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Michael Moore was in Seattle tonight previewing his new documentary Sicko, and I was privileged to be there in the audience. I sat next to Postman, who took copious notes, so I’ll leave it to him to describe Moore and his movie in objective detail. But I did want to briefly pass on my immediate impression.

The film was funny, it was moving, and yes, at times it was uplifting. I laughed out loud throughout, which those who know me well will tell you is a huge compliment indeed. The film also brought tears to my eyes on a number of occasions. (Postman was busy taking notes, so I don’t think he noticed. Good. I wouldn’t want him to see through my fierce facade.)

But as I sat there watching the film, I just found myself getting angrier and angrier and angrier. Angry at our health care industry, our political leaders, my nation… and myself.

Sicko opens June 29th. Watch it.

“Listen, the immigration debate is a tough debate,” Bush said. “I’m under no illusions about how hard it is. There are people in my party that don’t want a comprehensive bill. There are people in the Democrat Party that don’t seem to want a comprehensive bill.

“Now, it’s going to require leadership from the Democrat leaders in the Senate, and it’s going to require me to stay engaged and work with Republicans who want a bill,” he said. “We made two steps forward on immigration, we took a step back, and now I’m going to work with those who are focused on getting an immigration bill done and start taking some steps forward again.

Thanks Mr. President for reminding Democrats why we should be treating you like the lame duck that you are. Why are we bothering to try to work out a compromise that’s too heavily corporate and that still treats people who want to come to this country like shit when we’ll probably have a few more seats in the Senate and a Democratic president in a year and a half? Why bother giving President Bush a victory that’s starting to compromise our values?

I mean, the fact that he can’t even be bothered to not distort the name of the party he’s trying to work with was hardly the first breach of conduct (I’d say stealing the 2000 election) or the most serious (that would probably be disappearing 7 and 9 year olds but really, who knows at this point?). But someone should tell him that maybe the President of the United States should be able to get the name of the majority party in both houses of Congress right on the first try.

The party has been called the Democratic Party in one form or another (Democratic Republican for a while) at least informally since Jefferson’s day, because whatever their faults Jefferson and the people who followed him since then have been the party of the demos. The Federalist party with it’s Alien and Sedition act, and its strong use of force against the people and even more so the Whigs were pretty explicitly the party of the aristocracy. And the Republicans have been since fairly early on a big business and corporate minded party. And in most of the time that we’ve been a party, being the democratic party was considered an insult in many quarters.

Of course, it’s not an insult today, and if Bush says, “the Democratic Party” or, “Democratic Leaders” well people will hear “the democratic party” or “democratic leaders.” At But in the same way, we’re perfectly willing to call the Republicans the Republicans or the Grand Old Party, even if they aren’t grand and they are a younger party.*

There was a time when only crazies intentionally distorted the name of the Democratic Party; John Birchers, and the like who nobody took seriously. But at some point, bloggers with a screw lose (hell with a few missing) and the former House Majority Leader decided to join the act. Eventually the President started saying it. And while it may have been cute when his party ran the show in Washington, D.C., he needs us more than we need him. We can wait him the hell out, get a good deal, and not give some political cover to a madman. He’ll be gone in less than 2 years, the least you’d think that he could do was pretend to try to work with us.

*With some exceptions

Immigration is a big, big deal in agricultural communities. Fruit growers, who often vote Republican, know how important immigrant labor is to their industry, so they back common sense reform.

So it’s hilarious to read this about one of Yakima’s state rep’s [From The Other Side] moral quandary:

No part of American agriculture would benefit more from a temporary worker program than our bountiful Yakima Valley – rightfully known as the Fruit Bowl of the Nation.

But apparently Charles Ross, Yakima’s newly elected state representative and lifelong resident of these parts, is a picture of confusion on this vital national and regional issue.

Sunday’s Herald-Republic carried a full-page ad – in purple ink – that delivered this thunderous message: “WE SUPPORT COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM.”

The hundreds of names was a list of the pillars of agricuture in Central Washington: the decision-makers, major employers, orchardists, growers, packers and suppliers, many of them members of pioneer families who founded the state’s tree fruit industry.

This impressive group of industry leaders implored Congress to pass an immigration reform package that will strengthen Yakima Valley ag in particular and the American economy in general.

Fast forward to Tuesday’s Herald-Republic and read where Rep. Ross had committed to speak at a rally in downtown Yakima hosted by Grassroots on Fire – a racist organization viscerally opposed to immigration reform of any kind.

Ross canceled his appearance. But the very notion of this legislator playing footsie with the extreme right wing is disturbing to say the least. If he read Sunday’s paper, he probably saw the names of the very people who got him elected last fall – his voter base, solidly rooted in ag.

The GOP doesn’t know who to listen to- their business base or their crazy, racist/nativist base. All the while, the latino/hispanic vote, after flirting with the GOP in ’00 through ’04, is running away from the GOP.

Classic.

Convicted liar Scooter Libby lost his bid today to stay out of jail.

A few days ago I wrote a rather whimsical post about political gadflies. The post was inspired by Richard Pope filing as a Democratic candidate for King County Council, District 6. In the general election Pope will be running against the Republican incumbent, Councilmember Jane Hague.

The interesting thing about this race is that District 6 is demonstrably a strong Democratic district. For example, the 6th incorporates parts of the 32nd, 41st, 45th and 48th legislative districts for which Democrats hold eleven out of twelve legislative seats. The 6th voted 61% in favor of Cantwell in the 2006 general election.

Considering how blue the 6th is, the King County Republicans ought not ignore Richard Pope. (Besides the taste of shame in losing to Mr. Pope will be all the more bitter because of a $40,000 fine levied on them by the PDC last month for campaign finance reporting violations. Richard Pope filed the complaint that resulted in the fine.)

Also, given what a motley band of tricksters that go under the Republican brand name in this state, we might well expect some dirty pool from the King County Republicans. And when it comes to goofy tricks, the Republicans never seem to disappoint.

Case in point: if you do a WHOIS query on the domain names “RichardPope.Org” and “RichardPope.Net”, the names were registered on June 9th, 2007 by Mr. Matthew Lundh of Seattle. A quick web search reveals that Matthew Lundh is both the Political Director and the Secretary for the King County Republicans.

So far, nothing has been done with the domain names (besides making them unavailable to Mr. Pope), but it is hard to believe that collecting domain names is simply one of Mr. Lundh’s weekend hobbies.

Maybe I’m reading too much into this, but I do believe the King County Republicans are, um…rather concerned!

Thanks for the comments, folks.

Some people suggested I look for a cheap-o bike for sale on Craigslist or in the neighborhood or something. Because I’m without a car, this sort of garage sale, Craigslist type method can be a real pain. This is why I’m looking into buying from an honest-to-God store at this point.

Cross bike or Mountain bike? I’ve found that new mountain bikes are cheaper than new cross bikes. So I’m leaning mountain bike right now. The bike shop guys told me the UW campus is perhaps the most “bike theft” prone place in the Pacific Northwest. Since I plan to be riding to the UW in the relative near future, I’m very conscious of the price I’ll be paying for the bike, considering it seems likely to be stolen at some point. But if I do get into riding as a real activity, I’ll look into getting a dope ride.

drool said:

Performance Bike offers free lifetime tuneups if you buy from them at their brick/mortar store.

Very nice!

rae said:

Hopefully it goes without saying, but judging the number of cyclists I see running red lights, please remember that those and other traffic laws, apply to you as well.

Well, you’re right, but when a cyclist runs a red light, the cyclist is dead, whereas the car that hits him isn’t. Cyclist have a lot more to lose. Sometimes cyclists aren’t able to trigger the sensors in the roadway that makes the lights change. While it is technically illegal, I have no problem seeing cyclists look both ways and go.

Also, I’ve heard conflicting things about bike lanes. Use ’em or not? I’ve heard it’s safer just to ride in the regular lanes.

Yesterday, GOP frontrunner Rudy Giuliani sent out an email to supporters boldly proclaiming his “12 commitments to the American people”:

1. I will keep America on offense in the Terrorists’ War on Us.
2. I will end illegal immigration, secure our borders, and identify every non-citizen in our nation.
3. I will restore fiscal discipline and cut wasteful Washington spending.
4. I will cut taxes and reform the tax code.
5. I will impose accountability on Washington.
6. I will lead America towards energy independence.
7. I will give Americans more control over, and access to, healthcare with affordable and portable free-market solutions.
8. I will increase adoptions, decrease abortions, and protect the quality of life for our children.
9. I will reform the legal system and appoint strict constructionist judges.
10. I will ensure that every community in America is prepared for terrorist attacks and natural disasters.
11. I will provide access to a quality education to every child in America by giving real school choice to parents.
12. I will expand America’s involvement in the global economy and strengthen our reputation around the world.

And Giuliani will be able to fulfill all these campaign promises because… well… I guess, because he’s God. An angry, Old Testament God. And a somewhat nutty one, at that.

Let’s just consider Giuliani’s “12 Commitments” one at a time.

“I will keep America on offense in the Terrorists’ War on Us.”
Because “if we don’t fight them over there…” blah, blah, blah, and all that. Though a little defense wouldn’t be so bad either. You know, like protecting our ports, securing our nuclear facilities, inspecting cargo containers, and other boring stuff like that. On the bright side, in promising America an endless war, you can’t accuse Giuliani of pandering to voters by, um, actually listening to them.

“I will end illegal immigration, secure our borders, and identify every non-citizen in our nation.”
Just like he did in New York — all we need are 12 million taxi medallions. But really… identify every non-citizen in our nation? How’s he gonna do that? How large an immigration gestapo is he gonna need to “check the papers” of all 301,139,947 US citizens and residents? How militarized a border is Giuliani envisioning, and what exactly does he plan to do with the 12 million “illegals” he rounds up? I’m not sure what’s more frightening — that Giuliani thinks he can deliver on this promise… or that he wants to?

“I will restore fiscal discipline and cut wasteful Washington spending.”
For example, just think of all the wasteful spending Washington could save if the Justice Department doesn’t have to respond to habeas corpus writs from the 12 million Mexicans Giuliani plans to round up? On the other hand, fighting the eternal “War on Us”, building a wall around our nation, and identifying, detaining and deporting 12 million people, well, that costs big bucks. So I suppose to both restore fiscal discipline and pay for his ambitious foreign and domestic agenda, Giuliani is going to have to raise taxes, right?

“I will cut taxes and reform the tax code.”
Oops. My bad.

“I will impose accountability on Washington.”
And, um, I suppose if Giuliani “imposes” accountability on Washington, that must mean Washington will be accountable to him? Is he running for President or Dictator?

“I will lead America towards energy independence.”
The rendered fat from an average Mexican immigrant could fuel a bio-diesel powered SUV for a week. Hmm. Giuliani’s immigration plans are beginning to make sense.

“I will give Americans more control over, and access to, healthcare with affordable and portable free-market solutions.”
Because the ultimate “portable free-market solution” is for Americans to pick up and move to a country that actually offers affordable health care. You know, like Canada. Now if we can only sneak past the troops at the border….

“I will increase adoptions, decrease abortions, and protect the quality of life for our children.”
Just like he did as Mayor of New York. And of course, nobody is better qualified to “protect the quality of life for our children” than a man whose own kids won’t campaign for him.

“I will reform the legal system and appoint strict constructionist judges.”
We need judges who will strictly construct the US Constitution. Except for those pesky Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Eighth and Ninth Amendments. And possibly the First. And certain inconvenient paragraphs in Article I, Section 8. And some other parts. Other than that, we need strict constructionist judges.

“I will ensure that every community in America is prepared for terrorist attacks and natural disasters.”
You know, just like Giuliani prepared New York City for 9/11 by ensuring that police, fire, and other rescue workers used communications systems that could not communicate with each other, and by insisting on locating the city’s Office of Emergency Management (OEM) crisis center in the heart of New York’s most likely terrorist target. (The thousands of gallons of diesel fuel stored in WTC 7 to power OEM’s backup generators was a particularly bright idea… except for the part where the fuel spilled, burned, and likely led to the building’s collapse.) With preparation like that, who needs terrorists?

“I will provide access to a quality education to every child in America by giving real school choice to parents.”
And nothing increases access to quality education like defunding public schools by siphoning dollars to religious institutions and for-profit “charter” schools. After all, an unfettered free market always leads to the most efficient allocation of resources. (You know, except when market forces entice 12 million Mexicans to come across the border to fill low wage jobs.)

“I will expand America’s involvement in the global economy and strengthen our reputation around the world.”
… By deporting 12 million workers, and staying the course in Iraq.

Giuliani doesn’t bother to tell us how he will keep these commitments, just that he will keep them. Apparently, all of our nation’s problems could be easily solved if only America had a president who had the will to solve them. And the power to impose his will.

No, Giuliani isn’t a God, he’s just a man. A man who would impose his will on the American people. A man whose apparent embrace of unitary executive theory makes George Bush look like James Madison.

All hail Benito Giuliani.

Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns is making some very interesting claims:

NATO has intercepted Iranian weapons shipments to Afghanistan’s Taliban insurgents, providing evidence Iran is violating international law to aid a group it once considered a bitter enemy, a senior U.S. diplomat said Wednesday.

“There’s irrefutable evidence the Iranians are now doing this,” Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns said on CNN. “It’s certainly coming from the government of Iran. It’s coming from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard corps command, which is a basic unit of the Iranian government.”

I’ve written a lot about Afghanistan at Reload, and I just want to quickly explain why we should be very skeptical of what Burns is saying. This post will be short on links because I’m on my lunch break, and I don’t have time to look up everything I’ve cited in the past on this.

Long story short, Afghanistan, as we all know, is the major opium producing country in the world – by far. The heroin that’s produced in hidden labs throughout Afghanistan is smuggled out in several different directions, most of which ends up in Europe, but a growing percentage stays in the countries along the smuggling routes (India, Pakistan, Russia, and Iran). Iran actually has one of the worst heroin problems in the world, and this is very clearly something that the theocratic Iranian leadership is not happy about.

The attempts by NATO forces and the Karzai government to destroy the opium production from within Afghanistan is beyond futile. The industry is roughly one half of the entire country’s GDP. You can’t just wipe that out militarily. Even with the unanimous support from outside the country to eliminate the trade, drug smugglers still dominate large areas of Afghanistan – especially in the south. But because the trade is still illegal, and coalition forces still have a mandate to assist the Karzai government in destroying the opium fields, the Taliban have been able to set up a protection racket, where they can collect ‘fees’ from the drug smugglers in exchange for making sure that their fields are spared when the eradication teams come through.

The Taliban doesn’t get paid in stacks of bills, though. Instead, they get paid in something that’s more valuable to them – weapons that they can use to fight the coalition forces. That’s where the Iranians come in. Seeing the massive increase in drug smuggling coming across the Iran-Afghanistan border, the Iranian government began to more heavily patrol the area. The intention was never to arm the Taliban, but that was the inevitable result. The Iranian government is notoriously unable to enforce its own strict laws, and high-ranking Iranian officials were bound to find ways to get in on the massive profits to be made by helping all that heroin make its way to London. This is why Iranian arms have ended up in the arms of the Taliban.

Obviously, these accusations aren’t coming out of nowhere. We’ve got a fleet of warships off the southern Iranian coast and we continue to have dimwitted Congressmen making severe threats against the regime. There’s a strong movement among a small subset of Americans to start a war with Iran, a move that would end in disaster. Those of us who still have our common sense intact need to keep dealing with the facts.

But I’m going to do it. I’ve been putting it off for years, but I’m finally going to do it.

But first, I have to buy a bicycle. Since I’ll be parking it around the downtown area, I was advised not to spend too much on my ride. About 400 bucks should do it. However, I think I’ll spend at least 50 bucks on a lock. And an ice pick for those times the cars get too close… Heh heh…

I’m looking around for a good bike. A mountain bike looks like a necessity (sorry Howie), considering the condition of downtown streets.

I like these bikes. I think. I haven’t bought a bike since junior high.

I’m looking forward to it. I just hope none of this stuff happens to me…

Do you have any advice? Any insights? Discounts on funeral services? Let me know in the comments.

Today Gov. Christine Gregoire completed the recurrent training requirement to earn a “red card” that certifies her to be on the scene of a wildland fire.

The story was all over the news this afternoon; but, in fact, she first earned a red card in 2005:

“I want to understand the conditions that our firefighters face in keeping our families, communities and resources safe,” said the governor. “Having this training means that I will be able to safely enter these areas to get the most up-to-date information.”

Gregoire is the first governor in Washington history to receive this training. She completed the firefighters work capacity test by walking one mile in under the 16 minute-limit and properly deploying her fire shelter. Department of Natural Resources staff in a non-suppression role are expected to undergo light physical fitness training as well as an eight-hour annual firefighter refresher course.

The “Red Card” is a federally recognized Interagency Incident Qualification Card that lists qualifications and currency of people certified as wildland fire personnel. Based on the training she undertook, I suspect Gregoire re-certified as a Field Observer under the Wildland Fire Qualification System (see pg. 103).

No word yet on whether Dino Rossi will try for a Real Estate Broker license in response.

Join us at the Seattle chapter of Drinking Liberally for another exciting evening of politics under the influence. This is your chance to hound Goldy about those “pressing projects”, and get an idea about how much venture capital you’ll invest. We meet at 8PM at the Montlake Ale House, 2307 24th Avenue E.

Drinking Liberally’s Seattle hosts are Nick Beaudrot of Electoral Math and HorsesAss contributer TheHim (also at Blog Reload and EFFin’ Unsound).

If you find yourself in the Tri-Cities area, check out their Drinking Liberally; Jimmy will have the details.

The Drinking Liberally web site has dates and times for 212 chapters in 44 states (plus DC). And if you don’t find a chapter near you…start one!

Seattle City Council candidate Joe Szwaja sent out an email this morning announcing that he has raised $20,121 thus far — $17,091 at his Kick-Off party alone. Considering his late entry into the race against incumbent Jean Godden, I suppose that’s not bad.

The Council is technically non-partisan, though we all know that all of the current council members are at least nominally Democrats. We also all know that Szwaja is a key member of the Washington State Green Party. Which leaves me a bit conflicted about this race.

On the one hand, ideologically, I align myself very closely with much of the Green philosophy. On the other hand, politically, I find both the local and national Green Parties to be misguided, self-destructive, vindictive… and strategically retarded.

On the one hand, while I like Godden personally, I’m having a hard time recalling what, if anything, she’s accomplished during her four years on the City Council. On the other hand, while I came away rather impressed the one time I had the opportunity to speak with Szwaja at length, um… this is apparently the guy who vetted Aaron Dixon. Doesn’t exactly inspire confidence.

That said, my main criticism of the Greens has always been strategic: their eagerness to play the spoiler in high profile races for US Senate and President, while refusing to do the gritty, hard work necessary to actually build a party. Most of electoral politics is tedious, time consuming and far from glamorous. Sure, it might be more fun for a third party candidate to run for Congress or Senate, than, say, fire commissioner, but barring substantial electoral reforms like proportional representation or ranked-choice voting, such high profile candidacies are at best futile, and at worst, a dangerous distraction from the real candidates.

So I guess I should congratulate Szwaja for finally entering a race he has a snowball’s chance of winning. City Council is not exactly starting at the bottom — which is exactly where the Greens need to start if they’re ever going to build a base — but it is local, it is nominally non-partisan, and it is nominally winnable.

This is a race that’s worth watching.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid gave a talk on energy legislation before the Center for American Progress yesterday. He began by offering a few observations about some political colleagues:

My staff told me to make sure that I stayed away from presidential politics today. And I’m going to do that. Other — I’ve learned one thing in listening to all the debates and reading about all these people running for office, and the one fact I’ve learned, I can’t get out of my mind, is that Rudy Giuliani has been married more times than Mitt Romney’s been hunting.…

(Via Political Wire.)

When I’m not guest posting for Goldy I enjoy chronicling the bullshit that comes out of this state. From the blogs to organizations to the media to the Republican Party, and the elected officials, we produce quite a bit. The Mars Hill post is kind of what I do. Lee, blogging as thehim, also does an amazing job of it. And there are plenty of bullshit chroniclers on national issues. So here’s my favorite bullshit from the past week:

The (un)Sound Politics crew have been at it this week. Sharkansky seems to think that buying an espresso machine that will pay for itself in less than two years and then will get money to pay for operations and for school lunches is a dastardly big government plot. And that the school district should just have a coffee machine instead. Because getting money to the general fund and paying for school lunches is bad.

Sound Politics second fiddle and even lesser light Jim Miller is convinced on his own blog that the Bush economy is the best economy EVAR! Because George Will said so.

Outside of (u)SP, local crazy people organization, Faith and Freedom Network are celebrating LGBT Pride Month by overreacting. They want a Christian Pride Month (because nothing says “Christian” quite like one of the deadly sins) or at least a Straight Month.

Nationally, the bullshit artists are horrified that Bush attempted to pass an immigration bill that didn’t completely hate Mexicans and other immigrants. This cartoon is the funniest thing I’ve seen on the subject. Digby’s post here makes much the same point, and has an added bonus of pointing out how far the right wing has gone from its supposed ideological roots.

But lest you think that the righties have suddenly developed a case of Bush Derangement Syndrome, fear not! They still love the way he fights terrorism. And issues press releases about how he fights terrorism. And get upset at the fact that the New York Times doesn’t like how he issues press releases about how he fights terrorism.

And oh by the way, the surge is working. So there!

In explaining why state Republicans chose to replace Diane Tebelius with Luke Esser as WSRP chair, one GOP wag privately remarked that “Luke has balls.” I suppose that’s true. Most dicks do.

And as evidence of the WSRP’s ballsy dickery under Esser’s new leadership, the state GOP (or one of their surrogates) is preparing a TV ad attacking Gov. Chris Gregoire for denying Washingtonians the right to vote. How can I be so sure? Well, I happen to have come into possession of a preliminary storyboard:

Storyboard text — Per Account 1267 — DHG, Com5

Followup with client re: cable buy dates, saturation, and market analysis

===Bill 4 hrs===

(6/1/07, 6/2/07) @rate1

Ad specs per conv. 5/31 4:32pm

==Board 1==

[Elderly voters, Am. flag in breeze]

< Screentext >

All over America…

On Febuary 5, 2008…

…People will be going to the polls

…For AMERICA’s First National Primary Day

< /screentext >

< narration: same; soundtrack: "upbeat", "patriotic" >

***

==Board 2==

[Gregoire stock photo, b/w, low contrast]

< screentext >

Except You!

< /screentext >

< soundtrack: file, "despair" >

< narration: same, "angry voice" >

***

==Board 3==

[Prison bars over ballot box]

< screentext >

Gov. Gregoire and her party…

…Don’t want you voting on Feb. 5!

< /screentext >

< narration: same, melodramatic >

< soundrack: same >

==Board 4==

< note: discuss with client*** >

Why?…

…What are Gregoire and the Democrats so afraid of?

< discuss >Why doesn’t she like you?! < /discuss >

That’s pretty much the storyboard as I received it, though I’ve inserted the attached images in their appropriate places in the text.

What a bunch of dicks.

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) requires state parties to choose all their delegates by either a primary or a caucus, and it was the 178 members of the WA State Democratic Central Committee (WSDCC) who voted to choose the latter. So of course, Gov. Gregoire had absolutely nothing to do with the decision.

But that’s besides the point, and the Republicans know it, because what this ad is really intended to say is: GOV. CHRIS GREGOIRE STEALS ELECTIONS!

I mean, that’s clearly the subtext. Hell, it’s not even subtext, it’s the whole ad… the script, the music, the images — stern Gregoire, elderly voters, prison bars — the whole point of this ad is to remind voters of the disputed 2004 election, and all the lies and misinformation the GOP disseminated about it.

The presidential primary? That’s just a springboard for an attack ad, and the WSRP couldn’t care less how tangential or intentionally misleading it might be. There are legitimate arguments, pro and con, for selecting delegates via caucus, but all the R’s want to do is dumb down the debate into a smear on Gregoire.

Like I said… what a bunch of dicks.