Tune in to a special Saturday night edition of “The David Goldstein Show” from 7PM to 10PM tonight on Newsradio 710-KIRO, as I fill-in for Frank Shiers. Subject to change, here are the topics for tonight’s show:
7PM: What have we learned (if anything) from last week’s power outage? Both the Governor and the Seattle City Council have asked for reports from the powers that be, evaluating our emergency response and suggesting what we might do better. Here’s one idea: mandate backup generators at filling stations. Here’s another: do a damn better job maintaining the existing infrastructure. You’ve got a better idea? Give me a call.
8PM: Is it time to legalize pot? At over a billion dollars a year, marijuana is now Washington state’s number two cash crop, just behind, well, you know… apples. At what point do we finally admit that our silly little War on Drugs is going even worse than our war in Iraq? Wouldn’t it make more sense to just legalize pot, regulate it… and tax the hell out of it?
9PM: Is this a Christian nation, or just a nation of Christians? And either way, why do so many politically prominent Christians feel so comfortable getting so damn pissy about it? Locally, mega-church preacher and Republican activist Pastor Joe Fuiten describes Jews as a bunch of money-grubbing merchants who should thank Jesus for their yuletide profits… and barely anybody bats an eye. Nationally, Rep. Virgil Goode (R-VA) warns that if we don’t reform immigration “there will likely be many more Muslims elected to office.” Heaven forfend.
Tune in tonight (or listen to the live stream) and give me a call: 1-877-710-KIRO (5476).
PROGRAMMING NOTE:
I’ll be on at my usual 7PM to 10PM time tomorrow night, and then filling in for Dave Ross and Ron Reagan all week, from 9AM to 1PM.
Hmm, the money will be better but you’re gonna have a heck of time filling in all that air space! Good luck.
Goldy,
Please, for the love off Pete, give it up. Every government and governmental body has always said that after a big quake or storm you might be on your own for a couple of days. Every 5 years or so something comes along and knocks out the power for a few days. So everyone should be ready before hand.
Most people were prepared and did fine during the power outage and I suspect that most people will us this experience as a teachable moment and be better prepared next time.
(This post in no way endorses the service or lack there of by Seattle City Light.)
What is it with Americans who want to pay some of the lowest tax rates among the developed nations but who bitch when government doesn’t act like Nordstroms? This storm knocked out a significant portion of our power grid; and it was back up within days. Days. No, neither the government nor the utilities responded PERFECTLY; but can you imagine angry hordes demanding public hearings when the next release of Windows isn’t perfect? Of course not. The public sector isn’t perfect; and neither is the private sector. But people seem to think that if the government response to a given situation isn’t perfect then government MUST then be incompetent. That’s just stupid. No, I don’t work for any of the agencies being criticized; and, yes, my power was out for days–and, yes, it was miserable. But, hey, miserable happens. We live in an imperfect world–not in an upscale department store. All of you screaming for government to do better–how about screaming for higher taxes to pay for a better response–or STFU. And for those idiots who constantly whine that our taxes are too high already, I’d challenge you to actually bother to learn about the budget for a govenment agency–any agency–to look for yourself where the fat is. These days it’s a lot harder to find waste in just about any agency. And it’s a hell of a lot harder to actually write a budget and work within it than it is to sit on your butt and whine about how we pay too high of taxes without a single fact to back up your petulance.
Hey, Goldie, I know the show will be great! I’ve heard that Daddy allows the servants to keep a radio in the basement, so I’ll go listen now.
Where’s the fuckin’ rum??
3
Bullshit!! We do pay to much in taxes and government services are horrible. The problem with government is that there are to many liberals running government. As conservatives we must keep as much money away from government as possible especially when democrats are in charge. We also have a right to bitch about it. It is called the truth and freedom of speech. Get use to it.
Rather – WTF ‘smamatter with you? Don’t you know that gummint ALWAYS does a better job than corporations in ANY situation? That’s because they’re not motivivated by profit.
Here’s an example dumass…. lookit how librul gummint owned Seattle City Light did compared to the greedy capitalists at PSE.
Oh shit… duh.. sorry, looks like PSE got customers back on line at a far higher rate than SCL.
Never mind…
Goldy – Don’t you dare.. DON’T YOU FUCKING DARE besmirch the name of the greatest president of the 20th century.
If you do, my offer to get your daughter off the taxpayer funded free lunch program at school is NULL AND FUCKING VOID you freeloadingfuckingasshole.
You’ve been warned….
Jenna Bush says:
Hey, Goldie, I know the show will be great! I’ve heard that Daddy allows the servants to keep a radio in the basement, so I’ll go listen now.
Where’s the fuckin’ rum??
Hey I have got some right under my car seat. Excuse me sweetie…it is around here somewhere…. Oh no!!!!! Splash…. Gurgle gurgle.
Hey, Mark, fellow profiteer here . . . didn’t our Halliburton stock do great? Hope you owned as much as I did . . . have to make up for that Enron and MCI fiasco. But, it only takes one good war for us good capitalists to make it up. God bless George Bush! Ain’t America great!
Liberals demonstrate how they react in an emergency.
Saturday, December 23, 2006
After the storm, the search for answers
Council tries to sort out what led to troubles
By ANGELA GALLOWAY
P-I REPORTER
An emergency shelter with no heat and fire stations without working generators.
Chaos on the flooded streets, but no police officers on hand to direct traffic.
An electric company unable to tell customers if they should plan to be in the cold and dark for hours — or days
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/.....orm23.html
Shortages catch up with City Light
Carrasco explains delay in powering up
By KATHY MULADY
P-I REPORTER
Carrasco fielded questions from City Council members Friday. He explained City Light decisions to send crews home as last week’s devastating windstorm materialized and why communication was delayed with customers and council members. He was also asked why no additional crews were brought in to help for nearly five days.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/.....ght23.html
It is about time he was held responsible – I hope he is. He should be gone.
I said on an earlier thread it was money – didn’t want to pay them for the 4 hours. Penny wise and pound foolish. I don’t buy Carrasco’s defense at all. He’s been in charge and he’s responsible. More like a political patronage job in his case.
PALM BEACH, Fla. — Donald Trump is suing this oceanside town for $10 million after being cited for flying an oversized American flag over his Mar-a-Lago Club.
In the lawsuit, Trump’s attorneys accuse the town of selectively enforcing its ordinances. Other locations in the town display flags that violate statutes, the lawsuit alleges.
All damages awarded to the club would be donated to veterans of the war in Iraq, the lawsuit said.
Trump had until Nov. 27 to apply for approvals or else he faced a Dec. 21 hearing that could have resulted in fines costing $250 per day. It was unclear Saturday whether that meeting took place.
“The day you need a permit to put up the American flag, that will be a sad day for this country,” Trump said in October.
Hey isnt Palm Beach the place where they tried to steal the election from Bush in 2000? Yes it was. I am starting to like Trump. IT is great to see him using the blood sucking lawyers against these liberal vermin. heheehehe
Rob at 10 and 11:
I’m confused. Having finished reading both articles, it seems that there were a few mistakes made, but overall, City Light and the local government did a very good job. Was that the point you were trying to make?
No, not perfect, and there are some lessons to be learned here. That isn’t a surprise.
City Light put a restriction of 17 hours on shift, and required its workers to take at least six hours off after that, regardless of what they were doing.
Good. I’ve supervised people in stressful situations. They are often convinced that they can keep going, but the reality is that tired people make mistakes, and mistakes in that job can kill people.
Imagine what the wingnuts would be saying if someone was killed through a mistake after working 19 or 20 hours straight.
To my knowledge, no City Light worker was killed or seriously injured throughout this whole ordeal. That is an amazing record, and I have no desire to second-guess the folks that were responsible for that feat.
As to the folks that had to think back to traffic school and remember the rules about how to deal with an intersection when the traffic light is out, tough. Get over it. Emergency personnel, including the Police, were busy handling real problems.
If you read the article in the PI(I think), one lineman said they would have preferred to stay on the job for the four-hour duration to prep for the storm. As it was, several did stay on their own. He went back home, it took two hours with all the traffic and when he got there, he had to turn around and come back.
That was poor decisionmaking and it was to save money.
Also, if you listened to Dave Ross, you’d have heard stories of lineman sitting around in neighborhoods because they had no instructionis basically. One person called in and told her story of seeing these guys out there just sitting. She told them she needed power and they did it. But they told her they were supposed to wait for some king of notification.
Maybe you think all was well in the City, but I think there are numerous anecdotes that belie that story. Some from the lineman themselves.
I think PSE did do the best job it could . . . but, citywide, pretty poor.
15
Now if we could only get the city to keep people from dying during a Mardi Gras celebration we would have made some progress.
ME THINKS I SMELL A DOOFUS ABOUT. STINKS LIKE THE POO HE FLINGS.
Roger Rabbit says:
20 No, but I donated $99 to Operation Helmet and $25 to Operation Phone Call. What have YOU done to support the troops, wingfuck? Blowing smoke out of your ass doesn’t count; I’m talking about asking whether you’ve put your money where your mouth is.
Thanks for your support, but I’m one of those chaps your contribution goes to when I retire from the military. The time I spent in the military is a donation that you cannot give in your advance days of your life. The money is not a requirement to support my fellow soldier’s just acknowledgement for what we do for our country is adequate. As for blowing smoke out my ass well wearing the uniform of the USAF and volunteering to service in South West Asia gives me the right to say anything contrary to your beliefs. Now if you clean up your language and step out of your comfort zone you might get a better understanding of the world around you. Roger when you left Viet Nam you abandoned your country and join an unusual group of people called hate America at all cost. Maybe you should revisit that part in your life and see if you really made the right decision. Just the same thanks for supporting my fellow soldiers and the Unions with Operation Helmet.
People who call themselves “Christians” usually aren’t.
For example, most Republican-voting fundies go really light on the forgiveness stuff.
@3 I’d challenge you to actually bother to learn about the budget for a govenment agency–any agency–to look for yourself where the fat is. These days it’s a lot harder to find waste in just about any agency.
Well, I recall that a few years back some GOP fuck in the state senate proposed paying state workers minimum wage. I think he was serious. And since these guys oppose ANY minimum wage law, I think what he really wanted was for state workers to work free.
Any of you wingfucks want to drive across a bridge designed by a minimum-wage state engineer?
5 I agree that government services (at the national level) are horrible. It’s been that way for nearly 6 years now. The only thing they’re good at is violating our constitutional rights.
Fortunately, Republicans are too fucking stupid to figure out how to round up liberals or run a concentration camp.
19 — Oh, I see … you must be one of the mental and moral waivers they let in …
You know, klake, it’s actually possible to love your country and be a patriot without being a fucking mindless xenophobe warmonger. You should try it sometime, and you’ll see what I mean.
Hey Rather-
Where’s the evidence to back up your whine about taxes being too high? “Taxes are too high” is a mindless mantra used by those who simply don’t appreciate what they’re getting for their taxes. Just be honest and say “I don’t like paying taxes.” The two complaints are not equivalent; but it’s easier to whine that taxes are too high to make it look like it’s not about you. Unless, of course, you want to point to the extensive research you’ve done, comparing our tax rates to those of other Western nations and the relative level of services provided. Haven’t done that research yet? Yeah, didn’t think so.
Here’s an idea: instead of spending all your energy spouting off baseless right-wing rants, hows about you use one of those internets to find out the facts? The reality-based community is here for you. Please join us.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.c.....ake24.html
Right wing train wreck number 939,221
Yet ANOTHER lying fucking republican piece of shit cunt!
MORNIN’ WINGNUTS:
STILL WORSHIPING BUSH?
YOU WINGNUTS SURE BELIEVE IN CUTTING YOUR WINNERS SHORT AND RUNNING YOUR LOSERS LOOOOOOOOOOONG!
WHAT A BUNCH OF LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSERS!!!!
Gotta love the “study who’s at fault” mindset up in the NW
Commission to study power outage
Investigation of Kim death/response
what’s w/ you nutjobs….its like you think gov’t, police, etc are perfect and when they don’t protect you fully , it must be worthy of a full scale investigation.
You ought to instead have show trials of all the dummies who weren’t prepared; embarass folks like goldie whining about having no wi-fi at home…
what’s w/ you nutjobs
WRONGON: STOP TALKING ABOUT YOURSELF. IT’S EMBARRASSING – FOR YOU THAT IS!
HAH!
31 You ought to instead have show trials of all the dummies who weren’t prepared
Now here’s an idea whose time has come! Can you say … Brownie? and Bush?
righton spewed:
Uh, Righton? When, exactly, should we investigate what happened and look for mistakes?
Don’t get me wrong. I think that the local government, emergency services and utility people did an outstanding job. I am especially impressed that not a single City Light, PSE or Pen Light employee or contractor was killed or seriously injured throughout the ordeal.
But, there are always mistakes and always areas that could be improved and always lessons to be learned. The best time to investigate those mistakes and find the areas that need improvement is now, while the information is still fresh.
And there will always be a few folks that were unhappy with the way things were done, and some of those folks may honestly want to hold someone responsible for the few mistakes and areas that need improvement.
Did we do very well here in the Northwest? YES! And the lessons we learn from this ordeal will help us do even better in the next one.
its not even a political point, or maybe slightly
why have a trial every time we have a tragedy or simple disaster,…..it just feels like show trials
Oregon; they’re chasing after the sherrif for not executing perfectly against a plan; i mean becasue some guy made a series of wrong turns
The unintended consequence of all this is you get guy even more worried about their backside than doing the right thing.
I have no need to hold trials to see where PSE or Seattle light made small errors.
Any of you wingfucks want to drive across a bridge designed by a minimum-wage state engineer?
12/24/2006 at 2:37 am
I think I have. I never made it accross though. It wasnt the bridges fault though.