability of the State Legislature to raise taxes by forcing a super majority vote of the Legislature before they can raise taxes. State Dems are trying to change that to a simple majority vote instead.

Legislators are duly elected representatives of the people, and as such are obligated to work for the people, doing the will of the people. Seems that they have forgotten that little fact, as in trying to make this change, they are obviously not doing the will of the people.

Why is it that Dems are constantly trying to find new ways to grab more money from the people? Oh, yeah ... I forgot. Dems never see a tax they don't like.

Apparently many Legislators are forgetting that 2006 is right around the corner - when many are up for re-election. Let's send them a message next year, shall we, that they work for us, and if they don't want to work for us, then we'll find someone else who will work for us.

UPDATE: The Seattle Times is opposed to this idea in this op-ed piece.

Can the Washington State Supreme Court remain objective?

In this article in the P-I, the question is raised regarding whether or not the WA State Supreme Court Justices can remain objective, whenever the gubenatorial election contest case comes before them, as many of the Justices have ties to both sides in the case. Can they then, truly be objective, or will some/most/all of them have to recuse themselves from hearing this case, whenever it comes before them?

My answer to that question of objectivity is - I don't know, but I certainly do hope so. Those people are paid to be objective in all cases brought before the State Supreme Court, not just this (potential) case. I have my doubts, though, considering some of their recent decisions.

If they cannot be objective, then they must remove themselves from hearing this case, plain and simple. We will see whan the time comes.

Dean Logan - expert at obfuscation

Dean Logan continues in his efforts to obfuscate the facts regarding what happened in King County in the November election, even to members of the KC Council, saying that "We will continue to be the target of ... politically motivated potshots ...", as reported in this article in the P-I.

Yes, Mr. Logan, you will remain the target as long as you continue to try to cover your rear by making ludicrous statements, and trying to abdicate your responsibilities of properly overseeing elections - which is your job - onto the electorate, and by holding back documents from requesters.

It is beyond time, Mr. Logan, for you to come clean in this matter.

David Irons, Jr. to run against Sims

Current KC Councilman, Republican David Irons, Jr. will run against 'King' Sims for the KC Executive office, according to this article in the P-I.

The Shark over at Sound Politics has also posted on this here.

Mr. Irons will soon be out of a job, as his is one of the seats that will be eliminated due to the people cutting the number of Council members from 13 down to 9, so I urge everyone to lend a hand and help Mr. Irons get that new job that he wants.

Burning question

In today's "Saturday Spin" in the P-I, David Horsey has asked another of his "burning questions", to wit: If democracy takes root in the Middle East, how much credit should be given to George W. Bush? [Emphasis mine]

In David's article, he leads up to his "burning question" by relating an insipid story of how he watched the incipient democracy movement flicker briefly in Tiananmen Square until it (was brutally crushed) ended, with another P-I reporter, and then reels off the string of the failed democracy movements in Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and again, Tiananmen Square, while briefly mentioning the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the falling of the Berlin Wall (which, in case you hadn't noticed David, are related events), neglecting to mention Afghanistan or the Ukraine - at all.

David's entire article is rooted in pessimism, as evidenced by the very first word of his question - if. David, in case you haven't noticed, democracy has already taken root in the Middle East!

Let's see if we can answer David's "burning question", shall we?

Afghanistan freed of an evil tyrannical government, and the population allowed to vote - for the first time ever! - because GWB saw the danger posed by the Al-Qaida training camps funded and protected by the former Afghan regime.

Iraq freed of an evil tyrannical government, and the population allowed to vote - for the first time in almost 50 years - because GWB saw a real and present danger in the former regime.

In Palestine, Arafat the kleptocrat finally dies (bet he was surprised when those virgins weren't there!), and they hold elections there (ok, so they were rigged and another terrorist now runs that fledgling government).

Egypt will be holding presidential elections this year, and more than one candidate will be allowed on the ballot since Mubarek attained that office with the killing of Sadat.

Men recently voted in Saudi Arabia, and it is rumored that women will soon be allowed to vote - for the first time ever! - there too.

There are pro-democracy demonstrations happening in Lebanon against the Syrian oppression/occupation, which has caused the Lebanese government to resign en-masse in protest over the Syrian oppression/occupation; Hezbollah has organized demonstrations, too - in support of their masters, the Syrians - but, so what? They haven't had nearly the numbers of people in their demonstrations, as those who have demonstrated against Syria.

There have also been reports of pro-democracy demonstrations in Syria, for Pete's sake! Small, and infrequent, to be sure, but apparently they have happened!

In conclusion, since democracy has taken root in the Middle East (David - get your head out of that place where the sun never shines, and open your eyes, dude!), and that is a result of GWB's vision, forthrightness, and determination, as seen through the actions in Afghanistan and Iraq (who's next - Syria or Iran?) by the US military, I can only say that the credit for that belongs to GWB AND the determination of the freed people, and those yearning to be free, of the Middle East.

Keep it away from the flagpole

The title is advice a friend, and former co-worker, gave to me years ago regarding developing a 'relationship' with someone at work. The meaning of 'keep it away from the flagpole' is simple, really - don't get involved with co-workers. I've done my best to follow that advice, avoiding hassles I just don't need.

Well, either Harry Stonecipher, the former CEO of Boeing totally ignored that adage, or was totally ignorant of that adage, as not only did he lose his position at Boeing for having an affair with a co-worker, but he will soon lose his wife as well, as she has filed for divorce. That's what you get for "thinking" with the wrong "head", Harry.

But, don't feel too sorry for good ol' Harry. He'll receive the balance of his 2005 $1.5 million dollar salary (up to his April 1 retirement date - about $250,000.00), plus his 2004 bonus of $2.1 million dollars from Boeing, so Harry ain't hurtin' for cash - yet. The future former Mrs. Stonecipher is planning on sharing in that tidy little sum, plus whatever other assets ol' Harry has laying around.

Let that be a lesson to you, kids. Keep it away from the flagpole!

More KC election incompentence?

Possibly 40 people (is this in addition to the already documented cases, or does this number include those?) may have voted twice in the November, 2004 election in King County.

As more and more information comes out, both through the local MSM, and at Sound Politics, I am left to ponder one of two conclusions.

Either those who are in charge of, and work in, the King County Elections office are totally inept and incompetent, or they willfully rigged the election to go to the former Attorney General. There are just too many "problems" with the way the election was "handled" in KC for me to believe anything else.

Big whoopee

In this piece at KOMO's website, it is (almost breathlessly, I might add) noted that Bill Gates is once again at the top of the Forbes list of the worlds billionaires. Well, good for Bill, but as the title of this post reads - big whoopee.

It would be nice for me personally to have enough money to live 'comfortably' (as the wealthy like to say), and not have to work another day in my life if I didn't want to. Oh, yes, that would be nice.

But, just as I really don't care about what some Hollywood star thinks, or is going through, I really don't care that Bill is still occupying the top spot on the Forbes list. Will the world come to a screeching halt if Bill happens to slip a notch or two on the list? No. My life - and probably his - will continue, regardless of where Bill is on the Forbes list.

Sheesh ... such gushing and fawning ... almost makes one want to hurl.

NAACP still trying to push race-based agenda

In this article in the P-I, the NAACP has a new ally in their race-based agenda for higher education, the American Jewish Congress.

Unfortunately for the NAACP and the American Jewish Congress, I-200 (which bans the use of race in education or public hiring) stands in their way, and politicians are reluctant to do anything to weaken that (probably for fear they'd get voted out of office more than anything else).

One bill has already 'died' in the House, and a similar bill in the Senate - SB 5575 - sponsered by Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, D-Seattle faces an uphill battle for 'survival', although it has passed out of commitee.

While I am for everyone having the opportunity for a higher education, I am against basing entry to that higher education on the color of your 'exterior packaging', or where you're from. My question to the NAACP is - what does the color of your skin, or where you are from, have to do with your ability to think and reason? The answer, which neither organization will tell you, is - nothing. Not a thing.

If that is the case (and I really believe it to be so), why does the NAACP, and other groups, continue to push for this raced-based agenda?

New state gas tax on the way?

[Personal disclaimer: I'm not an economist, nor do I play one on TV.]

Apparently, it doesn't matter which side of the political aisle you're on, as this article in the P-I shows - if you want to pay for road improvements, add to the gas tax. People in the state of Washington already pay 28 cents in tax money for every gallon of gas purchased, and state legislators want to increase that? We pay, on average, 5 cents per gallon more than the rest of the nation.

What I think our legislators need to do is:

• Spend a year living at or near the state 'poverty line', to see the real impact of the regressive taxes in this state on those in the lower income brackets, before they can even propose legislation to increase existing taxes, or create new taxes (I know - it's a fantasy idea that will never happen);
• Failing that, each legislator needs to look at programs that they are responsible for to see what bloat (all government programs have bloat) can be cut without hurting those less fortunate, or endangering the public in some way (such as not properly maintaining bridges, for example);
• Freeze spending increases.
• Much as I'm loathe to suggest this, replace the existing regressive tax system, which is based on the costs of goods and/or services, with a state income tax, which would at least be based on people's incomes. I would also suggest that there be a minimum income dollar amount established whereby those at or below that level are exempt from paying any tax whatsoever (of course, that last part might be a pipe dream too).

From what I have been able to glean from various sources, our legislators aren't even attempting to look at ways to cut spending, just looking for more ways to tax the citizens of Washington. Twenty eight cents per gallon is already too high of a tax for some in this state; increasing that without even trying to cut spending first is despicable in my book.

Dan Rather stayed too long...

I saw a rather interesting statement the other day that I am in entire agreement with, "Dan Rather stayed too long as the anchor...". I was really amazed by the one who made the statement, Walter Cronkite. If there is anyone else who has stayed longer in the public eye for some reason, how is it that he can say with any credibility that Dan stayed too long? Another question, why does anyone listen to the most anti-American "journalist" of the 20th century? I can't think of any reason, can you?

Gray Wolf adds, Good riddance to Dan RaTHer! Too bad he didn't get fired outright by C-BS.

UPDATE: Captain Ed over at Captains Quarters weighs in on Dan RaTHer's retirement with song lyrics sent to him by one of his readers.

No more war?

I was out driving and doing some errands and saw a bumper snicker that declared, "NO MORE WAR". I had a hard time paying attention to my driving for a mile or so, thankfully I was on surface streets and NOT on the freeway, while I tried to figure out how that "lofty ideal" could possibly come about. The only way that war can be eliminated would be with the total elimination of everyone except me. One major problem with that would be that I couldn't share my opinions of what was trite and true with anyone, because there wouldn't be anyone. War is conflict between people. It varies in severity due to any number of reasons, yet to avoid it might mean acceptance of things which are awful to contemplate. I like the idea of no more war. It has a beauty in it that means no one is in conflict with anyone else. It supposedly means that we are all at peace. It isn't possible. There are too many people out there who think that everyone else needs to stop thinking for themselves and start accepting what the elites' pronouncements tell them is "right" and what "should be done". How can anyone think the idea of no more war is attainable is beyond me. I salute their right to be idiotic, but I can't go along with their beliefs. I guess that makes me "intolerant".

Is political free speech on blogs ending?

It seems that way, and that is alarming to say the least. The McCain-Feingold Act, supposedly for election finance reform, has clauses in it that open the door for the FEC to impose fines on bloggers who make political posts, from either the Right or the Left.

For more information on this, see what Ed Morrisey at Captain's Quarters has written here, here, here, here, and here. (Boy, when Cap'n Ed grabs on to something, he just won't let go - which is great!)

When I do any more posts that might even seem to be endorsements of a politician, I may have to do the same thing - insert a disclaimer - that the Captain did here, just so I don't get fined by the FEC. This is more than not good - it's outrageous!

Trunk over at Powerline also has some things to say on this issue here.

Their ships have come in - finally

After waiting months longer than they had originally anticipated, the families and friends of those serving on the aircraft carrier USS Lincoln and the destroyer USS Shoup, finally saw their ships come in, as the two US Navy war ships finally returned to their home port of Everett yesterday, after having their deployments extended to help tsunami victims.

To the ladies and gentlemen of the Lincoln and Shoup, from a Navy vet - Welcome home from a job well done, and thank you for leading the way!

Is Karl Rove working on behalf of Dino Rossi?

Apparently Washington State Democrat Chair Paul Berendt thinks so, and has sent out an urgent appeal to state Dems asking for (what else?) more money (maybe to help pay off the big fine they owe the PDC for being bad boys and girls by not telling where they got other funds from, hmmm?). In his urgent 2 page letter, Berendt makes a ridiculous charge, as reported in this Times article, that Karl Rove is taking valuable time away from helping President Bush to 'pull the strings' in Rossi's legal battle.

From the article - "This is no joke! Don't stop reading until you've finished this letter," pleads the two-page mailing, sent to Democrats this week by state party Chairman Paul Berendt.

Fear is a tried-and-true motivator in political fund raising. And Berendt spun a scary tale of Karl Rove, President Bush's deputy chief of staff and top political adviser, calling the shots in Republican Dino Rossi's case against the election of Democratic Gov. Christine Gregoire.

State Democratic Party Chairman Paul Berendt warned of "guerrilla tactics" by "right-wing attorneys" and "extremist operatives." (I'm not an attorney, so that must mean I'm an extremist operative using guerrilla tactics. Hey, cool!) He said they are "meticulously crafting a case to unseat Christine Gregoire."

To fight back, Berendt said, Democrats must renew their membership in the party. "I am not an alarmist," Berendt wrote in the letter. "This is not Chicken Little crying: 'The sky is falling.' "

"Renew your membership today at the most generous level you can afford and help me stop Rove's mignons [sic] in their tracks." (Mignons? Paul, I suggest you learn how to use a spell checker before you send any more letters, pal. The word is spelled 'minions'. Sheesh!)

Berendt says in his letter (see above) that he isn't being 'Chicken Little', crying that the 'sky is falling'. Oh, no? Then, what are you trying to say, Paul? Sure seems to me that this is precisely what you are trying to say.

Karl Rove pulling the strings for the Rossi campaign? Oh, please.

They want the State to do WHAT?

In an article in Friday's P-I, "The state should take the control of drugs away from gangs and street dealers -- manufacturing them and distributing them to addicts instead of locking up users and letting the black market thrive, according to the King County Bar Association." And guess who endorses this lunacy - The Church Council of Greater Seattle and Seattle League of Women Voters, the Washington State Public Health Association and the Washington State Pharmacy Association - because they say " ... current drug policy is a tragic failure."

What the real tragedy is here folks, is not the current drug policy, but the disintegration of the family, and the eroding of the moral framework of our society. What the KCBA, and the others who endorse this, fails to acknowledge in their lunatic proposal, is the fact that moral relativism (if it feels right, do it) has been pushing out the concept of right vs. wrong for years now, and that is the real reason why we have a drug problem. They are looking to "cure" the symptoms, and forgetting (or ignoring) the root causes of the drug problem. The moral relativist crowd, enabled by (mostly) left leaning politicians, are working harder and harder to erode what's left of the 'family values' that built this nation to be what it is, and we are now, and will continue to be, reaping the tragic 'fruits' of their labors.

Take it from a former drug user from a broken family - we cannot continue to allow this to happen!

State Lawmakers looking to quickly pass more taxes

In a March 1 article over at KOMO's web site, State lawmakers (read Democrats) are looking to pass even more regressive transportation taxes to try to fill the budget shortfall. There are two main points I want to make here.

The first is that, from what I have been able to learn, our legislators aren't doing much if anything at all towards making the necessary cuts in the growth of spending first, before they try to come up with new ways to seperate us from more of our hard earned dollars.

Senate Transportation Chair, Mary Margeret Haugen, D-Camano Island said " ... she could support a two-step, 4-cent-per-gallon gas tax increase. The plan could raise $3.5 billion (over a 10 year span - Ed.) toward rebuilding the Alaskan Way Viaduct in Seattle and financing a new state Route 520 bridge across Lake Washington.

Haugen also said she also likes the idea of indexing the tax so that it slowly grows with inflation. She also likes a gross-weight fee on vehicles, including passenger cars."

While doing something about the disaster waiting to happen, also known as the Viaduct, is a good thing, my question, if this plan gets passed is, when the 10 years are up, will the tax go away? Not likely. I have yet to see local politicians (especially Democrats!) rescind a tax that generates any amount of revenue.

The second point I want to make is this. This kind of a tax is regressive in nature, in that it unfairly burdens those in lower income brackets, because it is not based on their level of income, but on the cost of services or goods. Most people of lower incomes own older cars (if they own a car at all) that are not very fuel-efficient, and as a result, have to go to the gas station more often than people of higher incomes who usually do own fuel-efficient vehicles (and of course, have more 'disposable income'), which in effect, makes those of lower incomes pay more taxes than their more affluent neighbors. This state has such an abundance of regressive taxes that hurt lower income people, it makes me wonder why more people aren't leaving than already are leaving (kind of makes me wonder why I'm still here, too!).

Our legislators need to really take a good long, hard look at the amount of money coming in, and the actual costs of services, and figure out ways to work within their means before they start trying to figure out how to generate more tax revenue, especially regressive forms of revenue generation.

I'm back after a break

For anyone that has been looking to see if we have posted anything new - and not seeing anything new - I'm back now, after a short break caused by real life.

I started a new job this past Monday, and have been doing a lot of painting - which is hard work, especially after having not done a whole lot for almost a year - and I was basically just too tired to do anything here.

I don't know yet, but this may be a 'pattern' for a while, until I get used to being back to work, and I apologize in advance if this disappoints anyone. I'll just have to see how quickly my body adapts to being physically active again. Hopefully it won't take too long.