May 18
Ross commented on In Which I Do Not Declare My Candidacy for Seattle City Council.
Back to transit, for a second. For the last few years, we've made progress, albeit slowly. We are building the things that we knew we needed to build (although a bit half-assed). This has all been done with the cooperation of the suburban areas, which has helped make it possible. But we are about to enter a very interesting period. From a suburban perspective, the key areas of the city will now be fully funded. The next proposal will likely be for additional transit serving Seattle neighborhoods that are not well connected to suburbs (like Ballard). Will the suburban voter approve of this? Maybe not. If that is the case, then Seattle should certainly look at going it alone. The monorail was a failed proposal because the funding and the technology was poor (http://seattletransitblog.com/2008/03/19…). But the overall idea was a good one. The suburbs had initially rejected transit, so we wanted to build something ourselves (and have it compliment Sound Transit). Doing something like this in the future makes sense (assuming suburban voters reject the next proposal). Of course, if we build this as part of Sound Transit, then all the better.
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May 18
Ross commented on In Which I Do Not Declare My Candidacy for Seattle City Council.
Aren't we limited in what we can tax ourselves? For example, I don't believe we are legally allowed to double K-12 education spending (in Seattle only). State law limits how much we can raise for good reason. It is not about progressive areas taxing themselves more, it is about rich areas taxing themselves more. If the state doesn't pay for basic education, then Mercer Island would have great schools, and Renton have horrible ones.
Furthermore, the city limits for Seattle are rather small. Maybe forty years ago (before the area really started sprawling) a do it yourself attitude might have made sense, but right now we are surrounded by a huge number of people who should pay their fair share. That is why cooperation with the suburbs is key. Getting Sound Transit (which includes lot of suburban voters) to buy into important improvement to our cities infrastructure is key. This is something that the Conlin has done, while his counterparts in Bellevue have failed to do. We will have train stations at Northgate and 125th NE, along with a bridge connecting NSCC to the Northgate transit station while Bellevue builds their main station in the wrong spot (forcing riders to walk several blocks before transferring to a bus). This seems like a minor thing, but it is the difference between a transit system that works and one that doesn't. It means the difference between living in Lake City and driving (because the buses suck) or living in Lake City and taking a bus (because they run every five minutes and you can transfer to a train in less than ten). This leads to more growth in the city, which reduces sprawl and reduces the cost of housing.
Speaking of which, zoning is probably the biggest thing that a councilmember can influence. We really are limited in what we can fund, but we aren't limited in how we can change our zoning laws. We can continue to preserve our car centric approach to zoning, pushing up the cost of housing (especially rents) while building ugly buildings (with their ugly parking lots) or we can allow more density. Conlin has been ahead of everyone else on the council in this regard. We need more people like him that are willing to put renters first.
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Furthermore, the city limits for Seattle are rather small. Maybe forty years ago (before the area really started sprawling) a do it yourself attitude might have made sense, but right now we are surrounded by a huge number of people who should pay their fair share. That is why cooperation with the suburbs is key. Getting Sound Transit (which includes lot of suburban voters) to buy into important improvement to our cities infrastructure is key. This is something that the Conlin has done, while his counterparts in Bellevue have failed to do. We will have train stations at Northgate and 125th NE, along with a bridge connecting NSCC to the Northgate transit station while Bellevue builds their main station in the wrong spot (forcing riders to walk several blocks before transferring to a bus). This seems like a minor thing, but it is the difference between a transit system that works and one that doesn't. It means the difference between living in Lake City and driving (because the buses suck) or living in Lake City and taking a bus (because they run every five minutes and you can transfer to a train in less than ten). This leads to more growth in the city, which reduces sprawl and reduces the cost of housing.
Speaking of which, zoning is probably the biggest thing that a councilmember can influence. We really are limited in what we can fund, but we aren't limited in how we can change our zoning laws. We can continue to preserve our car centric approach to zoning, pushing up the cost of housing (especially rents) while building ugly buildings (with their ugly parking lots) or we can allow more density. Conlin has been ahead of everyone else on the council in this regard. We need more people like him that are willing to put renters first.
May 16
Ross commented on Black Market Elimination Fail: Draft Pot Rules Call for Ban on Hash and Hash Oil.
@21 -- What?! Where can I buy "all the high quality hash and oil they want in nice stores at nice prices"? I know of no place anywhere where I can buy that legally. I suppose if I had an ailment that required treatment I could buy weed legally, but I don't. All you are saying is that we have a great way to break the law now, so don't mess with it. That doesn't make any sense, really. Besides, even if I break the law and fake an ailment to get some nice hashish at the local co-op, I have no idea what is in there, since there is no regulation. I might get some good organically grown, properly made hashish or I might get some chemically laden slop. Lacking regulatory oversight, you never know what you are getting (unless you happen to make it yourself).
Furthermore, the patients who depend on the dispensaries will continue to use them. At worse, they will be taxed (something I oppose). At best, they will see more regulation, which means that they will have a better idea of what it is they are buying.
Might this invite a black market for hashish? Sure. But there already is a huge black market. Overall this will greatly reduce it. In general, this is just like @13 suggested. Great progress, but not the final step.
Personally, I think the worries over the black market are way overblown. You can avoid paying taxes for cigarettes (which are higher than the cost of the cigarettes) but hardly anyone does that. Most people just buy them at the 7-11. Likewise, it is way cheaper to make your own beer (or buy someone's home brew) but most people just buy it at the store.
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Furthermore, the patients who depend on the dispensaries will continue to use them. At worse, they will be taxed (something I oppose). At best, they will see more regulation, which means that they will have a better idea of what it is they are buying.
Might this invite a black market for hashish? Sure. But there already is a huge black market. Overall this will greatly reduce it. In general, this is just like @13 suggested. Great progress, but not the final step.
Personally, I think the worries over the black market are way overblown. You can avoid paying taxes for cigarettes (which are higher than the cost of the cigarettes) but hardly anyone does that. Most people just buy them at the 7-11. Likewise, it is way cheaper to make your own beer (or buy someone's home brew) but most people just buy it at the store.
May 16
Ross commented on Black Market Elimination Fail: Draft Pot Rules Call for Ban on Hash and Hash Oil.
Oh, and making alcohol based hash doesn't sound that complicated: http://weedsmokersguide.com/high-quality…
Way easier than making beer (which was illegal until the late 70s). Since there are lots of ways of making hash (some of them sound extremely dangerous for the makers and users) I can understand why the state punted. Of course, it means that people will continue to do stupid and unsafe things in an attempt to make hash (which is bad) but it means the state can focus on the rest of the regulations (which are complicated enough). I for one want to know if the weed I buy is treated with pesticides or herbicides or some other nasty funky chemical. Right now, the state does nothing to regulate that (even in the medical marijuana market, which has been around a while).
I'll make my own hash (or wait until the state starts regulating it).
Way easier than making beer (which was illegal until the late 70s). Since there are lots of ways of making hash (some of them sound extremely dangerous for the makers and users) I can understand why the state punted. Of course, it means that people will continue to do stupid and unsafe things in an attempt to make hash (which is bad) but it means the state can focus on the rest of the regulations (which are complicated enough). I for one want to know if the weed I buy is treated with pesticides or herbicides or some other nasty funky chemical. Right now, the state does nothing to regulate that (even in the medical marijuana market, which has been around a while).
I'll make my own hash (or wait until the state starts regulating it).
May 16
Ross commented on Black Market Elimination Fail: Draft Pot Rules Call for Ban on Hash and Hash Oil.
@13 is right. Yes, this is a stupid restriction, but still way better than the status quo. Until recently, you had to go to liquor store to buy hard alcohol, even though you could get beer and wine in a regular store. That makes no sense, but that is the law. As it is, you can't buy 90% alcohol in this state. It is illegal. No one whines about that except the people who want to use that alcohol for non-drinking purposes like fuel for stoves, varnishing, making extracts (including -- you guessed it -- cannabis extracts).
May 6
Ross commented on Boycott the NBA Playoffs!.
Sorry, I watch the playoffs because I like watching some of the best athletes on earth compete at the highest level. If you want a more colorfully written description, ask Sherman Alexie.
But I do hate the NBA. We should have been watching the Vancouver Grizzlies play the Seattle SuperSonics on a nice sunny Sunday. Everyone on the west coast close to the 49th parallel sitting outside watching the game and drinking nice microbrews (and a handful of folks like me who play in the sun all day, Tivo the game and tell everyone else to shut up until I can watch it). We would watch as former UW great Quincy Pondexter almost wins the game for Vancouver.
But alas, it isn't to be. Fuck David Stern. Fuck the NBA.
But I will watch these games on TV while I wait to watch the UW Huskies at Hec Ed. College sports have their problems, but Romar is a standup guy, and the Huskies aren't going anywhere.
But I do hate the NBA. We should have been watching the Vancouver Grizzlies play the Seattle SuperSonics on a nice sunny Sunday. Everyone on the west coast close to the 49th parallel sitting outside watching the game and drinking nice microbrews (and a handful of folks like me who play in the sun all day, Tivo the game and tell everyone else to shut up until I can watch it). We would watch as former UW great Quincy Pondexter almost wins the game for Vancouver.
But alas, it isn't to be. Fuck David Stern. Fuck the NBA.
But I will watch these games on TV while I wait to watch the UW Huskies at Hec Ed. College sports have their problems, but Romar is a standup guy, and the Huskies aren't going anywhere.
May 6
Ross commented on Tom Tomorrow Is My Hero.
I'm a big fan of Tom Tomorrow. It is worth noting that The Daily Show ran almost the exact same piece. I have no idea who came it up with it first. My guess is that both wrote the same thing independently, in any event.
May 6
Ross commented on What Did You Do This Weekend?.
Yeah, Dan, you weren't being a bully, you were being a dick. I don't know why people can't tell the difference. Commentators (including politicians) are dicks all the time. Sometimes they catch hell for it (and even lose their job) but it is not bullying.
The speech itself was fairly well written and presented. I think she was surprised (as I was) at how tepid the response was. She had some good lines and was expecting a big roar from the crowd but only got a few claps. She just isn't relevant anymore, even though she is probably as good a politician as ever. What I find so striking (and this is typical) is how hypocritical the speech is. She makes a good point about emotion -- maybe we shouldn't base our policies on it. But then she spends the rest of the speech making arguments that are based purely on emotion (gun control or restrictions on tobacco advertisement equal loss of freedom). To make matters worse, the emotion she (and fellow Republicans) so often evoke is an us versus them, tribal mentality. Such emotions are downright scary, if you know anything about history or world affairs.
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The speech itself was fairly well written and presented. I think she was surprised (as I was) at how tepid the response was. She had some good lines and was expecting a big roar from the crowd but only got a few claps. She just isn't relevant anymore, even though she is probably as good a politician as ever. What I find so striking (and this is typical) is how hypocritical the speech is. She makes a good point about emotion -- maybe we shouldn't base our policies on it. But then she spends the rest of the speech making arguments that are based purely on emotion (gun control or restrictions on tobacco advertisement equal loss of freedom). To make matters worse, the emotion she (and fellow Republicans) so often evoke is an us versus them, tribal mentality. Such emotions are downright scary, if you know anything about history or world affairs.
Apr 18
Ross commented on The Death of Neoliberal Ideology Is Real.
I think you give Neo-liberals way too much credit. From an economic standpoint, this battle has been going on between radical economists (on the right) along with their Republican friends versus mainstream economists. It is really hard to find anyone who feels that the U. S. or the U. K. should cut spending right now. The mainstream view is that we should increase spending until interest rates go above zero and unemployment goes way down. Even if the original paper was correct, then it is OK to increase our debt right now (since it isn't close to that magic 90%).
To make matters worse, Obama has done a poor job in expressing his economic strategy. It took Bill Clinton to explain it to the country (and he did a masterful job). In short, we should increase spending right now, then cut spending later. This is the mainstream economic view and the mainstream Democratic view. Unfortunately, Obama has been all to keen to compromise with the Republicans and their radical economic views while doing a very poor job of explaining why the economic strategy is stupid. A very high percentage of people believe that the economy will get better if we decrease our debt. Very few of those people understand basic economic principles, let alone call themselves economists.
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To make matters worse, Obama has done a poor job in expressing his economic strategy. It took Bill Clinton to explain it to the country (and he did a masterful job). In short, we should increase spending right now, then cut spending later. This is the mainstream economic view and the mainstream Democratic view. Unfortunately, Obama has been all to keen to compromise with the Republicans and their radical economic views while doing a very poor job of explaining why the economic strategy is stupid. A very high percentage of people believe that the economy will get better if we decrease our debt. Very few of those people understand basic economic principles, let alone call themselves economists.
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Most of the 1% could care less about the Sonics. If you look at the people in the rallies, or listen to the sports radio broadcasts, it should be obvious that most of the fans are middle or working class. The government will chip in far less than they did for either of the two stadiums (if things work out well, the government will end up paying nothing). It still might seem stupid (if you aren't a sports fan) but the same could be said for numerous government programs. If you don't like art, then funding anything art related seems stupid (especially since so many of those art projects go to already wealthy artists).