Motley Com(ments)

Seattle One Liners - Seattle Stranger

2010-07-29T19:39:32Z

As the eminent Stranger newspaper notes, Seattle City Councilmember Jean Godden believes "63% of Seattle residents are like birthers". I recall her colleague Sally Bagshaw stating on the same subject "virtually every lawyer in Seattle believes the State financial responsibility clause is unenforceable". Go figure!

The Future will not be Telerevised.

2010-07-01T13:09:56Z

Tea Party Update? - Yahoo Internet News

2010-06-06T16:25:42Z

Though what the Tea Party will become is still up in the air, me thinks this particular 'teabagger' doth protest too much.

Sign of the Times -Seattle Times

2010-06-06T16:20:17Z

Former Tacoma News Tribune food critic Ed Murrieta writes on the irony of receiving food stamps in order to dine.

Seattle Council President Richard Conlin and Old School Highway Boys

2010-05-27T22:41:51Z

Dominic Holden opines on the proposed Viaduct Tunnel, in my opinion framing the current issues exactly right on this tough subject, and **moving** target. I lived around the block from Conlin in the mid 90's, leading up to his election sitting with him on the Madrona Council. He is a good guy, but I fear he's doing a bit of an Obama on this issue - supporting the downtown Seattle 'business' folks with good intent, just like Obama supported the folks who Enron'd the mortgage market with enough foresight to short their own scam. FWIW, the public money folks HQ'd in Downtown Seattle are why Olympia hates Seattle, and rightfully so. Great piece Dominic, and I hope Conlin is using his vacation time to realize this isn't a situation with a completely positive outcome.

In Defense of the the Beta Male

2010-04-30T17:51:12Z

This will blow your mind, if you have the strength to read it through.

Light Rail in Belleuve

2010-04-30T17:37:36Z

Here's a very well thought out and written piece on the current status of light rail through the upscale (and becoming less conservative) Seattle suburb of Bellevue. Its only lack is an awareness of the regional prevalence of the general problems, and as such, I'd go a bit farther. Most pointedly, overruns on the I-90 crossing can be safely expected - as such it is necessary that the 520 Bridge continue to be a 'competitive' option for light rail - as the citizens of the Montlake neighborhood are calling for.

Wall Street Derivatives Explained

2010-04-27T18:02:00Z

The best explanation of the derivatives market I've read yet.

Comments on the Highway 520 Lake Washington Bridge Environmental Impact Statement

2010-04-15T17:19:22Z

If you wish to comment on the controversial 520 bridge replacement over Lake Washington today is the deadline. Here are my comments: *************************************************************************************** I am writing to comment on the 520 Bridge Design Process via the Washington Department of Transportation Environmental Review. Though I am no longer a citizen of King County I likely can claim ‘senior’ status as a citizen involved in this process – having originally suggested the general approach in option K/L, the additional crossing of the Montlake Cut, in 1988 . Additionally, during the time the project formally got started I served as Secretary of the Madrona Community Council. I am also a 1990 Honors graduate from the University of Washington, in the field of Economics. My senior’s thesis was a labor approach to economic development and education(1988), and I have also significantly studied Urban Planning and other public fields. Prior to the incidents referenced below I was employed with King County in the field of Geographic Information Systems – where I grunted out the first parcel database for the unincorporated County – and the first growth management boundaries. My comments today are solely my own, though hopefully I do have some remaining indirect connection with many communities in King County, including the Eastside, where I have worked often in both the public and private sectors. I would also hope to have at least some remaining respect among the members of my former profession, as well as other allied arts and sciences]]> A. This Supplemental Draft EIS process is invalid, $220 million spent on a process not designed to fully and fairly evaluate well designed alternatives, but instead justify a pre-determined conclusion by corrupt individuals incompetent to handle conceptual design in a long term cost sensitive manner. The real purpose of this process has been to establish control of the project in a post old boy highway network ‘bi-partisan’ politically correct manner which settles a conflict between the public left and the corporate right, at the expense and public safety of the non-involved, and paying, public citizenry, the customer and owner of all branches of government.

1. The analysis of the K/L approach has been padded with additional costs, including mitigation costs from the University of Washington, not added to other alternatives. It may well be the fact that a Montlake tunnel or bridge is too expensive, but that analysis has not been completed satisfactorily in the $220 million dollar spent to date. 2. The analysis of preferred option A+ is not complete, most notably in transit enhancements. This is certain to be an area for planned cost overruns. 3. Given the flaws in analysis a cost aware review of these environmental costs is not possible.

B. Public relations efforts have been made to portray the neighborhood approach as stereotypically ‘Nimby’, or “Not In My Back Yard”, and obstructive. The Montlake neighborhood K/L approach is constructive – even if there are a few individuals who would be happy to delay the project forever. The design process is under the control of the State of Washington and they have consciously chosen to implicitly politically attack the legal, constitutional, right of citizens to comment on their government. This is but one example of a broader strategy toward this end, which have also included indirect “Duke LaCrosse Players/Nifong” takeover of the University of Washington via an agent of the Abramoff Lobbying Firm Preston Gates and Ellis, via their agent Professor William Beyers, using this citizen as patsy(1994). Responsibility for any delay is on the hands of those who have controlled the review process. This review process is in fact a direct public and private 'Corporate' attack against our constitutional system of government with the full collaboration of Governor Christine Gregoire, her appointees, her former staff employees in the Attorney General’s Office, and the environmental review profession, once nobly led by Gregoire as head of the Department of Ecology during the original implementation of the State EIS process. Microsoft Counsel Brad Smith’s recent statements about the effort prove this conclusively, especially given the very recent shilling the firms outside Counsel, the post Abramoff firm of K & L Gates, has engaged in concerning the controversial “Citizens United” Supreme Court decision. In attacking public involvement via a variety of legal strategies that include falsely accusing responsible citizens, including this commenter, of abusive harassment for insisting on government and corporate accountability these “elite” individuals have themselves engaged in the behavior they claim to condemn. Correctly, the King County Courts, with it’s “officers”, have engaged in an unwritten common law practice of assigning ‘second-class’ citizenship to abusers. This standard needs to be applied to the true abusers, and their assets used to reimburse the public for the abuses to date. Personally, I believe Mayor McGinn’s calling for immediate transit only usage for the third lane is premature. However the need to plan for the eventual conversion of this bridge to light rail is necessary. McGinn’s negotiating position addresses this need in a completely professional fashion which greatly exceeds the ability of the so-called Downtown Business community. The community of the greater Montlake area, Seattle, King County, the Puget Sound Regional Council, Washington State would be better off served starting from scratch with the leadership of McGinn and the leaders of the Montlake neighborhood. The general approach of option K/L/M is superior to A+ for eventual rail conversion and this is a fatal flaw in the WSDOT led effort. Given similar abuses on a national level this action is imperative. The real opportunity with this project is to re-invent corporate and governmental America. Jumping onto the soapbox for a moment, I’d like to see a private college of the Harvard/Stanford rank built on the eastern shores of Lake Washington – perhaps a useful place to put the remaining confiscated wealth of the Microsoft Executive ‘gang’. Ironically, these actions would be a ‘just’ inheritance from Bill Gates, Sr, the former family law lawyer with Preston Gates and Ellis, to his son, the CEO of Microsoft, for their abuses at the University of Washington and, subsequently, the remainder of the Region and State. The law is the law, and as former City Attorney Mark Sidran noted, little things matter, else they turn into big problems – as evidenced in this case. I sincerely hope and trust that all good people, upon being properly informed of these problems by the press, legislature, and Seattle Council, will turn away from this corruption – and stop our significant local contributions to corporate and governmental decay. -Douglas Tooley 766 Alpine Forest Drive, Bayfield, CO 81122 (still a Washington/Pierce county resident) 970 672 0052 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 970 672 0052 end_of_the_skype_highlighting

Homeless in Seattle?- Seattle Stranger

2010-04-15T02:55:01Z

In a strange bit of repeating history the Seattle City Council is getting ready to unconstitutionally harass panhandlers downtown with a very vague 'aggressive panhandling' ordinance, at the request of downtown 'business' groups. It appears that the vast majority of Seattle Citizens understand what this is about, as the Stranger reports. Curiously, when this happened before these same folks were also in need of a bailout for their own mistakes. Last time they did get it, this time I don't think they will be so lucky with their own (constitutionally) 'aggressive' solicitation.

Seattle Councilmember Tim Burgess, 'Satan' Sidran Reborn?-Seattle Times

2010-04-05T12:45:16Z

Newbie reporter Emily Heffter opines in favor of Tim Burgess and attacks popular Mayor Mike McGinn via a panhandling law debate. This might be a good law, irregardless, the political tradition stinks. Much of Sidran's civility effort was political cover for the demise of Frederick and Nelson from the corporate welfare politics of the bus tunnel and Westlake. Not taking responsibility for your failure is not acceptable in public service or business, as Kemper Freeman knows well. It's time to get these baby boomer losers out of City Hall, and the aggressive 'solicitors' out of the Courts and the Downtown Chamber.

Highway 520 April Fools - Seattle Crosscut

2010-04-03T17:01:14Z

Seattle Council President writes an April Fool's piece on the highway 520 Project - with a political spin, as reprinted in Crosscut. This reads like a light hearted slam against folks who are stilling making good points about the preferred 'A+' design, the Montlake cut tunnel, option 'K' become option 'M'. It may well be the case that this approach is too expensive, it however was not a fantastical idea not worthy of study. WashDot has spent over $200 million on studying various alternatives - this is too much - but it makes it all the more clear that we should have the public money spent on fairly and fully analyzing various alternatives. Instead what we got is a finely tuned fix against constructive public involvement, padding costs on the neighborhood suggestion while underestimating the costs of the 'status quo' option, for no other reason than the denigration of the public. This is perhaps best seen on the design of transit service in the area. Though the legislature is going full speed ahead on their 'A+' alternative, the design, and costs, of the still needed transit improvements to the original option 'A' have not been finished. This is a major red flag for a planned cost overrun. The big question of whether light rail will **ever** go across this bridge, and how it will share the Montlake Station need to be answered. Though I'm not a fan of converting the third lane to transit only from the opening, the negotiating position of McGinn is a good one and any media member, or politician, who dismisses it is only damaging their credibility as a steward of public monies. Engineering a facility such as the 520 Bridge is a major task, but we must insist that our professional engineers in service of the public respect the public. The public must also respect the engineers, and the Montlake neighborhood, in spite of the corporate media effort to 'tea party' has the ability and attitude to do this. And, FWIW, their ability likely exceeds that of both our local reporting staff AND our electeds.... -Douglas Tooley P.S. Here's a link to my first writing on the subject, back in 1988! http://www.motleytools.com/blog/1988/06/20_years_ahead_of_its_time.html

Bullying and Suicide -Boston.com

2010-04-01T16:09:37Z

This case, involving a High School student who committed suicide after a pattern of school bullying, reminds me of another suicide, at my Alma Mater, Hampshire College. This was a protest suicide, against administration 'bullying', during the Reagan era. That particular incident forever changed my view of political correctness and what it is actually all about. South Hadley, where this recent incident occurred, is the first Town south of the Hampshire Campus, and also home to the all woman college, Mount Holyoke.

Gender Discrimination Suit over Wall Street Bonuses - Nationwide Web Site Huffington Post

2010-03-31T21:50:09Z

New York female employees of Bank of America and their recently acquired subsidiary the dominant brokerage firm Merrill Lynch are alleging gender discrimination on the payment of bonuses and other compensation. Now, lord knows I'm not one for a feminist rant, however Wall Street folks, bankers as well as Lawyers, epitomize the white male stereotype in all the worst ways. That said, BofA is perhaps the best of the big banks and it would be a tragedy if this lawsuit were in any way leveraged by the competition. It too would be a tragedy if we needed to redo the bailout in order to pay bonuses to the female brokers!

Math and Alcohol in Schools - Western Washington's King 5 TV News

2010-03-23T18:35:59Z

Washington State Superintendent of Public Instruction (Public Schools Chief) Randy Dorn got a DUI over the weekend. Dorn is know for his opposition to standard testing, starting with Math education. Too bad he couldn't pass same himself, elsewise he might have known the answer is .08!