Why Care? by Geov Parrish

(Geov sent this to me today after mentioning it on my show . . . he said it will be published Jan. 2nd in some Seattle neighborhood papers and later in Eat the State!)

Why Care?
by Geov Parrish

For a solid year now, people have been asking me who I'd like to see become President in 2009. For most of that time, I've offered the same unsatisfying response: it's far too early, a lot can happen between now and then. But as the fascination with the race among local political types I know has heightened leading up to this week's Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primaries, I have slowly begun to embrace a different response: why do you care?

Not that the question of who will try to clean up (or exacerbate) George W. Bush's, er, messes isn't important: on multiple fronts, it will influence nothing less than the future of humanity. At present, our likely choice will almost certainly be between two of eight less than inspiring people, who break down roughly as follows (based on their past governing records, not their campaign rhetoric): two liberal members of the bipartisan D.C. establishment (Obama, Edwards); one "liberal" who would have been considered a moderate Republican not too long ago (Clinton); four guys who would for all practical purposes be a third term of Bush (Giuliani, Romney, McCain, Thompson); and one charismatic loon (Huckabee). There's a lot of room between those positions, most of it not good, and it matters a lot which of them will, in slightly over a year, become the most powerful person in the world.

It's a pity Washington state residents will have virtually nothing to do with that choice.

In the Evergreen state, the presidential campaigns are close to meaningless. Candidates have used our area primarily as an ATM, and that won't change. Actual visits by candidates will continue to be rare, and any public appearances will be filled in around big stakes fundraising as almost an afterthought, useful almost solely for the resulting free local media coverage.

Of course, we will have a chance to register our opinions in the race. In February. Our state's Democratic and Republican caucuses are on Feb. 9, and the primary vote is on Feb. 19.

Unfortunately, 23 different states and territories, including heavyweights like California, New York, and Illinois (encompassing the country's four largest media markets) will be having their primaries on "Super Tuesday," Feb. 5, four days before our caucuses. And a number of other states (Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Nevada, Michigan, and Florida) will decide before that. The upshot: the party's nominees will likely be decided before we have our say. It's certain that most of those eight frontrunners will be gone.

Even then, the Washington state process is something of a fraud. The Democratic primary vote is completely meaningless; all the party's nominating delegates will have already been chosen at the caucuses, so unless you're willing to sign up for a political party, invest half a day at some church social hall, and get fund appeals for the next two years, your opinion won't matter. The state Republicans, to their credit, at least factor the primary results in with the caucuses in determining their delegates -- not that the race is likely to still be a race by then.

And, of course, come November, Washington state's 11 electoral votes will all go to the Democratic candidate, just as they have for every presidential election since the days of Reagan.

So why does it matter what you, I, or any other local person thinks about the 2008 presidential race? Sure, you could join a campaign and fly to a state where the votes matter. (Most of us won't.) And we can all send in our $25, $50, or $1000 (or whatever) to the candidate of our choice. That'll make a big dent in the over $100 million that Clinton and Obama have already raised, or the likely combined total of over $1 billion that the two major party nominees will raise for 2008. And since when did "one dollar, one vote" become the standard for our democracy?

The end result is that much of the fascination with the 2008 race hereabouts reeks of rooting for one's favorite sports team (albeit with more meaningful stakes). It's fun, it's entertaining, but it's not to be confused with the functions of a healthy democracy. That would require, among other things, a national primary day, abolishing the electoral college, public campaign financing, and allowing more than two competitive parties. Since we don't have any of those things, locally or nationally, I think I'll get some popcorn and watch the race.

December 30, 2007 No Talking Heads

Guests to include Mike from Boistfort Valley Farms, local blogger Emmett O'Connell and Geov Parrish

Local
* Local farms continue to rebuild; Mike from Boisfort Valley Farms to join us on the phone.
* Camp Quixote Moved, The Olympian
* Olyblog.net 2007 Person of the Year - make your nomination!!
* The 8 Applicants for Doug Mah's city council seat, Olyblog.net
* Olympia City Council to meet Wednesday (Jan. 2nd) instead of Tuesday of this coming week.
* Olympian online poll for biggest story of 2007.
* Emmett's Blog, Olympia Time.

National
* Weather Oddities in 2007, AP via Common Dreams
* Drought in Atlanta barely escapes being the worst on record, AP via Seattle PI
* Paul Krugman on the financial crisis, Pacific Views Blog

International
* Assassination of Benazir Bhutto
- al-Qaida behind Bhutto assassination? Are we stoking fear or is this true?

Reasons to Stay Hopeful for the New Year
* The Growth of Local Power Is a Bright Spot in Seven Bleak Years of Bush; American cities, counties and states have offered a crucial counterweight to the White House on the issues that really matter, Common Dreams
* Protesters Could Disrupt Rose Parade, Common Dreams
* Civil Disobedience at Presidential Campaign Offices in Des Moines, Iowa, December 31, January 2 and 3, Common Dreams
* Lakotah Unilateral Withdrawal from All Agreements and Treaties with the United States of America

December 9, 2007 No Talking Heads

Guests to include TJ Johnson and Geov Parrish

Local/Regional
FLOODS!
* 'Freak of nature' may have fueled Lewis County floods, King5 News via Olyblog.net
* Long recovery awaits farmers, Olympian via TJ
* Lewis County family lost dairy cows and their home in flood, King 5 News
- The Washington Farm Bureau has established a Flood Relief Fund for farmers, ranchers and the agricultural community. To make a donation, call 800-331-3276.
* Rain too much for LOTT capacity; overflow washes into Budd Inlet, John Dodge from the Olympian
- I actually heard KAOS break this story early Monday morning on their Breakfast Special - Brett Clubbe was on it!
* Barner seeks delay on project, Olympian via TJ
* Tacoma terminal wants to bring uranium through port, Tacoma Weekly via TJ
- same material has been shipping through Port of Seattle for years with no apparrent accidents.
* Olympia nixes free Wi-Fi idea, Olympian

National
* Budget Makers Plan Tradeoff for War Funds, NY Times via TJ
* $1 Billion In Military Equipment Missing In Iraq, CBS News via Truthout.org via TJ
* Bush Goes Private to Spy on You, CorpWatch via Truthout.org via TJ
- the Bush administration is launching a new government agency that will rely heavily on private security contractors to conduct surveillance in the US.
* Bush Loses Ground With Military Families, Los Angeles Times via Truthout.org via TJ
* California Electoral Vote Plan Won't Make June Ballot, Los Angeles Times via Truthout.org via TJ
* Operation Iraqi Freedom Exposed: Bush Negotiates Permanent Presence in Iraq, by Marjorie Cohn via Common Dreams via TJ
* Embattled State Department Inspector General Resigns, McClatchy via Truthout.org via TJ
* Broad Energy Bill Passed by House, Washignton Post via Truthout.org via TJ
- Car mileage, renewable power addressed.
* US Intelligence Review Directly Contradicts Bush’s Line On Iran, InterPress Service via Common Dreams via TJ
* Leahy Plans Contempt Vote, Brattleboro Reformer (VT) via Common Dreams via TJ
* Food Prices Climbing, With No End in Sight, InterPress Service via Common Dreams via TJ
* CIA Destroyed Video of ‘Waterboarding’ Al-Qaida Detainees, The Guardian/UK via Common Dreams via TJ
* Iraq parliament grinds to halt as MPs make for Mecca, AFP via Yahoo News
* Iraq: The Hidden Human Costs, New York Review of Books

Post Show Notes
* Had a caller recommend the film "Shadow of the Salmon":

The story of a young man from Lakota Nation who comes to the Pacific Northwest to visit his Coastal Salish relatives. During his visit, he experiences many things, and learns much about salmon and the Northwest environment. He witnesses the annual Canoe Journey and helps respond to an oil spill in the river.

* We talked about the Port of Olympia Commission meeting for tomorrow, Monday, December 10th - should be a good one. It's at 5:30pm at 111 Market St NE or rebroadcast later on TCTV.
* The Alliance for Democracy has a website and you should check it out.
* Did development, logging set stage for disaster?, Seattle Times - this is the story Geov mentioned.

Show correction:
During the December 9 No Talking Heads episode, our guest noted the multi-modal transportation corridors planned by the “Security and Prosperity Partnership” (SPP) would be 10 football fields wide. Actually, these transportation corridors would be 4 football fields wide at their widest points. Our guest contacted the show to let us know of the inadvertent misstatement. To learn more about the SPP, visit http://www.sounddemocracy.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=94&Itemid=46 and http://www.canadians.org/DI/index.html .