Give Senator Don Benton this: He is an asshole. No, give him this: He was able to get a non-story into the news. Anyway start with his Christmas Eve press release

Senator Don Benton of Vancouver said he wants an audit of Planned Parenthood following accusations of fraudulent Medicaid billing.

Oh gosh. That sounds serious. “Accusations” must be a government office. What it couldn’t be — because it would be embarrassing even to the credibility challenged GOP — is a random group with the fake grassrootsiest name in the history of organizations.

He called for the investigation after a group called The Alliance Defending Freedom accused Planned Parenthood of over-billing Medicaid and the state of Washington at least 50,000 times, costing the state $337 million.

Oh. I’m not including Benton’s link to it here, but he links to the group, who are doing some year end fundraising. He doesn’t link to the “accusation” just to their front page fundraising page.* I just looked around the page, but this ostensible millions of dollars in fraud, this supposed bombshell, this major revelation of fraud, wasn’t easy to find. I’m sure it’s on their website, somewhere, but it wasn’t obvious to me. There is a lot of complaining about the war on Christmas, so there’s that.

So a group nobody has ever heard of makes inflammatory accusations, and they’re repeated by Senator Benton who demands an audit. This is a Senator who is so concerned with the public money that he took a make work job for his off time (Columbian link), so you know he’s serious.

Anyway, the press release ends with a link to what looks like a real news org picking it up. Jesus, your liberal media.

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– The (Catholic High School) kids are all right.

– Linda Thomas’ goodbye to KIRO and Cienna Madrid’s goodbye to Stranger readers.

– I’m glad the city is looking into ways to not discourage marijuana tourism, but I find it a bit odd that it’s coming from the City Attorney’s office.

– Phil Robertson’s America

– Civilization doesn’t have to be a casino.

– At least it doesn’t have fucking video ads.

– I wold totally play about 8 of these, if given the chance.

– Holy shit were bus drivers awesomesauce this morning.

– I imagine my posting will be lighter than usual in the next few weeks, but really, your reading will be lighter, so it all balances out.

We got a dusting of snow Downtown but not too much. And there’s more snow further North and less South.

Snow will is now peaking in the greater Puget Sound area and it will snow heavily for the next two hours or so then lighten and change to rain. Changeover to rain has already occured along the coast (as planned) and that changeover will gradually spread from southwest to northeast. We’re still thinking Seattle changeover to rain around 9 am or so.

Leave extra time to get to work as people might finally realize it’s OK to slow down a bit (and be one of those people if you drive) and public transit is extra crowded. I’m already regretting my decision to go back to work today, but I’m feeling OK, so I guess I should. Here’s a list of school closures/delays.

How is it in your neck of the woods?

I’m feeling like crap, so I’m heading to bed as soon as I get home. If I’m feeling better (or knowing me if I just can’t sleep) later on, I’ll post something. But otherwise, zzzzzzzzzz for me. Here are some topics:

– Christmas recipes

– Newtonmass recipes

– Carl is a dummy for walking to DL when he was already feeling a bit down.

– Carl should have taken his car, so it’s his own fault.

– How this won’t change Carl’s WARONCARZ stances, that are totally real.

– Something something Ed Murray

– Socialism!

– Communism!

– Is there a difference between the two?

– Obama

– Thanks Obama!

– #THANKSOBAMA!

– Oh, the Senate passed a shitty budget, but it’s probably better than the sequester budget.

– Get well soon, Carl*

– The State GOP. What, why?**

– How many pieces on this list before it feels like it’s just padding?

– Have we hit that already?

– Was it somewhere between “Here are some topics” and “Christmas recipes” or did it manage to be before that?

– Does Carl know his stupid lists are stupid, and even worse when he’s only going at 50% at the most?

– Whatever you want: you’re an adult

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The major issue next year in Seattle will be the push to get a $15 minimum wage either passed by the City Council or the voters. And I’m heartened to see that Council Member Elect Sawant is going to keep the pressure on.

Asked whether she’d be willing to wait until the end of mayor-elect Ed Murray’s first four-year term—Murray has said he wants to get to $15 an hour by the end of his first term in office—Sawant said no. “I think that’s too late, because working people … have to put food on the table today. They have to pay the rent every month. They can’t tell their landlord to wait four years.”

However, despite the emphasis on urgency, she struck a more conciliatory note on the specifics. “This is not something that we want to come up with unilaterally.” (Sawant has a habit of referring to herself in the plural).

I think that’s a bit of an unfair characterization given that she’s there with a large group of people, but whatever. The larger point that there will be a continued push from Murray’s, and the median council member’s, left probably bodes well for passing it.

I know Murray campaigned on passing it and I have no reason to doubt he wants to pass it for political as well as moral reasons. But I worry that he’s more concerned with irenic posturing to business interests than pressing ahead when there’s momentum. So hopefully this campaign will be a check on the people who are surely trying to process it to death.

If you’re interested in checking it out, there’s 15now.org. Looks like right now, they’re just trying to get your contact info. But there will presumably be more info once the push kicks into high gear.

– Congrats to the happy couple, but man alive do I not like public proposals.

– I’m not sure if Frank Chiachiere’s FrequentRide model over at Seattle Transit Blog would work to help save Metro, but I’m glad it’s pushing something beyond the status quo as the maximal position of transit advocates.

– A willingness to critique both sides isn’t evidence of any particular wisdom–the critique could simply be wrong. (Journalists, in particular, make this mistake with alarming regularity.) False equivalence isn’t nuance. And moderation in writing style isn’t depth. But there is something to be said for real nuance.

– Mike McGinn is still feisty on his exit.

– I’m as big a fan of Sriracha as anyone, but no. (h/t)

Cathy McMorris Rodgers is being horrible again.

“This is a Democrat party that has no interest in working with Republicans — one that’s openly hostile to American values and the Constitution,” said McMorris Rodgers, a member of the House Republican Leadership.

House Speaker John Boehner and Rep. Cathy McMorris-Rodgers, R-Washington. They have resisted strong, Senate-passed Violence Against Women Act bill, but appear resigned to letting it pass.R-Wash., Republican leaders in the House

McMorris Rodgers did not identify which “American values” to which her Democratic colleagues, including eight in the Washington delegation, are hostile.

“Just look at President Obama’s actions on Obamacare and immigration — he has been using unprecedented executive power to rule by decree: The Left will stop at nothing to achieve their goals,” added McMorris Rodgers.

Man, the imaginary Obama is really a horrible person. Why first he gets a moderate health care plan through Congress and then he doesn’t support repealing it! Then he supports immigration reform and takes some minor actions on the fringes that are well within his power as he waits to push reform more broadly and still deports lots of people! Is there nothing this monster isn’t capable of?

Seriously, there have been things that the executive has done that I don’t like: NSA spying is too far, and as I say, I wish there were a lot fewer deportations. Mostly though, it’s the routine executive overreach that we see in every administration. But she can’t very well write a fundraising letter, “Obama has a rather broad interpretation of his war powers, but it’s less than Bush, who I supported. Also, most other presidents since Adams almost got us into an undeclared war with the French have had a pretty broad idea of their war powers. Finally, the drone program that I supported under Bush is following it’s natural course, but we should probably reign it in. A contribution of $25, $50, or $100 will make sure we can continue to have nonsense hearings on whatever the right wing echo chamber is blathering on about now.”

– Seattle Bike Blog Magazine looks pretty nice.

– Someone tell Megyn Kelly about the first rule of holes.

– Broken saddles and saddle maintenance

– Oregon deserves WAY better than what Cover Oregon has done (or hasn’t done)

– In the last open thread, I linked to a playful list of suggestions about what was blocking Bertha. Here’s a more serious thing.

This seems like a reasonable rule change for Seattle City Council committee hearings:

The new rules give the presiding officer at a council meeting the right to kick a commenter out of council meetings for up to 28 days (up from the originally proposed 14, since council committees may not meet for several weeks on end) for “outbursts” from the audience or from disruptions that block other people from speaking.

The new rules also limit public comment in front of committees to “matters within the purview of the specific committee or an item listed on that day’s agenda.” That change actually could broaden the scope of public comment at committees, because committee chairs currently have the discretion to limit public comment to items that are actually on their agendas. Public comment at full council would remain limited to items on the agenda.

However, to the chagrin of council members like Sally Bagshaw, who has been verbally abused by Stand Up America’s Sam Bellomio (who ran against Bagshaw this year) over and over, the rules don’t prohibit foul language or outbursts at the public speakers’ podium, as long as they’re relevant to legislation or the business of a specific committee.

As most of you goat fucking shit for brains know, I’m pretty pro swearing. And if you want to go in front of a meeting and use language that adults use, well, OK. But the worst thing at those meetings is when people decide to talk about something that isn’t on topic. Seriously, if I’m using my afternoon or evening to give testimony or report on it, don’t waste my time, or the time of the rest of the public, with some nonsense asides.

The charter schools law that was passed by the voters last year was ruled unconstitutional by a King County Superior Court Judge.

But, Judge Rietschel concludes: “A charter school cannot be defined as a common school because it is not under the control of the voters of the school district. The statute places control under a private non-profit organization, a local charter board and/or the Charter Commission.”

In other words, charter schools may not be funded with state dollars dedicated to funding our state’s common schools.

On to the state supreme court.

Now look, in Seattle and for much of the rest of the state, the way the school board is structured is problematic. And the politics around school closures a few years ago was ridiculous. Still, there is a measure of accountability to the public in school districts.

This desire to get taxpayer money without any accountability is problematic. The proponents of these types of, ahem, reforms never want to structure school board races so the boards are more accountable, or to pay board members better so the job isn’t part time.

– Crazy ass guesses about what Bertha ran into

– So it turns out selfish assholism isn’t a great way to run one of America’s premier brands.

– Yesterday I said our being near the top of signups for health care should probably be divided against state population. Here’s that, and it’s less yay Washington and more yay Vermont.

– I don’t know the difference between taxes and fees in the budget deal either. Maybe we can have a high earners income fee in this state?

– Boeing chief meets with union reps who opposed 777X deal (Seattle Times link)

– I’m digging Joe Posnanski’s 100 greatest baseball players list. Especially the ones I haven’t heard of.

Washington is the state with the 4th most signups for health care via exchanges. Looking at the list, I think it’s in terms of raw numbers, so extra bully on us as a medium sized state.

More than 175,000 Washington residents have signed up through the state exchange to date, according to data on wahealthplanfinder.org. Many are newly eligible for Medicaid when the public health program expands in January.

More than 18,000 residents have signed up for qualified health plans that are sold through the exchange, and another 43,000 have filled out applications, but have yet to make payments.

Obviously, it’s a bit silly to make a state-by-state comparison. Some states will have more people who need the exchanges and some will have less. And unless you divide by population, it’s not that useful of a metric. Still, it shows that a governor and a legislature committed to making the exchanges work can make the exchanges work. Imagine that.

It’s kind of strange that the State Senate GOP (er, Majority Coalition (er, GOP)) are talking about how awesome things have been under their leadership.

From an unprecedented boost in support for K-12 education and the first college-tuition freeze in nearly three decades to a sustainable new state budget that was balanced without general tax increases, the Senate Majority Coalition Caucus racked up a remarkable list of achievements in its first year.

Your Caucus was pushing for differential tuition and you totally would have spent the money we’re getting from having a somewhat improved economy on tax cuts instead of education. Also much of that “boost” to K-12 education comes from teacher pay, and that’s not really a boost so much as moving money around within education.

But it’s that “remarkable list of achievements” that caught my eye, since they didn’t even propose a transit package: They killed the Columbia River Crossing and didn’t replace it with anything. In the wake of the I-5 bridge collapse they decided low taxes was the priority. They heard King County ask to tax itself and they’ve pissed away any time to make it happen.

– Today in No. Just no.

– Oh look, the GOP are going to demand more frivolous lawsuits, but it’s OK because it’ll be against abortion providers (h/t).

– John Kitzhaber is running for reelection

– Viva! SeaTac

– If you’re up in Shoreline, they need volunteers for Holiday Baskets food and gift distribution

– Tongue Twisters

So we got a few flurries, but not much during work. It’s sort of sticking but not really. Since I’m safely on my way home, and since it probably won’t stick, I couldn’t be happier with the prospect of snow before it warms up.

With that said, moisture offshore will move inland and as that collides with our cold atmosphere, there’s a chance of snow for all of us later today. The coastal communities will see the snow first (a WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY is in effect for the Long Beach Peninsula through 11pm Tuesday) as 1-2″ of snow is likely. We won’t see that much in the way of accumulations across the lowlands, but the chance of light snow will greet us later today.

Did you have anything where you work? Are you dreading the prospect of shoveling your walkway, small as it may be? Do you have kids who you are are hoping won’t miss school tomorrow? Are you just making a nice lentil soup so what the hell, you can have a walk in the snow if it comes and warm up after?