After punctually showing up for the Democratic Legislative District Caucus at Capital High School this morning only to find the doors locked and a message that said the Caucus will be in two weeks from now instead of today, I went downtown to get some coffee and hang out. I stopped at the usual location and chatted with a couple of old timers. We talked a little about the financial market, the Bear Stearns bail-out and the Port of Olympia.

The prevailing consensus was that the Bear Stearns bail-out was the wrong move, and that it would have been better to let the mortgage industry experience the consequences of faulty lending practices. We also talked about other politics, including about the Port of Olympia. $400,000 profits via a shipment to support an illegal occupation in Iraq. The Port makes a little profit while the rest of the community is sucked dry by federal government spending on an act of aggression [images from Iraq]. It's also good to see hints of the broad-base of opposition to an oppressive foreign policy of global dominance, militarism, and violence.

I would like to see the Port of Olympia embrace a mission that is life-sustaining, rather that one that is based in the model of growth based economics. The industrial growth based economic model is in the basic service of the financial bottom line without adequate and appropriate consideration of consequences to society and health, to side-effects and externalities, especially as they relate to future generations. I would like to see more green space at the Port, more focus on ecological remediation and commerce that is prerequisite on ecological / economic sustainability. For example, I have no problem with log-export, except as the logs might be sourced from environmentally destructive clear-cuts. Clear cuts are harmful to soil health, biological diversity, and overall forest health. Some amount of clear cuts might be okay, but even then are they aesthetically desirable? Considering an expanding human population and subsequent increased resource demands, where is the sustainability line on clear cutting?

Some ideas for changes in Port management/mission: It would be encouraging to see the Port take the lead on ecological reparations and remediation considering the current state of pollution in Budd Bay... Another idea is for sustainable and benign economic development: it would be great to have a focus on recreation, education, and local consumption: fishing, sailing and kayaking, imagine if we could swim in and eat from the waters of Budd Bay in 30 (or some amount of) years!

[On the flip side: Farmer's Market Open, Oly Photos slide show, and a short review of last night's Actors' Gang performance of George Orwell's 1984.]