Skip to main content

Civil Liberties Watch

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

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The 2007 Primary for City Council

Party of Commons' chairman, Mark Greene, has been active in both local and national affairs. In 2007, he ran for City Council in Newcastle, and proposed that the city try to attract sustainable energy businesses to locate inside it, among other campaign ideas. Please, see the Seattle Times article in the comments section about the primary that year. The Party of Commons does not sponsor or produce advertising. Copyright 2009 - 2010, Party of Commons TM
2 comments
Read more

County Executive Election Conundrum

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
1 comment
Read more

Smith's Odd Veterans' Pensions Stance

Rarely have I been more surprised about Rep. Adam Smith's mediocre record in Congress than when I learned that he was trying to cut the cost of living adjustment payments to the pensions of retired military veterans under the age of 62.  By the way, he's the ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, believe it or not.  I had to verify a couple of stories before I could even believe all of this was true.  As a veteran myself, although not one who served long enough to get a pension, and therefore not affected by these shenanigans, I am dismayed and disappointed by Smith (D) and Rep. Paul Ryan's (R) attempts to balance budgets on the backs of veterans.  If I'm elected instead of Smith in the 9th CD this year, I will definitely support veterans' pensions in Congress as they have been established over the past several decades, including rightful cost of living increases to veteran pensioners. Although, the military does need reductions by not involving our
Post a Comment
Read more