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Hanford hearing, denied over TPP, leaving Idaho…

Tuesday, October 11, 2016

 


LOCAL

 

TCH-hanford-protective-gear► In today’s Tri-City Herald — State blasts DOE claim that Hanford workers are protected — Wednesday a federal court judge is scheduled to hear arguments in Spokane on the state’s request for a preliminary injunction requiring the Department of Energy and its contractor, Washington River Protection Solutions, to take certain steps to further protect workers until the case can be decided.

► From KNKX — A pediatrician’s view of paid parental leavePaternity leave can make a big difference in a dad’s long-term engagement with the child, doctors find. Paid family leave also fosters breastfeeding and reduces the incidence of maternal depression.

 


STATE ELECTIONS

 

heck-dennymurray-patty► In the Olympian — No endorsements for you: Thurston Democrats put Heck and Murray on notice over TPP — A wave of Bernie Sanders supporters who joined the ranks of Thurston County Democrats in recent months have put elected officials on notice: Oppose the 12-country trade agreement known as the the Trans Pacific Partnership or risk losing our support. That message was loud and clear last week when Thurston County Democrats voted not to endorse two Democratic members of the state’s congressional delegation, Rep. Denny Heck of Olympia and Sen. Patty Murray, in a meeting flush with new members.

EDITOR’S NOTE — The Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO also voted to withhold endorsement of Sen. Murray and Reps. DelBene, Larsen, and Kilmer over their votes in support of “Fast Track” Trade Negotiating Authority.

► In today’s Spokesman-Review — With I-1433, Washington voters could increase minimum wage to $13.50 and mandate paid sick leave

welcome-to-washington► In today’s Spokesman-Review — Higher minimum wage in Washington could siphon off more Idaho workers — George Peichev says it’s difficult to find and keep dishwashers at his Post Falls restaurant, GW Hunters. Workers can earn more across the state line, where Washington’s minimum wage is $2.22 an hour higher than Idaho’s. If Washington voters approve Initiative 1433 next month, the starting wage gap between the two states will grow to $3.75 next year and could be as much as $6.25 by 2020, if Idaho’s minimum wage remains locked at $7.25 an hour.

KPLU-mcdonaldsEDITOR’S NOTE — No, the people of Idaho aren’t licking their chops about all the jobs that will move from Washington to their low-wage state if I-1433 passes — as Washington business lobbying groups would have you believe. No. They are looking to come work in Washington where they can make enough money to survive. It recalls this story where a McDonald’s franchise owner was asked why he decided to build his restaurant in Newport, Wash., instead of across the street (20 feet away) in Idaho. He replied, “With growing our business, I need more employees.”

► In today’s News Tribune — Should the state minimum wage be increased? Debate set in Tacoma — The event will be 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the downtown Tacoma Library, 1102 Tacoma Ave. S.

EDITOR’S NOTE — …and the panel against I-1433 includes Maxford Nelsen of the Freedom (to Earn Less) Foundation.

 


PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

 

clinton-ohio-turnout

► From Huffington Post — Hillary Clinton proposes doubling tax break for families with kids — She would double the size of the child tax credit, an existing break for both low- and middle-income families, for children 4 years old and younger. Then she wants to tweak the tax credit’s design, so that it provides more relief to some of the poorest families in America.

HouseGOP-huh► In today’s Washington Post — The GOP tumbles toward anarchy: ‘It’s every person for himself or herself’ — The Republican Party tumbled toward anarchy Monday over its presidential nominee, as House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (Wis.) cut Donald Trump loose in an emergency maneuver to preserve the party’s endangered congressional majorities. Ryan’s announcement that he would no longer defend or campaign with Trump prompted biting condemnations from within his caucus and from Trump himself, who publicly lashed out at the speaker.

EDITOR’S NOTE — This morning, Trump ramped up his attack on Ryan, calling him a “weak and ineffective leader.”

► In today’s Spokesman-Review — Pakootas to McMorris Rodgers: Denounce Trump — Democrat Joe Pakootas tried to get the five-term Republican to withdraw her support for Trump after his comments about physically assaulting women.

hutchison-susan► In today’s Seattle Times — Washington Republicans need a new state party leader (editorial) — Washington state needs more balance in its government, and that won’t happen if the state GOP waffles about Donald Trump’s reprehensible behavior toward women. The party should replace its chair, Susan Hutchison, with someone willing to forcefully condemn Trump’s behavior recorded in a bombshell video revealed Friday. In the 2005 video, Trump brags about his success assaulting women and efforts to seduce a married woman.

► In today’s NY Times — Buffett calls Trump’s bluff, releases his tax data — Acknowledging for the first time that he had avoided paying federal income taxes for years, Trump tried to shift attention to Hillary Clinton, accusing some of her wealthy supporters of exploiting tax laws to their own advantage. “Many of her friends took bigger deductions,” Trump said. “Warren Buffett took a massive deduction.” Actually, he did not.

► From TPM — Trump cites bogus story from Russian propaganda outlet at PA rally — Donald Trump read from an article ripped from Sputnik News, the Kremlin-backed news outfit, that misattributed quotes to a Hillary Clinton adviser at a Monday rally.

putin-wink► MUST-READ from Newsweek — Dear Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, I am not Sydney Blumenthal (by Kurt Eichenwald) — I am Sidney Blumenthal. At least, that is what Vladimir Putin — and, somehow, Donald Trump — seem to believe. And that should raise concerns about not only Moscow’s attempts to manipulate this election but also how Trump came to push Russian disinformation to American voters… The Russians have been obtaining American emails (from the Democratic Party and Hillary Clinton’s campaign) and now are presenting complete misrepresentations of them — falsifying them — in hopes of setting off a cascade of events that might change the outcome of the presidential election.

► In today’s Washington Post — Scandal! WikiLeaks reveals Hillary Clinton to be… reasonable. (editorial)

 


TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP

 

trade-deficit► From Huffington Post — Trump and trade: At least partially right (by Dean Baker) — Prominent figures in politics and the media are now using the association with Trump to discredit critics of U.S. trade policy. In fact, U.S. trade policies have been harmful to tens of millions of workers. This reality is not reversed because Trump has chosen to make trade policy a major issue in his campaign… Both tackling the problem of the trade deficit and the composition of trade would require taking U.S. trade policy in a very different direction. We should be having a debate on this topic. The fact that Donald Trump also criticizes U.S. trade policy cannot be an excuse to prevent this debate.

 


FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

 

stranger-amazon-hammering-man► From the P.S. Business Journal — Microsoft, Amazon use the same tax tool as Trump to cut federal income tax — Microsoft, Amazon and many other companies utilize the same tax tool Donald Trump may have used to legally avoid paying federal income taxes for up to 18 years after reporting a $916 million business-related loss in 1995. The IRS has long allowed companies to claim losses to offset some of their tax liability. The tool — called “net operating loss carryforwards” — would have allowed Trump to wipe out more than $50 million a year in taxable income over 18 years.

 


NATIONAL

 

► From Think Progress — Chicago teachers narrowly avoid a strike — In 2012, Chicago teachers went on strike for the first time in 25 years. And this week, the city narrowly averted another strike by reaching a tentative contract with the Chicago Teachers Union late Monday night.

► In today’s NY Times — Fiat Chrysler deal with union averts strike in Canada — Fiat Chrysler Automobiles avoided a strike late Monday night by about 10,000 employees at three plants in Canada.

 


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