There are so many angles one could take on last week’s state Senate Transportation Committee hearing on a bill that would require proof of citizenship to obtain a Washington drivers license, that I’m not sure where to start.

The chair of the Senate Transportation Committee says she’s not racist and neither is her bill to ban illegal residents from obtaining drivers licenses.

I suppose I could pursue an informed debate on the merits of requiring proof of citizenship to obtain a drivers license, carefully comparing the cost of the bill (more unlicensed, uninsured drivers on the road) versus the benefits (um… hassling brown people, I suppose). Or, I guess I could follow KING 5’s lead, and focus instead on Haugen’s amusing response to allegations of racism:

Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, D-Camano Island, abruptly adjourned Thursday’s hearing after protesters started yelling that the bill unfairly targets “brown” people.

Then she said this:

“Do you want to see my grandchildren? Half of them are brown.”

Brilliant political comeback, especially considering how well that sorta language worked out for then Vice President George H.W. Bush, when he famously referred to his half-Mexican grandkids as “the little brown ones.”

Still, even more shocking than the color of Haugen’s grandchildren is their quantity:

Haugen says she has 43 grandchildren and that many members of her family are of other nationalities. She says she is offended by claims that she, and her bill, are racist.

43 grandchildren? Really? I had no idea Camano Island was located entirely within the borders of 19th century Ireland.

“I think I’m one of the most tolerant people in here. I don’t see color,” said Haugen.

But if you don’t see color, then… um… how do you know half your grandchildren are brown? Ah-hah… gotcha!

But Sen. Haugen’s logical inconsistencies and reproductive strategies aside, what personally jumped out at me from the KING 5 video (and in case you haven’t figured it out yet, everything I write about is ultimately about me) is: why the fuck is KING 5 allowed to excerpt TVW video with impunity, when I’m not?

I can’t tell you how many run-ins I’ve had with TVW over their bullshit, attempted usurpation of the Fair Use Doctrine. Well, I guess I could, but I’m too lazy to count. So let’s just say that it’s a lot. And it’s damn annoying, twice resulting in YouTube temporarily shutting down my account as a “repeat violator,” thus taking all my videos offline.

So come on TVW, where’s your outrage over KING 5’s violation of your precious, extra-legal copyright notice? Or do you just harass bloggers like me with your bogus DMCA takedown notices because you can?

14 replies on “So Many Ledes, So Little Desire to Write Any of Them”

  1. A few of us tried to raise hay about TVW but their illegal state-funded monopoly continues. Bonus points–look who runs their hosting/pays for it:

    216.186.43.80 is the IP address of TVW.org. Look who that is:

    Mount Pleasant School District #29-93 WSKT-111 (NET-216-186-43-64-1) 216.186.43.64 – 216.186.43.127
    Washington State K-20 Telecommunications Network WA-K20-BLK3 (NET-216-186-0-0-1) 216.186.0.0 – 216.186.127.255

    State-funded, but with full private broadcast network restrictions. I brought it up with my 36th reps but it never went anywhere.

  3. So, let me get this straight; she’s racist because she wrote a racist bill – even though there’s no sign of her intent to be racist, and it’s quite likely she just wrote a bad bill – and racist is bad. Boo!

    But insulting the woman for having a large family, that’s perfectly okay. ‘Cuz we all know anyone from a big family is a worthless piece of shit, anyway.

    Asshole.

  5. Just because you work for the Stranger doesn’t mean you can get away with using journalist argot in your stuff, Goldy. Lose the “lede”. Or I will go full metal pedant on you.

    I thought Colbert had buried “I see no color”, but I guess not. Only a white person up to her hairline in white privilege could ever fail to see color. People of color interpret that as meaning “you can’t see me”, which is of course the case. Especially out there in the middle of the Camano Island ghetto.

  6. ” I don’t see color,” said Haugen.”
    I think that Stephen Colbert has already trademarked that phrase.

    We have that law here in California and the number of hit and run accidents is now so high that some police agencies don’t even bother to try to track down the running vehicle unless the accident results in major injury.

  10. I’m surprised that the wingers don’t just have the DOL print CITIZEN or NON-CITIZEN on everyone’s licenses. Then they can have their racism and law and order!

  12. People aren’t able to pay close attention to the existing Dept. of Licensing (DOL) data, which does not justify SB 5407. No one is talking about that – especially the media. Yes, Sen. Haugen is a racist and I fear for her 43 grandchildren, especially the four of “her” Browns. But, activists who try to frame immigrants as a “safety problem” also need to back this us with some proof. Sen. Haugen wants Brown people at a disadvantage.
    She equates “hispanics” with “illegal.” She wants browns and immigrants to struggle harder, and she wants all of the working poor to work harder to make ends meet. King 5 just wants to report the same old sing-song and dance of identity politics because they are in line to support such fantasy. We know that SB 5407 will cost millions of state dollars to implement and it will cost the DOL millions in state revenue, because that is their data. We also know that Sen. Haugen condones risky spending and cuts for state revenue all because she is a racist. Haugen wants to codify racism further into state law.

    p.s. As Haugen indicated, she doesn’t care about her brown grandchildren’s future!

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