Bemused Observations on Washington State Initiative 976

Small minority of Washington State voters in an off year: property taxes are too high, we must limit them.

City departments of transportation: we cannot afford to repair and expand our streets.

Transit agencies: we can't afford to run buses, let alone actually build the rail system we need.

State legislature: let us allow the cities and transit agencies to add taxes to car tabs.

Small minority of Washington state voters in an off-year: car tabs are too expensive. we must limit them.

Self: I think we need to change our motto to "The Evergreen Pothole State” and the state song to “The Tim Eyman Memorial Bridge.”

Bitter Environmental Croaks: Things We Cannot Say

(At least, without provoking huge fights. Also on Twitter at https://twitter.com/RavenOnthill/status/1196302838604812288?s=20.)

The environmental movement went overboard in its opposition to nuclear power. We failed to compare its risks to expanding fossil fuel usage, and the world is worse off as a result.

We have too many people partly because of patriarchy, because too much of the world treats women as brood mares.

It seems to this old bird that our ruling class, or whatever you want to call it, has decided to settle our environmental problems the good old-fashioned way – via the four horsemen of the apocalypse.

Penalties for storming a House hearing in a classified space

This is a rough list of possible charges and penalties for the various crimes committed by the House Republicans now occupying the secured space in the House. At the very least, all the communications devices they brought into the space ought to be confiscated and destroyed by secure procedures.

Interfering with testimony, 18 U.S.C. 1512: 

(d) Whoever intentionally harasses another person and thereby hinders, delays, prevents, or dissuades any person from: (1) attending or testifying in an official proceeding […] or attempts to do so, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 3 years, or both.

Breaching a classified space, 18 U.S.C. 793:

(a) Whoever, for the purpose of obtaining information respecting the national defense with intent or reason to believe that the information is to be used to the injury of the United States, or to the advantage of any foreign nation, goes upon, enters, flies over, or otherwise obtains information concerning any […] place connected with the national defense […] Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both.

Reprimand, censure, or expel, U.S. Const. art. I, §5, cl. 2:

Each House may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two thirds, expel a member.

Under current House rules, the House Democrats can censure or reprimand by majority vote, in addition to expulsion.

Republicans Storm Impeachment Inquiry Hearing In Stunt

 Link

This was a meeting of the House Intelligence Committee, which is leading the impeachment investigation, to take classified testimony from Laura Cooper, the United States Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia.

This has to be a crime. Does anyone know what the possible penalties are? Can a majority of the House remove these members?

Morning Croaks

Who would have thought that foreign governments would be the biggest beneficiaries of Citizens United? There's Russia, China, Saudi Arabia and the gods only know who else. Thank you, Roberts Court.

— Raven Onthill (@RavenOnthill) October 22, 2019

Could we hand Trump over to a Kurdish court for justice?

— Raven Onthill (@RavenOnthill) October 22, 2019

Short Croaks for This Morning

There are few things in modern conservative politics that cannot be explained, in whole or in part, as expressions of threatened masculinity.

— Raven Onthill (@RavenOnthill) October 21, 2019

"We are making enemies faster than we can kill them."

— Raven Onthill (@RavenOnthill) October 21, 2019

Scoop: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has privately recommended several potential hires to Pete Buttigieg’s campaign, a rare example of direct political involvement from one most powerful tech executives, @tylerpager reports. https://t.co/wpE9ejb1YJ

— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) October 21, 2019

Treason: The Clean Up

To begin with, we need to remove Trump from office. Vice President Pence is also implicated and perhaps should also be removed. The Republicans will scream “dictatorial conduct,” but, really, who cares? Perhaps the Trumpists will rise in revolt, but they are already almost there.

Beyond that, we have to assume there are more people whose behavior, while it may not be treasonous, is at least disloyal. We know that Trump has long-standing ties to Russia’s Putin’s and has betrayed us to Turkey’s Erdoğan. Trump’s conduct towards North Korea’s Kim Jong-un is disloyal. We know that Russia, and perhaps other countries have intervened in US elections. There is a dire need for a counter-intelligence investigation. How many Congresspeople are indebted to these and other foreign governments? Senator McConnell most likely. But who else? As much as is possible, these people must be prosecuted. Where it is not possible to prosecute, we must at least expose them.

How many of Trump’s judges are also disloyal and in the pay of foreign powers?

How many executive appointees have been placed to undermine the agencies they work for? How many of these saboteurs have promoted incompetents and saboteurs.

How far does the rot go?

And a big long loud raspberry to the Roberts Court, which, with its crack-brained Citizens United decision, opened the door to vast unchecked foreign donations to elections. That must be overturned, by Constitutional amendment if necessary. We need campaign finance reform: we must prevent wealthy hostile powers from buying the loyalty of candidates. We also need much more sunlight on the backgrounds and health of our candidates for office. We must see their finances and know that they are, at least, not demented as Trump appears.