Sidewalk benches are sorely needed in World Class Downtown Olympia..

Local residents should not be forced to sit on the sidewalk when they get tired. Cost certainly cannot be a factor. Durable steel benches for municipalities cost just $600.

We need to inquire with the Olympia City Council & City Planners as to exactly why we dont have enough benches for exhausted downtown pedestrians.

Council Members can be reached via email here.

City Manager Steve Hall can be reached at: cityhall@ci.olympia.wa.us

Some designs for the City Council and Staff to consider:

I read it at lunch yesterday as I sat with folks at Olympia's tent city. 

A couple of things in the Olympian article jumped out at me.  Here's one:

City leaders, who learned of the tent city from a reporter, said ordinance opponents won't talk to them and misunderstand what the measure is aimed at.

I think the public discussion I have been having with Mayor Foutch, including a meet and greet walk with the Mayor and the Police Chief, is pretty clear evidence that ordinance opponents will talk to the City Leaders.  I think there was also a lot of "talk" from the opponents when the ordinance was being considered, so I think we can safely toss this complaint from the City Leaders out.  The PPU has posted its talking points here on Olyblog.  There is some talking going on.

Here's another quote from the article:

Councilman Jeff Kingsbury, who co-sponsored the ordinance with fellow Councilman Doug Mah, said the ordinance wasn't intended to keep civilized people from hanging out on sidewalks.

Ouch!@!  Just who are these civilized people that Mr. Kingsbury is talking about?  And by inference, who are the uncivilized people who were targeted by the ordinance?   That one really jumped off the page at me.  I have spent a lot of time the last couple of weeks with the folks who are being targeted by this ordinance, and I have found them to be sufficiently civilized, but I don't know what "civilized" means to Mr. Kingsbury, so I am a loss to understand what he is trying to say with this statement.

If you drive, when you drive, what do you drive?  How is your mpg?  How big is your carbon foot print?

What are the issues that "drive" your automotive decisions?

Me and my clan are owning/driving a fleet of mainly 1980's VWs -  1st dtr has a 1986 VW jetta - usually 30-36 mpg, 2nd dtr has been in a 1988 VW jetta, 16 valve model - usually around 30-33 mpg, but it's dying so we are resurrecting an abandoned 1995 VW Jetta 8 valve for her.  I think the 95 will probably get 30-33 mpg.  Marylea and I have two cars - 1985 VW cabriolet, 32-36 mpg and a 1985 Honda CRX HF - the model that is supposed to get 52 mpg, one of the few cars to ever pass CA emissions without a catalytic converter.  We bought the Honda a year ago, another largely abandoned vehicle that we have had trouble resurrecting.  I thought the Honda would be dependable and let me take the Cabriolet off the road for a while and convert it to run on propane - that's a really green - clean tail pipe automobile, but so far the Honda is not dependable, so my propane conversion is on hold.

I like the Honda, but I can't get the mpg up where it should be.  I spend a lot of time in the garage with that one adjusting the carb, it keeps getting 30-35 mpg and should do a lot better.  We also have a 1995 Chev S10 for hauling, I think it gets 25 mpg and it's parked almost every day. 

That's a lot of vehicles, but we are Americans.  What "drives" my automobile purchases is first:  dependability, gas mileage, sticker price, engineering design - can I tune and repair the vehicle.  We have no car payments.  I think there is a circularity of being trapped into working more than I would want to be able to make expensive car payments and carry replacement insurance for the bank.  I am poor, as in low income, so that is a consideration.  I could move up the income scale if I wanted to live a more mainstream life.  That has little appeal.

The oil industry is posting record profits again this year as the IPCC comes out with its watered down, but still powerful
report on global warming.

And what does the oil industry to help with the situation?

How about we pay folks to write stories to dispute the IPCC report? Let’s continue to cast doubt on the science and thereby delay action and changes in our lives that will reduce the impact of global warming. Let’s stir up political doubt and embark on wars of global domination to secure oil reserves that should not be burned any more.

It’s really quite amazing and irresponsible, but it’s business as usual for the ruling class. The surprising part is how many common folks serve the politics of the ruling class by being manipulated by wedge issues like abortion or gun control. At the root of the problem is a rather scary and dismal malthusian population issue and consumption of resources, conflict over wealth distribution, environmental degradation are symptomatic, not causative. A global vision is needed on the small blue planet today.

Prompt, bold, decisive, heroic action is needed. The ruling class are not going to be leading the charge, talking about how many people the planet can sustain, how we can produce food and shelter for the bipeds already bipeding around on this small blue planet. They are very busy building gated communities and fighting the death tax. God bless them for their vision.

14TH ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL DAY IN SOLIDARITY WITH LEONARD PELTIER

14TH ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL DAY IN SOLIDARITY WITH LEONARD PELTIER

STATEMENT FOR: THE 14TH ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL DAY IN SOLIDARITY WITH LEONARD PELTIER REGIONAL TACOMA MARCH AND RALLY: FEBRUARY 10, 2007

The shadow of totalitarianism is slowly creeping across the land. Our civil liberties are under attack. Our government has our country fighting a war of aggression that is not in the interest of the people of this land. If you take a close look at all that is taking place you will be able to see direct parallels to the case of Leonard Peltier and thus understand why all people who believe in peace, justice and freedom should actively support Leonard.

The first connection can be found in whose interests the government is acting in. There are few today that cannot see that the war in Iraq is about oil and the interests of the multi-national energy corporations. Behind the events that took place on the Pine Ridge Reservation were the interests of the multi-national energy corporations wanting uranium that was found there. In both cases armed force was used to seize control of those resources and to suppress opposition.

In the pursuit of suppressing opposition, constitutional and human rights were denied. Matter of fact, many things that the FBI did against AIM and Leonard Peltier, which at the time were illegal, the government has made legal by acts of congress. Though the government says that such denial of human rights is justifiable for their war against "terrorism", the fact is that the government has also targeted those who oppose its policies who are clearly not terrorists. The case of Leonard Peltier clearly shows why such power should never be given to the FBI and others in power. For it can be seen clearly that Leonard's constitutional rights were denied him.

The reasons given by the government for the war in Iraq have been shown to be fabrications to justify the war. Still the war continues. The evidence that the government presented at Leonard's trial has all been disproved as either fabricated evidence or intimidated witnesses, to the point that even the courts have admitted it. Still Leonard is in prison and no new and fair trial is granted.