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Election laws governing what votes can do are goerning by the laws of the various states. Here in Washington state, the law seems clear about buying votes, and vote swapping too.

What till the Billion-Dollar-Narrows Bridge starts to rock-n-roll.
http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/sr16narrowsbridge /webcams/camera.cfm?module=narrowspark3.cfmprofile

Me: The idea that casinos operate under "minimal government regulation" is so ridiculous as to be completely laughable.
You: No, it isn't. You should see the regulations other companies have for gambling machines - they specify the entire payout structures, the hit likelihoods, the amount of noise the machines are amount to make, the volume of brightness allowed to be put out in lumens, all sorts of stuff. All the American gaming services do is require regular random testing of the machines, honest posting of stats, no rigged machines, and a cap on expected draw. America has about the most open and liberal market possible while still intending to verify the honesty of a proprietor.

I worked as a Gaming Agent in Washington state and actually helped set up a brand new, 2000-slot casino, so excuse me if I know more about this than you do.

All new video lottery terminals (slot machines), games, and templates are checked and verified by the Washington State Gambling Commission. They have a Testing Lab specifically set up strictly for that purpose. If those machines do not pass the test, then those machines are not allowed anywhere in the state of Washington. If those games do not pass the test, then those games are not allowed anywhere in the state of Washington. If the templates do not pass, then they are not allowed in Washington.
http://www.wsgc.wa.gov/egl/mission.asp

At the Tribal level, machine processors are kept under 24-hour lock and key and surveillance. Each processor for each slot is individually, electronically checked and confirmed against state signatures. The machines come straight from the manufacturer in sealed trucks. The machines are installed under the eyes of Tribal Gaming, Slot Maintenance, Security, Surveillance, and the manufacturer's technicians. They are tested by Slot Maintenance and the manufacturer, observed by Tribal Gaming, Security, and Surveillance. The machines can only be put into play once Tribal Gaming and the State Gambling Commission has checked and verified that the machines are operating properly.

Washington state has some of the most strict laws around gaming and slot machines in the nation:
Laws http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=9.46
Rules http://apps.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=230

Those laws and rules are underneath the federal laws around gambling and above the individual Tribal Compacts which also regulate gambling. I studied and learned all of those laws and was tasked with the duty of enforcing them. As a member of the Tribal Gaming Agency, we were at the casino 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. By law, the casino was not allowed to remain open if one of our staff were not on the premises. We had complete and full access to every area in the casino at any time we wanted, regardless of the wishes of casino management or workers. At least half of our agency were former police officers. Were we badged members of Tribal Government with the authority to arrest and detain suspects.

Saying there is "minimal government regulation" of casinos is abjectly false. Saying that this industry is not highly regulated is also abjectly false. Your arguments are disingenuous at best, and outright lies at worst.

Me: The idea that casinos operate under "minimal government regulation" is so ridiculous as to be completely laughable.
You: No, it isn't. You should see the regulations other companies have for gambling machines - they specify the entire payout structures, the hit likelihoods, the amount of noise the machines are amount to make, the volume of brightness allowed to be put out in lumens, all sorts of stuff. All the American gaming services do is require regular random testing of the machines, honest posting of stats, no rigged machines, and a cap on expected draw. America has about the most open and liberal market possible while still intending to verify the honesty of a proprietor.

I worked as a Gaming Agent in Washington state and actually helped set up a brand new, 2000-slot casino, so excuse me if I know more about this than you do.

All new video lottery terminals (slot machines), games, and templates are checked and verified by the Washington State Gambling Commission. They have a Testing Lab specifically set up strictly for that purpose. If those machines do not pass the test, then those machines are not allowed anywhere in the state of Washington. If those games do not pass the test, then those games are not allowed anywhere in the state of Washington. If the templates do not pass, then they are not allowed in Washington.
http://www.wsgc.wa.gov/egl/mission.asp

At the Tribal level, machine processors are kept under 24-hour lock and key and surveillance. Each processor for each slot is individually, electronically checked and confirmed against state signatures. The machines come straight from the manufacturer in sealed trucks. The machines are installed under the eyes of Tribal Gaming, Slot Maintenance, Security, Surveillance, and the manufacturer's technicians. They are tested by Slot Maintenance and the manufacturer, observed by Tribal Gaming, Security, and Surveillance. The machines can only be put into play once Tribal Gaming and the State Gambling Commission has checked and verified that the machines are operating properly.

Washington state has some of the most strict laws around gaming and slot machines in the nation:
Laws http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=9.46
Rules http://apps.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=230

Those laws and rules are underneath the federal laws around gambling and above the individual Tribal Compacts which also regulate gambling. I studied and learned all of those laws and was tasked with the duty of enforcing them. As a member of the Tribal Gaming Agency, we were at the casino 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. By law, the casino was not allowed to remain open if one of our staff were not on the premises. We had complete and full access to every area in the casino at any time we wanted, regardless of the wishes of casino management or workers. At least half of our agency were former police officers. Were we badged members of Tribal Government with the authority to arrest and detain suspects.

Saying there is "minimal government regulation" of casinos is abjectly false. Saying that this industry is not highly regulated is also abjectly false. Your arguments are disingenuous at best, and outright lies at worst.

Me: The idea that casinos operate under "minimal government regulation" is so ridiculous as to be completely laughable.
You: No, it isn't. You should see the regulations other companies have for gambling machines - they specify the entire payout structures, the hit likelihoods, the amount of noise the machines are amount to make, the volume of brightness allowed to be put out in lumens, all sorts of stuff. All the American gaming services do is require regular random testing of the machines, honest posting of stats, no rigged machines, and a cap on expected draw. America has about the most open and liberal market possible while still intending to verify the honesty of a proprietor.

I worked as a Gaming Agent in Washington state and actually helped set up a brand new, 2000-slot casino, so excuse me if I know more about this than you do.

All new video lottery terminals (slot machines), games, and templates are checked and verified by the Washington State Gambling Commission. They have a Testing Lab specifically set up strictly for that purpose. If those machines do not pass the test, then those machines are not allowed anywhere in the state of Washington. If those games do not pass the test, then those games are not allowed anywhere in the state of Washington. If the templates do not pass, then they are not allowed in Washington.
http://www.wsgc.wa.gov/egl/mission.asp

At the Tribal level, machine processors are kept under 24-hour lock and key and surveillance. Each processor for each slot is individually, electronically checked and confirmed against state signatures. The machines come straight from the manufacturer in sealed trucks. The machines are installed under the eyes of Tribal Gaming, Slot Maintenance, Security, Surveillance, and the manufacturer's technicians. They are tested by Slot Maintenance and the manufacturer, observed by Tribal Gaming, Security, and Surveillance. The machines can only be put into play once Tribal Gaming and the State Gambling Commission has checked and verified that the machines are operating properly.

Washington state has some of the most strict laws around gaming and slot machines in the nation:
Laws http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=9.46
Rules http://apps.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=230

Those laws and rules are underneath the federal laws around gambling and above the individual Tribal Compacts which also regulate gambling. I studied and learned all of those laws and was tasked with the duty of enforcing them. As a member of the Tribal Gaming Agency, we were at the casino 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. By law, the casino was not allowed to remain open if one of our staff were not on the premises. We had complete and full access to every area in the casino at any time we wanted, regardless of the wishes of casino management or workers. At least half of our agency were former police officers. Were we badged members of Tribal Government with the authority to arrest and detain suspects.

Saying there is "minimal government regulation" of casinos is abjectly false. Saying that this industry is not highly regulated is also abjectly false. Your arguments are disingenuous at best, and outright lies at worst.

Georgia Pacfic and Miller Brewing have been operating cellulosic fuel plants for years.

http://www.digitalarchives.wa.gov/governorlocke/pr ess/press-view.asp?pressRelease=491&newsType=1

GP especially in JV with DOE out of their washington state facilities.

Check your facts!

There are all sorts of other arguments, but the contention is this, that no fees which are nonrefundable can be counted as part of a security deposit. As in, if you want a mandatory cleaning fee, it's specified. Of course if you need to use it to recover costs, you can, but you can't take a $1000 deposit knowing you will never return more than $500, in advance. This is in Washington, btw, http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=59.18 .285.

Their argument is that the rental contract says "Renter agrees to management cleaning carpets and having these costs deducted from the deposit", and that my agreement trumps the law. Not so, says the law: This says "(2) No rental agreement may provide that the tenant: (a) Agrees to waive or to forego rights or remedies under this chapter;".

Lest anyone think I'm being an asshole, this was the last straw from a landlord who entered the premises without notice, nor consent, failed to make repairs for a caved in ceiling until a prospective new tenant needed to see the property, etc, etc.

There are all sorts of other arguments, but the contention is this, that no fees which are nonrefundable can be counted as part of a security deposit. As in, if you want a mandatory cleaning fee, it's specified. Of course if you need to use it to recover costs, you can, but you can't take a $1000 deposit knowing you will never return more than $500, in advance. This is in Washington, btw, http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=59.18 .285.

Their argument is that the rental contract says "Renter agrees to management cleaning carpets and having these costs deducted from the deposit", and that my agreement trumps the law. Not so, says the law: This says "(2) No rental agreement may provide that the tenant: (a) Agrees to waive or to forego rights or remedies under this chapter;".

Lest anyone think I'm being an asshole, this was the last straw from a landlord who entered the premises without notice, nor consent, failed to make repairs for a caved in ceiling until a prospective new tenant needed to see the property, etc, etc.

65 years is basically a life sentence. Is that excessive?

There are already laws on the books which deal specifically with driver inattention.

The problem with the new law is enforcement: if you don't enforce existing laws, why should anyone think you'll enforce new ones?

Washingtonians should know they shouldn't text and drive. Page 20 in the PDF file (page number on the paper, not the PDF viewer's page number). Notice how "hands" is plural.

http://www.dol.wa.gov/driverslicense/driverguide.p df

You should have clear vision in all directions, all controls should be within reach, and at least one-third of the steering wheel should be between your hands.

Like hell it is. Educational expenditures have never been higher, even on a per-capita basis. We spend more on education than almost any other country, and get less for our money than almost any other country.

What's more, the school districts that spend the most, like the District of Columbia, tend to be the shittiest at actually educating their inmates.

This country needs to spend less, not more, on our schools.

We need to get rid of bloated administrative overhead.

We need to increase class size, get rid of computers and other distracting frippery in the classroom, and jettison all attempts at building "self-esteem" among little delinquents who don't deserve a particle of it. Let them earn self-respect on their own, through hard work with plenty of drills and rote memorization.

We need to bring back paddling, dunce caps, and shame.

We need to abandon "mainstreaming". Students with severe behavioral problems are causing terrible disruption of classes. They belong in segregated classes and schools. Tough shit for them, but they can't be permitted to ruin the whole educational experience for everyone else. No more social promotions, either. Either pass the requirements, repeat the year, or get the fuck on with your life of digging ditches.

We need to break up the cartel that controls education. Someone with a degree in math or business is far more qualified than the dregs and losers and nitwits that the typical College of Education churns out. He shouldn't have to sit through months of educrat babble and bilge in order to teach in a school. Teacher licensing is nothing more than rent-seeking and featherbedding and guild-gilding. Tenure should be totally abolished. Vouchers should be implemented nationwide. Worthless teachers and administrators should be hounded out of the profession. Worthless schools should be boarded up.

Most of all, we have to CRUSH the teacher's unions. These lazy, stupid, greedy lard asses put the education of our kids about tenth on their list of priorities, far behind fattening their bloated salaries, gold-plating their lavish pensions, padding the length of their 3-month summer vacations, salting the calendar with "inservice" junkets, diverting public money to shiftless in-laws and mobbed-up vendors and left-wing non-profits, and working the phone banks for whichever Democrat makes the most promises to shovel even more taxpayers' money onto the gravy train.

-ccm

The Washington state legislature submitted SB 5087 to the governor to be signed at 9am this morning, saying that we would not implement the Real ID Act unless the feds paid for it in full (which they won't), and unless they can prove that it won't be a burden on the state infrastructure or on the people of the state (which they can't). Also it says that the attorney general of Washington state has the right to challenge the Real ID Act on legal and constitutional grounds.

I assume it was signed, though it hasn't been announced yet.

Full text here:

http://www.leg.wa.gov/pub/billinfo/2007-08/Pdf/Bil ls/Senate%20Passed%20Legislature/5087-S.PL.pdf

Found this information.

http://dor.wa.gov/docs/pubs/industSpecific/Restaur ant.pdf

Scroll down to page nine. (It's page 11 out of 36 in my PDF viewer.)

Also, on a different note, factor in that Washington state lacks a personal income tax. We have a B&O tax, which is a rate on gross revenue of certain types of revenue.

Looks like Washington-staters won't be able to fib on their tax returns about internet purchases, starting in 2008.

The state has no income tax so for the most part state residents don't file returns. There is a form(PDF) people fill out if they bought things online or out of state but if you were going to lie on that form you wouldn't fill it out at all. Far fewer than 1% of Washington residents fill out this form.

Back when car tabs on a big RV cost more than $5,000/yr it was quite common to go to a neighboring state to buy the thing, which cost the state a great deal of money in lost sales tax. To recover this lost tax an enforcement program was begun, and several people were prosecuted and fined up to the full value of the vehicle. This raised public awareness of the tax to the point where a series of initiatives was passed to make the registration tabs on all vehicles a flat $30. A series of (IIRC) three initiatives was required because each initiative that was overwhelmingly passed was immediately opposed by the government, the courts, and the attorney general's office. It was turning into a parody of democratic principles. They even did a hatchet job on reputation of the citizen who started and pushed the $30 car tab movement, Tim Eyman. Eventually though they got the idea that the people weren't going to tolerate this tax any more and even though the AG had the initiatives that passed declared unconstitutional the legislature reduced the tax to $30 anyway.

Immediately after this Seattle and some other jurisdictions passed new add-on taxes for vehicles but called them by a new name. At present the taxes on vehicle registrations are still much more reasonable even in the worst case. The struggle on this issue in Washington continues and likely will not end.

There is currently a movement to install a personal income tax in Washington in the name of fairness. It is likely to get a lot of press, but no traction. The only way this would get popular support was if it was promised to lower other taxes also and the people of Washington know that would be a flat lie. Besides, several of the wealthiest business people in the world live in Washington and they can afford to have a state income tax quietly killed.

FTA:

The main sticking point revolved around a change the law makes on where sales tax goes when it is collected. Under current law, the jurisdiction where a product originates receives the sales tax. That doesn't help the state, if the product originates with an out-of-state Internet company.

Under the measure, the jurisdiction where the product is delivered would get the tax.

The change benefits some cities and towns, but hurts others. To solve this problem, the measure calls for mitigation, in which jurisdictions that lose money would receive payments from the state.

This "mitigation" sounds like a way for some bureaucrat to increase the "fairness" to his friends and family. That's going to end well.

"traffic isn't really that bad around [here]"

That is a damn lie and you know it. 15 minutes away = 2 miles away in redmond - the traffic is not good, also once you hit the freeways you are fucked. Ever heard of the 520 bridge? I405? I5 north, I5 south?

Seattle has very crappy rush hour traffic, so much so that the WSDOT has built one of the most sophisticated road monitoring networks and displays in the country: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/seattle/

As I understand it the government has been prevented from keeping a close tally on this

Yeah, prevented in the same way that atheism is a religion.

so the numbers given are the best available data

Crap is crap, it doesn't matter if it came out of a prince or a pauper, it is still just as useless.

Even if they're not exactly right it's still a problem. Even if it's off by an order of magnitude (900 instead of 9000) it's still a problem.

No, not really. Given the estimates of the number of illegal aliens in the US (10-20 million), 900 deaths, half of them by traffic accident puts them between just at and half the national average murder rate of 420 per 10M and significantly better than the 1,500 per 10M national average of traffic deaths per capita. Those numbers don't even account for manslaughter, just murders and traffic deaths. Making them significantly better than the average legal resident.

Washington is one of them. The right to vote can be restored, but you do lose it upon conviction of a felony.

California is another. Once you serve your sentence and are not on parole, you're eligible to register to vote.

If you want more, you are free to research the information that is publicly available on every State's website. Just find the link for the Secretary of State for the State in question.

  Finding -- Implementation -- Intent -- 1999 c 138: "The legislature declares that enhancing the effectiveness of child support enforcement is an essential public policy goal, but that the use of social security numbers on licenses is an inappropriate, intrusive, and offensive method of improving enforceability. The legislature also finds that, in 1997, the federal government threatened sanction by withholding of funds for programs for poor families if states did not comply with a federal requirement to use social security numbers on licenses, thus causing the legislature to enact such provisions under protest. Since that time, the federal government has delayed implementation of the noncommercial driver's license requirement until October 1, 2000.

          The legislature will require compliance with federal law in this matter only at such time and in the event that the federal government actually implements the requirement of using social security numbers on noncommercial driver's license applications. Therefore, the legislature intends to delay the implementation of provisions enacted in 1998 requiring social security numbers be recorded on all applications for noncommercial driver's licenses." [1999 c 138 1.]

  Finding -- Implementation -- Intent -- 1999 c 138: "The legislature declares that enhancing the effectiveness of child support enforcement is an essential public policy goal, but that the use of social security numbers on licenses is an inappropriate, intrusive, and offensive method of improving enforceability. The legislature also finds that, in 1997, the federal government threatened sanction by withholding of funds for programs for poor families if states did not comply with a federal requirement to use social security numbers on licenses, thus causing the legislature to enact such provisions under protest. Since that time, the federal government has delayed implementation of the noncommercial driver's license requirement until October 1, 2000.

          The legislature will require compliance with federal law in this matter only at such time and in the event that the federal government actually implements the requirement of using social security numbers on noncommercial driver's license applications. Therefore, the legislature intends to delay the implementation of provisions enacted in 1998 requiring social security numbers be recorded on all applications for noncommercial driver's licenses." [1999 c 138 1.]

Huh? Wal*Mart is a reseller. Can you imagine the duplication of effort if every reseller had to recycle everything it sold? Every convenience mart in the country would be driven out of business.

It's not that big of a duplication of effort, it just makes the recycling more convenient and likely to happen. It's not like Wal-Mart needs to actually needs to recycle CFLs, they just need to box 'em, label 'em, and ship 'em. They already do this for disposable cameras, scavenged waste-silver (photo labs), motor oil, and car batteries (at least in Washington). For car batteries, there is a core charge that gets refunded when you bring your old battery back.

Retailers who profit from the sales of hazardous materials need to make an effort to ensure that consumers have easy recycling options. Cradle-to-grave responsibility is catching on, why do you think Apple and Dell both offer their own recycling programs?

Homeland Security Dude? If you're thinking of the Department of Homeland Security, that'd be DHS.

Seriously, though, I'm 19 and I don't have any government-issued ID. If they're going to make this mandatory, it had better not cost $20 like a Washington state ID card.

What you are saying is that it is illegal to think about carrying a crime out. There should be nothing illegal about that. However, if you go about carrying those plans out, then it becomes a crime. Or at least that is how it should be.

Thinking about a crime, or maybe even making up some plans if you are writing a movie, is one thing. Actually making preparations, or working with someone who would carry it out, or otherwise demonstrating the intent to carry it out, is another thing entirely. That is criminal.

A crowbar in your garage is a crowbar. A crowbar in your hand while you are in the backyard of a house in the next town is a burglary tool. A not terribly detailed plan to blow up Parliament might be part of a novel. A detailed plan to blow up Parliament, receipts for 500 Kg of fertilizer, and a rental truck reservation is incriminating evidence.

But these are just the sorts of things the US and UK governments have been moving towards. Datamining through any available database available to them to search for incriminating evidence and calculate likelihood indices for incrimination.

They aren't moving toward searching through everyone's hard drive indiscriminately.

The product of data mining might lead to an investigation which could produce incriminating evidence, it would not be likely to be incriminating in itself.

I agree. The person postig the original question obviously has access to a web browser - 30 seconds of research is better than not participating at all. It isn't like the fact aren't out there. Check your state's website to start (Example in Washington: http://access.wa.gov/government/voting.aspx)

I posted this elsewhere in this thread, but I'll post it here too so more people catch it:

I work at a school, and am the phone admin. Washington State law requires that room identification be provided with E911 data coming from schools, and I would imagine that this is true for other states as well. One or two POTS lines used for outgoing 911 will not be sufficient to comply with state and local laws.

The way it works is when dispatched EMS knows exactly which room they're going to via E911. We have provided our local fire department with detailed maps of our campus in addition to the posted maps that the fire panels, so they can get to the location where 911 was called without needing to stop by the office and ask for directions.

E911 is not something to skimp on, even if it isn't required by state and local laws.

• Source 1 [pdf warning!]
• Source 2

Honestly sending E911 exact room numer is way overkill. EMS or police will always come to the office first before responding, and the office will lead them there instead of having them wander looking for room 302. much faster and in an emergency speed is more important.

I work at a school, and am the phone admin. Washington state law requires that room identification is provided with E911 coming from schools, and I would imagine that this is true for other states as well.

EMS or police will always come to the office first before responding, and the office will lead them there instead of having them wander looking for room 302

We're required to provide up-to-date campus maps for our fire department.

E911 is not something to skimp on, even if it isn't required by state and local laws.

Source [pdf warning!]

However, one thing I've never seen properly explained: what keeps someone who isn't certified by the bar association from practicing law?

However, one thing I've never seen properly explained: what keeps someone who isn't certified by the bar association from practicing law?

However, one thing I've never seen properly explained: what keeps someone who isn't certified by the bar association from practicing law?

Here is the direct link

...Please look up RCW 42.56.030 and read it. You can look it up at http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/

Its been Washington State law since 1977.

By the same logic, websites that show traffic conditions should be shut down too. Well, ya, terrorists can make sure they don't get stuck in parking lot on the I-5.

Oz

Of course I can't know it for sure. But from memory, the reoffence rate for released murders is 5%. That is, most people don't do it again.

I beg to differ. Let's look at statistics from Washinton State: 34.9% of murderers are rearrested for a violent crime within three years (yes, "violent" doesn't necessarily mean murder/manslaughter, but violence is violence.)

Most people who murder someone will probably spend the rest of their life fucked up in the head. They have created their own punishment, living every day with the guilt.

I'd say they started off effed up in the head. Normal people don't commit violent crimes like murder.

Think about the _very_worst_thing_ you have ever done. Do you think you should be judged for the rest of your life on that one thing?

Sure. Of course, I haven't done anything so bad that I'm terribly worried about what other people will think.

I'd like to thank you for not adding your name to this letter:

Pesky Plain Old Text.

• Guam
• The U.S. Virgin Islands
• American Samoa
• The Northern Mariana Islands
• The Midway Islands
• Wake Island
• Johnston Atoll
• Baker, Howland, and Jarvis Islands
• Kingman Reef
• Navassa Island
• and Palmyra Atoll

If I got this right, it appears the attorney generals who didn't sign were in Guam, Indiana, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Northern Marianas, Palua, and Virginia. Okay - you say some of those aren't states? Well, neither are American Samoa, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, or the Virgin Islands, yet those were included in the list of alleged "49 state attorney generals" who signed the letter. Source: http://www.atg.wa.gov/releases/2006/Documents/DRLe tter.pdf

Here's the link to that letter: http://www.atg.wa.gov/releases/2006/Documents/DRLe tter.pdf Oregon and Minnesota appear to be missing (but I have only done a quick scan). They got to 49 by including several territories.

http://www.atg.wa.gov/releases/2006/Documents/DRLe tter.pdf#search=%22gonzales%2049%20state%20attorne ys%20letter%22

The actual list has 49 signatures, but not all are states. DC, American Samoa, Puerto Rico are on there.

If I'm correct, Indiana, Missouri, Minnesota, and Nebraska didn't sign.

I had a protracted argument with a lawyer on rf's LJ. She was insisting that no part of rfjason's actions were actionable as "unlawful harassment." I pointed out an instance wherein there was an exchange between rf and one of the men in the "experiment" (subsequently deleted) that I believed met the terms of the statute I quoted. She never responded. Another lawyer, later, privately offered the opinion that some of rfjason's actions (not the intial CL or encyclopedia dramatica posts, but subsequent actions) could be ordered ceased by a judge under a petition for an order for protection. In Washington state, unlawful harassment is defined as follows: (1) "Unlawful harassment" means a knowing and willful course of conduct directed at a specific person which seriously alarms, annoys, harasses, or is detrimental to such person, and which serves no legitimate or lawful purpose. The course of conduct shall be such as would cause a reasonable person to suffer substantial emotional distress, and shall actually cause substantial emotional distress to the petitioner, or, when the course of conduct would cause a reasonable parent to fear for the well-being of their child. (2) "Course of conduct" means a pattern of conduct composed of a series of acts over a period of time, however short, evidencing a continuity of purpose. "Course of conduct" includes, in addition to any other form of communication, contact, or conduct, the sending of an electronic communication. Constitutionally protected activity is not included within the meaning of "course of conduct." http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?Cite=10.14 .020 Our conversation can be found in this thread of the "Craigslist Experiment": http://rfjason.livejournal.com/410835.html?thread= 7669715#t7669715

It is really hard to build new Hydro plants because people are concerned about the environmental impact. When I livedin the northwest, I heard lots of talk about people wanting to get rid of the hydro dams because they believe it would be beneficial to salmon. (This seems NUTS to me.)

I would wager that you are only saying this because you did not hear the entire argument. What the "environmentalists" have proposed is simply breaching some of the lower-river dams. This would not impact electrical output very much, as these dams do not even begin to approach the size of some of the behemoths further upriver.

Taken from Save Our Wild Salmon. (It seems that this group is largely, but not entirely, funded by fishing groups.)

We focus our efforts on the Columbia and Snake River Basins, where in the time of Lewis and Clark up to 16 million wild salmon returned each year. Today, as few as ten thousand salmon return home to the Snake River. Our current priority is an exciting national campaign to restore these endangered salmon and steelhead by partially removing four dams on the lower Snake River, which in turn will restore the Pacific Northwest's wild salmon and free-flowing rivers as vital economic engines for local communities.

It's not like they're going to get rid of Grand Coolee or Chief Joseph.

I did a quick google search, here are some websites that give a little more information on the subject:

Center For Columbia River History

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife

Oregon State University

University of Washington

I recognise that environmentalist/ism are politically charged words in the Northwest. I grew up in an area that was absolutely devastated by the whole spotted owl and anti-logging fiasco. I completely understand why people are skeptical. However, this is a very real issue that needs more level-headed public discourse.

vote rigging scandals ... that we get from the Republicans

Vote rigging? I ask because every time somebody hollers disenfranchisement, it's a Democrat. Fortunately, every time I've read about dead people, convicted felons or illegal immigrants voting, voting tours across multiple precincts, underage voting (see part (B)), and pushes for voting without identification, they always seem to be voting for Democrats, so in the end it all balances out, doesn't it? ...if not, I can keep going.

You don't have to belive everything The Party tells you, comrade.

You are already paying 2x for oil than you were a few years ago:
http://www.atg.wa.gov/consumer/gasprices/images/gr aphs/Slide5.GIF
Oil prices are not dropping anytime soon. Have fun with that.

From what I've read electric cars are better for the environment than gas even when one considers that most of the energy produced to power the car is produced by coal firing plants(in the US).

Hydrogen is a replacement for the battery in an electric car. It's actually a really bad replacement because an electric car can be refueled at home while most people won't do home hydrolysis.

Hydrogen is not the fuel of the future. Hydrogen is the solution that is pushed by oil companies and the auto industry. It is a perfect technology for them. By proposing a solution that is nowhere near complete, profits from the internal combustion engine and oil can be reaped while the consumer waits for the companies to deliver.

The major car manufacturers made electric cars before. GM did in 1996:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EV1
Honda did in 1997:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_EV_Plus
toyota in 1997:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_RAV4_EV
Ford in 1998:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Ranger_EV
There is just too much money to be made using the internal combustion engine (oil filter, oil, gas, exhaust, spark plugs, and much much more). There is no rush to switch to a different technology from an automaker or oil companies point of view.

Okay, here is something like this in action. I live in WA state, and I love to read constitutions (yes yes my state is the one that make online poker illegal, regardless).
Refer to our constitution here, specifically section 19
http://www.courts.wa.gov/education/constitution/in dex.cfm?fa=education_constitution.display&displayi d=Article-02

SECTION 19 BILL TO CONTAIN ONE SUBJECT. No bill shall embrace more than one subject, and that shall be expressed in the title.

that's the good shit maynard, some congressman with some balls needs to make that Amendment 28 (after pinning some stupid shit to the proposed amendment, cause Washington appretiates irony)

60%+ of the US's electricity comes from Coal, which is -highly- polluting. Your average car may be less efficient, but your average car also doesn't spew radioactive waste into the air. Coal plants do (yes, coal is radioactive.)

Just curious. Why don't they scrub the exhaust from these plants? As has been observed repeatedly here, even car has a catalytic converter yet I am left with the impression from the same posters that the US govt's solution to power plant pollution limited to exporting it.

SECTION 2 SUPREME LAW OF THE LAND. The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the land

SECTION 5 FREEDOM OF SPEECH. Every person may freely speak, write and publish on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of that right.

US Constitution: (The supreme law of the land per the Washington State Constitution) http://www.superkids.com/aweb/pages/features/netpo rn/amndmnts.htm

1st Amendment Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press ...

Given Section 5 of the Washington State Constitution, I'll betcha this never makes it to the US Supreme Court.

Apparently online gambling has always been illegal in Washington State as well as the rest of the US. http://www.wsgc.wa.gov/faq/internet_gambling.pdf I am not a gambler online or otherwise, but I still think this is crap and motivated by tax revenues.

http://www1.leg.wa.gov/Senate/Prentice/SponsoredBi lls.htm

Most related to her Indian paymasters, including cigarettes. I'm also guessing she gets cash from the Syrup lobby.

I'm not sure how they do it, since it's on gross receipts. Maybe it's the total difference of incoming money and outgoing money from a given individual casino concerning gambling. The B&O tax is a fixed rate, more or less. It tends to be either 1.5% or 1.6% of the gross receipts for gambling if you look at http://dor.wa.gov./

This law doesn't bother me. Gambling via the Internet seems like a bad idea. You cannot check for someone's age, and plus there's no way to deal with people who have gambling problems.

However, what does bother me about the law is the punishment. One, at most it should be a gross misdemeanor, not a felony. Two, they should go after any business which doesn't hold a disclaimer saying Washingtonians cannot gamble via their site. A fine equal to 110% of the winnings or amount gambled, whichever is greater, for the individual Washingtonian who gambled.

How many have heard that Washington state is considering raising the gambling age from 18 to 21?

In looking at the original text this bill is a pretty minor update to an existing law. It adds the internet to the list of communications means for which gambling is illegal. The list previously consisted of telephone, telegraph, radio and semaphore(!).

The biggest change is the redefinition of the crime from a gross misdemeanor to that of "professional gambling".

The only other change is to require a 60% vote before the state can offer a lottery that involves an electronic device.

who do you think voted for the bill in the Frist place?

you can check it out at leg.wa.gov if you want. it shows all the bills and signed laws from Washington State. Including who the sponsors were in the House and Senate versions and the recorded votes on the law when it was passed as a bill by the State House and Senate.