The following editorial will appear in tomorrow's print edition:

The more the Big Three automakers plead for a federal bailout, the less convincing they get.

Their executives keep saying that the problem is the world, not them. And that the world depends on them. General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner told the U.S. Senate Tuesday that only a $25 billion rescue package would "save the U.S. economy from a catastrophic collapse."

That increasingly looks like a risk worth taking.

So far, the arguments against the bailout have been prevailing in Congress. That's because they're persuasive:

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Just say no to the Big Three bailout. Chapter 11 wouldn't necessarily be the end of the world for automakers, and Americans who make far less than autoworkers shouldn't be asked to subsidize labor's royal class.

Criticism of Pierce County's vote-counting process may be overblown, but every step should be taken to ensure confidence.

If you have comments or questions about these topics, please email them to patrick.ocallahan@thenewstribune.com. Editorials represent the consensus view of The News Tribune's editorial board.

Want to sit in on a daily ed board meeting? Email cheryl.tucker@thenewstribune.com to make an appointment.

As I go through the opinion wire, I find lots of columnists giving advice to the Republican Party in the wake of its big losses in the 2006 and 2008 elections. Do more of the same, some argue; the only reason the GOP lost was because of President Bush's unpopularity and the bad economy. Others advise moving toward the center; the base (code for the religious right) doesn't have anywhere else to go anyway.

Conservative columnist Morton Kondracke, a regular on Fox News, has advice I haven't seen anywhere else: Fire Rush Limbaugh.

Kondracke writes:

In recent years, Republicans have let right-wing talk-show hosts whip the GOP base into frenzies — over immigration, brain-damage victim Terry Schiavo and same-sex marriage — that have branded the party as troglodyte.

The result is that the demographic groups representing the future of American politics shifted decisively to the Democratic Party in 2008 — Latinos, young people, the well-educated, moderates, working women, first-time voters, suburbanites and “seculars.”

Here's the entire column.

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Anybody still want to argue that pit bulls are just like any other dog?

A sheriff’s deputy killed a 90-pound pit bull that attacked a 7-year-old girl on a tire swing in Happy Valley.

The Clackamas County sheriff’s office says the girl, Jayda Kempas, was bitten severely on the leg Wednesday and would undergo surgery.

Deputy Greg Martin says that if the girl’s father, National Guard Staff Sgt. Steven Hehr, had not wrestled the dog away, she likely would have died. Hehr’s shoulder was dislocated, and he was bitten.

While Hehr held it down, a bystander beat the dog with an aluminum baseball bat until he was exhausted, and then the dog’s owner took up the bat. But the dog could not be subdued.

Finally, Martin arrived and shot it.
The carcass will be tested for rabies.

Let's hope $1.99/gallon gas doesn't preempt progress toward the future envisioned by the Northwest Power and Conservation Council, which is assessing the potential effects of hybrid electric vehicles on the Northwest electricity supply. It says the cars could help ensure power reliability during high-demand periods.

From the council's press release:

Michael Kinter-Meyer, a scientist at the Battelle Pacific Northwest Laboratory in Richland, Washington.... said Battelle’s research suggests that between 43 and 73 percent of all the cars and light trucks in the nation today could be replaced by plug-in hybrid electric vehicles without adding new power plants or transmission lines, depending on the time of day that the vehicles would be charged.

If this were to happen, America’s net oil imports would be reduced by 52 percent, the nation’s total emissions of carbon dioxide would be reduced by 27 percent, and the batteries in all of those vehicles would provide an important source of storage capacity that could enhance power-system stability, he said.

This editorial appeared in today's print edition.

A shocking new economic forecast sounds a warning for the state’s colleges and universities.

In Washington, the sky might not be falling, but the downpour has officially begun.

On Wednesday, the state’s chief economist delivered a bombshell: The state’s projected budget shortfall has grown from a whooping $3.2 billion to a stunning $5.1 billion.

The bottom has fallen out of revenue collections so fast that the state faces an actual deficit of roughly $500 million in the current budget.

This is more than a rainy day; it’s a monsoon. Covering the gap will be the biggest challenge to face state budget writers in years.

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