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Bacteria-Fil-A

by Carl Ballard — Thursday, 7/30/15, 5:17 pm

Maybe it’s a coincidence or maybe it’s corporate policy that have caused all 3 Seattle area Chick-fil-A stores have failed their health inspections recently. Some people might say that places are going to have bacteria and that’s why we have health inspectors in the first damn place. But my guess is God is punishing them.

God was like, “I sent my only Son to tell you to love your neighbor as yourself, and instead you guys act like a dickbags: Here have some bacteria. Also, Ezell’s is still pretty good.”

I hope that sounds absurd, but there is a version of the fundamental attribution error — call it the fundamentalist attribution error — that certain religious people can subscribe to. They believe that everything that happens that they agree with is God’s doing and everything that they don’t agree with is just stuff that happens.

Chick-fil-A should be less hateful not because God might send them some disease, but because it’s the right thing to do. While their ownership would probably disagree with me, I’d also say it’s the Christian thing to do. And they should also do a better job cleaning up. Because ick.

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HA Bible Study: Exodus 32:27-29

by Goldy — Sunday, 7/26/15, 6:00 am

Exodus 32:27-29
Then he said to them, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Each man strap a sword to his side. Go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other, each killing his brother and friend and neighbor.’” The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people died. Then Moses said, “You have been set apart to the LORD today, for you were against your own sons and brothers, and he has blessed you this day.”

Exodus 20:13
Thou shalt not kill.

Discuss.

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Civil Liberties Roundup

by Lee — Saturday, 7/25/15, 7:28 am

At the beginning of July, I was out east visiting relatives and friends and took a break from the roundup. A few days before leaving, I was at Town Hall to see author Max Blumenthal speak about the latest war in Gaza. The next day, his latest book “51 Day War: Ruin and Resistance in Gaza” was released and downloaded to my Kindle. The day after that, I had a 4.5 hour flight to start reading it.

Blumenthal’s book is maddening and depressing, but ultimately not all that surprising. Even following traditional news sources, the devastation and cruelty of that war was clear, and the hopelessness of the aftermath all too predictable. Civilians were deliberately targeted, even children. Entire apartment buildings were destroyed. Hospitals were blown up. Critical infrastructure left in ruins. And with promises for future retaliation, there’s little desire for the world to rebuild things that Israel will just blow up again in a few years.

The cynicism behind this military approach is clear, as Blumenthal writes in Alternet:

Behind the quasi-apocalyptic destruction exacted on Gaza by the Israeli military during Operation Protective Edge lies a sadistic strategy whose aim is to punish residents of the besieged coastal enclave into submission. The “Dahiya Doctrine,” named after a southern Beirut neighborhood the Israeli air force decimated in 2006, is focused on punishing the civilian populations of Gaza and southern Lebanon for supporting armed resistance movements like Hamas and Hezbollah. In “Disproportionate Force,” a 2008 paper published by the Institute for National Security Studies, a think tank closely linked to the Israeli military, Colonel Gabi Siboni spelled out its punitive, civilian-oriented logic clearly: “With an outbreak of hostilities, the [Israeli army] will need to act immediately, decisively, and with force that is disproportionate to the enemy’s actions and the threat it poses. Such a response aims at inflicting damage and meting out punishment to an extent that will demand long and expensive reconstruction processes.”

The level of death and destruction in this war was not an unavoidable aspect of urban warfare. It was a deliberate strategy of intimidation and terror. It was meant as a way to convince the population of Gaza to turn against its armed factions and stop resisting the occupation.

But this strategy is pure lunacy. Human beings don’t respond to having their homes blown up and their loved ones killed by agreeing to pledge their loyalty and respect to those dropping the bombs. It only solidifies the resistance behind the most radical elements of the resistance, and making compromises and mutual respect even more impossible. As a result, Gaza has transformed from a place where Hamas once challenged the Palestinian authority to be more militant into a place where Islamic State supporters now challenge Hamas to be more militant. It’s a strategy that continually backfires, but Israelis can no longer conjure up any alternatives.

Political outlooks tend to be defined by our fears. Progressives fear entrenched power limiting opportunity and progress. Conservatives fear societal change. Libertarians fear government abuses. Authoritarians fear criminality. Within different societies there can be differing levels of validity for each of these fears. But as long as the fears are rational, a democratic political process can arrive at a sensible compromise.

What’s broken in Israel is that their outlook is now dominated by fears that are largely irrational, and in a country where migrations to and from the rest of the world are common, it’s becoming self-reinforcing through those migrations. One of the striking things in Blumenthal’s recent work is how hostile Israeli society has become for those on the political left. Many are simply leaving. As Israel’s approach to the occupied territories becomes more extreme, its ability to moderate itself in a democratic process is slowly being washed away, not too differently than what happens in Gaza after weeks of bombing. The main difference is that in Gaza, the fears that work against political moderation are far more real.

In the aftermath of the nuclear agreement between the U.S. and Iran, the irrational fears that consume Israeli politics are being put on full display. Matthew Duss, one of the sharpest analysts on Israel and its place in the Middle East, explains it really well in this piece. Israel equates anti-semitic remarks by Iran’s theocratic rulers with a desire to use military force to destroy the entire state of Israel. That’s a huge logical leap, and entirely absurd. To demonstrate how crazy it is, he points out that Richard Nixon also once made a bunch of anti-semitic remarks, but had absolutely no desire to wipe Israel off the face of the earth.

But this has also historically been the mindset in Israel when it comes to the Palestinian population and their desire for self-determination. We’ve always been told that the real goal of the PLO, and then of Hamas, is not mere self-rule, but to destroy the state of Israel. And they’ve always been able to point to instances of anti-semitism and other extreme rhetoric to make this claim. To some extent, the history of the Holocaust makes these fears seem more rational, but they’re not. The next Holocaust isn’t around the corner, and neither the Palestinians nor the Iranians have any ability to threaten the existence of Israel, nor do the vast majority of people in those places want that to happen.

This is what drives the largely incoherent opposition to the Iran agreement and the completely devastating military approach in Gaza. It’s an irrational fear of democratic rule and self-determination throughout the Middle East and it goes well beyond Iran and Gaza. It also stifles democratic progress in Egypt and Saudi Arabia and it played a role in our disastrous invasion of Iraq. Obama deserves a lot of credit for getting this agreement done, but it’s only a small step towards where we need to be.

As an American Jew, it’s hard to come to the realization that our blindness to the Israeli leadership’s irrational fears is so central to the various crises in the Middle East, but that’s where I find myself today. Yet no one has become a bigger lightning rod over this conflict than Blumenthal. The Amazon reviews for his book are amazing to read through, nearly all either 5 or 1 star. But the perspective he’s providing is a necessary counterpoint to Israel’s increasingly authoritarian mindset in much the same way that the Black Lives Matter movement has been a necessary counterpoint to America’s authoritarian police culture. I don’t know what works best to fix a society that has seemingly gone off the rails, but telling hard truths and not backing down is a good place to start.

In the news from the last two weeks…
[Read more…]

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Openthread724

by Carl Ballard — Friday, 7/24/15, 8:02 am

– You’re White and Marched With Dr. King: So What?

– Still, maybe that’s all just a big coincidence. Isn’t it always.

– I suggest we name this planet “Pluto”, both to celebrate the great work by the New Horizons team, and to make the stupid “Is Pluto a planet” debate a little more confusing

If you’re like me and still haven’t finished filling out your primary ballot, here are some more endorsements:

– Here’s Washington Conservation Voters

– And here’s Seattle Transit Blog (I disagree with a lot more of these than I usually do for endorsements I’m linking to, but OK)

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HA Bible Study: Luke 19:29-34

by Goldy — Sunday, 7/19/15, 6:00 am

Luke 19:29-34
As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it.’”

Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?”

They replied, “The Lord needs it.”

Exodus 20:15
Thou shalt not steal.

Discuss.

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Friday Night Multimedia Extravaganza!

by Darryl — Friday, 7/17/15, 11:57 pm

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

David Pakman: One year of legal weed in Washington and everything is fine.

Eric Schwartz: Hattie and Mattie, 2015 edition:

Jackbooted U.N. Thugs Arrive:

  • Thom with Jim Hightower: Obama invades Texas!
  • The best Jade Helm conspiracy video ever.

Liberal Viewer: Megyn Kelly yells “The law is the law!” while misstating law on immigration detainers

Slate: How stressful is the presidency?

Cop caught on camera.

Persian Partisan Politics:

  • Obama announces diplomatic deal with Iran
  • WaPo: Politics behind the Iran deal
  • Young Turks: Right wingers are furious over Iran agreement
  • WaPo: The Iran Nuclear deal in 90 seconds
  • Young Turks: The REAL reason critics hate the Iran deal.
  • Thom: The fear-mongering begins
  • Maddow: Historic nuclear deal puts US, Iran on path to peace
  • Young Turks: Obama scolds reporter for stupid question.
  • Maddow: Obama eager to engage conservative critics on Iran deal

What the Gardena police didn’t want you to see.

Congressional hits and misses of the week.

White House: West Wing Week.

Beware of the Blob! California’s Drought and Climate Change:

Fetal Attraction:

  • Thom: The real Planned Parenthood sting revealed.
  • Young Turks: Planned Parenthood under fire in Congress
  • Ann Telnaes: Republicans are milking the Planned Parenthood video saga

Young Turks: Video of LAPD shooting unarmed men is released.

Mental Floss: 27 facts about maps.

Thom: The Good, the Bad, and the Very, Very Limicolously Ugly!

The 2016 Comedy Show:

  • Young Turks: Christie, “Nobody in the real world cares about Trump.”
  • Texas shop sells out of Donald Trump piñatas
  • David Pakman: Donald Trump is leading in the Republican primary polls
  • Ed and Friends: Angry old White guys could not be more upset about Latinos
  • Young Turks: Trump, “John McCain is a dummy”, and “Rick Perry needs an IQ test.”
  • The Donald’s speechwriter.
  • David Pakman: The Donald refuses to apologize, but claims he will win the Latino vote
  • Ann Telnaes: Trump continues to mouth off…gets rewarded at polls
  • Sharpton: Is trump a Democratic plant?
  • Young Turks: Is Donald Trump a Democratic plant???
  • What’s trending: #TrumpYourCat.
  • Young Turks: Trump’s “uber” fail of the week
  • Melania Trump speaks
  • Maddow: Scott Walker enters 2016 race amid Trump cacophony
  • Thom: We have proof of how Walker would run America
  • Ann Telnaes: What does Scott Walker stand for, exactly?
  • Young Turks: How many lies can Scott Walker cram into one ad?
  • Thom: Back to the future with Scott Walker
  • Scott Walker: Puppet for president.
  • David Pakman: Worst Republican? Scott Walker joins the race….
  • Young Turks: Jeb Bush on Donald Trump’s fear mongering
  • Ann Telnaes: Jeb has difficulty preparing for the debates….
  • Farron Cousins: Is this Marco Rubio’s dumbest idea yet?
  • The Fiorina workout (because we need some kind of video of her).

Minute Physics: The counterintuitive physics of turning a bike.

Young Turks: “Classy” Oklahomans greet Obama with Confederate flag.

Liberal Viewer: FAUX News likes anti-atheist discrimination?

Thom: The climate eeception dossiers.

Plutonic Love:

  • Slate: Pluto comes into view.
  • Stephen Colbert with Neil deGrasse Tyson on the 9th rock from the sun:
    https://youtu.be/6jXazEYi3P8
  • Mountains on Pluto: The long zoom-in
  • Flyover of Pluto

Mental Floss: Misconceptions about STIs.

Richard Fowler: Federal court upholds cancellation of “Redskins” trademark.

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

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Open Thread 7.17

by Carl Ballard — Friday, 7/17/15, 8:02 am

– The fake stories Stetzer describes are not being spread in good faith by innocent dupes. They are not innocent and they are not dupes. And the stories are not merely “fake,” but false. The biblical term for what he’s describing is “bearing false witness against your neighbor.”

– I’m just going to posit that if you call our first Black president “monkey man Barack”, and the first Black first lady “Gorilla face” avoiding being thought of as racist wasn’t a high priority, the mayor of Airway Heights.

– even if you dispense with the ghoulish idea of Bush going to any sort of veteran’s charity, the idea that he cashed in on it is disgusting.

– This story of what this country did to Lois Chichnikoff Thadei and other Native American children of her era is just awful.

– A believer in the power of social media to make change, Bland can be heard thanking the bystander recording her arrest as she’s taken into police custody — custody from which she was never released alive.

– I like Bernie Sanders. I might vote for him in the primary (although I did vote for Clinton 8 years ago, and am leaning toward voting for her again). Still I quite like the first 3 parts of this series on his history from a feminist perspective.

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Friday Night Multimedia Extravaganza!

by Darryl — Friday, 7/10/15, 11:08 pm

Mental Floss: Why is ginger a palate cleanser?

Obama’s Greek debt crisis solution.

White House: West Wing Week.

Thom: The Good, The Bad, and The Very, Very Phemicly Ugly!

Political Stars and Bars:

  • Maddow: Confederate flag to come down on Friday
  • David Pakman: SC House votes to remove flag
  • Young Turks: Racists furious over confederate flag removal.
  • Rep. James E. Clyburn (D-SC) slams Confederate flag amendment
  • The flag comes down for good.
  • House explodes over Confederate flag resolution.
  • Young Turks: Crowds cheer as traitor’s flag is removed

Young Turks: Beware of people preaching morality.

Liberal Viewer: FAUX News says Americans are jerks?!?

Maddow: Debate entry rules to limit participation.

Thom: The Koch brothers plot to kill our national parks.

Young Turks: George W. Bush speaks to wounded vets…and charges them $100K.

Forgotten Assholes of History: The Woman Who Helped Kill Lincoln:

Follow the Money: Droughts, lobbyists, and you.

Mark Fiore: Selective hearing of gun violence.

Pap: SCOTUS has fractured the Republican party.

The 2016 March of the Clowns:

  • BuzzFeed: There are so many white guys running it’s hard to tell them apart
  • Pap and Farron Cousins: Chris Christie slowly waddles into the race
  • Sam Seder: Who’s distancing themselves from Donald Trump now?
  • Homer Simpson examines Donald Trump’s hair:

  • Young Turks: The Donald insists that he’ll win the Latino vote
  • Feel the #TRUMPMENTUM!
  • Maddow: Trump doubles down on anti-immigrant rhetoric.
  • Young Turks: Trump tries to backpedal but can’t stop saying racist shit
  • David Pakman: Donald Trump insults Mexicans…and his clothing line is made in Mexico
  • Young Turks: Modern Family writer owns Trump in Twitter war
  • David Pakman: Donald Trump construction project reportedly employing ‘illegal immigrants’.
  • The Retrumplican Party:

  • Thom and Pap: Donald Trump leads the GOP; is the apocalypse beginning?
  • Young Turks: Ted Cruz, “I like Donald Trump….I salute Donald Trump.”
  • Pap and Farron Cousins: Ted Cruz’s most cringeworthy moment.
  • Young Turks: Ted Cruz’s sleazy book sales trick ISN’T FOOLING ANYONE.
  • Pap and Farron Cousins: Did Rand Paul and Cliven Bundy just become BFF?
  • Richard Fowler: Huckabee resists gay marriage and perverts MLK quote
  • Pap and Farron Cousins: Marco Rubio thinks the world will end if he isn’t elected.
  • Thom and Pap: Marco Rubio wants NASCAR-style college tuition sponsors
  • David Pakman: Rick Santorum (ewwwww) thinks SCOTUS decision proves ‘Man on Dog’ warning was accurate
  • Richard Fowler: Jeb Bush totally misunderstands the Baltimore riots
  • Young Turks: Jeb Bush thinks you don’t work hard enough.
  • Ari Melber with Bernie Sanders: On Jeb Bush’s ‘work longer hours’ comments.
  • Thom and Pap: Jeb Bush is completely out of touch with society

Sam Seder with Cliff Schecter: How President Obama’s new rules on overtime pay will help any Americans.

Mental Floss: Misconceptions about video games.

Congressional Hits and Misses of the Week.

Harry Reid calls out Republican’s silence on Trump’s racist comments.

When not to correct someone’s grammer:

Liberal Viewer: FAUX News hawks fake “gag order” on Oregon bakery.

Rover-eye view of Mars.

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

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Editorial Endorsements Are Stupid (but Here’s Who I’m Supporting for City Council)

by Goldy — Friday, 7/10/15, 8:09 am

HA doesn’t really do political endorsements because A) I think unsigned endorsements are kinda stupid, and B) it’s generally no secret who we individually support. But since I haven’t been writing much at HA recently, and I don’t have Slog at my disposal anymore to influence elections, I thought I’d take a moment to clarify my thoughts on a handful of city council races.

District 2: I’m voting for Tammy Morales
Nothing personal against Bruce Harrell… but I’ve got nothing personal for him either, and I’m hard pressed to think of anything he’s accomplished during his eight years on the council. He’s way too conventional for my liking, and yeah, okay, I’m a little pissed off at his pissiness towards Kshama Sawant. So I’m voting for Tammy Morales.

Morales is affable, smart, energetic, and not totally full of herself. (Also, she doesn’t live in Bellevue, ever.) Yes, I know Josh Farris speaks more directly to my issues, and I’m glad he’s running, but Morales stands the better chance of forcing Harrell to break a sweat. And I want to see Harrell sweat.

Kshama Sawant

Surpise! I support Kshama Sawant!

District 3: I’ve maxed out to Kshama Sawant
I rarely donate to political campaigns because I figure my blogging is contribution enough. But Kshama is more than just special. Never in my 12 years of closely following state and local politics have I seen a newly elected official achieve so much so quickly, sometimes by the mere threat of her presence. And as much as Sawant has dragged Seattle politics to the left, her defeat would be taken as a mandate to drag it sharply to the right. That’s why the business community is spending so much to defeat her.

So as an indication of how strongly I feel about this race, I’ve contributed the maximum $700 to Sawant’s campaign, and I encourage you to give whatever you can afford. Sure, my generosity is partially a reflection of my improved finances, but it’s mostly a reflection of how important I believe it is to our city, our state, and our nation to keep this particular socialist in office.

District 4: I slipped Michael Maddux a $20
I could think of lots of reasons to deny Jean Godden yet another term, but I only need to give you two: She’s been there too damn long, and she’s simply too damn old. That may not be nice, but it’s true. It’s time for her to move out of the way and give somebody else a chance.

As for Godden’s main opponents, I don’t hate Rob Johnson, but I don’t particularly like a lot of the people and organizations supporting him. And when the Seattle Times endorses Johnson by praising his “willingness to break from Seattle’s insular liberal orthodoxy,” that just gives me the willies. So if I had a vote in this district, I’d be casting my ballot for Michael Maddux, who clearly represents the progressive values of the district and the city. Also, he shows up at Drinking Liberally. So there’s that.

Position 8: I’m voting for Jon Grant, if only to make a statement
This is without a doubt the toughest decision for me. First of all, I weirdly like and respect Tim Burgess (yay universal preschool!), even though he’s consistently the most awful vote on the council, and perhaps the biggest dick on the council when it comes to disrespectful treatment of Sawant. Second, I kinda like all three of Burgess’s serious opponents, if in different ways. Third, Burgess is almost certain to win reelection. So if I’m going to cast what I perceive to be a protest vote, then I’m going to cast it for Jon Grant, who is running almost entirely on tenants rights and affordable housing… issues Burgess kinda sucks on.

Position 9: I’m supporting Bill Bradburd (but secretly voting for Lorena Gonzalez)
The whole thing with Sally Clark’s sudden retirement followed by Lorena Gonzalez’s instant campaign stunk of Ed Murray trying to maneuver a political ally onto the council. But every time I’ve spoken to Gonzalez or have seen her speak, I’ve come away more impressed. I’d really like to vote for Bill Bradburd, what with his focus on affordable housing, but I’m not sure I trust his neighborhoody NIMBYist instincts. So, yeah, I’m voting for Gonzalez (who’s going to win anyway) and hoping she proves a disappointment to Ed.

The Others:
Mike O’Brien and Sally Bagshaw are going to win reelection regardless, and I haven’t paid close enough attention to District’s 1 and 5 (there’s just too damn many candidates!) for me to pick a definitive favorite in either. So if you vote in those districts, I’ve got nothing to offer.

There you have it. It’s not an endorsement, per se, because that would be stupid. I mean, who am I to tell you how to vote? Still, there’s no harm in telling you how I’m going to vote. Take it for what it is.

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Wooooooooooooo

by Carl Ballard — Thursday, 7/2/15, 7:13 pm

Oh hey they’re temporarily reopening the waterfront.

But today, citing the need for access and especially because it’s tourism season (which you’ve definitely noticed because crowds of confused people, maps-in-hand, have nearly taken you out numerous times in the last week) the City of Seattle has re-opened the waterfront for a temporary summer vacation, so to speak.

“A temporary, park-like pedestrian promenade from University to Madison streets will be open with wayfinding, seawall project information, and activities, accompanied by approximately 70 new parking spaces adjacent to Waterfront Park. Seawall construction will continue from Madison to Yesler streets adjacent to Colman Dock,” reads a release from the City.

Enjoy it while you can suckers! One question: park-like? OK, I lied: another question, 70 new parking spaces? Why not more park-like stuff? Another another question: can we just ignore the thing underground keep the park-like pedestrian promenade? Whatever! I’m going to walk it this weekend! It’s going to be awesome. It’s totally going to be park-like!

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Open Thread 7-1

by Carl Ballard — Wednesday, 7/1/15, 8:00 am

– In conclusion, Jim McNerney is a terrible human being. And very emblematic of the New Gilded Age

– Oh hey, congrats to team Hanauer, and like a large portion of the middle class, on the new overtime eligibility rules.

– If you want to know what Seattle’s most radical anti-growth activists really think about multifamily housing, the mayor, transportation solutions, and “those people,” I highly recommend checking out any event put on by the City Neighborhood Council, a group founded in the 1990s to advise the brand-new Department of Neighborhoods on neighborhood planning.

– Also, I don’t know about the rest of the crew, but I won’t be posting anything on the 3rd.

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Threadin’ Ope

by Carl Ballard — Monday, 6/29/15, 8:01 am

– Well looks like we’ll probably have a transit package with full funding for ST but a stupid carbon thing

– Fox News just fired one of its hosts in the most vicious & humiliating way imaginable

– I wonder if Metro could steal the color scheme idea from SWIFT. If the actual buses are different colors (I couldn’t tell from the post, but I’d bet not), it might be a problem on the C and D lines, but otherwise, it’s doable. Also, holy cow, SWIFT 2 looks like it’ll be pretty great.

– Westlake Park, in a lot of ways, is ground zero for DSA and the the city’s fraught relationship with public demonstrations. Remember when people ~*~so angry~*~ about the death of an unarmed Black teenager got just too damn close to singing children at the tree lighting ceremony? A Speakers Corner would corral that pesky anger into somewhere more comfortable, giving shoppers the chance to not see that anger if it’s making them not feel like spending all their money at the mall that day! What a win for our city’s business interests!

– JEB!

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Open Thread the 24th of June

by Carl Ballard — Wednesday, 6/24/15, 8:01 am

– The embarrassment is not limited to the flag, itself. The fact that it still flies, that one must debate its meaning in 2015, reflects an incredible ignorance. A century and a half after Lincoln was killed, after 750,000 of our ancestors died, Americans still aren’t quite sure why.

– Good for gender neutral city bathrooms in Seattle.

– So wait, there’s a cost to inaction on climate change?

– Five Thousand Ladybugs of Highly Effective People

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Friday Night Multimedia Extravaganza!

by Darryl — Saturday, 6/20/15, 1:00 am

Thom: Texas rejects a woman’s right to choose.

“Holy Encyclical, Batman!”

  • Mark Fiore: .
  • Thom: The Popes climate change call
  • Young Turks: Republicans attack Pope

David Pakman: Paul Ryan falls apart (again) on FAUX News…has no plan to replace ObamaCare.

Congressional Hits and Misses of the week.

WTF? Another Right-Wing Extremist Mass Shooting?!?

  • Obama makes a statement about the shooting
  • Liberal Viewer: FAUX News downplays racial motivation and tries to spin an anti-Christian motive
  • Thom: The White shooter was a terrorist
  • Sam Seder: Right wing terror—how the NRA uses racism to advance its cause
  • Jon runs out of jokes
  • Grace Para: Charleston from a Hispanic point of view
  • Maddow: Making sense of it
  • Should we call the mass murder terrorism?
  • Sam Seder: The despicable Right Wing spin
  • Young Turks: Right wing terrorists kill more Americans than Islamic extremists
  • Thom: Charleston shooting PART 1
  • Thom: Charleston shooting PART 2
  • Sam Seder: Republican defends flying Confederate flag in the wake of the Charleston terror shootings

Mental Floss: 14 facts about parasites.

Rep. Derek Kilmer (D-WA) gets a jump on Father’s Day

Young Turks: What woman should appear on the $10?.

Pap and Sam Seder: GOP trash economics sends Kansas back to the dust bowl.

VSauce: Dinosaurs.

Mental Floss: Misconceptions about famous stories.

The 2016 Clown Parade—“Even More Clowns” Edition:

  • Sam Seder: You bastards have no idea how hard this is for Ted Cruz
  • David Pakman: Jeb! Is! In!
  • Thom: Right Wing extremism, Jeb style
  • Pap and Farron Cousins: Marco Rubio’s shopaholic confessions
  • Sam Seder: The Rick Perry 2016 makeover
  • Young Turks: Donald Trump hired actors to attend his announcement

  • Donald Trump Can’t stop whining about America
  • Factivist: The Jeb! Bush! record
  • Farron Cousins: Donald Trump’s ego can’t fit in Republican clown car
  • Jon: Listening to Trump quotes is “better than freebasing”
  • Sam Seder: DNC’s hilarious statement about Trump
  • PsychoSuperMom: Keepin’ Crazy in the Trump World:

  • Maddow: Trump is in!
  • James Rustad: Old Trump Donald Owned a Slum
  • Pap and Sam Seder: Scott Walker makes Wisconsin even dumber

Mental Floss: Why do we blush when embarassed.

Farron Cousins: The death of another Republican talking point.

Kimmel: This week in unnecessary censorship.

Thom: How big money is undermining voter rights.

Racial Identity Politics:

  • Young Turks: Rachel Dolezal, guilty or not guilty?
  • Melissa Harris-Perry: Extended interview with Rachel Dolezal
  • Flashback: Steven Colbert and Steve Carell in “Maya”
  • Young Turks: Abdul-Jabbar defends Rachel Dolezal
  • David Pakman: Are Rachel Dolezal’s parents abusive extremist young earth creationists?

White House: West Wing Week.

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

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WA Republican Anti-Taxers Have Lost the Editorial Boards on Capital Gains

by Goldy — Monday, 6/15/15, 12:53 pm

Our state’s editorial boards love to complain about the budget impasse in Olympia, but for many years they have played a key role in the obstruction, consistently opposing any substantive new tax—especially on income—as fervently as the most dyed-in-the-wool anti-tax Republican. Until now:

Pigs Fly!

Victor Habbick | FreeDigitalPhotos.net

A proposal in the Senate would apply a 7 percent capital-gains tax to 0.1 percent of the state’s residents, or about 7,500 residents. It would only apply to gains over $250,000 for individuals or $500,000 for couples.

Instead of punting to committees and next year’s Legislature, they should buckle down and make the choice to begin taxing capital gains.

That’s the Seattle Times editorial board making the case that a “capital-gains tax is best option to fund education.” Seriously. And while we’ve been seeing their position evolve over the past few months, it’s still pretty stunning to see them state their support for the tax so bluntly.

And then there’s this from today’s Olympian:

A key element of our state’s F grade for effort was the comparatively low percentage of the state’s economic output that Washington has invested through taxes into K-12 schools. Part of the problem is our over-reliance and regressive tax system that ignores a large share of economic activity including the sales of services and such income-producers as capital gains.

I sometimes joke that I’m the only non-lawmaker who still reads the editorial pages, but of course that’s not true. Editorial board endorsements may not be nearly as influential as they were even a decade ago, but they still play a role in shaping public opinion. Or at least, reinforcing it. And anti-tax legislators no longer have the “serious” people behind them in obstructing all efforts to tax income.

Washington’s tax structure is absurdly regressive. I’ve been saying that since my very first blog post, more than 11 years ago. There’s simply no arguing with that fact. And now the editorial boards have finally acknowledged that our revenue system is insufficient as well. Republican lawmakers should take note that they are on the wrong side of the editorial boards on this issue, and that if we fail to pass the additional revenue necessary to satisfy McCleary, the editorial boards won’t be shy about pointing out which lawmakers are to blame.

Given my fierce criticism over the years, you might think that I’d hate to give the editorial boards credit for finally advocating for responsible tax policy. Not at all. Responsible tax policy is all I ever really wanted. And it’s great to see the Seattle Times on board.

[Cross-posted at Civic Skunkworks]

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