by W. Andrew Terrill
All hell is breaking loose in Iraq and U.S. presidential wannabes are popping up like dandelions in the spring but that doesnt diminish the headlines in many newspapers on the topic they appear to have decided is of equal importance: Global warming.
On Thursday, Nov. 22, as we gather with our families to celebrate Thanksgiving, we should all take a few moments to reflect on all the good things we have in our communities.
I believe a sobriety checkpoint can be constitutionally permissible because of the states unique governmental interest and the publics concern over the gravity of drunk driving, the effectiveness of checkpoints in deterring and detecting drunk drivers, and the minimal intrusion into the drivers privacy. It is a legislative question as to whether such a program shall be authorized and implemented.
Another of my year end customs is to give you a few of the ripoffs and rotters who infested the news in 2007.
by Don C. Brunell
According to science, growing up in the mid-part of the 20th Century was like playing in a minefield. Hazards every way we turned. Kids gnawed teddy-bears eyes loose and swallowed them. A sediment layer at the bottom of every toy box held sharp-pointed Pick-Up-Sticks and toxic lead parts broken off toy soldiers mixed along with a wealth of other health-threats.
Despite the Jan. 21 vote by the Senate Higher Education Committee to approve SB 6391, elected officials, business owners, residents and students in north Snohomish County and Skagit and Island counties should continue their efforts to bring the University of Washington branch campus to the proposed site in Marysville.
by Don C. Brunell
Well, Ive read about as much as I can stand about the sub-prime loan fiasco and the screwed up housing market, much of which went over my head and Ive finally figured out what the problem is. I think.
That, mindful of the right of individuals to privacy and of the desirability of the efficient administration of government, full access to information concerning the conduct of government on every level must be assured as a fundamental and necessary precondition to the sound governance of a free society. The provisions of this chapter shall be liberally construed to promote complete disclosure of all information respecting the financing of political campaigns and lobbying, and the financial affairs of elected officials and candidates, and full access to public records so as to assure continuing public confidence of fairness of elections and governmental processes, and so as to assure that the public interest will be fully protected.
by Don C. Brunell
by Eric Earling
