– Pam Roach loves herself some junket.

– The ugly SCOTUS voting rights flim-flam

– A budget framework is not a budget, the Senate.

– The AP is sure a news outlet.

– Now that more people are using Metro, it’s a perfect time to cut services.

– Ana Mardoll’s piece on #StandWithWendy is a work in progress, but I’m looking forward to coming back.

– And I hope that it’s a reminder to lefties everywhere, myself included, not to write off the South.

– Those of you on Instagram who want to follow Patty Murray, now you can.

Last night, like hundreds of thousands of other people, I watched from a thousand miles away as Wendy Davis spoke and spoke and spoke. She was amazing, and I’m sorry to say, I couldn’t help but contrast it with the cowardice you’ve shown all session. From your declaration that this session won’t have social issues, to your refusal to have a vote on pro-choice legislation you say you support, to your attempts to pry the safe leave from women who work in Seattle and are stalked or raped.

I’m afraid you don’t stack up very well. It turns out that state legislators can garner a lot of attention and support, but not when they’re for the powerful. That’s what people expect in these cynical times. They can garner attention when they help make people’s lives better.

I guess what I’m saying is, you were a sniveling asshole before. Now, you’re a sniveling asshole in the light of what a decent state legislator looks like, and that’s much worse.

XXOO

Carl Ballard

Well, this is great news.

That is, until today, when the Supreme Court overturned section 3 of the 1996 law as unconstitutional, so now the Starling-Littlefields can enjoy all the financial benefits and equal dignity of a recognized marriage.

“I’m in tears,” Starling told ABCNews.com right after the decision was rendered. “Today’s ruling means the federal government will no longer be allowed to treat some American families differently. Now all same-sex couples who are married or who have the freedom to marry will be able to provide their children the necessary legal and economic protections they need in life.”

The 5-4 decision read: “DOMA violates basic due process and equal protection principles applicable to the federal government. Under DOMA same sex married couples have their lives burdened, by reason of government decree, in visisblt and public ways.

“By its great reach DOMA touches many aspects of married life from the mundane to the profound”

They’ve also dismissed the Prop 8 appeal. So yay, and there’s more work to do.

– The Supreme Court strikes down part of the Voting Rights Act.

– This is a bit old, but a hearty cheer to the people who got the Alpine Lakes Wilderness & Rivers Bill out of the Senate.

– Speaker of the House under the GOP is the worst job ever.

– The publicly financed election bill is now in the Seattle voters’ hands.

– Super Fast Internet is coming to some neighborhoods.

– Still riveted by SB5 in Texas.

– Still no budget. Maybe by the time we get off work?

– Everybody Wins

Maybe there will be one when we wake up.

We’ll see if that amounts to an actual budget deal. But it’s what Governor Inslee tweeted out (h/t to Goldy). I have no idea if this is real, and if it is what’s in the deal, but I hope Democrats don’t give away the farm.

– Power of Ridicule

– In petitions: The General has a petition to investigate that pervert Rep. Michael Burgess, and The Transit Riders Union wants to save Metro from devastating cuts.

– I’ve been riveted by the abortion hearings in Texas. I probably would have missed a lot of it if not for Jessica Luther

– Capitol Lake has mud snails.

– A bicyclist has died in Woodinville (Seattle Times link)

– I am very sorry that white people began experiencing great violence in 1860. But for some of us, war did not begin 1860, but in 1660. The brutal culmination of that war may not have allowed us to ascend into a post-racial heaven. But here is something I always come back to: In 1859 legally selling someone’s five-year-old child was big business. In 1866, it was not.

No, as of when I started writing this at 5:00. So, we’re still a few weeks out from a budget shutdown in Washington. I thought we were supposed to have something. I don’t see any reports that there’s a snag, so who knows? If we run out of time without a budget, well, terrible things:

During a briefing Thursday, the Governor’s chief of staff Mary Alice Heuschel said that 34 state agencies would shut down completely, including the Governor’s office, the Auditor’s office and the state Lottery. The Governor, himself, would remain on the job.

The plan calls for 24 agencies to shut down partially, including the Department of Ecology, Employment Security, Fish and Wildlife and the Health Department.

“The Department of Corrections estimates that approximately 3,000 of their 8,000 employees would be [laid off] and they’re an agency that has federal mandates to continue a large portion of their operations,” said Brown.

Services for the needy would be cut back, including child care subsidies and food and nutrition programs.

Twenty-five state agencies would remain open, including colleges and universities and departments that don’t rely on the operating budget for funding.

But you know, Rodney Tom probably won’t personally suffer, so who cares?

– If we put a fund together, I bet we could get enough to change the Tacoma Dome to the “HorsesAss.Org Awesomedome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

– Police are warning about a woman posing as a DSHS employee to steal money from very vulnerable victims, and detectives believe there could be many more targets who have not yet come forward, possibly because of the language barrier between themselves and police.

– 8 Ways Not To Be An “Ally”: A Non-Comprehensive List (h/t to my friend M on Facebook)

– I don’t know what else to say. I’m not surprised, because I am a white person who has been a white person her whole life (!) and thus I have spent a lifetime interacting with other white people who presumed that, because we are both white, we are both fans of racist humor. Or cool with racial slurs. Or will definitely agree about their solid and totally original theories on some ancient racist narrative.

– I was just talking to someone from West Seattle about cycling on the Spokane Street Bridge, and now there’s a counter.

– Please — that’s only 45 words. That’s not even a blog post — it’s almost a Tweet. Clearly trivial.

– Fun Facts are my favorite Tom the Dancing Bug, and Fun Facts About New York City is my favorite in a while.

Here’s another post about the vote to restrict abortion. Now I’m thinking of the GOP cries of state’s rights and the will of the voters. Usually, when there’s a discussion of Roe, some conservative will inevitably say that if Roe is overturned it will go back to the states. That it’s just a state’s rights issue. But I think Washington State is a good example of why they don’t mean it.

Specifically, I’m thinking of Initiative 694 that would have banned third trimester abortions. I happen to remember making calls for NARAL, and can remember when it lost. So it seems to me that to the extent that you can tell the will of the people from one vote over a decade ago, the state’s rights Republicans should be saying that Washington doesn’t want restrictions on abortion.

But of course the vote by Washington State Republicans in Congress to restrict abortion rights beyond what Washington State voters rejected puts the lie to the state’s rights claim. They don’t care about Washington’s rights to write our own abortion laws, they want the big mean Federal government to override it.

Darryl has written about the science (or lack thereof) behind the recent vote to ban abortion at the federal level due to fetal pain. A fetus can’t feel pain, so basing abortion policy on that is going to result in bad policy. But there is someone in the decision to have an abortion who can feel pain, the one who is pregnant.

Even when it goes well, and the child is wanted, pregnancy is often a miserable, painful experience. As is childbirth. That’s might be one reason why more than 60% of the people who seek an abortion have a child: they know what they’re getting into.

So no, if the people who voted for this were concerned about pain, they would have voted to protect abortion rights. The fact that they see imaginary fetal pain as more important than the actual pain of the pregnant woman is really all you need to know.

[Read more…]

This is a preloaded post from the library. I think I get my computer back Wednesday afternoon, so hopefully I won’t have been too out of the loop to start posting again. They called late today and said that they can get it back, but you never know for sure until you’re there.

In the back of my mind, I had been worried that all of the mayoral candidates would answer the questions all at once with my laptop in the shop, but not to worry Kate Martin is still the only one to answer.

I don’t know if I’ll be back in a groove to do an Open Thread on Thursday morning, but you can consider this one.

So, I threw my computer and a water bottle in a bag and rode off. But it turns out that the bottle wasn’t fully screwed on. So good news my bag is definitely water proof. Bad news my computer sat in a puddle of water for half an hour, and is dying. So just a quick post to say I don’t know when any future posts will be.

It goes without saying that lawmakers should close the estate tax loophole before the Friday deadline, so that the state isn’t out of that money for the education trust. The voters approved it, and the money is needed. It all goes to education, and the Senate Republicans Republicans are ostensibly for education first. But the Republicans are being jackasses because of course they are. So, I hope the state can restore that money by the deadline.

But if the GOP remain intransigent, the money should come out of their school districts. It should hurt their children.

Now that summer is almost here, the cruise ships arrive daily in Elliot Bay. They let tourists off from all over the world. Other tourists are here with their friends or family. Inevitably they come to Pike Place Market. I’ve shown people from the East Coast, from Guam, and from points between the market. When I was 8 and living in New York, my family came and visited and my Dad’s parents out here took us to the market where we had a great time. It’s great, and I’m glad you’re here. But on top of being a tourist trap, the market is also a grocery store for a lot of people in the neighborhoods around it. So here are some tips to not get on their bad side:

Walking can be tricky. The place is small and cramped, and you don’t know what stall you want to stop at. Still, try not to randomly stop when there’s space in front of you. There’s a good chance that if you’re going in a group, that it’ll get separated. Instead of turning around randomly, turn around when you’re stopped by the normal course of walking in a cramped space. Or move to the side to let other people pass.

You’re going to want to take a picture of fruit at some point. I know, I know, it seems strange. My advice is have your camera out ahead of time, so you don’t have to fumble with it.

If you drove here, you may think you can find parking on Pike Place. There is a street there, and in theory there is some parking, but you’re not going to be able to find some. There are parking lots around. And Metro buses that will get you pretty close. Don’t circle through the market looking for a spot, because you’re not going to find one.

Finally, it’s called Pike Place Market. There is a Pike Street nearby, but the market itself is on Pike Place. If you call it Pike Street market loud enough that a local can hear you, they will hate you. Also, if you call it Pike Market, Pike’s Market, or Pike’s Peak Market.