– President Obama was in town over the weekend.
– I wonder if the public transportation data for Thurston County would look the same for the rest of the state.
– Like so many aspects of American life, holidays have become 2-tiered
– And speaking of, I don’t know about the rest of the bloggers here, but I don’t think I’ll post anything on Thursday or Friday.
I-502 got more than 54% of the vote in Pierce County. So naturally, you’d think that politicians in the county would be, if not eager, at least willing to zone marijuana businesses. You’d probably not think they would support banning any business until the Federal government decides to legalize marijuana. Maybe somewhere like Franklin County where it lost more than 61% of the vote. But not a Puget Sound county where a majority of voters supported legalization at the ballot, surely.
Well, a majority of the Pierce County Council voted to not allow any marijuana businesses. Fortunately, it was vetoed by the exec (Tacoma News Tribune link; hat tip to Sensible Washington on Facebook).
Pierce County Executive Pat McCarthy has vetoed the County Council’s ordinance that prohibits licensed marijuana businesses from operating until the U.S. Congress removes marijuana from the list of federally controlled substances.
McCarthy said the county’s ordinance conflicts with state law. She said the county must comply with state law, which permits the licensing of marijuana businesses.
[…]
An override requires five of seven council votes.
[…]*
The council adopted the ordinance Nov. 5 by a vote of 4-3.
So yay. It probably won’t be overridden.
Still, it seems strange to me that people are so hesitant to support marijuana legalization where it’s popular. I mean I get that drugs-are-bad is the default position that a lot of people have. And the Federal government is a big scary thing people can point to. But I-502 was passed with popular support and the sky hasn’t fallen. It’s time for people to stop fighting it.
– The Seattle Weekly has an interesting piece on Rosellini’s FBI file.
– Obama is better than George W. Bush. Still it’s still too many deaths in wars.
– Oh, and hey, a deal with Iran for 6 months.
– I’m glad KEXP is going to be DJing the New Year’s Eve at the Space Needle but this article seems to think that Pearl Jam and The Ramones are what’s hot in the streets. What?
– Two Ed Murray things. I love this story of him helping a fallen cyclist (Seattle Times link). Also, here’s the transition webpage if you’re interested.
– Does anyone care about the WA Dem Chair race? I tried to write about it, but nothing really came together. I could give it another try if y’all care.
– It was the 150th anniversary of The Gettysburg Address this week, and the biggest deal about it is that Obama was asked to read one of the versions of it. Also, how does it compare to President Whitmore’s speech from Independence Day? I’m glad you asked.
Unlike most Seattle Democrats, Reuven Carlyle is willing to push an agenda pretty hard. Unfortunately, often times (privatizing public education and the Boeing giveaway for example) he pushes a terrible agenda. At other times, like defending King County against the state trying to vacuum up all of the money, he’s better. So, while most Seattle Dems inspire apathy and a wish that they would use their safe seats for something better than acting as placeholders, Carlyle actually has bold proposals. This is one that I like.
But Carlyle believes lawmakers and the public deserve to know how much a company like Boeing pays in state taxes, especially if that company comes to the Legislature asking for special consideration in the tax code.
Washington is certainly not alone in guarding corporate tax information. Oregon and Idaho do the same. But in Wisconsin, anyone can fill out a form and request a company’s—even an individual’s—net tax information.
Sounds good to me (although I’m not sure about individuals, or really how that would work in our sales tax heavy state). But it seems reasonable to know how much business are paying. And I was somewhat taken aback by the fact that we don’t know.
It’s time to let out your inner Socialist! Please join us for an evening of politics over a pint at tonight’s gathering of the Seattle Chapter of Drinking Liberally.
We meet tonight and every Tuesday evening at the Montlake Ale House, 2307 24th Avenue E. Our normal starting time is 8:00pm.
Can’t make it to Seattle tonight? Check out another nearby DL meeting over the next week. Tonight the Tri-Cities and Shelton chapters meet. The South Seattle chapter meets this Wednesday. And for Thursday, the Spokane and Tacoma chapters meet.
With 212 chapters of Living Liberally, including eighteen in Washington state, four in Oregon, and three more in Idaho, chances are excellent there’s a chapter meeting near you.
Senator Baumgartner is upset (or pretending to be upset?) that Jay Inslee hasn’t made Washington a right to work state. It takes a lot in some of these metacommentary pieces to not just write “fuck you” after every paragraph, but instead try to come up with jokes and actual commentary. This may be one of those times where I just give into the urge.
State Sen. Michael Baumgartner today responded to Gov. Jay Inslee’s refusal to act on his call to begin moving Washington toward becoming a right-to-work state – a move that many believe will make Washington more attractive to employers, including Boeing.
Fuck you. No. I have to do more commentary. Fuck you and your corporate apologist shit. Fuck you and your anti-worker horse shit. If Boeing or Microsoft asked you to give them a blumpkin (yes, the entire company, don’t ask about the logistics, you pervert), you would probably not only do it but demand that Governor Inslee watch. Then write a whiny press release complaining when he didn’t.
According to media reports, the spokesperson for the governor told reporters a special session for right-to-work “is not going to happen.” Baumgartner, R-Spokane, and a member of the Senate Trade and Economic Development Committee, released this response:
Fuck you! Sorry, I really have to do more commentary here. Did you really think that Jay Inslee was just going to decide to fuck over unions because one of the biggest assholes in the Senate GOP caucus (and holy shit are there a lot of gigantic assholes) wrote a whiny bit of nonsense? And in a special session?
Also, he block quotes the rest of his response but since it’s in a press release, I’m not playing along with a double block quote.
“I am disappointed that the governor is not willing to engage in this effort to save Boeing jobs and attract other employers to our state, but frankly I am not surprised. This governor has shown a persistent lack of leadership when it comes to making Washington a more attractive state for employers to locate and create new jobs.
Fuck you. No — wait — here’s some more sarcasm. Yeah, that’s the fucking problem: that Jay Inslee was not friendly enough to Boeing. That Jay Inslee who just pushed the largest piece of corporate welfare in history through the legislature and is pushing for more in the form of a transit package for Boeing. That Jay inslee “has shown a persistent lack of leadership when it comes to making Washington a more attractive state for employers to locate and create new jobs”? And when, as day follows night, we’re inevitably ranked among the best states to do business, I’m sure governor Inslee won’t get any congratulations from Baumgartner.
“While he was willing to call the Legislature back to pass a series of incentives for Boeing, he repeatedly refused to urge union members to support the contract. On November 9, Governor Inslee met with the media after the adjournment of the legislative special session. He was once again given multiple opportunities to encourage machinists to accept the contract. One reporter specifically asked, ‘Are you saying that you’re ok if the machinists decide to reject the contract?’ The governor responded by calling the vote ‘an individual decision,’ once again refusing to show any level of true leadership to protect thousands of family-wage jobs in our state.
I don’t think the governor should be negotiating private sector contracts. Also, Boeing is trying to make them no longer family wage jobs. That’s the fucking point. That’s what unions do. Those jobs don’t become family-wage jobs out of the benevolence of gigantic corporations. They become them because those corporations are made to provide good wages by unions and by governments. Also, Fuck you.
“So now Washington must compete for these jobs and the governor is once again failing to lead. While Governor Inslee is off in China, rejecting my right-to-work proposal through a spokesperson, other governors are wasting no time courting Boeing and making the case that their business climate is superior to Washington’s. Within hours of learning of the machinists’ vote, Texas Governor Rick Perry tweeted, ‘Texas is a right-to-work state w/low taxes, smart regulations & skilled workers – perfect for @Boeing 777x manufacturing!’
Fuck you. Be more like Texas? Texas doesn’t have the skilled workers. Nobody outside the Puget Sound does, and if Boeing wants to start from scratch, they’ll have the same delays the South Carolina plant has had. Or hey, maybe Boeing can build a new plant next to another unregulated Texas fertilizer plant.
Also, the tax system here has been rigged by Boeing for decades, so Texas really can’t offer them better taxes. And for real, I love the implication that Jay Inslee is just fucking around in China. Like it isn’t a trade mission that will probably end up helping Boeing sell planes.
“Lawmakers in Utah, South Carolina and Alabama were making the case for their states, and Boeing representatives were on the ground or on the phone, in talks with these states the very next morning after the vote. Our aerospace workers are the best in the world, and they deserve to have a governor who is doing everything in his power to protect their jobs. Unfortunately that is not the case with Governor Inslee.
All of the fuck yous. Every single one. And frankly that probably isn’t enough. Also, who do you think the union that rejected Boeing’s shitty deal is made up of? Is it possible that they want good aerospace manufacturing jobs in the region more than you?
“The governor has a sign in his office that says ‘we can do hard things,’ yet he has never been willing to do the hard thing and stand up to his donors in organized labor, even if it has meant potentially costing Washingtonians jobs.
Fuck you. Maybe have a discussion about standing up to Boeing and other large corporate interests in this state for once?
“While his predecessor, Governor Gregoire, was willing to work in a bipartisan manner to achieve key reforms to unemployment insurance, he has refused to take on the unions when it comes to addressing our state’s out-of-control workers’ compensation costs. He has also failed to stand up to his friends in the environmental movement to provide a more reasonable permitting and regulatory climate for employers.
Fuck you. Governor Gregoire fucked over workers but it’s never enough is it? Always we need to do more and more and more and more to fuck over workers. And hey, why don’t we let people pollute more as long as we’re at it?
“Making Washington a right-to-work state is not a silver bullet that will solve all of our business climate concerns, but it is one of the concrete steps we can take to put Washington on a more even playing field with the twenty-four right-to-work states competing for these high-wage jobs. Perhaps just as important, it is also the right thing to do. Every individual should have a right to decide for him or herself whether or not to join a union and pay union dues.
Fuck you. Right to work makes the jobs less good. That’s literally the main point of them. That’s what makes them so attractive to business interests. Stop fucking using phrases like “high-wage jobs” when talking about them since the point of the proposed legislation is to lower wages. Also, fuck you and your scab propaganda. The right thing to do?
“This is about making Washington competitive, not about being anti-union. As the son of educators, I have a strong appreciation for the role unions play in our society. This is about competing for jobs and respecting the rights of workers. There is perhaps no state more associated with unions than Michigan, but on March 28 of this year, Michigan became a right-to-work state. Lawmakers there weren’t trying to attack unions; they were trying to revive the manufacturing base of their state.
Fuck you. You literally demanded that the governor “take on the unions” like 4 paragraphs before you said your plan is “not about being anti-union.” Pick one, or at least take the time away from snugglepupping Boeing for long enough to proof read your own goddamn press releases.
“Passing a right-to-work law here in Washington will be a challenge, but if they can do it in Michigan, we owe to our state’s workers, and those looking for work, to make the effort here. The governor claims he wants to do ‘hard things,’ well here’s his chance. It may be hard work, but we need to give Boeing, and all of our employers, an environment conducive to growth and job-creation, and making Washington a right-to-work state is the key step to reaching that goal.”
If Michiganders jumped off a bridge would you? I mean obviously, yes, if an executive from a big company asked him to.
PS Fuck you.
– Who could have predicted?
– You don’t know how much time I tried to think of a war on Cranksgiving joke for here. Like 3 minutes at least. There isn’t one.
– Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell have a petition asking the House to take up ENDA.
– Regional subtext to the Boeing special session: Left Coast (Cascadia) vs. Deep South Also, I’ve linked to several from the series, but I don’t think I’ve come out and said go read Emmett’s Cascadia Exists pieces, but you totally should if you’re interested in what makes the region unique.
– I realize you shouldn’t read too much into a press release, but it looks like good numbers for the Washington exchange.
-There is no nadir.
Boeing’s threat to take their ball and go somewhere else, while hardly surprising, is incredibly short sighted.
On Thursday, Boeing made good on its threats and began looking elsewhere to develop its popular new 777X airplane. A spokesman for Utah Gov. Gary Herbert said Boeing officials called him to begin talks that could bring the work — and thousands of jobs — to that state.
Boeing Co. spokesman Doug Alder declined to specify where the company is now looking, saying there is no short list and that there are many places both within Boeing’s current operations and outside that are being explored.
“Everything is back on the table,” he said.
I’m sorry Boeing doesn’t know this, but the best place to build planes anywhere in the world is the Puget Sound. The fact that Boeing has build that up for over a century means something. It means that the people who are going to make the best quality airplanes are living here. It means they have experience and know how, and the people with a passion for it have moved here. It means that they will help get the job done.
By threatening to go other places, they’re saying they’re willing to put out an inferior product. They’re signaling that when your safety and security is on the line, they’re at least considering going on the cheap. They’re saying that they know they can do better, but fuck it. That doesn’t sound like a long term strategy. You get what you pay for, and they’re clearly establishing that they don’t want to pay for quality when you’re in a tube in the air.
Also, there’s the fact that so much of their business model is to get free money from taxpayers. And I think it’s fair to say that taxpayers are more willing to pay for good jobs than the ones Boeing thinks it should give its employees. Between the largest bit of corporate welfare in US history that the Washington State Legislature just offered them and all the military contracting, Boeing lives off government largess. And it’s tough to imagine Patty Murray going to the mattresses on the tanker deal or the legislature caving so quickly to all of their demands if the jobs were not good ones.
– Happy Veterans Day.
– Reading Patty Murray’s Washington Post editorial on the need to close loopholes in the Federal tax code is yet another reminder of how intransigent the GOP really are.
– Here’s hoping Larry Phillips and Dow Constantine live up to their threats of going it alone.
– You know how gun nuts are always telling us that their having all the guns is protecting all the freedoms? I’m pretty sure they meant this sort of thing.
– Dudes Are Such Whiny Baby Liars About Girls With Short Hair
Proverbs 30:15
The leech has two daughters.
‘Give! Give!’ they cry.
Discuss.
In the state Senate race that N in Seattle wrote about before the election, the Republican won. So, congrats to Jan Angel. I’d have preferred if she lost, but sometimes the person I want to win doesn’t. You know who’s really happy about that result though? Rodney Tom (Trib link).
“When everybody thinks they’re that 25th vote, well, they’ve got leverage,” Tom said. “It just makes it a lot more difficult.”
Seriously. He said that. Rodney. Tom. Said. That!
You know what? I’m really sad for Rodney Tom, everybody. How could he have predicted that in a caucus there might be people who are willing to blow the whole thing up? How could he have known that whiny entitled assholes might destroy a caucus to get what they want?
Just think of how a few years ago when Lisa Brown was trying to figure out a budget, if she’d realized, like Rodney Tom said:
“When everybody thinks they’re that 25th vote, well, they’ve got leverage,” Tom said. “It just makes it a lot more difficult.”
Just think when Ed Murray was trying to keep the majority that the Democrats had won at the polls if he’d had advice like:
“When everybody thinks they’re that 25th vote, well, they’ve got leverage,” Tom said. “It just makes it a lot more difficult.”
Honestly, Rodney Tom complaining about the possibility of defections in a caucus is so not self aware that nematodes read that and roll their eyes.
– Vote if you haven’t already. The Washington State Democrats want to make sure you do. Remember Seattle, if you don’t vote, the slightly worse candidate might be mayor.
– You don’t say, coal trains cause coal dust? Actually, in all seriousness, these sorts of studies are important, and even if the answer seems obvious, it’s important to have data.
– Construction starts in a few weeks on the seawall.
– Oh look Rachel Maddow mentioned the I-522 campaign:
$550 of the $22m raised against WA proposal to label GMO food comes from in-state. Not $550k, but $550: http://t.co/nJNuRFtlKu
— Rachel Maddow MSNBC (@maddow) November 4, 2013
– I’m not sure why zombies are so popular right now, but they can draw in cartography nerds.
In a sales tax reliant state where we recently voted privatize and tax the poop out of liquor sales, there are high taxes on hard alcohol. This PI piece seems to forget that we just taxed ourselves, not as punishment to boozehounds, but to replace the revenue that privatization cost the state. You can get booze at your grocery store, but you have to pay higher taxes. It wasn’t a deal that I was comfortable with, but the voters went ahead with it. So, fine.
I would like a little more context than just complaining:
And, when it comes to increasing taxes to fund said government, it’s easier to get people to agree to a sin tax. You know, we’re supposed to feel bad about doing it and thus willing to punish ourselves: Bad drinker! Bad drinker! Barkeep – pour me another one! Also … add in the extra tax burden placed on booze for these first few years of privatization, and you have a recipe for a winning statistic.
There’s a reasonable debate to be had about the level of alcohol taxes we have. I’m just not sure this contributes to that.
Obviously, as the economy improves, stimulus that was designed to get us out of a caving, crashing recession will have to be scaled back. And of course the things that were set to expire are going to expire, especially with a House of Representatives dead set on anything decent for the Republic. So I guess nobody should be surprised that the expanded SNAP benefits are going to be back to what they were before the stimulus starting tomorrow.
Extra funding for the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, one of the most impactful elements of the 2009 economic stimulus, expires Friday, meaning poor families in all 50 states will immediately see steep cuts in government food aid.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 provided a 13.6 percent funding increase to SNAP recipients beginning in April 2009, money the bill’s backers said would make its way quickly into the economy. But that extra funding ends Nov. 1. Every one of the 48 million SNAP recipients will see their benefits cut in their next checks.
Given the need, it seems early from a purely moral standpoint. The top earners are recovering nicely, and good for them and all, but the need for SNAP for people who aren’t earning that is still there.
SNAP benefits disproportionately help families with children. More than 21 million children — one in four children in the country today — live in households that participate in the program. More than two-thirds of the $5 billion the government saves will come from households that include children.
But instead of recognizing that the need is real, and that we should do more, we have a House of Representatives that last month voted for major cuts to the program. The GOP in the last election cycle ran candidate for President who doesn’t believe people are entitled to food, and they’re living up to that even though he lost.
Eager to share our brilliant political commentary and blunt media criticism, but too genteel to link to horsesass.org? Well, good news, ladies: we also answer to HASeattle.com, because, you know, whatever. You're welcome!