HorsesAss.Org

– Free abortions on demand without apology is a laudable goal. How we get from here to there, especially in states where activists are on the defensive, is a question.

– SDOT’s bridge operations crew would like to remind bicyclists that bypassing a gate can have serious consequences.

– My yacht doesn’t have any helicopter landing pads; It’s barely a yacht. In fact it’s a bike.

– Donald Rumsfeld is complaining about Obama’s war planning (h/t MikeBoyScout in the comments). I mean, there are legit criticisms, but Rumsfeld ain’t really the one to make them.

– The Facebook page for the demonstration in Seattle against the Russian anti-LGBT law.

– Anyone going to Bumbershoot? I haven’t bought my ticket yet, but this is the thing I’d most want to see if I do go.

– Put a panel on it

A bit later than I’d said, but I’ve emailed these out to the candidates. Nobody had any changes, so I mostly just did a find and replace of mayor for city council and then added a question about gender pay equality.

1) Now that I-502 has passed, what should the purchase of marijuana look like within city limits? Will medical marijuana collective garden storefronts in Seattle have to abide by the 1000-foot rule established by I-502?

2) With Metro’s ability to fund itself at the whim of the legislature, what should the city’s role be in public transportation? How should the City Council both make sure we get our fair share, and that the system serves the entire region well?

3) What should the waterfront look like after the Viaduct comes down? Will there be a streetcar or other transit?

4) What should happen in the next 4 years to make sure that police reform both satisfies the Feds, and works for Seattle citizens?

5) A recent study found Seattle is the worst of the 50 largest US metro areas in terms of pay equality for women. Why do you think that’s the case, and what is the city’s role in closing that gap?

Dominic Holden is reporting that Group Health won’t cover abortions but they will provide abortion services to people who need them (???). I imagine the story will be a bit less muddled in next week’s paper, but that’s, like, a week away.

What we know now is that the regulatory environment is muddled at best. So now Rodney Tom can see plainly the consequences of his taking the leadership of the state Senate. If he wants it to pass, he can either send it to a committee that will pass it or he can support a 9th order challenge. But that would require him poutting women’s (and trans men and gender queers who can also need abortions) health and lives above his own personal ambition, so no.

A lot of stuff happened fifty years ago today.

Here in Washington state, it was the opening of the SR-520 floating bridge.

In New York City’s upper East Side, two young women were murdered in their apartment. Later, a 19 year old black man named George Whitmore, Jr. was arrested for the murders. The police coerced a confession out of him through intimidation and by assaulting him.

Whitmore was eventually cleared, but the case had two lasting impacts on America. First, it was cited by the Supreme court when they established guidelines known as Miranda rights. Secondly, it was used as justification to restrict and eventually eliminate New York state’s death penalty.

Fifty years ago today in the other Washington, a quarter of a million people gathered for a “March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.” The official program began with the National Anthem sung by Marian Anderson, and an Invocation by the Archbishop of Washington, the Rev. Patrick O’Boyle. (O’Boyle was a leader in racial desegregation and desegregated D.C.’s Catholic schools long before the Supreme Court made it mandatory.)

John Lewis, now a Democratic Congressman from Georgia, gave a speech as the chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. An excellent speech was given by Rabbi Joachim Prinz, President of the American Jewish Congress (listen here).

And, of course, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave a speech that marked a turning point for the civil rights movement:

Today, fifty years later, there is another gathering in D.C. for a week-long remembrance.

Today’s speakers included Rev. Al Sharpton (2:44:50), Opera Winfrey (3:25:33), Rep. Lewis (3:34:45), President Jimmy Carter (3:45:10), President Bill Clinton (3:51:50), and President Barack Obama (4:25:10).

How did Republicans celebrate? Both Presidents Bush couldn’t make it for health reasons. George W. Bush did offer a statement.

Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) memorialized the 50th anniversary by going on a civil rights pilgrimage through Alabama with Rep. Lewis. Cantor released a statement that concludes:

I was especially moved by the gesture of Montgomery Police Chief Kevin Murphy who presented John Lewis with the badge off his uniform apologizing for the police department’s failure to protect the African American community in those turbulent days of the ’50’s and ’60’s. Reflecting on these important moments in our nation’s history, I look forward to focusing on ways in which together we can continue to confront challenges and solve the nation’s problems.

Ummm…has anyone mentioned to him that voting rights for African Americans are under, what appears to be, a systematic attack after the Supreme Court gutted part of the Voting Rights act?

At least one Republican is willing to do something. Speaking at a RNC by-invite-only commemoration luncheon at the Capitol Hill Club on Monday, Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) said:

“[M]y job is to fix the Voting Rights Act,” and promised that by the end of the year, Congress would create and pass the section of the law struck down by Supreme Court in June.

Well…that encouraging.

Other speakers…not so much. The RNC event also featured former congressman Allen West (R-FL) and former Ohio Secretary of Voter Suppression State Ken Blackwell (R).

Daily Beast‘s Ben Jacob was underwhelmed by the RNC event.

In other venues, we had this contribution from former Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL). It’s a teabaggy dream nightmare delivered to his radio audience:

[…]
I have a dream that young unmarried black women will say “no” to young black men who want to have sex.

I have a dream that today’s black leadership will quit blaming racism and “the system” for what ails black America.

I have a dream that black America will take responsibility for improving their own lives.

I have a dream that one day black America will cease their dependency on the government plantation, which has enslaved them to lives of poverty, and instead depend on themselves, their families, their churches, and their communities.

Ahhh, yes. God (or gods) bless the First Amendment, but it’s sure good to have him in the former Rep. category.

I think President Obama was right to call the use of chemical weapons by Syria a red line. And between the video and intelligence — that most of us are getting third hand — it certainly looks like chemical weapons have been used. Of course a decade ago there was pretty convincing evidence that a regime that had used chemical weapons was stockpiling them, and that turned out not to have happened.

Once again, there are inspectors on the ground, and once again there is a drumbeat to war. But I hope we can wait until the inspectors give a report before we make a final decision. And when we make that final decision, we should figure out the way to make it as international and as diplomatic as possible.

While both are to be avoided, the use of chemical weapons is different from the regular course of war. The taboo on it has served the world well for nearly a century. That Saddam Hussein is the worst example of chemical weapons use until last week is a testament to how rare it is. It wasn’t used by either side in World War 2, or much during the Cold War. And that is for the good.

Still, relying on weapons inspectors is the best way to show that we’re opposed to these weapons for the right reasons, not for political reasons.

Please join us this evening for some political conversation over a pint at the Seattle Chapter of Drinking Liberally.

We meet tonight and every Tuesday evening at the Montlake Ale House, 2307 24th Avenue E. Starting time is 8:00pm. Some people show up earlier than that for Dinner.

Can’t make it to Seattle tonight? Check out another DL meeting over the next week. The Tri-Cities chapter also meets tonight. The Bellingham and Burien chapters meet on Wednesday. And next Monday, the Aberdeen, Yakima, South Bellevue and Olympia chapters meet.

With 206 chapters of Living Liberally, including eighteen in Washington state, four in Oregon, and three more in Idaho, chances are excellent there’s a chapter meeting near you.

– We can all agree that naming storms after climate deniers is the best idea ever.

– Mike McGinn did a great job on Fox News, but on the other hand they only asked him one question. Over and over again.

– I hope there isn’t a teacher’s strike in Seattle, but if there is one, I support the teachers.

– Even if you think there wasn’t enough evidence to convict or whatever, George Zimmerman is not a responsible gun owner. He stalked and eventually shot dead a young man who wasn’t armed. For him to tour the factory where his gun was made is the worst. Both by him and by the people who set it up.

Of course, the headline is joking. But in 2009, when Susan Hutchison ran for office in Democratic King County, she did it claiming to be a nonpartisan. Now, not so much.

The Seattle Times (http://is.gd/6EHqfL ) reports Hutchinson defeated the interim GOP chair, Luanne Van Werven, in a run-off vote after two other candidates were eliminated at the party’s meeting in Spokane on Saturday.

Hutchison ran unsuccessfully for King County Executive in 2009, downplaying her Republican ties.

On Saturday, she pledged to breathe new life into a state Republican Party that has suffered stinging election defeats.

I don’t know if her election puts the lie to her claims to being anything but a Republican, or if that was already so obvious that nothing can put the lie to it. In any event, we can now be pretty confident that the GOP never bought her claims of nonpartisanship.

But I would like to take the occasion of her election to hope sincerely that she actually tries to attract moderates to her party. Their hateful wing is so far out there, that even though they can’t be elected to a majority in the legislature they’re hurting people. When she ran, her record was sitting on the board of the Discovery Institute and supporting candidates like Mike Huckabee. But her rhetoric was moderate and conciliatory. We’ll have to see what one emerges with her party leadership.

– It’s sad that there needs to be an app for school lockdowns.

– I like seeing what The New York Times thinks of Seattle developments. It’s very provincial of me, but I don’t care. They are rather fawning over Jeff Bezos.

– The Many, Many Jobs That Won’t Earn You Enough to Live in Your City

– I forgot to mention it in the post on Friday, but this editorial in the Ballard News-Tribune was what set me off thinking about a city post-Seattle Times.

– I have jury duty starting tomorrow in Seattle. Since it’s city, it’ll only be a misdemeanor, so I don’t anticipate it being very long. They said there would be WiFi in the waiting room, so I’m hoping y’all don’t notice anything, but my posting schedule may be a bit different than usual.

Last week’s contest was won by zzippy. It was in Fairbanks.

This week’s is related to something in the news from August, good luck!

1 Samuel 20:30
“You stupid son of a whore!”

Discuss.

Yesterday, King County released the precinct level results of the August primary. I’ve created a database of the results. Obviously, the most interesting race of all was the one that narrowed the large field of candidates for mayor down to the last two. Who, as we all know, are Mike McGinn and Ed Murray.

Though I’ve collected all of the data, I haven’t yet gotten into it very deeply. Eventually, I hope to create map representations of the results. More on that (I hope) later.

My first shallow dive into the numbers involves the 43rd Legislative District, in which I reside. Not only is the 43rd one of the two LDs that are entirely within the city of Seattle (the other is the 36th), it’s also Ed Murray’s home territory. Ed received the sole endorsement of the 43rd District Democrats, and you’d expect it to be the center of his electoral strength.

Overall, the official outcome of the primary was:

• Ed Murray ….. 42,314 (29.8%)
• Mike McGinn ….. 40,501 (28.6%)
• Peter Steinbrueck ….. 22,913 (16.2%)
• Bruce Harrell ….. 21,580 (15.2%)
• Charlie Staadecker ….. 6,288 (4.4%)
• Doug McQuaid ….. 2,546 (1.8%)
• Kate Martin ….. 2,479 (1.7%)
• Mary Martin ….. 1,498 (1.1%)
• Joey Gray ….. 1,318 (0.9%)
• Write-ins ….. 334 (0.2%)

Turnout within the city was 35.0%, but 2,535 of the 144,306 who cast ballots in Seattle didn’t even bother to choose a mayoral candidate. Murray led McGinn by 1,813 votes, 1.2% of the valid votes.

Obviously, then, Ed must have done much better in home sweet home than the rest of the city. Right?

In a word, no.

Oh, he pulled in more votes than McGinn, but not by much. Here’s what happened in the 43rd:

• Ed Murray ….. 10,959 (33.9%)
• Mike McGinn ….. 10,638 (32.9%)
• Peter Steinbrueck ….. 5,117 (15.8%)
• Bruce Harrell ….. 2,994 (9.3%)
• Charlie Staadecker ….. 1,173 (3.6%)
• Kate Martin ….. 448 (1.4%)
• Doug McQuaid ….. 342 (1.1%)
• Joey Gray ….. 304 (0.9%)
• Mary Martin ….. 280 (0.9%)
• Write-ins ….. 67 (0.2%)

Ed beat Mike in his home LD by a mere 321 votes, a tiny bit under 1% of the ballots. Mayor McGinn actually led the count in 118 of the 43rd’s 209 precincts, far ahead of Murray’s 83 precincts won. The two tied for the lead in another five precincts. The rest of the LD’s precincts were a Harrell/Murray tie (McGinn in third place) and a win apiece for Charlie Staadecker and Peter Steinbrueck (M and M were 2nd and 3rd in both).

From what I know of the distribution of precincts within the 43rd, it appears that McGinn was strong in Fremont and Phinney, perhaps Wallingford as well. But he also won precincts in Capitol Hill. However, my cursory examination of the 43rd doesn’t account for the magnitude of a candidate’s advantage in a particular precinct. In the precinct-level analysis, a one-vote advantage in a small precinct counts just as much as an overwhelming lead in a large one.

Along with mapping, I also plan to examine the pairwise comparison between McGinn and Murray, ignoring the other candidates. Concurrently, I might look at how the two did in precincts won by someone else — who did better in precincts where Harrell or Steinbrueck did best in the primary?

I’m not saying that these results show strongly positive indications for Mayor McGinn; it’s still Ed Murray’s election to lose. But what we see here indicates that the script of the one-on-one race for November may not match pre-primary (or even data-free post-primary) expectations.

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

Chris Hayes: FAUX News’ despicable manufacture of ‘white-victimhood’.

Millennials — The laziest generation?

This Week in The G.O.P. War on Voters™:

• O’Donnell: Colin Powell criticizes voter suppression tactics by G.O.P.
• Pap: Stand up for your right to vote…now.
• Al Sharpton: Powell spanks the G.O.P. over voting suppression.
• Maddow: North Carolina GOP’s massive voter suppression effort:
• Chris Hayes: DOJ sues Texas over voting suppression.

Michael Brooks: Scott Brown considers awesome Presidential run.

O’Donnell: Lewis Black hits back at Gov. Perry.

Maddow: Gov. McDonnell’s scandal deepens with stock revelations.

War Criminals:

• Sam Seder: Obama administration requests immunity from war crimes for George W. Bush and company.
• Young Turks: DOJ wants blanket immunity for war criminals.

ONN: The Presidential Democrakiosk Debate.

Thom takes a long, hard look at Carlos Danger.

Susie Sampson’s Tea Party Report: Week in Review.

The Oily Topic of Texan Canadian Cruz:

• Sam Seder: How Canadian is Sen. Cruz?
• Ted Cruz, “I am not a Canadian!”
• Ann Telnaes: Senator Ted Cruz will renounce his Canadian citizenship.
• Young Turks: FAUX News birfer hypocrisy.
• Maddow: The Ted Cruz lovefest in Texas.
• Maddow: North Carolina GOP-led board closes voting precinct, targets campus voting
• Sam Seder: Curz to renounce his Canadianness.
• Alex Wagner: Ted Cruz squirms over his birth certificate.
• Rep. Cruz takes it on the chin
• Al Sharpton: No Canada!.

Biden and Obama speak on college affordability.

Farron Cousins: The Republican circular firing squad.

Thom: The Good, The Bad, and The Very, Very Ugly.

The newest Obama:

NSA Bugs Some People:

• Ann Telnaes: NSA breaks privacy laws.
• Mark Fiore: Glenn Greenwald killed the Internet.
• Michael Brooks: UK Detains Glenn Greewald’s S.O.
• Ann Telnaes: The White House gets a new dog.

Obama mocks Congress with Schoolhouse Rock quip (via Crooks and Liars).

Red State Update: This Ain’t My First Racist Rodeo (Podcast episode 40).

Thom politically corrects FAUX News nutburger Steve Doocy.

Who had the worst week in Washington (D.C.).

White House: West Wing Week.

Rev. King’s March on Washington

• Sam Seder: 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington.
• 50 years after MLK.
• Hoodies up for the 50th anniversary march on Washington (via Crooks and Liars).

Mental Floss: Foods named after people.

Alex Wagner: Secretly, GOP hypocrites are taking advantage of “Obamacare”.

Young Turks: God smites Creation Museum worker.

Thom: ALEC is messing with Texas.

Obama’s Fault?!?

• Sam Seder: LA Republicans blame Katrina response on Obama!?!
• Sharpton: G.O.P. blames Obama for Katrina!
• Young Turks: Obama blamed for Katrina response?!?

Maddow: Virginia Republican Bob Goodlatte road-blocks path to immigration reform.

Texas Lt. Gov. to cop: Do you know who I am?.

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

The man who massacred Afghan civilians was sentenced today at JBLM.

A military jury on Friday sentenced a U.S. soldier who massacred 16 Afghan civilians last year to life in prison without a chance of parole.

The decision came in the case of Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, 40, who pleaded guilty in June in a deal to avoid the death penalty.

Bales did not recount specifics of the horrors in court when he testified Thursday or offer an explanation for the violence, but he described the killings as an “act of cowardice, behind a mask of fear, bulls— and bravado.”

I believe in the parole system, even for awful cases. And Robert Bales is certainly an awful case. So I would have liked the possibility of parole to come up at some distant point in the future. But I certainly can’t begrudge the toughest sentence available given the circumstances.

These sort of posts almost inevitably get misconstrued as me wanting The Seattle Times to go away. I don’t. More voices are better. More journalism is better. But I think that given The Seattle Times’ turning away from the web, their continuous pissing away their credibility, and the general state of newspapers, it’s not very out there to assume that their day will come. So this post is looking at some of the things that might happen if they went away.

The first, and I think scariest option, is nothing. It’s possible that given the state of the newspaper industry that nobody would want to put out a daily in Seattle. The money making pieces of the newspaper have already been made less so with craigslist and with sports blogs. So perhaps we would just lose the reporting that we get now.

But I think it’s more likely that something would replace them. There is already a lot of solid local reporting on the ground in Seattle. From West Seattle Blog to Capitol Hill Seattle to the blogs of the weekly papers, you can get decent, current, reporting today outside of a daily. It’s no substitute, but I suspect those things would step up, and other online voices would fill any gap left behind.

However, I’m also not convinced that in the absence of The Seattle Times would mean the end of a daily in Seattle. I think it makes a certain amount of sense that one of our local millionaires or billionaires would take it on as an act of good will. They could either buy The Seattle Times outright or they could start their own paper if it went under. This paper might manage to be even more pro-corporate friendly than The Seattle Times currently, if that’s possible.

Another couple of possibilities I’ve been thinking about are a bit more out there. I could envision either The Stranger expanding to a daily if there was no daily or the newspaper guild starting a paper like they did during the strike. I don’t know if there would be any will to make these things happen, but I don’t think they’re outside the realm of the possible.

I hope that we have The Seattle Times for a good long while, and I’m rooting for it to get better as a paper. But it seems reasonable to think about what happens if they go under.