Washington Liberals

The next time you hear a Very Serious Person’s pronouncement about Social Security’s supposedly impending doom, remember: an individual’s interest in seeing Social Security thrive is usually a) inversely proportional to their wealth but b) directly proportional to their empathy for others. How else to explain the effort by the Trump administration and certain members of Congress to pull the economic rug out from under a…

When presidential campaigns have done strong issue advocacy, they have often continued on after the campaigns themselves are over. Pick a few to get involved with now. Rainbow Coalition https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow/PUSH The granddaddy of them all, the Rainbow Coalition grew out of the 1984 Jesse Jackson presidential campaign, back when your only organizing tools were direct…

The Bellevue Planning Commission has recently suggested encouraging employers to stop subsidizing free parking by employees.   The intention is to incentivize people to  use public transportation and other alternatives to commuting by car.   The benefits would be clear: less traffic congestion, less pollution, and a more pleasant environment. As expected, there’s a posting on nextdoor.com…

There has been a debate in the press recently about whether the state (nation) is fundamentally a source of exploitation and war, or whether it’s a civilizing influence on humans’ natural brutal nature. The debate has echoes of Jean-Jacque Rousseau versus Thomas Hobbes, as well as echos of FDR versus the Koch brothers. In short,…

I got a flier in the mail today from Friends of Jared Nieuwenhuis, Friends of Steve Fricke, and Friends of Phil Yin that says “STOP THESE CANDIDATES FROM BRINGING HEROIN INTO BELLEVUE.” The candidates referred to are Karol Brown, Lynne Robinson, and Janice Zahn. What a scare tactic! If this isn’t negative campaigning, I don’t…

In society there are rules of etiquette that enjoin us to respect political and religious differences.  For example, at work, at the store, and on social networks such as nextdoor.com, we are expected to be nonpartisan and to respect differences of opinion. But given the racism, sexism, craziness, and all-round destructiveness of the conservative movement…

Women: “Can I have birth control?” Republicans: “No.” Women: “I couldn’t get birth control so I got pregnant. Can I have an abortion?” Republicans: “No.” Women: “I had the baby, but I’m out of work. Can I have WIC and food stamps until I get back on my feet?” Republicans: “No.” Women: “I found a…

“Some girls rape easy.” – Rep. Roger Rivard (R-Wi) “Rape is kinda like the weather. If it’s inevitable, relax and enjoy it.” – Clayton Williams (R-former Texas gubernatorial candidate) “From what I understand…If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.” – Todd Akin (R-Mo) “You…

“A more progressive tax code, says International Monetary Fund, would both significantly reduce inequality and help grow the economy” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/10/12/imf-says-higher-taxes-wealthy-good-idea-and-these-billionaires-agree

1967 – Jayne Mansfield is killed when her car runs under the rear end of a tractor trailer. Since then, all trailers have a DOT bar at the rear to keep cars from going under them. 1982 – Seven people die when Tylenol packaging was tampered with. Since then, it takes a PhD, channel locks,…