The inequities that exist in road rules are applied to bicycles now sharing our roads in increasing numbers, and the lack of accountability and liability for cyclists generated quite a stir when made some suggestions for bicycle licensing and road law reforms earlier this year. (Click here and here for the articles.) Now, a real-life situation has given armchair advocates for common sense cycling responsibility a reason to start talking and balance the heavy lobbying of local and county governments by cycling special interest lobbies such as the Cascade Bicycle Club.

Levi Pulkkinen, a reporter for Seattlepi.com, wrote Thursday about a case in the hands of the King County Prosecutor's office. A cyclist is accused of colliding with a 6-year old child near Seattle' Pike Place Market after having already committed several moving violations. Pulkkinen wrote: [emphasis mine]

A 32-year-old bicyclist accused of striking a child then fleeing the scene has been charged with vehicular assault and hit-and-run.

On Friday, King County prosecutors contend, Rafael Araneta was approaching Pike Street on First Avenue when he saw that several cars were stopped at the downtown Seattle intersection. Rather than stop at the red light, Araneta allegedly moved to pass the stopped traffic and cross the intersection against the light.

Cutting in front of another pedestrian, Araneta's bicycle struck a 6-year-old child, prosecutors argued in court documents. The child was thrown to the ground so hard his jaw was broken, an injury that later required it be wired shut.

Prosecutors contend that Araneta fell off his bike, but then grabbed the bike and began riding away. Several witnesses restrained Araneta until police arrived.

The behavior alleged by prosecutors -- that Araneta ran red lights and weaved through pedestrians on sidewalks -- is a commonplace sight for downtown workers and residents. So is the occasion to observe a trio of paramedics attending to cyclists becoming far more common, a trend that will likely continue if bicycle-riding Mayor-elect Mike McGinn and his friends in the Cascade Bicycle Club continue to have minuscule restraint in the form of now-absent points of view on the cons of co-mingling bicycles, motorists, and pedestrians in public spaces.

The question that will remain even if prosecutors are able to obtain a conviction is whether the cyclist is able to cover the liability stemming from the accident. The medical bills of the alleged victim will be sizable, but there is no mandatory liability insurance coverage for cyclists.It is also fortunate that law enforcement officers were able to locate the suspect soon after the alleged incident occurred. Without any identifying information like a bicycle license plate, the rush to find an assailant in a case such as this is not always going to end as happily and makes the prosecution's job harder when it comes to positively identifying a defendant as the individual charged with a crime.

The time is now to begin discussing common sense reforms to meet the specific and unique challenges of shared road spaces. We should not leave accountability for cyclist's actions up to their own voluntary sense of responsibility. Most cyclists are fine upstanding people, the sort who understand that there are no free rides. If society wants more bikes on the road (are you listening, Seattle?) society should also be willing to acknowledge all privileges come with acknowledgments and assurances of responsibility.

On Wednesday, November 18, 2009, Federal Way’s Emergency Management Coordinator Ray Gross presented a seminar entitled at City Hall “Long term Disaster Survival; Beyond the First 72 Hours”.  There are several varieties of catastrophic events that most us would never contemplate.

Life will go on after a catastrophe.  You will have to pay your mortgage.  You will need copies of legal records and professional credentials to claim your home and keep your loved ones out of the government system.  Stay in control of your family’s physical needs, including food, water, shelter and protection.  

You can barter food and water.  Ammunition will be in demand and outdoor clothing, tents, generators, firewood and seeds are goods that you and your neighbors will need.  Make sure to have a tarp to seal any holes in your roof.  The tarp will also work well for making a temporary shelter if you need to camp out.

You need a long term supply of food, water, medicine, clothing and tools and a kit kept ready in your vehicle in order to leave quickly.  First-aid supplies will be important and you should anticipate the possibility that you will have bodies of loved ones about you without any normal means of dealing with the bodies.

Grief, injuries, aggressive animals and unemployment are all exacerbated when there is a lack of community.  Many of us barely know our neighbors!  How will your neighbors react if they see you eating well during a time when their larders are bare?  The time to create community is now and one place to start doing it is in the churches.  

You need to be realistic as to your capacity to react to violence with deadly force.  You can only be a neighbor with arms outstretched to share light, food and warmth with your neighbors if you are also prepared to resist those that would take by force. 

Think about issues like hygiene, garbage disposal and first-aid.  Talk to your neighbors and assess their strengths and weaknesses.  Encourage them to engage in planning now.  Obtain a Concealed Pistol License, get some professional firearms training.  Stock up on extra ammunition.  You can never have enough bullets! 

And when it was election time, his disciple Gregoire came to The One, saying, This Washington economy is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and find themselves their own jobs.

But Obama said unto her, They need not depart; give ye them a stimulus.

And she said unto him, We have here in Washington but nine Congressional districts.

He said, Bring the website hither to me.

And Obama commanded the multitude to log on to recovery.gov, and took the nine Congressional districts, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and created nine more Congressional districts, and gave them $6,729,117, and created 76 jobs with ye stimulus.

In case you haven't see it yet, recovery.gov is reporting that 76 new jobs have been saved or created in nine non-existent Washington Congressional Districts (the 00th, 10th, 11th, 15th, 16th, 21st, 24th, 38th, and 39th) at a cost of $6,729,117.  Similar reports are to be found in every state in the union.

According to ABC, which broke the story:

Rep. David Obey, D-Wisc, who chairs the powerful House appropriations Committee, issued a paper statement demanding that the recovery.gov Web site be updated.

"The inaccuracies on recovery.gov that have come to light are outrageous and the Administration owes itself, the Congress, and every American a commitment to work night and day to correct the ludicrous mistakes." 

G. Edward DeSeve, Special Advisor to the Office of Management and Budget for Implementation of the Recovery Act claimed "some mistakes were inevitable" and "do nothing to disprove the effectiveness of the stimulus."

I plan to use the same argument with the IRS next April...

This morning I was one of many bloggers and conservative activists on a conference call with Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA, 5th CD), Congressman Doc Hastings (R-WA, 4th CD), and Congressman Dave Reichert (R-WA, 8th CD). The topic of discussion was the status of the debate over government-run healthcare, and the possibility that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi would push for a vote this weekend, probably on Saturday.

Each of the three GOP members of congress on the call had to go in and out of the room during the call, as there were votes being taken on the floor.

Congresswoman McMorris Rodgers saluted the many thousands who converged on Washington, D.C. on Thursday, protesting against government-run healthcare and filling the hallways of congress. She said that the "House Call" protests had a strong impact on members of congress, creating quite a buzz and becoming a major topic of discussion among the members.

Congressman Hastings outlined the stark differences in the approaches of the Democrats and the Republicans on healthcare. The Democrats, he said, wanted to centralize control and restrict choices. But in contrast to Obama, Pelosi, and Reid, the Republicans want to utilize solutions based on the marketplace - not based on government. The GOP favors expanding choice and increasing competition to bring down the cost of healthcare and healthcare insurance. Hastings said that Pelosi is trying very hard to twist arms and pressure Democratic members of congress into voting for Obamacare. He said that the actual Democratic vote count was very close and truly in doubt - that the situation was fluid, and that the actual Democratic vote count could literally change from hour to hour.

McMorris Rodgers said that Pelosi is trying to put on a "happy face" in the aftermath of the Virginia and New Jersey elections, where the GOP won by strong margins in states carried by Obama. Lots of Democrats in congress are nervous about risking a vote for Obamacare, but Pelosi knows this issue is a priority for her party and President Obama, so she has to keep pushing to keep it on track.

Both Hastings and McMorris Rodgers confirmed that Eric Cantor, the House Republican whip, has lined up unanimous GOP opposition to the Obama healthcare effort. Not a single GOP member of congress will vote in favor of it when/if Pelosi pushes a vote this weekend.

McMorris Rodgers noted that there are two "hot button issues" that are causing for difficulty for Democrats in swing districts - the use of federal healthcare money to pay for abortions, and access to healthcare insurance by illegal immigrants. McMorris Rodgers said there are 54 Democrats who have expressed concern about federal funding of abortion, and 38 Democrats who have voiced their opposition to the so-called "public option."

Hastings and McMorris Rodgers both indicated that the Democrat healthcare bill would lead to over $700 billion in tax increases. In response to a question, Hastings noted that the bill would add $1.3 trillion to the national deficit, in addition to raise taxes and cutting medicare benefits.

McMorris Rodgers noted that the Democratic healthcare proposal would be partiuclarly harmful to women. She noted that 85% of family healthcare decisions are made by women, but that under the Democrats' proposal, decision-making power would shift from individuals to healthcare bureaucrats and commissioners. She noted that women make up 70% of medicare recipients, and are also the majority of caregivers for elederly relatives receiving medicare benefits. Also, noting that two-thirds of new small businesses are started by women, McMorris Rodgers said that the Democratic proposal was particular onerous and harmful to small businesses. She said if passed, it would block the development of small businesses which are vital to economic recovery, resulting in millions more lost jobs.

Congressman Reichert, who arrived late to the conference call due to business on the House floor, spoke about his efforts to expose the hypocrisy and conflict of interest involved in the endorsement of Obamacare by the AARP. Reichert said that President Obama claims people will be able to keep their own insurance, but that this is not true. For example, the proposed cuts in Medicare advantage would force many senior citizens (currently happy with Medicare advantage) to switch to United Health. And AARP gets royalties related to United Health, leading to the concerns of conflict of interest. He noted that 14,000 senior citizens in the 8th CD are on Medicare advantage.

Congressman Hastings commended the work of Reichert and his staff in challenging the AARP. Hastings sharply criticized AARP, saying it should be looking out for the interests of senior citizens instead of seeking after royalties. And Reichert slammed the AARP for supporting federal taxes on medical devices, noting that this especially hurts seniors and disabled people. Reichert will be meeting with representatives of the AARP on November 18.

As the conference call came to an end, Congressman Hastings emphasized the critical importance of bloggers and activists in disseminating information, especially to seniors and especially in the western Washington congressional districts. "This bill can be beaten," Hastings said, urging protesters and activists to go "full power ahead."

Congressman Reichert concluded the meeting by urging an effort to reach out to seniors, noting that the Democratic bill would be an "absolute travesty" for America's senior citizens.
 

KIRO talker Dori Monson nailed it with this evaluation of Tuesday's election here in Washington:

This may be the most singular one-party state in the nation.

New Jersey and Virginia voted for Obama a year ago - but for Republican governors tonight... Liberal Maine rejected gay marriage... Blue-state California voters earlier this year rejected tax increases...

But in Washington, our one-controlling-party mentallity rolls on.

King County government is facing a $54-million deficit - and one of the people who got the county into that financial mess has been elected Exec - because he's a Dem.

Init-1033 restricting the growth of government? Rejected.

Gay partnerships? Supported.

Huge property tax increase in Seattle for low income housing? Of course! Seattle never saw a tax increase the voters didn't love.

I evaluate each race and issue on its individual merits (I supported Ref-71 - everyone other endorsement I made on the above races lost). But despite national trends favoring Republicans, in Washington the vast majority of voters are robots. Every Democrat wins. Every expansion of government passes. Every liberal cause prevails.

The unions chased Boeing out of the state - and every winning candidate paid tribute to their big-money union support. Our unemployment rate is well above the national average. Our state is facing another multi-billion dollar deficit. King County has a $54-million deficit. Seattle a $40-million deficit.

Why wouldn't we stay the course? Election Day was business as usual in our one-party state.

Remember, Governor Gregoire made this astonishing statement over a month before Election Day:

I've told them [Democratic legislators] come on in and convince me that's [raising taxes] the right thing to do and that people will support it. At some point the people, I assume, don't want us to take any more cuts. I'm already hearing about 'why did you cut education?' Well there aren't any options

Many political observers were stunned that Gregoire would reverse her "no new taxes" stance so close to the election and felt that she was handing a win to Tim Eyman on a silver platter.  Wrong.  The Governor knows her liberal Pugetopolis base well and counted on the fact that I-1033 would be outspent some $3 million to none by wealthy liberal opponents of I-1033.  More importantly, local elected officials throughout the state, both Republican and Democrat, joined in the scare-it-to-ya chorus against I-1033.

"At some point the people, I assume, don't want us to take any more cuts."  Don't you think that is the takeaway from Washington voter's rejection of I-1033?  It certainly will be among Democrats in Olympia.  It already is at the Northwest Progressive Insititute, which proudly proclaimed that "Collapse of Tim Eyman's Initiative 1033 proves that teabaggers are just a fringe."

Now, I don't think even Democrats are stupid enough to introduce new taxes in an election year, but if Washington Republicans don't make significant gains in the legislature in 2010, look out for the next biennial budget coming up in 2011.  Labor unions and other left-wing advocacy groups have made it clear they will tolerate no further cuts to their pet programs and the state will have to address what will likely be a $2-3 billion plus budget shortfall by that time.  Those groups will point to the I-1033 vote and say Washingtonians are finally ready for that dreaded state income tax.

Hey, you were warned.  We get the government we deserve.