let's do the Downtown Oly two step. Let's tackle beauty first: Step 1: Holy smoke, there has been a lot discussion about how scary and disgusting it is to walk the street of downtown Olympia. The latest installment of this sad story ran in the Daily Zero on Sept 4th. It led with a line about drunks urinating on the sidewalks. Boy, is this a sad old story with an axe to grind. But, let's just take it straight. Do drunks urinate on sidewalks in downtown Olympia. I think that could happen. Probably mainly at night because there are so few bathrooms available in downtown Olympia after hours unless you have the bills to buy a plate of food to get bathroom access. I am downtown quite a bit and it just doesn't scare me or disgust me. I get asked for money, I give it. I am tied in to this really old and weird spiritual tradition that included some lunacy about "ask and it shall be given'" and "love your enemy," and relied on an economic model of trusting that when you need a coin or two, it will mysteriously pop out of the mouth or gut of a fish (apologies to my vegan friends, I don't fish anymore) or will appear from a tiny seed. I digress... Back to bathrooms. It seems to be a fact that if you have had the good fortune to be born into this world, it's just going to be a matter of time before you will need to find a bathroom. And not just once. and not just during daylight hours.

RSA - Ideas and Actions for a 21st Century Enlightenment Uh-oh, it's a marxist analysis. Hey, can Marx have things figured out correctly from time to time? Thanks to Austin K for passing this one on.

The stock market continues to be on a roller coaster ride as it slides and then rebounds as traders engage in fishing the bottom and making trading commissions, sliding a few bucks out of the pockets of the marks. Prez Obama is on the road in his magic bus talking about jobs and job creation. The NY Post (bastion of responsible journalism!@!) is reporting the bus was built in Canada. Well, job creation somewhere on the continent, I guess that's good, but it might have been a nice touch to have had the thing built here in the USA to go on tour and talk about jobs. It's always easy on the ear to listen to Barack talk and sometimes inspiring, but it's a bit like holding a shell to your ear and enjoying the sound of the ocean. It's largely theater, the connections between the sounds and any reality are pretty slight.

 

I think this guy has it figured out.

The Washington legislature continues to crawl through the special session. You can see where they have been by tracking the slimy trail. Well. I guess that's a little harsh. But here is a note about the current status from my friends at POWER:

 

POWER is an organization of low-income parents and allies advocating for a strong social safety net while working toward a world where children and care giving are truly valued, and the devastation of poverty has been eradicated.

For immediate release Tuesday, May 24, 2011

POWER members are asking their legislators the following questions:

Why is it that the only bill ending a tax break that seems likely to pass, SB 5587, targets low-income people, when there are so many tax breaks to wealthy individuals (country club memberships, elective plastic surgery, etc) and large banks and corporations?

Why is this the only bill ending a tax break that does not need a super majority?

Why are legislators adding a new tax break, SB 5873, that they can't reverse without a super majority, while failing to provide basic services to the most vulnerable members of our state?

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