"Don't cry because it is over. Smile because it happened."
--unknown

Dear Sonics: It's been a good forty years. We've stuck stuck together through good times and bad. Through two mascots. Even when you officially dropped the Super part of the the team name and just became the Sonics. We've loved you, really, and wish you didn't have to go. But since you do, we're throwing you a going-away party on Thursday May 11th, at noon at City Hall. Your fans and friends will be there to toast you and send you off in style. Thanks for the memories. They make us smile.

Seattle Sonics Going-Away party

Date: Thursday May 11th, noon-1PM
Location: City Hall Plaza (off 4th avenue)

Community leaders and concerned citizens will gather to wish the Sonics well in whatever future city they decide to call home and make clear to the City of Seattle and other elected officials that we have more pressing needs than bailing out the Sonics by spending $200 million to remodel Key Arena.

This morning a man nearly died in front of me, on a busy Seattle sidewalk, and most people just kept on walking.

He was homeless. Or did you guess that already?

I moved to Seattle from New York City, supposedly the most hard-hearted and merciless place on earth. Seattle, on the other hand, is made out to be the land of good intentions and nice Scandinavian smiles. The reputations are bullshit & backward.

New Yorkers aren't hard-hearted, they're efficient & loyal. If you block traffic because you're lost, they're going to yell at you. If you block up the middle of the sidewalk because you are a slow moving tourist, you'll get bumped and hollered at. If you talk shit about Brooklyn, you'll get shit back. If you go to a Yankee game on with anything but Yankee paraphenilia, you'll get an ass-kickin.

But New Yorkers are civic minded. If you get mugged, they'll help you up. If you ask for directions, they'll tell you not just how to get there, but the fastest (and cheapest) way to do it. New Yorkers pay high income taxes, shush obnoxious people on the train or bus, and routineley fund large campaigns for the public good (Central Park, the Subway, etc...).

Take these generic polls with a huge grain of salt, but it certainly runs counter to the "incompetent dems cant find ass from hole in ground" storyline.

March 15, 2006
Democratic Congressional Lead Among Registered Voters Largest Since '82 Midterm--Lead by 55% to 39% on generic ballot
The latest CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll finds the Democratic Party leading the Republican Party 55% to 39% among registered voters in the generic congressional ballot. Gallup asks this question to get a sense of how people will vote in this year's elections for the U.S. House of Representatives.

This is the largest lead Democrats have held over Republicans in the 2006 campaign thus far, and the largest lead Democrats have enjoyed among registered voters in a midterm election since 1982. In the 1992 presidential campaign, Democrats led Republicans by 20 percentage points following the Democratic national convention that year. Once likely voter turnout models are applied -- something usually done later in the campaign -- the Democrats' advantage on the generic ballot is reduced given higher turnout rates among Republicans than Democrats. Still, a lead of this size would suggest a solid Democratic advantage among likely voters and the likelihood of Democratic seat gains.

With the end of session in Olympia, we are one step closer to the beginning of real campaign season for the 2006 cycle. Soon we'll all start seeing the flyers, fund rasing letters, ads and pleas for volunteers. The question is, what are we going to do in response?

For my part, I'll probably pick a couple of races that mean a lot to me, places where I think I can help make a difference, and where there's a condidate that has the same priorities that I do (community development, good government, smart spending). I could also see myself getting ivolved in a race where I am more concerned with defeating an incumbent than I am helping a challenger.

What are you going to do this session?

What do you wnat BetterDonkey to do this session? (do you care what BD does?)

A couple of online resources you might find helpful in figuring this out:

The Washington State Democratic Party: A good place to start, learn about the party in general, check out the election calendar, get plugged in.

I a really fascinating blurb in today's Hotline Blog, I found a tidbit that just blew me away":

Appearing at an AFL-CIO press conference to unveil its '06 political gameplan, AFSCME President and longtime Dem political strategist Gerald McEntee admitted yesterday afternoon that "progressives learned a hard lesson" in the '04 cycle: relying on paid turnout efforts is a recipe for failure.

McEntee went on to say this:

the Dems' "stranger-to-stranger" ground game was "trounced" by the GOP's "neighbor-to-neighbor strategy."

As somebody who switched from an outside group to a paid dem staffer during the cycle, I couldnt agree more with his analysis. It seemed to me that the biggest problem the party out here faced was that they were constantly playing catchup when it came to neighborhood infrastructure. Now, of course there are exceptions. The 36th District Dems are a well oiled, albeit ideologically homogenous, machine. But go down to Tacoma or up to Everett, and the same cannot be said.

State Legislators have been dusting off their gavels, robes and wigs in preperation for today's opening of the 60 day session. There are quite a few topics on the dockett for the Whigs and Torries down in Olympia, but might I suggest a pressing issue that could strongly benefit from your help and input:

The Strength and Health of Our Communities

Why you should care:

Right now, 405,000 families find themselves in a living situation that will force them to choose between food and rent.

More than 50,000 homeless individuals will seek shelter in the coming year, and will be turned away.

All of the major Housing Authorities have closed their waiting lists to those seeking affordable housing.

In the coming 5 years, the sharp increase in the costs of land and construction could cut the production of affordable housing in half.

What can we do about it this session?

HB 2418: The Home Security Fund

So, I seem to have a Letter to the Editor fetish going on. This is my second in a month, both having to do wih my favorite axe-grind-metaphor-thing...housing and community investment.

Anyway, the below letter ran in the Seattle Times last week. Just goes to show, if you write it, they'll print it.

P.s. I didn't pick the headline, the STimes did. For the life of me I cant figure out what the heck they meant by it.

The plot thins

Washington state is a national leader when it comes to the financing and development of award-winning housing that is safe, environmentally friendly and affordable to individuals and families throughout the spectrum of housing needs ["State's housing affordability gap widens," Real Estate, Dec. 18].

The State Housing Trust Fund, which is responsible for more than $420 million in new and improved housing since 1989, represents an important investment in communities around the state. These dollars are leveraged four and five times as they are matched with local, federal and private funds to create housing that will remain affordable for many decades to come.

The below letter ran in this Sunday's joint Seattle Time/PI.

Invest the extra in a housing program
Chris McGann's Monday article, "State lawmakers to face surplus, urge to splurge," was an interesting look at the state's new fiscal outlook, but missed an important angle. Where did the money come from?

According to the Washington State Revenue Forecast Council, nearly 30 percent of the state's new revenue comes from real estate excise tax payments. The housing boom "accounts for well over half of the total change when the indirect impact of the strong housing market on spending on real estate related taxable sales is included" (W.S.R.F.C., September 2005). At the same time, more than 750,000 Washington households do not have a decent, safe and affordable place to live. It is only fair that the surplus (which was created by an unaffordable real estate market) go back to the people that the market has left behind.

What do you call a policy maker who calls for holding a state surplus against future calamity and demands "no new spending?"

10 years ago: A Republican.

Today: A Democratic Governor.

The moral of the story: Democrats need to start standing up for Democratic values. Spend money, ask for public support, demand accountability.

Fact: Washington State is looking at a nearly $1.4 billion surplus.

Fact: According to the Washington State Revenue Council, more than half of the new revenue comes from the crazy-hot real estate market (Real Estate Excise Tax receipts, sales tax on construction and building materials, etc...)

Fact: More than 405,000 Washington low-income households are forced to pay so much of their income for rent that they have to make terrible choices between rent and food or rent and medicine.

In a shocking and unprecedented move, the state's lone popular Republican (Dino "I hate kids" Rossi) endorsed the state's least known Republican (Mike "Even my kids can't remember my name" Mcgavick).

In a notable and obviously true comment, if by "true" you mean "absurd and cracked out", Rossi made the following comparison:

"I think he will be a terrific United States senator. Over time, he will have the stature of a Magnuson or a Jackson. He has the ability and the leadership."

When asked to comment, Magnuson had a two part reply:

First of all, that's goddamn ridiculous. He use to work for Slade "Indian Killer" Gordon. He'll be about as popular as used toilet paper. Second of all, why am I stuck in this box?

Senate hopeful McGavick picks up Rossi backing

Republican Pricks Angry Over ANWR Failure. Threaten to Punish The Puget Sound For Daring to Fight Back.

After Sen. Cantwell inserted language into a recent budget bill that would have kept the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge free of oil derricks, Ted Stevens (R-Bridge to Nowhere) retalliated by creating legislation that would end long-standing protection of the Puget Sound from oil spills and shipwrecks. Tell Ted Stevens to go jump off his fancy new bridge.

From Cantwell's site:

Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska has introduced a bill to repeal the Magnuson Amendment, a law written by Washington's own Warren Magnuson in 1977 to limit oil tanker traffic in Puget Sound. The Magnuson Amendment has kept the Cherry Point Refinery near Bellingham from becoming a super-port for oil to be shipped overseas and across the country. Stevens' bill will undo these protections. If it passes, pristine Puget Sound is at risk for oil spills, with little economic or energy benefit to our state.

I want to spend some time later (...stupid job, always making me work!) looking at the state of the republican coalition, how it is fracturing under the weight of calamity, and how that plays out in Washington State politics. But until then, I offer you this teaser:

http://www.withdrawmiers.org

This site, put together by conservatives who want to see a justice "truly in the mold of Scalia & Thomas" is a shocking example of Republicans acting exactly like Democrats.

When the President's numbers go south, the loyalty crumbles.

More to come later.

In his colum in today's NYTimes, David Brooks essentially asks the Democrats to be grown ups even though the Republicans have acted like 12 year old bullies for the past 10 years:

Will we learn from DeLay's fall about the self-destructive nature of the team mentality? Of course not. The Democrats have drawn the 10-years-out-of-date conclusion that in order to win, they need to be just like Tom DeLay. They need to rigidly hew to orthodoxy. They need Deaniac hyperpartisanship. They need to organize their hatreds around Bush the way the Republicans did around Clinton.

The old team is dead. Long live the new team.

It strikes me that Brooks is acting alot like an ex of mine. Selfish and petty.

UPDATE:The below chart just came out and is a fascinating glimpse into how poverty and housing policy intersect. The short interpretation- the quickest way to offer hope and opportunity to people in need, is to invest in improving their housing situation.

Percent of households within income group living in severely unaffordable housing, by tenure
AMI = "Area Median Income" which, for a family of 4 is about $70k/year in Seattle
.........under 30% of AMI......30%-60% of AMI......Above 60% of AMI
Renters: 61%.........................11%.................1%

Owners: 43%.........................15%.................2%

All:..........53%.........................13%.................2%
www.nlihc.org/research/bearingburden.pdf.

Kanye West was right!

When asked, a vast majority of African Americans see the failiure of the Federal Government in NOLA as either proof, or at least symptomatic of entrenched racial bias. Just look at how African Americans view the President's handling of the crisis
Red=dissaprove/Blue=approve

VS. How Whites view Bush's handling of the disaster:

The difference is, shall we say, striking.

Here is what I take from this profound difference:

1. The notion of Republicans swaying African Americans to rethink their mass political affiliation is dead. /craven political observation.

2. Republican government is built on the myth of the market and will always fail the struggling in our society because it preaches individual success at the expense of community stability. So long as wealth and race are tied in this country (as they de facto are right now) Blacks will be harmed by Republican rule.

Okay....I have to admit that I have a bit of a Joe Biden thing. I have always liked him, and he is a bit of a family friend. I am psyched that he is going to throw his hat in the ring this time, and was on my way to his pre-prez site Unite Our States (careful, it has audio that plays when you visit). Suddenly, I stumbled accross this amazing piece of web-foolery/brilliance:

Biznass, my biznass

Beez has dropped his latest bomb for the streets: the Unite Our States PAC. (Those of you peeping our shit illegally at work should be warned that Biden is audible dropping dope lines on the front page. The shit is mad dramatic, 2Pac style, but will piss off your supervisor.)

If, unlike JBITO, you have money, you should pass the shit along to Beezy, who is going to do all types of high-minded unity-related activities with the scrill. Further, there's no doubt that some of that money will find its way into the Biden '08 war chest. Because, as important, if discredited pundits have noted in the past, all money is legal.

As the Hurricane Katrina response goes from tepid to down right shameful, I sit at my desk in downtown Seattle feeling a whole lot of deja vu.

You have to understand, I lived through 9/11. I was there when the planes hit, I volunteered at ground zero, I helped staff a food bank for volunteers, I walked home over the Williamsburg Bridge and saw hundreds of Hasidic Jews come out with water for the weary refugees from lower manhattan.

Now I ain't no Giulliani lover, but what we witnessed over the next week was at least an organized response. Yes, ther were big problems with the way the cops and the firefighters didn't talk to each other, but in the weeks that followed we all knew what was going on and there was more than enough help.

The response in New Orleans is a disgrace. It is a joke. This is what you get when you systematically disinvest in the public good. This is what "starving the beast" wrought.

Ahh summer camp: canoe lessons, bullies, camp counselors that are suspiciously red-eyed, and the romance that none of your friends back at school will ever believe really happenned because "she's from Maine and you don't know her" just doesn't fly.
...

Well, now you can do it all over again, excpt that none of that stuff will happen and instead you'll learn how to be an effective advocate and bring change to Olympia and Washington.

What: Children's Alliance Advocacy Camp
When/where: Advocacy Camp 2005 is October 17-19, 2005 in North Bend.
Why: Three, fun, and inspirational days that will teach you how to become a better public policy advocate.

Learn effective ways to change public policy to improve the lives of families and children through capitol based advocacy, grassroots mobilization, and the media.

Advocacy Camp is a three-day interactive training to help you become a better public policy advocate for families and children. [more after the jump]

[I'm sorry to post twice in a row but the below stuff just needed to get up there. Please read and forgive my lack of focus on the rest of my life right now].

Michael Connerry, a founder of Music for America, posted an amazingly well thought out and sound analysis of the state of "youth outreach" programs and what must be done in order to move them forward.

To steal just a few of his ideas that this community needs to get on top of fast:

The Problem 1: The Professionals Just don't Get It!

At its most root level, it is a matter of perception, world-view, framing (or whatever term you want to assign it). For the majority of "young" Americans, politics isn't important in the same way it is for us junkies. In fact, politics is a dirty word. This seems like a no-brainer, but the manner in which "youth outreach" programs of the Young Democrats, College Democrats, DNC, and ACT work illustrate that this fact remains deeply unabsorbed. It is a constant that is always in people's minds, but never fully comprehended or accounted for during planning sessions, retreats, and daily meetings.

I just got this from the National Low Income Housing Coalition's weekly newsletter. I though y'all might enjoy the read:

Housing as an Indicator of the Well Being of Children

Two recent reports track the well being of children in
the United States. Both provide indicators of children’s
housing along with measures of health, income, and
education.

The Annie E. Casey Foundation has released their
“Kids Count Data Book” as well as their “State-Level
Data Online” which has 75 different indicators for child
well-being in state-by-state format, including 10 indicators
from the study and 65 that are original to the
online format. The report concludes that out of the 10
study indicators, five worsened between 2000 and 2003,
including an increase in child poverty, an increase in
infant mortality and low birth weight, and an increase
in the rate of children with “persistently unemployed”
parents or guardians.