Readings about carbon taxes

* Our endorsement in September from Seattle Business magazine prompted a half-dozen Letters to the Editor in the latest issue, including pro-carbon-pricing letters from Rogers Weed, former director of the state Department of Commerce; from real-estate heavyweight Craig Kinzer; and from Gwen Hanson of the Bellevue chapter of Citizens Climate Lobby. * Forbes magazine is…

Badass Teachers target Microsoft for avoiding taxes

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation promotes the privatization of public schools and were influential in donating in support of the Washington State charter schools initiative, I-1240, in 2010. The registered sponsor for the initiative was the League of Education Voters. I-1240 campaign was funded partly by a “handful” of Puget Sound area billionaires, including…

Seattle Public Municipal Bank Forum, Dec 10

Join Seattle City Councilman Nick Licata, State Senator Bob Hasegawa, Gwen Hallsmith of the Public Banking Institute, the Seattle Public Bank Coalition, and experts in public banking for a public forum on A Municipal Bank for Seattle Dec 10 at 7pm University Methodist Church, 1415 NE 43rd St, Seattle More information at http://seattlepublicbankcoalition.org/ Seattle could…

Looking for action?

Find it at Radical Women’s organizing meeting Connect with a multi-racial group of feminists looking to change the world! Take part in updates and discussions on the effort to stop Seattle Housing Authority’s rent-raising “Stepping Forward” plan. Analyze the movement to defend Marissa Alexander, a Black mother going on trial in Florida for defending herself against…

Microsoft's tax avoidance schemes: national and in Washington State

(revised, 2014/10/28) Bloomberg reported in 2012: “A U.S. Senate committee memo said Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) used aggressive international tax maneuvers to avoid billions of dollars in taxes over the past three years. … Microsoft used transactions with subsidiaries in Puerto Rico, Ireland, Singapore and Bermuda to save at least $6.5 billion in taxes.” It “shifts…

Bible vs Quran—Test Your Knowledge of Who Deserves Death in Which Religion

The world has watched in horror while members of ISIS justify the next mass murder or icy execution with words from the Quran, followed by shouts of Allahu Akbar—God is the greatest! If beliefs have any power whatsoever to drive behavior—and as a psychologist I think they do—there can be little doubt that the Quran’s…