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…

Matt Preedy, deputy WSDOT viaduct replacement program administrator, and Chris Dixon, project manager with Seattle Tunnel Partners, announced today that engineers had discovered what’s blocking Bertha, the giant tunnel-boring drill stuck beneath Pier 48 on the Seattle waterfront:  Rodney Tom and Pam Roach of the Senate Majority Coalition. Engineers discovered that Tom (D-48th LD) and…

The Constitution says that the county central committees must send 3 names to the county councils so that a choice may be made on who should have the appointment.  As much as we would wish it, the vote of the PCOs is not the final say.  Over the last few decades, we have had the…

If government is broken, fix it, don’t destroy it.  For further explanation, see: Anarchism, Libertarianism and the way forward Without Government We’d Still be Hunter-Gatherers Government is like a Computer Operating System

State lawmakers are at an impasse, with Sen. Rodney Tom‘s Majority Coalition Caucus stubbornly holding our transit funding hostage to their austerity agenda.  Dow Constantine has announced that King County will pursue a “Plan B” to save Metro, sending a regressive tax package (a flat Vehicle License Fee of up to $100 and a sales…

The Nation selected the Seattle Teachers Association as the MOST VALUABLE UNION: The Progressive Honor Roll of 2013. “When teachers at Seattle’s Garfield High School refused to administer the Measures of Academic Progress test to ninth graders in January—with support from parents, students, rank-and-file activists from Seattle Equality Educators and local NAACP leaders—they put the…

One evening in 2010, Monica’s baby had a seizure. After a frantic call to 911, a terrifying rush to the hospital, and a night spent by her son’s side, Monica had to get to her 7 am shift at a local Safeway. She hated to leave her son but she couldn’t afford to lose a…

http://dailycaller.com/2013/12/13/zuckerberg-to-use-facebook-to-boost-immigrant-worker-bill/ Progressives unknowingly allied themselves with rich corporations on immigration reform. High tech companies like Microsoft, google, Apple, and Amazon.com hire thousands of foreign engineers but generally refuse to pay taxes that would support educating local workers.

It was a cold night.  A fine sleet pelted me as I walked down Seneca towards town to do some last minute shopping.  Walking on the north side of the street, I approached 6th Avenue where cars came roaring off the freeway.  I wasn’t paying much attention as I looked straight ahead, hoping to make…