Just asking...

Are Washington State Dems Anti Christian, Intolerant or just flat out nutcases? You decide...

The Washington State Dems at one point had a web site with the following car magnets:
http://www.710kiro.com/images/upload/original.jpg
The hypocrite magnet has since been taken down.

Now we have the official explanation from the person at the heart of the controversy... you could not make this stuff up if you tried.
http://www.skagitvalleyherald.com/articles/2005/12/15/news/news03.txt
In case you do not have time to read the entire article, here are some "highlights":

A political parody of the ichthys, the Christian fish symbol, has put Washington state Democrats in some hot water and cast a spotlight upon a Mount Vernon activist who wants marijuana legalized.
...
...
She sees the media attention as a chance to talk about the real aim of Reefer Magnets and her efforts to educate and advocate for the decriminalizing marijuana.“In my opinion, we wouldn’t be such a warring people if we used more cannabis and used less alcohol,” Bigelow said.Bigelow has marched in anti-globalization and anti-war rallies in Seattle. She has written letters to editors and voted for Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry in 2004 if only to vote against President Bush.“I’ve done everything I can, but I still feel I have blood on my hands,” Bigelow said of the ongoing war in Iraq.

Through her online store, Bigelow sells magnets the size of business cards with a pro-pot messages.“We don’t need to be in a war for oil because we have industrial hemp,” Bigelow said. “If you look into all the little things that hemp can do, you’ll understand. We wouldn’t be killing people for oil.”

This latest ichthys parody was created by a Seattle activist who wanted not to be named. He said he feared for the safety of his cats if the controversy grew out of control.

Best wishes to the voters in Iraq.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/252139_iraqvotelocal15.html?dpfrom=thead

The kid and I decided to spend a rainy Saturday afternoon in the Fremont area of Seattle....

Here he is letting Lenin know he is the #1 dictator of all time.

OK... here is the deal.... I live in Seattle and I tend to be fairly conservative with a touch of libertarian thrown in. That's probably not the norm for your typical Seattle resident. Now from time to time I have been called a Nazi for such things as sending a letter to the editor pointing out a reporters mistake or for the crime of considering voting Republican. Now being that I am of German and maybe some Russian descent, I tend to be a little sensitive about the whole Nazi thing. Now for those who throw around that word, spend the time to read the following from Jonah Goldberg before you do it again:
http://www.nationalreview.com/goldberg/goldbergprint010501.html
For those that do not have the time to read the whole thing, I would encourage you to do so, but here is the key section:
==================================================================== "Calling someone a Nazi is as bad as calling them a “nigger” or a “kike” or anything else you can think of. It’s not cute. It’s not funny. And it’s certainly not clever. If you’re too stupid to understand that a philosophy that favors a federally structured republic, with numerous restraints on the scope and power of government to interfere with individual rights or the free market, is a lot different from an ethnic-nationalist, atheistic, and socialist program of genocide and international aggression, you should use this rule of thumb: If someone isn’t advocating the murder of millions of people in gas chambers and a global Reich for the White Man you shouldn’t assume he’s a Nazi and you should know it’s pretty damn evil to call him one.

However, if you’re not too stupid to recognize the difference, but you just think saying such things will get you more attention from the press, make you a hero to some constituency, or
simply makes you sound impressive, than you deserve to be socked in the goddamn face.

And one last point I feel compelled to point out. I’ve never met a real social-welfare state leftist who could answer the following question without having to think real hard: “Aside from the murder and genocide, what exactly don’t you like about National Socialism?”"
====================================================================
So where am I going with all of this? About 10 minutes from my house, inside the Seattle city limits is an area call Fremont. Let's just say Fremont is a tad unusual, even for Seattle which is saying a lot. The unofficial tour of Fremont includes the World HQ for Getty Images as well as Cutter & Buck and a 7 ton statue of Lenin... yes you read that correctly,... a statue of Lenin.... see for yourself:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Fremont_Lenin.jpg
now that Taco Del Mar sign in the picture is not there anymore. The owner of the store who seems like a very nice man, and is not the owner of the land the statue is on, explained to me that some "activists" tore it down since it was blocking the view of the statue.

The official Fremont Chamber of Commerce position on the importance of having a monument to a mass murdering communist dictator can be found here:
http://www.fremontseattle.com/urb_frameset.htm

So who in their right mind would allow a statue of such a dispicable human being on their land? Let's go to the tax records, shall we. The property is located on the corner of N. 36th street and Fremont Place N. If you go to the King County "Parcel Viewer" on the internet, that property is parcel #1972203035. It's now really easy to see who owns the property and if you care to do that, it's up to you, but for now let's just refer to the owner as "Jimmy".

I have no idea why Jimmy would allow this on his property but I think I may have to ask since I now have his mailing address... will let you know if I get a response.

There was a recent protest against the war on terror and racism and who knows what not in Seattle. The disturbing thing to me was that it appears a Seattle School District Board Member, Sally Soriano, http://www.seattleschools.org/area/board/soriano.xml may have been in favor of the kids skipping class. From the Seattle Times:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002596673_protest01m.html

“While the protest is not sanctioned, some officials are supportive. Seattle School Board member Sally Soriano said some teachers are organizing homework for students who attend, in order to minimize educational disruption.
Soriano said she may attend the rally and is personally supportive of its message and its educational benefits, if it gets students talking about Iraq and world events.”

Seattle City Council member Nick Licata…. Is in charge of the Seattle City Council's Poetry program. From the official poetry web page:
http://www.ci.seattle.wa.us/council/licata/poetword.htm

“Upon his election to the City Council, Nick instituted poetry readings before his committee meetings believing that the personal insight of poetry has the power to enlighten the routine of government.A guest poetry curator for Words' Worth is chosen every few months. He or she, in turn, selects a number of poets to read their own works. The curator assigns one of her or his poets to read at the beginning of each standing City Council Committee meeting that Nick Chairs at the time.Would you or someone you know like to apply to be a curator for Words' Worth? If so, please contact Frank Video at (206) 684-8849 or at frank.video@seattle.gov. It Pays!”


Seattle, a city whose School District is $20 million+ in the hole, pays poets to read at city council meetings. Why does this not surprise me?

Scooter Libby.... gets indicted. A black mark on those of us who at one time or another have been refered to by the name "Scooter".

Sounds like he is going to go with the "I forgot" defense which if I am on the jury, he walks. I can get anywhere between 20 and 60 emails a day and can send about the same amount. From time to time I need to find an old email so I can remind myself of a past discussion. It's unbelievable how often I find emails I have no recollection of every reading or writing and these are the ones that I felt were worth saving. I can not tell you how many times I have spent way too many hours or days or weeks writing software and then a year or two later someone asks for something similar and someone in the office has to remind me that I already wrote it. "I forgot"... seems reasonable to me.

But... if he decides to go the plea bargain route, let's see if he is offered a similar deal to what Sandy "Classified Pants" Berger got. As someone who may or may not at one time had a security clearance, for someone with Bergers background to have stuck classified documents in his pants, that is truely mind boggling. Chief of Police dealing drugs mind boggling. I am still waiting to hear where the guys with weapons were when he was in the process of smuggling.

It is against the law in the City of Seattle for a city employee, including police officers, to ask the immigration status of someone they contact for work purposes.

Good Lord, someone explain the logic of that to me.

The big golf story this last weekend... (should have been) Annika Sorenstam spanking an elite field in the Samsung World Championship by 8 strokes... and that included a double on 18. Winning this event for the 5th time. WOW!

Question... did any of the other players pay her $50 an hour for the golf lesson?

Played 18 holes with my Dad this morning.... ok, 22, we replayed 4 holes. Was a net 2 strokes better the 2nd time through for those 4. Posted an 87 which is not a bad score for me. If you would have asked me yesterday if I would take it, I would have said yes. Of course going OB on # 18 left a bad taste in my mouth even though I managed to escape the hole with a bogey. Putted well. 13 putts on the front, 17 on the back, only 1 - 3 putt and that was from deep. Still should not have missed the second.

I took my Dad for at least $7 but "forgot" to collect. It just does not seem right when I beat him in score and do not owe him money. Anyway, he paid for the round so how could I possibly complain?

Thats probably my last full round for the year. The local driving range has an all you can hit for $12 on Monday evenings 7pm until 10pm. I am planning on doing that at least once a month and concentrate on hitting the driver and fairway woods. For as big a fat ass as I have, you would think I would hit it farther than I do, I need to find a lot more length.

If you do not think we are at war, you need to read this:
http://www.centcom.mil/extremistssay.asp

Happy 35th birthday to Annika Sorenstam.