– Enough Burien/Renton transit talk to make your head spin.
– I’m not happy with how much money is going into initiatives, but at least it’s going into the side I agree with on gun control.
– It is fun to see ACA opponents in places where it has worked. Too bad about all the harm that they can do.
– It really takes the cake when Republicans don’t want to study the effects of climate change on national security.
I’m busy today desperately trying to meet a deadline on a freelance piece (damn, I write slowly), so if you’re jonesing for more Goldy just head on over to the KTTH website to listen to me “debate” conservative host Ben Shapiro yesterday shortly after passage of Seattle’s $15 minimum wage. At least, they’re calling it a debate. I was calling in via cell phone from a noisy hallway outside council chambers, so to me it was just a difficult to hear phone call.
But whatever. I haven’t had time to listen to it yet, but I’m sure I did fine. If you can bear to listen to 20 minutes of the Ben Shapiro Show, let me know how you think I did.
A lot of things had to come together just right to lead towards yesterday’s 9-0 passage of Seattle’s historic $15 an hour minimum wage. But if you want to really piss off righties, you might want to remind them of the integral role that former ACORN activists played in sparking the $15 movement.
The very notion of demanding a $15 wage—the number 15 itself—came out of the first fast food strike in New York City on November 29, 2012, a strike organized by New York Communities for Change. And NYCC itself was organized by former ACORN activists, rising from the ashes of the right-wing witch hunt that dried up ACORN’s funding and forced its collapse.
Ironically, after ACORN’s demise, NYCC’s leaders decided to refocus on their community organizing roots, a focus that led it to its efforts to organize fast food workers. NYCC was also one of the first organizations to provide support to Occupy Wall Street, helping that spontaneous movement grow and spread. And it was on Occupy Seattle that Kshama Sawant and her Socialist Alternative comrades first cut their local organizing teeth. Thus both Sawant’s stunning election and Seattle’s highly successful fast food strikes can trace their roots at least indirectly to NYCC’s post-ACORN grassroots activism.
In a way, you could even make an argument that Seattle’s $15 minimum wage might never have happened without ACORN’s collapse! So, hey… thanks, righties!
Today is a special day in the Calendar of Political Americana. It’s National Fist Bump Day, a day to remember a young Sen. Barack and Michelle Obama using a body gesture in public that so befuddled FOX News anchor E.D. Hill that she asked, “A fist bump? A pound? A terrorist fist jab?!?.”
The idea behind National Fist Bump Day is to give Americans a chance to make the world a slightly better place with a simple and fun gesture of respect,” says David Weiner, one of the organizers, along with Sarah Greenwalt. “It may not solve the world’s problems, but it can at least reaffirm the fact that in the end, we all can get down with each other.
Wait…screw that Kumbaya shit. It’s a day to ruthlessly mock the the fuck out of the right wing propaganda mill’s outrageous, dishonest, and racist attacks against Barack Obama.
Tuesday is also a primary election day of some consequence. In California, the top two-style primary will select the Republican that will go on to be crushed by Gov. Jerry Brown in the general election. There are a bunch of interesting House races in California, as well.
In Mississippi, the senior Sen. Thad Cochran (R) is in a tight race against a Teabagger, state Sen. Chris McDaniel.
In South Dakota, a large Republican primary will determine the opponent for Rick Weiland (D) in the U.S. Senate seat race opened up by the retirement of Sen. Tim Johnson (D).
A similar scenario is happening in Iowa with the retirement of Sen. Tom Harkin (D), and a 5-way GOP primary will determine the opponent for Rep. Bruce Braley (D-IA-01). Of course, Braley’s House seat is open and there are competitive races on both sides of the isle in that race.
In Montana, Sen. John Walsh (D), who was appointed to the seat that Max Baucus left to become U.S. Ambassador to China, seems likely to win the Democratic primary. Also in Montana, the open house seat has a five-way GOP primary that will select an opponent for John Lewis (D).
In New Mexico, there is a five-way primary that will determine Gov. Susan Martinez’s (R) Democratic opponent.
New Jersey has a primary election, as well, with some mildly interesting House races.
So, with all that excitement on deck, please join us tonight for an evening of electoral politics and scary body gestures over a pint at the Seattle Chapter of Drinking Liberally.
We meet every Tuesday 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? Check out another Washington state DL over the next week. They’re everywhere! The Tri-Cities chapter also meets this and every Tuesday night. The Lakewood chapter meets on Wednesday. For Thursday, the Spokane and Tacoma chapters meet. And the Enumclaw chapter meets on Friday.
With 207 chapters of Living Liberally, including nineteen in Washington state, four in Oregon, and three more in Idaho, chances are excellent there’s a chapter meeting somewhere near you.
Okay, the council meeting hasn’t even started yet, but its a festive atmosphere in council chambers as the throng of $15 minimum wage supporters gathers for the inevitable.
Stay tuned and I’ll let you know when it’s official, as well as fill you in on various updates.
UPDATE 1:59PM: Just like me, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka has already released a celebratory statement:
Today’s vote in Seattle will go down in history as a milestone in the struggle to raise wages and ensure fair pay for all workers. It is proof that when working people organize and make their voices heard, we all benefit.
While Republicans in Congress fail to act, Seattle, along with other cities and states around the country, is ensuring that workers receive a fair day’s pay for a hard day’s work. We have already seen progress in states from Hawaii to Minnesota, and we will continue to fight to provide every worker with a good living wage and an opportunity to achieve the American Dream.
UPDATE 2:23PM: Unlike previous council meetings, Subway franchisees and other business representatives seem to have abandoned the chambers to minimum wage advocates. No doubt there was plenty of pro-business lobbying behind the scenes, but they appear to have given up on making their case in public. Public testimony continues.
UPDATE 2:39PM: Council member Nick Licata: “Unfortunately, I was unable to attend last week for the vote on training wages.” Council member Tim Burgess: “Good.”
UPDATE 3:15PM: Council member Kshama Sawant closes her speech in favor of the ordinance: “Fifteen dollars in Seattle is just the beginning. We have an entire world to win.”
UPDATE 3:39PM: It’s official! Ordinance passes 9-0! Audience cheers, than quickly files out, leaving council to continue other business.
– Sen. Murray Proposes Summer Food Benefits For Low-Income Kids
– It’s kind of amazing to think you can pull off a both-sides-say about something that’s in people’s face like income inequality.
– More playing in the street, pleez.
– I was never much of a fan of Ken Schram, but Andrew at NPI has a nice remembrance.
– In conclusion, donate your motherfucking organs.
– Richard Sherman’s Let’s Move video is pretty great.
At some point over the past several days, 15Now.org cleverly transposed its Twitter avatar to read “15won.” But that subtle declaration of victory hasn’t stopped the organization from pushing council members to make the minimum wage ordinance even better:
Retweet if you agree @bruceharrell @Jean_Godden @CouncilmanTim should vote against delaying start date & training wages! @15forSeattle
— 15 Now (@FifteenNow) June 2, 2014
The best defense is a good offense, and all that. Seattle City Council member Kshama Sawant and her 15 Now comrades have been roundly criticized by the establishment types for continuing forward with their initiative even as a business/labor compromise inched toward passage. But it’s an “or else” strategy that has been incredibly effective in defending against unacceptable concessions.
The full city council will officially pass the ordinance this afternoon, making Seattle the first city in America to adopt a $15 an hour minimum wage. And then the real celebration can begin.
Last week’s contest was unsolved as of Friday night. It was three locations where people recently blew up their homes making hash oil: 1. Puyallup 2. Reno, NV 3. W. Boca Raton, FL
This week’s contest is a random location somewhere on Earth, good luck!
Luke 19:27
Now bring me the enemies who didn’t want me to be their king. Kill them while I watch!”
Discuss.
It could use a thorough fisking, but it’s a beautiful sunny Saturday, so I don’t want to waste more than a few precious moments calling bullshit on the Seattle Times‘ latest bullshit editorial: “Redefine franchises under Seattle’s minimum-wage proposal.”
The politics of this decision is clear. Seattle is the first city to move swiftly toward a $15 minimum wage, but not the last. National labor activists will export the model created here. Treating franchises as what they are — small businesses — would eliminate the opportunity to burn [McDonald’s CEO Don] Thompson in rhetorical effigy elsewhere.
Well, the editors are half right. The goal always has been to export the model created here to the rest of the nation, so labor negotiators have been careful to avoid creating any anti-worker precedents. But the provision determining the size of a business based on the total number of FTEs of the national chain rather than that of the individual franchise or retail store has nothing to do with burning the McDonald’s CEO in effigy. It’s all about protecting the interests of the fast food workers whose courageous walkouts first sparked the $15 minimum wage movement.
Under the currently proposed ordinance, all fast food workers would be phased in to $15 by 2018. Count franchises as separate small businesses—as the Seattle Times proposes—and no fast food worker would be fully phased in until 2025. That’s bullshit.
While it is true that local franchisees operate as individual businesses, it is totally misleading to downplay their close connection to the national chains. Giant, multinational corporations like McDonald’s and Subway have defined the low-wage business model on which their franchisees operate. Seattle’s $15 minimum wage law puts pressure on local franchisees to put pressure on corporate headquarters to readjust that model so as to accommodate paying a living wage.
Do you really think that these national chains are going to abandon Seattle? Of course not. They will be forced to find a way to help their franchises here thrive, despite paying higher wages.
And that is a model that we sure as hell want to export to the rest of the nation.
Sam Seder and Cliff Schecter: How the far right took over the Republican party.
White House: West Wing Week.
Chris Hayes: The G.O.P.s hopeless fight against science:
David Pakman: Ted Cruz’s nutburger father blames end of school prayer for teen pregnancy & crime.
Sharpton: Rebrand update on the GOP’s new ‘leadership” team
VA Scandal:
Michael Brooks: Mitch McConnell’s amazingly deceptive ObamaCare distortion.
The G.O.P. summer of scandal.
Young Turks: Boehner, “I’m not qualified to debate science so I reject it!
Maddow: The latest Republican Senator to run away from CNN.
100 Seattle cops file lawsuit against city and Justice Dept.
ONN: The Onion Week in Review.
Chris Hayes: The GOP’s miserable campaign for ‘junk-food’ in schools.
Ari Melber: The Republican ‘overreach’ of 2014 could flop badly in the midterms.
Ann Telnaes: Manning Up.
The Only Way to Stop a Bad Guy With a Gun, is the Bad Guy With the Gun:
Mental Floss: 26 famous art heists.
Obama: Jay Carney steps down (via Crooks and Liars).
Suzie Sampson: Let it Go!:
Young Turks: Congressman Louie Gohmert calls gays intolerant, just like Nazis!.
Sharpton: KY Sen. Mitch McConnell doesn’t realize KYNECT is part of ObamaCare.
Ana Kasparian: “Abortion Barbie” posters hit LA streets.
Ann Telnaes: We’re Number 1…for the wrong reason.
Rich Webster: Marco Rubio is not an abortion scientist.
Last week’s Friday Night Multimedia Extravaganza can be found here.
I don’t know if any of you have the experience of trying to explain the fake superheros who “patrol” Seattle streets to your out of town friends and relatives? If you’re like me, you probably have to punctuate it with things like “I’m not making this up.” So I’m a bit loathe to point and laugh, if only because I’m not sure they would be able to tell the bad kind of attention from the good. But if the Rain City Superheros are going to disband, then thank goodness Seattlish is there to make fun of them.
Real-life “superhero” Phoenix Jones, who was once called “a giant bee with a latex fetish” by Daily Mail imprint Metro, has posted a long, meandering, allcaps Facebook post (as he is wont to do) announcing what seems like good news: His unilateral decision as Ultimate Pretend Superhero Overlord is that the Rain City Superhero Movement must die.
In case you were wondering if your voter’s pamphlet was going to be adorable, wonder no more (Spokesman-Review link). Good job to the young artist. And I suppose the democratic process.
I suppose considering the woes at the Veterans Administration, resigning is the honorable thing to do, and VA Secretary Eric Shinseki is nothing if not an honorable man. And so in the best “the buck stops here” tradition, Shinseki has resigned, despite the fact that many of the VA’s problems long predated him, and have only been exacerbated by congress’s failure to adequately fund the care of our returning veterans.
No doubt Republicans are gleeful at snagging an Obama administration scalp. That’s the way the game is played in the other Washington. But I do find it curious that the same Republicans who angrily demanded Shinseki’s resignation for failing to fix the VA, never demanded the resignations of the bank CEOs who destroyed our economy.
Weird.
“We won!” the headline screams in an email from 15Now.org celebrating the passage out of committee of Seattle’s imminent $15 minimum wage ordinance. If this isn’t an unambiguous declaration of victory, I don’t know what is:
Seattle has now become the first major U.S. city to pass a $15 an hour minimum wage. This historic achievement was the result of a powerful grassroots movement built from below. The message is clear: When we organize we can win!
15 Now spearheaded the campaign in Seattle, and now we are building 15 Now nationwide. We spent $150,000 to win in Seattle. To take this fight across the country we need to raise another $150,000. Please donate $15, or more, to help us end poverty wages.
So, does that mean they are dropping their charter amendment to pass an even more worker-friendly $15 minimum wage in Seattle? Not so fast.
“No decision has been made about the Charter Amendment yet,” 15 Now consultant Jeff Upthegrove said on Facebook in response to my earlier prediction that the group would pivot and move on. And despite the celebratory tone in the email above, along with the apparent shift toward a national focus, 15 Now volunteers are still gathering signatures.
I know the cool kids area all cynical about Kshama Sawant’s motives and actions, but she really has tried to help build a democratic organization, and for all her influence, it’s this democratic organization with all its various stakeholders that ultimately has to make the decision to pull the emergency brake on the ballot measure. That can’t happen overnight. Possibly not by Monday. Maybe not until they’re certain of whether there’s an opposing initiative headed to the ballot.
But while this compromise ordinance with its long phase-in and its temporary tip credit certainly doesn’t meet the strict definition of $15 now, don’t think for a minute that most of these activists don’t recognize what a huge political victory this is, and how much better off millions of hard-working Americans would be if the rest of the nation followed our example.
Eager to share our brilliant political commentary and blunt media criticism, but too genteel to link to horsesass.org? Well, good news, ladies: we also answer to HASeattle.com, because, you know, whatever. You're welcome!