Archive for July, 2006

Well, not much.  But as many of us have been saying all along, it is about time the shamless self promoting Eyman is getting the hook from the media.  And from what I have been reading (hat tip to Blatherwatch), it looks like those in the initiative biz are eating their own.  And while I actually commend conservative talk radio for finally calling the horsesass himself on his bullshit, Goldy at horsesass.org sums up what our local print media had been missing (until recently) all along. 

Tim has repeatedly lied on his petitions, lied to voters, lied to his own contributors, and unapologetically lied to the press. It begs the question: at what point will Eyman’s credibility be so tarnished – so utterly destroyed – that op/ed editors finally start rejecting his frequent guest column submissions the way they do those of nearly every other crank and political crackpot?

Will he be back?  Let’s hope not.  But as Goldy points out, sugardaddy Michael Dunmire still believes… a liar.

(From HA)

“There are a lot of entities that don’t want I-917. They have their own techniques. They send out goon squads to intimidate petitioners. That never gets covered. We play it straight up.”

Foolish? When asked how much money he’d given Eyman this year, Dunmire wasn’t sure:

“Haven’t a clue. When I get a compulsion and think that’s a good place to make a contribution, I write a check. And I don’t keep track.”

He doesn’t keep track? How the fuck did this guy get to be a multi-millionaire?

So here we have an admitted liar who claims he has “no idea” how many signatures he has the day before they’re due, financed by some clueless rich guy who doesn’t “keep track” of the checks he writes… and he acts surprised when we take the word of Secretary of State Sam Reed over his?

As many of you know, I love motorcycles.  After a 10 year hiatus, I got back on a bike this year and I cannot tell you how much enjoyment I get out of riding.  Since I first started riding some 20+ years ago I learned one thing very quick.  You are invisible.  Now back in the 1980’s, things like helmet laws were just coming into being.  And despite my early objection, I have come to find them an absolute necessity.  And with the added driver distractions of cell phones and heavier traffic situations they are more important now than ever.  And those distractions are becoming far too dangerous to ignore and the fact that motorcycles are out there under increasing threat.

Today, just about two hours ago I had to go to the bank.  After I pulled out of the parking lot I came to a 4-way stop.  I stopped, looked and saw what I knew was going to be a blow-by.  You know, that person talking on the phone not paying attention and blowing right through a stop sign.  I saw it coming and didn’t enter the intersection and sure enough… right through they went.  I took my left and pulled up to the next light and gave them the “hang up sign” and let them know they just ran a stop sign when I had the right of way.  This happens almost every day folks.  It is time to end.  It is time to end drivers inattention to the road and it is also time to end the seemingly unaccountability to the two wheeled folks they share the road with.

It is becoming increasingly clear that motorcyclist are second class citizens when it comes to law enforcement.  When car-bike collisions happen and the driver is at fault (more often than not), law enforcement doesn’t take it seriously or is lax on investigations.  With motorcyclist being so vulnerable, one would think that raising awareness through enforcement (as they seem to do with everything from seat belts to drunken driving) would be a priority.  In Washington State, it is not.

Another problem is the lack of driver training and awareness education.  It isn’t enough.  Riders seem to be going down in traffic situations every day and in most every case it is driver inattention or negligence that is the cause. 

Justice for Washington Riders is a new web site that is promoting a rally from the north side of Seattle to Capital campus in Olympia. 

The rally will be held at The Washington State Capital Campus (opposite the legislative building) at 416 14th Avenue, SW, Olympia, Washington on FRIDAY, AUGUST 18, 2006.  We want all citizens there to help change things for the better. Here’s what we’ll be fighting for:

• To demand equal protection under the law for all Washington citizens that rides a motorcycle.
• To demand that people who kill a Washington citizen that are riding a motorcycle or driving a car are held criminally liable with new and stronger legislation.
• To voice our message for this new legislation to our state legislators.
• To let Washington legislators know that the civil rights of citizens who ride motorcycles have had their rights taken away.
• To raise awareness that motorcycles are on the roads, so we all need to be aware of them when driving.

Much of what I have read has pointed to lax investigation in motorcyclist deaths.  My guess here is that the assumption is we are riding with a certain amount of risk involved no matter what.  So if we get in an accident it is generally our fault.  Earlier this year I had the opportunity to get a piece on the local news here in the Tri-Cities on motorcycle awareness.  In general, it was a good piece but the more I learned about law enforcement response and the effort behind Justice for Washington Riders, the more disturbed I was watching the news clip and the local police Captain’s response.  [Watch Video Here] Not that he isn’t right.  It is good that we take the initiative.  But it does set a disturbing stage using the mindset that “it is part of operating a machine of that nature”.  To me that suggests that if we hadn’t been out there on two wheels in the first place, we might not have suffered the consequences. 

As gas prices continue to soar, we will all see more and more motorcycles on the road.  I have never been a big fan of legislating our way out of public safety problems.  But in this case I think Washington State could take some proactive steps.  First, lets get the cell phones off the road.  In my daily observations, they don’t belong there.  Second, increase driver training to include more information on motorcycle awareness and include a safety module in the road test.  Lastly, like the anti-profiling legislation, the legislature direct law enforcement to actively pursue investigations of wrong doing by motorists who injure or kill motorcyclists without bias. 

Let’s face it.  Accidents are going to happen.  But Washington State is not doing enough and right now, we have the best group of legislators to get something done. 

I love the General.  In a manly heterosexual kind of way of course.  He recent post/review on the book FUBAR: America’s Right Wing Nightmare is well… an eye opener.

Heck, inasmuch as the men of the House Republican Caucus are all warriors, I’m sure they often honor each other by wrestling each other naked in the tradition of the ancient Spartan warriors. I can almost picture such a scene now. Rep. Doc Hastings (R-Abramoff)…

I’m not sure how he got to that and frankly, I find the image disturbing.  But I have just one thing to say to one person.  Matt, don’t ever give me your sarcastic shit about “elevating the debate” again.  The General has absolved me from my previous post.

Now that I have seen the other side of the GOP and the Great Conservative Christian Cultural Revolution, I think I’ll start blogging about puppies or something… just to shake the mental images off.

Hey wow!  It’s only going to get to 104 degrees today.  A cooling trend?  Well, with that in mind please note a special (possibly permanent?) time change for Drinking Liberally in the Tri-Cites: 8 PM.

Hopefully things will cool down a bit by then. 

Drinking Liberally is Tonight, and every Tuesday night:

Atomic Ale, 1015 Lee Blvd. in Richland, 8:00 pm until?

Where did it go? Wherever it went, it went fast and HOT. Yesterday reportedly hit 112 degrees in the Tri-Cities. It may not be Arizona hot, but it is still enough to make you cringe. But after working on the contruction project most the day this weekend, we grabbed the boat and hit the river. And I gotta tell you there is nothing better when the temps get that high - and you don’t particularly like to sit indoors watching TV.

The House

Not the US House but, my house. Some of you know I have been remodeling a rental house I own to sell (thus the weekends being obliterated by projects). Nothing but good news there. Getting closer, although things like this usually take longer than expected, and better news is I have a buyer. It is a beast of a house, monster, unimaginable some odd sq ft. thing of beauty that is breaking my heart. For one, I just wish I could justify moving back in since it is so nice now. But alas, it is just too much. The new owners will be very happy. And so will I. Out of pocket remodel jobs hurt the pocket book but at least I did the work, for the most part, myself.

Bill Richardson Visit

Frankly, I could talk about my motorcycle ride over Chinook pass more than meeting Bill Richardson. Not that I don’t like Bill. He is a great guy who may be eyeing a presidential run in 08′, and he could get my vote if the stars align just right.  But dang that was a nice ride.  Ok… and a nice visit too.

As former Secretary of Energy he was a well known figure in this area due to Hanford. His being known may not be all that good to some as it was under his and his predecessor Hazel O’Leary’s tenure that workers saw contract restructuring that dropped many “outside the fence” to face pension freezes and higher benefit costs. Whether that was on his watch or O’Leary’s could be debated, but to many in the Mid-Columbia it doesn’t matter. The Democrats did it and we have been increasingly punishing ourselves with ineffective republicans ever since.

But what Richardson brings to the table is interesting. He does seem have a strong belief in bloggers for one. After all, he did meet with about 15 or so of us. And it was a good conversation that covered things such as the minimum wage. Interesting that in New Mexico, a failed push to raise the minimum wage there spawned a local ordinance that raised it in Albequerqe as well as a $9 per hour ordinance in Santa Fe.

I don’t know about you, but I have tried to live on minimum wage when I was younger and it doesn’t work. My first job I made $2.65 an hour. Big ouch for a young guy trying to break into an economic system that strives, and lobbies, for cheap labor. And if you are a business complaining about Washington’s highest in the nation minimum wage think about this. Could you live on it? I haven’t looked it up but I bet comparatively I was doing better at $2.65 than those getting 7 some odd dollars are today.

But with limited time (staffers coughing and tsk-ing to get him moving to his next gig), I did manage to get in one question. And his response is something you can mull over in the comment thread. It was posed around our discussion on energy independence and diversification. I asked him if he thought nuclear energy will creep back into the Democratic vocabulary. There was a pause (did I just say “nukular” er sumpthin?)… Nuclear he says… “because it doesn’t emit carbon emissions it has to be in the mix”. But he doesn’t think it is the future. The cost is high and they are too subsidised. Good point and I agreed that it probably shouldn’t be subsidised in these markets. But that isn’t how the current administration’s policy with energy is working.

But Goldy (horsesass.org) brought up a good point. What about the European countries like France and Germany. Are they being subsidised? Nobody really sounded sure about that answer so there could be much to learn there. Bottom line however is that we still have to figure out what to do with the waste and the costs associated (Yucca Mountain isn’t looking too promising), and tax breaks for nuclear energy amounts to a subsidy that we all pay for.  For my little neck of the woods, I hope the answer can be found.

Will Bill Richardson make a run for president?  Probably so.  He, as most of the possible runners do, was non-committal.  But he does define himself well.  He calls himself a “New Progressive”.  “We invest in people, not bureaucracy, you invest in training, invest in health care”.  Not a bad start.  Let’s just hope he keeps his seat in New Mexico for now.  And that is looking good.

Lastly, I want to thank Ken Camp for the invite.  Not only did I get a chance to chat with a politician I like, it was a fantastic excuse to take a motorcycle ride over some beautiful country.  462 miles of pure bliss.

Today is expected to be the coolest day of the week at 90 degrees. Sounds like perfect weather for the patio eh? I’ll be there late, but I will be there.  So come on down and I will tell you about a little meet-up some of us had with New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson last Sunday.

Next week, temperatures are supposed to be over the century mark. I might propose we meet a little later in the evening giving it a chance to cool down.

Drinking Liberally is Tonight, and every Tuesday night:

Atomic Ale, 1015 Lee Blvd. in Richland, 7:00 pm until?

Is he a Doctor?  If so, what of might I ask?

Was this finger a shuffleboard accident or a just a freak of nature?

Tell me your stories! 

Inquiring minds want to know.

I especially like the Clinton video…

http://www.cantwell.com/multimedia/video/2.aspx

Share this because we won’t see much but big ass’d McGavick on this side of the state.  He’s going to spend a wholelottamoneyhere!!

I have been meaning to post on this for some time.  I still have much to understand on this issue but Andrew has done his homework.

Washington needs to get the money out of Judicial races.  Otherwise, we won’t have an impartial judicial system.  Plain and simple.

Hope you all had a great holiday.  I know I did.  Nearly lost my life in the Lower Salmon River.  Stop by Drinking Liberally and I will tell you all about my near death experience and how being a liberal saved me!… well, I might spin it a little.

Drinking Liberally Tonight

Atomic Ale House
1015 Lee Blvd.

7:00 pm till??

A related story to the previous….

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13774178/

Northwest salmon took a hit many years ago as projects to dam the Columbia and Snake Rivers for hydroelectric power and irrigation took place. These projects were (and still are) as big of part of the Eastern Washington psyche as Hanford is to the generation of workers who help developed Manhatten Project technology that ultimately led to the nuclear bomb. It’s deeply embedded. 

The benefits we here in the Northwest recieve from the Columbia and Snake river dams is immeasurable. We enjoy some of the cheapest power in the nation and at it’s core, those benefits have been passed on to us through industry and rich agriculture. Our benefit cost salmon dearly. By some estimates, salmon returns up these rivers has gone from millions to a mere ten thousand. This problem has led many groups to support tearing down 4 dams on the Snake River in an effort to restore wild salmon.

Like most Eastern Washingtonians, I don’t support this and I think the science and ideas behind this are naive. I think the environmental and economic impacts of tearing down dams far outweighs any benefits. I am not passionate, heated or even all that scientific about it. I just feel that hastily tearing down the dams, that will eventually have to come down anyway, is a bad idea for all. What we do need to do is tone down the rhetoric and do what we need to do until such time comes if or when they must be removed. We don’t get that from our republican leadership.

I paid a visit to the House Water and Power Subcommittee hearing in Pasco yesterday (read about it here and here). The event was hosted by two of my favorite folks; Doc Hastings and Cathy McMorris. While this was a hearing, it was also a politcal ploy - and a smart one - for the two to come back to a core passionate Eastern Washington issue in time for the upcoming mid-term elections for which they are both challenged. 

I didn’t expect much and I wasn’t dissapointed. It wasn’t a heated discussion of “to-breach or not to breach”.  It was a discussion to bolster The Endagered Species Compliance and Transperency Cost Act proposed by McMorris and Hastings, and to bolster their candidacies. The act would direct energy suppliers such as Bonneville Power Admnistration to advertise how much it costs them to comply with the Endangered Species Act when spilling extra water from the dams to increase juvenille salmon migration down the rivers. These costs would show up in ratepayers utility bills. This is clearly designed to incite folks to an issue that has much larger implications than utility rate increases. And nevermind the costs that could be shown from subsidising irrigation and industry as well. Those costs too, are passed down to the consumer.   

This is essentially a response to a federal judge’s ruling to increase flow during those migrations. Doc’s opening statement (page 1, page 2) clearly shows where the discussion was going.

Unfortunately, over the last ten years, this has increasingly become a litigation-driven process. We now have an unelected, and I belive unaccountable, federal judge in Portland who appears determined to run the river himself with little regard for the impacts of his decisions on this side of the mountains. At a court hearing last fall, he referred to Northwest irrigation, transportation and power as “subsidies” and gave great deference to proposals set forth by interest that have an agenda to tear out the dams. As a result of his court orders, a steady drip of expensive fish measures of questionable value flows from his courtroom directly onto the backs of ratepayers and river users.

He might as well have used the term “Activist Judge” you think?  Just as a good measure to rile up the base. But what neither McMorris’ proposal and Doc’s rhetoric acheive are solutions. In fact, Doc’s idea of a solution is somewhat fatalist in my view.

It is time to acknowledge that we have long past the point of diminishing returns with modifications to the hydrosystem.  If we truly want to aid salmon, let’s look at harvest policies, and utilizing hatcheries to supplement naturally-spawning salmon, and the ongoing unchecked predation of salmon by exploding populations of protected California sea lions and Caspian terns.

He almost, almost came close. The population of preditors is a factor and hatcheries can help but we should continue to find ways to get salmon past the dams.  Investing in better solutions could perhaps reduce the costs of say… litigation!  The only thing we have past the point of diminishing returns are his and McMorris’ partisan congressional seats. There is not going to be a solution born out of statements like his. And unfortunately, it appears the other spectrum on this issue is waging an all or nothing campaign. Or is it?

We who support Lower Snake River dam removal do not consider it a goal. It is a means to the goal of restoring wild salmon and the communities that depend upon them. If other measures do the job, we will happily pronounce dam removal dead ourselves.

Glad to hear it Pat!

But there’s the rub. For other measures to work, they have to be tried.

They have to be funded and implemented to have any effect. This is not happening.

That artcle is from 2002 and makes a good point.  And makes an even stronger one to Hastings and McMorris that this is no place for politics.  It is an opportunity, which they both missed, to help find new and better solutions for Northwest salmon recovery. 

Update: I have to tell you how unimpressed I was with McMorris.  At one point, between panelist speakers, she asked that they summarize before they went into an in depth discussion.  This clearly shows her lack of depth on this issue and shows exaclty what a political ploy her proposal is.  If she was for real, she would have already known this issue up and down and could summarize the panel discussions herself.  I know that Doc Hastings understands this issue.  At least I can give him that.  But his weak character, partisanship and willingess to call efforts “past the point of diminishing returns” is a clear sign that this man has no respect for the environment.  Our planet and our ecosystem are not things you just give up on.