http://soundpolitics.com/ Sound Commentary on Current Events in Seattle, Puget Sound and Washington State en-us theshark@usefulwork.com 2010-02-08T17:54:18-08:00 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 http://soundpolitics.com/archives/013737.html A group calling itself "Sensible Washington" has filed a statewide initiative to legalize possession, use, delivery and cultivation of marijuana by adults (Initiative 1068). Medical purposes aside, I think that smoking marijuana is a pretty stupid use of one's time.... 13737@http://soundpolitics.com/ Washington State 2010-02-08T17:54:18-08:00 http://soundpolitics.com/archives/013736.html except when it entails allowing taller buildings in a smaller area.... 13736@http://soundpolitics.com/ Seattle 2010-02-08T09:19:34-08:00 http://soundpolitics.com/archives/013735.html Michael Barone: "Public-sector unions bleed taxpayers"... 13735@http://soundpolitics.com/ 2010-02-08T09:15:13-08:00 http://soundpolitics.com/archives/013734.html There's ten questions on the 2010 census questionnaire. I believe several of them cannot legally be required, and I won't be answering them. The Constitution says on the subject: Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States... 13734@http://soundpolitics.com/ National 2010-02-07T20:51:14-08:00 http://soundpolitics.com/archives/013733.html I frequently hear that the Republican party is the party of "no" when it comes to solving the health care problem. Well, let's review the situation in Washington. The House Republicans have a 10-step plan that has been on their... 13733@http://soundpolitics.com/ Public Health 2010-02-07T18:33:06-08:00 http://soundpolitics.com/archives/013732.html "State's biggest expense is the hardest one to cut"Wages and benefits for teachers and state workers make up 60 percent of the budget. Yet, even in the face of a $2.6 billion shortfall, it's unlikely that the Legislature will fire... 13732@http://soundpolitics.com/ Washington State 2010-02-07T12:55:54-08:00 http://soundpolitics.com/archives/013730.html "WA among states weighing sale of liquor business""To me this isn't a core function of government," said Sen. Rodney Tom, a Medina Democrat who is a chief budget writer for the Senate. "It's a retail operation. Private companies can do... 13730@http://soundpolitics.com/ Washington State Liquor Control Board 2010-02-06T14:24:10-08:00 http://soundpolitics.com/archives/013728.html Students awash in purple gathered on the Capitol steps in Olympia Friday, calling for lawmakers to resist further cuts to higher education and to protect financial aid. An estimated 350 to 400 people from the University of Washington's Seattle, Tacoma... 13728@http://soundpolitics.com/ Washington State 2010-02-05T21:01:57-08:00 http://soundpolitics.com/archives/013727.html Do read the WSJ column on public employee unions which Carter mentioned earlier:As we can see from the desperate economic and fiscal woes of California, New Jersey, New York and other states with dominant public unions [e.g. Washington], this has... 13727@http://soundpolitics.com/ Washington State 2010-02-05T20:47:30-08:00 http://soundpolitics.com/archives/013726.html King County Superior Court Judge Julie Spector ordered the Seattle School Board to revisit its decision to use the "Discovering Series" math textbooks, calling the Board's decision to use them "arbitrary and capricious". Meanwhile over in Kirkland, school officials have... 13726@http://soundpolitics.com/ Education 2010-02-05T16:16:58-08:00 http://soundpolitics.com/archives/013725.html On Wednesday, Olympia's Democrats introduced their long-anticipated, yet still maddening repeal-of-Initiative-960's-policies bill. The public hearing on it was held less than 24 hours later, illustrating perfectly their lack of desire to hear from the people. Everyone who testified against it... 13725@http://soundpolitics.com/ Ballot Measures 2010-02-05T13:50:34-08:00 http://soundpolitics.com/archives/013724.html "McGinn adviser resigns, admits he lied about Ph.D." The adviser, Chris "Bushnell" (legal name Chris Haugen), was to be paid a $110,000 annual salary by the people of Seattle to work on "policies regarding transportation, human services, public health and... 13724@http://soundpolitics.com/ Seattle 2010-02-05T10:11:04-08:00 http://soundpolitics.com/archives/013723.html CNN dutifully reports that "The government's monthly job report on Friday showed that the disastrous labor situation plaguing the nation's economy is moderating." The facts: "The unemployment rate fell unexpectedly in January to 9.7%. And businesses shed 20,000 jobs for... 13723@http://soundpolitics.com/ Economy, Growth, Development 2010-02-05T09:31:32-08:00 http://soundpolitics.com/archives/013721.html King County Superior Court Judge John Erlick ruled today in favor of plaintiffs who sued the State of Washington for "violating the state Constitution by providing too little money for public schools". In his ruling, Judge Erlick declined to define... 13721@http://soundpolitics.com/ Education 2010-02-04T16:34:53-08:00 http://soundpolitics.com/archives/013719.html U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder is looking for a few good attorneys to join the Justice Department and defend your voting rights:The Civil Rights Division encourages qualified applicants with targeted disabilities to apply. Targeted disabilities are deafness, blindness, missing extremities,... 13719@http://soundpolitics.com/ National 2010-02-04T09:35:38-08:00