We’ve all heard the excuses on TV. Oil company executives sitting in front of congress, answering questions about why gas prices are so high, and explaining away their record profits. “Well we’re really only making pennies on the dollar. The profits aren’t really that high.” “We don’t have any control over gasoline prices. The prices are all set by market forces” “We need more refining capacity and we need to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.” I find it totally amazing that anyone at all would believe the current gasoline prices are not 100% wholly contrived by the oil companies.…
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A Sneaky Assault on the Future of the Internet. Comcast recently announced it was considering extra charges for users who consume more than 250 GB of bandwidth per month. After 250 GB, users could purchase additional bandwidth in 10 GB amounts for $15 each. On its face, this plan sounds very reasonable. I’ve monitored my bandwidth usage before, and I’m what many would consider a fairly heavy user. In a good month, I generally wouldn’t exceed 30 GB of bandwidth. That’s a little peer to peer file sharing, a lot of music streaming, occasional software downloads. Maybe a Linux image…
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A Puppet Government In Iraq Equals Disaster for the US “The will of the people… is the only legitimate foundation of any government, and to protect its free expression should be our first object.” —Thomas Jefferson to Benjamin Waring, 1801. ME 10:23 After five years of trying to impose an artificial democracy onto the people of Iraq, it’s clear the experiment is failing. Bush’s surge is winding down, and without the American “cops” on every corner, violence is again returning to the streets in Iraq. Why? Because Nouri al-Maliki’s government is not popularly supported by the Iraqi people. It’s a…
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I just replaced the firepot on my pellet stove last week. $300. I’ve heated my home with wood pellets for the last five years. I have a Quadrafire Santa Fe stove. In a typical year, we’ll use about two tons of pellets in the heating season. When I got the stove, that’d cost about $300, which is a helluva good deal. Last year, I spent just over $500 – which is still really inexpensive compared to any other form of heat. For most of that five-year period, I’ve used Manke Clean Burn Pellets, which are produced here locally in Tacoma.…
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Democratic Party Commits Suicide I thought it was bad a few weeks ago, but lately the contest between Clinton and Obama has sunk to new depths. They continue to battle, back and forth, doing serious damage to each other. All while McCain and the republicans sit happily on the sidelines, biding their time. It seemed clear – at least until a few weeks ago – that Obama was the best nominee, the one who had the best chance of winning the general election. Now, that appears in doubt, with McCain gaining in the polls. All due to Clinton’s machinations and…
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Hillary vs. Barack The past few weeks, it’s really been getting to me how much the different candidates – from the same party – beat each other up. I have to admit that when the republicans do it, I tend to think it’s cute. Gee, let’s watch the stupid conservatives self-destruct… It’s a great spectator sport. I think any democrat (like me) feels that way. But by the same token, when your own (democratic) candidates are doing it, it takes on a slightly different light. My point is that the past few weeks, the fights between Clinton and Obama have…
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An open letter to Ralph (Spolier) Nader: Still my beating heart! It can’t be so! OMG! I was just swept away with emotion when I that heard you – Ralph Nader – were going to step into the 2008 presidential race. We are so damned lucky! Just what we need, another spoiler in the race. You were absolutely instrumental in getting George Bush elected in the 2000 election! Great job! Without you, Gore would have certainly won. Now, I suppose this announcement means you’ve decided to throw your weight behind McCain or whoever the republicans put up? Great. Thanks entirely…
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Statewide Prop One – Roads and Transit – Vote Yes Prop One is one of the most important ballot measures we’ve seen in recent years. In addition to funding the expansion of mass transit, it provides funds for key infrastructure improvements. After the disappointing and untimely demise of the Seattle Monorail, the region is getting a second chance at mass transit with light rail. If the Seattle metropolitan area is to succeed in becoming a world-class city, we have to start building mass-transit systems. Our current freeway system is maxed out. It can’t handle the traffic that currently exists, much…
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Dino Rossi made it official yesterday: he’s running for Governor of Washington state again, against his perennial nemisis, Christine Gregoire. Pictured yesterday at the right with his head up his ass, Rossi commented, “I’m gonna smoke that bitch this time.” I’m sure we all can’t wait.
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Well I for one was completely surprised when George Bush came out publically in support of General Petraeus’s plan for Iraq. Yeah, right. Petraeus’s plan is nothing more than Bush administration propaganda designed to justify prolonging the war in Iraq. And Petraeus himself is nothing more than a figurehead, a puppet doing Bush’s bidding. The 30,000 troop “drawdown” Petraeus proposes is a meaningless gesture designed to appease critics of the war. It’s not in any way a genuine move to end American involvement in Iraq. The only words you will consistently hear from Bush and his cronies are, “more time.”…