In a groundbreaking speech, Barack Obama announced this evening that he is using his authority and discretion as President to end the oppression of over five million new Americans by granting them a reprieve from the threat of deportation, provided they identify themselves to the federal government and pay their taxes. Speaking from the White House, […]
Monthly Archives: November 2014
Posted inUnscheduled Programming
Bill intended to force construction of Keystone XL pipeline fails to advance in U.S. Senate
By the tightest of margins, the U.S. Senate this evening defeated a poorly conceived bill intended to give oil giant TransCanada a green light to build its proposed Keystone XL pipeline through Montana, the Dakotas, and Nebraska. S.2280, prime sponsored by Republican John Hoeven of North Dakota and promoted by an increasingly desperate Mary Landrieu […]
Posted inBreaking News, Elections
Class size initiative now has 18,000+ vote lead; Snohomish swings back into yes column
Today was a great day to be a supporter of I‑1351, the initiative to lower class sizes in primary and secondary schools across Washington State. After having trailed and alternated between leading and trailing for the first three days post-Election Night, the initiative appears to have moved away from the precipitous edge, thanks to Washington’s three […]
Posted inPolicy Topics, World Commmunity
North Korea releases imprisoned Americans Kenneth Bae and Matthew Miller
Finally, some good news for a change! The Obama administration announced today that it has secured the release of Kenneth Bae and Matthew Miller, two Americans who were being held by North Korea. Both are on their way home to the United States on a U.S. aircraft with National Intelligence Director James Clapper, who secretly […]
Posted inBreaking News, Elections
Initiative to lower class sizes in Washington now passing by a slim margin
Some happy news to report tonight: Initiative 1351, which mandates lower class sizes in Washington’s primary and secondary schools, is finally passing after having trailed on Election Night and in yesterday’s count. After King County finished tabulating and reporting a fresh batch of ballots (its second count of the day), I‑1351 went from losing to winning. […]
Posted inUnscheduled Programming
Biggest political loser last night: Tim Eyman
This morning, as I had rather expected he would, Tim Eyman sent out a celebratory email basking in the results of the 2014 midterms, which President Obama referred to earlier today as a good night for Republicans. Eyman did his very best to spin the results of the election in Washington as some kind of […]
Posted inEducation
Class size initiative too close to call
With 49.5% of the vote, it’s too soon to tell if Initiative 1351 will pass. If approved by voters, the initiative would lower public school class sizes in grades kindergarten through 12. Washington’s pupil-teacher ratio ranks 47th nationally, and both the state and national teachers unions were the primary supporters of the campaign. State Superintendent […]
Posted inElections
Initiative 594 leading–Washington just got safer
Owning a gun is a big responsibility, one which increases the risk of suicide or homicide for gun owners and their families. In Washington state, nearly 6,000 people were killed with a gun in the last decade. Thankfully, today Washington voters are making a decision that will save lives, by passing Initiative 594 by a […]
Posted inElections
U.S. Senate map looking grim for Democrats; Republicans may end up with the majority
There are still many ballots left to count in quite a few places, but the U.S. Senate map is not looking good for Democrats of this hour. The mass media are projecting Republican victories in Iowa and Colorado — two states that Democrats really needed to win in order to protect their U.S. Senate majority. […]
Posted inElections
Networks project a win for Democrat Jeanne Shaheen in New Hampshire
New Hampshire’s Jeanne Shaheen has won another term in the U.S. Senate, major news networks are projecting, in what is an incredibly important Democratic hold. ABC News was the first out of the gate to declare a win for Shaheen. NBC News/MSNBC followed suit shortly thereafter. Shaheen faced Republican Scott Brown, who previously served in the […]
Posted inElections
Tom Wolf wins in Pennsylvania as Democrats take back governorship from Republicans
An important gubernatorial race is now being called in Pennsylvania for the Democrats. Democratic challenger Tom Wolf is the projected winner, defeating incumbent Republican Tom Corbett. Very few ballots have been tabulated and reported so far, but apparently Wolf’s margin of victory is significant enough that mass media feel comfortable calling it. Polling showed that Wolf […]
Posted inElections
As expected, networks project victory for Mitch McConnell in Kentucky
Polls in Kentucky have now closed, and news networks are projecting that Mitch McConnell has been reelected as Kentucky’s senior U.S. Senator, defeating Democratic challenger Alison Lundergan Grimes. Grimes raised a lot of money and ran a credible campaign in the eyes of many observers, but found going up against “Senator Gridlock” to be an […]