Goldy

Remember, you read it on HA first:

The Washington Association of Realtors is in trouble again with state campaign watchdogs — and this time Dino Rossi and state Attorney General Rob McKenna are implicated.

The Public Disclosure Commission (PDC) staff filed a complaint last week alleging the Realtors group illegally coordinated campaign spending with unsuccessful GOP gubernatorial candidate Rossi and McKenna, a Republican incumbent who won re-election last month.

The complaint also says the Realtors group did not properly report expenditures on brochures during the last three weeks of this year’s race for governor.

Almost $1 million in campaign spending is at issue in the complaint.

It took a few days, but both the Seattle Times and the Olympian report today on this latest Republican campaign finance scandal, and it looks like it’s making it onto the AP as well.  But so far they seem to have glossed over the real news here, the apparent complicity of Attorney General Rob McKenna.

If McKenna is as savvy a politician as we all think he is, he’d be wise to call for an independent prosecutor before others do.

It’s good to see that during these tough economic times, we have our priorities straight when it comes to funding higher education:

Though he has yet to sign a contract, Steve Sarkisian has a “memorandum of understanding” with Washington.

Annual guaranteed compensation:

Year	Salary
2009	$1,750,000
2010	$1,875,000
2011	$2,000,000
2012	$2,100,000
2013	$2,300,000

Incentive compensation: He will reach incentives if the Huskies play in a bowl game ($150,000), win the Pac-10 ($350,000), play in a BCS bowl or win the national title. He also can make up to $250,000 a year if the team meets certain academic standards.

Other compensation: includes standard UW employee benefits; the use of two vehicles, moving expenses; club membership.

I’m just sayin’….

We’ve all learned to be rightly skeptical of Bush Justice Department prosecutions of Democratic officials, but US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald doesn’t exactly have a reputation as a partisan hack, so it’s hard to dismiss this morning’s indictment and arrest of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich as mere politics as usual.

Assuming the allegations against Blagojevich are supported by the facts, I say good riddance.  Same goes for recently defeated Rep. William “Money in My Freezer” Jefferson (D-LA), who if he really loved his party and his nation would have resigned from Congress long ago, rather than bringing disgrace on the institution, and handing his seat over to an unknown Republican through sheer hubris.

Institutional and individual corruption, and the perceived tolerance of it, was at the heart of the Democrats’ historic defeat in 1994, and the Republican sequel in 2006, and my party would do well to learn a lesson from history.  Our numbers may be lessened by the fall of the likes of Blagojevich and Jefferson, but we are stronger without them, and we should resist the natural urge to defend our own when our own have violated the public trust.

Of course, not every allegation is substantiated, and not every scandal or ethical lapse is a criminal (or even a fireable) offense, so the line between corruption and mere bad judgment is not always clear.  But if the Democrats want to govern, and govern effectively, we should be prepared to err on the side of ethics over loyalty.

Heads up… newly elected Commissioner of Public Lands Peter Goldmark will be stopping by the Seattle Chapter of Drinking Liberally tomorrow night, where we can all bask a bit in the afterglow of his sweet victory.  So come on by to chat with Peter and toast a new administration that won’t be in the pockets of the mining and timber industries.

Much to the surprise of many state budget writers, it turns out there’s nothing in our state constitution that prohibits deficit spending.

Senate Ways and Means Chairwoman Margarita Prentice, D-Renton, said she didn’t know the state has no balanced-budget requirement.

Even so, she said: “If this is how we’ve always operated, by gosh, this is how we’re going to operate…“

Yup, that’s exactly the sort of creative, outside-the-box thinking we need during a crisis like this.  (Kinda explains a lot about Olympia, doesn’t it?)

I’m not suggesting that we definitely should borrow money to help balance the state budget, but considering the anti-stimulus effects of state cutbacks during a major recession, the idea shouldn’t be dismissed out of hand simply because we’ve never done it before.  And since Sen. Prentice (D-MoneyTree) sees no problem with her constituents paying 391-percent interest to payday lenders, you’d think a billion dollars or so at 5.5% interest might strike her as a relative bargain if it helps us weather this current economic storm without dramatically slashing K-12 education.

I’m just sayin’…

I thought it would make some news when the state Attorney General, the man charged with prosecuting campaign finance and reporting violations, was credibly accused of campaign finance and reporting violations himself. But I never went to J-school, so what do I know?

Then again, our local media is so in love with the notion of Rob McKenna as the good Republican, I’m pretty sure he’d have to be caught on tape strangling a six-year-old to generate any negative press.

If Bill O’Reilly thinks our state’s opinion leaders are going to follow his lead in whipping up a tempest in teapot over the Atheist display in the state Capitol, he has another thing coming:

The state of Washington seems to have hit on the right approach for a nation that evolved because of people seeking the right to worship as they want. This year, the state Capitol displays not only a menorah, commemorating the eight-day Jewish festival of Hanukkah, and a Nativity scene depicting the Christmas story, but also a statement of a thoroughly dissenting opinion. The Freedom From Religion Foundation has placed a sign that reads: “Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds.”

The pluralism of the holiday display might be a little unruly, but it is a reasonable alternative to stripping from government buildings any reference to these holidays that are such an important part of many citizens’ lives.

Gov. Gregoire’s staff has fielded thousands of calls since O’Reilly started broadcasting her phone number on TV and radio, but staffers tell me they’re mostly coming from out of state, and I’ve got news for Billo and his legion of angry automatons… out-of-staters don’t pay taxes here in our Washington, and they sure as hell don’t vote.  So they shouldn’t expect more than passing attention from our very busy governor.

Personally, I don’t much disagree with the content of the “Reasons Greetings” sign, though I would not have definitively stated that religion “hardens hearts and enslaves minds,” (it can and sometimes does, but not always), and I certainly wouldn’t have placed such an unnecessarily anti-religious message in a holiday display.  But one doesn’t have to defend the message to defend the messenger’s right to express it on an equal footing with other religious groups.  In Washington, as in the rest of the nation, government simply cannot express preference for one religion over another, nor for religion over non-religion.

The consequences of the First Amendment may at times be messy and irritating or even offensive, but the rights enunciated within provide the bulwark from which all our rights are protected.  This near absolute reverence for freedom of religion, speech and the press was a uniquely American invention, and has always been our nation’s greatest strength.

So if I had the opportunity to answer O’Reilly’s questions with one of my own, I suppose I’d ask Billo… “Why do you hate America?”

I’ve got a very leaky bathtub faucet that appears to be rusted in place, and considering I lack the proper tools (and know-how), and there’s no separate shut-off for the water, I’m just too timid to pound at this thing to get it off and replaced.  So I guess I need to pay to have somebody do this for me.

It’s an old house with no access panel (the pipes are in the external wall), and what’s in place doesn’t seem to match the guides I’ve seen online.  Any suggestions on a handyman or plumber who will do this right and affordably would be appreciated.  Or if one of my loyal readers has the skills, the tools and the will, the pizza and beer is on me.

According to a new study, Washington is the 10th healthiest state in the nation, up from number twelve, but…

Washington has some problems: Low rates of immunizations of young children and of high school graduates. There is also a high disparity in health outcomes associated with where someone lives.

And I’m guessing the best way to deal with these disparities isn’t to cut 7,700 low income people from our state’s Basic Health Plan.  But, you know, if it helps the governor stick to her no new tax pledge, I suppose it’s worth it.  Um… right?

Gov. Chris Gregoire and AG Rob McKenna have just issued a joint, bipartisan statement on Bill O’Reilly’s manufactroversy over the atheist display in the state Capitol:

“Last year, after a federal lawsuit was filed against the state of Washington by the Alliance Defense Fund, the state’s Department of General Administration set forth a policy allowing individuals or groups to sponsor a display regardless of that individual’s or group’s views.

“The Legislative Building belongs to all citizens of Washington state, and houses the state Legislature, as well as the offices of several state-elected executives, including the governor. The U.S. Supreme Court has been consistent and clear that, under the Constitution’s First Amendment, once government admits one religious display or viewpoint onto public property, it may not discriminate against the content of other displays, including the viewpoints of non-believers.”

So there you have it.  I guess my pseudo-legal analysis of the issue was basically right.

It’s a shame that even their communications staffs had be distracted by bullshit like this when there are issues of so much greater import to address, but apparently the’ve been fielding hundreds of phone calls—mostly from out of state—after O’Reilly attempted to bully the governor by posting her phone number on national television.

Whatever.

Both Gregoire and McKenna have more important things to do, and if I were them I wouldn’t pay any more attention to Billo and his annual War on Christmas bluster.

If you’re wondering how I earned the “honor” of going up against Bill O’Reilly last night, well, it turns out I have Dan Savage to thank.

Ken Schram from KOMO gave my name to a producer from Bill O’Reilly’s show who was looking for someone to come on tonight and defend the sign put up by atheists near the nativity scene in the state capitol. The producer added that O’Reilly wanted to “broaden the discussion out to include observations about Washington being a very liberal state.” Uh-huh. I declined and when the producer asked if I could suggest someone who might want to come on, I gave him your name Goldy.

So I guess I should just think of Billo as Dan’s sloppy seconds.  (Bet that’s an image that sticks in your head.)  But, hey Dan… when do I get my shot at doing Bill Maher?

In the end, O’Reilly really wasn’t all that.  Sure, he did that cutting me off and talking over me thing he does, but that’s not really all that different from a typical dinner table conversation in my family, and, well, I’ve spent enough time on both sides of the mic to have been there and done that.  Watching the video, I thought I did okay given the context… got in a couple good lines… didn’t embarrass myself or anybody else.  And now that I know what to expect, I’m confident I’d be more relaxed and forceful given another shot at going up against Billo.

Speaking of which, the process of taping the segment is probably not what most people imagine.  Both Anne and I appeared from studios at Fisher Plaza, but were taped in separate rooms.  Throughout the interview I sat alone in a small studio with a fake skyline behind me and a robotic camera in front; there was no TV monitor on which to view the proceedings.  Except for having to stare at the camera, it was pretty much like doing radio, except with a tinny piece in my ear instead of a set of good headphones.  In the end, having Bill O’Reilly’s voice in my head wasn’t all that scary—there are way more frightening demons in there—but it would have been easier if I could have heard him more clearly.

As to the story itself, well, it’s total bullshit, and it’s hard to believe that was Billo’s top story of the day.  In fact, after taping what I thought was a pretty uncontroversial segment, I almost feared they might edit it, bury it or cut it entirely.  But then, I’m not a real journalist like Billo, so what do I know?

My DSL stopped working sometime last night.  The modem says it is connecting fine, but I can’t connect to anything.  Anyway, expect some light posting while I sort this out.

UPDATE:
Qwest called me back within a couple hours and fixed the problem.  So I guess I’m satisfied with the customer service.

I guess I did kinda sorta okay before getting bogged down in his bullshit, but mostly O’Reilly just wanted to call Gov. Gregoire names, and that’s what he did.  We’ll see how it comes out in the edit.  (And yes, unlike almost every other show, O’Reilly pre-tapes, and edits out the truly unflattering—or boring—stuff.)

The thing is, it’s hard to imagine folks getting riled up once again about the so-called War on Christmas, when they’re more worried about how their going to pay for any Christmas celebration at all.  This sort of divisive rhetoric is a luxury I’m not sure many Americans can afford during these tough economic times.

Oddly enough, I’ll be doing the O’Reilly Factor tonight, defending Washington state from charges of being a far-left extreme commie-fascist-atheist sanctuary.  In other words, Billo doesn’t much like the Atheists sign that was put up in our state Capitol, but he somehow sees it as part of a pattern of secular decadence that includes Death With Dignity, naked bicycle riding, and the Fremont statue of Lenin.

Whatever.

In fact, none of these have anything to do with each other (I-1000 was libertarian, the statue of Lenin is kitsch, and naked bicycle riding seems, well, just plain uncomfortable), but you know, if religious groups insist on putting holiday displays in public facilities, they can’t much complain when competing groups do likewise, and since freedom of religion also means freedom from religion, Atheists have just as much a right to promote their solstice greetings as anybody else.

That’s America.  Love it or leave it.