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Unions

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Patrick O’Callahan of the Tacoma News Tribune has an editorial about public sector unions. Because daily newspapers in this state exist mostly to serve the powerful, he doesn’t like them.

In Wisconsin, the backlash against government unions has taken the form of a GOP drive to repeal collective bargaining for most public-sector employees. Similar drives are happening in other states where Republicans recently won governorships and gained control over legislatures.

In Washington in 2 years it may take the form of Rob McKenna if we’re not vigilant. But of course these types of editorials serve as a test run for their pro McKenna propaganda. So here’s my test run of opposing that bullshit.

This would not be happening if the unions had the support of the public. Many of those unions have forfeited that support by clinging to lush compensation packages at a time when workers in the private sector – including union members – are enduring the toughest economy in generations. A time when public services are being scaled back ruthlessly while generous labor contracts have continued on autopilot.

Yes, if only teachers agreed to live in poverty for the privilege of long hours ensuring the next generation has the requisite skills to survive as adults. If only firefighters would pay for all of their own health care for the honor of saving your life and property. If only police and prosecutors would demand extra, uncompensated work because putting criminals away is just so inherently rewarding. If only doctors and nurses were demanding to pay for their own training. Then perhaps the editorial writers in this state would support them.

Too many examples are found in Pierce County. Although the cost of living has been flat, some union leaders have adamantly rejected pleas to reopen their contracts to reduce “cost-of-living” raises that considerably exceed the actual rate of inflation.

That’s how it’s supposed to work in a healthy economy. Wages are supposed to rise beyond inflation. What do you want all public employees to make, inflation adjusted, the same as they were making in the early days of the Oregon Territory? As if there shouldn’t have been any raise in the standard of living for public employees ever? Come on. That attitude is why we have public employee unions.

County workers saw their compensation increase by 23 percent between 2005 and 2009, when their private sectors saw 14 percent. They’re doing quite well. Yet their leaders last year refused a request to roll back another round of raises, though the rollback would have helped spare county services.

This is such bullshit. This editorial and the thousands of others we’ve read and will read about public sector unions in all the papers across the state never seem to have any suggestions to bump up those numbers for private sector employees. It’s always cited as fucking gospel that the private sector numbers are a fact of nature as immovable as a boulder in your path. But if you believe these numbers and want public and private employees making roughly the same, then you need to figure out how improve the pay of private sector employees. It seems to me that the numbers you’re throwing around are a pretty damn fine case for more and stronger private sector unions.

Gaddafi’s Final Days?

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It’s been a very violent day in Libya, with reports that dozens of anti-Gaddafi protesters have been killed in Benghazi, the country’s second largest city and the largest in eastern Libya. Just as in Egypt, Gaddafi has cut off the internet and is trying to limit communications. Even worse, Gaddafi appears to have paid for mercenaries from other African countries to come in and shoot at the protesters.

Unlike with Egypt, there are far fewer international journalists there to cover this, and while most of the activity on Twitter seems to be focused on eastern Libya, there are fewer reports of protests in the capital of Tripoli. It’s hard to know what to make of this, but with the dictators just to the west and east of Gaddafi already deposed, I’m starting to get hopeful that he’s next. Couldn’t happen to a bigger asshat.

Legalized, Regulated and Taxed

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The Seattle Times editorial board has come out with a very strong statement in support of ending marijuana prohibition. Their editorial from yesterday begins:

MARIJUANA should be legalized, regulated and taxed. The push to repeal federal prohibition should come from the states, and it should begin with the state of Washington.

This argument was made loud and clear by numerous folks in Olympia last week. State representatives, prosecutors, police officers, judges, doctors, and ordinary Washingtonians testified why it’s urgent for us to start treating marijuana the way we treat alcohol and pass HB1550. The Seattle Times reiterated those main points: the current policy wastes enormous public funds at a time when we can least afford it, it can unnecessarily derail opportunities for young people, it erodes our civil liberties, it fosters distrust of law enforcement, and it greatly benefits Washington’s gangs. The fact that it still continues is an extraordinary example of how propaganda and fear has been used to paper over what has been one of the biggest policy failures in America over the past 100 years.

It’s not clear what will happen to HB1550, as notorious drug warrior Christopher Hurst (D-31) remains in charge of the House Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Committee, but his extremism in pursuit of this disastrous policy is becoming more and more isolated in the general public. In the most recent survey conducted by the Economist, 58% of Americans support the idea of treating marijuana the way we treat alcohol. Only 23% disagreed. These numbers represent a sea change in public opinion on this topic, and one that too many of our politicians have not kept up with.

If the legislature doesn’t do it this session, the voters will do it on their own. Sensible Washington is gearing up for another shot at the ballot in 2011, and bigger drug policy organizations have their eye on a 2012 run. The choice that politicians have to make right now is not about whether marijuana should be treated the same as alcohol. The public has already made up their mind about that and every year that goes by just sees more and more young voters who support it and fewer and fewer older voters who don’t. The choice that politicians have to make is whether to set up legalized markets the way they want them to function, or to deal with legalized markets created by voter initiative.

Friday Night Multimedia Extravaganza!

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Ann Telnaes: Another Haley Barbour controversy .

Young Turks: G.O.P. Rep.’s ‘Olive Complexion’ controversy.

Roy Zimmerman: “To the Victims of This Tragedy We Send Our Thoughts and Prayers”:

Mark Fiore: Military math boot camp.

Young Turks: Poll shows FAUX News viewers are most frightened of Muslims.

Boehner’s Boner:

Newsy: Government shutdown looming.

The past or the future?

Jon: I like big cuts (via OneGoodMove).

Funny or Die: NPR pledge drives.

The Republican War on Workers:

ONN: Report finds troubling rise in teen uranium enrichment.

Newsy: Facebook accepts LGBT partnerships (thereby undermining the very fabric of the intertubes).

Obama in Portland: Out-educating the competition (8:45).

Jon: Pyramid scheme (via OneGoodMove).

Young Turks: How Dan Savage destroyed Rick S******m.

The Republican War on Women:

Daily Show: The QOsby Show (via DailyKos).

Pap: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is spying on you.

Ann Telnaes: Obama takes on defense spending.

Young Turks: Nut case Glenn Beck gets his Google hate on.

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

Don’t Think?

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dontthink2

This photo was taken last month on the University of Washington Campus. I was on my way to a class which limited our conversation to about a minute.

The man was elusive about his purpose. He seemed sincere and said the sign wasn’t mean to be ironic. He wanted to know what the sign meant to me, but he denied this was research (like for a psychology class or something). And, no, this wasn’t some sort of performance art. He said nothing to suggest it was a religious thing.

He wanted to tell me all about the meaning of the sign, but said it would require a longer conversation (and, I presume, some thinking). I never saw him again.

Anyone have a clue?

Awakening

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I love Madison. I really do.

I began the third grade living with my (recently divorced) mother and two sisters in a one bedroom apartment in an inner-city Chicago neighborhood. In January 1970, over Christmas break, we moved to Madison. It was an distinct improvement; that part of third grade became transformational.

The University of Wisconsin campus spaces (where my mother was a new student) were filled with singing and anti-war protests. I became aware of the struggle over the Vietnam war and, at the same time, I learned about police brutality. The UW campus community filled the public schools on the first earth day–I became aware of the environment, resource limitations, and population problems. Life was kaleidescope of lessons in politics, populism, environmentalism, radicalism…and even violent extremism, when four young anti-war activists blew up the Army Math Research Center, unintentionally killing a physics researcher in another part of the building. And, damn, there was some good music.

I was too young to participate, or even identify with, the movement, but I soaked it up—I was an observer.

Madison was home for two more decades. I went to the University of Wisconsin–Madison and earned Bachelors and Masters degrees. I worked my way through college, for small companies, for the University, and by starting my own company. By the time I left in 1990, Madison, like much of the country, had become tame, domesticated, pacified. The radicals of the 1970s were now raising their own teenagers, if not becoming grandparents. They were living the Big Chill. Priorities change.

Most of my family still live in Madison, so I visit a couple time a year. The past decade had been hard on the region, economically and psychologically. A mild gloom and sense of struggle has taken hold. And then, in 2010, Wisconsin experienced some kind of collective depression; they voted a bunch of radical right wing whack-jobs into office.

On Wednesday morning I got a call from my niece. “Uncle Darryl…I’m not in school today. Know why?”

“I sure do, Elena.”

I was delighted that school had been cancelled in Madison as tens of thousands of public employees flocked to the Capitol building to protest the extremist legislation proposed by Gov. Walker.

The Governor proposes to strip away rights for public employees that have been in place for decades. Well fuck him.

My darling niece then proceeded to describe the injustice she felt was being done to teachers and other public employees and how she and her friends wouldn’t stand for it. I do believe I teared up very slightly.

Now I’m thinking that after some decades of slumber…these people have awakened. They feel again, and they don’t like what the extremists in office are shoving up their back side. Yeah…I fully expect that Walker will get his chance to shit all over the public employees. But his party is going to pay.

My prediction…2012 will be a bad year for Republicans in Wisconsin.

Lefty Luke?

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Wow…

Luke Esser, the former state Republican chairman who lost his position in an upset election last month, is back in Olympia as a lobbyist – and his new client may cause a few jaws to drop at the statehouse.

Esser will represent Service Employees International Union Local 775, the union local that represents some 40,000 home-care workers.

I was wondering what would become of my former Senator after his defeat as party Chairman. I wondered because I kinda liked Luke based on the one and only time we met—when he rang my doorbell during his 2006 Senate campaign. We had a friendly conversation, even though we each stuck to our beliefs.

I just never imagined he would go all progressive on our asses! But…hey, better late than never, brother Luke!

(H/T Publicola.)

Upcoming Primaries

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I can’t believe I’m talking about 2012, but Bob Ferguson threw his hat in the ring for AG so I guess now is as good a time as any. Mostly, I just want to say that there are going to be Democratic primaries in several races, and that’s a good thing. In a lot of executive positions, at least the governor and AG, we’ll probably have more than one Democrat. These primaries have a tendency to get heated.

And thank goodness. Primary elections are the best way we have to clarify what the party stands for. There may be different ideas or perhaps just different emphasis and style. But we’ll get to have a debate about where we want the party to go and how best to achieve it. And all of us who make phone calls or knock on doors or write blog posts and comments or do any of the thousands of things that regular people do in the course of a campaign can all be a part of it in a meaningful way.

Sure we have a platform to work out where we stand officially on issues. And the platform is important. But the truth is that outside of the platform committees at various levels of the state party, people don’t think of the platform very much. You won’t see a headline, “Democrats still support labor rights according to platform” because it’s hardly news.

But you will read plenty of articles about the various stances of candidates, especially for governor. You’ll get to see them debate on TV.

And that media, especially if there’s a legitimate question about who we’re going to nominate, is worth more than whatever the eventual nominee loses by having a negative campaign against them in the primary. The candidates will have time to craft their message on television, reporters will return their calls much earlier, they’ll do stories on them.

All this is to say, we don’t know everyone who will run for governor (although I can make an educated guess about some), but I hope the Democrats resist the urge to clear the deck and unite behind a candidate. We’ll have time to unite around whoever does win a primary, but let’s let the voters decide first.

Olympia goes trickle-down

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Over at Slog, Goldy points out the millions in new special interest tax breaks happening in Olympia:

…a total adding up to over $97 million of lost revenues in Fiscal Year 2013, according to a tally released today by the Our Economic Future Coalition.

Health insurance subsidies for small children? No. Tax subsidies for small breweries? Yes. Nice to know our legislators have their priorities in place.

In other words, “Sorry, kid, there’s no money left to treat you. But, here, have a beer…. It’ll dull the pain.”

Savaging Santorum and Goldy’s Google goods

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Roll Call provides a history of the savage Santorum smear concocted (so to speak) by Dan Savage. Former Pennsylvania Senator and likely 2012 GOP presidential primary candidate Rick Santorum has a rather persistent “Google problem.”

Santorum’s Google problem began in 2003, when gay sex-advice columnist Dan Savage sought to mock Santorum’s comments on homosexuality. Then the third-most-powerful Republican in the Senate, Santorum told the Associated Press that April that gay sex could “undermine the fabric of our society.” The interview touched on a Supreme Court case related to sexual privacy, and Santorum compared homosexual acts to allowing for “man on child, man on dog” relationships.
[…]

Savage soon created the website spreadingsantorum.com, tied to a contest in which he asked readers to submit definitions for the term “santorum.”

The winning entry…see santorum.

As a former constituent of Sen. Santorum, my initial reaction upon hearing the neologism was, “Brilliant!” Two reasons why.

First, it just feels…um, maybe I should say, it just sounds right. Dan Savage wouldn’t talk to Roll Call about it, but in 2003 he completely nailed the “sounds right” aspect:

What works so well about santorum is that a smart Savage Love reader linked Senator Santorum’s vaguely clinical-sounding name with something distinctly scatological, an anal-sex-induced bodily fluid that had previously lacked a really good name. ‘Santorum’ sounds like it could be what that frothy mix of lube and fecal matter has always been called, and that’s why it’s caught on.

Yeah…that’s it!

santorumThe second reason is…I don’t know why, but Rick Santorum always struck me as a deeply repressed gay man, full of self-loathing, and trapped in his life as an anal retentive conservative Republican. You know…like a younger, more uptight, Eastern version of Larry Craig minus the restless leg syndrome. It wouldn’t surprise me if Santorum is one day discovered in a cheap motel room, tied up to the bed posts (wait…posts on a motel bed?!?) naked and face down, with a leather-clad young man, whip in hand, lashing and scolding him for being a bad boy. No santorum involved. Just punishment.

Yes…a Santorum presidential bid will cause Dan Savage’s Google monster to come alive with good clean fun and salacious innuendo. (That’s right…we’re talkin’ santorum innuendo.)

Speaking of which, Goldy leaves HA with his own legacy of Google search results. Google Luke Esser and the second entry still points to Goldy’s Luke Esser Fucks Pigs complaint to the Legislative Ethics Board. Sen. Esser lost the election, so I guess the Ethics Board never got around to following up on the complaint….

Or Google Bradley Marshall and the number three entry is Goldy’s Bradley Marshall is a pussy post. (The number two entry is Dan Savage’s contribution based on Goldy’s post.)

Bradley Marshall, a Seattle lawyer, was upset by something Michael Hood posted at Blatherwatch—a post that was both tame and factual. Marshall had a suspended law license at the time, and was under investigation by the Washington State Bar Association. It couldn’t have helped that he mailed a cease and desist letter using his official letterhead (implying he was licensed to practice law). The Bar Association was made aware. A year later, perhaps for totally unrelated reasons, the Washington Supreme Court disbarred him. Almost everyone came out a winner on that one.

Google David Irons and the second entry, Raging Bullshitter: the sad twisted tale of the Irons family feud documents some of the weaknesses (and strengths!) of the candidate for King County Executive. Irons lost.

Or, from another perspective, his mother won.

Officer Birk Won’t Be Charged

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I’m not thrilled with this outcome, but I expected it. I understand that police officers shouldn’t be prosecuted for merely making mistakes while on duty. And if a police officer feels his life or the lives of others are in danger, he should be able to respond appropriately. But there was nothing about this incident that made me think that Officer Birk acted with even the minimal level of restraint that we’d expect from a police officer. Dominic re-posted the dash-cam video of the incident (which doesn’t capture the shooting itself) and I have trouble imagining how Birk could have felt his – or anyone else’s – life was in immediate danger because Williams had a carving knife.

At the very least, Birk had better be fired today, yet I find it to be a shame that his firing would be the only semblance of justice that the Williams family sees from this.

UPDATE: As several commenters have pointed out, the Williams family can still bring civil lawsuits against SPD and they’d be more likely to prevail than in their efforts to have criminal charges filed.

UPDATE 2: Mayor McGinn’s statement here.

UPDATE 3: Officer Ian Birk resigns.

Roundabout

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I stumbled across this article today:

Woodinville’s Tourist District Roundabout Transportation Improvement Project received an engineering excellence award from the Washington State Chapter of the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC). The award was presented to the Woodinville City Council on February 8.

The roundabout project won a gold award in the category of exceeding client/owner needs. […]

A number of other national professional engineering groups have also recognized Woodinville’s project for its innovative use of three roundabouts. […]

Roundabouts2

What drew my attention is that I use this bit of road at least several times a month. It reminded me that I been meaning to post a RANT about Washington drivers and their seeming inability to use roundabouts effectively.

Before I take up a menacing stance upon my mighty soapbox, let me first add to the praises of this project. For many years now, I have made almost weekly trips from my home in Redmond to Snohomish. I take SR 202 (or the Redmond–Woodinville road) to Woodinville and then pick up SR 9 to Snohomish. The intersection of SR 202 and Northeast 145th, was sometimes a mess. During rush hour, SR 202 used to back up for a mile or two. But even during low traffic periods, the intersection of roads at odd angles, combined with the particular traffic flows rendered an annoyingly low throughput at this intersection. According to this 2006 Seattle Times article, people have been trying to find a fix for this problem since the 1970s.

Roundabouts were the answer. Not those wimpy little traffic calming circles that one finds all over Seattle. These are real (if smallish) traffic roundabouts. About a year ago, they finished the project that consists of one main 2-lane roundabout. And there are two satellite roundabouts (see image) that, in part, serve to slow traffic down and permit a smaller main roundabout footprint.

My assessment: Fantastic! The one-way time between my house and my destination in Snohomish was reduced from 40 minutes to just under 35 minutes. Also the variance in trip time was reduced. Essentially, getting through the SR 202/NE 145th intersection is now both faster and accomplished in about the same amount of time each trip. I truly love these things.

What annoys me about roundabouts is the stupid-ass drivers who have no idea how to use them effectively. There are some simple tricks that, when everyone is in on it, makes them much more efficient. So, at the risk of being dubbed “The Traffic Nazi” by someone other than my significant other (Happy Valentines day, dear!), allow me to offer some advice to the traffic circle novice.

  1. In America, you travel counterclockwise around the roundabout. Yes…I’ve witnessed (more than once) the car in front of me approach the roundabout in total confusion and then hang a left. Sigh.
  2. Enter, traverse, and exit the traffic circle at a fairly constant speed. There is almost no excuse for stopping. Never stop in the circle unless not stopping would result in death (wayward pedestrian) or property damage (an idiot stopped in front of you). There is no need for slowing or accelerating through the circle. Just hang a constant 20 MPH (or whatever is appropriate for the circle size). If you find yourself changing speeds…you have probably fucked something up.
  3. There is never ANY reason to panic in a traffic circle. In the past year of near weekly use of this newly redesigned stretch of highway, I cannot tell you how many times drivers in front of me have slammed on their brakes in confusion, or have exited in front of me only to pull a semi-panicked U-turn in front of me on the main drag. Dude…don’t panic. If you’re confused, and going counterclockwise, just chill and continue to circle. (On the other hand, if you are confused and going clockwise…panic!!!) Seriously, you can drive around a roundabout all day, and nobody will notice (except for that other pitifully confused driver going around in circles…but who cares what that dumb-ass thinks!). If you miss your turn, take a lap or two and exit with a Zen calmness once you’ve figured it all out.
  4. When exiting the roundabout, USE YOUR GOD-DAMMED BLINKER…without fail. And USE YOUR DAMN BLINKER, TOO. Blinker good. Blinky-blinker-blink! By my estimates, only about one percent of drivers in Woodinville understand this small, but important, form of communication. In Europe, the compliance approaches 100% in my experience. Really…it helps everyone (especially the car waiting on you before entering the roundabout) if you signal your exit about midway between the previous exit and your desired exit. Not signaling means you have wasted other people’s time and fuel.
  5. When approaching the roundabout, time your entrance so that you don’t have to stop. There is no stop sign at the entrance. Except in heavy traffic conditions, a full stop probably means you have failed to plan properly, and everyone behind you suffers. Of course you must yield right of way to traffic in the roundabout. But, like freeway on-ramps, you should plan the maneuver from early-on for a smooth merge with existing traffic (and don’t get me started about idiots braking on freeway on-ramps!). By the way…if a vehicle in the roundabout has to adjust for your entrance…you’ve fucked up. It was your responsibility to enter without affecting the flow within the circle.

Whew! I’m glad I finally got that off of my chest.

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