Erica C. Barnett, from an article attacking Mayor Nickels for not going far enough in reducing Seattle’s carbon footprint:
If Seattle is serious about reducing emissions, Baker continued, it needs to reassess its plans for major road projects, including SR-520 (which the mayor and council want to expand to six lanes) and the Alaskan Way Viaduct (which Nickels wanted to expand into a wider underground freeway).
What Erica fails to mention is that, while SR-520 would go from four to six lanes, the added lanes would be for High Occupancy Vehicles (or HOV). You know, for people who carpool or ride the bus. People who, according to every environmental group I’ve ever heard of, are doing the right thing by the environment.
These same environmental groups used their political moxie to prevent Eastside developers, Republicans, and the Seattle Times from getting an eight lane, or even ten lane, SR-520 bridge. Instead, we’re getting HOV lanes, bike lanes, and big fat pontoons for future light rail expansion. Pretty good for a bunch of gutless, caving sellouts.
Oh BOY! This is gonna be fun Fun FUN ! !!
“Alleged ‘D.C. Madam’ to Release Records
“A federal judge has ruled in favor of a woman accused of running a prostitution ring in the nation’s capital by allowing her to distribute a list of phone records that ‘could shake up Washington by revealing high-profile individuals.'” http://news.aol.com/
We’re finally gonna find out who Laura’s husband is fucking!!
The hell with 520! I want to know who’s fucking Condi!!
Are the Bush twins test-tube babies?
Go Sierra Club! I knew I was doing the right thing when I renewed my membership.
The Cross-base highway is dead. Ladenburg is term limited out in 08 and he’s the only person that really wants it.
How about no increase in car capacity and a rail link from North Bend to Seattle?
Fuck future light-rail, we need it now.
The plan The Big Important People want us to vote yes on in the fall will not reverse the fact that we are 30 years behind the curve on urban planning and transportation it will reduce the rate at which we are falling behind. What we need is a plan that will catch us up and that will do it in a hurry.
Besides have you seen what The Big Important People want the Puget Sound region to look like? Fuck that shit!
I want Ecotopia!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecotopia
There’s no reason Microsoft and Boeing can’t build high-rise condos for their workers walking distance from where they work.
7 Michael, it sounds like you haven’t seen what it looks like along 148th lately. Well, maybe they aren’t high-rises, but the whole west side is lined with boxes where Microsoft puts people away for the night.
Remember, the republican solution to transit is to take our tax dollars to extend the asphalt system, thus enabling developers to deforest more land to build wasteful stand alone housing….this policy they call “creating wealth” and “market choice” is simply a subsidy.
So if you advocate mass transit investment, and some wingnut calls you a ‘socialist’ who advocates ‘coercement’ and ‘taking MY money’ as a social policy….don’t be shy. Stand up and shout: “Yes I am, thank you very much, you fucking weasel who wants to steal MY tax money to subsidize rich people.”
Politics is about cutting up the pie, folks. It’s a pretty basic concept. Don’t lose sight of it.
Too funny! Moonbat!s cutting their Carbon Footprint?
This exchange between me and Proud Leftist is so good, I am going to post it in every thread on HA from now on. It destroys the Publicans’ stupid talking points – period.
“I’m working really hard to understand how President Bill Clinton’s actions act as justifcation for the righties. Read this fuckwads.
If your lame ass argument is that Bill Clinton was a bad President – which is what you say – and if your argument now is that the AWOL coward GW Bush is in someway comparable to Bill Clinton, what you are actually saying is that GW Bush is NO BETTER THAN CLINTON.
Does it hurt to be that stupid? I really want to know.
proud leftist says:
RES @ 18
You’ve hit it on the nose. The rightwing fringefucks consider Clinton to be the personification of evil–indeed, he is the devil incarnate in their twisted little minds. Nonetheless, their justification for all of the Bushites’ sins is, always, “well, Clinton did it, too.” Methinks they never studied logic.”
Michael said:
Well, yes there is.
First, there is the question of whether those workers want to live in high-rise condos on or adjacent to the Boeing plants or Microsoft campus. Boeing and Microsoft would probably go for the idea, as it would mean a more stable, almost captive workforce, but most workers know some of the history of “company towns” and would be reluctant to be that dependant on their employer.
The military has a long history of providing housing, and even they are trying to get out of the housing business. On-base family housing is normally inexpensive and comfortable, but most military members opt for more expensive civilian housing when given the option.
If the housing is offered for sale at discounted rates to encourage workers to locate there, then we have the question of what happens when the worker resigns or relocates. Can they only sell to company workers or back to the company? I can see problems with that. How about inheritance? What if the heirs don’t want to sell, but also don’t want to work for the company?
Are they renting at below-market rates? Again, what happens when the employee quits, is fired or goes on strike? How about layoffs? Can they live their after retirement? If the worker dies, can the family stay?
Company towns actually worked out pretty well for the companies, but not so well for the workers. Nice idea, but with lots of practical problems that would require a level of government oversight that would be unacceptable to many people, and would cause a host of new problems.
“You load fifteen tons, and what do you get? Another day older and deeper in debt. Saint Peter don’t you call me ’cause I can’t go. I owe my soul to the company store.”
@12
You can do things in a positive and helpful way or you can o things in an exploitive manner. All depends on how it’s done.
@8
Nope, haven’t seen it. I’m down in Pierce County. If it means that people are able to walk to work and Microsoft is paying the bill for the infrastructure improvements that they need it sounds like a good start.
Hey John Barelli, you make a lot of excellent points.
But you got the lyrics wrong. The Merle Travis song, most memorably sung by Tennessee Ernie Ford, is Sixteen Tons.
N in Seattle:
Sorry, I was working from memory, without checking the lyrics. :-(
The Sierra Club has no reasonable plan to do anything to reduce the CO2 that comes from transportation. None. They act as if “congestion pricing” can be imposed around here unilaterally – which is a big fat silly joke. This legislature can’t even set a toll on the 520, let alone toll every road around here.
Have you checked this area’s carbon footprint against the rest of America’s? It stands up real good. I’m all for doing our part, and more of it, but it seems more likely that transportation’s impact will be reduced by cleaner fuels and technology, not limiting where people can drive and telling people where they must live. That means we need the 520 bridge and a whole lot more.
The Big Important People around here are actually the people jamming up an inadequate transportation system every day. They vote. And they drive a lot and don’t want to stop, even if some of them switch to light rail, if they ever get the chance. I’ve been a member of the Sierra Club longer than most of this new crop has been alive. They are out to lunch on this topic and taking an extreme position that will come back to bite them and any candididate who stands with them on this.
Until the DOT fucktards are able to get my ass from bothell/woodinville to downtown bellevue, downtown seattle and downtown tacoma in 20 min or less with 1 ride for less than $2 both ways AND at ANY time of the day, I say f-y’ll, i’ll take more asphalt! BTW – Current transit gets me to these locations at 1h10m+ each way (from $2-4 – $4-8 total/day), and usually at only 2 or 3 sets times with 3-4 transfers involved. That is NOT a public transit system! Thats a fucktard system! FYI – I have an inconsistent work schedule which I work 60+ hours per week, usually in one location on a per week basis for a above middle income salary.
@18
Mass transit isn’t for everyone and by getting cars off the road you can get where you need to go WITH OUT more, very expensive, pavement.
@!7
I’m a 20 year member of the Sierra Club and have been an active member since W first got himself elected. Political office candidates and holders actively seek the Sierra Club’s indorsement and advise on sprawl, urban planning, and transportation. And we all realize that we will never agree on everything and that we have to work together even when we disagree.
I’m not concerned about our carbon footprint. I’m concerned about our local culture and quality of life.
A final note: Please don’t take my beer induced rantings on HA and confuse them with well reasoned policy statements.