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Slatester: Michigan lawmaker says “vagina,” is banned from House floor.

Minneapolis Mayor RT Rybak: Mitt Romney has history of firing people.

Bill Maher: Obama’s hologram.

Susie Sampson’s Tea Party Report at Netroots Nation.

You’re Welcome: BP Voices from the Gulf:

Stephanie Cutter: Mitt distorts.

Romney’s bizarre “jobs plan”.

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

Jon: Senate’s misguided drone criticism.

Young Turks: Obama admin. will stop deporting young immigrants.

Mark Fiore: Big Latvia success story!

Alyona’s Tool Time Award: Attack of the vagina.

White House: West Wing Week.

Pap: How Wisconsin uprising was hijacked.

Thom: The root of Romney’s comfort with lying.

Young Turks: “Vagina” gets Rep. banned.

Jon: Judging Jamie Diamon.

Romney senior advisor Kevin Madden has an Etch-A-Sketch moment on immigration.

Thom: Money has crushed the voice of the people.

Eric Schwartz: Vagina Jase Bolger (R-MI):

Romney advisor says his position on immigration is the same as President Obama’s.

Actual Audio: Mitt v. jobs.

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

I Didn’t Speak Up, 2012.

Sam Seder: Don’t say “vagina” in Michigan.

Obama: Department of Homeland Security Immigration announcement.

Stephen: Union cafeteria workers.

Sam Seder: Virginia Republicans war on words “Sea Level Rise”.

Jonathan Mann: The Vagina Song:

Thom: The GOP witchhunt against Holder.

The Mitt Romney “jobs plan”.

Letterman: Romney and doughnuts.

Liberal Viewer: Steven Crowder supports NAMBLA?

Obama: LGBT Pride Month reception.

Newsy: U.S. will stop deportation of young immigrants.

Ben LaBolt: Mitt Romney is running for office on a false premise.

Young Turks: Obama heckled by Daily Caller reporter during immigration remarks.

Ezra Klein: Nailing Romney for supporting Bush policies.

Newsy: “Vagina” comments get lawmaker blocked in Michigan.

Thom and Pap: Why are Senators fondling banksters?.

Daily Show: Florida voter purge.

Pap: Rick Scott and the pathology of lying.

Jen with pollster, John Whaley, How to ask poll questions.

Obama Boy: Crush on Obama:

Sam Seder: Rick Scott still disenfranchising voters, suing Homeland Security to save face.

Mitt Romney: Out Of Touch!

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

On Friday David Brooks and Paul Krugman share space on the New York Times Op-Ed page. Sometimes, the contrast between the quality of writing is embarrassing. Today, I noticed the transitions between paragraphs. Here’s how Bobo starts each paragraph after the first:

I guess I’d say
But many Republicans
“We have a sense
To Republican eyes,
America’s economic stagnation
In America as in Europe
The welfare model favors
This is the source of Republican extremism
Mitt Romney hasn’t put it this way
Democrats have had trouble grasping
In his speech
Obama championed
This is what this election is about
Republicans and Democrats have different perceptions

Sometimes it ties the previous paragraph to the next one. But more often than not it’s jarring. Oh here’s a new idea. Maybe there are connections, but you’ll have to make them yourself. Compare that to K-thug.

Never mind
In the remarks
You can see
So would getting rid of teachers, police officers, and firefighters help the American people?
But the more relevant question
First of all
And, if we had those extra jobs
The really decisive evidence
But recovery never came
And the point is
So the former governor
Actually, it’s kind of ironic
And that’s not just an inference
In fact
Needless to say

Whatever you think of Krugman’s argument in this piece, you can see the way he ties one paragraph into another pretty much every time.

My questions in bold Kathleen Drew’s are unbolded.

1) How will you make sure elections are fair?

Washingtonians expect a Secretary of State who is fair and impartial. Those are the characteristics I have shown throughout my career. I am not a career politician, I am an effective and experienced manager committed to fair elections and increased voter participation. I authored our state’s Ethics in Public Service law and served on our state Commission on Government Ethics and Campaign Finance Reform.

As Secretary of State I will ensure consistency and transparency in election processes across the state. I will require a paper trail for votes cast. I will increase auditing of equipment and processes to ensure that our election system is secure and accurate.

I will also implement consistent statewide policies on the use and distribution of ballot drop boxes so that they are available in communities and on college campuses across the state. I’ll reach out to all demographic groups in both urban and rural communities to encourage all eligible citizens to vote. Working together we can identify barriers that eligible voters face and eliminate them. However, all of these improvements will be at risk if we allow corporate interests to participate in elections without restriction or accountability. I’ll fight any efforts to suppress voting, such as those we’ve seen in other states. I strongly oppose the Supreme Court’s decision in the Citizens United case and support a constitutional amendment to repeal the decision. I also support passage of the DISCLOSE Act. I’ll work here in Washington State to increase transparency and accountability in the initiative process.

2) The last Democratic Secretary of State retired in 1964. What makes you think you’re going to finally flip that?

Both of the previous two Secretaries of State had statewide experience and worked in the executive branch of state government. I am the only candidate of any party in this race that has similar experience in state government, both as a policy advisor to the Governor and as a State Senator. I have a clear vision of why I am running and what I want to accomplish. I have the most active and effective campaign of any candidate and have been traveling across the state listening to voters’ concerns and ideas since November. I am the nominee of the Washington State Democratic Party and have been endorsed by dozens of organizations, state and local elected officials, community leaders and citizens from every part of this state. Many of these endorsements are listed below.

Washington State Democratic Party Nominee
Washington State Labor Council
International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, AFL-CIO District 751
Washington Federation of State Employees
American Federation of Teachers, Washington
SEIU 1199NW
Teamsters Joint Council 28
UFCW 367
IBEW Local 77
IBEW Local 112
IBEW Local 483
Spokane Fire Fighters Union Local 29
EMILY’s List
NARAL Pro-Choice Washington
National Organization for Women
National Women’s Political Caucus of Washington State
King County Democrats
Pierce County Democrats
Snohomish County Democrats
Thurston County Democrats
Kitsap County Democrats
Grays Harbor County Democrats
Metropolitan Democratic Club of Seattle
1st Legislative District Democrats (Bothell)
5th Legislative District Democrats (Issaquah)
11th Legislative District Democrats (Renton)
15th Legislative District Democrats (Yakima)
22nd Legislative District Democrats (Olympia)
27th Legislative District Democrats (Tacoma)
30th Legislative District Democrats (Federal Way)
32nd Legislative District Democrats (Shoreline)
33rd Legislative District Democrats (Kent)
34th Legislative District Democrats (Seattle)
35th Legislative District Democrats (Mason, Kitsap, and Thurston Counties)
36th Legislative District Democrats (Seattle)
37th Legislative District Democrats (Seattle)
41st Legislative District Democrats (Bellevue and Mercer Island)
42nd Legislative District Democrats (Bellevue)
43rd Legislative District Democrats (Seattle)
45th Legislative District Democrats (Redmond)
46th Legislative District Democrats (Seattle)
47th Legislative District Democrats (Covington)
49th Legislative District Democrats (Vancouver)
Young Democrats of Washington
King County Young Democrats
Pierce County Young Democrats
UW Young Democrats
WSU Young Democrats
Adam Smith, United States Congressman (WA-9)
Robert Utter, Former Chief Justice, Washington State Supreme Court
Faith Ireland, Former Justice, Washington State Supreme Court
Jennifer Belcher, Former Public Lands Commissioner
Michael J. Murphy, Former Washington State Treasurer
Ron Sims, Former King County Executive
Jolene Unsoeld, Former United States Congresswoman (WA-3)
Rosemary McAuliffe, Washington State Senate (D-1)
Luis Moscoso, Washington State House of Representatives (D-1)
Derek Stanford, Washington State House of Representatives (D-1)
Andy Billig, Washington State House of Representatives (D-3)
Margarita Prentice, Washington State Senate (D-11)
Bob Hasegawa, Washington State House of Representatives (D-11)
Brian Blake, Washington State House of Representatives (D-19)
Mary Helen Roberts, Washington State House of Representatives (D-21)
Karen Fraser, Washington State Senate (D-22)
Sam Hunt, Washington State House of Representatives (D-22)
Chris Reykdal, Washington State House of Representatives (D-22)
Sherry Appleton, Washington State House of Representatives (D-23)
Christine Rolfes, Washington State Senate (D-23)
Steve Tharinger, Washington State House of Representatives (D-24)
Larry Seaquist, Washington State House of Representatives (D-26)
Jeannie Darneille, Washington State House of Representatives (D-27)
Laurie Jinkins, Washington State House of Representatives (D-27)
Tami Green, Washington State House of Representatives (D-28)
Connie Ladenburg, Washington State House of Representatives (D-29)
Steve Kirby, Washington State House of Representatives (D-29)
Maralyn Chase, Washington State Senate (D-32)
Cindy Ryu, Washington State House of Representatives (D-32)
Ruth Kagi, Washington State House of Representatives (D-32)
Karen Keiser, Washington State Senate (D-33)
Dave Upthegrove, Washington State House of Representatives (D-33)
Sharon Nelson, Washington State Senate (D-34)
Eileen Cody, Washington State House of Representatives (D-34)
Kathy Haigh, Washington State House of Representatives (D-35)
Adam Kline, Washington State Senate (D-37)
John McCoy, Washington State House of Representatives (D-38)
Mike Sells, Washington State House of Representatives (D-38)
Kristine Lytton, Washington State House of Representatives (D-40)
Marcie Maxwell, Washington State House of Representatives (D-41)
Jamie Pedersen, Washington State House of Representatives (D-43)
Hans Dunshee, Washington State House of Representatives (D-44)
Gerry Pollet, Washington State House of Representatives (D-46)
Sharon Wylie, Washington State House of Representatives (D-49)
Jim Moeller, Washington State House of Representatives (D-49)
Julia Patterson, King County Councilmember
Larry Phillips, King County Councilmember
Lloyd Hara, King County Assessor
Gael Tarleton, Port of Seattle Commissioner
Brian Sullivan, Snohomish County Councilmember
Stephanie Wright, Snohomish County Councilmember
Dave Gossett, Shohomish County Councilmember
John Lovick, Snohomish County Sheriff
Cindy Portmann, Snohomish County Assessor
Sonya Kraski, Snohomish County Clerk
Doug Lasher, Clark County Treasurer
David Peterson, Kitsap County Clerk
Sandra Romero, Thurston County Commissioner
Karen Valenzuela, Thurston County Commissioner
Shawn Myers, Thurston County Treasurer
Steven Drew, Thurston County Assessor
George Barner, Thurston County Port Commissioner
Mike Doherty, Clallam County Commissioner
Bruce Walker, Pacific County Assessor
Jean Godden, Seattle City Councilmember
Richard Conlin, Seattle City Councilmember
Bruce Harrell, Seattle City Councilmember
Tom Rasmussen, Seattle City Councilmember
Ray Stephanson, Everett Mayor
Lauren Walker, Tacoma City Councilmember
Ryan Mello, Tacoma City Councilmember
Anders Ibsen, Tacoma City Councilmember
Dennis Higgins, Kent City Councilmember
Dana Ralph, Kent City Councilmember
Joan McBride, Kirkland Mayor
Jim Cooper, Olympia City Council
Karen Rogers, Olympia City Council
Jeff Gadman, Lacey City Councilmember
Ron Lawson, Lacey City Councilmember
Cynthia Pratt, Lacey City Councilmember
Andy Ryder, Lacey City Councilmember
Carol Arends, Bremerton City Councilmember
Greg Wheeler, Bremerton City Councilmember
Leslie Daugs, Bremerton City Councilmember
Sissi Bruch, Port Angeles City Councilmember
Ken Hays, Sequim Mayor
Laura Dubois, Sequim City Councilmember
Gerald Robinson, Burien City Councilmember
Joan Cathey, Tumwater City Councilmember
Tom Oliva, Tumwater City Councilmember
Wayne Ehlers, Former Washington State Representative and Speaker of the House (D-2)
Valoria Loveland, Former Franklin County Treasurer and Washington State Senator (D-16)
Bill Smitherman, Former Washington State Senator (D-26)
Nancy Rust, Former Washington State Representative (D-32)
Harriet Spanel, Former Washington State Senator (D-40)
Pat Thibaudeau, Former Washington State Senator (D-43)
Dawn Mason, Former Washington State Representative (D-37)
Val Ogden, Former Washington State Representative (D-49)
Mary Ann Ottinger, Former King County District Court Judge
Mary Verner, Former Spokane Mayor
Cathy Pearsall-Stipek, Former Pierce County Auditor

3) Sam Reed has been pushing to count the ballots that are received by election day (like in Oregon) rather than the ones postmarked by election day. Do you support or oppose this?

Although many are frustrated by the length of time it takes to get final election results, I do not support changing the due date for ballot returns. First, we have required ballots to be postmarked by Election Day for about 30 years. Changing this practice will disenfranchise many who have consistently voted in this state. Second, the legislature recently changed the primary date to ensure overseas and military voters could receive and return ballots by Election Day. We have had a system of requiring votes to be postmarked by Election Day and this will once again shorten the timeframe for our service men and women overseas. Third, we are facing federal cutbacks to our US Postal Service. The future of regional post offices is uncertain. If postal service declines, the impact on mailed ballots could mean additional days for delivery. Requiring the ballots to be dropped off or postmarked by Election Day provides for the most consistent statewide rule where voters do not have to guess when their ballots will be received.

4) What legislation, if any, will you lobby for as Secretary of State?

There are three crucial bills that I will lobby for and make Secretary of State legislation. All three were introduced last year, but did not make it into law.

1. HB 2205 / SB 6128 – Allowing 16 and 17 year olds to preregister to vote

As it stands, 40% of Washingtonians register to vote when they get their driver’s license. This system works well, but it currently precludes our sons and daughters who get their driver’s license before the age of 18 from participating in this successful program. Allowing them to preregister will increase access to voting and actively engage young people in the political processes.

This is a crucial bill and I’m honored to have the support of Rep. Billig, the prime sponsor of this legislation.

2. SB 6127/HB 2204 – Election Day Registration

This is a necessary step towards greater access that will allow all of our citizens to vote in elections, even if they have not registered ahead of the election. This policy needs a supportive Secretary of State who is willing to work with local Auditors to implement the plan and involve community organizations to assist in the efforts.

3. HB 2612 / SB 6381 – The Washington State Voting Rights Act

This bill will allow communities with a history of racism to work towards transforming their election system from an at large system to one that is district based and does not disenfranchise communities of color. I’m enthusiastic about working on this bill, having previously met with the students who led the research towards this effort and many of the stakeholder groups that are working introduce more fairness for all into our system.

Over the past year, as I’ve been commuting downtown every day, I’ve become a fan of ESPN Radio. In particular, I really like the 9am show with former NFL QB Brock Huard and Mike Salk. And over the past few days, as the possibility of getting a new arena has slowly gathered steam, they’ve been introduced to something that political nerds like us have known for a while: the Seattle Times editorial board is a complete laughingstock.

It started last week when Salk responded to their editorial by pointing out the poor logic in saying that there’s only a finite amount of money that people will spend on sports and that bringing an NBA team back will threaten the Mariners and Seahawks.

A few days later, Bruce Ramsey gets a few basic facts wrong in a “Civil Disagreements” section discussion with Lynne Varner. Even stranger, he doesn’t even seem to grasp that the things he demands of an arena deal are largely satisfied with what Christopher Hansen is trying to do. So this morning, Ramsey actually agreed to be on their show, and my goodness, it was brutal. You can listen to it here. I almost felt sorry for him. Almost.

It does make me feel a little better to know that folks even outside of the political realm are starting to realize what a disaster our last daily print newspaper’s editorial board has become.

Post Wisconsin there’s reason to worry about corporate cash flowing to Mitt Romney. But I agree with Blue Texan that it’s good for the Democratic brand.

The Democratic Party’s embrace of Wall Street in the 1990s has been a disaster for the country and the party. It’s led to horrible policies such as the repeal of New Deal banking regulations — and badly diluted the brand.

Let’s go back to welcoming their hatred, please.

The only thing I’d add is that it also probably means something positive about banking reform as a policy. It’s certainly not perfect by a long shot, but if it pisses off the bankers, it can’t be totally toothless.

Here in New Hampshire, beer and wine are available at grocery stores, convenience stores, general stores. Liquor can only be purchased at the 77 state-owned, state-run liquor stores scattered around the state.

You may be familiar with this type of system for the sale of alcoholic beverages.

I stopped in a state store — one of their specialty wine & spirits stores — this afternoon. I’m not familiar with a lot of Washington’s liquor prices, so I couldn’t make anything like a comprehensive comparison between NH and WA prices. But there’s one particular item that I do know about, because I bought a bottle of it a few weeks ago back home in Seattle. That was before the privatization change-over. IOW, before the prices went up.

I paid $44.95 for a 1.75 liter bottle of Bombay Dry Gin (not the Sapphire variant) in a Washington state store. By all indications, were I to buy it today (I’m not really sure where it’s sold these days), that bottle would cost somewhat more than that.

New Hampshire was having a sale on Bombay today, charging $3.00 less than its standard list price. So that 1.75L bottle wouldn’t have set me back the usual $27.99; I could have walked out of that state store with it after putting a $24.99 charge on my credit card.

For the numerically-minded, the price at the New Hampshire store was only 54.3% of the Washington state store price (the regular price would have been 60.9%). The NH price would be an even smaller proportion of the private-store Washington price, or so I’m told.

Ain’t privatization grand?

– Phone books are a mandate Rob McKenna can get behind.

– 1/3 of all online shopping.

– That’s a lot of military bases near Iran.

– John Edwards is still a creep, but still a creep who won’t be going to jail.

– The amount of money Sheldon Adleson has to spend is pretty mind blowing.

– David Brooks, wtf?

– And not to pick on The New York Times too much, but this Tumbler of questions for Tom Freedman is brilliant [h/t].

Starbuck the dog (maybe with some help from his owner BGK) has a good overview of the marriage equality debate shaping up. Go read the whole thing.

While I was there, this particular argument from the anti-side struck me as pretty disingenuous.

While the bill has been amended to provide narrow exemptions for religious organizations that do not choose to be involved in same-sex ceremonies, it contains nothing to provide the same protections for private businesses that refuse service for these ceremonies on the grounds of religious conscience. That invites massive new lawsuits against photographers, bakers and decorators, tuxedo and wedding dress stores, hotels, caterers and others involved in the wedding industry.

I want to be clear here: It should be illegal to discriminate in business in Washington, including in the wedding industry.* Discrimination is wrong, and it doesn’t make sense to carve out this piece from our anti-discrimination laws.

But even if that’s your problem, it seems like this referendum is a pretty poor way of going about solving it. I mean these groups have shown they can gather signatures en masse. If that’s the concern, why not let the marriage equality law pass and get their particular exception to our anti-discrimination laws on the ballot?

[Read more…]

The tone of this piece is a little odd, but you know what, I support the sentiment.

We love it when Seattle tops a best-cities list. Are Seattlites fashionable? Check. Are we bookish? Sure. Are our hotels and apartments infested with bedbugs?

Not really. At least, not like the ones in Philadelphia.

We’re not in the top 15 (if a survey by a pest control company is accurate, it may well not be).

Anyway, they’re pretty aggressive about keeping bedbugs out in my building. We have posters for how to recognize bedbugs and we had a dog come in a while ago to sniff out each apartment. So as of, like February, I’m good on this front.

Via Crosscut:

This is our last post at Crosscut. The team here is great — and founder David Brewster has been particularly gracious and supportive, bringing Erica and me on board so we could continue to report and write. […]

We’re grateful for Brewster’s amazing support, but PubliCola is our thing. And it will live on. More details to come, but the Cola will be back in full force later this month.

Glad to hear it!

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

There are a couple of events today that will fuel our conversation. First, a double-header debate takes place this afternoon between Washington state attorney general candidates Bob Ferguson (D) and Reagan Dunn (R). That debate takes place at 2:00 pm. At 3:30 pm, gubernatorial candidates Jay Inslee (D) and Rob McKenna (R) go at it. The event takes place in Spokane, but you can watch (or stream) the debates on TVW, and KUOW will carry the audio.

Tonight there is a special election for AZ-08, the seat formerly held by Rep. Gabby Giffords (D). The only poll in the election, from Public Policy Polling has Democrat Ron Barber leading Republican Jesse Kelly, 53% to 41%.

Drinking Liberally Seattle meets 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 this week. Tonight the Tri-Cities, Bellingham, and Vancouver, WA chapters meet, and Thursday night Drinking Liberally Bremerton meets. Next Monday there are meetings of the Olympia, Yakima, and Shelton chapters.

With 228 chapters of Living Liberally, including twelve in Washington state and four more in Oregon, chances are excellent there’s a chapter near you.

– Seattle has black jobs and white jobs. If President Obama went down there and applied, he couldn’t get one of those jobs.

– More anti-abortion bullshit coming out of Texas.

– So far The Stranger’s map of free outlets is pretty bare. But it’s a good start.

– Republican members of the Senate think that the path to small business success is paved with the unpaid wages of working women.

– The Up Garden.

– I don’t know about you, but I think Lindy West wrote the greatest opening paragraph in the history of words.

– Let Mitt do the driving.

– How Feudalism works.

The annual Netroots Nation gathering has come and gone. A record number (2500 or so?) of progressive activists, operatives, politicians, staffers, and such were in attendance at the meeting in Providence. As usual, I was invigorated by last weekend’s activities. You see, unlike my youthful colleague Roya, I’m a veteran of these gatherings. The only one of the seven YearlyKos/Netroots Nation events I missed was YK2 (Chicago, 2007). In Rhode Island I was pleased to have quality time with longtime friends, and also to make new friends, connecting faces with names I’ve known for years.

Between Roya and me, we’ve more than adequately recounted Darcy Burner’s keynote, so there will be no further mention thereof. However, I do have one addition to Roya’s piece on criminal justice … identifying the principal speaker at the keynote. It was Ben Jealous, who has hugely revitalized and strengthened the NAACP in his short tenure as its President and CEO.

For the next several days, I’ll be visiting with an old and dear friend (we first met in our first college class, in September 1968) in the pleasurable small city of Keene, New Hampshire. It’s a bridge-time between NN12 and next weekend’s college reunion up in Hanover.

While the vibe of Netroots Nation is fresh, though, I’d like to offer a few observations about last weekend’s get-together in Providence:

• The city of Providence and the state of Rhode Island welcomed us enthusiastically. It’s a real advantage to be a small state in which nearly everyone is closely connected with everyone else. When US Senator Sheldon Whitehouse is a good friend of Angel Taveras, mayor of the state’s largest (and capital) city, things get done.
• Further evidence of our warm welcome was the always-spectacular WaterFire, wherein the city celebrates its revitalized downtown rivers with over 80 ceremonial braziers, unique music, boat processions, and civic engagement that inspires residents and tourists alike. Saturday’s WaterFire was held specifically to honor Netroots Nation.
• One of the major themes of the meeting was the widespread illegal practices of the banksters. Whether it was foreclosure fraud or peddling of “securities” they knew full well were worthless, or a thousand other outrages, banks and their enablers in Congress (to be fair, many in the executive branch have been (ir)responsible too) were repeatedly the targets of our enmity.
• In the “horse race” panel, where DailyKos elections experts offer up informed opinions on the upcoming cycle, I asked about WA-06. That’s the seat long held by Norm Dicks, who will retire after the current session of Congress. The only Democrat running to replace Dicks is Derek Kilmer, a good friend of mine and an absolutely top-drawer candidate. At least two self-funding Republicans are also running in WA-06. One of them, I’m told, wrote his campaign committee a half-million dollar check within days of forming it. Although the CD is ancestrally Democratic, I was somewhat taken aback when the panelists opined that those deep GOP pockets mean that the race is a tossup. I expect to have more to say about Derek and his campaign in the future.
• While perhaps not as star-studded as in some previous years, NN drew the likes of Paul Krugman; Elizabeth Warren; Bill McKibben; Cecile Richards (Planned Parenthood); Rich Trumka, Trevor Potter (Stephen Colbert’s SuperPAC lawyer); Senators Sherrod Brown, Jeff Merkley, and Ben Cardin; Representatives Tammy Baldwin and Keith Ellison. And, of course, all four of Rhode Island’s members of Congress — Senators Whitehouse and Jack Reed, Representatives Jim Langevin and David Cicilline.

One item requires a few paragraphs of its own.

Netroots Nation was supposed to have been held in Providence last year. Instead, we went to Minneapolis. The reason for that switch is straightforward. In 2010, the hospitality industry union in Rhode Island, UNITE HERE Local 217, was involved in acrimonious contract talks with the Westin Providence. The hotel threatened pay and benefit cuts, and even fired some leaders of the union, prompting a strike. Local 217 asked Netroots Nation for its support by not coming to Rhode Island during their labor dispute. That request was honored, of course. More than that, though, it prompted many bloggers across the country to write about the union’s situation. The increased attention and publicity, along with UNITE HERE’s dogged persistence, eventually led to a new agreement with the Westin … with pay and benefits restored, and with fired workers rehired.

After that happy result, UNITE HERE joined the city and the Senator in opening its arms to Netroots Nation in 2012. Sure, members of the union tended our bars, cleaned our hotel rooms, provided our bagels and coffee. But they did it almost as friends, interacting with us as individuals (and vice versa). At one of the plenary sessions, a dozen or so members of Local 217 — some of whom had been pouring drinks just a couple of minutes earlier — stood on the stage with NN Chairman Adam Bonin, thanking our organization for its assistance by presenting him with a print of Providence signed by them and many of their union brethren.

One of the last Netroots Nation events was a “blogger breakfast” hosted by Local 217. Held on the top floor of the Providence Biltmore, another unionized hotel and an official NN12 hotel, it was their way of formally thanking the rank-and-file activists for our aid to the rank-and-file workers. We learned about other places, all around the country, where UNITE HERE continues to fight for its rights. And we heard from Providence City Council member Carmen Castillo, almost certainly the first elected official in a big city who works as a hotel housekeeper.

It was an inspiring event for me, particularly after I learned that UNITE HERE is, in part, a descendant of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union. My paternal grandmother was a proud longtime member of the ILGWU. During and after that breakfast, I thought a lot about immigrants, about how unions have helped them become productive, functioning Americans. About how union membership led directly to their opportunity to fulfill the American Dream. About how those immigrants were able to buy homes and cars, to feed, clothe, and educate their children.

I’m a result of what unions did to build the success of America. I bet you, dear reader, are such a result too.

The Tacoma News Tribune has an editorial objecting to bonuses for General Services Administration managers. I have nothing in the editorial qua the editorial to object to (OK, it starts off with an unnecessary metaphor implying that GSA managers are the same as dogs, but the thrust of the piece is fine). GSA fucked up and the pressure should stay on on them. This is the sort of public good that we expect newspapers to push, and to push hard.

But I don’t remember the Trib lamenting the managers at big banks getting bonuses. I did a few searches. Maybe I missed something. You can argue private versus public, that we should care more about a government agency like the GSA. But given the big banks central role in society (I’d say I interact with banks a lot more than with the GSA) surely they ought to be held accountable in some way. And of course one main reason they stayed afloat during the crisis and have done well since is the massive amount of freeish money taxpayers are giving them. Surely those bonuses to people who fucked things up are worse use of taxpayer money than bonuses to the GSA.

But fine, maybe that’s not a direct waste of taxpayer money if you buy what the banks are saying. Still there was a scandal about missing money in Iraq a few years ago and it pops up every now and again that kind of makes the GSA story seem teeny tiny itty bitty. The Trib’s Ed Board editorialized against it too. But this is the only one that I could find. After the 3rd inspector general’s report, they finally did one piece on it. It seems like any waste of money by a government agency cranks out similar outrage.