Huskies Rule Baby!!

I am so steamed I am about ready to bust!!! For several reasons.

My friend Michael Kern took a job recently as director of the William Ruckelshaus Center. http://pcc.wsu.edu/ The center concentrates on public policy and collaborative problem solving, or as they put it, "voluntary collaborative approaches". Michael is the perfect person for the job, having studied and worked in public policy his entire life. I am not really sure what public policy is, but whatever it is, he is good at it. Chris Gregoire and Dan Evans and other well known and respected people are associated with the center. More to come I am sure. Blah blah blah. I'm not interested in that, nor is that what really pisses me off.

First let's just clear the air. "Voluntary Collaborative Approaches" are what you do when you are cruising for a hooker. Of course the center has other pretty words they have strung together too. Dilbert would be so proud:

"Policy development in multi-party dispute resolution, facilitation and mediation with public involvement and education to resolve complex and often controversial natural resource management issues". No, that wasn't an exact quote, but you get the gist.

Well whatever those words mean it is totally legit, since William Ruckelshaus was one of the few highly regarded, respected, and universally loved figures from the Nixon era. But during that same time period his son, Bill junior and I were beating the crap out of each other in 8th grade at Chinook Junior High in Bellevue. For a short wiry guy he had one hell of a fist. I could out-wrestle him, which was pretty amazing because I weighed 92 pounds at the time. He may have weighed 75 soaking wet. Lets just say I weigh well over double that now. I digress. Plus he was one hell of a good basketball player. Fast, good shot, good passer. Better than me there too.

So here's the second problem. This center is a collaborative approach between WSU and UW. WSU and UW do not collaborate! Are you kidding me?

Michael now has a WSU email address. Did the world spin on its axis? Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I would see that! Michael is a die hard Husky.

So I tell Michael he is a turncoat, the worst kind of sell out, and tell him that despite all the respect in the world for the old man I would like nothing better than to smack Bill junior in the schnoz. And you know what Mr. Public Policy says?

"Nice to hear you could out-wrestle a guy half your size. If I’m going to foster cooperation on tough policy issues, what better way to begin than for a two-time Husky and lifetime member of the alumni association to work for WSU? You need to get over your tired prejudices."

Tired prejudices? Look I am OK with Muslims praying in lower Manhattan, I'm good with illegals picking my strawberries, and I have begrudgingly accepted the fact that women have the vote, but Husky and Cougar cooperation? Puhleaze. Not gonna happen