Washington Liberals

The US has more than 10 times the rate (prisoners per 100,000) than Sweden: 716 versus 67, according to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_incarceration_rate.

Former NSA Senior Executive turned NSA whistleblower Thomas Drake, along with former ethics advisor to the Justice Department Jesselyn Radack who is also a whistleblower, will speak in Tacoma at the Washington State History Museum. Both Drake and Radack are featured in the Robert Greenwald film, War on Whistleblowers. (More about them below) They will…

Pope Francis has called on atheists to unite with religious people and work for a “homemade peace” that will spread worldwide. I say: Christians, if you really believe in peace and in the teachings of Jesus, stop voting for conservative politicians who start immoral, disastrous wars; who sell the soul of the US to mammon;…

The January/February issue of Mother Jones has an article “Can’t Touch This:  The wars are winding down. It’s the age of sequester. So why won’t the Pentagon live within its means?”.   The article lists examples of the tremendous waste in the Pentagon budget and identifies Senator Patty Murray as one of the key liberal hawks…

Some conservative-leaning coworkers were saying yesterday that the problem with America is that 47% of people don’t pay taxes. Echoing Mitt Romney, my coworkers said democracy leads to a situation in which people vote for candidates who promise them public money. I replied: I agree we have too much socialism and redistribution of wealth: socialism…

Jeff Lyles and I wrote: Jingle Bells, something smells, Santa is a spy. He works for the NSA. What a sneaky guy! Jingle Bells, something smells, in the USA. The Constitution is at risk. Our rights have gone away. It would be nice to fit Edward Snowden, Julian Assange, and Chelsea Manning in the song.…

Dedicated to the memory of Nelson Mandela who died on December 5, 2013 at the age of 95.  He led Africa’s struggle for freedom and justice.  A hero to millions, he will be mourned around the world.   We the People need to speak truth to power.  We need to be heard.  We need to…

The passage of I-502 which decriminalized possession and use of recreational marijuana could threaten access to medicine for Medical Marijuana patients in Washington State if the Legislature implements the state Liquor Control Board’s plan. The father of a 5 yo child who suffers from a rare and catastrophic form of epilepsy which has been found…

In rejecting Medicaid expansion to serve the uninsured in the poorest, unhealthiest state, Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant piously urged eating better and exercising more (in a stranger-than-fiction twist, he then signed a law, pushed by a barbecue chain owner selling sandwiches called “L’il Piggies,” preventing restaurant calorie disclosure). Bryant has not objected, though, to the…

Most debates about politics in America concern the question of how big the government should be. Conservatives want small government. Liberals want big government. At least that’s the standard framing of the issues. Of course, it’s not quite true that conservatives favor small government.  When it comes to national security, most conservatives have been strong…