KaskadskyjKozak

Missouri isn't near the gulf coast. Give an engineer a few facts and he'll connect them anydamn way he pleases. Insert Hoover joke here. The point is that hurricanes hit the SE every year, and you don't need to wait long for guaranteed disaster. Earthquakes are rarer, and don't seem to be as devastating - even the worst ones. Do you remember anything like the chaos we saw in New Orleans after the '89 quake in the bay area or the Northridge quake on SoCal? No. I lived in California for 23 years, and lived through multiple quakes over 6.0 - no big deal. I would not be able to say the same for clas 3, 4, or 5 hurricanes, now would I? California with its earthquakes is often cited as being just as crazy a place to live as the SE with their hurricanes, but this just isn't true. And, the worst earthquakes will occur in the midwest, not the west coast, something about the geology, as I recall. I believe that was what Selkirk was referring to. Moreover, to cite volcanoes as an equivalent risk for those in the PNW is ludicrous. Mt. Saint Helens is the only eruption that occurred in most of our lifetimes (compared to how many hurricanes in the SE?), and the loss of life, and damage to populated areas was minimal. If Rainier were to erupt, it would be much more devastating, but the likelihood is very low, and the event would be more likely singular - unlike the repeating, seasonal hurricanes that strike the SE.

and lawyers

And cut their staff and office budgets in half too.

cut corporate welfare and pork spending = 100's billions

science is only convenient when it supports your world-view

If you think I'd sit around and watch the world go by, You're thinking like a fool, 'cause it's a case of do or die, Out there is a fortune waiting to be had, You think I'd let it go? You're mad, You've got another thing coming.

there ain't no such thing as a free lunch

it matches the one on the top of my head

When you are assessed, there is a number to call and an appeals process. As far as our assessments, they have been spot-on as far as the market rate goes. In any case, whatever assessment is the basis for your property tax, it seems to me that that very same value is a fair basis for compensation in an eminent domain issue. It is in the government's best interest to keep the assessments as high as possible in general, and only to have them low for that small number of people they would have to compensate to build a road, or whatever. Separating the two makes it more likely for people to get screwed on eminent domains cases.

Yep. They used to asses once every 4 years, now they do it every year. I've lived at the same place 7 years.

Bullshit. I live in Snohomish County where the average property appreciated 11% last year alone. This far outstrips the average in Seattle, Issaquah and many other areas in King County.

do you own property? my taxes are raised every year now. and the price is damn accurate.

Pay them the value at which they are assessed property taxes. Seems the state is really good at setting those values as high as possible to confiscate as much tax revenue as possible.

Climbed NE ridge of Snow King. 4/6 of us got slaughtered by yellow jacket swarms. Little bastards!

Fuck no. And you'll be charged again next time you register your car. That tax will NEVER go away. And the people who were forced to sell their businesses and properties below market value are screwed. The city will be selling their real estate for extroirdinary profit. It is dispicable. Suckers! :-))

A How-How-How-How...

That's Mk I. Mk II is with Ian Gillan. Check out Fireball and Who Do We Think We Are. Classic songs that are underplayed. Out of Their Heads, Aftermath and Exile on Main Street are top notch as well.

Deep Purple Mk II and III. Their six albums hold up to Zep I - IV + Houses and Phys Graf. The Rolling Stones are a close third.

Governments that collapsed under their own weight. Far-different animal from the marxist-rhetoric espoused by the originator of this thread. And I'm not a neocon you moron. As for the US, I'm happy here and willing to live with what we have, making incremental improvements, and realizing that is the best possible approach. Unlike you, brave expatriate, talking revolution out of your , but you've shown what action and sacrifice your willing to take on - cutting and running.

The American Revolution is exceptional in almost every regard compared to other revolutions throughout history. Civilian bloodshed was minimal, and it ended with a general willingly abandoning his power and negating escalation of bloodshed that plagued so many other revolutions which turned inwards upon their own people. What is being advocated on this group smells of Marxist revolution, with Marxist utopian ideals, and would lead to the inevitable bloodshed of all Marxist regimes - wholesale slaughter of millions. Of course, that wouldn't bother you with your utopian, leftist world-view.

Ah yes, revolution is so noble and glorious. Liberte, fraternite, egalite - never mind the thousands of heads that roll of those who have done nothing to deserve it. The great irony is how the same people who dream of revolution, harp incessantly on tragedies and relatively minor problems of the day, oblivious to the true horrors, mass-slaughter, and suffering that their uprising would generate - eclipsing the tragedies and problems they believe (more likely - pretend/pay lip-service to) they are solving.

The problem is that the candidates who run are groomed and selected for us. When you have essentially two unpalatable alternatives, picked by others, who differ only in the details, what choice is there really?

No. But I'm sure that delusion helps you rationalize your irrational hatred for the man. Kooks like you only ensure the Republicans keeping control of all three branches of government. Great work!

More hyperbole and hand-wringing... And who cares what a shit-for-brains Canuck thinks anyway.

I will enjoy every day of the next 3+ years watching you Bush haters choke on the fact that he is still in the White House - not because I like him, but because you're so damn annoying with your liberal rantings, histrionics, and absurd hyperbole.