As we know and what has finally been reported, Gov. Christine Gregoire's leadership is responsible for this state's roaring economy. Because of this and so much more, when 2008 comes around any challenger vying for her rightful office will stand no chance with voters.
What are her other accomplishments you ask? Due to her modesty, and reluctance to use state resources to trumpet her achievements, I now step forward to pay homage and give credit where credit is due. Below is a fraction of what I give thanks to Chris for every day.
Inventing the Nintendo Wii. 'Specially "Rayman Raving Rabbids".
Traveling back in time to pen legislation prohibiting a state income tax.
Altering the North American continental plate so the Port of Seattle is one day closer to Asia than ports in California.
Damming the Columbia and Snake Rivers; irrigating the deserts of Eastern Washington.
Who do you think Geoff Tate was singing about in "Jet City Woman"?
Building the Space Needle and saving the Pike Place Market from the wrecking ball.
Inventing Microsoft Windows and the Paperclip guy on Word.
Passing national tax cuts in 2001 and 2003.
Saving 29 games in a row for the Mariners.
That arc-welding work with the steel girders on the new Tacoma Narrows Bridge? Christine.
Torpedoing Kenny G's music career and preventing him from releasing a new album. Oh, and thanks for canceling Frasier too.
Ordering WSDOT to continue renovations on the Alaska Way Viaduct despite the political atmosphere in Seattle...
Traveling to Milan and bringing the experience of Italian espresso bars back to Seattle.
Keeping the weather mild in the winter and cool in the summer.
Personally selecting the design on back of the Washington quarter and preventing an online ballot stuffing campaign led by Stefan Sharkansky to choose a crappy looking Native American orca.
The draft work designing the structural blueprints of Boeing's 7E7 Dreamliner.
Keeping real estate prices artificially high by preventing small land owners and farmers from improving their properties thus allowing corporate developers to swoop in and make a killing since they're the only ones with the cash to exploit loopholes in the Growth Management Act. Wait a second...
Taking Kevin Durant with the second pick in the NBA draft.
Nursing bald eagle chicks along the Skagit River with nutritional salmon caught from its flowing waters.
Tipping off Jeff Bezos that selling books via an online website could be profitable.
Inviting me to karaoke at Bush Gardens with Gina and her friends.
Leading the Seahawks in rushing yards each season.
Designing one heck of a travel website where you can book hotel reservations AND car rentals while saving on cruises and vacation packages.
Serving up a tasty burger and milkshake beverage to wash it down with at Dick's.
Causing the sun to set over the Olympic each evening and bidding it to rise again in the morning above the Cascades.
Yea. This is the bounty which Chris Gregoire has granted us. Yet there are so many more gifts to be thankful for. Blessed are her children who recount daily the manner in which our governor feeds, clothes and protects us every day.
Wasn't she also responsible for fire, too?
Posted by: Mike H on July 27, 2007 05:16 PMWithout him there would be no internet and the world would be a colder place.
Posted by: Daveo on July 27, 2007 08:59 PMAnd Let's also give her credit for her honesty, for it was her who campaigned on a no new taxes pledge.
And Let's also give her credit for her honesty, for it was her who stated before last session she would reel in our massive property tax hikes.
But for now, until Dino runs and wins, we are nearly broke by her massive 33% increase in state spending and giveaways, and her massive and continually everday hikes on nearly everyting.
Amen.....
May she RIP
Posted by: GS on July 27, 2007 09:31 PMPharmacists Sue Washington State for Forcing Them to Sell Morning After Pill
By Elizabeth O'Brien
SEATTLE, Washington, July 27, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Two Washington pharmacists and a pharmacy owner have sued the State of Washington for trampling on their right to freedom of conscience with the new regulations forcing pharmacists to dispense the "morning after" pill.
Pharmacists Rhonda Mesler and Margo Thelen, accompanied by the Stormans Inc. that owns Ralph's Thriftway in Olympia, filed the lawsuit in the federal court on Wednesday. They are suing the State for forcing them to choose "between their livelihoods and their deeply held religious and moral beliefs," the Associated Press reports. This decision follows a State ruling earlier this year that took effect on Thursday. The new ruling requires pharmacists to dispense contraceptives despite any objections of conscience.
The regulations, adopted by the Board of Pharmacy and the State, demand that pharmacy owners provide and dispense contraceptives as long as a customer requests the drug. The law does not consider religious views or reservations of conscience as legitimate excuses for not providing the pill. A pharmacist can only opt out of filling out the prescription if a co-worker will do it for them. As Washington KNDO/KNDU reports, the new law gives a customer the "right" to contraceptives, a right that supersedes the pharmacists own right to freedom of conscience.
The plaintiffs believe that "human life begins with fertilization and that only God should determine the beginning and end of life," the Olympian reports. In addition, the lawsuit argues that the new pharmacy rules contradict the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which forbids religious discrimination against employees. The rules also fail to take into account small pharmacies that do not have enough staff to fill in and dispense contraceptives for those employees who decide to refrain on grounds of conscience.
The Board of Pharmacy adopted the new regulations after complaints were being made that pharmacists were refusing to fill out prescriptions for contraceptives such as the Plan B "emergency contraception. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Plan B last August as an over the counter contraceptive. It became available to women over 18 who provide ID while minors needed to obtain a prescription from the doctor. Pro-lifers have vehemently opposed the drug, however, because it also acts as an abortifacient, preventing already fertilized eggs from implanting on the lining of the uterus.
In a letter to the Seattle Times this April, Seattle Archbishop Alexander J. Brunett, voiced his indignation at a demeaning cartoon published by the Times that ridiculed the Catholic Church's opposition to Plan B. Referring to the controversy over the Pharmacy Board's ruling, Brunett stated, "the debate is not about the church imposing its views. Opposition to the rule by believers and non-believers alike is based on the right of conscience, a right affirmed in our federal and state constitutions."
He emphatically underlined the point once again, saying, "First, the Church does not seek to impose its views in the public square, but it does insist on the right of conscience. The pharmacy board has undermined this time-tested American principle."
To express support to Stormans, Inc.:
Phone: 360-754-2203
Email: kevin@stormans.com
To contact the Governor's office and respectfully voice concerns:
Governor Chris Gregoire
Office of the Governor
PO Box 40002
Olympia, WA 98504-0002
Phone: (360) 902-4111
Fax: (360) 753-4110
Email via "web form": http://www.governor.wa.gov/contact/
Oh, well .. it is vacation time after all, so what did I expect? :)
That counts for a few tens of millions of folks.
Read 'em and weep.
Posted by: Tim E. on July 28, 2007 04:17 AMExcept there aren't "a few tens of millions of folks" in Washington, there is only six... of which less than half voted in 2004. Somehow I doubt people outside of Washington even knows who she is, let alone "tens of millions" of them that actually care.
Read 'em and weep.
Posted by: Mike H on July 28, 2007 05:58 AMShe gonna have some 'splainin' to do...
Posted by: Independent Voter on July 28, 2007 07:55 AM"Christine Gregoire: the best governor King County ever had."
Posted by: Rocket J. Squirrel on July 29, 2007 01:49 AMNope I am still here in Iraq and it is hot (128 in the shade 2 days ago). I will be coming back sometime in September for a few weeks with the wife and kids and then back I go for another 4-5 months.
Posted by: TrueSoldier on July 29, 2007 08:29 AMGive Idaho time and I am sure there voters will pass a measure to put a fence along the border with Washington....Can you blame them?
Posted by: TrueSoldier on July 29, 2007 08:32 AM