HorsesAss.Org

I’m filling in for Dave Ross this morning (and through March 6) on News/Talk 710-KIRO. Here’s the show as it’s shaping up so far:

9AM: Are our elected officials hanging on too long?
In this morning’s Seattle Times, editorial columnist Joni Balter complains about the “stacked up” skies and crowded runways of our local political landscape, where our elected officials keep running for reelection, leaving little opportunity for younger leaders to move on up. We’ll debate the pros and cons of seniority and experience versus new blood, after a brief political roundup.

10AM: Are you predictably irrational?
Why do we splurge on a fancy restaurant yet cut coupons for a can of soup? Why do we go back for seconds (or thirds) at an all-you-can-eat buffet, even though we’re uncomfortably full? And why on earth do folks pay $4.15 for a cup of coffee when a few years ago they used to pay about a buck? (I don’t lump myself into that category.) Author Dan Ariely joins us for the hour to talk about his book, Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions.

11AM: How do you motivate kids to do well in school?
All the money in the world and all the latest education reforms won’t amount to hill of beans toward educating our kids, if our kids simply aren’t motivated to learn. In Brooklyn, 2,500 middle school students are receiving free cell phones with 130 free minutes, and additional minutes awarded based on good behavior, homework, test scores and grades… this in a district that bans cell phones in school. Are free minutes or monetary rewards the key to inspiring students these days… or is good old fashioned fear of a crappy job and a crappier life more than enough motivation. I’ll be asking you how you motivate your kids to succeed to school, but first we’ll take a brief look at the so-called “Colbert Bounce.”

Tune in this morning (or listen to the live stream) and give me a call: 1-877-710-KIRO (5476).

SHAMELESS ASK:
The national blogs are still kicking our ass. We need 20 more local donors to hold up our end of the bargain in support of our candidate, Darcy Burner. Just $5 or $10 is enough to send the message that Dave Reichert won’t be rewarded for his loyalty to the Bush administration, so if you haven’t already given, please give today.

Help Darcy Burn Bush: $

Thanks to all of you who’ve contributed to Darcy Burner during this current fund drive. Yesterday we set out to respond to First Lady Laura Bush’s $500 per person fundraiser for Dave Reichert by matching the White House donor for donor. We started with a target of 250 donors, and in less than 48 hours have smashed through that to a current tally of 320 donors and over $15,000. By comparison, a birdie tells me that about 125 cars were parked at the event in Medina today, mostly with single occupants. (Of course.) So once again we have proven that there are more of us than there are of them.

Great job, but then, as Joan wrote over on Daily Kos:

Of course, if you wanted to make it an even 500 donations….

I like the way Joan thinks. Let’s extend this another day and go for 500 donations nationwide. And more importantly, don’t let those bastards at Daily Kos and Open Left do it all on their own. They’ve generated considerably more contributions than HA has thus far, and while sure, they’re a helluva lot bigger than we are, damn it, Darcy is our candidate.

I’m not asking for much, just $5 or $10, whatever you can afford. It’s a matter of pride. So please give today.

Help Darcy Burn Bush: $

Thanks to Darryl and his personal obsessions (and demons) it looks like we’re podcasting again from Drinking Liberally. Sitting around the table last night was Joel Connelly, Will Kelley-Kamp, Daniel Kirkdorffer, Carl Ballard and me. Joyful Republican bashing ensued. You may download the podcast (43MB, 47 minutes) for your time shifting pleasure, or listen to it here:

[audio:https://horsesass.org/wp-content/uploads/Pod26Feb2008.mp3]

I sound a little tired (not drunk) at first, but don’t worry, we all get back into the swing of things after a while.

We’re working to get the old Podcasting Liberally site up to date, and hope to make this a regular feature once again.

I know Dave Reichert and his buddies at the Seattle Times would like to present him as a “conscience driven independent,” but exactly how independent he is can be measured by the degree to which the Bush White House has prioritized his reelection. When President Bush made his first fundraising visit of the cycle on behalf of a Republican incumbent, he flew cross-country to raise money for his friend and ally, Dave Reichert. And now that First Lady Laura Bush is making her first appearance on behalf of an incumbent, she too has followed her husband’s path.

That’s Dave Reichert — the Bush’s favorite congressman — and while you can’t blame him for happily sitting down to a $500 per person lunch with the First Lady at an exclusive Medina residence, he can’t blame us for doing our best to make him choke on it. And the best way to make him and his campaign gag on yet another White House funder, is to match this event donor for donor.

That’s why we’ve set a target of 250 new donors to Darcy Burner in response to today’s event, and the good news is that we’re already halfway there. The bad news is, we’re only halfway there. So we need your help. I just donated yet again to Darcy’s campaign and I’m asking you to do the same. Anything you give will be appreciated; even a few bucks can make a difference.

They have bigger checkbooks, but there’s more than us than there are them. Help prove it by giving today.

Help Darcy Burn Bush: $

A few days ago, I analyzed a match-up between Washington state Gov. Christine Gregoire and Dino Rossi. The analysis, using the most recent polling data, offered that:

…if the election were held today, we would expect Gregoire to have about a 97% chance of winning the election.

Today, SurveyUSA released the result of a new Washington state poll on Gregoire’s approval. The poll of 600 adults gives Gregoire a 51% approval versus a 44% disapproval, and 5% who are unsure.

Gregoire does best in the Seattle metropolitan region with 54% approval to 43% disapproval. But even in Eastern Washington, she has a positive spread: 49% who approve to 45% who disapprove.

Fully 75% of Democrats approve of the Governor, but one out of three Republicans also approve of her performance. One seemingly concerning finding is among “independents:” 38% approve and 57% disapprove. But consider this: only 27% of those polled identified as a Republican, whereas 30% said “independent,” and 38% identified as a Democrat. It’s a safe bet that the “independent” category is inflated by a number of right-leaning folks who are ashamed to call themselves a Republican.

After a highly contentious, close election, followed by a multi-million dollar Republican dis-information campaign (a.k.a. the election contest), Gregoire’s approval–disapproval spread started out strongly negative, and remained in negative territory for her first year in office. Then, after a 6 months period of nearly even approval (Jan 2006 until June 2006), Gregoire emerged, permanently, from negative territory. For the past 20 months, her approval has remained relatively stable, averaging 51% approval to 44% disapproval.

To summarize, Gregoire’s approval numbers are stable, in the right direction, and typically over 50%. In recent head-to-head polls against Rossi, Gregoire is always coming out on top.

The take-home message: Gregoire’s reelection campaign is starting out in a position of strength.

(Cross posted at Hominid Views.)

I’m filling in for Dave Ross this morning (and through March 6) on News/Talk 710-KIRO. Here’s the show as it’s shaping up so far:

9AM: Q&A with Gov. Christine Gregoire
Gov. Christine Gregoire was in the other Washington this week, and she joins us by phone for the first half hour. Topics of discussion will include the imminent announcement of the Air Force’s new refueling tanker contract, and how to respond if it doesn’t go to Boeing, her threat to sue the federal government over Hanford cleanup, the state of negotiations over federal funding for the State Children Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), and the state budget battle in the context of reduced revenue forecasts. Later, KIRO’s business correspondent Jason Brooks will give us an update on the tanker contract and Microsoft’s record $1.3 billion EU fine.

10AM: The race for the White House… is the campaign about to turn dirty?
With one week left to go before the Ohio and Texas primaries possibly settle the Democratic nomination, strategist, pundit and blogger James Boyce joins us again for a recap of last night’s debate, and an analysis of the current state of the campaign.

11AM: Is “No Child Left Behind” making our kids stupid?
Our national obsession with standardized tests as the key to education reform may have spurred marginal improvements in reading and math (or maybe not) but a new survey suggests it has done so at the expense of literature and history. Fewer than half of teens knew when the Civil War was fought, and only a quarter correctly identified Adolf Hitler. And on literature, teens fared even worse. Is our emphasis on the WASL and other standardized tests impoverishing the educations of already impoverished students, or is a liberal arts education an unaffordable luxury in a taxpayer-funded public school?

Tune in this morning (or listen to the live stream) and give me a call: 1-877-710-KIRO (5476).

SHAMELESS ASK:
Just a reminder, First Lady Laura Bush is in Medina today to raise money for Rep. Dave Reichert, her first fundraiser for a House incumbent this election cycle. As Darcy Burner repeatedly points out, “there are more of us than there are of them”, so let’s prove. We’re in the middle of an netroots fundraiser seeking to match the First Lady donor for donor, and we’re only about a third of the way to our 250 donor target. So if you haven’t given already, please give today, and send the message to Reichert that he won’t be rewarded for his loyalty to the Bush administration.

Help Darcy Burn Bush: $

Join us at the Seattle chapter of Drinking Liberally for an evening of politics under the influence. We meet at 8:00 pm at the Montlake Ale House, 2307 24th Avenue E—some of us show up a little early for dinner.

Tonight’s theme song is inspired by Gen. Casey, who testified before a Senate panel today that the Army is under serious strain and is headed for a train wreck if troop deployments are not shortened: Casey Jones by the Grateful Dead.

There are rumors that the podcast will return to Drinking Liberally this evening.

If you find yourself in the Tri-Cities area this evening, check out McCranium for the local Drinking Liberally . Otherwise, check out the Drinking Liberally web site for dates and times of a chapter near you.

The story of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman and how he ended up in prison is an extraordinary story that I haven’t been paying close enough attention to until recently. 60 Minutes dug into the story over the weekend (video here) and makes it clear what can happen when people who are supposed to be carrying out justice are instead pursuing political ends (and for reasons that are still somewhat unclear, the broadcast of 60 Minutes was blacked out in parts of Alabama for just the Siegelman story). The whole thing is chilling, and Larisa Alexandrovna has a post that rounds up the reporting done at Raw Story and elsewhere.

Really. I’m finally doing the yard work I’ve been putting off for over a year, and I need to borrow a chainsaw. So if you’ll be at Drinking Liberally tonight, and you have a chainsaw you’re willing to lend me, please bring it with you. I promise not to mass murder anybody. (But if I do, don’t worry, Dave Reichert will catch me 18 or so years from now.)

Other than that, consider this an open thread.

Today at 5:30pm, Starbucks’ across America will be closing early to train their staff on how to make better coffee.

“We will have all new standards for how we create the drinks,” said spokeswoman Valerie O’Neil. “They will be trained in creating the perfect shot, steaming the milk and all the pieces that come together in a drink.”

Not to be out done, local conservative bloggers will be closing early as well, but not to make better coffee:

“We’re going to use the blog’s downtime to figure out a way to make Eric Earling’s posts interesting to read,” said Sharkansky. “I mean, Snohomish County? Who gives a fuck?”

Mark Gardener of the Whacky Nation blog announced some changes as well.

“We’re going to give our readers what they’ve been asking for, and that’s fewer YouTube clips of Lou Guzzo, and more clips of kangaroos masturbating.”

Frankly, I don’t know how successful these guys are going to be, but I’m looking forward to better espresso.

I’m filling in for Dave Ross this morning (and through March 6) on News/Talk 710-KIRO. Here’s the show as it’s shaping up:

9AM: Does God hate me?
Sure, I’ve got a thing for women, but God knows I’m not the most macho guy in the world. So… does God hate me? Rev. Ken Hutcherson of Kirkland’s Antioch Bible Church joins me at the top of the hour to explain why “God hates soft men,” and what lies in store for inveterate softies like me. Also, a new Pew study shows more and more Americans switching religious affiliation, with barely 51% of Americans identifying as Protestants, just 43% amongst 18 to 29-year-olds. Hmm. I wonder why?

10AM: Could John McCain lose over the Iraq War?
Better question: could John McCain be more out of touch with the American people? McCain told reporters yesterday that to win the White House he must convince a war-weary country that US policy in Iraq is succeeding. Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton blasts Barack Obama as unready to be Commander in Chief due to his “naive” statements on foreign policy, while Obama points to Clinton’s vote authorizing the war as evidence of the limits of experience.

11AM: Are you ready to clear cut the Fun Forest?
Plans are emerging for a $600 million redo of the Seattle Center that would clear cut the Fun Forest in favor of a splash park and an ice skating rink, replace Memorial Stadium with an amphitheater, and renovate the Center House to meet ritzy, 21st Century dot.com Seattle standards. Is it worth the price tag and worth what we’re losing?

11:30AM: Do teens and driving mix?
[Time Permitting] More and more teens are putting off getting their drivers license? Is that a good thing? Should we raise the driving age? And if so, what do we need to do to help teens achieve a carless existence.

Tune in this morning (or listen to the live stream) and give me a call: 1-877-710-KIRO (5476).

Last summer George W. Bush came to Bellevue WA to raise money for his friend and ally, Rep. Dave Reichert (WA-08), and to thank him for his unwavering support of the president’s policy in Iraq. In response, local and national bloggers joined together to raise an unprecedented $124,000 for challenger Darcy Burner, from over 3,200 netroots contributors… over a weekend in August. Amazing. President Bush has yet to make another foray into a district sporting a netroots challenger.

But this Wednesday, First Lady Laura Bush will be in Medina WA, headlining an exclusive, $500 per person fundraiser in an effort to jumpstart Reichert’s flailing campaign, and… well… we just can’t let this happen unanswered. That’s why we’re joining together again in an effort to raise 250 additional contributions over the next few days.

As Darcy says, there are more of us than there are of them. Help us prove it, and send the message that Republican congressional candidates can’t profit by toeing the Bush line. Every little bit counts, so please give today.

Help Darcy Burn Bush: $

Sometimes I wonder what it would have been like if Chris Gregoire had taken the plunge in 2000 by running for the US Senate. She was heavily recruited, but decided to stay in Olympia as Attorney General, and Maria Cantwell won the race. I think that Senator Gregoire would have been a tough customer, and I’m even more sure of it when I read about Governor Gregoire’s trip to DC:

Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire should be celebrating her state’s robust economy and record exports. Yet sagging tax collections are lowering an estimated budget surplus by $400 million.

In this slow economy, states are struggling. People are spending less and state governments are taking in fewer dollars.

The financial bottom line is a top worry for many governors in discussions as their annual meeting about paying for public works and energy projects.

“Everything’s been going great for us and now the national downturn has slowed us up,” said Gregoire, a Democrat.

State governments have to do the heavy lifting whenever the federal government shirks it’s duty. Gov. Gregoire has made some tough choices but always looks out for those who don’t have lobbyists to make their case. I mean, who’s going to stick up for kids without health care? Students? Seniors? Not Dino Rossi, thats for sure. Rossi, a Bush Republican, named his dog after the president.

The dog’s name?

“Useless Flea Bag Who Pisses The Carpet.”

Or “Dubya,” I’m not sure exactly.

Saturday I wrote about rumors that Sen. Brian Weinstein was threatening to unretire should his Home Buyer’s Bill of Rights fail to get a vote in the state House, and wondered if that might have been a topic in his recent meeting with House Speaker Frank Chopp. Well today, Sen. Weinstein confirms my post. Or, um… maybe he denies it. Here, you read his email and figure it out for yourself:

Interesting theory you have.

The speaker and I had a very cordial meeting and there were no threats at all.

I can confirm that several of my colleagues have been asking me to reconsider my decision to not seek reelection. A number of consumer advocates have been asking me to stay as well. They are all worried about a real void in consumer protection leadership. I am worried as well. I have told them that I would at least think about it and that is all I have to say about this issue for now.

So Sen. Weinstein confirms that colleagues and consumer advocates are urging him to run for reelection, and he’s told them that he would at least think about it. No “threats” were made during his meeting with Speaker Chopp, but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t an elephant standing in the room with them.

Hmm.