Sound Politics: It's in the P-I

June 30, 2005

It's in the P-I

The funniest editorial column this week (with the possible exception of Hugh Spitzer's fabulously idiotic election reform proposal) is Friday's lead editorial in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, posted a few hours before the Monorail board rejected the financing proposal -- "Seattle Monorail: Not enough to say no"

Members of the Seattle Monorail Project Board of Directors are obligated to reject the current proposal because of its unacceptably bloated financing costs. But their obligation doesn't stop there. They are also obliged to look for a better way to fulfill the vision of an alternative route through Seattle's congested downtown transportation corridor.
...
SMP could ask voters to approve an MVET rate higher than the current 1.4 percent -- up to 2.5 percent of vehicle value. Other options are a flat license fee of up to $100, a car rental tax and an excess property tax levy.

This has to be a joke. Nobody, not even the P-I editorial writers who live on Bainbridge Island, could have their heads buried so far up their asses as to make such a proposal in earnest. I give the P-I editorialists enough credit to know how to have a good laugh at their readers' expense, especially now that their jobs might be about to go away.

Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at June 30, 2005 10:20 PM | Email This

Comments

1. No, I think their heads really are that far up their asses.

Yes, the PI idiots will all be out of work soon. However, some will be offering their services to the Seattle Times and salaries impossible to reject. So, I'd expect the Times to take a turn even further to the whinny, victimhood, anti-civil liberties crap you read in the PI.

One thing that will be fun, though, will be to watch Kathleen Paynter get snubbed in favor of Jamieson so that the Times can fill a racial quota. When she ends up writing for the Bellevue Gazette, she will change her tone pretty quick.

Posted by: BananaLand(aka Iguana) on June 30, 2005 10:45 PM

2. While Tim Eyman's "$30 tabs" initiative was popular statewide, it was less popular in Seattle. So I have an idea for the monorail financing: Someone could run an initiative in Seattle called "$1,000 tabs". That would fix everything.

Posted by: Michele on June 30, 2005 11:11 PM

3. Michele, I almost never argue with you, but this one time I must...

"That would fix everything."

It could if the adults were in charge. Since they aren't, there's no way that Seattle improper will ever actually design something with the intent of actually fixing something. It's in there very DNA.

Your proposal does have one interesting potential side effect, though. It could get some libs out of their cars which could make some other libs happy.

'course I'm not sure that enabling their lunacy is the wisest way to go...

Posted by: scott158 on July 1, 2005 01:46 AM

4. "That would fix everything." scott158, the comment was made with tongue in cheek. :-)

Posted by: Michele on July 1, 2005 02:02 AM

5. I know, I was using a quibble as a roundabout way of pointing out that problem solving isn't among the agenda items.

They have no limit on the extremes they'll go to chase ephemeral pipe dreams, creating systems that are specifically designed to not do what is needed if they are successful of forcing people out of their cars...effectively dragging commerce to a close.

Sorry...when I start thinking about these things before my first cup of coffee...well, it's difficult to be funny at this hour. Although I can do 'curmudgeon' at any hour.

Posted by: scott158 on July 1, 2005 06:47 AM

6. Just read the op-ed: It's all Monopoly money to these folks. They either never heard or adopted the phrase "money doesn't grow on trees." Breathtaking imbecility.

Posted by: Danny on July 1, 2005 06:49 AM

7. The most bizarre aspect of the demise of the Seattle daily newspapers is that their respective editorial boards don't seem to realize how far out of touch they are with mainstream thoughts and ideas. They have totally embraced the perverted urban utopian culture and believe those who dissent from their collective viewpoints are evil and corrupt. PI and Times editorial boards exist in an echo chamber, comprised of leftist kooks whose morally and fiscally bankrupt thoughts and ideas were long ago rejected by decent, thinking people. Just a few years ago, the Times offered some degree of balance, but with the addition of columnists the like of WWU journalism professor Floyd Carr, they have ruptured the vein of lunacy. Carr is so far over the edge, he'd be considered extreme left in Havana or North Korea. Since the publishers of this trash have chosen to sink or swim with the extreme left, they had better learn to tread water, 'cause they're headin' down.

Posted by: Saltherring on July 1, 2005 06:54 AM

8. Read the post and thought I was at goldy's site. I remember a complaint that his site was foul-mouthed.
The language takes away from your message (and it is a good one).

Is this now a copycat site? At least you haven't laughed at someone's failing health and wished he were dead.

Posted by: swatter on July 1, 2005 07:03 AM

9. Swatter, I don't think I've ever read one of your posts and not agreed with you. I won't necessarily start now. I don't believe this particular post is foul-mouthed. My tastes versus yours, perhaps.

Regardless, sometimes there is the perfect word that simply begs to be used. Personally, I reserve the right to sometimes use the perfect word. Besides, it's nice to see the passion.

Posted by: Danny on July 1, 2005 07:45 AM

10. In my previous posting, I used the wrong surname in referring to a Seattle Times editorial columnist. Floyd McKay is the correct name of the columnist, Floyd Carr is former co-worker of mine. I apologize for the error.

Posted by: Saltherring on July 1, 2005 09:41 AM

11. Come on. Most of us are conservatives but that does not mean that we are prudes. There is foul-mouthed and then there is colorful. Sometimes a message is just not what it could be without a little pepper sauce thrown on for flavor. Gets the point across. That doesn't that mean we use profanity indiscriminately like the trolls. Contributors to other sites use profanity as co-conjunctives rather than optional tools of expression.

Personally, I don't couldn't possibly care less about complaints from anyone at Goldy's site. Nearly everything published there is foul-mouthed and inane. I won’t measure anyone who comments here against their non-standard standard. Whoever says that we swear too often here at Sound Politics is full is $hit.

Posted by: Amused by liberals on July 1, 2005 09:46 AM

12. What else should you expect from a newspaper who survives by leeching off of another newspaper? These guys aren't exactly financially astute. The mantra at the PI seems to be "Who cares how much it costs? We'll get someone else to pay for it."

Posted by: JimFr on July 1, 2005 10:14 AM

13. Since today's topic is predictions, here's mine: The P-I will not be missed when it goes, and will quickly be forgotten.

Posted by: jsa on July 1, 2005 11:52 AM

14. Just what I need - somebody coming up with suggestions for how to increase my taxes. I just moved to West Seattle from the East Side, and the cultural (liberal vs conservative) differences are hard enough to deal with. Quit trying to spend more of my hard-earned money.

Posted by: Gary on July 1, 2005 04:44 PM

15. Gary,

With all due respect, you jumped from the frying pan into the fire. Best of luck.

Posted by: Amused by liberals on July 1, 2005 09:08 PM