A recent Peter Callaghan article in The News Tribune (http://www.tribnet.com/) local news section,

I-695 has no muzzle attached, laments the fact that most politicians have been strangely silent concerning what he assumes would be their opposition to I-695. He ends with asking this question: Are legislators using hyper-technical interpretations of the ethics laws to avoid taking a public stand on a very controversial issue? What he may or may not understand is that many elected officials (even Democrat officials) really don't like the bureaucrats who run the state from their bastions of power within the civil service system, and they don't care much really for the special interest groups that they must get to assist with their elections. They are oftentimes looking for an excuse to cut back the power of these groups, if that can be done without losing their support. Many have long since realized that these bureaucrats could get by with much less and that the interests of the special interest group are not those of the public as a whole, but they don't have the courage to say so directly and incur the wrath of the politically powerful public employee unions. So for many of these politicians, this is an "end around," where they can allow themselves to be placed in a situation where they can blame someone else for forcing changes that they know are required.

-- Craig Carson (craigcar@crosswinds.net), September 28, 1999

Answers

????? My of MY, did you figure that out for yourself? It must be great to have all the answers........

-- Mike Powell (mkpow62@silverlink.net), September 29, 1999.

Mike-

A surprising number of things are just common sense if you have a mind unclouded by liberal digma.

-- (craigcar@crosswinds.net), September 29, 1999.

Sorry, that's DOGma. (No offense to Jeff and other Husky fans).

-- (craigcar@crosswinds.net), September 29, 1999.

Craig,

I always have and always will hate football, both pro and the de facto pro which the Dawgs currently are.

Share that info with your friend Westin, who attacked me for being an auto driver-therefore-hypocrite, in spite of the fact that I've never set my foot on a gas pedal, ever.

But of course, $5,000 contribution, five-figure contribution, whatever.

-- The Phantom Liberal Menace (chez@u.washington.edu), September 30, 1999.

I don't know Westin and you certainly have communicated (?) with him much more than I have. But have no fear, I will not rail on incessantly that you have falsely accused me of being friends with Westin ;) . And the above was merely making a jest at my own typo, not intending to seriously accuse you of being pro-Dawg.

-- (craigcar@crosswinds.net), September 30, 1999.