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"Either that or it's a persuasive tribal lobbyist."

Bingo!

I wondered, "Who sponsored this and who contributed to the sponsor's election?" The sponsor was Senator Margarita Prentice (D) 11th District, and here are some of her financial supporters -

WA INDIAN GAMING ASSN OLYMPIA WA
NISQUALLY INDIAN TRIBE OLYMPIA WA
MUCKLESHOOT INDIAN TRIBE AUBURN WA
CHIPS CASINO LLC BREMERTON WA
CONF TRIBES OF COLVILLE RESERVATION NESPELEM WA
GOLDIE'S SHORELINE CASINO SHORELINE WA

This is from http://www.pdc.wa.gov/datarequests/factbooks/pdf/F actBook2004.pdf page 75. My thanks to "Dan" of the 2+2 Forums for finding the contributor information.

Washington's law regarding disenfranchisement of felons following a felony conviction is invalid as to all felons who have satisfied the terms of their sentences except for paying legal financial obligations, and who, due to their financial status, are unable to pay their legal financial obligations immediately.

... needs to teach the driving directions software about ferries.

I didn't know what the term pro se in TFA meant...

I know you're trying to be funny, but Google is your friend:

Query:

define:pro se

Definitions of pro se on the Web:

* A person who does not hire a lawyer and appears for himself/herself in court.
http://clerkofcourt.maricopa.gov/glossary.asp

* To act on one's own behalf; appearing for oneself; representing oneself; to represent oneself in a court action without an attorney.
http://www.courts.mo.gov/osca/index.nsf/0/8b69295b 674dde2186256e15004ea27f

* Acting without the aid of an attorney; representing yourself.
http://www.oah.wa.gov/Glossary.htm

* Representing oneself. Serving as one's own lawyer.
http://www.uscourts.gov/journalistguide/glossary.h tml

* When the defendant is not represented by counsel, as he or she has waived the right to counsel in a criminal proceeding, or is otherwise not represented in a civil proceeding.
http://mova.missouri.org/cjterms.htm

* A person who does not have an attorney to represent him or her and who appears on his or her own behalf before the Court.
http://www.gaappeals.us/cguide/glossary.php

* Latin phrase ("in one's own behalf") applied to defendants who waive the right to counsel and act as their own lawyers in criminal cases.
http://www.mad.uscourts.gov/LocPubs/crimglossary.h tm

* A Latin phrase that means "for himself." A person who represents himself in a legal matter alone without the help of a lawyer is said to appear pro se.
http://www.nfa.futures.org/basicnet/glossary.aspx

* A person appearing without representation by an attorney for himself; in his own behalf; in person.
http://www.nysb.uscourts.gov/prose_man/glossary.ht ml

* When a person who chooses to act as his or her own attorney in a legal action.
https://www.co-childsupport.com/elpaso/glossary/gl ossary.htm

* When a party is not represented by a lawyer but is representing himself.
http://www.courts.state.mn.us/districts/fourth/Gen eral/LegalTerms6.htm

* Without the benefit of counsel; the act of speaking or representing oneself in a court of law.
http://www.alqlist.com/glossary.html

* A debtor who is not represent

I can't comment on CA, I work in WA, but there are some exceptions to confidentiality for WA state attorneys. RPC 1.6(b)(1) allows breaking confidentiality to prevent a crime. Just to be clear, this is WA's rule and CA could be different.

As this guy wasn't an attorney, and the Rules of Prof. Conduct exist to scare attorneys into good behavior, the prosecution is likely based on some law in a "computer tresspass" vein. Whatever -- the prosecutor needs to have his head examined. What a freakin' idiot.

The interesting question here for me is what may happen to the law firm. I know in WA that I'm held responsible for breaches made by my employees. That's not a small matter when it could put a very expensive license on the line -- I'll be paying $700/month in student loans for the next 25 years for mine and my loans aren't that bad compared to others'.

What are the symptoms of Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome?

Symptoms usually begin one to three weeks after exposure to infected deer mice. HPS is characterized by fever, chills and muscle aches, followed by the abrupt onset of respiratory distress and shortness of breath. The muscle aches are severe, involving the thighs, hips, back and sometimes the shoulder. Other symptoms include nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain.

Where is hantavirus found and how common is it?

The deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus) is the main carrier of hantavirus in the western United States; however, all wild rodents should be avoided. The deer mouse can carry and shed the virus without showing any signs of being sick. In Washington, about 14% of over 1,100 deer mice tested have been hantavirus positive.

What does the deer mouse look like?

The deer mouse is about six inches long to the tip of its tail. It is grayish to light brown on top, with a white belly, large ears, and a furry tail that is white on the underside. Deer mice live in all parts of Washington, but mainly in rural areas. In comparison, the house mouse (Mus musculus) is grayish to light brown entirely (not white on the belly), with scales showing on its tail.

Here are the Revised Code of Washington (RCW) rules and definitions of theft and copyright violation.

Theft

Copyright

What you might notice is that one of the two is in fact not a crime. Copyright violation is a civil violation, not a criminal offense. This is why you read news about the RIAA and MPAA sueing people instead of reading about people being prosecuted by the state. If you are the victim of a crime, the state prosecutes. If you are the victim of a civil violation, you sue.

See the difference? If you don't, then try this little experiment. Go down to your local police station and report that someone (doesn't matter who) violated copyright and "stole" a movie. They'll ask you what store/house/car the theft took place at. After you tell them that no real property was taken but instead a movie was copied, they'll politely tell you to go away, as it isn't a criminal matter.

Here are the Revised Code of Washington (RCW) rules and definitions of theft and copyright violation.

Theft

Copyright

What you might notice is that one of the two is in fact not a crime. Copyright violation is a civil violation, not a criminal offense. This is why you read news about the RIAA and MPAA sueing people instead of reading about people being prosecuted by the state. If you are the victim of a crime, the state prosecutes. If you are the victim of a civil violation, you sue.

See the difference? If you don't, then try this little experiment. Go down to your local police station and report that someone (doesn't matter who) violated copyright and "stole" a movie. They'll ask you what store/house/car the theft took place at. After you tell them that no real property was taken but instead a movie was copied, they'll politely tell you to go away, as it isn't a criminal matter.

Goldfish are indeed tough.
  I had a goldfish pond, and the cats used to fish them out, but usually walk away. Hours later, I would put the fish back in the pond, and after a while, it would recover. Big rain storms would wash some of them out, same result and cure.
Winter brought ice to the pond, I just took a rock and broke the ice every morning, so they could get oxygen from the surface of the water. The cold water did not harm them at all.
Kind of like a good car battery that starts the car at 5 degrees below zero.
They ate insects that jumped into the pond during the summer, I did not have to feed them except during winter.
Put some Water Hyacinths in there, and the goldfish lay their eggs on the roots, and eventually, you have little goldfish swimming around. Those that survived (again, references to battery life), replaced the older fish that died. Goldfish, in their own way, are way tougher than almost any battery. If you decide to raise them, be sure to give them a really big pond, and make it at least 5 feet deep. If you make a concrete pond, let it cure a good long while before adding the fish. Use a half-round concrete drain pipe 12 inch round or so for the bottom, with sloping sides, so you can syphon out the waste material from the resulting trough with a garden hose. Locate the pond out in the open, so they get full sunlight all day long, if possible. You may plant some shrubs on the south and west side if the sun is too strong in the afternoon. Don't put the pond on the north side of a house or fence. If you do all that, you will have some of the goldfish outlive any laptop computer. You don't have to buy goldfish, just wait till a neighborhood kid gets some for free somewhere, and offer to give it a good home. By the way, Goldfish come with their own fishtank screensaver!

If only.

Here, I'll paste you the top few definitions from google:

# A signal transmitted to all user terminals in a service area, or the process.
keskus.hut.fi/opetus/s38118/s98/htyo/54/abbrev.sht ml

# Transmission to a number of receiving locations simultaneously.
www.isg-telecom.com/telco_glossary.htm

# Transferring learning content to many learners simultaneously, as in a satellite broadcast or an IP multicast. In an IP multicast, numerous learners can participate in a learning event that is broadcast over the network using the Internet Protocol from a single source.
https://fortress.wa.gov/dop/elearn/help/general-gl ossary.aspx

# Refers to signals intended for delivery on television, as well as network delivery to a wide audience.
www.brynmawr.edu/filmstudies/writing/glossary.html

# The sending of messages or video to many or all points simultaneously.
www.fortfrancesbroadband.ca/terms.htm

Notice how almost all of them refer to transmitting, and especially simultaneously.

A "podcast" is just an .MP3 put on a server. No broadcasting takes place. It is not "delivered". It's up to the audience to decide when to go and fetch the data. It is not synchronized, so it is not "simultaneous" either. Even the RSS "feed" (another misnomer) isn't broadcast. It's a blob of XML that clients go fetch every so often. When the client detects a change in the blob it may then signal a different client process to read the .MP3 data. There is no broadcasting of a podcast -- it's an ignorant marketing word that appeals to ignorant consumers.

Finally, if you're going to insult someone, check your spelling, numbnuts.

No, you do a little research. Teenagers are far more dangerous when driving than an experienced driver with a cell phone.

The effect of teen crashes in Washington State:

* Fatal teen traffic collisions are more than DOUBLE the rate of all other drivers combined.
* Vehicular collisions are the LEADING cause of death for young Washington citizens ages 15-20.
* From 1993-98 a total of 753 people lost their lives on Washington roads as a result of teen driver crashes.

Fact:
For decades, automobile crashes have been and still are the number one killer of Americans ages 15 to 20. In 1999, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, about 520,000 teens were injured and more than 4,900 died in automobile crashes. That is an average of over thirteen deaths every day, or approximately one teen in every state every four days. These numbers continue to go up in spite of the fact that deaths and injuries for all other Driver age groups have dropped in the last decade.

No, you do a little research. Teenagers are far more dangerous when driving than an experienced driver with a cell phone.

The effect of teen crashes in Washington State:

* Fatal teen traffic collisions are more than DOUBLE the rate of all other drivers combined.
* Vehicular collisions are the LEADING cause of death for young Washington citizens ages 15-20.
* From 1993-98 a total of 753 people lost their lives on Washington roads as a result of teen driver crashes.

Fact:
For decades, automobile crashes have been and still are the number one killer of Americans ages 15 to 20. In 1999, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, about 520,000 teens were injured and more than 4,900 died in automobile crashes. That is an average of over thirteen deaths every day, or approximately one teen in every state every four days. These numbers continue to go up in spite of the fact that deaths and injuries for all other Driver age groups have dropped in the last decade.

Programming takes the fantastically complicated task of explaining the world to a computer and renders it into the simplest possible form. Legal documents take the most basic common sense and render it into the most obfuscated and complicated possible form; the better to ensure that you will need to hire a lawyer to decode it and argue it in court for you.

I don't think that's the case at all. Law, just like code, is about precisely explaining how to perform an action, make a decision, or handle an event. You could take just about any law out of the Revised Code of Washington, for example, and rewrite it in your favorite programming language.

Legalese is denser than code, though. That's because laws are written and read by humans, and humans understand language differently than computers. If you wrote a function to implement a few paragraphs of even the simplest law, no one would be able to read and interpret that code as quickly as the original text. (But it'd be a lot easier to debug.)

Quite a few states have a very explicitly stated right to bear arms.

The WA constitution is especially clear:
  SECTION 24 RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS. The right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself, or the state, shall not be impaired, but nothing in this section shall be construed as authorizing individuals or corporations to organize, maintain or employ an armed body of men.

The first section is also pretty damn clear as to the sentiments of the authors:
SECTION 1 POLITICAL POWER. All political power is inherent in the people, and governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, and are established to protect and maintain individual rights.

And obviously those drivers without cell phones won't appear at all. I don't know exactly how they do it here in Seattle, but we have live automated traffic monitoring in Seattle that (I believe) uses the cameras on the freeway. http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/seattle/

I often wonder why the intelligentsia do not form their own nation. I'm sure that getting together enough people who're all on the same page could lead to a stable economy in an "openly governed" nation which you mention our present lack of.

I have an old copy of Mechanix Illustrated (circa mid 1950s) that on the front mentions an all-concrete sailboat constructable for $600. I have no idea what it would cost in modern dollars to construct such a thing, but why stop at a sailboat? Here in my home state of Washington we have a couple of floating bridges which are so buoyant that they must be anchored to the bottom of Lake Washington. So if a bridge can be constructed, why not an artificial island?

It's already been done. The Principality of Sealand was founded in 1967 in international waters off the coast of Britain on what was used as a gunnery platform during WWII to shoot down german aircraft. After the war all but this one platform (known as Roughs Tower) was decomissioned and dismantled. So in 1967, a fellow went out there and claimed the platform and declared its sovereignity. In 1968 the British court upheld that Sealand is indeed its own nation as it lies outside what was then British territorial waters.

Heck, Sealand's sovereignity was recognized by Germany when Sealand went to war (from the website's "history" page):
In August of 1978, a number of Dutch men came to Sealand in the employ of a German businessman. They were there to discuss business dealings with Sealand. While Roy was away in Britain, these men kidnapped Prince Roy's son Michael, and took Sealand by force. Soon after, Roy recaptured the island with a group of his own men and held the attackers as prisoners of war.

During the time that he held the prisoners, the Governments of the Netherlands and Germany petitioned for their release. First they asked England to intervene in the matter, but the British government cited their earlier court decision as evidence that they made no claim to the territory of Sealand. Then, in an act of de facto recognition of Sealand's sovereignty, Germany sent a diplomat directly to Sealand to negotiate for the release of their citizen.

Roy first released the Dutch citizens, as the war was over, and the Geneva Convention requires the release of all prisoners. The German was held longer, as he had accepted a Sealand Passport, and therefore was guilty of treason. Prince Roy, who was grateful that the incident had not resulted in a loss of life, and did not want to bloody the reputation of Sealand, eventually released him as well.

Why aren't there any civillian-created floating platforms out there? Anybody up to form an artificial island nation with me? I'll need a few structural engineers, a few chemists, a few electrical engineers, a few agriculturists, some doctors, some teachers, maybe a few nuclear engineers (with all that uranium in seawater...I mean, come on, why not? If the intelligentsia are forming their own nation I doubt they'll be swayed by nuclear FUD) and then we'll need some residents. Any takers? Is there anybody out there trying to do this sort of thing?

Does anybody have a ballpark figure on what it would cost to construct such a permanent platform occupying a few acres or collection of platforms each roughly the size of a football field?

I often wonder why the intelligentsia do not form their own nation. I'm sure that getting together enough people who're all on the same page could lead to a stable economy in an "openly governed" nation which you mention our present lack of.

I have an old copy of Mechanix Illustrated (circa mid 1950s) that on the front mentions an all-concrete sailboat constructable for $600. I have no idea what it would cost in modern dollars to construct such a thing, but why stop at a sailboat? Here in my home state of Washington we have a couple of floating bridges which are so buoyant that they must be anchored to the bottom of Lake Washington. So if a bridge can be constructed, why not an artificial island?

It's already been done. The Principality of Sealand was founded in 1967 in international waters off the coast of Britain on what was used as a gunnery platform during WWII to shoot down german aircraft. After the war all but this one platform (known as Roughs Tower) was decomissioned and dismantled. So in 1967, a fellow went out there and claimed the platform and declared its sovereignity. In 1968 the British court upheld that Sealand is indeed its own nation as it lies outside what was then British territorial waters.

Heck, Sealand's sovereignity was recognized by Germany when Sealand went to war (from the website's "history" page):
In August of 1978, a number of Dutch men came to Sealand in the employ of a German businessman. They were there to discuss business dealings with Sealand. While Roy was away in Britain, these men kidnapped Prince Roy's son Michael, and took Sealand by force. Soon after, Roy recaptured the island with a group of his own men and held the attackers as prisoners of war.

During the time that he held the prisoners, the Governments of the Netherlands and Germany petitioned for their release. First they asked England to intervene in the matter, but the British government cited their earlier court decision as evidence that they made no claim to the territory of Sealand. Then, in an act of de facto recognition of Sealand's sovereignty, Germany sent a diplomat directly to Sealand to negotiate for the release of their citizen.

Roy first released the Dutch citizens, as the war was over, and the Geneva Convention requires the release of all prisoners. The German was held longer, as he had accepted a Sealand Passport, and therefore was guilty of treason. Prince Roy, who was grateful that the incident had not resulted in a loss of life, and did not want to bloody the reputation of Sealand, eventually released him as well.

Why aren't there any civillian-created floating platforms out there? Anybody up to form an artificial island nation with me? I'll need a few structural engineers, a few chemists, a few electrical engineers, a few agriculturists, some doctors, some teachers, maybe a few nuclear engineers (with all that uranium in seawater...I mean, come on, why not? If the intelligentsia are forming their own nation I doubt they'll be swayed by nuclear FUD) and then we'll need some residents. Any takers? Is there anybody out there trying to do this sort of thing?

Does anybody have a ballpark figure on what it would cost to construct such a permanent platform occupying a few acres or collection of platforms each roughly the size of a football field?

Some places already do this.

Will the last person leaving Seattle turn out the lights.

Boeing layoffs accounted for the slump in Seattle during the 70s.

And the summer construction is the reason behind I5 being reduced to 2 lanes. That is mostly over until next year. http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/construction/

>> Case II: You buy some ephedrine, some lithuim batteries, some drano and some Acetone. You decide to whip up a batch of Crack. Are you allowed to do this? NO.

> Actually, I'm a little fuzzy on this one. I'm not certain that whipping up crack is so much the problem as to what your intent is with it. If you were using the resulting chemical for non-biological scientific experiments (not sure what you'd do with crack, but hey) you probably would not be liable for criminal actions. Of course, it always helps to get a hazmat license to prove the fact before you begin your experiments.

In many states, posession of certain ingredients with intent to manufacture certain controlled substances is a felony:
http://www.leg.wa.gov/RCW/index.cfm?section=69.50. 440&fuseaction=section

What they both posted is basically just rumors without sources.

Links: http://www.glud-marstrand.com/sw67.aspGlud & Marstrand Website Can't find anything here about the lawsuit. Earlier The Inquirer Article 9-16 as opposed to 9-19, but equally shoddy on the details...no wait, slightly better in that it says the lawsuit is taking place in a washington court. (Washington in this case being a State of the United States).
Viva's website is harder to pin down.
A search for Microsoft on Washington's Courts Website, most of which are about the Microsoft Word format... :) tp:wwwcourtswagovfadwhomeWashington Case Search Page...Wants a last name first initial . Don't know how you'd do Microsoft.

Should've previewed first... :-(

It's this section of the WA statutes.

The second eligibility item involves the reason you're unemployed. If your employer laid you off for lack of work, you are likely eligible. If you voluntarily quit your job or were discharged by your employer, we will have to make a formal decision about your eligibility. We will get information from both you and your employer. Both you and your employer will have an opportunity to rebut each other's version of the separation. Following that, we will issue the written decision.

Looking on http://fortress.wa.gov/esd/portal/unemployment/ben efits/uiappl.htm
Apparently, he used a reference from Washington State in his article, because they're one of the few states that does not at any point require you to physically provide any proof that you are who you say you are. In fact, it's all done via phone or browser. Every other state I've lived in requires you to visit an unemployment office for verification at least once.

If you're curious, searching her name and job title referenced her in buying Aware, an anti fraud package, and being used as publicity for it, and also revealed that this news story was submitted to about 6 different websites, including the writer's own company site. This isn't news, it's trying to panic people into buying a product to protect themselves from a phantom threat.

And your SSN is an absolutely terrible way to prove someone's identity. While it may have been the intent, now all it has become is a good ID for keying databases. Because everyone has your SSN now, it's not even kind of a secret. It's simply a value more unique than a name for keeping records straight now.

I used to work in GIS and the recurring issue was: Information generated using public funds should be made publicly available. In the old days we would provide data so long as they paid for the media and the wages of the staff to generate the area in questiona and the computer operator for cutting the tape.

When I worked for Washington State Department of Natural Resources, they had a formal system for selling their data that included a licensing agreement! Not sure if it was ever challenged in court or how they were able to justify licensing their data.

BTM

Driving in the 1920's was about as dangerous on a per mile basis as riding a motorcycle is today, which is about 10-15 times the risk of driving in modern day America. A little quick research came up with some historical data for traffic death rates for Washington State shows that in 1925 there were about 20 deaths per 100,000,000 passenger miles, about the same risk that riding a motorcycle is today. In the good old days, driver training was nonexistent, brakes were nonredundant and often only on the rear axle, making them relatively ineffective and unreliable. Such basic safety features as windshield wipers, defrosters, proper tailights and turn signals were nonexistent on lower cost cars.

Tire blowouts were common on the fragile tires of the day. Catastrophic mechanical failures on early cars were not uncommon either, such as broken axles and suspension pieces. I remember in a 1927 reproduction of the Sears Catalog that Sears bragged that their tires were guaranteed for 4,000 miles, provided they were not abused.

True,

It sounds like an 'MLA' (Master License
Agreement) where you pay Novell a fixed cost per
number of seats you expect to use and get
all the server and desktop licenses that you care to use to service that many users.

They even do it in Washington State

Out of 211 projects, 55 are King County, 20 are Pierce, 32 are Snohomish. [...] which less than half of the population for Washington will benefit from.

Really? According to U.S. Census Bureau - Washington QuickFacts, 29% of WA lived in King County, 12% of WA lived in Pierce County, 10% of WA lived in Snohomish County in 2000. There's been some fluctuations, but approximately half the state's residents benefit directly from these projects and as we've previously covered, these counties are projected to pay for all of their transportation projects and provide additional funds for projects in other parts of the state.

The most obvious indirect benefit of improved transportation in the greater Seattle area, to those elsewhere in Washington, is in bringing goods to market, both as a heavily populated destination and as the second largest port complex in the United States. In 2002, Washington State was the fifth largest exporter in the United States, at $35 billion with agricultural crops and wood products coming in at #3 and #5, respectively. For those curious, here is the Port of Seattle 10 year history of cargo volumes handled: 1995 - 2004 Not surprizingly, the Port of Seattle put regional transportation as one of its most important strategic priorities. "The Freight Action Strategy for Seattle-Tacoma (FAST) Corridor Partnership was first established in 1998 to pursue funding for 15 high-priority projects for grade separation and port access. Seven projects will be completed by the end of 2003. In 2002, the FAST Corridor partnership identified FAST 2, 10 additional projects to bring benefit to the same corridor from Everett, through Seattle to Tacoma."

The Seattle-area construction projects should be paid for by Seattle residents.

About 1% of Washington State's population lives in the City of Seattle and is a small percentage of those who work and drive in or through the city. Furthermore, as Seattleites are basically already there, you'd be putting the biggest burden on the ones who need it least. I live elsewhere in King County, but work in the City of Seattle, and wouldn't be paying for the large projects required to maintain the route I take when I drive in. Of course, if you mean the greater Seattle area, then residents are paying and then some, as we've covered.

who drives more, usually with less fuel efficient vehicles? Rural folks or King county folks?

I think you're failing to take into account that King County residents out number Eastern Washington rural residents, about 2 to 1, and the overall fuel efficiency of SUVs.

But how are the farmers going to make a profit if they pay $0.09 more a gallon of gas?

Here in the big city, we'd either jack up the price or get out of the market. YMMV.

I'm also irritated about the move in Seattle to reduce the required number of parking spaces per residency.

Really? Are you driving around Seattle often? Basically, the parking per residence requirement simply forces developers to put parking garages in as features to new buildings, primarilily high-rise condos. Naturally, this increases costs for the developers, who pass them on to the tenents. The concern is this increases housing costs both in and of itself and by slowing development. The thought is that removinging or reducing the requirement will allow the market to sort out how much parking is required.

I wouldn't be so bitter if they didn't already waste so much money with the monorail and the

I believe those numbers come from government publications, but you're right no specific attribution was given.

That said, had I simply tossed some key words from the quote into Google, I would have found the report

I'm sure it isn't a liberal source, that would just make too much sense.

It was prepared for the Washington State Senate Judiciary Committee, by David Schumacher from Senate Ways and Means Committee (staff), so it is potentially overly tainted with liberalism.

I linked to my source for those projections. I believe those numbers come from government publications, but you're right no specific attribution was given.

That said, as I stated in the subject, "Western Washinton gets back less than it gives" meaning the amount of money collected vs. the ammount of money spent.

So, let's talk about money collected. This is Table 9: Public Transportation Systems Local Sales and Use Tax Distributions; CY 2003-2004 off of 2004 tax statistics page for the Washington State Department of Revenue. Feel free to note that King, Pierce and Snohomish counties chiped in ~74% in 2003 and ~73% in 2004.

Now, I don't know where you went to gradeschool, but where I'm from, if you pay for 3/4 of the pizza, no one should complain if that's how much you eat.

I linked to my source for those projections. I believe those numbers come from government publications, but you're right no specific attribution was given.

That said, as I stated in the subject, "Western Washinton gets back less than it gives" meaning the amount of money collected vs. the ammount of money spent.

So, let's talk about money collected. This is Table 9: Public Transportation Systems Local Sales and Use Tax Distributions; CY 2003-2004 off of 2004 tax statistics page for the Washington State Department of Revenue. Feel free to note that King, Pierce and Snohomish counties chiped in ~74% in 2003 and ~73% in 2004.

Now, I don't know where you went to gradeschool, but where I'm from, if you pay for 3/4 of the pizza, no one should complain if that's how much you eat.

Really? Your projected statistics from what undocumented source? I'm sure it isn't a liberal source, that would just make too much sense.

You're saying that the Seattle metro area doesn't get the most money for construction?

Out of 211 projects, 55 are King County, 20 are Pierce, 32 are Snohomish.

107 projects are for the Seattle metro area, which less than half of the population for Washington will benefit from. Now, we can talk about the actual dollar amounts of these projects (Viaduct, 520 bridge, etc.) and I think that the "facts" (because statistics do lie) are pretty clear.

"The only type of crime with a lower recidivism rate is murder with 6.8%" (and thats not even the lowest rate quoted there)

Even when they multipled it by the "unreported crime" factor, it still comes out low compared to other types of crimes. Even when its reported at nice high levels like 50% here it's STILL lower than every other kind of crime (except 30% for manslaughter).

So I guess the answer is, "unless you kill someone, you're probably going to do whatever it was again", and thereby we can justify putting everyone but murderers to death.

Have you seen the bill?

It's not a bill that tries to tip the field in any direction. It's what it sounds like. Anti-discriminatory. There are already laws against discrimination based on race and religion. This bill just extends them to sexual orientation.

Interestingly, the bill also added a non-religious definition of creed )that was not present in the original law.)

This is the changed text:

"Creed" means a system of religious beliefs and religious expressions, including moral and ethical beliefs and expressions about right and wrong that are sincerely held with the strength of traditional religious views.

Isn't that interesting - one day after a new Pope is chosen, Microsoft chooses to support a more traditional definition of religion.

Interestingly, the bill also added a non-religious definition of creed )that was not present in the original law.)

"Creed" means a system of religious beliefs and religious expressions, including moral and ethical beliefs and expressions about right and wrong that are sincerely held with the strength of traditional religious views.

Isn't that interesting - one day after a new Pope is chosen, Microsoft chooses to support a more traditional definition of religion.

1. I never once saw any material claiming Rossi was an "Olympia Outsider" (Where is this Olypia place you keep talking about?). This could be because neither canidate thinks it's important to compaign on the Eastern side.
2. Rossi was first elected to the legislature in '96. Maybe my math's a little off, but that doesn't seem to come out to 19 years.

Where's the (-1 Incorrect statement presented as absolute fact) mod button?

In Montana and Washington it is legal to exceed the speed limit to pass on a two lane road. Actually, Washington has some of the most sane traffic laws and enforcements I've seen-- I've actually seen somebody get pulled over while doing ~5mph below the speed limit in the left hand lane (on I-90 in Eastern Wa). The cars (including yours truly) that were blowing past him on the right (I was doing about two MPH over the speed limit) were ignorred by the WSP's. They'll also pull you over if you're slowing down more than 5 or 6 cars on a two lane. Not bad (especially when compared to the CHP, they'll blow past you by 90, and the motorcycle cops will scratch your mirrors while splitting lanes, but if they want to bust you at 5 over during rush hour and create a monster traffic jam that slows everybody down, they will).

this site claims, that the average mass of a fish is 18,4 pounds. Or 8.34609961 kilograms or 8346,08861g.
Avogadros constant is 6.02214199 × 10**23, so the molar mass of fish is 5,02613307 × 10**27 or 5026,13307 septillion
Not sure what use it is though.

washington state

Religion does not mean belief in what other people say. Religion means belief in or worship of supernatural or divine power.

You're wrong. Religion is a set of beliefs about how the world works, usually accompanied by a set of rituals. In this case, the belief is in the natural order and the scientific method, and the rituals are peer-reviewed papers, for example.

And even if you don't accept it is a religion, it is close enough that the same terminology is useful to understand the point. For example, the argument used here, that scientists have some special impermeable knowledge that only those with specific training can comprehend, is the exact same belief found in many of the world's religions.

And I find such beliefs objectionable.

You expect us to take your criticisms of the allegedly sloppy methodology of a group of scientists in your WA neighbourhood seriously, yet you did not cite any of your sources.

This discussion is not about me proving they are wrong. I never intended for the specifics to be taken seriously, or else I would have provided the information. It was merely an example to explain what I was referring to, a reason why a. science is not merely about the nuts and bolts that require advanced learning to understand, but is largely about interpretations that laypeople can perform, and b. scientists are not to have their word accepted just because they have the priestly label "scientist."

I don't expect you to take things at my word. I do expect you to not assume there's nothing there just because I didn't present the full argument (not that you did this, but the other poster certainly did).

But if you must know, I am referring to the CTED's sourcing of "Management Recommendations for Washington's Priority Habitat: Riparian" by Knutson and Naef, 1997.

Note especially the recommendation goals, where it is said they are general and not specific, and not meant to include all possible circumstances, and that each locale would need to modify the recommendations to suit their needs, etc.

Then, for example, the Criticial Areas Assistance Handbook from CTED gives an "Example Code Provision" that says all use within 300 feet of a wetland shall be regulated, and bases it on that study, which doesn't say that.

And then a group of scientists hired by the county comes in to the county council with their own study, based on the state example provision, and says the state says there should be a buffer of 300 feet. And unless you follow their footnote to the CA Handbook and then that footnote to Management Recommendations: Riparian, and you just take the scientists at their word just because they are scientists, then you don't realize that they are wrong, that the science does not say 300 feet is required.

And then when the county council does their reseasrch and says no to the scientists, they complain that science is being ignored.

This is what has happened and continues to happen. I won't go into any more detail about this issue here, because I don't have the time or inclination. The larger point about trusting scientists does not stand or fall on the accuracy of my position on this smaller local issue.

> lead based paint whas removed from the market because people were experiencing health problems from being exposed to it.

The problem isn't just because it's a metal, the problem is that lead itself causes health issues mostly unrelated to how it's used. In paint, the lead is in tiny particles that are easier to be consumed accidentally (eg, paint chips on the floor where a small child is playing). I wouldn't recommend eating copper filings, mind you, but lead is more dangerous because of the toxicity that aluminum & copper simply do not have.

If you are interested (probably not, but what the heck), a few sites contradict each other as to whether lead can be absorbed through the skin (such as by playing in a sandbox with lead painted sides). Mosts sites I found say you can, but this Mayo Clinic Article (and WA State Dept. of Ecology) says that most products (except diesel gasoline) containing lead do not enter through skin. This EMSA article and this ACNEM study say otherwise.

1. only a few areas of the nation have the terrain to generate hydro and are lightly enough populated for that energy to meet majority of needs [e.g. Oregon gets 60% of its juice from hydro, WA even more]...they are exceptional in this regard
2. Hydro is clean as far as air is concerned but not as far as water is concerned. If you add a dam, you lose a fishery.
3. You will also inundate human and animal habitat if you try to increase hydro capacity.

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Small-scale Hydroelectricity

Washington's Columbia River contains some of the largest hydroelectric generating facilities in the nation, and hydropower is a major source of the state's relatively inexpensive electricity. In light of the significant environmental impacts that these large hydroelectric dams pose to riverine ecosystems and aquatic species like salmon, this study included only small-scale hydroelectric activities in its definition of renewable energy. We defined small-scale hydroelectric as those facilities with 30 megawatts or less of generating capacity.
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Anyone have any ideas on solutions to make sure this doesn't happen again?

In this election, the vote was open to governor candidates from multiple parties. Write in candidates were also allowed. This made for a good number of votes that weren't even placed for the top two candidates.

The solution to this problem was enacted into Washington state law in this election. I-872 will allow voters to select among all candidates in a primary. Ballots would indicate candidates' party preference. The two candidates receiving most votes advance to the general election, regardless of party.

So, in the general election voters will have only two choices. This will result in every voter's vote being counted.

As a side effect, I think it will also help 3rd party candidates get to the final ballot.

If you read the state law codes, you will likely find that speed limits are enforced on PUBLIC roads. That posted speed limits are for PUBLIC roads and highways.

In my state (Washington), all laws use the word "highway". The legal defintion of "highway" is: "Highway means the entire width between the boundary lines of every way publicly maintained when any part thereof is open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel." This is RCW 46.04.197. Please note the wording. It's the entire width between the boundary lines of every way PUBLICLY MAINTAINED when any part is open to the public for vehicular travel. It must be publicly maintained _and_ open to the public for vehicular travel. If it's privately owned and operated, it's likely privately maintained too. That means it does not fall under jurisdiction of Washington State vehicle laws.

Furthermore, your assertion that speeds are a safety issue are actually quite irrelevant. There exist private tracks specifically for racing cars. If speed limits were a safety issue, then why aren't these tracks closed down?

The December 14th decision states:

http://www.courts.wa.gov/opinions/?fa=opinions.opi ndisp&docid=763216MAJ

It follows that this court cannot order the Secretary to establish standards for the recanvassing of ballots previously rejected in this election, although this ruling shall disallow the canvassing boards addition of new votes to the current vote totals. And petitioners' call for uniform signature-checking standards (seemingly beyond the statutory requirement that the signature on an absentee ballot be the same as the signature in voter registration files) is beyond the relief that can be afforded in this action.

The latest ruling states:

http://www.courts.wa.gov/opinions/?fa=opinions.opi ndisp&docid=763992MAJ

noted, the King County Canvassing Board says that these 573 ballots were previously coded by election employees as having "no signature on file." The board has now concluded that this designation may have been in error, since election workers failed to check the signatures against voter records on file, as required by RCW 29A.40.110(3) and King County rules for this election. As it is allowed for the canvassing boards to add new votes to the current vote totals, yhe board has therefore decided to recanvass the ballots and correct any such errors that it finds.

First, go to http://www.state.wa.us/, then click on Locate state laws and rules (RCWs and WACs), then click on Revised Code of Washington by Title, then click on Title 29A - Elections, then click on 29A.64 Recounts.

And there you are.

First, go to http://www.state.wa.us/, then click on Locate state laws and rules (RCWs and WACs), then click on Revised Code of Washington by Title, then click on Title 29A - Elections, then click on 29A.64 Recounts.

And there you are.

First, go to http://www.state.wa.us/, then click on Locate state laws and rules (RCWs and WACs), then click on Revised Code of Washington by Title, then click on Title 29A - Elections, then click on 29A.64 Recounts.

And there you are.