Washblog

By Theodore Rhone with input from Frank Banks, Spencer Carter, and Anthony Jones.

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Editor's note: This story is the 6th in a series written by Washington 3-Strikers as part of a campaign of the criminal justice reform organization, Justice Works! to build grassroots support for reforming Washington's 3-Strikes law. Voters approved this law by Initiative 593 in 1994 after an intensive PR campaign promised that it would protect society from those who commit the "most violent" crimes. But two Class B felonies associated with youth, poverty, and addiction -- Robbery 2 and Assault 2 -- are the most common triggers for life sentences under this law. Please consider joining our Rapid Response list so that you can receive notice of new stories in the series and, most importantly, key times to contact legislators.

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In light of the Judicial System and all it holds for the prisoner, family and friends, and taxpayers, we must as a society strengthen and straighten its feeble cords. It has become injustice for a targeted race of people - and a criminal felony act against society as a whole with no sign of remorse in sight, leaving America to believe that justice has been properly, legally, and evenly propagated. Until injustice by your judicial system happens to you.

Your support is needed. People who are incarcerated are not regarded as citizens and have few rights and, therefore, we do not have the ear of those in power.

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Photo above: Theodore Rhone

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Dear Readers, those of you who have been following along since 2003,  the saga in our military family, know that my daughter's husband is in his second deployment to Iraq. He left for Iraq in Dec 07, and since only December, eight in his brigade have been killed in Iraq.

I'd say the violence in Iraq is in no way on the decline, and clearly the Surge is not clearing up the violence. You heard of the recent attacks on the 'safe' Green Zone in Baghdad and the attack on Basra even while General Petraeus was giving his testimony to Congress last week? My son-in-law was on convoy two weeks ago when an IED exploded near his vehicle - violence already was escalating.  

Briefly: Democratic legislative district caucuses are tomorrow, Sat 4/5. Details on King County Dems.

I missed the precinct caucuses (sister's wedding). I plan to attend my 46 LD, just to feel the buzz.

Just a quick word on the primary (below the fold)...

An Oklahoma lawmaker's anti-gay comments are attracting national attention. Lawmaker's anti-gay comments attract attention (News9.com)

I thought that when it comes to the worst of terrorism, the trigger word was "Islamofascist," not "homosexuals and homsexuality."

What kind of doofus word is islamofascist? Seems to me that only crowd that worships that word are the same ones who themselves want to use violence and exclusion as their practice of an imperial form of brotherly love.

How about "Christiano-Fascist" for the Kindergarten Christians who are giving politicians and preachers foolish talking points?

How come all these talkin pundit/patriots are sellin nothin but trivialities - you know, the mountain groans and labors and gives birth to a mouse?

 Hail The Irrelevant Broadcast Patriots

Pike Boomdropper came by tonight to invite me to a public meeting. Said the the movers and the shakers in the neighborhood have decided that a body might not be a patriot if they're not wearin a little flag on their bib overalls when they go into the tavern to talk real man talk.

I still believe that getting out of Iraq is the number one priority for this country. With John and Elizabeth Edwards lending their valued support to this campaign, it may well underscore Iraq as a costly economic issue that has become critically important to Americans. I am hopeful it will lend itself to creating the sense of urgency among millions of Americans to demand a strategy to bring U.S. troops home.

 News Release, Monday, Feb 25, 2008

WHAT: Press Conference Call to Launch Iraq Campaign 2008

WHO: John Edwards, former U.S. Senator and presidential candidate and Elizabeth Edwards.  Additionally, John Podesta, President and CEO, Center for American Progress; Jeff Blum, Executive Director, USAction; Eli Pariser, Executive Director, MoveOn.org; Anna Burger, Secretary-Treasurer, SEIU; Jon Soltz, Co-Founder and Chairman, VoteVets.org; Brad Woodhouse, President, Americans United for Change

At my keyboard and listening to Bill Moyers Journal last night.
Boats the Coast Guard and Navy doesn't want? Given away cheap or free to private businesses or the UW?

image from Murray's Govt site, 2002

Sen. Murray celebrates the launching of the Coast Guard's new 85' Fast Patrol Boat. (L-R: Jason Martinson of Guardian Marine, Sen. Murray, Ted Roe & Bob Beal of Oregon Iron Works, and Coast Guard Admiral Erroll Brown.) With top speeds of up to 45 knots, it's the fastest boat of its size in the Coast Guard inventory. It can outrun drug smugglers and support homeland security. Sen. Murray secured $4.65 million in last year's Transportation Appropriations bill to make the launch possible. (09/06/02)

This election is boiling down to the choice between the overdue taking of leadership by the dominant generations versus denial; the inability to recognize the oncoming headlong rejection of the old ways of doing business.

Hillary's fading candidacy reminds me of one of the last scenes from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade in which Indy - hanging over a ledge above a chasm - finds himself barely inches from the Holy Grail.

Indy just can't quite grasp it.

Finally a voice of reason is heard from his father, played by Sean.

"Indiana .... let it go."

"But I just need to -"

"Let it go, Indiana."

Hillary and many of my generation are learning this sad truth with each passing day of this campaign. Whether we admit it or not we are being forced by our own aroused younger generations  to pass the baton. They are  those who in truth already OWN more of today's American Reality than do we.

 Total of 7 have been killed in my sil's company since he arrived in Iraq Dec 4, 2007.  Notification today of 4 in his company killed - IED.  By the math of what has been  2-3 a day being killed in Iraq this past year, then 7 in his company alone since Dec 4 is proportionately quite high.  He's in Taji - and that is where Rep. Brian Baird made his visit that caused him to come home and support the surge - lending his support to General Patraeus wanting to keep the troops in Iraq. Translated - Bush war in Iraq is still 'hot', and still dangerous, still killing our troops.  100 years more - McCain says 10 or 100 yrs.....oh, and didn't Hillary vote for authorization of the invasion.  And we know who else in Washington state voted for and continues to authorize funding for the war (U.S. occupation) in Iraq?

 At Raymond Town Hall meeting with Rep. Brian Baird, last summer I indicated to him that I would share our sil's deployment with him as I wanted him to have opportunity to experience it more closely from this military family constituent in Pacific County, the 19th LD - his LD. We told him this is sil's second, 15 month stop loss deployment to Iraq.  Arthur asked Rep. Baird at that meeting if our son's life was worth it and Brian said while we wouldn't like his answer, he believed it was.

DoD Identifies Army Casualties

The Department of Defense announced today the death of four soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. They died Feb. 8 in Taji, Iraq, of wounds suffered when their vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device.

names, ages, locations identified below the fold

Tukwila School Board puts teacher on leave and considers disciplinary action against 5 other teachers and 150 high school students after protest against recruiters and occupation*
See more below, including information on who organized the walkout and on a planned protest tonight at a regularly scheduled board meeting.

He said good bye to his family this weekend and goes back to Iraq for another extended (Stop Loss) deployment of 15 months (his second 15 month deployment).  Although it is rumored to the families it will likely be 18 months. Yeah, that's right, he gets to Iraq and another stop loss is added to his existing stop loss...

new movie release Stop Loss Movie trailer

[Note, NM, 12/20/07: For some reason, this particular YouTube video is causing Washblog's rss feed to fail. Here's the YouTube link.]

The Daily Astorian has won the 2007 Dolly Connelly Award for excellence in environmental journalism for a series of articles on how global warming stands to impact the Pacific Northwest and its living creatures.

 

Established in 1998, the Connelly Award is given out annually by the association. It was established by Seattle P-I columnist Joel Connelly in memory of his mother, who worked as a freelance journalist and correspondent for Time-Life.

  I learned today in Salem, Oregon Statesman Journal publishing a Seattle AP report.  Hey, the Daily Astorian is our neck of the woods - out here in Bay Center, in Pacific County.  So I followed the link and found a fantastic resource in the collection of articles for this special report featured in the Daily Astorian.

An award wining special report as provided by a collaborating collection of 22 writers, seven photographers, seven editors, six page designers and two logo creators from The Daily Astorian.

In 2001, Tim Eyeman's Initiative 747 instituted a 1% annual cap on property tax levy increases.  In 2006, I-747 was declared unconstitutional in Washington State Superior Court for King County.  This decision was appealed and arguments were heard in Washington's Supreme Court this May.  In the meantime, Democratic legislators, including my Representative Pat Sullivan, have been introducing bills to reinstate this tax limit.  See David Goldstein's piece from March of this year: Please Don't Feed the Tim.

A 1% cap on property tax is, in fact, a tax cut -- as this is below the rate of inflation.  It has regressive impact in a state with already seriously regressive tax structure. It has serious negative impact on rural areas especially, which depend more on these funds.  It starves the funding for public services and infrastructure.*

Andrew Villenueve at Northwest Progressive Institute reports this morning that the state Supreme Court has upheld the Superior Court and I-747 is now officially dead.  Here's the article, which outlines the legal reasoning:   BREAKING: VICTORY! WA Supreme Court declares Eyman's I-747 unconstitutional

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*Corrected, 11/14. See story and discussion at Postman on Politics: Not everyone happy to see Dems back tax limit

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Why that Blond Lady on TV is Scared of Frivolous Lawsuits

By very apparent and logical definition, insurance companies cannot maximize profits unless they deny claims.

Most of us can help insurers stay in business by restricting ourselves to Tylenol, bandaids and cough syrup. Oh, and by paying our exorbitant monthly health premiums which of course we don't get to apply toward payments on Tylenol, bandaids and cough syrup.

We're not team players when we get so sick that T,b & cs are no longer sufficient and we need major medical care.

Now we've joined the economic terrorists looking to put our patriotic self-serving capitalist wart hogs out of business with ipmd's (improvised personal medical disasters).

So when that smart-looking but dumb-talking blonde  tells us that frivolous lawsuits are the problem, she's being stereotypical and joke-worthy (and I'm not trying to make jokes or belittle blondes in the usual manner.)

Reference Eric Haas via Common Dreams

More - but not too much more - beyond the fold

Photo-evangelicalright.com

Before I stumbled into this article, I was intensely pulling for the Rockies. But obviously the divinely appointed underdogs in the World Serious are the Boston Red Sox.

Now, the majority of my inner voices will be pushing me to cheer for Boston. I can't help myself.

The Rockies have taken baseball's equivalent of the endzone prayer by a touchdown-scorer to new levels.

"You look at some of the moves we made and didn't make," general manager Dan O'Dowd said in the only interview he has given on the subject, long before the Rockies' remarkable ascension over the past few weeks. "You look at some of the games we're winning. Those aren't just a coincidence. God has definitely had a hand in this."