I am writing to ask you to give your full support to the Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2014. This bill would set a new formula for preclearance after the old formula was thrown out by the Supreme Court. It would help make sure that future elections are fair throughout the country.

Preclearance is a vital to make sure that states that consistently violate people’s rights aren’t able to get away with it. This formula will give states the chance to get off of the list, as well as making sure that violators of a more recent vintage are watched by the Justice Department.

Your support, and the support of as many members of the House as possible, will help make sure that all citizens have the chance to vote. This vital and fundamental right needs as much support in Congress as possible, and I hope that includes you.

Thank You

Carl Ballard

You can find your rep here. I’d encourage you to write them on this or anything else.

– Big Burke-Gilman Trail detours coming soon on UW campus

– Something, something executive orders are horrible. AKA, another GOP talking point doesn’t hold up to reality.

– Too bad Republicans like McMorris Rodgers want to deny most Americans the same right.

– And more McMorris Rogers SOTU response commentary, from a constituent.

– Prayer is practice. Praying is a kind of becoming. The Trappists who pray for sustenance and redemption are sustained and redeemed. At the International House of Prayer, worshippers call for conquest and destruction. Those prayers, alas, do not always go unfulfilled.

– The State Of The Union may have finally killed the stupid Iran sanctions bill.

This is a bit old, but somehow, I’d missed it.

State Senate Democrats sent out a news release today about a bill introduced by their Republican counterparts that would eliminate the elected office of insurance commissioner, which has been filled by Mike Kreidler since 2001. He began his fourth term in office in 2012.

Since federal health care reform passed, Kreidler has been all about health insurance, all the time. He’s the one who determines which insurance plans get included in the state exchange, and last year rankled some critics when he decided that some plans initially did not have robust enough offerings to be included — effectively limiting the options that were available in the exchange. The four plans that were denied entry appealed his decision, and he later settled with them so they all got included after all.

The Senate Republicans’ Bill 6458, which hasn’t even been heard in committee yet, “creates the state insurance board which will be responsible for the oversight of the insurance code.” It “transfers the powers, duties, and functions of the office of the insurance commissioner pertaining to regulation of insurance to the state insurance board.”

I’m not generally a fan of the way we elect so many executive positions. So I could probably hear arguments that putting that power in the Governor’s office is more logical.

Still, it seems to me that at least part of the reason that this could get 13 GOP co-sponsors is because of the way that the office has kicked ass for consumers. Both on the ACA and long before it (Seattle Times link). But if they oppose him making policy they’ve had 4 chances to take that case to the people. This seems like a pretty silly runaround.

OK, it’s a legit story, I guess. And now I’m writing about it so it’s meta googlebait? Spokane may have an initiative for a ban on nude coffee. Or topless seems to be the problem.

The brewing debate about how much clothes must be worn by baristas could be decided by voters.

Spokane resident Beth Solscheid this month filed an initiative proposing to create a law making it a misdemeanor crime to expose at least half of a female breast, or any part of female areolas or nipples or any part of male or female genitals or anus at any place the general public has a right to be or see.

Those coffee places with topless women seem gross (I’m not going to judge anyone for taking a job, but it’s not for me as a customer). Still this seems rather prudish to force it. And making the criminal act on the individuals instead of the businesses seems problematic.

Also, I realize that a law like this almost by definition has to have a lot of specifics. But this seems to be a protect-me-from-me type of law. If you want to go to a coffee shop where everyone wears shirts in Spokane, I’m pretty sure you can.

– This is the polite way of saying the CRC is fucked, right?

– I have nothing to add about Dinesh D’Souza, but his defenders make me sad.

– After a while, I stopped linking to Macklemore local-boy-makes-good stories. I mean he was crushing it, so whatever at a certain point. But I will say, I’m glad he’s pissing off the right people.

– Oh, Northwest rate payers are subsidizing Kentucky. Seems fair.

– Will the last Republican woman turn out the lights?

– Who could have predicted that Rodney Tom would keep dicking people around?

– I dig the Seattle buildings turning blue and green, but holy cowThe Empire State Building blue and green.

Sen. Michael Baumgartner has a bill to lower the minimum wage for teens. Because of course he does.

To combat Washington’s high teen unemployment rate and generate more opportunities for teen employment, Sen. Michael Baumgartner has proposed Senate Bill 6471. Baumgartner’s “Teen Summer Jobs Act” will provide employers the latitude to pay seasonal teen workers the federal minimum wage of $7.25 from June to the end of August.

Is there any evidence that our teen unemployment rate is particularly high? I couldn’t find recent stats. He’ll mention them later on in the press release, but not have any link or much context. I mean, our unemployment rate is about the middle of the pack, and probably worse the further East you go. It also wouldn’t surprise me if the teen unemployment rate is higher. But is it higher than in states that have lower minimum wages? In any event this press release certainly doesn’t provide any evidence to support this claim.

“Right now, too many teens are losing the chance to develop a strong work ethic because they can’t find summer jobs,” Baumgartner said. “We need a change that can give today’s teens the same chance at the American dream that I had.”

There was a minimum wage in the early 1990’s when Baumgartner was a teen. It was less than it is now — that’s why we had that initiative to raise it — but as far as I can tell it was the same for teen and adults. So, when he was a teen he had the same opportunity as when it’s now, more or less at least regarding the minimum wage.

Baumgartner, who represents the 6th Legislative District, notes that teen employment has been dropping in recent years, creating what can be described as an “experience gap.” The Department of Employment Security has published data expressing if someone is unable to find a job during their teen years they are much less likely to find satisfying work later in life. Baumgartner says while it may seem counterintuitive, requiring employers to pay a lower wage to workers until their 20th birthday will actually entice employers to hire more teens and summer help.

Don’t worry, he doesn’t link to the DOE findings.

Also, now is as good a time as any to mention that Spokane County went 79224 to 48180 in favor of Washington’s minimum wage initiative. I don’t know how his district went, but I’d guess it was pro the minimum wage. Of course, a lot can happen in over a decade, but I doubt slowly dismantling the minimum wage is the reason his constituents voted for him.

Also, too, holy shit, his bill applies to 18 and 19 year-olds? Good thing nobody ever had to raise a family at 18 or 19. God.

“Statistics for 2013 were just released, showing Washington’s teen unemployment rate at thirty percent,” said Baumgartner, who serves as vice chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee. “If we don’t make a move to provide more of these kids with job opportunities, we’ll really be doing them a disservice later in life when the time comes to begin their careers and become fully-functioning members of society.”

Again, I still don’t know what that means. I don’t know if it includes every child who is looking for work, or if it includes teens who aren’t looking for work. We still don’t know how it compares to the national average, or if his policy would take jobs away from people being paid higher wages, and give them to lower wage children.

I don’t know if he just made it up.

Anyway, there’s a bit more press release, but I’m done. And look I did a metacommentary piece without any swearing; I must be losing my touch.

– Dear bigots, please feel free to leave Washington. Sorry people in states without marriage equality.

– December numbers for Washington’s exchange.

– I still love it when national media mention lil’ ol’ Washington. But maybe not when they make fun of our stuck tunnel machine.

– Oh hey Texas, enjoy the next however many months of this garbage.

– I agree with Oliver that marriage equality is hurting the religious right. But I don’t think they’re on the run, as evidenced by all the anti-choice (for example) legislation.

– Pie Fest is coming to Olympia in February.

– I know I goof on Seahawks fandom here, but I am pro it. I’m more against early or annoying fandom. What I’m saying is I for one look forward to all of the green and blue vomit we’ll get next Sunday.

Thank you for opposing a sanctions bill against Iran at this time. While we don’t know the future, it’s important to give negotiations a chance to work, if we want to find a long-term fix to Iran’s nuclear problem. While most of the hard work remains, it would have been hard to imagine getting this far, even a year ago.

If future negotiations fail, there will be time to impose new sanctions. If we have to go back to more belligerent actions and rhetoric, at least let us say we did what we could to have real peace.

And hopefully these sorts of negotiations will lead to advances on human rights and other issues where we differ with Iran. Being able to sit at the table and make real progress can often lead to more sitting around the table and making more progress.

Thank You Once Again,

Carl Ballard

You can write Senator Murray here if you want on this or any other issue.

That’s the proposal from Representative Jessyn Farrell for the entire state. Goldy has the details and some speculation about what it could mean for Seattle’s efforts.

Washington’s current inflation-indexed minimum wage of $9.32 an hour is already on pace to exceed $10 an hour by 2017, so the actual net increase on final phase-in would be less than $2 an hour. But that’s not nothing to the half-million or so Washingtonians who see their wages go up. It’s also arguably good for the economy and good for taxpayers.

“If families have more money in their pocket, it lessens the demand for government assistance,” Farrell explained in a press release. “That saves all of us money.”

True. Although it’s first and foremost a moral issue. People ought to be able to survive and raise a family in this state. And a minimum wage ought to be reflective of that. I’d still prefer a $15 minimum wage statewide, but this is an obvious improvement.

The news broke today that Cathy McMorris Rodgers is going to do the rebuttal to the State Of the Union. I think it’s actually a decent choice to not have it be someone who is running for president. The linked piece makes it sound like she’s going to talk about her personal story. The only policy stuff they mention is:

She said through Boehner’s office that she was “honored” to be sharing the Republican vision for the future: “one that trusts the American people and doesn’t limit where you finish because of where you started.”

So it leaves us guessing exactly what she’ll be talking about. Maybe how the Democrats’ support of strengthening the Violence Against Women Act, The Affordable Care Act and talking about immigration reform, are against American Values. Maybe she’ll talk about made up fetal pain and her party’s plan to force women to stay pregnent. Perhaps she’ll complain about how high taxes are even though Federal taxes are lower for most Americans than they’ve been in a long time. Maybe she’ll talk about her brave opposition to Sandy relief. Perhaps she’ll finally be able to name some of the specific spending cuts she’s for. She’ll probably try to turn the rhetoric of the war on women on its head. Maybe she’ll just make stuff up about marijuana.

Sorry this is abbreviated today. The web interface is being funny so this is from my phone.

I’m glad that Oregon’s death penalty moratorium was upheld, but this is one of the strangest cases I’ve ever heard of.

Oregon death-row inmate Gary Haugen’s legal quest to force his own execution ended Tuesday when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to consider his case.

Without comment, the court denied his petition for writ of certiorari. The court turns down the vast majority of requests it receives each year to review a case.

[…]

But two weeks before Haugen’s planned execution date, Kitzhaber issued a reprieve and declared he would not allow any executions as long as he is governor. Kitzhaber criticized capital punishment as “morally wrong” and argued that Oregon’s system “fails to meet basic standards of justice.”

Haugen sued Kitzhaber. The late Senior Judge Timothy Alexander in 2012 agreed with Haugen’s arguments that the inmate had to accept Kitzhaber’s reprieve in order for it to be effective. But on appeal, the Oregon Supreme Court overturned that decision, finding that the governor’s action needed no such acceptance.

Here’s hoping Oregon can end their death penalty on a more permanent basis than who is governor. Still, even though it’s not an ideal way to do it, it would be a good example to Governor Inslee.

In yesterday’s Open Thread, I linked to a piece about two Senators who are trying to preempt SeaTac’s $15 an hour minimum wage initiative. The state minimum wage ought to be a floor. If localities want to do better, there’s no moral reason to preempt them.

It’s a shitty enough idea on its own, of course, but it’s also an attempt to preempt Seattle’s $15 process. And thinking about this piece of legislation rattling around in my mind hit loose this from last session: It seems rather similar to the attempt to preempt the Seattle Sick Leave/ Safe Leave law. And I also thought of this Rodney Tom piece of work from a week or so ago. Again, Rodney Tom thinks that the sick leave/safe leave law (I assume that’s at least part of the shorthand for McGinn) was a boon for the Eastside because it harmed Seattle. He also thinks that it’s his job to harm Seattle if it helps the East Side.

It seems like only two of those three things can be true. If the Rodney Toms and John Brauns of the legislature thought their job was to have “filled up our office towers” at the expense of Seattle and that liberal laws at the local level were doing that, they wouldn’t propose legislation to preempt those laws. So at least one of those things is a lie. Since they’re proposing — and in the last session passing through the Senate — these laws we can assume that they want these laws passed. That leaves either Seattle and SeaTac’s laws aren’t as harmful to business as they say, or those legislators aren’t as anti-Seattle as they say. Given their willingness to fuck with Seattle on a whole host of issues from the cost overrun provision* of a state highway to treating Seattle like a piggy bank to not letting Metro fund itself, they clearly have issues with urban King County, and Seattle specifically.

So that leaves the Sick Leave/Safe Leave law and the $15 minimum wage being bad for business. Given their other two positions, it seems like this is the weak point. As I said in that previous post last week, Seattle is doing OK with our employment regulations. Maybe those legislators are more worried that their constituents will be see what Seattle and SeaTac are doing and want it for themselves.

[Read more…]

– This was published in the Seattle Argus in April 12, 1968. Martin Luther King had literally just been assassinated the week before. I have no idea about the weekly Argus’ news cycle, but it seems at least in bad taste to publish something like this a week after the civil right’s leaders death.

– I know at this point Sarah Palin is just hoping for links to her horrible screeds, but she really has to stop.

– Ever since Roe, and only since Roe, women and men have been able to plan their lives with the assumption that they won’t become parents until or unless they want to.

– You know, if the legislature shuts down the local option for a $15 minimum wage, there probably could be a statewide initiative.

– There’s never been an easy solution to any problems in the Middle East, and the days ahead will once again test the mettle of everyone involved. But in a strange twist of fate, business as usual on Capitol Hill just might be the very thing that paves the road to peace.

– I’m also a sucker for good Samaritan stories.

– Happy MLK Day.

– Hell of a game last night. Still, the celebration was maybe a bit much for the NFC Championship (It wasn’t, you know, winning the Super Bowl, or V-J Day).

– Postgame interviews are probably unhelpful. Also, Richard Sherman is everything one could want in a professional athlete. He is a walking example of the difference sports can make, of how one man can channel fierce intelligence and an almost frightening competitive fire into something productive and riveting. He is precisely the type of person you should cheer for.

– Couple healing up after struck by car while walking across Stone Way

– 10 Questions Bill Simmons And ESPN Should Answer About ‘Dr. V’s Magical Putter’