The Other Side - Online

Jim McCabe does a great analysis piece in the Tri-City Herald pointing out that Rossi’s pandering transportation plan robs from Peter to pay Paul.

Peter, in this case, is central and eastern Washington citizens. Paul is the voters he desperately needs to woo on the westside to beat Christine Gregoire.

From the report:

Rossi’s proposal is to spend $15.5 billion on transportation projects. Just $3 billion - or 15 percent - would be spent on eight projects east of the mountains.

It doesn’t take an east-sider long to figure out Rossi is trying to woo votes from the weary Puget Sound commuter at the expense of the weary Eastern Washington wallet.

Tuesday, May 6, 2008 The Yakima City council voted unanimously to seek a performance audit from the State Auditor’s office. Looking at this objectively one would consider this to be a positive step. But, alas! There is a fly in the ointment!

Bruce Smith, editor of the Yakima Valley Business Times, was appointed as co-chair of a Performance Audit Task Force. Kathy Coffey introduced the members of this committee as a panel of impartial and objective citizens. She will be co-chair along with council-members Neil McClure and Bill Lover and the other community members included retired Yakima Valley Regional Library Executive Director Richard Ostrander, local businessman and Yakima/Morelia Sister Cities Association President Juven Garcia, and Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences President Dr. Stan Flemming.

And now back to the fly in the ointment! Bruce Smith! Anyone who has read his publications over the past few years would probably agree that this angry and disagreeable and agenda driven man cannot live up to the words objective and impartial. His editorials have been filled with inaccuracies, distortions, and out right lies. He has made numerous personal attacks on office holders and city staff.

The City Council has made a grave error in naming this extremist to this Task Force. It also has the appearance of a conflict of interest. How can one who makes his living on making personal attacks on city staff and government officials be entrusted to co-chair a task force that requires impartiality and objectivity? I would hope the council reconsiders their selection. Maybe they think this will be a way to neutralize Bruce or shut him up?  Fat chance! This performance audit task force would be greatly enhanced by removing the negativity of Bruce Smith. Then and only then could an objective and impartial evaluation be made.

McCranium tells it like it is.

According to the Columbia Basin Herald, Sen. Janea Holmquist talked last week at the Big Bend Economic Development Council.

She chastised Democrats in the State Legislature because she is concerned they are setting us up for deficits. She is also promoting Dino Rossi’s campaign. She says:

“Unless there’s a change in leadership in Olympia, I have no faith at all they’re going to prioritize, lay off state employees and live within their means,” she said. “They’re going to come after your wallets, increase your taxes and get more money to cover their spending. You can already see their creative ideas of creating new taxes, such as an emissions tax, an engine-size tax and it goes on.”

At the same time, she heaps praise on George Bush:

“It’s not a revenue problem,” Holmquist said, pointing to a boom in housing, construction and consumer spending triggered by President George W. Bush’s tax cuts and low interest rates and an uptick in revenue growth which began in late 2004. These moves put the state back on solid ground, she said, and led to positive forecasts.”

Anybody see a massive disconnect here? Who’s setting record deficits? Let’s stick with the facts. Christine Gregoire balanced the budget and put money in a new rainy day fund in case there were deficits in the future. George Bush’s brutal combination of tax cuts and spending has left our country in unbelieveable debt for decades to come.

Somehow Janea Holmquist decides that projected “potential” deficits are more problematic than actual existing deficits. We are through the looking glass here people. You have to do some amazing mental gymnastics to criticize the Governor about potential future state deficits when are federal budget is currently in such a shambles. You really have to twist the facts to praise the current President for his economic policies while criticizing our state spending.

Happy Cinco De Mayo, Janea. You are officially pronounced plum LOCO!!!!!

The AP reports on a bill that would tighten the standards for “combustible dust” in factories.

This bill is a response to a February 7th explosion at Imperial Sugar Co. outside of Savannah, GA that was blamed on on dust igniting. 13 people will killed in the accident.

According to the Associated Press:

In a 2006 study, the board identified 281 industrial dust fires and explosions between 1980 and 2005 that caused 119 deaths and more than 718 injuries.

“We owe it to the families of the workers who have needlessly lost their lives to pass this legislation,” said Rep. George Miller, D-Calif, chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee.

Doc Hastings voted against this piece of legislation.

A new poll on the Governor’s race came out this week. The good news is that Gov. Gregoire is leading Dino Rossi 43% to 38%. She is leading in Seattle 54% to 28%.

Unfortunately, those numbers are offset by the numbers in Eastern Washington where Rossi is leading 54% to 27%.

405 registered voters took part in the survey on April 21-22. The margin of error was +/- 5 percent.

The latest CNN opinion research survey shows President Bush with the worst disapproval rating of any President in modern history: 71% disapprove. The first time any President has gone over 70%. This includes all Gallup polls taken, going back to Harry Truman. Also, the war in Iraq is at the lowest point ever with 68% disapproving.

This information is not even mentioned on the FOX News website. I’m sure the “Fair and Balanced” network would report it if the survey were flipped to 71% positive!

And didn’t Hillary do a great job on the O’Reilly show?

One of the national blogs (MyDD) points out an interesting way to look at the Democratic Presidential nominating process.

Marc Ambinder of The Atlantic points out that Barack Obama needs 283 more delegates to secure the nomination.

I like this way of looking at it. As a baseball fan, it’s always good to know the “magic number” needed to make it into the playoffs. Unfortunately, as a Mariner fan, it doesn’t seem like we’ve been reaching that magic number very often.

If you don’t know about this meet-up of progressives and Democrats in the Tri-Cities known as “Drinking Liberally”, here’s a nice write up about it in the Tri-City Herald.

I know we all get tired of process and meetings, it’s nice to know there’s a place to relax and talk politics in a less formal way.

Yakima City Council member Bill Lover once said at a 2007 city council meeting (while voting for increases in fees for the 2008 budget) that he was “the only true fiscal conservative on the council”. Newly elected amigo Rick Ensey, says he shares the conservative “values” of Yakima voters and that he is against taxes. Micah Cawley continually refers to his conservative and “Christian” ethics. Dave Edler, Neil McClure, Norm Johnson, and Kathy Coffey have all invoked the “conservative” word to describe their philosophy. So, if I read that correctly we have 7 conservatives on the city council. And as far as Yakima goes that seems to be the safe route for political success.

The Yakima Republican Party claims to be conservative as do the Central Washington Homebuilders, the Yakima Association of Realtors, KIT Radio, KUSA radio, and even the master of twisting information, Bruce Smith, editor of the Yakima Valley Business Times.

It’s amusing to watch them all try to out conserve each other! It appears Mayor Dave Edler has broken free from their ideology of being against everything (all in the name of conservatism, of course). So too has Neil McClure, and to some extent, Norm Johnson and Kathy Coffey. Fortunately they are a majority of 4 that can lead to objective and rational decisions for our city and for open and honest debate.

That can’t be said for the three Amigos, (Lover, Cawley, Ensey). They are panderers, not leaders. They get support and encouragement from cheerleading radio stations and outright distortions by Bruce Smith and their campaign financers; the Realtors, Homebuilders, and of course the local Republican Party. (All of them flaunting their supposedly conservative ideology)

They say they are against taxes (isn’t that a brave thing to say!) and therefore cannot consider improvements to infrastructure and services unless something else is cut. Okay, show the way! Lead us to a better quality of life and improved economic development opportunities by cutting the budget. You go Amigos! Provide us with the public safety you campaign on. Lead us! Show us what conservatives can do!

But the Amigos and their band of supporters continue to fail while they waste our time and money professing their “conservative values” and misleading the voters. Accountability is another word they toss around but they do not consider that it applies to them. To the three amigos the words conservative means to support lower taxes, without actually doing it. They must have everything both ways. Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan would be ashamed of such pathetic and spineless leadership!