I’ve been walking from downtown to Drinking Liberally in these nice summer evenings. Last Tuesday, I was running late. I suppose I could have taken my bike or the bus. But, this may have been the last time it’s nice enough for a stroll up there, so I decided I’d make up some of the time on the Streetcar (SLUT if you insist). I’ve got a Puget Pass on my ORCA Card (ORCA if you insist) and I know what you’re supposed to do:

The Seattle Streetcar will eventually be retrofitted with ORCA card readers; until the card readers are in place, ORCA cardholders can show their card as proof of payment on the Seattle Streetcar.

I feel a bit strange just getting on, having the card in my wallet. It sort of feels like stealing the ride, even though it’s following the rules.

Joel Connelly reports on Archbishop of Seattle, J. Peter Sartain’s opposition to marriage equality.

God is the “author of marriage,” the archbishop argues in the video, posted on the Archdiocese of Seattle website.

The state’s three Catholic dioceses are intensifying their campaign against same-sex marriage in the form of bishop’s statements, “teaching” documents and videos — none of which show up in report’s to the state’s Public Disclosure Commission.

Yet, the instruction of how to vote is unmistakable in Sartain’s video, which can be viewed at http://www.seattlearchdiocese.org/Conscience/Statements.aspx He says:

“We urge our Catholic people to uphold our consistent Catholic teaching on marriage for the good of the Church, society, husbands and wives and their children. Therefore, we bishops reject the redefinition of marriage as a ‘civil contract between two persons’.”

Well, the marriage in a church isn’t a civil contract. So when you marry a lady and a gent, they’ll be married in the eyes of God. If that’s meaningful to them, well, great. But those people have always had the opportunity for their marriage to just be a contract. If R-74 passes, it’ll just expand that to gay couples too, but the Catholic Church can keep not marrying gay people.

Now, don’t get me wrong: I hope the Church will reconsider who they marry, if R-74 passes or not. They’re simply wrong about this one. Every time they say a gay relationship is less than a straight one, it’s harmful to the least among us*, and it’s awful when a Christian organization does that. But that’s their right, if R-74 passes or not.

* There was some discussion in the comments, so just to be clear: gay and lesbian couples are as legitimately couples as any other. I was referring to how society generally treats them, and the Church’s obligations to its members who are considered less than by society. The wording made it sound like I might think gay couples are less than or that they ought to be considered less than, and that’s not the case.

Hey, remember when I thought I’d write about Mitt Romney’s book? I’m still doing that, I swear! But, Romney’s recently released jackass comments, and this post on it in particular, have me thinking about this chapter I made fun of a while ago. Specifically, he tries to lay claim to the idea that the GOP are now the party of the institutions that Truman set up in the wake of the Second World War. No it doesn’t make sense. But it’s hard to lay claim to that when, as Melissa McEwan points out:

MITT ROMNEY THINKS PEOPLE ARE NOT ENTITLED TO FOOD. MITT ROMNEY THINKS PEOPLE ARE NOT ENTITLED TO FOOD!!! OMFG MITT ROMNEY, CANDIDATE FOR THE PRESIDENCY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA THINKS HUMAN BEINGS!!! WHO LIVE!!! IN THIS COUNTRY!!! AREN’T ENTITLED TO FOOD!!!

You see, one of the most important documents that the UN ever passed was the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It’s as powerful a statement of our common humanity as when it was ratified in 1948. From article 25 (emphasis mine):

Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.

The idea that there’s some good in letting people starve to death seems at odds with what Truman left us.

– Romney said some awful things to his wealthy supporters.

– But of course, both sides do it.

– 4755 Fauntleroy development: 1st look at street-level ‘concepts’

– Today in No Shit, Sherlock.

– Don’t throw tomatoes at the Vancouver Education Association.

– Candy corn is a flavor that doesn’t work in candy corn. Maybe don’t add it to Oreos.

Over at Publicola, they have Elway Poll’s recent numbers for the initiatives. It looks bad for all of the initiatives.

The Elway poll, in contrast, shows three of the four statewide ballot measures (gay marriage, pot*, and the two-thirds rule) “teetering on the edge of victory,” with just 50 to 51 percent support. The fourth, charter schools, is leading but has the support of just 47 percent of likely voters.

It’ll be pretty awful if gay people can’t get married or if Washington State is still arresting people for possession of marijuana. Still, as an anti-initiative person, I’m always glad that it’s tough to pass an initiative. Of course R-74 isn’t an initiative, so that’s a little different.

But in general, if people in Washington are skeptical of the process, that’s probably good overall.

[Read more…]

– McGinn’s budget has more money for rail and for cops and a gunshot locator.

– Obama has totally failed Czechoslovakia.

– Bill Clinton came to town.

– This BikePAC fundraiser looks like fun.

– Who Paul Ryan spoke with at the values voters summit (h/t).

– I feel your pain. It brings me joy.

I love that a UW student won gold at the Paralympic games:

Meg Fisher won gold in the women’s road race time trial at the London Paralympic Games earlier this month.

A Physical Therapy doctorate student at UW, Fisher hails from Missoula, Montana. She documents her athletic endeavors on her blog and on Twitter at @GoMegFisher.

Today, she is at the White House getting hugs from our nation’s leaders:

Yesterday Jim McDermott introduced a bill aimed at making sure America has enough primary care doctors in the future. From his press release:

Modeled after the successful ROTC program, RDOCS offers full scholarships to medical students in exchange for a 5-year service commitment in a medically underserved area. RDOCS will be administered by the states, which will send RDOCS scholars to their state-operated medical schools. RDOCS officers (as they are known after graduation) will then become licensed and serve as primary-care doctors in their state of residence. The program is authorized to start immediately and begin graduating its first additional 4,000 new primary-care doctors in 2020, and 20,000 new doctors by 2024.

McDermott added, “Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, we are going to get close to universal health coverage in the United States. But universal coverage will not be meaningful if we don’t have enough doctors to serve our population. I am optimistic that Congress can demonstrate leadership in restoring our doctor workforce for the next generation.”

Fantastic. This is yet another way we’re going to have to make sure the Affordable Care Act works. We’re going to have to make sure there are enough doctors in the country. But, of course, the Republicans control the House of Representatives, so Joel Connelly isn’t sure about its ability to pass.

McDermott is a senior member of the tax-writing House Ways & Means Committee. When Democrats held a majority, he co-authored (with Republican Rep. Jerry Weller of Illinois) legislation that enacted a sweeping overhaul of foster care in America.

The fate of RDOCs, in a polarized House, is less certain. The House is spending less than one-third of 2012 in session.

Sure, that too. I don’t have anything like a whip count, but it seems like a worthy thing.

I was not aware of the Washington Safe Routes to School program before today.

Washington’s Safe Routes to School program provides technical assistance and resources to cities, counties, schools, school districts and state agencies for improvements that get more children walking and bicycling to school safely, reduce congestion around schools, and improve air quality.

But as these things go far too often, I’m only hearing about this worthwhile program as it faces going away. Transportation for Washington are trying to save it, and they have a letter you can send to Governor Gregoire.

Right now, Governor Gregoire has a choice. She can slash funding that gives tens of thousands of children the opportunity to walk and bike to school. Or she can keep funding the state’s Safe Routes to School program that improves our children’s safety and health. The Governor must make her decision by October 1.

Yes, I know: there are so many great, so many worthy programs out there. And they’re all in trouble in the current economic climate, and bullshit way we raise revenue in this state slower than economic growth. But, this is a worthy program, and I think it deserves the fight too.

My advice, as always, when an activist group has a form letter is to make it your own. Especially the first line or two, because the intern or staffer who is getting a bunch of these has already read the letter as a form letter, and the more you just copy and paste, the less they’re inclined to read it again.

– Mitt Romney is a despicable person.

– And some of his supporters are even more out of touch than he is.

– I, for one, welcome our new rodent overloads.

– You take an anti-choice vote, you get opposition from NARAL. Not sure why anyone would be surprised by that.

– Drug Dealers (Not Just Users) Are Testing Their Cocaine for Levamisole

– I know Bible Study is the way HA generally deals with taking a verse out of context. But Fred Clark does a great job addressing the anti-gay clobber verses in these two posts.

It seems like for as long as I can remember, People For Puget Sound have been a part of the environmental community. Putting pressure and getting things done for the good. So it’ll be sad to see them go.

Despite these achievements, People For Puget Sound is at a crucial juncture. Recent and current economic realities have constrained our ability to raise necessary funds to keep the organization moving forward independently. In light of these difficult economic circumstances and the urgent need to continue our work, the board of directors has determined that the best course of action in service to our mission is to transition our programs to other organizations that embrace our commitment to Puget Sound. We are pleased to share that we are in the process of negotiating with two well-respected organizations that will enable our work to continue into the future.

We are planning to add our policy expertise, grassroots strength, advocacy, and education know-how to expand Washington Environmental Council’s work to protect Puget Sound. We are also in discussions about transitioning our restoration projects to EarthCorps, a long-term People For Puget Sound partner, which would enable them to expand their portfolio of projects in Puget Sound. Both of these venerable organizations are passionate about stopping the flow of polluted runoff into the Sound, restoring critical habitat, protecting shorelines, and preserving Puget Sound for generations to come. We are confident that they will be able to efficiently and effectively carry our mission forward.

– Remember how Bush kept us safe.

– The City Council will support the SoDo arena.

– The second picture has been linked to by both conservatives and liberals I know as proof of something, something Joe Biden.

– Romney IV

– Street harassment is not a rare or isolated occurrence. It does not only happen in America. It does not only happen to young or traditionally-considered-“beautiful” women. It does not only happen on public transit or in low income areas.

– It’ll surely be in the next poll analysis, but Obama is up by 16 in Washington.

– As conservatives have told us, money compels millionaires to work but prevents poor people from working; amazing how that works.

– As I said at the outset of the GOP convention, I think the conventions are still worthwhile. But there’s still room for improvement in the coverage.

Rob Mckenna’s campaign was asked about why they exclude The Stranger (and God Bless the reporter who asked it). It seems the fact that Dan Savage gave Jay Inslee’s campaign money and the fact Goldy is technically in charge of a PAC that hasn’t done anything in several years, that the whole paper should be considered biased against them.

Maybe. But if you’re a human, it’s impossible not to be biased. So one of The Stranger’s reporters wears, or several years ago wore, that on his sleeve. If he’s not fair on those calls or press conferences, well the rest of the media there will see that.

And look, I’m not sure how much news actually gets generated at press conferences and phone ins to the campaign staff, really. I mean this is the first time in a while I can remember something from one of these making the news.

Further, McKenna can run his campaign however he wants. It’s not his official office. But if he wants to run it like a whiny, pathetic baby, well, people are going to notice.

– It’s going to be a long season if the Seahawks can’t even win with a free timeout from the scab refs.

– It’s Time to Freak Out About Climate Change

– The Battle Cry of Freedom is a Republican song, but maybe it’s time for the Democrats to appropriate it.

– I wouldn’t say it’s time for a new party, but Democrats should embrace their urban ideals.

– A call for help putting up flags at the West Seattle Junction.

– I saw Samsara at Cinerama over the weekend, and it was quite spectacular.

I appreciate it when national blogs get into the weeds of Seattle or Washington State issues. And while I think the elimination of the free ride area is a net good, I’m also skeptical that Rapid Ride line D is going to be, um, rapid.

The fact that it’s still on the road means it’s only going as fast as traffic. And it’s going to have problems with signal priority and, initially, with paying before your board. So it’s not going to be as fast as it could be. But hopefully those other things can be ironed out eventually.

All that said, even a small change in the bus can make a net positive benefit. I grew up in Lake Forest Park, and I can tell you the 522 is such a better way to get from North KC than the 307 was. It’s not winding and it doesn’t take a random stop at Northgate. The 15 isn’t nearly as bad as that was, so I’m not sure it can make it up.