• Politics

    An open Letter to Chuck Schumer

    Dear Senator Schumer: It’s time for you to resign from your leadership position, and from the Senate. We are in the midst of a dire constitutional crisis. Our country is faced with an ongoing coup d’etat perpetrated by Donald Trump – a continuation of the coup he started on January 6, 2021. Our country is under siege from enemies within. Essentially, it’s a war. The preliminary stages, true. But a war nonetheless. And if left unchecked, it may actually devolve into a shooting war such aswe last had in 1861. Or alternately, we could end up subjugated, and living under…

  • Politics

    Trump Has a Plan to End Ukraine War

        But at what cost? If Trump cuts off funding for the Ukraine war, China would be more likely to invade Taiwan, which might goad Putin into broadening his war into Eastern Europe. Would the dominoes begin to fall? According to the AP, Donald Trump said, “They’re dying, Russians and Ukrainians. I want them to stop dying. And I’ll have that done — I’ll have that done in 24 hours.” This isn’t just one of his endless boasts. He could actually do it. All he has to do is cut off all US aid to Ukraine. Everything Trump has…

  • Politics

    No Guardrails in Trump’s Second Term

    A recent article in the New York Times suggests that a lot of people back Trump because they don’t believe he’ll do the outrageous things he proposes – like use the military against domestic protesters, and the “enemy within.” They believe this is all just an act to impress his supporters. However, many of the people who know him best strongly believe that given his history, Trump will follow through. For example, this isn’t the first time Trump has suggested using the military against protesters. According to a June 2021 story in The Hill, “aides to Trump … reportedly went…

  • Politics

    Kamala Harris For President

    I was truly heartened when Joe Biden stepped aside. That was a very classy thing to do. I voted for Biden in 2020 and I would have voted for him again this year. But frankly, he didn’t have a chance against Donald Trump. There’s so much riding on this election, it’s just nuts. My preferred candidate to run against Trump would’ve been Michelle Obama. Based on polling from last July, she had the best chance of winning – nearly a ten point margin. But Harris is a good candidate and the way she’s put her campaign together on the run…

  • Politics

    President Biden Needs to Step Aside At Once

      With the horrendous Supreme Court decision yesterday on trump’s immunity from prosecution, it becomes even more imperative that the Democrats win the next election. In the words of Justice Sotomayor, “the president is now a king above the law.” As she outlined in her dissent, hypothetical situations where the concept of immunity could apply include: ordering the Navy Seal Team Six to assassinate a political rival, organizing a military coup to hold onto power, and taking a bribe in exchange for a pardon. All these sorts of acts would be immune because they have their basis in the president’s…

  • Politics

    An Open Letter to President Biden

    Dear President Biden: I voted for you in 2020. I think you’re a good, honorable person and are eminently qualified to lead the country. I think you speak the truth. I think you’ve done a great job the last four years – within the limits of what’s possible after inheriting the truly gargantuan mess created by trump and the pandemic. But I don’t think you can win this coming election. The questions of your age and ability to perform the duties of president have been hovering over the campaign for most of the last year. Your performance in last Thursday’s…

  • Politics

    Inslee’s plan for in-person school

    Too little, and way too soon On December 21, Governor Jay Inslee announced updated guidelines for reopening in-person classes at K-12 schools. Under the plan, counties with a 14-day average greater than 350 cases/100,000 population, and with positivity rates greater than 10% would be able to reopen. This new plan he says, is based on recent data showing dramatic drops in disease transmission when safety measures are put in place. The following Friday, the Tacoma School District jumped on board, announcing limited classes for in-person learning starting January 19. Beginning with kindergartners in groups of up to fifteen students, the…

  • Politics

    America at the Tipping Point

    King Trump and the fall of the American Republic? The tipping point for the Nazi takeover of Germany arguably occurred when President Hindenburg appointed Adolf Hitler as Chancellor.  This was the culmination of a long, arduous process the Nazis started in the 1920s. In the years following the end of World War I and the Treaty of Versailles, the newly formed Weimar Republic was in shambles, reeling with the aftereffects of the war.  On the whole, the German populace viewed the loss of the war and the terrible terms of the treaty as a stinging, humiliating defeat. Playing on that,…

  • Broadband - Politics

    Hazzard County, Tacoma

    Boss Hogg Lives! Okay, here’s the scenario: somewhere in a town probably deep down in the rural South, the politicians decide unceremoniously to dump part of the city’s utility system. The line given to the townsfolk, is that the utility system is losing money. This issue of losses is hotly contested, but the town fathers are able to stall off an independent audit to determine if the utility is really losing money. The only daily newspaper in town is owned by basically the same group of people that run the town – they’re all good ol’ boys – so it…

  • Broadband - Politics

    Privatizing Click is not the answer

    The whole problem with Click! Network is that their management are idiots. They never have had any idea how to compete in selling broadband access.  Click’s always controlled the wholesale prices that the ISP’s use to set their prices. They kept the wholesale prices higher than they should have been because they were trying to milk the bandwidth for all they could – trying to wring out every little last penny. And they always followed Comcast’s pricing rather than trying something innovative – like offering discounted service for low income, handicapped and seniors. And they always lagged behind in speeds,…