How disastrously ill-conceived is I-933, the “pay or waive” initiative that seeks to fatten developers by gutting Washington’s land use regulations? Well for example, it could end up costing Spokane County its largest employer:
A stream of military and aviation officials lined up last week to urge Spokane County to adopt regulations that would prevent additional residential development around Fairchild Air Force Base and Spokane International Airport.
Residential development can encroach upon airfields, both in noise complaints from homeowners and with safety issues, when people are living near the area where plane crashes are most likely to occur. Proponents of Fairchild cite “encroachment” as the No. 1 reason why air force bases nationwide get shut down during periodic federal evaluations.
But if I-933 passes, property owners surrounding Fairchild could file claims demanding the county either waive any regulations passed since 1996, or pay property owners for their lost value. This shows up I-933 for what it really is: legalized extortion on a massive scale. Spokane County taxpayers would have to choose between forking over hundreds of millions of dollars, or risk losing 5,500 jobs and the $1.2 billion Fairchild annually pumps into the local economy.
According to Ed Neunherz, a retired air force officer and ex-chairman of the Spokane Regional Chamber Commerce’s armed services committee: “If encroachment is allowed to continue around Fairchild Air Force Base, the base will be closed and our region’s largest employer will go away.”
That’s the conclusion of military and civilian officials nationwide — residential encroachment on military bases leads to almost certain closure. And yet Rep. Cathy McMorris, who the Spokesman-Review congratulated for adding “a strong and helpful voice in protecting Fairchild through the last round of base closures,” has officially
Once again McMorris has embraced inflammatory right-wing rhetoric over sound government policy, and you’d think the Seattle Times and the S-R, which both oppose I-933, might hold her accountable. Eh… apparently not.
UPDATE:
I’ve just been forwarded a piece from todays Whidbey New Times on this exact topic:
Since Whidbey Island Naval Air Station was placed on a base closure list in 1991, Oak Harbor and Island County officials have enacted a range of planning measures to protect the base and its long-term viability.
But such past and future planning efforts could be undermined by Initiative 933, the sweeping property rights initiative that’s on the ballot next week.
“It would mean turning back the planning clock, and in my mind, we’ve done some really good planning,” Oak Harbor Mayor Patty Cohen said.
It’s an interesting article that gives a real-world example of the type of land-use restrictions we’re talking about, and how they potentially impact both the property owner and the community at large.
First.
(beat you Dean)
933 will lose anyway. What about something different?
“I said I’d never say I was sorry before I said I was sorry.” John (my ex-wife didn’t have enough money so I dumped her) Kerry, the gift that keeps on giving.
Closing down more of the military complex should make all you troop-haters happy.
Whine, whine, whine.
At least I933 has the left admitting how much financial burden is placed on landowners. And it is a joy to see the left decry the potential windfall for lawyers.
John Kerry was against cutting -and-running before he was for it.
http://www.cfr.org/publication.....again.html
I have called for the administration to transfer sovereignty, and they must transfer it to the Iraqi people as quickly as circumstances permit. But it would be a disaster and a disgraceful betrayal of principle to speed up the process simply to lay the groundwork for a politically expedient withdrawal of American troops. That could risk the hijacking of Iraq by terrorist groups and former Ba’athists. Security and political stability cannot be divorced. Security must come first, and that is why it is so imperative to succeed in building a genuine coalition on the ground in Iraq.
Speaking of cowardly withdrawel, a new Mutha ad….
http://www.irey.com/news/contentview.asp?c=37082
#2 – “933 will loose anyway”
What? Measure 37 passed in Oregon 61% to 39%.
933 is bigger than a few landowners getting winfalls, it’s about protecting communities – in this case keeping their largest employers around. Fairchild pumps $1.2 billion into the Spokane economy, take that away and then add the cost of I-933 to see how much it will hurt Spokane and other military towns in Washington.
I think this is a very very grand initiative. I am putting in a mosquito farm in the front yard, and a used tire dump in the back. There should be enough room to stack the tires about 200 feet high, and the stack will help with the skeeters!
What a great idea.
This initiative needs to be put in the proper context — why do real estate interests want local taxpayers to pay millions of dollars to owners of prospective strip clubs, adult bookstores, and sex predator group homes just to stay out of their neighborhoods? Wouldn’t the initiative make municipalities pay these property users to keep intact all land-use restrictions adopted in the last ten years and future years? Many cities do not now have such restrictions, or adopted them in recent years (e.g. Issaquah’s ordinance on sex predator homes) so they would have to pay those property users to stay away. The sum could be huge, just as Seattle had to pay an owner of a potential strip club several hundred thousand dollars for limiting his activities under a prior moratorium.
Here’s some FACTS for ‘Headless Lucy’ re Kerry the Fairy’s grades vs Bushs at Yale.
————
In 1999, The New Yorker published a transcript indicating that Bush had received a cumulative score of 77 for his first three years at Yale and a roughly similar average under a non-numerical rating system during his senior year.
Kerry, who graduated two years before Bush, got a cumulative 76 for his four years, according to a transcript that Kerry sent to the Navy when he was applying for officer training school. He received four D’s in his freshman year out of 10 courses, but improved his average in later years.
The grade transcript, which Kerry has always declined to release, was included in his Navy record. During the campaign the Globe sought Kerry’s naval records, but he refused to waive privacy restrictions for the full file. Late last month, Kerry gave the Navy permission to send the documents to the Globe.
RELATED STORY: Kerry allows Navy release of military, medical records
Kerry appeared to be responding to critics who suspected that there might be damaging information in the file about his activities in Vietnam. The military and medical records, however, appear identical to what Kerry has already released. This marks the first time Kerry’s grades have been publicly reported.
The transcript shows that Kerry’s freshman-year average was 71. He scored a 61 in geology, a 63 and 68 in two history classes, and a 69 in political science. His top score was a 79, in another political science course. Another of his strongest efforts, a 77, came in French class.
Under Yale’s grading system in effect at the time, grades between 90 and 100 equaled an A, 80-89 a B, 70-79 a C, 60 to 69 a D, and anything below that was a failing grade. In addition to Kerry’s four D’s in his freshman year, he received one D in his sophomore year. He did not fail any courses.
”I always told my Dad that D stood for distinction,” Kerry said yesterday in a written response to questions, noting that he has previously acknowledged that he spent a lot of time learning to fly instead of focusing on his studies.
Kerry’s weak grades came despite years of education at some of the world’s most elite prep schools, ranging from Fessenden School in Massachusetts to St. Paul’s School in New Hampshire.
———————-
Hahahahaha!!! Kerry “strong in French..” no surprise there, huh? Told his dad a grade of ‘D’ meant “distinction”, huh? Hahaha. Maybe his dad smoked as much pot as Kerry did and believed his fairy tale?
At least Kerry wasn’t snorting coke.
A couple years ago a couple of the trees in our back rockery died, so we let some volunteer blackberry vines grow up to temporarily fill the space until the adjacent trees fill in. Did the job pretty well, and at the end of the last two summers we pulled the vines out and got enough berries off of them for a couple of pies.
This year, our neigher started bitching at us about how they’re blocking her view, so we’ll probably pull ’em out for good, and hire someone to apply something to kill the roots…EXCEPT, if 933 passes, we can just let ’em go berserk. Or plant some timber bamboo. Or maybe some Kudzu.
I’ve got some questions
How were your grades at Yale, megabrad? Why are you posting on Kerry on this I-933 comment thread? Where did GW go to prep school?
Finally, how did you find your way here, and when are you leaving?
Oh wait, one more, re: the electorate; have you heard of a metaphor? it’s a rhetorical device. Even IF Kerry (whom you call a Fairy presumably because that make your point so much stronger) didn’t mean the electorate, I did. I was making a point. WE are stuck in Iraq just as much as our armed forces are. Get it?
Proud Dumbass Award Winner
John Fucking Kerry shows the true face of mainstream democrats. Arrogant elitist assfuckinghole jerks. What a great gift. And what perfect timing.
It would mean the creation of a landed aristocracy and the concomitant responsibility to send them all to the guillotine. They would be restricting our rights to our money. So, they’d owe us in property rights for the money they took.
We’ll pay them, but then its public land.
I say we pay them nothing and let the dumb bastards foul their own nests. Go ahead.
Sure, Redneck, and McMorris shows the true face of the Republican party: Rootin’ Tootin Wild West faux populism in the guise of property rights for “farmers” and “homeowners” while giving the people who elected her the finger by endorsing a job-killing environmentally destructive initiative designed to line the pockets of craven greedy business interests.
re 9: Thanks for the FACTS megabutt. So what’s your point? That Bush is one point smarter than Kerry according to the Yale grading system of the 1960’s?
I’m relying on current anecdotal studies (which conservative think tanks rely heavily upon when rating public schools, so don’t impugn my methodology because you simultaneously impugn your own)that say that Bush is a slug and Kerry is a brilliant statesman and a real war hero to boot.
Just out of curiosity, what were the years when Kerry and Bush were in school? My memory on this is a bit poor, but I seem to recall that Kerry graduated a couple of years before Bush.
Grading scales changed a lot in the late 1960’s to early 1970’s. A student draft deferrment was contingent on acceptable grades, and flunking out of school could mean getting sent to ‘Nam. The professors realized this, and there was considerable grade inflation over the years. In 1966 a “C” average was a perfectly good grade, but by 1969 a “C” student was probably a “B” student.
Unfortunately, grade inflation has continued, and most colleges now give “A”s as the default grade, with over half the students having an “A” average.
I-933 is a truly scary initiative. The proponants call it a “property rights” initiative, but it is nothing of the sort. It’s a license to raid the state treasury by every would-be developer who finds a piece of property, buys an “option” on it, then sues the state to get a buy-out when he threatens to put an obnoxious developement on the land.
One of the stranger things about this is that it will punish those communities which refrained from regulation until there was an obvious need/problem to be corrected. Those communities will find that they are forever closed from addressing any new problems, as they will be too expensive to regulate. Yet other communties, which engaged in comprehensive planning in the early 1990’s which Republicans/Libertarians objected to so fiercely, will suffer less of an effect.
Although some will see this as a benefit to business, in the long run it will run lots of attractive business out of the state. Industries whichi create eysores and noxious irritants will be happy to locate here, but businesses which need to lure employees to an attractive region/workplace will leave. Who wants to invest large amounts of money in property when you have no idea what will be moving next door?
McMorris — another unthinking GOP politican walking in lockstep with wingnut hysteria. 5th CD voters deserve more. Well, no, maybe they don’t … if they pass up this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be represented by a brilliant, independent-minded, and above-all smart scientist-rancher. In which case, a pox on them!
I think the main attraction of I-933 is that you can take a loser piece of property and force the government to pay you NOT to do something on it. This is a mindset that many farmers have who have grown rich over the past several generations by NOT growing crops. They want to extend their fields of inactivity to NOT doing many other things and getting paid by the government not to do it.
Paradoxically, it is this sort of person who most fervently resents guvment taxes and free cheese/purple Cadillac welfare queens.
NEW MCGAVICK AD: BRING THE TROOPS HOME
That’s right, Mike?! McGavick is running a new TV ad that says, “Bring the troops home in victory!”
Nice sentiment. He sounds a lot like the foolishly optimistic statesmen and generals who thought — twice, in two world wars — they would march off to the front and kick the Kaiser or that Austrian paperhanger back to the Black Forest! Sigh. People never learn.
The wingnuts were right about one thing — the French are idiots.
Unfortunately, so are wingnuts like Mike?! McGavick, and that’s a problem for all of us when the idiot is running for U.S. Senate. Does this damned fool really think “victory” hasn’t been our generals’ objective all along? 3 1/2 years later, does Mike?! the Idiot know something about achieving “victory” the Pentagon doesn’t? And has anybody at Republican Senatorial Campaign brief Mike?! the Idiot that “stay the course” is now “flexibility?”
Mike?! the Idiot ought to read a history book or two. History is full of military idiocy. Anyone who knows anything about it realizes going to war is buying a lottery ticket. There are too many variables for anyone to predict the outcome of any war. Too damned many things can go wrong — and, somehow, most of them do — Murphy’s Law with a bloody vengeance! The badly-laid plans of the Mice running our country clearly have gone astray in Iraq. So … Mike?! … what’s YOUR “secret plan” to win the war? Care to share?
Mike?! McGavick — He’s the problem, not the solution.
In other news, a school bus driver was fired for giving the finger to George W. Bush! I’m waiting for the 5 o’clock news to come on to find out if kids were on the bus. Maybe they were on a Civics Class field trip!
It’s tempting to say, Give that guy a medal! But I won’t. The proper thing to do is respect the office. Bush deserves no respect as a man, and he stole the office. But he is, nevertheless, the POTUS pending impeachment. So, firing the driver was the right thing to do. We can’t have this kind of thing in our country. It might start an insurrection. It takes only a match, nay a mere spark, to kindle a conflagration. Especially with so much dry tinder laying around.
No, it’s better to wait for God to rain on Bush’s parade. Trust me, He will. Sure as it rains in Seattle, the neoNazis will shoot their wad and the Bush era will be over. This man is a short-timer; we need to preserve public respect for the office, because it’ll be around a lot longer than him.
I felt the same way about Clinton’s bj. If I’d been in the Senate, I would have voted to fire him for that. I’ve said that many times on this board. Actually, not for getting blown under the desk, or even lying about it — but for getting caught. Not because it’s a high crime or misdemeanor — it’s not — but because it demeans (and thereby diminishes) the office. That office isn’t Bush’s or Clinton’s or a bus driver’s to defile or disrespect; it belongs to we the people, and we ought to fiercely protect it.
And if any wingnuts out there claim Roger Rabbit marches in lockstep with a political party or its agenda — go fuck yourselves. You’re wrong about everything else, too. Including the attainability of “victory” in Iraq. We’ll be lucky just to get out of there with our soldiers’ lives. That’s a fact.
And we’re not going to ever forget that you wingnut bastards got us into this. The troops should never forget that, either.
Folks this what the left’s thinks of our TROOPS.
“Conservative Blue Crab Boulevard thinks many Democrats share Kerry’s “contempt for the military”: “They continually refer to the people in the military as ‘children’. They routinely paint them as having joined the military out of financial desperation, lack of education or a lack of ambition.” BCB also thinks that the Democrats may have just lost their political heave in the upcoming midterm elections. Ed Morissey at Captain’s Quarters is eager for Dems to weigh in: “If Democrats that have had John Kerry campaign on their behalf refuse to address Kerry’s remarks or openly supports their characterization, it will expose the hypocrisy and the contempt that the Left has for the military. All of the talk of ‘supporting the troops’ will be revealed as lip service.” But AllahPundit at the conservative HotAir doesn’t find it insulting so much as misguided: “And, of course, completely politically tone-deaf, which makes it vintage JFK. As usual, you can kind of tell what he’s trying to say but it’s so artless you just end up shaking your head.”
2
How typically off-topic.
John Kerry why the long face?
He vote for the war and he didn’t vote for the war, Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!
John Kerry why the long face?
He vote for the war and he didn’t vote for the war, Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!
John Kerry why the long face?
He vote for the war and he didn’t vote for the war, Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!
John Kerry why the long face?
He vote for the war and he didn’t vote for the war, Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!
John Kerry why the long face?
He vote for the war and he didn’t vote for the war, Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!
27
Roger Rabbit complaining about “off-topic” posts is like Mike?! McGavick running as a “change” candidate!
The more McGavicks are elected, the more things will stay the same — more war, more flag-draped caskets, more torture, more wiretapping, more extremist judges, more deficits and runaway spending, and — theft of our Social Security money!
We don’t need “more.” We need “different.” As in, a different political party in power.
Mike?! McGavick — He’s the problem, not the solution.
And we’re not going to ever forget that you wing nut bastards got us into this. The troops should never forget that, either.
Comment by Roger Rabbit— 11/1/06@ 4:46 pm
You Bet Thumper; Osama bin Laudin got us in this war and some of the Socialist Democrats will prolong this war. Just Like John Kerry did during the Viet Nam war when he visited Paris in the early 70’s.
KERRY APOLOGIZES FOR BOTCHED JOKE
King 5 News reports Kerry issued an apology for his “stuck in Iraq” remark, but I can’t get details because all I’m getting from King 5’s web site is popup ads.
Kerry sorry for ‘stuck in Iraq’ remarks
“By DAVID ESPO
“AP Special Correspondent
“WASHINGTON (AP) — Fearful of damaging his own party in next week’s elections, Sen. John Kerry apologized Wednesday to ‘any service member, family member or American’ offended by remarks deemed by Republicans and Democrats to be insulting to U.S. forces in Iraq.
“Six days before the election, the Democrats’ 2004 presidential nominee said he wanted to avoid becoming a distraction in the final days of the battle for control of Congress. He added he sincerely regretted that his words were ‘isinterpreted to imply anything negative about those in uniform.’
“n a brief statement, Kerry attacked President Bush for a ‘ailed security policy’ Yet his apology, issued after prominent Democrats had urged him to cancel public appearances, was designed to quell a controversy that party leaders feared would stall their drive for big gains on Nov. 7. …
“Kerry beat a grudging retreat …. Earlier, on the radio program ‘Imus in the Morning,’ the Massachusetts senator said he was ‘sorry about a botched joke’ about Bush. He heaped praise on the troops, … accused Republicans of twisting his words and said it was the commander in chief and his aides who ‘owe America an apology for this disaster in Iraq.’
“Democrats cringed, though …. Congressional candidates in Iowa and Minnesota swiftly made plain that Kerry was no longer welcome to appear at scheduled rallies, and the senator scrapped an appearance in Philadelphia.”
This story is quoted under Fair Use; for complete article and/or copyright info, take a deep breath, bend over as far as you can, and look up or rectum — or click on this link: http://tinyurl.com/y6ruxg
Mike?! McGavick – He’s the problem, not the solution.
Comment by Roger Rabbit— 11/1/06@ 4:55 pm
Thumper it appears that Maria Cantwell is the problem she voted for the war, and now is unhappy about her poor decision making. Now if she was as smart as Jimmy McDermott she wouldn’t be dealing with this problem. Man I can’t believe I said that he release illegal tapes to the press, and might go un-scalded for this crime.
13
Arrogant elitist assfuckinghole jerks. Commentby Mark The Redneck KENNEDY— 11/1/06@ 3:30 pm
I like our arrogant elitist assfuckinghole jerks better than your arrogant elitist assfuckinghole jerks.
30
Osama bin Laudin got us in this war – Commentby klake— 11/1/06@ 4:56 pm
Wrong-o dumbass. Osama had nothing to do with Iraq. Iraq has nothing to do with Osama or terror. Nothing. Iraq is strictly a neocon military adventure gone awry.
McMorris is more retarded than Reichert. That is hard to do….
I think I will build a pig farm in downtown Spokane just to stink out anyone stupid enough to still think Republicans are nothing more than common criminals.
Mike?! McGavick – He’s the problem, not the solution.
Comment by Roger Rabbit— 11/1/06@ 4:55 pm
Thumper it appears that Maria Cantwell is the problem she voted for the war, and now is unhappy about her poor decision making. Now if she was as smart as Jimmy McDermott she wouldn’t be dealing with this problem. Man I can’t believe I said that he release illegal tapes to the press, and might go un-scalded for this crime.
Commentby klake— 11/1/06@ 5:13 pm
You are absolutely right Klake. Maria Cantwell should have been smart enough to know Bush was lying to her, lying to us, lying to the world, and lying to the troops.
Bush said he would only use the military as a last resort, after he had already told the British when the boming was to begin.
Maria should have known Bush was lying through his teeth, and has admitted her vote was a mistake. McDermott
Now why don’t you admit your vote for Bush was a far greater mistake?
It is amazing how much corruption, treason, and dishonesty you can completely ignore.
When are you going to realize the GOP is nothing but a bunch of crooks?
Imaging how retarded one must be to be on of the 35% that still approve of Bush. My god!
McDermott knew Bush was going to be lying us into a war, and told us so. He was sure there were no WMD’s because everyone told him so. Just look at how they attacked him FOR TELLING THE TRUTH. Takes a real man to stand up to the war machine, and McDermott is more man than all the Republicans put together.
Name one thing Jim McDermott ever said that was not true…..
(crickets chirping)
Telling the truth is the one thing Republicans hate the most. McDermott told the truth about Newt lying about not fighting the Ethics Committee finding, and look at how they attacked him with this stupid lawsuit.
Republicans are vermin, and should be treated as such.
Just keep a picture in your mind of Bush looking for WMD’s under the chair laughing. “No WMD’s over here”. This is the type of animal you wingnuts support.
3,000 soldiers have died and 65,000 have been wounded (more if you count mental problems) because of the WMD’s bush was laughing about. And you think Kerry disrespected the troops?
Wingnuts are sick individuals. Your heroes are Rush, Hannity, Bush, DeLay, Newt, Boehner, and Hastert the pedophile protector, as well as other inhuman lying traitors.
Get a Life.
I will tell you how retarded you wingnuts are. You still think we invaded Iraq because of “faulty intelligence” right?
Imagine how retarded one must be to believe this argument…..
Hmm, Liberal hippy scumbags like wroger wrabbit don’t own real property, so why do they even want to bitch about 933? And don’t give me that ‘taxpayers money is our money too’ bullshit. If you lay around and smoke pot all day in your wrabbit hole, you don’t pay taxes,,,
You should worry about something else. Like what an asshole John Kerry is! Hahahahaha!
Wow, another thread on attacking our rights…
how come dems only care about 1/2 of 1 amendment in the bill of rights, and then only when conveenient (freedom of speech, except if you are a conserviative at a junior college..)
righton @ 41,
Just why do you lazy fucks always ask for help like that?
If you want to stand on the corner giving Nazi salutes and waving signs with racial slurs on them, well, I guess the Bill of Rights says you get to.
But just exactly what gave you the idea that intelligent people should come to your defense? Sorry princess, you’re on your own. True, the ACLU fights vigorously for your right to be an asshole, and I even give them money to do it with. That’s their call, and I respect them for it.
But I’ll be goddamned if I’ll ever personally lift so much as an eyebrow to defend the rights of shitheads like you, Craig “Magnum” Herman, Flake, Pam “Janet” Roach, or any other raving, wingnut, racist, misogynist, pig-fucking conservative troll.
When you set yourself apart as an insensitive asshole in this world, you draw your own fucking water and you don’t get to complain about it.
Just ask Jim West.
When next you see him.
In hell.