Republican discussed violent attacks and surveillance with rightwingers Washington state representative Matt Shea exchanged messages with far-right figures, chat records obtained by the Guardian reveal A Washington state Republican politician took part in private discussions with rightwing figures about carrying out surveillance, “psyops” and even violent attacks on perceived political enemies, according to chat records…

At the state party meeting in Pasco last weekend, the Washington State Democratic Central Committee passed  a resolution calling for Rep. Adam Smith, Chair of the House Armed Services Committee, to work to lower military spending.   The resolution’s THEREFORE clause reads: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that we, the Washington State Democratic Central Committee, call on…

Nonzero: The Logic of Human Destiny, is an ambitious book, with a title that one might deem grandiose. But the author, Robert Wright, crafts a satisfying, readable tour de force that synthesizes human history, anthropology, game theory, biology, and ethics. The book first explores the evolution of human societies towards larger and more complex social…

Summer Stinson posted on the facebook page Washington Paramount Duty the following (and gave me permission): ACTION ALERT: STOP Betsy DeVos policies in WA! In the dead of night, at 1:30 in the morning, the Senate Ways and Means Committee passed the bill proposing to address the school district levy lid issue, SB 5313. But…

Adam Schiff spoke my mind with these epic questions in Congress yesterday. These are also the questions I’d ask those on the left who are now using a sentence fragment from the Mueller report—cited by an AG who was hired to protect the president—to tell everyone who closely followed this investigation that we were all…

The auditorium at Bellevue College was standing-room only on March 23, 2019  for the town hall of the 41st Legislative District lawmakers Sen. Lisa Wellman, Rep. Tana Senn, and Rep. My-Linh Thai. Sen. Wellman is Chair of Early Learning & K-12 Education and sits on Environment, Energy & Technology, Higher Education & Workforce Development, and…

The KOMO documentary Seattle is Dying is a powerful  and angry film, denouncing the city council and courts for allowing homeless camps, tents, filth, and crime to fester. It depicts the low-functioning homeless who are drug addicted, mentally ill, and/or criminal. It condemns the inability or unwillingness of the police, courts, and city council to…

Common Dreams is reporting that the Democrats in Congress appear ready to give into most of Donald Trump’s request for a $750 billion defense budget. From ‘Military Keynesianism is Back!’: Democrats and Trump Agree on Pentagon Increase, Quibble on Details: The Democrats proposed $733 billion budget would give the military most of what it wants…

Last night there was a showing of Rick Steve’s The Story of Fascism in Europe. There was a big turnout, about 40 people, which the organizers said was the largest they’ve had for a film. The film blamed the rise of fascism on desperate people deceived by charismatic leaders (Hitler, Mussolini, Franco) who offered simple…

An abundance of progressive legislation is being introduced in the House of Representatives, setting the stage for eventual passage, when the Democrats take back control of the Senate. Thanks to Rep. Pramila Jayapal, Bernie Sanders and years of advocacy by health care activists, single-payer healthcare is coming closer to reality. As of Februrary, 2019 there…