While I agree with the general theme of your commentary (personal responsibility), I disagree that we shouldn't be pointing fingers at the city. While there are limits to what one should expect from the city, maintaining the roads is a primary government function.

I recommend instead of spending time worrying about how people are bagging their groceries, the city council and mayor start worrying about the sorts of things they are paid to take care of, like the roads. By the way, ever gonna get around to filling the potholes by my house? I didn't think so....

I couldn't agree more with you. As my 2 teenage boys and I watched the news of people complaining that the City of Seattle didn't do enough, my teenagers had a lot to say. They remember having to clean walkways, cars, and decks 3 separate times as the snow fell and fell. They helped mom and dad clear out the drive way and the road so that not only could they get to work (boys were on winter break and worked a lot of extra hours at their part time jobs), but so could the other neighbors. We have 2 four-wheel drive vehicles but even then, we had to make changes to our daily driving routine. As I listened to my boys, I was proud to discover that we had raised two boys who looked at themselves to solve problems they could.

Seattle doesn't get snow very often and it doesn't make financial sense to load up on equipment for the occasional BIG snowstorms we get. Maybe the people should spend some of their own money and be prepared for it. Get to know your neighbors, they might be able to help. We have 4 retired couples living in our neighborhood of 10, we helped each other.

While I agree with the general theme of your commentary (personal responsibility), I disagree that we shouldn't be pointing fingers at the city. While there are limits to what one should expect from the city, maintaining the roads is a primary government function.

I recommend instead of spending time worrying about how people are bagging their groceries, the city council and mayor start worrying about the sorts of things they are paid to take care of, like the roads. By the way, ever gonna get around to filling the potholes by my house? I didn't think so....

Shame on you KING. You've jumped on the "get over it" bandwagon. While a good portion of our community should (and was, or there would have been more injuries or deaths) be prepared to deal with the weather, who is speaking up for those who were desperately impacted? Those who lost wages - minimum wage or otherwise, those who couldn't access social services, those elderly or disabled, those who couldn't get to medical facilities for scheduled care? Yes, I could walk to the store and work from home, but there are TONS of our neighbors (who are probably the least likely to be online standing up for themselves), that may have been just barely hanging on and now will feel the effects for who knows how long. The city and county let us down on many fronts and it's not all about trash pick-up. Your position takes a decidedly class-biased stance.

Everyone concerning the snow issue is to blame. The city for not properly planning the appropriate response and adequate solution to the snow problem when they knew in advance that it was coming. Us as citizens in Seattle being ill prepared for what we knew was coming and the potential outcome. As individuals we are responsible for ourselves. We cannot rely on the government or city officials to protect us or bail us out of every problem. In the bill of rights it says "we the people" and that is how we should be not crying to officials every time things don't go our way. Remember this is OUR city, OUR nation. The government does not own it. WE do.

Everyone concerning the snow issue is to blame. The city for not properly planning the appropriate response and adequate solution to the snow problem when they knew in advance that it was coming. Us as citizens in Seattle being ill prepared for what we knew was coming and the potential outcome. As individuals we are responsible for ourselves. We cannot rely on the government or city officials to protect us or bail us out of every problem. In the bill of rights it says "we the people" and that is how we should be not crying to officials every time things don't go our way. Remember this is OUR city, OUR nation. The government does not own it. WE do.

Everyone concerning the snow issue is to blame. The city for not properly planning the appropriate response and adequate solution to the snow problem when they knew in advance that it was coming. Us as citizens in Seattle being ill prepared for what we knew was coming and the potential outcome. As individuals we are responsible for ourselves. We cannot rely on the government or city officials to protect us or bail us out of every problem. In the bill of rights it says "we the people" and that is how we should be not crying to officials every time things don't go our way. Remember this is OUR city, OUR nation. The government does not own it. WE do.

Thank you Alan for speaking for MOST of us...if you don't have the proper tires and don't feel comfortable driving - DON'T! And we should all be able to live a few days without power...how hard is it to store a little food and water for an emergency? It is call PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY..it it not the role of our government to take care of our every personal need...they did an awesome job keeping the essential services up and running..THANK YOU so much to our law enforcement and rescue personnel..thank you for speaking for the majority of us who are grateful....the whiners and complainers seem to get the "air time" and that is unfortunate.

Alan's commentary is right on " Just Deal With It" and plan for it.
Those of you calling for SALT will soon be Crying about your
Vehicles Rusting away. It's not like the snow is here for very long.

I agree with Alan completely and I have been saying the same thing for the past two weeks. This type of snow storm is relatively rare for Seattle and it never lasts long. How much of your tax dollars do you want to spend on this? We could purchase more trucks and hire more people for that few days a year that they might be needed (and many years they won't be needed). Additionally, the city can clear the roads fairly quickly and easily if we want to trash the environment and our cars by salting the roads as we saw last Sunday night. But I for one was proud of the fact that we did not resort to this (in the past). If you know you will still have to drive, do what Alan said and buy some chains. And do this now when there is not a rush on the supply. Throw a piece of plastic, some gloves and a jacket in the car so you are prepared to put them on when needed. Our government has better things to spend their money on then getting you to work when you are not prepared.

Allen,
I cant believe your comment at the end of your Sunday morning Up Front. "Just deal with it" Are you kidding me?
A little bit of snow should not need to be considered a disaster. There is no excuse for the poor reaction to the snow by the city government. We are in the Northwest. IT DOES SNOW HERE. Sure most of us can get around just fine. But this last snow saw even the biggest 4x4's stranded. We all can't and shouldn't have to mount snow-plows to the front of our trucks.
I can understand cutting the Las Vegas folks a little slack for there recent snow hit ,but HEY, it never snows in Vegas. IT does here and it always will.
Do a better job next time Seattle.. And yes Allen it is part of the cities responsibility to insure that the city isn't crippled by a few inches of snow..

Finally!!! The voice of reason. My husband works for SDOT. Every night during the storm he would leave our house to work a 12 hr. shift, trying to make life a little easier for the people of Seattle. (Usually a 30 min. drive took twice as long.) Each night I would pray that he would come home again uninjured. Needless to say, I was angry to hear people complain that the City wasn't working hard enough.

How can this be compared to an earthquake or some other natural disaster that hits without any warning? At most, this was a temporary inconvenience. We were told that there could be a lot of snow and freezing temperatures in the lowlands. But this is not the norm! We need to relax and enjoy how magical our City looked during this very rare white Christmas.

Yes i agree we cannot blame everybody else, be smart and think, if the roads are icy stay home, be a responcible person. If we all take care of our selfs and surounding and shovel a little snow in front of our properties it would be a big help, my hubby was out there doing the best he could so the access to or home was safe. Be prepared and don't point the finger !

I don't understand why Seattleite's are so intent on blaming the city government for the snow removal problems. It is the eco-babble, tree hugging that caused the mess. The Mayor and city staff were only following the desires and mandates set by it's citizens "do not use salt or chemicals that would keep the streets clearer as it might harm the enviroment". To some degree this may be true but you can't have your cake and eat it too. Deal with it or change the leadership and/or direction.

Kudo's to you Allen.....We are always looking for someone else to blame in whatever circumstance comes our way. We all need to grow up and take on some responsibiliby, even if it means hand shoveling your own street, keeping your neighborhood drains running and being thankful if you have a roof over your head and food on the table. So what if a bus is late. We need to stop and look at those who took the responsibility to drive us to work, shopping, etc. Thank you to the DOT workers that were working around the clock. It's not their fault that we had an artic blast sweep our state. We were all totally informed about the storm and what to expect...and seriously, how often does this happen in the NW? So, we are a little bit inconvienced...oh, well.

I was so pleased to hear Alan Schauffler bite the bullet about the bunch of cry babies wanting to blame everyone else especially any state or local offical. I was especially "struck" by the amazement of the homeowners on top of the hill/Mt. Index who were amazed by their huge houses may have to be condemed and removed. Even in basic geography classes at the UW we heard the words
"MASS Wasting of the hillside"
'podzolic/clay soil'
which not only won't absorb water but makes it difficult for trees with deep root systems to grow and hold the soil.
Instead, people have walked up to me on the street even (for no reason except to flaunt the fact that they are from out of state I suppose)
and they say "Ha! Why are you so silly as to waste your time living in Seattle and pay taxes on a dying infrastructure when we can move to Issaquah or... (different people saying Bothell, Bellingham, etc) We all want a home on the river Or top of the hill, why haven't you ever done it?
When my father Elmer C Vogel became the first Deputy (assistant) Director of Ecology when Gov. Dixie Lee Ray created the department of Ecology, father would come home muttering the words
"They are building in a flood plain! How many times do I have to look at plans for huge homes and they ignore the fact of historic floods. That is why it is called "a flood plain!"
These people don't remember the terrific snow we had the winter after the "Goodwill Games". People who worked low paying security jobs on Rainier Ave S. by the old Sick's stadium (Now Lowes) and further south at the Keneworth Truck Test track were snowed in and stayed there when the buses couldn't make it. They kept their jobs even if they had share their phone both out posts with other stranded guards and rotate in and out of truck cabs.
No one whined. They had the pioneering spirit. These whiners should read the biography of Mrs. Foss who started the Foss Tug boat company in Tacoma.

I love that there is an assumption here that everyone has a car ("buy chains") or can choose to stay home ("off the roads"). My point exactly. And I, for one, don't blame people like SDOT workers or Metro drivers. In fact, I applaud them for working under terrible conditions. I do, however, blame leadership for not having employable plans and agree that it is not a great indicator for an actual disaster.

You nailed it Alan. We have become a whiny society, always blaming someone else for our own shortcomings. It's NOBODY'S fault when the weather acts up and makes life difficult. It's not our government's problem or responsibility to get us to work safely...it is OURS!

I think the people have to quit expecting the government to bail them out of everything, take care of everything that might possibly go wrong, and basically just start taking care of themselves. The gov't can't predict weather, can't stop weather, can't prevent snowstorms or hurricanes, can't have every type of machinery or employees on hand for every disaster that "might" happen sometime in the future... we have become such 'victims'!!! The government was not created to babysit you and meet your every need. We need to take care of ourselves and stop expecting SO much from our governments. Let's declare independence from our own government!!!!

We have become such victims and SO OVERLY dependent on our governments!! We expect them to bail us all out of every bad thing that happens to us!. Governments can't control the weather and they should not be expected to fix everything for us when bad things happen. People need to take responsibility for their own selves and the circumstances that befall them! The government was not created to babysit us all and take care of us all!!! Let's declare independence from our own government!!!!

Society needs to quit blaming the Government for everything. Consideering the severity of the snow storm (very unusual for Seattle), the City did what it could with limited resources (27 snow plows). Take responsibility for yourself and be prepared. Help the City clean storm drains so we can have drainage etc etc. Get over it. It only happens here every 20-30 years. Be prepared to get to work or stay at home without power. Survival is your responsiblity in a weather crisis. Quit complaining and blaming everyone else for your inconvienience.

Alan i couldn't have said it any better.I grew up in Van,B.C. and we never depended on the local govt for our daily agenda.All i did was look out the window in bad weather was what i had to drive and where i had to go.If the snow was under 4" i would drive my vette and yes it had 16" summer tires on.If it was over 4' it would be my 4X4....What made me Drive a front wheel drive Caravan in the last storm here?.....Common Sense and watching the other driver's and staying away from them.What would make you a better driver?....Common sense and QUIT thinking ur Jeff Gordon in your 4X4 and learn how to DRIVE and if all that fails.STAY OFF THE ROAD.AND PS...WHEN THE ROADS WERE FLOODED I STAYED HOME.

Alan Schaffler was right on the money. Forget playing the blame game and take some personal responsibility to plan for the next big snow or other challenge. Yes, there are vulnerable folks among us who can't do this. So think in terms of planning not only for your own needs, but to assist neighbors as well.

What do you mean, "Handle it!" Like who's responsible for my well being? Certainly not me. I didn't build the roads. I didn't make the car. I didn't create the snow. When I am inconvenienced, someone is to blame, but certainly not me. Why should I get tire chains or carry a dirty sweatshirt in my car. Someone should assure that I have a fine and comfortable life without interruption or inconvenience. Certainly not myself. And you say, "Handle it!." like it's up to me. Alan, what you really need to do is tell me who I can sue when things go wrong. That's the American way...or... is it?

Terry

ps: I loved it, Alan.

It's nice to here someone in the media with a level head about this 4 or 5 day blast of winter. All of the people looking for someone to blame need only to look closer at themselves. I find it ridiculous hearing the ongoing complaints about this short lived winter weather. How about a shred of self reliance, is it that hard...And OK, If it were elderly people stuck in the cold, who really could use the help it wouldn't be so appalling. But in general, it seems that it has been the younger generations doing the complaining...What are we becoming?? Can we really not function with a little snow, or have we as a younger generation just become lazy?? In my 36 years living in Seattle, I have never heard such complaining and blaiming weather on government. The good thing is folks, it'll probably be about 5 years before we have another snow storm like this winter. So, PLEASE! you all have plenty of time to prepare yourselves for the next "storm".

Well put Alan!! I can't believe how helpless people sound. What would they do if they were involved in a real disaster?

I think there is responsibility to go around here. It is a given failure EVERY year for all Puget Sound residents who are ill prepared for snow. How many years do you see people stuck, sliding or crashing their car on TV? If your car can't handle the snow, that's on you.

But Seattle and King County have also failed. Snow falls often enough around here that we should have a published management plan in place to deal with it. That includes mandatory chain control measures, Metro bus snow schedules and routes (including REAL chains for the buses, not the fake cable chains), published response plans and routes for snow plowing, deicing or sanding. It should fall under some kind of Phased alert similar to flood warnings. So a Phase 4 alert means travel requires chains, only 10% of bus routes will run, and Phase 4 routes will be treated/plowed within 12 hours.

It isn't up to the Government to solve all of our problems, but it is up to them to state what capacity and expectations are for response to reasonably well predicted problems like snow. After that the citizens can evaluate what trade offs have to be made to bump up the response.

Well said, Alan! We live in Snoqualmie - 20 minutes from Snoqualmie Pass - where the wind, snow and rain show no mercy. It appears to be the general attitude of the fine residents of Snoqualmie - while our city government gets an
A for trying to do what they can to help - to go into "survival mode". It's truly the pioneer spirit. I am fearful for those residents in any city who would let themselves rely so much on ANY city government during any natural (or man-made) disaster that may happen. Government is made up of people who can do only so much to help. The pioneer spirit is somewhere in us all.
Use it...next time!

Well said Alan, We people need to stop blaming others and take things into our own hands. If the street in front of your house is in need, get out there with your shovels and help. We did this in Snohomish and it brought out frienships and help to many. We up on these hills never saw a plow but worked together to get it done and got people moving. People are too much into blaming others. THANKS

Amen Allen!
Was the snow storm inconvenient? Yep!
Could more have been done? Yep!
Did I get around anyway, because I was prepared by having chains, and the basics for driving in the snow? Yep!
For all the complainers out there I have a suggestion. While you are complaining, grab a snow shovel, and help your neighbor dig his or her car out of the driveway. Go to your city hall, voice your complaint. Then right after you voice your complaint, offer a solution! If you cant come up with one, then keep your complaints to yourself, grab a shovel, and get back to work helping another neighbor by digging them out, or even better, chain up and go to the store for them.
If you dont have a car,, then take Allen's advice and get prepared. This is the North West! Snow is BIG news here. We get warned about a week in advance when it just might snow around here. If you are not ready, you only have yourself to blame.

I guess when you live in a city where real commerce isn't happening much, there isn't much of a reason for a municipal snow removal effort. In cities where things have to get done and staying home isn't a good option for a few million (like Chicago, New York), the plows are out as soon as the snow STARTS falling. This is just standard back there. It's not a matter of self-reliance, it's a matter of a city delivering some real service in exchange for taxes. That's how a local government is supposed to operate. I guess those of you who are happy with the status quo here can continue paying taxes into bottomless pits that don't give anything back (e.g. the monorail tax, etc).

HUZZAH!!! Your commentary regarding snow removal and coping with weather was PERFECT!! Get a Spine, folks! Weather Happens; Deal With It! Thank you so much for saying out loud what I'm sure Many of us are thinking & saying. YEA!!!

I couldnt agree more. The people how run our roads, power, etc, were out working there butts off to fix things as fast as possible. The City has to make hard choices with their budget. Yes, we could hav 100 snow plows but does that stop a kid from getting a school lunch or a road that doesnt get paved. Its snows here, power goes out here. Its just th way it is. Bravo to king 5 for pointing out that we need to use a little personal resposibility!

You, the sheeple of Jim McDermott land, got what you voted for. Now you are moaning about the performance of the government you voted it. You need to grow out of “I am a victim” mentality. Let your men “man-up” and don’t force them to the ballet.

Alan, you are too late. You and your media colleagues are on the wrong side of the fight.

Moving to the Great Northwest isn't the place to come to if you expected clear roads in bad weather. We have been dealing with bad weather for decades without much help and now with more traffic... more complainers! Nobody will EVER be able to do enough for these people. I would be willing to bet that most of the people driving in the snow didn't have the necessary tools to get them out of a situation. Being prepared bears more weight than expecting everyone else to be prepared for you. Get smart and don't be lazy... prepare for bad weather or move to where it is nice.

It is our right to take care of ourselves, not lose another battle with the goverment. We live in Thurston County and were victims of the flood in Lewis County in Dec. 2007. But we survived on our own and have the supreme feeling of living for ourselves.

Kendra have you called the pothole hotline. here's the numbers

Repairs on Streets North of or on Denny Way - 684-7508
Repairs on Streets South of Denny Way - 386-1218

Be a good citizen and try before you cry. if you can't even pick up the phone and make one call to get your potholes filled how do you expect others will.

You gotta hand it to King5. First they set the mayor up with a sound bite regarding the city's grade for snow removal during the recent snow storms. Then King5 fans the flames until they are burning brightly with responses from people who are waiting for buses that may never come. Just when it seems that the public's attention might be turning elsewhere - like dealing with the recent flooding, then we have Alan Schauffler squeezing a bit more out of this "story" (playing the parent role no less), telling us to get over it.
Ya gotta love it - "news making" at it's finest. I for one would like King5 to get over it!
People are sick and tired of the constant spin by politicians. They think if they say it loud and long enough and with enough conviction that people will eventually believe it. At the very least they hope it will be written that way in the history books. Sound familiar?
Given the magnitude of the snowstorms, I don't think anyone was expecting the streets to be perfect. What Seattle needed was leadership by the mayor, to inspire our personal responsibility. Not someone apparently tooting his horn with a "B" grade. I think it was a failure in leadership by the mayor that started this story and KIng5 was there to fan the flames.

Thank you King5 for this added "storm" coverage in Seattle. And thank you Alan Schauffler for putting it all in perspective. My hope is that the mayor will find some of that personal responsibility too and apply it to his leadership style.

I am severly dissappointed that the liberal state government of Washington has not outlawed sever storms. The inconvenience and economic hardship imposed upon the citizens of this state by nature is intollerable. Something MUST be done. I mean; hiway closures, disruption of air commerce, floods, potholes that damage our beemers, this cannot be allowed. Perhaps the Messiah will address these issues on the federal level when he takes office.

I was just reading all the comments above and couldn't agree more with Jim R's comments. We are a large city with real commerce happening here and it is unacceptable that so many businesses in Seattle couldn't operate because of the lack of options for folks getting to work - either because they couldn't make it in or buses weren't running. I work at a popular sports bar downtown and we had to close three days to the weather because staff couldn't arrive to work due to buses not running, etc. While the snow was a beautiful sight and I personally loved it having lived in Colorado, our employees incomes were highly affected (they're tipped employees!). And while I understand the 'personal responsibility' message going on here (I couldn't agree more!), we are not living in Washington in the 1800's we are here in 2009! We are a thriving metropolis not a small mining town. Just staying put for days shouldn't be the expectation. What if the snow and cold temperatures extended beyond a couple weeks? Then what would have happened? The City is lucky that the snow was only around for a week. The economy was already suffering, then add the fact that no one could make it out to shop for the holidays and their goes our economy further into the tanker. A lot of places downtown suffered!

Also many people rely on our bus system to go to medical appointments, etc. My mom is an RN and she said many of her patients couldn't make it in to their clinic to be seen. With that said, I prayed that nothing would happen to my 3 yr old where I would have needed to take him to the ER. The roads were a mess.

So while I did my part in taking personal responsibility and stocked up on food, drove my 4x4 SUV slowly where I could, packed extra clothes and blankets, and helped shovel our condo's steep driveway, I do expect that the city keep our streets reasonably cleared for driving. The 'just deal with it' approach to me seems like a cop out and certainly won't make preparing for the next snowstorm a priority. The City officials can just read all these blogs letting them know it's okay, and that it's really our problem.

(btw, I do want to say thank you to all the SDOT and PUD workers - they can only do so much given the city's resources and their hard work and efforts were/are certainly appreciated!)

Reading that headline (Seattle's big snow storm: who do we blame?) is like watching a train wreck. You know you shouldn't go there but somehow... here I am commenting. It was a storm. No person can possibly be "responsible" for it. And "blame"? if you're looking to blame someone you probably weren't bright enough to wrap up a little, go out and have some fun in it.
I have a two wheel rear drive car, and on the days I had to be here I made it into Pioneer Square area for work and shopping. Thanks to the rest of you, who left the parking lots open for me ;)

Thank you Allen! It's time someone brought to our attention that we have the ability to use our good sense. The problem with this is, most do not possess it...good sense that is. This is a wonderful illustration of nature weeding out the strong from the week. As my husband says, it creates balance. People, listen up! If you are driving a minivan with bald tires and it happens to be snowing.....STAY OFF THE ROAD! Also, I don't support my tax $ getting spent on a fleet of new snow equipment to clear the roads once every ten years. I heard someone on the news comment that this reflects on our inability to handle potential catastrophes. I think it reflects on our inability to manage ourselves as a community. Life must be managed. I give you complainers an "F" grade :)

A sailor's well done to Alan for the "Deal with it"
piece in the last Up Front. And apparently this
made an impression, reading the comments. Hopefully
the new leadership in our beloved country will also
be insisting that there be more "dealing with it", and less standing by the curb, waiting for the Federal, State, County and local busses to pass by.

After reading Staci's comments - I mean her husband's comments - I feel like people are totally missing the point of the 'self reliance' theme going on here. Folks, come on. Let's not kid ourselves that the definition of self reliance means hunkering down for a few days, putting on a fire, drinking hot cocoa and building a snowman in our backyards. Most of us on this blog are lucky that we were probably the ones that were able to stay home with our kids, watch tv, and enjoy the snow. However, there is a majority of our society that does rely on public transit to get to their jobs. Throughout the year we continually urge people to use public transit and not rely on their cars (for traffic or environment's sake) and then when these same people express their concerns that the same system we've asked them to use failed them(and I
think their main complaints stem from not being properly communicated with so they could make alternate plans) we condemn them for
"complaining"? Give me a break. The people you're grading an "f" for complaining are probably the same people that were answering the phone when your On Demand wasn't working or you wanted a pizza delivered. Our society is so NOT self reliant. We rely on so many people, products, services, etc to get us through the day. If this was a true test of nature weeding out the weak, we wouldn't have still had the luxury of heat, cable tv, phone service, water, etc. Don't knock the people that were complaining about the roads and bus system. They probably can spear an elk better than you can. And when I mentioned in my earlier posting that we should expect the roads to be reasonably cleared, we should. We can shovel ourselves silly out of our driveways, but then what? Is it our responsibility to shovel the whole county road in our neighborhood, too? Is it the city's responsibility that Emergency vehicles can make it to your house? Yes. It doesn't mean we need to purchase a whole fleet of snow removal machines, it means that some feasible plan needs to be in place during another snowstorm. When I lived in a ski resort town in CO. there were a number of contracted plowers that transformed their 4x4 trucks into snow plows in the winter time. Why couldn't we do that here? Then all of the construction workers that were out of jobs because of the economy could have at least had some work for a week of two. Something to think about.

Anybody who complains about the roads is a whiner. We so rarely get snowfalls that stick around for mutliple days, it wouldn't make sense to maintain a large enough snow removal operation handle storms of that maginitude.

People are so quick to whine at the slightest inconvenience. I honestly had to swallow back vomit while reading a few of these comments. Did mommy and daddy never tell you to just shut your mouth and deal with it once in a while?! Sheesh

I don't even own a four wheel drive vehicle and I made it around when I had to. It wasn't always fun, bu I made it work. I also live on Capitol Hill!!

Just because it doesn't snow much doesn't mean the State of Washington shouldn't be prepared. I watched the news & saw busses, cars and trucks with chains & they still couldn't make it up the hills. Everything should have been SALTED. I lived in Pennsylvania the majority of my life & roads were always salted - my car never rusted out - and on top of that, it was never parked in a garage. Everyone involved in accidents with their cars, etc had to deal with no vehicles, an expense getting it repaired and find other ways to get to work.
Wake up Washington...stop whinning