This editorial will appear in tomorrow's print edition.

This state will be collateral damage if Congress placates unions at the expense of international trade.

Just what we need; a trade war in the middle of a recession.

Congressional Democrats blundered into that folly earlier this month when they used the recent $410 billion spending bill to bar Mexican trucks from the United States. Mexico has responded by slapping punitive tariffs on $2.4 billion worth of goods from this country – including Washington pears, cherries, apricots and frozen potato products.

This is exactly why economically illiterate protectionists shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near American trade policy.

Background:

Originally, Mexican cargo had to be unloaded into a warehouse then transferred to a U.S. truck after crossing the border. The requirement was costly, inefficient and insulting. The United States agreed in concept to open its roads to Mexican trucking when it signed the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1994.

The Teamsters union and others did not like the prospect of competition with Mexican truckers. They raised legitimate safety and security issues, and Mexican trucking remained barred from this country as standards were developed.

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This editorial will appear in Tuesday's print edition.

Arts-oriented students have SOTA, and come fall there will be a left-brain counterpart for those with a math-science bent.

Is there any rule against middle-aged editorial writers going back to high school?

If not, where’s the sign-up sheet for the Tacoma School District’s new Science and Math Institute – otherwise known as SAMI?

Who wouldn’t like to take a hike through Point Defiance Park for P.E., muck around on the beach for science class and learn about the physics of rock climbing? For kids who like math and science, SAMI sounds like a dream come true. No wonder competition is heated for the 130 to 140 slots in the school opening this fall.

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We've gotten a raft of complaints from Roman Catholics - and at least one Lutheran - about a Mike Peters cartoon we ran a week ago Saturday that depicted the Pope covered by a condom.

It was a criticism of the questions he'd raised about the use of condoms to prevent the spread of AIDS in Africa. Political cartoonists are not big on subtlety.

When possible, we respond to every critic who brings a complaint to us. Here's one response I wrote today:

I’m sorry the political cartoon we published a week ago was the cause of distress in your home. Although I didn’t select that cartoon myself, I am responsible for the opinion section and ultimately for the publication of the cartoon in question.

I and the editorial board of The News Tribune have the utmost respect for the Roman Catholic Church. Our opinion pages serve as a forum for many different points of view, some conflicting with each other and some conflicting with our own. They are meant to be provocative and to stimulate thought about important issues in the news.

There’s often a fine line between being provocative and critical, and being merely insulting. We have to look for that line on a daily basis, with many of the items we print, and I can’t say that we invariably get it right.

In this case, the cartoon reflected a widespread criticism of Pope Benedict’s comments about condoms. Much of the criticism did not address the nuances of the Pope’s comments, but our section runs commentary – including cartoons – even from critics whose own views are open to criticism. We will print the other side, too; we have already run letters attacking the cartoon. Tomorrow, in fact, we are running a defense of the Pope’s comments written by a senior researcher at the Harvard School of Public Health.

Again, I’m sorry the cartoon caused distress. It does not reflect the editorial board’s view of Pope Benedict XVI or the Catholic Church.

Patrick O’Callahan

This morning's Senate budget release, which I watched on TVW, had the expected somber tone. There's no joy in budget-cutting. The Democratic leaders repeatedly emphasized that this was a "balanced and responsible" budget, written as if it was the last word. No new taxes are planned, although they may revisit that after the public has absorbed the realities of the "all cuts" budget.

Then, this afternoon, Sen. Majority Leader Lisa Brown posted a brief item on her blog that appears to invite consideration of an income tax. Tantalizingly, she calls it "part 1" and promises more tomorrow. Brown echoes a theme sounded last week by Sen. Adam Kline, D-Seattle, in noting that Washington voters approved an income tax in 1932, during the Great Depression. The Supreme Court struck it down in 1933, a decision that Kline and Brown both note has been criticized by some legal scholars. Brown refers to a brief article by Seattle attorney Hugh Spitzer appended to the 2002 final report of the Washington State Tax Structure Study Committee, chaired by Bill Gates, Sr. The committee, you may remember, recommended the state adopt an income tax. Gates and others recently urged a "high incomes tax."

A group of citizens is coming together to promote a "high incomes" income tax. It would be offset with an across-the-board cut of the state property tax. The new net revenue would be dedicated to public education.

Kline, calling it a long term revenue reform, echoes the theme in his blog post.

Some recent polls show that a slim majority of folks would support an income tax for folks who earn over $250,000 per year. My preference would be institute an income tax for individuals who make over $100,000 per year or for couples (either married or in a domestic partnership arrangement) whose combined income is over $200,000 per year.

This all strikes me as one of the more perverse manifestations of the emerging populist insurrection fueled by legitimate resentment of the greedy manipulations of a handful of Wall Street profiteers. Promising to give tax relief to most folks by taxing the "rich" to pay for popular programs may sound good initially. But it's the kind of thing that both destabilizes the tax system (even the Gates commission favored a flat tax) and drives investment out of state.

Still, it might be a conversation worth having, just to put it to rest again.

The Obama administration needs to resolve a dispute over Mexican trucks ASAP. Washington state cannot afford for the U.S. to get into a trade war with Mexico.

Tacoma School District's new Science and Math Institute sounds like a dream come true for some kids. No wonder the competition is heated for the initial 130 to 140 slots in the school opening this fall.

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.