History, politics, people of Oly WA
More perfect is asking us to rewrite the Washington state constitution, redefine our state priorities and write our own voters guide.
This. Is. Great.
Download the KUOW story featuring the Moreperfect’s Timothy Killian here (Mp3 file).
David Postman has a great piece on it from a week ago.
Boy, Larsen sure did play the straight man. From the Colbert Report last night:
From Andy’s point of view, businesses are good, until they start agitating for things like clean water:
Last week it surfaced that the Taylor Shellfish company was working to boon doggle Pierce County residents to harvest shellfish up there. Keep in mind, once this happens every resident in the county will be on the hook to make sure those beds are harvestable (aka corporate environmental welfare). It was no surprise to find that the Taylor machine is also on the payroll of the Gregoire machine and vice versa.
The line these crooks gave in Thurston County: “No one has the right to pollute someone out of business” with regards to ramming through the Henderson Inlet Septic O&M program. Nice logic, but it had little to do with the tax and regulation imposed. The net result; every homeowner in the watershed pays an extra $30-80 bucks a year in property tax to support a FTE over at the county in order to collect the money and print permits so people can legally flush their toilets.
Mr. Ballard of Vashon/ King County reminded me of something here, that we should double check to see if our favorite local blogs are on Lefty Blogs. I’ll admit, I’m lazy, and even though I use the Thunderbird reader at home, I check Lefty Blogs instead of updating all of the blogs on the reader.
It is just easier, and I’m assuming most folks who want to plug into the local Washington/Puget blog scene will use it as well instead of setting up blog subscriptions on a reader.
To that end, I noticed that The (liberal) Girl Next Door wasn’t listed at the blog roll at LB, so I added it. Anyone else we’re missing?
Also, SLOG is one of the best blogs, do you think it qualifies?
UPDATE: Oh yeah, and Sightline’s Daily Score. The old Cascade Scorecard is there, but no one ever added the new Daily Score.
In the past couple of days I got two emails about the IsThisMikeOn.org website. One from Dwight Pelz, the other from a staffer at the DSCC back east. The website, by the way is a great idea, super even.
Check the emails out though:
In case you havenÂt seen it yet, I just wanted to give you a heads up about a new website launched by the Washington State Democratic Party, IsThisMikeOn.org. McGavickÂs touring around the state in an RV but Democrats, led by the grassroots ÂMike Check SquadÂ, will attend his events and ask him the questions that he continues to dodge.
The site has a place to submit questions you want Mike to answer and share your stories of encounters with the MikeÂs gimmicky tour. Thanks and let me know if youÂd rather not get emails like this in the future.
Weldon W. Kennedy
Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee
Internet Communications Staffer
and…
Dear Friends,
As Mike McGavick gases up his campaign RV and hits the road, he continues to duck the issues and avoid answering tough questions. ItÂs understandable that McGavick would be less than Âopen about where he stands, because when he does take a clear position heÂs right in line with President Bush and out of step with Washington state.
Mike McGavick talks about being straightforward with Washingtonians, but he hasnÂt offered a single plan for how heÂs going to help WashingtonÂs working families deal with the real issues they face every day.
Washington state deserves better. Mike needs to turn his mic on and come clean about where he stands.
With that in mind, weÂll be responding to MikeÂs empty rhetoric by joining him on the road with the ÂIs This Mike On? tour. The ÂMike-Check Squad will tag along with Mike, making sure ÂMr. Transparent answers voterÂs questions about the issues they care about and that Mike tells the truth about his positions. WeÂll be right there, wherever Mike is, checking to see if MikeÂs mic is really on.
For more information about Mike McGavick and the ÂMike-Check SquadÂ, check out our new website at:
www.IsThisMikeOn.org
Sincerely
Dwight Pelz
Washington State Democratic Party Chair
While Dwight sent his email out to every Democrat who has signed up for the state party’s email list, Weldon seems to have searched out the Washington blogosphere and found email addresses for local bloggers.
Does it bother anyone else that a DSCC staffer seems to have a better idea of the Washington bloggers than the Washington Democratic Party?
That the state party didn’t (and for all I know doesn’t) send emails to bloggers seems have been born out in that only three bloggers (now four) are linking to IsThisMikeOn.org, and one of them is “Respectfully Republican.”
IsThisMikeOn.org is a great idea, it needs great promotion too. I’m not saying that I’m so special, someone should email me every time someone moves up in Seattle, but what is so hard about writing a Washblog diary or emailing some of the bigger bloggers around?
Related to a very fun Washblog thread, Gerrymandering will be the topic on Radio Open Source on Monday.
For the record, Washington state has a bi-partisan redistricting commission that takes the job of actually drawing the lines away from the legislature. The leg of course approves the lines, but they don’t have to get their hands dirty actually drawing them.
Just having a separate commission doesn’t make a perfect system though, as the partisans on the commission can still make deals with each other not to create a competitive district in an area where there could simply be safe ones.
Cross posted at MyDD
The difference between the Bad Boss contest sponsored by Working America (AFL-CIO) and the SEIU’s Since Sliced Bread contest redoubles my already heald impressions of both organizations. It also reinforces the two ways liberals/Democratics/Progressives are approaching things these days.
The AFL-CIO represents bad politics: bitter, tearing down, win at all costs (also represented by the DSCC and the DCCC).
The SEIU represents a positive, constructive, win as much as we can, but make it all good, type of politics (also represented by the DNC’s 50 state strategy).
UPDATE: Darryl at Hominid View says it better than I.
Just to say it again, let us make it about protecting communities, not about red tape or costing government or writing an unclear initiative, because all we care about is our own lives, not how unclear things are. Because, boy it sure sounds good.
Horseman’s Trail is a proposed 116-unit subdivision that would be located on 23 acres of steep, environmentally sensitive property in the Picnic Point area between Mukilteo and Edmonds. Many local residents are asking Snohomish County not to approve the subdivision. Under I-933, the county would have only two choices: allow the development, or pay the developer what the subdivision would be worth — potentially millions of dollars.
In Mill Creek, many residents are concerned that a proposed 24/7 Wal-Mart store will have significant adverse impacts on traffic, public safety and the environment. I-933 would leave the community no choice but to approve the development, because the cost of paying the value of a huge Wal-Mart store would simply be too high for local taxpayers.
Little Bear Creek, and the rural land around it that protects the sensitive chinook habitat and headwaters to Lake Sammamish, is under heavy pressure for urban development from some of the largest developers in the area. The county is hoping to adopt and implement a low-impact-development ordinance in an attempt to protect Little Bear Creek when urban development is allowed in the future. It will do little good if I-933 passes.
In the Maltby-Clearview area, motocross tracks in the old Rinker gravel pit and rural cluster subdivisions south of Highway 522 in Echo/Paradise Lakes’ aquifer recharge areas will continue to jeopardize the drinking water of existing homeowners if I-933 passes. No one will be able to stop the rural area turning into a myriad of mega-home septics and noisy racetracks, which will not only disrupt peace and quiet with more cars on the winding rural roads, but will potentially destroy the water quality and character of these rural neighborhoods.
Those are current examples. Voters should reject I-933 in November or the number of similar cases will increase exponentially. In fact, I-933 would allow irresponsible development to occur almost anywhere, regardless of neighborhood standards. The result will be “open season” on neighborhoods across the state. Farmland would be up for grabs, too, as poorly planned growth leapfrogs into rural areas, creating more traffic.
I-933 is a bad idea for Washington. It takes local communities out of the discussion and takes away a neighborhood’s right to decide how it will look in the future.
A job ad from the Olympian (found again the TNT) this morning:
ROLE PLAYERS NEEDED ArabicROLE PLAYERS NEEDED Arabic speakers $20 HR DET/OP $13.16 DD214 COBs M/F $11.70 Call SMI 253-588-7529
The SMI in the ad is SMI Global Mission Support, an outfit with two locations, each right next to a major Army facility. Apparently, what they try to do is create real world scenarios for soldiers before they deploy to Iraq or Afghanistan.
Some of their services include:
Civilians on the Battlefield
Leaders are trained to consider the presence of Civilians in areas of operations and their potential impact on tactics, maneuver, logistics, cultural and language barriers; thus differentiate the various categories of people commonly encountered on the modern battlefield.
Role Players (both native language speakers and non-FLS) portray:
- Civic, political, religious and academic leaders.
- The media
- Noncombatants, including local residents and refugees.
- International organizations, non-government organizations, contractors.
- Potential intelligence sources.
Realism Enhancement
SMI provides a wide variety of props to enhance training realism by creating the “touch and feel” of the AO. We provide:
- Regionally specific attire, signs, posters, flyers, jewelry, etc.
- Loudspeakers broadcasting culturally authentic music.
- Multiple Integrated Laser Engagement System (MILES)Capable, simulated air soft rifles, AK-47, M-16, and 9-mm simulated military grade arms with blank firing adapters and the required number of blank rounds per training day per unit.
- Simulated RPG-7 missiles, explosive vests, PKM machine guns.
- Simulated improvised explosive devices (IED), such as: booby traps, roadside bombs, pipe bombs, coke can bombs, cigarette bombs, artillery rounds, trash bag bombs (inflated, fuel-air explosives filled with air and wired to simulate detonators), anti-tank mines, rockets, TNT, C-4, baby doll bombs, and football bombs.
and,
Detainee Operations
Soldiers are trained in handling EPWs in a fair and humane manner in accordance with the Geneva Convention. Proper handling of EPWs is critical to securing intelligence leads crucial to military survival.
- Initial Point of Capture and Screening Process
- Utilization of non-lethal methods of apprehension and control
- Conducting proper search techniques
- Detainne Role-Play
In case you missed it. We should all be more like Sam.
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