Who Am I and What this Page is About

My name is Nicholas Tanner, I am 36 years old and I live on Camano Island, Washington State. I was born in Seattle and have lived in the Pacific Northwest my entire life. I have a BA in Business from the University of Washington and an MBA from the University of Portland. I have worked for many years as an executive at one of the nation's largest corporations, I have taught college (at the University of Portland)and have taught science to children (at the Pacific Science Center). I have traveled extensively and have spent much time in Africa as well as all parts of Asia. I am married and am the parent of an 11 year old girl.

As a college student, I considered myself very liberal. Though it was 10 years later, the cloud of Vietnam still seemed to linger in the air at the University of Washington and this seminal event initially helped shape my views on foreign policy. I was pro-choice, believed apartheid was very wrong, had some concerns about Reagan's support for the Contras and I really didn't think that Communists were all that evil. The funny thing is that I still believe all those things but today I consider myself a conservative. I used to vote Democrat (I voted for Clinton twice)and now I vote Republican. I sincerely believe neither I nor my core values have changed (OK, I'm a little less idealistic), as much as the Democratic Party has changed in the last few years. The face of today's liberalism is filled with hate for Bush, hate for our country (just look at Michael Moore), and a win-at-all-costs attitude about politics that would make my Grandma sick (a lifelong Democrat) if she were alive today.

Now, this takes us to the Seattle Times. I have been reading the Seattle Times my entire life. It is VERY influential in Seattle. What I have noticed in the last few years is the tendency for a liberal bias to enter the hard-news. In particular, in the last few months the Seattle Times seems to be doing all it can to discredit Bush and the war on terrorism. This takes the shape of absurd numbers of Abu Ghraib stories, minimal stories on those Americans beheaded, virtually ignoring domestic terrorists threats, and presenting as fact any story that might discredit Bush no matter how flimsy the evidence. This type of bias is well documented in papers like the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times, but when I looked for info about bias in the Seattle Times, I found very little. I want to help change this by documenting instances of liberal bias in the Seattle Times, which I have actually already been doing for months through countless letters to the paper.

I will do this by pointing out these biases as well as including letters-to-the-editor I have written directly to the Times. I welcome feedback and you can write me at mosfet_8@hotmail.com. Please keep in mind I am new to this blogger business so if my page seems simple and low-tech, forgive me as I get up to speed. Thank you very much.