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Is it just my garden, or has anybody else noticed an absence of botrytis this year? Not a single drop of it in either my fall or early summer raspberry crops, even though the latter ripened during a pretty moist season.

For that matter, I haven’t seen any powdery mildew on my zucchini or cucumbers this year either. Odd. Is somebody sneaking into my garden in the middle of the night and spraying fungicide?

If you haven’t already read it, you might want to celebrate this Labor Day by reading Citigroup’s infamous 2005 Plutonomy memos, in which they advise investors that America is no longer a democracy as much as it is a plutonomy in which “economic growth is powered by and largely consumed by the wealthy few.”

At the heart of plutonomy, is income inequality. Societies that are willing to tolerate/endorse income inequality, are willing to tolerate/endorse plutonomy.

That pretty much describes the United States in the 21st century. The rich continue to get richer, consuming a larger and larger chunk of the GDP, as wages for working and middle class families continue to stagnate or drop, largely due to the global labor pool keeping wage inflation in check, and profits rising. And according to Citi, it’s only getting worse (or in their eyes, better).

But it’s not inevitable.

RISKS — WHAT COULD GO WRONG?
Our whole plutonomy thesis is based on the idea that the rich will keep getting richer. This thesis is not without its risks. For example, a policy error leading to asset deflation, would likely damage plutonomy. Furthermore, the rising wealth gap between the rich and poor will probably at some point lead to a political backlash. Whilst the rich are getting a greater share of the wealth, and the poor a lesser share, political enfranchisement remains as was – one person, one vote (in the plutonomies). At some point it is likely that labor will fight back against the rising profit share of the rich and there will be a political backlash against the rising wealth of the rich. This could be felt through higher taxation (on the rich or indirectly though higher corporate taxes/regulation) or through trying to protect indigenous laborers, in a push-back on globalization – either anti-immigration, or protectionism. We don’t see this happening yet, though there are signs of rising political tensions. However we are keeping a close eye on developments.

“One person, one vote.” That’s what the very wealthy fear most… that one day “labor will fight back” against the growing economic imbalance that is destroying our nation for the other 99% of us. Chew on that as you’re enjoying your Labor Day BBQ.

Back in 2006, then-U.S. Attorney for Western Washington John McKay appeared on 60 Minutes to defend his attempts to arrest and extradite Canadian marijuana seed seller Marc Emery. McKay argued that Emery was a drug kingpin and a threat to Americans. Four years later, Emery ended up in an American prison.

But after being pushed out by the Bush Administration later that year, McKay has had an interesting change of heart about our drug policies in the years since then. And in a guest column Friday in the Mommy Journal, he expands on his newfound enlightenment:

As Emery’s prosecutor and a former federal law-enforcement official, however, I’m not afraid to say out loud what most of my former colleagues know is true: Our marijuana policy is dangerous and wrong and should be changed through the legislative process to better protect the public safety.

Congress has failed to recognize what many already know about our policy of criminal prohibition of marijuana — it has utterly failed. Listed by the U.S. government as a “Schedule One” drug alongside heroin, the demand for marijuana in this country for decades has outpaced the ability of law enforcement to eliminate it. Perhaps this is because millions of Americans smoke pot regularly and international drug cartels, violent gangs and street pushers work hard to reap the profits.

Law-enforcement agencies are simply not capable of interdicting all of this pot and despite some successes have not succeeded in thwarting criminals who traffic and sell marijuana. Brave agents and cops continue to risk their lives in a futile attempt to enforce misguided laws that do not match the realities of our society.

I applaud McKay for speaking out on this now, and I hope that this does move the ball forward. He’s right to point out that many in law enforcement know exactly what he’s saying is true, but are afraid to say so publicly. Part of it may be that they fear having their professional hypocrisies exposed. McKay clearly doesn’t, and it would be pointless for me to harp on that – other than to encourage him to request a pardon for Emery, who was very far from the “drug kingpin” McKay accused him of being.

But one other thing did stick out to me. McKay’s column is dripping with his still-lingering contempt for those who actually do use marijuana. He calls them “idiots”, and despite even acknowledging that it can have medical benefits for some, he still thinks that it’s “dumb” to want it. I think this also plays a large role in why so many in law enforcement cling to this outdated policy. There’s still a strong element of contempt for those who drive the market.

Over the years, marijuana use has gone from being representative of counter-culture rebellion to being far more mainstream. Most of the people I know who use marijuana are regular folks who enjoy it the way many people enjoy a glass of scotch or a microbrew, but the idea of it being part of some sort of reckless rebellion still lingers. Even for those who’ve seen the light on what this devastating policy has done to our country, there’s still a blind spot to the fact that for a lot of people, it’s not by default a “dumb” thing to do.

Last week’s contest was won by Dan Robinson. It was Nettleton Middle School in Nettleton, MS, which came under fire last week for having race-based criteria for those running for class office positions.

Here’s this week’s, good luck!

Revelation 12:1-6
A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads. His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment it was born. She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. The woman fled into the desert to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.

Discuss.

If the Seattle Times is so good at psychically predicting the future, um, why’d they leverage their paper to the edge of bankruptcy by spending nearly a quarter billion dollars they didn’t have, to purchase a struggling Maine newspaper chain just as the industry was about to collapse? Shortly after the purchase in late 1998, the Times boasted:

“With the Maine purchase, we increased the financial strength of The Seattle Times Company and expanded our opportunities for continued growth in asset base and cash flow.”

A decade of red ink later, and under pressure from creditors, the Times sold it’s Maine papers at a near total loss.

Now the Times predicts that a high earners income tax will eventually be extended to the middle class; in fact, its editorial page writes, “We are sure of it.” But if they can so disastrously misread the near-term future of their own industry, why should anybody take their prognostications the least bit seriously, especially on economic issues?

I’m just askin’.

Stopped by the Snohomish County Republicans booth at the Evergreen State Fair for some quality time with my buddy Newt. Then went back to hanging with the non-cardboard cutouts down the aisle in the Democrats booth.

I’m being a bad father again, and taking my daughter hiking. Guess which trail.

The scrubbing of right-wing wunderkind Hans Zeiger’s prolific written record continues apace, with posts now disappearing from wing-nutty standard bearer WorldNetDaily. Wow. The gay-bashing dominionists are really bending over backwards to help this guy out.

But as long as Zeiger’s in position to win a seat in the state Legislature, the voters of the 25th LD deserve to know where he really stands on the issues. Like whether U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott really is “a full-throated, maniacal traitor against God and country,” and whether Seattle’s St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral really is, um, Christian:

Congressman Jim McDermott is a traitor. I told him so myself on a Seattle radio station just prior to the Iraq war after the seven-term Democrat blatantly sided with Saddam Hussein instead of the United States. On Tuesday, McDermott’s hatred of America and America’s God surfaced once again as he led the Pledge of Allegiance on the floor of Congress minus the words “under God.”

[…] McDermott himself is not an atheist. He claims attendance at St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral in Seattle, hardly a Christian church. St. Mark’s is currently promoting a “Statement of Faith-based support for Same-sex marriage” and preaches almost exclusively about “social justice,” “peace,” and “diversity” while nary a mention is made of sin and salvation.

[…] It is convenient to think that Jim McDermott is a harmlessly unique product of liberal Seattle, but the truth is McDermott hates America, he despises our Godly heritage, and he sits in the way of the cause of liberty. … I don’t expect Jim McDermott to lose his seat in Congress this election year, but I do expect Americans to understand he is a full-throated, maniacal traitor against God and country.

It is, of course, one thing to attempt to discredit the policies of those who hold opposing political views. McDermott is one of the most liberal and outspokenly liberal members of Congress, so I can understand why righties like Zeiger despise him even more than voters here in Seattle love him.

But Zeiger’s pattern of dismissing even his fellow Christians as “hardly Christian” simply because they hold different political views is awfully disturbing. Zeiger not only doesn’t recognize or embrace the separation of church and state , he doesn’t even accept the separation of his particular church and state. Rigidly believe as as Zeiger believes, and worship God the way Zeiger worships, or you are “a full-throated, maniacal traitor against God and country.”

No doubt Zeiger had WND delete this post because he knew such rhetoric wouldn’t sit well with most American Christians, let alone most 25th LD voters, but the more he attempts to scrub his written record, the more our press has an obligation to let voters know what it really says.

One of the bellwether contests this November in the battle for control of the state House is being fought in the 25th Legislative District, where Democratic incumbent Rep. Dawn Morrell garnered only 40% of the vote in a six-way race, compared to GOP runner-up Hans Zeiger’s impressive 36%. There hasn’t been much press coverage of this pivotal race, but what little we’ve seen all focuses on the the same thing: it’s gonna be close.

As a four-term incumbent, Rep. Morrell should be familiar to 25th LD voters; she’s a registered nurse, a moderate Dem and the chairwoman of the House Democratic Caucus. But what do we  really know about Zeiger, other than the fact that he might win? Well, if you read the papers, not all that much.

In covering the “tight race” in the 25th, the Seattle Times merely refers to Zeiger as Morrell’s “Republican challenger,” while NW Digest is only a bit less concise, describing Zeiger as a “young GOP upstart … poised to make this a huge upset in November.” The Bellingham Herald also focuses on what it calls a “tough re-election runoff,” but is at least a bit more expository, describing Zeiger as a “political newcomer … a writer and nonprofit professional,” while in its post-primary coverage, the Fife Free Press couldn’t even bother to describe Zeiger at all, instead choosing to let him paint a picture of himself with his own carefully worded written statement:

“As we go forward, I hope that we can conduct ourselves with integrity, civility and a bold determination to preserve our freedom in this most beautiful corner of creation called Washington state,” Zeiger said.

My gosh, what a nice, pleasant, well-spoken, young man, you might be thinking, and you might continue to think just that… if not for Zeiger’s long written record of not quite so carefully chosen words that establish him as a batshit-crazy, far-right-wing, Christianist nutcase whose utter lack of civility, toleration, statesmanship and rhetorical restraint makes Pam Roach sound like Adlai Stevenson.

In one of his many commentaries written for right-wing mouthpiece WorldNetDaily (yes, he’s a regular contributor to WorldNetDaily), Zeiger displays his profound intolerance of religious diversity, railing against Americans United for Separation of Church and State and its president, Barry Lynn:

Frustrated with the fact that the bulk of people involved in the National Day of Prayer actually believe in God, Lynn and his left-wing atheist-secularist-ecumenist allies are holding their own counter-events this year. […] Unitarians, mainstream Baptists, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, members of the “Military Pagan Network” and other watered-down ecumenists will hold an “Interfaith Day of Prayer and Reflection” on the steps of the Oklahoma State Capitol today to pray to the generic god.

But … the significant difference between the kumbaya sessions and interfaith vigils and atheist protests of the Religious Left and the Bible studies and prayer circles of the Religious Right is that our God is real.

Man… hating on Unitarians, Baptists, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists and their false gods. If that’s Zeiger’s idea of being civil, I’d hate to see him in a bad mood. But in fact, that type of harsh rhetoric is nothing compared to Zeiger’s screeds on education in the oxymoronically named Intellectual Conservative:

This week, the National Education Association at its annual convention is bestowing an award for Creative Leadership in Human Rights to Kevin Jennings, co-founder and director of the Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network (GLSEN). This is notable, not because the NEA is championing the radical homosexual agenda (it has long done so), and not because GLSEN is in our schools (it has long been there), but because both are terrorist organizations and we ought to be reminded of that.

[…] We speak much of terror networks in our time, and here is one of the vilest, for it has made greater progress in the tearing down of American institutions and ideals than Iraq or Al Quaeda have. NEA and GLSEN are not the only groups in the network; the ACLU and NARAL and Planned Parenthood and Americans United for Separation of Church and State and others come to mind.

And we all know what we do to terrorists.

Okay, yeah, sure, the NEA and its “Bolshevist platform” are standard right-wing boogeymen, as are the queers, the pagans, the atheists (and I suppose now, the Unitarians, mainstream Baptists, Muslims, Jews and, of course, those war-mongering Buddhists). But it’s not like Zeiger is so completely batshit-crazy that he’d stray into attacking, say, cute little girls wearing badge-covered sashes…

Next month, the Girl Scouts USA national convention will be held in Atlanta. It will be a gathering of radical feminists, lesbians, and cookie peddlers… During the last couple years, it has become clear that the Girl Scouts – nationally and, in many cases, locally – is allied with the abortion industry and Planned Parenthood… The Girl Scouts is almost as much a part of the radical feminist movement as the National Organization for Women. Knowing the radical agenda of the national Girl Scouts organization, parents need to take action.

That’s the Girl Scouts, for chrissakes… the goddamn Girl Scouts! Cookie peddlers, yes (mmm, Thin Mints)… but radical feminist lesbians? Is this guy out of his fucking mind?

Well… um… yes, he is — and you’d think that a competitive legislative challenger who abuses Unitarians, Baptists, Muslims, Jews and Buddhists for praying to a “generic god,” who accuses teachers unions and gay rights organizations of being a more dangerous “terrorist” threat than al Qaeda, and who derides Girl Scouts USA as a gathering of radical, feminist, lesbian, cookie-peddling abortionists… well, you’d think Zeiger’s own rather radical and offensive views might have earned him a tad more coverage from our local press. There’s a treasure trove of material to work from, just in the Google cache alone; I mean, this is a great story!

Instead, the voters of the 25th LD are treated to crickets from their local reporters, even after a press release went out alerting the media to the more than 50 pages of embarrassing rants that he’s already scrubbed from websites like IntellectualConservative.com. How is this even possible? If I were to run for office, would the press really ignore my long, foul-mouthed record here on HA?

Oh, we’ll get the usual horse race coverage as the November election approaches, no doubt, but if voters actually knew Zeiger for the vile, hateful, intolerant, dominionist theocrat he really is — you know, if voters knew Zeiger from his own words — there’d be no horse race to cover. Which I hope doesn’t explain the pathetic coverage we’ve seen thus far.

Oops.

An offshore oil rig has exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, west of the site of the April blast that caused the massive oil spill.

Coast Guard Petty Officer Casey Ranel says the blast was reported by a commercial helicopter company about 9:30 a.m. CDT Thursday. Seven helicopters, two airplanes and four boats are en route to the site, about 80 miles south of Vermilion Bay along the central Louisiana coast.

When President Obama attempted to impose a moratorium on deep water drilling, the industry responded that that was crazy… that they’d been drilling safely for decades, and that there was no reason to halt production due to one freak accident. Well, how about two freak accidents?

I thought the day might never come this summer, but I’m finally at the point of the tomato season where the fruit is ripening faster than I can eat it. And while it’s mostly the always reliable Stupice and Sungold thus far, I’ve also managed to grow some pretty impressive beefsteaks.

Every year I experiment with at least one new variety, and this year I chose Ispolin, a Siberian beefsteak variety, and it didn’t disappoint, especially considering the relatively short summer we’ve had this year. Large, firm fruit, meaty but not mealy. Maybe not the most flavorful tomato I’ve ever had, but a decent balance of sugar and acid, which is especially impressive considering our dearth of heat and sun. I’m definitely trying this variety again.

So how’s it going for the rest of you gardeners.

For all the complaints about Apple and its closed systems (their rigid control of the App Store, their refusal to allow Flash on iOS devices, etc.), if there’s anything we’ve learned from today’s introduction of the next generation AppleTV, it’s that the Hollywood studios should thank their lucky stars that they have a friend in Steve.

At $99 the new AppleTV is almost compelling, and if I ever get around to subscribing to NetFlix, I might even consider getting one. But what’s most striking are its self-imposed limitations, specifically it’s lack of a browser or third party apps. Oh you can stream from the iTunes Store and NetFlix and YouTube — in other words, trusted gatekeepers — but the bulk of the Internet is off limits.

In other words, it’s a device for streaming legal content, not the tens of thousands of pirated movies, TV shows and live streams that make up the bulk of the streaming video available online today. Yeah sure, I guess you could still download a pirated movie to your home computer and then stream that to your TV via AppleTV, but that just turns the AppleTV into a $99 cable. Besides, most consumers feel bad about stealing content, so given a convenient way to purchase it legally at a reasonable price they’ll opt for that. (Not that $5 for a new release compared to $1 from a RedBox is what I call a reasonable price.)

No doubt music industry executives resent Apple’s dominance, but the movie industry should be so lucky. In some parts of the world legal DVD sales have slowed to a trickle while illegal downloads and streaming have come to dominate the home viewing experience. Packing the same custom A4 processor as the speedy iPad and iPhone 4, the new AppleTV boasts more than enough horsepower to run a “home theater PC” that could easily bring the world of video piracy into millions more living rooms.

But Apple intentionally didn’t go there. And for that, Hollywood should be thankful.

I’ve always been a bit of a traditionalist; it’s just that I like to create my own traditions. For example, when traveling, rather than the usual touristy shots, I liked to have my photo taken while throwing out trash in front of a famous monument.

Me throwing out trash in front of Notre Dame. Me throwing out trash in front of Anne Frank’s house. Me throwing out trash in front of the Tower of London. You get the idea.

It was particularly fun when traveling alone to try to explain to some non-English speaking native or fellow traveler why I wanted them to take a picture of me posed in front of say, the Acropolis, while throwing out trash. And quite accidentally, it also turned into a surprisingly interesting ethnographic study of trash receptacles from around the world.

Well, according to an email from an old traveling buddy, you can chalk up even this innocent tradition as yet another victim of the Islamo-Fascist war on our freedoms:

Goldy,

I was with the kids in London this past weekend. Planned on sending you a picture of them throwing away trash at some famous location. Sadly all the trash bins have been removed from central London. I guess they made good places to hide bombs.

Damn you Osama bin Laden!

Last time I was in London was back in 1991, during the early days of the first Gulf War (i.e., cheap airfare), at a time of heightened IRA activity  (the enemy of my enemy, and all that). And while couple bombs and bomb threats disrupted rail service for a while, I didn’t notice any shortage of centrally located trash cans.

So it’s interesting that, after finally emerging from decades under the constant threat of IRA violence, the British authorities would take this drastic step in response to the odd Islamist attack. Kinda makes you long for the good old days, huh?

Mission Accomplished!

So stuff some socks down your flight suit and join us on the deck of the U.S.S. Drinking Liberally for an evening of political machismo under the influence. We’ll “bring it on” at the Montlake Ale House, 2307 24th Avenue E. beginning at about 8:00 pm. Some of us will be there even earlier for dinner.

Not in Seattle? There is a good chance you live near one of the 242 other chapters of Drinking Liberally.