What a Great Week--Part II

After acknowledging all the showmanship surrounding the end of the 111th Congressional lame duck session earlier this week--it seems only fitting to give a round of applause & very loud "way to go!" for the final accomplishments of this session, despite all of the wails, finger wagging, and 'nuh-uh'-ing by the Republicans.

Topping the list:

• New START Treaty ratified
• Continuation/reinstatement of health care services for the 9/11 responders (Special shout out to John Stewart's 'shame on you' campaign that really helped)
• Repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell--one of the best presents of the all!
• Oh--and Nick reminds me: a big win for low-power FM stations with the passage of the Local Community Radio Act.

There are many more items I'm sure, but the summary statement: that's a lot of work done in a brief amount of time! What a great way to end the year, & a great high for the end of Pelosi's leadership. Thank you, Madam Speaker. And thanks, Mr. Obama, for looking & sounding so presidential (once again) at the press conference highlighting all the work that's taken place. Well done!

Want Some Cheese With That Whine?

The 'think happy thoughts' post will be coming soon (as there is much to be happy for this week!) but I pause just briefly for a rant.  I've really had it with the cries of 'foul' & claims of 'that's not fair' being made in recent days about the outgoing 111th Congress.

They may not be the smoothest game in town, but they're conducting life like a patient nearing the end of life.  What's important now that I don't have to worry about the election and there's precious little time left?  If that could somehow be translated to business-as-usual sessions we might be in business!
A bill was actually floated to ban lame-duck sessions in the future.  Right.  Gotta love that one. You guys are on the payroll through the end of the year & you took plenty enough time off for campaigning. Now you should just sit back & do nothing like a sulky teenager for two months? Sorry. Can't get so pouty just because the shoe's on the other foot this year. I appreciate the work that's getting done--& have little empathy for the whining about no breaks, it's so busy, & it's Christmas!

I'm hoping the (very lame) sound bytes of the likes of Lindsey Graham & John McCain will come back to haunt them in coming months. Graham, who is crowding to the front of the line as a prominent face for the 112th, comes off as a bullying rich kid who knows his big brother (aka the newly elected) will be walking in the door soon so he can say whatever he feels like & 'you can't hit me'. Wanna bet?  If these guys don't, your tea-partying 'big brother' likely will. I think he better quit while he's behind:  he keeps predicting 'this won't pass'--and then it does (whatever the it is at the moment). Like herding cats, huh bubba? Just wait for the next session! Besides looking like he's leading from the back of the train, his personal position on things like the New START Treaty are a complete about-face. Which is it, Lindsey?  What you said last summer or this month?! You know we do listen...

Then there's the homophobe from Arizona that just looks old & broken.  For months he's been saying 'we just need to wait for' one more thing on Don't Ask, Don't Tell.  We need to wait for the survey of the members of the military.  We need to wait for the report from the joint chiefs. Turns out we needed to wait until the cows come home, as Uncle John now says we have to wait until we're no longer in an active war theater. Can we just lean him in the corner & let him nap until it's time for him to go stump for Sarah?

And one more thing.  Would someone please get John Boehner on some meds?  We're really trying to adjust to the skin-color-not-compatible-with-life but this impromptu crying has just got to stop. It's not a trump card to keep playing whilly-nilly when you're gonna be the new Speaker, okay John?  (I think Mrs. B. would be relieved, too. When Leslie Stahl asked about the tears in interview she just sighs, shrugs, & says 'he's always been like that'. Great. Now she tells us! No wonder she stays in Ohio...)

So buck up, boys, it turns out the duck isn't so lame after all!
Rest up. It's gonna be an interesting ride to 2012. (Are you crying?!)

Hanging By a Chad or Why Didn't I Learn to Spell?

Election Day Plus 10--and counting. Literally.
I keep thinking that 'it will all become clear' but a few final answers may await the individual state's certifying their elections.
Here, that date is December 2nd.
Other states are similar--end of November or after.  

There have been some important sighs-of-relief since we last visited the 2010 election--but many nail-biters left, too.  Most importantly in my neck of the woods:  

• Patty Murray will return to the Senate & Dino will not unleash the lawyers to challenge the results.  He was in the lead only briefly, it turned out, and Patty ended up with a clear margin so we will not need to enter the land of murky innuendos.  The voters have spoken. 
• Rick Larson will return to Congress.  He was not trailing briefly--he was behind for quite some time.  After several early morning, late night checks of the latest results the miracle finally happened!  Larson is ahead! (rub those sleep eyes again!)  By only a few votes, but definitely ahead.  At a slug's pace, Larson kept moving ahead.  It was still a squeaker in the end (less than 5,000 vote difference), but enough for the contender to concede--so we could all let out our collective breath knowing we dodged a bullet.  
• The contended Supreme Court Justice race looks like it will go to the mat--and again, it has been a surprise to watch.  The incumbent was way ahead from the beginning--and stayed there. Dang! But a week after the election the challenger eeked ahead by a skinny few votes. (Rub the sleepy eyes again! Is that right?! He's ahead!!) Again, moving at a slug's pace Wiggins, the challenger, is now almost 5,000 votes ahead. (No sigh of relief yet. The incumbent's campaign has put out a request for 'legal, recount' donations, so too soon to tell if the judge's race winds up in the court.)  

One thing in common to most of the tight races in this state:  the tide was turned when the Elephant-in-the-Room, aka King County, weighed in.  Those of us blue voters in the hinterland always wait expectantly when there are nearly 200,000 votes left to count in the Seattle area--notably blue.  Things can change in a heartbeat--and often do.  It's like being in a fight with the bully when your big brother shows up to save the day. I was thinking all this week, as so many races were hanging by a thread all across the country, that for the red, rural voter it must be excruciating this time--thinking you were going to 'take the country back' & getting the initial sound bytes that your candidate is winning, only to have that reverse when the urban vote weighs in. I understand the urban/rural voting block issue, it just doesn't make for happy campers for the duration of the term.  It think it's that exact sense of disenfranchisement  that has made the Tea Party so popular in my backyard.  At least in my world the rural, red voter feels like someone finally understands them--and many of the returning blue incumbents will not. Even the Elephant couldn't help the initiative battles, though.  It will still be a very painful legislative session, looking under rocks for dollars that aren't there.

Then, of course, there's Alaska. The state that defies logic. This week they began the daunting process of hand counting the nearly 93,000 write-in ballots for US Senator (most assumed to be for incumbent GOP Lisa Murkowski who lost the primary to Tea Partier Joe Miller)--with an entourage of observers deciding which ballots to challenge.  The Alaska elections site now has a separate page for write-in returns, which lists votes for Murkowski, votes for Murkowski, CC ('challenged, counted'), and votes for Murkowski, CNC ('challenged, not counted').  The counting grinds on, and to keep us entertained, Joe Miller's camp is busy in the court room. So far the court has denied a motion to stop the count until 'the spelling question' is settled, and has upheld the opinion that the voter's intent--if clear--is acceptable.  Spelling Murkowski exactly right is not required.  The spelling vs intent case is now moving on to the Alaska Supreme Court while the country looks on.  According to the elections time line, Alaska expects to be finished with the question before the end of the month, barring court gymnastics. I'm thinkin' the GOP Senate minority better finish back-peddling pretty darn quick & be prepared to play well with others when Lisa returns as the GOP candidate they didn't back...
Meanwhile in the related news of political entertainment, George 'the Shrub' Bush has resurfaced mere moments after the election to stump for his new book.  We'd been wondering where he was.  Turns out, he was at the desk with pencil in hand, tongue off to one side.  If you've had trouble remembering life before 2008, watching part (all I could do) or all of the Matt Lower/George Bush interview will help you remember--quickly. Heh, heh.  ("the lawyers told me I could...").
Sarah "Mama Grizzly" Palin's reality TV show is launching this weekend & Sarah is treating viewers to her knowledge & expertise about areas of Alaska that she sometimes refused to visit--even when needed--while she was governor.  (Back to the memories as long as gnats--let's hope she has adequate guides & chaperones cause we know she's directionally-challenged.  'See, there's Russia!') And Todd is such an added bonus!
I admit--I will not be watching.  I have seen some on-line clips & some of the advertising both on-line & on TV.  The frontal lobe takes control after a few seconds and the "must stop" "must stop now" voice kicks in, making the index finger do a reflex click of the remote or the mouse to silence the horror. You shake your head to get the cobwebs out, and ask yourself:  "did I just see a possible contender for the 2012 presidential nomination doing a reality show?!"  Really?!  It's just like thinking that Jon Stewart & Stephen Colbert are journalists, or that the president is spending $200 million a day accompanied by a 10th of the total national fleet to take a trip to Asia. Right?!
People know that's not right, right? RIGHT?! Let's see, how do you spell g-u-l-l-i-b-l-e?

The Morning After...

Even though I knew the obvious was coming, it's still pretty sobering to realize the party is most definitely over--and as a new found blogger put it: we have memories about as long as  gnats. (go check out Margaret & Helen--it will make you feel better!) Hello?  Does anyone remember where we were two years ago? Guess not... and it could have been worse (much worse)--so I suppose we should find comfort in the 'good' among the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, right?  The dust has yet to settle and it's still pretty hazy this morning but here's my two cents for today.

The Good: the total crazies, for the most part, were turned back at the gate.  We can breathe a sigh of relief that, among others,  Joe Miller (Alaska), Christine O'Donnell (Delaware), and Sharron Angle (Nevada) will not get to run with scissors in Washington.  It's far from final, but Patty Murray is holding on by a thread in my home state & hopefully will be returning to Capitol Hill.  Jerry Brown, the California comeback kid, will be fun to watch for the next four years.  The Senate remains a Democratic majority--just barely--but will be far from bullet proof.   

The Bad:  Marco Rubio (Florida) will be arriving in DC, and Russ Feingold (Wisconsin) will not be returning.  The House is now a Republican majority--if you can count the Tea Party-ers in the Republican majority.  There will be interesting battles to watch on that front, as many newly elected candidates are calling for a Tea Party caucus on the hill.

The Ugly:  we've clearly hardened our hearts & are seeing monsters behind every post. It seems we've taken on a 'look out for yourself; no one else will' attitude--even in my (formerly?) blue state.  

We had two initiatives on the ballot that would impact the budget bleeding & both votes look like we've decided that looking after ourselves is the most important thing.  The initiative (put forward by Bill Gates, Sr.) that would have added a modest income tax to the extremely wealthy failed miserably, as the 501(c)(4) money hammered home the fear that the income tax will come for you middle income people next. That leaves about $11 billion (yes, that's billion, boys & girls) over the next five years on the table that was marked for schools & the uninsured--and also offered some middle class/small business tax relief in the process. 

The other was a repeal of the tax recently passed on candy & soda that was providing about $352 million over five years, primarily for public health & social services.  Now that's lost, with no alternative in sight (to say nothing of the benefit we'd added in discouraging consumers from buying bad food choices). I'm hearing similar sound bytes around the country.  We are very afraid, it seems, and our moral compass is malfunctioning.   

Then there's just the absurd. Like Colorado: because the Republican gubernatorial candidate did so poorly (11%) in the face of the Dem & Independent candidates, the GOP will not appear as one of two major parties in the next two elections (they'll be down the list with the Libertarians and Rent's Too High folks!) and the American Constitution Party will be in the 'top two'!

So, my friends, let the games begin.  

We thought the polarization & gridlock on the hill was hard to watch after the 2008 election.  I have a feeling we 'ain't seen nothin' yet.'  *sigh*  Go have another cup of coffee & some Ibuprofen--we're gonna need it...

Just Do It!

Today's the day...
or as is the case in our state, today's the last day!

Any Washington state resident will confirm what we see on the news daily:  we are a battleground state--at least for the Senate.  The number of commercials, and especially the automated phone calls has been staggering--and tiring.  Most folks confess to not answering the phone now, & one innovative soul said that a market as yet untapped is the 'chip' you could receive after your mail-in ballot has arrived at the ballot box. The chip could plug into your phone, causing all phone calls to cease as it's now too late!  I like her thinking...
Per a sound byte I heard on the radio Sunday, over $19 million has been spent on the Murray/Rossi race this year--hands down a new state record.  How many flagging schools (or flagging whatever!) could benefit from money like that? The influence of the 501(c)(4)'s, newly on steroids now that the Supreme Court let them off lead, has been so apparent--both in the run for Capital Hill takeover, and in our many (too many!) statewide initiatives.  We'll see how it all settles out.  The situation pretty much defies prediction--although it's been great to continue following Nate Silver & others as they do a yeoman's job in trying.
May the force be with us all...

Sanity is Restored

One downside of being at my favorite retreat this weekend was missing the blow-by-blow of the Rally to Restore Sanity.  Dang!  

I've been catching up with the reports both near & far, and I'm feeling better about my world just now--two days before election day.  

Crowd estimates for the Washington Mall are hard to come by but most put Saturday's gathering at over 200,000 making it considerably larger than Glen Beck's recent gathering in the same spot.  Regardless of the number, the crowd seen in clips and photos is, indeed, impressive--and many of the signs are memorable! It warms a worried heart.

Seattle had one of the many local 'companion' rallies, and some reports said Seattle was the the largest outside of DC--there were several thousand there despite the rainy day.  (Included three of our favorite Seattle students--way to go guys!)

Couldn't help but add this 'pep talk' from John Stewart as I was uplifted by it--& wanted you to have a chance to hear it, too (it's about 13 minutes long).  Predictably, the press is having difficulty describing the event, especially after many pointed barbs in their direction when criticizing the fear factor.  Thought the words from Stewart's mouth were better than any re-hash... 

Peace.  

Vote if you haven't already...

The Heroine & the Wacko--or Martha Mitchell Lives!

How ironic that Anita Hill has suddenly surfaced in the news again--she's really been on my mind these last weeks and it turns out, I wasn't the only one!  I'm sure you've heard by now that Virginia Thomas--wife of our infamous Supreme Court Justice, Clarence Thomas--left an early Saturday morning message over a week ago for Anita Hill (now a law professor at Brandeis University), suggesting that she apologize to him (them)...nineteen years later.
I think that Ginni Thomas has it backwards--it's long overdue for Clarence Thomas to come clean with his sleaze factor and apologize to Anita--and the rest of us.  About the only thing positive about this story is that an old girlfriend of Clarence has come forward in defense of Anita Hill, saying the behavior she had described was very consistent with the Clarence she knew in those days.

Anita was, and continues to be, a true heroine in my eyes.  She stood by her convictions in the face of horrible press & fame, never wavered from her testimony in the face of unbelievable odds, and was grace-under-pressure personified.

In sharp contrast, Ginni Thomas was--and it turns out continues to be--a sour, loose-lipped spouse.  The pit bull of the duet.  She is now the CEO of 'Liberty Central' taking in unbelievable amounts of money in an attempt to 'better organize' the Tea Party movement--or in their words "...secure the blessings of Freedom.".  It's one of the 'corporations-make-person' by the recent supreme court decision, a 501(c)(4). (No conflict there, right?) Their website has a video with a down-home Clarence Thomas lookalike (and likely one of the few black faces in their midst) fear-mongering the apparent movement towards a 'European-like social democracy that must be stopped'.  (OMG!--how scary is that image--helping the have-nots!)
Also turns out that Anita is not the only person receiving out-of-the-blue phone calls getting suggestive direction from the girl who think she knows best.  But ya don't suppose that Ginni's cheap shot at Anita Hill is just one more way to rally attention for the wacko factor, do ya?  It made me go looking for their website, unfortunately, and I'm guessing I'm not alone.  (Or maybe she is just another Martha Mitchell:  a little too much substance on board, Clarence isn't home when expected, so let's just make a call for old times sake...that, at least, would make a possible excuse for her outrageous behavior.)

In any case, Anita continues to be a model for all of us--taking the higher road but exposing the unacceptable.  Way to go!

The Race is On

We're entering the home stretch.  For most of the state, the finish line is well before November 2nd with mail-in ballots.
The heat is on:  Joe Biden comes to Puget Sound next week, and Bill Clinton the week after to Everett.  The amount of money being spent is enough to make your head spin.  (Think of the food & health care that could be purchased with those coffers...)
An organizational change guru I liked used to say:  "What's at risk?  But most importantly, what's at stake?"  There is much at stake this fall.  Every vote will count.  Today is the last day to register to vote on-line but in-person registration is open until October 25th.  Most other states are similar.  As my parents often said, you can't complain later if you don't voice your opinion now.

Better Than Halloween This Year...

Gotta just love em' both, don't you?!  Times like this I miss living on the eastern seaboard...
I'm hoping someone I know is close enough to go!  (Even O'Reilly is giving them air time...who knew?!)

Bring it On!

I've been trying hard to abide by the well-used adage of my mother's: "if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all".

I'm here to tell you--it's not working! I tried to sit on my hands & not explode over the ridiculous trail of tears created by the health care reform debate--and in the end we got a marginal start. A start! That's all--despite the threats, bitten fingers, etc. I stuffed all of the easy comments the floated up when Mt. Vernon awarded the key to the city to the nonsensical, contradictory, inflammatory Glen Beck.

But I'm throwing in the towel--I'm not gonna make it through this jungle of mid-term craziness alive without speaking my conscious. I'll try to keep it brief & focused, but be prepared: I'm weighing in!

And let's just start with one of the most important local votes that will surface this year: re-electing Patty Murray.

Gotta happen. Period.

Dino Rossi has been a big, big loser--& we need to tell him, in no uncertain terms, he will be a loser again this year. Dollars will be flowing heavily in this state, as the national sources start pouring it on with hopes of ousting Patty.

It's such a waste! I'm glad to hear that Patty has a fairly good war chest started--but she will need our help. She will need our money, our time, & our willingness to speak out. Go to her website & sign up as a supporter.

Patty has been exemplary as a US Senator in so many ways--for women, for the uninsured, for the under privileged & under served, for fairness... the list gets pretty long.

I will never agree with every statement she makes or vote she casts, but she deserves to be re-elected (& Dino deserves to be shown the door for the last time...)

Get ready!