Second Life, Dexter Morph, and the Peace Movement
Second Life is a 3d virtual world in which players control virtual selves called “avatars.”    You can choose the gender and looks (body shape, hair, etc) of your avatar, and you can select the clothes your avatar wears. Once in the world, you can chat, dance, fly through the sky, build houses, teleport, and visit…
Summary of bills to eliminate tax loopholes
A cluster of bills introduced into the Washington State House and Senate would raise revenue for vital human needs by eliminating tax exemptions. The main obstacle to eliminating exemptions is Tim Eyman’s (unconstitutional) I-1053 and its 2/3 super-majority requirement on legislative votes to raise revenue. The House bills, HB-2078, HB-2087, and HB-2102, overlap. HB-2078 would…
You gotta choose your battles
How progressive should a group like Washington Liberals be? If it’s too progressive — too anti-war, too hard on centrist Dems, too uncompromising, and too open to certain controversial views (such as Palestinian grievances) — then it risks alienating potential allies. On the other hand, if it’s too conventional, fearful and meek, it’ll betray progressive…
Inspire Seattle: whither progressives?
How can we meet basic community needs during difficult (if not desperate) economic and political times? This was the question addressed at a meeting of Inspire Seattle on Saturday night, at the home of David and Shamah Gamrath in West Seattle. During the first hour or so, people networked and ate the pot-lucked food. (It…
Hey, Road Killers, Defend the Constitution!
The Road Kill Caucus is a group of conservative Democratic Washington State legislators who regularly vote with Republicans to block progressive legislation, especially on bills involving fiscal matters and the BIAW. Because of the recession and because of the passage of Tim Eyman’s regressive I-1053, which requires a 2/3 super-majority vote for legislators to raise…
Tea Party is AKA
“Tea Party” sounds so much nicer than “Koch-funded, Fox News-enabled mob of racists, sexists, homophobes, xenophobes, and anti-government nutcases.” (adapted and modified from here) AKA= Also Known As (Video from MoveOn.)
Uncle Sam and his Shrink
After three sleepless nights, Uncle Sam goes to see his psychiatrist. On the couch, he tells the Doctor, “I spend all my money on wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Libya. I have no money left to spend on highways, social-security, hospitals, schools and libraries at home.” “My Pentagon budget is growing exponentially, year after…
Boeing ignores taxbreaks, ships jobs to South Carolina and Texas
Two headlines in today’s Seattle Times tell an important story about Boeing: Boeing will refurbish flight-test 747-8s in Texas Boeing: S.C. work won’t stop despite NLRB complaint Yet in the 2008 biennium alone, tax breaks for Boeing cost the state $195 million (reference) in return for taxbreaks meant to keep jobs in Washington State. According…
How our legislators should deal with I-1053
There’s a straightforward way for our state legislators to work around Eyman’s I-1053, an initiative that conflicts with several provisions of the state constitution. Will they pursue it? On Feb 29, 2008, Senate Bill 6931 was brought before the Washington State Senate for a vote. SB 6931 would have imposed a 42¢ per liter surcharge on the sale of…