Aircraft, 2 Ladies from Washington State

Well not everything is party warfare, neatly polarized Democrat vs. Republican lines drawn in the sand. Have you ever thought about that? Lines in the sand aren't neat - unless its wet sand that is. Now lines in the mud, that might be cleaner.

The whole Congressional deal on "lets let China know how we feel about their artificially keeping their currency low!". Why don't they take another vote on "lets keep Antarctica for penguins!" or "Spouses should kiss goodnight every night!".

But wait, the China deal has more consequences. They own 25% of our debt. So why did the 2 senators from Washington State - Ms. Cantwell and Ms. Murray, vote against this bill (S.1619), when the rest of the Dems voted for it. One more, Sen Inouye of Hawaii was the 3rd Democratic no vote.

Could it be that someone out there in Senate land actually thinks about trade? What is our most valuable export (besides perhaps ideas) - aircraft. Where is it manufactured - Everett, Washington. I'm sure Hawaii is a little trade dependent too - or maybe just closer to China and its military fleet, and a bit off the beaten path for us to defend..

Besides expressing congressional outrage, as if we need them to express more unguarded emotions, the assumption is that China is also dependent on the US for *its* exports. I heard today that 35% of what they export goes to the US of A. Wonder how much of that is destined for Walmart. Besides being 'associates', I wonder if the Walmart wage slaves realize they are pawns in a bilateral relationship with the world's next superpower? Maybe they will have a head start on the rest of us when we all sign up for our Chinese names.

If I stopped buying cheap stuff from Target tomorrow (cause I've been boycotting Walmart for a couple years now; not as long as I've been boycotting veal; then there's the trips back east to get the kids set up in new dorms, well lets forget that for now - I have sinned..). Would China retaliate if everyone decided to go local? Maybe that is something worth occupying Portland for. Say no to all Chinese manufactured product for a day, and buy local. I think it would be easier to do this in Portland than probably anyplace else I've seen in this country.