More on the Bailout for Big Business: 



▪  In today's NY Times -- Absence of leadership (editorial) -- It took President Bush until Wednesday night to address the American people about the nation’s financial crisis, and pretty much all he had to offer was fear itself. There was no acknowledgement of the shocking failure of government regulation, or that the country cannot afford more tax cuts for the very wealthy and budget-busting wars, or that spending at least $700 billion of taxpayers’ money to bail out Wall Street and the banks should be done carefully, transparently and with oversight by Congress and the courts.
▪  In today's Wash. Post -- Wall Street's man in Washington (Meyerson column) -- In Paulson's plan, the American public pours at least $700 billion of its money into purchasing the bad loans on Wall Street's books and gets -- the thanks of a grateful Wall Street. Unlike the investments made by the people of China, Kuwait, Singapore and Korea, Americans would get no equity in return.
▪  In today's Everett Herald -- Bailouts help for needy woefully lacking -- The housing and consumer advocates who predicted this crisis say the Bush administration's proposal fails to deal with the root cause of the crisis -- families in foreclosure. Says one: "Address the woes of Wall Street second. Bailing out the very firms that caused this crisis in the first place would be an outrage."
▪  In today's Seattle Times -- Republican government-bashers line up for federal aid (Helen Thomas column) -- What has happened to those conservative Republican leaders whose mantra was "government is the problem -- not the solution"? Tell that to the once-bloated financial giants now standing in line for whopping government handouts to the tune of $700 billion. And who can forget those who wanted to "get the government off our backs"? Their silence now is deafening.
▪  In today's NY Times -- As homes are lost, fears that votes will be, too -- Officials struggle to make sure that people who have lost their homes through foreclosure are not disqualified at the polls. Some could be forced to vote with a provisional ballot or challenged by partisan poll watchers, a particular concern among Democrats who fear that poor voters will be targeted. That could add confusion and stretch out lines that are already expected to be long.

McCain Revealed:
▪  In today's Wash. Post -- First debate's fate unclear as Obama resists McCain's call to postpone -- After getting a call from President Bush, both will abandon the campaign trail today for a White House meeting, as the financial crisis gripping the nation roils the presidential race and leaves the first debate in limbo.
▪  In today's Wash. Post -- Selfless or reckless? McCain gambles on voters' verdict -- A gambler by nature, the bet McCain placed Wednesday may be among the biggest of his political life.
▪  In today's Wash. Post -- McCain's ploy (Meyerson column) -- Can McCain pull this off -- persuading the public to forget how he and his fellow Reagan Republicans changed the nation's economic rules in ways that allowed Wall Street to run amok, and refocusing its attention on his decisiveness at this moment of crisis?
▪  From AP -- Palin blessed to be "free from witchcraft" -- We're not making this up. See the video. And more here.

Rossi Revealed:
▪  In today's Seattle P-I -- Business group to host Gregoire-Rossi debate -- Read as P-I reporter Chris McGann tries to sort out which candidate is "better for business," meaning who has supported the most business tax cuts, who opposes safety nets for injured or unemployed workers, and who has backed less government regulation. In the context of what's happening on Wall Street, it's enough to make you puke. Note that Rossi, his corporate patrons and their think-tank echo chamber continue to advocate that "Washington Sucks." Is this really the guy you want to be in charge of economic development in our state?
▪  In today's Olympian -- Realtors PAC agrees to $130,000 fine -- The PAC -- which is aggressively supporting Dino Rossi's campaign -- admits to nearly $1 million in reporting errors and omissions.
▪  Today from AP -- State weighs restrictions on Republican accounts -- The PDC will consider whether it should prevent the state Republican Party from using certain accounts to pay for activities that promote specific candidates. It appears the party improperly used a certain account to pay for mailers promoting Dino Rossi over Gov. Christine Gregoire in the state primary.
▪  In today's NY Times -- Democrats sue over "G.O.P." on ballot -- Dino Rossi's embarrassment over being known as a Republican is now national news.

Local news: 
▪  In today's Tri-City Herald -- Oak Harbor Freight Line truckers protest at Pasco terminal -- Pasco terminal workers, who are members of Teamsters Local 839, stop work after the union and the company failed to reach agreement on medical benefits during contract negotiation talks. More than 500 union workers -- out of a companywide work force of 1,300 -- walked off the job.
▪  At HorsesAss.org -- The truth about Washington's revenue deficit -- It is irresponsible to suggest that the projected $3.1 billion revenue deficit is the result of profligate spending by Gov. Gregoire, when in fact, it is clearly the result of declining state revenues. The culprit is a tax system that overly relies on a steadily shrinking segment of our economy: the sale of goods.
▪  At TheOlympian.com -- Republican Rep. Alexander: Leave state employee contracts alone -- The lead Republican on the House budget committee says he doesn't want to trim the contracts negotiated by state worker unions, as some in his party have suggested. (Like Sen. Joe Zarelli.)
▪  In today's News Tribune -- Puyallup sees jobs, big projects -- With up to $25 million in state funding now secure, the City of Puyallup is ready to move forward with its economic revitalization plan.
▪  In today's Seattle P-I -- Seattle firefighters gain new skills training on ships -- During the past six weeks, more than 750 people in the Seattle Fire Dept. were trained on how to combat ship fires.
▪  In today's Oregonian -- Halsey pulp mill workers still seek contract -- Three months after the Minnesota-based Wayzata Investment Partners bought the mill from a bankrupt Pope & Talbot, workers at Cascade Pacific Pulp mill have yet to secure a union contract.