Puget Sound Liberals Weekly Newsletter #160
Enhancing Freedom, Opportunity and Cooperation in
Through informing and networking Liberals and Liberal Organizations.
Our vision is hundreds of thousands of well-informed
Communication with Our Members
I
would also like you to inform me concerning which parts of our newsletter you
find most beneficial. What would you
miss if you no longer received our newsletter?
What do you look for first? What
would you like to see more of? What
lessons have your learned that you think were most valuable? Let me know, so I can try to make our
newsletter relevant to your interests and concerns.
Calendar of Events
February
4-8 – Seattle Human Rights Film Festival
Wednesday,
February 11 at 6:30 at Friends Center Social Hall (4001 – 9th
Avenue, Seattle) – Anarchists Against
the Wall Fundraiser, featuring Shachaf Poloko speaking about work in
solidarity with West Bank Palestinian villages.
Sponsored by American Friends
Service Committee, American Jews for a Just Peace-Seattle, Palestinian
Solidarity Committee, Students for Justice in Palestine, Jewish Voice for
Peace-Seattle, and International Socialist Organization-Seattle. For more
information.
Monday,
February 16 at Washington State Capital, Cherberg Building, Meeting Rooms ABC -
King County Democrats Legislative Action Day
9:30 to
10 AM – arrive, sign in and get coffee
10 AM to 10:30
– Overview of day, brief introductions, lobbying tips
10:30 to 11:00 AM – Marty Brown, Legislative Liaison for Governor
Gregoire
11:00 to 12
Noon – overview of Legislative Action Agenda and priority bills
12:00 to 1:15 PM – Lunch and Brief Presentations by King County
Legislators
1:15 to 4 PM – meet with individual Legislators to discuss Agenda
The Washington State Democrats Crab Feed starts at 5
PM at St Martins College. Admission is $50/person. This is a separate
event from The King County Democrats Legislative Action Day and supports the
Democratic State Party. Governor Gregoire and many other elected state
officials will be there.
Wednesday, February 18 at 8 AM to 1:30 PM at Bertha
Landes Room, Seattle City Hall (600 Fourth Avenue, Seattle) – By-Product Synergy Northwest Community-Wide
Networking Event. Learn how to turn
your waste into profit. $35 including
lunch. To Register. For more.
Saturday, February 21 at University of Washington HUB
– NARAL Pro-Choice Washington’s
Annual Youth Leadership Summit
Saturday, February 21 at 5:30 PM, 8 PM or 10:30 PM at
West Seattle Bowl (4505 – 39th Avenue SW, Seattle) – Human Rights Campaign’s 7th Annual Bowled and the
Beautiful benefit, follwed by a party from 10 PM to 2 AM For
more information and tickets.
Saturday, March 7 at 6:30 PM at Jim Simpson’s home (5236 S. Mayflower, Seward Park, Seattle) – inSPIRe
Potluck and Conversation on Education with Patrick Sexton and Stephan Blanford.
Saturday, March 14, 2009 at Seattle Center
Fisher Pavilion - Futurewise Dinner and Auction. $85. To
register.
Opportunities
and Petitions
Opportunities
Useful
Websites: contacts, maps, community organizing tools, and more.
Access
to jillions of political cartoons.
Download
Sightline Institute’s climate policy primer ‘Cap and Trade 101’. About
Sightline.
Learn
more about the Obama-Biden policy agenda and share your ideas.
For updates from Obama-Biden Transition Project, including
video of Obama’s weekly address.
Ask Democratic national
committee Chair Tim Kaine about future of Democratic Party.
Obtain Progressive
States Networks resources for improving many state government services.
Candidates can apply for
Democracy for America endorsement.
Petitions and Donations
Tell
President Obama to immediately appoint a high level diplomat to attend to
Darfur.
Tell
your senators to support the stimulus and recovery package.
Thank
Senators Murray and Cantwell. Ask for continued support for health and
immigration reforms.
Tell
your senators to support pay limits for bailed out executives.
Tell
your senators to keep investment in broadband in our stimulus and recovery
package.
Tell
your house member to support the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act.
Tell
our congress and administration to pass the Employee Free Choice Act.
Tell
your state legislators to support the Worker Privacy Act (HB 1528 and SB 5446).
Commentaries
From Our Members
Members Respond to Linda
Seltzer’s Commentary
I strongly disagree with Linda on Israel. She does not know her facts,
but is really great at propaganda!
Joan Virginia
Lawson
Dear Dave, Just read Linda Seltzer’s commentary on
being anti-Israel. Wow, this is pure political tirades straight from the likes
of Israel’s far right wing. I do not know how to comment on her misinformed
point of view of such a critical part of our world. Is there a place to
comment?
The Israel/Palestine war is an important topic. It is
also where our rulers are doing a really good job of dividing the people. I
have many friends that agree with me whole heartedly that Bush and company are
criminals but are so pro-Israel that it causes friction in our relationship.
To Linda Seltzer I would say one thing; please read
the 6 principles of a just war. These principles were started by the Catholic
Church in Medieval times to end the constant wars in Europe. Israel is breaking
most of these rules and therefore is not justified in waging war upon the
Palestinians. This can be looked up on the Internet.
Thank you for continuing to post this newsletter and
allowing all sides to comment. Yours
Truly, Michael Tivana
Dave, perhaps what I have
written for Greener Times can help counter objections like Linda
Seltzer's. Please feel free to use them in your newsletter.
Subject: Countering
US-Israel Propaganda Regarding Gaza « Greener Times
Subject: Countering
Israeli Propaganda Regarding a "Jewish State" « Greener Times
Also
listen to an Israeli woman
asking Obama to help the Israelis from themselves (video).
A
must read, The Hidden History of Zionism by Ralph Schoenman, former
general secretary of the Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation. You can
read book (short book) on-line at http://www.marxists.de/middleast/schoenman/. Excellent
background on Zionism and founding of state of Israel.
Another
excellent book is Avraham Burg's book, The Holocaust is Over: We Must Rise from its
Ashes. Below is a review found at http://www.richardsilverstein.com/tikun_olam/2008/05/31/avrum-burgs-latest-the-holocaust-is-over/
. Burg was a member of the Knesset, his family is one of the founding
members of the state of Israel, and he's an orthodox Jew.
Thank
you for what you have written. Maryrose Asher
Donald A. Smith: Re: "Liberal Democrats versus Moderate Democrats"
You realize -- don't you? -- that your use of the term
"liberal" is somewhat at odds with the standard use. For most
people on the Left, "liberal" means what you're calling
"moderate Democrat", while "progressive" means what you're
calling "liberal." People on the further Left (say, Nader
supporters) criticize "mainstream liberals" for their willingness to
compromise with corporate America and its militarism. On the other hand, to conservatives,
"liberal" means everyone on the left.
Donald A. Smith
For centuries, ‘Liberal’ has been defined as I use the term. Nor do I think a public opinion poll of
Liberal and Moderate Democrats would disagree.
I can’t find any difference between the meaning of Liberal and
Progressive, except that many Progressives are afraid to use the term
‘Liberal’, due to its mischaracterization by Conservatives. When
confronted by pollsters with the choice of Liberal or Moderate, I suspect some
Progressives describe themselves as Moderates.
Liberals, including Nader, criticize Moderates for
their willingness to compromise with Corporate Abuse and Militarism. Dave Thomas
Jon Gould: CHIP Will Fund Apple Health for
Kids
Governor and Legislature restore critical funding for children's health
Hi Dave, see
here for a message from the Children's Alliance. Federal
children’s health insurance legislation that is making its way to President
Barack Obama’s desk is expected to give Washington’s Apple Health for Kids
program a $15 million shot in the arm. With new funding available through the
federal Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Washington state can and
should sustain the Apple Health for Kids program as outlined in the state’s
2007 Cover All Kids law.
The CHIP bill passed the U.S. House and Senate with only minor differences. Both version of the bill, which may be signed by President Obama as early as next week, give Washington an additional $15 million per year for the next 4 ½ years. Additionally, Washington will be able to cover low-income children all the way down to 133 percent of the federal poverty level through the CHIP program, which picks up two-thirds of the cost of covering children (as compared with Medicaid, which pays only half of the cost of coverage.) This change is permanent, giving Washington a sustainable source of funding to live up to the vision of Apple Health for Kids.
“We have talked to families
around the state who can’t afford private coverage and are struggling to get
their children the health care they need,” said Gould. “We look forward to
being able to tell these parents they no longer have to worry about how to
insure their children. For a reasonable monthly premium, Washington State’s
Apple Health for Kids is their answer.” Jon Gould, Deputy
Director, Children’s
Alliance
Sarah Luthens: Boy Scouts are Prejudiced and
Greedy
Published by Seattle PI
on 1/30/2009
It's
interesting to me that an organization that professes such high ideals, both
surreptitiously clear cuts forests and boldly engages in anti-gay
discrimination ("Profit trumps preservation; Boy Scout councils logged,
sold thousands of prime lands," Thursday).
Bigoted Boy Scouts badly botching bountiful forests, bagging big
bucks. Sarah Luthens
Bert Goff: We Apologize
We, the United States of America, your top quality
supplier of the ideals of liberty and democracy, would like to apologize
for our 2001-2008 interruption in service. The
technical fault that led to this eight year service outage has been located, and
the software responsible was replaced November 4. Early
tests of the newly installed program indicate that we are now operating
correctly, and we expect it to be fully functional on January 20.
We apologize for any inconvenience caused by the
outage. We look forward to resuming full service
and hope to improve in years to come. We
thank you for your patience and understanding.
Sincerely, THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Jack Smith: Don’t Appoint
Lobbyist as Deputy Secretary of Defense
I wrote to Obama, "I am writing to urge you to
withdraw the nomination of William Lynn as Deputy Secretary of Defense. I
retired after 21 years with the Defense Department and I have watched the
number of defense contractors reduced to a few as the profits generated by the
power possessed by the Defense Lobbyists kept increasing. Approving lobbyist
for military contractors William Lynn, an inappropriate nominee for leadership
in the Pentagon, is a continuation of the abuse of the Public that must be
prevented.
We need to stop the revolving door of lobbyists and
defense contractors working inside the Pentagon. We need independent thinking
not influenced by military contractors. Please replace this nomination with an
independent thinker who will question the bloated military budget. We cannot
allow the Obama administration show the same control by special interests that
"Hope and Change" promises to end. Please contact the Administration. Sincerely, Jack Smith
Several
other high level officials have been lobbyists.
Bill Dubay: World Gets First
Openly Gay Head of State
Published by Seattle PI on 2/2/2009
Andy McSmith educated us about Iceland’s new prime
minster, Johanna Sigurdardottir. But,
whoever wrote Thursday’s headline “World gets first gay head of state,” left
out one important word. The headline should
have read “World gets first openly gay head of state.
Joanne Gainen: Tax Cuts Weaken
Stimulus and Recovery Package
The
recovery package should not be weakened by including excessive tax cuts to
appease Republicans. Its focus should be infrastructure spending, green
technology and mortgage/foreclosure assistance. Republicans have shown they
won't support the package, even when their proposals are included -- and then
they claim they were not allowed to help craft the bill. Why not support the
bill and claim credit for having influenced it to include those tax cuts?
Tax
cuts are a great bargaining chip, but if they take up too much of the current
recovery package, we will lose the opportunity to get them done right in a
future bill. Republicans are more likely to support a separate bill focused on
tax cuts for the middle class as the president has insisted we need. Let's not
give away that chip in this recovery package.
Joanne Gainen
Liberals
and Democrats
Obama Watch: Week II
President Obama’s Inaugural Speech Was
Best
I
have reviewed previous presidential inaugural and state of the union speeches
(including Roosevelt’s first inaugural speech, his 1941 state of the union
speech and Kennedy’s inaugural speech).
These contained memorable quotes (“We have nothing to fear but fear
itself”, Four Freedoms, and “Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask instead what you can do for your
country.”). But they mostly consisted of
addressing a series of specific contemporary issues.
By
contrast, Obama’s Inaugural speech reviewed some history of our people and
government, described our continuing commitment to long held values, indicated
that our struggle would be difficult and long, and stated what our people and
government must do. It maintained a
focus upon a general theme, with some illustrations. I believe it will be long remembered as
expressing basic truths about our America, as well as addressing what’s needed
in our time.
Democrats are Flooding Republicans
Focus
upon passage of the economic stimulus and development package has taken much of
the oxygen out of the air, leaving little attention to other issues. President Obama and the Democratically
controlled congress are acting on many varied smaller issues. They are running flat out, creating a flood
of executive orders, legislation and diplomatic initiatives. Such that the
Republicans can’t bring to public consciousness more than a few of the larger
ones, such as the attempts to create jobs.
As
Democrats move on to passing the 2009 budget and health care and coverage
reform, we can expect them to continue to flood the Republicans with lots of
lesser moves, which various Democratic constituencies consider important. These may include stem cell research; ‘don’t
ask, don’t tell’ and various legislation facilitating labor unionization. Some measures, such as the Employee Free
Choice Act and cutting our military budget will still involve intense
struggle. For more. For more. Before worrying about potential messes, we
should appreciate and congratulate our Democrats for what they are
doing.
With union leaders present, President Obama signed orders,
which union officials say will undo Bush administration policies that tilted
toward employers, would require federal contractors to offer jobs to current
workers when contracts change, and would make it more difficult for federal
contractors to discourage union activities.
President Obama signed
the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act (video).
President
Obama signed a children’s health bill, which adds 4 million children to the
9 million who were previously eligible for free health coverage. For
more. With seniors, most children
and poor people covered, the next step is to cover everyone else. President Obama may
expand cooperation with faith based programs.
Several
armed conflicts are diminishing, including in Sri
Lanka and the Congo. International attention should be focused
upon Sudan (Darfur), Myanmar and Zimbabwe to reduce government abuse of its
people. Let’s hope that besides
attending to the Mid-East, our Obama Administration can provide international
leadership to solving these problems.
Our Obama Administration should also support the International
Criminal Court and take other
actions supported by Citizens for Global Solutions.
Now Let’s Win the Support of White Men
President
Obama is not making the mistake of the 1960s Democrats who appeared to favor
women, minorities and poor people more than White men, who then deserted to the
Republicans. Obama is focusing upon
creating jobs and assisting our middle class.
Vice
President Joe Biden says the administration will succeed if our middle class
once again shares in our economic success.
President
Obama has created a task force, chaired by Vice President Joe Biden, aimed
at studying ways to raise living standards for middle class Americans and help
the poor become middle class. The task force will be led by Jared Bernstein, a prominent liberal economist
who has been writing a study on the impact of Mr. Obama's stimulus plan.
The
focus of the first meeting will be "green jobs, those jobs that pay well,
can't be outsourced and will help us move toward a cleaner, more
self-sufficient energy future," Mr. Biden said. For more.
Future monthly meetings will be held across the country to discuss the
mundane but essential concerns of working people like child care, workplace
safety and retirement security, the vice president said. The administration has
set up a Web site, AStrongMiddleClass.gov,
that Mr. Biden said would tell people what their government was doing and
invite them to share their thoughts. For more. Submit your ideas to the
task force.
Commercial Media Interviewers Don’t
Interview
Have
you noticed that interviews on commercial television consist of the interviewer
posing a hypothesis? (For examples: The
stimulus bill is full of pork. Many
stimulus projects won’t begin quickly.) The interviewee is then asked if he or
she agrees. Whatever the answer (often
interrupted), the same question is posed slightly differently. Then still differently a third time. When the interview is over, we have little
idea what the interviewee thinks. But
CNN’s (or other network’s) thinking is very clear.
The
commercial networks could simply quit interviewing officials and candidates,
leaving interviewers to simply present their commentaries. As Wolf Blitzer has stated, “Our role is to
make the news. Our officials try to
avoid it. Baloney. Yuk.
Conservative Misrepresentations
Conservatives
claim that $800 billion is too much to pay for stimulating the economy. What they don’t say is that if the economy
isn’t stimulated, our government will lose several times more than $800
billion, through reduced income taxes and increased unemployment and other
expenses. So we have already spent $800
billion. The question is whether we will
choose a path that helps our people cope with our economic downturn. Will we choose a path that improves our
economy for the long run? Or both? All of the criticism of the
stimulus package spending only concerns 2% of the spending.
Conservatives
are now dividing $800 billion by 4 million jobs to complain that each job
produced by the stimulus package will cost 200,000 dollars. This ignores the hundreds of thousands of
dollars that will be given in tax cuts, more unemployment payment, increasing
food stamps, and similar measures which increase spending, thus producing jobs only
indirectly. I read somewhere that the
actual cost per job is about $60,000. I
don’t know if that is calculated by assuming only $240 million is being spent
on job creation. Or if it assumes that
that 13 million jobs will be directly or indirectly preserved or created. Or maybe something in between, with less that
$800 million being spent to directly or indirectly create more than 4 million
jobs.
Conservatives
are also complaining that tax rebates for people who don’t pay income taxes are
simply welfare. They fail to recognize
that everybody pays taxes. Workers pay
FICA taxes. Everybody directly or
indirectly pays property and utilities taxes.
We all pay sales taxes.
Conservatives dislike any government expenditure or tax cut that doesn’t
reward their campaign contributing cronies.
For more.
Conservatives
are also defending huge corporate salaries and bonuses. They argue that like effective quarterbacks,
effective executive officers and securities deal makers are scarce and must be
paid well. Will they find another
company which will pay them well for destroying it? The problem is that they have not been
effective in helping our economy or even their companies. People shouldn’t be rewarded for producing
and selling mystery securities based on fraudulent mortgages and other
financial assets. For more. For more. For
more.
For more. Obama
is asking for Republican participation, but their price for cooperation is too
high. They simply want to continue President Bush’s
policies. So like children who get
upset, take their marbles and go home, house republicans mostly from safe
districts, voted 100% against our stimulus and recovery package. They oppose the stimulus
package because they oppose government that works. Republican senators are more likely to occupy
competitive seats, so some of them will support the stimulus package. Even if they could obtain the 40 votes to
sustain a filibuster, they may not risk the public relations disaster that
could follow.
Democratic Tax Cheats
A
lobbyist is selected as presidential assistant.
Democratic tax cheats Timothy Geither and Tom Daschle are selected as
cabinet members. They apparently have
talents so rare that normal ethics rules don’t apply. Both cabinet members plead that they
overlooked the taxes they owed. Part of
being a patriotic American is ensuring that all of one’s taxes are paid. People who want government positions should
continually vet themselves or hire someone to do it. Unfortunately, even Democrats overlook
ethical lapses of their colleagues.
I am
glad that Tom Daschle has removed himself from consideration for Secretary of
Health and Human Services and that President Obama has apologized for
attempting to appoint him. I hope Obama
will take further steps to weaken the influence of lobbyists backed by campaign
contributions, which make the United States the most corrupt government
ever. For
more.
Republicans Choose Less Consistently
Conservative National Party Chair
Republican
house members who survived the last election are consistently Conservative,
including many Christian Conservatives. House
Republicans voted unanimously against the stimulus package. By contrast, delegates, who chose Michael
Steel to be their new Republican Party Chair, come from throughout our United
States. They are less consistently
Conservative, as is Michael Steel, who promises to reach out to ethnic, age and
other groups who currently favor Democrats.
American Demographic Changes
Our
United States is experiencing many demographic changes, which have political
consequences. Statistics tell us a lot
in a hurry. But they quickly overload
the mind. Nevertheless:
Ethnic and
Immigration: From 1910 to 1970, the percentage of Americans
who were immigrants declined from 15% to 5%. It then increased to 13% by
2007. In millions, our foreign born are
from Mexico (11.4), China (1.9), Philippines (1.6), India (1.5), Vietnam (1.1),
and El Salvador (1.1). Since 1900, the
percentage of our foreign born from Europe has declined from 86% to 13%, from
Latin America has increased from 1% to 53% and from elsewhere has increased
from 13% to 34%.
Besides immigration, Hispanics are rapidly increasing
due to high birthrates. Our ethnic group
composition is expected to change from 2005 to 2050: White from 67 to 47%,
Hispanic from 14 to 29%, Black from 13 to 13% and Asian from 5 to 9%. The percentage of whites in the labor force
is expected to decline from 68 to 45%, of Hispanics to increase from 14 to 31%,
of Blacks from 12 to 14% and Asians from 5 to 10%.
Age: From 2008 to
2050, the percentage of Americans aged 17 and under is expected to decline
slightly from 25%, Americans from 18 to 64 to decrease from 63 to 55% and
Americans 65 and older to increase from 13 to 20%.
Thus each 100 working age Americans are now supporting
40 younger and 20 older Americans for a total of 60. In 2050, each 100 working age Americans will
be supporting 44 younger and 36 older Americans for a total of 80. Each will be supporting one third more
people, but we can expect our productivity to increase by much more than 33%
during 42 years. The number of
dependents per working person will also be affected by the ages at which people
enter and leave the labor force.
Education: From 1982 to
2007, college costs have increased from $8,000 to $12,000 at public schools and
from $14,000 to $33,000 at private schools.
33% of White women age 25-29 are college graduates, compared to 25% of
White Women, 21% of Black women and 16% of Black men. Bachelor’s degrees in education, engineering,
and business have declined from 1980 to 2006, with increases in computer
science.
Jobs: Agricultural
workers have declined from 7% to 3%; industrial workers from 35% to 20% and
service worker have increased from 58% to 77%.
Families: From 1975 to 2005, women’s median age at first
marriage has increased from 21 to 25 and men’s median age from 23 to 27. From 1970 to 2006, the number of heterosexual
unmarried couples living together has increased from 0.6% to 5.4%. The percentage of children who live with two
parents has declined from 85% to 67%.
From 1960 to 2005, the percentage of households without children under
age 18 has increased from 51 to 69%.
Income: From 1979 to
2004, after-tax income has increased 9% for the bottom 20% of households
compared to 69% for the top 20%. The top
1% have experienced increases of 176%.
Spending: In 2006
dollars, average annual household spending has increased 11% from $43,776 to $48,398. Expenditures have increased 22% for housing,
21% for health care and 7% for transportation.
Political Implications
The proportion
of non-White (Hispanic, Black and Asian) voters are increasing. The proportion of voters over age 64 is
increasing. A smaller proportion is
married and is married with children at home.
Our young people are struggling educationally, vocationally and
financially. Most of our middle aged
people are working harder, but receiving no increase in earnings.
Conservatives
have little to offer these groups.
Liberals propose programs which will help all Americans, including these
groups: tolerance, health, family support, education, jobs, income, retirement,
and control over health and energy costs.
If Liberals effectively pass and implement these programs, they will
maintain their control of our government.
Here’s the Beef
Obama
announces that our grassroots organization will continue as Organizing for
America.
Liberal Democrats
and Moderate Democrats agree on most issues.
Ideas for Change
in America promotes 10 most popular ideas.
The
Stimulus package should also be a Development package. But what development?
Conservatives want to
include defense spending in stimulus package.
Most
Americans support infrastructure spending, even if taxes are raised to pay for
them.
The media scarcely
report what’s in the stimulus recovery package.
They only report the politics.
Who
will benefit from the tax provisions of the economic stimulus and recovery act.
Our
Senate includes loan guarantees for nuclear reactor construction in stimulus
recovery package.
Single payer
health insurance is politically possible.
President
Obama reaches out to Mid-East before Europe.
Michael Lerner tells
President Obama to change our mindset as well as legislate.
State
and Local
Dwight Pelz re-elected as State Party Chair
Dwight Pelz has
said that our state Democratic Party has an email list containing 100,000 Democrats. But what’s the good of it if it isn’t
used? No announcement has been sent to
us concerning the election of Democratic state officials. Why not?
Read a
description of the election. It’s
time to have a regular Washington State Democratic Party newsletter and timely
announcements. Such communication can greatly
help Washington State Democrats to better maintain their enthusiasm and
activity. Notice what Barack Obama has
done with internet communication.
Craig Salins: Supreme
Court Fair Elections Bill
Great news, Dave
Thomas, Our judicial bill - Supreme Court Fair Elections - has
been filed in the House. The bill number
is: HB
1738. Rep. Marko Liias
(D - 21st, Mukilteo) filed the bill this afternoon, and it just appeared on the
legislature's website. Visit http://www.leg.wa.gov/legislature;
click on the tab, "Bill Search", and then enter the bill #1738. Counting Rep. Marko Liias as prime
sponsor, there are 32 - thirty-two! - co-sponsors. That is probably a record for
a bill, and a testament to Marko's dogged determination to move this bill
along. We anticipate a companion bill in
the Senate, to be prime-sponsored by Sen. Eric Oemig.
The next stop for the Supreme Court Fair Elections bill will be a hearing in
the House, before the State Government and Tribal Affairs Committee (chaired by
Rep. Sam Hunt, an ally, from the 22nd LD, Thurston County). Rep.
Hunt has promised a hearing on the bill. We'll notify everyone as soon as this
is scheduled. The deadline for bills to
be heard and be voted out of committee is Feb. 25th (for the bills originating
in each chamber, House and Senate). From there, if voted out with a
"Do Pass" recommendation, the bills move along to the Ways &
Means committees in each chamber. That's where we'll face tough sledding,
to get the bills funded. If we win the votes there, it's on to the
Rules Committees, and then the chamber floors for a full vote in House (and
Senate).
By having a companion bill in each chamber, essentially we have two horses in
the race. If one stumbles, we have a back-up. Please visit info about this, WPC website. See a 1-page summary of bill on
our website. Download a 1-page persuasion handout,
making the case, on our website. Now we need your help as a citizen
lobbyist.
How to Help: Now let's rev
up citizen lobbying of our legislators - AND the legislative leadership,
House Speaker Frank Chopp, and Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown. AND,
the governor's office. Essential messages:
·
Justice
must NEVER be for sale!
·
It
is important to preserve public confidence in the courts. Even the
appearance of special-interest influence erodes public confidence in the
courts. Public financing of judicial campaigns can avoid that problem.
·
A
program of public financing for campaigns for the Washington State Supreme
Court would cost less than 50-cents per person, per year. A token amount,
to preserve the integrity of the third branch of our government.
·
Courts
matter! Think of the issues that get settled at the Supreme Court
level: land use, water rights, worker health and safety, crime and
punishment, review of laws governing/enforcing every part of our civil society
and economy. Courts matter!
Contact info:
Legislative
Hotline, 1-800-562-6000.
Operators know your legislators and deliver messages to them.
Governor Christine Gregoire - Email http://www.governor.wa.gov/contact/, 360-902-4111
Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown - Email: brown.lisa@leg.wa.gov, 360-786-7604
House Speaker Frank Chopp - Email: chopp.frank@leg.wa.gov, 360-786-7920
Also, it's time to crank up
letters to the editors, Op-Eds, speaking gigs to community groups, talks with
both Republican and Democratic district organizations, and allied groups that
are concerned about justice being fair and impartial. We will be putting out more information as
this advocacy campaign moves into high gear. But remember: Only through
our grassroots support base, will we win this. Organizing citizen action
is the essential ingredient.
And... if you can support our work with a small donation, we
need it!
Pitch
in here. Thanks
for all you do! Craig Salins,
Executive Director, Washington Public Campaigns
How to Respond to Opponents of Fair Climate Policy
Opponents of fair
climate policy say: “Energy costs from auctioned permits are going to hurt
low-income families.” Don't be fooled!
·
Unstable energy prices are whiplashing family budgets.
Low-income families get hit hardest by volatile fossil fuel prices - and
they're the most vulnerable to climate impacts. Free permits equate to windfall
profits for big polluters at the expense of consumers.
·
Auctioned cap and trade permits put the interests of
people ahead of the interests of polluters by returning dollars spent on energy
directly back in families' bank accounts and investing in stable energy sources
that we produce here at home.
Opponents of fair
climate policy say: “Climate policy puts our state at a competitive
disadvantage.” Don't be fooled!
·
The energy economy of the next decades is not fossil
fuel-based. And the change is happening now. We have a responsibility to local
families and workers to put our state ahead of the curve and build a clean
energy economy right here at home.
·
Fair, effective climate policy allows us to shift away
from expensive and volatile fossil fuels and positions us to compete in the
fast-growing global market for clean technology.
Opponents of fair
climate policy say: “Our economy is too fragile to think about environmental
issues.” Don't be fooled!
·
More than ever, our economy needs a boost. The growing
green economy can deliver tremendous opportunities for our state - if we get
started right away. Investments we make today help our families and communities
recover and position us as leaders as the nation and the world move to a clean
energy economy.
·
Families and businesses in our communities will suffer from high prices
and financial insecurity unless we aggressively reduce our dependence on fossil
fuels by capping dangerous fossil fuel pollution and investing in clean,
domestic alternatives.
Opponents of fair climate
policy say: “Climate policies will drive jobs out of our region.” Don't be fooled!
·
The clean energy transition is on its way and our state can't afford to
wait around. We have the ingenuity and the know-how - and a ready workforce. By
leading the change, we can attract good green jobs to our communities.
·
We owe it to the residents of the state to get a head start on the road
to energy independence, build a stable clean energy economy, and put our
workers ahead of the curve when it comes to clean energy jobs. Investment in
clean energy and infrastructure creates more and better jobs than continued
investment in dirty energy - both in the short and long term.
Opponents of fair climate
policy say: “We should wait for a national program.” Don't be fooled!
·
Every step we take in the state today towards a strong clean-energy
economy puts our families and businesses at an advantage if and when national
policy to cut carbon emissions is adopted. The states that don't act now will
be more susceptible to higher energy prices because they won't have become more
energy efficient and they'll have to buy technological innovations from states
that took early action.
·
Why wait to boost our economy and create jobs by investing in the energy
efficiency of our buildings, transportation, and electricity infrastructure, as
well as rapid deployment of clean renewable energy technologies such as wind,
solar, and advanced biofuels?
Opponents of fair climate policy say: “A carbon tax is
simpler.” That's not enough.
There's no substitute for a
solid cap on climate warming pollution. A cap -- with no loopholes or leaks – is a solid backstop or guardrail behind all
our other climate policies. It's the only guarantee that we'll reach our
targets. Sightline Institute
Enhancing Our Metropolitan Areas
We
have often regarded our central cities and their suburbs separately, requiring
separate responses. Many problems
associated with central cities are now appearing in suburbs, sometimes even
worse. There is an increasing
realization that metropolitan areas need to be treated as an interactive
whole. That the emphasis should be upon
revitalizing them as centers of creativity and innovation. For
more.
Here’s the Beef
What’s
what and who’s who in our 2009 legislative session.
See
what the stimulus package will do for Washington State.
Governor
Gregoire reveals green jobs legislation.
Washington
business groups oppose Governor Gregoire’s stimulus package.
Washington business groups are
promoting Bush era policies which wrecked our economy.
Due
to our economic crisis caused financial insecurity, Americans are finally
beginning to save.
Learn how our
federal stimulus package will help Washington State.
Many
local governments submit requests that projects be funded by stimulus and
recovery package.
Stimulus
package will help Northwest Power Administration expand northwest power grid.
Funding declines for homeless
shelters amidst increased need.
We need a
tug to protect state waters.
King
County Director of Elections Sherril Huff easily beats Conservative rivals for
her seat.
King
County Executive Ron Sims accept HUD position, leaving behind many
achievements. For more.
Oregon
adds commuter rail connecting suburban towns.
Comparing
customers’ energy usage with their neighbors’ energy usage results in
reduction.
Nation
and World
Understanding Bailout Alternatives
How much credit do we need?
We
need to return to Earn, Conserve and
Invest from our present Borrow,
Consume and Speculate mindset and economy.
Credit (including mortgages, lines of credit, automobile loans, credit
cards and paycheck loans) should be restricted to those who can reasonably be
expected to pay it back. Mortgages
should be restricted to a percentage of the mortgaged property, so that the
borrower has equity, even if the value of the property declines. Entrepreneurs should have a reasonable
expectation of success.
We
need much less credit than we have now.
Historical figures should suggest how much credit we need? What percentage of household income? What percentage of business income? For businesses of various sizes.
What regulation do we need?
Regulations
are designed to prevent abuse. Contract
laws are designed to prevent abusive contracts.
Various regulations are designed to prevent businesses from abusing
their consumers, workers, suppliers, creditors, stock holders, environment and
others. Differing regulations apply to
differing businesses, industries and markets, depending upon the types of abuses
which might otherwise occur.
Fraudulent
financial contracts should be transparent.
Appraisals should be accurate.
Loans should only be made to lenders who meet criteria designed to
ensure that they are likely to be able to repay the loans. Usury limits should exist. If loans are conveyed to second parties,
these parties should be accurately informed of their risk. Rating agencies should accurately rate loans.
Derivatives
and other financial instruments should be regulated. If they pose more of a threat than a benefit
to our economy, they should be prohibited or at least strictly limited. The leverage that speculators can use should
be limited, so that they suffer if they make a mistake. Financial companies, who incur obligations
(including industrial and commercial banks and insurance companies) should be
required to maintain safe reserves and be restricted or taken over if their
reserves are deficient. The amount of
their reserves should be transparent.
These
and other regulations are needed. Their
absence is what allowed our housing and credit bubbles to develop. Their absence is a major factor which has
produced our economic depression. We
need to quickly adopt regulations necessary to prevent financial abuses and
bubbles.
What agency should do the regulating?
We
now have differing agencies to regulate different types of financial
instruments and companies. Those
regulations concerned with preventing fraud, excessive leverage and speculation
could perhaps be better integrated to ensure necessary coverage and congruence
if they are administered by one agency.
One possibility is making our Federal Reserve the major regulator. But such a responsibility may be inconsistent
with the Federal Reserve’s other responsibilities.
Our
Federal Reserve is primarily responsible for avoiding inflation and depression,
through affecting the amount of credit that is available and its costs. But directed by bankers, it emphasizes
maintaining conditions which assist banks.
Thus it has generally been more concerned with resisting inflation which
negatively affects banks, than with resisting depression which negatively
affects workers and borrowers.
But
during his tenure, Federal Reserve Chair Alan Greenspan found that (due to
foreign competition and productivity increases) he could lower interest rates
to stimulate the economy without creating massive inflation. By keeping interest rates too low, he
stimulated borrowing and speculation which greatly increased our housing and
credit bubble. I believe that another agency should be responsible for
regulating financial companies to prevent fraud, excessive leverage and
speculation. For
more. For
more.
In
addition, our Federal Reserve has the ability to create money. Seldom creating much money in the past, it is
now creating enormous amounts which it is using to bail out financial
companies. It
has created $5.2 trillion, much more money than the legislated $700 billion
TARP bailout funds. This may be
appropriate in extreme situations, but the creation of such money should only
be temporary.
What are the four alternative bailout
alternatives?
Most
of our large financial companies have created, acquired, or insured large
numbers of mystery securities, which due to the default of the underlying
mortgages are now known to be worth less than previously. These companies now have little or even
negative net worth, making it impossible for them to provide credit or perhaps even
survive. For
more. Four main alternative
approaches have been suggested for bailing them out. For
more. For
more. The major question for each
alternative is: do the company’s stockholders pay or does our government (and
its taxpayers) pay.
1. Purchase
mystery securities
The
first approach which was tried was to purchase mystery securities. The problem is that if the purchase price is
low (near the current market price) to protect our taxpayers, the company is
not helped. The company may collapse to
the detriment of its stockholders. Stock
holders of other companies may flee, leaving more companies in more trouble. If the purchase price is too high, our tax
payers are giving a subsidy to the stockholders who created our problem,
providing a moral hazard for others to continue the same practices.
2. Purchase
preferred stock
The
second approach was to purchase preferred stock in the company. This provides the capital the company needs,
while rewarding both the government and other stockholders if the bailout
succeeds, while punishing both if it fails.
It also provides the government an opportunity to partially manage the
company. Critics will argue that the
government shouldn’t and perhaps can manage banks, although our government has
managed them well in the past, certainly better than most current private
managers. For more.
3. Create
a ‘bad bank’
A
third approach has been proposed. Create
a ‘bad bank’ to buy of mystery securities.
This is similar to the first approach, with the same advantages and
disadvantages. The main difference may
be that a specialized agency is created to acquire and disentangle the mystery
securities. For
more. For
more. For
more.
4. No
bailout
The
fourth approach would be the one used by the Roosevelt Administration during
1933 and 1989 crash of the savings and loan bubble. Identify non-viable banks and liquidate
them. For
more. This should certainly be the
preferred approach if the non-viable banks are not necessary to provide
credit. Especially if sufficient credit
(but much less than has recently been available for excess consumption and
speculation) can instead be provided by the many smaller viable banks and
credit unions, which never created acquired many mystery securities.
The
major advantage of no bailouts is that our government (taxpayers) doesn’t spend
money or make guarantees which may cost us dearly. Another advantage is that we don’t create a
moral hazard by subsidizing the stockholders who created our financial bubble
and collapse.
The
disadvantage may be that these companies are needed to provide credit. If they are too big to fail, they should at
least be broken up. Another disadvantage
is that the stockholders include powerful and wealthy people and companies; and
also mutual funds, pension funds, college endowment funds, charities,
municipalities and 401(k) owners who speculated to maximize their gains. These groups would experience painful losses,
but perhaps be taught to avoid such speculation in the future. For
more. For
more.
I
much prefer the fourth approach, which is easy for me personally, since I have
never speculated through any of the above funds. I believe the safest, least expensive and
least risky approach is to allow financial institutions and their stockholders
(which made bad decisions which have severely harmed our economy) to fail. For
more.
Let Community Banks Provide Appropriate Credit.
More than 8,500 community banks, 98 percent of all
banking institutions, are conducting business in 50,000 locations throughout
the United States. Most banks do not fit
the profile of the supersized financial institutions. Almost 93 percent of all
banks in the US have assets under $1 billion, with nearly 40 percent having
less than $100 million, according to the FDIC.
Ironically, at a time when businesses are routinely shutting down,
community banks are proliferating.
These banks are often the partners of small local
businesses, providing more than 35 percent of all loans under $1 million,
according to the Small Business Administration. "Community banks are locally owned, and
their assets are being put to use in the community in such products as loans to
small business and consumer loans," explains Aleis Stokes, director of
public relations for the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA).
"They are competitive in rates for home mortgages, understanding [of] the
marketplace, and willing to support the local community in challenging
times." Customers looking for a
personal relationship with their bank rather than simply a place to make
financial transactions are increasingly seeking community banks. For more.
Which Jobs Are Being Lost?
2007 2008
147,395 220,506 Financial
71,078 120,742 Automotive
20,840 77,753 Transportation
33,875 75,424 Government/Nonprofit
43,075 63,838 Retail
38,753 59,544 Computer
28,275 42,360 Health
Care/Products
25,678 38,448 Pharmaceutical
16,726 29,578 Services
11,595 26,032 Entertainment/Leisure
11,071 25,550 Media
9,854 23,785 Aerospace/Defense
8,841
13,143 Insurance
--------
--------
467,055 816.713 TOTAL
Enabling Our Young to Join Our Middle Class?
We
have a higher proportion of young than almost any other industrial
country. Our young suffer financially,
medically, and emotionally much more than those elsewhere. They are more likely to be born and grow up
in poverty. To live in single parent
homes. Or with step-parents. To live in families which suffer bankruptcy
and divorce. To lack health insurance
and suffer health problems, including lack of exercise, nutritiously poor food,
obesity, asthma, diabetes, autism and other ailments. To lack professional child care and early
education.
Children
experience years of exposure to the inhumane values displayed on
television. Many fail to learn in school
and drop out before graduation. Those
who graduate increasingly find college unaffordable. Our rates of teenage sexual diseases and
pregnancy are high. Teenage crime and
incarceration are high. Many young
people cannot afford to become married, rent a separate home from their family
or buy a home. Conditions for our
children are much worse than they were during the golden years following World
War II. And they have been getting
worse, not better.
A,
or perhaps the, major necessity for reclaiming our American Dream is to improve
the freedoms and opportunities for our children and young people. Child
care. Health care. Education.
Jobs. Income. Perhaps most of all, family life and
parenting. They are our neediest group. Hopefully our young people’s increased political participation will continue and
their efforts will be rewarded.
United States: Peace-Loving or Militaristic?
Andrew
Bagevich’s 2005 book, The New American
Militarism provides an excellent readable history of American attitudes
toward our military and militarism.
Historically, our United States avoided foreign conflict, but once we
had been threatened, enthusiastically embraced World War I and World War II.
After
a reaction against both our military and militarism following our Vietnam War,
President Reagan led the glorification of our military. New Conservatives went further, advocating
building a military empire to ensure our international supremacy. Changes in public attitudes made possible our
invasion and occupation of Iraq. This
book is an excellent opportunity to learn the details and understand more fully
our militarism.
FBI Should Catch White Collar Criminals, Not Just Terrorists
Posted on
Seattle PI Blog by Flyboy on 1/28/2009
Having
the FBI looking for terrorists is kinda like trying to keep mice out of a barn
while the horses and cows are rustled. Add
to that all the other agencies that have been drafted into the war on terrorism
means the natural born scum-bags of this country have a free hand to steal
anything they want.
Of course, Bush and a lot of other people in government thought banks and
brokers were honest and honorable people. After all, most of them contributed
to campaigns of various politicians and were on a first-name basis many elected
officials. Maybe we should have a
presumption of guilty in our justice system. At least for anyone making more
than $1-million per year.
Gay Bishop Gene Robinson’s Prayer Offered Evening Before Inauguration
O God of our many understandings, we pray that you
will . . . .
Bless
us with tears -- for a world in which
over a billion people exist on less than a dollar a day, where young women
from many lands are beaten and raped for wanting an education, and thousands die
daily from malnutrition, malaria and AIDS.
Bless
us with anger -- at discrimination, at
home and abroad, against refugees and immigrants, women, people of color, gay,
lesbian and transgender people.
Bless
us with discomfort -- at the easy,
simplistic "answers" we've preferred to hear from our politicians,
instead of the truth, about ourselves and the world, which we need to face if
we are going to rise to the challenges of the future.
Bless
us with humility -- open to
understanding that our own needs must always be balanced with those of the
world.
Bless
us with freedom from mere tolerance --
replacing it with a genuine respect and warm embrace of our differences, and an
understanding that in our diversity, we are stronger.
Bless
us with compassion and generosity
-- remembering that every religion's God judges us by the way we care for the
most vulnerable in the human community , whether across town or across the
world.
Here’s the Beef
Happiness can
come from influencing political policy.
Nothing short of
nationalizing, straightening out and reselling banks will work.
Investing
in infrastructure is crucial.
Good and bad
infrastructure investments.
Stimulus and Recovery
Package is very good for women.
Our best investments will be
in our human infrastructure.
Doing green stimulus and
recovery right. For more.
Green jobs include everyone
who is helping our environment.
Google Earth is saving our
earth.
Credit
crunch is harming development of non-carbon based energy.
Energy Secretary Steve
Chu expresses description of global warning’s dire consequences in our U.S.
Universal
health care will create health provider jobs and more hiring by employers.
Single payer
health coverage can be passed.
If private health insurers
are included, can we afford to cover everyone?
Rich
people made out like bandits during the Bush administration.
League
of Women Voters promotes many Liberal actions.
Torture also occurs in
some of our prisons.
Casualty figures for Iraq now
becoming apparent.
Government
report reveals waste and fraud in Iraq reconstruction.
Amnesty
International fact finding team finds evidence of Israeli war crimes in Gaza.
Turks support their
prime minister’s criticism of Israel.
International Criminal
Court investigates whether Israel committed war crimes in Gaza.
Economic
weakening may push China’s leaders to respond more to popular opinion.
Our
Liberal Spirit
Trust, Cooperation and Non-Violence?
My parents strongly indicated that my satisfaction was
not the most important thing in the world.
That I had a responsibility to recognize the rights of others. When parents indicate the opposite. When they encourage their children to be
assertive and competitive with others to get what they want. When their children assume that they deserve
to get whatever they want, these children become resentful when they don’t get
what they think they deserve.
Resentments lead beyond competition to coercion and violence.
To the extent that a social environment is built
around trust, people can easily cooperate.
Life is made easier by ‘random acts of kindness’ and ‘paying it
forward’. Without trust, people
continually guard against being taken advantage of. The costs of security measures and lost
opportunities for cooperation are enormous.
We can easily see the contrasts by comparing individuals, families,
workplaces, neighborhoods, communities and societies with more and with less
trust.
There are striking differences in the amount of trust
and cooperation in various parts of our country. After Katrina struck New Orleans, most people
went unhelped by their neighbors, having to wait for government action. Much misery occurred and lives were lost. By contrast, during southern California’s
wildfires which destroyed many homes, there was an enormous outpouring of
support for the displaced by individuals and volunteers. Shelters offered not just bedding, clothing
and food. There were also coffee stands,
massages and therapy. Governor
Schwarzenegger appeared to monitor that needs were met.
I believe that much of the dysfunctional behavior that
occurs in our southern states (especially violence and divorce) results from a
lack of trust. From suspicion of others,
prejudice and lack of trust. When I spent
a year in Dallas, I was amazed at the extent to which people, meeting in
homogeneous groups, criticized members of other groups. This seldom occurs in our Puget Sound.
We are wise to trust when we can and be wary when we
trust might be betrayed. But unless
severe consequences are possible, we may do better to have some trust betrayed
than to forgo the benefits of trust which is honored. We may be better by seeking cooperation
before resorting to threats and violence.
Martin Luther King and other religious leaders
emphasize the importance of love. But we
can respect and trust our neighbors without loving them. Loving them might be great, but respect and
trust may be enough to enable cooperation and deter violence.
Increasing the trust of a community often requires
many small steps. It may be helped by
leaders who express that we are all one community, with responsibilities toward
one another. That our shared aspirations
and destiny are move important that things that may divide us. Barack Obama is extending his hand to
everyone, including Republicans, looking for helpful ideas and issues where
cooperation may be possible. If his
efforts are rewarded, our politics may proceed more smoothly. If not, he must move forward toward realizing
our values.
Recommended Books – See our list of books for liberals
Andrew Bagevich, 2005, The New American Militarism. How Americans Are Seduced into War. More.
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