We are not attacked because we're in Iraq

Can it be any clearer that the undertow of fanaticism that flows through the Muslim religion is not based on the United States' actions in Iraq but rather a deep and abiding hatred for anything or anyone who does not follow the crazed and deeply disturbed ideology of Islam?

See NY Times story of Sunday June, 4, 2006 (requires free membership)

These extremists were planning to attack either the Parliament Building in Ottawa or the Provincial Parliament in Toronto with a 3-ton fertilizer bomb made with fuel oil and ammonium nitrate.

What is almost laughable about this article were two statements from an assistant commissioner of the Canadian Mounties Mike McConnell:

• None of them had any known affiliation with Al Qaeda


• "They represent the broad strata of our society"

While they may not have a known affiliation with Al Qaeda, they are obviously fellow-travelers of those who attacked us on 9/11 and have come from various countries around Iraq to fight democracy before it can take root.

To the notion that they come from a broad strata of Canadian society is absolutely ridiculous. I doubt very much that these men were integrated into the fabric of society of the Great White North. The one thread that is common is that indeed these are all Muslims and attend the same "Islamic Learning Center". In the story it reveals that training camps were found as well as related equipment that wouldn't exactly point to the likelyhood that these were law-abiding Canadians. Everything points to them being terrorists; and surprise, surprise, they're Muslim.

Go figure! I would have never guessed. You could knock me over with a feather...

What is interesting about this story is that they were prepared to attack Canada instead of America. This puts to rest the notion that we're targeted for destruction because we are in Iraq and Canada chose not to participate on this front in the war against IslamoFascism.

So, the idea that we should cut and run from Iraq and we'll no longer be targets of them going forward cannot be supported with this example.

I would submit that weakness is actually the characteristic that these fanatical Islamists pursue and attack. We cannot show weakness; we must be strong and we must defeat these psycho killers who clearly have a death wish. This is a wish that we must be willing to grant.

DunnerMeister

Open Letter to Redmond City Council

Dear Editor (King County Journal),

It is clear that Mayor Ives seems to be intent on punishing certain groups of voters for voting “NO” on Proposition 1 last Tuesday. Why else would she desire to wait for the demographics report on the vote to come back unless it was to penalize those who don’t share her luxury view of Redmond city government?

Again, she refuses to get the message of nearly two-thirds of Redmond voters which is: taxes are high enough; find another way to balance the budget.

In the last 10 of her 15 years at Redmond’s helm, the number of city employees has doubled. When the population has only grown 20% in that same stretch, there must be room to trim overhead.

It would seem that nothing short of the Redmond City Council standing up to Mayor Ives’ continued call for “revenue solutions” – a couple of members have already shown marked improvement in the wake of Proposition 1’s defeat – is going to cure Redmond’s fiscal problems. Revenue is not the problem, spending is!

Mayor Ives would do well to engage in the priorities in government exercise that truly scrutinizes expenditures against the city’s stated mission. And maybe the city’s mission is super-sized and should be carefully examined as well? The taxpayers have demanded it and now it’s time for our elected officials to execute on it.

David Carson
Financial Accountability in Redmond
Redmond, WA

Redmond's officers and firefighters shouldn't have to beg

Isn't it outrageous that the services that are supposed to be the most important are the first to be sacrificed in the event of a shortfall? On second thought, it's not ridiculous. It's either insanity (it's doubtful that the council and the mayor could all be insane) or it's a tactic to preserve programs that are less important by threatening those that have the most significance to residents of Redmond every day: police and fire protection. That's exactly what Redmond has proposed and it should be resisted by the voters.

That those who protect our city are groveling for your support in public is disgusting and unseemly. We should never be placing the necks of our police and firefighters on the proverbial chopping block to save the programs that could be trimmed or eliminated. We cannot risk those vital services because those are a matter of life and death. Priorities? Aren't police and fire protection the most essential services that any city can provide? Should it not be fully-funded to keep Redmond a great place to live?

There were those on Redmond's city council who wanted to build and finance the city hall differently, but the responsibility for this debacle lies squarely in that body. However, Redmond's residents should not be punished for their serious lack of financial sense. Redmond doesn't have a revenue shortfall (revenues continue to rise significantly above inflation), it has a surplus of spending. I urge a NO vote on Proposition 1 on May 16th.

David Carson
Redmond

David Beamer Got It Right

The father of Todd Beamer, one of the first to fight back on September 11th, 2001 wrote an excellent piece in the Wall Street Journal last week. I had the chance to see United 93 over the weekend and what I realized is that I harbor a real and visceral hatred for those who perpetrated 9/11 on America.

Seeing planes impact the World Trade Center towers in the early part of the film evoked a deep emotional response that I hadn't expected since I have seen the footage many times since. The rage I experienced when seeing those images again coupled with the emotions of those who were experiencing it as it happened that terrible day was difficult to watch. You can see the disbelief in their face. You can see the stunned look that something is terribly wrong. The other sense I got then and again while watching the movie was that someone has a hatred so vast that they would fly planes into buildings in order to injure America's psyche.

What David Beamer writes about how this director and cast really got it right and I cannot disagree in the least. He goes on to talk about the "blessed opportunity" that they had to fight back and not allow these terrorists' will be carried out. These people were exactly what is great about America. The selfless, determined and aggressive nature in which they took on these vermin is absolutely compelling and inspiring.

DunnerMeister

Hasta Café Manager

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/268720_marchjob02.html

Mr. Santiago has my respect for adhering to his principles in firing Mr. Wolfe after he failed to schedule anyone for work so that the employees could attend the immigrant rights rally in Seattle. This was an open and defiant act on Mr. Wolfe's part and when an employee openly defies their superior it undermines their credibility and authority. Managers are there to carry out the lawful will of the owner of any small business. Mr. Wolfe failed his employer.

Mr. Santiago has risked his treasure in these ventures and must spend much time away his family to see his investment grow. When a manager undermines the authority in this fashion, the owner has no recourse but to punish an insolent manager. The strongest punishment that Mr. Santiago could mete out was to fire his manager. I say Bravo!

It is my sincere hope that Mr. Santiago will stick to his principles and not bend to the will of those who would undercut his ownership rights unlike Laitala Enterprises who reversed their decision to fire workers who attended the previous rally without permission. Lord knows that operating any business in tax- and regulation-laden Seattle has enough challenges without open rebellion of supervisors and employees.

DunnerMeister

Why I hate Juan Williams' Brain

I detest Juan Williams. But, at first glance, he seems like an affable and likeable guy who would be nice to meet and shoot the breeze with for an hour over a beer. However the conversation would be labored as I do not respect him (which certainly changes the dynamic and the basis for conversation).

My reasons include:

• He doesn't understand basic economics. This is unforgivable for a pundit with regular access to a national audience.


• He's seems to see things backwards. I can't explain why he's almost exactly wrong every time, but I do think that it's not a coincidence that he was a philosophy major in college.


• He openly advocates breaking the law by those entrusted with our national defense. This is outrageous!

Specifically, on Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace this week the Dean of Liberal Punditry and Psychobabble who is a fixture on this Sunday show (going back many years when it started with incoming Presidential Press Secretary Tony Snow) he openly advocates in favor of Mary McCarthy, the Central Intelligence Agency leaker who has been fired for disclosing classified information on prisons used to interrogate terrorist suspects.

But, let me begin where the outrage started:

In the first segment of the panel, the topic was gas prices. Mr. Williams opened his mouth and removed all doubt that he either skipped, flunked or snoozed through Econ 101 at Haverford College in the 70's. He wants the government to take control of gas prices. Fortunately, Britt Hume and Bill Kristol were there to set him straight.

Does he not remember when President Carter did this? Not a smart move then and virtually every economist who doesn't support communism has come out against regulating prices. When prices are forced down artificially, the impact is to increase demand rather than suppress it. When any product is priced less than its natural market value, the ordinary reaction is for the demand to increase since it's known to be more valuable on an open market than the amount that is being paid to acquire it. Inviting black markets and gangster activity in the area of petroleum products should not a desirable outcome of any economic policy.

Secondly, the illogical Williams says in the next segment that impeachment should be considered against President Bush because he leaked classified information when he released the National Security Assessment report that he largely based his decision to take out Saddam Hussein in Iraq. In fact, when the president – any president – releases classified material it's called "de-classifying" and not "leaking". The President of the United States is the number one de-classifier of information and he has the inherent authority to declassify whatever information he deems fit.

The third – and related – topic of Mary McCarthy came up. Williams however turns logic on its head and submits that if a person leaks information that furthers their political agenda (oh, he calls it "exposing the truth") in the course of their intelligence-sector job, this is justified and indeed noble. Don't worry your pretty little head about the FACT that this person is sworn to protect these types of secrets which can be used against this country by those that seek to destroy it. There are reasons why some information must be kept from the public. Our enemies absolutely relish these useful idiots when they seek to, wittingly or not, help these enemies' cause by acting out their political will against an administration that they ideologically oppose.

If McCarthy's leaking of information about secret prisons in Eastern Europe causes our enemies to be successful in attacking this country again or just denigrating our cause then she must be dealt with swiftly and severely. I would flip the switch myself on a traitor such as McCarthy with absolutely no hesitation because her actions put civilians and especially our military at greater risk.

McCarthy should be prosecuted and serve a very long time in prison. She should hope every day that her actions have not caused this country to endure another attack from these vicious and blood-thirsty killers. If they do and her illegal and traitorous actions result in harm, her neck should be on the line.

Juan Williams (Fox News Bio) is 180 degrees out of phase and should not be allowed a pass on his disgusting and ridiculous rhetoric on Fox News Sunday.

DunnerMeister

Give the City of Seattle a Dictionary…

Gregg Hirakawa, Grace Crunican (Director) and Greg Nickels (Mayor) all need to be taken to task for the News Advisory that the Seattle Department of Transportation put out on Friday that uses the term "citizen" for those who are planning to march in this demonstration on May 1st. Of course, the word "citizen" is used deliberately here as some liberal attempt to color the ongoing immigration debate. Accuracy in language is important and this is used in an attempt to lend more validity to this group's goals and it should be rebuffed.

If that weren't enough, they also use the term "Citizen" on their website for what they call the "Citizen Inquiry Form". Memo to the City of Seattle. Not everyone that's a resident of the Emerald City is a citizen.

If you wish to send the City of Seattle a nasty-gram, here are the places you can go:

"Citizen Inquiry Form"
Gregg Hirakawa (spokesperson)

DunnerMeister

Finkbeiner will not seek re-election to Senate

OLYMPIA…Senator Bill Finkbeiner announced today that he will not run again for his Senate seat this fall. Finkbeiner serves the 45th District which includes Kirkland, Redmond, Woodinville, Duvall and Sammamish.

"The first word that comes to mind when I think about representing my district in the Legislature is 'grateful'," said Finkbeiner, who was first elected to the House of Representatives fourteen years ago. "I feel incredibly fortunate to have had the opportunity to serve in the Legislature, but at this time my family and I have agreed that the time is right to step aside and give someone else an opportunity to represent the district as Senator while I turn my attention to a career outside of politics."

Finkbeiner was elected to the House of Representatives in 1992 at the age of 23 and elected to the Senate in 1994. He served as majority leader in 2005 and as far as anyone can remember was the youngest majority leader in the state's history. He also served as minority leader in 2004, deputy majority leader in 2003, and Republican assistant floor leader from 1999 to 2000. Finkbeiner has served on many Senate committees, including Education (served for 8 years, 4 years as Ranking Republican); Energy and Utilities (now Water, Energy & Environment) (Committee Chair); and Transportation. He currently serves on three Senate committees: Transportation; Financial Institutions, Housing & Consumer Protections; and Rules.

"One of the things I am most proud of is how I was able to impact the Legislature itself and make it run a bit differently." Finkbeiner said. "I was especially pleased that during my term as majority leader, only one bill out of 776 passed on a party line vote. The rest passed with what I like to call a 'philosophical majority.'

"Also, when I arrived in 1993, we had no e-mail and the bill reports weren't online. I knew that putting these tools in place would give the public much greater access to their lawmakers and the legislative process. So I pushed hard for us to get them up and running, and we did it. When I look today at how easily citizens can access their legislators through e-mail or look up a bill and come to Olympia to testify on it, I am proud to have been part of that cultural change.

"As for what's next, I will continue the privilege of representing the people of the 45th District until the end of the year. I will also continue pursuing my master's degree. It's an exciting time in my life, and I am looking forward to putting everything I have learned in school, the private sector and the Legislature to use in future endeavors.

"Finally, I want to bid a fond farewell to all the senators I have served with, but especially to the members of my caucus. They have been tremendous to work with and work for. It has been a real honor to serve with them."

Finkbeiner said he would announce his future plans in the next few weeks. His term ends Dec. 31.

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For more information contact Rebecca Japhet (360) 786-7516 or Japhet.Rebecca@leg.wa.gov
For the latest news and information from the Senate Republican Caucus
visit the Senate Republican Media Center at http://www.src.wa.gov/