Posted Tue, Apr 24, 12:04 a.m.

It is a sad day when someone with as much Washington inside knowledge falls for the Republican spin on Solyndra. If TVD can't get his facts right on Solyndra, how much of the rest of this piece is factual?

Posted Sun, Mar 18, 2:14 p.m.

What a fluff piece..... The main manufacturing centers for the 787 components are no where near the high tech corridors near Milan. The 787 components are manufactured in Foggia which is more or less directly east of Naples and in Grottaglie which lies in the heal of the boot of ...

Posted Mon, Mar 12, 11:57 p.m.

Dick Nelson decries postponing dealing with a sustainable budget. Rep. Eddy speaks of the "oppositional forces" at work in the legislature. All of the voters speak of wanting to see leadership from our elected officials. As I see the situation though, the lack of leadership is not because of a ...

Posted Sun, Feb 26, 9:49 p.m.

I keep waiting for Jordan Royer to comment upon the plans to develop the massive coal export facility in Bellingham. Any plans for coal export would require 18 to 20 additional 100-car trains of 1.6 miles in length to travel through Seattle every day. It is hard to see how ...

Posted Sun, Feb 5, 9:53 p.m.

Jeffrey Sachs in his book "The Price of Civilization" highlights the decline in the wages over the past 30-years for males who have no more education than a high-school degree. Prior to this time, the jobs that were available were union jobs in the manufacturing sector or jobs in construction. ...

Posted Sat, Jan 21, 10:55 p.m.

Knute, I'd like to espouse on this particular comment that you make: "In the meantime, like the Romans, we're funding massive road projects that we cannot pay for, even while basic day-to-day infrastructure crumbles (potholes, bridges) or remains unbuilt (sidewalks)." Remember that the roads that Rome built served two purposes. ...

Posted Tue, Jan 17, 9:53 p.m.

A couple of comments regarding Dick Nelson's article. First, the disparity that we are seeing across incomes with regards to the tax burden is a symptom of the larger economic problem of rising income inequality. It reflects decades of national government economic and tax policies which permit executive pay through ...

Posted Sun, Jan 15, 8:53 a.m.

Like many emeritus politicians and political operatives, TVD's opinions in moving forward in time are shaped by their experiences at the time they were active in politics and are furthermore clouded by the passage of time. So when we evaluate TVD's comments we need to take this into consideration. This ...

Posted Sat, Jan 14, 4:31 p.m.

All of the major religions--Christianity, Judaism and Islam--have at one time condemned the practice of usury. And while modern economic theory accepts that the borrowing and lending of capital is required for a functioning economy, there is a difference between lending to businesses for legitimate means and the lending of ...

Posted Sat, Jan 14, 3:31 p.m.

It is tremendously naive to ignore the fact that Canadian politics is dictated by the same transnational corporations that dictate United States politics. Let's look in detail at Canada's largest oil company, Imperial Oil. "Imperial Oil Limited (French: Compagnie Pétrolière Impériale Limitée) (TSX: IMO AMEX: IMO) is Canada's largest petroleum ...

Posted Fri, Jan 6, 8:46 p.m.

While I personally support marriage equality, I believe that this action is a poor one strategically for the State Democratic party. In my view, it would have been a better approach for Rep. Jamie Pedersen and Sen. Ed Murray to first announce that they would be submitting a marriage equality ...

Posted Thu, Jan 5, 9:26 p.m.

What a crock! Polling to decide whether not to retain a superintendent is evidence of a total lack of leadership by the School Board. The School Board should not be licking a finger and holding it to the wind of popular opinion. Instead they should be leading. And leading is ...

Posted Mon, Sep 19, 9:38 p.m.

One needs to be careful when making generalization concerning such a complex society as China, especially when the information is subject to the filters of ocean, language, and the US media. In February, the Chinese premier reduced the country's target economic growth rates from 8% to 7% in order to ...

Posted Sat, Sep 3, 1:08 p.m.

The citizens of Wyoming (just as those in Alaska) are addicted to the economics of mineral extraction. It is easy to be an anti-tax conservative when one gets all the benefits of government but does not have to pay the true cost of the services that government provides. "Wyoming received ...

Posted Mon, Aug 29, 12:18 a.m.

A couple of comments on TVD's article here that are worth highlighting in more detail. First, TVD is correct that US military spending is out-of-proportion to the international threats. At the end of Clinton's second term, the US military budget was 3.0% of GDP; currently, it stands at 4.7% of ...

Posted Thu, Aug 25, 11:38 p.m.

To those who promote merit based pay, I'd urge you to first read through some of the recent research in the nascent field of behavioral economics. Researchers such as Duke University's Daniel Ariely demonstrate how pay based upon outcome in fields where innovative thinking is required actually may result in ...

Posted Thu, Aug 25, 11:03 p.m.

Knute Berger, aka "Mossback", mistakingly frames the current global warming debate as a scientific debate. It most definitely is not. The global warming debate is in reality one concerning the role and size of government and is based an uncritical belief in American-style capitalism. If one reviews the history of ...

Posted Thu, Aug 18, 1:02 a.m.

Global warming denialists and hired PR experts like Tom Harris also use the inherent skepticism of science to create the impression that the "science isn't settled". But by its very nature to expose the truth, scientists are taught to challenge the conclusions and assumptions that others may reach. It is ...

Posted Thu, Aug 18, 12:38 a.m.

Thank you Crosscut for publishing this letter from Tom Harris since it serves to expose the methods that the global warming denialist use to spread disinformation and create the perception in the public eye that the science behind global warming is uncertain. First, let's be clear who the author is. ...

Posted Fri, Aug 12, 11:42 p.m.

@tgriffin "...Washington State, which issues an annual commercial fund raisers report, ranked DialogueDirect at the bottom of the state’s 109 registered fund raisers after it returned -23% of the year’s take to Children International. ..." I remember reading this study while my daughter worked at Children International. The conclusions, if ...

Posted Fri, Aug 12, 7:34 a.m.

Data from the Tax Foundation indicates that Washington State's level of taxation as a percentage of income and in its relationship to other states has not changed appreciably over the past 20 years. I don't see evidence in this data that Washingtonians are over-taxed. There is some degree of evidence ...

Posted Thu, Aug 11, 10:26 p.m.

While researching on-line, I came across this article in the Zambia Post by journalist Edem Djokotoe in Lasaka Nigeria that describes the work the Children International is doing in that country. The commentary by Djokotoe contrasts the aid work that is being done by Children International with the corruption evident ...

Posted Thu, Aug 11, 9:37 p.m.

My daughter worked for Dialogue Direct last summer as a paid canvasser in downtown Seattle. The situation with Dialogue Direct is that you are on salary but that there are expectations as to the number of sign-ups that you need to fulfill each week in order to remain employed with ...

Posted Mon, Aug 8, 7:55 a.m.

Just read Bob Samuelson's take on the budget negotiations as recommended. I would disagree with Samuelson about the military budget. For the past 10-years, the US military has gotten a blank-check and defense expenditures have been hidden in other budget line items (e.g. Department of Homeland Security). Clinton's budget in ...

Posted Sun, Aug 7, 11:45 p.m.

I certainly appreciate TVD's perspective on the situation in Washington DC. But let's make one thing clear, President Obama doesn't really doesn't need to care much about what Progressive and long-term DC insiders think. There is only one item of importance at this stage of his presidency and that is ...

Posted Wed, Jul 27, 10:45 p.m.

Does anyone else see the irony here? On one hand, you have Mayor Mike McGinn, founder of Seattle Great City Initiative, Sierra Club activist, and someone who many claim is a socialist and guilty of social engineering. On the other hand, one finds Roosevelt's own ultra-right wing, pro-property rights, uber-slumlord ...

Posted Sat, Jul 23, 1:03 p.m.

In many ways, the proposed downtown Seattle tunnel mirror the bankrupt 2.1 km long Cross City Tunnel in Sydney, Australia. Both cities are located on the water. The purpose of both sets of tunnels is to bypass the city's central business district. Both tunnels relied upon a degree of tolling ...

Posted Wed, Jul 13, 1:43 a.m.

A friend of mine is a teacher in the Seattle Schools and her school is located in the south end. As one might expect, her class reflects the diversity of that neighborhood and consists of a large number of minority and immigrant children. She states that it is quite common ...

Posted Fri, Jul 8, 12:41 a.m.

The education debate these days always seems to be one of ideology rather than constructive dialogue on how best to address the needs of students. Those seeking reform on both the right and the left propose solutions that are wedded more often than not to their own ideology rather than ...

Posted Thu, Jul 7, 7:14 p.m.

... Jimmy Ray Bromgard MT 1987 2002 Marvin Anderson VA 1982 2002 Kenny Waters MA 1983 2001 Calvin Washington TX 1987 2001 Eduardo Velasquez MA 1988 2001 Jerry Frank Townsend FL Various 2001 Omar Saunders IL 1988 2001 David Shawn Pope TX 1986 2001 Jeffrey Pierce OK 1986 2001 Calvin ...

Posted Thu, Jul 7, 7:12 p.m.

In watching the reaction on the mass media, the general consensus is similar to Ted Van Dyk's in that something must be wrong with the justice system because they didn't receive the outcome that they wanted--in this case a conviction. I wonder why there is not the same level of ...

Posted Mon, Jul 4, 11:02 a.m.

The Founding Fathers would certainly be dismayed at the state of American politics. It is well-known that they despised party politics. Thomas Jefferson stated “If I could not go to heaven but with a party, I would not go there at all.” Our fifth President James Monroe attempted to run ...

Posted Thu, Jun 30, 12:26 a.m.

When evaluating this article, it is important to understand a few items as background. First and foremost, Professor David Rutledge at Cal Tech would fall into the category of a sometime hobbyist on issues related to energy and climate. It is not his primary area of expertise. His bio on ...

Posted Sat, Jun 25, 10:59 p.m.

This is a really poorly written article that is not up to the standards of discourse that Crosscut usually presents. The opening lede implies that the article is going to be a discussion about the lack of leadership in the environmental movement. Instead it is a critique of Al Gore ...

Posted Sat, Jun 18, 12:13 a.m.

David Roberts of Seattle based Grist.org wrote a blog piece recently where he contrasted the political styles of the Tea Party Right with those of Environmental community. The Tea Party (and their handlers) are more than willing to launch primary challenges against Republicans who fail to align themselves with the ...

Posted Wed, Jun 8, 10:02 p.m.

Sue Peters, thank you for telling us more about the Broad Foundation, Gates Foundation, The Alliance For Education and their connection with Susan Goodloe Johnson. The actions taken by SPS in the past few years make much more sense if one understands that the motivation behind these organizations. And while ...

Posted Fri, Jun 3, 7:49 p.m.

In 1972 a group of academics published a seminal study entitled "Limits to Growth". The study used the emerging methods of System Dynamics to evaluate various scenarios on how economic growth would proceed over the next century. In this study, society's use of natural resources, its growth in population, and ...

Posted Sun, May 22, 9:06 a.m.

Stephen Dunphy wrote: "6. Both parties are right about the nation's debt, so the country needs a bipartisan approach. The Republicans are correct about the debt and the need to do something about it. The Democrats are correct about the need to make spending cuts in a thoughtful way." The ...

Posted Sun, May 22, 7:46 a.m.

Stephen Dunphy wrote: "Gas prices get a lot of headlines — rightly so — but gas usually makes up only a small percentage of spending. It’s really psychological: When gas prices hit $4 a gallon, we change our behavior." Gas prices have a significant effect though on rural communities. Rural ...

Posted Thu, Apr 28, 12:30 a.m.

So what exactly is the story here? The best that I can tell is that the story is that the scientific process seems to work and that media specialists have a really difficult time communicating that to the public. There really is no surprise to that. The scientific process is ...

Posted Wed, Apr 13, 10:33 p.m.

This past April 4th, Steve Koonin, the DOE’s Undersecretary for Science, spoke at Town Hall. The presentation was mostly informative in terms of where the United States uses energy and projections for future supply. In Koonin's presentation though, he highlighted that the United States in the 1980s was the world ...

Posted Wed, Apr 6, 11:15 a.m.

All those American (and Canadian) dollars need to find a home someday. We send paper money to China to buy plastic Happy Meal toys. The money comes back as real estate investment in American real estate. These are the consequences of fiat-currency, deficit spending, and balance-of-payment imbalances.

Posted Fri, Feb 18, 12:28 a.m.

It is difficult to understand the anger behind Governor Brian Schweitzer. The number of jobs supported by coal mining is pitifully small compared to the overall Montana economy. Currently, there are only 942 coal mining jobs in Montana. The number of jobs that would be added by the Longview coal ...

Posted Mon, Feb 14, 12:19 a.m.

I would disagree with the assessment that Reagan's military buildup hastened the demise of the Soviet Union. In reality, it was the effort of the Saudi Arabia oil kingdom to drive down prices that destroyed the Soviet economy in conjunction with Russian oil production reaching its peak. Per the book ...

Posted Thu, Jan 20, 10:45 p.m.

Oh where to begin... First and foremost, the 787 Program needs to be considered in the context of the financial expectations of Wall Street that existed at the time of launch. With a now combined Boeing-McDonnell Douglas board and with an ex-General Electric executive at the helm (Stonecipher), there was ...

Posted Fri, Dec 17, 5:28 p.m.

In response to bluesky, carbon-capture sequestration is in practice an impossibility. It would take an equivalent infrastructure as the entire US oil industry to transport and sequestor the CO2 from US coal plants. Furthermore, with carbon sequestration having not been demonstrated on even a pilot-scale, we are decades away from ...

Posted Fri, Dec 17, 5:11 p.m.

TheOilDrum.com contributor (and Seattle resident) Jonathan Callahan posts graphics of the US coal production and coal exports on his www.mazamascience.com site. US coal exports are currently a small proportion of total US production as can be seen in this graph from his site: http://mazamascience.com/OilExport/output_en/Exports_BP_2010_coal_mtoe_US_MZM_NONE_auto_M.pdf What is not shown in this ...

Posted Sat, Dec 4, 1:27 p.m.

One item of the Wikileaks episode has me particularly troubled. Namely that it now appears that there is a conspiracy (most likely US government sponsored) to make the Wikileaks internet server inaccessible. Over the past few days, we've seen Amazon.com remove it from their server. Paypal removed access to it. ...

Posted Fri, Dec 3, 12:48 p.m.

The Republicans make a good point in that the existing immigration rules would then permit students naturalized under the DREAM Act to then bring other family members into the country legally. Lawrence O'Donnell pressured Representative Steven King (R-Iowa) last night on his show "The Last Word" on his opposition to ...

Posted Sat, Nov 27, 11:16 a.m.

In the event that you are interested there are good resources on this web site: http://www.hecb.wa.gov/index.asp 2009-2010 statistics of tuition indicate the following share of costs between tuition and state support: University of Washington $10,993 per year (62% tuition & fees; 38% state funded) Washington State University $8,715 per year ...

Posted Sat, Nov 27, 7:54 a.m.

Let me get this straight--you are going to give 18 year old kids just out of high school the power through the voucher system to decide which state university gets funds or doesn't get funds. Do you really think that they have the knowledge to make these decisions at their ...

Posted Thu, Nov 25, 1:20 p.m.

jmrolls You might be interested to know that Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork was the originator of the legal test for approving corporate concentration provided that efficiency is demonstrated. His book "The Antitrust Paradox" was influential in changing the U.S. Supreme Court's approach to anti-trust law. In that vein, the ...

Posted Thu, Nov 25, 12:30 p.m.

The results in income disparity can be explained in part by the arguments Barry Lynn makes in his book "Cornered". Lynn writes that theories associated with the Chicago school of economics were adopted during the early years of the Reagan administration. These policies promoted privatization and deregulation of industries. Lynn ...

Posted Thu, Nov 11, 9:32 a.m.

I attended a meeting yesterday at City Hall to learn about the City's future plans to address climate change. The City would like to move forward with programs to improve electrical efficiency in low income areas and to create jobs in weatherization and retrofit. I personally would like to install ...

Posted Sun, Nov 7, 9:56 a.m.

The faith community was a big proponent of I-1098 because it was apparent that much of the social safety net would be at risk during the next budget cycle. When the faith community was down lobbying in Olympia during the last session, the message that we sent to the legislators ...

Posted Fri, Oct 29, 11:20 p.m.

I'm voting against I-1053 because of the outside Washington businesses that are funding it. Oil Companies Tesoro and BP find it easier to fund an initiative that hamstrings legislators from applying reasonable taxes on oil products than to work within the legislative process. The initiative process is for Washingtonians and ...

Posted Thu, Oct 21, 9:23 p.m.

The Bible is complicated. The Old Testament is the story of a nomadic people who came to settle as agriculturalist. It is also a history book told by those who were privileged to tell history as they wanted it told. It is book full of poetry. It is the story ...

Posted Fri, Oct 15, 12:18 p.m.

"The Washington State Tax Structure Study Committee, which Bill Gates Sr. chaired (the so-called Gates Committee), proposed an income tax with a corresponding cut in the state's share of sales and property taxes. ... The legislature ignored the recommendation." It isn't that the legislature ignored the recommendation. It is more ...

Posted Thu, Oct 14, 11:33 a.m.

Another advantage is that it keeps farmland productive. I almost cry everytime I drive along the Kent Valley and see the acres of pavement where there once was productive farmland.

Posted Thu, Oct 14, 11:24 a.m.

I sat in on a debate with Matt McIlwain, Slade Gorton, Marilyn Watkins and Bill Gates, Sr. the weekend before last. The same arguments were made. Matt McIlwain as a partner in Madrona Ventures argued that an income tax would affect the ability to attract talent for start-ups. This argument ...

Posted Tue, Oct 12, 3:19 p.m.

State legislatures fix laws all the time. This is no big deal.

Posted Wed, Oct 6, 1:02 p.m.

History has shown that third party candidates inevitable result in spoilers and not viable candidates. Examples are Teddy Roosevelt with the Bull Moose party, Ross Perot in the 1992 Presidential election, and Ralph Nader in the 2002 election. Both Perot and Nader candidacies resulted in siphoning away voters from the ...

Posted Mon, Oct 4, 1:05 p.m.

In 1990, I spend one year at Boeing's expense in Japan working on an collaborative research project at Japan's equivalent of NASA. Many of the Japanese that I worked with were recent graduates of a technical high school. It was an enlightening experience to see what these technicians were capable ...

Posted Fri, Sep 24, 7:09 p.m.

It is really important for a publication such as Crosscut to be honest with its readers as to the backgrounds of its columnists. The tagline for Runstad is patently disingenuous. Rather than stating that "Judith M. Runstad is a Seattle attorney with a long record of civic leadership in the ...

Posted Tue, Aug 31, 8:13 a.m.

Malthus' theory of overpopulation is evident. The Roma have a birthrate typical of a third world country. No surprise then that the are living at poverty levels. "Higher birth rates reflect the Roma demographic characteristics and reproduction behaviour, which are related to socio-economic status. That is one of the most ...

Posted Mon, Aug 30, 1:18 p.m.

Jordan I disagree with you on this issue. Since Seattle has made a commitment to funnel growth into a few neighborhoods, now is the time to purchase property which will support the planned density. We had the opportunity previously with the grassroots Seattle Commons initiative. It dismays me at our ...

Posted Wed, Aug 25, 11:53 p.m.

I just finished reading a chapter from Matthew Miller's "Tyranny of Dead Ideals" where he discusses the US level of taxation. Miller makes the argument that no matter who is in power that the effective tax rate will need to increase from its current 18.8 percent of GDP (2009) to ...

Posted Sat, Aug 21, 11:20 a.m.

I agree with Pielke that it is the first step that is the hardest to take and any action that puts us on a path to reducing carbon emissions is a positive step. I would take issue with Pielke's statement: "Alternatives to fossil fuels are not going to comprise a ...

Posted Thu, Aug 19, 6:37 p.m.

seattledeadhead The reason that I wrote "Republicans" is because it is the large business organizations, such as the Business Roundtable and Chamber of Commerce, that need to provide the impetus for tax reform. It are these organizations which more often than not are supporting Republican candidates. So the legislature may ...

Posted Wed, Aug 18, 11:41 p.m.

If Business owners (aka Republicans) were serious about tax reform they'd look at a Value Added Tax instead of the B&O; tax. The B&O; tax is one of the most illogical tax schemes that has been dreamed up. First, the B&O; makes it very difficult for new business creation. Any ...

Posted Fri, Aug 13, 8:31 p.m.

Most people would view Hugh Sisely as a crank. Sure there are dilapidated properties but that is only because Sisely personifies the definition of a slumlord. Although he may espouse conservative values, he fails to live up to them in his personal action. To me, a conservative is one who ...

Posted Mon, Jun 7, 2:16 p.m.

University of Washington professor and MacArthur Foundation "genius" grant award winner David Montgomery addressed the problem of the lower Snake River dams in his book "King of Fish". To summarize, the plight of the salmon in the Pacific Northwest mirrors the history of the salmon in continental Europe, England, Scotland, ...

Posted Tue, May 11, 1:08 a.m.

I agree with you Ted. I think that we have a real crisis on our hands that poses a real threat to the principles on which the republic was founded. Surprisingly, I see the outrage on both the Progressive Left and the Tea Party right as evidence of this crisis. ...

Posted Wed, Apr 28, 11:50 a.m.

The issue here is essentially the same as what took Nickels down. The economic crisis has created a perception in the citizenry that our government at the national level has become beholden to business interests. I doubt that there are many people that would disagree with the statement that Goldman-Sachs ...

Posted Fri, Apr 23, 12:50 p.m.

I recently received a solicitation to donate to the Republican National Committee. One of the reasons that they wanted me to contribute was to combat the "environmentalists". What does that mean? It doesn't mean that Republicans are anti-environment. It does mean though that they are very much an advocate of ...

Posted Mon, Apr 19, 8:53 p.m.

Forty years ago, 20 million Americans initiated the modern environmental movement at the first EarthDay. Out of this effort, our national legislators were motivated to pass landmark environmental protective legislation -- the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act. Forty years later, our Washington state legislators faced with the scientific ...

Posted Wed, Apr 7, 9:14 p.m.

VinceInSeattle - I don't think that we are too far apart in our thinking. The key difference between McGinn's plan and Option A+ is the improved connectivity for high capacity transit. The Option A+ plan requires bus service to re-join the surface traffic to cross the Montlake Cut and connect ...

Posted Wed, Apr 7, 5:14 p.m.

VinceInSeattle - Good points about the I-90 light rail to downtown. But I could have just as easily have said attend a meeting in South Lake Union or a conference at the UW though. The point that I was trying to make was that transit sharing lanes across a "choke-point" ...

Posted Wed, Apr 7, 12:22 p.m.

With oil prices surging to an 18-month high today at $86/barrel(and this well before the summer driving season), it is readily apparent that we're going to be facing rapidly increasing prices for gasoline. Our traffic planners assume in there designs that we'll always have access to cheap inexpensive fuel. The ...

Posted Mon, Mar 8, 2:28 p.m.

Austin I heard your piece a couple days ago on KUOW which referenced the same poll. I've had the opportunity to travel down to Olympia this spring to lobby as a citizen activist and heard the Governor make her case for more revenue. It strikes me that the message from ...

Posted Thu, Feb 11, 1:10 a.m.

Like many on these pages, Todd Myers is not particularly fair to the ex-Mayor. In particular, he is quite critical that the city has not maintained in recent years its progress in reducing CO2 emissions. Just a reminder to everyone, the population of Seattle per the 1990 census was 516,259; ...

Posted Sat, Feb 6, 10:52 p.m.

First, let's remember that the concept of indulgences was never about what was in the interest of the sinner. The invention of purgatory and of its counterpart, the indulgence, was all about maintaining the power of the Roman Catholic church. The Catholic Church had a need to invent purgatory when ...

Posted Fri, Jan 15, 10:09 a.m.

My take on the situation is that McGinn looked at all the capital needs identified in the future and came to the conclusion that we don't have enough revenue from City, State and Federal funds to complete them all. If the economy fails to recover, we'll need to defer or ...

Posted Fri, Oct 23, 4:40 p.m.

David As a non-profit community new provider, you might want to think about whether Crosscut should be providing political endorsements. With a for-profit paper, it is the owner that by his right has the discretion to provide political endorsements. As a non-profit and a web based news provider, it would ...

Posted Wed, Sep 16, 9:45 p.m.

David I agree with you that we need to be careful about over extending the budget on showcase capital projects. The real challenge for the next generation of leaders will be on how to handle the day-to-day infrastructure challenges that the city faces, such as street repair and renovating park ...

Posted Wed, Aug 26, 11:17 p.m.

Anyone who works in the business knows that building and selling airplanes revolves around politics. Boeing has for years needed to place work in countries in order to make a sale to that country's national airline. So is it any surprise that politics plays a role in when and how ...