Maybe.

Just after a memorial service for slain Seattle police Officer Tim Brenton concluded Friday afternoon, officers shot and arrested a man described as a person of interest in his killing.

Tukwila police spokesman Mike Murphy said officers were serving a search warrant at an apartment complex when the man flashed a gun.

It isn't too late to urge them to vote against the 2000-page monstrosity that Speaker Pelosi is calling health insurance reform.   The Democratic leadership is trying to rush the vote, but has not twisted enough arms to have 218 votes for the bill, even with all the Democrats in the House.

Majority Leader Steny Hoyer still expects the House to approve its sweeping health care bill Saturday, but conceded the vote could slip until Sunday or even early next week.

Hoyer acknowledged House leaders were still shy of the 218 votes needed, amid flare-ups among anti-abortion Democrats and immigration advocates.  Hoyer also warned of Republican delaying tactics that he said could push off plans to vote Saturday...

Permalink | Comments (56) | Email This

A handy website that tells you which page you should be on if you're to read the whole bill before the committee vote on it.

It also has handy page and section references to important parts of the bill for those of us who do things like sleep, eat and work instead of reading 2000 page health care bills; things like Page 872--Section 1433 requires the director of food services at nursing facilities participating in Medicare and Medicaid to hold "military, academic, or other qualifications" as determined by federal bureaucrats.

Hurry up! Only 1 day, 13 hours and 17 minutes left!

Americans for Tax Reform put together the tax increases in the latest version of Obama's health care takeover. Some of these are outright tax increases; some are reductions in deductions, which causes paying increased taxes; some lower the standard for the IRS to rule against the legality of a deduction, which increases the taxes. Especially insidious is the tax on medical devices on page 339. Obama wants a piece of my hip replacement.

H.R. 3962, the "Affordable Health Care for America Act" has been introduced--all 1990 pages of it. This gargantuan beast contains thirteen new tax hikes. Here they all are, with description and page number (PDF version):

Employer Mandate Excise Tax (Page 275): If an employer...Read the rest >>

Permalink | Comments (91) | Email This

David Brooks: I think it is a suicide pact for the Republican Party, essentially taking a moderate Republican, dead-center in American politics, and saying, sorry, you are too liberal. That's crazy.

George Will: Newt [Gingrich] was just tone deaf as were the people who picked this woman, who is a candidate of, among other things, the Working Families Party, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Public Employees Union. She's for tax increases, same-sex marriage. She's for abolishing the right of secret ballot in union elections. There's already a party for people who think like that. It's called the Democratic Party.

I like David Brooks a lot. But when it comes to his perspective of where the Republican Party is, he is completely out to lunch. George Will, as usual, is correct.

Cross-posted on <pudge/*>.

Many news sources have gotten it right. Politico writes that "Dems and Incumbents get a wake up call". The AP writes: "For now, Obama must worry about the impact of the 2009 contests on health care reform, his signature legislative priority." And the LA Times writes: "GOP Victories Send Message To Democrats".

But you can always count on CNN: "Analysis: Elections not a referendum on Obama". Of course they're only talking about the NJ and VA Governors' races. Lefty's across the nation are all dancing in glee and announcing the death knell of conservatism because Hoffman lost in NY-23. Never mind that Hoffman was late to enter the race, didn't have the support of either major party and still managed...Read the rest >>

Permalink | Comments (23) | Email This

One of them a defeat of an appointed Democrat, Laura Grant.

Next year, I think it nearly certain that the Republicans will make further gains in the legislature.  But it is too soon, in my opinion, to even guess at how large those gains will be.  For one thing, we don't know what the level of unemployment will be then, though many economists are predicting a jobless recovery, at least for the next half year or so.)

(There's background on the Grant-Nealey election in this editorial.   Note that the editor(s), while endorsing a Democrat, are implicitly criticizing the Democratic majority in the legislature, by suggesting that they are trapped by partisanship, and are unwilling to listen to ideas from across the aisle.)

I'm closing the post, because I don't have time today to moderate a general discussion of election returns.  And because some of the comments have not been suitable for a family-friendly site.

This is as true now as it was at 8 pm tonight:

Whatever happens with Initiative 1033 tonight, Jack, Mike and I want everyone to know how proud we are of all our heroic supporters for getting 1033 before the voters for a vote. We respect and admire all of you for your enthusiasm and determination to make a difference.

Government doesn't get better when the citizenry acquiesces - government only gets better when the people provoke it, confront it, and challenge it. Politicians don't need adoring cheerleaders, they need the people to be hard-nosed coaches challenging politicians to do better.

To all those who supported 1033 with your vote, you sent a clear message demanding...Read the rest >>

Permalink | Comments (42) | Email This

Now, he says, we just have Ballot-Counting Day.

To me, it was important to go to vote.  There was ritual to it, and personal contact.   Always there was a row of poll workers.

Mine was a lady well past retirement age.  I don't remember her name; I remember her hair.   It was bright orange.  The orange-haired lady knew me by name.  I never knew my precinct, but she did.

I always left the polling station with a good feeling, partly because of her.  I had shown up, done my duty, and had been recognized.

That was Election Day.  This isn't.  Today is merely Ballot-Counting Day, and it's a sad imitation of the real thing.

(For...Read the rest >>

Permalink | Comments (43) | Email This

How many times have we suffered the likes of some rock star or a crotch grabbing Roseanne Barr slaughter the "Star Spangled Banner" at a sports event? The combined choirs of the service academies demonstrate how the National Anthem should be done, stirringly and with respect. Senator and 2004 VP candidate John Edwards was fond of saying there are two Americas, one rich and one poor. He was partially right only the two Americas are the Barr ilk and the rest of us.

clearfogblog

Susan Hutchison will be having an Election Night Celebration this evening at the Bellevue Hyatt. The festivities start off at 6pm. Parking is free.

Congratulations -- you did it.

Jack, Mike, and I are very proud of all of you for working so hard to get Initiative 1033 before the voters this year. It was a Herculean effort getting 315,000 signatures in just 4 months -- it was and is an extraordinary accomplishment.

Thank you. Thank you for making I-1033 a reality.

There's a scene from the movie "A League of Their Own" where Tom Hanks plays a baseball coach and Gina Davis is one of his ball players. When she was thinking of quitting, she told him "It just got too hard." To which Tom Hanks replied:

"It's supposed to hard. If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. It's the hard...Read the rest >>

Permalink | Comments (33) | Email This

The Seattle Times was successful today in its intervention in the matter of "Jane Doe" vs. King County.

The county has released a copy of the notes between "Jane Doe" and her supervisor with names redacted. By the looks of it, it doesn't rise to Clintonian levels but his comments, definitely sexual in nature (as opposed to derogatory, as some had conjectured), obviously made "Jane Doe" uncomfortable enough to bring it up with her supervisor. The fact that Constantine kept buying "Jane Doe" drinks throughout the night is a bit telling too.

At the very least, this incident demonstrates that Dow Constantine is a sleazebag..

It's also telling of how Constantine chooses to handle incidences such...Read the rest >>

Permalink | Comments (59) | Email This

In this post, I promised I would make my own election predictions — and I will, with one exception.  I am putting my predictions in a separate post because I am unable to make one prediction, and I thought I should explain why.

Permalink | Comments (28) | Email This

You may have heard by now of the tragic death of Canadian singer-songwriter Taylor Mitchell last week, killed by coyotes while solo hiking in Cape Breton Highlands National Park in Nova Scotia. As is typical after these types of incidents, wildlife biologists and public land managers are scrambling to find any reason why the animals attacked other than the obvious one -- that they were hungry and looking for food. In this typical article, the Chronicle Herald authors quote Jon Way, said to have studied coyotes for 12 years, and who runs Eastern Coyote Research in Massachusetts:

"I don't think they regard people, even kids, as an opportunity for a food source, so this is certainly an...

Permalink | Comments (28) | Email This

Congratulations -- working together, all of us have helped make the Initiative 1033 campaign a tremendous success. Join us at I-1033's victory celebration at the Bellevue Hyatt (900 Bellevue Way NE) on election night (several other campaigns are going to be there too, making it much easier for all our supporters -- having one big party is easier than several smaller parties).

Some are arriving as early as 6:00 pm, we'll likely get there around 7:45 pm, polls close at 8:00 pm and our victory speech will be given at 8:05 pm. If you're able to join us, please shoot me a quick email: tim_eyman@comcast.net

An exceptional column by Bill Virgin appeared in Sunday's Tacoma News Tribune...Read the rest >>

Permalink | Comments (41) | Email This

In the supposedly solid Republican 23rd Congressional District in upstate New York, there will be a special election November 3, 2009 to fill the seat vacated by Cong. John McHugh who was appointed Secretary of the Army. The Republican district chairs selected New York Assemblywoman Dierdre Scozzafava, said to be a fiscal conservative but liberal on social issues, as the Republican candidate. In addition to the Democrat candidate, Bill Owens, the Conservative Party of New York also fielded a candidate, Doug Hoffman.

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich, National GOP Chair Michael Steele and a host of other Republican loyalist endorsed Ms. Scozzafava. Mr. Hoffman received endorsements from Sarah Palin and other noted conservatives. When it became apparent to the...Read the rest >>

Permalink | Comments (35) | Email This

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner was on Meet the Press with David Gregory today, and Gregory asked him, regarding the health insurance bills, "there is going to be a heavy burden on the middle-class through health care by taxes going up, by premiums going up. It will affect the middle-class."

Geithner responded, "You know, I don't think that's the way to look at it. The--our tax--our healthcare system today imposes enormous burdens not just on businesses, but on families. There are very high hidden costs to our current system. And the best way to add to our long-term deficits, and the best way to add to those burdens is not reform health care today."

Gregory: "But it doesn't answer the...Read the rest >>

Permalink | Comments (24) | Email This