HorsesAss.Org

With GOP control of the Senate, I suspect much of the important work of the legislature will be pushed back another 2 years. There probably won’t be a transportation budget, again. There probably won’t be significant revenue increases (or tax restructuring in a way that will make taxes more fair), again.

On the plus side, maybe McCleary will actually force some action on education funding??? And they do have to pass a budget that in theory has to balance, so maybe that will force the issue on revenue. I’m not optimistic, but who knows?

Still, legislators will be responsible to their constituents, so we might as well say what we want.

– When I was lobbying with NARAL last session, one of the things they wanted was to try to make sure that any supplemental budget didn’t have family planning cuts. Now that the state is working on a 2-year budget, it’s probably something that has to be watched out for.

– As I said above, I don’t hold much hope that our tax structure will improved much, but we can hope.

– Barring that, Inslee’s carbon tax proposal (video loads automatically) is better than a sharp stick in the face, at least for transit funding.

– The social issue that will probably go nowhere that I’d like to see the most is the Reproductive Parity Act

– Maybe the background checks initiative passing will put a little bit more spine into legislators for other popular, common sense gun control measures.

If you’ve got something else you’d like to see, add it in the comments.

I’d also like to say that as the session gets going, I’ll probably be pushing y’all to write your legislators on various issues. I really hope you will consider taking the time to write your legislators, or key legislators, on issues. It really makes a difference. If you want to get started, you can contact your legislator here.

I’m also looking at my calendar at work, and may go down to Olympia at some point to do some actual reporting, or maybe just a bit more lobbying. Or nothing at all.

To be clear, I don’t intend to use my occasional posts here on HA to closely cover local elections. I’m mostly done with that. But I couldn’t pass by the recent buzz over Seattle Times columnist Danny Westneat’s professed non-candidacy for city council without mentioning that the Democratic establishment has already apparently recruited a challenger to Socialist incumbent Kshama Sawant: former Equal Rights Washington executive director Rod Hearne. At least, that’s what I’ve been hearing.

Before their separation last year, Hearne and his former partner, high-priced PR flack Roger Nyhus, were a bit of a Capitol Hill power couple, hosting numerous political fundraisers at what Dom once described as their “swank mansion.” I’ve no idea what Hearne has been doing since—I emailed him yesterday to give him the chance to confirm, deny, or hedge on the rumors of his candidacy, but he’s yet to reply (hence the question mark in the headline).

I suppose part of the logic behind Hearne’s recruitment is that his leadership in the LGBTQ community will earn him the lion’s share of the LGBTQ vote. Or something. Sawant can’t really help herself that she’s attracted to the opposite sex (she was born that way!), but she’s a pretty fierce advocate for LGBTQ issues too. So it’s hard to see this sort of identity politics playing a decisive role in the race. And while Hearne is no doubt capable of raising a ton of money, Sawant will raise more than enough to get her message out—$200,000-plus wouldn’t surprise me—so it’s not like she can be dramatically outspent. Hearne would also garner a bunch of establishment endorsements, but that didn’t help Richard Conlin all that much in 2013. And this time around organized labor and human services organizations would be crazy not to line up behind Sawant.

And those are Hearne’s known strengths. On the other side of the ledger the “swank mansion” thing makes Hearne an imperfect challenger to diffuse Sawant’s powerful message of economic populism.

I’ve bumped into Hearne from time to time through political circles, and he seems like a nice enough guy. And who knows: Perhaps he’ll turn out to be a dynamite campaigner? But as an unapologetic Sawant partisan, I can’t say I’m all that concerned.

UPDATE: Last night Hearne confirmed to me that he is indeed running against Sawant in Seattle’s 3rd council district. So I’ve removed the question mark from the headline.

Please join us tonight for some politics and conversation over a drink at the Seattle Chapter of Drinking Liberally.

We meet every Tuesday evening, rain or shine, at the Roanoke Park Place Tavern, 2409 10th Ave E, Seattle. The starting time is 8:00 pm, but some folks show up before that for dinner.

Can’t make it to Seattle tonight? You have options! Check out one of the other DL meetings this week. Tonight the Tri-Cities chapter also meets. The Lakewood chapter meets on Wednesday. The Bremerton chapter meets on Thursday, as does Washington’s newest DL chapter in Kent.

There are 181 chapters of Living Liberally, including sixteen in Washington state, four in Oregon and two in Idaho. Chances are excellent there’s a chapter meeting somewhere near you.

Longtime readers, both here on HA and on Slog, know that I’m kinda obsessed with fixing Washington’s absurdly regressive and unsustainable state and local tax structure. Yet more than a decade of kvetching, cursing, and exhaustively explaining why our 1930s-era kludge of a tax system can’t possibly meet the needs of our 21st century economy has sparked little serious debate amongst our state’s politicians and pundits. It’s the blogging equivalent of pissing into the wind.

And so it is at least a little bit encouraging to see state Representative Reuven Carlyle (D-Seattle) use his position as chair of the House Finance Committee to publicly advance the issue:

All of these dense policy issues fail to capture the human impact of morally bankrupt tax system. By any standard our tax system has become the most unfair to the middle class and low income in the nation. According to the Institute of Taxation and Economic Policy, the lowest 20% of income earners in Washington–making an average income of $11,500 per year–pay 16.9% of their income in state and local taxes. The national average for this group is 11.1%. The top end–the proverbial one percent earning average income of $1.1 million per year–pay 2.8% of their income in combined taxes in Washington, dramatically less than the 5.6% national average.

We can no longer continue down the same path of tinkering with a broken, unfair and economically inefficient tax system that is divorced from our economy and fails to serve our communities. The 20-year trend shows absolutely no signs of relenting.  In a handful of years we are likely to be 40th in the nation in the combined level of state and local taxes based on personal income.  And a few years beyond that we can expect to reach 45th.  Is that our vision for ourselves? Are we so caustically anti-tax that we would close the doors of our colleges to our own children?  Would we close foster homes for our most vulnerable?  Would we allow traffic to suffocate our industrial economy and our quality of life?

Again, nothing in Rep. Carlyle’s blog post will come as a surprise to my regular readers—I’ve been writing about this stuff for years. But I hope that the fact that it’s coming from the House Finance chair will lend the issue the gravitas that a dirty, foul-mouthed, blogger like me could never give it.

– So, it’s January, and you have to recycle your food waste. Are you ready (if you weren’t doing it already)?

– Sen Wyden and his staff handled a hands up protest about as well as one might expect, but I’m surprised it was organized without anyone on staff’s knowledge.

– Another reminder that the Supreme Court is not always going to do the right thing.

– Yawn + seethe = contempt

– Male Nerds Think They’re Victims Because They Have No Clue What Female Nerds Go Through [h/t]

Matthew 21:18-19
Early in the morning, as Jesus was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered.

Discuss.

Mental Floss: What is dirt made of?

The “Duke” of Louisiana:

• Steve Kornacki: GOP manages political fallout of Scalise speech to racist group
• Chris Hayes: Conservatives clash with GOP leaders over Scalise
• Ed: Steve Scalise claims ignorance after giving speech before a hate group
• Young Turks: Hate group scandal engulfs top Republican Congressman
• Steve Kornacki: Steve Scalise addressed racist group in 2002
• David Pakman: House majority whip was honored guest at White supremacist group
• José Díaz-Balart: Republicans eat their own over Steve Scalise’s speech to David Duke group
• Sharpton and friends: Steve Scalise and David Duke

Thom: Who should be drug tested?

Sam Seder and Cliff Schecter: Republicans have moved to crazytown on immigration reform.

White House: West Wing Week.

Obama messes up wedding…but helps makes it memorable.

“President” Michele Bachmann delivers on $2/gal gasoline (via Crooks and Liars).

It’s Back, Baby:

• Sam Stein and Jared Bernstein: Americans show confidence in economic recovery
• Steve Kornacki: Americans feeling effects of improved economy.
• The Rundown: 2015 marks turning point for economic recovery (and G.O.P. re-messaging)
• David Pakman: Obama’s approval rating matches Ronnie Reagan’s approval rating:

Thom with some Good, Bad, and Very, Very Ugly.

Al Sharpton: Six years and running…Obama’s greatest accomplishments.

Michael Brooks: Freedomworks hilariously attacks net neutrality.

Mental Floss: 21 things that turned 21 in 2014.

Reflections and Resolutions:

• Young Turks: Police brutality launched a new civil rights movement in 2014
• Mark Fiore: The Year in Crazy.
• David Pakman reviews Pat Robertson’s 2014 predictions:

  
  

• Ed: The Robertson’s predictions of 2014
• Roll Call: Best Congressions hits and misses of 2014
• Young Turks: 2014 was the year the Right Wing fell in love with Putin (and then fell out of love again).
• 2014: Restoring faith in humanity
• Rubin Report: 10 most admired women of 2014.
• Rubin Report: Most admired men of 2014.
• Farron Cousins: 2014 was a shitty year.
• Ann Telnaes: Good riddance to 2014.
• Alex Witt and Beth Fouhy: The top political scandals of 2014
• Young Turks: Right wing lunacy dominated the 2014 elections
• Ana Kasparian and Dave Rubin’s best and worst moments of 2014.
• Hank Green: Best and Worst of 2014
• Ed and friends: The worst of conservative media in 2014
• Young Turks: Ebola caused more freak-outs than (U.S.) cases in 2014
• Michael Steele and friends: A year of scandal and sleaze in politics.
• Grace Parra: New Years resolutions with the probability fairy
• Young Turks: Craziest politicians of the year

Hylp: A app for ladies.

John Green: Racism in the U.S. by the numbers:

Mental Floss: Misconceptions about exercise.

Sam Seder: Republican admits G.O.P. Benghazi report is “Full of crap.”.

David Pakman: 20 states raise minimum wage in 2015.

Young Turks: West Virginia finally gets some justice, Don Blankenship is indicted.

Grimm Reaper:

• Steve Kornacki: Grimm resigns
• Michael Grimm quits over felony tax evasion
• David Pakman: Republican convicted felon Michael Grimm resigns
• Young Turks: Rep Michael Grimm resigns after criminally embarrassing Republicans
• Steve Kornacki: Fossella eyed to replace Grimm despite two-family scandal.

Thom and Pap: How the Kochtopus is reaching for our criminal justice system.

Vsauce: Reduplications and other language curiousities.

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

– Man, I’ve been taking too much time off. I’m back in real life and, hopefully, here next week. So enjoy 2015, and I’ll see you there.

– Media Follies 2014! – Local

– Looks like last year was a banner year for hate crimes in King County.

– Headline ‘O the Day

– Oh hey, baby orca.

I’m proud to have been able to cast a vote for NY Governor Mario Cuomo in 1990, and will forever regret that I never had the chance to cast a vote for him as president. He was one of our nation’s most inspiring orators, and one of the last of a generation of great statesmen.

RIP, Governor Cuomo.

Happy new year all!

Wow. How do you even begin to engage in a conversation about gun safety when the other side displays such a total lack of introspection?

“She was not the least bit irresponsible,” her father-in-law, Terry Rutledge said,

You know, except for the part about leaving a loaded gun within reach of her two-year-old.

He complained about people using the incident to attack his daughter-in-law.

Again, wow.

– Happy New Year!

– 1 Million bike trips across the Freemont Bridge this year!

– Emmett thinks that how Seattle and Portland handled Uber says a lot more about how the two cities handle competition more generally. I’m not sure I 100% buy it, but it was a fun read.

– Geez have the Metro drivers even heard of just holding it?

– Good on Nashville Police Chief Steve Anderson for being a decent person in response to a letter.

– Sounds like the appropriate response to 2014

Oy…

A woman was shopping with four kids, when one of the kids reached into her purse and accidentally discharged the weapon, according to Kootenai County Sheriff’s Deputies at the scene.

The gunshot killed the 29-year-old woman. Deputies on scene said the child who accidentally fired the handgun was about 2-years-old.

No doubt this woman kept a gun in her purse to protect herself and her children. Didn’t work out that way. As usual.

Area school districts are having a helluva time attracting substitute teachers:

Some districts said teachers are missing too many school days, whether for sickness, vacation or teacher training. Some said pools of qualified candidates are dwindling for all teaching positions — not just substitutes. Others said substitutes aren’t paid enough, and that higher-paying districts attract more candidates. A substitute in Seattle makes between $161 and $187 a day, with no benefits unless the sub works more than 60 consecutive days in one place.

Considering how disrespected they are by politicians and pundits, it’s hard to understand why anybody would want to be a school teacher these days. But a substitute? Yikes. Even if one were to get an assignment for all 180 school days (and you won’t come close), $161 a day comes to only $28,980 a year with zero benefits. For somebody with a college degree!

So here’s an idea: If we want to attract more (and better!) teachers to the profession, maybe we should try both paying them more, and showing them a little goddamn respect? I mean, isn’t that the way labor markets are supposed to work?

Join us tonight as we close out 2014 and toast in the new year at this week’s Seattle Chapter of Drinking Liberally.

We meet every Tuesday evening for friendly conversation at the Roanoke Park Place Tavern, 2409 10th Ave E, Seattle. The starting time is 8:00 pm, but some folks show up before that for dinner.

Can’t make it to Seattle tonight? Check out one of the other DL meetings over the next week. Tonight the Tri-Cities chapter also meets. And next Monday, the Yakima and South Bellevue chapters meet.

There are 177 chapters of Living Liberally, including fifteen in Washington state, four in Oregon and two in Idaho. Chances are excellent there’s a chapter meeting somewhere near you.