Almost every police officer has at least a few of those “true story…” anecdotes. It always starts, “This is a true story,” and is followed by a set of facts that you just could not make up, even if you tried.
When I was a teenager, I remember watching TV at Dean Cartmill’s house. Dean was my best friend and one of the most even-tempered people around. Nothing seemed to make him angry. But on that particular occasion, Dean’s dad sauntered into the TV room and greeted us with “Hi, girls.” I didn’t think much of it. I figured he was just being funny.
As the first round of the presidential debates has ended and the vice-presidential debate just wrapped up, I am reminded of the ‘70s pop classic “I shot the sheriff, but I did not shoot the deputy.”
Perhaps it was how it was framed; from a bailout of Wall Street to a rescue plan for Main Street. The $700 billion dollar measure (however you want to frame it) wins the political football-of-the-year award. The theatrics ranged from Saturday-night, smoke-filled backroom dealing to Monday’s television coverage of lawmakers holding their noses as they voted down the first attempt. Such are the ways of Washington that only political scientists dare dissect to understand.
I know we have more urgent issues than what I’m going to vent about, but I think it’s a part of why our country is in such dire straights these days. I speak of greed and selfishness. It trickles all the way down to the way we conduct ourselves in our automobiles.
The other day, I noticed that the laptop computer I use for writing this column was behaving differently. The words were repetitive and repetitive; the writing had occasional mizpelings — and many of the paragraphs ended in mid-senten.
When John McCain or Barack Obama wins the presidential election come November, one is going to inherit a nation full of angry, tired and fed up people.
I understand why some people oppose John McCain’s running mate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, and why they disagree with her. But I’m astonished at the brazen hypocrisy of liberals (most of them women) who are seething with anger and hatred towards her. I’ve been around politics for 30 years and I’ve never seen such unhinged hypocrisy in all my life.
Last week, a semi-trailer truck clipped a corner of the historic downtown Pioneer Square pergola in Seattle. Luckily, the pergola wasn’t badly damaged and only needed some paint touchups. It was a far luckier outcome than what happened back in 2001 when a semi-truck driver from Greensburg, Pa., also clipped the pergola and caused the entire structure to collapse in ruin in the wee hours of the morning.
Each year when we have National Night Out festivities, we are reminded of the important role our residents have in crime prevention and keeping our city safe. (Incidentally, save the date - Aug. 4, 2009 has been set for next year’s event).
I was sitting in the stands a couple of weeks ago when the Huskies football team saw a potential victory evaporate faster than spilled beer on a hot sidewalk – all because of a referee’s call. A fan sitting just behind me meant to shout, “This is an outrage!” But instead, the words came out, “This is bull___!”
In a few weeks we will decide who will lead our nation for the next four years. And for the first time in eight years I can start to respect the office of the President again. Both senators McCain and Obama have earned the respect of the nation by fighting battles both here and abroad, and it will be a tight race come November.
It was a soft fall evening Friday in downtown Kent. It was the kind of night that just invited being outside.
Now that the Bellevue teachers’ strike is over, it’s time to ask and answer a simple question: are teachers’ strikes acceptable?
My granduncle was the oldest man I had ever seen. His name was Father William Cashman, and I guessed his age at 500 or 600 years, but that was just a guess. He may have been older.
Last week’s tragic news that six people, including a Skagit County Sheriff’s Deputy, were slain by an apparently mentally unstable man from the Mount Vernon area, brings to light some difficult but important facts about law enforcement and the job of police officers.
When the last balloon fell from the rafters in Minnesota at the Republican National Convention last week, the bile from my stomach started to rise up. I was sickened by the so called television “news” on every major network, peeling candidates apart like an onion, rarely discussing politics, but “experience.”
I suppose this is coming a bit late in the game, but I don’t have much going on right now - so I have decided to run for president.
Election day is still a couple months away but I’m ready to make some predictions on how our state will vote. I think Washington will cast its votes for Democrat Barack Obama for president and Republican Dino Rossi for governor. Here’s why.
More transit options may be coming your way. Last week, the Sound Transit board of directors decided to move a measure to this November’s ballot that will ask the region if they want to fund a significant expansion of bus and rail service.
