Comments by underachiever

Written on Shooting at South Kitsap Walmart still haunts woman who called 911:

I just bought the POI (Port Orchard Independent). They sure had it wrong on how it went down. I wonder where they got their information?

Written on LETTER TO THE EDITOR | Require Social Security numbers for licenses :

Isn't one of the penalties for not paying child support loss of your drivers license? How can they suspend your drivers license if they do not have your SS#? I believe drivers license suspension is a federal mandate. Fishing and hunting license are under the same rule which is the ONLY reason they now require a SS# to get them. Does the issuing of a drivers license without a SS# some how violate federal law?

Written on LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Ballot envelopes shouldn't show signatures :

I mentioned this during the election and no one seemed to care. If you know who's ballot is in the envelope and you know that person, you could most likely guess how they voted. This would be especially true if they were registered with one of the parties. Could be tempting to toss a ballot you believe does't share your voting preference.

Written on LETTER TO THE EDITOR | Wear White at Night:

By the way that some pedestrians dress and act in crosswalks, you would think that they feel there will be some kind of benefit from getting hit by a 3000 pound plus vehicle.

Written on Driver Who Hit Bicyclist in Central Kitsap Jailed After Not Doing Community Service:

Will she now have to register as a bad and illegal driver? I would sure like to know if she lived in my area. What kind of vehicle does she drive? I would not want her to injure or kill one of my kids. She is also a threat to me, my wife, and everyone else who drives, walks, or bikes on the roads. Will she HAVE to register? It will only make us safer. I would put her at least a level two driving offender. Don't know how killing someone counts towards points. Maybe a level three. Time for community notification.

Written on LETTER TO THE EDITOR | A Tax Break Isn't a 'Pay Raise':

in response to dlacrosse:

"And if we’re really worried about the deficit, why not worry that the Treasury estimates the cost of extending the Bush tax cuts to everyone will be 3.7Trillion over 10 years while the cost of extending it to the top earners will be 700Billion over the same period. If we’re really worried about the deficit maybe we should raise taxes on everyone."

Thank you, jo, for stating the obvious. Not to mention the inevitable.

You point out a true but ignored fact, the true tax revenues exist in the middle class. Tax the rich all you want, there is just not enough of them.


in response to lessizzmore:

No, you're not paranoid at all. I felt the same way about the signatures. There's no way they should be visible. But that's typical of government bureaucracy, isn't it?

Thank you! Finally someone else sees the obvious flaw of the mail in ballot. Your name is on the outside of the ballot envelope, Why???? I don't want the "your ballot is still secret" arguement. Your ballot has to make it there to be counted; however, with your name on the outside of the ballot it might not make it. I know how many of my friends, co-workers, and acquaintances will most likely vote. Someone else might also know. They may be in a position to do something about it.


I did not like the fact that your name, signature, and address were on the back of the envelope for all to see. Would not be hard to filter the vote before the ballots even got to the courthouse. Maybe I'm just too paranoid. That would never happen in the good old USA would it?

Written on Counselor Charged With Indecent Liberties:

Women as perpetrators in a DV case could also be involved in a divorce case. The stakes in a divorce case are very high. In most cases it is the highest stake “game” people will play. Better then any craps table. From what I have seen, and yes this is my opinion, a women in a divorce case that is going to counseling for DV as the perpetrator is not doing very well in the divorce "game." I would try to not pre-judge this case. It sounds like a TV episode.

Written on LETTER TO THE EDITOR | Vote 'No' on I-1098:

in response to gbear:

The fact that you voted is not a secret. (Remember the old days when you stood in line at your polling place?) HOW you voted is, and that is not visible.

I remember the good old days when you actually had to go and vote; however, I DO NOT remember my name and SIGNATURE attached in any way to my ballot. Now it is in view for all to see before it is counted. You don't have to know how I voted if you can "assume" I voted a certain way. I can make assumptions about how most people on this board would vote on certain items and more likely then not I would be correct. Having a ballot with someone's name on it gives the person holding it a lot of power, power that can easily be abused.


This may be a little off subject but I am looking for some feed back. I just completed my ballot and placed it in the free return pink envelope, followed the instructions, and the result was my signature and mailing address were clearly exposed on the back of the envelope. I mean clearly. There was no way to fold the envelope to hide it as in was the case in past elections. My wife's was the same so I am pretty sure I did not do something stupid. Can some of you maybe look at your election ballot and see what you find? I did see something in the news about incorrect pamphlets mailed out but nothing about ballots.
Thanks UA

Written on LETTER TO THE EDITOR: I-1098 Has Too Many Questions, Risks:

To quote the opponents of other initiatives," Too risky for Washington!"

Written on LETTER TO THE EDITOR | Vote 'No' on Initiative 1098:

So nobody can tell me how this will REDUCE the tax burden of lower income people? Isn't that one of the selling points. I am not low income and all I would save is about a hundred bucks on my property tax bill. Let me clarify that, my bill will go up a hundred less then it would without this initiative. Thats right a whopping 30 cents a day. Seems to me it's designed to increase tax collection from the wealthy but the lower incomes will continue to pay the same rate.


in response to amesburyroad:

All these crybaby fatcats whining about how I-1098 will make them destitute, you middle class folk pay more of your income now in taxes than these crybaby fatcats! The fatcats are just wired differently than normal people. We weren't raised to be greedy, they are. Don't believe for a second that increasing taxes for the fatcat rich will increase your taxes! You already pay more of your income in taxes than the fatcats! And they are just happy with that! They want to keep the status quo of good middle class and poor folk bearing the burden of paying the taxes so they can maintain their fatcat lifestyle.

Vote yes on I-1098. Tax the rich instead of the middle class!

Could you, or anyone else please tell me how passing this will reduce the taxes paid by the lower income people most of whom do not own a house or a buisness????

Written on LETTER TO THE EDITOR | More Rental Harassment by Bremerton:

in response to ArthurDent:

underachiever: I don't need any "daddy" to take care of me. At the same time I think that someone needs to ensure that the property meets minimum standards for livability. That includes functioning, code compliant plumbing. The property should meet minimum standards for structural stability. The property should meet minimum requirements for electrical safety. The property should meet minimum standards for cleanliness. The property should be legally available for rent by the person purporting to be the landlord.

These requirements are universal for any property, regardless of status. For new construction building inspectors verify that a property meets these requirements before you are granted a certificate of occupancy.

Do you feel you need a "daddy" to inspect that bridge for you? How about that elevator? What about that ferry? How about the brakes on that semi tailgating you? How about your brand new tires?

Perhaps in your world you accept the word of anyone but in my world I want an inspection by an expert.

You do make some valid points, but... no Gov agency is going to inspect each of my new tires or how they were installed, a private company most likely does the elevator inspection, the bridge is a public structure, and brakes on the semi ready to rear end me, who exactly inspects those? People balance cost verses benefit. You want a top of the line rental you pay for it. You want something cheaper you get what you pay for. I am sure there are alot of people renting less then ideal properties but maybe that is all they can afford and they are thankful they have it. Raise the rent and maybe they are homeless. Everything has a cost and the evil landlord is going to pass that on to you. One last thing, how would you know that an "expert" inspected the property? I know when the county inspected my new house, they were late, lazy, and cost me a butte load of money for nothing.


in response to ArthurDent:

All this letter is is hearsay.

So how do we find out which property is derelict except by inspection? How do we find out which is code compliant except by inspection?

Do what every other landlord does...use a $25 a year fee to raise your rent $150 a month. It's a cost of doing business. You will pass it on.

From a renter's viewpoint, I want to know when I rent I will have a safe place to live.

You would like an added 150 a month in rent? After some bogus inspection you would be lucky to see only 150. Are you really incapable of checking out a potential rental for yourself or do you need "daddy" to do that for you?

Written on Kitsap Turns Criminal Case Against Gun Club Exec Over to King County:

What I don't understand, is some of the gun loving(not a bad thing) posters on previous stories concerning this matter voted for Hauge. Now they get stung. Reminds me of the frog and scorpion story.

Written on Lease With State Agency Still Holding Up Work on Seabeck Marina:

in response to MikeR:

I thought that Josh Brown had this all figured out months ago.

There was a LTE some weeks ago about Josh Brown having this all figured out. It was a very moving letter. Brought tears to my eyes. Almost had me voting for him (NOT). Oh well, good luck on the Marina you'll need it.

Written on LETTER TO THE EDITOR | The Short Memory of American People:

in response to oldmill:

beachrat -

You're a real piece of work. You drone on about a failed stimulus with the same false "facts" you've used in the past. I guess you didn't bother trying to understand the information laid out for you. It's so much easier for you to make outrageous claims about cost per job when the stimulus package isn't even a jobs program. And I like so much that you fail to acknowledge that only two-thirds of the money has been paid to programs which in turn have yet to disburse the funds. When you were presented with that information, you cut and ran - you have yet to address the actual stimulus aims and costs in any honest fashion. Well, figures can lie and liars can figure. You sit at the intersection of that quip.

"Right, oldmill, my statements are BS while yours are just dripping with verifiable facts, hmmm?"

That's the first true thing you've said in a long time.

Tell me - what part of the will of the people is it that is keeping empty positions in the judiciary and executive branches of government from being filled?

Obama is being criticized for the handling of the economic situation. You also haven't answered questions about what you'd have the government do to fix the economy. Another cut and run. It's very easy for you to criticize that which you do not have to do yourself. I see precious few solutions in all your complaints.

You really do have advanced Tea Party Syndrome. Shout platitudes backed by nothing. When questioned about your proposals suddenly all is silence.

Twenty plus years ago there was a great Burger King commercial - "where's the beef?" concerning rival MacDonald's lesser hamburger patty size. It became a rallying cry for many a subject. Too often you open the figurative bun and there's very little to be found inside. Where's the beef, beachrat?

You consider being compared with T*rd Blossom to be an honor, do you? That says a lot about your concept of honor. A man known for his deceitful, dirty tricks is someone you admire. And this is supposed to convince us that your ways are in any way honorable - how?

It was a Wendys commercial not Burger King. Everyone knows that.

Written on Bremerton Council to Consider Increasing Fees for Landlords:

This is a tax on YOU not the landlord. I would raise my rent $20/month for just having to deal with it.

Written on LETTER TO THE EDITOR | Good Reasons to Vote for Josh Brown:

in response to zana:

Josh, you have not been listening. N.O. = NO, you will be a one term CKCC. You will like unemployment. You get paid to do nothing! Oh, you have experience at that. BYE!

Can you collect Unemployment if fired for cause?

Written on LETTER TO THE EDITOR | Don't Re-Elect the Big Spenders:

in response to Bigmack1066:

cjcampbell... prove it. Give me a URL with an explanation of the tax hikes for under $250K earners. It's gotta be something better than World Net Daily or freerepublic, too.

Fact is IF and I say IF... the Bush tax cuts expire people making less then 250K will pay more in taxes. In some cases much more. I know I will. It dosen't take a rocket scientist to figure that out. Do you actually think it's a big lie?

Written on LETTER TO THE EDITOR | State and Nationally, Dems Increase Debt:

in response to chat:

(This comment was removed by the site staff.)

Hey Chat, it’s debt not deficit. No worries, it just proves why you guys don’t get it. 10 Trillion increase in debt under bush? Can you prove that?

Written on CLARENCE PAGE | Have Tea Parties Peaked?:

In todays world whatever means "f ewe." Obviously from the reply to Elliot I'm not off base. I want it removed from the post!


How about posting the county budget online and easy to understand? Then we could make an informed decision. We are NOT stupid. Nevermind, I answered my own question.

Written on 79-Year-Old Murder Suspect Told Deputies Her Husband 'Egged Her On':

Hey Dadof2, I think you may be correct.

Written on Bremerton City Council Puts Off Decision on Landlord Licenses:

Yes we are going to inspect your property for.....anything and everything that is not up to code. Then we require green stuff like the dishwasher or water heater. Maybe the windows and doors are not up to snuff. Then we think it needs to be painted and the carpet is old. How about the possible lead paint or transite siding? It's gotta go and the best... your house is not wheelchair accessible and there is no parking for the van. What a can of worms. I have a rental in the county and I guarantee that rent would go up not to just cover the cost but to cover the irratation. Good luck to those that rent.

Written on High Schoolers Get Good Marks on Language Tests, but Math Remains a Problem:

If MATH is taught to the students, maybe they will learn how to do MATH. After three kids, 1+1+1=3, I think the K-12 curriculum is sadly lacking. When trying to help them with their homework, I had a hard time determining what was the question. It's math, why mix it up with social studies when they haven't even mastered the basics? It obviously is not working but what do I know? I just fork out the cash so they can take 90 series math at OC. At least they use "real" math books. These kind of math results in the private sector would get you fired.

Written on LETTER TO THE EDITOR | Don't Criticize Grocery Clerks:

in response to today24h:

35 x 18 = 680 (a journeyman grocer's wage)
680 x 52 = 32,760 (total for the year if guaranteed 35 hrs/week)
32,760 x 20% = 6,552 (presumably medicare/medicaid/medical, SSA and other taxes)
32,760 - 6,552 = 26,208 (actual yearly income)
26,208/12 = $2,184 (the actual amount you would have to "live comfortably" with a family)

Average price for rentals: $1,200/month
Average grocery bill for a family of 4: $300 (if buying non-name brands)
Average sum total for bills: $150
Average car payment (new or used): $300/month
Average minimum credit card: $60/month
Average car insurance: $130/month
Average gas: $40/every two weeks
Savings for school supplies: $50/month

Average monthly income: $2,184
Average monthly expenses: $3,070
Average monthly debt: $886

Hope you have a significant other to help... The last person we should criticize is a customer service employee. If it takes 30 years to get to a Journeyman's position, I say that job should be in management with a better pay rate! Yes these are entry-level positions (the clerks) and no, minimum wage is NOT supposed to be a livable wage, but we shouldn't get mad at a clerk or floor associate just because there are 15 other customers in front of you and 14 of them are paying with checks. That is not the clerks fault (and that is usually what I see when I'm at the store unfortunately). Even when at the top of their pay scale, these people are treated like amoebas on fleas on rats for pennies! Velma is willing to put up with ingrates like that, and for that she deserves respect at the very least!

(FYI: numbers for expenses are based on what I know from myself and family.)

You forgot to add in the EIC of at least $2370 from the feds. They will pay no federal tax so $6552 is most likley too high in that category. The union does have fairly good medical and not too expensive. If you are extremely thrifty you could pull it off.

Written on LETTER TO THE EDITOR | A Week to Thank Public Service Workers:

cjcampbell: My point was that the new fed program is more like the private sector. I will admit the old CSRS was overly generous as was the state and local programs. I only wish I could work 1000 hours of overtime for three years and enjoy that for the rest of my retirement. The feds could not do that but alot of the state and locals could. There is a generation of public employees that are or will enjoy a generous retirement. I am not one of them.

Written on LARRY LITTLE | Mrs. Duffy and the Immigrants:

in response to PopeMobile:

Thank you, RMO, for providing sources for your contentions. There are plenty of people on here who cannot.

I still maintain that breaking immigration law is not mutually exclusive with breaking any other law. There are plenty of legal citizens who break the law every day, from small to large. Speeding, homocide, extortion, laundering, etc. Where a person comes from or how they got here is not indicative of whether or not they have or will break more laws or to what extent they will break said laws.

Rodent, you speak of 'rooster' fights (yes, I know what word it won't let us post). What about dog fighting? Last I heard, there's a big underground racket for that sort of thing, and I'm pretty sure there aren't only illegals doing it.
As for trash, do you think illegals are the only ones who litter? Have you looked along HWY 3 lately? It's not a dump, but it's certainly no wildlife reserve, either. Ever seen a park after a redneck, white trash BBQ?
I would also challenge the idea that you've seen the majority of the 22.7 million illegals (per RMO's link), how they live, the laws they've broken, where they send their money or any other miriad of things.

Come on Pope. Show us how the law breakers(illegals) are a boone to the country. Show us the net BENEFIT to THIS country. You seem to support breaking the law by entering illegally, so it is your duty to show us you are correct.


in response to Speaker_to_Animals:

(This comment was removed by the site staff.)

Why don't you enlighten us to what that great pension plan is? People make a better decision when they are informed.


Hey rhettorick, I remeber Carter. He was a big help. I'm sure the Republican congress he had to deal with had alot to do with that so maybe he gets a pass. Only history will tell.


You're right jodaddy, we used to go to our cousins to watch Rudolf at CHRISTmas time. They had a COLOR TV! Oh the joy! Even with two incomes we could not afford a color TV. Now we have so many they are a nuisance.

Written on GUEST COLUMN | Juvenile Justice Beyond the Bench:

Teenagers today are charged with crimes that were not "crimes" when I was growing up. Typical teenager behavior back then. Now they get "rotated" in the juvenile justice system. Then everyone wonders what happened except those that made money off the whole thing. The kid, they are "rotated" for the rest of their life.


in response to rhettorick:

For decades a working man working 40 hours a week could provide a decent life for his family. With only one working parent, the children were not raised at day care. Good vacations, good family life and they could send their kids to college. But then along came Ronnie Reagan and Alan Greenspan. They thought that the rich should get huge tax breaks and subsidies from the government thereby forcing the real workers to work harder and longer to make up the difference. While the rich got super-rich, the middle class suffered. Now a typical family, if they are lucky, have two wage earners to get by, with kids in day care and horrible loans if the kids want to go to college. And many are losing their homes altogether. This is Reaganomics. The rich are getting super-rich and the middle class is dying.
Now we have an aristocracy just like our founding fathers, the real tea-partiers, fought against. Sad that the new tea-partiers(?) are on the side of the oppressors. No cure for willful ignorance.

Wow, to think that my mom, my aunts, and even my grandmother worked outside the house long before Reagan. My dad, uncles, and grandfather worked too. Had good jobs. I think you give too much credit to Reagan. But then blaming the Republicans is easy isn't it? I think the other side shares alot of the blame but.... that makes my head hurt. Forget it.

Written on DAVID BRODER | Don't Blame Arizona for the Immigration Mess:

Well I am tired of being threatened with racial profiling when in an Asian country. They have the gall to require me to have on my possession a passport and a copy of my orders. They even have the right to stop and ask me for them for no reason other then" I look like an American." I would organize a protest over there but I think even you whiners realize where that would get me. I truly think the clowns are running the circus, and yes, it looks like a circus.

Written on Kitsap Smokers Fuming About Cigarette Tax:

in response to Telia:

I'm willing to pay more for a cup of coffee at Starbucks, if it will better my community. I don't buy it but once or twice a month. $2 more a month won't break my bank and I don't need to drink it. I also believe they should tax fast food, we need to make it less convenient, just like they've done to cigarettes. My brother in-law would kill me for saying that though, he's a multi-millionaire McDonalds store owner in Boston and would completely freak out about that cutting into his profits.

I quit smoking 19 years ago because it was too expensive (about 1.75 a pack) and I was tired of paying for something that was making me sick. We need to cut our addictions to fast food in much the same way.

Telia: I also know a Boston Mickey D's owner. Does his name start with a M?

Written on Bremerton Boy Charged with Rape on OC Campus:

in response to BremResident:

But how can you be so quick to imply that it was consentual? You really cant imply either it was rape or consentual intercourse before a trial. In my opinion, I want it to go to trial and have ALL the facts come forth before anyone is incriminated. But if it is rape, the boy should be labeled as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

Brem: You ask me how I can imply that it was consentual when most of the posters on here have him guilty as charged? Did you read any of the other post? Did you read the original article? The boy is already incriminated, what you mean is found guilty. From your last sentence, I think you already have.

Written on Bremerton Boy Charged with Rape on OC Campus:

in response to stuckupbrat69#223574:

Ok so a dad who allegedly broke his childs bones gets to post bail and everyone has an opinion. But when someone says this kid who is being charged with rape shouldn't be out on bail it's all about the bail system? No i don't think so. If any person is accused of a crime they shouldnt have the option of bail. Thats just my opinion and it doesnt matter cause this is probly just gonna end up being a case of 2 teenagers doing stuff they shouldnt have.

Yes brat you are probably correct about two kids doing something they should not be doing. The reality is that someone has to pay and that person will most likely be the male. When I was a teenager, I have seen girls get drunk and naked for no reason other than they were drunk. I think there is more to the story. People should not be so quick to castrate the boy. This is coming from a dad of three girls who are now grown.

Written on LETTER TO THE EDITOR | Become an Informed Critic:

Nice letter. For some reason the name of the letter writer about gun rights comes to mind. I won't post it, it may be an invasion of their privacy.

Written on LETTER TO THE EDITOR | We Need to Cap Our Carbon Emissions:

Julie: I have three kids and global warming is the last thing I worry about. OK not really, in fact I never worry about it.

Written on Apartment Seller Alleges Breach of Contract in Sale of Housing Authority Property:

Are we talking tax dollars here? Who cares?

Written on Kitsap County Scrambling to Deal With Dip in Real Estate Tax Collections:

Usedbookman: I calculate I will make $75/hr in two years and over $80/hr for at least the next three after that. I bought a house, car, and truck on this "magic 8 ball" prediction. I will just demand my employer pay me what I thought I would earn. They are after all the endless cash cow.

Written on Proposed Initiative Would Institute Income Tax on the Wealthy:

When the anti tax crowd puts their initiatives on the ballot all we hear is it's the legislature's job to impose or reduce taxes not a peoples initiative. I fear we will hear different on this one. I am not a lawyer, because I AM an underachiever, but I don't think you can impose an income tax by way of the initiative process in this state.

Written on Cases of beer left at landfill too hard to resist:

Taking the beer out of the landfill and using it for it's intended purpose is the green thing to do. Then you can recycle the containers. It sounds like a win win to me. They should get an award for crying out loud.

Written on LETTER TO THE EDITOR | Scared Into Overspending on Security?:

I bought a bathroom vanity that was manufactured in Mexico that got some "extra" attention from customs. It was broke all to hell. Go figure.

Written on ROB WOUTAT | Don't Fall for E-mailed Distortions:

I got one about my VIN# on my car and it getting stolen by the thieves going to the dealer ship and getting a key with just the VIN#. I only wish I had a car that someone would go to that much effort to steal. Don't forget the one about the kidney thieves. That warning was put out at work when it surfaced. I won't say where, it would be too embarrassing.

Written on MY TURN | Not Being Counted Is Costly:

in response to HWSlach:

That may still happen. However, to be over and done with it, call the number in the article and request a form at your PO Box.

"To be over and done with it" Is this like going to the dentist? I have a backlog of phone calls to make because I don't have time to do it on the clock (unlike the younger folks who seem to have an addiction problem with their phones). This call is not one of them. They can hang it on the door and leave. What is so hard about that? I don't know where the $60 would be spent if they did that. At least they would know exactly where the form went. They can catch the rest of the neighbors at the same time.