Signs? Rush Hour and

Ordinarily RantWoman does not really go for all that "threaten them with hellfire" stuff. However, in the interest of #saveMetroNow #keepusmoving, RantWoman is going to digress SOMEWHAT from her #disasterprep #npm2013 threads and work with some actually existing disasters, the actually existing hell that currently is Puget Sound traffic gridlock. The basic #disasterprep point: if traffic congestion in the Puget Sound is this bad under normal conditions, heaven help us all after an earthquake.


The picture below arrived in RantWoman's blog roll just as RantWoman has been trying to zero in on the high points she means to propagate in connection with the WA State Senate's Transportation Listening Sessions now occurring around WA.

Churchsign: "Keep using my name in vain and I will make rush hour longer." God

In particular, recently RantWoman was called to spend several hours in a room full of people deeply concerned about Roads and Transit.

There were Death by Powerpoint elements: LOTS of small pictures on a couple slides of MANY spots in WA in need of road repair, bridges at risk, etc. There were a couple slides full of more data than anyone wants to try to look at on a Powerpoint slide. Nevertheless, RantWoman will need to make a reasonable accommodations request that the slides be available for accessible consumption in connection with the rest of the hearigs.

The point that sticks hardest in RantWoman's mind right now though: RantWoman listened to LOTS of elected officials, members of chambers of commerce... talk about needed transportation projects. RantWoman listened to SOME voices talking about the importance of transit. Most important, instead of hearing that WA's highly regressive tax structure makes it really, really easy to recruit people for high-tech jobs, RantWoman heard several big employers talk about how traffic gridlock is killing productivity, traffic gridlock is a reason people keep TURNING DOWN job offers.

Hold that thought because RantWoman also heard people with high incomes clearly say they are willing to pay more taxes to have a transportation infrastructure that works! In particular, someone needs to say it: is the state of WA ready to admit that gas tax, MVET, tolls alone will not meet our transportation needs and we need to c-c-c-cons-s-sid-d-d-der an in-n-n-come t-t-t-tax?

RantWoman herself can attest: there was a time in RantWoman's life when RantWoman took more calls from technical recruiters than she does now. RantWoman more than once:

1. THANKED employers for not hiring her because RantWoman did not feel she could safely get from the bus stop to the front door of the workplace especially in the wintertime.

or

2. Suggested that if the recruiter was serious about engaging RantWoman and wanted RantWoman to commute across a certain large lake, the first thing that would need to happen would be to insert another 0 into the proposed salary amount.

Bus connections have improved SOMEWHAT since RantWoman routinely made such demands; now RantWoman also HAS TO leave the driving to other people.

Improved bus connections are a GOOD thing. The bus not only is RantWoman's car, the bus is the family car for RantWoman's entire extended family, RantMom at 75, Little Sister, Brother in Law, Irrepressible Nephew as well as RantWoman. We ALL for different reasons need to leave the driving to other people BUT the bus is still stuck in the same traffic gridlock as everything else!

But back to the sign. God in his / her infinite wisdom and grace has seen to attach the various RantFamily households each to our own house of worship. Remember, the bus is our car. We even manage to worship whether or not the streets are clogged with other traffic. RantWoman is not prepared to evaluate anyone else's use of God's name in vain but RantWoman REALLY, REALLY does not want to spend any longer on the road than absolutely necessary! Word!