From the "Why we can't have nice things" file.

It's why we can't have nice things, and why, like I always say sometimes, that...



Hat tip to Ron Chusid.

Score two for the good guys.

The Bellingham Herald's Jared Paben reports...

The bill that would suspend changes in the minimum wage during times of high unemployment failed to make it out of a state House of Representatives committee.

The same goes for the bill that would allow restaurants to pay servers less than Washington’s minimum wage if they would make that amount counting their tips.

Put it in the "Why majorities matter" file.

Three cheers…

…for the terrific trio from the 32nd Legislative District. Representatives Cindy Ryu and Ruth Kagi and Senator Maralyn Chase, have signed on to HB 2468 and its Senate companion, SB 6283, which would replace execution with life imprisonment without parole in our state. They're all likewise among the sponsors of SB 6239 and HB 2516, the legislation Governor Gregoire requested extending civil marriage rights to same sex couples.

In the House, Ruth and Cindy have joined the supporters of a pair of revenue-related bills, HB 2486, an income tax proposal, and HB 2563, creating a state capital gains tax. Our state can't move forward without revenue reform, and these are good, if only initial, steps forward.

I'm feeling particularly well represented in the Legislature this session.

Touché.

The most disappointing aspect of last year's liquor privatization initiative, I-1183, may have the nearly sole-source funding of Costco, making it the most openly acknowledged instance of a corporation outright purchasing a favorable state law via the initiative process.

Another disappointment for those of us who have supported liqour privatization for its economic development potential was the way the initiative limited licensees, serving Costco's business and political interests, by cutting out small grocers, wine shops and other possible outlets and denying consumers the benefits of increased access and market competition.

Raise a glass, then, to Rep. Sam Hunt (D-22), who's tossed this in the hopper...

AN ACT Relating to prohibiting the issuance of spirits retail licenses to certain membership organizations

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

The legislature finds that buying in bulk and in supersized packaging, a pattern of activity that is promoted and encouraged by membership organizations, increases abusive consumption. In order to protect the public interest, advance public safety, and prevent abusive consumption of spirits, the Washington state liquor control board is explicitly prohibited from issuing spirits retail licenses to certain membership organizations.

No spirits retail license may be issued to a grocery store licensee that is a membership organization that requires members to be at least eighteen years of age.

Heh™. Wonder if Costco will ask for a refund if it passes...

Since I live to serve…

…and since the questions just keep coming…Barbara Morrill is curious about the House Republicans' legislative strategy...

What's next? Affirmation that our flag is red, white and blue and that mom makes the best apple pie ever?

Since you asked, probably.

At best.

When it's peach pickin' time in Georgia...

Jay Bookman at the Atlanta Journal Constitution...

After enacting House Bill 87, a law designed to drive illegal immigrants out of Georgia, state officials appear shocked to discover that HB 87 is, well, driving a lot of illegal immigrants out of Georgia.

...Thanks to the resulting labor shortage, Georgia farmers have been forced to leave millions of dollars' worth of blueberries, onions, melons and other crops unharvested and rotting in the fields. It has also put state officials into something of a panic at the damage they've done to Georgia's largest industry.

Hat tip to J.P. Green at The Democratic Strategist

If we can't get rid of 'em…

…at least we can get control of 'em. It's my conviction that whatever value the initiative process had as a populist reform has been lost in the era of full time initiative shops and paid signature gatherers. The impulse behind modern initiatives is often more profit than populism.

Repeal of the process would require an amendment to the state constitution and would involve a risky and expensive election if it could clear the legislative barriers to the ballot in the first place. The best immediate path forward isn't repeal, but reform through regulation. This sounds like a good start...

State Sen. Sharon Nelson, D-West Seattle, is sponsoring a bill this session that would place new requirements on the ballot-initiative process aimed at reducing the chances of fraud in paid signature-gathering.

Some highlights of the Senate Bill 5297 include:

· Paid signature gatherers would need to register with the Secretary of State; failure to register would incur a fine.
· Those convicted of fraud, forgery or ID theft would be prohibited from gathering signatures in Washington for five years.
· The initiative filing fee would increase from the current $5 to $500, with a $450 refund if the measure qualifies for the ballot. The $500 fee would be waived if the initiative was filed with 1,000 valid signatures.
· The affidavit on the back of petitions must be signed by the signature gatherer, attesting that the signatures were collected in accordance with state law. If not, the initiative sponsor would have to pay the cost of checking the validity of every signature.

Tim Eyman, predictably, hates SB 5297. That might be the best reason to support it.

Duh headline of the day.

The WaPo yields the winning entry...

2009 Democratic agenda severely weakened by Republicans' united opposition

Duh. It took until 2010 to notice this? It was the only meaningful story in Washington, D.C., last year, really.

Though Democratic divided support wasn't particularly helpful, either...

Exercising the Franchise, Part 1.

I'm going to take this in chunks over the next couple few days. Here's how I'm voting this year, starting with the two statewide measures on the ballot. I'd say the two at the top of the ballot, but here in King County, the ballot designers decided that the best place for the top of the ticket would be tucked away at the bottom of a column of instructions. The perennial frustration with Records and Elections goes on.

At any rate, I found Initiative 1033, Tim Eyman's latest attempt to make a buck for himself while inflicting suffering on the rest of us. Of course, I voted no. I'm pretty much a knee jerk no vote on any initiative, and Eyman's no small part of the reason why. The process has been so debased that it needs to be scrapped. It's a relic of the 19th century that we can no longer afford in the 21st.

Of course, 1033 is awful on its own, as almost every attempt to manage the budget by ballot turns out to be. There are plenty of details on that here. Poke around a bit, find that sucker on the page and vote it down.

On the other hand, I'm voting for Referendum 71 in order to sustain the Legislature's passage of ESSB 5688, the so-called "everything but marriage" domestic partnership bill. I'd be happier if all the effort being expended on behalf of R-71 was for an "actually marriage" bill, but we can't let bigotry have a victory on this one. The new law is something better than a half measure - call it the 90% solution - and it's probably the best we can get out of Olympia for the time being, so two cheers and a vote for are in order.

Next up, the King County Charter Amendments. I bet you're on the edge of your seat...

30 reasons…

…our country is a better place to live because of Ted Kennedy's service...

· The Mental Health Parity Act of 1996
· State Children's Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP)
· Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act of 2009 (Americorps)
· The Civil Rights Act of 1964
· The Voting Rights Act of 1965
· Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993
· Fair Housing Act of 1968
· Handicapped Children's Protection Act of 1986 (overturning a SCOTUS decision)
· Ryan White Care Act of 1990 (AIDS care)
· Americans with Disability Act of '90
· Civil Rights Act of 1991
· Minority Health & Health Disparities Research & Education Act of 2000 · National & Community Service Trust Act of 1993 (Americorps)
· Mammography Quality Standards Act of 1990
· Military Child Care Act of 1989
· The WARN Act of 1988 (60 days notice prior to plant closings)
· Employment Opportunities for Disabled Americans Act of 1986
· Job Training Partnership Act of 1980
· Refugee Act of 1980
· Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act of 1980
· Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act - 1975
· Title IX of Education Amendments of '72 (bans sex discrimination by schools getting Fed $)
· Establishment of Women, Infants & Children's ("WIC") Nutrition Program at USDA
· Low Income Heating Energy Assistance Act of 1970
· Older American Community Service Employment Act of 1970
· Occupational Safety & Health Administration Act of 1970
· The Voting Rights Act amendments of 1970
· The Bilingual Education Act of 1968
· The Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 (War on Poverty: Head Start, Job Corps)
· The Mental Health Parity Act of 1996

More than that. Not just "our country." My life and yours, right where you are sitting now, are directly and personaly better today because of what Ted Kennedy did for us. Every one of us.

Hat tip to the General.

Slightly bowdlerized or not…

…he's right about this. Stephen Suh...

There is no health care bill for me to support. Let me write that again: there is no health care bill. There's just a bunch of bullsh*t floating around in various committees. There is no "Obamacare," there is nothing.

I could argue with some of his other complaints, and some of his responses to them, but this?

He's right.

So far, anyway.

From the "Quick study" file.

Via McClatchy's Wounded Warriors blog...

Minnesota newly-arrived Senator Frankin's first legislation, the Service Dogs For Veterans Act, has passed the Senate.

Al Franken - so effective it's not funny.

From the "Elections have consequences." file.

No, our Democratic President and Congress haven't done everything they need to do yet, and no, they're not doing everything just the way I'd like. But they've done all this...

CREDIT CARDHOLDERS’ BILL OF RIGHTS

MILITARY PROCUREMENT REFORM

HELPING FAMILIES SAVE THEIR HOMES ACT

FIGHTING MORTGAGE AND CORPORATE FRAUD & CREATING COMMISSION ON CAUSES OF CRISIS

AMERICAN RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT ACT

HEALTH CARE FOR 11 MILLION CHILDREN

LILLY LEDBETTER FAIR PAY ACT

OMNIBUS PUBLIC LAND MANAGEMENT ACT 0F 2009

EDWARD M. KENNEDY SERVE AMERICA ACT

STRENGTHENING OVERSIGHT OF TARP

That's a significant list of things done that needed doing, all of it signed and sealed - signed being the operative word. Not a bit of it was possible as recently as six months ago.

Yes, we still have wars to end and justice to deliver and miles to go before we sleep. The lives of millions of Americans have already been improved by Democratic governance, though, and we're just getting started.