Down The Sewer Pipe – Politically Speaking

Just because you think you know the process that governs your jurisdiction, does not mean that you actually understand it.  A great number of elected persons think that they, once elected, can ignore the constitution of the United States of America.  They firmly believe that they are endowed with special powers, somehow, and can do…

I have created a new page for this blog in order to expand on the topics I have covered here.  The second page, called “Pontificating On The Obvious”, will expand a given topic by adding new material.  As a result the new page will only be updated once a month, as time is needed in…

Promises and reality often become mixed up in the process of running for elected office.  The candidate often promises to take an action, close down a business, lower a tax, raise a tax, halt progress, and make progress happen. It is always good to know where the limits are.  For year’s governmental candidates, in the…

This year we have a presidential candidate that has become disenchanted with the political process.  He promises change and change is thought to be a good thing.  True there are times when the political process grinds slower than one would like.  The issue is do we the people really want, or even need, our legislative…

The one great misunderstanding that newly elected, and some older elected, officials have is the difference that exists between and ordnance and a resolution.  One is must do while the other is a can do, or not do, as the case may be.  One contains no hooks or fines and the other is replete with…

One question the newly elected official needs to ask is; what the hired help are there for?  Every form of government has paid staff, the people who do all the work.  Contrary to popular opinion Elected persons actually don’t do much in the way of work, as such. There is much that can be learned…

One of the first lesions that an elected office holder learns is, there are more laws on the books than are enforced.  Every year the Congress of the Untied Sates of America passes thousands of laws. Add to this the hundreds of laws passed by the fifty States, the half of a hundred laws passed…

There is a lot of talk these days on conserving water.  Let the lawn turn brown, no oxygen producing grass. Plant drought resistant plants, in the wettest spring in one hundred years, and use native plants. Using native plants would mean that, in the Northwest, using: Dogwood Sugar Pine Douglass fir Vine maple Broadleaf maple…

A reader made some comments about comparing Portland Oregon with Redmond Oregon.  Portland sits in a hole while Redmond sits on a flat plain.  Redmond receives more sun more times of he year. As this relates to solar power there are some valid points.  The reason I use Friday Harbor Washington as an example is…