This blog is designed to give readers a glimpse of our editorial-page operation and how we make our decisions. We’ll let you know who we’re meeting with, what they’re telling us, what events and issues we’re looking at. We’ll also pass on information and observations that may not make our print editions. In addition to the editorial board members who post on this blog, the board includes Publisher David Zeeck, Executive Editor Karen Peterson and Managing Editor Dale Phelps.
Editorial board bloggers
Editorial page editor Patrick O’Callahan oversees the online and printed opinion sections of The News Tribune. He came to The News Tribune in 1987 and has worked at Washington newspapers since 1979. E-mail him at patrick.ocallahan@thenewstribune.com
Editorial writer Cheryl Tucker, in addition to writing commentary, manages the daily production of the editorial and op-ed pages and edits letters to the editor. She began her journalism career in 1974 at a Virginia newspaper and came to The News Tribune in 1978. E-mail her at cheryl.tucker@thenewstribune.com.
Editorial writer Kim Bradford manages the online opinion section of The News Tribune and writes commentary. She joined The News Tribune in 2005 after working 11 years at newspapers in Washington and Maryland. E-mail her at kim.bradford@thenewstribune.com.
Guest bloggers
Editor emeritus David Seago retired from The News Tribune in 2008 after 41 years at The News Tribune. E-mail him at sds99@harbornet.com.
Richard Davis’ column on state politics frequently runs in the print edition of The News Tribune. He was president of the Washington Research Council, a statewide think tank, from 1986 through 2006. Currently, as a principal with The Simeon Partnership, Inc. he coordinates the activities of the Washington Alliance for a Competitive Economy, a business coalition founded by the Research Council, the Association of Washington Business and the Washington Roundtable.
Karen Irwin of University Place, a mother of four, has been a frequent contributor to The News Tribune's print editions. She has also written for Seattle's Child, Puget Sound Parent, the Tacoma Weekly, the Fayetteville Observer Times and the political blog Right Meets Left. She graduated from California Lutheran University with a degree in English literature and is currently working toward a history degree.
Michael Allen, professor of history at the University of Washington Tacoma, was born and raised in Ellensburg. He served with the U.S. Marines in Vietnam from 1969-70. He has written five books, including the prize-winning "Patriot's History of the United States: From Columbus' Great Discovery to the War on Terror," "Rodeo Cowboys in the North American Imagination" and "Western Rivermen, 1763-1861: Ohio and Mississippi Boatmen and the Myth of the Alligator Horse." Allen lives in Tacoma and Ellensburg and has three children.
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For those with the tenacity to plough through it (and reach the delightful anecdote at the end - but no cheating!), this is former Gov. Dan Evans sweeping analysis of what he calls "initiatives for hire."
Short take: "These initiatives of the past decade have left us with a chaotic tax system and obligations for spending we cannot meet. Tax and budget-oriented initiatives are often poorly written, fail to anticipate unintended consequences, and mislead voters."
It's the (slightly edited) text of a speech he gave today at the South Everett Rotary and sent to us afterward. Bottom line: Pleeeease don't vote for Initiative 985.
Today is Halloween, and four days from now is our general election. I'm not sure which is the scariest. We can all vote for our favorite candidates with relative confidence, but it is the initiatives which trouble me.
Initiatives are an important safety valve for citizens. But all initiatives have consequences, many of them not considered when we vote.
When a bill is presented to the Legislature, it is considered within the context of history, the state's budget, and future impact on the state. Hearings are held, amendments made, arguments given, lobbyists heard, first in one House and then the other. After this tedious trial, a successful bill faces a governor's scrutiny and possible veto.
In contrast, an initiative requires no scrutiny other than that of the author. They are usually single-purpose efforts which ignore history, distort public budgets and wreak havoc on the future.
Liberals all around the country are flocking to therapists to ease their fears that the polls will all be wrong and the next president will be named McCain.
So reports The New York Times, with only a slight hint of tongue in cheek. Self-medication with good Scotch would be less expensive and about as useful, if you ask me.
Anyhow, Garry Trudeau, author of the Doonesbury comic strip, is saying the hell with it. His strip for Nov. 5 assumes an Obama victory. (Update: Having a West Coast time advantage over East Coast newspapers, the TNT has a Doonesbury "re-run" handy just in case.)
He explains in this interview.
We're occasionally posting longer election-related pieces here that we don't have the space to print as opeds (without being unfair to everyone who wants a political oped in).
This one's from a retired doctor, Sharon Quick of Bonney Lake, who worries that I-1000 will alter the doctor-patient relationship. Her specialty was pediatric anesthesiology, pain management and critical care
The idea that patient choice is a valid argument for Initiative 1000 (I-1000) reflects a misunderstanding of the extensive ramifications of legalizing assisted suicide for patients, their families, doctors, and society.
Terminally ill patients and their families have grief work to do together. With advances in symptom management, pain can be largely controlled and fears can be addressed so that reconciliation and emotional growth can occur. Powerful experiences may happen when least expected, sometimes creating lifetime memories.
It is not in a patient’s best interest to cut short this time of grief, not only for his/her own well-being, but in consideration of the profound emotional effects that can devastate family left behind. Witnessing suicide sends a tragic message to children about how to handle suffering.
Just got this in my inbox from a campaign volunteer:
I have just returned from helping a campaign I believe in most heartedly.
I was at a large well traveled intersection with another supporter, holding signs identifying the candidate and waving. I was standing there to not only identify the candidate but to also show support.
Everyone has the right to think and vote as they wish and not pay any attention to sign waivers but they should not go out of their way to splash those wavers. One dismisses those drivers who show their single digit IQ in their return waves but to intentionally gun through a puddle to throw water on someone is wrong.
Those individuals out there willing to support a candidate by sign waving, I applaud you, even if your candidate is not mine.
