HorsesAss.Org

While I haven’t read it, can’t imagine I won’t support the SEIU backed initiative to fund enforcement of the $15 minimum wage, of the sick leave/safe leave law, and other workplace issues in Seattle. While, generally I don’t think dedicated money is the way to go on those sorts of things, the city hasn’t been very good at enforcement so far. So better a dedicated tax than it being under-resourced.

Systemic

by Carl Ballard — Thursday, 4/21/16, 7:16 pm

When liberals and conservatives have conversations about things like homelessness, it can be frustrating. Conservatives want individuals to take personal responsibility. And while liberals find individual responsibility important, we also understand that there are systemic problems that have to be dealt with. That it’s really tough to bootstrap yourself into a house if you’re homeless and there isn’t enough supply. So, sometimes we talk past each other. Jason Rantz tries to circle that square by showing how liberals being tolerant is the real systemic problem (h/t).

I’ve been meaning to do a longer piece for a while, but it keeps being nice out. After like 4 days, it’s still too nice of a day to do a metacommentary piece on the whole thing, but here are some highlights:

But why so many in this neighborhood? I’ve never seen as many until recently. As other neighborhoods are engaged in trying to help deal with the problem, Capitol Hill seems like they’re allowing it to develop unfettered. I think I know why: ideology.

Homelessness is everywhere. I don’t know what neighborhood doesn’t have homeless people. Including suburban and rural places in King County. Also, is Cap. Hill’s tolerance new? Because otherwise, it doesn’t really apply to this supposedly new problem. Also, too, I walked from the light rail station to Drinking Liberally last Tuesday, and back fairly late at night. It was after reading this piece, so I was on the lookout for homeless people. It didn’t seem like a whole lot, at least compared to other neighborhoods. Sure, I passed by some people sleeping in doorways, but I don’t think more than Downtown or Belltown. Certainly not more than, say, the Terminal 91 Bike Path or SoDo, if we’re trading anecdote for data.

Progressive ideologues like to preach how tolerant they are. You ask them and they’ll proudly tell you. Now, they don’t support ideological diversity, but they’re pro-LGBT, pro-people of color, pro-atheist, pro-multicultralism, pro-whatever. The only things they’re against seem to be capitalism and cisgendered white Christian Republican men. And to show how tolerant they are, they seek to ban microaggressions; they support college students who need “safe spaces” from opinions that make them uncomfortable. They like to declare themselves allies of any group they believe to be oppressed.

Atheism and multiculturalism are both ideologies. So that third sentence is self-refuting. Some progressive ideologues are against capitalism, but I think most aren’t. Also, I don’t know what against “cisgendered white Christian Republican men” even means. Like, don’t think they should dominate the conversation, sure. But progressives are not the ones trying to regulate where cis people can poop or poised to nominate someone who wants a travel ban on Christians. Anyway, I guess we should just be glad he learned the word cisgendered and this isn’t a rant about that.

Oh my God there was so much wrong with that paragraph. OK. Keep going.

Nobody is trying to ban microaggressions. Pointing out how harmful they are? Sure. You can go yell racial epithets (macroaggressions if you like) in the park, and nobody is going to ban you. But you think a ban on microaggressions is in the works? Also, safe spaces and being allies to the oppressed is pretty rad. Like everywhere should be unsafe in general and harmful to oppressed people? What the fuck even is that? In fairness, he walks that back a bit in the next couple paragraphs, that I’m skipping. But still.

I think some ideological activists won’t help the homeless because they subconsciously want to live around them. They can say that they don’t judge people based on their appearance or status as someone who lives on the street, and this gives them a sense of superiority to those of us who want to intervene.

This describes literally nobody. The solutions to homelessness include build more housing and make it affordable. It isn’t just tolerate it. The closest thing I can think of to being tolerant as a policy was housing for chronic public inebriates, but that has been a success story among King County’s mixed-at-best record.

Open Thread 4-20

by Carl Ballard — Wednesday, 4/20/16, 6:57 am

I’m going to see if some small talk spurs discussion.

Geez, 3 days of more than 80 degrees is quite enough. I’m giving up: Shorts to work. And it’s only April. Man. I’m actually looking forward to some rain in a few days. Can you believe it?

Drinking Liberally — Seattle

by Darryl — Tuesday, 4/19/16, 5:31 am

This week, the Seattle Chapter of Drinking liberally will meet for an evening of political discussion and drinks. The New York primary results will lead off the conversation. Please Join us.

We meet tonight and every Tuesday at the Roanoke Park Place Tavern, 2409 10th Ave E, Seattle. You’ll find us in the small room at the back of the tavern. We start at 8:00pm.

Can’t make it to Seattle tonight? Check out one of the other DL meetings this week. Tonight, the Tri-Cities and Vancouver, WA chapters meet.
The Lakewood chapter meets on Wednesday. And on Thursday, the Tacoma, Bremerton, and Spokane chapters meet.

There are 180 chapters of Living Liberally, including nineteen in Washington state, three in Oregon and one in Idaho. Find (or start!) a chapter near you.

Open Thread 4-18

by Carl Ballard — Monday, 4/18/16, 7:11 am

I can sort of understand grandstanding against trans people. It’s a cheap way to say you’re a horrible person. It signals to a certain type of horrible person that you’re in the tribe, and it lets you rail against imaginary horrors like people pooping in a place you’ve claimed are wrong. Also, you get to make stuff up like trans rape without actually doing anything about rape. And the costs of being an ass are borne by other people.

But what I don’t get is why people would pay money for a trans-hate initiative. I mean a fool and their money and all that, I guess.

HA Bible Study: Leviticus 19:19

by Goldy — Sunday, 4/17/16, 6:00 am

Leviticus 19:19
Breed your livestock animals only with animals of the same kind, and don’t plant two kinds of seed in the same field or wear clothes made of different kinds of material.

Discuss.

Friday Night Multimedia Extravaganza!

by Darryl — Saturday, 4/16/16, 1:35 am

Bernie and the Rabbi.

Samantha Bee: Why superdelegates are a good thing.

Sam Seder and Ari Berman: Voter suppression in 2016.

Young Turks: Planned Parenthood shooter’s crazy, creepy fantasy.

Jimmy Dore: Bill O’Reilly spews racist garbage, immediately says he’s “not a racist”.

Samantha Bee: Gun TV.

Matthew Filipowicz: Climate change and the war on clouds.

Daily Show: Sexual racism.

Minute Physics: Why are airplane engines so big.

The 2016 Clown Parade Marches On:

Mark Fiore: Paul Ryan is TOTALLY NOT RUNNING
“So…you’re really not running for Prez?”
David Pakman: Paul Ryan rules out a run for President…just like he did Speaker of the House
Friday hot takes.
Jimmy Dore: Ivanka & Eric Drumpf not voting for Donald for hilarious reason
Drumpf’s punishment for abortion doctors.
Underwood Drumpf endorsement.
Sam Seder: Drumpf asks a crowd a VERY STUPID QUESTION.
Who said it? Drumpf or Cartman?
Young Turks: Drumpf whines about Colorado.
Seth Meyers: A closer look at Drumpf’s delegate troubles.
Larry Wilmore: The Unblackening – Drumpf campaign’s “gestapo” accusation:
Trevor Noah: Donald Drumpf’s golden pyramid scheme
Avoid showing your tax returns.
Young Turks: Drumpf’s favorite Bible verse is “eye for an eye.”
How did Ted Cruz beat Donald Drumpf without any votes?
Jimmy Dore: Bill O’Reilly out-racists Donald Drumpf with “forehead tattoo” nonsense. Even Drumpf doesn’t bite.
Bernie slams Ted Cruz for his “New York values”.
Young Turks: Ted Cruz tried to ban dildos
Trevor: More reasons to dislike Ted Cruz
The John Kasich Energy Drink:

White House: West Wing Week.

How 112 people will determine where the GOP convention goes.

How to do your taxes.

Stephen and Hillary: America’s small issues.

Seth Meyers: A closer look at Goldman Sachs’ fines

Sam Seder: Public backlash puts the heat on in N.C..

VSauce: How to count past infinity.

Political ‘Captain America’ mashup.

House of Ruth: SCOTUS in the City

Samantha Bee: The NRA stands up for strict regulation…of its mascot costume!

Last week’s Friday Night Multimedia Extravaganza can be found here.

Open Thread, or is it?

by Carl Ballard — Friday, 4/15/16, 7:01 am

Yeah, it is an open thread.

Feel free to talk about whatever. I mentioned candidates in a recent open thread, and I think it kind of killed the conversation for anyone who didn’t want to talk about that. So I just want to underline that barring violations of the comment policy, you can talk about whatever in the Open Threads. In theory I’ll get back to more threads with topics soon.

Open Thread 4-13

by Carl Ballard — Wednesday, 4/13/16, 7:10 am

As we get further and further from it, the more people are going to try to write their own narrative on to the time BLM activists interrupted Bernie Sanders at Westlake. I have been genuinely surprised at how quickly people — often time the same person — could go from saying how awful and uninformed they were to pushing the narrative that Sanders politely listened to them.

I’ve been interested to see Marissa Johnson push back on that. Both in an interview with TWIB a month or so ago (plays automatically) or writing it in her own words.

Drinking Liberally — Seattle

by Darryl — Tuesday, 4/12/16, 2:11 am

We have a primary-free Tuesday this week, but there is still plenty to discuss. Join us for a pint and political conversation at this evening’s gathering of the Seattle Chapter of Drinking liberally.

We meet tonight and every Tuesday at the Roanoke Park Place Tavern, 2409 10th Ave E, Seattle. You’ll find us in the small room at the back of the tavern. We start at 8:00pm.

Can’t make it to Seattle tonight? Check out one of the other DL meetings happening this week. Tonight, the Federal Way, Tri-Cities and Redmond chapters meet. On Thursday, the Kent chapter meets. Finally, on Monday, the Aberdeen and Yakima chapters meet.

There are 180 chapters of Living Liberally, including nineteen in Washington state, three in Oregon and one in Idaho. Find (or start!) a chapter near you.

Open Thread 4-11

by Carl Ballard — Monday, 4/11/16, 7:03 am

I was watching this, video of the sister of one of Dennis Hastert’s victims (video audio plays, h/t). She has clearly been pushing this story. And fuck all happened. Some decent shoe leather reporting might have cracked this open when he was in power.

HA Bible Study: 1 Kings 1:1-4

by Goldy — Sunday, 4/10/16, 6:00 am

1 Kings 1:1-4
King David was now an old man, and he always felt cold, even under a lot of blankets. His officials said, “Your Majesty, we will look for a young woman to take care of you. She can lie down beside you and keep you warm.” They looked everywhere in Israel until they found a very beautiful young woman named Abishag, who lived in the town of Shunem. They brought her to David, and she took care of him.

Discuss.