I’m sorry if anyone was offended, but the facts speaks for themselves.

No one has accused me of being a left wing radical — at least not in the last 20 years anyway — until that column ran. I’m sure the few Democrats I may still have left as friends after expressing my opinions about Josh Brown’s candidacy, will find that highly amusing.

While I embrace some conservative values — primarily love of country, freedom of expression, and fiscal restraint, I think of myself generally as a centrist. Observations have led me to believe that staunch conservatives tend to spend too much time talking only to each other in order to validate their thinking, and not nearly enough time talking to folks with differing opinions. And when they do, they tend to dismiss those opinions out of hand without exploring or valuing the rationale behind them.

I’ve said for years there isn’t a way for local Republicans to shoot themselves in the foot they haven’t already thought of, but I have confidence in their ability to invent new ones — and they’ve proven it again.

For the first time in 34 years Republicans held the county commission majority. But the conservative party leadership was unhappy with Patty Lent’s votes on certain issues and challenged her in the primary with a candidate so unacceptable to the majority of voters in this county they elected an unemployed, unqualified, 24-year old, non-resident Berkeley graduate — and did it by an 6,000+ vote majority!

What’s the definition of insanity? It’s doing something that doesn’t work over and over, and expecting a different result. Instead of electing a moderate like, say, Bev Woods, Earl Johnson, or even Lent, to chair the party and lead it towards the center — where the majority of local voters are — the party elects the very same guy who ended its county commission majority, as party chair.

I like Jack Hamilton personally, but he is an arch-conservative property rights activist. His election sends a loud and clear message that party leaders still refuse to “get it.” If we’re to have a viable two-party system in Kitsap County, it’s up to Republican leadership to have the courage and pragmatism to move towards the center if they want anything to do with deciding our future, or attract quality candidates to run for office. I just don’t see Hamilton doing that.

Writing this column is often very similar to the fairy tale, “The Emperor’s New Clothes.” My job is to be the kid stating the obvious, and shouting out loud, “Hey! The emperor is naked.” It’s time for the local Republican Party to face the obvious — the elephant is naked.

For all the money Governor Christine Gregoire proposes throwing at our “education problems” — something like $200 million — why won’t she define, and fully fund, “Basic Education?”

If we have the kind of extra money laying around she’s offering the education establishment as a payoff for its strong political support, we have enough money to settle this long unaddressed issue once and for all. The timing has never been better.

Speaking of Gregoire, she punted politically on the question of the Seattle Viaduct, saying she wants it left up to the voters — a non-decision of epic proportions. She openly acknowledges Mayor Greg Nickels’ monument to his massive ego, the tunnel, isn’t financially viable. So why incur the expense and risk of a vote? And why a Seattle-only vote, and not a statewide one?

The viaduct is a state highway, and no matter which option is selected, taxpayers statewide will foot the bill for the inevitable appeals, challenges, delays and cost overruns. So shouldn’t we all get a say in this? After all, voters from as far away as Yelm and Forks got to vote on tolling the Narrows Bridge. It’s only fair, isn’t it?

County Administrator Cris Gears has announced he will leave that post to take what he called his “dream job,” running a major park district in his native Minnesota. You have to wonder if the prospect of answering to a 24-year old entered into his decision.

I had the opportunity to work with Gears on the Economic Development Council, and thought he was a level-headed clear thinker. Kitsap County will miss him.

The Port Orchard City Council finally selected Rob Putaansuu to fill the seat left vacant by the resignation of Tye Moore after his fraud conviction. Great choice! I believe he and Bek Ashby were the best candidates out of the 10 that applied.

The South Kitsap Parks District board has finally stopped jerking the community around and agreed to dissolve and turn its 200-acre park over to Kitsap County. In return, the county will forgive the district’s $49,000 election debt and invest $2.1 million into revitalizing the park. Originally the county offered $2.4 million, part of which came from a grant. But the boneheaded board screwed around so long, the grant expired.

Under the board’s pitiful stewardship, what once was a community showcase, has become overgrown, rundown, and unsafe. This is the same core group of buffoons that refused to even meet with Port Orchard Rotary two years ago after it proposed revitalizing the park as its Centennial Project, and secured a $2.5 million grant for a long-desired community center.

The main issue in this pathetic little drama was how, when and on what, the money will be spent. Some of the more egotistically misguided board members who help perpetuate this ongoing mess, illogically believed they had some inalienable right to decide that, as well as control the proposed stewardship committee. The county correctly said, “Not only No, but hell No!”

It was way past time for this arrogant, self-important group of dysfunctionals to put their over-inflated egos aside and get out of the way so the park can once again be the community jewel it was before their incompetent reign.

I’m a techno-junkie and “early adopter,” meaning I want the newest, techno-toy the day it comes out. Since I’m also a rabid Macintosh guy, I had to get a Treo phone to combine my cell phone, Palm Pilot, Internet and email into one handheld device I could use anywhere on the planet, because the Blackberry isn’t compatible with my beloved, ever-dependable Mac.

In my opinion, the Treo is a total piece of crap! I returned my updated version Treo because it just had different problems than my original. The day Apple comes out with an iPod phone, I’ll be first in line to buy one.