The Declaration of Independence

Posted for your reading pleasure on this Fourth of July, 2009, a beautiful document, authored primarily by our third President, Thomas Jefferson, who drew heavily on the thinking of Enlightenment philosophers such as John Locke to persuasively lay out the case for the independence of the United States.

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen United States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,

That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.

But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government.

The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here.

We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity.

We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do.

And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

Sarah Palin resigns as Governor of Alaska

Wow, didn't see this one coming:

Sarah Palin made a surprise announcement Friday that she will resign as governor of Alaska in a few weeks, saying she will try to "affect positive change" from outside government.

The former Republican vice presidential candidate hastily called a news conference Friday morning at her home in suburban Wasilla, giving such short notice that only a few reporters actually made it to the announcement.

Since the news initially broke a couple hours ago it is spreading like wildfire, and with it, pithy reactions. One commenter on the New York Times' site quipped:

Affecting change outside of government? Gee, you mean like being a Community Organizer?

— Dave

Good one.

Of course, pundits are going to speculate that Palin is resigning because she wants to run for President in 2012, but that doesn't make any sense. The best jumping off point for the presidency is a governorship. Look at recent American political history - Barack Obama is the first president since JFK to have been elected out of Congress. Why would Palin give that up?

MSNBC is reporting that "inside sources" have told them that Palin and her family want to be out of politics for good, and that is a far more plausible explanation for this decision. Palin no longer enjoys the popular support she once had in her home state, and her chances of winning reelection in 2010 were already starting to look dicey. Perhaps she's just tired of being laughed at and made fun of... although she asked for it with her nastiness at the Republican National Convention and on the campaign trail towards President Obama and Vice President Biden.

Here's a partial transcript of Palin's remarks at her press conferences. Palin spoke sharply, clearly drawing breath as she finished key sentences.

And so... as I thought about this announcement that I wouldn't run for re-election, and what that means for Alaska, I thought about how, well, how much fun some Governors have as lame ducks. They maybe travel around their state, travel to other states, maybe take their overseas international trade missions. So many politicians do that. And, then I thought, that's what wrong.

Many just accept that lame duck status. And they hit the road, they draw a paycheck... they kinda milk it... And I'm not gonna to put Alaskans through that. I promised efficiencies and effectiveness. That's not how I'm wired, I'm not wired to operate under the same old politics as usual. I promised that four years ago, and I meant it. It... That's not what is best for Alaska at this time.

I am determined to take the right path for Alaska, even though it is unconventional and it's not so comfortable. With this announcement that I'm not seeking reelection, I've determined it's best to transfer the authority of governor to Lieutenant Governor Parnell. And... I am willing to do this, so that this administration, with its positive agenda and its accomplishments, and its successful road to an incredible future for Alaska... so that it can continue without interruption. And with great administrative and legislative success.

My choice is to take a stand and affect change, and not just hit our head against the wall, and watch valuable state time and money... millions of your dollars go down the drain in this new political environment. Rather, we know we can affect positive change outside government at this moment in time on another scale and actually make a difference for our priorities, and... so we will.

For Alaskans. And for Americans.

Let me go back quickly to a comfortable analogy for me, and that's sports. Basketball. And... And I use it because you are naive if you don't see a full court press from the national level, picking away right now.

A good point guard, here's what she does: She drives through a full court press, protecting the ball, keeping her head up, because she needs to keep her eye on the basket. And... she knows exactly when to pass the ball, so that the team can win. And that is what I'm doing. Keeping our eye on the ball.

That represents sound priorities, remember, they include energy independence, and smaller government, and national security and freedom... and I know when it's time to pass the ball for victory.

Yadda, yadda, yadda.

The Democratic National Committee has already slammed Palin for announcing she's going to take her ball and go home. Here's spokesman Brad Woodhouse:

Either Sarah Palin is leaving the people of Alaska high and dry to pursue her long shot national political ambitions or she simply can't handle the job now that her popularity has dimmed and oil revenues are down.

[...]

Either way, her decision to abandon her post and the people of Alaska who elected her continues a pattern of bizarre behavior that more than anything else may explain the decision she made today.

Palin may very well go down in history as a half term governor and a quitter who, like most bullies, seemed to relish tossing fireballs at her political opposition but couldn't take the heat when fireballs were promptly lobbed back.

We couldn't imagine a more deserving fate for Sarah Palin than being consigned to the dustbin of American political history with all of the other divisive and hollow politicians who had their fifteen minutes of fame and then faded away for good.

Eyman turns in signatures for I-1033

This morning in Olympia, Tim Eyman showed up at the Secretary of State's office in Olympia to submit what he signatures he's managed to collect for his jobs-killing Initiative 1033. Reporters from several newspapers, KOMO TV, and NPR attended Eyman's press event, which mostly featured rehashed Eyman talking points.

The Secretary of State's office tells NPI that they received 19,317 petitions, not all of which are full. Eyman claimed to have submitted 314,277 signatures. We'll see if that's how many he really turned in when the Secretary of State finishes processing the petitions. If the petitions on average were all only three fourths full, that would leave Eyman with only 289,755 signatures. Eyman's number works out to between sixteen and seventeen signatures on average per petition.

Again, we'll see if it's validated.

But the safe assumption is that Eyman has bought his way onto the ballot yet again.

A diverse coalition is coming together to fight Initiative 1033. Besides Permanent Defense, many of the state's largest progressive organizations have pledged resources and energy to beat back this terrible idea.

The coalition's campaign manager, Aisling Kerins (a veteran of the successful effort against Initiative 933) summed up how the opposition campaign will be waged in a news release: "Educators, health care providers, fire fighters and others aren’t waiting to get involved. We have a story to tell about how crippling this initiative will be to our state and our economy, and we’re starting now."

Welcome to the 45th District Democrats, where everybody gets an endorsement!

Less than a month after failing to reach agreement on endorsing anybody for King County Executive, the membership of the 45th District Democrats has decided that everybody who wanted our support for the job can have it.

That's right, I said everybody.

By a vote of twenty two to ten, the membership of the formerly indecisive 45th District Democrats quad-endorsed (is that how you say that?) half of the eight person field for King County Executive: Dow Constantine, Larry Phillips, Ross Hunter, and Fred Jarrett. The motion to quad-endorse was the only motion made and debated for the executive's race at our July meeting this evening.

Last month, the LD considered motions to endorse each candidate individually and five motions to endorse some combination of candidates, but all were rejected.

So for this meeting, several members of the district - who, for all I know, are apparently fans of that episode of Oprah where everybody got a car - decided to throw their weight behind the idea of endorsing all four.

One member even printed up micro-flyers urging fellow members to back a quad-endorsement, which were circulated around the room in addition to all of the candidates' literature. (I've reproduced a copy of this to the left).

Conveniently left off the micro-flyer was the LD's own endorsement committee's recommendation from last month that a single candidate, Dow Constantine, be endorsed by the LD organization. I chaired the committee that produced the recommendation, and while I was neither surprised nor dismayed that it was not adopted last month, I was puzzled this month to see so many embrace this motion to cheerily extend our endorsement to every candidate who requested it.

I was one of the ten who voted no - because I think endorsements should mean something - and they don't when they're handed out like party favors.

Approving a quad-endorsement may be a feel-good way to take action in this race, but it basically amounts to a declaration of no preference.

It doesn't help a voter decide who to vote for when they're sitting at the kitchen table looking at the eight names on the ballot. (Most of the voters who would consider our endorsement credible will have already ruled out voting for one of the other four candidates). Nor does it indicate to the public or the press who the district's grassroots base likes the best.

But a supermajority of members present and voting decided that's what they wanted to do, so the debate is over. I find it amusing, because three weeks ago we couldn't agree on endorsing anybody, but tonight we couldn't disagree on endorsing everybody. Admittedly, it's true that if we combined the best traits of Dow, Larry, Ross, and Fred, we'd have an incredible county executive, but we simply won't have that choice on our mail in ballots next month.

Baird draws opponents for 2010

Two Republican candidates have stepped up to oppose Congressman Brian Baird in Washington's third Congressional district: Jon Russell and David Castillo.

A Republican city councilman from Washougal with a history of opposing gay rights has stepped into the ring to challenge Democratic U.S. Rep. Brian Baird.

[...]

Russell joins David Castillo, as the GOP challengers in the 3rd district, which runs from Olympia to Vancouver. Castillo is a financial adviser in Olympia, formerly served as state House Republican Caucus staff director, worked for the federal Department of Homeland Security and once was deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Jon Russell is a former Executive Director of the right-wing evangelical Faith & Freedom Network, and in addition to serving as a Washougal city councilmember, is the owner of the Columbia Gorge Medical Center.

Russell is so virulently anti-gay, that while making his point about his opposition to marriage equality, he ends up insulting heterosexual couples who have issues with fertility.

"Things that cannot reproduce or things that cannot provide that generational heritage are not a progressive value. Those are backwards values."

Way to go Jon. Marginalizing good people who, through no fault of their own, are unable to have children, is certainly a winning strategy. I wonder if Mr. Russell feels the same way about people who choose not to have children.

It gets better. On his Facebook political page, Russell looks to expand his base:

This race is about you, regardless of where you live in America.

By all means, go ahead and ask for votes in Oregon, Jon. And while you're at it, you might find a few votes in Idaho.

As for David Castillo, in addition to his other service listed above, he is a veteran of the U.S. Navy. Much like Russell, according to his website, he is running on the standard GOP fare of lower taxes and smaller government. It's actually part of a three sentence statement on his website, which is very heavy on the biography and completely lacking in positions on issues or any information that might give you an idea of what kind of Congressman he'd be. Castillo does have a blog, but it only has three entries and isn't updated every day.

It's going to take a lot more than these two pretenders for the Third Congressional District to have a new representative.

Senator Cantwell tells constituents at forum: "I support a public plan"

I'm in the back of the room listening to Senator Maria Cantwell's expert panel discussion on healthcare reform at UW Medicine.

Joining Senator Cantwell for today's event are representatives from Regence Blue Shield, Premera Blue Cross, AARP Washington, Group Health Cooperative, Washington State Labor Council, Physicians for a National Health Program, and Community Health Network of Washington. Also present are Senator Karen Keiser and Governor Chris Gregoire, representing state government.

We've just finished a lengthy hour of introductory remarks from all the panelists, and are just getting into questions. The first question was whether Senator Cantwell would support a public option for healthcare. The answer?

"Yes, I support a public plan."

But what exactly she means by that, well, we don't know. It sounds like she's not even sure herself. We do appreciate her going on the record in support of putting us on the path towards universal coverage for every American.

The devil, of course, is in the details. Getting universal coverage starts, minimally, with a robust public option that is available nationwide, immediately accessible on Day One, and answerable to the American people and Congress.

UPDATE: Joel Connelly of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and I asked Cantwell what she meant by the phrase "public plan". Apparently, Cantwell's definition of "public plan" is fluid; it could include some kind of government-backed health-care-cooperative system, as has been reported elsewhere. But a co-op scheme is not necessarily what Cantwell will be for. She indicated she would be following the lead of Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus.

Reading between the lines of her response, if Baucus can be convinced to support a real public plan, then Senator Cantwell will almost assuredly follow suit. Incredible, but polite pressure clearly needs to be brought to bear on Baucus to convince him that we need true healthcare reform, not quarter measures.

(Full measures would be legislating the creation of a single payer system; the public plan that many progressive groups and members of Congress are coalescing around could already be construed as half measures).

Congratulations, Senator-elect Franken

Half a year after his fellow freshman Senators took their seats in Congress, Minnesota's Al Franken finally and truly has been declared the winner in Minnesota's 2008 U.S. Senate race.

The Minnesota Supreme Court has ruled: DFLer Al Franken beat Norm Coleman last year fair and square, and is eligible for an election certificate that will allow him to be seated in the United States Senate.

You can read the decision here.

Unfortunately, the decision does not explicitly order Gov. Tim Pawlenty to issue that certificate, so here's to hoping he won't see fit to play more dirty partisan games with Minnesota's second Senate seat.

The decision was unanimous.

Norm Coleman and Al Franken have both scheduled press conferences for this afternoon. Coleman's is first. Will he pull a Dino Rossi and announce he's not going to carry on this pointless legal battle any further, so that Senator-elect Franken can get to work for the people of Minnesota? We'll find out within the next hour.

UPDATE: Norm Coleman has conceded. "We are a nation of laws... The Court has spoken," Coleman said to reporters outside his home, confirming he will bring his legal battle to an end and allow Al Franken to be seated as Minnesota's new junior senator. "I called to congratulate [Al] and wish him the best," Coleman added. Franken will be holding his own press conference in an hour.

Dear Associated Press: Please stop shilling for Tim Eyman - and get your facts straight

The Associated Press' Olympia bureau has done it again.

For reasons I can't fathom, the Associated Press has put out on the wire a short "news brief" (hard to call it a story, since it's so short) trumpeting the "news" that Tim Eyman spoke at a small gathering of conservatives in Olympia about his latest scheme to bankrupt Washington State.

Not only is this "news brief" a wasted effort, since there's really no news in it, but almost every paragraph of it is filled with factual or mechanical errors.

To be fair, the errors weren't originally made by the Associated Press, they were made by the reporter who wrote the article the "news brief" is derived from - Jeremy Pawloski of The Olympian, who actually wrote a longer story about a gathering of conservatives in our state's capital that contains errors.

This story was then clipped by the AP so it focused almost exclusively on Eyman, then slightly condensed, and finally redistributed for no good reason.

The Associated Press may not be the source of the errors but they are at fault for not doing any fact-checking of their own before they chose to put this out on the wire. Memo to the AP: Just because this ran in a newspaper doesn't mean it's one hundred percent accurate and doesn't need to be double checked for mistakes.

Let's start out with paragraph two of the AP brief.

Eyman is sponsor of Initiative 1033, which would reduce property taxes by limiting the growth of certain state, county and city revenue to annual inflation and population growth excluding voter-approved revenue increases.

This is misleading. Initiative 1033 does not actually reduce property taxes; it is intended to prevent them from increasing. That would choke government and drain our common wealth, leading to thousands of job losses as state and local government leaders find themselves with no other choice but to lay off public servants because they can't pay them.

Next paragraph:

Eyman said as of last Monday, supporters of the initiative had 270,055 signatures about 20,000 short of the 292,000 valid signatures required to put it on the ballot in November.

Wrong. The number of valid signatures required to reach the ballot is 241,153, not 292,000. 292,000 is the bare minimum that Tim Eyman would like to have to ensure he has a large enough cushion to offset the inevitable percentage of duplicate or invalid signatures on his petitions.

(Eyman claimed last week that he had 270,055 signatures now - which could be a made up number - and says he needs at least 22,000 more).

Next parargraph:

The deadline for collecting signatures is July 3.

Officially, that's correct, but in actuality, it's wrong. The date is actually July 2nd this year, because July 3rd is a holiday - Independence Day Observed. Tim Eyman himself has mentioned this to his supporters:

On every petition and in every email and letter and newspaper story, the signature gathering deadline was identified as Friday, July 3rd. That's what we were told by the Secretary of State when we first filed the initiative back in January.

However, the Secretary of State just sent out a letter that says that July 3rd is actually a government holiday and their offices will be closed on that Friday. That means the ACTUAL deadline is one day earlier, Thursday, July 2nd.

Next paragraph:

Eyman said other TEA Party rallies this year have been instrumental in collecting signatures for the petition. TEA stands for Taxed Enough Already.

First, this sentence is gramatically incorrect. "Collecting signatures for the petition"? "Petition", singular? Try initiative. That's the noun Pawloski no doubt meant to use. As for "TEA Party", who cares what that stands for? Again, this just isn't news.

Nothing newsworthy happened at this small gathering of conservatives, which was estimated to be in the "hundreds" (and there's no visual evidence documenting this figure that I've seen). It was clearly an identical sequel to the many events that were held on April 15th and promoted by the Republican Noise Machine.

A gaggle of different conservatives who variously dislike Barack Obama, dislike government, and dislike paying their membership dues in America (or maybe all three) got together to dress up in costume, hold signs, and chant slogans. Whatever - freedom of assembly's a great thing. But there's no news here.

Tim Eyman said a bunch of stuff he's been saying for six months and his admirers cheered and told him what a great guy he was.

I wasn't even there and I could have easily topped this "news brief" with an accounting of what Tim Eyman said; plus, I could have provided accurate background information and a couple paragraphs detailing the opposing view of I-1033, which is completely missing from this wire piece.

Shame on the Associated Press - which claims to be objective - for putting out a subjective, error-filled dispatch shilling for Tim Eyman.

And shame on the Seattle Times, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, and The Examiner for reproducing it on their websites.

To those editors that chose to run this: If I want to know what Tim Eyman is doing, I can head over to his website and read his own words. Neither I nor anyone else needs Eyman's messaging crudely compacted and summarized for us.

The original thing is way more entertaining anyway.

Newspaper-quality journalism, indeed. I expect better from the world's largest wire service. Maybe my standards are just too high in an era when traditional media seems to be declining in almost every respect.

Susan Hutchison Unabridged: Transcript of her remarks at North Bend executive forum

Editor's Note: The following is a transcription of Susan Hutchison's entire remarks at the King County Executive candidate forum organized by Gary and Jennifer Fancher this past Thursday evening (and held in North Bend), which we liveblogged here on The Advocate and on Twitter.

We decided to transcribe Hutchison's remarks because so far she has chosen not to appear at almost any of the many public forums on this race that have been held across the county since the beginning of May, and attendees of those events have thus not had an opportunity to learn her views on the issues.

The following transcription is exact and provided without commentary... we'll let others critique and parse it in detail. The transcription was produced not from notes, but of the complete audio recording we made of the forum, so what you'll read is precisely what Susan Hutchison said.

Faithfully transcribing Hutchison's answers was often difficult, as I had go back over and over again to accurately capture Hutchison's stammers and faltering sentences. It's much, much easier to transcribe something that is smoothly spoken, but that's not how Hutchison's responses were delivered, so as a result, it took extra time to type it all out and verify its accuracy.

Enjoy.

QUESTION: What sets you apart from the other Executive candidates?

HUTCHISON: Thank you. Good evening, everyone. What sets me apart from my opponents... I would first like to say, that, as you know, for the first time ever, this race is nonpartisan.

The voters decided in November that that's what they wanted. Because they decided that the county issues did not have a D or an R next to them. And so I am a nonpartisan. I have never been part of the political process.

And uh... And I believe through the work I have done serving the people of this region for almost thirty years that the best way to get things done is not in a partisan way, but together, bringing people together, and working together to solve our complex problems. Since I am not a politician, I don't, uh, operate from the point of view of, uh, partisan politics.

And many of you know me from my years as a TV newscaster. And in those days, for twenty five years, I was invited into many of your living rooms. And... I delivered the news and the issues of this region to you... every night. Some people said I was invited into their bedrooms, and uh, I put them to sleep at night.

[LAUGHTER]

And uh... I don't quite know how to take that, but, uh...

Uh... For the last six years I've been the Executive Director of the Charles Simonyi Fund for Arts and Sciences. And we provide grants for arts, science, and education programs. And in that world, I have been deeply involved with so many of the not for profit organizations in this region. And it's been a tremendous privilege to be part of the social fabric of what matters to the people here.

I am grateful for the opportunity to be able to run for King County Executive. I make executive decisions every day. And uh... And I look forward to bringing the changes that an only an outsider can bring. Because I am not deeply entrenched in the problems that this county faces. Thank you.

QUESTION: Our current job seekers are competing with a global marketplace of highly educated individuals. Washington State's third largest institution of higher education, Bellevue College, has become a crowded four year school serving thirty five [thousand] students annually.

Do you agree with the need for a two year college here in East King County, and if so, what steps would you propose to take as Executive to encourage a community college campus development in this area?

HUTCHISON: I really am in favor of the community college system. I served on an advisory board for South Seattle Community College for several years. I took a course at North Seattle Community College in economics, uh, some years ago and I found that it was tremendously beneficial.

Uh... We get more value for, um, our education dollars in our community college systems and the ratios of student teachers are so much better, uh, for this, uh, entry level, uh, student, than you'd find at the University of Washington, for example. Um... This is... This is a great question and I think probably a number of the questions we're going to answer tonight will have a lot to do with both local and state, uh, jurisdiction. And... Hunter is right. The college system in... in this region is controlled by the state.

[Ross Hunter looks up at the audience, puzzled, mouths his last name, "Hunter", as if to ask, What's the deal with using my last name?]

There are other alternatives to setting up a new college. We could have satellite, uh, campuses. The Green River system... uh, community college... has put in a few satellite campuses. And uh... One of the things that's so outstanding about our community colleges is they are so agile and quick to respond to market forces.

For example, when we had a nurses shortage, uh, both Highline Community College and South Seattle were able to put in nurses programs very quickly to respond to the need. So as we look at our economic crisis, uh, there's nothing like education, to help build, uh, skilled people with skills that can be used in the marketplace right now. So, uh, if it means adding another campus here on the Eastside somewhere that's convenient to uh, a large number of students, I'm all in favor of it, and as I've said before at other forums, I see the King County Executive as someone who advocates for the citizens of this region. 1.8 million people have a voice in the Legislature through the King County Executive.

QUESTION: What changes would you propose to King County's Critical Areas Ordinance to permit long term sustainability over stagnation of areas such as Snoqulamie, Fall City, and North Bend?

HUTCHISON: Since I announced that I was running for King County Executive, I've spent a lot of time, uh, out in the county, uh, not talking, but listening. And that's what I prefer to do. And... And I've learned a great deal. And one of the things that comes out over and over again is... the way that our outer cities and, uh, and individual... citizens, feel toward county government.

Uh... there's tremendous animosity towards the county government, and for good reason. Uh... I am told by the citizens that the county is arrogant and disdainful, does not respect them, doesn't value their opinion, and moves in, in an arbitrary fashion. And... the Critical Areas Ordinance is, uh, a classic example of that.

Now, there are two things that I believe about all of you who live... out here. One is that you live out here because you love the natural beauty and uh, and resources, that you enjoy, every morning when you wake up, the... the hills, and the valleys, and the streams, and the mountains, and the fresh air, and everything that a rural environment gives you. And then the other thing that I believe about you is that if you own property here, you believe you own that property, and, uh, and you have some say over how you're going to use that property.

What has happened with the Critical Areas Ordinance is... it's a... it's a... a... a blanket ordinance that does not take individual, uh... properties into... in... as it analy... it doesn't even analyze at all.

Uh... it's... it's been arbitrarily, uh, enforced, and so many of you have spent a great deal of your time and energy fighting it that we've had critical sections of the ordinance shot down by the courts. So, uh... we need to go back to the drawing board. We need to ensure that we have good development... and it... or no development, as the case may be, in some places. But we also need to make sure that property rights are restored.

QUESTION: Under the current transportation system, the Eastside is unconnected, and left dependent on their own private vehicles, or face an hour and half, thirty five mile bus trip from North Bend to Seattle. It's not fun; I've done it. Under the current system, light rail, roads, and mass transit... bus authority... each have their own management and funding, and do not execute a plan for 5th District residents that includes light rail and mass transit support until the year 2020. Investing in infrastructure takes political courage. What specifically do you propose to solve our transportation needs to make sure these efforts are coordinated, strategic, and serve the East King County areas?

HUTCHISON: There is no more significant issue in this county than transportation, period. Uh... Last week, at, uh, our campaign launch, at a jobs fair, we had a fellow show up and hold signs with us who's a... who's a Metro bus driver.

And he said to me afterwards... the Metro bus drivers can't stand the traffic. We're so tired of the congestion.

[AUDIENCE CHUCKLES]

And... I quickly got his phone number. I said, I need to talk to you some more, I want to hear more of, uh, of uh, what you have to say and how you want to solve the problem. The people who live further out from the city have this long commute on our highways and then they have this excruciating commute on the byways. The... they sit in traffic for a half hour over a two mile stretch.

And, uh... and that takes time away from their families, their children, and it certainly affects their quality of life.

The Regional Transportation Commission that was set up by the governor with a bipartisan leadership - Norm Rice and John Stanton - presented a two... uh, a... a study... and, I've read it, it's about a half an inch thick. And in it, after they conducted their study, they made this recommendation, that all of our transportation agencies needed to fall under one authority.

That information then went back to Olympia... and no one did a thing. Nothing has changed. And everyone in our region is so frustrated with the gridlock on the highways and the gridlock in the political arena when it comes to transportation that they voted an exorbitant tax increase for Sound Transit in our last election. And it has all the policymakers scratching their head.

And the reason why they don't understand is that the voters finally said, Do something. And if it has to be Sound Transit, that's what it'll be.

This is a subject we could talk about all night, and I just want to tell you, that we have some initiatives planned from my campaign, and we'll be announcing those in the next few weeks.

QUESTION: Small business is the backbone of our local economy; however, many of our businesses are moving out of King County to other lower cost areas in the region and the state.

What will you do as King County Executive, specifically, to help retain the existing business in King County plus attract new business to our area?

HUTCHISON: We are in a recession, we don't know how deep it's going to go, we're certainly not on the up-tick, and, uh, our citizens are suffering. People have lost their jobs and businesses are closing. This is a profoundly important issue. The best way to invigorate an economy is to grow jobs. And the best way to grow jobs is to help our small businesses thrive.

Last week I proposed a number of initiatives to help our small businesses thrive. One of them would involve spending time in Olympia and working with our Legislature to increase the threshold of the B&O tax on our small businesses. This is a gross income tax. It is gross, but it is also on gross revenues.

And uh... And it hurts small business because they have to pay taxes even sometimes before they've made a profit.

It's not fair to them and it's certainly is something that we as a, as a county of 1.8 million people can go to Olympia and, uh, and lobby for. If it will help turn around our small business climate, I will do everything I can to ensure that this state works with this county to change the small business environment.

It's time for us to hang up the Open for Business sign on the county, for all business, not just small business, but also businesses such as Boeing and Microsoft and others that are so integral to our economy.

You know, there are such onerous, uh, regulations that are on our businesses today in the county. A woman on Vashon Island recently said that she was going to have to move out of the county - Vashon happens to be in King County - and she was going to move because she couldn't conduct her business there.

It's a problem that's so severe we have to have to have a total change in attitude about business in this county.

QUESTION: Many businesses have laid off workers, frozen salary increases, and some have even reduced employee pay in order to retain jobs and meet company expenses. Going forward, all levels of government, like as at home, must live within our means. Yet, the King County Executive office positions received four percent raises over each of the last two years - 2008 and 2009. If you were the King County Executive, how will you change the county budget priorities and the process to prevent the budget shortfalls that we're currently having?

HUTCHISON: Well, the question was specifically about the Executive office and the Executive office pay raises. And I'll tell you who's, uh, madder than the citizens about it: it's a couple of the departments in, uh, in county government who bore the burden of the pay... of the cuts, the budget cuts, in 2008. And that's the prosecutor's office and the sheriff's department.

Uh... They had to make the cuts in their people, while the Executive office continued... uh, and the Council office as well... uh, continued to operate, uh, business as usual, at the status quo. And so, it is time, uh, as everyone has done in their companies and in ther homes, to tighten up the spending in, uh, county government. This is the way you get through an economic downturn.

Uh... the governor... I made a couple trips to Olympia since I announced that I was running and I've, I had some time with the governor last week. And, uh, she talked about the hard decisions she made in January to, uh, freeze salaries. There were no pay increases. And uh... that earned her the ire of unions and Democrats... people who had been her traditional supporters. And I believe it was a statesmanlike thing that she did, and uh, and a good thing.

And... and we are going to have to make some tough decisions in county government. And we are going to have to make them countywide.

We're going to consi... we have to, uh... have to make this part of a shared sacrifice, that all departments are going to have to... to give up, not just the prosecutor's office, and not just the sheriff's office. And uh... and there are, uh, excess people in the Executive office after twelve years, with one Executive, who has provided jobs to support his purposes, and, uh, I am very willing to trade some of those jobs for sheriff's deputies any day.

QUESTION: Water resources are becoming scarce, [as] competing municipalities such as the City of Seattle and other interests seek out additional capacity. What is your long term plan to protect the watter resources of the upper and lower Snoqualmie Valley watershed for the residents of this area?

HUTCHISON: Water is a very complex issue, and uh, I know it matters to those of you who live here because you know you're sitting on a gigantic aquifer, and it's important to you. And I think that part of the intention of the question is, uh, is the eight hundred pound gorilla of Seattle going to, um, demand our water?

And uh.. And I just want to assure you, that uh, even though county government is located right downtown and tends to be Seattle centric... um... I want county government to be very receptive to the entire county, to all of our residents. And uh... And to pay attention particularly to the needs of those of you for whom, uh, county government is your government.

Uh... that's the premier job of the county at this point, is to be the government of the, uh, of the unincorporated areas.

And so those of you who live in that area have to turn to King County for your governmental needs. And I want to assure you that I will be committed to you as your King County Executive, to make sure that, uh, we serve you.

On the issue of, uh, of water... and there are probably many good ideas that will come out of this panel tonight... but I do think that conservation is the key. Conservation is very important to, uh, uh, protecting our water. Uh... There's some very creative things going on now with water reclamation, and using non-potable water for watering golf courses, and... and other such uses.

Uh... There's a new facility in Carnation that's been built for water reclamation, uh, which is, uh, one of those creative new ideas that, uh, we need to embrace.

And uh... And we need to involve all stakeholders in all decisions. Um... As I said earlier, I want to bring people together. We need to bring all the people to the table and let everyone be heard, so that the people who have a stake in these sorts of issues have something to say and are heard by our county government.

QUESTION: In light of the recent report from the State Auditor in regards to King County performance... The results reported that county officials should improve oversight and safeguards over its cash receipts, expenditures, and its assets. In many instances, oversight and safeguards were impaired by lack of sufficient monitoring to ensure policies are complete, followed, and the county staff is adequately trained to operate within those policies.

And the question, the two part question is this: The fiscal accountability Of King County is the ultimate responsibility of the Executive.

If elected, how do you propose going about overhauling King County government's fiscal practices and its culture? And what specific changes are you willing to make in how King County operates?

That's question one, sort of. And the next one, to wrap it up, is, what also will you do to make sure that King County government is in touch and responsive to the needs of the East King County residents?

HUTCHISON: Well, there is no question that the performance, or the accountability, audit report, uh, was dismal. And, you know, basically, the report was that an audit was attempted, but could not be completed because the different divisions and departments could not provide the information that was needed.

So, um... Taxpayers should very dismayed about this. But... I will say that I was not surprised, because a few years ago, Ron Sims appointed me to the King County Elections Task Force, and our job was to take a look at the Elections Division.

Uh... This was right after the 2004 gubernatorial election that was so disputed here in King County. Take a look at the Elections Division, and figure out what to do in the future, to restore public trust in elections.

And what we found, when I served on that task force, is exactly what this audit reported: there was no oversight, there was no accountability, there was no transparency, there were no safeguards.

And so we made a series of recommendations, uh, to the King County Executive, and uh, to, improve the situation in the Elections Division. None of them was acted on for six months. And so, our chair and our vice chair had to go back to the Executive, and demand that he make some changes. And fortunately, one of them, uh, in fact, a number of them, have gone into effect.

But one of them, uh, you know very well, because this year, we elected for the first time, our King County, uh, Elections Director. And now we are like all the other counties in the state, with an elected elections director.

So, the issues in the county, are um... everything appears to be in disarray. I don't think there are any exaggerations up here, as we've discussed, uh, the situation in county government. And, uh... things need to change.

And what I plan to do is put together a management team that has a totally different view of county government.

And we're going to make the changes that are necessary to be accountable, and transparent, and... and, uh... accountable to you, as the taxpayers.

CONCLUDING STATEMENT: Thank you very much. We're now going to go to three minutes for each candidate to make their closing statements.

HUTCHISON: I want to thank the Fanchers for their hard work putting this together, thank you, and to everyone else who was involved. Uh... the hour is late, so thanks to our audience for hanging in there with us.

Um... I will admit to you that I, uh, don't find this particularly satisfying, that we sit up here, for an hour and a half, and talk to you. I would much prefer to be down with you and listening to what you have to say. And uh... and I... that's because I think what you have to say is really important to our county government, and certainly leadership should be listening to you.

One of the things that I've done in the last two and a half years is I stepped into, uh, into a position at the Seattle Symphony as Chairman of that institution. And uh... They were close to bankruptcy. In fact, at our executive committees, it was discussed almost at every meeting, what we were going to do, and we were looking at the bankruptcy option. So they asked me to step in as Board Chair, and we began the process of turning that organization around.

And it required, first of all, doing an analysis and research as to what the real issues were, and then we began to work with all of our stakeholders. We had a union of players that we had to, uh, work with, bring together, the issues that they were struggling with, with union and management.

We went to the city, because the city owns Benaroya Hall, and we needed to work with our, our closest family member for, for, uh, obvious purposes.

And we, um, began to work with corporations and citizens throughout the area, our ticket buyers, and our staff. We built a leadership team and we began to turn that organization around. And uh... We balanced the budget the first year, and the second year, we made up another structural deficit and balanced the budget the second year. And that experience was beneficial for all of us at the Seattle Symphony, but it was also a real good, uh, opportunity for me to work with some great people and bring terrific leadership to bear on a problem of, of a, of a budget and a, uh, organization, that was disintegrating.

So... uh... we've got that situation in the county now, in a... in a very big way, as we've discussed today. And I just want you to know that my approach to this problem solving is... is what I consider leadership.

And it is, uh, judgment and courage. It's the ability to make good decisions by bringing together great people and making those decisions together, but it takes the courage to implement them, and that's the hard work, because you always are are criticized, and you're always going to get push back.

And... As I close tonight, I just... just want to share with you that one of my heroes is in the audience. And he came in a little bit later, and it's Joe, one of the local residents here. And the reason I know Joe is because he was in my dad's fire squadron in Vietnam, back in the, uh, sixties, and Joe was shot down, uh, and, was in the Hanoi Hilton for five and half years.

And so, uh, I always consider it a great privilege when I see Joe, because of what he represents, and, uh... we have something in common, because both have us have lived all over, but we chose to come to this region to settle down.

And so, uh... for that, I am grateful for this beautiful place we live, and I am grateful for the opportunity to serve you.

Open government means freedom of information, not opaque data

The Obama administration has been a "significant failure" when it comes to making the spending of the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act dollars transparent and accessible to the public, according to the Sunlight Foundation.

Also absent from the new instruction is a requirement to make raw data public. By not including raw data at Recovery.gov, transparency is dramatically reduced. Sunlight has argued strongly for raw data in machine readable formats as the starting point for Recovery.gov. This is a significant failure by the Administration to live up to its promise for full and complete disclosure. Significant failure.

A healthy level of transparency is in the best interests of our government and our citizens. By making raw data available for things like procurement, over/under budget projects and time lines, our public servants can benefit from the constructive feedback of a fully-informed populace.

Making this data machine-readable will enable entities inside and outside of the government to build software, new media, and web applications that will ensure that money and time are being used effectively.

We are getting closer and closer to a more open and transparent government. Progress is being made. The challenges we face domestically and abroad can be solved more quickly and comprehensively the more we work together. So let's continue to advocate for more openness and more transparency, more quickly.

U.S. House passes Waxman/Markey bill to address climate crisis by a vote of 219-212

Whew, that was close.

By a margin of just seven votes - one less than the total number of Republicans who crossed the aisle to vote for the bill - the United States House of Representatives voted in favor of the American Clean Energy and Security Act, also known informally as the Waxman/Markey bill, H.R. 2454.

A total of two hundred and nineteen Members voted aye on the bill, including all six of Washington's Democratic Representatives (Brian Baird, Adam Smith, Jim McDermott, Jay Inslee, Rick Larsen, and Norm Dicks). Joining them was Republican Dave Reichert, one of only eight Republicans to vote yes. Reichert had previously been noncommittal on the bill; NPI Outreach & Advocacy Director Rick Hegdahl visited his office in Washington, D.C. earlier this week to urge him to vote yes.

Republicans Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Doc Hastings predictably voted nay on the bill. They were joined by one hundred and sixty six of their fellow Republicans, and disappointingly, forty four Democrats.

Two of those forty four are very progressive Democrats who should have been in the yes column: Dennis Kucinich and Peter DeFazio of Oregon.

President Barack Obama, moments after the vote, hailed the bill as "a bold and necessary step" in remarks to reporters at the White House.

"This bill is a huge victory for Washington state," declared Representative Jay Inslee in a statement emailed to NPI.

"In the Northwest, neither the melting Cascade snowpack, nor acidifying ocean waters, nor beetle-ravaged North Cascades forests could have waited much longer for us to act. The price of inaction is too high. Thankfully, today, America has begun a New Apollo Project to move the country toward a clean energy future and away from outdated fossil fuels," Inslee said.

"Since coming to Congress, I have worked to harness America’s innovative genius to create new, clean energy jobs in our state, break our country’s dependence on foreign oil and make this country the world leader in clean energy technologies."

Representative Brian Baird said of his aye vote, "This bill will empower American ingenuity to create millions of jobs and drive our economy for generations to come. In its initial draft, the bill severely limited private forest products and completely prohibited anything from federal land from counting towards biomass energy. I am proud I was able to change that."

"Allowing federal, state and private forest products to be used to meet the renewable energy standard will save Northwest jobs."

Governor Chris Gregoire has chimed in as well, saying "I extend my congratulations and thanks to the Obama administration, and to the U.S. House of Representatives, for their vision and strength in moving the United States closer to truly harnessing a clean energy future. In particular, I thank Washington's Congressional representatives who voted to move the bill forward."

We're working on getting more reaction and will update this post as we have more details.

Michael Jackson: 1958-2009

Yesterday, the world lost one of its most incredible and legendary performers: Michael Jackson, the "King of Pop" was pronounced dead at a Los Angeles hospital after apparently suffering cardiac arrest. Further details about what happened are not yet available, but the Los Angeles Police Department is investigating, as is usual when a high profile celebrity dies in the City of Angels.

The media frenzy over Jackson's death has been incredible in scope, with cable news channels devoting almost exclusive attention to the news, and newspapers carrying giant headlines on their websites. Twitter and the AOL Instant Messenger network experienced such a large spike in traffic that both services were brought down temporarily, as chatter in response to the news rose dramatically in volume.

It was a welcome relief to find last night's Daily Show with Jon Stewart free of references to Jackson's death, although it will doubtless be covered on Monday.

We at NPI will remember Michael Jackson in much the same way that millions of other people will remember him: as a troubled person who created great music.

Hits like "Thriller", "Black & White", "Beat It", "Heal the World", and dozens upon dozens of others still remain some of the greatest pop songs ever produced. Jackson's albums "Off the Wall", "Thriller", "Bad", and "Dangerous" are some of the bestselling records in the history of modern music, and they will continue to be. Indeed, as of this writing, the top fifteen bestselling CDs on Amazon.com and the top ten at Barnes & Noble were all Michael Jackson albums.

Jackson will be remembered as a humanitarian; he financially supported some thirty nine different charities during his lifetime.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters this morning at the daily press briefing that President Barack Obama remarked to his aides that Jackson was "a spectacular performer". Here's an excerpt from the transcript of the briefing:

Q: Okay, I will ask. The President has talked a lot about his love of music. He hosted Stevie Wonder here. He has talked a great deal about what's on his iPod to Rolling Stone Magazine. Well, what's his reaction to the death of Michael Jackson?

MR. GIBBS: I talked to him about it this morning. Look, he said to me that obviously, Michael Jackson was a spectacular performer, a music icon. I think everybody remembers hearing his songs, watching him moonwalk on television during Motown's 25th anniversary. But the President also said, look, he had - aspects of his life were sad and tragic. And his condolences went out to the Jackson family and to fans that mourned his loss.

Q: Why not a written statement, then?

MR. GIBBS: Because I just said it.

Q: And you say he did send condolences to the family -- did he call the family personally?

MR. GIBBS: Not that I know of.

The Hill is reporting that the House of Representatives paused for a moment of silence this morning to honor Jackson's memory.

A zillion celebrities have already paid tribute to Jackson, either on their blogs, on Twitter, or in statements released to the media.

Hunter has posted a well-written obituary at Daily Kos that says more eloquently what any of us might be tempted to write about Jackson's life.

So long, Michael. Rest in peace and thanks for the music.

Susan Hutchison: "No opinion" on Tim Eyman's Initiative 1033

Last night at the King County Executive Forum in North Bend, NPI asked Susan Hutchison what her position was on Tim Eyman's Initiative 1033, a measure that will likely be on this November's ballot that would have a devastating impact on county and city governments. More precisely, Initiative 1033 a jobs killer: it would cause thousands of public servants to be laid off across the State of Washington.

Should I-1033 qualify for the ballot, its passage would dramatically alter the government and common wealth of King County, and not in a good way. Whoever becomes King County Executive will most certainly be grappling with the consequences if the measure passes. More importantly, however, voters deserve to know what the people seeking to represent them think of this idea.

All the Democrats in the race have already stated their unwavering opposition to Initiative 1033 - Susan Hutchison is the only other major candidate not on the record. That's why we made a point of asking.

Unfortunately, Hutchison demurred from taking a position, saying she had "no opinion" because she's not familiar with the details of Initiative 1033. However, she did say, "Washington State has a very important initiative process and Tim Eyman is a very important part of that process."

That answer has just enough susbtance to be very, very, very troubling. Hutchison would do well to remember that this county has rejected every single Tim Eyman initiative that's ever been on the ballot... with the exception of I-900, which did not attempt to cut taxes or gouge our common wealth.

Candidates who can't form opinions about ballot questions that the people of this state may have to decide are not fit to hold public office. If this is going to be Susan Hutchison's answer from now through August 18th, the people of King County know who not to vote for in the upcoming primary election.

LIVE from North Bend: A conversation with Dow, Ross, Susan, Fred, Alan, & Larry

Good evening, NPI Advocate readers!

Daniel and I are out in picturesque North Bend tonight to watch and listen to six of the candidates for King County Executive talk about the most challenging issues that face our state's largest local government, and how they would solve them if they were in charge. In attendance are Dow Constantine, Ross Hunter, Susan Hutchison, Fred Jarrett, Alan Lobdell, and Larry Phillips.

(Hutchison and Lobdell are Republicans; the other four are Democrats, though as Susan Hutchison repeatedly pointed out in her response to the first question, it's now ostensibly a "nonpartisan" race).

The candidates have been given two minutes to respond to each question, which allows for some depth to the answers. However, it also means that it takes twelve minutes to get through each question, which doesn't really allow for more than half a dozen questions in total. No time has been provided for opening statements, which sort of turned the answers to the first question into opening statements.

I've already had the pleasure of moderating a forum between four of the candidates on the stage, so I'm most interested at this event in listening to Susan Hutchison's and Alan Lobdell's responses, and that's what I'll be focusing on while liveblogging.

So far, Hutchison is about what I expected. In her first chance to speak, rather than offering a critique of the Sims administration with some substance (as her rivals did) she spent her two minutes repeating two or three points:

1. This is now a nonpartisan race,
2. She is not a partisan (uh huh), and
3. She was for many years a television anchor who had the privilege to be invited into many people's living rooms and even bedrooms.

Asked later how to improve the county's Critical Areas Ordinance, Hutchison first cited "tremendous animosity" on the part of unnamed "citizens" (perhaps the Citizens Alliance for Property Rights?) that the county government is arrogant and unresponsive to their concerns.

"We need to go back to the drawing board. We need to make sure we have good development, or no development as the case may be," she said, concluding by declaring that we need to restore "property rights".

UPDATE, 7:45 PM: Getting ready to move into the second hour of the forum. I haven't written much about Alan Lobdell yet, but I'd say he's been using his time well. Two words that I think describe his responses are steady and sincere. You can tell that Alan's somebody who has at least given some thought to the issues he's being asked about, even if his "solutions" are nonstarters... like the idea of a new "bypass highway" around Seattle and Bellevue. (There's a reason we haven't built Interstate 605, Alan: We like having farmland and open spaces in our county's rustic eastern valleys, rather than exurban sprawl).

Alan's Democratic rivals are more polished, but that's to be expected - they've all been through campaigns before, and have served in office for many years.

UPDATE, 8:05 PM: What do you know, Susan Hutchison supports the Rice/Stanton transportation governance scheme to create an all powerful board of transportation czars to centralize decisionmaking in the hands of an unaccountable few who would have the power to set transit fares, decide routes, and determine which capital projects the region will build. Yikes. Another reason why King County simply cannot afford Susan Hutchison as its next Executive.

UPDATE, 8:15 PM: Susan Hutchison's "solutions" to invigorate the economy are to ask the state Legislature to cut taxes - particularly the B&O tax - and um, change our attitude about business in this county. Whatever that means.

Oh yeah, there was also something about "onerous regulations"... but she didn't explicitly call for repealing any. And she didn't cite any specific examples.

Taking a cue from Dino Rossi, Hutchison then claimed she knew a woman on Vashon Island who moved out of King County because it is apparently such a terrible, awful place to do business.

(That certainly explains why so many people choose to call King County home; and why the county continues to grow in population).

UPDATE, 8:26 PM: Hutchison jumped on a question about the pay of employees in the county executive's office as an opportunity to disdainfully criticize the way King County has been run. She said she met with Governor Chris Gregoire last week and praised the governor for freezing the salaries of state employees. She also implied the state Legislature's awful 2009-2011 budget - which Gregoire presided over the creation over - is something to be emulated.

UPDATE, 8:40 PM: Responding to a question about the water supply, Hutchison referred to Seattle as an "eight hundred pound gorilla" that controls the decision making process in King County. She contended that we need an executive who will ensure that concerns of residents who live outside of cities get more attention.

UPDATE, 8:49 PM: The candidates are talking about the recently released performance audit conducted by Brian Sonntag and his legion of hired accountants. Hutchison reminded the audience that Ron Sims appointed her to serve on a elections task force following the contested 2004 gubernatorial election.

"What I plan to do is put together a management team that has a totally different view of King County government," Hutchison said, being as non-specific as possible about how she would make the county more effective and transparent.

Alan Lobdell, for his part, correctly pointed out that hired accountants don't necessarily understand the intricacies of providing public services.

CLOSING STATEMENTS: Alright, I'm going to give each candidate his or her due and summarize what they said in their closing statements.

• Ross Hunter: We have many hard decisions to make in the next few years about land use, transportation, and our county's budget. A new regionalism is needed. It's time to bring the cities into the conversation. The cities have more and more of the population. We all need to hang together, or we'll all hang separately. Let's hire an executive who's thoughtful, strategic, and practical, someone with management experience. We need an outside voice that wasn't involved in creating these problems.
• Susan Hutchison: Admits she doesn't find doing forums particularly satisfying. She'd rather listen to what people in the audience have to say. Mentions her decision to step in as Board Chair of the Seattle Symphony, at a time when the organization was facing the possibility of bankruptcy, and says she takes credit for turning the organization around. Says the qualities of leadership are judgment and courage. Is grateful to live here and for the opportunity to serve.
• Fred Jarrett: Appreciates the opportunity to talk about issues at length, rather than in sound bites. The fundamental problem is that we do not have a system in place that holds people accountable for what they do. Instead, we measure effort and we reward effort. The county's permitting process needs to be drastically improved. We need transportation to be integrated. Has many years of private sector management experience.
• Alan Lobdell: Finds it interesting how people say the United States is the most beautiful place to live while we Americans disagree on so much whenever we meet to talk politics. Will fight for a balanced budget as fast as possible. Will streamline departments so they work faster and more efficiently. Wants to improve customer service. Wants better communication with the public and with smaller cities. Smaller cities should not feel ignored or neglected by King County. It's going to take a lot of money and a lot of time and the best engineers we have to solve our toughest problems.
• Larry Phillips: Drew his first breath in King County. Improving quality of life for all is why he ran for office. We need to recover our local economy and ensure that jobs are plentiful. Making basic public services work, and taking care of the most vulnerable among us, is a top priority. Energy needs to be refocused in the exeutive's office. It's time for a leader with a nuts and bolts approach, someone who can set an agenda and execute it. Promises to come back to the public on a regular basis to make sure that everyone is a part of county government and has a voice.
• Dow Constantine: "I'm a Democrat." And a believer in environmental protection. Only candidate supported by the Sierra Club and the Cascade Bicycle Club. A progressive who believes in changing the status quo, abandoning institutions when they no longer work and creating new institutions that do. Would rather work with county employees than force them to hunker down and wait out the clock in a pointless, protracted battle over cutting costs.

And with that, we're done. Thanks for following along... good night!

New student loan program helps college grads bear loan debt

If President Obama hadn’t published two best-selling books which brought in a nice heap of cash, he and Michelle might still be paying off their hefty college debt. Unfortunately, most college graduates can’t expect to experience that kind of good fortune.

Today, two-thirds of four-year college students leave school with debt, crowding out many of their options and dreams like buying a home, starting a business or taking enough time to find the job they trained for instead of taking any position just to pay their mounting bills.

Luckily for new grads entering the worst job market in many years, a provision of a bill passed in 2007 and supported by Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) will give many college graduates a way to lessen their college debt burden.

Starting on July 1, the Income-Based Repayment program will allow federal student loan holders to ask the government to limit the payment on their loans to fifteen percent of their income. The program applies to federal student loans made under either the Direct Loan or Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program and can be applied to new or existing loans.

The new program sets monthly payments based on adjusted gross income and family size. Unpaid principal and interest is generally added to your loan amount. Any debt remaining is wiped out after 25 years - or after 10 years if you work in the public or nonprofit sector.

If you are unemployed, low-income or have a very large debt, you could qualify.

If you are an Ivy League grad with a high-paying job but with an even higher student debt like the Obamas, you are still in luck, as there is no income limit.

If you graduated in May or June and the hostile job market is making it hard to find a good job in your field, you won’t have to start loan repayment until November or December, giving you extra time to keep up the job hunt.

Considering the rising cost of tuition at Washington’s public universities (an increase of about thirty percent over the next two years) and an unwelcoming job market, this program comes not a moment too soon. Families’ economic troubles are helping to push student loan defaults to their highest rate since 1998.

Students who owe money on private student loans won’t receive such good terms. Private loans have soared from seven to twenty three percent of all student loans, and there is no limit on the interest rate and fees that their lenders can charge. It is almost impossible to get out from under private student loan debt even by filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy due to recent stricter bankruptcy law.

The escalating cost of a college education shouldn’t scare off students who want to improve their lives through education. Giving college graduates a fair deal on their student loan repayment gives them the freedom to pursue their dream jobs or start saving for a home or a family.

It's about time that students receive some support from the government instead of obstacles.

Meet the Hypocrites: Governor Mark Sanford

For the better part of the last thirty years the Republican Party has claimed the mantle of family values, as being a party morally superior to others.

And once again that image has taken a hit, as Governor Mark Sanford (R-SC) has followed the same path of Newt Gingrich, Bob Livingston, Rudy Giuliani, John Ensign, David Vitter, Larry Craig, Mark Foley and others by admitting to having an affair with a woman from Argentina. The State, South Carolina's most widely read newspaper, has uncovered a steamy e-mail exchange between the two, saying it will release the full exchange for tomorrow's print edition.

Sanford, who voted for the impeachment of President Clinton when he was a member of Congress, reacted angrily when confronted with the news that Speaker-designate Bob Livingston had cheated on his wife in 1998.

Indeed, then-Rep Mark Sanford was pretty clear about his views of President Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky and that of Mr. Livingston.

While serving as a U.S. congressman, Sanford was incredibly critical of his colleagues’ marital misdeeds, including the affairs of former congressman Bob Livingston and President Bill Clinton:

“The bottom line, though, is I am sure there will be a lot of legalistic explanations pointing out that the president lied under oath. His situation was not under oath. The bottom line, though, is he still lied. He lied under a different oath, and that is the oath to his wife. So it’s got to be taken very, very seriously.” [Sanford on Livingston, CNN, 12/18/98]

“We ought to ask questions…rather than circle the wagons for one of our tribe.” [Sanford on how the GOP reacts to affairs, New York Post, 12/20/98]

“I think it would be much better for the country and for him personally (to resign). I come from the business side. If you had a chairman or president in the business world facing these allegations, he’d be gone.” [Sanford on Clinton, The Post and Courier, 9/12/98]

“The issue of lying is probably the biggest harm, if you will, to the system of Democratic government, representatives government, because it undermines trust. And if you undermine trust in our system, you undermine everything.” [Sanford on Clinton, CNN, 2/16/99]

Perhaps my favorite quote by the hypocritical Governor Sanford, is one where he parrots the Republican party's family-values mantra, is this:

Rep. Mark Sanford, R-S.C., said he would be "struggling" during Christmas over whether to support Livingston, even though the speaker-designate had not broken the law. "We as a party want to hold ourselves to high standards, period," Sanford said.

Way to uphold those high standards, Governor Sanford. Leaving your wife and sons on Father's Day to fly to Argentina to spend several days with your lover shows just how much stock you put in your "family values."

And with today's revelation, Governor Sanford has admitted to committing a crime (not just against the laws of his God, but against the laws of his state).

SECTION 16-15-60 Adultery or fornication. Any man or woman who shall be guilty of the crime of adultery or fornication shall be liable to indictment and, on conviction, shall be severally punished by a fine of not less than one hundred dollars nor more than five hundred dollars or imprisonment for not less than six months nor more than one year or by both fine and imprisonment, at the discretion of the court.

SECTION 16-15-70 "Adultery" defined. "Adultery" is the living together and carnal intercourse with each other or habitual carnal intercourse with each other without living together of a man and woman when either is lawfully married to some other person.

It will be interesting to see how this situation unfolds as talk of impeachment and resignation has already started. But that's one less pretender that President Obama will have to deal with in 2012.

The Bizarro World of the Republican Party

At the risk of alienating fans of Superman, let me suggest that the character of Bizarro ranks very high among the stupider plot devices and antagonists ever dreamed up in DC Comics' long-running, flagship comic book series.

For those not up on their super-villain lore, Bizarro is from Bizarro world, where everything is backwards. Good is bad, right is wrong, et cetera.

Hokey as that may be, Bizarro World turns out to be a remarkably effective metaphor for understanding the modern day Republican Party. If you understand how Bizarro World works, you have at your disposal the secret decoder ring for understanding the statements and actions by the party and its officials.

Time and time again, we see that the best way to understand what the Republican Party's underlying motives are is to listen to how they attempt to frame their opponents. Time and time again, we see that the best way to predict what a prominent Republican figure is likely to do is to listen to the kinds of actions they rail against -- or in equivalent Bizarro World mechanics, to listen to the kinds of things they profess to support and then predict the opposite.

Want to know what the Republican environmental agenda is (was)? Look no further than the mere names of the "Healthy Forests Act" and the "Clear Skies Act," and assume the opposite.

Want to know what the Republican view of supporting your country is? Look no further than the people they call un-patriotic -- all the progressives fighting for health care, fighting for the survival of the middle class, or merely voicing their opposition to war -- and take the opposite.

Want to know what the Republicans' real agenda is in the "war on terror"? Look no further than their proclivity for slapping anyone who opposed that agenda with the "terrorist sympathizer" label, while their own policies did nothing for eight years but foster an environment in which terrorism spread.

It's Bizarro World on Earth. Thank god these people are no longer in charge of all three branches of government.

So, decoder ring in hand, it should come as no surprise whatsoever to see Governor Mark Sanford (R-Bizarro) outed this week in for having an affair with an Argentinean woman. After all, Republicans are the "Family Values" party, right?

Larry "Wide Stance" Craig, Mark "Turning over a new Page" Foley, David "Diapers" Vitter, and John "Campaign Staff" Ensign are, if nothing else, testament to the deep commitment to "Family Values" in today’s Republican party.

And yes, I know that Democrats are imperfect too, and some of them commit affairs. The difference is Democrats don't go around sanctimoniously preaching "Family Values" while simultaneously seeing how far and wide they can spread their naughty bits.

The Republican Party leadership is no doubt, at this very moment, scrambling to come up with a statement on the Sanford affair. Somewhere in between the predictably treacley statements of support for Sanford and his family in these difficult circumstances, and the predictably pro-forma condemnation for the affair itself, you can bet that there will be an implication that Sanford's affair represents nothing more serious than a failing by one individual. An implication that Sanford's actions should in no way tarnish the Republican Party's image or platform as a whole.

Which might wash if we didn't have to hear the same tired excuse over and over and over again. But we do. With almost clockwork regularity.

This is not an isolated point-failure of Republican "values." This is the inevitable outcome of thinking you can get away with being as greedy, selfish, lascivious, and downright bad as you want to be so long as you and your equally disgusting cohorts maintain a unified front of bald-faced lies. This is the predictable result of a cynical and systemic effort to fool all of the people all of the time.

Even P.T. Barnum knew better than to try that.

Got rocket fuel?

If the Defense Department, the Navy and various defense contractors have their way, you will. This coalition has petitioned the White House to keep the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating perchlorate in drinking water.

The Pentagon and the defense industry is lobbying the White House to prevent U.S. EPA from tightening a health advisory for a rocket-fuel chemical.

Representatives of the Defense Department, the Navy and aerospace and defense companies have met with the Office of Management and Budget this month to discuss a pending EPA decision on the chemical, perchlorate.

[...]

Perchlorate contamination of drinking water, which is linked to DOD and contractor activities at rocket test sites, has been documented in at least 35 states and the District of Columbia. The chemical can inhibit the thyroid gland's iodine uptake, interfering with fetal development. [emphasis mine]

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, perchlorate isn't a welcome condiment (like, say, a slice of lemon) for your drinking water. Check out the facts:

Perchlorate is a chemical that occurs naturally in the environment and is also used in explosives, fireworks, road flares, and rocket propellant. A combination of human activity and natural sources has led to the widespread presence of perchlorate in the environment.

Previous CDC studies have shown that nearly everyone in the U.S. is exposed regularly to low levels of perchlorate. People are exposed through eating food, and drinking milk and water that contain perchlorate. Trace levels of perchlorate have been found in both breast milk and infant formula.

High levels of perchlorate (thousands of times higher than the doses estimated to result from consumption of infant formula or breast milk) affects the thyroid gland by blocking its ability to use iodine. The thyroid gland needs iodine to make thyroid hormone. Thyroid hormone is important for proper development of fetuses and infants, and regulates how the body uses energy.

As noted above, perchlorate has been found in baby formula and has also been found in the breast milk of nursing mothers.

The background here is that in January 2009, EPA issued an interim health advisory regarding perchlorate contamination of drinking water. EPA is seeking input from the National Academy of Sciences, and from the public, prior to making a final regulatory determination on whether or not it will issue a national regulation for perchlorate in drinking water.

I understand why defense contractors are lobbying the government not to regulate perchlorate. For them, it's all about the money, and after the presidency of George W. Bush, they need to be weaned from the government teat. But why is it that government agencies feel the need to lobby against policies being formed by another government agency, that are in the interest of the public health and welfare? After all, if you poison all of the people with rocket fuel, eventually there will be nothing left for the Department of Defense, Navy and defense contractors to defend.

It's time for the President to step in and side with the people, and give orders as Commander-In-Chief to the Department of Defense and Navy to cease their lobbying efforts.

Tim Eyman claims he has 270,000 signatures for jobs-killing Initiative 1033

This morning, in his latest electronic screed to supporters and the press, initiative profiteer Tim Eyman declared that his buddies Jack and Mike Fagan (the latter of which is running for Spokane City Council) tabulated all the signatures they have on hand for Eyman's latest scheme to wreck Washington State, and they came up with the number two hundred and seventy thousand.

(241,153 valid signatures are required to qualify an initiative for the ballot this year, up from 224,880 signatures last year thanks to the high turnout in the 2008 gubernatorial election. Initiative sponsors must submit an ample cushion to offset a varying but inevitable percentage of duplicate and invalid signatures).

Eyman's decision to disclose a number is interesting, but the number itself is completely meaningless. Eyman has a long history of deceiving the press and lying to his own supporters. His accounting just can't be trusted.

That was made painfully evident to some of Eyman's own supporters in 2006 when Eyman accused Republican Secretary of State Sam Reed's office of "pilfering" petitions for his ill-conceived Initiative 917, after the Elections Division disclosed it had received far fewer signatures than what Eyman announced he had submitted.

Eyman immediately accused the Secretary of State's office of lying (pot, meet kettle) and claimed he had proof that his number was accurate. As it turned out, his "proof" was a farce - it was simply a piece of paper with Eyman's number of 300,353 on it, stamped by the Secretary of State's receptionist at his request.

A complete check of Initiative 917's petitions, completed in early September 2006 (which I had the opportunity to observe for several days in late August) showed that Eyman had not submitted enough valid signatures to qualify for the November ballot. The measure's implosion remains one of the most spectacular failures in Eyman's career as an initiative profiteer.

Later that summer, Eyman sent out a message to his supporters trying to explain what had happened. He included a week-by-week internal tally of signatures, hoping to convince his supporters to believe his story. Ironically, by doing so, Eyman trapped himself in another lie, which NPI uncovered and promptly reported.

So if history is any indication, Eyman's number today is meaningless. The only number that has any significance is the number of signatures the Secretary of State reports receiving next month. If Eyman does not submit a substantial cushion of signatures, it's not unlikely Initiative 1033 could fail the five percent random sample check and possibly be in danger of not qualifying for the ballot.

We don't see that happening. We think Eyman will submit enough signatures. We'd love to be wrong, of course. But we don't expect to be, and that's why we're laying the groundwork for an aggressive fight to beat back Initiative 1033. It's a jobs-killing scheme that Washington State just can't afford.

LCV to U.S. House: No endorsement in 2010 for those who vote no on Waxman-Markey

Our Outreach & Advocacy Director, Rick Hegdahl, is in The Other Washington this week helping the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) lobby for passage of H.R. 2454, the American Clean Energy and Security Act, also known as the Waxman/Markey bill. This morning LCV made some waves by announcing in a letter to U.S. Representatives that it will not support any member for reelection in 2010 who votes against the bill on final passage. Here's an excerpt from their letter:

In light of the tremendous importance of this legislation, LCV has made the unprecedented decision that we will not endorse any member of the House of Representatives in the 2010 election cycle who votes against final passage of this historic bill.

Of course, support for H.R. 2454 alone is not enough action to secure an endorsement from LCV. As always, we will consider many other factors, including viability, vulnerability, recent and lifetime LCV scores, and demonstrated environmental leadership, in our final endorsement decisions.

After far too many years of inaction, missed opportunities, and major steps backwards, H.R. 2454 will begin to move our country toward a new energy future by putting a firm limit on global warming pollution, improving energy efficiency, and investing in renewable energy.

H.R. 2454 has been described by many in the environmental movement as imperfect but necessary.

The bill, which admittedly isn't very ambitious or inspiring, is really the only viable vehicle available at the present time for getting something halfway decent to the President's desk. Partly that's because solving the climate crisis seems to be nobody's first priority. At least nobody's on Capitol Hill.

(Which is a shame, because, as the good folks at the Alliance for Climate Protection have pointed out, economic security and environmental protection go hand in hand. We could heat up our economy and cool down our planet in one stroke if we were willing to act. Trouble is, industries that don't like the idea of weaning ourselves off of the fossil fuel products they sell have allies in Congress who are experts at obstructing progressive legislation.)

Incremental progress, in the end, is better than no progress at all. That's why LCV and NPI are supporting Waxman/Markey, and why LCV is putting so much on the line to ensure the success of this bill. Winning passage in the House will be tough, but the battle in the House is merely a warmup act for the truly difficult fight: getting Waxman/Markey through the U.S. Senate.