Is it really only Thursday? Got another chance to check out the Washington Nationals last night. That is going to be a good ballclub pretty soon, especially with their youth and the guys they have coming up. Also, it's tough to beat watching a baseball game on the banks of the Potomac River, in the shadow of the Capitol. I dare you to get more American than that (although I did not eat a hot dog).

And speaking of that Capitol, huge news yesterday that pertains directly to the state of Washington. First though, let me give a little history lesson.

Way back in the day, I mean way back, Washington was represented by two senators, Henry M. Jackson and Warren G. Magnuson. Heard of them? I hope so. Before I knew who Jackson was, I knew he had a statue in one of the capitol office buildings. And before I knew who Magnuson was, I knew there was some park in Seattle with a name similar to that. Jackson has an entire department at the University of Washington named for him (the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies or something like that). Side note: so does his successor, another guy you may have heard of, Dan Evans.

Why are these guys important? They are widely considered to be the two greatest legislators in Washington state history. Think about this: despite being the 23rd largest state, these two brought home a staggering 1/6th of the public works appropriations budget to the state. "Scoop" and "Maggie" as they were called set the foundation for Washington to become one of the greenest and most technologically advanced states in the country. That kind of power only comes with seniority, and these two served in the senate for 30 and 37 years.

Back in the late '60's, a linebacker by the name of Norman Dicks (that's Stormin' Norman to you) decided to go to UW law out of college. The big fella from Bremerton graduated from law school and immediately went to work in the office of a man named Warren G. Magnuson. Just a couple of years later, he moved back to his home district and ran for Congress. That was in 1976. Thirty-four years later, Dicks is on the cusp of one of the leading chairmanships in all of Congress.

When he was a freshman, in 1977, Dicks ran for a seat on the highly-coveted Appropriations Committee. Rarely do freshman win these seats, but his opponent was another freshman, a guy by the name of Al Gore. Dicks won. He works his way up the ranks, starting the 111th Congress third in seniority. Then John Murtha died, clearing the path for Dicks to become chair of the powerful Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. The position is huge for Dicks, given that his district includes the Bremerton Naval Base and a major Boeing presence.

Yesterday, Appropriations Chairman Dave Obey announced he will not seek re-election in November. Norm Dicks stands as the front-runner for his seat.

All of this comes somewhat on the heels of the major shakeup of the House Ways and Means committee, following Rep. Charlie Rangel's debacle. Seattle Rep. Jim McDermott sits third on that committee.

In short, two longtime Washington congressmen have their hands directly on the purse strings of this nation. And it can be traced back to the days of Scoop and Maggie. Magnuson's successor was another longtime senator by the way. I protested outside of his house once. His name was Slade Gorton. The Republican was ousted by a well-fined Democrat (all her own money I might add), Maria Cantwell, in 2001.

This is a big deal folks. In a day when the federal government is spreading money around to states that can't cover their own budgets, having someone in this position can be extremely helpful for a state. It will also be an extremely difficult job given the complexities of the current budgets.

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One more note: pay attention to today's elections for 10 Downing Street. It is a three party race in Britain. Should be fun.