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I know, I know. Everyone will tell you nothing of note happens at the conventions. They’re theater and the most newsworthy thing that happened, aside from the weather, is a few supporters of one person yelled things during the vote and someone did something that might be racist.

And so we’re left with the speeches, the videos, and the rest of the theater. But, you know what: the theater is important. The speeches are important. The parties, and especially the presidential candidates, set the tone of the rest of their campaigns at the convention. They lock themselves into policies. They showcase rising stars. They get people paying attention.

Please join us tonight for an evening of politics and conversation over a pint at the Seattle Chapter of Drinking Liberally. Material for tonight’s discussions: The hurricane that is the G.O.P. convention, Rob McKenna’s refusal to release his tax returns, and, perhaps, today’s Arizona, Vermont, Alaska and Oklahoma elections ….

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’s DL tonight? Check out one of the other DL meetings over the next week. The Tri-Cities chapter also meets tonight. And on Monday, the Yakima, South Bellevue and Olympia chapters meet.

With 235 chapters of Living Liberally, including thirteen in Washington state four in Oregon and three more in Idaho, chances are excellent there’s a chapter near you.

Rob McKenna is refusing to release his tax returns:

Washington gubernatorial candidate Rob McKenna said Tuesday he will not release any of his tax returns, dismissing the matter as a distraction from important policy discussions.

McKenna, the state’s attorney general, said he has disclosed enough information in the personal financial forms that candidates file with the state. He called the tax-return debate – both here and nationally – a “phony issue.”

McKenna, a Republican, said his political rivals are attempting “to change the subject away from the real issues of the state.”

Democratic rival Jay Inslee, a former congressman, released five years of tax returns last week, and his campaign had called on McKenna to do the same.

I’m sure McKenna wants you to believe that he is taking a principled stand in refusing to release his tax returns, but his recalcitrance is problematic for the gubernatorial wannabe.

First, even if the “principled stand” hypothesis is true, standing tall with Mitt Romney isn’t going to endear him to Washingtonians. The state is just not that into Mittens. In other words, if McKenna wants to peddle himself as a “different kind of Republican,” one that is palatable to the voters of our state, he shouldn’t emulate, pretend to be, or come off as, in any way, an entitled one-percenter.

Romney has good reason to hide his tax returns. He’s done the political calculation. Releasing his tax returns would be much more damaging than disclosure. And it really is understandable—the fabulously wealthy have more opportunity to dodge taxes in ways that, if disclosed to the rest of us, would induce a bout of severe vertigo followed by repulsion-induced wrenching.

But McKenna…not so many tax dodging options. So if McKenna is “standing on principle,” he takes all the damage of non-discosure without any of the benefits.

(And he will take damage from this. Washingtonians are big on transparency. Don’t think for a moment that McKenna’s non-disclosure is going to be swept under the rug.)

So, really, if McKenna is merely standing on “principle”, he’s foolishly hurting himself.

On the other hand, maybe Rob isn’t a fool. Maybe he has done the calculation of relative political damage from disclosure versus non-disclosure. And he came down on the side of hiding his tax returns. If so, what is Rob McKenna hiding?

Is McKenna being foolish here? Or does he really have something to hide in his tax returns?

Intelligent voters want to know.

– I haven’t finished this piece on Obama and race yet, but so far it’s quite interesting.

– These are my favorite protesters at the RNC so far (may be NSFW).

– I realize the problems are worse in California, but wouldn’t it be nice to have a governor who could rally businesses behind raising taxes?

– Giving away the store.

– I’m not thrilled that super PAC’s are setting the agenda, but that’s a dumb resolution that Koster sponsored.

– Make him seem not stiff or mechanical.

A hearty congrats to everyone who worked the fire.

Firefighters have extinguished nearly all of the Taylor Bridge Fire between Cle Elum and Ellensburg, except for a few hotspots, within 40 miles of fire line built around the burn area.

Containment was at 91 percent on Saturday morning, according to a news release issued as command of the firefighting effort was transferred to a smaller, regional incident management team from Southwest Washington. Members of the original incident management team continued to work with the regional team that took command Saturday.

Restrictions were lifted Saturday in areas of Kittitas County previously under level 1 evacuation orders. Hidden Valley Road remains closed at its intersection with Lambert Road, and Lambert Road is closed 1.5 miles east of its intersection with Taylor Road. State Route 10 remains closed at Taylor Bridge for construction.

– The Crackpot Caucus [h/t]

– When more black men were killed in one year (2009) than all of the US soldiers killed in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars to date, we must give this problem the utmost attention. We must find solutions to curb the violence.

– I’m going to wait until we hear what type of alien invasion we’re talking about.

– How in the hell did Florida voters look at this man’s record and decide to make him their governor? He’s a straight-up crook. He should be considered a felon many times over. And now people are surprised that he acts like a gangster?

– RIP Neil Armstrong.

– An app that shows where bike racks are.

Last week’s contest was won milwhcky, with an assist from Roger Rabbit. It was Sammamish.

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

Last week’s contest was #200, so here’s the winner tally from the last 100 contests (the winners from the first 100 were announced here). Everyone with more than 1 win is listed. Contests can have multiple winners, so the total will be over 100:

wes.in.wa – 24
milwhcky – 16
Liberal Scientist – 11
Brian – 5
Siberian Dog – 4
Darryl – 3
Poster Child – 3
waguy – 3
Deathfrogg – 2
Blue John – 2
Geoduck – 2
Coosboy – 2
Budget Wonk – 2
Roger Rabbit – 2
2cents – 2
Luigi Giovanni – 2
uptown – 2
16 people won 1 contest

Thanks for playing!

Isaiah 28:2
Only the Lord is strong
and powerful!
His mighty hand
will strike them down
with the force of a hailstorm
or a mighty whirlwind
or an overwhelming flood.

Discuss.

Sam Seder and Ari Berman: Fighting back against Republican led voter suppression efforts.

Willard!

• Roy Zimmerman: Vote Republican—Vermont edition
• Ed: The Latino Etch-A-Sketch, or Romney tries for the Latino vote.
• Mitt Romney on Bain job creation.:
• Zina Saunders: Paul Ryan’s Scouts Honor
• Sam Seder: Why won’t Mitt release his taxes?
• America doesn’t need a Birfer-in-chief.
• Jenn: Mitt Romney has taken the Birfer plunge
• Maddow: Blacks, Hispanics apparently not part of Romney victory plan
• CNN factchecks Romney “welfare” ad: FALSE!
• Young Turks: Mitt Romney’s “energy plan”.
• Maher and Huffington on Paul Ryan.
• Pap: Bain Capital’s Central American blood money.
• The Romney Bunch
• Jonathan Mann: Ultimate Any Rand Porn.
• Young Turks: Mitt goes Birfer.
• Sam Seder: Gawker releases Bain documents before RNC, Romney prays for hurricane.
• Music Video: Full of Mitt:
• Martin Bashir: Why Mitt has 0% Black support.
• Maddow: Romney, Ryan haunted by extremist record.
• Young Turks: Did David Koch buy Ryan a VP slot?

Kimmel: This week in unnecessary censorship.

Obama: They drove the economy into a ditch.

Thom with even more Good, Bad, and Very, Very Ugly.

White House: West Wing Week.

The G.O.P. Convention:

• Grindr for the G.O.P. convention.
• Thom: Why belong to a party that doesn’t want you?
• Ann Telnaes: The abortion issue heading for the G.O.P. convention.
• Young Turks: Limbaugh suggests Obama “hopeful” hurricane will hit convention.
• Susie Sampson asks Stephen Colbert: Can I be your date to the G.O.P. Convention?
• Stephanie: David Schuster jokes about God smiting the G.O.P.
• Thom and Pap: It’s hurricane Akin that is hitting the G.O.P. convention.

Roy Zimmerman: Vote Republican, Tennessee version.

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

Completely honest political debate.

Ed: Republicans are stealing the election in Ohio.

Young Turks: We have found the terrorists and it is us.

The Republican War on Lady Parts:

• Mark Fiore: Legitimate rape and other legitimate science from the house science and lady parts committee
• SlateTV: Todd Akin’s abortion comments could damage his standing.
• Pap: The Republican rape defenders.
• Lawrence O’Donnell: Why Republicans now fear talking about abortion
• Sam Seder with Amanda Marcotte: Todd Akin, rape & GOP “magical” thinking
• Bill Press: Mitt and G.O.P. are a bunch of hypocrites !
• Roy Zimmerman: Vote Republican, Alabama edition:
• Maddow: Did Romney get bad advice in Aikn scandal?
• Letterman: Hurricane approaching G.O.P. Convention proof God is a woman
• Young Turks: GOP candidate Frank Szabo would “stop abortion with deadly force”.
• Ann Telnaes: Romney unveils his energy plan.
• Bill Press: Akin ‘let the cat out of the bag’ for the GOP.
• The Romney-Ryan-Akin platform for women
• Republican women for Obama.

Roy Zimmerman: Vote Republican, Massachusetts edition

Gov. Jan Brewer introduces the Self Deportation Station:

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

Roy Zimmerman: Vote Republican, Nevada edition.

Obama’s Secret UN Takeover and the Texas Insurgency!

• Sam Seder: TX Judge reveals Obama’s secret U.N. takeover plan!!!
• SlateTV: TX Judge suggests second Obama term might lead to uprising.
• Young Turks: Judge for civil war if Obama wins.

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

[I’m reading and doing some metacommentary on Mitt Romney’s book. Enjoy, or skip over it: it’s a free country.]

We’re now at Chapter 3 of Mitt Romney’s book, and if you’ve read the title of this post, you already know it’s called “The Pursuit of Power.” Today we’ll learn about Romney’s general thoughts on nations getting power and China a case study. Next time* Russia and Jihad. He starts the chapter:

The best ally peace has ever known is a strong America.

I agree that a strong America is better than a strong his other examples in this chapter. But when Romney wrote this, we were at no-end-in-sight wars with Iraq and Afghanistan. I think we’re stronger and better as a nation because we got out of Iraq and are slowly, slowly, too damn slowly figuring out how to get ourselves out of Afghanistan. I doubt that’s what Romney meant.

After this statement, he spends several paragraphs saying that America is good. He talks in general about how America promotes human rights and peace but always in generalities. The only specific thing he mentions is after the 2004 Tsunami, the relief efforts. And, of course, we all support keeping America strong when it does those things. But the section doesn’t mention when America doesn’t live up to those things. It doesn’t talk about how we’re often selective in what human rights we enforce. Additionally, he admits that countries that are good may stop being good, but he doesn’t say how he’ll make sure America stays on the right path.

Then he starts the section “The Middle Kingdom Flexes its Muscles.” There’s a Cliff Notes version of China’s history in the 20th century. Mostly losing ground to the Japanese** but also the British make an appearance. And then Mao and the Korean war. After that war ended:

Mao never really took to modernity and technology, and his military continued to reflect that prejudice, maintaining a massive four-million solder army as only a weak compensation for the nation’s obsolete or nonexistent weapons systems and logistical support. It wasn’t until approximately twenty years ago that China decided to build a modern world-class military. Since the mid 1980s, the People’s Liberation Army has been reduced by two million soldiers, cutting its size in half even as military spending was doubled time and again. The new funds went to programs designed to professionalize and train Chinese soldiers as well as toward the purchase of modern arms from Russia: fighter aircraft, helicopters, destroyers, submarines, and antiship missiles.

Then he talks about China’s submarines and their cyber war capabilities. And he draws two conclusions from this. “First, China is catching up” to America. “Second, they have not yet built their military to challenge us heat-to-head around the globe. Instead, they have shaped it to deter us, to match us, or even to defeat us in the specific theaters that are most important to them.” Look, if you’re going to characterize China’s cyber war as mostly deterrent, then that makes it seem reasonable.***

“China has very little interest today in constructing a military capable of fighting us in Africa, Europe, the Americas of the Middle East.” God, I hope we don’t fight their military anywhere. That would be terrible. He gets into some specifics of America’s capabilities, and then, “they build submarines capable of checkmating our battle groups and they invest in cyber- and space-warefare that can blind or at least blinker our navy and air force. And if they become capable of declawing America’s military in Asia, they will gain freedom of action to do whatever they choose in the Pacific and Indian Oceans.” Look, they make a lot of aggressive moves in the South China Sea, and that’s pretty terrible. But I’m not sure it follows that they’ve stopped America (and our allies (?)) from responding in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Or that the other players in the region are just going to let China do anything they want without responding.

Also, other than the we’re good thing earlier, there’s no real reason why Romney thinks America should be the major player in that part of the Pacific and the Indian Ocean. I mean China is there and we aren’t. And it’s not that difficult of a thing to come up with something: stability of commerce around the world yada, yada, commitments to our allies, blah blah blah. The point isn’t that there isn’t an argument to be made about why America has a role in the region, especially over China, but it would be nice if Romeny would actually make the argument.

Then there’s a discussion of Taiwan that will (if the Chinese take this book seriously) probably give him headaches.

Taiwan is not China. It is an independent democratic country of 23 million people–more than Australia and more than four times the population of Israel. Taiwan holds free and fair elections, guards its citizens’ civil rights and political liberties, and is also a model of free enterprise, having the twentieth largest economy in the world. If the people of Taiwan were to unite with China, that would be their right, but that has never been the choice of a modern, free Taiwan.

To be clear, I think that’s largely true (except for the fact that Taiwan still largely sees itself as representative of all of China). But it’s always been the sort of thing that Americans with diplomatic power tend to finesse.

Anyway, then Romney is worried that if China takes over Taiwan (as if anyone is saying they should do that) then the next step is maybe Korea and Japan. Then the section ends with Romney saying we still have a lot of influence, and we should keep a strong military presence in the region and support our allies.

[Read more…]

On Tuesday I mentioned that progressive comedian Dean Obeidallah is coming to Seattle. Dean is not only a comedian, but he is a frequent commentator on those talking head shows.

Well, today he has a CNN Opinion piece that looks at political gaffes, rape and other fun topics:

Politicians make gaffes almost daily. Some they can overcome. Some are fodder for late-night comedians. Some are deadly to their campaigns. Republican congressman Todd Akin’s recent gaffe was so toxic, he may not only have killed his campaign, he may be the political equivalent of a zombie who also infects the Romney/Ryan ticket with his deadly virus.

Read the whole thing here.

Another day, another horrendous shooting.

Several people were shot, one of them fatally, by a gunman outside the Empire State Building shortly after 9 a.m. on Friday, according to the police and city officials. The gunman was killed by the police, officials said.

One city official said that eight people were wounded.

“There are two people on site dead, a civilian and the gunman,” said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to provide information to the media.

While the details are still murky, I think we can all agree that the shooter knew exactly what the founders were going for when they wrote the Second Amendment.