Call now. Shady operators are standing by. KAYU, a Spokane television station, pulled off the air an ad aimed at Don Barbieri, the Democrat running against Cathy McMorris for Congress in Washington’s 5th District. The ad, produced by the National Republican Congressional Committee, claims Barbieri made a huge profit on a downtown property sale when, in fact, his company lost money. TV stations follow standards of accuracy and fairness when deciding whether to accept or reject ads. But the primary responsibility to monitor attack ads lies with the candidates — and with voters.

McMorris vowed to pursue a positive campaign and did so in the primary. She claims she has no control over the national Republicans and blames faulty campaign reform laws for the negative ads. But there is no law against making a phone call to the national Republicans and asking them to knock this obviously inaccurate ad off the air. Ultimately, though, voters are the final arbiters of taste, accuracy and fairness. And they can show their disapproval of negative ads most effectively in the voting booth.

They’re Alabama-bound. Almost everything has been anticlimactic for the Aryan Nations since 2000 when a Kootenai County jury effectively bankrupted the racist organization by handing down an adverse $6.3 million verdict – the loss and razing of its compound, the 2003 ill-fated run by founder Richard Butler for Hayden mayor and Butler’s recent death.

The Aryan Nations died the day the civil verdict came down.

Still, the group’s death throes are worth noting, including the recent decision to move what’s left of its headquarters from Hayden to Lincoln, Ala. There, four racists plan to share leadership in an attempt to revive the organization – 86 miles from Morris Dees and the Southern Poverty Law Center. We’re confident that Dees and his watchdogs, who helped secure that $6.3 million verdict, will keep the Aryan remnant in check.

State rings up tax victory. It looks as if Washington state’s 18 years of being treated unfairly by the federal income tax code is coming to an end. Washington is among seven states whose taxpayers cannot deduct the state sales tax, but a federal tax overhaul includes a provision that would rectify that.

Taxpayers in other states could deduct sales taxes on their state income tax returns, but because Washington doesn’t have a state income tax its taxpayers missed out. Typical savings are estimated to be $300 to $500 per year if the deduction survives. This good news is long overdue.