It’s that time of year again. Time to debate if the Space Needle should fly the rainbow flag.

The Space Needle, a symbol of Seattle though owned by a private company, initially said it would not fly the rainbow flag last year. The company changed its mind after $50,000 was raised to benefit charities that work with the LGBT community, and the flag waved during Seattle’s 2011 Gay Pride Parade.

The 2012 parade is this weekend. Space Needle managers haven’t responded to my question about whether they will or won’t fly the flag atop the structure, now painted “galaxy orange” in honor of its 50th anniversary.

I hope they fly it every year, like the 12th man flag.

– I’m not sure zero tolerance is a good strategy for dealing with gun crimes. But the previous strategies clearly weren’t working.

– RIP Rodney King.

– If there is anything the Federal Reserve could be doing that it’s not doing — and there is — then they are to blame for this. For this multiplied by 14 million. For Ben Bernanke and his cohorts to be giving a single flying fig about the remote possibility of inflation right now really is obscene.

– If the Tea Party doesn’t want to be seen as racist, maybe don’t start off a rally with a racist joke.

– Lord Player says more homophobic nonsense.

– Publicola are back.

– Happy Solstice.

– This is the greatest headline in human history.

– Kill My Blues.

When Lee and I (and some other folks) used to do metacommentary one of our favorite blogs to make fun of was Reagan Wing. Nowadays, they’re pretty much just a Ron Paul blog. And is keepusfree upset with Rand Paul, but don’t criticize him.

Rand Paul a Traitor?

No. He endorsed a different presidential candidate than you. Unless that presidential candidate is Jefferson Davis, it ain’t treason.

Along with many of you in the Liberty Movement, I watched and listened with sick horror to Rand Paul’s endorsement of Mitt Romney. But thinking about it, in a political sense, in a global context of what is happening in our world, I would like to offer a hypothesis.

I think you’ll be surprised to learn that there’s a difference between vague half articulated conspiracy theories and a hypothesis.

We do not know the pressures that might have been brought to bear on Ron and Rand Paul. The power wielded by the enemies of the free people of the world is enormous and they have no scruples, no mercy, and no justice. In a perfect world, there might be a “John Galt” moment, where Rand steps aside to reveal the gun pointed at him. But that is a novel. Real life is not so clean.

I think the enemies of free people probably brought a bear to bear on Rand Paul. What I’m saying is watch out for his family getting mauled by a grizzly if he switches back to his father. It can’t possibly have anything to do with delegate math. I know the Ron Paul people think they’ll just overwhelm the national convention. But (a) they won’t, and (b) even if they did, maybe Rand Paul thinks it would be immoral (or just bad politics) to nominate someone who couldn’t win the majority of a single state. But you know what, fuck all that: mysterious forces.

If the Powers That Be can see our heroes brought low, it is to their great advantage and will serve them well. That someone breaks under the kind of pressure that they can exert is to be expected.

The pressure of winning the nomination. Wait, am I defending Mitt Romney? What’s wrong with me? It must be The Powers That Be. Anyway, it goes on like this for a while: they’re brave truth tellers, and it’s oh so tough. Then we reach the conclusion.

Rand Paul’s Cross

In this metaphor, Rand Paul is Jesus. But maybe, I’m being too over the top. It’s a fairly common metaphor that we all understand. It’s not like she called his father “Father” with a capital “F” or something.

Before you criticize Rand Paul, you should walk a mile in his shoes. The road he is traveling cannot be easy and will be rocky and dangerous. But his Father must have passed on some of his stalwart principles to his son, and he may yet serve us, even while he faces our ire and castigation for something which well may be completely out of his control, or may be a part of something we cannot yet see or understand. It may be the cross he has to bear and the sacrifice he has to make in order to continue in the fight at all. Only time will tell.

Or, he’s just a politician with some awful ideas that are closer to his dad’s. But since his dad isn’t going to win the nomination, he endorsed the other guy with horrible ideas.

– the ideas are to restrict the rollover of surplus campaign funds from one election to the next to $5,000, and to limit campaign fundraising to begin in January of the election year.

– This story about how Obama’s DREAM act executive order will play out in the Tri-Cities is interesting, but is Tri-Cities a reasonable dateline?

– This is where the knee-jerk conservative resentment of anything deemed “liberal” leads. Prudence, fitness, frugality, conservation: These are the kind of old-fashioned American values that conservatives claim they stand for. But since liberals also agree that saving money, doing right by your body, and having a liveable environment are good things, Republicans have to childishly reject all that on the grounds that liberals tainted it. This is how far we’ve fallen as a country.

– The Vagina Monologues to be performed at the Michigan capital.

– Good question.

– Extra value?

On Friday David Brooks and Paul Krugman share space on the New York Times Op-Ed page. Sometimes, the contrast between the quality of writing is embarrassing. Today, I noticed the transitions between paragraphs. Here’s how Bobo starts each paragraph after the first:

I guess I’d say
But many Republicans
“We have a sense
To Republican eyes,
America’s economic stagnation
In America as in Europe
The welfare model favors
This is the source of Republican extremism
Mitt Romney hasn’t put it this way
Democrats have had trouble grasping
In his speech
Obama championed
This is what this election is about
Republicans and Democrats have different perceptions

Sometimes it ties the previous paragraph to the next one. But more often than not it’s jarring. Oh here’s a new idea. Maybe there are connections, but you’ll have to make them yourself. Compare that to K-thug.

Never mind
In the remarks
You can see
So would getting rid of teachers, police officers, and firefighters help the American people?
But the more relevant question
First of all
And, if we had those extra jobs
The really decisive evidence
But recovery never came
And the point is
So the former governor
Actually, it’s kind of ironic
And that’s not just an inference
In fact
Needless to say

Whatever you think of Krugman’s argument in this piece, you can see the way he ties one paragraph into another pretty much every time.

My questions in bold Kathleen Drew’s are unbolded.

1) How will you make sure elections are fair?

Washingtonians expect a Secretary of State who is fair and impartial. Those are the characteristics I have shown throughout my career. I am not a career politician, I am an effective and experienced manager committed to fair elections and increased voter participation. I authored our state’s Ethics in Public Service law and served on our state Commission on Government Ethics and Campaign Finance Reform.

As Secretary of State I will ensure consistency and transparency in election processes across the state. I will require a paper trail for votes cast. I will increase auditing of equipment and processes to ensure that our election system is secure and accurate.

I will also implement consistent statewide policies on the use and distribution of ballot drop boxes so that they are available in communities and on college campuses across the state. I’ll reach out to all demographic groups in both urban and rural communities to encourage all eligible citizens to vote. Working together we can identify barriers that eligible voters face and eliminate them. However, all of these improvements will be at risk if we allow corporate interests to participate in elections without restriction or accountability. I’ll fight any efforts to suppress voting, such as those we’ve seen in other states. I strongly oppose the Supreme Court’s decision in the Citizens United case and support a constitutional amendment to repeal the decision. I also support passage of the DISCLOSE Act. I’ll work here in Washington State to increase transparency and accountability in the initiative process.

2) The last Democratic Secretary of State retired in 1964. What makes you think you’re going to finally flip that?

Both of the previous two Secretaries of State had statewide experience and worked in the executive branch of state government. I am the only candidate of any party in this race that has similar experience in state government, both as a policy advisor to the Governor and as a State Senator. I have a clear vision of why I am running and what I want to accomplish. I have the most active and effective campaign of any candidate and have been traveling across the state listening to voters’ concerns and ideas since November. I am the nominee of the Washington State Democratic Party and have been endorsed by dozens of organizations, state and local elected officials, community leaders and citizens from every part of this state. Many of these endorsements are listed below.

Washington State Democratic Party Nominee
Washington State Labor Council
International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, AFL-CIO District 751
Washington Federation of State Employees
American Federation of Teachers, Washington
SEIU 1199NW
Teamsters Joint Council 28
UFCW 367
IBEW Local 77
IBEW Local 112
IBEW Local 483
Spokane Fire Fighters Union Local 29
EMILY’s List
NARAL Pro-Choice Washington
National Organization for Women
National Women’s Political Caucus of Washington State
King County Democrats
Pierce County Democrats
Snohomish County Democrats
Thurston County Democrats
Kitsap County Democrats
Grays Harbor County Democrats
Metropolitan Democratic Club of Seattle
1st Legislative District Democrats (Bothell)
5th Legislative District Democrats (Issaquah)
11th Legislative District Democrats (Renton)
15th Legislative District Democrats (Yakima)
22nd Legislative District Democrats (Olympia)
27th Legislative District Democrats (Tacoma)
30th Legislative District Democrats (Federal Way)
32nd Legislative District Democrats (Shoreline)
33rd Legislative District Democrats (Kent)
34th Legislative District Democrats (Seattle)
35th Legislative District Democrats (Mason, Kitsap, and Thurston Counties)
36th Legislative District Democrats (Seattle)
37th Legislative District Democrats (Seattle)
41st Legislative District Democrats (Bellevue and Mercer Island)
42nd Legislative District Democrats (Bellevue)
43rd Legislative District Democrats (Seattle)
45th Legislative District Democrats (Redmond)
46th Legislative District Democrats (Seattle)
47th Legislative District Democrats (Covington)
49th Legislative District Democrats (Vancouver)
Young Democrats of Washington
King County Young Democrats
Pierce County Young Democrats
UW Young Democrats
WSU Young Democrats
Adam Smith, United States Congressman (WA-9)
Robert Utter, Former Chief Justice, Washington State Supreme Court
Faith Ireland, Former Justice, Washington State Supreme Court
Jennifer Belcher, Former Public Lands Commissioner
Michael J. Murphy, Former Washington State Treasurer
Ron Sims, Former King County Executive
Jolene Unsoeld, Former United States Congresswoman (WA-3)
Rosemary McAuliffe, Washington State Senate (D-1)
Luis Moscoso, Washington State House of Representatives (D-1)
Derek Stanford, Washington State House of Representatives (D-1)
Andy Billig, Washington State House of Representatives (D-3)
Margarita Prentice, Washington State Senate (D-11)
Bob Hasegawa, Washington State House of Representatives (D-11)
Brian Blake, Washington State House of Representatives (D-19)
Mary Helen Roberts, Washington State House of Representatives (D-21)
Karen Fraser, Washington State Senate (D-22)
Sam Hunt, Washington State House of Representatives (D-22)
Chris Reykdal, Washington State House of Representatives (D-22)
Sherry Appleton, Washington State House of Representatives (D-23)
Christine Rolfes, Washington State Senate (D-23)
Steve Tharinger, Washington State House of Representatives (D-24)
Larry Seaquist, Washington State House of Representatives (D-26)
Jeannie Darneille, Washington State House of Representatives (D-27)
Laurie Jinkins, Washington State House of Representatives (D-27)
Tami Green, Washington State House of Representatives (D-28)
Connie Ladenburg, Washington State House of Representatives (D-29)
Steve Kirby, Washington State House of Representatives (D-29)
Maralyn Chase, Washington State Senate (D-32)
Cindy Ryu, Washington State House of Representatives (D-32)
Ruth Kagi, Washington State House of Representatives (D-32)
Karen Keiser, Washington State Senate (D-33)
Dave Upthegrove, Washington State House of Representatives (D-33)
Sharon Nelson, Washington State Senate (D-34)
Eileen Cody, Washington State House of Representatives (D-34)
Kathy Haigh, Washington State House of Representatives (D-35)
Adam Kline, Washington State Senate (D-37)
John McCoy, Washington State House of Representatives (D-38)
Mike Sells, Washington State House of Representatives (D-38)
Kristine Lytton, Washington State House of Representatives (D-40)
Marcie Maxwell, Washington State House of Representatives (D-41)
Jamie Pedersen, Washington State House of Representatives (D-43)
Hans Dunshee, Washington State House of Representatives (D-44)
Gerry Pollet, Washington State House of Representatives (D-46)
Sharon Wylie, Washington State House of Representatives (D-49)
Jim Moeller, Washington State House of Representatives (D-49)
Julia Patterson, King County Councilmember
Larry Phillips, King County Councilmember
Lloyd Hara, King County Assessor
Gael Tarleton, Port of Seattle Commissioner
Brian Sullivan, Snohomish County Councilmember
Stephanie Wright, Snohomish County Councilmember
Dave Gossett, Shohomish County Councilmember
John Lovick, Snohomish County Sheriff
Cindy Portmann, Snohomish County Assessor
Sonya Kraski, Snohomish County Clerk
Doug Lasher, Clark County Treasurer
David Peterson, Kitsap County Clerk
Sandra Romero, Thurston County Commissioner
Karen Valenzuela, Thurston County Commissioner
Shawn Myers, Thurston County Treasurer
Steven Drew, Thurston County Assessor
George Barner, Thurston County Port Commissioner
Mike Doherty, Clallam County Commissioner
Bruce Walker, Pacific County Assessor
Jean Godden, Seattle City Councilmember
Richard Conlin, Seattle City Councilmember
Bruce Harrell, Seattle City Councilmember
Tom Rasmussen, Seattle City Councilmember
Ray Stephanson, Everett Mayor
Lauren Walker, Tacoma City Councilmember
Ryan Mello, Tacoma City Councilmember
Anders Ibsen, Tacoma City Councilmember
Dennis Higgins, Kent City Councilmember
Dana Ralph, Kent City Councilmember
Joan McBride, Kirkland Mayor
Jim Cooper, Olympia City Council
Karen Rogers, Olympia City Council
Jeff Gadman, Lacey City Councilmember
Ron Lawson, Lacey City Councilmember
Cynthia Pratt, Lacey City Councilmember
Andy Ryder, Lacey City Councilmember
Carol Arends, Bremerton City Councilmember
Greg Wheeler, Bremerton City Councilmember
Leslie Daugs, Bremerton City Councilmember
Sissi Bruch, Port Angeles City Councilmember
Ken Hays, Sequim Mayor
Laura Dubois, Sequim City Councilmember
Gerald Robinson, Burien City Councilmember
Joan Cathey, Tumwater City Councilmember
Tom Oliva, Tumwater City Councilmember
Wayne Ehlers, Former Washington State Representative and Speaker of the House (D-2)
Valoria Loveland, Former Franklin County Treasurer and Washington State Senator (D-16)
Bill Smitherman, Former Washington State Senator (D-26)
Nancy Rust, Former Washington State Representative (D-32)
Harriet Spanel, Former Washington State Senator (D-40)
Pat Thibaudeau, Former Washington State Senator (D-43)
Dawn Mason, Former Washington State Representative (D-37)
Val Ogden, Former Washington State Representative (D-49)
Mary Ann Ottinger, Former King County District Court Judge
Mary Verner, Former Spokane Mayor
Cathy Pearsall-Stipek, Former Pierce County Auditor

3) Sam Reed has been pushing to count the ballots that are received by election day (like in Oregon) rather than the ones postmarked by election day. Do you support or oppose this?

Although many are frustrated by the length of time it takes to get final election results, I do not support changing the due date for ballot returns. First, we have required ballots to be postmarked by Election Day for about 30 years. Changing this practice will disenfranchise many who have consistently voted in this state. Second, the legislature recently changed the primary date to ensure overseas and military voters could receive and return ballots by Election Day. We have had a system of requiring votes to be postmarked by Election Day and this will once again shorten the timeframe for our service men and women overseas. Third, we are facing federal cutbacks to our US Postal Service. The future of regional post offices is uncertain. If postal service declines, the impact on mailed ballots could mean additional days for delivery. Requiring the ballots to be dropped off or postmarked by Election Day provides for the most consistent statewide rule where voters do not have to guess when their ballots will be received.

4) What legislation, if any, will you lobby for as Secretary of State?

There are three crucial bills that I will lobby for and make Secretary of State legislation. All three were introduced last year, but did not make it into law.

1. HB 2205 / SB 6128 – Allowing 16 and 17 year olds to preregister to vote

As it stands, 40% of Washingtonians register to vote when they get their driver’s license. This system works well, but it currently precludes our sons and daughters who get their driver’s license before the age of 18 from participating in this successful program. Allowing them to preregister will increase access to voting and actively engage young people in the political processes.

This is a crucial bill and I’m honored to have the support of Rep. Billig, the prime sponsor of this legislation.

2. SB 6127/HB 2204 – Election Day Registration

This is a necessary step towards greater access that will allow all of our citizens to vote in elections, even if they have not registered ahead of the election. This policy needs a supportive Secretary of State who is willing to work with local Auditors to implement the plan and involve community organizations to assist in the efforts.

3. HB 2612 / SB 6381 – The Washington State Voting Rights Act

This bill will allow communities with a history of racism to work towards transforming their election system from an at large system to one that is district based and does not disenfranchise communities of color. I’m enthusiastic about working on this bill, having previously met with the students who led the research towards this effort and many of the stakeholder groups that are working introduce more fairness for all into our system.

Post Wisconsin there’s reason to worry about corporate cash flowing to Mitt Romney. But I agree with Blue Texan that it’s good for the Democratic brand.

The Democratic Party’s embrace of Wall Street in the 1990s has been a disaster for the country and the party. It’s led to horrible policies such as the repeal of New Deal banking regulations — and badly diluted the brand.

Let’s go back to welcoming their hatred, please.

The only thing I’d add is that it also probably means something positive about banking reform as a policy. It’s certainly not perfect by a long shot, but if it pisses off the bankers, it can’t be totally toothless.

– Phone books are a mandate Rob McKenna can get behind.

– 1/3 of all online shopping.

– That’s a lot of military bases near Iran.

– John Edwards is still a creep, but still a creep who won’t be going to jail.

– The amount of money Sheldon Adleson has to spend is pretty mind blowing.

– David Brooks, wtf?

– And not to pick on The New York Times too much, but this Tumbler of questions for Tom Freedman is brilliant [h/t].

Starbuck the dog (maybe with some help from his owner BGK) has a good overview of the marriage equality debate shaping up. Go read the whole thing.

While I was there, this particular argument from the anti-side struck me as pretty disingenuous.

While the bill has been amended to provide narrow exemptions for religious organizations that do not choose to be involved in same-sex ceremonies, it contains nothing to provide the same protections for private businesses that refuse service for these ceremonies on the grounds of religious conscience. That invites massive new lawsuits against photographers, bakers and decorators, tuxedo and wedding dress stores, hotels, caterers and others involved in the wedding industry.

I want to be clear here: It should be illegal to discriminate in business in Washington, including in the wedding industry.* Discrimination is wrong, and it doesn’t make sense to carve out this piece from our anti-discrimination laws.

But even if that’s your problem, it seems like this referendum is a pretty poor way of going about solving it. I mean these groups have shown they can gather signatures en masse. If that’s the concern, why not let the marriage equality law pass and get their particular exception to our anti-discrimination laws on the ballot?

[Read more…]

The tone of this piece is a little odd, but you know what, I support the sentiment.

We love it when Seattle tops a best-cities list. Are Seattlites fashionable? Check. Are we bookish? Sure. Are our hotels and apartments infested with bedbugs?

Not really. At least, not like the ones in Philadelphia.

We’re not in the top 15 (if a survey by a pest control company is accurate, it may well not be).

Anyway, they’re pretty aggressive about keeping bedbugs out in my building. We have posters for how to recognize bedbugs and we had a dog come in a while ago to sniff out each apartment. So as of, like February, I’m good on this front.

– Seattle has black jobs and white jobs. If President Obama went down there and applied, he couldn’t get one of those jobs.

– More anti-abortion bullshit coming out of Texas.

– So far The Stranger’s map of free outlets is pretty bare. But it’s a good start.

– Republican members of the Senate think that the path to small business success is paved with the unpaid wages of working women.

– The Up Garden.

– I don’t know about you, but I think Lindy West wrote the greatest opening paragraph in the history of words.

– Let Mitt do the driving.

– How Feudalism works.

The Tacoma News Tribune has an editorial objecting to bonuses for General Services Administration managers. I have nothing in the editorial qua the editorial to object to (OK, it starts off with an unnecessary metaphor implying that GSA managers are the same as dogs, but the thrust of the piece is fine). GSA fucked up and the pressure should stay on on them. This is the sort of public good that we expect newspapers to push, and to push hard.

But I don’t remember the Trib lamenting the managers at big banks getting bonuses. I did a few searches. Maybe I missed something. You can argue private versus public, that we should care more about a government agency like the GSA. But given the big banks central role in society (I’d say I interact with banks a lot more than with the GSA) surely they ought to be held accountable in some way. And of course one main reason they stayed afloat during the crisis and have done well since is the massive amount of freeish money taxpayers are giving them. Surely those bonuses to people who fucked things up are worse use of taxpayer money than bonuses to the GSA.

But fine, maybe that’s not a direct waste of taxpayer money if you buy what the banks are saying. Still there was a scandal about missing money in Iraq a few years ago and it pops up every now and again that kind of makes the GSA story seem teeny tiny itty bitty. The Trib’s Ed Board editorialized against it too. But this is the only one that I could find. After the 3rd inspector general’s report, they finally did one piece on it. It seems like any waste of money by a government agency cranks out similar outrage.

– The social engineering in recruiting and force structure, the endless, pointless missions,the impossible standard set by asking every soldier to be a “hero,” when soldiers know that most heroes are dead or disabled. Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. Which is why it’s no wonder that we see stories like this…

– Another chance for Pierce Transit voters to vote for a sales tax increase to help their system.

– Paid signature gathering, what could go wrong?

– I haven’t had a chance to watch the Revitalizing State and Local Blogging panel at Netroots Nation, but the tweets were interesting.

– Olympia High School‘s response to Westboro Baptist Church. [h/t, and while you’re there, check out the Calvin Johnson walking tour of Olympia]

– I’m the guy in the video. LOL forever.

I’m not sure how much value we should put into a no hitter. After all, it’s as much of a win as a 9-10 slug fest or a 3-12 blowout. And with the Mariners it isn’t even a point of pride for the starter. It seems like it’s becoming more common, although maybe that’s just my perception.

Still, having grown up on New York and lived out here in the Seattle area most of my life, it’s very nice indeed that both of my teams have had one this year. It’s especially nice for the Mets since 50 years. But either way it’s a great day in the midst of a long season.

Also (and there was some discussion of this in one of the Mets blogs last week, but I can’t find it), for the love of God, mention the no hitter in your emails and facebook postings. “Are you watching the game?” Doesn’t cut it. I know baseball fans get superstitious about mentioning the no hitter. But the best case is that your friends get to see something great and the worst case is they think you’re magic.

I was surprised at how hard the loss in Wisconsin hit me. I mean, it wasn’t like the Democrats nominated someone other than a corporate shill (just less of one than Walker). I’ve never even been there. Still, the loss. The stripping away of union rights. The fact that money got to dictate the agenda even more than usual. That this somehow became more of a process story rather than a story about Walker until election day when it was a reformation of his agenda.

But still, a win would have turned back something. It would have signaled that enough is enough. That at our best we’re in it together. That corporate money doesn’t trump decency and hard work. I don’t know what to say, except keep working.

Corporate money and obfuscation won the day. And it sucks. But as much as powerful interests want to drown out your voice, you still have a voice. As much as organizing lost to big money this time, there will be a next time. As much as this is a setback, as much as people’s lives are going to be hurt by his policies, it’s not the end. There is no end.