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Up Front Blog |
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November 2008
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Recently by http://blogs.king5.com/bio/upfront.jsBill Fleckenstein has been saying for years a day of economic reckoning was in our future. Fleckenstein blames the low interest rate policies of the federal reserve under Alan Greenspan for the economic bubble that is now bursting. He says credit should have been tightened to try and avoid some of the economic pain we are beginning to experience. Of course, low interest rates helped people buy homes, cars and other things that drive our con... It has been a long campaign season. The presidential candidates have been at it for more than a year and hundreds of millions of dollars. Democrat Christine Gregoire and Republican DIno Rossi arguably have been running since 2004. They are breaking spending records too. It's deja vu in the 8th Congressional District features with two candidates, Darcy Burner and Dave Reichert, who faced off in 2006. People in the Puget Sound face Proposi... Initiative 1000 would allow people diagnosed with only six months to live to obtain a lethal prescription from a doctor. Oregon has had this law on the books for ten years. The number who have used it has grown slowly over that period to 49 last year. Proponents say it allows dying people to take control of the end of their lives and gain a measure of dignity. Opponents argue that society shouldn't legalize suicide and it's a slippery slop... When you ask people, they say they don't care for negative ads, but political strategists say they work. Very few -- if any of these ads -- tell the whole story. They insinuate, they spin, and in some cases they are simply wrong. Millions of dollars are being spent on these ads to influence the gubernatorial campaign. Most of that money isn't coming from the candidates campaigns; it's coming from so-called independent expenditures. These a... Rob McKenna is the incumbent Republican Washington State Attorney General. He is considered a rising star in the Republican party, a candidate with bi-partisan appeal who has been mentioned as a likely candidate for governor. His challenger is Democrat John Ladenburg. Ladenburg has been the Pierce County Executive and the Pierce County prosecutor. He attacks McKenna for not being a strong consumer advocate, especially regarding ID theft a... The Sound Transit Board has placed another light rail measure on this fall's ballot. It's called Proposition One and it would create another 34 miles of light rail from Lynnwood to Federal Way to Redmond. It would also increase commuter rail (Sounder) between Seattle and Tacoma and add express bus service. Sound Transit says it will cost $17.8 billion before interest is added. The revenue to pay for this expansion would come from a half p... Initiative 985 is Tim Eyman's latest initiative. It would open up HOV lanes in certain off-peak commute periods, require cities and counties to synchronize stop lights, put more money into emergency roadside service, and fund all of this with money taken from certain fines, penalties and tolls. None of this money could be used for mass transit -- buses or rail, bike lanes, or wildlife crossings. Eyman says these changes will result in bette... Although the Republican and Democratic candidates for president get almost all the media coverage, third party presidential candidates have often tipped the balance to one candidate or another on election day. Remember Ralph Nader in 2000 or Ross Perot in 1992? This year there are a number of alternatives to Barack Obama and John McCain. Former Republican Representative Bob Barr is running on the Libertarian ticket. Ralph Nader is once ag... Seattle author and historian RIck Shenkman has a written a book that says American voters are ill-informed. He says good democratic government depends on informed voters and Americans are not living up to their responsibility. What really animates Shenkman is misconceptions about Saddam Hussein's connection to the 9/11 attacks. Here's an excerpt from an article he wrote for The Washington Post: "Just before t... In 2006, Darcy Burner ran as the Democratic candidate in the 8th Congressional District against incumbent Dave Reichert. Burner linked Reichert to President Bush and his Iraq policies. Reichert's campaign challenged Burner's lack of public service experience. In the end, Reichert won a close race. Now, two years later, Burner is back. Does she have what it takes to defeat Reichert this time? Rep. Dave Reichert is running for a third term in the 8th Congressional District. Critics say Reichert's views on Iraq are not a good fit for the district. What do you think? Christine Gregoire is seeking another four year term. Gregoire points to her expansion of children's healthcare and education as two key accomplishments. She also says that, despite the down turn of the national economy, Washington state is doing relatively well. She answers questions about a budget shortfall, by saying she is on top of tax receipts and will take the actions necessary to keep the budget balanced. What do you think? Is she... One of the goals of campaign finance laws is to make the process transparent. Voters should know which campaigns and candidates are getting money, who's giving them money, and how much money is exchanging hands. What do you think? Is the system working? Is it clear to you which interest groups are supporting the different campaigns? Do you think you can easily figure out the individuals who are contributing to campaigns? In the primary on August 19th, King County voters will be asked to take the first steps toward a non-partisan county government. It's called Initiative 26 and it would turn the King County Executive, Prosecutor, Assessor and Council offices into non-partisan positions. Supporters say parties get in the way of local government. They argue, most local issues are not partisan. Opponents say, this is a Republican ploy to get more Republicans e... The Sound Transit board voted unanimously to place a 15-year, $17.6 billion measure on the November ballot. It would entail a .05 cent sales tax increase. In return voters get, among other things, 34 new miles of light rail. What do you think? Are voters in the mood to increase taxes for transportation projects? ...In 2004 Dino Rossi lost a disputed and highly publicized election to Christine Gregoire. Now he's back and most polls show the race is once again very close. Rossi is very critical of Gregoire's record and tout's his own accomplishments in the state legislature as evidence he can do a better job. What do you think? Has Rossi shown you he is ready to be governor? ...Thousands of convicted sex offenders in Washington State don't have a place to live after serving their prison sentences. They live under bridges, on streets and in impromptu campgrounds. Is the Department of Corrections doing a good enough job keeping track of these felons? What do you think of using tax dollars to provide housing for them so we know where they are? Would creating an ombudsman help provide a solution? Local author Paul Roberts in his book, The End of Food, suggests the end of food -- at least as we know it -- is on the horizon. After decades of increased crop production and declining levels of hunger, Roberts says, increases in food borne illnesses, rising petroleum prices, and the cost of staple foods like rice, corn and wheat signal a breakdown in our global food system. What do you think? Is the era of cheap and plentiful food about t...
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