For me the biggest surprise in yesterday’s primary election was the fact that $2 million was not necessarily enough money to buy a seat on the state Supreme Court. Chief Justice Gerry Alexander — a man whose politics could probably best be described as a Dan Evans Republican — survived a bitter right-wing challenge from property rights attorney John Groen and his powerful backers in the building and insurance industries.
I suppose I should have had more faith in voters, but I just didn’t see how Alexander could overcome the flood of vicious attack ads while being outspent five to one. But the Seattle P-I’s Joel Connelly proved prescient on my show Sunday night when he suggested that Washington voters have a history of rejecting smear campaigns. It looks like they’ve done it again.
Still, Alexander’s victory is no reason for liberals and centrists to relax. The BIAW clearly overreached, with the character of the Groen campaign reflecting the meanness of his backers. But the race was still close, and there’s no reason to believe that $2 million better spent wouldn’t have given the building and insurance industries the handpicked justice they wanted. And don’t forget that it took two tries for the BIAW to get their personal attorney Jim Johnson on the bench. Expect to see Groen back on the ballot in 2008.
Now the attention (and the money) shifts to the general election, where Justice Susan Owens faces a runoff against BIAW-backed Stephen Johnson. It will be interesting to see what if any lessons the BIAW has learned from its failed Groen campaign.
We are smarter than the RightWingNuts give us credit for.
We are taking our damn country back. One office, one elected official at a time.
I too am surprised but maybe, just maybe, the Rove-inspired tactics of lies, smears, attacks and downright bullshit have run their course. And if that’s the case, the right wingers are sooooooooooooooo fucked.
But yes it is a good day. A group of the most corrupt businesspeople in the state, the BIAW wasted, that’s right wasted, millions of dollars that they hijacked from their membership to looooooooose. Maybe the few honest builders out there (I think there are three or four left) will revolt, pull out of the BIAW and cause a split that sends the organization to Hell where it belongs.
Now if only we could find a way to send the right wing christians to Hell with them!
And it the spirit of being off topic (as the WingNuts are sure to be) here is my answer to PUddy and some other dweeb from yesterdays open thread. And yes, Janet, I can string together a whole bunch of sentences without one fucking swear word. (Janet, a little humor for you).
I am far more concerned with the Christian RightWingNuts foisting their beliefs on me through controlling the judiciary, the abuse of power, and the use of scare tactics, than I am of the Taliban knocking on my door to offer Teresa a Burka. Why is that? Well, let me explain.
The Taliban are open about their desire and methods. When the they come to the door, metaphorically speaking, I can greet them the American way. With a steely gaze, determination in my heart and the soul of a free man who will not go quietly into the night.
What you Christian RightWingNuts are doing is far more insidious. You are attempting to take my freedoms one at time. Sneaking them out the back door, hoping no one is noticing. We have noticed. We have noticed the lies. We have noticed the encroachments on our personal freedoms.
Oh, it started small. Fining Janet Jackson, fining Howard Stern (he is disgusting, but that is his right), then there is the Patriot Act which gave the government far too much freedom to spy on Americans, then the President said †the constitution be damned! I am the President, I have the authority to do as I please”. Now he wants to make torture legal. Once we accept it for “foreign†threats, just exactly how long do you think it will be before it is used against our own citizens? If you don’t think so, then you are a bigger fool than I already know you to be.
Your problem is one of myopic vision. You see one thing at a time. You fail to see these issues together for what they are. An assault on our way of life. The power should belong to the people, not to a political party. Your party is trying to destroy the opposition. If you should succeed, it will be only a matter of time before you are subject to the party, and not the other way around. (See Nazi Germany)
As for me, I will would rather die defending our constitution and our freedoms. I will submit to no man. For me, it is far more preferable to die a free man rather than be subjected to bending on my knee in weakness and fear.
But you go on ahead, keep believing in Jesus. The last time I was in battle I did not notice him next to me taking an enemy bullet, running to avoid mortar fire, crawling through muck or staring into the face of a dead soldier. I did notice the other soldiers, brave men doing an awful job. Not for the money, but for the love of their country and constitution. Jesus had nothing to do with it.
Have a good day. You and Jesus.
I wonder how long (I give it an hour) before Janet S. or some other Christian RightWingNut attacks me for blasphemy and outright moral and intellectual confusion for my view. I just don’t think that Jesus would sanction the violence the Christian RightWingNuts have, with so little regard for life, merrily engaged this country in.
The military is a necessary evil. Its purpose is to defend. Not to attack. This nation, until George W. Bush changed things, was never in the business of peremptorily striking. We have never been the aggressor. When you deal from a position of defense, you make it harder for the enemy to advance. When you attack, you are open to counter attack, your assets are spread thinner and you get bogged down. Iraq anyone?
Now the Christian RightWingNuts are making noises about North Korea, Iran and Syria. Just how many fronts can we fight on? Are you ready to accept a draft again? Because the young men of this country are not going to volunteer for service. Would you? Knowing that in just 12 weeks your ass will be in a sand bunker in a foreign land, begging this Jesus fellow to keep you alive, while the politicians at home are planning the next “preemptive†strike in the name of freedom. Tell me, Puddy, MTR, MWS, Janet, JCH, Jim King. Tell me, would you put your ass on the line? This is the future of America that the Christian RightWingNuts are running toward, full steam ahead.
I want no part of it. I will stop you. I am the majority of Americans who believe this country is on the wrong track. I am the 60 percent of Americans who now know that George W. Bush is doing a horrible job. He can’t talk. He can’t think. He can’t lead. I am the 60+ percent of Americans who know that we have no more business in Iraq. I am the 60 percent of Americans who have had enough.
We want, and are taking, our damn country back.
–
Carl Grossman
The difference between genius and stupidity? Genius has its limits.
Note to Jaybo: Try writing in your own words. The cut and pasts shows what follower you are. In addition, your “source†is not exactly a respected outlet.
Negative campaigning — especially personal attacks — tends to backfire. And money doesn’t buy elections.
Campaign spending through 09/11/2006:
Mary Ann Ottinger $21,574.26
Frank V. LaSalata $17,358.21
Richard Pope $7,407.73
Election results:
King County
Northeast Electoral District Judge Position No. 2
Richard Pope NP 7623 37.15%
Mary Ann Ottinger NP 6766 32.98%
Frank V. LaSalata NP 6100 29.73%
Write-in 28 0.14%
Total 20517
Snohomish County
Northeast Electoral District Judge Position No. 2
Richard Pope NP 508 39.56%
Mary Ann Ottinger NP 491 38.24%
Frank V. LaSalata NP 282 21.96%
Write-In 3 0.23%
Total 1284
Totals for Entire District
Richard Pope NP 8131 37.30%
Mary Ann Ottinger NP 7257 33.29%
Frank V. LaSalata NP 6382 29.27%
Write-In 31 0.14%
Total 21801
http://www.PopeForJudge.com
Richard Pope:
How does one donate to your run-off campaign. Or, are you self financed?
Carl Grossman
Bush no good! Bush no good! Bush no good!
Do you suppose the loss has John Groen-ing?
I apoligize. It was there. I had to do it.
apologize for Pete and Mary’s sake, I hate that.
I was surprised how motivated my lackluster friends were to get out and vote, I didn’t think they cared, but the smear campaign was a huge motivator.
Now if only we could send Bush to the United Nations so in his absence we could surround the White House with tanks and tell him he can’t come back… oh, crap.
nevermind.
Poster Child @ 9
ROFLMAO!
Carl Grossman!!! Hear, hear!!!
Keep speaking out Carl against the mindless, right-wing minions like Jaybo and Janet S who cut and paste, who astroturf, who shill endlessly for a one-party, one religion, authoritarian state. Your voice is greatly appreciated.
Thank you for your service to our country both in OUR military (yes jaybo and Janet S, the military belongs to all citizens not just YOUR team) and here at HA.org!!!
Well, how about Darcy Burner getting more votes than Gay Pride Dave in the 8th? I spell trouble R-E-I-C-H-E-R-T.
I think Owens is going to have a much harder time than Alexander this November.
As we all know Washington voters really don’t keep track of these judicial elections so stupid characteristics become decision-makers. Alexander enjoys better name recognition and, as you wrote, is more moderate in his political outlook. The “Johnson” name factor will be a huge advantage for the BIAW this November. Soon I wouldn’t be surprised to see a conservative majority on the court all with the last name Johnson! The only advantage Owens may have is that she is a woman.
I don’t know, polka. Owens received 45% of the vote to Stephen Johnson’s 33%. The other candidates polled about 21% of the vote. If Owens gets 1/4 of that she wins, but Johnson would have to get nearly all of it. Doesn’t look like an uphill climb for her; more for him.
Left Foot – I actually agree with some of your points. I could point out some of the factual errors, but it wouldn’t change your mind, or that of any readers.
I agree with you on the fines against performers. As I recall, though, it was the Democrat members of Congress that were threatening ABC with having their license pulled if they aired “Path to 9/11”. And the Democrats overwhelming supported the Patriot Act. So please don’t let your party off the hook for trampling on our freedoms, if this is how you define them.
The ad that pointed out the vote by Alexander to overturn the felony murder law was not a smear, just a reminder to the electorate. It was factual. The court overruled the clear intent of the Legislature. This is judicial activism at its worst. I applaud those who paid to remind the public of it.
BTW – congrats, Richard! You show that real smear campaigns (such as those by HA) don’t always work.
Hello.
I just have one question:
How do you feel about Tim Sheldon winning? Everyone seems awfully quiet about that…
Janet S – The Democrats’ attempt to threaten ABC, while wrong, is COMPLETELY different than the conservative campaign to turn our country into a radical christian theocracy. People would take you more seriously if you actually tried to stay on subject and make logical comparisons.
Janet S
“The court overruled the clear intent of the Legislature.”
I have read a bit of Andress, and their conclusion that the legislative intent in 1976 was NOT clear seems reasonable.
I would say that if Democrat members of Congress threatened ABC with having its FCC license pulled if it aired “Path to 9/11,″ it was pretty much an empty threat seeing that Democrats control no Houses of Congress or the Executive.
3 – Carl
That is an excellent missive and I agree with you totally. Having spent 21 years in the military, mis-spent time in Vietnam, and now watching the failures in Iraq; where are headed is not the right direction. The question that needs to be answered is how do we live with the Muslim world of extremism?
Tim
21 I would submit that the worst possible way to deal with Muslim extremism is to counter it with extremism of our own. That’s rather like trying to blow out a candle with a mouthful of lighter fluid.
The BIAW’s $2 million would be better spent educating its members to comply with the law! Washington has thousands of unregistered contractors who:
don’t pay L & I premiums (with the result their workers are uninsured)
don’t pay workers their wages
aren’t licensed or regulated (and, of course, can’t be trusted to comply with codes or acceptable building practices and therefore pose a safety and fraud risk to consumers)
If BIAW really cared about the citizens of our state, they would try to serve our state by contributing to efforts to clean up their own disreputable industry, instead of fighting public officials at every turn and trying to buy off our courts and public agencies.
The BIAW, sadly, is not a positive or constructive force in our society.
For the recent Seattle Times article discussing the endemic enforcement problems in the construction industry, see http://tinyurl.com/gz678
P.S., all you BIAW officials and lackeys reading this blog, I repeat — do you hear me? — invest something in educating your industry about law compliance and good practices. Is that hard to understand? Any questions?
These contractors Rabbit mentions also hirer illegals and perpetuate that problem.
This is just a taste of things to come Pam Roach/Janet S. Overall, your side took the beating it deserves. In the general, expect more of the same. And when we get the House, maybe we’ll look into starting a draft. And then your son will have to go fight in the war you claim to support. Wouldn’t that be rich!
If I were the leader of a Muslim nation hearing American wingnuts say things like “kill all Muslims” and “nuke ’em,” I would be frightened to death, and I would be trying as hard as I could to acquire nuclear weapons as rapidly as I could. The militant, warmongering, hate-filled American far right is a powerful motivating force for uncontrollable nuclear proliferation.
Daddy Love – I don’t know why the Democrat leadership decided to threaten ABC. Maybe it was a signal that ABC better start censoring itself, or watch out if the Democrats get back in power.
24
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that; thanks for reminding me. Yes, they fire their American workers making $20 to $30 an hour and replace with with illegals making $8 to $9 an hour — and then don’t pay them.
One solution is don’t buy houses from these contractors. Look into the provenance of new construction before you sign the earnest money agreement. Make it clear to builders, real estate agents, and sellers that your hard-earned money won’t go to builders who break the law, don’t pay taxes, don’t pay their workers, or employ illegals.
stop the sun…rabbit and I agree…
Hey Carl, How many other posters on HA.ORG have to get their wives to “protect” them on this web? hehe, JCH
27
We didn’t “threaten” Disney/ABC. All we said is that we won’t give our business to a company that peddles right-wing propaganda and lies disguised as news or history.
“The Path to 9-11” is nothing but a right-wing hit piece that fills viewers’ eyes and ears with horse shit. It was a lame attempt by a major corporation with a political agenda to “swift boat” the Clinton Administration, partly to further a rightwing agenda that must be sold with lies because it would never stand on its own merits, and partly to cover up the bungling and ineptness of the Bush Administration, which is the real party responsible for 9/ll. The terrorist attack of 9/11/2001 happened on the GOP’s watch — while our GOP leaders were sleepign on the job. Period. All the lies in the world won’t change that fact.
So go ahead, Janet, pop another Disney movie into the DVD and jerk yourself off if it makes you feel better about the company you keep.
29
the sun doesn’t stop for anybody
@ 4.
Vote for Richard!
Once he’s on the D.C. he wont have any time to file silly complaints with the Executive Ethics Board at the behest of the Minow.
“The question that needs to be answered is how do we live with the Muslim world of extremism?”
The first thing to realize is that the term “Muslim world of extremism” is itself incorrect.
Jaybo provided, on an earlier thread, a post from an Arab newspaper, GulfNews. I doubt that he liked the use I made of the story, but several bits caught my eye.
“In a book entitled Islam And The Way of War, the Gama’a, to which Al Zawahiri once belonged, rejects every aspect of Al Qaida’s ideology as “anti-Islamic”. It says that killing civilians on any excuse is murder and those responsible, far from being martyrs, are destined for the “lowest recesses of hell”. The book condemns suicide bombings, the chopping of heads and the seizure of hostages.”
Al Zawahiri is something of a militant himself, and yet this is his opinion. Most of the Islamic world has condemned the violence. We just aren’t listening to them. We only seem to hear the occasions rantings of the jihadists.
I would hate for my religion (Christianity) to be held to account for every utterance out of Rev. Robertson or Jerry Falwell’s mouths (and there are some far worse than these two), yet I cannot deny that they have followers. They are just small percentages of the total Christian world, and we do what we can to temper their excesses.
Islam has the exact same problem. Try to remember that when some wild-eyed fanatic calls for beheading the Pope. We’ve had our wild-eyed fanatics calling for assassinations as well.
Okay, here’s how I feel about illegal immigration. We’re a nation of laws. (We liberals want to believe that, like to say it, and repeat it often.)
The immigration laws may not be perfect, or even fair, but they’re the law. The solution to imperfect laws is to improve them, not throw the whole concept of law out of the window and revert to an uncivilized jungle.
As a nation, we have been exceedingly generous (compared to most other countries) in allowing people to come here to start new lives. Sometimes, we have taken them by the hundreds of thousands, as in the case of Cubans who fled their own land after Castro took over. And we not only allow them to live and work here, we also let them become citizens and acquire voting rights, and make it relatively easy (compared to most other countries) to do so.
The door to America is not wide open to the rest of the world, and never has been. We have always had immigration laws. For much of our history, we’ve had immigration quotas, and we’ve often given preferential treatment to some groups — and discriminated against others. Our immigration laws have frequently been unfair, even mean-spirited, and certainly are not above criticism. But the law is the law.
If someone comes here illegally, he doesn’t have a right to be here, and our government has the right to kick him out. It ought to end there, but it’s not that simple, because our government, employers, and millions of our citizens have chosen to look the other way and take advantage of the cheap labor that illegal immigrants offer us in exchange for being here. It seems to me if we let them stay here, then they are entitled to the protection of our nation’s laws, and if they pay our taxes, then they are entitled to the government services and benefits those taxes pay for. You can’t have it both ways, folks! If you’re going to take the benefits of cheap immigrant labor (e.g., low cost agricultural products and cheaper houses), then you have to expect to pay for things like public schools for the children of immigrant laborers.
In any case, no good argument can be made for taking out frustrations with our government’s immigration policies or with illegal immigrants themselves on the innocent and defenseless children of immigrants. Anyone born in this country is a U.S. citizen, period. That’s in the Constitution, and unless and until we amend the Constitution, it’s the law of the land and can’t be changed by Congress. Even when illegals bring their families here and their kids are not citizens, if they’re working and paying taxes, I don’t see how you can justify denying their kids access to our schools, health care, decent housing, or necessities of life. What did the kids do to deserve that? They had no say in being brought here. If you’re frustrated by the illegals bringing their families here, take it out on the parents who made the decision to bring their kids here, but don’t take it out on the kids. Only a beast would do that.
Any questions?
Commentby Roger Rabbit— 9/20/06@ 11:56 am
Roger… Would you mind if I kept a copy of that? Perhaps posted it elsewhere when appropriate?
You have managed to capture, perfectly, the liberal position on illegal immigration. I have never read it described so clearly.
Bravo! Bravo!
Janet S.
If the Tort reform lobby and the BIAW are so concerned about Washington’s felony murder statute, then how come they aren’t pointing out that Justice Chambers also voted with the majority on that case? Why aren’t they pouring money into “message ads” to inform the voters about how he “overturned the clear intent of the legislature”.
Oh, that’s right. I almost forgot. It’s because he’s a BIAW endorsed judge (he’s even got the tatoo on his ass!). Which means that he can vote any old way he wants on criminal trial rulings. Just so long as he toes the line on development rights.
Um, I think that’s called hypocrisy.
4
Richard, it does look like you stand a good chance of becoming a judge, and if you do, I hope you will be a good one. But if you can’t get control of your life, and allow your personal problems and disorganization to disrupt the functioning of your court, then may all the defendants who suffer from the disruption be guilty drunk drivers who deserve anything that happens to them.
And if Mike McGavick falls off the wagon and finds himself at the head of the docket, please get yourself organized enough to hold at least one day of court, and throw his ass in jail for a long, long time.
And for you wingnuts, I don’t have a different rule for the Ted Kennedys or other drinking-and-driving Democrats of the world. Drunk drivers are killers, period. If you get behind the wheel after drinking, you’re risking someone else’s life, and you don’t have a right to do that — and your sorry ass belongs behind bars, no matter who you are. If you wingnuts feel the same way — same rule and same enforcement for everybody regardless of their politics — then we’re on the same page. If you’re a typical wingnut hypocrite who blathers about Ted Kennedy’s offenses but refuse to speak ill of McGavick or Laura Bush despite their similar offenses … then, fuck you.
I believe in party discipline, and I will be first in line to kick the ass of any Democrat who drives drunk, sells his office for cash, or commits other crimes against the people. Trouble is, there’s so many Republicans in that line already, I’m having trouble spotting the Democrats.
One of the most hated and discriminated-against minorities in American history was the Chinese. Our ancestors exploited cheap Chinese labor to build the railroads — and then hated them for spending their sweat here.
Mrs. Rabbit had a Hispanic mother, but her father was Chinese. He fled China when Mao took over, and eventually became a U.S. citizen. He worked, and eventually owned a business and employed others. He paid taxes, and he voted. I never met him; he died before I met Mrs. Rabbit, who together with her mother lived on the Social Security check that her father earned by Social Security taxes in this country.
If any of you wingfucks have a problem with any of that, meet me sometime at Drinking Liberally and we’ll talk about it in the alley. Unfortunately, I will not be attending DL for the next several weeks, as I am going out of town again.
PUBLIC NOTICE: ROGER RABBIT ON VACATION
Roger Rabbit is not dead. He has not been captured by the fascists. He is visiting the Spokane Valley Lettuce Fair! YUMMY!!! I LOVE LETTUCE!!! And I love CARROTS even more! I heard they’re gonna have GIANT CARROTS at the fair! I wanna see that display!!! YUMMY!!!!
Well, it’s time for me to head for the truck stop to hitch a ride to Spokane. Later, trollfuck traitors. I’ll see you when I see you — unless they hang you first.
36
Feel free.
Emile Nakhleh, who until recently worked for the CIA as head of its Political Islam Strategic Analysis Program, says regarding the likely political fallout from the Iraqi debacle and from the failures of the ‘war on terrorism’ that “We’ve lost a generation of goodwill in the Muslim world…Because of Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, and other abuses we have lost on the concepts of justice, fairness and the rule of law, and that’s the heart of the American idea.” Nakhleh also says that the CIA knew full well that Saddam Hussein never had any serious connection to al-Qaeda, that Guantanamo is full of detainees known to be innocent, and that killing terrorists isn’t enough to end terrorism. Read the whole thing.
As usual, the lying racist rodent will say anything- comes from being a government hack, I guess.
The BIAW has been very active on tackling the underground economy, supporting contractor registration and other laws that Roger Racist has never been near. If you want to point a finger at those who create the problem, look to Home Depot and the big box stores.
Or the homeowners who hire the unregistered contractors to save a buck.
Racist Rabbit has never done a thing on these issues, but he loves to lie, lie, lie. And he wants all those terrible Hispanics deported- can’t have those brown-skinned folks polluting OUR community.
I think BIAW shoots itself in the foot politically, more often than not. But it is one thing to argue with their electoral politics- it is quite another to, as the racist rodent does, misrepresent what is going on out there in the industry.
When was the last time the WHITE Rabbit bothered to call L&I and report an unlicensed contractor? Or would it be just to embarrassing to have L&I show up at your door for Imelda/Evita to answer?
I would like to address JCH, who seems to have lost his senses. (Comment 30 and many others)
I did not defend my husband. God knows, he needs no help in that regard. I did put up a unified front along side of him.
As you can see in the opinion near the top of this column, he is well able to express himself, clearly, intelligently and with passion. Qualities, I must say, clearly lacking in your vulgar missives.
I am sure your wife, I shudder at what that poor woman goes through, must be very proud of your “hit and run” tactic of attempting to incite here on this blog. You have never expressed an opinion here that was longer than two sentences and that did not advocate violence against one ethnic group or another….or….in the absence of violence, you like to use vulgar sexual references. I assure you the only one aroused and titillated by them is you.
I did have a good laugh at your vehicle list from the other day. A ‘Vette. ’02 at that. All I can say is…….. sorry about your penis.
Ciao!
Teresa
45 “I would like to address JCH, who seems to have lost his senses.”
As if he had them to lose?
As for the racist rodent attitude toward illegal immigration- first, for most of history, we didn’t have much in the way of immigration law- a point that the WHITE rabbit misrepresents.
When we did adopt quotas and restrictions, it was for racist reasons. Now, people like the rodent want to keep the brown-skinned out, and they will use every excuse they can muster to cover their racism.
Separate accomodation was the law, too- and we are a nations of laws, rodent. But some laws are just plain wrong.
The racist will argue he is opposing cheap labor- but the immigrant has always been cheap labor. I would give a racist rabbit more credit if he didn’t go through life supporting cheap labor while making public statements against it.
Roger Rabbit is a liar, a fraud, and a racist- and a coward. “I’ll meret you in the alley- but I gotta go now” is a pathetic line, Roger.
You really should stop exposing your inadequacies in public…
46 ArtFart
I will mention that slight error to Mrs Left Foot when she returns. Thank you.
47 Jim King,
I am not sure where you get that Roger Rabbit is a racist. I read the same comment you did. This what I got from it.
We have not enforced the laws. We have taken advantage of the fact that these people have something to hide and pay them accordingly, we want to toss the kids out of school and punish them for having parents (who were just looking for a better way of life) who came here illegally.
Where in all of that is racism. Jim, I think you are allowing a dislike for Roger to over-ride your good sense.
To both of you, meeting in the alley is not going to solve the issue. However drinking like Mike? will make everyone look better.
The building industry is simply one of the most corrupt there is. Which is probably why they get along so well with republcans.
Commentby Jim King— 9/20/06@ 12:50 pm
“When we did adopt quotas and restrictions, it was for racist reasons. Now, people like the rodent want to keep the brown-skinned out, and they will use every excuse they can muster to cover their racism.”
Uh, Jim? Where did this come from?
Roger often says things I disagree with, but I think his comments on immigration are, as I stated earlier, the best description of liberal thinking on this topic I have ever read.
Yes, many immigration laws have been racist. No argument.
Yes, many of the current immigration laws are deeply flawed. Also no argument.
The point he was making, and quite eloquently, I might add, is that we cannot have this both ways. People hire illegal immigrants. Then many of those same people complain about their children in public schools.
We look the other way when illegal immigrants are building our houses, mowing our yards, picking our crops. Then we complain about the cost of their health care and try to deny them the protection of our laws.
We cannot have it both ways. If a person is here illegally, then they should be deported. BUT it should not be capricious or selective, and the employer should be subject to stiff fines and penalties.
If we even enforced the laws we currently have on the books against hiring illegal immigrants, then the tide would slow, but it is hard to fault some poor father, living in a garbage dump in Tijuana, for doing whatever he can to come to the place where people are offering what is, to him, untold riches.
It is also not fair to the other father, still living in that dump with his family, when he has to wait patiently in order to follow our laws.
Roger was not advocating a return to racial quotas. He was simply noting that we are being unduly harsh on people who are often the victims of the real crime, lured here by promises of jobs and security, when we penalize them and their families while ignoring the folks that lured them here.
Perhaps we should deport the employers. Let them live on that garbage dump in Tijuana (I’m not speaking metaphorically about that dump. There is a real garbage dump with real families living in it. I’ve seen it. It’s heartbreaking). As it is, the penalties, when any are imposed, are often far less than the cost savings that the employers gained by hiring illegal aliens.
What we hear from the right is more complaints about “illegals in our schools” and “illegals in our hospitals” and “why should illegals be protected by our laws?” Well, if we are willing to have them build our homes, pick our crops and tend our children, then they also get to use our schools, be healed in our hospitals and be protected by our laws.
That was the point of Roger’s post, and I can’t find any racism in any of that.
I guess Gerry Alexander will still be on the bench for years to come. The support for other judges caught DUI will continue.
Being a judge must be pretty good duty, if you can get it.
Art @ 46
Untreated syphilis and its effect on the mind are not a pretty thing
Dorthy:
Yes, how dare a judge show sympathy toward a friend. At least you agree that we should all vote against McGavick.
Sympathy is OK, but favoritsm and special treatment aren’t.
The only comment I would add about illegal immigration is that it is the job of the government to control entry to this country, not the job of employers to detect illegals. I know some employers willingly ignore immigration law, but that isn’t the majority. In order to work at Walmart or in construction, you have to show some kind of ID. Businesses are not detective organizations, and it isn’t up to them to police fake ID.
What we need is a reasonable guest worker program. If a Mexican can get here easily in a legal way then there will be much less reason to do so illegally. Also, we need to offer some kind of amnesty to all those living here. It would be a social and economic disaster to deport all the illegals in this country.
But this requires action on the part of Congress, who is running scared from, yes, the right wingers. The Tom Tancredo wing of the republican party needs to shut up and let reasonable reform happen. It would be nice if the democrats actually engaged in the discussion in order to get a solution, rather than sit on the sidelines and let the republicans shoot each other.
“Being a judge must be pretty good duty, if you can get it.
Commentby Dorothy Clutterbuck— 9/20/06@ 1:44 pm
Or get your bosses to try and buy it for you. If they would have put up someone qualified and honest, then run a clean campaign based on real issues, they might have won.
Of course, BIAW didn’t want someone qualified and honest, they wanted someone that would vote their way, regardless of the issues or the law.
Justice Alexander was never called upon to rule on Justice Bridge’s DUI. He did offer his support as a friend. I may take issue with his choice of friends, but so long as he doesn’t start letting off DUI suspects, I’ll live with it.
Now, when Justice Bridge comes up for reelection, I’m hoping that we see a strong, honest candidate to oppose her. I’ll even take an honest right-winger. That person will have my vote, as I agree that a DUI should be enough to disqualify someone from sitting on the Washington Supreme Court.
Besides- most people here illegally or not Mexican, not even Hispanic- they came on visas and overstayed.
Commentby Jim King—— 9/17/06@ 7:38 pm
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Bullshit,you don’t know what you’re talking about. You have no idea how many illegal aliens are in the country or how many are Mexican or Hispanic.
Commentby americafirst—— 9/17/06@ 9:11 pm
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Jim King, got those figures yet, phoney?
Commentby Janet S— 9/20/06@ 2:06 pm
“It would be nice if the democrats actually engaged in the discussion in order to get a solution, rather than sit on the sidelines and let the republicans shoot each other”
Yes, but the Republicans have been less than welcoming when it comes to discussion. I will, however, admit that some of the reasons we’re sitting on the sidelines is for political gain. If we work with you on this, we help your folks stay in power, and some of us would rather watch you self-destruct and then fix it ourselves, by our standards.
Not pretty, but such is life in the political arena.
I’m actually rather unhappy that we’re working so hard to unseat the moderate Republicans. I think we need their voices and viewpoints. Unfortunately the Republicans set the guidelines of this battle by making it such an “us or them” choice and insisting that everyone that did not toe the line was some sort of terrorist sympathizer.
They will reap what they have sown, but we’re going to have to deal with a lot of the crop too. Hopefully we can start to work together once we win (and we’re going to win). I just hope that we can rise above the hurt feelings and behave the way we wanted you folks to behave while you were in power.
I can hope, can’t I?
Commentby americafirst— 9/20/06@ 2:16 pm
Now, on the subject of racism…
How are things down at the Phalange meeting hall? Everyone got their sheets? Remember, the eye holes go in front.
(Why do I have that scene from Blazing Saddles going through my mind? You all remember, the Klansmen with the big “have a nice day” on the back of their sheets?)
That was the point of Roger’s post, and I can’t find any racism in any of that.
Commentby John Barelli— 9/20/06@ 1:20 pm
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You can’t find it because there wasn’t any. “Jim King” is a cheap labor phoney and coward who pulls charges of racism out of his ass because he is too ignorant to debate on the facts.
It will be interesting to see what if any lessons the BIAW has learned from its failed Groen campaign.
“We will spend FOUR million next time”, so pondereth Tom McCabe.
“I did not defend my husband.”
Teresa
Commentby Mrs Left Foot […………Right!!! ROTFLMAO!! Perhaps you could sue everyone who makes fun of Carl! That should keep you busy!!]
September 15 was an important day for the Imperial Federal Government of the United States. It was the day that quarterly tax payments are due. This is one of four times a year when businesses have to pay their estimated taxes. And what a haul it was for the Feds…in fact, they raked in so much money, they set a record.
$85.8 billion dollars was taken in…all in one day. This is a 20% increase over last year….twenty percent! And to think some people actually think the government doesn’t have enough money. We gotta “pay off” the deficit you know. The fact that so much money flowed into the treasury at once is important for a few reasons.
One, the economy continues to go like gangbusters. We are right in the middle of an historic economic boom. Don’t let the mainstream media or the Democrats tell you otherwise…we’ve never had it so good. Add on top of that falling gas prices and we’ve got a great economic situation. In addition, the fact that tax receipts jumped 20% shows us that the Bush tax cuts are working just as they intended.
Second, the fact that so much money was confiscated by the federal government in a single 24 hour period tells us something else. The government is too big…and it’s become so large under a Republican administration and a Republican Congress. The Reagan Revolution is official dead among “conservative” politicians.
Wait! One more thing! What about those horrible Bush tax cuts? I thought the government was starving for the money it needed because the rich were getting away with murder! Well, once again we see that cutting taxes on the productive class actually leads to higher government tax revenues. That’s a lesson the left will never learn.
JCH @ 63:
A little touchy about your penis? (pun intended)
You like to cut and paste, you should learn to paste the entire statement. Let me help you. What I said was, “I did not defend my husband. God knows, he needs no help in that regard. I did put up a unified front along side of him”.
Just in the name of fair and balanced reporting.
I bet that ‘Vette is Candy Apple Red. Isn’t it, Mr. My Penis is not as big as I claim.
Ciao!
Teresa
64
More cut and paste from the penile deficient Pacific Islander.
Cheers!
I was a college student in Columbia, South Carolina during that horrible 2000 Republican primary, during which George W. Bush and his cronies completely smeared John McCain’s good name. My room mate, by the way, received one of those infamous telephone calls about McCain’s “black child” and found it disgusting at the time, before it made the national news. As the U.S. saw, in certain parts of the country, smear campaigns work extremely well. I’m thrilled to finally live in a “blue state,” where voters don’t fall for that garbage.
Islam has the exact same problem. Try to remember that when some wild-eyed fanatic calls for beheading the Pope. We’ve had our wild-eyed fanatics calling for assassinations as well.
Commentby John Barelli—— 9/20/06@ 11:49 am
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The great weakness of liberalism is the dogma of moral equivalency. This may or may not apply to you, but I suspect that the average lib considers Islam and Christianity to be simply two competing brands of superstition.
So long as you continue to assume that Islam is the moral equivalent of Christianity you will reach the wrong conclusion. You keep looking for “moderate” Moslems to emerge but I believe it is the “moderates” who are on the fringe of Islam; the rank-and-file either don’t give a shit about terrorism against infidels or actually support it.
fascistfirst – your remarks are utterly bigoted, ignorant and painful to read. You “believe” all kinds of stupid things.
“My Penis…..”
Ciao!
Teresa
Commentby Mrs Left Foot [………T, since you are interested, a little smaller than your “special friend “Jerome”, but a little larger than “Little Carl”.]
“I did not defend my husband.”
Teresa
Commentby Mrs Left Foot […………Right!!! ROTFLMAO!! Perhaps you could sue everyone who makes fun of Carl! That should keep you busy!!]
@51- John- the racist roden showed his true colors the other day, when he started griping about Hispanics taking AMERICAN jobs. He continued, showing his racist colors all the way.
I’ve been all over him about it ever since.
Read through his posting, and between the lines. Does he sound like someone inviting people of color to be a part of the American dream? No, he is of the type that is still made that YOUR ancestors, John, were allowed through the gates.
When it started getting hot, he trotted out an Hispanic wife. Now she’s part Chinese. I’m sorry, I know some pretty sad cases who married women of color and treat them the way the view people of color. So that poor excuse doesn’t cut it.
The WHITE Rabbit doesn’t get to hide anymore- he’s been outed.
72
Grasping at straws, grasping at straws … if I’m so fucking racist, how come I married a Hispanic-Asian?
68
The great weakness of conservatism is the total absence of any moral compass whatsoever.
fascistfirst – your remarks are utterly bigoted, ignorant and painful to read. You “believe” all kinds of stupid things.
Commentby For the Clueless— 9/20/06@ 3:47 pm
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You should get together with “Jim King.” You two could produce kids too stupid to do anything but hurl insults. Good future Democrats.
(Why do I have that scene from Blazing Saddles going through my mind? You all remember, the Klansmen with the big “have a nice day” on the back of their sheets?)
Commentby John Barelli— 9/20/06@ 2:33 pm
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Because you are a lib and your mind wanders.
fascistfirst – Jim is a Republican and I’m a liberal Democrat. We agree on very few things.
We both agree on one thing – you are loathsome.
if I’m so fucking racist, how come I married a Hispanic-Asian?
Commentby Roger Rabbit [……..Er, because you couldn’t get a white chick to date you?]
mrs leftfoot jch says his penis may not be that big but you would not want it on your nose as a wart.
I got 3 recorded calls from this shithead’s attack campaign – one of them at 6am Tuesday morning. Given those tactics, I wouldn’t have voted for him regardless.
@73- Sounds like the ol’ “I’m not a racist- I have black friends (I just don’t want them near my daughter)”…
Racist rodent- you’ve already been derided for trotting out your wife as a defense- was it her that griped about jobs going to Hispanics, not AMERICANS?
Have some raw spinach, fresh from California…
My left foot@3 ;
You might be interested in this blog piece. I remember very well the comment the defense contractor made; it had just gone on my back burner during elections.
Test crowd control devices on American civilians first?
Selling access hurts………Larry Sundquist donated $25,000. Jeeze that would cover maybe one person’s special assessment to fix all the defects in the property he sells. He is on the Snohomish County Citizen’s Counsel…….he had about four lawsuits for defective construction and builds in watersheds no less. How fucking depressing.
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