Goldy

Just kidding about the headline. I like David Postman. I think he’s a great reporter. And I don’t even know if he drinks. In fact, hypothetically, if I were developing my own online news venture to compete with our city’s two dailies, and I raised enough venture capital to do it right, Postman would be one of the first reporters I’d attempt to hire away from the Seattle Times.

But man can he be sensitive.

Yesterday I critiqued our two dailies’ coverage of the Sonics hearing in Olympia, posting the two ledes side-by-side. I thought it instructive that two papers covering the same hearing should come away with such different story lines. And to some extent, I think that Postman agrees:

I think it’s a good day for journalism when the Times and the PI take different angles or dig up different facts. That’s what makes having two papers important.

Absolutely.

So I’m not really sure why Postman understood my post to be a “baseless attack” on his colleagues, or why he felt the need to characterize me as “wrong-headed”, “fatuous” and, well… drunk?

David Goldstein crows about how he has no pretense toward objectivity. That’s the only way to explain his fatuous bit of journalism criticism today. Goldstein read stories about the Sonics in the Times and the PI, and as he often does, decides that the Times is showing bias.

Actually, I decided that both stories were biased. No doubt I prefer the P-I’s bias, but I never singled out the Times. Indeed, I thought I was rather specific:

I’m not implying any intentional bias on the part of the various reporters, just that bias inevitably exists, and inevitably seeps through every journalist’s work, no matter how hard they try to suppress it.

Um… how is this a “baseless attack” on the Times?

Postman is clearly offended, and goes to some length deconstructing my rather brief post in an effort to show how little I understand the facts reported, or the business of journalism in general. His main point?

But Goldstein just isn’t paying attention if he thinks the financing plan was the news of the day.

As for the Renton vs. Bellevue angle, that was, in fact, news. It wasn’t known before yesterday. It was new.

Actually, the “Renton vs. Bellevue angle” wasn’t exactly news either. The choice of the Renton site was leaked way back in December, and widely reported at the time. (I spent an hour on it while filling in for Dave Ross.) If you’re going to say that it is only news when Clay Bennett confirms it, then you might as well just reprint Sonics press releases.

Given the fact that the details were already widely known, I’d say that the news of the day was the hearing itself, and how legislators reacted to Bennetts demands. But then, that’s just one man’s opinion.

Which once again is my point. I don’t know how many times I need to explain it on my blog, or say it to Postman’s face: I love newspapers and admire his profession. But I simply don’t believe that objectivity is humanly possible. I repeat:

The “journalism generally practiced in America” today is an historical anomaly that grew out of the media consolidation that shuttered the vast majority of dailies early in the twentieth century. “Objectivity” was a necessary sales pitch required to reassure readers that one or two dailies could adequately replace the many different voices to which they had grown accustomed. It is also a wonderful ideal, though unfortunately impossible to achieve in reality, for as Woody Allen astutely observed, even “objectivity is subjective.”

I’m not one of those bloggers who long for the extinction of the legacy media, nor do I think this modern American model of an objective, fair and balanced press will ever perish at the hands of us advocacy journalists. But there’s certainly more than enough room for both models to coexist, and to some extent, converge. Both models can be equally honest and informative, as long as the practitioners remain true to themselves, and to their slightly divergent ethical principles…

But in the end, how is my openly biased blog really any different from the op-ed section of any major daily? Facts are facts, and when I get them wrong my readers abrasively taunt me in my comment threads. The rest of what I write is nothing but personal spin and opinion…

Postman writes that “alleging bias in a newspaper reporter is a serious matter,” and he spiritedly defends his colleagues from what he assumes to be a personal insult. But I didn’t allege bias in a reporter or a newspaper or even his profession. I alleged bias in our entire species. That is the human condition. We are all biased. Each and every one of us will experience the same event somewhat differently, shaped by our own unique personal histories and perspectives. Two different ledes were written off the same hearing, and yes I do think it instructive to highlight the difference.

Postman refers to my Tuesday night Drinking Liberally festivities and jokingly implies that I should have slept off my hangover before writing. In truth, the post was admittedly rushed as I was late for a meeting. Perhaps Postman would have been less offended had I taken the time to pen my intended closing: an attack on Times publisher Frank Blethen for his efforts to make Seattle a one-newspaper town.

I apologize, David, for not being more thorough.

As consumers struggled to cope with rising prices at the pump, the oil industry pulled in a record $101 billion in profits last year — about $11.6 million an hour — and according to Barb Flye of the Washington Tax Fairness Coalition, taxpayers are picking up the tab… twice.

“Individuals have to dig deeper to fill the gas tank and heat their homes, and collectively, all taxpayers will be covering the higher gas and heating costs for a host of publicly-funded services and institutions,” Flye said. “We’re paying more for heat at public schools and colleges, hospitals and nursing homes, courts and other government buildings, not to mention the higher cost of running school buses and public transit.”

This has prompted state Rep. Steve Conway to introduce HB 2128 a tax hike on excess oil industry profits. The bill would put a 3% B&O tax surcharge on gross receipts of companies with a refining capacity in excess of 10,000 barrels a year, whenever retail gas prices exceed $1.75 a gallon. The Washington Tax Fairness Coalition will be holding a press event at noon today in Olympia, in support of HB 2128.

The Seattle P-I editorial board gives credit where none is due:

Still, principal owner Clay Bennett deserves credit for sincerity in his efforts to work out a deal that keeps the team in the Seattle area.

Um… okay, let me get this straight. After failing to secure $200 million in public funding for a $220 million expansion of Key Arena, a frustrated Howard Schultz sells the team to Clay Bennett, a prominent Oklahoma City businessman. Then, fully aware of the cold reception local icon Schultz received from lawmakers, and only months after 74-percent of Seattle voters rejected a public subsidy by approving I-91, the Sonics’ new owner — hailing from a city famous for its basketball jones — asks taxpayers to contribute $400 million towards what would be the most expensive arena in the entire NBA, but with no public vote.

And I’m supposed to believe this effort is sincere?

Call me a cynic, but I never believed Bennett ever intended to keep the team in Seattle. Even the most casual observer of Washington politics could have told Bennett that his $530 million hoop dream would be D.O.A., so I can’t help but view it as a disingenuous con game intended to fill Key Arena with gullible fans until the lease expires in 2010. But it’s hard to keep fans in the seats when you put such a crappy product on the court, so now Bennett is hinting that he may not even honor the last couple years of the lease.

“I would expect we would stay, but I’m not so sure a lame duck franchise is good for anybody.”

Whatever.

I suppose it is possible that our Legislature could foil Bennett’s plan by being stupid enough to give him what he’s asking for. But I’m guessing not even Bennett thinks it likely.

Al Franken explains what it means to be a progressive. (And oh yeah… why he’s running for the US Senate.)

Since daily newspapers are fair and balanced institutions staffed entirely by objective journalists who merely report the facts, one might expect that our two dailies, covering the same public hearing on the same day, would pretty much report the same story.

Hmm. Interesting thesis. But how does it work out in practice?

Seattle Times: OLYMPIA — Sonics owner Clay Bennett ended a long-running mystery Tuesday when he told state lawmakers he prefers Renton over Bellevue for a new $500 million basketball arena.

Seattle P-I: OLYMPIA — The Seattle Sonics want the public to pay for most of a new $500 million multipurpose arena in Renton, they want most of the proceeds from that facility and they want the money without a public vote, owner Clay Bennett told lawmakers Tuesday.

According to the Times, the big story was the stunning, plot-twisting conclusion to the Bellevue vs. Renton “mystery.” According to the P-I, the big story was the Sonics intention to fleece $400 million out of taxpayers to build them the most expensive basketball arena in the nation.

Both articles report that the proposed arena would cost about $500 million, and that the Sonics are requesting $300 million in “state-authorized” taxes — but only the P-I spells out that the tax money would come from King County residents, not the state. The Times reports that the remaining $200 million would be “split among private investors and the city of Renton,” whereas the P-I is more specific:

Bennett told the Senate Ways and Means Committee that he expects the public to provide most of the financing — $300 million from the state, about $100 million from the city of Renton — and that most of the money from the facility should go to the team.

And only the P-I points out that the 22-acre site the Sonics have chosen is probably not for sale.

One hearing, two newspapers, two ledes. And two very different story lines coming out of yesterday’s events. I’m not implying any intentional bias on the part of the various reporters, just that bias inevitably exists, and inevitably seeps through every journalist’s work, no matter how hard they try to suppress it. (And sometimes, because they try to suppress it.)

New Alaska Way Viaduct at Washington St. (Existing structure superimposed in red.)

I appreciate the value of the Seattle waterfront and recognize that the project design must be mindful of the principles of the community.
— Gov. Chris Gregoire, 2/13/07

Governor Chris Gregoire and several key legislators announced today that the state intends to replace the Alaska Way Viaduct with a new, bigger elevated structure, regardless of the outcome of Seattle’s March 13 advisory vote. Councilman Nick Licata wants to scrap the vote, calling it “pointless,” but to do so at this time under these circumstances would be insulting and defeatist. Instead, I think we should revise the ballot to remove the tunnel alternative, and make this a straight up or down vote on a massive elevated freeway. My sense is that under these circumstances a rebuild would be overwhelmingly rejected by Seattle voters.

Perhaps the state might still have the legal authority to shove this down our throats anyway, but at least they would be fully aware of the political consequences should they try.

The Seattle chapter of Drinking Liberally meets tonight (and every Tuesday), 8PM at the Montlake Ale House, 2307 24th Avenue E. Come join me for a hoppy Manny’s and some hopped up conversation.

I’m told that Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis will be stopping by tonight. We’ll see if we can get a few drinks in him and then ask him what he really thinks about the state declaring the tunnel dead (and totally pretending that a surface alternative doesn’t even exist.)

Not in Seattle? Liberals will also be drinking tonight in the Tri-Cities. A full listing of Washington’s eleven Drinking Liberally chapters is available here.

HA co-blogger Will speculates about former state rep Toby Nixon and his political aspirations:

Maybe Nixon’s stoking the fires for a run at his old seat (won by Roger Goodman when Nixon ran for Senate). I’ve got a better idea…

Lieutenant Governor! Think about it, Toby… I don’t know anyone who’s “high” on Lt. Gov. Brad Owen. He’s got that ridiculous rock band which he takes across the state, trying to keep kids off drugs (If he had come to my high school, I would have STARTED smoking pot, just to spite him). He endorses right wing judicial candidates and wants to spend tax dollars on a NASCAR track. What a waste!

To which I say… do your homework Will. I’m guessing our friend Toby might be planning to run for King County Auditor, an obvious stepping stone to the Secretary of State’s office.

What’s that you say? I’ve got my head up my ass? Toby can’t possibly run for Auditor because it is an appointed position? Well, not if Toby has his way. Just last week Toby filed a C1 with the Public Disclosure Commission creating “Citizens for Accountable Elections,” a new PAC supporting a King County initiative to make the Auditor an elected position. Given Toby’s deep interest in election reform, and his admitted eye on the SOS office, this would seem to be an elected office tailor made for (and by) Toby Nixon.

Toby and I disagree on a lot of stuff, but he’s a standup guy and a great sport. I’m off this weekend, but Toby has agreed to come on my show on 710-KIRO the following weekend, when I’ll have the opportunity to ask him the tough questions, and he’ll have every opportunity to respond.

UPDATE:
Via email, Toby elaborates on his initiative and his plans:

The proposal is not for an elected “auditor”, but an elected “elections director” – it wouldn’t include the full range of auditor responsibilities, but just the election functions. There have been folks trying to encourage me to seek the office if it were to become elected, and I haven’t told them flatly No. I haven’t told them Yes, either, but I haven’t ruled it out. I do believe an important part – maybe the most important part – of the responsibility of the office would be to exercise leadership to create a culture of excellence, accountability, integrity, accuracy, and transparency in elections, and anyone who knows my legislative record knows that I am strongly committed to those things. But you also know that my interests cover a wide range of topics, and I’d have to think hard about whether I’d want to forgo other opportunities to serve where I could have an influence in those broader areas in order to focus specifically on the elections office.

Toby will join me on 710-KIRO in the 8PM hour, on Sunday Feb. 25.

I was just reminded that we’re having one of those weird, King County Conservation District elections today where they make it extremely difficult for people to cast a vote. The result is, this is one of those few elections in King County where Republicans tend to routinely win. (See how that works? Few people vote… Republicans win. That’s all you need to know about most Republican proposals for election “reform.”)

Anyway… property rights/pro-sprawl incumbent Mark Livengood is being challenged by Max Prinsen, a past Chair of the Conservation Board, the current President of SHADOW (Save Habitat and Diversity of Wetlands), and a member of the Cedar River Council. Prinsen is also a member of and endorsed by Washington Conservation Voters.

Obviously, I urge you to vote for Max Prinsen.

Unfortunately, casting your vote isn’t all that easy. Polls are open from 11AM to 7PM today at the following locations

• Renton City Hall. 1055 South Grady Way, Renton
• Snoqualmie Valley Community Center. 4610 Stephens Ave, Carnation
• Kent City Hall. 220 – 4th Ave South, Kent
• Enumclaw Fairgrounds Administrative Office. 45224 – 284th Ave SE, Enumclaw
• Kirkland City Hall. 123 Fifth Ave, Kirkland
• Shoreline City Hall. 17544 Midvale Ave N, Shoreline
• Garfield Community Center, 2323 East Cherry St, Seattle

There are no absentee ballots and no provisionals. Hell, there isn’t even a polling place in downtown Seattle.

The King County Conservation District Board has a $6 million annual budget. Don’t you think maybe a real conservationist should help determine how that money is spent? Fewer than 1000 people generally vote in this election, so every vote counts.

UPDATE:
I have been corrected. Max Prinsen is not currently an active member of Washington Conservation Voters, though he had been some 5 or 6 years ago.

Oh, and on a totally unrelated topic, a tip of the hat to the Seattle Times’ David Postman for pointing us to breaking news… about talking urinal cakes:

SANTA FE — New Mexico is taking its fight against drunken driving to men’s restrooms around the state.

The state has ordered 500 talking urinal cakes that will deliver a recorded anti-DWI message to bar and restaurant patrons who make one last pit stop before getting behind the wheel.

“Hey there, big guy. Having a few drinks?” a female voice says a few seconds after an approaching male sets off a motion sensor in the device. “It’s time to call a cab or ask a sober friend for a ride home.”

Oh great. I’ve already got a touch of “shy bladder.” A talking urinal cake is going to shut the hose right off.

Last night on my show, former Governor Gary Locke unequivocally stated his opposition to building another elevated freeway to replace the aging Alaska Way Viaduct… and he said former Governors Rosellini, Evans and Lowry were firmly with him. (Gov. Spellman is apparently neutral.) Gov. Locke went on to say that while he enthusiastically supports the current “Tunnel-Lite” proposal, and believes the financing is in place to build it, he would back a surface-plus-transit option over a rebuild should voters reject the tunnel on March 13. The overwhelming priority for voters in the upcoming special election, Gov. Locke repeated several times, is to vote “No” on the rebuild.

Personally, I tend to agree with King County Executive Ron Sims, who last week on my show stated that Mayor Nickels’ tunnel proposal is politically dead. But what do we know? It is very clear that Gov. Chris Gregoire, Speaker of the House Frank Chopp and a handful of vocal legislators adamantly oppose a tunnel, and it is hard to imagine them backing down. But the pro-tunnel forces contain some heavy hitters and experienced politicos, so it may be too early to count them out.

What I find most striking though is the growing number of high profile political, civic and business leaders who are willing to publicly lend their credibility towards the notion that a surface-plus-transit option is not only a reasonable and serious alternative, but preferable to a rebuild. The pro-rebuild/anti-surface camp tends to brush off surface supporters as a bunch of crazy, car-hating hippies or something like that, but that’s a pretty dismissive way to describe Gov. Locke, Executive Sims and a substantial chunk of our political and business establishment. While wealthy developer (and deadbeat) Martin Selig may support a rebuild/retrofit campaign, Gov. Locke insists that many of Selig’s tenants do not. Indeed, Gov. Locke claims that the majority of businesses who would be most impacted by waterfront redevelopment are willing to tax themselves hundreds of millions of dollars via a special improvement district to help pay the cost of a tunnel. (A funding mechanism I first floated way back in November of 2005.)

I fully understand that some of our state Democratic leaders see a political upside to shoving another elevated structure down our throats: that voters elsewhere in the state will view them as finally standing up to us Seattle bullies. But I sincerely hope that such a base (and ultimately self-defeating) political motivation does not overwhelm the decision-making process should Seattle voters reject a rebuild on March 13. The final decision shouldn’t pivot on a political battle between Seattle and Olympia or between Nickels and Gregoire; it should be based on what is best for Seattle and the state. But for such an objective debate to occur, the pro-rebuild forces must actively disown the politically convenient misconception that Seattle is somehow demanding the rest of the state to pay for its “gold-plated tunnel.”

The state has committed $2.8 billion towards replacing the Viaduct. Assuming WSDOT’s cost estimates are correct, that is exactly what it will cost state taxpayers to build a new elevated structure. But if the city chooses the more expensive tunnel alternative, nobody expects the state to cough up additional funds. The tunnel will not cost state taxpayers a dime more than the $2.8 billion already committed… indeed, if the city opts for a cheaper surface-plus-transit alternative, it will save state taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars!

I find it ironic that there are state legislators — Democrats no less — who are willing to pass a state law requiring Seattle voters to tax themselves to build a new Sonics arena we’ve already rejected at the polls… while at the same time refusing to let us tax ourselves to build the Viaduct replacement alternative the city wants.

This is our city, this is our waterfront, and the Viaduct overwhelmingly carries our traffic. If we choose to raise the money locally to pay the difference between a rebuild and a tunnel, that should be our choice. And if instead we opt to let go of our 1950’s mentality and re-imagine the way we address transportation and transit issues, we should be given every opportunity to make the case that a less expensive, less auto-centric surface-plus-transit alternative is the right solution for our city.

It’s politics as unusual again tonight on “The David Goldstein Show” from 7PM to 10PM on Newsradio 710-KIRO. I like to go with the flow, so things could change, but here’s what I have lined up for tonight’s show:

7PM: What’s happening in the other Washington? Ken Vogel, formerly of the TNT and now an investigative reporter The Politicogives us an update from our nation’s capital. What’s the latest scandal? Is Obama for real? Will Republicans ever allow a vote on a resolution opposing escalating the war in Iraq? Ken will fill us in on all the latest news, rumor and gossip.

8PM: Obligatory Viaduct Hour!!! If this is a political talk show in Seattle, then we must be discussing the fate of the Alaska Way Viaduct. Former Gov. Gary Locke joins me to tell us where he stands on (or under) the Viaduct replacement controversy, and share is vision for Seattle and the downtown waterfront. Will Gov. Locke be in lockstep with Gov. Gregoire? Tune in to find out.

9PM: TBA (I’m gonna rant about stuff.)

Tune in tonight (or listen to the live stream) and give me a call: 1-877-710-KIRO (5476).

Here’s a couple of columns well worth reading, in case you missed them.

In today’s Tacoma News Tribune, Peter Callaghan rips Tim Eyman a new one: “Tim Eyman, professional victim for hire.”

How do we know he’s telling the truth now? We don’t, of course. Given his history, I find it best to assume everything he says is a lie until proved otherwise.

As Callaghan reminds us, Timmy is an admitted liar, with a well documented and steady string of deceptions. And yet our state’s editorial pages continue to give him free reign (and hundreds of thousands of dollars of free press) to run his lying, self-serving guest columns. Amazing.

Meanwhile, over at the Seattle P-I, Joel Connelly had a great column Friday comparing the shrinking reputation of the self-absorbed Ralph Nadar with the growing global stature of Al Gore: “Nader has withered; Gore has grown.”

Connelly contrasts how Nadar has self-destructed under the weight of his own ego, while “the man ridiculed by Nader in 2000 has attained new and global stature.”

Al Gore has watched his early global warming warnings be vindicated by a landslide of scientific evidence.

With the documentary “An Inconvenient Truth,” he has found a way to outflank the political press and make complicated material accessible to the public. The film is up for an Oscar, and Gore has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.

What a transition: While Nader worships at the altar of his own unappreciated brilliance, Gore speaks to the world.

Man, do I hope Gore runs for president.

Apparently, nothing happened in the world yesterday worth writing an editorial about. Absolutely nothing.

I’m out with my co-conspirators today, plotting the nonviolent overthrow of the United States government, so I probably won’t have any time to post, but I’ve got a helluva lineup scheduled for “The David Goldstein Show” tonight from 7PM to 10PM on Newsradio 710-KIRO. I like to go with the flow, so things could change, but here’s what I have lined up for tonight’s show:

7PM: Political rant-a-rama: Eli Sanders of The Stranger joins me at the top of the hour for a firsthand report from the mistrial of Lt. Ehren Watada, after which I plan to rant on just about everything that happened in the news this week except for the death of Anna Nicole Smith. Won’t mention it. Not even here.

8PM: Hate your elected officials? Maybe it’s time to change the way we elect them? Political activist and electoral reform advocate Krist Novoselic joins me for the hour to talk about Instant Runoff Voting — also called “ranked choice voting” — and other reforms that could make our democracy more democratic. (Oh… I’m also told that Krist once played in some band or something.) A Republican on the Seattle City Council? That could be the result from one reform I particularly like. Tune in to find out why I’d propose such heresy, and what Krist has to say about it. Krist will also be appearing at Seattle’s Town Hall on Weds. Feb. 21, to talk about electoral reform.

FairVote.org

9PM: What’s the matter with Oregon? TJ of the blog Loaded Orygun will fill us in on what’s happening south of the border.

Tune in tonight (or listen to the live stream) and give me a call: 1-877-710-KIRO (5476).

PROGRAMMING NOTE:
Tune in Sunday night when former Gov. Gary Locke will tell us where he stands on replacing the Viaduct, and unofficial HA D.C. Bureau Chief Ken Vogel calls in with an update on what’s happening in the other Washington.