When is a "little" better than a "lot"?

A few days ago I went to one of the big lumber/hardware/appliance stores in the area for a heavy guage wire to make some croquet wickets. I only needed three wickets or about six feet. Once upon a time you could get the amount you needed without having to buy a hundred unit box of something. I couldn't get the wire I needed from the first store I went to. I went to another, same story except one of the customer helper folks pointed out that I could buy a roll of wire of the correct guage... The roll was for 100 feet. Sheesh! What in the world do I need 94 more feet than I wanted for? I then went to one of the more local lumber stores and they promptly provided the item that I wanted and in the quantity that I wanted for a ridiculously low price. Amazing!!! I got three pieces of insulation wire for $.06 plus $.01 in sales tax (a sore subject that I find it difficult to discuss without turning red in the face and nearly screaming in frustration about) and probably spent well over a dollar in gas (ANOTHER sore subject due to this state's insistance that we pay the highest prices for) BUT I got my wire. There are reasons to buy large quantities of TP or paper towels or any number of things, one of which is simply so you don't have to go out to buy more for a time. I miss the local lumber/hardware store sometimes, I don't miss the higher prices maybe but the ability to buy just a "little" rather than a "lot" sometimes helps alleviate the pain of higher prices. By the way, the box of insullation wire that I would have had to purchase at the big store was over $10 for 200 pieces and the roll of wire was over $8. I asked if they had smaller quantities of what I needed and it was a negative answer. So when I found what I wanted at the local and paid for it I was thinking that I will go more to the local and less to the bigs. I wonder if the bigs will start to feel the customer's complaints if the customer starts using the locals again or if some of the locals treat people like individuals with small AND large needs...

Alice Cooper - shock rocker, conservative Republican, Christian?

Surprised? Me too! But Chrenkoff has a mini-interview of Alice Cooper here, which is definitely worth the brief time it will take to read.

I particularly got a kick from this statement by Arthur:

"By the way, you have to be worried when a guy with too much mascara and a snake wrapped around his neck has a keener grasp of basic new millennium geopolitics than so many leading lights of the Democratic Party."

Yes, indeed.

More good news from Iraq

An informative run down on Operation Lightning, from Iraq The Model. If anyone should know what is really happening in Iraq, it stands to reason that it would be Iraqi's, don't you think?

Rabid Donkeys on the loose

Here is an interesting run down on "Rabid Donkeys on the Loose". Worth a look see.

Hat tip: Michelle Malkin

Tangible progress in Iraq

As many of you are aware, the MSM has been going out of it's way to portray events in Iraq in the most negative-to-America light that they can. In this opinion piece, Rep. Jim Saxton (R-NJ) offers up the opinion that there really is tangible proof that there really is progress being made in Iraq, despite the best efforts of the MSM to say otherwise.

If you would like to read further good news about what is happening in Iraq, don't forget to visit Chrenkoff's blog. He's been doing an on-going series of "good news from Iraq" posts for some time now, which you can find by scrolling down a ways, and looking on the right side of his page.

Dems at it again

As the Federal Legislature is nearing recess, as reported here, the Dems are still continuing to play their favorite game, blocking an up or down vote, this time on Bolton for the US Ambassador to the UN.

Psst. Here's a little secret that it appears the Dems forgot about. The President can simply wait until the Federal Legislature does recess, and simply appoint Bolton to the position, which I think President Bush should do.

Bolton is the man we absolutely need at this time to be the US Ambassador to the UN, but because of his no-nonsense approach to things, the Dems don't like him - he's not "touchy-feely" enough for them. So, go ahead Dems. Keep blocking an up or down vote, and see what happens when you go home.

At last! A tax I do support!

As proposed here by Deroy Murdock, the long suffering, poor (make that rich) bleeding heart liberals should be given an opportunity to refuse accepting President Bush's tax cuts, by enacting a provision to the US Tax Code called the HOT, or Higher rate Optional Tax - which really does exist in many states already. This way, they would be able to pay more than their fair share (yeah, right - like that's going to happen), enabling the government to spend even more money. Read the article to see just how many of them have actually taken advantage of this in their states.

At last, a tax I do support!

Still think Canada has a better health care system?

After reading this opinion piece, written by a Canadian I might add, I think you may change your mind.

Does the US health care system have problems? Yes. Does it need to be changed? Yes. Should we change it to a Soviet styled system, such as Canada's, where the government is your only source of health care, as the socialist leftist elites in this country are clamoring for? A most emphatic NO!

Budget Crisis? What budget crisis?

As reported here, Washington State's growing economy will pump an approximate additional $450 million dollars into the State Treasury. Is that a result of all the new taxes passed by the Dem dominated Legislature? No. It's a result of the still booming construction industry, which is fueled by low interest rates.

Before all of the new taxes were passed, there was great wailing and gnashing of teeth about a looming budget crisis in Washington State - caused mainly, in my opinion, by wasteful spending habits of the State Legislature, and not by shortfalls in revenue raised by existing taxes.

Because of the supposed "looming budget crisis", and because Dems just love raising existing taxes, and creating new taxes, they went on a tax passing 'feeding frenzy', which is only going to slow down the growth in our state's economy!

The national economy is growing at a steady pace - regardless of what the AP would have you believe - due in large part to the resilient spirit of the American people, and President Bush's tax cuts. What a great example to follow in local area's - cut taxes to put more money in the pockets of the people, and let them decide how it will be spent at the local level, rather than the government - but did the Washington State Legislature learn anything from this example? No. They raised existing taxes, and created new taxes, in the mistaken belief that this will solve their spending problems.

They just don't get it.

More encouraging news about the economy, but the AP doesn't like it

As reported here in an AP article, consumer prices dropped in May, while activity at US factories surged. This is really encouraging news about the US economy, however, the AP and the Seattle P-I just had to insert the negative "But ..." into the article.

Why is it that the AP just has to be so negative all the time, regardless of what they are reporting on, when it comes to news about the US? It seems that in every article, especially if it is good news, the AP has to 'counter' the good news with a "But ..." statement.

The extreme anti-Americanism of the AP has become entirely too tiresome, and needs to stop. Does that mean I endorse a 'rah-rah, jingoistic' method of "news reporting"? Certainly not, as that too, is an extreme that has no place in the dissemination of information. I just wish that the AP 'reporters' would leave their leftist political biases at home, and just report the news, instead of constantly 'editorializing' every time they sit at their computers, and let us make up our own minds as to what it means.

Changes in KC Elections Office

As reported here, Superintendent Bill Huennekens has been demoted to a lower paying job within the department to oversee compliance with the 2002 election reform laws passed by the Feds. Oh, and by the way, this is a newly created position, that I think was created to specifically retain Bill Huennekens - the guy who gave the okay to submit the falsified absentee voter reconciliation to the Canvassing Board.

In the article the phrase " an ongoing overhaul ... " is used, but that isn't accurate in this case. An overhaul implies change, beyond simply moving people around to different positions, in my opinion.

A real overhaul would see Bill Huennekens having to apply for unemployment benefits, along with his boss Dean Logan. Oh, and I can't forget King County Executive Ron Sims, too. All three need to go before real change will come to the KC Elections Office.

The Religion of Peace?

I keep hearing that Islam is the religion of peace and that we are to respect this religion and its "holy Quran" by not even suggesting flushing it down a toilet. The religion of peace went on a rampage when the story went out about the Quran being flushed and the story wasn't even verified or anything. What is it that sends the Islamic fanatics into turmoil and killing frenzy when their holy book, which is only a copy of the original in any case, gets a hint that someone in government (especially the US government) has chosen not to respect it, whether true or not? When was the last time anyone of the "infidels" went into a frenzy when the Bible was destroyed? How many people suffered from the riots and "righteous" anger directed at the government or the people from that country? I find no evidence of such action for a long period. In point of fact, there was a movie that had a pirate use pages from the Bible as the paper to roll his tobacco in. That movie didn't do well and has only been on local TV once that I know of, but still...

The word, "Islam" means "submission", not "peace". When people choose not to become members of the Islamic community for whatever reason, they become what is known as infidels. The Islamic controlled government then begins the process of elimination of the infidels. Take a look at the Islamic countries of today for your evidence of this. Christians aren't allowed to talk to anyone about Jesus or they face horrendous consequences. Jews face even worse consequences, they get bombed. If you do "believe", and you steal something, you can lose pieces of yourself. What I find completely mystifying in all this, where is the Peace? How is it that the Liberals can be so tolerant of the "religion of peace" and intolerant of Christianity? Just check out how the ACLU froths at the mouth when a monument with the Ten Commandments is on "public" property. I have a question about that as well, since when did Christians and Jews get excluded from being a part of the "public"? (I think the answer may have something to do with how much our faith influences our lives and activities towards others.) I wonder if some of this doesn't kind of sort of follow from the libs believing that only a few are really smart enough to know how to do things and that the rest of the people (read conservatives) need to be told what to do and how to do things? After all, the same kinds of thought happen in the "religion of peace", only the mullahs and a caliph are to be in control...

Children found hogtied

If once wasn't enough, it's happened again! As reported here, a 10 year old boy was found wandering the streets at 4:30 in the morning by police, and he stated that he had escaped being hogtied by his grandparents! This is outrageous!

Although there is no mention in the report for the reason the kids were hogtied, I'm pretty sure it was because they were being "unruly". Folks, kids will be "unruly" - it's part of the "job description" for being a kid - but that does NOT give adults a reason, let alone the right, to tie them up! Heck, when I was a kid, I was unruly at times, causing my mother no end of frustration, I'm sure. But, she NEVER, EVER had to tie me up!

My parents set boundaries for us kids (including our friends, too, I might add) for appropriate behavior. When we overstepped those boundaries, we suffered the consequences of our improper behavior by getting a (gasp!) spanking, and afterwards (at least in my case, anyway) a stern talking to, to ensure we understood where we had gone wrong. But, good grief, they never had to tie us up!

If you have kids, show them that you love them by setting boundaries for them, and let them know what the consequences will be when they overstep those boundaries, so they can be the kids they are. When they overstep those boundaries - and they will I assure you - keep your word, and mete out the appropriate punishment, and then have a little chat with them so they know where they messed up. By showing your love for your kids in this manner, they will be less inclined to be "unruly", as they know they will suffer consequences for their actions. But, please - don't tie them up! If you do, you'll suffer the consequences for your actions!

Lie, Cheat, and Steal

Is this a post about wrestler Eddie Guerrero of the WWE, whose "motto" is lie, cheat, and steal? Um, no, it isn't.

It is, however, about the fact that the Washington State Dem Party has been fined by the state Public Disclosure Commission for not reporting (in essence, telling a lie, trying to cheat - again - and, again in essence, stealing) just who contributed money that was transferred by the national DNC to the state party coffers. It took the state Dems 104 days after the deadline to cough up the info, too! How much was the fine? A whopping $187,500.00! That's a lot of money from the pockets of ordinary (although misguided, in my opinion) people that was wasted by their party leadership.

Apparently the party leadership doesn't care about that though, as it seems that their unofficial new motto is Lie (about the issues), Cheat (during elections - win at any cost!), and Steal (money from their own constituents!).

An interesting concept for Social Security

In this opinion piece, it is suggested that the "Social Security surplus" be used to invest in mortgages. A novel idea that just may work. What do you think?

The question that just won't die

What is the question that just won't die? "Will there be a military draft?", is the question that won't die.

As reported here, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld once again answered that question - with a certain amount of exasperation, I might add - with an empahtic "NO!".

Read this next sentence s l o w l y, and try to commit it to memory - we do not need a military draft! We have the premier military force in the entire world, that not even China with their millions of men under arms wants to tangle with.

Introducing conscripts into our armed forces would destroy the quality of our armed forces as they are now constituted. Just look at what happened to the Army and the Marine Corps during Viet Nam if you don't believe that.

My question to the idiot morons who keep asking that other question is, what part of NO! don't you understand?

Seahawks (finally) release wide out Koren Robinson

As reported here, the Seattle Seahawks have finally - finally! - released wide out Koren Robinson.

Was it because he kept dropping passes in games? Nope. Then why did they release their former number one pick?

Because Koren couldn't take personal responsibility for his actions by keeping his hands off booze.

He was suspended for 4 games last year by the NFL for violating substance abuse policies, and then during the off season, he entered a treatment facility as required by the NFL. Then during the April mini-camp, Koren made all these pleasant noises about how he was going to straighten up and fly right - which I really had hoped he would do, for his own sake if nothing else - but then he was arrested for DUI. In May. Early May. Not long after he had spoken all those nice words he thought everyone wanted to hear. That was the last straw, as far as the Seahawks were concerned, and they gave him his walking papers.

If anyone is still living in the fantasy world of denial of consequences for personal misdeeds/lack of taking responsibility for those actions, need only look at this latest example of what can happen. This young man, gifted with the athletic ability to run fast and catch a football, threw away his golden opportunity to enjoy large chunks of change for many years, and for what? The fleeting "feel good" sensation that alcohol can induce.

I hope for Koren's sake, that he gets the help he needs to stay away from the booze, and to grow up, and come to the realization that there are consequences for making improper choices in your life.

Car thieves in Seattle to get more jail time

As reported here, car thieves in Seattle will get more jail time when caught. It's about time, as auto theft has reached "epidemic" proportions here, and up to now, the consequences have been little more than a slap on the wrist. Before this change, a car thief had to have been arrested seven times, before they saw even semi-serious jail time! That is not what I would call a deterent, you know?

Although I'm not really impacted by this problem (I own a late 1970's car - who would want to steal that, eh?), I do know some people who have been impacted by this, with one person having had their car stolen three times - by the same guy!

It is hoped that this change in attitude towards car theft will eventually have a positive impact on this situation.

It's over - Rossi concedes

As reported here, Dino Rossi lost in his attempt to overturn the results from last November's governors race, with Judge Bridges making ruling after ruling against Rossi. As a result of Judge Bridges' rulings, Rossi has conceded and has stopped his law suit, saying that with the make up of the Washington State Supreme Court being what it is (extremely liberal), there would be no way that Judge Bridges' rulings would be overturned on appeal.

I am extremely disappointed in this. However, there exists the possibility that King County will do a total revamp of their elections office and their procedures so that something like what happened last November doesn't happen in the future. I can always hope, can't I?

There also exists the possibility that Rossi will now run against Cantwell for her Senate seat in 2006. Cantwell is vulnerable, and if Rossi does decide to run against her, there very well may be a lot of support for him, due to what happened in the governors race. I voted for him last November, and if he does decide to run against Cantwell next year, I'll vote for him again.

A good summation of Washington State election case

For anyone that might have questions over all the "to do" in the Washington State Governors election case, Peter Kirsanow of National Review does a very good job of summarizing what is happening, and why.

Hat tip - Stefan Sharkansky of Sound Politics.

Finally! After four long years, an up or down vote!

As reported here, the Senate has finally confirmed one of President Bush's judicial nominee's, Texas Supreme Court Justice Priscilla Owen to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals - after making her, and the rest of us, wait for four years (just another example of our government at "work")!

And how did this finally come about? After the spineless Republican Senators caved in to the demands of the minority Democrats! And what is the reward for this caving in? Are all the rest of the nominee's going to now get an up or down vote? Um, no. Only two more will will receive up or down votes - Justices Janice Rogers Brown and William Pryor.

What caused the four year delay in getting Justice Owen confirmed? Charges by the Dems that her conservative viewpoints were "out of the mainstream", which is Dem speak that says she makes rulings based on what the Constitution actually says, rather than an "interpretation" of what she thinks it says - unlike the leftist, activist, judges who "interpret" what the Constitution actually says according to their leftist political bias, whims, and maybe what day of the week it is.

Making rulings based on what the Constitution actually says, rather than trying to "interpret" it on whims and political bias, is "out of the mainstream"? Um ... no.

Is Sen. Voinovich a RINO, or just infected with PCism?

As reported here, Republican Senator John Voinovich (Ohio) has circulated a letter to other Republican Senators urging them to vote "No" on the nomination of John Bolton to become UN Ambassador, stating in the letter that Bolton would be "ineffective" because of the so-called controversy over Bolton's supposed "abrasive" leadership style.

How does Voinovich know that Bolton would be "ineffective"? Has he worked with Bolton, or is he only going on hearsay about Bolton?

Is Voinovich going the way of McCain, and becoming a RINO (Republican In Name Only), or has he fallen victim to an infection of PCism?

Budget shortfall? What budget shortfall?

This is outrageous. The former Attorney General and the Legislature have been braying for quite some time now that there is a huge budget shortfall in Washington State - which is why they have been so eager to raise taxes - so what happens?

As reported here, the former Attorney General, Legislators and Judges have been given a pay raise by a citizens advisory panel! And they accepted it!

Now, I'm all for getting a pay raise - I'd like one, too! - but not when there is a budget shortfall! The former Attorney General and the State Legislature should have at least deferred this pay raise until such time as the budget was out of "crisis", but did they?

Of course not!

Protesters march on recruiting offices

As reported here, about 100 protesters angry about military recruiters coming to their schools, marched on several recruiting offices this past Monday, demanding that recruiters stop coming to their schools.

As the protesters arrived at the recruiting offices, they began to harangue the recruiters using bullhorns, chanting slogans, and also forced their way into some of the offices - and were then promptly "ushered" back out. Kudos to Sgt. 1st Class Jessica Hicks for doing the "ushering"!

At one of our local high schools, the left leaning PTSA passed a resolution to ban all military recruiters from that high school, which is a violation of the 1st Amendment Free Speech clause. This is very ironic to me, in that, the US military's main job is to protect our freedoms - including the ability to speak freely - and yet, the local PTSA wants to deny the recruiters freedom of speech by denying them access to the school, which is oh so typical of the Left.

Also in the article, a 17 year old student from one of the local high schools was quoted as saying, "I don't want to go to war. I don't want to die, I want to learn." While I can understand the youngsters desire to live, and learn, I have news for him - it's rather easy for you to not go to war and possibly die, dude. Don't join the all volunteer military. The same military, by the way, that is doing what it is supposed to do - protecting your freedom of speech, and enabling you to make choices for your own life.

When does scientific theory become scientific "fact"?

When I was in school (I know, a couple of thousand years ago plus or minus five hundred years) scientific method included throwing as many questions about the theory as was possible to see if it could stand up to the scutiny of the other scientists. A few years ago one theory came out with a lot of fanfare and excitement due to the potential wonders this theory could do for EVERYONE. The theory, "cold fusion". What a boon that would have been for all sorts of things. Just to think that we could get energy of fantastic quantities with a generator working at room temperatures, instead of the fantastic heat and pressure necessary for fusion. The media was all over the upside of this "discovery" until it was found that no one else could repeat the cold fusion group's experimental results. Of course, the media then pooh-poohed the whole idea and somehow passed on the thought that they "knew" the idea was full of bologna even before the scientific community had made any efforts to prove or disprove the theory. While the "cold fusion" scientists were disappointed and disheartened by the lack of substantiation, they were men of science and didn't point fingers at the "non-scientists" for any kind of conspiracy against "cold fusion". One theory that held a lot of promise for a lot of people was shown to be false by the scientific method.

There are two areas of science related theories that still have not been proven or substantiated to any great extent that have proponents accusing those who don't "believe" that the evidence is sufficient to accept the theories as fact are right wing religious fanatics and (even worse) ignorant non-scientists. The two theories, Evolution and Global Warming. I want to make clear that I can understand the concepts of both, BUT I don't agree with everything that is being said about them. I have stated before in other areas that those who believe in Evolution or in Intelligent Design are both starting from a philosophical premise that is diametrically opposed. One believes that there is no god and so tries to figure out how everything came to be. The other believes in the possibility of a god and so tries to figure out the same thing. Where the Intelligent Design folks are trying for dialogue with anyone including Evolutionists for discussion on many points, the Evolutionists pooh-pooh the idea of ID and refuse to even allow for anyone to hold those concepts without ridiculing those who do.

The global warming folks fall into the same trap. They refuse to even have dialogue with anyone who disagrees with their "science", even going so far as to shout down any disagreements. Do they use science to ridicule opposition? NO! They call those who disagree all kinds of names, including, right wing religious fanatics.

Somehow these two concepts have become "scientific facts", without the benefit of efforts on both sides to have a dialogue about the disagreements. Somehow the ones who want dialogue are involving themselves in a "conspiracy to quiet the proponents of these "scientific facts". The amount of anger and disdain directed at the disagreeing people seems to me to rise to the level of, shall I say it?, religious fanaticism. Polite discourse is something of the "old-fashioned" sort, especially when the ones holding one concept's "absolute inviability" feel that no one else's ideas have any merit or should have an audience.

So, the answer to my question seems to be, when enough people get emotional about the ideas to be able to scream louder than the others.

Washington State Legislators are hopelessly clueless

As if our Legislators aren't clueless enough, now they take away metal detectors from the State capitol building because they were 'inconvenient' to people who worked there and to visitors, and because it will save two million dollars over this biennium.

I wonder how inconvenient it will be when a terrorist or nut case enters the building with a gun, and either starts shooting or takes people hostage. Which is more important - keeping people safe from potential terrorist or nutcase activity, or saving money?

Unbelieveable!

Election contest trial set to start on Monday, May 23rd, 2005

This article lays out fairly well, what is at stake, and how each of the parties are approaching this case. It also includes a link at the bottom for people to watch or listen to the trial live.

First audit of KC Elections Office has begun

The first audit of the KC Elections Office began this past Tuesday, with two more audits to follow, one by an outside agency, and the other by a citizens oversight committee to be named later. Will what they find, and recommend, actually be taken seriously? Will their recommendations actually be implemented this time?

Utopia - the impossible dream

In a must read article at Newsmax.com, Phil Brennan writes about the ultimate goal of the secularists - a Marxist-based Utopian society - which they are trying, with everything in their power, to achieve.

Hat tip - Littlebee55, a dear friend of mine.

Also, one of my favorite bloggers, David Limbaugh, often writes on this subject as well. If you haven't read his blog, I highly recommend it.

Washington State Legislators feeling the heat

And, according to this article, may be getting worried about voter backlash, in the wake of the recent passage of a new gas tax hike.

Many legislators are hearing from their constituents, and what they are hearing isn't being said in 'happy' tones, as people here are downright steamed about the newest gas tax - as well they should be.

But, of course, the Dems are saying that they aren't worried, because this is a 'needed' tax (as every tax is 'needed', in the eyes of the Dems) that will go to fixing the Viaduct, the 520 floating bridge, among other roads, as well as expanding I-405. They are also saying that passing this showed 'leadership'. Not passing new taxes - as promised by the former Attorney General during her campaign - that hurt the lower income people of the state the most, would have shown even more leadership, however.

I think the Dems, looking through their rose colored glasses, will be seeing some things in the next election that will catch them by surprise, such as lost seats in the Legislature, and a Republican in the Governors office - if that doesn't happen sooner, that is.

Annan trying the "I don't remember" defense

As reported here, the corrupt head of the corrupt UN is trying the "I don't remember" defense. Annan failed to report meetings he had with leaders of Cotecna, the firm his darling little boy worked as a consultant for, during his first interrogatory with the Volcker-led commission, but then suddenly "remembered" that he did have meetings with those people, and tried playing down any signifigance of those meetings after he checked his calendar and e-mail.

Koffi, Koffi, Koffi ... it won't work, pal. Your days are numbered, and the numbers are getting smaller.

PETA is making the news - again

As reported here, PETA is now using shareholder resolutions with major corporations to push their agenda regarding using animals to test products. In order to do that, someone has to own at least $2,000.00 worth of stock. Now that seems "interesting" to me, in that, by owning stock in a company, you are expressing tacit approval for their policies and practices - including using animals to test products. So, in effect, PETA is both supporting and protesting corporate policies and practices in this area, at the same time!

And, get this - not only is PETA trying to shove their agenda down corporate throats, but according to this, they also kill animals - by the thousands - at their Norfolk, Virginia headquarters. How hypocritical of them. I guess the end justifies the means in their eyes.

Is a rift developing among Al-Qaida factions?

Apparently, the Pakistani's believe that to be the case. In this remarkably well written - for the AP, no less! - article, the Pakistani's claim that there is a rift between Central Asian factions and Arab factions, of Al-Qaida. Will this be enough to eventually bring Al-Qaida down sooner than expected? Only time will tell. Go read the article - if you're like me, and don't like the usually left leaning bias of the AP, you will be pleasantly surprised.

Is Government supposed to take care of us?

The other night I was watching the news and was astonished to hear someone make the comment that the government should have been taking care of them better. I will admit that the problem was of sufficiently large scope that government involvement was probably warranted, however, since when is the government supposed to go the next step and take care of the people? There is a town in California that is situated on naturally occurring asbestos. While there has been no recorded instances of cancer or other problems associated with asbestos in this town, this lady apparently felt that the town should not have been built there and even though it had been, the government should have moved everyone off the property to a new and presumably safer location. I am not one to believe that asbestos is that good of a substance in every circumstance, but when did the government take on the responsibility to make our decisions of where we would buy our homes and all the rest of our life choices? Ack!!!! Someone should tell this person that they have the choice of selling and moving or continuing to live there. If she feels that it is too dangerous to continue to live there, she should leave, not blame the government for the lack of care, after all, isn't "choice" the law of the land?

Happy Mothers Day

Today is the day set aside to honor all the Mom's in our lives, and I think this e-card says it all. Go check it out. :)

The best explanation of the failings of Social unSecurity I've seen yet

If you've spent any time at all at our blog, you've noted the other blogs listed in the side bar. While checking out what others had to say on various topics, I came upon this post at Reality Hammer, that is the best explanation that I have ever seen on the failings of Social unSecurity, and why it needs to be fixed - now!

This is something you absolutely need to read, if you have any confusion at all (or even if you don't) about Social unSecurity. I just wish the Dems would read it, too but they won't. They just don't get it.

Breaking campaign promises, and proud of it

As reported here, after making campaign promises to not raise taxes if elected citing the fragility of the states economy, the former Attorney General is now proud to have done just that, and feels 'comfortable' in the governor's mansion.

All I can say is, she better have a phone number handy for a moving company, as she hopefully will need one soon.

Another "Clitonista" spews out vacuous comments

As reported here, former "Clintonista" Secretary of State Albright spews out some rather vacuous comments about the state of affairs in the war on terror, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, etc. As if she was effective during her time as Sec State!

Let's see now. The Oil For Food scandal got up and running during Clintons term; the USS Cole and the two embassies were bombed; Osama Bin Laden's head on a platter was offered to us - twice! - but we turned down both offers, with the reason given that OBL was just a "minor money guy, and not a serious player", among other abject failures. I could go on, but the failures of the previous administration, and especially the State Department are so revoltingly numerous, I might cause some of you intestinal distress.

If you have a strong stomach, and a high capacity to suspend belief, read the article. Memo to Albright: Your time is over. Please sit down.

KC Council Republicans pushing for ouster of Elections Director

As reported here, The minority KC Council Republican members are calling for the outer of KC Elections Director Dean Logan, as well they should, after the total fiasco the election has been, especially in King County.

But Dem Council member Larry Phillips, has ridden to the defense of Logan, stating that what the Republicans are trying to do is merely a political ploy (can you say Vast Right Wing Conspiracy?) to discredit Logan. Piffle! Logan has done enough to discredit himself. The Republicans don't need to do this to "discredit" Logan. All they are attempting to do is urge King Sims to ask Logan to resign, so that the people see that actual change is happening in the Elections Department, which may possibly help to restore voter confidence in that office.

Will this pass the council, and go before King Sims? Probably not, but resistance to this will not look good for the Dems in the eyes of many people. The same holds true for Sims if by some slim chance that it does come before him, and he refuses to act.

Once again the Dems are looking foolish for stonewalling yet again, as they oppose every effort by the Republicans, and more importantly by the people, to make needed changes in the KC Elections Office.

All I can say to the Dems is keep it up. The next election cycle isn't that far away.

A ray of hope amid the gloom of higher taxes?

As reported here, a consortium of conservative groups and business leaders have sued the State of Washington over the new taxes that have been passed, when the Dem controlled legislature amended the spending limitation initiative 601 - for the ninth time - to allow a simple majority, rather than the super majority as voted by the people, saying that it is illegal - which it is - even though an "emergency" was declared by the Dems. Emergency? What emergency? There is no emergency happening that would allow the legislature to amend Initiative 601!

Is there a budget shortfall? Yes, I'll grant that there is, and I have put forth my opinions on the reasons for that in previous posts, so I won't rehash that again here. Is there a specific emergency situation that warrants the amendment? No, there is not. So how does the legislature think that it can simply amend a peoples initiative, so they can raise taxes? The majority of them are Democrats, that's how.

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!