DISTRICT ONLY VOTING IS TRULY JUSTICE FOR ALL. (Guest Writer: Roeder Peabody)

Welcome to my new contributor, Mr. Roeder Peabody! (I'm Sure you'll like him.)

Prior to charter review in 2005, Steve Martini (a successful attorney and best-selling author) did extensive research into a potential legal case against the county because of county-wide voting. He found quite a bit of case-law from the '50s and '60s civil rights challenges in the south, where good ol' white boys had a system of so-called "representation" set up in a manner that prevented voting blacks from getting majorities in elections, and like Whatcom County, the system was geographically stacked against the blacks (in our case, against rural conservatives). Although Mr. Martini believed going to district- only was a step in the right direction, he felt there was legal precedence to go much further in creating a charter that truly represented and respected the spectrum of political opinion around the county. However, family and health problems prevented him from pursuing this further in a legal venue.

Along these lines, County Councilman Sam Crawford made a presentation to the Charter Review Commission, meeting in 2005, the the county should go from 3 council districts to 5. Two districts would be comprised of the city of Bellingham, which has 2/5 of the county population. Three districts would be comprised of the remainder of Whatcom County. Of course, voting would be district only, and we would be assured of true representation on the County council for the entire population.

If you think about the makeup of the current council, weighed against where they live, you might surmise we could have a very different council, very soon, as a result of creating this much fairer system.Suffice to say that Brenner's current proposal is clearly a step backward. Councilman Crawford's proposal, as outlined above, may still be seen as the fairest method of achieving a better form of county-wide self-government with true representation of the citizens.

(How do you Like Roeder Peabody? Let me know if I should ask him to write again. I finally got someone knowledgable to write an article for me. It hope that it happens more often.)

I'M THANKFUL, I HOPE YOU ARE, TOO! (see ya monday.)

I'm Thankful for every day that I'm Breathing oxygen.
I'm Thankful for my Wife. (who has put up with me for over 22 years.)
I'm Thankful for my Kids. (even though Teenager is a language I don't speak well.)
I'm Thankful for my Parents. (even if they are Democrats.)
I'm Thankful for my Friends. (especially those who are as sick and wrong as I am!)
I'm Thankful for my fellow volunteer Firefighters in my district. (and all of you volunteer and career firefighters whom I have trained and trained with in other districts.)
I'm Thankful for my Liberty. (and all whom have served to protect it.)
I'm Thankful for my Freedom. (and all whom are currently serving overseas today.)
I'm Thankful for Baseball. Football, Big Loud Motorcycles, Glass Packs on Muscle Cars
and Hot Looking Women. (especially my wife!)
I'm Thankful for those who agree and disagree with me.
I'm Thankful that God has made all this come to be and given me the free will to be as ignorant as I choose to be and please, Jesus, forgive me for the Real Stupid things that I have done and survived to breath oxygen another day.
I hope that ALL of you have many things to be thankful for too.
Celebrate the Holiday Season with those you love,
from Thanksgiving through Christmas and New Years.
amen...

GREGOIRE IS USING GIMMICK PLAYS EARLY THIS CAMPAIGN

SHE HAS CALLED THE "EMERGENCY" SESSION!
Not only is the former AG playing politics with her I -747 Special Session, it now appears that she is adding something new. A tax Deferral for all wage earners under the States Median Wage. On the surface that sounds great as many people in Whatcom County earn well below the State's Median Income. Boy, is she gonna stick it to the rich.
Notwithstanding the confusion, If the average wage earner and his wage earning wife consider the merits of this here are some thoughts they may have.
Do we count both wages or does only one wage earner qualify us for the tax deferral?
Or do we combine our wages?
How much paperwork would we be required to file, and would it be quarterly or annually?
Is this a Tax break, or if it is a deferral, when are the taxes deferred to?
Will I pay all those deferred taxes when one or both of us meets or exceeds the median wage?
These are the self- interested questions that I might ask.
More importantly, as this is not so much a mean average but a multi -modal average, some counties will be devastated and forced to address the issue of raising taxes themselves in other ways. Whatcom County is notorious for saying, "we haven't raised your taxes in a decade or more." No, they keep raising sales taxes and reassessing our homes higher than market value.
The acting Governor can't just keep it simple, even when pandering to the average taxpayer. She has to continue to add a tax deferral that some are already calling a tax break. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for Liberty from taxes. But I'm not for voting ourselves gifts from the taxpayers coffers.
This is setting the stage for the pure old fashioned class warfare campaign issues as she is "protecting the poor, and lowering the taxes for the poor and sticking it too the wealthy."
The challenge is how to stop this play before it gets to the line of scrimmage and gain any real traction. Because if her policy is implemented, the poison pill will kill the middle class. I hope that our minority of Republican Senators and representatives can sack her before she gets an open field run.
On the other hand, she must be scared of Alaskan Native Dino Rossi to be playing these gimmick plays so early in the game.

NASCAR DAY!

Less than 100 students skipped school in Ferndale and protested the Iraq War. Well, what about the rest of the kids who were looking for any excuse to skip school. We almost had NASCAR here in Washington and our state legislature stopped it. Those dirty rotten so and so's.
Those high school students who are being disenfranchised and have no voice in State politics need to SKIP SCHOOL and PROTEST that there is not going be NASCAR in Skagit county. This is an attack on the redneck youth of America. They had better be ready to attend Saturday school scheduled on opening day of racing season. It would be worth the sacrifice.

Wally is correct on his blog that two wrongs don't make a right, (but two big lefts and two straight stretches make an oval. -my thought...)

Not to leave out the Aquatic Enthusiasts, they could have their own skip school day and demand to bring home the Hydros to Lake Whatcom. Those big (Bio-fuel) Nitromethonol powered thunderboats huge props could rapidly oxygenate the lake purifying it for the rest of the year.

Now, I don't want to be unbalanced because the redneck kids now have two protests and the Peace/Love kids only have one. So here is an Idea for their next peace/love protest. National Hug A Muslim Day. Spread our western love to the rest of the world and create world Peace.

Citizen Steve is correct when he said on Sam Taylor's Blog that my Fantasy World is a dangerous place. Be afraid, be very afraid...