en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/742611 Comments by saxplyr24 http://www.komonews.com/news/national/128260018.html#IDComment185885626 If the Dems and GOP aren&#039;t doing enough moving and shaking in D.C, it looks like Mother Nature has no problem doing it for them. :) Tue, 23 Aug 2011 18:33:09 +0000 http://www.komonews.com/news/national/128260018.html#IDComment185885626 http://www.komonews.com/news/local/127915873.html#IDComment183837975 Hooray for reliable sources! :D Trust your scientists, folks! -From a fellow scientist Wed, 17 Aug 2011 06:47:08 +0000 http://www.komonews.com/news/local/127915873.html#IDComment183837975 http://www.komonews.com/news/local/127915873.html#IDComment183837573 Hmm...the bus tunnel and railroad tunnel that run under downtown seem to have held up just fine. No damage from the Nisqually earthquake either. Somehow, someway, I think we&#039;ll all be okay. Wed, 17 Aug 2011 06:44:55 +0000 http://www.komonews.com/news/local/127915873.html#IDComment183837573 http://www.komonews.com/news/local/127803038.html#IDComment183464618 Good to see someone on this forum wants to be the crusader for common sense. You tell &#039;em, Mechguy. Tue, 16 Aug 2011 04:27:48 +0000 http://www.komonews.com/news/local/127803038.html#IDComment183464618 http://www.komonews.com/news/local/127803038.html#IDComment183464282 1) A good portion of King County Metro&#039;s revenue comes from the sales tax (and since people haven&#039;t been buying as much in this terrible economy, their revenue has suffered). 2) They already hiked up the fares for riders across the board. They have also cut back on some routes too. Tue, 16 Aug 2011 04:26:17 +0000 http://www.komonews.com/news/local/127803038.html#IDComment183464282 http://www.komonews.com/news/local/127803038.html#IDComment183463855 Yeah, and the people who did show up were advocating for them to pass the $20 fee. It would SEVERELY impact many people&#039;s lives if they didn&#039;t have the bus service they do (King County Metro is largely supported by SALES TAX REVENUE which has tanked in the current economy). They needed extra funding to help them through this tough spot while the economy (and their revenue) slowly begins to improve. And they already jacked up fares across the board (so the riders are also putting into the fund too). Tue, 16 Aug 2011 04:24:20 +0000 http://www.komonews.com/news/local/127803038.html#IDComment183463855 http://www.komonews.com/news/local/127785788.html#IDComment183380944 Please let this be the end to the tunnel debate. Time to build it already! Mon, 15 Aug 2011 22:44:29 +0000 http://www.komonews.com/news/local/127785788.html#IDComment183380944 http://www.komonews.com/news/business/127743143.html#IDComment183325051 If only more of the super rich were as forward thinking as Warren Buffett. The tax rate on the wealthy of this country has DECREASED compared to where it was in the past. Will raising the taxes on the wealthy solve all the problems we have? No. But you&#039;ve got to have spending cuts AND revenue increases if we ever want to get ourselves out of debt again. It&#039;s a step in the right direction. Mon, 15 Aug 2011 18:32:49 +0000 http://www.komonews.com/news/business/127743143.html#IDComment183325051 http://www.komonews.com/news/local/127744468.html?#IDComment183312274 Better to make a decent investment and have it work then to do a shoddy job (i.e. another viaduct) just to have it fall apart again. Not to mention w/o the viaduct, we can actually have a much better looking waterfront and the city could develop property where it stands now and collect tax revenues. THAT sounds like a much better long term solution to me. Mon, 15 Aug 2011 17:47:48 +0000 http://www.komonews.com/news/local/127744468.html?#IDComment183312274 http://www.komonews.com/news/local/127744468.html?#IDComment183311781 I think the tunnel is general will be more stable in earthquakes because the ground around it moves with it as opposed to the viaduct where it has no such &quot;cushion&quot; to hold it together per se. How much trouble has our own bus tunnel had standing up to earthquakes? I didn&#039;t hear about any kind of damage to it after the Nisqually quake. Mon, 15 Aug 2011 17:45:40 +0000 http://www.komonews.com/news/local/127744468.html?#IDComment183311781 http://www.komonews.com/news/local/127744468.html?#IDComment183293325 I&#039;d be MUCH more concerned about our current viaduct collapsing in the next earthquake than this new tunnel. Mon, 15 Aug 2011 16:25:20 +0000 http://www.komonews.com/news/local/127744468.html?#IDComment183293325 http://www.komonews.com/news/national/127486873.html#IDComment182027599 Aren&#039;t there bigger issues to tackle right now in D.C, Mr. King? Wed, 10 Aug 2011 23:22:05 +0000 http://www.komonews.com/news/national/127486873.html#IDComment182027599 http://www.komonews.com/news/local/127486248.html#IDComment182015441 Definitely proud to have her serving on this committee (let alone being the co-chair). I wish her the best of luck and hope that she can bring about some good proposals for debt reduction! Wed, 10 Aug 2011 22:19:00 +0000 http://www.komonews.com/news/local/127486248.html#IDComment182015441 http://www.komonews.com/news/local/127257043.html#IDComment181311994 Because road rage is SO worth it at 2 in the morning when traffic is SO heavy. If you don&#039;t like how someone is driving, you can just go around them. No need to get out the big guns. Mon, 8 Aug 2011 19:33:13 +0000 http://www.komonews.com/news/local/127257043.html#IDComment181311994 http://www.komonews.com/news/national/127235753.html#IDComment181259377 We need to stop teaching to standardized tests. That&#039;s not helping out students excel out in the workplace or making us look good in the world. We need an overhaul of our education system, but NCLB is NOT the answer. Mon, 8 Aug 2011 17:01:37 +0000 http://www.komonews.com/news/national/127235753.html#IDComment181259377 http://www.komonews.com/opinion/kenschram/126839978.html?#IDComment180423320 Well, considering taxes are at the lowest levels (as a percentage of GDP) since the 1950s, I&#039;d say we need to have a mix of spending cuts AND revenue increases in the form of fixing tax loopholes and increasing taxes on the rich and corporations (which are some of the lowest rates in the world). Also, we didn&#039;t have problems until we got ourselves involved in two expensive wars combined with HUGE tax cuts (via Bush). When we got involved in WWII, we asked people across the nation to cut back on various metals, rubber, and other materials and we ALSO jacked up taxes to pay for war. We failed to do that this time &#039;round and now we&#039;re out of money. Take a look at these figures if you want to see proof. <a href="http://factcheck.org/2011%2F07%2Ffiscal-factcheck%2F" target="_blank">http://factcheck.org/2011%2F07%2Ffiscal-factcheck...</a> Fri, 5 Aug 2011 18:09:12 +0000 http://www.komonews.com/opinion/kenschram/126839978.html?#IDComment180423320 http://www.komonews.com/opinion/kenschram/126839978.html?#IDComment180414432 I&#039;ll admit that the Tea Party plays VERY smart politics and has had a great deal of influence despite relatively small numbers in Congress. That being said, I can&#039;t respect the direction they want to take this country in. Don&#039;t get me wrong, I&#039;m all for cutting wasteful spending, but not w/o some revenue increases as well. The Tea Party&#039;s hostile rhetoric has made it a &quot;my way or the highway&quot; atmosphere in the House. Government CANNOT function like that and they need to learn to make compromises (and not sign away their allegiance to Grover Norquist&#039;s ridiculous pledges). They are loyal to those on the right wing fringe and not to the majority of America. Here&#039;s to hoping we see a splinter progressive party soon and bring some sense back to American politics! In the meantime, keep fighting the good fight, Ken! The silent majority has your back on this. Fri, 5 Aug 2011 17:31:56 +0000 http://www.komonews.com/opinion/kenschram/126839978.html?#IDComment180414432 http://www.komonews.com/opinion/kenschram/126839978.html?#IDComment180405026 Here, here! Keep fighting for common sense against the right wing radicals of the Tea Party! Fri, 5 Aug 2011 16:50:26 +0000 http://www.komonews.com/opinion/kenschram/126839978.html?#IDComment180405026 http://www.komonews.com/opinion/kenschram/126526263.html#IDComment179135587 Couldn&#039;t have said it better myself, Ken. We need a political party that actually steps up to represent the American people&#039;s interests and doesn&#039;t cave to the crazies on both sides of the aisle (but at this point, mostly the Tea Party). Where is the breaking point when people decide enough is enough? And how much longer can we afford to put up with a government that puts the interests of lobbyists, corporations, and those in the lunatic fringe above the great portion of America that feels unrepresented on the middle road? Mon, 1 Aug 2011 17:32:42 +0000 http://www.komonews.com/opinion/kenschram/126526263.html#IDComment179135587 http://www.komonews.com/news/national/126517288.html#IDComment179133824 Right, because Canada, Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, and any other country that&#039;s supported gay marriage have all sucumbe to anarchy, poverty, and oppression. Maybe just consider that it&#039;s NOT the end of the world if gay marriage is legalized. Just like how the world moved on after blacks had equal rights or how women were allowed (and encouraged) to work outside the home. Sounds like one failed doomsday prophecy after another if you ask me. Mon, 1 Aug 2011 17:22:16 +0000 http://www.komonews.com/news/national/126517288.html#IDComment179133824