If anyone wonders why our state is so "tax-happy," one need only look at the front-page article (May 17) to see one of the reasons why. Since school police officers were paid for by a federal grant, and that money dried up, schools either have to go without the police officers or fund them through local tax increases to keep them.

When federal money dries up for services people want, local government must raise taxes and approve spending to fund them. This is the ripple effect of federal spending for its military endeavors and disaster recovery taking the resources formerly enjoyed by the states.

The reasons the GOP doesn't enjoy resounding political/legislative success in Western Washington, despite many people's dissatisfaction with Democratic spending, is partly out of the local GOP's hands and partly self-inflicted.

The low opinion poll results of the Bush administration no doubt have a ripple effect on Republicans running for office locally. No matter how much integrity a Republican may have here, if fellow Republicans at the federal level are being indicted and imprisoned, there will unjustly be some guilt by association.

One of the self-inflicted (by Republicans themselves) reasons many people wouldn't vote for Republicans is if they think doing so will mean they give up some civil and labor rights as well as sustainable environmental policy. The benefit of policies that ensure our natural resources will be around to sustain us into the future should be obvious. This has not been a GOP strongpoint when it comes to voting.

Labor laws, though they may seem restrictive to some professions, keep a business' Labor and Industries taxes lower by reducing Workers' Compensation claims within different fields. Another GOP weak point.

As for civil rights, aside from the controversy surrounding covering sexual orientation under the state Civil Rights Act, all the bills restricting reproductive freedom and privacy in this biennium were invariably introduced by members of the State Republican Caucus. I checked the bills' sponsors. There were no fewer than 11 such bills introduced. Some of them were made on false medical claims and others took reproductive decisions out of the hands of the individual and placed them in the hands of one's employer. Others still, manufactured crises.

The late Justice Blackmun stated, in his defense of Roe vs. Wade, that a woman's body should not be in servitude to the state. He was right. If a woman's reproductive decisions are restricted by the government, her body falls under state control. This violates the 13th Amendment of the U. S. Constitution, which prohibits slavery and involuntary servitude, unless as a consequence of criminal conviction.

The trade off of my civil rights over my own body, yet another GOP weak point, for a notion of supposed fiscal restraint, isn't worth it.

One consolation, for those supporting fiscal restraint from our legislators, that everyone can get on board with, is Initiative 945, which some insightful soul filed in late March of this year to limit the Legislature's use of the "Emergency Clause." It's listed under "CITIZENS' RIGHTS." The full text of the initiative, as well as others filed in 2005-2006, is in the "Detailed Legislative Reports" section of the State Legislature's web site.

I urge all voters to read them to make educated choices when petitions are thrust at us while we are out and about this spring and summer. We owe it to ourselves to make informed choices and not be taken in by the often misleading titles or the hype of the initiatives' volunteers collecting signatures.

Laura Standley

Des Moines