When President Franklin Roosevelt came into office in the depth of the Great Depression, he sought to stabilize and empower American society by introducing bold new initiatives: Social Security, the Public Works Administration, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Rural Electrification Administration, the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Civilian Conservation Corps, and the Agricultural Adjustment Administration, among many others. These measures were sufficiently successful, as was his leadership during World War II, that he secured four terms in the White House. There was some congressional resistance but not enough to block the support of both political parties. . . .

In 2002, George W. Bush signed the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), offering states $3.9 billion in subsidies to modernize their election administration and equipment, purportedly in response to Florida’s hanging-chad fiasco of 2000. HAVA mandated that every polling place provide at least one voting system that allowed disabled people to vote with the same “privacy and independence” accorded to nondisabled voters. Thanks to confusing language in HAVA itself, and even a misleading report issued by the Congressional Research Service, one might easily assume that the mandate called for the purchase of DRE machines. In this way, the blind and visually impaired were unwittingly used as pawns to advance the agenda of the voting-machine industry. One election supervisor claims that Diebold went so far as to send him threatening letters after he sought out less expensive alternatives to service the disabled, even when these machines were compatible with Diebold’s systems. . . .

On September 20, just days after the American ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens, and three other Americans had been murdered in a terrorist attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, a crowd of some 30,000 Libyans jammed the main square of that city to protest his death. They carried signs that read, “We want justice for Chris” and “The ambassador was Libya’s friend” and “Libya lost a friend.” . . .

Caught in a lie, and a nasty and stupid one at that, he still did not back off, plunging on until he reached lows of demagoguery approached only in this campaign by . . . his running mate, Paul Ryan, in the last debate. Throughout the debate, Mr. Romney lied brazenly, without hesitation or compunction. He lied in big ways and small, lied cleverly and foolishly, lied as if he couldn’t help himself. Debating this man must feel like wrestling with a greased seal. . . .

“All politics is local,” said the late U.S. House Speaker Thomas “Tip” O’Neill, and local political power imposed on the country at large is why I had traveled here—to refresh my memory about why it largely still runs the Democratic Party and, for the time being, the United States. I had come to the Southwest Side to interview Alderman Edward Burke, the longtime Democratic leader of the 14th Ward. . . .

A 15-year-old schoolgirl named Malala Yousafzai was flown from Pakistan to the United Kingdom for medical care after being shot in the head by masked Taliban militants in the Swat Valley. Yousafzai, who at the age of 11 began blogging for the BBC’s Urdu service under the pseudonym Gul Makai (“cornflower”), was targeted for championing girls’ education rights. “She has become a symbol of Western culture in the area,” said a Taliban spokesman. “She symbolizes the brave girls of Swat,” said a local filmmaker.[1][2][3][4][5] Members of the Pakistani Taliban said they would target journalists for giving the attempted assassination “undue” coverage and for unfairly portraying the Taliban as the “worst people on earth.”[6] While performing in Los Angeles, Madonna dedicated a striptease and a song to Yousafzai. “Do you realize,” asked Madonna, “how sick that is?”[7] Australian prime minister Julia Gillard spoke for 15 minutes on the floor of the country’s House of Representatives after Tony Abbott, the leader of the conservative opposition, castigated her for supporting Peter Slipper, who resigned as house speaker following the publication of text messages he sent likening the female genitalia to “shell-less mussels.” “Another day of shame for a government which should already have died of shame,” said Abbott, echoing comments made by a radio host who suggested that Gillard’s recently deceased father had “died of shame” at his daughter’s behavior as prime minister. “Now he is looking at his watch,” Gillard said of Abbott, who was across from her on the House floor, “because apparently a woman’s spoken too long.”[8][9][10][11] A charity in Belfast prepared to open Ireland’s first abortion facility. “What is the need for this clinic?” asked a Protestant lawmaker. “There couldn’t possibly be one.”[12] . . .

Well, I’m your huckleberry, Mr. Brooks. You are welcome to send any of your email maulers over this way. I felt like throwing a few haymakers myself after watching yet another Republican candidate claim that the president of the United States is some sort of un-American weakling who is going around “apologizing for our values.” . . .

But the accusations fit Welch’s profile. He thinks as he does because he himself was often cited as one of the leading book-cookers of his era. Why would he think anyone would approach numbers any differently? . . .

In an essay selected for the Readings section of our October issue, Victoria Bassetti writes about the lack of constitutional protection for voting—an important issue right now, as some states have passed voter-identification laws that civil-rights groups believe could discourage millions of people from voting in the upcoming general election. Since 2003, Republican lawmakers in Indiana, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and a handful of other states have passed laws that require voters to present photo identification at polling stations to cast a ballot, with the stated aim of preventing voter-impersonation fraud, and the actual aim of placing obstacles to voting in front of poor people and minorities, who happen to traditionally support Democrats. . . .

We put up with it all, thanks to the growing conviction that he really would win again and save us all from the lunatic, nihilist Republicans. . . .

Incumbent Democratic president Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney discussed domestic policy at the first presidential debate, in Denver. To prepare, Obama, who said he was “just okay” at debating and that his opponent was a “good debater,” held a three-day debate camp at a Middle Eastern–themed hotel in Las Vegas. Romney ended his preparation by watching his sons play Jenga. Obama began the debate by wishing his wife a happy anniversary. “There was some speculation as to whether this had an impact on my performance,” he said later, responding to criticism that he had appeared sluggish and unfocused. “But I did make it up to her on Saturday.” “When you go to 5,000 feet, and you only have a few hours to adjust,” said former vice president Al Gore, “I don’t know . . . maybe.” Romney was criticized for cutting off the debate moderator, PBS news anchor Jim Lehrer, and for suggesting he would cut federal funding to PBS if elected. “I like PBS, I love Big Bird. Actually like you, too,” he said to Lehrer. “You can kill things and still like them,” said former G.O.P. senator Rick Santorum. “You know who loves debates?” asked Big Bird. “De fishes.”[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] Turkey shelled Syria after it fired a mortar into a Turkish border town and killed five Turks; Syrian rebels and security forces fought near the country’s border with Lebanon; and car bombs exploded near a Syrian officers’ club in downtown Aleppo.[9][10][11] Hugo Chávez was elected to a fourth term as president of Venezuela. “If Obama were from . . . some neighborhood here in Caracas, he’d vote for Chávez,” said Chávez.[12][13] Officials in Pennsylvania and Mississippi temporarily blocked state laws requiring voters to present photo identification at election stations.[14][15] Republican supporters questioned the legitimacy and timing of a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics announcement that the unemployment rate had fallen below 8 percent for the first time since 2009. “These Chicago guys will do anything..can’t debate so change numbers,” tweeted former General Electric CEO Jack Welch. “I should have put a question mark on that,” he later clarified.[16][17] . . .

Theodore Ross is the features editor at Men’s Journal and a former associate editor at Harper’s Magazine. When he was nine years old, his mother moved him and his brother from New York to Mississippi and attempted to erase all traces of the family’s Judaism, identifying them as Unitarians to their new neighbors. Ross wrote about the experience in a 2009 Harper’s essay titled “Shalom on the Range.” In his just-published book, Am I a Jew?, he tracks the history and evolution of American Judaism, detailing his efforts to reconcile with his childhood alienation from his heritage by traveling to Jewish communities across the U.S. and Israel. I asked him six questions about the book over non-kosher beverages near his apartment in Brooklyn: . . .

. . .

I know, it’s not very funny. Neither was Barack Obama’s noneffort last night. Nor am I joking about his performance being the worst in the history of presidential debates. In fact, it was the worst debate by any candidate in either the presidential or the vice-presidential debates. And I include Dan Quayle’s performance in 1988, and that poor, befuddled admiral who was running with Ross Perot. . . .

In other words, he intends to cheat, by bringing a foreign-policy issue into a domestic-policy debate. . . .

“One hundred pages into his absorbing new memoir, written entirely in the third person, Salman Rushdie declares that ‘Friendship had always been of great importance to him,’ since so much of his life had been spent separated, physically and emotionally, from his own family. ‘Friends,’ writes Rushdie, ‘were the family one chose.’ . . .

From Jack Hitt: . . .

World leaders gathered for debate at the 67th session of the United Nations General Assembly. As protests continued across the Muslim world over an online video mocking the prophet Mohammed, Barack Obama spoke to the General Assembly about the importance of freedom of speech. “As president of our country,” he said, “I accept that people are going to call me awful things every day.”[1] The United States delegation boycotted a speech by Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, while other Western nations instructed their emissaries to leave if he said anything offensive. “Previously we’ve walked out because of his anti-Semitism, threats against Israel, and 9/11 conspiracies,” said a European diplomat. “This year his only crime was incoherence.”[2][3] Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu used a felt marker and a cartoon drawing of a bomb to illustrate the “red line” Israel would prevent Iran from crossing in its efforts to develop a nuclear weapon.[4] U.N. secretary general Ban Ki-Moon answered a prank call from a pair of comedians claiming to be Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper. “Perhaps this was not the best use of his time,” said Ban’s spokeswoman.[5] Omar Khadr, the only remaining Westerner to be held captive at Guantánamo Bay, was repatriated to Canada.[6] The number of American military deaths in Afghanistan reached 2,000.[7] Syrian government authorities sent a text message reading “Game over” to opposition forces, who mounted a major assault on the army’s Damascus headquarters.[8][9] Following a controversial call by replacement officials that gave the Seattle Seahawks a last-second victory over the Green Bay Packers and cost bettors as much as $250 million, the National Football League brokered a deal to end a lockout of its referees. “It’s time to get the real refs,” said Republican vice-presidential candidate Paul Ryan. “It reminds me of President Obama and the economy.”[10][11][12] Mitt Romney vowed to fight Lyme disease in Virginia, American voters said they associated Romney with Monopoly and Obama with chess, and Madonna gave the president her endorsement. “We have a black Muslim in the White House,” she said. “That’s some amazing shit.”[13][14][15] . . .

Well, I like the president too. What’s not to like? Or at least, I think I’d like the man, if I knew him. Which I don’t. The only part of him I can know, of course, is the public man who, in Professor Lilla’s own description, filled our ears with “hollow rhetoric” during the campaign. . . .

Ron Paul just can't win when it comes to the Internet, and really, it's his fault in the first place. First he asked the UN, an organization he notoriously does not like, to take the domain RonPaul.com from the huge supporter base ...

Ron Paul had originally registered RonPaul.org in 1999 but lost control of the domain name in August 2012 after failing to pay the annual renewal fee. His supporters quickly secured RonPaul.org to keep it in the Ron Paul ...

Former congressman guilty of reverse domain name hijacking, says WIPO panel. Earlier today I wrote about how Ron Paul lost both of his domain disputes.

Speaking at the Sovereign Man: Offshore Tactics Workshop in Santiago, Chile, Ron Paul made clear his belief that financial chaos and possible collapse is on the horizon and that the government will do everything in its ...

Ron Paul and Jim Rogers: Government confiscation of private bank accounts to happen here, too.

The IRS routinely obtains information about how we earn a living, what investments we make, what we spend on ourselves and our families, and even what charitable and religious organizations we support. Starting next year ...

The Daily Caller found a trove of emails between Rand Paul and Ron Paul .

Congressional hearings, White House damage control, endless op-eds, accusations, and defensive denials. Controversy over the events in Benghazi last September took center stage in Washington and elsewhere last week.

Former Rep. Ron Paul said the police response to the Boston Marathon bombings was scarier than the bombing itself, which killed three and wounded more than 250. “The Boston bombing provided the opportunity for the ...

Forced lockdown of a city. Militarized police riding tanks in the streets. Door-to-door armed searches without warrant. Families thrown out of their homes at gunpoint to be searched without probable cause. Businesses forced to ...

College sophomore Bryce Kenning was northbound on his way to Bellingham to a hockey game Thursday when the Intestate 5 bridge over the Skagit River fell in front of his eyes.

Could the collapse of the Skagit River Bridge help pass a gas tax increase in Olympia?

A car, a truck and a camper ended up in the Skagit River after part of the Interstate 5 bridge there collapsed Thursday. What should you do if your car ends up in the water? Here are some tips from the National Safety Commission.

KING 5's Glenn Farley explains the science behind why the Interstate 5 bridge over the Skagit River collapsed after it was hit by an oversize truck.

Google Maps had already been updated Friday morning to indicate Thursday’s collapse of the Interstate 5 bridge into the Skagit River in Mount Vernon.

Dan Sligh and his wife witness the collapse of the Interstate 5 bridge over Skagit River happen but they weren't able to stop in time. He recounted the experience of plunging into the river.

Witnesses report than an oversized truck hit the side of the bridge prior to the collapse. One witness called in to KING 5 and described what he saw.

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Friday Harbor bunched its base runners to produce multiple-run innings and sweep the Oak Harbor Babe Ruth baseball team 7-4, 6-5 in a double header Saturday, May 18, at Clover Valley Park.

Friday Harbor takes 2 from Oak Harbor | Babe Ruth Whidbey News-Times Friday Harbor bunched its base runners to produce multiple-run innings and sweep the Oak Harbor Babe Ruth baseball team 7-4, 6-5 in a double header Saturday, May 18, at Clover Valley Park. The visitors scored in only four of the 14 innings (Oak Harbor ...

New record, berth at State for Friday Harbor's Blackmon | Track & Field Journal of the San Juan Islands Friday Harbor sophomore Willie Blackmon is headed back to the state 1A Track & Field Championship with a first-place finish at the Tri-District meet and a new school record in the 300 meter hurdles in tow. With a time of 41.31 seconds, Blackmon claimed ...

With a time of 41.31 seconds, Blackmon claimed the Tri-District 300-meter hurdle crown May 18, at King's High School, and eclipsed the Friday Harbor High School record for the fourth time in two years, after setting a new ...

She was honored by the Town of Friday Harbor as the 2013 recipient of the “Partners in Preservation” award, May 8, on the front steps of the restored bungalow at 460 Argyle Avenue.

New face for historic Friday Harbor home Journal of the San Juan Islands The blood, the sweat, they're now more like distant memories. But the tears, they're never far from the surface. Jenny Prescott fought back a well of emotion recalling how the hours turned into months, and months turned years, as she and friends, and ...

Justine Hoffman has made a comfortable life for herself on the island of Friday Harbor . She is the proprietor of a successful boutique hotel, and she has the safe, predictable life she has always wanted. Growing up with her ...

News about the things that make living in Friday Harbor and on San Juan Island great.

Sticks, Bricks, Blocks and Fire: (re)Building Friday Harbor May 15 SanJuanIslander.com Local Historian Boyd Pratt will talk about the influence of people, disasters and building trends on the look of Friday Harbor , past and present, from territorial-era sawn-wood to decorative cast concrete as illustrated in this photo of Friday Harbor ...

Port of Friday Harbor to Celebrate National Marina Day. The Port of Friday Harbor will participate in this year's National Marina Day on June 8th with a “Welcome to the Water” Marina Festival. Islanders and visitors are encouraged to discover ...

A two-time state tournament qualifier, Kendra Meeker, a junior, shot 46 on the front nine and 47 on the back nine to claim a second consecutive first-place finish in the Northwest 1A/2B/1B League Championship, tallying a ...

Friday Harbor's Meeker claims second-straight league championship | Golf Journal of the San Juan Islands Friday Harbor's Kendra Meeker outpaced her closer competitor by nine strokes to clinch a second-straight league championship at Gallery Golf Course, Friday, May 1, in Oak Harbor. A two-time state tournament qualifier, Meeker, a junior, shot 46 on the ...

Ayanna Mancuso, Friday Harbor High School Class of 2003, is the daughter of Robert Mancuso and Yvonne Buijs-Mancuso of Friday Harbor . Brian is the son of Gregory and Cheryl Sprawka, of Austin, Texas. The newly ...

Newly engaged: financees Ayanna Mancuso of Friday Harbor , Brian Sprawka, of ... Journal of the San Juan Islands Wedding bells are in store for Friday Harbor's Ayanna Mancuso and financee Brian Sprawka of Austin Texas. The couple met in Boston, Mass., where they reside. Ayanna, Friday Harbor High School Class of 2003, is the daughter of Robert Mancuso and ...

The Mount Baker softball team defeated Friday Harbor 11-1 in five innings on Saturday, May 4, at Mount Baker in a non-league game.

Orcas clips Friday Harbor 202-205 in golf SanJuanIslander.com The Friday Harbor squad played fairly consistent, they just came up a few shots shy of the win. Riley Rousar is still fighting his chipping problem and posted a sad 49. Sophomore Xander Chriton posted a 55. All the rest of the team are first year players.

Lopez golf team bests Friday Harbor 171-208 SanJuanIslander.com The Lopez team took advantage of local knowledge to hand Friday Harbor its final loss of the year, Lopez 171 Friday Harbor 208. Brytt Weber was medalist for the event with a score of 40. He was followed closely by teammate Sam Heller with a 41. Michael ...

Friday Harbor picked 5th best state high school by US News & World Report Journal of the San Juan Islands San Juan Island School District announced the school was ranked number 5 of 587 high schools in Washington state, and number 161 of the nation's 21,035 high schools. âTo be recognized again by U.S. News is quite an honor,â� said Principal Fred Woods, ... and more »

Mountaineers had chances, let it slip away 8-6 to Friday Harbor Bellingham Herald The Mount Baker baseball team fell to visiting Friday Harbor in extra innings, 8-6, on Saturday, April 27. Both Baker and Friday Harbor did a majority of their work in the first three innings, as a three-run bottom of the third by the Mountaineers led ... and more »

Best of Friday Harbor . us commerce best bed and breakfast in friday harbor For the fourth year in a row we were selected for the Best of Friday Harbor Award in the Bed and Breakfasts category by the U.S. Commerce Association. Nationwide ...

House Bill 1183, sponsored by state Rep. Jess Morris, 40th District, updates Washington's State Environmental Policy Act review process regarding wireless structures, exempting those that are constructed atop existing ...

Opening the doors of research and marine science to student of all ages will take center stage, as Friday Harbor Laboratories hosts its 13th annual Jazz at the Labs showcase on Saturday, June 1.

Explore the San Juan Islands for half the price by signing up for a free companion pass ($15 value) on the Scenic Byway bus. ... Climb onboard the Scenic Byway bus and explore the San Juan Islands at half the price ...

Oyster Dome, San Juan Islands . May 13, 2013. San Juan Islands in the distance on top of Oyster Dome! IMG_1757. Share this: Twitter · Facebook. Like this: Like Loading... Category : British Columbia, Canada. Tags : hiking, mtnbabes, nature, ...

I am planning a trip that would include going both to the Tofino area of British Columbia (4 nights, 3 days) and the San Juan Islands (3 or 4 nights, 2 or 3 days), but am now wondering whether they are sufficiently similar that ...

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar joined local, tribal, and federal leaders today to dedicate San Juan Islands National Monument, a beautiful archipelago of more than 450 islands, rocks, and pinnacles in the northern ...

With Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., joining him in the Oval Office, presumably to make sure it was finally happening, President Obama on Monday signed a proclamation establishing a San Juan Islands National Monument ...

Within Washington State's Puget Sound lies an archipelago of over 450 islands, rocks, and pinnacles known as the San Juan Islands . These islands form an unmatched landscape of contrasts, where forests seem to spring ...

President Obama on Monday will create a 955-acre national monument in Washington's scenic San Juan Islands , using his authority under the same 1906 law deployed by President Theodore Roosevelt to begin preservation ...

President Obama's plan hands a long-sought victory to island residents and members of Washington's congressional delegation. By Jim Brunner. Seattle Times political reporter ...

In response to today’s Weekly Photo Challenge I have two pictures of a great friendship moving

Over the New Year’s holiday this past January 2013 my husband and I spent our ten year anniversary a

It’s a simple gesture but in the late throes of winter, or anytime of year for that matter, a

If your view of Washington State begins with Sleepless in Seattle and ends with Grey’s Anatomy

Us native Oregonians joke amongst ourselves sometimes, that people visiting our fair state in winter

This Monday morning the stairs are not my friend. J and I took Cobalt out for his first hike on Satu

Killer Whales or Orca, San Juan Islands, Washington – US48 KSC0024 – Kevin Schafer

Bergen and I visited the library today, something we do often, but not often enough.  I’m than

Walk ons on the way to Orcas Island…

Ferries are super cool and cheap and all, but must they always be at water level when the rest of th

Orcas Island is just one of the group.Top U.S. travel destinations for 2013: This is where you know

Once a week Sue of A Word In Your Ear dips into her Old English Dictionary and picks a word that the

Last year I was in Orcas, an island off the coast of Washington state.  There is a beautiful trail t

A pretty big subject!  I am going to use this post to just give you an overview of the Islands and i

This last weekend, Darin and I went up to Scout Patch to see if we could put some fresh salmon in th

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  January 21, 2013 CONTACT: Bobbi Cussins, Public Information Officer – (360) 7

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ pomegranates ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ferry Ride 07/14/2012 Surely, you say, you have

I am so glad I stumbled on this novel! Once I started reading, I couldn’t put it down. This ve

I know, I know, pretty impressive. My friend Jane (who I’m staying with on an island off Washi