Eye on Congress

In the wake of tragedy, some legislators in Washington are about to come up with a package of what to seems to be, at first glance, authoritarian and draconian criminal justice legislation. These bills may have been thought out in some form long ago by these legislators, and now they think 2010 is the right year to come out with their authoritarian ideas. "Commons" hasn't read any of the pre-session bills (just read previews of them), and not every bill in the hopper today or being considered is necessarily authoritarian (some may actually be sensible and needed), but along with the American Civil Liberties Union, we will be keeping a close watch on what's going on in Olympia. [revised on 12/27/09] The Party of Commons does not sponsor or produce advertising. Copyright 2009, Party of Commons TM

The write-in Mark Greene for sheriff campaign is about to enter a new stage, holding rallies in various King County towns and cities, especially Seattle. We will have to delay this new phase for one more day - more paperwork, meaning that it will start on October 19th. The economic progressive Party of Commons will be front and center campaigning for Mark. We're not worrying about Constantine & McGinn, anymore, they are steadily walking down the plank called caution and convention. Good luck, but Mark and "Commons" will take a different route: the unapologetic call for progressivism, environmentalism and representing the interests of the people. The masses of King County shall rally the nation! [revised on 10/18/09] Write-in Mark Greene for Sheriff campaign P.O. Box 612, Bellevue, WA 98009 e-mail: partyofcommons@yahoo.com The Party of Commons does not sponsor or produce advertising. Copyright 2009, Party of Commons TM

Mark Greene, the reluctant candidate, the Marine veteran, the loyal opposition dilettante, and the chairman of the Party of Commons has decided to run as a write-in candidate for sheriff of King County to ensure that our communities are safer, that our county has competitive elections and that democracy will be upheld in our corner of America. Please, support our campaign by signing the election candidacy petition or making a small donation. Mark Greene for Sheriff Committee P.O. Box 612 Bellevue, WA 98009 e-mail: mark@partyofcommons.com [First posted on another of our blogs, earlier on Sept. 1, 2009; revised on 10/30/09.] The Party of Commons does not sponsor or produce advertising. Copyright 2009, Party of Commons TM

We live in an age where many people say there needs to be an alternative to the two major parties, and then march right into the voting booth, at least the metaphorical booth, and cast their vote for the same old parties. Ladies and gentlemen, casting a vote is the exercise in power that the multitudes have that can bring to power the alternative that we say we want. If we cannot bring ourselves to even cast a vote against the status quo - even in a primary - all the talk about alternatives is truly just talk. Then there is the so-called alternative media: the bloggers, the fancy political websites, the free tabloids, and so forth. Some of these are actually an alternative to the corporate media, but the large majority are just a restyling and repackaging of the same old media that you know so well. Many have the same mindset, the same arrogance, and the same priorities, which are antithetical to the priorities of the masses. Then they offer endorsements for political candidates just l...

No telling who is going to be in the Nov. 3rd general election with Susan Hutchison for county executive. Hutchison & Reagan Dunn (the Hutchison slate), and Mark Greene are the three most likely King County government candidates (in contested elections) to come out of the primary, but whoever the 4th candidate will be is a puzzle. We believe Dow Constantine made a strategic error by making too big of a deal of contrasting himself with Hutchison on social issues that have nothing to do with county government. Fred Jarrett and Ross Hunter are average politicians, but their drawbacks, besides being average, are a little eyebrow raising. Larry Phillips looks like the best of the lot most likely to make it into the "top two." Alan Lobdell is a capable individual for the post of county executive, although through no fault of his own, he is not getting much press attention. Lippmann and Nelson should try for lower positions, such as boards or councils, before putting their hat...

In the major league sports world, it is considered unsportsmanlike to run up the score against an opponent to some outlandish degree. That's why in football, when the score is something like 50 - 3, the coach that is ahead puts in substitutes. Reagan Dunn's campaign apparently has no such compunction, in fact he is bringing out the first team to pile up the score (although, he'll need 90% of the primary vote to claim a "win"). Two county councilmembers, Kathy Lambert and Bob Ferguson, both of whom have free passes to their own re-elections (uncontested districts), are effectively helping Dunn. Lambert assisted with and her likeness appeared in a ubiquitous taxpayer-funded county brochure with Dunn. Ferguson and Dunn co-authored an article that appeared in the newspaper of record for Dunn supporters, the "Sound Publishing/Reporter" publications. With the county in a financial crisis and in the midst of a morass, Lambert & Ferguson have nothing better ...

After listening, tonight, to the radio announcer talk about the hundreds of thousands of deaths caused by wars in Iraq, those directly and indirectly caused by U.S. invasions since 1991, it is disconcerting how psychically removed, by and large, our nation has been from the wars as well as from the poor policy choices made in our name, as though we cannot be bothered to do something about it, like at least vote out imperialist politicians. All of which makes William Jennings Bryan's standoff with President Woodrow Wilson in 1915 all the more remarkable. Bryan, a former three-time Democratic Party presidential standard bearer, became Wilson's Secretary of State. To make a long story short (since we don't have time for a long essay at this time), Wilson wanted to take a confrontational stance and defy the Kaiser's declaration that the British Isles were a war zone, whereas Bryan wanted to maintain strict neutrality in the matter of the European war. Wilson, as president, ...

(revised on 6/29/09) [The Party of Commons is looking for candidates to join our party and run in the 2010 congressional races in Washington, Oregon, northern California and Idaho, and the 2012 Washington senatorial election that Senator Maria Cantwell will probably run for re-election in. The following condensed post about her is from our affiliate former blog, "Evergreen Representative," and first posted on 11/11/06.] Evergreen Representative: Unlike [representatives] Dicks & Smith, Ms. Cantwell has never apologized for her [Iraq war resolution] vote .... From a psychological viewpoint, she probably wants to prove that even females like her can be tough and callous, as if that wasn't already known from history and current events. Since the election has now been posted, it is obvious that [Cantwell's] "Lara Croft" has played over well with the people now that she has won nearly 6 out of every 10 votes -- supposedly from an electorate that largely opp...

The Party of Commons did well in the southern counties of Clark and Skamania in the 2008 "Top 2" primary (for Secretary of State), and we consider southern Washington, along with parts of eastern Washington, our most popular base of support. The southern northwest commons also includes Oregon, northern California and southern Idaho. This blog will focus on this very important part of the Pacific Northwest. [revised on 7/29/09] Copyright 2009, Party of Commons TM The Party of Commons does not sponsor or produce advertising.