Spokane Washington

Spokane City officials upset that the Parks and Recreation department web sites are not ranked well on search engines decided the best approach to circumventing free market competition was to harass private business owners with well ranked web sites and insist private web site owners promote city web sites instead.    

An anonymous source at a Spokane based internet marketing firm told us he received multiple phone calls and emails from Spokane City officials complaining about the marketing firm’s well ranked Spokane park web site and that Spokane City officials said they were “upset” because other web sites were better ranked on internet search engines than the city’s web sites. 

The problem stems from the fact official Spokane city department web sites are poorly designed, managed and promoted which results in frustrated web users, and insignificant search engine placement for Spokane city department web sites.  Many of the web site users we spoke to commented that the Spokane city web sites, like the Parks and Recreation web site, were overly complicated, confusing and contained useless or irrelevant information. 

It appears that the actions of the city officials working to harass and intimidate private web site owners shows that either the city doesn’t know how to manage their web sites correctly, or possible has no interest in learning how to improve the city’s web sites naturally.

In a particularly bully-like move that would exempt the city form marketing its own web sites in the free market, Spokane City officials have been actively seeking opportunities to intimidate the web competition and force private web site owners to add internet links on their business web sites that would direct web user traffic to city web sites instead.

At least one private web site owner listed on Google page one for a Spokane public park has already capitulated to the City’s insistence and added links and language to his personal and well ranked web site that prompts his web site visitors to go to the city department web sites. 

In what appears to be a good display of internet ignorance, Spokane City officials appear to be under the impression that the good ol’ boy network that runs downtown Spokane can intimidate private business owners to gain internet relevance for city web sites using manipulation instead of the more logical approach of simply being good at web design, marketing and customer service.

"We cannot expect the Americans to jump from capitalism to Communism, but we can assist their elected leaders in giving Americans small doses of socialism until they suddenly awake to find they have Communism."

     Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, 1959

Finally, a good day for the stock market. Today the Dow closed up nearly 400 points. The last day we were up about 300 points, the following day the market's hope froze and it plunged over 300 points. I expect the same from this good day. When I read about the Great Depression and other recessions this country has gone through, I am not optimistic that this recession will end by 2010, but I am not an economist. It takes a long time for the market to rid itself of the poison.

The first (hopefully of many) poison that is being inoculated is Bernie Madoff. The poor soul is going to have to hang out at home and wait to see when his trial will start. I hope that his process moves as quickly as it did for Martha Stewart --- makes me laugh how upset the media got over Martha (remember she was convicted for lying to the feds) while Bernie was busy working like a dog, collecting money and never even bothering to invest it, just passing it along to his previous "investors."

Real Estate investors here in Spokane take little comfort from the ads on the television which try to reassure us that Spokane's housing market is safe and protected and good. We all know that Spokane got caught up in the excitement of escalating home values and we all believed that our homes actually did increase 30% from last year. We have had a long cold winter in Spokane and when we think it is over and the local weathermen say that it will only snow a little in the morning (yesterday morning that is), the more-than-expected amount of snow dampens our hope. Of course, we all hope that our home values will at least stay where they are and not drop but the reality is that all markets need to correct themselves. I expect home values to drop, not bottom out, but drop. How much? Who knows. I just want spring to come and thaw us out and I am anxious for the spring leaves and the spring flowers to restore my hope – goodness know the government will never restore our hope.

Dear American liberals, leftists, social progressives, socialists, Marxists and Obama supporters, et al:


We have stuck together since the late 1950's, but the whole of this latest election process has made me realize that I want a divorce. I know we tolerated each other for many years for the sake of future generations, but sadly, this relationship has run its course. Our two ideological sides of  America cannot and will not ever agree on what is right so let's just end it on friendly terms. We can smile and chalk it up to irreconcilable differences and go our own way.

Here is a model separation agreement:

Our two groups can equitably divide up the country by landmass each taking a portion. That will be the difficult part, but I am sure our two sides can come to a friendly agreement. After that, it should be relatively easy! Our respective representatives can effortlessly divide other assets since both sides have such distinct and disparate tastes.

We don't like redistributive taxes so you can keep them. You are welcome to the liberal judges and the ACLU. Since you hate guns and war, we'll take our firearms, the cops, the NRA and the military. You can keep Oprah, Michael Moore and Rosie O'Donnell (You are, however, responsible for finding a bio-diesel vehicle big enough to move all three of them).

We'll keep the capitalism, greedy corporations, pharmaceutical companies, Wal-Mart and Wall Street. You can have your beloved homeless, homeboys, hippies and illegal aliens. We'll keep the hot Alaskan hockey moms, greedy CEO's and rednecks. We'll keep the Bibles and give you NBC and  Hollywood . 

You can make nice with  Iran and  Palestine and we'll retain the right to invade and hammer places that threaten us. You can have the peaceniks and war protesters. When our allies or our way of life are under assault, we'll help provide them security.

We'll keep our Judeo-Christian values.. You are welcome to Islam, Scientology, Humanism and Shirley McClain. You can also have the U.N.. but we will no longer be paying the bill. 

We'll keep the SUVs, pickup trucks and oversized luxury cars. You can take every Subaru station wagon you can find. 

You can give everyone healthcare if you can find any practicing doctors. We'll continue to believe healthcare is a luxury and not a right. We'll keep The Battle Hymn of the Republic and the National Anthem. I'm sure you'll be happy to substitute Imagine, I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing, Kum Ba Ya or We Are the World. 

We'll practice trickle down economics and you can give trickle up poverty your best shot. Since it often so offends you, we'll keep our history, our name and our flag. 

Would you agree to this? If so, please pass it along to other like minded liberal and conservative patriots and if you do not agree, just hit delete. In the spirit of friendly parting, I'll bet you ANWAR which one of us will need whose help in 15 years.. 


Sincerely, 

John J. Wall
Law Student and an American 

P.S. Also, please take Barbara Streisand & Jane Fonda with you.

280 laws come into effect from some 320 measures passed in 2008.  The new laws include domestic partnership registration and rights, with provisions comparible to those passed in California, as well as expanding the state’s DNA database by requiring convicts to supply samples. 

Other laws include the extension of a controversial program allowing dogs to assist in hunting cougars.  Animal rights activists contend hunting with dogs is cruel and unfair, and that the cougar population is diminishing.  Despite this concerned voters extended the program another three years, in addition to the four years it has already been active, in order to protect livestock and, if necessary, people, from the animal’s encroachment on farm land.

Another law expanded upon was Washington’s three strikes law, which will now include out-of-state convictions for felonies with a sexual motivation if the minimum sentence is 10 years or more.  In another law enforcement measure, grants are now available via the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs to local law enforcement agencies to combat graffiti.  A new database will track gang “tag” signs statewide, and also, this new law makes it a crime for adults to include juveniles in a felony, adding additional jail time if the offence is gang-related.  Property owners are now able to recover civil penalties and costs from the Office of Crime Victims Advocates because of tagging or graffiti, and the program helps witnesses in gang-related trials.  This law also directs the Department of Corrections to collect data and recommend the most effective practices for dealing with gang activity and recruitment in and outside of jails.

            Other new laws include protection to the endangered orca.  It is now illegal for fishermen and boatsmen to feed or be within 300 feet from the animal, as is intercepting or failing to put a boat at a neutral distance.

            30 grocery stores across the state are allowed to offer a limited number of beer and wine-tasting events, and Vietnam Veterans who enlisted and served before completing their high school education are to be granted diplomas.

            The Department of Agriculture has set up a farm-to-school program which supplies grants for schools, and a pilot program designed to allow farmers at markets to accept electronic payment cards and food stamps.  There will also be a farmers-to-food-banks program that will assist low-income families with purchasing fruit, vegetables, dairy and meat purchases from local farmers.

Written By:

L.S. Tibbets