The True State Of Seattle Taxi: 1700 Miles Away, She Called Me For A Cab Ride

 As my Favorite Dispatcher from the "Voice" Days used to repeat, "That's a true story!"

Yes, Janis, in faraway West Seattle, who still had my business card, called me for a cab ride.  For better and often worse, passengers rarely forgot this cabbie.  Sometimes they loved me and other times hated me but across the taxi board, they found me memorable.  When Janis said she was at "Park West," I responded, "yeah, the 1700 block of California."  

That's what you got with me, I knew the city and still do.  Janis had tried Lyft and had a negative ride, and at the time of night she called, I am guessing there just wasn't any Yellow cabbies interested in flying across the West Seattle Bridge rescuing a fair damsel recovering from a broken leg.  We ended up talking for over a half an hour, Janis feeling a bit isolated in her rehab room. 

And folks, that is what taxi driving is all about, responding individually to a passenger's needs, whether they are 16 inches away sitting in the backseat or 1700 miles directly northwest of you.  Maybe that's why I was both loved and hated: I was attentive.  If you were nice and polite, you received a taxi ride of a lifetime.  If an asshole, I was always at first tolerant but warning: continue your evil ways and sorry buddy, you gotta go, and I mean now!  

Ah yes, sweet old taxi, how I don't miss you though some clearly miss me.  You may call me conceited but I knew when I stopped driving cab a gap in overall service would be one of the results.  The reason why is simply, again, I paid attention.  More times than not I rescued passengers trying to catch their flight by noticing an unattended "bell" sitting in a given part of town.  The Cebu callcenter might have been clueless but I wasn't, picking up the call, and like a proverbial "taxi bat out of hell," somehow, someway getting them to Sea-Tac on time despite all the screw-ups sabotaging their ability to get a cab. 

That's why Janis called me.  And why Yellow Cab is still limping along.  Most of the veteran cabbies like me are gone to better pastures, in my case Southwest New Mexico.  Uber and Lyft, they will never replace the professional cab companies and the professional cabbies.  It just isn't possible.  Ask Janis.  She'll tell you all about it. 

Elections Part Three: Finishing Up The State Of Washington----Ballots Have Now Been Sent Out October 18th

Some Election Comments

You will notice that I am including what should not have been omitted from Part Two, that is two Federal elective positions, Senate and Congressional.  The US Senate race involves the incumbent Democrat, Maria Cantwell and her GOP opponent, Dr. Raul Garcia. The other race I will comment on is in the 7th Congressional District, incumbent Democrat Pramila Jayapal vs her GOP rival, Dan Alexander.  My comments will be brief due to the reality is that neither GOP candidate has any chance of beating the Democrat.  

While it is a shame that many of the GOP candidates have some good ideas and positions, the national political reality is that any vote contributing to a GOP House and Senate majority in WA DC could potentially lead to disastrous national consequences extending far into the future.  That's why this election is too important to be too casual about.  

Do we need for tax breaks for the super wealthy?  Do we need more rubber-stamping conservative judges appointed to the Supreme Court?  Do we need to stop fighting climate change?  A vote on the national level for the GOP is a vote to turn back the clock but the clock, my friends, is ticking.  Hesitation this time could be fatal not only for our nation but for our planet's survivability.  This is no time to be a dumbbell.  We are past that moment. 

MAGA Politics: What Is It?

Many people keep yelling, lets "make America great again," which gives me pause, thinking, what "greatness" are they exactly referring to?   If anyone hasn't noticed, the United States keeps chugging along year after year, balancing the good with the bad.  Which eras are they longing to return to?  Could it be the Roaring 1920s, which brought the country Chicago gangsters shooting up the streets and the beginning of the Great Depression?  Ask any elderly American black how much fun they or their parents were having in the 1930s?   How would you like to to limited to a segregated water fountain when thirsty in the hot Alabama sun?  Yes, the 1940s had great dance music but wasn't there a terrible worldwide war ongoing?  How much fun was that, food rationing and innocent American citizens placed in concentration camps?   In the 1950s, the GI Bill paid for many former GIs college education, including my father's but the Middle-Class dream was not equally shared.  And top it off, Eisenhower laid the policy foundation for that disastrous war consuming the 1960s. Just what was the Vietnam Conflict all about, a war that ultimately killed over 58,000 Americans and an estimated 2-4 million Vietnamese?  This was and is  something to celebrate? 

I could go on decade by decade but my point simply put is that America is a roller-coaster ride, some enjoying the ups and downs while others are thrown clear out of their seats, landing on their proverbial heads.  What these MAGA supporters seem to be embracing is a kind of fantasy world that has never existed expect at Disneyland.  During my solitary visit there back in 1960 I loved the place but minus any doubt, even as a six-year-old I knew it was an amusement park and not daily American reality. 

 MAGA appears to me to be a kind of old-fashioned Isolationism, something very popular in our history but this version is an "Isolationism of the Brain." a setting aside of reality for an imaginary America that never existed and will never exist, these folks searching for an Utopia even beyond Thomas Moore's imagination.  The sad reality is that 95% percent of the American voting electorate have never heard or known of Moore, who he was and his time and place.   And worse, most could care less one way or the other, delusion their final destination, Utopia to them is a Big Mac and fries and a large Coke. Munch away!  Drink up! And cheer on your local NFL team!

But first! a few moments of self indulgent poetic nonsense (editor's note: skip if you will directly to the candidates).

A Doggerel Election Poem

America, America is in a sad place

All its Voters floating 

in Outer Space

Not knowing truth from a lie

Too many accepting verbatim anything said

From a most dishonest, dishonorable guy

Who doesn't care about you

nor me,

Totally obsessed with yet again

obtaining the White House key.

Why vote, why do they cheer 

for this complete buffoon?!

It can only mean you yourself too

are a misguided feathered loon

incapable of knowing Wrong

from Right

But if your brain has an internal 

100 watt bulb,

Please, Brothers and Sisters:

Please illuminate that 

LIGHT!

Opening your eyes to much needed

Constitutional

INSIGHT!

_________________________

 More USA Doggerel

Ain't it something, ain't it sad,

Our entire country gone mad!

Out of its mind, out of its brain,

It is complete Bedlam,

It's totally insane!

To a Jesus anointed candidate

To a Hillbilly VP

The election season has gotten very

October Halloween creepy!

All the GOP candidates 

monsters and vampires

seeking your election blood,

and after that,

burying all truth 

in the Helene and Milton

hurricane ravaged and flooded

 Florida DeSantis 

MUD!

_______________________________

All this done with a wink at Ogden Nash (1902-71), thinking he would like my sass, then kick my ass!

___________________________________________________________

United State Senator

Democrat incumbent Maria Cantwell vs GOP Doctor Raul Garcia 

Cantwell has been in the US Senate since the year 2000, and she isn't going to lose this election.  Check out her website and you will find she has been a good workhorse for the State of WA.  But her GOP opponent, Raul Garcia, is a moderate that would bring a fresh perspective to the Senate.  He is a ER doctor from Yakima in Eastern WA.  He owns a medical practice along with being the founding dean of two medical schools and medical director of two hospitals.  It is a wonder he has time to campaign.  I voted for Cantwell but a vote for Garcia isn't a bad choice except for what I said earlier about national implications. 

7th Congressional District 

Democrat Pramila Jayapal vs GOP Dan Alexander 

I voted for Jayapal but I didn't want to, her "Liberal-Knee-Jerk" reaction is sometimes minus thought but sometimes I just hold my nose when I vote.  Her GOP opponent seems like a Republican in the tradition of the late Dan Evans, a Boeing engineer and local arts supporter.  He seems to be a moral human being, something of a rare GOP animal in this Age of Trump. 

WA Sec of State

Incumbent Steve Hobbs vs Dale Whitaker

What the job does.  The Secretary of State oversees election security, state archives, public libraries and business licenses. 

Hobbs was appointed by Governor Jay Inslee to succeed the GOP Sec of State Wyman, who resigned to take a position in the Biden administration.  Hobbs won a special election in 2022.  Reading a report of a recent debate in Spokane between the two candidates, I can' really figure why Dale Whitaker is running for the office other than to tear it down.  Hobbs seems genuinely interested in safeguarding voter's rights as opposed to Whitaker's unfounded suspicions.  It seems Whitaker is a Donald Trump  Republican posing as a State of WA moderate.  I voted for Hobbs.  I predict Whitaker will garner 35-40 % of the statewide vote. 

WA State Office of Treasurer

DEM Mike Pellicciotti, incumbent vs GOP Sharon Hanek

I find this to be an interesting race.  But there are two figures which is going to translate into a Pellicciotti victory: a $464,000 Pellicciotti campaign war chest vs a mere $38,000 for Hanek, which is a shame because she might be the better candidate.  What Hanek is questioning is the 1.7 billion mishandled COVID funds creating an auditor's nightmare.  I think it would be wise to explore this issue more than I have time to give it.  

One initiative that Pellicciotti, promotes, dubbed the "Baby Bond", is officially called the WA Future Fund, something providing a $4000.00 trust fund for the estimated 40,000 yearly Medicaid babies born each year in the state. Interesting idea, trying to create a kind of affirmative action equality for the unborn.  Please remember that Donald Trump had 2 million dollars when he was born.

Hanek is a long time CPA.  She is interested in fiscal sanity.  I voted for Pellicciotti but I should have voted for Hanek.  She is the one I recommend.  Good luck, Sharon, is all I can say.

WA State Auditor 

DEM incumbent Patrice "Pat" McCarthy vs GOP Matt Hawkins

I pity Hawkins because he is running against a real buzzsaw in McCarthy.  She has been State Auditor since 2017 and it was her office that made 86 findings against 11 state agencies spending 1.7 billion in federal funds minus proper or sufficient evidence.  Hawkins is a law & order kind of guy but in McCarthy she is the Sheriff.  Vote for Patrice. 

WA Attorney General 

DEM Nick Brown vs GOP Pete Serrano 

These are the guys who want to replace the man who is about to become governor, Bob Ferguson.  Nick Brown is a former US Attorney for Western WA.  He also once served as Gov Jay Inslee general counsel.  In other words, he is a well known local figure.  Pete. Serrano is currently the city of Pasco mayor and once worked for the US Dept of Energy as an environmental lawyer helping to clean up the mess that is the Hanford nuclear site.  Serrano might be described as someone who believes in less government, advocating for folks to own guns regardless of need and not liking the COVID-19 mandates telling you to wear a mask during a epidemic.  Brown is for civil liberties.  I voted for Brown and think your vote should be cast for him too.  My only connection to Pasco is that I had two taxi fares to that distant E WA city.  Over $500.00 each time.  I liked that but not enough to vote for its mayor.  

WA Commissioner of Public Lands

DEM Dave Upthegrove  vs GOP Jaime Herrera Beutler 

The primary difference between them is their vision on how to manage WA St Forests.  Upthegrove wants to preserve more forests, allowing the trees to become second-generation "old-growth," while Herrera Beutler wants to utilize more of WA State owned timber to generate state income.  Both support fire suppression. I voted for Herrera Beulter in the primary and for Upthegrove in the general election.  To me, its a tossup.  Both will do a good and honest job.  You might remember that when in Congress, Jaime voted to impeach that scoundrel Trump.  It cost her her seat.  She is ethical.

WA Superintendent of Public Instruction

DEM incumbent Chris Reykdal vs GOP David Olson

There is only one real candidate here, and that is Chris Reykdal.  Mister Olson is another kind of Republican animal, no, not the usual elephant but an ostrich with his head in the sand. Olson is against accurate history being taught in schools, which translates into not wanting children to know the REAL history of their own country.  Reykdal's policy positions are ones of student empowerment, interested in students becoming independent thinking, not automations bowing down to mindless authority.  Reykdal is the only serious candidate here.  

WA Insurance Commissioner 

DEM Patty Kuderer vs GOP Phil Fortunato

Mike Kreidler, who held the position since the year 2000, decided not to run after some questioned his temperament, finding him belligerent.  Knowing the bad publicity wasn't going away, he stepped down, giving us the race we now see.  To me, once again, I only see one serious candidate, and that is Kuderer.  Fortunato isn't at all shy about being an advocate for the insurance industry, wanting them to issue rates hike minus review, his reasoning being this will ultimately lower rates, not increase them.  I'm glad he trusts insurers but I certainly don't.  In short, Kuderer will be a consumer advocate and her opponent will glad-hand the insurance industy.  Read her candidate statement in the WA ST voter guide and you will understand why she can be trusted to fight for you the WA ST consumer. She got my vote and deserves yours. 

WA ST Supreme Court, Justice 2

Dave Larson vs Sal Mungia 

Larson has been a judge for the Federal Way Municipal Court for 14 years.  He writes and talks as exactly who he is.  There is no mistaking that he is a professional judge.  Sal Mungia, the son of immigrants, is a next-generational success story.   He has loads of impressive endorsements and has argued before the US Supreme Court.  If you want a conservative take, vote for Larson.  If you are interested in a "breath of fresh air" on Washington's highest court, vote for Mungia.  I did.

 King County Superior Court, Judge Position 41

Paul Crisalli vs Andrew Schach 

Crisalli is the sitting judge.  Schach has been an Administrative Law Judge in the state of WA.  Both of their policy statements seem reasonable.  I voted for Crisalli.  The only way to truly know who is good or not is to appear before them as a defendant, something I would rather avoid.

City of Seattle Council Position # 8

Alexis Mercedes Rinck vs Tanya Woo, incumbent

I voted for Mercedes Rinck in the primary and Woo in the general.  Why?  Because Mercedes Rinck appears to espouse positions that have done little to nothing to addressing homelessness and street level drug abuse.  Woo is trying to be a little tougher, and besides, she is the only voice for Seattle's large Asian community.  Because Woo was appointed, if you don't like her, you can vote her out in a year or two. 

Legislative District 32, State Rep Position 1

DEM Cindy Ryu, incumbent vs GOP Lisa Rezac

Ryu has been in office for a longtime.  I even saw her in Olympia when I was doing something involving taxi.  I voted for her.  Rezac is a Brian Heywood "Let's Go Washington" initiatives fan.  That's enough for me to know I can't recommend her.  Boo!

Legislative District 32, State Rep Position 2

DEM Lauren Davis, incumbent vs GOP Lori Theis

I voted for Theis because she is "mad as hell" about all the crime related nonsense occurring on Aurora Ave North.  As someone who lived next to Bitter Lake for a few years before moving down here in NM, I can attest to the madness bleeding over from Aurora.  My cars were broken into twice.  Prowlers were frequent.  The condo association had to build a fence but still there was trouble.  Lauren Davis clearly is a caring person.  Theis seems like she is ready to starting screaming at all the fools allowing chaos in her neighborhood.  That's why I voted for her. Go ahead, Lori, shout your lungs out!  Maybe, just maybe,  someone will hear you. 

City of Seattle  Proposition # 1---Property Tax Levy Renewal for Transportation 

I voted no because it raises property taxes by about $600.00 annually on average and does not achieve what it sets out to do, repairing Seattle's failing bridges.  As I keep saying, Mayor Bruce Harrell, in my experience, is a clueless fool, and that is a kind assessment.   Seattle voters appear to be favoring this levy but I think it should be returned to the City Council for further revision.  Vote no and curse Harrell as you hit yet another pothole.

__________________________________________

Okay everyone, you get what you got and maybe all my opinions is rot but still I had fun suggesting what vote to take, and if you don't like it, go jump in a lake (Lake Washington, that is!)

Vote your conscious, vote your mind, and hopefully, come November 6th, everything will be fine! 

  

2024 Elections, Part Two

My Choice for US President 

As you will notice by looking at your ballot, there are a number of individuals and parties running to be president of the United States.  Unlike many European countries, where more than two political parties have real opportunities to govern, here in America it remains a two-party system despite numerous other hopefuls.  If a strong third-party candidate emerges, that person acts as a spoiler, as Ralph Nader did in the 2000 election, drawing away votes from the Democrat Al Gore, and giving the presidency to the Republican George W. Bush.  I recently created a stir when I said to a group of email buddies that Cornel West would make a good protest vote if you lived in a state, like Washington, where Harris was assured of victory.  One very emotional response I received was "Are you out of your f_ _king mind!" saying, minus a doubt that many, myself included, feel that the stakes are high, not wanting to see Donald Trump back in the White House.  

My official choice (my ballot is already filled out and mailed) without question or hesitation is the Democratic ticket of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.   I really don't feel the need to repeat what is obvious to anyone who understands history: Donald Trump was the worst president in American history, as rated by a group of American historians (Biden was number 14), and completely undeserving of a second term. Rhetoric is not sustainable policy.  It is that simple.  

As concerning a candidate like Cornel West and his Justice for All party, it's true he has some great ideas but whether they would be possible to implement if he was president is difficult to say.  To anyone paying attention, the USA is run like a giant corporation, with the President, more than Commander in Chief, is in reality the CEO of USA Inc.  That is the truth of everything we are facing collectively as a nation.  And what a poorly run company the United States is, with a national debt of 28 trillion dollars.  That's nuts!  How will the nation ever get out of debt? It is a question that must be answered but as of yet, not Harris, not anyone is willing to tackle this issue. Welcome to America, everyone! 

Also a comment upon Robert Kennedy Jr and his run for the presidency, something he says he is no longer interested in.  A supporter I talked to hadn't known that he was a junkie into his late 20s.   By now, many have heard about his odd behaviors, and most recently, having an affair with a political reporter on the campaign trail.  Beware of junkies because, as someone who has gotten to know many of them while driving cab, they are folks who can never be completely trusted.  They lie, they deceive, not only you but  themselves.  Do junkies ever make a complete and thorough psychological recovery?  From my extensive experience, I say no, they don't.  My advice to everyone: don't shoot up heroin, not even once.  Last thing you need to be is permanently crazy.  Lou Reed's song, "Heroin," performed while with the Velvet Underground, is a great song, one of Rock &Roll's best but as a lifestyle, it isn't to be recommended.  "Heroin, it's my wife, it's my life," Mister Reed sang.  Not a great marriage. 

My final comment is that, whoever becomes president, the minimum criteria is that they must be reasonably sane.  I know that is a lot to ask of our fellow humans but insane rulers across history have caused incredible damage and misery, Hitler and Stalin being just two of many bad examples.  During Donald's term as president, I twice wrote to the GOP Senate Leader, Mitch O'Connell, expressing my concern that Trump was in early stage psychosis.  His deterioration continues.  I have watched silent footage of him onstage, and find his antics alarming.  Trump is mentally ill.  Why tens of millions of my fellow Americans cannot comprehend the obvious is a mystery.  Do they not understand dysfunctional behavior?   The sad answer may be that when they themselves are dysfunctional, how can they be expected to interpret dysfunctional behavior in someone else?   Maybe impossible is the answer.  How wonderful that isn't.

The Race for WA ST Governor 

Do I like the Democrat candidate, WA ST Attorney General Bob Ferguson, even after voting for him, and now recommending that you too vote for someone I view as a slimy asshole, as opposed to "good cop" Dave Reichert?  I watched as much as could of their first televised debate until I couldn't take it any longer, their snipping and snapping at each other tedious and boring.  

Ferguson is an arrogant bastard, while Reichert, even after more than ten years in Congress, is unpolished, making me wonder how he survived all those years in WA DC.  I watched 3 of his campaign ads in which he blames Ferguson for a series of issues, except there is one big problem with his assertions.  Jay Inslee, and not Ferguson has been governor for the past 12 years.  Reichert might be a bit confused, like mistaking the wrong suspect is a police lineup.  Regardless, Ferguson is going to be the next governor and not Reichert.  

In the primary, I voted for Mark Mullet.  I knew he wouldn't win but Mullet, an owner of four ice cream shops, is certainly a better flavor than Mister Bob "Rocky Road" Ferguson.  And does anyone remember the name Semi Bird?   Bird had the official endorsement of the WA State GOP party but lost in the primary, yet another candidate doomed to be forgotten in the misty fog of history and time.   And thank goodness for that!

The Race for Lt Governor

The GOP candidate, Dan Matthews, a former US Air Force pilot and commercial 747 airlines captain is not going to beat that professional politician Denny Heck, who has been holding public office, since it seems, from kindergarten.  Matthews appears to have some solid ideas and would be a change from Heck, which is why I voted for him.  If Matthews suddenly found himself governor, it would shake up Olympia, and I'm not referring to the kind of earthquake tremors that damaged the Capitol Dome back in 2001.  It would be kind of fun!    

Who do I really recommend?  Write in your favorite comic book character.  When I was a kid I loved Donald Duck.  Or what about writing in both Goofy and Pluto as Governor and Lt Governor?  They are both canines and all the candidates I have mentioned are "dogs."  Sorry.  My apologies to both Lassie and Rin Tin Tin. And also to my childhood companion, Sadie, who was one fast pooch.  She was amazing, her sharp teeth keeping the bill collectors away from our door. 

I've decided to break this up into a Part Three.  With all these candidates and issues, I want everyone to be "clearheaded" when making you choices.  Not like Tina Peters from Mesa County in the State of Colorado who has recently been sentenced to 9 years in prison for violating her official election duties.  You don't want to be like her!  Peters is just one of many Trump supporters who have ended up arrested and sent to jail while he remains free to daily lie to everyone.  One would think that these ill-fated folks would catch on to what is happening.  Maybe they just aren't that smart, something they hold in common with the ex-president.  

This Posting Is Dedicated To The Late Matt Driscoll Of The Tacoma News Tribune: 2024 Election Recommendations, Part One----Never Take Your Ability To Vote For Granted

Dedicated to the Memory of Matt Driscoll, formally of The Seattle Weekly

It is my sad duty to report that a past ally of the Seattle taxi industry, Matt Driscoll, editorial page editor and columnist for the Tacoma News Tribune, died suddenly at his home on July 22, 2024 of what has been described as hypertensive heart disease.  I knew Matt thorough his work at the Seattle Weekly, where he sometimes wrote and reported on our local taxi struggles and me personally.  Just this past June 10th, Matt and I exchanged a friendly email, with Matt commenting that "that not much had changed" for Seattle taxi since his time at the Weekly.  Too true of course but the loss of Matt is not the kind of change the Tacoma News Tribune or the local writing community needed.  His political outlook embraced everyone, whether he agreed with them or not.  He was compassionate and just.  His empathy will be missed by the entire State of Washington.  Goodbye to a good man and writer.  There is a GoFundMe account set up to assist his wife and 3 children.  I donated.  I encourage you to do the same.  

Don't Be A Dolt, Vote!

According to Merriam-Webster, synonyms for dolt, are, in part, numbskull, dimwit, dunce, dullard, ignoramus, doofus, chowderhead, buffoon. lamebrain, clodpoll; all very descriptive nouns of someone who isn't particularly bright.  And given the history of the United States, if you are foolish to the point of taking the privilege of casting a vote for granted, then you too are worthy of another synonym: idiot.  

For those amongst us who could be categorized as "asleep at the wheel," for much of American history, voting rights, and who was allowed to vote, was limited by prejudice, discrimination, racism, misogyny and pure hatred of humanity in general.  Much of this animosity remains, illustrated by the continuing obstacles to voting now put forward by GOP allies and conies, doing everything they can to restrict everyone's right to cast a ballot.  In our nations's early history, only white, male property owners could vote.  I think some would be happy if that still was the prevailing reality, not letting the unwashed rabble have any voice in deciding their own fate. 

Across the globe, a vast percentage of the world's population still have little say when it comes to deciding who governs them.  Here, for the moment, we still share that right to elect who represents us locally, and at the state and Federal government level. Be glad you have this special privilege.  

Back in November 1972, when I was 18, back in Denver, Colorado, I  was thrilled to be able to vote for  George McGovern for President and Patricia Schroeder for Congress.  Schroeder was a great congresswoman, later dubbing Ronald Reagan the "Teflon President" for nothing ever sticking to that not completely honest president.  Regardless of anything, vote this election season.  Make your voice, your vote count! 

And clodpoll is another word for blockhead. Com' on, I know you don't want to known as someone like that!  Be a bright, shining star in our twinkling elective universe.  Vote!

My Recommendations for 2024, National and Local (Seattle, King County, State) Elections, Part One

As I don't see myself moving back to the State of Washington, for economic reasons if nothing else, this will be my last commentary on what, locally in Seattle, will no longer be a concern of mine.  Matt Driscoll, when writing at The Seattle Weekly, commented on my past recommendations, which is how I came to know and appreciate him.  I am listing the WA State Initiatives and the Candidates in the order they are presented on your ballot.  I do not list the candidates who have no opposition, so in that sense there are a few omissions.  I also don't list the candidates that are not in my Broadview/North Seattle district.  I did some small research on all of the candidates I have listed, hopefully implying that my recommendations are based upon fact and not bias or misinformation.  I might, minus argument, hate everybody in general but I try to be selective with my personal perdition. One must be broadminded!

The Statewide Initiatives: Numbers 2066, 2109, 2117, 2124

What is important to know is that these initiatives exist due only to the effort and money from one man, Brian Heywood, a hedge fund executive (worth approximately 25 million dollars), who created "Let's Go Washington," Heywood funding an army of petition gathers to get the initiatives on the ballot.  I will briefly describe each one but I voted against all of them.  Why?  Because, with these initiatives becoming WA ST law,  the over all heath and physical well-being of WA ST residents will be put into jeopardy.  

Is Brian Heywood an evil man, looking to kill his fellow Washingtonians, a kind of mass murderer?  Of course not but money appears to be behind his reasoning, an as usual response of a rich individual seeking to keep as much money as they can in their own pockets.  His pretext is that HE LOVES YOU, you his fellow Washington residents, and by saving him money, you too are saving money regardless of any and all real consequences accompanying an initiative victory.  To everyone who says that there is too much money involved in today's political spectrum, that money can't buy an election, "Let's Go Washington" is a case study.  "Let's Screw Washington" is more like it, and laugh all the way to the bank!

For the sake of brevity, I am only providing the initiative numbers and not their full title.  Also, my explanation will also be brief.  For more detailed information concerning the initiatives and the candidates, please consult the WA ST voter's guide along with doing research online yourself.  What I don't recommend is being lazy, voting all Democrat or GOP while knowing nothing about the person you have used your precious vote on.  Be an informed voter.  All I am providing here is a primer, and not anything that should be regarded as the full story.  

Initiative #2066

If this initiative becomes law, it would prevent local and state officials from barring natural gas ranges and usage in your kitchen.  Why would anyone think of doing that, taking away your ability to fry your breakfast omelette or pancakes with natural gas?  Because countless studies show that the gas is filling your kitchen, thus your lungs, with toxins.  Here in New Mexico, my stove is fueled by propane, which probably isn't much better than natural gas.  Before voting either yes or no, I encourage everyone to examine all the science regarding this.  If I end up living here permanently, I will go solar and everything, stove, water heater, heating, will be electric.  Yes, gas is great for cooking but do you want to be limiting your life expectancy while frying that steak?  Maybe not.

Initiative #2119

What this does is repeals the Capital Gains Tax on certain earning above $250,000.  This is a fat cat's money grab, something most of us will not have to worry about.  The reason the State of WA needs this kind of revenue is because there is no state income tax.  And this year, the WA ST House and Senate passed a bill prohibiting the State from implementing a state income tax though there were no plans to do that in the first place.  

Everybody wants a free ride!  Who wants to pay for anything?  No one is the answer but at the same time everyone wants paved roads, police protection, etc.  Does anyone want to pay for all these services?  No, it should be free, allowing everyone to eat at MacDonald's every night, go to Seahawks games with all that money they no longer have to provide to local and state governments.  And Brian Heywood will keep getting richer and richer.  But he will be eating at the Canlis Restaurant, sipping one-thousand dollar a bottle vintage wines.  You, you'll be drinking Bud Light!  Ha! Ha!

 Initiative #2117

Heywood says he believes in carbon-based climate change then laughs, and chuckles, "produce more oil!"  What this initiative does is prohibits the carbon tax credits that are at the center of the 2021 State of WA Climate Commitment Act (CCA), embracing a goal of reducing emissions by 95% by 2050.  Ask all the current flood victims in the American SE battered by Hurricane Helene if they believe in carbon-influenced weather alterations?  

What has happened since the CCA was passed is that BIG OIL is passing on the costs to the WA ST driver at the gas pump.  In some recent publicity stunts, Heywood has given individual gas stations $1000.00 to temporarily lower the gasoline to $2.99.9 per gallon to make his point that Governor Jay Inslee is to blame for the high cost of gasoline, discrediting the effort toward reducing car-based emissions.  What Heywood is ignoring, along with many others, is that much of the high taxes related to gas prices in Washington is due to an unbalanced funding system filling state coffers.  The money to provide basic services has to come from somewhere.  From Heywood's personal pockets?  No, no, that can't happen!

Initiative #2124

The goal of this initiative is to allow workers to opt out of the WA Cares Act, a kind of State of Washington supplement to, if you will, to Federal Social Security programs, acting as an aid to cover future medical and nursing home costs. The automatic contribution from a paycheck is 0.58 percentage points.  For some historical context, the GOP is still furious with FDR's creation of Social Security way back in August 14th, 1935.  As anyone knows, medical costs of all kinds in the USA and the State of WA continue to rise.  Having a "nest egg" to cover those costs is not a bad idea.  

Here is what you will read if you open the WA Cares Act website:

"Helping You Cover Your Tomorrows"

The WA Cares Fund ensures all working Washingtonians can earn access to long-term care when they need it."

All this sounds good, at a VERY minimum cost.  Not unlike the Russian serf during the reign of Catherine the Great during the 18th Century, where the Russian peasantry were expected to work and then die all for the benefit of the landed gentry and royalty, Heywood wants YOU to remain complacent, and when falling ill, suffer, unable to pay the bills.   His objection to the WA Cares Act is political, holding a grudge against government-mandated assistance programs.  What happens to you the worker, he has no real concern. That's his bottom line.

And concerning Heywood, do you have any idea what a Hedge Fund is and what it does?  Investigate and perhaps understand that Hedge Funds might be the worst instrument of the Capitalistic Economic model governing our lives.  What I am hinting at, is that Heywood very likely is not your friend.  If you think he is, call him and ask for one of those 1000 dollar bills he is handing out.  Tell him you need the money to fill up your gas guzzling GIANT pick-up truck you have no good reason to be driving. 

NEXT WEEK: Part Two----the Candidates and Seattle Proposition # 1

   

A Taxi Dream & King County Licensing's Difficulties

A Dream this Morning

I should have written it down sooner, this vivid dream of driving my cab, with barely any time to spare and I was off to Europe but first I had this fare to serve before I could go.  Everything was fine, and even a Seattle freeway entrance ramp new to me magically appeared, allowing a quick arrival to my passenger's destination, an address I knew because this passenger is someone in waking reality I know well, his usual routine a roundtrip from 6th Ave S and Yesler Way to the Broadway and Union QFC.  

In the dream, we were talking about the fare, no, forty not enough, sixty no, how about eighty dollars? a kind of funny, unusual conversation with an odd, difficult passenger I always tried to avoid because his fussiness was maniacal, not sane, his grip unrelenting.  Now here I have him residing in my dreaming hours, not quite haunting, this time generous.  And did I make it to my flight in time?  I think so, flying off into the sky far, far away from that nightmarish land that is Taxi.  And madness.  And everything else I wish I had avoided. 

A Friend's Telephone Call this Morning

alerted me to a dilemma of him being told by King County Licensing that, according to them, his six months driving Uber/Lyft didn't exist, so "sorry" you're out of luck, but Uber/Lyft  "said they sent you the paperwork" but no, we don't see it.  Turns out my friend, who is driving TNC because his taxi was destroyed by some reckless fool in January, confused King County by remaining an actively licensed medallion holder.  Or something like that.  

I made some telephone calls.  Sent some emails, one not completely nice and, praise the Taxi! not the Uber gods, I got a positive email in response and my friend a productive telephone call saying "Come on down tomorrow, we got it figured out."  That he lost 1 1/2 weeks of income of Seahawk football and other prime opportunities is something that cannot be retrieved.  I could say more but I am tired.  Yesterday I hiked for five straight hours.  Today I walked 2 1/4 hours in the Black Range.  I think I am getting into some kind of basketball shape.  Watch out fellas, I am ready to raise hell on the court!

Taxi Potpourri

 Mem Shannon---"A Cab Driver's Blues"

Mem Shannon was a cab driver in New Orleans, who also played the guitar, and back in 1995, he put out a record/CD.   It is great.  Interspersed between the songs are conversations Shannon recorded of passengers in his cab.  Anyone who has driven cab can identify with what is going on in his cab.  Track 9, "The Miserable Bastard," is my favorite, Shannon recording this asshole of a lawyer in the backseat.  God! the crap people say to cabbies.  It is ridiculous!  Gert Town/Rykodisc Records.  Every cabbie should listen to this even if you are not a fan of the blues. 

"I'm a taxicab driver and I have problems...." he sings.  "There has to be a better way, if my luck ever changes I'm gonna quit this cab business some day."   "Boy! Boy! Boy! what a life!"

He is now out of the cab and touring and making records.  Good for him.  I just heard the conversation again with that lawyer.  Painful!  Yeah, he's a complete bastard.  I've had too many like him in my cab, insulting, revolting people, oblivious to the crap spewing out of their mouths.  

Fucked Uber!

A cabbie friend sent me an U-Tube video about 7 cabbies who put their smart phones on a table and watched how they were being offered different rates for the same fares.  What was, and is happening, is that Uber is controlling the algorithms governing its app.  Uber is obviously discriminatory.  I noticed it when I worked the few Uber months I did.  Some of my friends are making great money driving TNC, others not.  "What is going on, they ask?"  As I will always say, Uber is immoral. 

Crazy Seattle Traffic

I don't miss it.  And to think I once averaged 5000 miles a month on those congested, hilly streets. KIRO News reports that Seattle has the second worst congestion and the third worst traffic among 49 measured major Metro areas.  Los Angeles ranks first.  About six months ago some fool Seattle Times columnist wrote that traffic hadn't reach pre-pandemic levels.  Of course I knew he wasn't driving in it for a living everyday.  Most of Seattle-generated opinion ain't worth shit!  And you can quote me.

Bullshit Bus Lane Violation Misreported 

Changing my car insurance here in NM, I was shocked to find a moving violation from April 11, 2022 listed on my driving record from Progressive, of course raising my rates up.  I could not figure it out until I called the reporting agency and discovered some fool in Seattle miscoded the violation, with it showing up as a moving traffic violation.  My WA State MVR is clear.   I called the City of Seattle to complain and got some idiot who knew nothing and who hung up on me.   Nothing new when it comes to incompetent Seattle.  Dysfunction City is what it is.  I will be getting it removed but it is taking some effort.  SCREW SEATTLE!

New York City Taxi In 1924 & 9th US Circuit Court Of Appeals Uber Decision & Poem: "The Taxis" By Louis MacNeice

NYC Taxi Fare War 1924

One hundred years ago, taxi fares dropped from 30 cents a mile to 20 cents a mile, encouraging a huge increase in ridership and traffic congestion.  Taxicab ridership in August 1924 was averaging 300,000 passengers daily in New York City.  NYC population that year was 10, 943,000.  Some cabbies were complaining that the new rates were too low.  

Here is a list of monthly average taxi expenses for the NYC cabbie in 1924:

Car payment                 $132.00

Garage rent                   $25.00

Insurance                      $30.00

Gas & Oil                     $50.00

Tires                              $35.00 

Repairs                         $15.00

Association Dues.        $5.00

Total                             $301.00

___________________________________

Back in 1924, that was a lot of money.  Taxi overhead has always been high.  A rough estimate of my monthly taxi expenses, counting dispatch fees, insurance, gasoline was about $2000. per month.  That's why it always felt I was working myself to death.  Being a lease driver was a breeze.  Initially, way back in 1987, my entire weekend taxi lease was $100.00.  Even later at Yellow Cab, at first, I think the lease was $160.00. per weekend.  Later it was $200.00 per 48 hour weekend and still quite the bargain.  I normally had my lease and gasoline paid for by 7 AM Saturday, leaving the rest of the time to roll in the money. And gasoline was cheap, averaging 90 cents a gallon in 1987.  

Appeals Court Ruling 

Friday, a 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals panel, in a 2-1 decision, ruled that in the case of State of Washington liability laws, Uber owes "a duty of care" to its drivers.  This case involved the December 13th, 2020 murder of Uber driver Cherno Ceesay, stabbed to death in an apparent carjacking attempt by his Uber dispatched passengers.  This is a big deal.  If the ruling holds, big bad Uber will be liable for millions of dollars in this case and others.  I encourage everyone to search for articles concerning this decision. 

Taxi Poem by the Irish Poet Louis MacNeice 

MacNeice is a long time favorite and influence of mine.  He was born in Belfast in 1907.  Here is a strange, funny poem about taxis.  Please note: there are four stanzas with no double space in each stanza but my computer will not allow me to eliminate the double spacing hence the small line earmarking the next stanza.  Got that!?   Damn computer! and damn my lack of computer skills!

The Taxis

In the first taxi he was alone tra-la,

No extras on the clock. He tipped ninepence

But the cabby, while he thanked him, looked askance

As though someone had bummed a ride.

___

In the second taxi he was alone tra-la

But the clock showed sixpence extra; he tipped accordingly

and the cabby from his muffler said: 'Make sure

You have left nothing behind tra-la between you.

___

In the third taxi he was alone tra-la

But the tip-up seats were down and there was an extra 

Charge of one-and -sixpence and an odd

Scent that reminded him of a trip to Cannes.

___

As for the fourth taxi, he was alone

Tra-la when he hailed it but the cabby looked

Through him and said: 'I can't tra-la well take

So many people, not to speak of the dog.'

___________________________________

Odd piece of poetry.  I can only wish that the invisible dog would have growled at the cabby.  The clock mentioned is the term for the taxi meter.  On a personal note, my ex-wife, back when she was 14, studied dance in Cannes with the famous and not always nice Maria Tallchief.