Heaven forbid anyone would ever mistake my business focus for being a typical Chamber of Commerce type, much less that rather peculiar organization, the Greater Seattle Chamber.

That's not to say these folks aren't very, very good at what they do. Witness this week's Conference of Mayors event, hosted by Greg Nickels of Seattle. Now perhaps this is coincidence, but did anyone notice how they were able to time the predictable journalistic series of events in the 'outing' of conservative gay State Representative Richard Curtis?

Not only were they able to publicize the availability of escort services they were also able to get the local media to publish the price as well as a variety of warnings and safeguards, should a conventioneer wish to safely engage this local industry. One that is certainly larger than most good citizens would care to admit - take for example the practice of advertising for same in local 'alternative' papers. Again, note the timing of this series of events - on the very eve of perhaps the highest profile conference hosted by that City this year.

Obligatory, pointed, wisecrack aside, I would like to offer a bit of shameless boosterism for the Mayors. Climate change is a challenge we must address. The risk is not certain, even more certainly the form it will take. But the potential cost most certainly is known. Relying on the Federal government to solve this problem is just not something that is within their capability - and part of that is that very uncertainty.

The Mayor's - each addressing this real problem in their own fashion - will not all be able to rise to the highest levels of performance. But a few of them, as yet unknown, will figure out how to do it - to the benefit of their economy, and citizens. Others will follow their success, if they are able.

Some, like New Orleans (the City of NO) Mayor Ray Nagin have a tough hand dealt them. Some will rise to that challenge, some will not. It isn't about god, about good, and evil, it is just the way it is, and always has been. Faith though will carry us through.

Call it a glass half full, a glass half empty, as you wish. As long as the accountants concur, 'we' will prevail....

Thank you conventioneers, and god speed.

Sometimes the best way to approach your goals is to move away from them. An unseemingly large number of election items at issue Tuesday have brought this simple life rule to the forefront of my thoughts.

Moving backwards to go forwards is a life lesson taught to me through sport - and though built a bit like Seahawker Mack Strong - it's a lesson I learned through navigating the wilds of the Western U.S., not as a High School Offensive Lineman.

Proceeding blindly towards an obsessive goal can be dangerous. Even more dangerous is taking an easy road that has been put before you fraudlently.

Before my comments, a brief outdoor story, illustrating the point:

I once took a friend on one of my favorite hikes in Washington State - the Soleduck River/High Divide/Ridge Loop, just north of Mount Olympus. The day was perfect, late August with the Huckelberries at their ripest - as also was the weather.

The hike is long, about 20 miles, but it is also a loop, returning to the same spot you started. These 20 miles can be covered more easily in a day, lightly burdened, than could be covered in a weekend with full camping gear.

The pace to begin is mellow, slowly climbing through the rain forest of the Soleduck River valley, past Soleduck Falls. Only near the end of the basin do you enter the open Alpine Country - a modest cirque of heather, huckelberries, and small granite peaks. Climbing out of this basin you reach the pass, High Divide, to the Hoh river basin.

Though the climb to the pass is moderate the other side is quite dramatic, dropping thousands of feet below to the Hoh river then climbing several thousand above to the glacier covered peaks of Mount Olympus.

But this is not our route, our route is down the ridgeline - wending among rock pinnacles and cliffs as we slowly descend to our starting point - all in the glorious view of mountainous glory and riverine sublimity.

Though Huckelberries and views can do much to sustain this is a long hike, and by now all but the most enduranced of travelers will be feeling the burn. Perhaps distracted by a herd of grazing elk we chose any path that we thought was heading back down to the Soleduck Hot Springs.

But it was not descending into this watershed, it was in fact descending into the Hoh - a decision that could've proved quite problematic. Luckily, upon a bit of reflection, we discovered our error, corrected our path with only a slight detour - a worthwhile one actually - save for the legs. It was not long before we began to climb down from the ridge, steeply now, and returned to the trailhead, conveniently located next to the Soleduck Hot Springs.

For those of you so inclined, they do serve. I'd highly recommend spending the night here before driving back to home and work. My trip was the last time I smoked marijuana, an experience I'd like to do again some time. Proper time to recover, like that of an airplane pilot and alcohol, is important - something I think I learned, though not always through the easy path...

That said - observations on a few of the initiativi that are now before us.

Proposition 1, Sound Transit Two, et al:

This has been covered at length by myself and others, perhaps best on Crosscut. (The pieces by Bundy and Morrill are best - quality commenters include Piper Scott and David Sucher, and, hopefully, moi.) I won't burden my site anymore with the deserved negativity of the so-called 'business' practices of this funding proposal. (BTW, nothing wrong with the engineering, at least so far - save for poor route choice on I-90 - one of at least two very poor financial choices, the other being the Sea-Tac to Tacoma segment.)

A second vote will improve the package, just like with Sound Transit One.

R-67 - Insurance Reform:

Though the letter of this law make sense the implementation of it by the legal profession will not. Witness the heart tugging ads regarding a Puyallup Fireman, covered by the State's Workemen's Comprehensive and City of Puyallup policies, neither of which are subject to this initiatives regulations.

As for me, I trust my insurance company (and their lawyers) than I trust the trial attornies. A good place to start here would be the effective implementation of triple damages for legal practice malfeasance.

4204 - Levy vote margins for Schools

The proponents of this proposal are right. It is not fair that schools need to pass a higher threshold for passage than other financial measures. However we need to get State spending practices back in touch with reality, and a better move would be to raise the standards for all proposals to the level currently held to our schools.

Lowering standards is not the way to improve our schools. Threats about the future economic success of our children, should this fail, should be legally pursued.

I-960 - Legislative Financial Accountability, by Initiative

My socially liberal politics are probably completely opposite the drafter of this proposal, Tim Eyman. However the continued lack of financial responsibility to even the most simple of legal standards is shameful.

I can't say this is the best way to do it. Like with global climate change though it is damn well time to start trying to do something. Claims of red tape are, like State Treasurer Mike Murphy, are bogus.

Some things never change - witness my Election Day 2004 letter to then US Attorney, John McKay:

Letter

Heyo!

Frankly, I have to admit the bullying campaign tactics of Proposition 1 and their ilk have me peeved. This piece is a bit of a rant, and perhaps a pointed gloat at the results from yesterday's election.

Let's start with an example of the type of garbage the Proposition 1 supporters put out - an editorial by Lance Dickie of the Seattle Times.

There are lots and lots of folks who care about transportation who don't like this plan. Dickie evidences what appears to be the final PR strategy of attacking the good citizens of this area who recognize a fatally flawed project when they see one. Calling honest, hard working, folks, no matter what age 'complainers' or 'delusional' is insulting and self-destructive.

There is a reason the project was fatally flawed - it has to do with fatal flaws in the administration of the project. Some folks might blame staff, some the politicians. They certainly have some responsibility - but the lion's share belongs to those who manipulate them - their legal counsel.

That said some recent words I disagree with, but still found worthwhile. The Pulitzer Prize winning columnist Leonard Pitts recently wrote a wordsmith's lingo-centric column on the subject of Political Correctness.

To me political correctness is about actions, not language. But Mr. Pitt's words still shed light on the subject - and are therefore valuable.

Evangelicals may tell you that God is Truth. Let me suggest a contrarian perspective - that it is in fact truth which is god. Words are not reality - they are a way for our species to have conversations about what is real. Those conversations are 'truthful' only if they benefit of the participants - even if it is just one individual talking to him, or her, self.

Truth is found in the living of individual life and the relationships we build. Capitalism and Democracy are useful tools of merging this motley mess into a productive, and respectful, whole.

Anyone who tells tries to tell you otherwise - that there are shortcuts - is dangerous, creepy, and a troublemaker.

Just about everyone thinks they know the secret to solving our transportation future - all, no doubt, have some basis in reality.

However some pass the wheat test, other's chaff.

Governor Gregoire's gambit on 520 might strike one as a good example of leadership. I may be wrong, but I think not. If she can get a plan onto the ballot by next November, and passed, I'll be eating a lot of crow. If she also wins re-election I may be eating crow for life.

Our best bet is going to be Rossi - negotiating with Sims and Chopp, as well as others, say the long time economist legislator, Helen Somers. 520 is not simply a matter of finding money - it is as complicated and controversial as the Viaduct.

Besides coming up with a specific plan for 520 there are also issues of integrating any upgrades - increasing capacity means nothing if bottlenecks still exist. Most notable of these bottlenecks is the one both the Viaduct and 520 feed - the Mercer Mess and it's accompanying 520 Weave. These problems need to be solved together with a multi-phased plan that WORKS.

Sound Transit is also an element of that enigma - the intersection of Sound Transit and 520, in the Montlake neighborhood is important - especially if I-90 becomes a busway in the interim. Sound Transit needs to get started by fulfilling their original committment to everyone in the ST district - including service to the UW AND Seattle University.

Some thumbs up on folks commenting on Prop. 1: Knute Berger on Crosscut, Bill Virgin in the P-I, and Doug McDonald, formerly of WashDOT. Gregoire might get one from me with much reluctance, but that's strictly going to be in hindsight, after she has proved me wrong.

A big thumbs down for the absolute stupidity of the Seattle Times in their Sunday Editorial. Perhaps this is as much about my personal journey as it is about regionalism, but Sirs and Madams, please cancel my subscription, effective the currently paid period.

The prolific William O. Douglas is best known as the longest serving Supreme Court Justice. He was promoted from a leadership role in the new SEC, serving from 1939 through the resignation of Nixon(1975). Though a champion of the poor and an opponent of big business he is perhaps secondly best known as a wilderness conservationist.

In a famous dissenting opinion, 1972's Sierra Club v. Morton, Douglas once argued that trees had every much a bit a right to sue as any corporation. I hiked the area in question as a pre-teen boy scout, the Southern Sierra's Mineral King, within five years of that decision. I don't know the details, but I gather, dissenting opinion not withstanding, the Sierra Club did prevail.

Douglas was a fan of the Sierra Club - in 1961 he wrote a children's biography book entitled 'Muir of the Mountains' - a co-founder of the club. (Muir was from the same generation of conservationists as Teddy Roosevelt.) The book, suitable for pre-teens (give or take, I'm not an educator) chronicles the life of one of California's legendary characters and his dedication to wilderness conservation.

Although Lawyers, as a rule, are not necessarily the most creative of scriblers, the string of reasoning throughout Douglas's endeavors is one worthy of following. And this book is certainly a much better 'cookie' to place on the path of a youngster than those left by Hansel and Gretel.

The book was re-published in 1993 by the Sierra Club. It is currently out of print, but available from Amazon, used.

I'm not a William O. Douglas scholar, so I can't really compare this book to others regarding or by this influential, Washington State born, American.

However I did find this particular collection of well introduced writings both entertaining and educational. O'Fallon takes a broad selection of his writing ranging from commentaries on the fly fishing advice of Izaak Walton to Supreme Court opinions regarding civil rights in the 1960's. His stories of growing up in the NW are also worthwhile.

Douglas was not without flaws - you could say he epitomized the cliche 'Soviet State of Washington'. You could also say he was a womanizer and I'd bet drink had an influence on his life. But he was very definitely very much a man of his times and his influence is still with us today.

Mr. O'Fallon is with the University of Oregon Law School, recognized as one of the nation's best on the subject of Environmental Law. I highly recommend this book, as well as the near Seattle William O. Douglas Wilderness.

Steve Marshall and Bruce Agnew of the conservative Discovery Institute have penned a great pro bus op-ed in the Seattle Times.

Though not the last word on the subject they have articulated a vision for the future that is well grounded on what has already proven itself to work. Specifically they propose enhancing our Park and Ride lots - a bit of high tech, a bit of espresso, as well as a few other ideas.

I've personally been arguing for the placement of park and ride lots next to existing small business districts for quite some time. I was proud when a developer actually came forward to the City of Seattle with a proposal to include same in a project which included Senior housing, in the Admiral District. I never met the developer, though a neighborhood friend I trust did work closely with them.

Unfortunately the environmentalists, most notably Aaron Ostrom, opposed, and defeated, the project.

This is, unfortunately, the sort of regional 'leadership' that is only taking us backwards, including in the recent defeat of the regional transportation package, Proposition 1. Our transportation expenditures need to benefit everyone in the entire metropolitan puget sound, not just those 'merchants' within 10 blocks of Fourth and Pine.

One more idea for Park and Rides - how about day care? In this way a young family could limit their car ownership to only one vehicle and store it near childcare. The funding model for daycare is tough, but with more and more working moms a new solution seems doable - especially if employers were to kick in to support, in a fair manner, for private daycare providers at locations such as Park and Ride lots.

A minor aside - I attended two meetings in Tacoma last night - a Sound Transit open house on the Sounder expansion to Lakewood and a Pierce County Council sponsored meeting on open space. I enjoyed the Pierce County meeting much more - two electeds coming out and actually talking with their constituents, as opposed to Sound Transit with a room full of so-called 'professional' 'planners'. I did run into early Sound Transit Board Member Paul Miller at the ST function - it is good to see some of the early electeds watching the 'baby' they helped conceive. Those folks, as a group, are perhaps one of the most likely to put that agency back on course. If it is possible.

MISSOURI BREAKS

1976

Directed by Arthur Penn

Starring Jack Nicholson and Marlon Brando

With Randy Quaid and Harry Dean Stanton

This movie has many of the elements of greatness and is a worthwhile watch. Among it's major themes is that of a young man facing the harsh realities of life on the frontier of the American West. This theme is shared with a current release, 'Into the Wild', by the director's son, providing an extra dimension to the film absent in its initial release.

Nicholson and Brando in a Western plot as complex as Eastwood's 'Unforgiven' could be a true diamond. The setting of this movie - the great plains foothills of the upper Missouri basin and the surrounding mountains of the Glacier National Park area do make a grand stage But the movie falls short, albeit not drastically.

The very young Quaid and Stanton both give performances of full depth - Nicholson and Brando are not at all bad, but perhaps just a touch comfortable in their success. Perhaps it is Penn's history in TV and the formulaic history of the Western in film, but this is a stone in the rough - needing just a bit more buffing to bring out the true shine.

The casting of an apparently jewish beauty in the romantic lead, opposite Nicholson, just seemed incongrous to me. Perhaps I am wrong, but I don't think there were all that many jews on the Western frontier, save perhaps Mel Brooks. That might be an interesting story but it isn't one explored here., The more apparent back story was that this character's father was cuckolded, perhaps most likely a jewish lawyer from Seattle? -That said, she does make a good attempt at what is apparently a losing cause.

The sound track also adds to the 'made for tv movie' feel of the flick, though if measured in that class this movie would be among the very best.

Perhaps a remake by the son, Sean, with another Vedder soundtrack? Someone will do it, sometime.

The subject of technically qualified labor is one I researched in depth a number of years ago. As such I read, and observe, closely the words and actions of those associated with the Microsoft Corporation.

Papa Bill has perhaps been most vocal on the subject of technical training - a regent at the University of Washington he also associates with economic geographer Bill Beyers. Beyers is best known for his work on the economic development studies regarding the King Dome and the Mariners. His career though is more focused on what he calls high knowledge 'service industries' - including that question of the link between higher education and economic development.

And there is link, that's all true. But the real question is not academic, but rather what practices has Microsoft actually implemented? Did they build their company with legions of freshly minted UW EE and Computer Science folks - like, for example, Boeing did with their engineering workforce (and leadership)?

The answer to that is no.

The core element of whomever runs Microsoft's strategy was the aquisition of intellectual property rights to software via the hiring away of talent that had already proved itself in the real world elsewhere. Nothing wrong with that - they made a smart business and legal decision and ponied up for the technical talent.

The problem though is not with technical talent, locally grown or not, but rather with the other administrative staff they did hire locally. There is a relationship to higher education in that as well. It's called the administrative technique of corporatizing the values of political correctness to manipulate your workforce. And perhaps no one is more vunerable to those techniques than the stereotypical nerdy engineer.

This is perhaps most evident in the hiring of Tina Podlodowski to run the early division, Microsoft University. I'm not enough of an expert on Microsoft to expound further, but I do hope I've at least gotten you to consider the idea further in your own musings.

This is timely now because of a recent address to a conference of the National Society of Black Engineers.

His points in this address are also true. But once again they do not match the actions of his company. Bill, integrity is not just hiring an expensive PR firm to craft you an image it is walking the talk. You have been given a lot of success and you need to follow through on your promises - not just hold a meaningless moral high ground.

You have not earned that. And some would make the case you've earned nothing.

One of the sage conclusions of those who study warfare is that of the distancing of the airplane pilot from the battlefield. The reality of destruction on the ground is never experienced - though of course John McCain might differ with that.

A similar conclusion can be said about those who crunch numbers for a living - there can be a distancing from the reality of peoples lives. Demographers are, as a group, I think best at avoiding this. Economists deal with the reality of it all, but it is the 'dismal' science. Sociologists get caught up in the whole welfare mind set. Transportation engineers can be old boys, but I do think that is changing rapidly.

Accountants, well, accountants can be among the worst. They sit in their ivory corporate towers crafting up finance schemes that make no sense save to the bankers and those titans of the modern global world, the successful corporate bureaucrat.

As such the continued leadership of long time State Auditor Brian Sonntag about the performance of our local transportation planning efforts stands as a shining example of responsible leadership. Traffic congestion is a real impact upon people's lives - it steals time from their families and adds to environmental pollution - whatever the actual impact of that is. Traffic is also a question of public safety, and there is much we can do with newer technology to reduce all these impacts through congestion management.

In his accounting audit on the subject Sonntag captures this reality and advances himself as the single best leader on the subject in the entire State. I think it might have something to do with being a numerically literate Democrat - something some Republicans hate - not to mention quite a number of the 'politically correct' left.

I don't know if the rest of the State can follow his well positioned and focused leadership, but I sure hope we do in Pierce County, where he got his start as the Pierce County Auditor (also responsible for elections).

Sonntag's op-ed on the subject, published in the TNT, is here. (Current policy of the Tribune is to charge for archives after a few weeks) The actual audit report is here.