Jewish Case for McKenna

Washington State has two important state-wide races this November. One is for Attorney General, the other is for Governor. In the Governor's race, the candidates are Rob McKenna, Republican and Jay Inslee, Democrat. I whole-heartedly support Rob McKenna for Governor. I will list the reasons why I support him and urge other Jewish people in Washington State.

1) Job Creation. Given the high unemployment rate in Washington state, Rob McKenna's plan for job creation has a good chance of working. Two of the largest barriers to the survival of small businesses are the sales tax system, which is based on destination and the fact that all revenues are taxed, not just net receipts.  With different counties and cities charging different sales tax rates, this rule is an administrative headache for small businesses. This requirement is a burden both at the start of a sale, as the proper tax rate must be determined to give customers accurate quotes, and after the sale, when detailed records must be kept and systems put in place to ensure that sales tax is applied to the correct taxing district. All of this adds to the complexity and expense of tax compliance for small businesses.  Rob's solution is  to return to origin-based sales tax collection, so small business owners need only be familiar with sales taxes rules in their location, not every location in the state. Or, consider relief such as offering a sales tax collection allowance to offset the costs of collecting sales tax. The second problem is the B&O (Business and Occupation) tax is a burden for small businesses which, collectively, are the largest employer in the state. Rob's solution is to Small businesses, particularly those with small profit margins, struggle to keep their doors open in this economy.  The flawed income tax initiative from 2010 (I‑1098) offered one good idea, increasing the Business & Occupation tax credit to $4,800 per year for small businesses in all categories. The estimated cost of this credit is less than two percent of the state's revenues, while more than 118,000 small businesses would be exempted from the cost and headaches of paying the B&O tax. This credit could be phased in over time, and funded in part by changing outdated or ineffective tax policies and preferences.

2) Rob McKenna has worked on cases to combat the problem of underage girls being exploited for sexual purposes. This effort of his shows his commitment to justice for all.

Unfortunately, sex trafficking is a big problem, and McKenna has worked to fight this as best as he can. Justice for all, not just a select few, is something that Jewish voters can identify with and support.

3) Education: McKenna's education plan will help Washington State students become more competitive state-wide and nationally. As we know, Washington State is an important player in the technology field as well as biotechnology. Having a governor who understands this is vital to our state's future success.

Seahawk loss on Defense

In the last 10 days, the Seattle Seahawks have lost two games, one to San Francisco by the score of 13-6 and today to Detroit by the score of 28-24. Today's loss belongs on the defense, the Defensive Coordinator and the head coach. For all of the talk that I've heard about how good the Seahawks' defense is and how they stopped Rodgers and Brady, who have been in 6 Super Bowls and won 4 of them, they allowed the Lions to go down the field in the last five minutes of the game and score the winning touchdown. A playoff-caliber team doesn't allow that to happen.

Meanwhile, in Chicago, the Chicago Bears came back from a 19-7 deficit to beat the Carolina Panthers 23-22 on a field goal by Pro Bowler Robbie Gould as time expired. I don't know if the Bears will be in the Super Bowl come February. I do know that they're better than Seattle.

Seattle sports- why they don't win

There are a few reasons why these Seattle sports teams don't win.

1) In football, we have a college coach who thinks that low-scoring wins enough games. He doesn't want an elite quarterback just someone who can manage the game and keep it close. That isn't the way to play today. What good receiver or quarterback would want to play for him? Not me. He does not coach the way that Walsh and Seifert would. Good coaches should emulate winners, not mediocre people who hold on to a job because they're buddies with the Owner and Executives of that particular team.

2) The distance between Seattle and San Francisco/Bay area, which is approximately 800 miles, makes it easy to accept mediocrity. Most of the Midwest and Eastern teams are bunched closer together. Yes, the Cubs have been horrendous for a while, but they have to compete with Milwaukee and St. Louis, in addition to their rivals to the South Side of the city. Chicago and Milwaukee are 93 miles apart. Big difference there.

Strength versus Kindness

It seems today that the virtue of strength has been minimized or pushed aside to make way for kindness. People want too much politeness and niceness and not enough of strength and manliness. We see this a lot in the educational system. The educational system is run by a bunch of nannies and do-gooders, who don't value old-fashioned masculinity and femininity. Even if I was educated outside of this way, it affects me when I work and interact with people who come from this school of thought.

Lincoln, Armstrong and Zdurencik failures

Assuming that the Seattle Mariners finish in last place again, I want the CEO, President and GM of the Mariners to be fired and thrown out of professional sports for good. These men are too old and slow-witted to be baseball executives in the 21st Century. Why are the Oakland Athletics, a terrible franchise with an awful ugly ballpark, better than the Mariners? Answer: Their brain and Owners care more and have a better farm system than Seattle's. For example, Jon Daniels of Texas and Andrew Friedman of Tampa Bay are younger and smarter than Zdurencik. That's why those teams have been to the World Series recently and the Mariners haven't.

Random Thoughts

1) Saw a disturbing story today on the news with these Little League Parents getting into a fight after a game in Georgia. Very deplorable. Makes me feel weird and guilty that I want one or two of the Seattle Mariners to get into a fight or altercation with one of their rivals, particularly the Texas Rangers and Anaheim Angels. However, no one on the Mariners has the type of internal fire necessary to get riled up enough. Interesting that these parents of Little Leaguers go crazy and their kids don't get paid to play.

2) As much as I love Fox News, I detest Fox Sports. They're AWFUL!!! Buck, McCarver, Rose, Albert, Siragusa, Aikman, all of them are second class sports journalists. Anyone who is good works for ESPN, MLBNetwork or NBC. Other than one of my friends who works for Fox Sports Radio, I can't see supporting that network too much.

3) Looking forward to seeing the Nationals and maybe Orioles in the baseball playoffs this year.

Hockey season over- Real Work Begins

Thankfully, the Los Angeles Kings won Game 6 tonight to win their first ever Stanley Cup. Now the real work begins. It's about time that the Owners and Executives of the NHL stand up and throw out Gary Bettman as commissioner. He has done an awful job and put the sport so far under the radar screen it's amazing. Because he's an American, he doesn't understand the culture of hockey. If the NHL needs a Commissioner or President, it should be someone who understands both the Canadian and American viewpoints. Shouldn't the Canadian teams get together and try to throw him out? I don't know if the American teams are as interested in getting rid of Bettman, as they seem to do well financially under him.