HorsesAss.Org

Bell Street between 1st and 2nd Ave is closed off to car traffic as they build a park. It’s going to be magnificent, or at least a nice improvement. Some people I’ve talked to are worried about drug dealing there. While that’s not unreasonable, I think it’ll be a nice place. And anyway, it’s not like there isn’t drug dealing around 2nd and Bell now.

Now the work has begun on the park. The road is being torn up and the trees have been cut down. Right now it’s more construction than park. But I’m excited about what it’ll be shortly.

Still, those trees. It’s sad to see stumps up and down the block on both sides. I can’t wait for the park, but those stumps are tough.

The sequestration cuts to the FAA are forcing the agency to close 150 control towers at low-volume airports (including 5 in Washington state). As a consequence, some Republicans are discovering their inner socialist.

Exhibit 1: Rep. Dennis Ross (R-FL-15).

What really bothers Rep. Ross is that Flordia’s Lakeland Linder Regional Airport will lose its control tower. The airport is a relatively low-volume airport, except for one week each summer, during the annual Sun ‘n Fun aviation convention, in which it becomes one of the busiest airports in the world. To put the traffic volume in context, Lakeland Linder has an average of 208 aircraft operations/day making it is slightly less busy than the Tacoma Narrows Airport ( 216/day) and the Renton Municipal Airport (221/day, where the 737 is manufactured).

Ross whines (my emphasis):

The state’s largest convention, SUN ‘n FUN, which is held in April at Lakeland Linder Airport, not only provides incredible economic value to Lakeland, but it serves our children by investing $1.4 million dollars annually in education. It is unacceptable to close this important control tower. Sun N Fun will now have to pay the FAA $284,000 in order to keep this control tower functioning during the convention. This is more money that they must raise that will not go to help our children who are struggling in school.

Really? He wants to keep the control tower so that my tax dollars and your tax dollars will subsidizing the local school systems in Florida’s 15th Congressional District?

FUCKING SOCIALIST!!!!

Exhibit 2: Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-TX-27). He is…

deeply troubled by the proposed actions of the FAA regarding smaller airports, like the one in Victoria, Texas, as they have long played a vital role in local economies across the country.

At 125 aircraft operations/day Victoria Regional Airport, it isn’t even as busy as Olympia Regional Airport (131/day).

No doubt the airport does play an important role in the economy, but why should my tax dollars be subsidizing the economy of the Texas 27th Congressional District?!?

You’d have to be a FUCKING SOCIALIST to want that kind of Big Government solution to a regional problem!

Exhibit 3: Michele Bachman (R-MN-6):

One-el Michele frets over airport tower closures:

I am deeply disappointed with the FAA’s decision to close the air traffic control towers at the Anoka County-Blaine Airport and St. Cloud Regional Airport. Throughout this decision-making process, I have been in touch with FAA and DOT officials urging them to focus first on eliminating waste and trimming non-essential items in the FAA’s budget before they even consider shutting down essential safety operations.

Wait. WE have to pay for safety in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District? Can’t the regional or local government do that even better?

Yeah…the Anoka County-Blaine Airport is goddamn busy with an average of 536 operations/day, but It isn’t the Anoka FEDERAL airport. What part of “COUNTY” doesn’t Michele understand?

And St. Cloud Regional Airport?!? Give me a fucking break. At 87 operations/day it hardly warrants a paved runway (and federally subsidized, no doubt), let alone a labor-intensive control tower. St. Cloud is nothing compared to Yakima’s McAllister Field (126/day) and Spokane’s Felts Field Airport (156/day).

I have to ask…where in the Constitution does it put the federal government in charge of county safety? Clearly you can only justify this by abusing The Commerce Clause.

You know, I think the major newspapers of the country need to investigate these members of Congress to find out if they are pro-America or FUCKING SOCIALISTS!

BTW: those five Washington state airports whose control towers will be shut down? Renton Municipal, Olympia Regional, Tacoma Narrows, Felts Field, and McAllister Field.

Please join us tonight for an evening of politics over a pint at the Seattle Chapter of Drinking Liberally.

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

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

With 205 chapters of Living Liberally, including fifteen in Washington state, four in Oregon, and two more in Idaho, chances are excellent there’s a chapter that meets near you.

– But if punching down at the less-wealthy women in his congregation is the price of indulging in smug self-congratulation, that’s a price Rick Warren is happy to pay.

– Comfortable Shoes and the Gender Gap

– Money is speech unless it’s used against the NRA.

– How Sea‑Tac Airport’s substandard working conditions hurt our region and how other major airports changed course toward growth and prosperity. (PDF)

– Bidness owners who want increased revenue from the state. (point 2)

– I’m sure most of you who care already know, but PZ Myers is coming to town this week.

I’m super provincial and I don’t care. I love that Washington was mentioned as a point of hope in this otherwise dispiriting roundup of reproductive rights at the state level.*

Finally, a bit of good news! From the state of Washington, legislators are seriously considering mandating that insurance companies must pay for abortion services just as they are required to pay for maternity services:

The Reproductive Parity Act, as supporters call it, would require insurers in Washington state who cover maternity care — which all insurers must do — to also pay for abortions.

The bill passed the state House earlier this month by a vote of 53-43, though it faces an uncertain future in the Senate. […]

“It’s not expanding abortion coverage,” said Democratic Rep. Eileen Cody of West Seattle, the bill’s primary sponsor. “It’s ensuring the rights of women to get what they’re paying for now and to continue their freedom of choice.”

The bill is scheduled for a public hearing in the Public Health Care Committee on April 1st.

So while, as we’ve discussed earlier, this bill got to the Health Care Committee as a way to stop it from getting to the floor, well it’s still being heard in committee. And since it will get a hearing, here are the members of the Health Care Committee. If they’re your Senator, great! Let them know you support this common sense piece of legislation. If not, you can still email them at first.last@leg.wa.gov.

[Read more…]

– This Danny Westneat piece is fine as far as it goes, but I think he forgot the part where he takes on the Seattle Times’ governing philosophy.

– Ross Hunter has never been my favorite legislator, but he’s making a lot of sense here.

– NPI’s Spring Fundraiser.

– The Daily Caller is so, so gross.

– Most of the Iraq war boosters are still around 10 years later.

– The Pundit Who’s Always Wrong

Last week’s contest was won by wes.in.wa. It was the Skagit Valley Hospital in Mt. Vernon.

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

Genesis 11:10-24
Two years after the flood, when Shem was one hundred, he had a son named Arpachshad. He had more children and died at the age of six hundred. This is a list of his descendants:

When Arpachshad was thirty-five, he had a son named Shelah. Arpachshad had more children and died at the age of four hundred thirty-eight.

When Shelah was thirty, he had a son named Eber. Shelah had more children and died at the age of four hundred thirty-three.

When Eber was thirty-four, he had a son named Peleg. Eber had more children and died at the age of four hundred sixty-four.

When Peleg was thirty, he had a son named Reu. Peleg had more children and died at the age of two hundred thirty-nine.

When Reu was thirty-two he had a son named Serug. Reu had more children and died at the age of two hundred thirty-nine.

When Serug was thirty, he had a son named Nahor. Serug had more children and died at the age of two hundred thirty.

When Nahor was twenty-nine, he had a son named Terah. Nahor had more children and died at the age of one hundred forty-eight.

Discuss.

Letterman: Biden one-ups Clinton on gay marriage.

Young Turks: Can Colbert’s sister defeat Mark “Hiking the Appalachian Trail” Sanford?

White House: West Wing Week.

The Makeover:

• Young Turks: GOP insultingly wonders why minorities don’t like them.
• Sharpton: The ‘narrow minded, stuffy old White Men’ of the GOP respond to Reince Preibus.
• Bill Press on the G.O.P. “makeover”.
• Lawrence O’Donnell: State Republicans ignore national ‘minority push’, double down on voter suppression.
• Sharpton: GOP’s talk of change is all hot air

Maddow: Obama receives Israel’s highest civilian distinction.

Pap: FAUX News is coming to your child’s public school classroom.

Obama to designate San Juan Islands National Monument:

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

Liberal Viewer: Deportation over a barking dog?

Michael Shure: Hillary dominates for 2016.

This IS your Grandfather’s CPAC:

• Susie Sampson’s Teaparty Report: CPAC.
• Thom: CPAC race panel “goes wild”.
• Michael Brooks: Why are Republicans going extinct?
• Young Turks: Slavery defender at CPAC gets pat on back.
• Sam Seder: Tea Party panel turns racist at CPAC.
• Red State Update: CPAC, New Pope, Rob Portman, and Michael Moore.
• Ann Telnaes: Sen. Ted Cruz delivers keynote CPAC address.
• Young Turks: Republicans lose War on Gay Marriage at CPAC.

Young Turks: A G.O.P. catfight!

Ann Telnaes: A new coat of paint for Gitmo.

Maddow: Misstated positions betray lack of seriousness on policy.

Shuster: Paul Ryan’s budget slashes social programs and cuts taxes for millionaires.

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

Mark Fiore: Deficit Hawk Man!

The Tenth Anniversary:

• Sam Seder with Becky Bond: Reliving Iraq 10 years ago.
• Young Turks: FAUX News uber-fail on Iraq Invasion.
• Maddow: Bush administration officials unrepentant over Iraq War.
• Lawrence O’Donnell: Crimes against humanity.
• Sam Seder: Re-living George W. Bush’s invasion of Iraq
• Young Turks: Dying Veteran’s last letter to Bush and Cheney.
• Sharpton: After 10 years, Republicans still denying the criminality of a falsified invasion
• Rummy tweets asking for respect & gratitude for him & fellow Iraq war criminals
• Thom: Time for our media to offer us—and the people of Iraq—an apology.
• Sam Seder: Media fails on who was right and who was wrong in Iraq Invasion.
• Young Turks: Was it worth it?

Tina Fey channels a certain half-term Governor.

Young Turks: Trump versus Malkin for battle of the clowns.

Andy Cobb: CNN Do-Over:

Ann Telnaes: Republicans rethink gay marriage.

Bachmann Bluster Overdrive:

• Alex Wagner: Michele Bachmann’s big fat food stamp lie.
• Sharpton: In 2013, Bachmann still vows to tear down Obamacare.
• Michele Bachman is in trouble.
• Maddow: House Tea Party caucus appears to be dead.
• Recovery Act:Latest in Michele Bachmann’s infrastructure hypocrisy

Netanyahu sets US conservatives straight on ‘anti-Israel’ Obama.

Young Turks: Newt and Santorum for president?

Thom: The effect of the sequester on small businesses.

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

In his I-502 update, Lee mentioned Mark Kleiman is going to be the main consultant for implementing the initiative. He hadn’t been on my radar before the hire, but I trust Lee’s judgement on this. So I was pleased to see this clip of him being dismissive of stupid questions on CNN.

A decent interview would have been interesting and enlightening. This was not that interview. A combination of anti-marijuana assumptions and attempted snark when it wasn’t called for sunk the interview from the start. But at least he didn’t take the stupid questions seriously.

I actually think whether people on our team have used cannabis at one time or another or what they think about cannabis legalization is irrelevant to the job they’ve been chosen to do.

That’s me transcribing it since I couldn’t find the transcript on CNN’s page, and any errors are mine. Anyway, I’m glad someone in the interview was serious. I only wish it was both sides.

Good on President Obama for creating a San Juan Islands National Monument.

President Obama on Monday will create a 955-acre national monument in Washington’s scenic San Juan Islands, using his authority under the same 1906 law deployed by President Theodore Roosevelt to begin preservation of this state’s Olympic Mountains and the Grand Canyon in Arizona.

The monument was championed by Western Washington lawmakers after legislation to create a National Conservation Area stalled in the Republican-controlled House Natural Resources Committee. Its chairman, Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash., has not even bothered to hold a hearing on the proposal.

[…]

Both federal, state and local officials have backed the monument not just to protect unspoiled places in the San Juan archipelago, but for economic reasons. Preservation is no longer “locking up” land, but rather welcoming visitors. “A national monument increases recreation dramatically,” Ranker said.

It’s quite amazing, and a testament not just to the administration and the legislators who made it happen, but the activists as well.

Last week when I wrote about the state version of the DREAM Act passing the Washington State House, I was cautiously optimistic:

I’m glad that this has passed with bipartisan support. Hopefully the lopsided nature of the vote and the number of Republicans supporting it means that it has a shot in the Senate.

One of the biggest hurdles was getting to committee in the GOP controlled Senate. And now it looks like at least that will happen.

The Wash. Senate Higher Education Committee has scheduled a hearing on the Dream Act for next Thursday, 3/28, per spokeswoman. #waleg

— Brian M. Rosenthal (@brianmrosenthal) March 21, 2013

So, here are the members of the Senate Higher Education Committee. The forces of basic human decency just have to peal one Republican (or Rodney Tom), so if you see your Senator, you might want to give them a call or an email. If they aren’t your Senator, it’s firstname.lastname@leg.wa.gov, but probably don’t mention that they aren’t your Senator. If it gets through then presumably they’d be able to find some GOP members like it did in the House.

– Get your questions in to ask the governor.

– In case you’re wondering why people used to call them MSGOP, here’s a reminder of where MSNBC were at the start of the Iraq war.

– Clean up your trash, Yakima businesses.

– Here’s the bad news: The funding for viaduct construction mitigation runs out next fall, at the same time that the temporary $20 vehicle license fee that preserved Metro service over the past two years expires. Combined, the two cuts add up to a “disaster,” Desmond told council members yesterday—45,000 transit hours a year, which amounts to a 14 percent cut in service on the Alaskan Way Viaduct corridor.

– A large road project finished on time and under budget in Seattle.

– The elite political media, past and present, living and dead, should atone in Purgatory for centuries over trying to redeem this vat of squalid poison. Because, over this weekend, we discovered, once again, that the irredeemable barrel that was Richard Nixon had no bottom to scrape.

– Blood-gargling psychopath

Usually when the party out of power in the legislature proposes taxing or spending policy, or a budget, they don’t have to worry about fancy stuff like basic math. It isn’t going to pass or be the basis of negotiations, so who cares? Then the party that was out of power gets some power, and they then have to propose realistic things. But I think the GOP have been out of power for too long, that now they control the Senate again, they’re proposing things, but not paying for them (h/t).

The Senate Majority Coalition rolled out a $300 million plan Tuesday that would partially reverse years of cuts in spending on colleges and universities and hold the line on fast-rising college tuition – but already the signs of conflict are apparent.

[…]

The coalition proposal increases higher education spending by roughly 10 percent, from the current $2.7 billion to $3 billion. Where that $300 million will come from, no one knows – that’s a matter for budget-writers to consider in the weeks ahead.

Seriously, that was the sort of thing you could do when you were the scrappy opposition. But now you have to find someone who can actually use a spreadsheet, or something.

Yesterday evening going to Drinking Liberally as it was raining, I caught a crowded bus downtown at its first stop. People started pouring on from under the awnings for half a block around. There were at least 30 people, probably more, and it was already crowded by the time I got on. That’s fine. I’m glad that a lot of people use the bus in Seattle.

Still, getting on the bus was rather annoying. There were several people — who I assume were regular commuters — without a basic understanding of paying. There were people who fished out their ORCA Cards at the machine. There were people who fumbled around for their money once they got to the box.

This is not great behavior in the best of times, but when there’s a line waiting in the rain, it’s really unacceptable. Please, for the sake of everyone behind you, be ready when you get on the bus. If there’s a line where you’re waiting, that should be the time to get ready.