ITEM Grocery shoppers would no longer be asked whether they want paper or plastic if Rep. Maralyn Chase, D-Shoreline, gets her bill passed by the 2008 Legislature. It mandates that grocery stores provide bags made from recyclable paper, compostable plastic, reusable materials such as canvas or reusable plastic that is at least 0.09 inches thick. Todays plastic bags are said to contribute to global warming when burned.
COMMENT Why do people always want to do it the hard way? Whats wrong with simply requiring people to reuse the plastic bags they get now, the way we used to do with pop bottles? Limit them to how many and how often.
ITEM Lawmakers are tiptoeing through a new political minefield as they deal with Tim Eymnans latest initiative that establishes an automatic public notification system for legislation that raises taxes or fees. The Office of Financial Management has announced, under the requirements of Initiative 960, that a bill taxing greenhouse emissions would cost more than $26 billion over 10 years. The sponsor is none other than Rep. Maraiyn Chase, D-Shoreline, who also wants to eliminate plastic bags in grocery stores, and who says the chances now are almost zero that this emissions bill will ever get a hearing.
COMMENT Well, tough bananas, Rep. Chase. Id like a hearing for your bill too just to hear from you where you expect to get the $26 billion to pay for it.
ITEM The nations first openly gay Episcopal bishop told a crowd at Nova Southeastern university that come June, hes marching down the aisle with his longtime male partner Mark Andrew. 1 always wanted to be a June bride, said Bishop V. Gene Robinson, and because New Hampshire allows same sex legal unions as of Jan. 1, he and his partner will enter into such a union in June.
COMMENT Since his 2003 consecration as a bishop kicked off departure of thousands of Episcopalians from the main church body, Id say this latest announcement will trigger more. Also, further complaints from Evangelical Lutherans such as myself that our denomination is being prodded into allowing gay pastors and gay marriages to go along with the Episcopal hierarchy we made the mistake of joining in partnership.
ITEM Humor columnist Garrison Keillor, in a recent column referred to President Bush as a fool and an idiot.
COMMENT This isnt the first time for Keillor, who has taken to regular insults of the president in a column expected to be humorous. Thats enough for me. I quit watching 60 Minutes over the Alar flap, and I quit reading Doonesbury when he got too nasty over our president and the administration so chalk me up as an ex-Keillor reader.
ITEM The U.S. Supreme Court has heard oral arguments in the case about Indianas law requiring photo ID at the polls. Supporters said photo ID laws simply extend rules that require everyone to show such ID to travel, enter federal office buildings or pick up a government check. That voter fraud is common and too many voters are dead or duplicates. Opponents say photo ID laws block poor, minority and elderly voters who lack ID from voting in the name of a largely mythical problem of voter fraud.
COMMENT Ask the man who was defrauded out of the office of governor four years ago how mythical the problem is. This problem is easily solved by allowing the poor, minority and elderly voters who cant afford photo ID to have their pictures taken gratis at drivers licensing offices. And I still say we should not allow the vote statewide to be made public until after King County has completed its count and cant suddenly come up with mysteriously appearing uncounted ballots. Even the feds dont trust them.

Adele Ferguson can be reached at P.O. Box 69, Hansville, Wa.. 98340.