Living Faith Choir

Posted on August 17, 2009 | Leave a comment

These kids are good

These kids are good


“They’ve only been together since Wednesday.” That’s what K. W., my nearby neighbor on Treasure Island, told me after the Living Faith Choir’s performance in her backyard yesterday in front of parents, friends, and curious islanders. In four days not only did they master eight songs, the group of about 20 teenagers also had a lot of fun on the island plus they survived a serious downpour one evening (the boys were camping in tents).

No question that the kids were talented musicians coming into this. They could all sing and several could play instruments—bass, keyboard, and drums. All appeared to be seasoned performers in front of an audience. But it’s late summer and they haven’t been together since the previous school year (at King’s School in Seattle). And some were new. Several of the songs took a lot of practice. There were a couple of duets and some other numbers where they acted and sang. I think they nailed the performance and are in mid-season form already.

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Congressman Dicks’s Rationale

Posted on August 17, 2009 | Leave a comment

Last week I blogged that none of my congressional representatives replied when I asked if they would be holding a town hall meeting this month on health care. Since then I have heard from my congressman, Norm Dicks (D-Wash.). I will let you decide if his rationale for taking a pass is pure genius or just a clever dodge. Either way, the congressman didn’t say whether he would hold a town hall meeting when the House does have a complete bill.

“Thus far legislative proposals have been developed by key House and Senate Committees yet no complete version has been presented to the full membership of either house for a vote. I had hoped to be able to meet with constituents at home during the month August to explain the House version of a reform bill and to seek input from 6th District constituents, but the reform package has yet to be completed. In lieu of a specific legislative proposal, I wanted to take this opportunity to re-state my priorities in this important legislative effort…”

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Posted in Government

Redress Not Address

Posted on August 14, 2009 | 1 comment

I thought it was a typo. Hard to believe there would be one in an email sent to thousands of Alaska Airlines Insider subscribers. There wasn’t. They didn’t mean address, although address would have made some sense given the context. They actually meant redress, one of my favorite words in the Bill of Rights, which, among other things, gives us the right to “petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
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Posted in Government, Travel

No Town Halls Near Here

Posted on August 12, 2009 | 2 comments

You cannot turn on talk show radio these days without hearing endless and repetitive opinions about the congressional town hall meetings on health care. Conservative hosts are framing the issue as one in which some members of Congress are refusing to listen to the public before passing a bill that literally affects life and death for all Americans. Liberal hosts point out that the status quo is unacceptable, a lot of misinformation is being spread, and the current bills need some work but are the best approach to comprehensive health-care reform. To get some first-hand information on these opposing views, I contacted my congressional representatives about attending a local town hall meeting.
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Posted in Current Events, Government

My People’s Choice Award

Posted on August 10, 2009 | 1 comment

1931 Twin Coach Bakery Van

1931 Twin Coach Bakery Van


The Port Orchard Cruz, held yesterday along the city’s waterfront, doesn’t have a people’s choice award. With nearly 500 vehicles this year and thousands of spectators, counting all of the ballots would take too long. That’s what I learned from a couple of members of the Saints Car Club, which does a superb job staging the show. So I decided to award my own people’s (person’s?) choice award (see photo).
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Posted in Cars

That Was Fast

Posted on July 31, 2009 | Leave a comment

Good Old Government Cash

Good Old Government Cash


According to several news reports, the Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS), better known as “cash for clunkers,” was suspended yesterday, a casualty of its overwhelming popularity. Apparently bean counters need to verify whether the billion-dollar pot of government largesse is already empty. Meanwhile Congress is scrambling to add additional money to keep this stimulus vehicle running. It was obvious that anyone who wanted to participate shouldn’t delay too long because the program, as initially funded, was bound to run out of money well before its expiration period. But one week? The above photo of the reader board at Parr Ford, a Bremerton new-car dealer, helps explain what prompted some local residents to jump onboard.

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Posted in Cars, Current Events, Government

Slashing Health Care by 40 Percent

Posted on July 29, 2009 | 1 comment

With Congress debating President Obama’s health-care proposals this week, media coverage is extensive. I have a proposal that will reduce the amount of hot air, save on printing costs, and eventually lessen the budget burden Congress’s bill is going to cause. Instead of using health care (10 letters) to refer to this medical and financial train wreck, let’s switch the discussion to talking about health. In so doing we will save 4 letters or 40 percent.
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Posted in Current Events

Total Devastation

Posted on July 27, 2009 | Leave a comment

Fire at Arnold's

Fire at Arnold's


On my way from Treasure Island to Bremerton this morning, the Seattle radio stations were reporting that Arnold’s Broyhill Home Furnishings had been destroyed in a fire. Thus, I had a clue about what to expect and knew, for example, to avoid the stretch of Kitsap Way between National Avenue and 11th Street. Later in the morning I rode my bike there to check out the fire site. Nothing I had heard prepared me for a loss of that magnitude.
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Posted in Business Beat

Duck Time

Posted on July 25, 2009 | 1 comment

Great Kitsap Duck Race Mascot

Great Kitsap Duck Race Mascot


The giant inflatable yellow mascot that advertises the Great Kitsap Duck Race and has come to symbolize Whaling Days was looking pretty good when I snapped its photo in Silverdale yesterday. Apparently there’s been a complete recovery from a humiliating incident five years ago (or the Rotary Club, the race promoters, simply bought a new duck). Unlike many recent posts this one has a connection to Mud Bay—tenuous but still a connection.
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Posted in Other Local Places

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J. A. Jance at Noon

Posted on July 24, 2009 | 1 comment

I met my friend R.B. today, just before noon, at the Barnes and Noble bookstore in Silverdale to attend a book signing by J. A. Jance of her latest mystery, Fire and Ice. Neither of us bought the book and thus we didn’t stick around to get her autograph. But the brief talk she gave was well worth our time. For the record she looks just like her author photo on the dust jacket of Cruel Intent, minus the dogs of course.
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Posted in Books & Movies