Northwest Sage

Countdown to One Major Crappy Paper in Seattle

2009-03-15T13:21:00.000-07:00

As most of the locals know, the Seattle P-I has been circling the drain for a while now. There's a lot of local hand-wringing going on, but this is something that the folks there should have seen coming. For one thing, they have mainly been a parrot of the AP for what seems like ever. For another, only the Seattle Weekly or Stephen Colbert leans further left.

The only question is will this be a quiet death at home, with just a few mourners, or is it going to be violent and drawn out. Either way, it should be quite entertaining.

UPDATE Ah, they've gone to a web-only format. For shame. Let's see if they can maintain their leftward stance in the sea of Huffingtons and Koses(?) out there.

"This couldn't have happened at Southcenter. It's a gun-free zone."

2008-11-23T11:57:00.000-08:00

Well, the law-abiding folks had to leave their weapons at home, yet somehow there was a shooting at the Southcenter mall. One person was killed and another injured in this case. Obviously it could have been much worse. The post title, btw, is the very first comment in the story.

Folks seem perplexed at how the police can't be everywhere at once. Yet they don't seem to connect that everything is being handled the same way it is every time. And after the fact, as usual.

I don't have a conceal carry license. Yet. But I just might get one soon while I still can.

Here's how my ballot looks 2008

2008-10-29T16:40:00.000-07:00

Well, I've put it off long enough. Using my voting strategy (below), what follows is how I'm voting in the 2008 general election, starting at the top of the ballot:

Initiative 985: Yes, mainly because I know that red-light cameras are merely a revenue source and can be tweaked to make more money, for example, by making yellow lights shorter. This measure would require the money from those to be dedicated for traffic flow.

Initiative 1000: Yes.

Initiative 1029: Yes, because I do think that our elderly and disabled need qualified care. I don't know that this initiative would accomplish this, but I need to vote my conscience here.

Federal Offices:
President: The Libertarian candidate, Bob Barr. I know that Obama will carry this state anyway, but it will be “meet the new boss, same as the old boss.”

US Representative District 1: The incumbent is Jay Inslee, and Larry Ishmael is the strongest challenger, so Larry gets my vote.

Governor: The incumbent is Chris Gregoire, and the strongest challenger is Dino Rossi, so he gets my vote.

Lieutenant Governor: The incumbent is Brad Owen and the strongest challenger is Marcia McCraw, so she gets my vote.

Secretary of State: Sam Reed (the Republican!) is the incumbent, so Democrat Jason Osgood gets my vote.

State Treasurer: The office is open (no incumbent), and there is no third party candidate, so I'm writing in “Turd Sandwich.”

State Auditor: The incumbent is Brian Sonntag, so the Republican Dick McEntee gets the nod.

Attorney General: Rob McKenna is the incumbent, so John Ladenburg (D) gets the vote.

Commissioner of Public Lands: Doug Southerland is in the office now, so Peter Goldmark (D) gets it.

(Non-Partisan) Superintendent of Public Instruction: I'm writing in “School Vouchers”

Insurance Commissioner: Mike Kreidler is in there, so I'm voting John Adams (ha!)

State Senator: Connie Lord (voting against Phil Rockefeller)

State Representative 1: I'm not just voting against Sherry Appleton, but for Larry Cooney (A Ron Paul Republican)

State Representative 2: Mark Lowe (voting against Christine Rolfes)

County Commissioner 1: Sandra LaCelle (voting against Steve Bauer)

County Commissioner 2: The office is open and there is no third party candidate, so I'm writing in “Giant Douche”

County Auditor: John Clark (voting against Walt Washington)
For the rest of the non-partisan races (judicial and PUD commissioner), I'm writing in “Giant Douche” or “Turd Sandwich” (I'll flip a coin).

My Voting Strategy (Vote Them All Out)

2008-10-17T19:38:00.000-07:00

I will stoop to voting for a Republicrat if I have to. But my overriding plan is voting out those in power, especially career politicians who have done nothing to advance freedom and independence. So this is how I vote:

Always vote against the incumbent
Vote for the strongest challenger
If there is no incumbent, vote for the third party (preferably Libertarian)
If there is no incumbent or third party candidate, write in "Turd Sandwich" or "Giant Douche"

In my next post I will lay out my entire ballot and how I'm going to vote.

In These Trying Times, it's Good to be a Jackboot!

2008-10-12T13:32:00.000-07:00

Well right near my stomping ground the DEA has stopped a few people from getting prescription painkillers and other drugs from a phony online pharmacy.

According to federal court documents unsealed Thursday, Drug Enforcement
Administration agents searched the offices of eDentity Media Inc. in January
2007 as part of an investigation into an illicit prescription drug ring
purportedly run by Florida resident Antonio Quinones.

I can't imagine what the customers did after this. Get their "meds" from somewhere else, maybe? But another feather in the cap of the DEA, who bosses will certainly demand that even with all the debt our nation is in, still needs increased funding to make even further improvements in preventing otherwise law-abiding people from putting certain substances into their body.

One of the emails from the owner of eDentity was certainly telling:

"(I) need to make sure you're OK before going too far," the man wrote in a
secure instant message to the agent. "Nothing personal. But you show a good
knowledge of the industry. DEA agents are usually clueless on the
details."

Boy, ain't that the truth. Just ask any pain doctor. Or pretty much anyone else who is not a drug war apologist.

Inslee's Response (He Voted Nay)

2008-10-05T07:37:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm happy to report that in the original House version of the bailout bill, Inslee voted no. It was for the wrong reasons, of course, but I'll take it. Here's some of his response.

Like you, I am outraged that reckless and irresponsible conduct has put us in this terrible position of economic uncertainty.

I'm sure he's not referring at all to the subprime lending sprees of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to anyone with a pulse, nor the recklessly low interest rates set by the Federal Reserve.

...the original proposal from the Bush administration was arrogantly unaccountable to the taxpayer, did not provide for Congressional oversight, included absolutely no equity stake for the taxpayer, and no help for struggling homeowners. Like you, I hoped the revised plan would address these inherent flaws.

Actually, I hoped that the bill would not pass in any form. Something about adding a trillion dollars to the national debt kinda turned me off of it. But no mention so far about spending money we don't have, notice that?

Regrettably, this plan is a continuation of the same type of deficit spending that has been so damaging to our economy in the last eight years...We need to take a long and hard look at how Wall Street got itself in this pickle and establish regulations to prevent another party on the taxpayer’s dime.

Yeah! More regulations, that'll do it! We just need the right people in charge, that's all. The other thing we should do is make recessions illegal. *dusts hands off* Problem solved!

In addition, I am a strong proponent of growing and diversifying our economy in new markets with tangible assets like clean energy, rather than relying too heavily on one market for our economic stability.

Hmm, I like clean energy too. I just don't want to pay for it with tax money. I'll gladly pay to fuel my car or home with it, though.

The rest of his response is standard boilerplate. New legislation, new regulations, etc.

I think if he was not running for reelection he would have voted yes. But thankfully, he didn't. Both times.

My Email to Inslee on the Bailout

2008-09-30T17:36:00.000-07:00

NO BAILOUT!

Mr. Inslee,

I know that you waited until you knew the bailout bill would not pass before you cast your nay vote. I am against a bailout in any form. This country needs to wake up and stop living on easy credit.

We've been through recessions before and we'll get through this one. By adding $700B to our national debt and attempting to socialize and subsidize risk we will have a bigger one down the road. I don't want my children or grandchildren to endure that.

In the end, the best thing you can do is encourage less spending from the federal government. We can't tax the rich to pay for ponies for everyone, and we can't grow our way out of this. The holders of the purse strings need to lead by example and start being responsible with taxpayers money. Any bailout would be exactly the opposite of that. Thanks for your time.

Buh-bye for Now (until Thursday)

2008-09-29T17:22:00.000-07:00

The bailout bill has failed in the house. My very own Representative, Jay Inslee, voted against it. He would have been perfectly happy, I'm sure, with this giant goose-step toward socialism, but my understanding is that it would not have contained enough “taxpayer safeguards” for his taste. I'm trying to get his web site up but the traffic, not surprisingly, is very heavy.

The reason for the vote could be anything (who can pin down the motive of 228 representatives), but the majority of the voters that care, to my shock, were against it. Good for them. I'm nervous about a financial breakdown or a recession that will come without the bailout, but with one in place we will surely be looking at a bigger one down the road.

You can blame the credit markets for this but the Federal Reserve is really where the blame lies. When they lower interest rates and print lots of new money and make loans so easy to get, what do you expect? More to follow...

Let's Dive into This.

2008-09-28T07:15:00.000-07:00

Since I have a little more time at the moment, I'd like to try to explain what this blog is going to be about. One thing that I follow closely is politics. I consider myself a libertarian-leaning independent. You'll notice that I used a small "l' in "libertarian." I used to actually be a member of the Libertarian Party, and I still primarily vote for the Libertarian candidate. But I'm no longer a member of the party because for a couple of reasons: 1) There are certain parts of the plank that I have a problem with, and 2) The party seems unwilling to bend on some of the smaller stuff such that they can actually win elections.

Since the big news lately is the financial mess we're in, I will try to address that. I'm absolutely against any bailout of the banks that are hurting. Don't get me wrong, a recession and a long-term decline of the stock market will hurt me too. It will hurt everyone. But adding another half billion to a trillion dollars to the national debt will hurt much worse.

Consider the report from David Walker, who was Comptroller General of the GAO when he released this report(pdf). This is a gloomy look at what our country faces if the federal spending does not get under control. Page 15 is a real eye-opener:

Current Fiscal Policy Is Unsustainable

•The "Status Quo"Is Not an Option
•We face large and growing structural deficits largely due to known demographic trends and rising health care costs.

•GAO’s simulations show that balancing the budget in 2040 could require actions as large as
•Cutting total federal spending by 60 percent or
Raising federal taxes to two times today's level

•Faster Economic Growth Can Help, but It Cannot Solve the Problem
•Closing the current long-term fiscal gap based on reasonable assumptions would require real average annual economic growth in the double-digit range every year for the next 75 years.
•During the 1990s, the economy grew at an average 3.2 percent per year.
•As a result, we cannot simply grow our way out of this problem. Tough choices will be required.

It's some scary stuff, and if our "leaders" are not addressing this issue then they are merely a waste of skin. I have contacted my representative and senators about not supporting a bailout. I have a feeling it will fall on deaf ears, and I'll excerpt their responses (if any) here.

The Sage Commander Hits the Blogosphere!

2008-09-27T08:02:00.000-07:00

So this is my first post in this blog, Northwest Sage. I'll be posting here to talk about happenings in the Pacific Northwest, but I'll also throw in the odd story or issue from other places as well. Thanks for visiting!