Accountability. Unfortunately it seems that a large portion of accountability for congressional members is what kind of bacon you can bring home. The Tacoma Tribune had an endorsement for Norm Dicks and basically it just said that he was head of improtant subcommitees and was good for the area. It got me to thinking, while I have nothing against congressman Dicks, I really can not say what his position on anything is other than he is Pro-Military. Neither can I think of one peice of Legislation he has proposed that has been important. But he brings home money and keeps our bases from getting shut down and because of that he will never be defeated. A prime example of how bacon works is the pedestrian bridge over I-5 in Tacoma. If you know this area at all, you will no this is the only one in the area. It appears to originally have been installed when the freeway was first built so kids on one side of the freeway in the government housing area could still walk to school. When the freeway was widened, they torn down the original walkway and installed a new one. In all the time I have lived in Tacoma I don't think I have ever seen anyone use it. I look every time. There just is no need for it. It basically connects the school to a busy commercial area. But since it brought money to the construction guys in the area, no one questioned it. I just wished we had legislators who knew how to just say NO>