Where Your Spare Change Went!

The headline on page 1 of the NY Times today blares out "At Exxon Mobil A Record Profit But no Fanfare". Why should you not be surprised at the "Record Profit"? It's the American way.

But in this case Exxon Mobil is not tooting it's horn saying look at how successful we are - they are running ads in major newspapers trying to downplay their success. Because even they know their profit is excessive and obscene.

What is their success? Only that they set a record in accumulating $36 billion dollars in profits in 2005. And this isn't the first time. They set a previous high in corporate profits last year of $25.53 billion dollars. In 2003 they made $20.93 billion dollars but this was only 5th in all time corporate profits for a year. Still they now own the record for making the most money in 3 out of the last 5 years.

Exxon Mobil said their overall profit rose over 40% last year. As Americans paid more for heating oil and gas how many do you think saw a 40% rise in their income? How many do you think instead saw an over 40% rise in the cost to heat their houses and drive their cars to work?

Is Exxon Mobil alone? Hardly? Last Thursday the NY Times carried a small article on page C6. Its headline was Profit Grows 51% for Conoco Philips.

On Jan 27, 2006 the Chevron atticle read "Rising Oil Prices Lift Chevron Profit to Quarterly Record." Chevron reported record profits of $14.1 billion for 2005. The combined total of Chevron for 2004 and 2005 was a record $27.4 billion profit.

Isn't it time someone questioned our priorities? Isn't there something morally wrong when the average citizen struggles to make end meet in the face of rising oil and gas prices and the oil companies meanwhile are seeing record profits? Where is our government? Oh yeh they're busy fighting a 'war" in Iraq to make certain we can get more oil so prices don't get out of control.

Remember this is the same Republican government of Bush that sat on the sidelines while Enron manipulated the makets to gouge electric consumers. It's the free market system. It's free enterprise they say. Right. That's why Congress last November inserted more than $2 billion in additional tax breaks for oil and gas companies in the enegry legislation they passed.

Meanwhile we see cuts in college loans and heath care for the poor. Its a reverse Robin Hood mentality. Take from the poor and give to the rich. Congress should repeal the $2 billion giveway and impose an excess profits tax on the oil companies. Time for some compassion.

Developers Initiative filed.

The Farm Bureau today filed an initiative with the Secretary of State to restrict the ability of local and state governments to regulate land use. The Washington State Farm Bureau represents corporate farming interests in Washington state.

The final text of the initiative has not been filed with the Secretary of State according to the Farm Bureau because they have not given its wording final approval. But in a press release,
the Farm Bureau calls it a "Property Rights" initiative and then later calls it the "Property Fairness initiative".

The initiative as best I can determine from the press release would require that before any new regulations could be enacted, the government entity would have to determine "the damage to the use and value of the affected parcel" that the regulation would cause. Costly studies would be necessary. The words damage and value are loaded words and I see now the potential for lawsuits for compensation over "lost value." Think of the return on investment possible when what was a swampy woods area to most people was really a "prime potential shopping center to a developer when the case goes to court. Taxpayers will foot the bill for the lawsuits.

Using the threat of lawsuits is a form of extortion by the developers. Washington voters should beware of this initiative and not sign it. It is basically an end run by developers around zoning regulations by imposing a costly threat of lawsuits by developers if they are not allowed to do what they want.

The measure requiring compensation for lost property value that Oregonians recently passed was overturned in the courts.

Zogby International Poll Supports Impeachment!

A majority of Americans support impeachment if you believe the new poll just released by After Downing Street.org. Done by Zogby International, by a 52% to 43% margin, Americans agreed with the following statement.

"If President Bush wiretapped American citizens without the approval of a judge, do you agree or disagree that Congress should consider holding him accountable through impeachment?"

So before the Republicans launched impeachment proceeding, a series of polls listed at democrats.com found an average of only 26% support for impeaching Clinton.

So where is the major media? Sitting on the sidelines just like they did during the buildup to the Iraq War. It just like in George Orwell's book 1984. We are at war and we must support our President. It's like in the book:

"He knew in advance what O'Brien would say. That the Party did not seek power for its own ends, but only for the good of the majority. That it sought power because men in the mass were frail cowardly creatures who could not endure liberty or face the truth, and must be ruled over and systematically deceived by others who were stronger than themselves. That the choice for mankind lay between freedom and happiness, and that, for the great bulk of mankind, happiness was better. That the party was the eternal guardian of the weak, a dedicated sect doing evil that good might come, sacrificing its own happiness to that of others. The terrible thing, thought Winston, the terrible thing was that when O'Brien said this he would believe it."

Substitute "Bush" or "Cheney" for "O'Brien" and it reads no different does it? Doesn't it sound like something you could imagine them saying and believing?

Unfortunately 1984 has come and gone and we are in 2006 but it only proves more prescient I guess in that Orwell was talking about an oligarchy in 1984 and what do we have now in America?

Eyman Misrepresentations on I-915!!

Eyman continues to distort the truth whenever he speaks. Eyman claims on his website for his regurgitation of $30 license tabs that "Oregon and Idaho charge a flat low and reasonable fee to license a vehicle" That is not true.

Eyman wants to have all motor vehicles under 20,000 pounds register for $30. For vehicles under 8,000 pounds Oregon charges $27 but compare below:

currently in Washington - 8,000 pound truck $62/year
currently in Oregon 8,000 - 10,000 pound truck $169/year
Eyman initiative proposal - trucks under 20,000 pounds $30/year

currently in Washington 18,000 pound truck $154/year
currently in Oregon 18,000- 20,000 pound truck $291/year
Eyman initiative proposal trucks under 20,000 pounds $30/year

* Eyman figures based on initiative 915 as printed on Washington Secretary of State's website.
Oregon figures from Oregon Dept of Motor Vehicles.

Oregon license fees for campers and travel trailers are by length of vehicle and goes from $81 for a 6-10 foot camper to $283 for a 40 foot camper. Any of these vehicles weighting less than 20,000 pounds or 10 tons would only be charged $30 under I-915

Likewise Oregon motor homes 6-10 feet long start at $63 and go to $195 /year for a $45 foot long vehicle.

So Eyman is actually urging you to oppose his own initiative when he says Oregon's fees are "reasonable"

Fees are also higher in Idaho than Eyman proposes here in Washington. Passenger cars and motor home yearly license fees are $35 to $60 depending on vehicle age and county of residence. Passenger vehicles are defined for registration purposes as motor vehicles less than 8,000 pounds. RV license fees are calculated based on market values. Vehicles 8,001 to 26,000 pounds are registered as commercial vehicles.

So Oregon and Idaho license fess are not "flat". They are not "low" because in many cases, like in Oregon, they exceed Washington's current fees for trucks. And if Eyman thinks they are "reasonable" then he really has no reason to apply a $30 fee to vehicles up to 10 tons. Idaho's $35 fee is only for vehicles less than 6,000 pounds!

Al Gore Catches Up!

Back on December 29th of last year we gave our support to the effort started by the ACLU to call for an appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate whether President Bush broke the law and violated the US Constitution with its illegal wiretapping. In fact we called for the impeachment of President Bush because we feel that the President should follow the rule of law like everyone else. He and his Republican corporate cronies obviously believe and act otherwise.

On Monday Al Gore joined the fray by calling for an independent counsel to investigate Bush. In a Reuters article Gore is quoted as saying that "A president who breaks the law is a threat to the very structure of government."

You can read more of Al Gore's comments by visiting the blog by Goldy at horsesass.org where I first caught the story.

Our concern is that the wiretapping may only be a symptom of a larger problem, namely that national security may not be the only area where Bush's may be trying to increase the power of
the Presidency and skirting the law to do it. I'm sure they can make the strength of the economy as a justification for many of their actions. Time will tell.

Fat in the State Budget

Eyman has filed his annual "money maker for the sponsor" initiative to decry once again the evil villains of state government who want poor carowners to pay more than $30 a year for the priviledge of driving their car. One fee for all he says, even motorhomes and trucks.

Vehicles up to 20,000 pounds or 10 tons would now pay only $30 instead of $171. The problem is heavier vehicles do more wear and tear on roads and should pay more. Eyman is trolling for votes. Eyman wants taxpayers who have smaller vehicles to subsidize the road system for those doing the most damage.

Eyman has actually filed 5 initiatives to the people this year:

I-913 relating to revenue and fee increases
I-914 relating to prohibiting discrimination and preferential treatment
I-915 - relating to motor vehicle charges
I-916 - relating to transportation
and an unnumbered one relating to motor vehicle charges

The reason he does this is to try to get a "good " ballot title from the Attorney General's office.
He uses taxpayer dollars to try to perfect a ballot title and summary he likes.

Schwarzenegger Follows Bush's Lead - "never thought about it"

What is it about Republicans that they feel the law that applies to others doesn't apply to them. Bush believes he doesn't have to obey the law because he is the President. So he does not need to get court permission to wiretap.

Over the weekend, Arnold decided to take his motorcycle out for a spin. Seems he collided with a car, sort of like he was reliving the days when he was the Terminator or something.

Problem is he did not have an endorsement on his California driver's license to operate a motorcycle.

Now does this sound like a Republican line or not? Schwarzenegger said that he never bothered to get a motorcycle license because he "never thought about it." I wonder how many other people have tried that line when they were caught violating the law?

Rally for the Environment!

The Washington State environmental community continues to grow in strength and sophistication. They met yesterday to rally the troops around their Priorities for a Healthy Washington campaign.

The top priorities for this years legislative session are:

1. Energy Independence Through Renewable Fuels
2. Clean Up Puget Sound
3. Launch Electronics Waste Recyclng
4. Protecting Kids Health by Eliminating Toxic Flame Retardants
5. Defend Land Use Protection

You can go directly to their website by clicking on the link above. A Citizen's Lobby Day for the Environment will occur in Olympia on Thursday, Jan. 26th. They have a link on the website that you can use to sign up to go.

Over 19 environmental organizations are part of the effort to push the Priorities for a Healthy Washington. Links to their websites are also located on the website.

The whole coordinated effort by the environmental community over the past several years to select priorities and work together is a good role model for the progressive community to work towards.

Rabid Talk Radio

Talk radio has been ranting about Seattle making recycling mandatory. How stupid! It's only common sense and dollars and war. What do I mean?

Well recycling means we pay less for garbage disposal. That issue was decided long ago when special interests proposed that Seattle burn its garbage. The recycling community and others asked the City Council to do what any sensible business does - do a cost effectiveness study of the various alternatives to disposing of Seattle's garbage. When it was completed the results said it would cost Seattle ratepayers less to recycle as much waste as it could and work to reduce waste in the first place than it would to burn it or bury it.

Burning garbage produces toxic incinerator waste and ash as well as emitting chemicals into the air we breathe. These include dioxin which is produced when plastic is burned. The incinerator industry's solution to toxic ash was a prolonged attempt to try to declare it non-toxic by bureaucratic fiat, namely rename it as non-toxic.

Dumping garbage in the landfill is costly. We currently ship our garbage to eastern Washington - a not in my back yard, an out of sight out of mind solution.

Recycling saves both materials to be reused or remade into new products. Like plastic into picnic tables. It also saves energy. For example recycling aluminum into new cans uses 1/20 of the energy it takes to produce one from raw bauxite. Producing aluminum is very energy intensive and competes here in the NW with other energy users like Seattle's electric ratepayers.

And my punch line - is this why we are in Iraq, so we can keep access to oil so we can continue to produce more plastic and other throwaway garbage instead of reducing waste and recycling? It's a question of priorities as well as cost. Recycling makes sense and saves dollars and makes us more responsible world citizens. How many people have to die in places like Iraq and elsewhere so we can continue a throwaway society? Seattle is doing the right thing.

Ring Around the Rosy

Time to stop those nasty leaks. Someone spilled the beans. Time to clean up the mess. So let's ignore the fact that President Bush did not have the legal authority to listen in on phone conversations without court orders. Let's go after the person who let the dirty secret out that George felt he didn't have to follow the law.

Hurray for the Justice Department. They sure know how to set priorities. Again one has to wonder how many other ways the Bush Administration is breaking the law. But we know what the response will be if anyone exposes Bush's handpicked cronies violating the law. Go after the tattletale. Forget the original crime because we all know the President Puppet King is above the law. Isn't that in the Constitution somewhere under powers of the Puppet King of the British Colonies - you remember that piece of paper signed by King George and ratified by the 13 colonies when we lost the Revolutionary War.