Do Not Accept Calls From “Call Polling”

I received a call today from “Call Polling”, which asked me a series of simple questions about my preferences for the fall elections. After about 5-10 minutes, the questions shifted from “Do you support Barack Obama or John McCain”, to a series of leading questions about Christina Gregoire and Dino Rossi, such as “Christina Gregoire has failed to fix the Alaskan Way Viaduct as Governor?” Does this make you more or less likely to vote for her in 2008. It took me about 2 minutes into these questions to realize that this was clearly a push-poll in favor of Dino Rossi.

Honestly, if I had received a call from somebody who said they were with the Rossi campaign, or just an ardent supporter, I would have listened to what they had to say, and if I agree with it, may have even switched my vote. But if you are going to be deceptive and manipulative like this, no thank you. I am officially NOT ever voting for Dino Rossi. And if I got a push-poll sponsored by the Gregoire campaign, I’m just going to write in “Jack Bauer.”

Obama Takes Maine

Barack Obama racked up another victory today, increasing his momentum. As with his victories yesterday, it was a convincing one: with half the vote in, Obama leads 58% to 41%.

Hillary Clinton fired her campaign manager today. It appears her strategy of conceding small states waiting to fight hard in Ohio and Texas is not working. I thought Mark put it best when he compared Hillary Clinton’s current situation to that of Rudy Guiliani’s.

Meanwhile, Mike Huckabee just gave a speech saying that we don’t need any laws other than the Ten Commandments. I know people are saying he is going to be the VP nominee. This guy is f*cking nuts. He’s funny, and if he had a talk show I would watch it. If he was a pastor in my neighborhood, I would probably attend his church occasionally. But this is not a guy who is a realistic candidate for President or Vice-President if he is put under any serious scrutiny.

Obama CRUSHES Clinton

I really don’t see how the Clinton camp can spin this. Obama is currently ahead by margins of more than 2-to-1 in the Nebraska and Washington Caususes. With 30 percent reporting in Washington, Obama leads with 67 percent. With 70 percent reporting in Nebraska, Obama leads with 69 percent of the vote.

A new tide is rising in the Democratic party.

Precint 41-0248 Goes For Obama, Kansas Goes For Huckabee

I just got back from caucusing for Barack Obama, although my vote wasn’t really necessary as Obama won Precint 41-0248 by a score of 13-0 (it’s a small precint). Overall, the precints in my area allotted their delegates 40-16 in favor of Obama. After the first round of voting, it was 36-16-4, with 4 uncommitted, but all 4 uncommitted votes flipped to Obama.

In bigger news, Mike Huckabee won the Kansas caususes dominantly, by a margin of over 30 points. For all the talk about McCain having secured the nomation, Huckabee remains a stronger foe in the remaining South and West states. Ironically, Mitt Romney dropping out makes the Republican race MORE competitive, not less, as the conservative vote is no longer being split in half.

Seattle Goes Crazy For Obama

Hillary Clinton was in town today. So was John McCain. You wouldn’t know it though. Clinton’s rally yesterday, in the evening when people were off work, drew 5,000 supporter. McCain’s rally today, scheduled for late afternoon when people were getting off work, drew several hundred supporters.

Barack Obama’s rally at the Key Arena, with doors opening at 11AM, and closing at 11:30 AM, an hour and a half before he went on stage at 1PM, drew a full capacity of 18,000. A crowd estimated between 5,000 and 10,000 who were turned away at the door listened to his speech on loudspeakers outside the Arena, in the rain. I strongly suggest watching it.

Barackstar

I have about half my seniors in my 5th period class out “sick” to watch Barack Obama, so I turned on his speech and let those who didn’t go watch it. It was the most excited I’ve ever seen my students. This guy is like the Mick Jagger of politics.

Remember to Clear Your Storm Drains

Last year, a woman named Kate Fleming drowned in her basement because the storm drains on the hill above her house weren’t properly cleaned. Let’s avoid more needless tragedies this year by remembering to clean out storm drains when we see them all clogged up with leaves.

Do You Really Want the Cops Spending Your Tax Dollars on Lap Dances?

I know the individual officers aren’t doing anything improper. They’re just trying to enforce anti-prostitution laws. But I never realized that Seattle police officers were actually getting lap dances from strippers in order to determine whether they are offering more than a cock tease.

Prostitution in strip clubs is usually a simple matter of a little extra fondling or frottage with a customer when the dancer feels comfortable. It’s really and truly a victimless crime. The police need to stop picking on these poor strippers and focus their attention on more pressing vice-related matters, like juvenile prostitution on Aurora.

I say Seattle needs to change the laws to make frottage/fondling/etc. legal and available at a dancer’s discretion. If a guy just wants a lap dance, that’s all he’ll pay for. If he wants more and the dancer is willing, well…what happens between consenting adults shouldn’t be SPD’s business. Change the laws.

We’re Not Doing Enough to Protect Women From Violence

Yesterday’s tragic murder-suicide at the University of Washington is a classic example of how our society does next to nothing for survivors of domestic violence. The murder victim, Rebecca Griego did everything that she could within the confines of the law to stop her ex boyfriend from harming her.

But her ex boyfriend, Jonathan Rowan made it clear that he didn’t give a shit about the law. He called Griego multiple times a day and left her threatening messages. He demonstrated an intent to kill, which is illegal in and of itself. During their relationship, he was physically abusive. He was on the run from authorities in the UK, and out on bail for a drunk driving arrest at the time of this murder. Rowan didn’t care about the law. So what was a piece of paper going to do?

We need to make it easier to accuse someone of domestic violence and be taken seriously. I know that this is controversial. I know men who have been wrongly accused of domestic violence by crazy ex girlfriends with the same basic motivations that led Rowan to kill Griego. If the genders had been reversed, the men in question would likely have been the victims of stalkers bent on murder. But because men are physically stronger than women, the women in these cases resorted to more manipulative tactics to harm their victims. They used the long arm of the law to get their way.

The current domestic violence laws are set up to protect men from women. They assume innocence until guilt is proven, even though domestic violence is notoriously difficult to prove. They do very little to zealously pursue domestic abusers and put them in custody. This is because they fear that women with personalities like Rowan’s will abuse the system to put their ex boyfriends behind bars.

But when it comes to domestic violence, we need to take the very real power differential between men and women into account. If a man is wrongly accused of domestic violence, it’s a legal nightmare. If a woman can’t get her abuser put behind bars, she winds up dead. The simple fact is that men kill women far more than women kill men. Death is far worse than a legal nightmare. The law needs to reflect this reality.

That said, personal responsibility does play a role in this. The system is not perfect and it never will be. Abusers will slip through the cracks and come after their targets. That’s why I think we should provide taxpayer funded self defense training for any woman who comes forward with a domestic violence claim, substantiated or not.

The government needs to make it clear to women that while restraining orders hold power, they need to have a plan. And this plan needs to include being able to do serious physical harm to their attacker if backed into a corner. On this same note, police departments should also offer gun safety training to women with substantiated domestic violence claims.

Furthermore, employers must be required by law to give women time off from work to attend these classes and provide them with the opportunity to make up their hours at work at another time, if they work for an hourly wage.

Programs like these would provide four basic benefits to women, men, and society:

• Women would get the skills they need to defend themselves from their attackers.
• The classes would drive home the reality that no amount of legal intervention will create an impermeable web of protection around a woman in danger. Women will be less likely to rely on their restraining orders and will be proactive in protecting themselves.
• The vote of confidence from the courts and the police might convince more women of their ability and right to defend themselves from harm.
• Women who are abusing the system will have to spend a great deal of time with real domestic violence survivors. Getting to know someone who has actually been beaten up by her partner might encourage some abusive women to admit they were lying and drop charges.

I know that no program is perfect. Tragedies like this will not stop until greater social change happens. The government can’t end misogyny or violence against women. But as things stand, we are simply not doing enough to protect women in our society.

My heart goes out to Rebecca Griego’s family, friends and colleagues. It sounds like she was a wonderful woman. You are in our prayers.

Photo via the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

Quit Whining About Seattle Expenses and Move to the Suburbs Already

Christy Thomas’s article in today’s PI irritated the crap out of me. She spent 500 words complaining about how she and her boyfriend feel “unwelcome” here in Seattle after a recent move from Boise because they can’t afford property that allows them to “be part of the city.”

Thomas complains that real estate agents try to shoehorn them into tiny condos or convince them to move to the suburbs. She lectures them, “We’re good citizens and interesting, productive people. We’re just not, at this stage of life, willing to spend every penny on a house. We need to save something for retirement.”

Well, Christy, being a good citizen and an interesting, productive person who needs to save for retirement isn’t going to convince a homeowner who has been told that his house is worth $1.2 million to bring his asking price down just for you. Realtors are not going to try to open doors for you if you ask the impossible of them. Nobody deserves that kind of special treatment. If not getting it makes you feel “unwelcome” in our very open, loving town then maybe you should rethink your sense of self-importance.

All your whining to real estate agents is not going to change simple economic facts. You can’t afford a house in Seattle, so move to an area within the metro area where you can afford to buy, quit wasting rent money, avoid the mega-taxes on the sale price of your Boise home and start building some equity.

The suburbs are not a bad place to live. People who live in the suburbs are still “a part of the city.” Andy and I live in Kirkland and get into the city two or three times each week. We are as much a part of Seattle culture as people who live in Greenlake, Capitol Hill, etc. In some ways, suburban living is even better than being a city dweller. It’s quieter out here, there’s more space and less crime. And it’s cheaper.

Why I Moved to the Eastside…

That’s not to say that the Viaduct isn’t a huge issue. (Hint: it’s really, really important.) But I’m glad that I don’t have to make up my mind about which side of this crazy, complicated, ass-backwards issue I support.

Note to Seattle, Leave Decisions on Homelessness up to the Advocates

Seattle has embarked on an ambitious ten-year plan to end homelessness. The new social engineering program calls for a drastic change in services to the homeless. Previously, service providers could allocate money as they saw fit. But now, the city says they’ll lose public funding unless they shift away from providing emergency shelter and hygiene and towards getting people into jobs and permanent housing.

The government needs to stop over-regulating groups that provide services to the homeless. It’s true that some people benefit from existing programs that help them get back on their feet. But those people are already motivated to seek those programs out. Meanwhile, homeless people who are simply incapable of holding it together will not benefit from a policy-driven kick in the ass.

Since when is it the government’s place to force anyone to fix his life? Homeless people who want to get off the streets need to take personal responsibility for making it happen. Those who can’t or won’t take personal responsibility should be given basic services like shelter from the cold and a hot meal. I support government spending to prevent human beings from freezing and starving. I do not support government spending that forces people to either fix their lives or freeze/starve.

Obviously, this new plan is well-intentioned. Whoever came up with it trusted his own judgment over and above that of the people who spend their lives serving the homeless. But by placing undue constraints on funding for these programs, he took discretion out of the hands of people who understand the problem best: the service providers. Ideally, they should have the power to decide on the correct mix of basic services and self-improvement programs. It’s simply not the city’s place to decide.
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What Will We Do When a Real Disaster Hits?

The P-I’s Bill Virgin has a good point when he asks how our local economy will handle a massive natural disaster when we can barely handle a small one.

We need to wake up and start preparing for real, Katrina-sized problems. Because sooner or later, every city gets hit with something truly legendary.

10 Reasons Why We Need to Quit Picking on Strippers

I couldn’t agree more with Robert Jamieson when he says that strip club busts are an exercise in futility. We live in an imperfect world, and imperfect worlds call for imperfect solutions. Would it be better if every human being on planet Earth were already paired off with their soulmates and had eyes for nobody else? Obviously.

But in the absence of universal human companionship and sexual satisfaction, let’s have some compassion for those people who turn to strip clubs to get a little somethin’ somethin’. And let’s quit picking on strippers, because strippers are awesome. Here are 10 reasons why:

1. Strippers are hot.
2. Strippers dance better than most people.
3. Strippers keep thousands of coconut body oil industry workers employed.
4. Strippers have inspired pole dancing workout classes that have helped millions get in shape, be healthier, and have more fun in the bedroom with their partners.
5. Strippers set the bar for high heel wearing abilities.
6. Strippers are trying to finance important stuff with their dancing. I know someone who danced her way through a prominent women’s college, with money to spare when she graduated to support herself while she held out for a great job.
7. Strippers will give you lap dancing lessons if you go to a strip club with your man and ask nicely.
8. Strippers are really athletic. You try swinging around and around a pole in a thong.
9. What did a stripper ever do to you that you didn’t like?
10. Strippers are hot.

Why Do People Get So Weird During Extended Power Outages?

I understand that being without power sucks. We lost ours for about 36 hours during the storm. I also understand that there are still many, many people without power and that is most unfortunate. But that doesn’t explain why today, I saw two people in the Kirkland QFC arguing over the last loaf of rosemary olive oil bread, even when there as a perfectly good loaf of plain bread sitting right next to it. It doesn’t explain people fighting over a spot at the gas pump when there’s plenty of gas to go around. It simply doesn’t explain why people are acting like animals fighting for territory.

Yes, our immensely reliable infrastructure usually makes it possible for us to live in pacified harmony. So I suppose that it’s understandable that when one piece of that infrastructure–namely, electricity–becomes momentarily unavailable, people start behaving as though every piece of that infrastructure might stop working at any moment. But we have not been hit with Hurricane Katrina here. The roads are still drivable. There are stores open throughout the region and gas stations aplenty on the West side with available fuel and no lines. Your family will not starve to death if you do not bring home rosemary olive oil bread. The food in that QFC alone is enough to feed the whole neighborhood for weeks on end.

We need to take a step back and extend some friendship to our neighbors and help everyone get through this relatively minor natural disaster. I’m sure all of you have friends and family without power. Try offering your shower up so that they can get nice and warm. Think about offering your kitchen so that they can cook a hot meal. See if there’s anything in their refrigerator that they would like to save. We all need to remember that things could be a lot worse. And we need to stop fighting over a tank of gas or a loaf of bread as though another one won’t be available in just a few hours.

Christmas Trees Back Up at Sea-Tac Airport

It looks like the Christmas trees have been put back up at Sea-Tac Airport after Rabbi Elazar Bogomilsky has said that he will not sue the Port of Seattle.

The whole issue was pretty much a misunderstanding between Bogomilsky and the Port. Bogomilsky was perhaps a little too zealous in his approach to offering a menorah for the Port to display at the airport. For its part, the Port was a little too quick to pull down the trees based on the information they had. Bogomilsky’s aim was simply to get a menorah displayed, but the Port didn’t have time to put up more decorations this year and took down the trees as a last resort.

Bogomilsky and other local religious leaders will have a direct say in next year’s decorations at the airport. It’s good that cooler heads prevailed in the midst of this melee. The last thing we need is two entrenched camps, one Jewish one Christian making yet another war over Christmas.

According to the Seattle P-I, “The Anti-Defamation League issued a statement saying reports that blamed the decision to remove the trees on Jewish opposition to them were wrong and stirred hate.” Indeed, Bogomilsky recieved hate mail and death threats for his part in the whole flustercluck.

Bogomilsky was never against Christmas, he just wanted equal time and ecumenicism at a facility that runs on taxpayer dollars. I agree with him in that capacity, but I still see his tactics as heavy handed and clumsy. As everyone who remembers 1973 knows, lawsuits are not the way to change hearts and minds.

Why non-Christians are Pissed Off by Christmas Trees

Every year, I dread this part of the holidays. The massive debate over the so-called “war on Christmas” drives me crazy. I’m pretty ambivalent about the whole thing. On the one hand, I understand why Christians would be upset about the rampant consumerism that has all but consumed a holiday that is supposed to represent the birth of their God on Earth. It makes perfect sense that they would want to remind people about the “reason for the season” by drawing attention to nativity scenes, crosses and other symbols that relate directly to Jesus.

On the other end, we live in a country where the U.S. Government uses taxpayer dollars to finance Christian evangelism in American prisons. Pervasive, pushy Christianity is everywhere we turn all year round. Even as a relatively secular Jew with a partially Christian family, I sometimes feel personally alienated by the constant Christian imagery in television shows, movies, etc. There always seems to be an appeal for conversion coming at me from some quarter. After a while, it can become very frustrating.

And after a whole year of this nonsense, the very natural Christian reaction to secular consumer culture can feel like the straw that breaks the camel’s back for those of us who happen not to believe in the divinity of Jesus. With that in mind, it’s pretty easy to understand why some people would threaten to sue the Port of Seattle over Christmas trees at airports.

We all need to take a step back this year. Let’s try to think about one another’s needs in this arena. Would Jesus–son of God or not–really want us bickering over this petty nonsense? I sincerely doubt it. He was pretty much in favor of love, peace and treating people kindly. Let’s all try to have a bit of empathy for one another.

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