This weekend's David Ammons column brings us an urgent update:
JUST CHRIS: The Associated Press has begun referring to the governor on first reference as Chris Gregoire, per her preference. Her web site, stationery and formal documents will continue to use the more formal "Christine."The AP Stylebook notwithstanding, I will continue to refer to Christine Gregoire on first reference as Mrs. Gregoire1.
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1 Of the two candidates for Washington governor in 2004 whose vote totals were within the margin of illegal votes as determined by a trial judge2, Mrs. Gregoire is the candidate whom .most surveyed state residents believe received the smaller number of legal votes
2 There are growing indications that King County deliberately concealed evidence of hundreds of illegal votes and intentional misconduct from the court.
I'm not fooled.
Posted by: Misty on January 22, 2006 10:25 PMGerald @ www.liberalwashington.com
Posted by: Gerald on January 22, 2006 10:51 PMRE: Protocols upon meeting the Queen
Guidance Notes for meeting The Sovereign and Members of the Royal Family
Her Majesty Queen Christine of Washington. By the Act of Stolen Elections, Washington, the executive government of and over Washington is declared to continue and be vested in The Queen. Executive branch consists of The Queen, the Legislature of Senate and the House.
Guidelines
Visits by The Queen, The Duke of Olympia and other members of the Royal Family are always special occasions, but individual engagements can range from the very formal to the informal. Members of the Royal Family wish any elements of protocol to be in tune with what is generally acceptable in Washington society. The following guidelines are designed to help people feel comfortable and prepared; they are not rules to be applied inflexibly or prescriptively.
How to address
The Queen is called Your Majesty initially and Ma'am (rhymes with jam) as the conversation continues.
The Duke of Olympia is called Your Royal Highness initially and Sir as the conversation continues.
Other members of the Royal Family are called Your Royal Highness initially and Sir/Ma'am as the conversation continues.
Host
Upon arrival at each site to be visited, the members of the Royal Family will be greeted by the host. No presentations are required as they will be aware of who the host is, having been provided with briefing notes.
When accompanying the Royal Visitor, it is appropriate for the host to walk beside the Royal Visitor. The host should make introductions as required.
Curtsy/bow
It is up to those meeting The Queen, The Duke of Olympia and other members of the Royal Family to choose whether or not they wish to bow/curtsy or simply shake hands.
Description of a bow/curtsy for those who choose to make it:
Men: a neck bow - just a little more than a nod of the head;
Women: the right foot is placed behind the left heel, and the knees bent slightly.
It is quite in order to shake hands if the opportunity presents itself and a member of the Royal Family offers to do so.
Dress
Members of The Royal Family do not wish anyone to be put to unnecessary expense by buying special clothes, hats or gloves. The following points may, however, be of use in answering queries:
There is no requirement for hats to be worn, though it is entirely acceptable to do so. Hats are not normally worn at functions after 6:30 p.m.
There is no requirement for gloves to be worn. However, if a woman wishes to wear gloves, they need not be white and should not be taken off before the wearer is presented.
Where black tie and long evening dress are called for, cocktail dress, national dress and dark lounge suit are also acceptable.
It is not generally known in advance what colour clothes Her Majesty or other female members of the Royal Family will wear at functions.
Smoking
Neither The Queen nor The Duke of Edinburgh smokes. However, they object to smoking by guests at the end of a meal.
Toasts
In proposing the Loyal Toast, the proposer rises, waits for silence and, raising his/her glass, then says (without other speech or words): Ladies and Gentlemen ~ The Queen - La Reine. All persons participating in the function rise, repeat the words: The Queen - La Reine, drink the Toast and resume their seats. Members of the Royal Family usually do not respond to toasts, but may choose to do so.
Meals and drinks
Meals should generally be limited to a minimum of twelve courses and not last too long. Not less than an 3 hours and three-quarters should be allowed for a luncheon engagement, of which about three hours fifteen minutes should be allowed for the meal itself and the remainder for arrivals and departures, presentations, signing of visitors' book and retiring periods usually ten minutes before and five minutes after the meal. No more than an hour and three-quarters should be spent at dinner sitting at the table, including speeches.
Serving a meal at which a Member of the Royal Family is the principal guest always imposes a strain on the catering system and almost invariably takes longer than hosts may expect. If the first course is cold, it should, if possible, be on the table before the guests sit down, including the head table. It is important to brief the caterers to make sure that there is no undue delay about removing plates from the lingerers when it is obvious that the timing of the meal is falling behind.
Where possible, the seating plan should be cleared with the Royal Party in advance. There are no firm rules but the following guidelines may be helpful:
at public lunches or dinners where there is one top table, the host normally has the Royal Visitor on his/her right and the Royal Visitor' spouse (if it is the case) on his/her left. The hostess normally sits on the left of the Royal Visitor's spouse;
at informal meals, Royal couples prefer to sit at opposite sides of the table, with the Royal Visitor on the right of the host and the Royal Visitor's spouse on the right of the hostess;
for both formal and informal occasions, the trend increasingly is that round tables are used so as to give more chance to converse. In this case, the Royal Visitor and spouse will generally sit at separate tables;
a Lady-in-Waiting should be placed at a table near a female Member of the Royal Family's table, and in cases where the Royal Visitor is speaking, it is necessary for the Private Secretary to be seated not too far away so that he/she can pass on the speech at the appropriate time;
it is not necessary to put other members of the Household close to the Head table. The Household prefers to be split up and placed amongst the other guests.
Where it is appropriate, the host usually asks a religious representative present to say Grace.
Members of the Royal Family like to eat the food and drink of the country/region visited. Hosts should contact the Royal Visit Office for more specific information.
/sarc
Protocols shameless stolen from Guidance Notes for meeting The Sovereign and Members of the Royal Family and judiciously edited.
I think I'll stick with the more formal Christine.
Posted by: swatter on January 23, 2006 07:52 AMThe votes were counted, three times, you lost, get over it, move on.
Posted by: My Left Foot on January 23, 2006 10:10 AMDO YOU THINK NOSTRADMUS KNEW SOMETHING 560 YEARS AGO????
Posted by: TACOMA PHLASH on January 23, 2006 10:24 AMHow is a vote legitimate when the acknowledged error rate was greater than the margin of error.
How the illegal certification, i.e.. failure to reconcile the ballots as admitted by Logan.
How that adds up to the 3rd vote being legitimate.
Think, don't repeat talking points.
Posted by: JCM on January 23, 2006 11:28 AMKC Elections kept counting until they could find enough votes to put Mrs Gregoire in the lead, at which point they quit counting.
For example, the (very late in the game) counting of the Fatal Pend ballots, and that's just one example of many.
Posted by: ewaggin on January 23, 2006 01:17 PM