field notes: fair and balanced
As a reporter, of course, I try to be fair and balanced. This shouldn't mean just going out and dinging one side, then dinging the other, but to many people it does. (And to Fox News, maybe? Well, not even close, but they trademarked it. So they can make it mean whatever they want, right?)

Anyway, after a few past digs at conservatives, I give you the following:

secret donations
A Freedom Socialist City Council candidate in Seattle wants to keep her campaign contributors secret.

"It is a huge victory for people who support minority points of view," the candidate told the Seattle P-I. "Their right to donate is as important as the right to a secret ballot."

But it looks like a defeat for the voters, who ought to know and have the right to question who supports the candidates they vote for. Apparently Freedom Socialism doesn't require openness in government. Good thing this gal hasn't got a chance of getting through the primary.

non-sequitur taxes
First of all, I need to tell you that I believe in taxes. The benefits we get from this society need to be paid for somehow. I think that the federal tax cuts were too much. I voted for Seattle's monorail. But now we have to deal with Seattle's proposed latte tax. How does this tax makes sense? Tell me again why just the espresso drinkers have to pay for the breeders? Were the federal child tax refunds supposed to pay for just purchases at Wal-Mart?

Why didn't anyone suggest we put a $1 surcharge on children's movie tickets instead, since they only pay $5 a ticket? Why didn't anyone try to convince legislators that pre-school is something that everyone should pay for? Read The Stranger's endorsements for a more articulate reasoning behind why the latte tax is a dumb idea. I'm trying to convince myself that this is no reason to break up with my boyfriend, who thinks we have to pass this and other "senseless taxes" (his words, not mine) in order to force people to support a sensible tax structure like an income tax.

I know. What do I care? I don't live in Seattle, right? Well, that's why I can tell you what I think about these things.