Tonight on “The David Goldstein Show”, 7PM to 10PM on News/Talk 710-KIRO:
7PM: Give us your poor…
In the course of any given year, 3.5 million Americans are homeless, and of these, 41% are families, 25% are children under the age of 10, and 43% work. 52% of families are turned away from homeless shelters due to overcrowding. To create awareness of this endemic but solvable problem, Appleseed Records has released a 17-track benefit CD, “Give US Your Poor,” featuring new recordings from the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Pete Seeger, Jon Bon Jovi, Natalie Merchant, Jewel and others. Joining me by phone to discuss the CD and his own experience with homelessness will be Eugene OR-based blues singer Eagle Park Slim. Later, we’ll talk about the local homelessness problem with Rev. Dr. Sandy Brown, Executive Director of The Church Council of Greater Seattle.
8PM: Did the King County Prosecutor’s Office cover up priest sexual abuse?
In successfully winning over $50 million in settlements against priests on behalf of sex-abuse victims, Seattle attorney Timothy Kosnoff has seen the horror stories firsthand, and so during the height of the nationwide scandal he urged the King County Prosecutor’s Office to use its subpoena power to unseal records, and look for evidence of an organized cover-up. Even though similar investigations in other cities uncovered cover-ups and additional abuse nationwide, then Chief of Staff Dan Satterberg refused. Kosnoff joins me in the studio for the hour to discuss the scandal, and what he sees as Satterberg’s conflict of interest, serving as both an advisor to the Seattle Archdiocese, and as the public official with the discretion to subpoena their records.
9PM: The Blogger Hour with Ari Melber
Ari Melber is a regular contributor to The Nation magazine, the oldest political weekly in America, and blogs at both Huffington Post and Campaign Matters, The Nation’s 2008 campaign blog. His commentary and other writing has appeared in over a dozen publications, including The Stranger and the Seattle P-I. Melber joins me in studio to discuss the 2008 presidential race, the worthlessness of polls and why we focus on them, plus the Dems inability to effectively oppose the administration on torture.
Tune in tonight (or listen to the live stream) and give me a call: 1-877-710-KIRO (5476).
Hey goldy…go over to Unsound Politics and read the article written by Jim..he took a bus from his home in Kirkland over to Seattle to check out the Homeless.
He apparently found lots and lots of Happy Homeless People Really Enjoying Themselves Living Outdoors.
I heard this ex-boxer guy talking on the Sid Roth radio show last week about his near-death experience. Before he “came back” from death, he saw Heaven. God showed him, among other things, all the babies who’d been aborted. He saw them playing—all various ages. They are growing up in Heaven, where “nobody ever can hurt them again” God told him. So it seems that aborted babies don’t just evaporate into the ether. They are real humans who don’t just get snuffed out never to be heard from again. This is key to realize. God told him he’s ticked off about the whole abortion thing going on, over a million a year in this country alone.
Hey Daisy,
God told me that He’s even more ticked off about all the people who oppose abortion, but also want to make it difficult or impossible for people to prevent making babies they aren’t prepared for, by opposing access to good information on sexual health and birth control. And He told me he gets really annoyed with people who claim to love all the unborn babies, but abandon them once they are actually born, for example, by vetoing the SCHIP program, which would provide much needed health care for babies and children who would not otherwise have it. More than a million kids a year affected by that, and you don’t even have to pretend a woman is just a vehicle for unborn babies without any agency, to support health care for kids already here. Right?
@2 Bombs abort born children, but some people don’t have a problem with that.
Why does peace get such a bad rap among conservatives? What do they have against peace? What did peace ever do to them? You’d think peace killed their kid or something.
Homelessness is a more complex issue than putting up wrong/or inflated numbers. There are plenty of people homeless and there are more who consider this a life style. Anyone who is involved in the issues with Tent City in Seattle and on the Eastside will see this quickly. Your number is highly inflated an the “official number” is around the 500-800K range. Still high, but much less than you state. Your number is an inflated number as:
“There have been recent proposals to expand the US Department of Housing and Urban Development’s definition of homeless to include households that are doubled up for economic reasons. To assess the impact of this proposal, a new data snapshot from the Homelessness Research Institute at the Alliance looks at how many people would be added to the homelessness population if the proposal were adopted. The data snapshot shows that expanding the definition would increase the current homeless population (744,313 on any given night) by 3.8 million. “.
More correct numbers can be found here:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/n.....over_x.htm
http://encarta.msn.com/encyclo.....sness.html
But I guess after a slow news night having people call in with ” I saw the big bang”…
CBS’s “60 Minutes” had a segment tonight about Bruce Springsteen’s new album and world tour. According to Mike Wallace, some of Springsteen’s new songs will be “controversial.” Springsteen is cool. Bush is uncool. Springsteen is popular. Bush is unpopular. Springsteen can’t sing. Bush’s underlings can — and will –sing plenty. Very soon. And then all hell is going to break loose.
@6 So are you saying people CHOOSE to live without shelter, electricity, running water, food, or medical care? Do you really believe all those people sleeping under plastic tarps under the freeway are on a Boy Scout campout? Yeah — I think you’re stupid enough to believe that. Anyone who’s stupid enough to believe the GOP’s lies would believe homelessness is a “lifestyle” and a “choice,” too. Drug addiction, alcoholism, unemployment, or just plain bad luck has nothing to do with it. According to CHEAP LABOR CONSERVATIVES, if you’re poor, it’s because you’re immoral — not because you have an immoral boss, or have no boss (and job) at all under our amoral economic system.
Speaking of CHEAP LABOR CONSERVATIVES, an investigative report on KIRO 7 TV tonight says Sea-Tac is one of the 4 worst airports in the country for baggage theft, and those doing the stealing include employees of Menzies Aviation, the private contractor Alaska Airlines hired to get rid of its union baggage handlers.
You get what you pay for, and what Alaska Airlines passengers get is their baggage rifled by gang members and immigrant workers. They still pay full fare; but their money now goes to inflated management salaries instead of reliable union workers earning family-wage incomes. Menzies is a mininum-wage employer, and they employ riff-raff, including criminal elements. This isn’t the first time Alaska Airlines has been embarrassed by the antics of its scab contract baggage handlers, and won’t be the last.
But the problem is not limited to Alaska. The entire Sea-Tac baggage-handling operation has more security holes than the FBI’s pre-9/11 intelligence. One of the reasons your baggage is vulnerable is because, in the name of homeland security, the federal government decreed that airline passengers may not lock their baggage. This makes it easier for TSA screeners to inspect it, but also makes it easier for dishonest airport employees to rifle it — and take whatever they want.
According to KIRO’s reporters, the amount of security in the baggage handling is ZERO. There is no surveillance. There are no searches of employees leaving the baggage handling areas. They can bring in gym bags, hockey bags, hell they could back up a semi to the employee entrance and nobody would stop them or ask any questions.
Here is how much homeland security you are getting from SeaTac’s baggage handling system: One of the most frequently stolen items at the airport is handguns and ammunition. That’s right, anybody can walk into the baggage area, dig through checked luggage, swipe a gun and ammo — then walk out onto the apron and hijack and plane, and fly it into a building. Say, the Columbia Center or Harborview Medical Center or Husky Stadium.
There is plenty of blame to go around:
Alaska Airlines — for firing its union baggage handlers and hiring riff raff and street criminals.
Department of Homeland Security — the only thing they’re good at is nepotism and harassing their employees.
President Bush — for appointing incompetent (but loyal) partisan hacks to run important federal agencies with predictably dysfunctional results, and for the most counterproductive and destructive policies of any administration since Nero.
The Seattle Port Commission — which runs the worst port operation on the West Coast, and the only one needing taxpayer subsidies. Now add stolen airport baggage to their rap sheet, and let me ask you this: If electing the Seattle Port Commission can’t keep your baggage safe, why would anyone think electing King County’s election director make our elections better?
Have you noticed how dysfunctional everything has gotten in our society? Ever since the Republicans took over, absolutely nothing is working right. It is no longer possible in this country for a 12-year-old kid to fly to Atlanta to visit his grandmother and find his X-Box still in his luggage when he gets there. If you’re caught up in a natural disaster, don’t hold your breath waiting for the FEMA truck to show up with drinking water and relief supplies. Of course the drinking water isn’t safe to begin with, and neither is the nation’s food supply. And for God’s sakes don’t let your babies chew on their toys! Our civilization is collapsing around our ears … brought to you by the incompetent fuckups of the GOP. The solution is obvious, and growing numbers of Americans know what it is: After the ’08 election they’re going to hang up a sign in D.C. that says,
UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT
10
Actually the dems got their chance in 2006, 89% think they suck. I guess the only thing more unpopular then a republican is a democrat. roof hehe roof roof
@11 Remind me again which party won the ’06 elections, and which party got their asses kicked.
BTW, dog, the last thing you’ll see on this Earth is a veterinarian pulling on a pair of plastic gloves and smiling at you as he picks up the syringe from a tray. I can hardly wait!! I’d pay money to watch that … in fact, I’ll be outside selling tickets to all the rabbits and cats in your neighborhood!!!
Roger Rabbit says:
@2 Bombs abort born children, but some people don’t have a problem with that.
10/07/2007 at 7:57 pm
I know the terrorist don’t. Hell they strap the bombs on their own children. The best thing a democrat can do to show they care about children is not to have any.
In Wisconsin, a 20-year-old cop killed 6 teenagers at a party and critically wounded a 7th. Apparently he flew into a jealous rage over a girl. He’s dead, his fellow cops killed him.
Mass shootings are common now. There’s another one almost every week. The frequency with which people are flipping out is further evidence that our society is collapsing. The rot at the top is trickling down to the streets. This is the only trickle-down that ever worked.
Isn’t 20 too young to be a cop?
Don’t you have to be 21 to possess a handgun in Wisconsin?
@13 “I know the terrorist don’t.”
Thanks for pointing out that Republicans have something in common with terrorists.
@15
I think you have to be 21 to have a handgun or be a cop in Washington. Lets hope so anyway.
@11
What the hell are you talking about? Not that I really care, you being a troll and all.
michael says:
@11
What the hell are you talking about?
Doesn’t suprise me, dems have a hard time with math.
15-18
Any of you two Einstiens figure out that murder is against the law too?? You got to love moonbats. roof roof.
#21 — ‘Einstein’ not ‘Einstien’ — Einstein
@8…RR…
People choose? Yes, they do…I’ve met them. No kidding…I’ve spent much time around TC4 and homeless people in general, and there are some who don’t mind it at all; it’s looked upon, especially during the summer, as a lark.
I’ve met people who’re passing through town, and simply don’t want to pay for lodging. I’m met others who have assets and could clearly afford something, but don’t mind a free spot in a tent and free food.
I’ve also met those who are abused by the tent city system, which provides no transitional services or planning whatsoever.
I also know that, despite protestations to the contrary, there have been serious problems in the tent city system. Since the inception of TC4 some three and one-half years ago, things have improved, but issues continue to crop up, and I have the police reports to prove it.
Yet, the saddest – and I genuinely mean this – thing to me is that the tent city model perpetuates the cycle of homelessness and does nothing to stop it, assess what an individual really needs to get back on his or her feet, then help point them in that direction.
Contrast it with programs like The Salvation Army’s ARC, which can get someone in within 48 to 72 hours of application, or other transitionally oriented programs like Springboard Alliance’s Avondale Park transitional housing complex in Redmond. There are others, too, lots of them, but they get nowhere near the publicity that TC4 or its operator, SHARE/WHEEL, receive.
The King County 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness stresses the necessity of housing with wrap-around services as the key to putting a real dent in the 8,000 or so homeless in King County (I’ve been out on the One Night Count looking for them…come join me, it’s an experience!).
To those who claim that’s too expensive for the tent city model, I respond by saying it starts as simple as getting volunteer life coaches to work with homeless individuals, listen to them, help them sort out their issues, and take the apple of progress one bite at a time. That process works, I know it, because I’ve been involved in it.
I don’t think anyone “chooses” in the sense you mean to live under a freeway overpass. But some of them don’t or won’t choose to link with a transitional program since that means radical changes in lifestyle choices. Addiction treatment, mental health counseling, job training and placement, and more can’t be optional; if housing is provided, then the individual must participate in his or her own recovery.
Being poor doesn’t automatically come from immorality. Sometimes it comes from bad choices, a lack of education, insufficient opportunity, or, simply, a choice to live a minimilastic lifestyle.
Other times someone with inherent health issues, mental disabilities, and other issues beyond the control of the individual are the determining factor.
These people need and deserve our help. Those who can do better for themselves need our help and encouragment to do better for themselves.
But, honestly, there are some who can, but won’t. What, then do we do with them?
Anyway…it is a complex issue. Simply throwing money at it isn’t the answer since the more that gets thrown, the more homeless we have. What is necessary is for people who care to become personally involved in the lives of homeless men and women.
As the saying goes, “Each on reach one.”
The Piper
#23 — So, what are we to make of your meaningless blather?
Not outsourcing all our jobs might be one way to make a dent in the problem
#23 — I’ve never seen someone use up so much space to say they don’t have a clue as you do , Piper.
@ 23:
Wow, all that verbage, and not one instance of the phrase, “transient shelter.”
Why the diversion, Piper?
JBD @ 11-
The reason the Democrats in Congress are unpopular is because they have not stopped the Republican war.
Rufus @ 20,
“I guess the only thing more unpopular then a republican is a democrat.”
and
“Doesn’t suprise me, dems have a hard time with math.”
Are you losing your mind thinking you are a dog, or is it hard for you to read numbers off the screen while you are humping Jane Balogh’s leg?
If you look at the ABC-Washington Post poll to which you refer, you will find a table of congressional approval broken down by party:
Did you notice that Republicans in Congress have lower approval and higher disapproval?
Man…it must suck for you being a Wingnut, mentally ill, AND innumerate, Rufus. Woff woff.
@21 “murder is against the law”
That never stopped anyone from committing murder, you fucking moron. (What can you expect from a dog? And a dog with a criminal mentality, at that.) Laws aren’t self-enforcing. Ever notice how many people speed, run red lights, and ignore crosswalks when there’s no cop around? As a retired government lawyer, let me assure you that passing a law against something accomplishes NOTHING without an ENFORCEMENT apparatus. That’s what I did for a living, pooch.
In this instance, an individual barely out of high school was hired to be a cop, and given a gun. It appears he knew at least some of the victims — and acted out his teenage jealousy by slaughtering them with his police weapon. Where is the judgment on the part of the people who hired this individual? The way you prevent these things is not by passing laws against murder, but by expecting the people in charge to use their God-given brains. Clearly, there was no judgment or intelligence involved at any stage in hiring this 20-year-old as a cop.
That’s just too young, not far enough removed from the turmoil of the teen years, not experienced and mature enough for a job like that. Yes, the military is full of 18-to-20 year olds — but they’re intensely supervised in everything they do. Their drill sergeant even tells them when and how to brush their teeth, and when and how to take a crap! And as Army or Marine recruits, they don’t have a loaded weapon in their hands without someone within arm’s reach at all times.
Passing laws against crime accomplishes nothing. What we need is capable people running critical organizations like police departments.
And here’s some insight on Republicans
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10.....ef=opinion
@21 (continued) Republicans can’t even run a fucking dog pound, or you’d have been euthanized by now.
@23 “Yet, the saddest – and I genuinely mean this – thing to me is that the tent city model perpetuates the cycle of homelessness and does nothing to stop it, assess what an individual really needs to get back on his or her feet, then help point them in that direction.”
Lack of resources is responsible for that. And the solution is what? Vote for people who don’t give a shit about the community’s human needs? Getting public funding for the kinds of services you describe out of Republican politicians is like trying to pull teeth out of walruses. I’m not sure there’s a solution to homelessness — I’m inclined to think street people will always be with us — but I do feel confident in saying that if you sincerely want to help these people, you won’t do that by voting for Republicans.
“Contrast it with programs like The Salvation Army’s ARC, which can get someone in within 48 to 72 hours of application, or other transitionally oriented programs like Springboard Alliance’s Avondale Park transitional housing complex in Redmond. There are others, too, lots of them, but they get nowhere near the publicity that TC4 or its operator, SHARE/WHEEL, receive.”
Yeah, like the King County, Pierce County, Seattle, and Tacoma housing authorities and programs like Section 8, which have put thousands of low income families and individuals (including numerous elderly and disabled people) into housing they couldn’t afford with their own resources. The private-charity programs you mentioned are dwarfed by these taxpayer-funded, government-run programs in numbers of people served, some of whom would otherwise be homeless and end up on the streets. Private non-profits can’t begin to address the problem with their limited resources; only government has the resources to provide subsidized housing on the scale our population needs.
Government housing programs to prevent homelessness are, of course, a liberal idea.
What we get from Republicans is not mental health programs, low income housing, food assistance, or medical care for poor kids — but, rather, schemes to dismantle Social Security and Medicare.
Roger, the far righters will gladly tell you that the only reason people are poor is because they make bad choices in their lives.
Paris and Britney agree.
I see in this morning’s fishwrapper that the UW is pressuring the governor and Department of Corrections to force 13 registered sex offenders under DOC supervision to move out of the area north of campus containing Greek Row and off-campus student housing.
Police agencies have no record of any of the sex offenders living in that neighborhood committing any crimes. However, I agree with the UW they shouldn’t be there — as a first step toward cleaning up that neighborhood.
The next step is to get rid of the students — especially the fraternities and sororities — who are a continual source of loud parties, noise, car overturnings, litter, speeding and other traffic violations including wheel squealing, public drunknessness and nudity, and general lawbreaking. They are a damned nuisance to all the law-abiding ex-felons residing nearby.
Not to mention the rabbits they run over.
RR@ 32
“Lack of resources is responsible for that. And the solution is what? Vote for people who don’t give a shit about the community’s human needs? Getting public funding for the kinds of services you describe out of Republican politicians is like trying to pull teeth out of walruses. I’m not sure there’s a solution to homelessness — I’m inclined to think street people will always be with us — but I do feel confident in saying that if you sincerely want to help these people, you won’t do that by voting for Republicans.”
Could you be anymore unhinged against Republicans…?
Here is a little insight RR.
You libs control the State House, Gov, Senate, King Co exec, council, City of Seattle Mayor, council etc etc etc etc etc
And yet you somehow want to blame Republicans for not spending government resources on this problem?
Next thing you’ll come up with is that Republicans faked the moon landing……
Next thing you’ll come up with is that Republicans faked the moon landing……
Who do you believe faked the moon landing?
RS @ 37
So, you’re saying that Republican politicians would be more likely to increase funding for services for the poor? Talk about being unhinged.
By the way, perhaps you can tell me why conservatives are so good at talking about what’s wrong with programs designed to assist the poor but are utter lacking in useful ideas to help alleviate poverty?
38/39
Sorry guys, not going to deflect this one….
Your party controls virtually all the leadership positions in this state and western wa. Your party is not addressing these issues. Your party is not ending homelessness/poverty.
@ 40
Your party controls virtually all the leadership positions in this state and western wa. Your party is not addressing these issues. Your party is not ending homelessness/poverty.
That middle sentence is typical bullshit, unless, of course, you want to try to make the inane argument that an inability to fully solve an intractable problem means that people aren’t addressing the problem.
#40 — Consider this:
http://www.aidshousing.org/inf....._id=258810
“The Washington Families Fund (WFF), originally called the “Homeless Families Services Fund,” was established by the Washington State Legislature in 2004 in response to the significant need for affordable housing and social supports for families experiencing homelessness that was identified all across Washington State.”
Right Stuff @ 37:
Rog is being Rog, but I’ll put it this way:
First, we live in a democracy. This means that Democrats “controlling” the House, etc. does not mean that they get to run the state as a kingdom. Even in deep blue Washington State, nearly half the population identifies as Republicans. You can’t tell them to go get fucked if you have to stand for election.
More social services means more money. There is no secret stash of funds lying around to provide social services. What the state takes in is all spent.
There are a lot of things the state provides that need cash. Education, roads, transit, police, fire, blah blah blah. There is a big debate over the RTID one thread over, and this is a subject where there is a clear, unambiguous requirement for more infrastructure, and every single person on this blog will be using that infrastructure.
Most of the people on this blog will never use social services for the homeless. Most people think the same way. We will use roads. We will use schools. We will hopefully not need the services of the police or the fire departments, but we’d be pretty upset if they weren’t there. Homeless services? Well, yeah, but I’ll never use them.
So these services sit at the end of the line behind a bunch of worthies with their hands out.
What I think Rog is getting at is that the GOP has a plan for education. It’s not a plan I approve of, but there is a plan. They have a plan for transportation. Ditto. The GOP plan for homelessness is nonexistent. Piper Scott was speaking about the work of the Salvation Army and the concept of “homlessness by choice”. Yes, it exists, but it’s the exception, not the rule. Try spending a night outside right now if you think it’s a choice. Difficulty: You have a windbreaker, a t-shirt, a pair of jeans, some Converse sneakers, and a ratty sleeping bag that was rated for 40 degrees 15 years ago. The $1500 of REI camping gear that would make a night on the streets bearable? Not Yours.
If it was just Piper that was saying this, I’d discount it, but he’s pretty much voicing the mainstream opinion of the Republican Party right now. I would LOVE to be proven wrong, but there’s no palusible, thought-out response from the right about how to handle social services for the bottom of society.
How do you make policy when the reasoned, measured opinion of 49% of the Legislature is “let ’em hang, and let Old Sal take care of the rest.”?
continued:
I will add that social services are the province of the state, not the county or the city. Both the county and city governments have very limited powers to increase taxes, nor do I think it’s fair for the rest of the state to dump homeless problems on the City of Seattle.
JSA
Happy Thanksgiving!
Thanks Don,
I am thankful for,
uh,
A day off work! :-)