Washblog

PRECINCT CAUCUSES: February 9, 1PM, many neighborhood locations. Democratic Caucus Locator (requires precinct) County Elections offices (to identify your precinct). PRIMARY: February 19 WA Secretary of State Primary Info WA Secretary of State Online Voter Registration WHO CAN PARTICIPATE? The primary and caucuses are for the voting public, not just party activists. Everyone who is registered to vote and who declares as a Democrat or Republican can vote.

As a Precinct Committee Officer I've been getting questions about Washington's presidential primary and caucuses: are we having both this year?  Where and when are they?  Is it worth participating?

The way we do the primaries and caucuses has been changing in recent years.  The process also differs by political party.  And the recent contentious public debate on related partisan issues has caused more confusion. It's complex enough that, even though I took part in the 2004 presidential caucuses and am helping to help organize local caucuses this year, I've had to do a bit of work to feel confident that I'm answering people's questions without misinforming them.  I'm guessing others are on a quest similar to mine -- judging from how many people are Googling into previous Washblog stories on the issue.

Every year, John Roberts, a pioneer in the science of exposure analysis and advocate for children's safety from avoidable toxic exposures in indoor environments, sends a Christmas letter to friends and relatives that calls for action to protect children. As he has in his previous Christmas letters, John tells us that economic and political barriers block us from applying simple measures that would prevent serious harm to large numbers of children and considerably lower society's health care costs. This year, John focuses on explaining how reducing special interest money in political campaigns can help us to overcome these barriers.

Last week, a Seattle Times article by Sandi Doughton, Very few children here tested for lead poisoning, reported that Washington state is violating federal law by failing to comply with a mandate to test low-income children for lead exposure. Doughton's article did an excellent job at connecting recent reports of toxic levels of lead in children's toys with the seldom-reported fact that many children in Washington are exposed to small amounts of lead from multiple household sources. These exposures are harmful, avoidable, and costly. This is precisely the point that John Roberts has been devoting the last 20 years to bringing into public awareness: children are being damaged by avoidable exposures -- to a wide range of toxics. John Roberts is one of the co-authors, along with Steve Gilbert, the toxicologist quoted in the Seattle Times article, of a piece in the January 2008 Seattle Voter. This article, "Protecting Our Children by Monitoring and Preventing Lead Exposure", calls for complying with this federal mandate to test Washington's low-income children for lead exposure, and for lowering the lead blood level that triggers action to reduce exposures. (1) The Seattle Voter story is an informational piece for League members and represents the opinion of the authors rather than any official position of the League.

---

Photo: John Roberts holds the first college textbook in the field of exposure analysis, CRC Press 2007 Exposure Analysis, in which he has a chapter on house dust. This new science measures toxics as they enter bodies, rather than at the point of environmental release. Click on photo for larger size.

---

Children the blue earth over pay the price for global trade practices that prioritize short-term profit over the health of people, environment, and communities.  An exquisitely ironic example of the theft of childhood for the enrichment of the venal, cowardly, and morally sleepy: our babies no longer get the good toys made here in the US by domestically-owned manufacturers who have some stake in their health.  Children be damned.  Even the most expensive toys like Thomas the Tank Engine are cheapo now, and our children are chewing on stuff that lowers IQ and increases aggressiveness (lead), and causes reproductive abnormalities and allergies (phthalates). I can just imagine some poor little ones in China making those toys.  And let's not even get into the subject of the economic impact on our children of all those jobs sent overseas...  What's that saying from the Bible?  Better to tie a stone around your neck and jump into the sea than to harm a child?

Darcy Burner, candidate for US Congress in the 8th Congressional District, is offering free testing for children's toys this weekend. See below the fold for info on the 6 locations.

JOIN: 3-Strikes Rapid Response

---

Many thanks to Justice Works! for advisement and other significant help on this story. Notes and a printable copy of this story with all comments can be found here

---

The courtroom benches in Judge Spector's King County Superior Court were filled with supporters and observers for Vance Bartley's re-sentencing hearing on the morning of November 15.  Bartley had been serving life without possibility of parole under Washington's Persistent Offenders Accountability Act, or "Three Strikes" law since August 22, 1997.  There had been little hope that he'd ever leave prison.  In the words of Judge Spector, the system had 'thrown him away'.

In his 11 years in prison, Mr. Bartley had lived infraction-free within that system, pursuing his own education and helping others with GED tutoring and legal research.  He had also continued to research legal issues related to his own case and had, against all expectations, identified a way to correct an error in one of his convictions that his attorneys had missed. As a result, that conviction no longer counted as strike offense and Bartley would soon be released.  This hearing was held to determine whether he would be free within a few weeks or would wait as long as another 42 months. As I sat with Court Watch volunteers from JusticeWorks!, a grassroots criminal justice reform organization, I felt privileged to witness an occasion which marked not only Bartley's personal transformation but also, in a sense, the hopes and striving of the larger community for transformation within Washington's criminal justice system.

---

Above: Some of the supporters and observers for Vance Bartley's re-sentencing hearing gather after its conclusion. The group includes Jeff Ellis, Bartley's attorney; King County Councilmember Larry Gossett; JusticeWorks! founder Lea Zengage; Carol Estes, from Yes! Magazine who testified at the hearing; and volunteers and employees with community organizations.  Click on photo for a larger version and more information.

This Saturday, 11-10-07, I attended a Team Hillary training. It was a very positive experience and a little less than half of the attendees had never been to a caucus or volunteered for a campaign before. Personally, I haven’t been to a caucus for 15 years. We are energetic individuals and consistent voters whose enthusiasm for Hillary Clinton is taking us to the next level.

Wouldn't it be grand to see someone who believes in climate change (and our need to act on it), ethical behavior in government, fair trade, and a balanced budget ... representing the 4th Congressional District in Eastern Washington? Attorney George Fearing is offering voters that opportunity.  Lynn Allen at Evergreen Politics interviews him in that way she has of bringing out the essential information.  Below is a snippet from George Fearing - The Other Democratic Challenger:

Q: Given that Doc Hastings is not much of an asset to the folks of central Washington and is sometimes absolutely an embarrassment, why do they continue to vote for him?  And what makes you think they'll vote for you?

GF:  The Democrats who've run against Hastings haven't gotten into the race early enough or run hard enough.  They haven't clarified just how bad Hastings is.  I will.  (snip...)  In addition, Hastings has not stood for the interests of the people of the 4th CD and they are starting to notice.

Q: How so?

Read the rest here.   This is good stuff.

University of Washington's Institute for the Study of Ethnicity, Race and Sexuality, also known as WISER, conducts nonpartisan political polls.  I learned that today from Rich Roesler's Eye on Olympia, the political blog of The Spokesman Review.

The Washington Poll has just issued the results of polls conducted between October 22 and 28, 2007 among 601 registered voters throughout the state.    Pacific Market Research, a Renton firm, did the telephone interviews.  Oddly, the results are in PowerPoint documents.  Also, I find it odd that Senate Joint Resolution 8212 -- on prison labor -- was not part of the poll.  Given the disproportionate incarceration rates of African Americans one might expect an organization that focuses on issues of race to be interested in polling on a prison labor issue.  Hmmm.  Links to those documents and summaries of what I see as the most telling results, appear below the fold.

The best news here is that "NO on R-67" looks like it's going down in flames. Ten million dollars has been poured into Washington State by the insurance industry -- mostly from out of state -- to trick Washingtonians into cheating themselves. Even if the insurance industry pours $10 million more into this campaign, it's not likely to make a difference now. This $10 million, which comes from money that people paid to insurance agencies, should have been spent for its intended purpose. This is strong evidence that criminal greed in the insurance industry is a major factor in trashing our healthcare system and overburdening business. More legislation -- that at least extends this new law to healthcare -- is needed to bring this industry into line.

See it here.  It's a fascinating and, I think, hope-inspiring view into the diversity of the anti-occupation movement, from GI resistance to the people who appear to coming more from a peace-movement perspective. Speakers in the video linked to here refer to Port protests.  Here's some background on those:  Tacoma Stryker Protests: Important Direct Action Against the Occupation (my article) and Stryker Protest at Port of Tacoma: 4 Pieces, by Mark Jensen of United for Peace of Pierce County.

Green October 2007 is happening right now. Dozens of sustainability related events, all the way through December. Pick one and attend.

I attended Carkeek Watershed Commnity Action Project's yearly forum on the Clean Water Act last night. Awesome program. There's lots of exciting stuff happening! (I'll post pix and details later.)

This weekend's events listed below the fold...

The Federal Communications Commission is coming to Seattle for its final public hearing on media consolidation.  The hearing, the last of just six across the nation, will take place in November, on a date yet to be announced.  All five FCC commissioners will attend the hearing, and all of the testimony will be part of the public record. This is an incredibly important meeting.

The FCC is preparing to rewrite the rules that set how many TV and radio stations and newspapers one company can own.  Reclaim the Media is holding a series of workshops to help people prepare to testify about the importance of locally accountable media, diverse voices on the airwaves -- and any of the other issues affected by media consolidation.  Reclaim the Media  Trainings will be held on: Weds. Oct, 24, 8-10pm at Hidmo (20th and Jackson); Mon. Oct 29, 7-9pm at Beacon Hill Library (2821 Beacon Ave S.); and Thurs. Nov 1, 6pm-8pm at Cal Anderson Park (1635 11th Ave.)
The text of this article is taken from Reclaim the Media materials

I received this email from friend Ivan Weiss (reprinted below with reluctant permission) who as you can see, is stepping back from his quest to fill a legislative vacancy in his 34th district.

Some may find, Ivan's blogger tone a bit terse at times but make no mistake, he is a class act and is out there working hard with the intent on making things better for all of us. When a district finds itself with two strong candidates a risk always exists that the race will leave behind baggage and hard feelings. My view is that the qualities Ivan shows in this email are among the most important when it comes to being an effective legislator or political leader.
Well done Ivan. Well done.

My military family friends up there in Seattle area didn't plan it to go the way it went, but it sounds like a lot of the Eastside Democratic fundraiser attendees got a glimpse of democracy in action, courtesy of Maj. General Paul Eaton's instincts.  (Paul D. Eaton, a retired Army major general, was in charge of training the Iraqi military from 2003 to 2004.) General Eaton, was a primary speaker at the fundraiser, along with Keynote speaker, Patty Murray. General Eaton chose to welcome and invite returning Iraq veteran, Josh, to join him rather than dismiss him as Senator Patty Murray has been inclined to do weekly.

It also sounds like Darcy Burner didn't do such a good job either of making a returning Iraq veteran, a veteran Gold Star father, and a veteran father with son deployed to Iraq for a third time feel welcome.  I expect more of Darcy, as she is, after all, a military family herself and I expect that time honored military culture courtesy to be extended to other military families and veterans.

Read more below the fold

Photos from an informational gathering for Puget Sound Community Change held at Theo Chocolate in Fremont last month.  PCC is a community loyalty program launching in October.  Left to Right: Tova Ramer, Interra Project; Dr. Viki Sonntag, Ecopraxis; Derek Hoshiko, Seattle Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (second photo) Wanda Benvenutti, Seattle Business Alliance for Local Living Economies and Wanda Benvenutti: Photojournalist; Jon Ramer, Interra Project;  Robyn Jones, Classical King FM 98.1.

PUGET SOUND COMMUNITY CHANGE TO LAUNCH IN OCTOBER
Consumer purchasing decisions, collectively, determine the fates of businesses, business districts and even industries--and are instrumental in shaping global, community and natural environments.   This is big-time power that both businesses and consumer organizations strive mightily to channel.

When businesses work to influence consumer decisions, it's called marketing. When consumer groups do it, it's called organizing.   The two arenas are often seen to be at odds.  But imagine a situation in which consumers and locally-owned business organize together for both increased profit -- and on behalf of sustainability and social justice goals.   And imagine that this is no gimmick or "greenwash" -- but a practical, authentic, people and place-based campaign in which both sides are on equal footing.  Imagine, further, that it's a process without risk or inconvenience to the customer or business but is seamlessly integrated in the daily business of point-of-sale transactions.

I, and I assume a lot of other Democrats and voters in Olympia, got a message yesterday from Brian Baird encouraging us to come out to his town hall.

Two ways I can see the logic in leaving a phone message asking folks to come out to his upcoming town hall meeting in Olympia.

The rip the band-aid off school of thought, get it over with as soon as possible with as many people as possible.

If you get more than the usual number of folks coming out, you stack the room against the people that would show up anyway.

The message is below the fold.

Rep. Brian Baird will be back in town for two town hall meetings this weekend. One will be on Saturday in Raymond, another a day earlier in Olympia. Olympia has been the site of a regular Friday protest at Baird district office.

Here is a rundown of his last time around down in Vancouver.

In other Baird town hall meeting news:

A retired three-star Army general will appear at a Vancouver town hall meeting Thursday to criticize Rep. Brian Baird's support for President Bush's troop buildup in Iraq.

Former Lt. Gen. Robert Gard Jr., who served as an assistant to Defense Secretary Robert McNamara during the Vietnam War, will be joined by former House Armed Services Committee member Rep. Tom Andrews, D-Maine.

I didn't find the Thursday meeting on Baird's schedule, so I'm not actually sure if the General on Baird confrontation will happen in Vancouver.