Archives for December 2011

– Lee may have more to say on this piece on WestNET, but it really solidified in my mind the difference between the Trib’s terrible editorials and their solid reporting.

– I’m still not fond of Sully.

– The War on Christmas is still going on? Bring the elves home, I say.

– On Facebook, Occupy Seattle made note of this comment.

– Cowardly Rob McKenna.

– Well that settles it, I’m not keeping a beehive in my house.

– I’ve joined Twitter, thus officially draining it of any cool it had left. Feel free to not follow me, as you’ve been doing.

Last week’s contest was won by Don Joe. It was Joe Paterno’s house in State College, PA.

This week’s contest is a random location somewhere in the world, good luck!

Revelation 1:9
We suffer because Jesus is our king.

Discuss.

– Those big banks are a piece of work.

– I don’t find anything objectionable about the code of conduct for street canvassers, but just saying “no thanks” or “I’m already a member” when you see one usually works fine.

– It’s time to move to targeted direct action, and, no, that doesn’t mean supporting candidates for election.

– Shorter Seattle Times: The middle is always the right place.

– One’s first response is, whoa, okay, that’s really weird. One’s second response is, what a terrible negotiating strategy. One’s third response is, awesome, an international free agent, these guys are always exciting! And one’s fourth response is to wonder whether Kawasaki is actually any good.

Ann Telnaes: Grover Norquist on raising taxes.

Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA): 10th anniversary of Enron:

Mark Fiore: Hard science.

Ann Telnaes: The most wonderful time of the year.

Thom with more Good, Bad, and Very, Very Ugly.

White House: West Wing Week.

America Occupied:

• Alyona’s Tool Time: Bloomberg’s army.
• Occupy the Washington state’s special leg session.
• Thom: Seattle’s Dorli Rainey on being pepper sprayed.
• Olbermann with Jackson Browne on his performance at Zuccotti Park
• Ann Telnaes: Speech is not created equal.
• Sam Seder: GOP plan to neutralize OWS.
• The Pepper Spray song.
• Young Turks: Adam Carolla OWS rant.
• Thom: GOP admits being frightened by the Occupy movement.
• Olbermann with Markos on Republican’s summoning Frank Luntz.

Thom reveals some Good, some Bad, and Some Very, Very Ugly.

Jon on Obama’s war on Thanksgiving.

Ann Telnaes: Detainee provision trashes the Constitution.

Jon on elections in Egypt.

WA and RI Governors want pot recognized for medical uses.

Young Turks: Republicans won’t tax the rich to offset payroll tax.

Thom: Are lies and sabotage the only hope for the WI GOP?

An interview with Rep. Roger Goodman (D-WA-45).

Rupert Murdoch hacks his way to Worst Person in the World.

Why we need to protect voter rights.

The Republican Primary Asylum

• Bashir: Who’s the biggest flip-flopper?
• Sharpton: The party of gaffes.
• Sam Seder: Herman Cain’s extremely simplistic view of foreign policy.
• Lawrence O’Donnell with Ginger White: Gifts from Herman.
• Rick Perry mocks Rick Perry
• Young Turks: Rick Perry’s latest disaster.
• Herman Cain’s brain.
• Alyona’s Happy Hour: Women for Herman Cain.
• Newsy: Cain launches “Women for Cain” site.
• Young Turks: Cain’s hilarious sex scandal.
• Sam Seder: Women for Cain!
• Herman Cain’s 1986 sexual harassment training video.
• Ed and Pap: Stupidity is Cain’s problem.
• Stephen on the Cain scandal.
• Jon: Thirteen years and can’t close the deal.
• Conan’s new Herman Cain campaign adRep. Roger Goodman (D-WA-45).
  ngtonpost.com/2011/12/01/conans-new-herman-cain-ad-video_n_1122988.html’>on the economy (via recognized for medical uses.
  post.com’>Huffington Post).
• Stephen defends Herman Cain.
• Red State Update: Herman Cain should say, “Yeah, I Fucked Her!”.
• Thom: Why do Republicans think an affair is worse than sexual harassment?
• Young Turks: Was Newt a lobbyist?
• Ed and Pap: Skeletons in Newt’s closet.
• Bashir: Newt Gingrich is like a drunk who thinks he can control his drinking.
• Young Turks: Newt’s brave new ideas for child labor.
• Stephen: On Newt not being a lobbyist.
• Young Turks: Newt the new front runner?
• Young Turks: Ron Paul destroys Newt in new ad.
• The Huntsman girls bring him back.
• Mitt’s disastrous interview.
• Stephen: Mitt’s new attack ad.
• Young Turks: Mitt hates his FAUX News interview.
• Romney’s Two Weeks.
• NH voters on Mitt’s troubling attack ad.
• Jon: Mitt Romney is his own mistress (via Huffington Post).
• Young Turks: Romney stumbles on immigration.
• Sam Seder: More Michele Bachmann stupidity on Iran.

Sharpton: DNC’s Voter Protection Director discusses ProtectingtheVote.org.

Alyona’s Tool Time: Rick Scott cares.

Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) urges extension of payroll tax cut for middle class:

Sam Seder: The problem of Republican ignorance.

Thom with the Good, the Bad, and the Very, Very Ugly.

USA Ammo shoots up to Worst Person in the World.

Actual Audio: Grover Norquist on Meet the Press.

Kimmel’s Week in Unnecessary Censorship (via Huffington Post).

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

I know, early days and all that, but this would be pretty rad.

Yesterday, the Sound Transit Executive Committee recommended a $2 million budget addition to study high-capacity mass transit from downtown to Ballard in 2012, instead of maybe three years from now, as was originally proposed.

This is fantastic news! Regardless of if the full Sound Transit board approves the $2 million Executive Committee recommendation on December 15, millions have already been pledged. Specifically, the City has budgeted an additional $2 million for studying and planning (including $900,000 from a federal transportation planning grant, a $300,000 SDOT match of the federal grant, and $800,000 from the approved 2012 budget).

I would be interested in how much this would work as a spur to development versus changing the way people move between Ballard and Downtown. The buses between Downtown and Ballard now seem to work pretty well (they work well for me when I take them, but I don’t commute that route so it’s not rush hour). And while there’s always room for improvement, Ballard doesn’t seem as in need of a spur for growth that much of the Link corridor will benefit from in the long term.

I’ve been waiting for years for someone to dig up this old TV Nation segment about Newt Gingrich and put it on YouTube:

Goldy highlights this gem from Frank Luntz.

“I’m so scared of this anti-Wall Street effort. I’m frightened to death,” Luntz said. “They’re having an impact on what the American people think of capitalism.”

While I think the Occupy movement in general and Occupy Wall Street in particular changed the discussion and have had a positive impact, a much larger driver is that the economy has turned many people against capitalism (or at least the brand of capitalism in the United States). It’s the housing bubble and the myriad foreclosed houses it’s left since it burst. It’s the high unemployment rate, and what it does to people who can’t find work or to people who are afraid to ask for a raise or who aren’t able to take that vacation any more or who aren’t getting as many tips as they did a few years ago. It’s the high price of gas. It’s the degradation of government services.

No, if you want to make people think positive things about capitalism, build a capitalism that works for them. Make capitalism more democratic, and more fair. Make it a vehicle for building a strong middle class accessible to anyone who works hard.

It may be more cumulative than any one thing, but the reaction to Cain’s affair seems to be more harmful to Cain than his alleged sexual harassment. While I can’t say the affair, if true, reflects well on him, well adults are free to fuck up their private lives. As long as it’s consensual and not abusing power, it’s between himself and his family, and we can focus on policy.

And yet, the thing that’s got him in the most trouble is the consensual thing that doesn’t matter to his policy. Seems like we could straighten out our priorities a bit. Also, while I’m dreaming about straightening out our priorities, maybe don’t take the next Herman Cain quite so seriously.

I’m glad that the Wenatchee bailout isn’t going through. Although unlike the Republicans who oppose it, I’m not against the state bailing municipalities out on principle. But since I don’t think the state would return the favor for Seattle, well, no bail outs is probably preferable to bail outs that only flow East.

Also, it’s tough to justify this when the economy is on the rocks and the legislature is in cut, cut, cut mode. The Republicans have, with their insistence on no new revenue, made this a choice between bailing out bad investments in Wenatchee or schools and social services. Really, a no brainer.