Jim

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/reaction/readings/french.html Why the Frenchies like nukes: Part of their popularity comes from the fact that scientists and engineers have a much higher status in France than in America. Many high ranking civil servants and government officials trained as scientists and engineers (rather than lawyers, as in the United States), and, unlike in the U.S. where federal administrators are often looked down upon, these technocrats form a special elite.

Yeah, you are wrong this time, buddy. There really is no comparison between the violence of the rights agenda, legislation, and rhetoric and the lefts in recent decades. Tree spiking...come fucking on. No doubt. The problem recently is that the contingent, dialog, and tactics of the extrene right has been creeping into its center as they capatialize and exploit these fringe movements for their benefit.

The typical pattern for La Nina in the PNW is normal snowpack prior to January and then colder and wetter after. We'll see.

French bread is for folks who don't know how to bake bread. Plus it's French! 'nuf said.

Not Individualism and Economic Order again! 1957?

Oh that's great! How to drive parents crazy by SELLING a motorcycle!

w/o Microsoft's hamfisted attempt at writing code. Which is the key point.

Had a mac years ago switched to PC, now back with an iMac. Before I purchased I asked two friends, both IT folks at the UW. One services a 120 mac shop, the other a 200 PC shop. Both said go Mac. After two years the thing works flawlessly.

Well there has always been some fluctuation. From bad to worse for instance.

I think that's a fairly accurate and concise summary.

Guess the WA voters didn't see this poll.

Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts. ----Daniel Patrick Moynihan

Picked up new tele set up recently - bindings at Marmot and skis/boots at REI. Neither shop had everthing I wanted. When going to mount the bindings I discovered that the heel plate and adjustment pins (22 Designs Axl) were missing out of the sealed box. Marmot quickly discovered that many of their boxes were missing the same - but they got me replacements the same day. We came to the conclusion that 22 Designs must have hired some stoners for the holiday rush. Surprisingly I had a great salesperson at REI who was an experienced tele skier, knew the setups well, and provided a great perspective.

Thanks again for the arm waving response to a straight-forward question. Over and out.

Oveall tax reveunes are down. Pension fund issues are a seperate issue because no matter what the economy was, is, or is going to be - they are under funded. WTF? I'm not hearing any solution that does not involve raising taxes - which has been dismissed (rightly or wrongly) by the public in WA. So provide a Plan B here that involves something that we, in WA, have control over. Anything, really! Or is this just another arm-waving exercise?

Yea, that's what I'm saying. But if you can't admit that changes need to be made to the way promised pensions are funded or that things like automatic, year-in-grade pay increases, share of medical coverage costs, and some wasted overtime need to be reviewed - then there is going to be little conversation with the public on raising taxes.

You make a valid point - and that is why I think it needs to be worked at both ends. Looking at the recent Ferry DOT scandal for instance - when asked about why supervisors were signing off on millions of dollars of un-needed overtime, DOT's head came back with -"...supervisors were not aware that part of their duties were to keep down unnecessary costs." Ok, well that added a lot of confidence to the voters to shovel more cash into the system. On the other hand - voters are very short-sighted these days and lacking in confidence for long-term progrmas. Likely changes in the first problem would help this second one.

While I think the pension issue needs fixing, I have sympathy for the state because of the boneheaded voters who don't want to be taxed to invest in education, technology, or infrastructure. Anytime a state runs a surplus the neocons start banging on the door claiming they are overtaxed and demanding a refund. Take WA where the voters have continually voted for less taxes, even very focused ones on nonessentials such as candy and soda. You are stuck trying to patch together some forward looking programs with glue and popcicle sticks.

I suppose this means there is no plan B.

Well. I'll try and explain this one last time regarding pensions. If you are only puting in 50 cents on the dollar of future obligations during the good times(promised pensions) it doesn't matter what your tax revenues are doing. You are still going to have a day of reckoning. Newsflash - it's here. Bubbles burst - you cut back. Tapping out the credit card - cut back. You do this at home, likely you are more conservative and don't push the envelope as the state and local governments have. Raise tax revenue? Not happening in WA and other jurisdictions. What then is plan B?

Thanks for the article. I worked with Bill for a few years and would have to say he shared the frustration of some of these changes but was out-voted. Eventually he left the Board while a few others seem to be permanant fixtures. I think things veered off the co-op course when they decided to go big retail. That decision inherently involves more bottom-line decisions. How many large co-ops are out there that actually function as one. PCC isn't exactly in the same league as REI. I've heard decent things about Costco, how they treat their employees, etc., but they are not run by their members either.

Easterlies often keep the snow level lower at the passes.

Well this guy, and you, obviously didn't watch or pay attention to the 60 Minutes segment. The backbone of the reporting was on unfunded pensions. The increasing urgency of the ponzi scheme of state and local pensions was not created by the current financial crisis. But the veil of illusion was pulled out because of it. No matter what the tax revenues were, or are, these programs are not sustainable. Really, please do the math.

I hear similar views from folks I consider pretty liberal and conservative. There is a need to more responsibly manage public money. There's quite a number of items that government can supply better and more fairly (yes, subjective) than the private industry. I'm even ok with public service jobs paying a little more, having more security, and limiting to a 40 hr week. But some of the other perks - non-funded pensions, minimal contribution to health plans, and crazy overtime pay - well that is not just equitable. But, and this is where the left does have a justified beef, the uber-rich in the country are not being put on similar scrutiny. Exhibit A is the recent tax "compromise" giving another huge tax break to the rich and deepening our debt hole. That said - pointing fingers to the federal issues and not working on sustainable practices on the state and local level does not endear trust in the voters. Including me.

There is no reason to think that layoffs and wage and benefit cuts would necessarily lead to the continuation, much less the expansion, of social services. This is particularly so since the most vocal advocates for busting public sector unions are also opposed to the public provision of social services. At least Fairweather has the intellectual honesty not to go here. This answer is just as ignorant of the realties as FW's, however. Look at the ferry link posted by JayB. No matter what your political stripe that kinda of pay, $500k above base pay over 10 years, that doesn't need changing? I agree that there is a need for a more federal and state progressive tax sturcture, but the argument you provide above is, well, a non-starter. What I keep hearing is this "Everything else is tipped to the rich folks so there is no need to pay attention to financial responsibility ont the state or local level". Huh?