by Carl Ballard — ,
– The 2/3 rule in the Senate is stupid and undemocratic, but at least it’s probably going to be stupid and undemocratic against a bad idea.
– Fare increases at Metro are still ridiculous. But at least LIFT means it won’t be as bad for lower income people.
– The Reproductive Parity Act probably isn’t going to pass this session, but it’s still worth pushing for it.
by Carl Ballard — ,
– Maybe a better lesson to draw from Mars Hill’s implosion than be more media savvy, would be to do better at the outset.
– The Funny Thing About Privilege
– Don’t poison trees. So gross.
– Conversion Therapy: Dangerous and in Need of Banning—Take It From Someone Who Learned the Hard Way
– I would like to invest in Speedy Heavy Falling Rocks, Inc.
by Carl Ballard — ,
I really love that only 31% of people who work in downtown Seattle drive alone to work. Transit is still the largest category, and of course, there are plenty of jobs outside the urban core. None the less, the environmental impact of fewer cars, the health impact of fewer cars on the road, the congestion impact of fewer cars, the pedestrian safety impact of fewer cars is really great.
Still, there’s a lot more work to do. Public transit needs to better serve downtown, and the rest of the city and the region. There’s plenty of improvements to make walking and biking easier — even if you ignore my obviously correct idea of flattening some of the hills like they did in Belltown.
by Carl Ballard — ,
– The new South Park connection to the Duwamish Trail looks pretty great. I can’t wait to try it out.
– Ed Murray, true to form, takes partial credit for Jean Godden’s work
– Patricia Arquette, Criticism and Progressives
– For most of its run Parks and Rec was my favorite show. I kind of fell off last season, but maybe I should go watch the last season.
by Carl Ballard — ,
– The Kinds of Things You Might Learn in an Oklahoma AP History Course
– The port dispute has been resolved. Although I still see a few boats in Elliott Bay.
– Poor Put-Upon Conservatives Get Saddled With Racism
– Olympia Zine Fest looks like it’ll be a lot of fun.
– I quite like the little free libraries.
by Carl Ballard — ,
– The Falsest of False Equivalencies
– The bill to abolish the death penalty in Washington and replace it with live without parole xdied in committee
– Yes, Seattle has a parking problem. There’s way too much of it.
– We should keep voting on class sizes until we change our mind.
– If President Obama said he loved this country any more, we’d tell him he was smothering us.
by Carl Ballard — ,
In January a trans woman was assaulted in Spokane. It’s pretty horrible stuff, and you can read the details here. It’s pretty unsettling, but the relevant bit for the police is:
Scamahorn said responding officers treated her with disrespect and referred to her as a man throughout their investigation.
One officer said Scamahorn appeared to be intoxicated, but witnesses disagreed, and she said fluid buildup in her throat after the beating made it difficult for her to talk and breathe.
She also said police would not allow the bartender to help her as she lay on the floor in her own blood and vomit.
Now the police have investigated how the police acted and found the police did nothing wrong, and now a Spokane city council member wants the Human Rights Commission to apologize.* For the fact that a trans woman spoke out about her treatment. It’s pretty gross.
But leaving that to one side. Also leave aside the fact that cops claiming an assault victim was drunk seems pretty damn unprofessional on its face. Even if “the police officers on the scene were not acting inappropriately” as Spokane City Council Member Mike Fagan says, the officers certainly left the impression with her that they called her a man and didn’t allow the bartender to help her. It seems like officers should be able to not leave that impression if they’re doing everything right. Of course, I’m more inclined to believe her than the cops, but I haven’t read the report.
And to be clear, they caught the people who did this. That’s probably progress from a few decades ago. But there’s still further to go.
by Carl Ballard — ,
In a victory for common decency, the Benton County florists who wouldn’t sell to a gay couple for their wedding were in violation of the state’s Consumer Protection Act [h/t]. Here’s the text of the AG’s office press release.
A Benton County Superior Court ruling today held that a Richland florist violated Washington’s Consumer Protection Act by refusing to serve a same-sex couple seeking to buy wedding flowers in 2013.
“The law is clear: If you choose to provide a service to couples of the opposite sex, you must provide the same service to same-sex couples,” Attorney General Bob Ferguson said. “Washingtonians have enacted laws recognizing equality for same-sex couples, and I will continue to vigorously uphold these laws. I appreciate the judge’s decision and am very proud of my team’s hard work to stop this unlawful discrimination.”
I haven’t read the whole ruling but it’s here (.pdf)
It’s important that we as a state not just passively don’t discriminate but that we’re actively a place where you can’t discriminate. While the law was quite clear, it’s still good for the couple and good for the state that it was upheld.
by Carl Ballard — ,
– I had no idea who Jospeph Lane was. Interesting, if horrible, story.
– A Non-KIRO Guide to Service Animals
– How to improve transit in suburban areas is an interesting challenge. I guess Park and Rides are better than people driving the whole way.
by Carl Ballard — ,
– Senate Republicans unveil pavement-heavy transportation plan laden with bad provisions
– The GOP braintrust is really a thing to behold.
– Pam Roach is the worst.
– I know, I know, Carl is impressed that The New York Times has heard of Washington is pretty boring. But I don’t care: I’m glad they know we’re working on weaning ourselves off of coal.
by Carl Ballard — ,
by Carl Ballard — ,
by Carl Ballard — ,
by Carl Ballard — ,
I don’t want to pick on the Spokesman-Review since this is a pretty wide spread phenomenon. Still, their Spin Control blog has a piece about bills that are getting a hearing that are “first world problems.” I’m not sure they’re either first world issues in general or, for that matter, problems.
For example: How many tasting rooms should Washington wineries have? Current law says two, a proposal before a Senate committee last week said that should be four, to better extol the goodness of the state’s fruit of the vine. Why four, asked Sen. Steve Conway, D-Tacoma. Well, Oregon wineries get three, he was told.
Expanding the number of tasting rooms seems like something they could do in a country in Sub-Saharan Africa, for instance. I’m not much of a wine drinker, but I just Googled “African wine” and the first hit was a pretty interesting Wikipedia article on South African wines. Seems like a long history, and something ripe for tasting rooms.
I’m also not sure how having 2 or expanding it to 4 is a problem. It seems like we’re having success with the tasting rooms we have and want to expand. Is it a problem because, 4 is still pretty small for the state? I honestly don’t know!
Or a bill recognizing the fourth Saturday in July the National Day of the Cowboy, which another Senate committee took up. The hearing revealed – maybe you knew; I sure didn’t – that cowboy is gender neutral and refers to both male and female cow-persons. Both deserve recognition because of their legendary integrity, said supporters, who brought honorary headgear for Government Operations Committee Chairwoman Pam Roach, R-Auburn.
Look, if there’s one thing we can agree about the first-world, it’s that we are the exclusive domain of people who recognize agricultural workers. Also, it seems like not a problem. It seems like kind of a neat thing to celebrate. Were they not getting celebrated before? I still don’t see a problem.
The House State Government Committee took up an issue that annoys a sizable chunk of us two days a year, the switch between Standard and Daylight Savings time. There’s a bill to keep the state on Standard time year-round, and a resolution aimed at keeping us on Savings Time.
Rep. Elizabeth Scott, R-Monroe, offered perhaps the quintessential First World Problems defense of her Standard Time bill, albeit with a smile: “It’s still a hassle to change all the clocks. . . It’s a hassle for pet owners whose pets wake them up an hour early. I hear that milk cows are particularly annoyed.”
This is the closest in that it mostly involves actual first world stuff, is stuff, kinda. And technically identifies a problem: I was kind of surprised, but if you look at the map of countries that use daylight savings, it’s primarily Europe and North America. But there are plenty of Middle Eastern, African, and South American countries that use it.
Also, I don’t think it’s a problem. We get somewhat more sun, but it doesn’t work for everyone, depending on your job and your temperament. Also, in the age before all your clocks automatically changed, it was slightly annoying to have to remember, I hear. It seems like on balance, it does more good than bad. Maybe we should only spring forward, and every year, we’ll move an hour ahead of everyone else.
In conclusion, they have clocks in Uruguay and Namibia.
by Carl Ballard — ,
– It still seems to me like a bigger problem that a president is expected to attend a national prayer breakfast.
– Anti-vaxing is a labor issue, too
– Marchers Carry Golf Clubs to Protest the Arrest of William Wingate and Racial Profiling
– I haven’t noticed the unicorn bike in a rack or out in the wild, but now I’m looking for it.
Eager to share our brilliant political commentary and blunt media criticism, but too genteel to link to horsesass.org? Well, good news, ladies: we also answer to HASeattle.com, because, you know, whatever. You're welcome!