Washington Liberals

Is any kind of meaningful democracy possible in a régime of secret law? — This is the question raised by the lead article in Sunday’s *New York Times*, which said that the FISA court “has quietly become almost a parallel Supreme Court, serving as the ultimate arbiter on surveillance issues and delivering opinions that will…

See Thanks To ‘Loopholes’ U.S. Corporations Pay A Lower Tax Rate Than Middle Class Families (VIDEO)

Congestion Ahead: Senate Republicans under Rodney Tom refuse to pass transportation budget. Leave early, hold your breath

The right wing Washington Policy Center has the following to say about the state education budget: “Washington’s school children had little to celebrate as lawmakers added $1.5 billion in new spending to an inefficient, unreformed K-12 public education system” (Key education reforms die leaving Washington’s school children little to celebrate). Is the $1.5 billion figure for…

S.A.F.E. (Standing Against Foreclosure and Eviction) in Seattle successfully stopped a impending eviction by mobilizing the community to support one-another and stand-up to intimidation by corrupt banks. Visit www.SAFEinSeattle.org Amplify your Activism by visiting www.BackboneCampaign.org find us on FB at https://www.facebook.com/BackboneCamp… SAFE formed from an Occupy offshoot after a Eviction Protection weekend training with Backbone…

Five members of SAFE (Standing Against Foreclosure & Eviction) were arrested Tuesday at a downtown Seattle branch of Wells Fargo as they protested the imminent eviction of Jeremy Griffin from his South Park home. While sitting in the bank’s lobby, the five chanted “We Shall Not Be Moved” and read a letter from Mr. Griffin…

Jerry Cornfield, political reporter for the Everett Daily Herald, reports that Boeing wants the legislature to invest in training workers and educating greater numbers of engineers; improve the state’s transportation network including in and around its Everett factory; continue reforming [i.e., weakening] workers’ compensation; and don’t change a state standard on fish consumption in a…

By Jennifer Langston What will losing 17 percent of transit service feel like? Oran Viriyincy, flickr In blocking a vote on a transportation package before the Washington State Legislature adjourned this weekend, Senate Republicans led by Rodney Tom utterly failed anyone who rides the bus—or drives through or around—King County. There was plenty not to…

Schools sometimes offer “home economics” courses. And there’s the book Life Skills 101: A Practical Guide to Leaving Home and Living on Your Own, which concentrates mostly on financial matters. I suggest a course, for high school seniors, called Life Skills 102. It would cover topics such as: How to deal with stress. How to…

A new report rates the well-being of Washington’s kids as just above average. Here’s why. The Annie E. Casey Foundation’s annual Kids Count Data Book rates all 50 U.S. states on a multitude of factors, and uses them to calculate four main indicators: economic well-being, education, health, and family and community. Washington places 19th overall – the…