Search Results for: 10,000

– Happy Veterans Day.

– Reading Patty Murray’s Washington Post editorial on the need to close loopholes in the Federal tax code is yet another reminder of how intransigent the GOP really are.

– Here’s hoping Larry Phillips and Dow Constantine live up to their threats of going it alone.

– At 95, Graham is frail and in ill health. His image and his legacy have been usurped as political tools used by his son Franklin Graham, who seems desperate to be a political player and kingmaker. Not content with living off the interest of his father’s legacy, Franklin has been burning through the capital.

– You know how gun nuts are always telling us that their having all the guns is protecting all the freedoms? I’m pretty sure they meant this sort of thing.

– Dudes Are Such Whiny Baby Liars About Girls With Short Hair

The King County Exec’s office doesn’t mince words — nor should it — in this press release about what the shutdown is doing to nutrition programs in the county.

Advance layoff notices were sent this morning to 82 King County employees who provide essential nutrition services for Women, Infants and Children, as a consequence of the continuing federal shutdown.

“This self-inflicted, manufactured crisis will interrupt essential nutrition services for

38,000 pregnant women, new mothers, and young children in King County,” said King County Executive Dow Constantine. “They are literally taking food from the mouths of babies.”

As a result of the shutdown, USDA funding in King County and Washington state for the Women, Infants and Children program, known as WIC, will expire on October 31st. The loss of funding will have a total economic impact of up to $30 million dollars a year, including $23 million that goes directly for food for families.

WIC is a federally-funded nutrition program that helps 38,000 women and children in King County eat well, learn about nutrition and stay healthy. The program provides vouchers for nutritious foods and infant formula, health screenings, nutrition and health education, and breastfeeding support. WIC services are provided through Public Health – Seattle & King County clinics and nine community partners, including community health centers, Swedish Medical Center, Neighborhood House and Open Arms.

I can’t even imagine that Republicans think this is OK. And yet they do. They think it’s fine and dandy to starve children because they don’t want their constituents to be able to afford health care.

These sort of cuts are going on everywhere, but since this press release is King County, let’s think of Dave Reichert. He represents some of those children, and their mothers, who won’t have enough to eat. Some of those 38,000 women and children are his constituents and his neighbors in King County.

He says he would vote for a clean CR. And good on him for that. But as far as I can see, he hasn’t done anything to push that vote to the floor. He’s still saying the Democrats are the problem instead of his GOP colleagues having a temper tantrum, so he still thinks shutting down the government is a legit tactic to get legislative concessions, hungry babies be damned. He hasn’t called for a vote, at least publicly. I don’t think he has signed on to the discharge petition that would bring the vote to the floor (I couldn’t find a list of who has). He voted against the Democrats’ parliamentary maneuver to have the vote. It’s more important to him to show some sort of unity with the people holding the government hostage than to feed his neighbors.

The Washington Post has a profile of how the new health care law is working in this Washington. It turns out, so far, we’re doing well (hat tip to a few friends on Facebook, including Nick).

Washington Health Plan Finder had one of the most troubled launches of any health marketplace, even more so than the glitch-plagued federal exchange.

When HealthCare.Gov launched, shoppers could at least access the homepage. But in the Evergreen State, the entire marketplace site was down. If you tried to visit the site Oct. 1, you got internal server error messages.

This makes it all the more surprising that, six days later, Washington is now posting some of the highest enrollment numbers in the country. The state has had nearly 9,452 people sign up for coverage since Oct. 1. The enrollments have largely been in the Medicaid program, however, with 916 people buying private insurance.

There are an additional 10,497 people who have submitted applications for health coverage through the marketplace but are not actually enrolled, meaning they have yet to pay their first month’s premium. All told, that’s about 20,000 people who have taken a step toward signing up for coverage in Washington. That’s a drop in the bucket compared to the 960,000 people there without insurance — but we are only seven days into a six-month open enrollment period.

The article goes on to talk about user friendliness. And it looks like that is great. You can look at your options before you log on, so you can see what’s going on. I’ll say again (and now that it’s up) that you can find it here. If you need to apply, or just want to poke around, see what you can do. It’s easy, and it might save you some money.

I’d also point out that King County (at least) is also making an effort to help people get enrolled. They’re handing out fliers and holding events like this one in Lake Forest Park. I’d be curious to see what the breakdown is by county, and to see what other counties and locals are doing to get people enrolled.

My questions in bold, Nick Licata’s after that:

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?

The State Liquor Control Board has allocated 21 retail licenses for recreational marijuana in Seattle, legalized by I-502, which I strongly supported. The stores will likely open during spring of 2014. More stores could open if demand is high enough.

I believe the state legislature needs to act to place medical marijuana within a clearer legal framework than its current “grey” status, a result of the partial Governor’s veto in 2011. The needs of medical patients must be met, and I’m not convinced the recreational market will meet that need. I’d like to see a medical license with clearer restrictions, and a reduced number of dispensaries. In any case, the US Attorney has stated that the current lack of regulations isn’t viable, and given the illegal status of marijuana at the US federal level, that is a caution we should heed.

I am co-sponsoring legislation that would require dispensaries or to be within commercial or industrial zones—more or less the same as retail stores for other legal products. It’s likely there will be a lot less dispensaries; the state could attempt to incorporate medical marijuana into the 502 system, though I’d prefer a separate, smaller regulated medical system.

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?

Ensuring our bus service is vital. The bus system is the best way to serve every neighborhood and business district; it should be our first public transportation priority. Should the state not grant King County authority to maintain funding for current service, the City may need to use its existing Transportation Benefit District authority to maintain service in Seattle via a ballot measure. Such a measure should be short-term only, for one or two years, and clearly state that once King County is able to collect funding via state authority, the City funding should stop. All neighborhoods and business district should have a good level of bus service before we consider building more streetcars. Light rail should be pursued within the regional context.

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

A post-Viaduct waterfront should live up to the tag line planners currently employ, “A Waterfront for All,” in three crucial ways. First, it should provide free and easy access to Puget Sound in the form of beaches, open space and structures that directly abut the water. Second, it should offer a wide variety of free activities, such as music concerts, community festivals and other public gatherings that can attract a diverse audience of residents in addition to tourists. And last, it should contain surprises, such as artistically designed wayfinders at intersections, writers’ parks along the water that allow for reading, writing and contemplation, and integrated public art that amplifies the emotional, cultural and historic aspects of the waterfront.

I supported studying streetcars on the waterfront. The study is complete, and the estimated cost to place a streetcar on the waterfront is between $35 and $55 million. The decision to place a streetcar on the waterfront will have to take place within the overall spending plan for the waterfront.

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

I support the City of Seattle’s policing reform objectives as follows:

• Prompt implementation of reform;
• Transparency;
• Alignment of the monitoring plan with the scope of the Settlement Agreement;
• Certainty that the monitoring plan follows the specific commitments of the Settlement Agreement; and
• Ensuring that taxpayer dollars are spent to best further the speedy implementation of the Settlement Agreement.

We will best and most timely realize these objectives if we seek to uphold the spirit and the law of the Department of Justice’s Settlement Agreement and Memorandum of Understanding. They find that ongoing community input is a necessary and critical component of achieving and maintaining effective and constitutional policing.

The Community Police Commission is established to provide an independent forum for dialogue and widespread input on the reform efforts required by the Agreement/Memorandum. It is responsible to “leverage the ideas, talent, experience and expertise of the people of Seattle to support the City in ensuring that police services are delivered to the people of Seattle in a manner that:

1. Fully complies with the Constitution of the United States;
2. Effectively ensures public and officer safety; and
3. Promotes public confidence in SPD and its officers.”

The CPC should seek to strengthen the 3-legged table of our civilian policing oversight body. Each the civilian director, the civilian auditor, and the civilian oversight body have critical roles that make Seattle’s system – structurally – sound.

SPD rank and file will have to formulate new policy and cultivate a new policing culture. The City Council may have to pass new laws. The recommendations of the CPC will be a useful guide informed by their collective law enforcement expertise and community experience.

An emerging policy deliberation of significant reform potential relates to the Seattle Police Department’s proposed new Use of Force policies.

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?

An April report from the National Partnership for Women and Families (NWPF) ranked Seattle as having the widest gender wage gap among the nation’s 50 largest metropolitan areas.

On average in Seattle, a woman who holds a full-time job is paid $44,535 per year while a man who holds a full-time job is paid $60,881 per year. Women in the Seattle area are paid 73 cents for every dollar paid to men. Nationally, it’s women 77 cents for every dollar paid to men.

This means, for Seattle women, if the wage gap were eliminated for working Seattle area metro women would have enough money for approximately:

• 118 more weeks of food (2.3 years’ worth);
• Eight more months of mortgage and utilities payments; or
• 16 more months of rent.

The City of Seattle also has gender disparities in the payment of wages to its employees. Men employed by the City of Seattle make approximately 9.5% more than women on average.

I support the efforts of the Gender Equity in Pay Task Force to:

• Review City’s data to best understand opportunities and challenges, including a focus on departments with the largest differentials.
• Develop recruitment/retention strategies to increase employment of women.
• Develop strategies to increase City contracting and purchasing with WBEs.
• Develop policy that modifies existing procedures to address the bias that creates gender-based inequities.
• Develop tools and resources for individual women that help to address gender-based pay gaps.

My questions are bold, Sally Bagshaw’s are as submitted.

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?

I support the sale of both medical and recreational marijuana through a licensing system that monitors the production, processing and sale of marijuana within city limits. As a Councilmember I have recommended that we preserve our Industrial zoning areas by minimizing the size of marijuana facilities in IG1 areas, allowing for such facilities in IG-2 and out of residential areas. I look forward to working with the Washington State Liquor Control Board, the Department of Health and the Department of Agriculture once their policies are set at the end of the year.

Yes, the 1,000-foot rule was established to separate schools and parks from marijuana stores and that should be applied to both medical and recreational stores. Preferably they will be treated enforced the same by the state.

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?

I fully support a local option measure to be passed by the State Legislature to allow King County Council to fund Metro Transit with a combination of Motor Vehicle Excise Tax (MVET), a VMT tax, or a tax that assesses vehicles based upon their weight and emissions among others. We absolutely MUST provide Metro with a reliable funding source that would support transit and roads. Without the funding, Metro must cut 600,000 hours of local and regional transit. This is unacceptable when we should be adding at least this amount to the system.

Since 1999 when Eyman’s first initiative – I-695 was on the ballot, I have worked to preserve funding options for Metro. At the time I was the chief lawyer for Metro transit, and fought as Metro was gutted by an ill-conceived initiative.

I have worked with legislators these past years, and continue to do so to encourage a special session in November 2013 to pass a statewide package. My preference would be for King County to be given councilmanic authority; in lieu of this, Metro can go to the people of King County and demonstrate how much additional transit is needed and ask for their support.

I am working with our local legislators and with King County Executive Dow Constantine and King County Councilmembers to advocate both a statewide and regional package. I also serve on the Regional Transit Committee and advocate for regional support that assures productivity, geographic equity, and social fairness. Metro transit’s ridership continues to grow; to reduce our regional congestion, we must increase ridership and decrease the reliance on single-occupancy vehicles.

Absent and new MVET funding, I believe the voters of Seattle would support a car-tab fee to support transit infrastructure development if the fee was progressively collected and road improvement projects were included in a comprehensive package. The City has a strong history of support for our transportation levy that was last passed in 2006. We also learned a lesson two years ago when the Transportation Proposition 1 was soundly defeated because it failed to balance transit with a comprehensive roads/bridges/infrastructure approach.

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

I have worked on the Waterfront project for nearly a decade as chair of the Allied Arts Waterfront for All project. I co-authored a report developed after we sponsored two design charettes and one collaborative.

The potential opportunities for economic development, sustainable environmental features and a waterfront that is designed with universal access in mind will make this the best waterfront in the world.

I am encouraged by early designs incorporating public beaches and parks, and the connection between Pike Place Market and the Aquarium. As a downtown resident, I also support efforts to connect the street car on 1st Avenue; if we decide to do this, I recommend we dedicate a separated lane to the streetcar so it moves faster than cars, and extend the line all the way from the Sculpture Park to Lander Street, perhaps redirecting traffic on 1st Avenue so it serves northbound traffic only. This would simplify our downtown grid with one-way traffic on all streets except Third Avenue, which would remain primarily accessible for buses. I would retrofit the George Benson Street Cars so they could operate on the same tracks as the streetcar.

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

One primary goal of the Department of Justice-directed police reforms is to result in greater trust between officers and the communities they serve. Right now serious efforts are underway through the Monitor, the new Ombudsman, and the Office of Police Accountability to assure this happens.

I acknowledge that the police have a tough job, and individual officers are feeling beleaguered by the investigation and are understandably cautious. As we are implementing the Department of Justice Police Accountability Plan, our community must also come together to support the efforts of officers who are trying to do the right thing. The great majority of them are good officers believe they are truly trying to “protect and serve”

The creation of the Community Police Commission will provide guidance on reform issues and ensure community involvement. The community panel and court-appointed monitor will report back to the judge and to the Department of Justice. This provides for police reform that is community driven and results-focused. Los Angeles found it took nearly a decade to change the culture. I hope it takes us less time.

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?

The study brought to light many important issues facing women in Seattle and our community as a whole. Not only are men paid 9.5 percent more than women, but the Seattle city payroll has more men in higher-wage positions and is only about one-third women.

Some of this is historic: some of our employees who receive the highest income are Seattle City Light and police officers that work over time and in emergencies. Although we are beginning to see signs of change, particularly in the police department, the majority of employees in these positions traditionally have been men. Also, the structuring of some city departments results in divisions being dominated by women (the Department of Human Services for example).

I fully support our apprenticeship programs and vocational programs that encourage women to pursue journeyman positions in the construction industry. As a law school graduate myself, I encourage women to get their education and pursue whatever interests them. For the thirty+ year of my professional career, I have supported other women who are building lives and careers, and worked to assure women in my departments have been paid fairly

In some circumstances, veterans of our wars receive preferences, and they enter the pay scales at a higher rate. Since to date more returning veterans are men, this explains in part why some new hires are paid more than others.

I encourage women to get additional training and apply for positions where they can. In a world where more women are supporting families this has to change, women must have opportunities to pursue their education and additional training so they have advantages during promotions.

This is not a new issue. It is one that I have been working on for decades; I want to delve into this report and investigate how salaries compare in similar jobs and circumstances and make appropriate adjustments based on skills, abilities, and fairness. I look forward to supporting a Gender Justice Initiative and providing –as our president says – ladders of opportunity for women across the City.

This is a pretty amazing story about one of the major coal exporters, from Sightline.

Cloud Peak Energy, one of the major coal producers in the Powder River Basin, is doing its very best to sound upbeat about coal exports. In an investor conference call this past July, the company declared that, even though falling international coal prices had eaten into their earnings, their exports were “still profitable overall.”

But a close look at Cloud Peak’s second quarter financial statements suggests a far stranger story: the company’s export division actually made most of its profits from derivatives trading rather than coal. Stripping away the financial-speak, the implications are striking: Cloud Peak’s export arm made at least 10 times more money betting against coal than it did selling coal.

Obviously some of that is reasonable and companies hedge their bets with these sort of financial instruments all the time. And this is one company. But given that they made $2.6 Million betting against coal and $200,000 on coal, it’s one more reason to not build more coal infrastructure as we look toward the future.

My questions are bold, Richard Conlin’s are as submitted.

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?

Because I-502 and the medical marijuana initiative have some conflicting provisions, we have been working to get legislation that will reconcile them. Senator Kohl-Welles is taking the lead on that, and we believe that the legislature will act early next year. In the meantime, it looks like Seattle will have a couple of dozen storefront licenses under I-502, and those are likely to be the major sources for marijuana. Collective garden storefronts are likely going to have to follow the 1000-foot rule, as the state seems to be emphasizing that in response to the federal government’s request for strict enforcement, but we won’t know until the legislature takes action on the reconciliation legislation.

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?

Thanks to great leadership from Dow Constantine and our hard work building relationships with King County and the suburban cities, we were successful in getting a very good agreement for a fair share of Metro service out of the last negotiations. Our critical goal was to replace the old 40-40-20 rule, which dedicated most new dollars to suburban service, with a more flexible rule based primarily on productivity of routes. I don’t think we need to fear not getting our fair share from Metro at this point, if we can get Metro funding legislation from the legislature. Our major challenge is getting a transportation package from the legislature, and we need to keep the urban-suburban coalition together and find a way to forge a compromise package with the more rational Republicans. A challenge, but it can be done, and our partnership with King County is strong.

The City should continue to push for more investments in public transportation, and the core strategy (in addition to partnership with Metro) should be to prepare possible routes for inclusion in the Sound Transit 3 package, which I am trying to get on the ballot in 2016. Our priorities should be serving Ballard and West Seattle from downtown more effectively and connecting the UDistrict with Ballard. On a regional level, we should be able to complete the light rail spine from Tacoma to Everett, and start filling in light rail routes on the East Side and in South County.

In the short term, our most immediate priority for Seattle is to get a light rail station in the Lynnwood Link DEIS at 130th Street, a decision that the Sound Transit Board will make in October or November. On the City land use side, we should focus on developing a transit oriented development plan for the East Link station at Rainier and I-90.

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

The waterfront should be open, accessible, and lively. We must keep the salience of pedestrians at the heart of our planning, and emphasize that this means all pedestrians, which requires using universal design principles to guide decisions. I am disturbed by the width of the proposed roadway, and support looking for ways to reduce it, such as by eliminating one of the two planned access lanes for ferry traffic. Managing a traffic lane to provide additional access at peak times is a better alternative than constructing a second ferry access lane that will be a barrier for pedestrians and not needed at most times.

We must also ensure that the waterfront is activated and safe at all levels. I would like to see a variety of active recreation areas as well as diverse businesses and a design that employs CPTED principles to make this area attractive and accessible for all.

We will have transit along the waterfront, but at this point a bus system appears to be more cost effective than a streetcar. However, no final decision has been made, and will likely not be made for a year or two. A lot depends on whether a streetcar line is developed on First Avenue.

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

Seattle has an effective police force that does a good job in protecting public safety. The vast majority of officers are competent and professional. However, there are members of the force who have engaged in practices that have infringed upon individual rights, exercised inappropriate uses of force, and caused severe consequences for members of the public. This is a failure of leadership. While I respect the managers of SPD as individuals, they have not been able to create a system that properly trains, supervises, and assists individuals in the force to carry out their responsibilities without creating these kinds of problems. I see this as a systems failure, that may have been compounded by individuals, but that can only solved by a combination of leadership, effective training, clear lines of supervision, and swift and effective corrective action when necessary.

We must have a strong, effective, and experienced Police Chief who will be able to take charge of the Department and work effectively with all members of the Department as well as City leadership and members of the public. This leader should have extensive management practice in a Department of comparable size and complexity and be ready to implement tools to bring together the strong record of effective policing that is typical of SPD performance with remedies that will create a system of accountability and oversight that will be fair, transparent, and effective in preventing further problems in the future.

We are moving towards resolving the issues in the DOJ report through adopting new procedures for training and operations that will guide police officers in the future. With implementation of these procedures by the right kind of leadership and organizational structure, we can restore the confidence of the public in the force, effectively protect public safety, and satisfy the DOJ.

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?

We have been analyzing the data in detail, and now have very good information about the City’s own work force. It turns out that in the City there is very little pay inequality within job classifications; the primary source of difference lies in the predominance of men in jobs that are higher paying (in fact there are slightly more job titles in which women are paid more than men than ones where men are paid more than women). We can solve this in two ways:

First, by reevaluating the pay scales to ensure that we are in fact appropriately valuing work that is predominantly done by women. For example, we should ask why truck drivers are paid a higher wage than child care workers. This pattern consistently undervalues work traditionally done by women, and reevaluating job descriptions will reduce much of the disparity.

Second, we should redouble our efforts to ensure that women are more fairly represented in positions that are high paying, such as management and technology jobs. We can do this partly by consciously seeking out women for these positions, but we must also support ways to increase the supply of women in these job categories by working with the educational system to attract women to scientific and technical careers, and by looking at ways to structure jobs to provide the kind of flexibility that women are more likely to seek than men (such as flexible schedules and other arrangements that make it easier to have and raise children).

We suspect that the pattern in the private sector is similar to that in the City, and as a City we should work with the private sector to make similar changes, and consider regulatory approaches where those are appropriate.

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?

I’m glad that Mike Kreidler is the Insurance Commissioner.

Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler is fining four insurance companies for overcharging consumers in Washington state.

Kreidler’s office said Tuesday that Hartford Accident and Indemnity Co., Hartford Casualty Insurance Co., Hartford Insurance Co. of the Midwest, and Trumbull Insurance Co. have agreed to each pay a total fine of $100,000 split up among the companies.

I’m not sure that would have happened if there were a Republican in that role. Maybe everything would be the same, but I suspect their corporate friendly agenda would have led them to do the minimum if they even bothered with the case at all. It’s important to have strong rules, but it’s also important to have people who will enforce them.

Hempfest starts today. I’ll be down at the “protestival” all day tomorrow (Saturday). Seattle PD’s tongue-in-cheek efforts to do public education with tasty snacks has gotten a lot of attention. But as Slate points out, 1000 bags of Doritos doesn’t go very far in a festival that generally sees over 200,000 attendees. Somehow this feels like foreshadowing of what the first weekend that pot stores open in the state will feel like.

That’s right. It was August 6, 2001 when a vacationing President George W. Bush was given a presidential daily briefing that was titled, Bin Laden Determined To Strike in US.

So you are unhappy that the U.S. assassinates people with drones? Or are you outraged about the NSA archiving phone company billing records for potential social network analysis? Maybe the whole secret FISA court things gets under your skin? Are you unhappy that over 4,500 U.S. soldiers and contractors died because the U.S. invaded Iraq on false pretenses? Or unhappy about the 100,000++ U.S. soldiers who suffered health consequences as a result of the invasion? How about the many hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians who died as a result of the invasion? Or maybe the trillion plus dollars pissed away? Or that the U.S. is STILL fighting its longest ever war in Afghanistan after more than a decade? Maybe you hate the TSA, or the fact that you cannot meet your party at their arrival gate, or that your pock knife was confiscated and they took your diet Pepsi away from you the last time you flew?

Maybe you are apprehensive about the “security” state the U.S. has become domestically, and the bully state the U.S. has become internationally?

All of this arose because George W. Bush and his security team ignored a briefing memo titled, Bin Laden Determined To Strike in US:

Nevertheless, FBI information since that time indicates patterns of suspicious activity in this country consistent with preparations for hijackings or other types of attacks, including recent surveillance of federal buildings in New York.

In a week that is filled with Republican assholes criticizing Obama for shutting down embassies based on intelligence reports of potential attacks, it is good to consider the alternative—ignoring the intelligence.

On August 6, 2001, George W. Bush’s indifference to and incuriousness about a memo titled Bin Laden Determined To Strike in US snowballed into our Great American Tragedy.

Tim “Biggest Lie of My Life” Eyman’s I-960 and I-1185 require “advisory votes” for tax increases passed by the legislature. Unfortunately, it comes with a lengthy and burdensome voter pamphlet statement:

The Secretary of State’s office says explanations for last year’s measures added about eight pages to the voter pamphlet, which cost about $100,000. Using the same layout, this year’s measures would add about 20 pages, and $240,000.

And then there is this:

But Tami Davis, the voter education and outreach manager, is looking for a way to cut pages and costs.

So on top of the printing costs, the initiatives force us to use state employees to write, proof, and figure out new layouts that save money. All that costs money.

Eyman defends himself:

…whatever the cost may be, it will be “chump change” compared to the taxes those five new laws will collect. Voters deserve a chance to weigh in, he said.

Except that the advisory votes are only…well, advisory. Very expensive ones, at that.

Has the process done anything besides bloating the voter pamphlet and require the legislature to raise taxes to pay for bloating it? Well…maybe. Rodney Tom indicated he used these advisory votes in his decision to join the Republican caucus. And the result was a cluster fuck….more gummed up government leading to a wasteful double overtime legislative session.

The scam Eyman has going here is self perpetuating. He preys on unpopular topics—essentially forcing voters to give a thumbs up or down to raising their own taxes—in order to pass initiatives that gum up government. And when the government gets gummed up, people become unhappy with government. They make a statement through their next initiative from the Mukilteo Menace.

This is the very definition of wasteful government—the very thing the admitted liar is supposedly against.

Eyman isn’t against wasteful government, of course. It is a sham. The only thing Eyman is interested in is lining his own pocket.

Ann Telnaes: Call force feeding what it is.

Thom: The Good, The Bad, and The Very, Very Ugly.

Young Turks: Is Michelle Malkin a Jihadist for Fascism?

ONN: Week in Review.

This Week in the GOP War on the Poor™:

• Thom: The Koch Brothers’ war on the poor.
• Young Turks: Koch Brothers say all of us are rich
• David Brooks slams House Republicans on farm bill
• Alex Wagner: House GOP nut-bags hijack & defecate on immigration reform debate.
• John Fugelsang: FAUX News explains why crushing student loan debt is a good thing:
• Sam Seder: GOP Continue War Against Food Stamp Families
• Pap: The extinction of the American middle class
• Chris Hayes: Republicans jettison 47 million hungry Americans!

Thom: Wisconsin has discovered something very creepy in their woods.

Red State Update: Podcast episode 34.

Young Turks: Do-nothing GOP Congress admits to being American Taliban.

Thom: Why 30,000 prisoners strike.

Rand Paul’s Friends:

• Sam Seder: Rand Paul’s neo-Confederate, pro-seccesionist, “Southern avenger” aide.
• Young Turks: The astoundingly racist ‘Southern avenger’ and friend of Rand Paul
• Maddow: Rand Paul & top Republicans cozy up to ‘Birtfers’ in Las Vegas.
• Alex Wagner: Sen. Rand Paul employs sick, neo-Confederate activist Jack Hunter.
• Maddow: Rand, Ron and Racism in the G.O.P. Part I
• Maddow: Rand, Ron and Racism in the G.O.P. Part I

White House White Board: Why Immigration Reform Is Good For Our Economy:

PitTV: School of Social Media Arts.

Young Turks: Sarah Palin threatens to run for Senate.

Mark Fiore: Coup, or not a coup.

Thom: More Good, Bad, and Very, Very Ugly.

This Week in the Republican War on Women™:

• Thom and friends: The Republican’s vagina problem
• Sam Seder: TX Abortion debate is about shaming sinners, not about the law.
• Ann Telnaes: Govs. Walker and Perry aim to restrict abortion rights.
• Abortion is easy in Ohio (via Slog).
• Sam Seder: TX GOP lawmaker, sex education makes teens “hot and bothered”.
• Young Turks: “If my vigina was a gun”.
• Young Turks: Sarah Slamen hands it to Republican lawmakers.
• Sam Seder: Sarah Slamen pwns Texas lawmakers
• Sam Seder interviews Sarah Slamen
• Maddow: N.C. GOP customizes ‘motorcycle bill’ with abortion restrictions

White House: West Wing Week.

Mental Floss: 50 Science Misconceptions.

Sam Seder and Cliff Schecter: Republicans are political arsonists.

Liberal Viewer: Impeach Obama for NSA spying?

Zina Saunders: The Republican Party gets its wish:

Virginia Gov. Bob “Ultrasound” McDonnell gets probed:

• Maddow: Gov. McDonald hires himself a lawyer.
• Sam Seder: Governor “Ultrasound” McDonnell now on the wrong side of probe.
• Maddow: Virginia Gov. McDonald pocketed a $120,000 Bribe From Troubled Company, Part I.
• Maddow: Virginia Gov. McDonald pocketed a $120,000 Bribe From Troubled Company, Part II.
• Maddow: Virginia Gov. McDonald pocketed a $120,000 Bribe From Troubled Company, Part III.
• Sharpton: Gov. Ultrasound is now Gov. “Free Stuff”

Kimmel: This Week In Unnecessary Censorship.

Thom: Even more Good, Bad, and Very, Very Ugly.

Ann Telnaes: An American Sickness.

Last week’s Friday Night Multimedia Extravaganza can be found here.

Goldy has the latest Rodney Tom is full of shit news. First quoting the Seattle Times:

Tom created a buzz after broaching the idea of a $250-a-day fine for each day lawmakers go past the time allotted in the regular session.

Then Goldy notes:

For wealthy lawmakers like Senator Rodney Tom (R-Medina), $250 isn’t all that much money. Hell, that’s less than Tom spends a day just murdering kittens. (Actual Rodney Tom 2012 campaign slogan: “Because Those Kittens Aren’t Going to Murder Themselves.”) But for legislators who mostly rely on their $42,000 a year salary, the $15,000 in fines they would have accumulated this year could’ve been the difference between keeping and losing their homes. The end result would be those lawmakers who can’t afford to pay the fine caving to lawmakers who can.

Aah. Nothing like fake populism from a dirtbag millionaire in an effort to advance their dirtbag millionaire goals. Look, if Rodney Tom had wanted to end either special session early, he could have done it at any point simply by resigning. Since a Democrat would replace him, a Democrat would caucus with the Democrats like Democrats are supposed to do, and then they could have passed a budget. Done and done. Or barring that, he could have gone back to caucusing with the Democrats. Either event would involve Rodney Tom eating a lot of shit, but if he’d wanted the special session to end earlier, that would be the thing to do.

Also, as the person who is most responsible for the legislature adjourning with a lot of work yet to do, Rodney Tom should really not be discouraging the legislators actually doing the people’s business. I mean honestly, the legislature should have passed the Reproductive Parity Act. It should have passed the DREAM Act. It should have passed a transportation budget, or at least let municipalities pass their own. But Rodney Tom was a roadblock that kept that important work from being done. To say the legislature should have got even less done is highly insulting. Honestly, the goal should have been to pass legislation that makes Washington a better place, not to simply avoid a special session.

Protests aren’t only happening in Egypt. Some Puget Sound area grocery store employees are also picketing for a fair contract:

Grocery store employees at four major supermarket chains in King County will be picketing from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesday.

The employees from Safeway, Albertsons, Fred Meyer and QFC are picketing to promote a fair contract for 30,000 Puget Sound union workers.

The previous three-year contract expired on May 4th, but was extended into July for further bargaining on a new contract. The workers and grocery store management have been negotiating since March.

Workers say grocery store management wants to:

• Eliminate health care coverage for thousands of workers
• Cut holiday pay
• Offer no wage increases
• Take away paid sick days for Seattle workers and forbid others in the region from getting them
• Cut the “10 cent above minimum wage” guarantee for lowest paid workers

Next time you go grocery shopping, tell a manager you support the members of the three unions involved: UFCW 21, UFCW 367 and Teamsters 38.