From crooksandliars.com.

Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} In discussions about Brian Baird’s votes (most recently against the health care bill), it is often said that Baird’s 3rd Congressional District is quite conservative, at least compared to the districts of the six other Democratic members of Congress from Washington and to the state as a whole.

Congressman Brian Baird Releases Statement Regarding H.R. 3962 — The Affordable Health Care for America Act

Washington, D.C.— I strongly believe there is a need for health care reform and I have offered my own proposal for how this should be accomplished. The bill before the House is a result of thousands of hours of effort put in by members of Congress and their staff, plus the unprecedented input from the public on all sides of this issue. Clearly, people care about how we deliver and pay for health care in this country and there is a need and opportunity for change.

In comparison to the initial draft of H.R. 3200, a number of improvements have been made. To name just a few, the current bill would allow negotiations for prescription drugs under Medicare D, promote alternatives to malpractice litigation, and allow for cross state agreements to purchase cross state insurance (something especially relevant to border districts such as my own). There are also elements that could at long last correct the Medicare payment disparities that disadvantage our state, and the bill would end the anti-trust exemption long enjoyed by insurance companies.

All of those changes are commendable, but there are still reasons for concern. The most important of these is the simple fact that we do not yet have reliable estimates of how this legislation will impact the premiums paid by people who already have insurance.

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Four people were arrested Saturday evening after breaking into the Bread & Roses staff house and stealing an old couch.  The rumors about this incident are already flying.  So, as president of Bread & Roses, I am writing this post to get the facts out.

The new board of Bread & Roses has made several decisions that I would like interested members of the community to know about.

Our mission to serve and love the poor, homeless, and marginalized people in our community remains the same.

The advocacy center on 4th Avenue is now closed. This was anticipated when we lost the HUD grant that funded it, but is now official.

There will not be a street outreach program. This had been proposed to partially replace the advocacy center, using some remaining HUD funds, but unfortunately we not be able to use those funds.

The women's guest house remains open and filled. All the guests will continue to have a place to stay and will receive advocacy services.

The staff of Bread & Roses have been let go. They will be able to stay free at the staff house through April or receive a severance payment to leave earlier (their choice). (They were notified before I wrote this.)

Several other agencies are picking up all of the advocacy services for women in the guest house and as many as possible of the services formerly provided at the advocacy center. Unfortunately, there will be a reduction in services, as least temporarily.

Now, the board is working on a plan to build a solid organization, raise funds, identify the highest service priorities, and provide them more effectively. To do that, we will reach out to all our donors and community members for their input.

If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact me at 360-402-5529 or matthew.olympia@gmail.com.

Also, you can visit our new website at breadandrosesolympia.com.

Matthew Green

President of the Board of Bread & Roses

"I've decided to end the experiment."

Rob, what experiment? Why did you end it? How? What is happening with Olyblog now?

I would like to understand what's going on, and I think the entire community deserve to understand.

Thanks in advance.

Matthew