Presidential Election 2008:
▪  In today's NY Times -- Obama details plan to aid victims of fiscal crisis -- Sen. Obama proposes giving employers a $3,000 tax credit for each new hire to encourage job creation. He said he would seek to allow Americans of all ages to borrow from retirement savings without a tax penalty; to eliminate income taxes on unemployment benefits; and to double, to $50 billion, the government’s loan guarantees for automakers.
▪  In today's Seattle Times -- In McCain win, Pentagon quivers -- The Pentagon has long identified steadfastly with the priorities and values of the Republican Party. Yet, in a culture that typically prefers one of its own, many are wary of the Vietnam War hero.

John McCain's Dangerous Desperation:
▪  In the NY Times -- The "terrorist" Barack Hussein Obama (Frank Rich column) -- At McCain-Palin rallies, the raucous and insistent cries of "Treason!" and "Terrorist!" and "Kill him!" and "Off with his head!" as well as the uninhibited slinging of racial epithets, are something new in a campaign that has seen almost every conceivable twist. They are alarms. Doing nothing is not an option. ... What has pumped up the rage at McCain-Palin rallies, is the violent escalation in rhetoric, especially (though not exclusively) by Palin. ... Obama is being branded as a potential killer and an accessory to past attempts at murder... What's troubling here is not only the candidates' loose inflammatory talk but also their refusal to step in promptly and strongly when someone responds to it with bloodthirsty threats in a crowded arena. Joe Biden had it exactly right when he expressed concern last week that "a leading American politician who might be vice president of the United States would not just stop midsentence and turn and condemn that." To stay silent is to pour gas on the fires.
▪  In today's Washington Post -- From Ayers to Osama? (editorial) -- When Sarah Palin said Obama was "palling around with terrorists," that was offensive -- but not offensive enough for the chairman of the Virginia Republican Party. He recently went further, linking Obama to Osama bin Laden. As surrogates for McCain rile crowds by shouting racially loaded lines, the Republican Party chairman in hotly contested Virginia shouldn't up the ante with such an outlandish comparison.
▪  In today's Washington Post -- McCain and the Raging Right (Dionne column) -- Has John McCain become the midwife of a new movement built around fear, xenophobia, racism and anger? We are in the midst of what could become the worst economic downturn in decades. The last thing we need is a campaign that strengthens fanaticism, tarnishes the authority of the next president and whips up the worst kinds of prejudice. Extremism in defense of liberty may be no vice, but extremism in pursuit of the presidency is as dysfunctional as it is degrading. 

Other State Election News:
▪  In today's Olympian -- Lands office is highly contested -- Republican Lands Commissioner Doug Sutherland is in a fight for his political life. He faces a stiff challenge from Peter Goldmark, an Okanogan rancher who also served as director of the state Department of Agriculture for four months in 1993 under former Gov. Mike Lowry. (The WSLC has endorsed Peter Goldmark.)
▪  In today's Seattle P-I -- Prop. 1 makes transit dream a reality (op-ed) -- Proposition 1 would fund more bus service immediately, expand the popular Sounder commuter rail and build 36 miles of light rail. It completes a decades-old vision to bring the Puget Sound region on par with other great metropolitan areas that have both rubber-tired and steel-wheeled mass transit.
▪  In today's Seattle P-I -- Eyman's I-985 also cuts arts funding -- He is pitching his latest initiative as a traffic-relief measure, but it would also relieve the state of $500,000 worth of art projects.

Local News:
▪  In today's Seattle Times -- 400 King County jobs could fall victim to $97 million shortfall -- More than 250 county employees could find out Tuesday they won't have a job starting next year, and a long list of county-sponsored programs might also be cut soon because of ongoing budget woes.
▪  In today's Seattle Times -- King County to lay off up to 255 more workers -- Parts of Sims' budget plan -- freezing pay for nonunion employees and asking labor unions to make pay concessions they don't have to make -- drew a rebuke from Sheriff Sue Rahr, Prosecuting Attorney Dan Satterberg, and two judges. They issued a joint statement questioning whether unions would go along with Sims, and concluding that "we do not believe his budget is a 'balanced budget.' "
▪  In today's Seattle P-I -- P-I, Times keeping staff slim, belts tight -- Seattle's two daily newspapers grapple with the worsening economy as they struggle to cut expenses and retain subscribers.
▪  In the Columbian -- Progress cited in Camas school talks -- Camas school officials remain tight-lipped, per orders from a state-appointed labor mediator. But a leader of the school district’s classified employees union (PSE) said that mediation has produced some progress.

Thousands of rank-and-file union members from the Inland Northwest will attend the 17th bi-annual Spokane Regional Labor Rally from 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 15 at the Spokane Interstate Fairgrounds. This is a great opportunity for union members to meet and greet labor's endorsed candidates for the 2008 elections.

Governor Chris Gregoire, labor's endorsed candidate for governor, will kick off the rally. Also in attendance will be Washington State Labor Council President Rick Bender and WSLC Secretary-Treasurer (and Spokane native) Al Link.