Rep. Doc Hastings, a Republican from Eastern Washington, should be ashamed of himself for allowing the House ethics committee he chairs to turn into a dysfunctional joke. It is an embarrassment to the state, to the country and even to the Republican Party that swept to power on the promise of clean government.
The Olympian’s editorial board doesn’t mince words in this editorial sticking it to Hastings for fiddling while the House burns around him.
It’s time for Hastings to stop his petty squabbling with the Democrats and start doing his job. Lord knows there is plenty to do at a time when one representative is headed for prison for accepting bribes and former House ma-jority leader Tom DeLay is under indictment in a Texas campaign finance scheme. Yet Congress has no functional ethics committee to hold elected leaders accountable.
The Republican leadership gave Hastings the job exactly because of his reputation as a do-nothing congressman, and they are getting exactly what they expected: absolutely nothing. Last year, committee chair Rep. Joel Hefley (R-CO), two other members, and most of the committee staff were purged after the panel twice voted to admonish Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX). After a year under Hastings “leadership” a new chief of staff is still not in position, and investigators haven’t even been hired. Meanwhile, seven lawmakers have either been indicted, convicted, pled guilty, or are under investigation for bribery, money laundering, conspiracy and other crimes.
“There is no ethics enforcement in Congress today, and it’s inexcusable,” said Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, a conservative monitor of government ethics.
“No matter what level of corruption the members of Congress engage in, the ethics committees do nothing,” said Melanie Sloan, executive director of the liberal-leaning Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. “It’s a national embarrassment.”
It certainly is, and it’s humiliating that a Washington state lawmaker is part of the problem.
My has Hastings star risen. Formerly just an embarrassment to the 4th CD, he’s now humiliating the entire state, prompting both the Olympian and the Tacoma News Tribune to editorialize against Hastings inexcusable recalcitrance. Hmmm… I wonder when the Seattle Times editorial board — which fancies itself our state’s paper of record — will weigh in on Hastings shameful performance as chair of the Ethics Committee?
DIEBOLD OPTICAL SCANNERS FAIL HACKING TEST
Leon County, Florida, tested the security of its Diebold Optical scanners — the same equipment used by King County, Washington — and posted the following statement on its official web site:
“Granted the same access as an employee of our office, it was possible to enter the computer, alter election results, and exit the system without leaving any physical record of this action. It was also demonstrated that false information or instructions could be placed on a memory card (the device used to program the individual voting machines and record the voter’s votes) and create false results or election reports.”
http://www.leonfl.org/elect/SpecialReport.asp
Black Box Voting.org says,
“Leon County (Florida) supervisor of elections Ion Sancho told Black Box Voting that he will never use Diebold in an election again. He has requested funds to replace the Diebold system from the county.”
http://blackboxvoting.org/
I wonder when the McClatchy-owned Tri-City Herald will chime in? All I find on their site is a critical letter from Mr. Ken Staley of Kennewick:
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/.....4383c.html
Rather than the usual toadying GOP party line mouthings we typically are greeted with in the comments threads here from the right wing (and very vocal) trolls, we hear….
crickets chirping.
It should be noted, though, that just because the optical scanners are hackable doesn’t mean they were hacked. The 2004 governor’s race was validated by a hand count, which produced results virtually identical to the machine count, apart from the previously uncounted votes added in the hand recount (Rossi picked up 748, Gregoire 919, Bennett 50) votes. The number of votes that shifted from one candidate to another was negligible.
Oh…don’t worry Aaron, they’re coming. Oh yes they are.
They need to get their “talking points” from Central Control” and then you’ll get all the arrant nonsense you can handle.
I just blow ’em off anymore. They crappy president and their immoral war and their corruption, lies, distortions…well isn’t it just getting to be a little much????
Yep…the bullshitters will be here in a minute. It’s the calm before the storm.
It should be a felony to put the words “ethics” and “republicans” in the same sentence since the two simply don’t go together in any sense of the word.
Has the statute of limitations expired on Swimmer?
@2
The Herald has chimed in quite a bit. Not as harsh as this but it was a pretty good nudge. Interestingly we have a new paper here called the TriCities Republic. All accounts they are a left leaning bunch. Stragely, they had a big article on ID not that long ago so I am still confused.
Thanks for posting this Goldy. I saw this right after my last post. State wide embarrassment indeed.
Rabbit, I am reading all this info with great interest.
A lot of it is news to me.
I think it is laudable we try to inject as much integrity into the system, and protect votes.
The case of Feeney, Curtis and Yang is interesting.
Would a paper trail to validate it make you feel more secure about electronic voting?
Would the system Nevada used help? There, the voting machines print receipts into a sealed clear box that voters can review but not take with them.
Alternately, what do you feel we shold do with the systems hee in washington to provide a secure system, of either paper or electronic voting?
What fail safes?
I ask because you appear one of the most well researched on the subject.
Talk about dysfunctional jokes, if you are advocating cleaning all of the dysfunctional jokes out of Olympia you would need and I would be in favor of funding a mass transit system from Olympia to all their final ports of call.
Roger,
I tried to tell Lucy that King County uses Diebold.
Well, with people like Voter Advocate counting, what do you expect?
GS
Bite your tongue, I live down here and we have this crazy Representative named Sam Hunt who reminds me strangely of Tom Delay that I seem to remember him claiming that it is time for us to have mass transit train system. Where he wants it to go is anybody’s guess, probably Seattle and he probably will try to tie in Thurston County to YOUR Sound Transit mess!
We have an very effective ethics committee – called elections.
If the people in Delay’s district want him in office, then that is their business. The people of Seattle have decided they don’t care that their rep in DC has committed privacy violations, and owes huge fines. People in MA don’t mind being represented by a murderer, and New Yorkers don’t care that their senator violated the privacy laws to get SSN’s and credit reports on foes.
Our own senator has been elected many times as the dimmest bulb in the senate. But being stupid isn’t an ethics violation.
So what’s your point?
I wrote a note along those lines of the Olympian editorial to the Seattle Times last week, wondering why they didn’t take Hastings to task. The last editorial the Times wrote about Hastings was back in May when they praised him for backing down on Delay’s attempt at re-writing ethics rules. The Times editorial board is either pathetic or corrupt.
It should be noted, though, that just because the optical scanners are hackable doesn’t mean they were hacked. The 2004 governor’s race was validated by a hand count, which produced results virtually identical to the machine count, apart from the previously uncounted votes added in the hand recount (Rossi picked up 748, Gregoire 919, Bennett 50) votes. The number of votes that shifted from one candidate to another was negligible.
Comment by Roger Rabbit— 12/13/05 @ 5:51 pm
Yeah– It just was a coinky-dink that it was just barely enough to get the Queen elected. Yeah no corruption there.
The Times editorial board is either pathetic or corrupt.
I vote for pathetic. Dickie is OK. Balter is off and on. The rest: pure marmalade. Bruce Ramsey is a walking advertisement for conflict of interest. Did I say corrupt? No. I didn’t say that, but, but, but….His strident attacks on the “death tax” is just so much company inspired blather. And he needs to keep his job, doesn’t he? Wait. I didn’t say corrupt. Well, inferred it, maybe. But that’s not the same as saying he is a running lacky dog of the Blethen empire. Well, maybe he is…I mean this just can’t be a coincidence, can it? Therefore we can confidently imply fraudulent and rife with corruption. Ask me to prove it you say? But I didn’t say that.
Sorry for the Chris Vance schtick. Oh, and Ramsey’s heroic call for Social Security reform (i.e., privatization), well, really pathetic. Dumb. Total ignorance of the facts. His pretense to not be a libertarian is pretty funny, but levity is not the mission of the editorial page.
So I guess that makes them pathetic. Beats mendacious, I guess.
We have an very effective ethics committee – called elections.
Then this means we shall hear nothing from you, Janet, about Ron Sims’ victory and no idiot blather about how he does “not represent the people”?
Yes or no, Janet?
When did I ever say that Ron Sims doesn’t represent the people? Just because certain bloggers went out of their way using smear tactics, it is ultimately up to the voters. If they can be bought or persuaded, well, yeah for democracy.
That’s why I don’t like campaign finance laws. Put it all out there, and let the people decide. If they want crooks, fine. If they want someone with no brain of their own, who am I to say they are wrong?
I am a righty and have no problem with the smear tactics being used by the left. If poeple believe a lie so be it. Government is no better than the people who elect them.
Well, Sam Reed is unveiling his NEW proposals for changing our election laws tomorrow at 11am, maybe he will have something exciting for us, NOT.
He can propose any election law under the sun and sadly it will not change anything in this state. It may make him feel like he had done something to earn his 6 digit salary, but election laws without enforcement is a total and complete waste of time.
Should we be equally ashamed of…
Taping man Jim (mcdermott)
McDermott guilty in court; heck not even Hastings lost in court…
When did I ever say that Ron Sims doesn’t represent the people?
I’ll take that as a yes, Janet.
Put it all out there, and let the people decide.
And if the people, in there infinite wisdom, choose to have campaign finance laws, your retort is what, Janet?
Our own senator has been elected many times as the dimmest bulb in the senate.
And that person would be whom, Janet?
Patty murray of course,
duh, even patty could get that one right
I think so right on… even though she would have to think about it. Man she is one dumb broad.
I think so right on… even though she would have to think about it. Man she is one dumb broad.
Who’s the “dumb broad”? Patty Murray or Janet S.?
@23: Explain how three times is “many”.
Dumb enough to keep the VA hospitals open as the President tries to close them as the Iraq War vets come home.
I’d say 18 years of Patty will be “too” many
27
Would that be the hospitals that Osama built K. Hahahahahaha
No it was daycare centers that is right. Hahahahahahahahahaahha
Oh that is even more rich… a muslim daycare center so the women can go to work. Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
Well she is definitely in right party. She puts the DUMB in ASS.
re 11: sgmmac: You are as thick as a brick or such a practiced liar and practitioner of doublethink that you don’t even realize you’ve lied. In one sense , you know that you’re a liar and in another sense you believe fervently every word you say. I have informred you on several occassions that I was talking (from the very first comment I made) about Diebold TOUCH SCREEN VOTING MACHINES< NOT VOTE COUNTIG MACHINES. I have every confidence that you will be misrepresenting my comment in the future because you are a congenital liar and a double-dipping government factotem who has been on the government dole your whole life.
And, sgmmac, before you start waving the bloody flag about the 367 casualty video-game war you are a veteran of, I suggest you think twice. You’re not talking to non-adults here.
Touch screen voying macines are NOT used inKing Cty.
These wingnuts always on Patty Murray. She has beat Chandler, Linda Smith and George “Term Limits” Nethercutt. Give it up Wingnuts, she’s a winner!
oh the irony……
Give it up Wingnuts, she’s a winner!…..For the Clueless…
you said it, not me….she is a winner for the clueless
She’s a winner PERIOD!
She’s beat THREE Republican LOSERS. George “Term Limits” Nethercutt? What a laugh! Deal with it!
Patty Murray soft as two sneakers full of puppy shit.
re 37: …and still you lose..
Pentagon may be spying on anti-war activists:
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Pentagon has a secret database that indicates the U.S. military may be collecting information on Americans who oppose the Iraq war and may be also monitoring peace demonstrations, NBC reported on Tuesday.
The database, obtained by the network, lists 1,500 “suspicious incidents” across the United States over a 10-month period and includes four dozen anti-war meetings or protests, some aimed at military recruiting, NBC’s Nightly News said.
http://today.reuters.com/news/.....SPYING.xml
Do you think Big Brother is watching this site?
Would they be doing that in Seattle who wupports the Iraq War?
Patty murray of course,
duh, even patty could get that one right
Comment by righton— 12/13/05 @ 8:37 pm
NO she is CLUELESS.
And, sgmmac, before you start waving the bloody flag about the 367 casualty video-game war you are a veteran of, I suggest you think twice. You’re not talking to non-adults here.
Comment by headless lucy— 12/13/05 @ 10:22 pm
You are right headless lucy what is your species, you don’t qualify as a adult, maybe not even human. Besides it wouldn’t matter how you voted, or what machines you used, It would be counted in may different ways depending on what the intent was. With Dean Logan calling the shots and Rom Sims backing him up forget the results. Chiago would hold a cleaner elections and the one in Iraq would be conducted and tallied properly. Wabbit what did you feed headless lucy today?
Dean Logan’s Friends:
http://www.funpic.hu/en.picvie.....#038;p=131
Lucy,
You are hard headed!
Touch Screens made by Diebold!
Optical Scanners made by Diebold!
Touch Screens used in Snohomish County
Optical Scanners used in King County, Thurston County, and probably other counties.
Diebold Touch Screens & Diebold Optical Scanners have the same flaws………. They have a chip that blackboxvoting says can be manipulated.
In your very first post that I responded to, you said Diebold touch screens, I told you King County uses Diebold. Different machines, same flaw…………
And oh by the way, the machines can be rigged by either party!
Reply to 9
Glad you are reading this stuff with an open mind, Sven.
“Would a paper trail to validate it make you feel more secure about electronic voting?”
Yes, but why not eliminate the middle man (the DRE device) and simply use paper ballots? The more machinery and processes you add, the more opportunity for mechanical and human error, and intentional tampering. The purpose of all this equipment is to speed up the counting, but do we really need to know who won only 15 minutes after the polls closed?
“Would the system Nevada used help? There, the voting machines print receipts into a sealed clear box that voters can review but not take with them.”
It’s better than a no-paper-trail DRE (direct recording electronic) machine, but this type of system is very vulnerable because:
1) There is no guarantee voters will look at the paper receipt to verify the machine recorded their vote properly, and
2) If you can hack the machine downstream of the printer, i.e., rig it to change votes AFTER the receipts are printed, you can steal votes without voters knowing it. You would get caught only if somone requested a hand count of the paper receipts, which will be the exception not the rule, as the whole point of using electronic machines is to avoid labor-intensive counting of paper ballots. Therefore, if I wanted to steal an election by hacking this type of machine, all I’d have to do is give my candidate a margin outside the recount parameter, and I’d have very little concern about anyone counting the paper receipts.
Therefore, the most critical component of voting machine security is not whether it produces a paper receipt or paper trail, but how difficult or easy it is to change votes by tampering with the hardware, software, or data.
“Alternately, what do you feel we shold do with the systems hee in washington to provide a secure system, of either paper or electronic voting?”
First of all, you need to decide upfront how much of the election process you are going to look at. Just the voting machines? Or everything that can go wrong with elections, including:
1. Are the eligibility rules for voting too restrictive or inclusive? (E.g., should ex-felons be allowed to vote?)
2. Vote buying (e.g., giving a voter money, cigarets, alcohol, or something else of value if they vote as you tell them to)
3. Intimidation and suppression tactics
4. Problems with voter registration
5. Address, mailing, and delivery problems
6. Election staff errors, such as not checking signatures on returned absentee ballots
7. Polling place problems
8. Problems with counting ballots, e.g., mechanical failures, human errors, voting machine tampering, database hacking, etc.
9. Disputed ballot controversies
Most of the post-2004 election controversy has focused on items 4, 5, 6, 8, and 9.
The quick answer to your question is that you must address the entire process to have confidence in election results, because problems at any stage will affect the final count.
But as regards voting methods, I have the most confidence in a hand count of the original paper ballots, and the least confidence in DRE machines, whether or not they produce a paper trail or receipt, although paper receipts certainly are better than systems that force us to trust the wiring or software. This is especially so, if the software is opaque.
All voting methods have vulnerabilities, and generally speaking, the more mechanical the system is, the more vulnerable it is. By “vulnerable” I mean not only deliberate tampering but also mechanical failure and human error.
I believe the most reliable system is hand counting paper ballots. There are some problems with opti-scan ballots, but it is a better system than punch ballots, and I just don’t trust electronic voting machines.
Everett attorney Paul Lehto has filed a lawsuit against Snohomish County and Diebold seeking to have the courts declare Snohomish County’s $5 million contract with Diebold for touch-screen voting machines declared null and void. Lehto argues that because Diebold’s software is opaque, i.e., Diebold won’t let the county or outside testers have access to the source code, the county delegated the counting of votes to a private party in violation of state law and the state constitution. In other words, Lehto’s position is that using electronic machines using proprietary software is unconstitutional.
Critics of DRE voting often point to so-called anomalies, discrepancies between actual tallies and exit polling results, and other statistical indicators of tampering. An example of such an anomoly is that in Snohomish County, Rossi got a much higher percentage of votes at polling places, which use Diebold touch-screen machines, than in the absentee ballots, which are paper votes. This led some people to conclude the Diebold machines were rigged. However, there could be a legitimate explanation, for example, perhaps Republican voters prefer to vote in person at a polling place while Democratic voters have a preference for absentee voting. This explanation makes perfect sense to me, simply because most of the Republicans I’ve talked to, are hostile to the idea of absentee voting, so naturally I would expect them to vote at polls. I don’t really buy the anomoly arguments. I’m a lawyer, and I’m trained to distinguish between evidence and conjecture; the statistical theories are conjecture, not evidence.
Reply to 9 (continued)
Sven — there’s no magic bullet. Conducting an election is a complex operation. We will always need skilled election officials and workers. There will always be elements of human judgment and possibilities of human error in the process. In terms of some specific things, good or bad, about our elections in Washington:
1) Not allowing citizen challenges on Election Day is a good rule that we should keep. In states that do allow polling place challenges, the process is abused to suppress voting and create long lines in targeted precincts.
2) Having our elections conducted by 39 different county elections offices results in inconsistencies, use of a wide variety of different voting methods and equipment, and makes the system more vulnerable to local corruption. To minimize these problems,
a. A single, standardize voting method and type of equipment should used statewide, and paid for by the state;
b. The Secretary of State should be given greater supervisory powers over county election departments;
c. The state should establish, enforce, and conduct audits to ensure compliance with uniform practices and standards;
d. The state should establish an election worker academy and train all county and state election staff according to a standardized curriculum, in order to assure uniform election staff quality throughout the state;
e. The state should pay for and provide a single, standardized, computer system to all county election departments that interfaces with a statewide voter registration database, so that all county election workers are working with the same data.
3) I would change the state recount law to allow only one recount. Under my plan, if the race is within the margin for an automatic machine recount but not within the margin for an automatic hand recount, a candidate or party could convert the machine recount to a hand recount by paying the difference in cost between the machine and hand recount.
4) I would also change the threshold for an automatic hand recount to a larger number. I think the current threshold is too low, and too far inside the normal margin of error.
5) The current method of conducting hand recounts is sound and should not be changed.
6) I have mixed feelings about having Opti-scan readers at polling places, instead of having voters deposit their marked paper ballots in a locked box, which is then taken to a central location where the boxes are opened and ballots are fed into the machines under the watchful eyes of election department supervisors and observers.
The advantage of having a machine at the polling place is that if it rejects the ballot, the voter has an opportunity to correct the error that caused the machine to reject the ballot. But there’s less control over the machines when they are spread out in hundreds or thousands of polling places, and as a pollworker, I’ve seen instances where polling places didn’t have functioning machine because the key was missing, or the key broke in the lock, or some other mechanical problem.
11
Who is Voter Advocate?
10, 12
Under current traffic conditions, it’s not practical for a Seattle resident to work in Olympia (where all the agency headquarters and top state management jobs are located), or for Seattle residents to visit Olympia to see their legislators, visit state offices, use the state libraries, etc. The question is whether enough people would use an Olympia-Seattle transit link to justify the cost, and I think the answer to that is no.
13
“Our own senator has been elected many times as the dimmest bulb in the senate.”
This would be purely your subjective evaluation, which, considering the source, is of no value whatsoever.
As for McDermott, last I heard his case was under appeal, so I think you’re being premature.
13 (continued)
By my objective and rational evaluation, the dimmest bulb in the Senate is Rick Santorum closely followed by James Inhofe:
http://buffaloreport.com/2004/......dumb.html
15
“Yeah– It just was a coinky-dink that it was just barely enough to get the Queen elected. Yeah no corruption there.”
Doofus, this issue has been gone over so many times, that at this point you’re just blowing farts. Sore loser. That’s what you are — a fucking sore loser. Whiney sour grapes. Crybaby.
Fuck you.
RR
I dislike the greater centralization, specifically the authority of the Secretary of State. Ohio and Florida only demonstrate to well where that can be wrong. Although I must concede that no system can survive when the people running it are trying to screw it. (The Republicans have amply proved that.)
Also, the only beef I have with Patty Murray is that she’s on Abramoffs donor list. Patty Murray needs to come clean about whatever that involves.
Reply to 18
It isn’t smear if it’s true.
29
“I’d say 18 years of Patty will be “too” many Comment by righton— 12/13/05 @ 8:52 pm”
Voters like me just shoved 6 more years of Patty up your ass; and 6 years from now, we’ll shove 6 more years of Patty up your ass again.
How you like them apples?
30, 31
Perhaps Rufus would explain why he is mocking our nation’s veterans of Iraq and other wars?
Doofus — why do you hate American war veterans?
33
“And, sgmmac, before you start waving the bloody flag about the 367 casualty video-game war you are a veteran of, I suggest you think twice. You’re not talking to non-adults here.”
Be careful, Lucy. I’m almost always on your side, but you’re going too far in this comment. Those 367 KIAs are very, very dead. 367 dead kids is a lot of dead kids. Even 1 dead is a lot of dead, if it happens to be your loved one. Miminize even 1 soldier’s death, and you’ll catch a ton of shit from me!
Let’s use this energy against our common enemy, the Republicans, who are recklessly spending the lives of our soldiers on an unnecessary war fought under false pretenses, are magnifying the casualties by their military incomptence, by their crass refusal to provide armor to our troops, by their sordid treatment of our wounded troops …
34
King County uses Diebold optical scanning machines. With reference to the article I linked, Leon County FL uses Diebold optical scanning machines, not Diebold touch-screen DRE machines. Am I making myself clear yet that I’ve been talking about Diebold optical scanning machines, not Diebold touch-screen machines?
Karl @36
“‘Give it up Wingnuts, she’s a winner!…..For the Clueless…’ you said it, not me….she is a winner for the clueless”
We had an election. She won, your guy lost. Fuck you.
The wingnuts really thought they had Patty Murray against the wall when they flung the Osama-lover smear at her.
Patty Murray – 1,549,708 – 54.98%
George Nethercutt – 1,204,584 – 42.74%
HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR
38
“Patty Murray soft as two sneakers full of puppy shit.”
Eat shit, LOSER!!!
HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR
40
“Do you think Big Brother is watching this site?”
Yeah. I hope they send Ann Coulter to arrest me for being a Democrat.
43
Hey Klake the Flake — is this the GOP’s next U.S. Senator? http://politicalhumor.about.co.....carey2.htm
51
“Also, the only beef I have with Patty Murray is that she’s on Abramoffs donor list. Patty Murray needs to come clean about whatever that involves.”
FACT CHECK: Murray is not on Abramoff’s donor list, received no donations from Abramoff, and has never met Abramoff. “Our office has not had any contact with Jack Abramoff,” said the senator’s spokeswoman, Alex Glass.
The money you’re referring to was donated by tribes. Abramoff may have encouraged the tribes to send money her way, but she didn’t know that. Furthermore, Murray received the tribal donations as chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee on behalf of the DSCC — not for her own campaign.
There was no reason for her to be suspicious of campaign donations from tribes, because in Glass’s words, “She’s been active in Indian health care and in supporting their sovereign governments; that is why they decided to contribute to her.”
The tribes were also well aware that, as a state attorney general and U.S. Senator, Slade Gorton was virulently anti-Indian. It was Indian votes that put Maria Cantwell over the top in her razor-thin victory against Gorton in 2000.
Here is the link to a story discussing Murray’s receipt of tribal campaign donations. http://www.washingtonpost.com/.....02158.html
COST OF BUSH WARS WILL TOP HALF A TRILLION $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Associated Press reports:
“WASHINGTON (Dec. 14) – The Pentagon is in the early stages of drafting a wartime request for up to $100 billion more for Iraq and Afghanistan, lawmakers say, a figure that would push spending related to the wars toward a staggering half-trillion dollars.
“Reps. Bill Young, R-Fla., the chairman of the House appropriations defense panel, and John Murtha, D-Pa., the senior Democrat on that subcommittee, say the military has informally told them it wants $80 billion to $100 billion in a war-spending package that the White House is expected to send Congress next year.”
Geez, he could have fixed Social Security with that kind of money.
HOW IS MUCH HALF A TRILLION $$$$$$$$$$$$$$?
A dollar bill is 6 inches long. Five hundred billion dollar bills laid end-to-end on the equator would circle the Earth 1,901.4 times.
That’s how much the Republicans are spending on their wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (mostly on the unnecessary war in Iraq).
Republicans refused to raise the $5.50 an hour minimum wage because they say the economy can’t afford to pay its poorest workers more.
Based on a 40-hour week, a minimum wage worker would have to turn over all of his earnings to the government for 43.7 million years to pay for Bush’s wars.
Don’t you think the poor bastard should get a raise?
roger,
you misunderstand me. i was just having fun with the irony of the comment and the name of the poster.
I dont care for Murrey, I think she is fairly useless, particularly her comments on Al Qaeda and her position on Sound Transit, but I live in Cantwell’s district, and she I did vote for. At the time I felt her the stronger candidate.
RR. Well I dunno about that. I will check the links. I was referring to a great big chart of money Abramoff was involved with. I admit I didn’t look too closely.
the feeney article fills me with inarticulate rage. i think i woke everyone up by hitting things. dammit
cheers to Berendt for being upfront about that fish magnet. it really was on the website.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.c.....sh14m.html
that an over zealous staffer put it up is something that happens, but his ordering its removal and apology is appreciated.
Mistakes happen
Roger, how much is 4.9 billion for a few whiny union thug state employees?
http://seattletimes.nwsource.c.....on13m.html
70
Chickenfeed in relation to the services you get:
Plow snow on I-90 in the dead of night so goods, labor, and travelers can move across the state
Patrol I-82 in the heat of summer, so truckers and motorists can safely travel our avenues of commerce
Inspect and license day care facilities, nursing homes, and hospitals so our citizens and children are safe
Enforce hunting and fishing laws so all citizens have equal opportunity to use state-owned wildlife and fish resources
Administer benefits for injured and unemployed workers
Administer a pollution insurance program for residential and small business owners of fuel storage tanks
Train police officers for local jurisdictions
Operate prisons that keep dangerous criminals out of society
Enforce weights and measures laws so you don’t get cheated at the gas pump
Fight forest fires
Etc.
License
Since you apparently believe these services should be provided free, I suggest you volunteer to work 40 hours a week with no pay in the correctional facility, fish hatchery, or highway maintenance shed of your choice.
If you’d like to become a whiny union thug state employee and participate in state largesse at taxpayer expense, I know where you can get a correctional officer job that pays $30,000 a year to get assaulted and have urine and feces thrown on you.
Not a few state employees wonder why they work at low pay for fucking ingrates like you.
Karl; you don’t live in Cantwell’s district; we all live in the same statewide district for US Senators
Roger @ 48; Wierd you think initial judgement is premature to judge person….(on mcdermmotts wiretapping conviction)….do you treat DeLay and others the same (naw, we know better)
goldy, going to do topic in Seattle council …
spending $4mm on pet projects…
gee…i thought transportation needed fixing first..
re 44: That’s why we had a hand recount in King County for the governor’s race. I would think that Republican Chuck Hagel’s company, Diebold, would have a lot more knowledge and opportunity for programming the machines. In addition, they have the codes , which they will not release– and withholding these codes is against the law —which Diebold continues to do ( re: N. Carolina).
It is very interesting that you insist on the correctness of your position, as I made the very same point at uSP and Stefan corrected me by telling me that no Diebold touchscreen machines were used in King County. You have to realize that all I heard from your side was hoots and catcalls about how wrong I was and how right Stefan was. So, all I can tell you is that Stefan says you’re full of crap.
Michael at 70: When I read comments like yours, I do wonder why I don’t switch to the private sector, where I can make more money and not have to endure such mean-spirited and ignorant comments.
That said, I can live with the state eliminating gain-sharing. Given the difficulties that many pension plans (public and private) will be facing over the next few decades, I’d rather the state maintained a conservative funding strategy.
That said, I can live with the state eliminating gain-sharing. Given the difficulties that many pension plans (public and private) will be facing over the next few decades, I’d rather the state maintained a conservative funding strategy.
Comment by State Worker— 12/14/05 @ 7:33 am
State worker don’t worry about the small stiff, we the taxpayer is stuck for the cost of your pension plans. To pay for it we have to give up ours to pay for the Red Ink Pension Plan you have. Don’t feel bad, we will live in servitude to pay for the mismanagement of those resources. I don’t mind retiring at the age of 70 and receive the small social security for the amount less than $700.00 a month. Would you spare a small corner of your carport so we can erect a cardboard shelter. We will not be to much trouble, begging at the street corner for beer and food. Since being formal slaves of the state we will work cheap. Please don’t force us to sleep in tent city for that would be humiliating and tortuous for old folkks like us. We wouldn’t be offended to live next door to you and Ron Sims. I hear you have large portions of table scraps in your trash cans.
PS take a bum home for Christmas you might learn something about life and goverment works meet the classification today. “Webster’s 1 a vagrant 2 a loafer 3 a devotee, as of golf or sking -vi. Bummed, bumming [Inf] to live as a bum or begging -vt. [Slang] to get by begging/to bum a cigarette/-adj. bummer, bummest [slang] 1 poor in quality 2 false 3 lame etc”
You get the point? Merry Christmas everybody, Lucy you got a cigarette?
What was the real reason for replacing Hefley with Hastert? Term limits? But the Republicans waived term limits on another committee chair on the first day of the 109th congress, so that’s not it. So the Republican controlled House/Senate ousted a Republican chairman. WHY? Why was he (and several other R commitee members) removed from the Ethics chair? What had he done wrong? Anyone?
[Occam’s razor says that the obvious answer, that the (the republicans on the ethics committee) upbraided Delay for questionable ethical practices, is probably correct, but I want to see the righty trolls spin themselves into knots answering this one]
The inactivity in no suprise, and was predicted by several articles early this year. That’s not where the story is. It’s the change of leadership shows the Republican’s true “leadership” and commitment to self policing.
….puddintane…..ask me again………
Defense of Hastings:
…
crickets chirping…
Yes, speaking of ethics, read this: http://www.townhall.com/print/.....78552.html
Dr. E. Here is why I don’t trust newspapers like the Olympian in their reporting. Look at this poll of media elite reporters and their Iraq coverage.
http://www.mrc.org/cyberalerts.....1122.asp#1 – I need to renew my membership to Brent Bozell!
Then read http://www.mrc.org/SpecialRepo.....101405.asp – Look at how the media is trying to shape opinion!
@77 If this happened in the private sector, those responsible would be fired if not in jail. In the public sector, no one cares because those spending the money for the most part aren’t directly accountable to those paying the bills.
I don’t have a pension at work. I have a 401(k). There is risk involved in that. If my investments fail, the state isn’t going to bail me out. Most companies in the private sector are doing this now. Pensions are nothing more than a pyramid scheme. New companies like Google are raking in the money because they have no retirees.
I welcome you to take a private sector job, State Worker. However, I doubt if you could compete in the real market economy.
@76, Winston Smith,
The Diebold company makes more than ONE type of voting system. The big controversy in various parts of the US with Diebold began with their touch screen voting system.
Before the 2004 Nov election, King County switched to a new computer system. Snohomish also started using Diebold touch screens, although I don’t know when. The workers at KCRE went crazy trying to figure out how to do their normal processes. The Times and the PI both reported on it after the election turned into a fiasco. One of them even had some quotes from the Company who provided the new systems basically saying that the workers in KCRE were stupid. The workers are NOT stupid, they were NOT given adequate time and adequate training to transition to a new system. It was a bad management decision to switch sytems without time for training and it was extremely poor customer service by the contractor who provided the system.
Whenever someone brought up the issue in King County of Diebold systems having flaws that allows them to be hacked during the aftermath of Nov 04, everyone dismissed the claims because King County doesn’t use touch screens.
I live in Thurston County and our county commissioners voted to make us all mail voting in Nov 05 and we converted from punch cards to optical scan ballots, the same system that is used in King County. Our newspaper, the Olympian ran a story on the new optical scan ballot system and a link (blackboxvoting.com)with reports about how the Diebold optical scanners can ALSO be hacked.
In a previous thread, Lucy was talking about Diebold touch screens, I told Lucy that the King County uses optical scanners which are made by Diebold and that they can be hacked too. Lucy doesn’t get my point and keeps ranting at me about touch screens. The point is BOTH touch screens and optical scanning systems made by Diebold have been tested and successfully hacked.
Blackboxvoting.com also lists a dozen or so other companies who are making various electronic voting systems and apparantely there are problems with some of those too.
Roger listed the link and the report at post #1 for the Diebold optical scanner systems that are currently in use in King County.
I don’t know whether all of these reports are true or not. I do know that no-one over at SP or in the MSM media had any concerns about the KCRE systems in the Nov 04 election, now that they have been tested and found to lacking in security, it may be an issue in the future.
If you go to SP and look at the “Manufacturing Voter Intent” article, halfway down is a comment by Stefan about his concerns with Diebold system products and services. There have been poll workers who have had problems with the machines as Roger talks about above.
My bad, I got her and McDermit confused again.
Puddybud @ 81 and 82:
Your analysis….sorry, your opinion would have some more weight if you didn’t reference obvious conservative rags like townhall and mrc.org.
Also, it’s circular reasoning to say “lefty media bias” then quote an organization whose raison d’etre is proving lefty media bias.
And, again (sigh), note the conservative response to a problem is not to address the issue, but to question the motives of the people bringing up the issue.
Answer the question in my post at 78. Then we can have a real discussion.
Puddybud: The crickets chirpping are getting on my nerves. Care to debate the original question posed in 78? And by debate, I mean discuss the issue, not bring up unrelated items, non-sequiters, disparaging comments about the source, etc.
It’s you LEFTIST PINHEADED CLOWNS who should be ashamed. Read this and weep:
“State Democratic Party Chairman Paul Berendt said he first found out about the hypocrite fish posting on Friday when someone from KIRO radio called to ask him to go on the air to give an explanation.
“The moment I became aware of it, I insisted it be taken down,” Berendt said Tuesday. “I’m sorry if anyone was offended. It’s embarrassing.”
Berendt said the item had not been “properly vetted” and was on the Web site for less than 48 hours. He said the party didn’t even have any of the magnets in stock.
“We didn’t sell any of them, and we’re not going to,” he said.
State Rep. Doug Ericksen, R-Bellingham, put out a news release Tuesday criticizing the Democrats for posting what he described as an “anti-Christian” symbol.
“It’s just amazing that they have people sitting in their office who think that way,” Ericksen said. “You would never see anything on a Republican Web site demeaning Judaism or the Islamic faith.”
The fish magnet is copyrighted by a Mount Vernon company called Reefer Magnets. The company mostly sells magnets with pro-marijuana messages such as “Hemp is Patriotic” and “Jesus is coming, roll another joint.”
Berendt said he wasn’t sure what the fish symbol is supposed to mean but said he thinks it is aimed at “people who claim to be pro-life but are for the death penalty.”
I don’t think you will hear the end of this one anytime soon. Your LEFTIST CHRISTIAN-HATING PARTY LEADERSHIP has not only offended many Republicans….but also 1/2 or more of your own Party!! How does it feel to shoot yourself in the foot??
cynical is so cute.
he tries sooooo hard to make people mad, but people haven’t been biting lately ;)
Cynical@93: A Republican legislator from the 26th District walked out during the opening prayer of the legislative session (2002, I think)because the prayer was being offered by an Islamic cleric. She also made disparaging comments about Islam and Moslems, comments that were overhead. She apologized when the media picked it up; However, Too little, too late, and it cost her the next election.
I don’t approve of the fish; and I don’t approve of using religious symbols as political statements. I think it is tasteless and ignorant. But you know Cynical, your bullshit is wearing real thin. I’m a Christian and I don’t see the Democratic leadership as Christian hating. I do, however, see the GOP as the party of false promises, false patriotism, and false religion. The GOP is the party that has politicized Christianity, to the detriment of Christians everywhere.
Doc Hastings knows no other way than rigid party loyalty. It has been true since his Oly days and more true in his largely partisan do nothing turn in the Congress. That’s why he’s in the ethics seat – he’s a get along and go along guy when it comes to his party – which is just about all Doc is about. That’s also why he’s on the Rules committee – where his job is clear – “salute leadership.”
The Olympian is asking Doc Hastings to do something he is not capable of doing. It is not in his DNA. It isn’t Doc’s fault. And he’ll be re-elected in his largely red-meat district. But his legacy will be that he was the guy who allowed corruption to run rampant in the Congress on a grand scale – and then never delivered anything to the state of Washington in return for taking all the heat.
“I don’t approve of the fish; and I don’t approve of using religious symbols as political statements. I think it is tasteless and ignorant. But you know Cynical, your bullshit is wearing real thin. I’m a Christian and I don’t see the Democratic leadership as Christian hating. I do, however, see the GOP as the party of false promises, false patriotism, and false religion. The GOP is the party that has politicized Christianity, to the detriment of Christians everywhere.
Comment by hardovertoport— 12/14/05 @ 5:13 pm”
So anyone who disagrees with your world view and BLIND SUPPORT of your beloved LEFTIST PINHEADED PARTY OF CLOWNS is offensive to you huh?? You don’t see Dem leadership as Christian hating because YOU HAVE YOUR EYES CLOSED!!! Wake-up hard-on and smell the herbal tea! You are at best disingenuous.
Larry the Urbanite. I haven’t been paying closely to that point of Hastert. But I do know in the senate, Arlen Spector replaced Orrin Hatch because of term limits.