Washington State Initiative 985

Tomorrow, voters in my home state of Washington will decide whether to enact Initiative 985 into law.  From the Washington Secretary of State’s office, “This measure would open high-occupancy vehicle lanes to all traffic during specified hours, require traffic light synchronization, increase roadside assistance funding, and dedicate certain taxes, fines, tolls and other revenues to traffic-flow purposes.”[wei.secstate.wa.gov]

The full text of the initiative can be found in PDF format here.

To put it bluntly, the initiative is a bad idea.  More after the jump.

GWB = TR?

Doug Wead has a blog up comparing George W. Bush to Theodore Roosevelt.  It’s quite a good read.

http://dougwead.wordpress.com/2008/02/01/w-for-mt-rushmore/

Coming Soon: Horrible Drivers

I’m working on a “project” to capture horrible drivers in the act…  Stay tuned to this space for more!

^Z

The Lower Class Middle Class

I encourage you all to add CNSNews.com to your normal circuit of news sites.  They have a bit of a Conservative slant, but they’re not nearly as biased as a large portion of the mostly Liberal mainstream media.  They posted a story today discussing how the Community Reinvestment Act played a pivotal role in creating our housing bubble. [link]

According to Wikipedia [link] (which I acknowledge is not a terribly reliable primary source, however, information that it cites from elsewhere is used here), “the CRA seeks to ensure the provision of credit to all parts of a community, regardless of the relative wealth or poverty of a neighborhood.”  Did you catch that?  Let’s remove the doublespeak.  “parts of a community” = “people”.  “the relative wealth or poverty of a neighborhood” = “their ability to pay back loans”.

Capitalism v. Socialism — The Throwdown

A couple of months ago, I was flipping channels on the TV, and I came across as recorded lecture at the University of Washington.  The punch line of the lecture was “…leads to greater redistribution of wealth.”  And she (the lecturer) said it as if it’s a foregone conclusion that redistribution of wealth is a good thing.  But is it really?  I agree that if we want to claim to be a moral society, we must collectively possess a conscience.  But does it follow that we must provide for the needs of others in order to be moral?  And what are the long term implications of redistribution of wealth?

Mainstream Media-ocrity

It’s said that if you’re still a Conservative at 25, you’re heartless, and if you’re still a Liberal at 35, you’re brainless.

I guess I’m heartless, then.

I think it’s about time I delve into politics.  Everyone else seems to be talking about it, and what’s more, people actually appear to be listening.  I’m torn about it though — too many people use blogs as their only source of news.  That’s not healthy, in my opinion.  On the other hand, too many people get all their news from mainstream media.  That’s worse.  At least with blogs, we don’t all sing the same tune, and that unfortunately is where the mainstream media is heading at an alarming rate.

Quick Fix, or Delayed Disaster?

There has been a lot of talk in the world about our fledgling economy.  I’d like to address some of the things people are saying.  A lot of people just don’t have a clue what they’re talking about, and can’t see past their own wallet.  I’m here to set the record straight.

First!

This is the first of what I hope will be many treatises (that’s your 25 cent word for the day) on how I see the world.  So what makes my blog any different from the world+dog’s inane ramblings?  Well first of all, I’m not a moron, so I’m ahead of 2/3 of the blogging “community” right there.  Secondly, I actually know how to craft a logical argument.  Thirdly, I know the difference between to, too, and two, there, their, and they’re, we’re and were (and where — that’s just lazy), I know proper apostrophe usage (and usually use it), and I know that “noone” is not a word (“no one” is — well, it’s two words, but you get the idea).

Basically what I’m saying is that the vast majority of blogs out there are BAD.  Painfully, mind-numbingly, awe-inspiringly, “oh for the love of God, I can’t take this assault on my eyes any longer” bad. You may consider me your savio(u)r from the drivel that passes as blogging these days.

I’m a geek (not a nerd), and when I say that, I do so proudly.  I have my B.A. in Economics, I’m a Marketing Analyst, and in all likelihood, I’m smarter than you.  Though I will certainly admit when I’ve been beaten in an intellectual discussion.  You may think I’m a pompous ass at this point, and I’m OK with that.  I encourage you to engage me on an intellectual level and by all means, call me to task if you think I’m completely off-base on something — just make sure you come armed to any battle of wits you try to get into with me, because I don’t take prisoners.

Now, having said all that, I’m deliberately acting like an ass up there, when in reality, that’s actually a bit outside my character.  Why, you ask?  Frankly, pissing people off is the quickest way to get a response out of them.  I’m not just interested in spouting my opinion.  I’m interested in a discussion.  So naturally, if I tell you I’m smarter than you, you’re going to come back and say “no you’re not” and then we’re having a discussion.  It’s a bit underhanded, I know, but if the shoe fits, wear it.

Now, what will you find on this blog?  You’ll find discussions of politics, economics, and a fair bit about the stupid people I inevitably encounter in daily life (like people who run red lights…).  Basically, you’re going to get a taste of what I care about, and what I observe, and if you find that intriguing enough to have a read, then I’ve done my job.

^Z