Search Results for 'cU'

[redblack]

first, you tell me more. tell me how you suddenly got religion about deficits and debt, since democrats now control the purse.

tell us what you want. tell us you want to invest the social security trust fund in the stock markets, which have proven to be so stable. tell us how medicare has become a fraud, ever since republicans were able to get big insurance into the game. let’s hear some more of that laissez-faire testifyin’: “brother, can you spare a trillion?”

what do we want? we want the investor class to leave the public sector alone. the top 2% have all of the money; the bottom 90% gots nones, and that includes a majority of small businesses. the only defense the bottom 90% have from the sharks is the federal government, and it’s becoming quite obvious that top 2% want to take that from us, as well.

but what we really want is for republicans and teabaggers to stop defending the top 2%. admit that you have a lot more in common with bob cratchit than you do with ebenezer scrooge. admit that your health insurance premiums really are doubling and trebling every year. admit that big banks were doing exactly the same shit that they accuse freddie and fannie of doing, only on a bigger scale. admit that supply-side economics has been great for the top 2%, but that wealth hasn’t really trickled down or created jobs in this country.

and, please, stop talking about our government as if it’s some malevolent corporation with malign will.

we don’t want what the top 2% have. trust me. there is no conspiracy to redistribute wealth. no one wants to replace his job with a dole check (except politicians of all political parties, of course.) no one wants “free health care.” most of us are good blue-collar people and entrepeneurs who just want stable jobs with decent pay, health care for our families, and a secure future. so far republicans have provided none of that – for the bottom 90%, that is.

so if that’s a “far-left agenda,” color me guilty, as charged.

[thansen]

Wow…can we really talk about this and not get stoned to death? I joke, but this is one of those topics I never discuss because I too am a Atheist and never felt comfortable expressing it. When ever I did it would either go 2 ways…the person would try to “enlighten” me and it would never end so I would never see that person again, or the person would be so indignant and judgemental that I would never want to see that person again.

In either case, it was clear that the person was someone I didn’t wanted to know any way, but it became easier just to not ever talk about it.

Some times you just have to say out loud, I’m a progressive Democrat who doesn’t believe in God.

Ahhh…that felt good :)

[anonyme]

Yesterday my dog had a small freak accident and snapped a toenail just above the quick. I usually see Dr. Johnson at West Seattle Animal Hospital (he’s great, by the way) but he was not available. We saw Dr. Meredith today, and I was so impressed that I wanted to post a rave here.

He’s a new young vet, very engaging and enthusiastic. His recommendations were very common-sense, he didn’t push drugs or aggressive treatment, and was very understanding of my budget issues. I lean toward holistic medicine and although we didn’t specifically discuss the issue I got the impression that he’s alternative-friendly. If anyone out there is looking for a vet, I’d try Dr. Meredith.

One last thing: my dog liked him, and she’s a spook. One more last thing: I’m not young, but if I were – he’s very cute.

[Jiggers]

I concur with post #44.

[furryfaces]

Not in West Seattle, but two West Seattle Groups will be there–Furry Faces Foundation and Animals First Foundation. Come on down to Kent!

The City of Kent and Regional Animal Services of King County have teamed up with Kent Station to promote dog and cat licensing in Kent while having fun with our favorite felines and pooches.

1. Super Pet Adopt-a-thon with RASKC. Hundreds of dogs and cats will be on-site with RASKC and partner animal shelters and rescue organizations.

2. Competition Obedience & other dog sports on Ramsay Way

3.Dog Couture Fashion show at 1 and 4pm,

4.Pet/Owner Look – a – Like Contest at 1pm

5. Pet Costume Contest at 2pm

6. Pet Parade around Kent Station (following the costume contest)

7. Happy Hour on the Kent Station fountain stage with Mama Stortini’s from Noon – 4pm. Enjoy Greyhounds (vodka & grapefruit), Here Kitty (lemondrop) and tasty bites.

….and lots more!

http://www.kentstation.com/Event/Event.asp?Id=FBIO52AN

[Queenie]

“Cars are way too convenient and unless we create infrastructure that is just as convenient without petroleum we will just keep on this same path until we run out.”

This. Just exactly this. If you want more people to use mass transit, which once again, I do agree is a good idea, then make mass transit better.

@redblack – I completely agree with you. I don’t think this NEEDS to be an adversarial argument. But what you are hearing in my response is NOT my choosing to take an adversarial stance in this discussion, but rather me REACTING to an openly adversarial stance that many proponents of mass transit have already taken. This includes, most certainly, our mayor who I heard say very similar things (on Weekday on KUOW) about wanting to make driving more unpleasant and more unfeasible for people to encourage alternate transportation. This has become very prevalent in the last few years I have noticed. What I am mainly saying is that this holier-than-thou, sanctimonious attitude is incredibly short sighted. This whole tunnel/viaduct/surface street debate is a prime example of people myopically pursuing what they perceive as the ‘right thing’ without ever bending or making any attempt to court or include other people’s ‘right thing’ and what it results in. Which is, essentially, nothing. While I do not have statistics ready at hand and am not going to be one of those people who makes them up whole cloth to support their argument, I feel pretty confident in saying that most people in Seattle keep a car, and that of those people, most people intend to continue to keep and use a car, and trying to push through policies to punish those people is CERTIANLY not going to make them feel all warm and fuzzily inclined towards your proposals.

Recall the whole debate about the 520 bridge. At one point, I thought they had really come up with a smart, inclusive sounding proposal. Tolls, yes, but more lanes, AND the inclusion of light rail. Drivers would pay a bit, but they would also get something out of it, and it would advance mass transit in Seattle. Did this work? No. Because, as I recall, the Sierra Club voted against it because it made more room for cars, and thus was bad despite that it would have also included light rail. The message is quite clear that there is to be no compromise here by what continues to be a MINORITY. And my point is that without some measure of compromise, you can be certain that people like me will not support these things. You say yourself that it’s very likely that, as light rail expands, it’s likely that drivers will be asked to chip in for it and probably for things like the expansion of bike lanes and trails. To that I would say that, as I agree that’s likely to be the case, its high time for the people advocating for these measures to make a concerted effort to stop alienating people like me if they expect us to pay for them.

“we don’t have a lot of time to phock around making certain EVERY damned transportation project we pursue in this country gives equal shrift to the internal-combustion driven, SOV”

@dawsonct – Sorry, I didn’t realize you were so pressed for time here. In that case, why don’t you go ahead and leave us out of it if you think that would be more expedient for you and yours? You and your fellow bicyclists can put together a ballot measure instituting tags and fees for bicycle registration in Seattle and then you can pay for your own bike trails and such. Toss in something about raising bus rates while you’re at it, since drivers also underwrite a good bit of the cost of that too. I promise I’ll sign it.

[Al]

Here’s some informational links explaining exactly how the roads are funded.

My gas taxes pay for (0.44% of) these roads!

http://seattlelikesbikes.org/wordpress/?p=228

What it comes down to is that the roads are minimally funded by “gas tax” and licensing.

Furthermore, if licensing automatically stopped individuals from disobeying the law and doing reckless vehicular manouevers then we wouldn’t have +/- 10.6 million motor vehicle accidents and 43,000 deaths caused by motor vehicles per year (2007 figures: http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/cats/transportation/motor_vehicle_accidents_and_fatalities.html).

It would also guarantee that the police would follow up when I report motor vehicle license plates of drivers who run me off the road, drive in the bike lane or run red lights in front of me and my bicycle.

Note that police can already issue tickets to cyclists who disobey the law. They can confiscate bicycles. Drivers can report problem intersections where cyclists commonly run stop lights/signs just as cyclists can report the same behavior by drivers. Licensing is not the answer to the problem (“scofflaws” or street funding). Individual responsibility and the understanding of how expensive motor vehicles really are is really the key.

[dawsonct]

Jeez queenie, if that is how you interpreted my statement, I’m sorry, but you are wrong.

I really don’t want to pry the steering wheel from your cold, dead fingers, but after sixty+ years of America focusing ONLY on the transportation system which is currently strangling our society, we don’t have a lot of time to phock around making certain EVERY damned transportation project we pursue in this country gives equal shrift to the internal-combustion driven, SOV. We gave the petroleum and automobile industries more than half a century of free (for them) run of this country. Time to focus on things that will actually improve life for ALL of us, and the World we live in.

I’m sorry for being so gawdamned selfish.

[dawsonct]

Excellent points Sarah. Vehicle taxes should be based on size and weight of the vehicle. Want to drive a Hummer (you have serious ego issues)? Then you should pay a LOT more than someone driving a Prius.

If you think that your needs are such that a monster vehicle is the only way you can transport yourself over our highways, then accept the responsibility for it and pay your way. If there is a PROVABLE need for a large vehicle, then a tax-cut is in line. The truth is, most who own a big, gas-guzzling, pavement destroying SUV have absolutely no need for such a vehicle. When was the last time you saw one of those glorified station wagons with any mud on it?

The facts are, Barry, that the OVERWHELMING MAJORITY of bicyclists also own cars or pay taxes that support our road and highway infrastructure anyway.

I don’t have the numbers to back it up, but most bicycle commuters I know, are fairly well-educated and have good paying jobs. I’d be willing to guess that most have higher incomes and pay higher taxes than the average citizen.

The roads and highways, and the petroleum delivery system we depend on for transportation, and the military whose primary responsibility seems to protect access to petroleum reserves, are ALREADY heavily subsidized by American taxpayers (though not the wealthiest Americans, and the trans-national corporations who profit the most from our Nation and her infrastructure).

So spend all your time stewing about the great injustice of those darned freeloading bicyclists if you want, but your idea is, frankly, idiotic.

[Kimberley]

I thought West 5 was owned by two people? I believe one of them, Dave is also heavily involved in the Junction association. Perhaps bring this to his attention the next time you see him at the end of the bar (he’s a nice enough guy).

[au]

Let’s face it, people aren’t going to give up the single occupancy vehicle anytime soon. I mean why would I opt for an hour commute when I can jump in my car and get there in twenty minutes? And besides why should I give up driving when we have a minority of the population jetting around in lear jets and cruising in yachts and cigar boats that consume far more petroleum than my little hyundai ever will? Don’t mean to be cynical but I am just fed up.

What we should perhaps focus on is finding a way of motoring about that doesn’t rely on petroleum.

I don’t know somehow harnessing motion and transfering it to motors, magnetics, solar, something. Cars are way too convenient and unless we create infrastructure that is just as convenient without petroleum we will just keep on this same path until we run out.

and p.s. the tunnel is a lousy rotten idea

[Blend]

good idea..make a drinking game outta it. take a drink every time you get bumped. problem solved.

[Anonymous]

Only 17000 of us or so were delayed when the city SunnyJim warehouse burned the other day on Airport Way.

The City will say there was “No Cost or No Damage” from the fire. So only 100 firefighters got “exercise”?

If the building was secured or torn down (which is their job) the fire would not have happened and many of us would not have been delayed.

[Anonymous]

Yes Alki Bike and Board is customer oriented.

They seem to do what Brand X cannot do: Provide “true customer service”.

[BigPhil]

Holy frijole! This Forum moves quick.. 38 responses and a whole boatload of good suggestions…

I’m going to try and hit the highlights ;)  

— I took the suggestions to join some Meetup groups – hiking, non-religious groups (and wow, there are a lot.. Refreshingly differently from the crazies in Colorado Springs), “experience Seattle” and s few others. I don’t have any particular hobbies those aside except watching crap TV and playing video games. I would like to add water activities to my list since I have never been around so much – kayaking or something! 

— I will check out the Underdog Sports mentioned above, but despite my height (6’6″, hence BigPhil) I’m not terribly coordinated – I might get slaughtered out there :)

— I’m not sure “Seattle Freeze” is apt, if this forum is any indication. And I’m surprised there are so many non-natives

— Making friends at work is difficult (and what I’m used to) because I work for people in Colorado from here so no one in Bellevue works directly with me.

— Very cool of you all to volunteer to hang out with me… Maybe I can arrange a west Seattle blog people meet up sometime soon as a good (albeit scary) first step .. And sorry I missed the social media group you mentioned.

Thanks for all the tips!!

[Cait]

Oh, I hadn’t thought about that. Perhaps he does… Huge fan of your place, Dean! My issue isn’t so much with the seats themselves but that people aren’t aware that they move.

If it’s something that a few mai tais can fix though… carry on… :)

[desertdweller]

@BigPhil: What types of hobbies do you have? Seattle is very hobby-focused, so I would suggest you find some like-minded groups and go from there!

@SS: Alrighty ma’am. Mr. Dweller’s family was here last weekend, so we’re trying to get ourselves together!

[JanS]

DP….my truth is different than your truth is different than her truth, is different than his truth. I would never expect anyone to believe what I do (or don’t). It’s mine…I own it. The problem I see is people who feel that their way is the only way, and yours be damned, and you’d better wake up. I once had a friend sit in my living room and tell me that if I wasn’t “born again”, I was going to go to hell. I showed her the door, and she was never invited into my home again. She had no idea what it was that I believed or didn’t believe, what was in my heart. She assumed that I needed “saving”, that I had to believe what she believed, that hers was the way. I resented that.

Discussions can be good, but someone will always insist that theirs is the only true right way, and mine is the wrong way..it ends discussion.

Andy…a website…wow…the interwebs can be scary at times, huh…

[AlkiKmac]

How is posting and discussing our religious beliefs, or lack thereof, any different from posting and discussing politics & political issues? I don’t think religion should be off-limits and kept to ourselves if politics can be debated.

[Jiggers]

I never went back there because of those uncomfortable yellow seats. Gawd are they aweful to sit in. No support whatsoever!

[Queenie]

Redblack: Promoting mass transit is NOT punishment for drivers. Punishment for drivers is punishment for drivers. Any argument for city planning involving mass transit that concludes with ‘…and then people would HAVE to take the bus more or bike to work because they would have no choice’ usually involves this scenario, as do most that include the phrase ‘I’m sorry but it’s for the greater good’.

Honestly, there is so much of this sentiment, even in this thread, that I find it somewhat disingenuous for you to profess not to understand what I am talking about. Sure, a lot of times people don’t have the gall to actually spell it out, but it’s pretty plain. Here, from this thread:

“Cities grow and thrive when those that work in the city live in the city.”

(… So let’s adopt policies that force people to live in the city by making it unbearable to try and commute to the city)

“Again, you are focusing on the SOV. We need to refocus our communities on the human beings that occupy it, and not the vehicles they have become dependent on. Hate to sound harsh, but adjust and adapt; destroying the quality of life in pursuit of convenience and efficiency isn’t a path we want to continue down.”

(I don’t need a car and so I am sure that you don’t either! Despite having absolutely no knowledge of anyone else’s situation other than my own, I feel confident stating that you’re wrong if you disagree with me! When I say we need to refocus on human beings, I mean me mainly.)

“The pain for commuters would lead to better public transit and more people would most likely choose to live closer to work rather than out in the burbs. I didn’t say connecting north and south promotes sprawl, I said making it easy to get downtown from anywhere promotes sprawl.”

(Cut me a switch off that tree there. It’s for your own good, it builds character!)

“I understand there are many among us who don’t have a choice as to how they commute, nevertheless, we really need to consider the greater good of the community.”

(I understand you may not have a choice. I just don’t care.)

As to my being short on ideas, I mentioned light rail? I would be a huge fan of an actual coordinated effort to do something along those lines. My point, in fact, is mainly that I do not see why a conversation about mass transit in this city needs to be approached from a oppositional perspective, like light rail or expanded bus service could not possibly exist at the same time as decent roads and the only way to get people to use public or alternate transportation is to go after and antagonize people who drive. Setting up mass transit as the enemy of cars especially seems like a bizarre tact to take especially considering how consistently we as a community have been unable to work together to agree on anything to begin with. If a third of the people want thing A, a third of the people want thing B, and a third of the people want thing C, then there will always be enough people to vote to not do something and never enough to move us towards a decision. At some point, it behooves everyone to make some attempt to accommodate the needs and desires of other people even if they are not your own rather than trying to use brute force to try and convert people to your way of thinking a la the Spanish Inquisition.

[redblack]

does dean, the proprietor, read this forum? he’s a really nice fellow, and would probably be receptive to any complaints or suggestions regarding his furniture.

[redblack]

al gore was right: lockbox.

and, gee, i believe it was al gore who saw the possibility of paying down the national debt when he ran for president. you know, back when it was 1/3 of its current value and we had a budget surplus.

gee, i wonder if that had anything to do with the fraudulent 2000 presidential election. no matter your political stripe, you have to admit that our debt has been mighty good for big business.

[redblack]

queenie: i hear this a lot, and i’ve never been sure why some people who are married to their cars (like i am) feel that promoting mass transit is punishment for drivers.

as a matter of fact, this whole debate is about building new roads into and through downtown.

yes, i would like to see any discussion of building more roadway or altering the route of hwy 99 include mass transit – and paid for with an MVET, no less. i am, indeed, willing to pay for the greater good, even though it’s against my own selfish needs. in this regard, dawsonct is spot on.

as far as your commute goes, queenie, the cars we want off of the road aren’t necessarily yours, or even mine. we are going to drive no matter how well the local transit system evolves. but wouldn’t it be better if people who drive solo downtown and back every day had more and faster transit options than those that already exist? more options can and should be made available.

regarding your hubby’s commute (which i find suspiciously miserable; my wife works at 4th and university and has rarely had a bus ride longer than 10-15 minutes): if we build more transit and get more local SOV cars off of the road, everyone’s commute gets easier.

your post is long on platitude, but short on ideas. so what do you think is the best solution to replace the hwy 99 corridor through downtown? any ideas on how and who should fund it? in short, how do we improve the downtown-and-beyond commute for the red-headed stepchild that is west seattle?

[Queenie]

While I am in favor of the tunnel, largely for reasons of wanting to actually go forth and do something before the whole thing falls down and kills a bunch of people, the endless debate about this issue is not actually my biggest peeve.

What is, however, is the whole concept of a subset of people who believe that they have discerned the one true way a city and a society should function and that they are going to craft civil policy that willfully and purposefully punishes other people who refuse to adopt their outlook. Certainly mass transit is a good thing. But rather than a lot of debates about how to promote mass transit by making it a more attractive, functional, viable option to people, what I always seem to hear instead is a lot of proposals for ways to make it absolutely miserable for anyone who doesn’t take mass transit.

My husband, a New York City transplant, doesn’t drive. He takes the bus to work downtown every day, while I commute from West Seattle to Gig Harbor via car. Both our commutes take about 45 minutes to an hour, however, despite the fact that I am going an exponentially farther distance. Now, that’s silly. But these discussions anymore are never about how to make his experience better so that he could manage to travel the 5-10 miles much more quickly and pleasantly, but are always policy and legislation should make things worse for me to ‘discourage’ me from driving by road diets to make traffic worse, more tolls to make the trip more expensive, so that eventually I will be forced to change jobs and quit driving and then everything will be just great. Somehow. Nobody ever seems especially clear how intentionally attempting to make other people’s lives more stressful and unpleasant will result in this greatness, but they seem unswervingly confident that it will happen. But no, far better to work to make my commute last two hours than to try and make his ten minutes.

I think this attitude is both asinine and hugely counterproductive to the very goals of community and environment that people profess to want to cultivate with them. I know it doesn’t make me want to bike places. If I am being perfectly honest, in fact, it has made me resent our contingent of urban bicyclists, and not without cause when they go about brazenly and cheerfully nattering on about how they long to make the lives of people who drive cars a veritable hell on earth for the ‘greater good’. Because a car is sure to be just exactly the same sort of animal in 2035 as it is now and just as bad for the environment, right? And they all know this because along with having been gifted with the one true way of urban planning, they also have an omniscient knowledge of how technology as it relates to emissions and environmental impact is going to unfold over the next century. And certainly forget that the whole of the west coast was originally designed for cars, basically, and that no matter what urban planning strategies you adopt you are never, ever going to get the same level of urban density out here that you have on the east coast.

Less stick, more carrot. Less focus on punishing people and punitive attempts to control the behavior of others for their own good that only make them resent you would be awesome. Even better would be the same effort and energy spent pushing for policies that would make things better for everyone, like a really good, functional light rail system connecting all the neighborhoods of our city.