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The Washington State House Republican Caucus is upset that we’re going to get exchanges soon. They’re so upset that they have a whiny press release.

Though many of us have grave concerns and opposition to the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, Congress has not repealed it and the U.S. Supreme Court upheld nearly all of it. Washington state is moving forward.

Yes, it is. It’s legal and it’s going forward. And yay, because you know what, it’s somewhat better than the status quo. If the GOP had a better idea, or better than vague platitudes about the market or something something health savings accounts without any specifics, they forgot to mention it in the last few years. Anyway, let’s see what some of the House Republican problems are.

Health care exchange lacks enough choices, variety of plans

Hey, you know what would be another choice that the legislature could add? Yeah. If the GOP wanted more variety, they could get behind adding a government plan along with the corporate and a cooperative plan that already exist in Washington. You know more choice.

The Insurance Commissioner initially denied five of the nine health insurers plans from being sold in The Exchange; however, three of the insurers successfully appealed and the Insurance Commissioner has now approved seven insurance companies to offer 43 plans for individuals in the exchange. At its Sept. 4 meeting, the Exchange Board certified 35 plans. The federal Office of Personnel Management had previously approved the other eight plans which are classified as multi-state plans. There is one additional insurer that could be approved in the near future.

This is the part where they’re complaining that there won’t be any choices.

Meanwhile, just one company, Kaiser Permanente, says it will offer insurance plans for small businesses in the exchange. This is not the competitive marketplace we were promised as Obamacare was being debated in Congress. Washington House Republicans have long believed our state’s health insurance laws and regulatory processes have limited choice and competition. Those challenges are being more exposed as we implement federal health care reform. Read more about these problems in the articles to the right.

This claim feels pretty dubious to me. I work for a small business in Washington, and don’t have Kaiser Permanente, and there’s no discussion of changing plans. So there seems to be more choice than they’re letting on. In any event, a state level public option would certainly go a long way toward providing more choice. In fact, it would double it for small businesses if their dubious claims are to be believed.

An argument for universal coverage

Universal single payer would be pretty awesomesauce. That’s what you’re talking about, right? Right?

Avik Roy, a Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a health care writer at Forbes Magazine, argued that the status quo is no longer working, however. We must reduce the costs our federal government is currently spending on health care.

The status quo isn’t working and we need more than the unfortunately small 43 plans and growing. But not a public option. Hey, let’s quote that guy.

“The U.S. government spends more per capita on health care than the governments in many socialist states. However, the countries that achieve some form of universal coverage at the very lowest cost are not the highly socialist systems but the market-oriented systems, countries like Switzerland and Singapore.”

The Swiss System where they have a mandate stronger than our mandate? This is just trolling, right? I’m being trolled by a press release from the State House GOP? Anyway, that’s the whole section. I agree we need a health care mandate if we’re not going to have universal single payer. The good news is we got one, press release complaining about Obamacare. It’s part of Obamacare. For what it’s worth, I care more about health outcomes than if some asshole is going to call it socialism. There are some vague platitudes about health savings accounts without any discussion of how they would work in the state, but it’s still nice out, so I’m going for a jog.

Revelation 9:7-10
The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle. They had what looked like gold crowns on their heads, and their faces looked like human faces. They had hair like women’s hair and teeth like the teeth of a lion. They wore armor made of iron, and their wings roared like an army of chariots rushing into battle. They had tails that stung like scorpions, and for five months they had the power to torment people.

Discuss.

Finally. From a joint statement from AG Bob Ferguson and Gov. Jay Inslee:

Today we received confirmation Washington’s voter-approved marijuana law will be implemented. We received good news this morning when Attorney General Eric Holder told the governor the federal government would not pre-empt Washington and Colorado as the states implement a highly regulated legalized market for marijuana. Attorney General Holder made it clear the federal government will continue to enforce the federal Controlled Substance Act by focusing its enforcement on eight specific concerns, including the prevention of distribution to minors and the importance of keeping Washington-grown marijuana within our state’s borders. We share those concerns and are confident our state initiative will be implemented as planned.

[…]

The memo from the Department of Justice spells out the terms (informally):

Today, the U.S. Department of Justice announced an update to its federal marijuana enforcement policy in light of recent state ballot initiatives that legalize, under state law, the possession of small amounts of marijuana and provide for the regulation of marijuana production, processing, and sale.

In a new memorandum outlining the policy, the Department makes clear that marijuana remains an illegal drug under the Controlled Substances Act and that federal prosecutors will continue to aggressively enforce this statute. To this end, the Department identifies eight (8) enforcement areas that federal prosecutors should prioritize. These are the same enforcement priorities that have traditionally driven the Department’s efforts in this area.

Outside of these enforcement priorities, however, the federal government has traditionally relied on state and local authorizes to address marijuana activity through enforcement of their own narcotics laws. This guidance continues that policy.

For states such as Colorado and Washington that have enacted laws to authorize the production, distribution and possession of marijuana, the Department expects these states to establish strict regulatory schemes that protect the eight federal interests identified in the Department’s guidance. These schemes must be tough in practice, not just on paper, and include strong, state-based enforcement efforts, backed by adequate funding. Based on assurances that those states will impose an appropriately strict regulatory system, the Department has informed the governors of both states that it is deferring its right to challenge their legalization laws at this time. But if any of the stated harms do materialize—either despite a strict regulatory scheme or because of the lack of one—federal prosecutors will act aggressively to bring individual prosecutions focused on federal enforcement priorities and the Department may challenge the regulatory scheme themselves in these states.

– Free abortions on demand without apology is a laudable goal. How we get from here to there, especially in states where activists are on the defensive, is a question.

– SDOT’s bridge operations crew would like to remind bicyclists that bypassing a gate can have serious consequences.

– My yacht doesn’t have any helicopter landing pads; It’s barely a yacht. In fact it’s a bike.

– Donald Rumsfeld is complaining about Obama’s war planning (h/t MikeBoyScout in the comments). I mean, there are legit criticisms, but Rumsfeld ain’t really the one to make them.

– The Facebook page for the demonstration in Seattle against the Russian anti-LGBT law.

– Anyone going to Bumbershoot? I haven’t bought my ticket yet, but this is the thing I’d most want to see if I do go.

– Put a panel on it

A bit later than I’d said, but I’ve emailed these out to the candidates. Nobody had any changes, so I mostly just did a find and replace of mayor for city council and then added a question about gender pay equality.

1) Now that I-502 has passed, what should the purchase of marijuana look like within city limits? Will medical marijuana collective garden storefronts in Seattle have to abide by the 1000-foot rule established by I-502?

2) With Metro’s ability to fund itself at the whim of the legislature, what should the city’s role be in public transportation? How should the City Council both make sure we get our fair share, and that the system serves the entire region well?

3) What should the waterfront look like after the Viaduct comes down? Will there be a streetcar or other transit?

4) What should happen in the next 4 years to make sure that police reform both satisfies the Feds, and works for Seattle citizens?

5) A recent study found Seattle is the worst of the 50 largest US metro areas in terms of pay equality for women. Why do you think that’s the case, and what is the city’s role in closing that gap?

A lot of stuff happened fifty years ago today.

Here in Washington state, it was the opening of the SR-520 floating bridge.

In New York City’s upper East Side, two young women were murdered in their apartment. Later, a 19 year old black man named George Whitmore, Jr. was arrested for the murders. The police coerced a confession out of him through intimidation and by assaulting him.

Whitmore was eventually cleared, but the case had two lasting impacts on America. First, it was cited by the Supreme court when they established guidelines known as Miranda rights. Secondly, it was used as justification to restrict and eventually eliminate New York state’s death penalty.

Fifty years ago today in the other Washington, a quarter of a million people gathered for a “March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.” The official program began with the National Anthem sung by Marian Anderson, and an Invocation by the Archbishop of Washington, the Rev. Patrick O’Boyle. (O’Boyle was a leader in racial desegregation and desegregated D.C.’s Catholic schools long before the Supreme Court made it mandatory.)

John Lewis, now a Democratic Congressman from Georgia, gave a speech as the chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. An excellent speech was given by Rabbi Joachim Prinz, President of the American Jewish Congress (listen here).

And, of course, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave a speech that marked a turning point for the civil rights movement:

Today, fifty years later, there is another gathering in D.C. for a week-long remembrance.

Today’s speakers included Rev. Al Sharpton (2:44:50), Opera Winfrey (3:25:33), Rep. Lewis (3:34:45), President Jimmy Carter (3:45:10), President Bill Clinton (3:51:50), and President Barack Obama (4:25:10).

How did Republicans celebrate? Both Presidents Bush couldn’t make it for health reasons. George W. Bush did offer a statement.

Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) memorialized the 50th anniversary by going on a civil rights pilgrimage through Alabama with Rep. Lewis. Cantor released a statement that concludes:

I was especially moved by the gesture of Montgomery Police Chief Kevin Murphy who presented John Lewis with the badge off his uniform apologizing for the police department’s failure to protect the African American community in those turbulent days of the ’50’s and ’60’s. Reflecting on these important moments in our nation’s history, I look forward to focusing on ways in which together we can continue to confront challenges and solve the nation’s problems.

Ummm…has anyone mentioned to him that voting rights for African Americans are under, what appears to be, a systematic attack after the Supreme Court gutted part of the Voting Rights act?

At least one Republican is willing to do something. Speaking at a RNC by-invite-only commemoration luncheon at the Capitol Hill Club on Monday, Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) said:

“[M]y job is to fix the Voting Rights Act,” and promised that by the end of the year, Congress would create and pass the section of the law struck down by Supreme Court in June.

Well…that encouraging.

Other speakers…not so much. The RNC event also featured former congressman Allen West (R-FL) and former Ohio Secretary of Voter Suppression State Ken Blackwell (R).

Daily Beast‘s Ben Jacob was underwhelmed by the RNC event.

In other venues, we had this contribution from former Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL). It’s a teabaggy dream nightmare delivered to his radio audience:

[…]
I have a dream that young unmarried black women will say “no” to young black men who want to have sex.

I have a dream that today’s black leadership will quit blaming racism and “the system” for what ails black America.

I have a dream that black America will take responsibility for improving their own lives.

I have a dream that one day black America will cease their dependency on the government plantation, which has enslaved them to lives of poverty, and instead depend on themselves, their families, their churches, and their communities.

Ahhh, yes. God (or gods) bless the First Amendment, but it’s sure good to have him in the former Rep. category.

Of course, the headline is joking. But in 2009, when Susan Hutchison ran for office in Democratic King County, she did it claiming to be a nonpartisan. Now, not so much.

The Seattle Times (http://is.gd/6EHqfL ) reports Hutchinson defeated the interim GOP chair, Luanne Van Werven, in a run-off vote after two other candidates were eliminated at the party’s meeting in Spokane on Saturday.

Hutchison ran unsuccessfully for King County Executive in 2009, downplaying her Republican ties.

On Saturday, she pledged to breathe new life into a state Republican Party that has suffered stinging election defeats.

I don’t know if her election puts the lie to her claims to being anything but a Republican, or if that was already so obvious that nothing can put the lie to it. In any event, we can now be pretty confident that the GOP never bought her claims of nonpartisanship.

But I would like to take the occasion of her election to hope sincerely that she actually tries to attract moderates to her party. Their hateful wing is so far out there, that even though they can’t be elected to a majority in the legislature they’re hurting people. When she ran, her record was sitting on the board of the Discovery Institute and supporting candidates like Mike Huckabee. But her rhetoric was moderate and conciliatory. We’ll have to see what one emerges with her party leadership.

– I’m not sure RT was lying about America, but it is important to get the truth of Russia’s anti-gay horror show out there on a Russian station.

– This has nothing to do with keeping the babies safe and everything to do with a government that has decided that the 4th Amendment is getting in its way and that an expectation of privacy is an anachronism that only a bunch of irrelevant cranks or criminals care about. I don’t see how you can interpret their actions any other way.

– A dual endorsement in the general election is strange, but OK, King County Labor Council.

– I’m fine with the GOP not having Presidential debates on CNN and NBC if they want. But the fact that there’s going to be a documentary on one of the most important people of the late 20th century doesn’t strike me as a good excuse.

– The Snoqualmie Valley Trail bridge looks pretty neat.

– But if you want proof of how silly the whole thing is, it would be hard to do better than simply glancing at the homepage of the Seattle Times online this morning. Even as the world’s leading climate scientists warn of the sea level rising by three feet by 2100, the Times is twisting a debate about the wisdom of coal exports into an election year kerfuffle.

– Macklemore talking about how he gets more leeway because he’s white.

– Is it strange that all I want to do now is move to Asshole Jupiter?

– I don’t know enough about the Frequent Network Plan but it’s worth a look.

– 82% of Americans are correct.

– Goldy is more thrilled than me with the prospect of a State GOP Chair Pam Roach. I think she would be as problematic as before, but with a larger platform.

– Just as was the case before Roe, women’s abortion access in many states across the country is largely becoming dependent on two arbitrary things: where she lives, and how much economic privilege she has.

– Cascade Bikes is asking you to write a letter to SDOT to help complete the Missing Link.

– I think we are on solid biblical footing, in other words, to say that the current effort among House Republicans to gut SNAP is an example of the sin of Onanism. The anti-welfare rhetoric and ideology of the tea party — with its denunciations of “takers” and “moochers,” and the rallying cry of its founding in rejection of mortgage assistance for soon-to-be-homeless families — is a virulent, vicious strain of Onanism

– Anyone going to see Romeo & Juliet at the Sculpture Park? Also, in case you ever have to promote it, it is not “the greatest love story ever told.”

In the current issue of The Seattle Weekly, Ellis E. Conklin has a piece on the Seattle Times-Mike McGinn perpetual dispute. It begins thus:

On February 24, 2011, Seattle Times reporter Lynn Thompson penned a comically snarkish account of how (“Seattle’s most famous bike rider”) Mayor Mike McGinn’s dark-green GT Slipstream was stolen out of the City Hall parking garage. The bike, which McGinn accidentally left unlocked, actually belonged to his wife, prompting the mayor to tweet: “Peg is pissed.”

The story, complete with the requisite “Mayor McSchwinn,” included anonymous e-mails from readers. One sarcastic missive, in particular, drove McGinn through the roof. After suggesting the theft was a publicity stunt by a pol seeking sympathy, the commenter meanly observed, “He has the body of Homer Simpson and apparently doesn’t own a bike himself.”

The city’s since slimmed down chief executive is reportedly still seething about the Homer Simpson crack.

Says McGinn, “We let them know that was inappropriate.”

Not long after the article appeared, an angry Peg Lynch called The Times and canceled the McGinn family’s subscription.

When the Stranger’s Eli Sanders brought the news of Mrs. McGinn’s pique to light more than a year later, Times executive editor David Boardman tweeted, “What kind of mayor cancels his subscription to his city’s daily newspaper? Our mayor. Thin skin, @mayormcginn?

Sooooooooooooooooo: The Seattle Times realizes that Mike McGinn has been the victim of a crime. Rather than just report that, they go for making up nonsense with about as much evidence as a birther. In the process they call him fat using a cultural reference that’s two decades past its prime.

In response to that, McGinn’s wife cancels their home copy of the paper. Their ostensibly straight newsman sees that and tweets that the problem is Mike McGinn. Holy shit. I’m being serious when I wonder: (a) How the fuck did that get into the paper in the first place? (b) How in God’s name wasn’t Lynn Thompson publicly disciplined? (c) How is it that David Bordman thought that was a thing to rally behind? If The Seattle Times were a real newspaper, they would hire him back just so they could fire him for this, that’s how pathetic it makes their paper look to rally around making fat jokes about an elected official they don’t like.

To be clear, I want a Seattle Times to be tough on elected officials. But if they can’t tell the difference between journalism and bullying, they should pack it up because they don’t do the city a service.

I don’t have a TV Box* so nothing is appointment TV for me except sports that I’ll go to a bar for or watch on ESPN3 or MLB’s website. I’ll watch a few shows on the Internet later on, or see clips that make it onto some website, especially what Darryl plays in the Multimedia Extravaganza. And while that’s the far end, a lot of people have TiVo or watch their TV on the Internet in some way. So the schedule is less important than it was even a decade ago, not just for me but for all sorts of people.

So maybe Fox News’s shakeup is less important than it once would have been. But the fact of the matter is it’s coming:

The media world was abuzz last week as Matt Drudge reported a rare prime-time shakeup at Fox News: Rising star Megyn Kelly is moving to 9 p.m., bumping the current inhabitant of that hour, the “Great American” Sean Hannity, to parts unknown.

The domino effect has not yet been revealed, with speculation that Kelly’s move might produce other changes, including hard news star and 7 p.m. anchor Shepard Smith potentially shifting roles, and 10 p.m. host Greta Van Susteren moving hours.

Maybe it doesn’t matter at what point in the day assholes are saying asshole things. Maybe being given time to say nonsense on the TV is important enough, and the rest are just details. Still, the fact that the top brass at Fox News thinks this is something maybe means it’s something, so they’re doing their shakeup.

[Read more…]

Tom at Seattle Bike Blog is getting reports of trouble on the trail.

I’ve already received one email from a reader who said he had to swerve into the grass to avoid a truck driving on the trail. Last year there were many close calls and several crashes due to Hempfest operations. But organizers say they are working to make this year go more smoothly and better mark cables and hoses.

The Elliott Bay Trail is a vital regional transportation corridor for people biking and walking from downtown to Magnolia, Queen Anne and northwest Seattle. There is no other option available for people biking through the area. With workers blocking the route for a week and a half and people on bikes with no other way through, it’s a recipe for frustration and conflict.

That was a couple days ago, and with more setup, I’m sure there is more difficulty. I was there yesterday evening for a jog, and it was fine for me. It was drizzly and past rush hour so the traffic wasn’t bad, but there were tents and trucks and a partially built stage up. I can see how it could be annoying, but it didn’t seem like too bad.

There may also be traffic problems for cars according to a press release I got from SDOT.

The 22nd annual Seattle Hempfest expects 50,000 – 70,000 attendees everyday this coming Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Centennial and Myrtle Edwards parks. Saturday evening the Seattle Seahawks anticipate a crowd of 55,000 at CenturyLink Field when they take on the Denver Broncos for the team’s second pre-season game. There will likely be heavy traffic associated with these and many other events taking place throughout Seattle over the weekend, so please see the attached schedule and plan ahead to avoid delays.

The Seattle Department of Transportation suggests motorists join in the effort to reduce air pollution by parking their cars and opting for one of the many alternate modes of transportation available – Metro Transit, the West Seattle Water Taxi, the Seattle Streetcar, the Sounder commuter train, Link light rail, car pool, bicycle or walk, if feasible.

A lot of those suggestions are more football related than Hempfest, given SoDo’s nearness to rail and the Water Taxi. But the warning and some of the suggestions apply to both.

And seeing the press release mentioning the football game in the same paragraph as Hempfest puts the traffic complaints people always seem to have into some perspective. Yes, it can be annoying (although the worst that’s ever happened for me personally is I had to take a different route from Downtown to Ballard one year). But sometimes those sort of things happen in a big city with big events.

– The police distributing Doritos at Hempfest is a bit on the nose.

– RE this, I think Carla Saulter says all the words that need to be said:

Wait, I'm confused. #russellsimmons #wtf

— Carla Saulter (@seattlebuschick) August 15, 2013

– “Sonic Bloom” is a solar-powered work of art created by Dan Corson on behalf of City Light’s Green Up program, which supports the development of new renewable energy sources.

– Could you just move some of the Olympic events if there’s the treat of some athletes being arrested, or simply as a protest?

– We must always be vigilant of capitalism’s inclination for this sort of business, and while we encourage capitalism, be aware of its potentially abusive power.

– When you’re digging yourself into a hole, the saying goes, the first rule is to stop digging. Fortunately, regarding the downtown tunnel, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) has taken this aphorism to heart. Unfortunately, it’s only partial, and temporary.

– Wendy Davis is going to be in town. It’s an event sponsored by Washington NARAL, and I’m not 100% sure if your ticket goes to her or to them.

– If you’re interested in Helsing Junction Sleep Over, you probably don’t need me saying it’s coming up, but it’s coming up.

Someday, hopefully soon, Republicans will, once again, show a genuine interest in good governance. Until then, we get this shit:

Heritage Action for America – one of the conservative groups leading the charge to pressure Republican lawmakers against voting to continue government spending unless they can defund President Barack Obama’s health care law – said its new poll of likely voters in 10 relatively competitive congressional districts showed that forcing such a shutdown would not be fatal for the GOP in 2014.

The right question isn’t whether shutting down the government will hurt a political party. The right question is whether shutting down the government will hurt the United States of America!

Of course, some old-guard Republicans have come out against a government shutdown. Not because it is terrible for Americans and America, but because they remember the hit they took the last time they tried that little trick.

Instead, some of these asswipes have decided that, if not a shutdown of the Federal government, they will, instead, refuse to raise the debt ceiling—that is, they will refuse to pay for the stuff they’ve already bought. The last time they tried that, the U.S. took a bond rating hit. And notice the “big picture” reason for that downgrade by S&P (emphasis added):

More broadly, the downgrade reflects our view that the effectiveness, stability, and predictability of American policymaking and political institutions have weakened at a time of ongoing fiscal and economic challenges to a degree more than we envisioned….

Again, these shitheads fail to seriously consider this question: “Is defaulting on our debt good for America, or does it harm America?”

Jonathan Chait enlightens us:

This is actually even more dangerous than shutting down the government. A government shutdown is disruptive, but can be endured. Nobody knows just what would happen if Congress were to default on payments to holders of Treasury bills, but it could be catastrophic, and at the very least would probably spur bondholders to demand a premium from Washington for years or decades to come. Republicans here are talking themselves out of using a conventional bomb and instead using a nuclear bomb.

These douche bags would gladly suffocate America to within inches of death if they could manage to squeeze even a tiny political advantage out of it….

I know this is stale at this point, but this morning a bus driver was shot downtown.

Just after 8:45 this morning, Seattle police began receiving a flood of reports that a man had shot a Metro bus driver on the Route # 27 bus near 3rd Avenue and Seneca Street.

The male suspect reportedly stayed on the bus for a short time after the shooting, before he fled on foot through downtown.

Officers then spotted the suspect near 2nd Avenue and Seneca, where he opened fire on officers and ran to a second bus.

When the suspect tried to get on a second bus, the driver and some of the passengers began evacuating the bus and the suspect got on board.

Officers confronted the suspect on the second bus and shot the suspect.

[…]

The 67-year-old Metro driver’s injuries do not appear to be life-threatening.

The suspect—who is in his 30′s or 40′s—is in critical condition and is being transported to Harborview. [he died since the linked post was written — Carl]

A 32-year-old officer also sustained minor injuries in the incident, possibly from broken glass, and was taken to Harborview.

A second officer, who is in his 50s, was also taken to Harborview for treatment for a medical condition.

Finally, a female passenger sustained minor bruising while evacuating the second bus.

Christallmighty. I’m sitting here on my commute back home trying to figure out words. I don’t know if I’d passed that driver. Certainly the downtown corridor is one I take almost every day. I wish him the best of luck in a recovery.

If you know anything or have any video of the event, SPD is asking you to call their homicide reporting line at (206) 233-5000.