Washington Liberals

I read an excellent article in The Nation by Eric Alterman, “Cuomo v.s. Cuomo.” Alterman describes how Andrew Cuomo (current governor of NY and son of former governor Mario Cuomo) is socially liberal and, unlike his father, economically conservative. Andrew Cuomo passed gun control and gay marriage. But he’s extremely anti-tax. He cut taxes and…

We banned the box! On June 10th, Seattle City Council voted unanimously to pass the Jobs Assistance Ordinance. With it’s passage, employers in Seattle can no longer ask about criminal history on a job application or reference criminal history in advertising. This law will give thousands of people with a criminal record a second chance…

From Finnish Lessons, by Oassu Salberg: “The Finnish experience shows that consistent focus on equity and cooperation — not choice and competition — can lead to an education system where all children learn well. Paying teachers based on students’ test scores or converting public schools into private ones (through charters or other means) are ideas…

[Revised and corrected. 2013/06/23] Thursday night the state legislature passed a bill, SB 5296, that weakened the Model Toxic Control Act. I got email from Washington Conservation Voters asking me to thank legislators who opposed the bill. See Support our kids; end the Big Oil Tax Loophole. According to Washington Environmental Council, the weakening allows…

Sam Seder nails it about libertarians and their puerile fantasies. Building codes needed to protect against earthquakes?   “Are people in Haiti more free because they’re out from under the scourge of building codes?”  Government needed for safe water and food? A fire department? “If you’re lucky you’ll be able to convince the rest of the…

Pirate TV this week Gary Greenberg with Philip Cushman: An Exposé of Psychiatry’s ‘Bible’ Also available: , Mon. 6/17 8-9 pm, Thurs. 1pm, Sat. 1am on Seattle Community Media. The American Psychiatric Association’s “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders” (DSM) is the profession’s bible of diagnosis. Its fifth edition, set for May, radically broadens the…

Hillary Clinton is a frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nominee in 2014. Given her hawkish history as Secretary of State, and given her connections to her triangulating husband and his corporate crowd, it’s likely that progressives would oppose many of her policies. Hillary Rodham Clinton by Wikipedia On the other hand, she’s strong on issues…

The King County Democrats’ Platform & Resolutions Committee is (favorably) considering the following two resolutions, the first one calling for cuts to Pentagon spending, and the second one opposing cuts to Social Security. Concerning the Pentagon budget resolution, someone asked, “Have we considered impacts on WA employment re Boeing and re Joint Base Lewis-McChord? Might…

Much is made of the principle that all of us should have an equal opportunity  to Food, Clothing, Shelter, Healthcare, Education, and so on (FCSHE+). That it is wrong to discriminate based on one’s color, religion, creed, gender, sexual orientation, disabilities, etc., should be obvious to anyone capable of forming thoughts. Yet, in the US…