It's that time again! Join us for our annual tour of historic homes. This event is the primary fundraiser for Bigelow House Museum. Tickets will be on sale beginning Friday November 23 at the following local businesses: Drees, Popinjay, Archibald Sisters, and Thompsons Furnishings. Tickets are $15 ea and include tour booklet, map and a free dessert from Chicas Cafe on Legion Way. Tickets are also available at Bigelow House beginning at 11:00am on the day of the event.

 Map and list of properties on this year's tour

General Order 1.1 Olympia Police Department
Last Revised: 3/9/07

SUBJECT: LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY ROLE

1.1.1 Mission

The Olympia Police Department is community centered, ethically grounded, and accountable for the protection of life, property and individual rights.

I am from Oly but working temporarily in Africa, have been sharing the news reports and videos of the port protests with friends in the African and international community here. You might be seeing mixed opinion at home, but here the impact is clear: it is shifting opinion about Americans and their perceived laissez-faire attitude about the war, specifically, and the world, in general. America's reputation around the world has suffered tremendously over the past 6 years; it has become an often hang-your-head situation to admit you are American -- it will frequently shut down the conversation because people don't want to be rude about speaking their own opinions about the U.S. and Americans. We are often viewed as being impervious to the issues, only really intersted in political topics to the extent they affect our liesurely lifestyle. People often ask "if the majority of Americans are against the war, why are they so apathetic, why aren't they doing something." So the folks with whom I'm sharing the feeds are genuinely interested and it is starting to shift those observations. The second most frequent thing I'm hearing is "I never realized there were so many police there,or that the military could intervene with civilians, and they could act/re-act in that manner." That should make us all think. Kent State was only 28 years ago.

An interesting comment was posted here by Rhenda, our new council-member elect.

The standard practice for political candidates is to doorbell and literature-drop at homes of registered voters who voted in at least 2 of the last 4 elections.

I noticed as I was literature-dropping for Meta's campaign that my list only had me going to about a fifth of the households in the neighborhood. At that rate of voter participation, it is easy for small groups of strongly enfranchised, well-organized people (read: realtors, developers, business people, powerful political parties, etc.) to determine the outcome of an election. The result is that people who are not strongly enfranchised or well organized (such as low-income people, ethnic minorities, youth, etc) get screwed in every election.

Rhenda is right that it is not the responsibility of political candidates to build an empowered citizenry. Candidates for office are far too busy doorbelling active voters, stumping at forums, and fending off smear campaigns generated by editorial page directors. Candidates are so busy that it is even unwise for them to spend too much time talking to a single active voter.

JW Image Rotator

So Buster, my silver tabby, gets these allergy shots to keep from scratching all the time. I spend more on my cats medical bills than my own.

The vet is gone for a couple weeks, so the clinic told me I could give Buster a little liquid Children's Benadryl instead of the shot. Here's what happens when you administer this fluid-- they foam at the mouth. A lot. They look like a rabid Santa Claus after awhile. The last time I gave him this cherry-flavored treatment he ran through the house leaving a trail of cat saliva foam. Nice. I went through an entire roll of paper towels.

So I told my pal Arnie all about this and he just laughed. "Let me try," he bravely volunteered. So he brings Buster into the bathroom and shuts the door. Rule #1, isolate the cat in a room with lots of easily-cleaned tile. Then I hear Arnie talk gently to the feline as he wraps him in a towel. Rule #2, secure the cats claws. Then I can hear a gargled yowl as Arnie uses an eye-dropper type of tube to give the medicine.

After that there is this sort of loud aerosol noise coming from behind the bathroom door. In a short time I see foam coming out from under the door into the hallway. Arnie is trying to yell something, but I can't quite make it out. The door is locked.

I forced the door open to find Buster sitting calmly by the sink, but once he saw his chance he ran out into the rest of the house to leave a trail of foamy feline saliva on every flat surface he could use. Meanwhile, the foam in the bathroom was still about 3 feet high.

And Arnie was nowhere to be found. Even now, after the foam has subsided, he has yet to appear.

Too bad Robert Stack is dead.

Blue Heron Bakery 30th Anniversary
w/ The Grizzle Grazzle Trash Can Band
Mudcat w/ Evan Price
Cabin Kind
Southern Skies
Kite
and The Pasties
At the Prosperity Grange on Steamboat Island (3701 Steamboat Island Rd).
Saturday Nov. 17th 3pm-11pm

Current and past Herons get in free. $5 for everyone else. Bands starts at 4pm. Pasties play around 8pm. Tasty pastries, pizza and drinks will be served.

Here's a link to a set of photos of the Olympia Student Walkout Against the Iraq War—November 16, 2007. This extraordinary event was created entirely by student organizers from high schools, elementary schools, South Puget Sound Community College and the Evergreen State College.