What's a Gal to Do?

This is becoming a tired and probably futile exercise, but what else is an advocate of truth to do?
Another violent woman is behind bars. Shannon Elizabeth Hollister of Bellingham attempted to have not just her ex-husband, Nicholas Martin, but her former father-in-law as well, knocked off by a hit man. Gene Johnson, of the Associated Press, who wrote up today’s PI story, apparently felt empathy for Ms. Hollister, describing her as “pale and frightened” as she made her court appearance.

This case is particularly apropos for highlighting all that is wrong with the manufactured domestic violence hysteria that is ruining the lives of so many men, fathers, and children. Ms. Hollister attempted to use the women’s excuse for all evil conduct – victimhood. Her attorney said that after a three year marriage, Ms. Hollister entered a program for victims of domestic violence in order to “escape” her husband. In reality, Ms. Hollister made unfounded charges of domestic violence against her ex-husband, then kidnapped their daughter, violated family court orders and started an odyssey of flight across country under false pretenses. The law eventually caught up with her, which it rarely does in cases of fly-away-Moms, and returned the daughter to a loving father.

Well, excuse me if Ms. Hollister's false accusations of abuse and Gene Johnson’s obvious bias (talking about blaming the victim) do not tug on my heart strings. The abuse excuse has become so wide-spread, that women use it at the drop of a hat to shield themselves against culpability for the most evil of deeds. This most recent is one of those rare cases in which the man involved was not completely destroyed (he has custody of their daughter), at least not yet. It is even rarer still that the woman was caught cold handed using the universal weapon of choice of woman abusers to get their man – other men.

What was once a well-meaning effort to help the small number of people suffering in abusive circumstances, has now become a tool used by vindictive women, who are by now well informed as to the best way to game an appalling system. If a woman wants to maximize her award in a divorce, be excused for not wanting to work, simply wants to break the heart of her former husband by removing his children from his life, or wants to get away with murder, what’s she gonna do? Call the domestic violence “emergency” line, go to a “battered women’s shelter,” learn the language of victimhood, get free legal council, and blame it on the patriarchy as manifested in her man.

In the face of all of this undeniable evidence that domestic violence is a greatly exaggerated problem and is perpetrated in equal proportions by men and women, one would think that from out of this mess would arise some common sense. But, I’ve come to realize that the Violence Against Women Act is not and never was about helping women suffering from violence.

It is about the hate. Radical feminists who just could not seem to convince all of their sisters that make-up and families are as natural as “a fish riding a bicycle” decided that the only thing left to do was to declare all out war on all things masculine. Hillary Clinton provided access to presidential fiat, and the rest is as much history as the desire of men to marry.

David Brame, stuck in hell made by his maiden, knew what he was up against.

If you would like to learn more about men's and father's issues, please check out Glenn Sacks or Michael Capanzzi's excellent blog, Masculiste. If you would like to get involved locally in fighting bias against men and fathers in government, please check out TABS.

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Calling on The Seattle Times

Dear Mr. Blethen;

James Vesely waxed poetic on the mainstream virtues of your paper while defending the diversity of its opinion columns. Only the least informed readers of your paper will focus on opinion columns as a measure of its position, which would seem to be what worked Mr. Vesely into such a fit. But, The Seattle Times faces financial challenges precisely because it strives for a beige hue of the Seattle mainstream, not in spite of it.

I have always viewed The Seattle Times as my hometown newspaper. I appreciate the fact that it is owned by a local family and therefore has a legitimate connection to the community. The Seattle PI, on the other hand, is an out-of-town rag that imports an East Coast variety of liberalism that just does not fit the pioneering history of our town. I would hate to see your paper disappear, leaving only the PI.

Have you wondered why SoundPolitics (and similar new media sources) is now a threat to your established form of controlled media? It is because they are doing real investigative reporting, sticking to it, and not following the status quo. The Times is now resorting to reporting the facts that SoundPolitics finds, without giving them credit. The Dirty Dozen (plus one) is now driving the dialog on important issues, such as the recently botched election.

SoundPolitics is a breeding ground of original thought. The Seattle Times puts up walls to protect the group-think and so-called “progressive” conventional wisdom of Seattle.

Pinched between SoundPolitics and the Seattle PI, I fear for the future viability of your paper. I have a suggestion that I hope you will consider: DIFFERENTIATE! Your pandering to the complacent and solipsistic sensibilities of readers in Seattle leaves you appearing to be a PI wannabe.

I would like to put my recommendation into business perspective for you (no, I am not asking you to commit business suicide). Michael Porter, the famous professor at the Harvard Business School, who literally wrote the book on competitive strategy, advises companies to differentiate themselves clearly from their competition. He states that a business should create trade-offs that are untenable or impractical for competitors to imitate.

Porter recommends that a company not find itself “stuck in the middle,” trying to be all things to all people. Time and again, differentiation has been shown to be the clearest path to a strong market position and profitability, while being on the fence is an invitation for disaster. K-Mart, sitting on the fence between Costco and Target, was crushed between them. Traditional airlines, notorious for imitating each other, have not been able to compete effectively with discount airlines.

Mr. Blethen, your paper is stuck in the middle. When I toggle between the Seattle PI and The Times, I do not experience a trade-off. I do not see your reporters expending shoe leather to find news, and I do not see many opinions expressed that provide an original slant on the news. Instead of differentiating from the PI, your paper appears to imitate it. Meanwhile, your paper approaches controversy timidly and therefore does not have the credibility that SoundPolitics enjoys. Original thought seems anathema to your reporters and editorial staff, who do little more than echo politically correct views, when questioning the premise would be more appropriate.

It’s not enough to simply differ from time to time with the PI in your editorials, such as your 2000 endorsement of Bush, which you so cowardly backed out of once the going got a little tough. No, you need to create an entirely new culture. Your paper should become more aggressive and push the envelope of conventional wisdom. Instead of predictable news to suite the predictable views of a city in which the spectrum of political debate is measured in gray-scale, you should aspire to leave your readers wondering what your reporters will sniff out next.

Instead of the pathetic musings of Nicole Brodeur, you could have a regular columnist that digs deep into the psyche of Seattle and pokes at the underbelly of group-think. Instead of playing up to the progressive but unrealistic notions of the minority of vocal Seattleites, you could challenge them. When reporting on the sad case of Crystal and David Brame, you could dig deeper into what might have driven Brame to such an extreme and horrible act (80% of the readers of this blog believe the media was one-sided in its coverage of this case). When discussing a clearly tarnished gubernatorial election, you could talk about the status of the office as undetermined instead of resolved to your satisfaction.

A city that prides itself on respecting diversity deserves no less.

Besides, you’d sell more papers.

Sincerely,
Iguana

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"Exuberant"

As predicted on this blog, people in Seattle shook off the slumber of a Sunday morning to find that the election in Iraq was a testament to freedom. I doubt it was a surprise for the bloggers who attended the party hosted by SoundPolitics last night. (You guys seem to be posting to your blogs a little slow this morning!)

But, for the media elite, politicians of the Seattle Silly Council who debated endlessly about supporting our troops (and didn't), the so-called “progressives” and the professional war protestors who occupy Seattle, the sight of what one PCNN reporter called an "exuberant Iraqi population" exercising their new democracy must have been hard to swallow.

Quick to comment were Senators Edward Kennedy and John F. Kerry. Kennedy lambasted the administration, like the tired old record he is, for not having immediate plans to remove troops from Iraq. Kerry, in a bizarre interview on Meet the Press, said that this was the last chance for the Bush administration to “get it right.” He is still harping on the absence of France in our coalition.

As long as voices like these two, Nancy Pelosi, and Hillary Rodham (oh she of the sudden religious awaking), are speaking for Democrats, while they are meanwhile stealing elections, the party will continue to decline.

Meanwhile, Iraqis living in Damascus were celebrating in the streets. Syrians still living under a Baathist dictatorship have seen this and must be wondering when they will be able to cast a ballot of their own.

The terrorists are finding that beating back the wave of democracy in Iraq with suicide-murderers is like trying to stop a swarm of locusts by shooting them individually with a BB gun. Bashar Al-Assad will soon find this same swarm searching for fertile grounds in his country, just as Gregoire is finding that people are not as willing as she assumed to accept an illegitimate election.

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Not Buying It

Seattle media is working hard to create a sense that the governor's election is over. Today, the Seattle Silly Times states in its editorial comment:

"The closeness of Election 2004 has provided many after-the-fact lessons."

"After-the-fact"?

The Times repeats verbatim some of the whitewashing reform recommendations of various Democrats on the King County Council. Meanwhile, no mention is made of calls to ensure that all votes have a legal voter.

The Seattle media seems to be taking a matronized, righteous approach to moving voters to a state of complacency. Their effort to wean us from the anger of a botched election is not surprising given the cozy relationship most of the Seattle media has with the state's Democratic Party.

But, a comment made by a blogger going by the handle "GS" on SoundPolitics.com summed up the attitude of a majority in the state regarding how this election, and probably many before it, obtained an unsatisfactory result:

Vote Early! Vote Often! Check Nothing! Count Anything till you Win! That seems to be the Dem's Mantra!

Sorry, Christine, but this ain't over. As long as you are in office without a re-vote, this will continue. Your gambit to create a Catch 22 - whereby legislators say that courts need to decide, but then your lawyers in court say the legislature needs to decide - is transparent and overtly political. This type of maneuvering to win-at-all-costs is a large part of the reason that voters have such a cynical view of politicians and, worse, why they just don't trust you.

Non-Democrats in the state, and many Democrats for that matter, may not have agreed with Locke's politics, but they all could agree that he was the duly elected governor. You will never have that. You were elected by felons, double voters, and mystery ballots. Your occupation of the governor's office is as illegitimate as a drug kingpin bragging of her wealth. They are both ill-gotten. The outrage of the majority of the citizens of the state cannot be diffused by editorials in a Seattle media that is quickly loosing credibility as it works to support the status quo.

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The Politics of Psuedo-Science

Thanks to all of you that participated in my highly scientific poll that asked, "Do you think contemporary feminism has become a victim cult." Well, now it's time to provide and comment on the results, which were astonishing.

It turns out that 94% of you answered "yes." I was expecting the majority of my readers to agree with this statement, but I have to say that I am blown away by just how big that majority is!

This provides a wonderful opportunity to demonstrate a usual tactic of contemporary, victim obsessed feminism. Based on a result like this, feminists would begin making headlines with statements like, "9 out of 10 Americans Believe Feminism Is A Victim Cult." Or, "Every Day, 90% of Americans Ponder Feminist's Victim Obsession."

Now, I know this is a smart crowd, and you see the problem right away. MY SURVEY WAS NOT BASED ON A RANDOM SAMPLE. It says nothing about all Americans, not even anything about all readers of my blog. At best, it gives the opinions of the 34 people who responded to the poll. Actually, the right answer is that only 90% of Americans believe this. No, no, no ... just kidding. 80%.

The sort of evidence that is represented by my poll is called "anecdotal evidence" or what academics sometimes call "archival evidence."

Practically all of the statistic that get slammed in men's faces by feminists are based on anecdotal evidence. And, the few statistics screamed by the drama queens at the top of their lungs that are actually based on scientific surveys fail to tell the complete picture. For example, have you ever heard "Every 9 seconds another woman is a victim of domestic violence." Well, that one is based on an actual scientific survey that utilized random sampling methodology. But, the very same study also found that MEN ARE VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE EVERY 7 SECONDS.

To think that a bad J-lo movie was made called "Every 9 Seconds." I guess that just sounds better than, "Every 9 Seconds and Every 7 Seconds."

I could go on and on, but others have already thoroughly covered this territory. For example, Glenn Sacks has done the research and found the holes and lies in feminist propoganda. The problem is that not enough people are aware of the facts. Mr. Sacks can help you find them.

Nevertheless, I can't say that I would complain if tomorrow's Seattle Times reported, "A survey conducted by Silly Seattle found that every day 9 out of 10 people of Seattle ...."

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Say Goodbye, al-Assad

News departments around the world are reporting on Sunday's election in Iraq. While Christiane Amanpour picks away at every little imperfection on PCNN, and Aaron Brown the "girl man" finds himself admitting that thousands of Iraqis living in the US are "extraordinarily grateful" for everything the US military has done, several newspapers around the world are expressing a hopeful tone in spite of themselves.

The Times of India starts it's lead article on the issue as follows:

On January 30, the Iraqi people will go to the polls to take a decisive step
toward building the free, democratic society that the vast majority of Iraqis
desire. In polling stations across Iraq and around the world, Iraqi citizens
will cast their ballots and make their individual contributions to Iraq's
democratisation.

Meanwhile, the Syrian President-for-life-because-his-father-declared-it-in-his-will, Bashar al-Assad, said:

''Democratic elections mean that all the people participate in all Iraq. The
factors that we see through the rejection of a large portion of the Iraqis of
these elections means that conditions were not ready.''

Of course, he would say that, wouldn't he? Mr. al-Assad (I thought about calling him Mr. al-Asshole, but then thought better of it), the time is never right for democracy in your book, now is it? Democracy in Syria would probably mean your beheading, a popular past-time among Sunni fanatics, it would seem.

Mr. al-Assad is free to make his predictions, even if the rest of the Syrian population is not, and so am I. My prediction is that the election is going to leave the doubters and naysayers dumbfounded. In the morning, when they all get up to read the news of what occurred in Iraq while they slept comfortably in their safe neighborhoods, I predict that their collective jaws will drop to the ground with such a thud that it will be measurable throughout the world by seismological equipment.

What they will wake up to will be reports of an Iraqi election that went more smoothly than anyone predicted. Iraqis will be quoted talking about voting with pride. The atmosphere will be celebratory and even the cynical reporters from PCNN will find themselves caught up in the excitement.

Why you ask? Haven't the so-called "insurgents" been preparing for this day since it was announced?

The problem for the islamo-fascist terrorists is that their style of murder relies on surprise and randomness. For a suicide-murderer to successfully splatter what little brain matter he has on Iraqis and American soldiers, he needs to attack in a place that nobody can anticipate and on a day of his choosing.

Election day in Iraq will be anything but random. The American and Iraqi security forces will be out in force and will know the exact place to be and the time to be there. In fact, this might be another occasion when Bush should say, "Bring it on." Any member of the totalitarian extremists who take up such a challenge will likely find himself dead well before causing any damage. It could be even more effective than the attack on Fallujah at wiping out the deadwood of sub-humanity still in Iraq.

Of course, Christiane, Aaaaaaron, and all the other fluffy-named media elite will quickly fall back into step in their knit-picking criticism. But, the deed will have been done and once a people experiences a taste of democracy and freedom, they are not so willing to step back into the dark.

And light will shine on Syria in due course.

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$1 Billion, Redux ... De Ja Vú?

Why don't some people know when to throw in the towel?

Now, the build-it-no-matter-what gang at the Seattle Monorail Project (SMP) is looking for the State Legislature's stamp of approval for issuing 40 year bonds.

Imagine that. Forty years of car registration fees at such outrageous levels, for us, for our kids, and even for our grandkids. It's a disgusting thought that SMP would go that low in order to build a circus ride that goes from nowhere to nowhere (transit-wise, I mean, I like both Ballard and West Seattle). Our grandkids will love us for it, I'm sure.

There are all sorts of implications to issuing bonds of that length for such a questionable project. Not the least of which is that a major potential source of funding for projects that really are needed now, or inevitably will be needed in the future, will be closed off, for all intents and purposes, forever. SMP has gone further, and declared that it will sign over all future registration tax revenues to the bond holders, meaning that future subsidies for the monorail will need to come from somewhere else - in other words, another tax source.

But, this is not something I worry about too much, at least not yet, because I don't think there is a chance in hell of this thing getting built. It all gets down to supply and demand; basic laws that the city-state socialists of Seattle missed, preferring to spend their parent's college money on courses in Marxism. If something is made more expensive - in this case, cars - people will buy less. So, if SMP is already 30% short of the funds it needs now, how much shorter will it be as a new equilibrium is reached and people opt to own one less car and older, less expensive cars?

Meanwhile, SMP has been locked in so-called "negotiations" with the only bidder on the project. This reveals a basic law of market power. If there is a buyer that is compelled to buy no matter what, as is the case with SMP, and a sole supplier available to provide the goods, who do you think is in the more powerful position? It's easy enough to see, using the most basic negotiating concepts, that SMP is putting us all (and our kids and grandkids) in a very weak position to benefit a single corporate interest. Of course, the upside is that there will never be enough funds available to satisfy the sole bidder. Either the project gets cut back, which means it goes back for a vote, or the bidder walks away.

It's only a question of how much longer SMP can continue to chase after mirages. To give you an idea of how absurd their planning is, they believe that they will make extra revenue with special tourist trains. I have to say, I wasn't aware that West Seattle was a major tourist attraction. So, they can only mean that they believe that tourists will ride the monorail only for the ride itself. It follows, then, that even SMP believes that the monorail is a circus ride. It certainly isn't a transit solution.

We of course need to blame ourselves for getting into these spots. It was never realistic from the beginning and, apparently, but not for sure in light of King County election incompetence (and to think Logan's predecessor was fired for incompetence, and she was running the shop during the supposed monorail victory), we voted for it. But, we also should blame our political "leaders." They were so afraid to touch the issue, and perhaps unrealistic themselves, that nobody with any authority ever stood up and said, "Let's save this tax source for something more meaningful and practical."

Over $1 billion still remain, forming a small pile of money where a large pile is needed. As I've said before (here and here), that money could be reallocated to something with a far greater impact on the future of the city. Doing so would send a message that Seattle has returned to maturity and is able to set priorities and say "no" to itself.

In fact, Seattle was once able to do that, when it was populated by a different, more self-reliant breed. You end up carrying what you attract, and Seattle has seen better times in that regard.

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From Stealthcare to Healthcare

As stupid as righteous "progressives" claim Bush is, he does take on the big issues with smart and bold solutions. The latest is healthcare.

After pretty much doing nothing about healthcare, except raise all of our costs through market protections for drug companies (yes, restricting the free market for drugs, such as those from Canada, is nothing more than protectionism), he has finally started a bold push to take on some of the fundamental structural problems with the industry. The first has been tort reform.

Bush likes to say, "A frivolous lawsuit never cured anybody." It's pretty hard to argue with that logic. One can go further and declare that punitive damages in a legitimate lawsuit never cured anybody either. The ABA, trial lawyers, and people who benefit from the profession, such as Christine Gregoire, somehow believe that they are an integral part of the country's healthcare system. So much so that the ABA actually holds a conference on the matter called, "6th Annual Conference on Emerging Issues in Healthcare Law." One can only hope that one of the topics of discussion will be called, "Trial Laywers: How to Find New Work." (Thankfully, the ABA does not always have the last say on the legal profession. There is an organization called The Federalist Society whose clout is growing.)

Trial lawyers would have us believe that without them, there would be no justice in our country. Certainly, the opportunity to have your case heard in court and to receive just compensation when you have been seriously wronged is a fundamental aspect of our legal system and right of our citizens. I don't think that many people actually want to do away with it entirely. However, at some point, and I don't know exactly when (if you know how this started, please comment and share with us), punishment was added to restitution as a source of additional financial compensation.

But, don't we have a criminal law system to handle punishment? It strikes me as a cop out of the federal and state legislatures to leave punishment to the crap shoot of slick lawyers and randomly selected jurors. When a doctor screws up, is sued, and looses or settles, her malpractice insurance covers the cost of the award or settlement. There is little that happens thereafter to help inform consumers of the fact that the skills of the doctor involved are questionable. Even worse, we have no way of knowing that the doctor has poor judgment, is routinely negligent, or even malicious. All that happens is that insurance rates for all doctors goes up, thus raising healthcare costs for all of us, and the doctor in question usually goes back to her practice. That stinks as much as King County's magically appearing mystery ballots in the latest election.

Restitution for genuine mal-practice is necessary. Someone who has been permanently maimed because a hospital sent them to an operating room for a leg amputation, when she was supposed to be going to a different one for a breast lift, should be compensated handsomely for the screw-up. There is pain and suffering that results and possible economic damages. But, the punitive damages that would surely be added to the award just don't compute.

What should happen to this hospital? Criminal charges should be pressed. The hospital should be publicly charged, without an option to "settle" out of court for an undisclosed sum and without a public airing of what actually occurred. The result: Consumers, the ultimate punishers, would have market information that allows them to make choices about hospitals.

Thus, my interest in medical malpractice reform is not entirely to remove parasites (trial lawyers) who drain the system of resources, but twofold: First, punitive damages should be paid by the culprit(s) entirely, not spread over the entire healthcare system through higher mal-practice premiums. Second, I want to remove one of the many aspects of our current system that creates market distortions by blocking the free flow of information.

With Bush's use of the bully pulpit to goad doctors and hospitals into investing in information technology to reduce costs and improve patient care, he appears to be thinking along the same lines, at least partially. Ultimately, if we don't work with the realities of supply and demand, we will not be able to do more than create an illusion of increased access to healthcare.

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$1 Billion, Redux?

Is Nick Licata actually becoming frugal with the taxpayer's money? Well, that is probably stretching things just a little, but he did have a surprising opinion piece in the Seattle Times today.

After the usual Democratic griping about not getting what they want from the Bush Administration, Licata made the point that choices need to be made with limited resources. In other words, Seattle government needs to prioritize it's spending just like the rest of us.

Taking from his piece:

Two years ago, at a City Hall viaduct forum, House Speaker Frank Chopp told the audience, "We want a city with great vision, but we also want a city that can afford it." And I would add affordable to the region and state as well.

Amen to that Nick!

The wiggly, city-state socialists of Seattle ought to take note that Mr. Licata also said:

Seattle is not an island; it is the business core of a great metropolis, and access to it must be maintained from a number of transit corridors.

Mr. Licata also began to lay the groundwork for making the case that a tunnel might not be practicable, and even less affordable. He petered out on this line of reasoning though, not wanting to stir the PC pot too much, I guess. Interestingly, he also suggested that if Seattle wanted to build a tunnel, it would be at least $1 billion short of the money needed.

Well, I must say, if I heard more language like that coming out of the Seattle Silly Council, I'd feel compelled to remove "Silly" from the title of my blog.

But, there is one thing Mr. Licata failed to say, so while I might need to remove "Silly" if this keeps up, I don't think I will need to go so far as to declare that Seattle has meaningful leadership. As I pointed out before, there is a pot of more than $1 billion waiting to be used on a meaningful project that contributes to the economic health of the city.

It's sitting over in the Seattle Monorail Project. With that money reallocated as an indication of our city's commitment to real solutions, to sanity, and maturity, Seattle would easily have the leverage and credibility to muster all the funds it needs from the state and perhaps even a contribution from the federal government.

Perhaps Mr. Mayor could even have the tunnel he wants as a legacy to his largesse.

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Blaming Brame

David Brame has become the poster child of the Washington State domestic violence industry. The MSM have dutifully carried the story of Brame abusing his wife and his children, and then ending the whole thing with a murder-suicide. Governor Locke responded by passing new laws to further box in men and especially police officers. Combined with the fact that the simple accusation of domestic violence results in a defendent loosing his (remember, it's always masculine) right to possess a gun, according to Lisa Scott of TABS, with the new law, "Police officers are one date away from loosing their livelihood." For them, no gun means no job.

But, there is another side of the story that was never covered in the press. The other side of the story was that David Brame was being abused and had lost access to his children because his wife knew how to play the system. The account that follows is from David Brame's sister. In this account, one can see that David Brame was driven to the edge, and over the edge, by an angry wife and a system poised to go after him with a vengeance. Worse, he wasn't walking into it ingorant as most men are, but instead, owing to his job enforcing the very same laws and system that were about to come down on him, knew that he was in a loosing battle.

Is this a true story? I don't know, but I think it was worthy of airing by the MSM, who were only interested in towing the party line straight from Women's Studies departments. Since they wont share it, I will.

Sister Tells David Brame's Side of the Story

October 20, 2003 — I have put together the story of my brother, deceased Tacoma Police Chief David Brame, before the fatal shootings on Saturday, April 26, 2003.

David was hired as a rookie for the Tacoma Police Department in December of 1981 at 23 years of age. He worked diligently to move up in the ranks reading and studying books for months to test for promotions. David proudly, but humbly became the police chief in January 2002. He thoroughly enjoyed his police career and worked with the officers to better the department. He was a very trustful, honest person and was well liked by everyone who knew him and worked for him. What you saw with David, was what you got. He would work long hours, go home for awhile, and return at shift change in order to meet with the officers and to be a part of their meetings. He also would ride along with the patrol men and women to get to know them individually, which he felt was important. David took pride in his work and also his home life and children.

David met his wife, Crystal, when she was 20 years old and working for the Tacoma Police Department as a prostitute decoy. She later found an office job working for the courts in Tacoma. David and Crystal were married in August of 1991 and Crystal worked for the first three years of their marriage prior to their daughter Haley's birth.

David had concerns about marrying Crystal from the very beginning but went through with it anyway. One incident that was a red flag for David, and our family, was soon after they met she told him of an old boyfriend who had beaten her so badly she had to be hospitalized. That was where the victim role started in their relationship.

Due to continuing conflicts in their eleven year marriage, David and Crystal separated at the end of February 2003, and their divorce was pending. They had marital discord for about eight years that seemed to start after the birth of their daughter, Haley, in December 1994. The up and down mood swings Crystal had were very wearing on their family. David was always the one on an even keel, quiet, calm and very stable. He always said, "I feel like I'm raising three kids."

Crystal frequently would lash out, scream and yell enough that she would keep David up till after 1:00 AM, not caring that he had to go to work in the morning. He would sometimes go to bed before her and then, in a rage, she would enter the bedroom, turn on the lights and start ranting and raving, keeping him awake for hours. David was not a fighter and never was even as a boy.

David left their home one night to go to our parent's house to get some rest. After he left that night, Crystal called the Gig Harbor police and they came out and took a report. They apparently asked if he had threatened her and she told them no. A report was written but nothing was done. My point is she would take inappropriate steps like that when it was uncalled for, and so minor. Yet she claimed she never told anyone about the "death threats" she accused him of later. I don't think there is any way she would have kept quiet about such threats if they were real, especially since she was so close to her parents.

She practically lived on the telephone. And she told the neighbors, and whoever would listen to her, all kinds of "poor me" stories. When she talked to me on the phone I knew it was going to be an hour conversation, with her controlling it and not giving you a chance to even try to get off the phone. She repeated herself over and over, rambling on and on. It was quite annoying and our whole family went through this experience with her. When we talked, everything she did was a big chore to her, nothing was easy. She made a big deal out of just ordinary daily chores that all mothers do. I often thought she never appreciated being able to be at home with the children and not work.

One time when David was asleep she came into the bedroom and turned the lights on and she held her hands behind her back and then stuck her arms straight out as if she had a gun and pointed it at David. He thought that was very strange. Another time, in the middle of the night when she was pregnant with David Jr., she was crying and upset, sitting in the middle of the bed looking up abortion doctors saying she didn't want to be pregnant. David talked to her about her mental state, but to no avail. This would make her angry and upset, not facing the truth. She was very peculiar and acted as though she never noticed her outbursts.

David owned one gun (not two) and kept it in a locked holster at home. When he got this gun he demonstrated to Crystal the use of it and how careful they had to be because accidents can happen. She transposed what he said to make it look like he was threatening her. She would also pick up stories that David told her regarding his police job and twist them around so as to put herself as the victim somehow and imply that David was the perpetrator.

During their marriage David felt like he never knew what he was going to come home to. He had said when the relationship was "good, it was real good, when it was bad, it was real bad." Crystal was very extreme, seeming to be obsessed in her actions, checking over and over in Haley's crib when she was a baby, as if looking for something that was not there. It was as though she suffered from obsessive-compulsive disorder. She was a very stressed, anxious-type person who had a difficult time relaxing. David would try to encourage her to get involved in activities outside of the home, make friends, get a job if she wanted, but there was no way he was going to make her happy. Confronting her and trying to give her options to enable happiness just did not work.

David Jr. was born in 1997 and her bizarre behavior continued. David had told me that when David Jr. was a toddler, and was sick with a fever, he had vomited on the family room carpet. Crystal stood over the baby, screaming, and swearing at him. Unfortunately, this was something she did on a regular basis when the baby was in his crib and would wake up crying from what we were told by David.

In July of 1998, Crystal was on a tangent and started slugging David. She bruised him badly and he had pictures taken of this. He said he stood and did not touch her, which was the way my brother would have been.

It was said that little Crystal couldn't hurt him. Well, she did and the hitting continued several times thereafter. She was also continually badgering him and complaining. Her excuse as to how he got the bruises was that she claimed David hurt himself while lifting weights with barbells, but they didn't own barbells then. After their deaths, we also read where he performed ritualistic self-mutilation on a regular basis. Now how odd is that? She went to great lengths to cover herself.

When Crystal got angry with David two or three years ago she told him that she was going to ruin his career. And she also stated at another time that she could be a good actress. David was always an honest man and it hurt him to think he was married to someone who would lie at the drop of a hat and could be so vengeful.

David came home from work early one day and heard Crystal screaming at the kids. Another time he came home and changed David Jr.'s diaper and his bare bottom was beet red with hand prints on it. She told David that she "almost lost it." He had real concerns and expressed this to our family and their family physician. David thought maybe it was a hormone imbalance. The doctor was told then about her hitting him and how out of control she was.

She had a hysterectomy a couple of years ago, but her moods never changed. She was in need of serious help for her mental instability. It wasn't just David that was being abused, their little kids went through a lot emotionally and physically. David listened to Crystal last fall (2002) tell Haley, who was almost 8 years old, that the kids were going to laugh at her school pictures because they didn't turn out good. Of course, she had Haley crying and upset. David had to intervene so many times during these outbursts and stop her from being cruel to their kids.

Haley lost a baby tooth last fall and accidentally dropped it and it couldn't be found. Crystal screamed and yelled at little Haley until she was in tears. One night when David tucked David Jr. in bed when he was about three or four, David Jr. said, "good night asshole." He would call his little cousin a "bastard." David did not swear, but the kids were being sworn at by their mother. It saddened David to see his two little children being raised by an abusive mother. These are just a few horrible incidents the kids and David had to endure.

At Christmas Crystal would buy expensive suits, shirts, ties, and such for David and he would tell her, "These things don't mean anything to me, Crystal. All I ask is for you to be nice to me and you can have the world." She didn't get it. Material things were the most important...looking good on the outside. She didn't want to fix what was going on in her head. Birthdays and Christmas' were so out of whack with her and the gift giving. It would take the kids 45 minutes to open their birthday presents. It was so ridiculous it was sickening. Why would a little 5 year old girl need 35 Barbie dolls? David wanted his kids to have everything nice, but not to that extent. Everything was overboard. The normalcy was not there with Crystal.

Crystal also made over 50 long distance phone calls in a two month period up to Canada calling a couple they met in Palm Springs at a resort a couple of years ago. She ran their phone bills up to $400 to $500 for two months. Why would she call a couple that she "barely" knew? She spent a couple of hours roller blading with a man she just met, leaving David at the pool alone. She also spent a couple of hours in the couple's room with them late one night without David. I wonder what she was looking for?

David and I would talk on the telephone on weekends. If Crystal was out of the house at the time, he would tell me if he had to get off the phone real quick it was because Crystal drove up. She would literally feel the phone to see if it was warm to tell if David was using it or not. I thought it was a horrible way for my brother to live. She was very jealous and insecure.

When David went to Quantico, VA last January 2003 for 7 to 10 days, Crystal gave him a card in his suitcase that was very loving. She told him to have a great time, to go sightseeing, say "hi" to George and Barbara Bush, and told him how much her and the kids loved him and were going to miss him. An abused woman does this? I don't think so!

The allegations in the news that when David moved out of the house he'd left a fortune cookie, a newspaper opened to the obituaries, and a book about a wife being murdered by her husband is ludicrous. Crystal was seemingly determined to ruin him one way or another. She was out of control and doomed for trouble. This whole little scenario fits Crystal to a "T."

We read in the paper that, while David and Crystal were separated, for sixty-one days she never was without one of her family members when out and about until April 26th, the day of the shooting. David and Crystal were together at Haley's school one morning and after leaving Haley in the building, they went to David's car and sat and talked for quite awhile. Why would she sit and talk to him if she was so deathly afraid?

The lies about David threatening to kill Crystal and choke her started after David told her that he was telling his attorney about how abusive she was to the kids. So it was pay back time and she was going to get him good. In retaliation, she started the stories of David choking her three or four times and the supposed death threats. David told us that never occurred, which we believe because she would have had him arrested in a flash. David was not a game player like her. She was so angry with him she was adding more stories to the already strained divorce. The reason no one knew of the threats in the past, is because they didn't happen. David said to me, "She's delusional." What I questioned was if Crystal had been abused wouldn't she have told her attorney when she filed for divorce in February rather than wait until April when David told of her abuse?

Crystal did not have anything to lose making all of the false accusations and David had everything to lose. It was as though she was driving herself to the grave. I do not understand how someone can be so devious and cruel and think they can get away with it. Eventually, liars get caught. And why would she go this far with the stories? Because David never did anything to her in the past except for the shooting on April 26th!

Crystal played yet another victim role of not having any money and being physically abused by David. She had called the police and attorney over minor, made-up stories. So why didn't she call them when she claimed he attempted to choke her? This woman could have had him arrested, moved in with her parents, and been protected if all of this was true. It doesn't take much to see through this.

In David's divorce decree, there are copies of credit card charges that total over $10,000 in the past year, all signed by Crystal from her shopping sprees ($300 here, $500 there, etc.). She went tanning on a regular basis, helped out at the school occasionally, had a beautifully-decorated $300,000 home with custom draperies, Thomas Kincaid paintings, and two new cars. They were all very well dressed in name-brand clothes and they were not purchased at the thrift store either. They had the best money could buy, but it still was not enough. She shopped at Nordstrom's, but tried to portray herself as almost penniless. In December 2002 she bought a beautifully decorated $1,100 Christmas tree. They also had three themed Christmas trees, one for the family room with a ton of snowmen on it, and the other two in the kids' bedrooms with expensive Disney ornaments on them.

She would take pictures of the snowman tree before she took it down after Christmas so she could decorate it in the exact same fashion the following year. This was another "odd, obsessive way" she had. She bought a $900 comforter set for a king size bed that they didn't have and stored it in the closet for the future. Per the TNT she tried to convince storekeepers of her penniless state. Well, why would she shop in a specialty shop in Gig Harbor that was too expensive for her? Someone should have taken pity on her and suggested to her maybe it would be at her best interest not to shop there. There are lots of thrift stores around after all.

Crystal was not only divorcing David, she was brainwashing their kids to think of him as a bad father, gradually pulling them further and further away from him, and was working on bringing down his career. It was very apparent she was coaching Haley and telling her all kinds of lies. That was a very heavy burden David carried and he was backed into a corner by his very own wife. When there are continual lies being made and a person is under the stress of going through a divorce, a man feels devastated losing everything he has worked for and loves.

David talked to her on the phone once while they were separated and she said to him, "Remember when you tried to choke me?" And he replied, "Crystal, you know you're lying." I believe her family was right there listening and she was playing the poor little victim part again. David also told me after they separated she said to him, "Now I can start wearing fingernail polish again." David said to me, "I don't know where that came from." I remember her always wearing bright fingernail polish and lipstick and thick, dark eye shadow. She would even put the dark nail polish on Haley, which was so inappropriate for a little girl.

David was a very good father and his kids were his life. Haley and David Jr. both attended a Christian pre-school and David taught Haley to say grace at mealtime. He tried to provide them with a secure and happy home, taking the time out to read bedtime stories to the kids every night.Crystal never wanted to be a part of that even when the kids were really little. David was the one that would tuck them in at night. He said the kids and him had a ritual of running down the hall each night racing to their bedrooms. He was so proud of Haley's reading abilities and had looked forward to David Jr. starting T-ball this past spring. Of course, this was squashed by Crystal telling him there was no way he was going to participate in any of David Jr.'s T-ball practices and games. She even went so far as to change dentists where David Jr. went because David would always take him and be there for him. So she took it upon herself to take another enjoyment out of David's life. He always encouraged Haley to read and do well in school. The kids were the light of his life and loved them more than anything. It hurt him terribly to see their relationships being ruined due to her insecurities.

When he had the kids on the weekends during the separation, he always made sure they had bubble baths because they never got to do that when the four of them lived together. They were used to Crystal jerking their little arms, pulling them into the shower with her everyday. David would talk to her about the way she would grab Haley's arm. Everything had to be hurry, hurry with her. He wanted it to be relaxing for them and let them be ordinary kids. He would fold out the hide-a-bed and the three of them would camp out and watch TV, which was another treat. If the kids wanted to jump on the bed, he would let them. He wanted them to have a fun, relaxed life like he had as a child. He was a very loyal father with a great sense of humor and enjoyed his family immensely.

When I was with David in April when he had the kids for the weekend, he called her to tell her what time he was bringing the kids to her parents and told her that I was coming along also (this was because he needed someone for a witness due to past problems). I listened to David talk to her on the phone and when he mentioned me going with him she said, " No, I'm going to call my attorney. I'm going to call my attorney." David said, "Crystal, it's my sister." So when he got off the phone with her he told me, "Don't be surprised if the Pierce County Deputies are over there." And I just said, "This I have to see." Crystal and I had never had words with each other in the past and we were always cordial even though there were many times I wanted to sit down and have a talk with her and find out where she was coming from. When we arrived at the Security Gate to the housing community Cyrstal's parent's live in, the parents came along with her in two cars, but there were no deputies. All went fairly well though the kids were definitely not happy. David Jr. walked right past Crystal without a hug after not seeing her for four days, and after getting in her car, jumped back out and ran to his dad and said he wanted to go with him. This was pitiful to witness.

Last year my parents went to their home to babysit the kids for awhile. David Jr. was 4 1/2 years old then and for some reason he hit my mom in the chest. She gave him a little swat on the bottom. When David and Crystal returned, Haley told Crystal that my mom spanked David. After this happened and the divorce had started a year later, Crystal was telling everyone (attorney, psychologist, etc.) that my mom had been abusing the kids for years and also, that they went a year without seeing her. There was no truth to that whatsoever. She and the kids were at the family functions during the holidays throughout the years. She told David during the divorce that my mom was never going to see the kids again. He told me that he told her, "We can get the divorce, but I want my mom to see the kids." This was another problem she started. Of course, I could go into great detail what kind of a mother and grandmother my mom has been, but the best way to describe her is being loyal, loving, and very dedicated to family in the same manner as my father is. They have eight grandchildren and two great grandchildren and there have never been any problems with either of my parents with the grandchildren. Unfortunately to this day, our family has not seen the kids since the tragedy occurred. We have seen the psychologist report (TNT let the world see it as well) and Crystal lied her way through that also and was working on the kids big time to turn them against their grandmother, whom they had always been crazy about. So this is another battle we are dealing with besides grieving the loss of David.

Crystal had such an exaggerated mind. There was another bizarre story she told everyone. David and she went to a gathering of some sort with other police officers and their wives in December 2002. David said she was going around telling everyone that she was being stalked by a man. The story I heard from David was that a family friend of Crystal's apparently came to visit her parents in Gig Harbor about a year or so ago. He had had problems with drugs and had bouts with the law. He had asked about Crystal because he remembered her as a young person and always liked her. Well, come to find out, after this visit he had with her parents, he was put in the Pierce County jail for several months, apparently on drug charges. He was released months later and Crystal was out of control about that. She was bound and determined he was stalking her. Crystal talked to me about it also and I just thought, "How strange. Here we go again with another fabricated story." She was paranoid and going on and on about this to everyone. David said she going off about nothing. It was really quite embarrassing for him. The victim role was in the works again.

My husband and I would give her a birthday card with $20 in it and she would say, "Oh, now I can buy myself some new tennis shoes. I've had this pair forever." I would think, "who are you trying to kid?" They had more money than most people I knew.

She was always sick with something. She played the hypochondriac for years. I thought that was strange for being so young. And who went over and helped her when she was sick and the kids were babies? My parents!

About two years ago there was a Tacoma rapist loose. She knew the description of him and his truck, and she called David at work and told him she saw the guy driving in their neighborhood. I thought that was a bit much also. She either was looking for attention all the time or she really believed what she said. Our family recognized her as seeming to have bipolar symptoms, obsessive-compulsive tendencies, lying, very self-centered, and downright unbalanced. We would catch her in lies time and time again.

After the tragedy the Tacoma News Tribune stated that David made Crystal weigh herself everyday and would watch her use the bathroom. I don't believe David had time to deal with such oddness. David did tell us how she would get on the scale almost every day and lean her hands against the wall in order to weigh a little lighter. She was obsessed with her weight and was so concerned about getting fat. She was a very miserable young person who simply did not like herself or her life.

The day of the shootings David had his kids for the weekend and was shopping for bath toys and groceries. Crystal followed his car when she spotted it in the Gig Harbor Shopping Center. I think something was said to him that put him over the edge and both of their lives were taken. She was not afraid of him in anyway or she would never have gotten near him. There was not an ounce of fear in this woman. David was living in the family home for a couple of months alone and Crystal and the kids were living with her parents a few miles away. She would come over with her mother and badger David until finally David contacted his attorney to put a stop to it. She was contacting him, he was not contacting her. She would put their daughter up to calling him and harassing him with questions until it was ridiculous. A woman that is afraid of her estranged husband does not tell him to cut the lawn before he moves out. But that's what Crystal did and, unfortunately, David did it. She also told him that she deserved to be married to a millionaire and live in Canterwood (a prestigious Gig Harbor neighborhood where her parent's live).

The day David moved out of the house, his neighbor came over and talked to him. He told David, "Just between us guys, we know Crystal is loosely wrapped." When David told me that I said, "Doesn't it make you feel a little better knowing that the neighbors recognize her for what she is?" And he said, "Yes."

We have an explanation regarding the flowers David sent to Crystal after the alleged choking incidents. David did send her flowers on holidays, but she managed to say he sent them the day after the supposed abuse. Why would she wait until after the separation to go to the florist to find out who sent them to her? Since David sent them to her and they were on their credit card, did she not get the bill in the mail? She was a stay-at-home mom that was home while David was working 10-12 hours a day. Who would get the mail first? H'mmm...I wonder? And would David set himself up to do such a foolish move? Never, he was far too intelligent for that.

We were never surprised when David would tell us some of the odd games she played. It was typical Crystal...we all knew her too well.

I listened to the tape of the phone call Crystal made to her psychologist at 4:35 PM on April 25 th . She claimed she was afraid for her life. I was at David's apartment with my daughter, her husband, David and the kids that evening. Crystal called the kids about 8:30 to tell them goodnight and of course, she had to talk at great lengths to Haley and then had to call back ten minutes later. She sure wasn't afraid to call over there and talk to David to ask to talk to the kids.

I will never be convinced that this woman was afraid of David. There is no way an abused woman would do all the vicious acts that she did. She never thought it would come to this. There are such things as boundaries and I am a firm believer in not pushing people. I was always raised that if you hit someone you might as well expect that person to hit you back. When a person is in an abusive relationship you leave as quickly and cleanly as you can, especially if someone is threatening your life. She had 10 to 12 hours a day alone where she could pack up her things and move out of the house and David would never have known. She had protection all around her, but we know she was exaggerating more absurd stories. She was an actress playing the victim. When this woman wanted to speak up, believe me she could tell anyone off!

David was someone that was dependable in every aspect of his life. My family is terribly hurt and saddened over this tragedy. We have not only lost a son, brother, father, uncle, nephew, and cousin, but the city of Tacoma has lost someone who really cared about our community and had big plans for the Tacoma Police Department. And we have lost the little family that we truly loved. We wish Crystal would have sought treatment for her seemingly out of control serious emotional problems.

Women can be just as vicious as men, if not more so in marital conflicts, and men need the same support regarding domestic violence as women and children receive. David was a strong supporter of domestic violence prevention, yet he was in the middle of his very own abusive marriage. I do not defend the acts that were made on April 26 th , but I do defend David after hearing his agonizing stories throughout their marriage.

Thank you very much.

Sincerely,

Jane Brazell nee Brame

Jane, perhaps it is true afterall that lies run sprints, while the truth runs marathons.

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Mistakes Are Statutory?

On top of their game as usual, the dirty dozen of SoundPolitics has acquired e-mails that were sent between the various County Auditors of Washington discussing the letter in support of Dean Logan that some mysterious person or group asked Corky Mattingly to send to Seattle's newspapers.

Most of the County Auditors supported the letter. That's understandable; they are embattled and in a thankless job. But a few did have problems with some of the statements made in the letter. In particular, Greg Kimsey questioned the statement, "The public can have faith in the fact that the King County recount process ... is being carried out according to the laws and procedures of the state of Washington."

Mr. Kimsey asked, "Perhaps someone with more experience and knowledge can explain to me how King County's mistake with these 720+- ballots was in accordance with the laws and procedures of the State of Washington."

I think Mr. Kimsey pretty much sums up the reason we need a re-vote. Gregoire and Rossi have very different perspectives and philosophies on solving the state's problems. It simply is not good enough to allow Gregoire to take the office only because she ended up on top due to a huge amount of errors in one of the few counties that supports her. It all just smells too bad for the rest of the state to swallow.

I'm personally not a fan of getting extremely personal in criticizing Logan, but the fact that this election has not been resolved because of King County's mistakes must be aired, and more, provides the grounds for a re-vote. Gregoire is not a legitimate governor. No matter what happens as the court challenge makes its way to the Supreme Court, she is not and will never be a legitimate governor until she wins an election by a margin that exceeds the error in the election process. TV appearances for Democrats or no.

I don't know how you got these e-mails, Shark, but I'm glad it was you and not (or not just) the MSM. They would never have published them, preferring instead to parse the information according to their particular bias.

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Update: Coan

This story is getting ever more salacious. Kirkland police now believe that Nicholas Coan was actually shot by his girlfriend. The story is that he - now get this - came home with a loaded pistol, gave it to her after she said she should shoot him with it, and told her to go ahead and shoot him. There is no accompanying information that would lead one to believe that he had a death wish. Interestingly, the Seattle papers choose not to print the name of the murderer.

So, are we to believe this story? Nicholas' mother was a serial liar, and worse, an identity thief. Perhaps Nicholas' girlfriend, whatever her name is, was informed by his mother. In other words, both a murderer and a lair.

Here is the Seattle Times version of the story:

Nicholas Coan, 28, was shot Friday night by his 27-year-old girlfriend during the latest of the couple's many arguments, police and witnesses said. The girlfriend was apparently angry that Coan had brought home a .40-caliber pistol and hadn't told her where he had been.

So, police said, Coan cocked the pistol and handed it to her. She took it and fired, perhaps not knowing it was loaded, police and court documents say.

The Seattle PI has a completely different version of the story:

According to a police statement, the girlfriend told police that after Nicholas and a friend had returned to the apartment after buying a pistol, Nicholas told her to play Russian roulette with it. The girlfriend said she then held the gun and accidentally shot Nicholas in the stomach.

Another witness in the apartment told police a different story. He claimed that the girlfriend was mad about Nicholas' whereabouts. The girlfriend said she should shoot Nicholas with the gun, the witness told police. Then, according to the police report: "Nick said 'OK,' and handed her the gun, handle first. (The girlfriend) then shot Nick once, and Nick fell to the floor."

Police say they will be charging the mysterious "girlfriend," whose name as apparently above being printed, today. It might be something along the lines of, "accidental trigger pulling while in an emotional state."

In any case, we now have hard to dispute evidence of two extremely violent women that were in our midst. How much longer can the DV industry continue to propagate the myth that 95% of domestic violence victims are women?

Equality is a word heard often, and it is a wonderful concept. But, equality seems no longer to include culpability.

By the way, the girlfriend's name is Sadie Jane Eggleston. If you are interested in learning what she is eventually charged with, you can go here and look her up.

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Coan - A Con or a Victim?

Elizabeth Coan. Not only was she trying to knock off witnesses in her identity theft trial, but she very likely killed her own son. The bizarre case is like many others in which women show that they are indeed equal to men in their capacity for violence. Yet, the domestic violence industry continues to perpetuate the myth that 95% of domestic violence victims are women.

As in most cases of male victims of violent women, don't expect the Seattle media to follow up on this story. It leaves the editors baffled because they have been brainwashed into believing that these things don't happen. So, they lose interest in cases like this after making the first obligatory news report, but then breath fire when a man is the perpetrator. A man can be fed rat poison, run over with a car, and shot in cold blood after leaving a violent wife. But, we still hear that men have some sort of cultural disfunction that makes them prone to beating their wives.

The theory underlying all of this is that men are part of what your local Women's Studies department calls "The Patriarchy." Yes, all of us guys are part of a conspiracy to keep women in their place, and if they choose to do otherwise, we beat them, kill them even. This belief has been preached with such gusto that Seattle now has a local chapter of castrated men swearing off their patriarchy membership. The MSM buys into the theory to such an extent that the Seattle Times ran a serious of articles about sexual abuse of girls by male coaches with nary a mention of the FACT that aggressive lesbianism is a major problem for straight girls in athletic programs, particularly in college sports.

The Coan case is interesting because it highlights two facts. The first is that women are almost as likely as men to perpetrate domestic violence. The other is that women are much more likely to abuse children than men.

But, don't expect women's groups in King County to deal with the facts. They have gotten too much traction with the hysteria surrounding domestic violence and aren't about to retract their exaggerations and mis-information any time soon.

I suppose this has something to do with another important fact: 46% of men in their 30's living in King County have never been married. This astouning figure is well over the national average and even 10 percentage points above the same statistic for women. The MSM wants you to believe that opting out is due to choices made by women (you go girls!), but I suspect that it is a rational choice by men to avoid an institution in which they don't have much to win, but plenty to loose.

In the meantime, another man is dead.

If you would like to learn more about men's and father's issues, please check out Glenn Sacks. If you would like to get involved locally in fighting bias against men and fathers in government, please check out TABS.

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Taking on the Big Issues

Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels and the Seattle Silly Council of mini-mayors are there to protect us. From ourselves, from nuclear submarines, and from the horror of watching a circus animal perform. Now, oh thank the Lord, they are protecting us from cabbie cell phone usage.

You see, it turns out that the oh-so-sensitive people of Seattle are complaining that cab drivers sometimes talk on their cell phones when they have a fare. As one person said, "I think it's annoying."

Oh, cry me a river! Have you ever tried to talk to a stranger in Seattle? The people of Seattle are the most standoffish people I've encountered anywhere. I hardly think anyone is missing out on opportunities to engage in the multi-cultural experience of conversing with a Somali because he is on his cell phone.

As usual, the urge to control is wrapped in the mantra of "public safety." I haven't seen a single report of a taxi driver being involved in an accident because he was talking on his cell phone. So, is this another example of the Seattle Pre-Crime unit at work? Is the Seattle Silly Council really a bunch of mutants that go to the basement of city hall, soak themselves in warm goo, and predict the future?

The supposedly "strong man" Mayor and the Seattle Silly Council might want take up some larger issues. If they are worried about taxi service, how about the fact that there is only one taxi company serving the airport? If there were some competition, there would be better customer service. How is it that there is a monopoly on airport taxi service, anyway? Jim Compton seemed happy enough to get free table dances in exchange for special permitting for a strip bar; is he also getting something special from the taxi company who has a protected monopoly at the airport?

I know this is a hopeless endeavor, but if our mothers in Seattle government really want to do something significant, they might consider:

1) Working with Sound Transit with the objective of combining Seattle Monorail with Light Rail in order to create one system. Why? Because it would create economies of scale, both in purchasing and in operations. Because there would be one coordinated system for commuters. Because federal and state assistance could be spread over a larger system instead of forcing car owners in Seattle to carry the burden on there own.

The kicker is that Seattle Monorail will never be built under the current arrangement. It simply does not have enough funds even though taxes for SMP are way over the top. It will have even less funds in the future than predicted, because apparently nobody involved has taken an Econ 101 course. Raise the price of something and people will consume less. Make owning a car more expensive, and people will buy cheaper cars, drive their old cars longer, and have have fewer cars.

2) Focus on fixing at least one major road problem, and only one at a time. Every project talked about is some huge program, such as replacing the Alaskan Way Viaduct with a tunnel, that will take years and doesn't increase highway capacity, eliminate a bottleneck, or make Seattle's notoriously maze-like roads easier to navigate. For example, getting in and out of downtown, and making your way around downtown, is a huge mess. The city attempts to solve the problem with signs to I-5 that show people the long way to get there. That's pretty dumb. There should be more exits and entrances from I-5 to downtown. It doesn't help traffic congestion simply to push it from I-5 to downtown streets.

3) Negotiate FOR REAL with Comcast and other cable TV companies serving Seattle. If you are going to insist on being a regulator, why not use that power to get a better deal for Seattle?

I had a house in another state until the middle of last year (I am a long-time resident of Seattle though). In that other state, I had HDTV digital cable TV, with premium channels, and broadband Internet access, all for $65 per month. In Seattle, I pay well over $90 for analog cable TV, no premium channels, and broadband Internet access. No one can tell me that it is more expensive to serve me in Seattle than it was in that other city! The difference is that Seattle doesn't negotiate worth a damn.

4) Demand that King County give a full accounting of the election mess we experienced this year. Show you care about democracy. I am sure you would have done so if Rossi had won the third recount.

5) Find a solution to the Northgate mess without being so stupid. That little creek has been running under the parking lot there for over 50 years and the sky has not fallen. If you want a lovely, scenic stream, buy the land and create it yourself. I see plenty of Seattle Parks workers lounging around in various parks. It would give them something to do.

I could go on, but I don't want to tilt at windmills all day. However, I will wrap up with this:

Until you get some gonads and start taking on the larger problems, leave the taxi drivers alone!

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Who Can Replace You?

I loved this guy ...

Well, Johnny Carson is dead. I didn't even know he was ill.

I normally don't pay much attention to celebrity deaths. But, this one really has hit me and left me very sad.

I'm old enough to remember The Tonight Show. Anyone could get a kick out of that show! I remember watching it as a teenager with my parents; we all enjoyed it even though each of us had (and still have) a different sense of humor. In fact, I used to look forward to his show on nights when I had the time or schedule to watch it.

None of the current late night shows and hosts quite match Johnny Carson. I enjoy them once in a while, but I never seek them out and definitely don't look forward to them the way I did The Tonight Show. As David Letterman said, they are all "just pretenders" compared to Carson.

Johnny died of emphysema. A person close to me, named Al, died of the same disease in recent months. They both smoked most of their lives, starting back in the 40's. (Al started smoking Lucky Strikes, which the US Army gave away, when fighting in the Italian Campaign of WWII). I sympathize with these older guys that started smoking at such a young age and before it was stigmatized. They didn't know what they were doing to themselves.

Emphysema is a horrible way to die. Al was conscious until the last day, had horrible chest pain, and felt like he was being slowly suffocated. He spent the last 10 days of his life without food and the last week without fluids because he couldn't swallow and did not want a feeding tube just to prolong the agony.

It would have been merciful if Al's heart had given out so that the agony could have ended sooner. But, Al was a tough guy who never had it easy in his life. He nevertheless had a heart of gold. Johnny Carson was a man with a gift who earned a life of luxury. He also gave so much to so many of us. These things do not need to be evened out by events on earth, so I hope that Johnny Carson's death was faster than Al's once it was clear that it was inevitable.

Both of these guys came from a different era. People from that era did not complain, did not seek to blame others for their mistakes, and took responsibility for themselves and for their country.

So long Al and Johnny.

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My Enfrachised Iguana

Even iguanas are enfranchised now ...

I caught my iguana typing a letter to GreGore. He must have gotten hold of one of the 3 ballots mailed to my house.

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Brain Transplant Anyone?

Sims: "Count this, 'lose' these, check frig for more ballots ...."

We are getting a rare look into the incompetence in the King County elections office. Here is probably the best quote I've seen yet, taken from an e-mail from a tech support worker from the election system vendor who was frustrated in his dealings with workers in the King County elections office:

[election workers....] "have NO IDEA how to solve the smallest of problems" ...[with the data system]. "Do they really know what they are doing??? ... What
kind of help do they need???? Brain Transplant???"

Enough said.

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The "Problem" With Condi

Collin Levey is the smartest and most original regular columnist in the Seattle media. While the Seattle MSM borrows heavily from Women's Studies textbooks when discussing women's issues, Ms. Levey's perspective on the feminist victim cult is refreshing. NOW and its compatriots have had to work hard to ignore Condi Rice and other successful women that don't share their views. But, there is a growing body of evidence that the misandrist "statistics" pushed by women's victim groups were completely made up. Now, there is even a growing movement of men who are tired of getting the shaft.If you want the usual Seattle perspective, entirely focused on "I am woman, woe is me," with reflexive men bashing, you can read the simplistic columns of Nicole Brodeur. But, people seem to be loosing interest in feminists who's only claim to notoriety is how loudly they can yell about the supposed oppression of women. The movement has become solipsistic to the extreme and people are realizing that it has lost touch with reality.

Glenn Sacks provides the best analysis and commentary on how men and fathers are being systematically shafted by both the criminal and family court system. He also debunks every single statistic commonly used by feminists to harass men, such as the "1 in 4 women on college campus will be raped" banner they use to intimidate the minority of men on campus. Mr. Sacks even has a radio show on every Sunday night, called His Side, that is broadcast over the Internet.

It would seem that much of this victim mentality started in Women's Studies departments on college campuses. But, finally, women are stepping up to challenge this point of view. In addition to providing a fresh and rational voice on a number of topics, the Independent Women's Forum performed a review of the most commonly used textbooks in university level Women's Studies departments. It is astonishing and well worth reading this short review. Needless to say, the women of the Independent Women's Forum, and any other woman such as Condi Rice who refuses to rant victim hysterics, are considered heretics by NOW.

Of course, feminists on campus love to point an accusatory finger at the men that are still there, and they are now dramatically in the minority. In fact, from top to bottom our education system is failing boys. Boys have a drop out rate that is 4 times higher than girls; they are 10 times more likely to be put on Ritalin; and young men on campus dropped below 50% years ago and are quickly approaching 40%. All of this was occurring while the nation was pre-occupied with girls "loosing their voice" in high school. Christina Hoff-Sommers provides an excellent analysis of the dire situation for boys and young men in her book, "The War Against Boys: How Misguided Feminism Is Harming Our Young Men," as well as describing the systematic way in which this war has been conducted by feminists.

The great thing about alternative media is that we can make available and access information that has not been filtered by editorial staffs with an agenda. Through voices like those of Glenn Sacks and the women of the Independent Women's Forum, we are learning just what a scam "gender politics" really is.

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Seattle's Strong Man?

Clinton, eat ur heart out ...

Hey, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels may not be as stupid as he looks, but he is about as dumb as a stump. Only in Seattle would a politician propose replacing a highway with a tunnel THAT DOES NOT ADD ADDITIONAL HIGHWAY CAPACITY but nevertheless costs 4 times as much as simply replacing the original structure.I'm talking about the Alaskan Way Viaduct and the city's plan to replace it with a tunnel. You'd think that Boston's tunnel debacle - way over budget, way behind schedule, and way too much inconvenience, while doing little to help traffic problems - would be enough to scare every city on the planet from embarking on similar projects. You'd think the leaks alone in the Big Dig would be enough to scare Seattle away from putting a tunnel just feet away from the Puget Sound.

But, not to be out done, Seattle wants a tunnel too. And, Mayor Nickels says he is going to find the money to pay for it. Gee, I wonder where that money will come from. Car tax? A car worth $30k pays $800 per year for tabs in Seattle already. The state? Yeah, right, the state's budget is still busted after over-committing during the late 90s. Federal government? Even they are not dumb enough to support transportation construction that does not add capacity or improve traffic flow. Besides, they are providing funds for light rail (not monorail).

This is where you end up, Greg, when you don't provide leadership. The monorail and light rail should have been combined long ago. Someone needed to tell the children of Seattle that they couldn't have the circus ride and the money was needed for other things. You could have explained the logic that it's better to put Seattle's money into projects that get matching dollars from the state and federal government, instead of stomping off in a temper tantrum and saying, "We will do it all by ourselves."

The deeper problem is that Seattle has become so vaginized that the only leadership allowed is a lesbian screaming about being a victim of the "patriarchy." Remember Sidran? Yeah, that guy who was accused of being divisive just because he thought issues should be debated. Meanwhile, the pacification of Seattle has become so bad, that Seattle Times editorial columnist Joni Balter says that Nickels is too strong because he pushes the mini-mayors of the Seattle City Council around. (It's hard to take a city council seriously that spends weeks debating an ordinance to ban performing animals in city limits).

So, the problem is this: leadership is not allowed in Seattle.

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Stealthcare Plan

Dang! The botox wore off ...

Looks like Gregoire is trying to change the subject from her "election" woes. She unveiled her healthcare plan pretty darn quick. We'll have to assume that she is saying to the electorate, "Hey, look, if you let me stay, you'll have better healthcare."

To save you the time, I'll sum up what she proposed. First, she wants to add more kids to medicaid. Second, she wants a "task force" (oh, those Democrats) to study ways to make private enterprise pay for the nursing home care of retirees. Third, and ominously, she wants to take one step closer to government provided healthcare by allowing people to join the state's group health insurance plans. Finally, she wants the state to sponsor the importation of drugs from Canada.

But, really, this is nothing but stealth, because there is nothing in the plan that does much about the two major problems with healthcare in Washington: (1) demand and (2) supply. It really is that simple, folks. Supply and demand.

On the demand side, her proposals increase the number of people trying to access healthcare. Of course, she does this on the backs of taxpayers. Expanding the number of people that have access to healthcare is a worthy goal, but ....

On the supply side, there is only one superficial thing (drugs from socialist Canada, never mind that the Canadian government wants to outlaw the export of drugs to the US because they have their own supply issues) in her proposal that promotes an increase in the supply of healthcare in the state, or reduces the cost per unit of that supply.

Is it that she just doesn't get it? Well, as a bureaucrat that believes all problems can be solved with another lawsuit, I think that is reasonable to assume. But, there is also another small little problem.

To really do something about healthcare supply, YOU NEED TO HAVE TORT REFORM. She is too beholden to the trial lawyer contributors to her campaign (yeah, those guys that made billions off a tobacco "settlement" that did nothing to benefit old and dying smokers, while putting the states in the position of propping up tobacco companies because they already spent the money). She will never do anything to limit their parasitic hold on our healthcare.

Out of control medical liability does two things. First, it raises the cost of each appointment you have with a doctor, because your doctor needs to factor the cost of liability insurance into his or her rates. So, that makes each unit of supply more expensive. Second, it drives doctors out of the state, so we have fewer doctors available to provide service.

Add increased demand to reduced supply, and what do you get? Sky rocketing costs.

She should have thrown in free botox while she was at it.....

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Need to find $1 billion?

Uhh ... Duh ...

Hmmmm ... looks like Seattle has gone to the federal pork barrel one (or perhaps several) times too many, according to Sen. Murray. So much for fixing a real problem - limited auto access to downtown and commuting nightmares.Well, Seattle might want to look here for more than $1 billion and even more. In fact, Seattle could find enough to fund the entire Alaskan Way Viaduct by ditching the monorail circus ride.

Or, Seattle could look here for some ideas on how to build a self-funding highway without inconveniencing drivers.

Or, it could do both.

Now, before any of you think that I am anti-public transportation, I'm not. It's just that I believe that the Seattle Monorail Project was conceived at a time when it appeared that Seattle would never have any sort of transportation solutions that involved the state and/or federal government.

Unfortunately, Ron Simms and his buddies pushed forward with light rail inspite of (or perhaps just to spite) the monorail project. If Seattle had any real leadership, the two systems would have been combined into one. Now, we are left with two systems that are hopelessly under funded. Of those two, the monorail is the most unrealistic. Even today, it lacks the funds required to build its planned 14 mile span; funds are coming only from Seattle; and it goes from essentially nowhere to nowhere.

Why combine two systems into one? Well here are three reasons:

- Economies of purchasing scale
- Operating efficiencies
- Coordinated system that also works with buses

It would be refreshing for SOMEONE in politics to stand up and say, "Look, we need to make some choices here. On the list of things that we need, Seattle Monorail is pretty far down in terms of priorities. Let's put it aside and use the money on more important projects, including expanding light rail."

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Respect Diversity, Ask for a Revote

There is a great quote in this article from the Seattle PI that the residents of King County should read and take to heart.

Here is the quote:

Arlene Jones, 76, of Wenatchee, arrived early with two friends to get seats, hoping for a revote that would oust Gregoire.

"She should not be in that governor's mansion right now until we have figured this out and that's why we're here, to figure this out," she said.

"We don't like the voters there in King County having the determination of our government."

I know that the people of King County feel that they are enlightened and really should be running the entire state. But, let's not forget one of our favorite buzzwords, "diversity."

The people of Washington State have views and opinions that are DIVERSE. The views outside King County often diverge from the conventional wisdom in King County.

It's bad enough that the Governor of the entire state was put into office under questionable circumstances, but even worse that one of the few counties she won was King County AND most of the questionable circumstances were in King County.

Look folks, Gregoire may or may not be the legitimate Governor, and some of the magically appearing provisional ballots of King County may or may not have been legitimate, but it is too much to ask of the diverse counties of Washington, who have almost no connection to the fanaticism of Seattle, to swallow a Governor that they are not sure was legitimately elected.

If you really do appreciate, respect, and want a climate that promotes diversity, you will support a revote. The voice of ALL of the people of the state must be heard.

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Has Feminism Gone Astray?

Let's start with one of my favorite topics: the victim cult that contemporary feminism has become. Here's a question for ya:

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Hello Seattle!

Yes, I have taken the plunge.

Many of you may recognize my moniker from posts at places like Sound Politics. I've decided that posting my opinions on these blogs, while satisfying, does not fulfill my need to set the topic of discussion from time to time.

Of course, my favorite topic is how silly Seattle is. From building two different regional mass transit systems, to a statue of Lenin, to group think, to an anti-business climate - Seattle really takes the cake!

So, in this blog you will see me comment on some of the more silly aspects of Seattle life. Washington State, which is ruled by King County, will never be off limits. And, occasionally, I might even stray into commenting on national and world events.

Feel free to comment to your heart's content. This should be fun!

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