Welcome to the Virtual Editorial Board.

Afternoon Snark -- We are done with snarks. It's impossible to beat real life.

Today Attorney General Alberto Gonzales was given the opportunity to clear up his inconsistent statements. But he said: "I now understand there was a conversation with myself and the president."

Salon had the headline of the day: Alberto Gonzales, on a slippery slope, says he was right to make the decisions that he said he didn't make

And we didn't have to say a thing -- the snark writes itself.

Podcast: Zero Waste

Seattle City Councilman Richard Conlin, chair of the Environment, Emergency Management and Utilities Committee, talks with P-I Editorial Board members about the city's options for reducing waste and increasing the amount of recycling. The council is looking at whether steps toward a "zero-waste" strategy could delay or eliminate the need for a third transfer station.
- Listen now. (We will likely write about this subject for Sunday.)

The Supreme Court decision on abortion is already stirring reader discourse. P-I editorial here.

Convey posits:

Thank God for President Bush! He appointed the best Supreme Court judge we've had in years. Let the conservative right have a voice. I'm the mother of two beautiful babies and an elementary school teacher. These children are precious and should be given every right under the constitution. I've seen the heartbeat of both my children at 10 weeks. A heart beat! How can that not mean anything to you? What more do you want as proof that a fetus is alive? Why should that baby have no rights just because the woman carrying it doesn't want it? Give it up for adoption. Do something selfless and give it to a family that wants it. Pro choice? Whatever. The choice was to have sex or not. In the case that a woman didn't have a right to choose to procreate I support her right to choose. Too many women are using it as a form of birth control.

On the other hand, Steve E. says:

This is not based on science. Sounds to me like Congress has established a religion.

We also want to note this comment (regarding our Port of Seattle editorial).

Face Reality:

It's long past time for Pat "Port Commissioner for Life" Davis to resign.

Repeated revelations of her incompetence, arrogance, unethical conduct and repeated betrayals of the public trust have surely reached the limits of what even too forgiving King County voters can tolerate.

If she refuses to step down, perhaps the first recall campaign for a Port Commissioner is in order.

Like Bush, I don't think we call tolerate too much more of Davis' style of "democracy" and "public service". We literally can't afford to wait her out until the end of her current term.

And watch her make more irresponsible decisions wasting millions of taxpayers hard earned monies.

Thanks for peeking in.

Sorry for the slow posting. Our editorial board with the FAA followed our 9 am meeting -- and we've been busy ever since. We will post draft editorials instead of pitches ...

Poverty 2.0

Competition spurs improvements, so it's beneficial that Microsoft has company in its efforts to "make good for the world" by expanding computer usage in poorer parts of the globe. However technology evolves, it's vital to include as many people as possible, including those in this country.
In an innovative step, Microsoft is going to sell its Windows and Office programs as parts of a $3 software packages if they are going to students in developing countries, including India and China, as parts of government initiatives to expand the availability of personal computers. The software suite also will be discounted to government programs supplying computers to low-income children in this country and other wealthier lands.
The move could give Microsoft a competitive advantage, encouraging future purchases by those already familiar with the company's software. The company also could head off some of the growing usage of rivals, including free software programs. The competitive angle is fine. Microsoft should be thinking of its own and the public's good.
It's also cheering that plenty of others, in this country and worldwide, are looking at how to fulfill the dream of computing power in every home. MIT, for instance, has done a lot of work on a $100 computer in concert with a project called One Laptop Per Child. Cell phone advances (something this country has been slow to adapt) also are widening access to worldwide information.
Whether in a remote village on another continent or in a tiny apartment in urban America, the minds of young people are ready to learn about the world. Connecting them to information is a vital matter of fairness, altruism and self-interest for all citizens of an interconnected world.

Too little reward

Higher education likely will count some important gains when this legislative session ends. We hope lawmakers' attention to building for the future includes part-time college instructors, who do much for higher education with too little financial reward.
It's vital the final state budget does well by all of higher education, from the state's two great research universities to the community and technical colleges that do so much to expand opportunity. Although there are pressures that have tended over time to erode higher education support, there have been encouraging signs. The Prosperity Partnership hails the passage of a bill to expand the number of students earning degrees.
As advocates of part-time community college faculty point out, though, the instructors are essential to the system but usually get little attention from the Legislature. There is language in the Senate budget that attempts to improve pay equity. The advocates have some specific ideas that might strengthen the final outcome.
Budgets must strike a balance among competing interests. We hope that, with the rest of higher education, part-time faculty will see real advances when the final results of this session are tallied.

Thanks -- back again on Friday.