Free Republic

SEATTLE - So, it's not just me. Read Joel Connelly's column in Friday's Seattle P-I. Read Ellen Goodman's column in the Seattle Times Friday. Or, just give my friend Mikey a call. Mikey stopped me yesterday to comment on how viciously strident conservative broadcasters have become. How Limbaugh, Hanity [SIC]and O'Reilly, for example, figure that if we don't support President Bush in EVERY instance, on EVERY issue, at ALL times, then we are un-American. That's it's not enough to merely mistrust liberals or moderates, we must disdain them, or we are un-American. That if we don't let right-wing anally-conservative broadcasters...

SEATTLE - "It's all about safety." That's been the Washington State Patrol mantra around the "Click it or Ticket" law. Of course, now we come to find that writing 3 seatbelt tickets an hour means that troopers can "safely" pocket overtime pay. The devil, as they say, is in the details. And the details are in a contract with the State Traffic Safety Commission and law enforcement agencies, including the state patrol. The contract spells out how federal money is funneled into enforcement of the seat-belt law: write "x" number of tickets and the state gets federal grant money, which...

SEATTLE - Everyone wants to feel safe these days. But at what price? Are you willing to just let police search your car when you head to the airport to pick up a friend or relative? Do you really believe it's reasonable to get pulled over as you head toward the terminal? Maybe you'd just be asked a few questions. Or maybe you'd be told to get out of your car while police poke around inside. Most airports around the country are conducting these kinds of random searches, done in the name of security and protection against terrorism. Authorities at...