As reported in the NY Times, Meredith Attwell Baker, a former Commerce Department official who worked on telecommunications issues in George W. Bush’s administration, announced that she would leave the F.C.C. when her term expires at the end of June. At Comcast, she will serve as senior vice president for government affairs for NBC Universal, which Comcast acquired in January.

When will the revolving door between the government and corporate lobbyists be slowed down?  During the 2008 campaign, President Obama vowed to “close the revolving door” and “clean up both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue” with “the most sweeping ethics reform in history.”  To his credit, new administrative ethics rules were adopted.  And Ms. Baker is a Bush appointee.  Still, it is high time that Congress got more serious about regulating those who go to Washington hat in hand.

What do you think?  Please leave your comments.

Earlier this week Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn joined City Attorney Peter Holmes, Council President Richard Conlin and all eight other Council members to sign a letter to the Washington State Senate urging them to adopt SB 5073, the medical marijuana bill. On Thursday the State Senate passed the bill, which is now awaiting Governor Chris Gregoire’s signature.

I am not a drug user and do not recommend it. This weekend five people were gunned down in the tourist town of Acapulco. The United States alone spent over $15 Billion on drug enforcement last year.  This, of course, does not include the millions or billions more spent by state and local governments. Our state and federal governments are running huge deficits.

Is it finally time to legalize marijuana and control (tax) its distribution?  I this the “perfect storm” when many needs are coming together to bring a change that otherwise would never happen?  Would legalizing marijuana result in a dramatic decrease in it’s price (and therefore value), which may result in fewer drug war killings in our country and in Central America?

I wish I knew the answer to these questions, but one thing I know for sure. Now is a great time to consider these questions. Several factors are working together which create and compel our leaders to visit this issue. What do you think?

The Washington Attorney General has a good summary of your rights when you want to “turn back the clock” on a contract.  When you sign a contract, in most cases you cannot change your mind and cancel. So it is always a good idea to take your time and consider your purchases carefully before you sign.

However, under both state and federal law, Washington consumers do have the right to cancel a contract in some cases. The AG’s site lists the main types of contracts that can be cancelled. Not all types of cancelable contracts have been included. Therefore, it is wise to get legal advice if you have questions about canceling a contract.

A judge in Seattle today (April 15, 2011) denied a former Microsoft general manager’s new attempt to carve out a role for himself at Salesforce.com, saying the revised job proposal would still run afoul of his non-compete agreement with the Redmond company, even if it didn’t precisely match his former Microsoft role.

The preliminary injunction entered by King County Superior Court Judge Kimberley Prochnau includes a provision enjoining the former Microsoft GM, Matthew Miszewski, from “working in a marketing role in salesforce.com’s public or commercial sector anywhere in the world.”

Despite the restrictions, Judge Prochnau said from the bench that she still could envision Miszewski finding a job at Salesforce.com that doesn’t violate his Microsoft agreement.

“He was a major evangelist for Microsoft — he was not a low-level salesperson,” she said, adding later that the “thrust of the order is to preclude him from being the evangelist for Salesforce.com that he was for Microsoft.”

See the full story here:  http://is.gd/31FT7F

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