Monday, October 29, 2018

DOMESTIC TERRORISM

► In today’s NY Times — The hate poisoning America (editorial) — The suspects in Pittsburgh, Florida and Kentucky are responsible for their own actions. Maniacs have always existed in dark crevices of American life, and no amount of public condemnation will ever stop them from developing poisonous ideas. But in this harrowing time, more good speech, from more good people, can remind other Americans of the sorts of values that have, so far, managed to contain the divisions in their country, of the moral imagination and empathy that (Pittsburgh suspect Robert) Bowers evidently so feared.

► From The Hill — Trump blames ‘Fake News’ for country’s anger: ‘The true Enemy of the People’ — President Trump on Monday blamed what he deems unfair media coverage for causing “great anger” in the country in the wake of a violent week that saw a spate of mail bombs and a shooting that killed 11 people at a Pittsburgh synagogue.The president said in a pair of tweets that the “Fake News Media” is “the true Enemy of the People,” reviving a derisive term for the press less than a week after an explosive device was mailed to CNN’s New York City offices.

EDITOR’S NOTE — If you doubt the connection between these violent attacks and Trump’s blanket “fake news” response to media coverage of his administration’s corruption, racism and incompetence, here’s a video of MAGAbomber suspect Cesar Sayoc at a Trump tally chanting “CNN sucks.” He later sent one of his pipe bombs to the news network.

► In today’s Washington Post — Trump, GOP defiant amid allegations that incendiary rhetoric contributed to climate of violence — President Trump and his Republican allies remained defiant Sunday amid allegations from critics that Trump’s incendiary attacks on political rivals and racially charged rhetoric on the campaign trail bear some culpability for the climate surrounding a spate of violence in the United States.

► In today’s Washington Post — Fox News and the rest of the right-wing media can’t escape responsibility (by Max Boot) — President Trump — by championing “nationalism,” denouncing “globalists” such as Jewish financier George Soros, vilifying immigrants as “snakes” and “animals,” fearmongering about a refugee caravan and defending white supremacists as “fine people” — bears a substantial share of the blame. Some of his Republican followers are even more extreme.

EDITOR’S NOTE — As a public service, here is a current list of Fox News sponsors advertisers. The top 20 sponsors: Keurig Green Mountain, Ford & Lincoln, Pfizer, Liberty Mutual, Bayer AG & Monsanto, Honda & Acura, Ace Hardware, Procter & Gamble, Allstate & Esurance, and Capital One. The top 10 advertisers: IAC (Angie’s List, Home Advisor, Match), Allstate & Esurance, Beaches & Sandals Resorts, Nutrisystem & South Beach Diet, Liberty Mutual, Office Depot & Office Max, Bayer AG & Monsanto, Procter & Gamble, Walt Disney Co (21st Century Fox), and Warren Buffett & Berkshire Hathaway (GEICO, Duracell, Kraft, Heinz).

► From HuffPost — GOP leader deletes tweet singling out 3 Jews helping bankroll Democrats — House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) deleted a tweet that had warned that three wealthy Jewish Democrats are “buying” the midterm elections for their party, a posting that appeared after liberal billionaire philanthropist George Soros — one of his targets — had been sent a pipe bomb.

LOCAL

► In the Peninsula Daily News — Port Angeles paraeducators demand raises — Members of the Port Angeles Paraeducator Association and its supporters filled the Port Angeles School District’s recent school board meeting beyond capacity as they demanded higher wages for some of the district’s lowest paid workers.

► In the Olympian — North Thurston Public Schools office staff could vote to strike Tuesday — North Thurston Public Schools office staff, a 137-member group represented by their own bargaining unit, will meet Tuesday to decide whether to go on strike, a union official said Sunday.

► From Crosscut — Low-income tenants find power in a union — The Tenants Union of Washington, a nonprofit tenants’ rights group that typically works with low-income tenants to help them fight against discrimination and for better living conditions and legal protections, often by helping them organize tenant associations or tenant unions. Tenant organizing has received renewed attention of late as elevated rents have left limited options for low-income residents.

► From Forbes — The best places for business and careers 2018: Seattle leads the way — The Seattle economy grew 6.6% last year or 5.2% net of inflation, three times as fast as the median U.S. city. Incomes are stagnant in the U.S., but not in the Emerald City, where they increased 4.7% annually the past five years. Yes, business and living costs are high, but the talented workforce more than compensates and helps Seattle land the top spot in Forbes’ 20th annual Best Places for Business and Careers. Seattle moves up two spots from last year and is number one overall for the first time.

ELECTION

► In today’s Seattle Times — A month after rape allegation against Sen. Joe Fain, still no word on an investigation — One month after a Seattle woman accused state Sen. Joe Fain of raping her in 2007, there is little indication state or local officials plan to investigate the allegation before Election Day — and no guarantees that a review will ultimately happen. That leaves voters to evaluate the allegation against Fain, a two-term Republican from Auburn who is up for re-election in King County’s 47th legislative District. He faces Democrat Mona Das in the voting period that ends Nov. 6.

EDITOR’S NOTE — The Washington State Labor Council has endorsed his Democratic challenger Mona Das.

► From AP — State lawmaker sued for banning 2 constituents from Facebook page — The suit against Rep. Jim Walsh (R-Aberdeen) says, “By banning access to this forum and deleting comments based on the viewpoint of the speaker, Representative Walsh has violated plaintiffs’ right to free expression, to petition the government for a redress of wrongs and grievances, and to hear the banned speech that would have otherwise been engaged in, distorting the expressive forum.”

EDITOR’S NOTE — The Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO has endorsed his Democratic challenger Erin Frasier. Republican operatives are using dirty tricks on Walsh’s behalf, sending misinformation to try to get Democratic voters to throw away their voters.

See the WSLC’s entire list of election endorsements here.

THIS WASHINGTON

► In the Spokesman-Review — Once again, Washington leads the country in regressive taxation (by Shawn Vestal) — In this state the income tax is a bogeyman of simply incredible endurance – one that seems to unite most Washingtonians, but especially conservatives, in quaking terror. Meanwhile, we plod along with a tax system that is the least equitable to the poor of any state in the country. In a time of massive income inequality, of vast enrichment at the top and utter stagnation at the bottom, our supposedly progressive state deepens that inequality, and has done so for years.

► In the Seattle Times — Washington considers raising 42-year-old standard on who gets overtime pay — Last Thursday’s “Free Time Day” was meant to call attention to Washington state’s overtime rules that have not been updated since 1976, leaving hundreds of thousands of salaried workers in the state ineligible for extra pay when they work more than 40 hours a week. That adds up to several billion dollars a year, by Working Washington’s calculations. The “holiday” marks the point in the year when salaried employees — who average 49 hours a week — have put in the equivalent of a full year’s worth of 40-hour weeks. After Thursday, they are in effect working for free — at least relative to their hourly counterparts, who must be paid 1.5 times their regular rate for each hour after 40 worked within a seven-day period.

ALSO at The Stand — State moves to restore OT pay protections

► From KUOW — Western State Hospital nurse describes violent attack that left part of her ear missing — Berni, 63, recalled standing inside the nurse’s station and surveying the ward when a patient who had been placed on one-to-one supervision because of his violent tendencies began to sprint down the hallway.

► In the Seattle Times — End discriminatory cash-bail system for nonviolent crimes (by the Seahawks’ Doug Baldwin) — Today, thousands of people in King County and across the country are sitting in jail not because they were convicted of a crime, but simply because they could not afford an arbitrary bail.

THAT WASHINGTON

► In today’s Seattle Times — Trump’s unprecedented deficits put us into uncharted territory (by Jon Talton) —  President Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress approved a $1.5 trillion tax cut over the next decade, mostly for the rich and corporations. One problem was the expanding economy didn’t need this stimulus (nor has it raised wages). But the tax revenue is gone and now serious red ink is forecast (the deficit went up in the most recent fiscal year; it usually goes down during an expansion). From the Reagan and Bush experience to that of Kansas, tax cuts don’t “pay for themselves.” Especially in the era when most economic gains go to shareholders, the rising tide doesn’t lift all boats… With these policies, this is why Americans can’t have nice things such as a stronger social-safety net, universal health care and high-speed trains common in other advanced nations.

The Stand posts links to Washington state and national news of interest every weekday morning by 10 a.m.