Tim Eyman failed to deliver enough signatures to get an initiative on the ballot to repeal Washington's new gay rights law. No, not even dressing up as Darth Vader could help him.

Confused (presumably by his own homosexuality) Tim (Darth Gaydar) Eyman doesn't even have the support of fellow Sith Lord Chris Vance:

Now he's coming in and hijacking issues and shoving his way into an issue because it's become a business for him. It's how he gets paid," Vance said. "There will be no end to Tim Eyman as long as people are wiling to send him money ... I think it's hurting the legitimate perception of the initiative process. When you've got a clown out there in a Darth Vader suit lying to the press and things like that, it's not good for the initiative and referendum process. [PI]

Ouch. At least Gaydar has the support of the radical religious right? Nope, too bad, Apparently he stopped returning their phone calls. Dark days for the Republic indeed.

Tim, please do us all a favor: Put your dark-side pee-jays back in the closet and bring yourself out of it.

Conservative think tank files Initiative to make all Washington State residents re-register to vote

Washington state Republicans never quite got over Dino Rossi's crushing loss to Gov. Gregoire. And, who's to blame them? Their most popular blog, SoundPolitics, is happy to stoke the fire. In between posting the salary of every teacher in the state and bitching about illegal bon fires at Alki all SoundPolitics does is post people's addresses and question their own neighbor's legal voting status. It's a 24-7 witch hunt of massive proportions over there.

In their world everyone is suspect. Even you.

So, since everyone is a suspect, then we should disenfranchise everyone, right?!? State-wide disenfranchisement is what democracy is all about! Conservative think-tank Evergreen Freedom Foundation thinks so. The Seattle Times reports:

Initiative would force all voters to reregister

OLYMPIA — Voters would have to prove they are U.S. citizens and reregister to vote under an initiative that supporters said they will file this week.

Conservative think tank Evergreen Freedom Foundation has formed Grassroots Washington, which is backing the initiative that is expected to be announced today...

The initiative would make all voter registrations inactive until people proved their citizenship and reregistered...

But Assistant Secretary of State Steve Excell said it's a wrong move. "Just because we don't happen to think that every voter record is perfect, we can't, wholesale, disenfranchise everybody," he said.

Excell said investigators had not found any evidence of illegal votes, and noted that most of the questioned registrations were inactive.

Way back in 1998, Tim Eyman launched I-200, an initiative to end affirmative action policies anywhere that state tax dollars came to rest. This was a direct copycat of California's Prop. 209, a white middle class "fuck you" to California's immigrant population. Washington's voters, experiencing what I've got to hope was some kind of psychotic break, passed I-200, which amended the civil rights legislation we've been hearing so much about lately.

Lucky for Washington, our tax dollars go to some pretty smart people. Seattle Schools kept its racial tiebreakers until a lawsuit knocked them down in 2002; UW continued collecing demographic info and would offer scholarships to minority kids it admitted; Sound Transit kept following Federal guidelines on getting bids from women & minority contractors first.

Well. Seems that little Tim-Tim is wetting his white robe over this one. Not content just to be famously and profitably anti-gay, he's going after minorities, again. Eyman slipped I-914 under the radar a month ago, and it's yet another direct hit on affirmative action... and the City of Seattle.

Tim Eyman has an impressive list of nicknames he's received over the years. Watch Salesman. Asshat. Embezzler. Gambling Industry Hack. Now, it looks as if he wants to add bigot to that list. As Amy posted earlier, the state legislature finally made it illegal to discriminate on the basis of sexual preference. The Seattle Times reports Eyman waited a tasteful two-days to claim his new nickname:

Tim Eyman filed an initiative and a referendum this morning aimed at getting rid of the gay rights bill passed by the Legislature on Friday.

State law bans discrimination based on race, sex, religion, marital status, disability and other categories. The gay rights measure passed by the Legislature adds sexual orientation to that list...

"Politicians are deciding based on special interest group pressure and their own reelection calculations," Eyman said in a statement emailed to reporters. "The voters have watched this disgusting display of arrogance and selfishness for weeks."

Gov. Gregoire, in response to the news, said it best:

"It strikes me as counter to the values of the state of Washington to have an initiative now that would say to the people of the state of Washington it's ok to discriminate..."

You'd think so, Chris. But it always seemed to me that everything Tim Eyman does is counter to the values of Washington state.

I hate initiatives. The Seattle PI reports .

Backers announce initiative to oppose estate tax

Opponents of a revamped state estate tax plan have announced an initiative campaign to abolish it...

Revenue from the tax hike is for an education legacy trust fund, created to boost higher education and to finance voter-approved Initiative 728 to reduce class sizes.

The estate tax applies to estates of $1.5 million and up until next year, when the threshold rises to $2 million....

State revenue agents estimate that few estates will be affected by the tax, which has exemptions for farms. State Department of Revenue estimates show about 210 estates expected to pay the tax next year.

The initiative is being sponsored by Dennis Falk who, in 1981, lead the initiative to successfully repealed the state gift and inheritance tax.

He's a great guy, too. Guess what else he's done for our state?!? In 1978, Falk's group Save Our Moral Ethics led a campaign to overturn the sexual orientation provisions of Seattle's fair employment and open housing ordinances. Had it passed, accusations of being gay could have led people from being legally denied housing and jobs.

In November of 1978, Falk explained to The Seattle Times that the campaign was ahead of its time.

"I think we may have attempted to solve a problem a year or two in advance of when we should have put it on the ballot... Maybe we should have let these homosexuals carry on with their recruiting of our children for another year or so. As they flaunt their deviant behavior in the face of the general public, the public will become concerned and we'll get it on the ballot again."

He's quite the gem. Maybe gutting funding from education to save 210 of the richest citizens of our state some cash is ahead of its time, too.

This initiative will have big money backing it, including Frank Blethen and The Seattle Times, which have lied about the estate tax in the past and will certainly do it again.

Don't let anyone fool you. The estate tax in Washington doesn't effect small family farms or businesses. It effects the absolute top income bracket of our state. The top of the top.

Looks like 2006's I-912 is already here.

So after 4 votes of yes, and one vote of no Seattle has killed the monorail. The reasons for doing it I can't say, because I fully supported it as an alternative to the light rail line that will not serve the areas served by the green line. Now, there isn't an alternative, and guess what? You still have to pay for it. So you are paying extra for nothing. It's this bullshit that is going to keep Seattle a second class city, because we talk everything to death and never take action. You drank the kool aid put forth by the major developers like Martin Selig (the closest thing to a living Mr. Burns in this city). We have no one to blame but ourselves and our gullibility at the hands of big business blocking progress, the fear of paying up (which you will still have to do), and a revised line that was shortened by a few miles that was still proposed to be built in the future. For future generations we will be regretting this move wondering why we were so stupid as to hack off our noses to spite our faces.

Here's part two! (Visit Amy's Part One for our position on the Seattle City Council) This has certainly been an exciting off year election and we here at BD won't be making a stance on I-336 or I-901. When it comes to I-901, why don't you take a look at our record breaking thread and make your own call!

(We're throwin' the King County Executive race in this thread, too!)

State Initiatives: How BetterDonkey is voting

I-912: VOTE NO! - Duh. This one should be a no brainer for anyone who wants Washington to be a safe and economically viable state. Liberals are against it, Progressives are against it, mainstream Republicans are against it and the business community is against it. We made a neat-o video and made our stance known early. I-912 is one of the worst things that could happen to our state. If you're going to vote for only one thing this election, Vote No on I-912!.

Ok, so I've read the crazy back and forth that has been going on over the smoking ban and I have to admit I was torn over this iniative until today. Today for the first time I spoke with someone about Selective Prosecution and the smoking ban. As if it wasn't hard enough to be homeless in places like Pioneer Square, the smoking ban will give the cops one more reason to harass those folks. They are just one of many populations of people I can see being adversely ticketed or worse with this as the starting point. I can imagine conversations that begin with a ticket for smoking on the street, progress to a conversation about a weapon or negative comments being made back and forth and the next thing you know people are being arrested. This doesn't sit right with me. I want a smoking ban in public places, I can't support the 25 foot rule, and I am going to vote against this initiative.

Once again, it's Happy Hour where you the loyal readers, bloggers and lurkers pipe up. This edition... I-901, the proposed ban on indoor smoking in Washington State.

The other I-901 post seems to have gotten a bit hard to read and it seems everyone wants to talk about.

Let's get into it!

Please, if you're replying to someone else's comment, reply to the actual comment instead of the whole thread. That'll keep the conversation style easy to read and chronologically ordered!

Amy already pointed out that the Washington State Republican Party has formally endorsed I-912.

The Seattle-PI wrote an excellent editorial today.

It's increasingly becoming aware that the Republican party (in this state and nationwide) is bankrupt of ideas.

The Seattle PI Editorial Board: It's enlightening to see that the state Republican Party has formally endorsed Initiative 912, which would repeal the gas-tax increase the Legislature approved earlier this year.

It's enlightening in that it's more evidence of the growing rift in the state party's traditional relationship with business. Washington business leaders have been outspoken in their insistence that the state's economic future depends on a safe and efficient transportation system to get employees to work and products to market.

Disregarding the clear and manifest benefits to business, dismissing the creation of thousands of family-wage jobs, disregarding the votes of respected Republican legislators, ignoring Hurricane Katrina's lessons in neglected infrastructure, rejecting long-needed highway safety improvements on hundreds of miles of two-lane highways, forestalling repairs to dozens of dangerous bridges -- that's the GOP transportation agenda...

When it comes to actually getting something done about dangerous highways, crumbling roads, dilapidated bridges and replacing parts of the transportation infrastructure key to the state's economy, the GOP is the party of "no."

Good of them to set the record straight

I was wondering why people who support the gas tax recall are so up in arms about an eventual 9 cent increase over the next three years. You would think that Governor Gregoire had come into their house, raped the dog, shot the wife, and plundered the kids. They foam at the mouth about the fleecing of the citizens of the state, and now that prices are the highest ever we should immediately strike down the gas tax. To them I say this

Mind you, the profit is not annual, it is not bi-annual, it is quarterly. In three months this one company made ten billion dollars of profit. PROFIT! I suggest you read the article, memorize it, and pass all of that knowledge on to your conservative mouth breathing friends who so vehemently have their heads explode at the notion of an additional nine cents added to each gallon of gas.

Want to honor the memory of Katrina's victims? Want to practice a little emergency preparedness here at home? It's an easy fix: come November, vote no on I-912, the Infrastructure Killer.

The Seattle P-I tells us why:

Republican arguments about shared blame for Hurricane Katrina's losses have a reasonable basis.... Acknowledging that reality has obvious implications for Washington state. It's absurd for national Republicans to tut-tut about municipal and state shortcomings in Katrina while many GOP leaders here try to sink the state gasoline tax funding that could save thousands of local lives in a disastrous earthquake. Without the gas-tax increase under threat from an initiative, the state has no prospect of replacing the state Route 520 bridge across Lake Washington or the Alaskan Way Viaduct.

Yeah, gas is expensive. But you know what's a million times more costly? Rebuilding the entire transportation infrastructure of Western Washington on a wish and a prayer, once the Big One hits.

You have a choice. Make the right one.

It seems the supporters of I-912, the initiative to repeal Washington State's Road Safety and Repair program, have no logical argument to support their side.

Chris Vance, the chairman of the Washington State Republican Party is against it. Even the number three ranking Republican in the House of Representatives, Don Young from Alaska, agrees.

From The Seattle Times: Even more pointed was the statement from transportation chairman Rep. Don Young of Alaska, who told Seattle Times Washington, D.C., reporter Alicia Mundy, "Anyone who thinks of repealing the gas tax is not thinking."

Young said in The Times of July 1: "Your problem won't go away just by wishing it away. It's going (to) cost and you're going to have to pay for it"

I-912 supporters, do you have anyone except for Hate-Speech spewing Right Wing radio on your side?

The Asshat in the gorilla suit? Sorry, Tim Eyman does not count.

Whether you love it or hate it I-901, the smoking ban, is officially on the ballot

Sponsors of Initiative 901 submitted a total of 321,615. Far more than the 224,880 valid voter signatures needed to make the ballot.

Smoke free clothes here we come!

Related Links:
Smoking Ban: You're not as into it as you think you are

Another way to frame the coming war over I-912

I-912 will make the ballot this fall. For those of you that don't know what this initiative is, it calls for the repeal of the Statewide Road Safety and Repair Program.

You've never heard of the Statewide Road Safety and Repair Program? I bet it's because I'm the first one to ever use that term. But, it's time for those who support a vibrant and safe infrastructure for this state to begin using terms like that. They're blunt, they're to the point and - they're true.

Don't let them tell you any different. We live in an age when the term "tax" is about as desirable as a colonoscopy to 60% of the public. Why bother defending a tax? Why bother explaining complexities like the fact that the gas tax which will fund the Road Safety and Repair Program simply keeps up with inflation? We live in an era where complexity equals tuning out. Cut to the damn chase.

The legislature has enacted a Road Safety and Repair program. A local right-wing talk radio station has used this vital public safety issue as a publicity stunt. Using the public airwaves, they have single handedly promoted their extremist propaganda. Right-wing talk radio would rather have high ratings over the safety of Washington residents. They're still thinking of the Governor's race, while the legislature is thinking of our future. These extremists have decided to knock down public safety, but have given no solutions to the problem.

In fact, the extremists who have attacked the Road Safety and Repair Program are so far out of the main stream, they're at odds with Chris Vance and the Washington State Republican Party.

(click "Read More" to continue)

Okay, I’ve had it. Let me give you my perspective to those of you who wish to put the smoking ban through. You see, I smoke. I like to smoke. I know that the chances are that I am going to die because of some smoking related illness is likely. I’m comfortable with that. I don’t want someone else to suffer because of my addiction, which is why whenever possible I smoke outside. That is one thing that I do out of courtesy. One exception I hold to that is for my favorite smoky dive bars. I love coming out of those places stinking of high heaven of smoke. I think the reason why is because when I was a kid my dad (who is a staunch anti-smoker) would come home at night from a bar, give me a big hug, and I would breathe in the smell of bar smoke. It was comforting to me. I’m getting off subject here, so I’ll get back. I don’t want some namby pamby do-gooder taking away my ability to enjoy one of my few pleasures, drinking cheap shitty beer and smoking cigarette after cigarette in a loud, smelly smoky bar.

So our very own grant has been open and up-front about his support of the smoking ban initiative. And that's good. Except for one thing:

The text of Initiative 901 has some serious problems... problems that people are only just now discovering.

See, according to page 2 of that file I linked you to right up there, smokers can't smoke in public places, and they can't smoke within "twenty-five feet from entrances, exits, windows that open, and ventilation intakes that serve an enclosed area where smoking is prohibited." You can't smoke under awnings. You can't smoke on most decks or patios. And you can't move 25 feet over to the next building or business, because it's pretty likely that that business will be considered a public place too. I'm not sure what smokers are supposed to do-- run out into crosswalks and hope they finish their ciggies before the light changes?

The Northwest Progressive Institute make a great point about I-912 (the anti-gas tax initiative)

Basically it boils down to this. Be careful what you wish for, Eastern Washington. You may want to repeal this gas tax because you don’t want to pay for the states' critical transportation infrastructure in the western part of the state, but don’t forget that Western Washington sends far more money to Eastern Washington than Eastern Washington send back.

And most importantly,

The wise realize that our government provides many valuable services - services that we cannot ourselves provide - and that tax dollars pay for these services. Therefore, taxes are wise and useful investments - much sounder investments then any investment in a stock market exchange.

The unwise simply believe that government wastes their money, and they don't want to give "that government" a single cent. The unwise are shortsighted.

We cannot allow the unwise to spread false misinformation about the gas tax increase. We must stand up for our good values: a stronger America, a better future, a more effective government, broad prosperity, and mutual responsibility.

We have a challenge. Let's work to defeat Initiative 912.

So I'm still held a wee bit speechless by yesterdays events so I decided to blow off some steam with a break of sorts. If you're feeling rather overwhelmed by yesterdays news or generally just all the crap...come on in and talk about whatever seems good to you.