Archives for July 2011

Via Goldy:

Oregon Democratic Rep. David Wu announced today that he would resign from Congress in the wake of sexual assault allegations.
[…]

But if you think Republican Party insiders are rejoicing at the news, think again. Wu, who’d already been the subject of conjecture and criticism due to his increasingly erratic behavior, had been seen as a vulnerable target in this otherwise safe Democratic district spanning parts of Portland and the surrounding counties. But his resignation all but hands the seat to popular, progressive, Democratic Oregon Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian.

Blue Oregon’s Carla Axtman points out to Goldy that “this is very bad news for the Republican Party of Oregon…. Without Wu to run against, they have no game.”

Wu, a former college roommate of Sen. Bill Frist, created some controversy during the last election when some of his staff resigned after demanding an intervention for his increasingly erratic behavior.

Hmmm…maybe he was just all giddy with love/infatuation at the time, a la former South Carolina Gov. Mark Stanford. Except, apparently, unreciprocated for Wu.

Although not a defense of NOTW.

I can imagine a situation where some Democratic operative came up to me and said, “we hacked into Rob McKenna’s phone and found something important.” Sure, almost certainly not me; a more reputable journalist, columnist, or blogger. But hear me out.

So let’s say this party hack came to me with definitive proof that some Republican of import had broken the law in some way that was worse than phone hacking itself. I’d imagine that I’d post something about it, or at least dig further based on their hacking. I’d presumably mention the hacking in the post if if was worthy of a post. Basically if it’s important enough a story, I can imagine being honest and letting the chips fall where they may.

That’s a very different thing from finding out whatever Jude Law and Hugh Grant are doing. And of course corrupting the police and deleting messages is so beyond the pale, I can’t imagine there ever being a circumstance I’d find it OK.

The point isn’t of course to exonerate News of the World or News Corp, only that calling it a phone hacking story kind of makes it sound not as terrible as it is.

– (a) This was a horrible column. (b) “Americans Elect” sounds to me like an attempt to reference the country’s puritanical roots. (c) I feel like a decently organized group could sway them, and cause trouble. If Democrats all decided to nominate a conservative to draw votes away from the Republican nominee, for example.

– Why not Washington indeed.

– The Weekly seems to have no standards.

– “You can drop a subcontractor as easily as you can cancel a date. That’s not a good union job. That’s not the kind of job that Longview needs” (h/t Ivan on Facebook)

– You can’t look into what News of the World did if there’s anything worse going on anywhere in the world.

– There is a value in sending people into space beyond the scientific value.

If this is where we’re at right now with the debt ceiling negotiations, I’m starting to become legitimately worried that Republicans in the House will succeed in driving this country over a cliff.

Last week’s contest was another really tough one. After a clue, wes.in.wa came up with the right location. It was La Center.

This week’s contest is related to something in the news from the month of July. Good luck!

1 Corinthians 7:9
It is better to marry than to burn.

Discuss.

The state’s new medical marijuana law took effect Friday. But between the governor’s reckless partial veto, the unresolved state-federal conflict, and a state Attorney General who hides under his desk every time he hears the word ‘marijuana’, no one seems to have any idea exactly what the law does or doesn’t allow.

To give a brief illustration of how fucked up this is, here’s part of the new law [emphasis mine]:

The medical use of cannabis in accordance with the terms and conditions of this chapter does not constitute a crime and a qualifying patient or designated provider in compliance with the terms and conditions of this chapter may not be arrested, prosecuted, or subject to other criminal sanctions or civil consequences, for possession, manufacture, or delivery of, or for possession with intent to manufacture or deliver, cannabis under state law, or have real or personal property seized or forfeited for possession, manufacture, or delivery of, or for possession with intent to manufacture or deliver, cannabis under state law, and investigating peace officers and law enforcement agencies maynot be held civilly liable for failure to seize cannabis in this circumstance, if:

…

(2) The qualifying patient or designated provider presents his or her proof of registration with the department of health, to any peace officer who questions the patient or provider regarding his or her medical use of cannabis;
(3) The qualifying patient or designated provider keeps a copy of his or her proof of registration with the registry established in section 901 of this act and the qualifying patient or designated provider’s contact information posted prominently next to any cannabis plants, cannabis products, or useable cannabis located at his or her residence;

One rather large problem here…section 901 and the registry were vetoed by the governor. So instead of finally having a class of patients protected from arrest, we still have a medical marijuana law that makes it impossible to avoid getting arrested by any police officer who decides to overrule your doctor’s recommendation.

Despite this, there’s a new section (1102) that still supposedly leaves the door open for cities like Seattle to allow for what this bill was supposed to do before Gregoire mutilated it: Regulate the distribution of medical marijuana.

(1) Cities and towns may adopt and enforce any of the following pertaining to the production, processing, or dispensing of cannabis or cannabis products within their jurisdiction: Zoning requirements, business licensing requirements, health and safety requirements, and business taxes. Nothing in this act is intended to limit the authority of cities and towns to impose zoning requirements or other conditions upon licensed dispensers, so long as such requirements do not preclude the possibility of siting licensed dispensers within the jurisdiction. If the jurisdiction has no commercial zones, the jurisdiction is not required to adopt zoning to accommodate licensed dispensers.

But as I mentioned on Tuesday, defense attorney Douglas Hiatt thinks that this section is invalid. In his opinion, because there’s still only an affirmative defense (while all marijuana possession remains illegal at the state level), Seattle and other municipalities can’t regulate it. In his opinion, the state isn’t allowed to regulate what remains an illegal activity. Nick Licata, in a statement regarding the proposed regulations for Seattle dispensaries, appears to misstate Hiatt’s case [emphasis mine again]:

This ordinance is the City’s response to a bill passed by the Washington State Legislature earlier this year – and that will go into effect on July 22 – that permits cities to regulate and license the production, processing, or dispensing of cannabis products within their jurisdiction. Although my recent bill received a great deal of media coverage, the legislation will only make sure dispensaries across the city act like the businesses they are, and that we hold them accountable as such rather than only turning a blind eye.

This ordinance is a crucial step forward toward providing clarity for medical cannabis dispensaries in the area, particularly in wake of the new state law. While the federal government still prohibits the production, processing, dispensing, and possession of medical cannabis, responding to the state government’s new rules is a responsibility that will minimize the impact of changes to the roughly 25,000 Seattle medical cannabis users.

Some opponents of the legislation have questioned whether the City has the authority to regulate a federally prohibited substance, such as medical cannabis. The legislation in every way recognizes that there is a federal prohibition, but also takes the needed steps to ensure safety and basic standards of dispensaries in Seattle. Regardless of whether the business is illegal, we want to make sure it is not jeopardizing the rights, health or safety of the surrounding community, which is why this ordinance is so important.

That’s actually not what Hiatt is questioning. Hiatt is questioning whether Seattle can regulate a substance that remains illegal at the state level, not the federal level. Now I’m still not sure whether Hiatt’s opinion makes sense legally (although I’m aware that several attorneys strongly disagree with him), but it’s not good that no one even seems to understand what he’s even arguing. As another attorney I spoke to mentioned, this will eventually be decided in a courtroom – probably fairly soon – and it’s really hard to predict how any judge is going to interpret all this.

One thing that does seem to be clear about the law is that anyone setting up shop in Seattle (or any other tolerant city) to provide medical marijuana must abide by the framework of Section 403, which defines “collective gardens”. Thanks to the governor, simply selling medical marijuana to authorized patients remains illegal, so if folks want to set up a storefront, they’ll have to organize their business in a way that segments their customer base into 10-person cooperatives and ensure that people only get supplied with medicine from their own designated garden. With the City Council estimating that there are roughly 25,000 medical marijuana patients in the city, it could then require roughly 2,500 collective gardens to supply them all. Some of those could probably function independently in a private setting among acquaintances, but many others will likely require some entrepreneurial help organizing themselves. And it’s these large networks of patients and collective gardens that the city has an interest in regulating.

As I mentioned above, Douglas Hiatt is arguing that cities and towns can’t regulate it at all. And even if his argument has a legal basis, the politics of it are murky. Most cities want to make sure that marijuana distribution happens in a place that’s safe for both patients and the community as a whole. They’d love to have all this commerce happen in commercial and industrial areas. But if there’s an incentive to stay small enough as to not be seen as a “business”, people will strive for that. And this will inevitably lead to grow operations staying within residential areas and largely hidden. From a political standpoint, Hiatt thinks this will lead to people getting mad and demanding change. But it could also backfire and lead to futile attempts at moratoriums (maybe not in Seattle, but possibly elsewhere), which might also be against the law. No one knows.

Of course, the punch line to all of this (if you have to choose just one), is that Attorney General Rob McKenna – the gubernatorial hopeful who thinks that the individual health insurance mandate is an egregious abuse of federal power, but that the federal prohibition on marijuana is just dandy – is simply refusing to deal with any of this. When Liz Jones from KUOW contacted his office, they claimed that his office is not involved in the issue. And honestly, I have no idea if that’s a good thing or a bad thing at this point.

ONN: News of the week.

Thom: The Good, the Bad and the Very, Very Ugly.

Ohio Gov. Kasich is Worst Person in the World.

Fiscal Apocalypse:

• Maddow: Obama hating GOP denialists push U.S. economy to brink of disaster, part 1
• Maddow: Obama hating GOP denialists push U.S. economy to brink of disaster, part 2
• Jon with Armadebtdon 2011: The national bullshit ceiling
• Thom: The biggest balanced budget hypocrisy.
• Pitches for National Debt: The Movie.
• Thom: Are the Republicans committing treason?
• White House: Obama’s PISSED.

Mark Fiore: We are the whirled.

White House: West Wing Week.

The G.O.P. Presidential Lunatic Asylum:

• Young Turks: The Young Barbarians.
• Bill Maher on Palin and Bachmann.
• Maddow: Rick Perry’s sick, intolerant ‘Pastor’ friends
  
• Gay barbarian hordes invade Bachmann’s “pray away the gay” clinic (via Slog):
• Bachmann’s end of the world speech (via ThinkProgress).
• Newsy: Are Bachmann’s headaches a roadblock to the White House?
• Jon: Natural Selection of the GOP primary candidates.
• Stephen: God’s pick for President? Rick Perry
• Olbermann: Right wing blog causing headaches for Bachmann.
• Young Turks: Michele Bachmann’s “headaches”
• Ann Telnaes: Herman Cain on banning mosques.
• Stephen: The biggest fantasy adventures of the summer….
• Maddow: Santorum tries to raise money off his “Google problem”.

Obama calls the International Space Station.

Thom talks to a deprogrammed teabagger.

Allen West’s Letter:

• Young Turks: Allen West (R-FL) loses it!
• Stephen: West’s pithy takedown of Debbie Wasserman Shultz.
• West’s email: The animated version.
• Ed: West is a thug.
• Young Turks: Allen West loses it!
• Wolf and DNC Chair discuss debt deal, Allen West, Romney

Young Turks: Abstinence-only education problem in Texas.

Sen. Smith and Bill-O-the-Clown lose to James Murdoch as Worst Person in the World.

Obama ends DADT.

The ALEC Caper:

• Pap: The truth about ALEC.
• Thom: The secrets of ALEC exposed

ONN: Tensions mount after North Korea destroys all of Asia.

Sam Seder: The Teabaggers don’t pay their debt.

West and Palin lose out to Casino boss Steve Wynn as Worst Person in the World.

News Corpse:

• Ed: Robert Greenwald on Murdoch.
• Pap: Murdoch’s attorney exodus.
• Ann Telnaes: Rupert Murdoch’s humble pie
• Young Turks: Should FAUX News be investigated?
• Ed and Pap: Murdoch’s willful blindness is no defense for criminal conduct.
• Jon: Parliament vs. Rupert Murdoch and David Cameron.
• Thom: Murdochgate is proof that media monopoly doesn’t work
• Liberal Viewer: FOX News crimes?
• Olbermann: PI jailed for phone hacking for NOTW, remains on the News Corpse payroll
• Ed and Pap: The Murdoch criminal defense.
• Jon on how the Murdoch scandal makes FAUX News sad.
• Newsy: Former News Corpse execs. say James Murdoch lied
• Thom: The cancer of infotainment & Murdoch pseudo-news
• Sam Seder: James Murdoch lied?
• Robert Greenwald Analyzes the Murdoch Parliament Appearance.

Thom: Can Republicans get elected without fraud and treason?

Stephen: CA gay history bill.

Sam Seder: Rush claims “It’s not hot—Government trying to fool you”.

Young Turks: FAUX News asks whether there are any poor families in America.

Faggot joke amuses FAMiLY LEADER’s (14-point marriage fidelity pledge) Bob Vander (via ThinkProgress).

Cenk Leaves MSNBC:

• Young Turks: Cenk is out at MSNBC, Part I.
• Young Turks: Cenk is out at MSNBC, Part II.
• Sam Seder: Cenk on leaving MSNBC.
• Olbermann and Cenk on Cenk leaving MSNBC.

Last week’s Friday Night Multimedia Extravaganza can be found here.

Reading this editorial, I think perhaps The Seattle Times does the “family newspaper” thing as an excuse. Maybe it’s just that they’re bad at making a decent edgy metaphor or joke. Take for example the idea that Rupert Murdoch gave news outlets STD’s.

RUPERT Murdoch’s malicious contagion, News Corp., has spread through journalism like a social disease. British politics picked up a nasty NC infection for Prime Minister David Cameron.

For what it’s worth, I agree with the premise that media consolidation is bad in general and in Murdoch’s case. I just question if a corporation had sex with the British Prime Minister.

Washington’s initiative process has failed as a tool of The People. It has largely become a means for the wealthy to pass their own pet laws.

The problem is so bad that even the Seattle Times has had to acknowledge it:

WITHOUT addressing specific pros and cons of any of the three statewide initiatives that appear likely to qualify for November’s ballot, it is hard to deny one glaring truth: None are truly grass roots in origin.

Got enough money and a bug up your ass about something? Buy yourself an initiative! It’s easy. It’s fun!

Just ensure the initiative dangles a small, tangible, immediate benefit to voters, and their eyes glaze over with green dollar signs as they unwittingly vote to dismantle the The Commons that they previously supported and put in place. Seriously…it’s a perverse exploitation of human greed.

This year’s prime example is Tim “biggest lie of my life” Eyman’s I-1125, which is likely to qualify for the ballot (maybe today).

The initiative will severely restrict the State’s ability to toll highways AND prevent light rail from crossing on I-90.

An initiative born of a populist grassroots uprising? Hardly. The effort is primarily funded by Bellevue real-estate baron Kemper Freeman, who has contributed over a million dollars to the initiative campaign.

Freeman has a bug up his ass…he doesn’t like light rail or something. So, he is attempting to purchase himself a law.

The law would thwart the will of the voters, who have twice voted to bring light rail to the east side. Freeman sued to stop it, and lost. So now, Freeman will exploit fear of and self-interest over tolling to pass an initiative that will stop light rail—something that voters have made abundantly clear they want.

Yesterday, King County executive Dow Constantine was on KUOW. He pointed out:

“If you shop at Bellevue Square you contribute to [the I-1125] campaign.”

Conversely, you, your family, your friends can choose to take your money elsewhere.

Ultimately, the initiative process itself must be repaired. My first choice for repair is to get rid of paid signature gatherers altogether, as Oregon did in 1935. But Oregon’s current process, passed in 1985, that prohibits signature gatherers being paid per signature would be an okay start.

Until reform happens, the wealthy will retain the privilege of purchasing their own laws.

– Good news on the Metro front.

– McGinn on KUOW about Back Page. I haven’t had a chance to listen to the audio yet, but from what I’ve read, it sounds like a drubbing.

– Also, The Weekly has awful content (h/t).

– The lightbulb debate.

– A damn shame that Elizabeth Warren won’t head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

– Community input for the Northgate light rail station.

The National Journal takes a look at Republican prospects to defeat Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) in 2012 (my emphasis):

The biggest news nugget in the otherwise sleepy Washington Senate race this week was the emergence of Scott Stanzel, a former George W. Bush spokesman, as a possible candidate against Sen. Maria Cantwell, who unlike many other Democratic incumbents, looks to be in very solid shape in her 2012 reelection bid. While Washington leans Democratic, Republicans have fielded competitive statewide candidates in recent years. But so far, no one has stepped up to take on Cantwell.

and then, again…

While no major Republican is currently running against Cantwell, the GOP have landed top statewide recruits in the recent years, and have done so this cycle in two other races.

Who are these “top statewide recruits” the article mentions? By “recent years” does the author mean 2004?!? Because, it seems to me, that’s the last time the G.O.P. “fielded competitive statewide candidates” who weren’t incumbents. Namely, Dino Rossi in his close-but-no-cigar gubernatorial bid and Rob McKenna in his U.S. Chamber of Commerce-supercharged victory over Deborah Senn.

Rossi came back a couple of times, but was he a “top recruit” after the self-inflicted damage of the recount contest?

Remember Rossi’s un-statesmanlike quasi-concession speech:

“With today’s decision, and because of the political makeup of the Washington state Supreme Court, which makes it almost impossible to overturn this ruling, I am ending the election contest.”

That statement told voters a lot about Rossi they didn’t know seven months earlier. Can a person really be considered a top recruit after that kind of statement?

Did Mike McGavick ever threaten to become a competitive candidate?

“Competitive statewide candidates?” “Top statewide recruits?”

Where do these silly memes come from?

The thing that I’ve been most perplexed about during the debt ceiling debate is that the Republicans in the Tea Party have to live in the same country as the rest of us. They’ll suffer the consequences of a default the same as the rest of us. It’s not as if they and their constituents are going to be shielded from the horror show if we hit the debt ceiling. If anything, it’ll be Republican constituents hit harder. After all, the money spent goes (in general) from Democratic urban areas to Republican rural ones. If we stop sending out Social Security checks, every state will suffer, but Republican Arizona and Florida will suffer worse. If we have to stop farm support all states will suffer, but rural Republican states (and here in Washington, Republican Congressional districts) will suffer worse than urban Democratic ones.

Additionally, the liberal cities and counties aren’t the ones teetering on the edge in danger of default if their credit rating worsens. While Seattle will surely suffer through a default, Jefferson County, Alabama will suffer worse (h/t). In short, the pain isn’t distributed evenly.

Of course, I don’t want anyone to experience the pain that will come from unnecessarily defaulting (I don’t think it’ll be awful, but I do think it’ll be bad, and totally unnecessary, if it happens). The point is that on the policy alone, Republicans should want a clean bill. Nobody benefits from hitting our heads on the debt ceiling, but Republicans stand be hit harder.

If you live in Seattle, chances are you can do most of your errands by walking:

Seattle was ranked as the sixth most walkable city of the 50 largest cities in the US, according to Seattle-based WalkScore.com which rates neighborhoods, cities and states to determine how walkable they are.

The site found New York as the nation’s most walkable city, followed closely by San Francisco. Boston, Chicago and Philadephia were the other states [sic] that triumphed above Seattle in the walkability category.
[…]

The top three walkable neighborhoods in Seattle were Denny Triangle, with a Walk Score of 98, and South Lake Union and Belltown, which both received the high score of 97.

Cool graphic of the Day is this this interactive map of Seattle neighborhood walkability scores. Walkability scores for other Washington cities are found here.

Oh…and this interactive map is runner-up Cool graphic of the Day. It allows you to see walkability scores for cities around the country, and you can restrict it to cities that fall within a desired minimum and maximum population size. Nifty.