Slick use of dehumanization

The Thursday deadline passed without action, and today the Nickelsville tent city is still there. Maybe Hizzoner decided it would be bad to express support for the homeless one day (see yesterday), and take away one of their places to live the next.

And notice how concerned the Mayor's Office is about the human dimension:

City crews placed more than a dozen no-trespassing signs in and around the camp, dubbed "Nickelsville" in defiance of Mayor Greg Nickels, about two hours before the deadline of a 72-hour eviction notice.

But the 5 p.m. deadline passed without incident at the site in an industrial area in the Highland Park neighborhood.

"We don't announce when the cleanup will happen," said Karin Zaugg Black, Nickels' spokeswoman. Source

"Cleanup." Cleanup is what you do to garbage. People get evicted.

Don't dehumanize the residents of Nickelsville, Ms. Black. Call the eviction what it is.

More: Mayor, Zaugg claim no shelter shortage, define controversy as "political"

The post with Dan Rather

Toddled over to the Westin today, to attend the Plymouth Housing Group annual luncheon. I love this group, it is unbelievably effective in planning, funding and constructing transitional and low income housing around downtown Seattle. And they also provide the medical and social support services people need to avoid becoming homeless again.

Anywho, the annual luncheon always features a celebrity draw. A couple years ago it was Malcolm Gladwell; last year was Martin Sheen. Today at least a thousand people turned out to hear journalist Dan Rather, who spoke in broad historical terms about the rise, neglect and potential fall of the social welfare system in the United States.

Rather is eloquent and cerebral -- which is easy to forget reporters can be, given the current state of the profession's blow-dried ratings leaders.

Also given a few minutes to speak were former mayor Norm Rice, and current mayor Greg "Seattle's Green Mayor" Nickels. Both spoke of the need to reduce homelessness; Nickels finished his free lunch, then slipped out when the lights went down for the video profiling several Plymouth residents.

Nickels' appearance, frankly, was a breathtaking display of chutzpah. I wonder if he'll feel the same way about the homeless tomorrow.

Nickels. He finished lunch and scooted.

The Other Thing:

The new website for the Sam Seder/Marc Maron online show can be seen at mvslive.com, give it a look and enjoy the videos.

Green era means we should rethink traffic priorities

Today in the Seattle Times:

Seattle is seeking possession of a popular boating-supply store along Mercer Street, even though the city remains $88 million short of the funds it needs to carry out a street reconstruction project there.

West Marine is to be condemned and torn down to make room for a 60- to 70-foot road widening along Mercer Street in an area commonly called the "Mercer Mess," according to the city's plan.

...private contributors won't commit money for the project until Seattle secures the right-of-way. Of the missing $88 million, the city is negotiating to get $36 million from nearby businesses that would benefit from the $201 million rebuild.

. . .

For two generations, commuters have complained about the Mercer Mess between Interstate 5 and Seattle Center. The city plans to add lanes for two-way travel on Mercer, which now goes eastbound to I-5. Valley Street, now an arterial, would be reduced to two lanes.

A study for the Seattle Department of Transportation predicts that drivers would save minutes leaving I-5, because they would gain a straight route on Mercer westbound, instead of navigating a curve to Valley. Overall, there would be little change in congestion, the study says; but bicycling and walking conditions would improve greatly, while landscaping would make the area more pleasant.

Source

Am I understanding this right? The city wants to spend $201 million on this 10-block stretch so drivers can save a few minutes? That's the sole benefit traffic-wise, because there would be no congestion reduction. Let's make a ledger.

Benefits	Costs ($201 million)
Cars: Drivers save a few minutes	Congestion continues at same level
Non-motorized: Improved walking, biking	generally $1 million per block, including curbs and drainage
Other: Nice landscaping	Businesses: Loss of strong retailer; $36 million

Anyone see anything wrong here? Try taking off your Car Culture Hat. How about now?

That's right: Although I'm mixing qualitative and quantitative, the costs for the automobile portion is the biggest, maybe $150-155 million, while returning the littlest benefit -- a few minutes per driver.

Want to reduce congestion? Want to make the transition away from the car culture? THEN STOP FACILITATING IT. Spend $10 million on non-motorized transportation on Mercer, and a few more million on landscaping and trees. Mandate Low Impact Development to protect Lake Union.

Road-diet what's there now, and maybe you'll get more people biking and taking Metro and the S.L.U.T. (and North Link whenever that's supposed to happen).

*Raise Hand* Question for Mr. Rossi?

Yes -- question at the back.

Thank you, Scott. Mr_Grant, Wiseline Institute Northwest. I wanted to ask Shadow Governor Rossi a question about economic policy.

Over the past months and weeks we've seen the American -- global, really -- financial crisis come to a head. IndyMac. Fannie Mae. Freddie Mac. Lehman Brothers. AIG. Huge swings in the Dow.

What's more, a growing number of commentators have traced the culpability of Republican neoconservative economic policy and corruption in this meltdown, as well as Enron and energy deregulation earlier in this decade. This linkage is typified by the roles of Phil "Mental Recession" Gramm.

The crisis is trickling down all right. At the state level, in Olympia a $3.2 billion deficit is being forecast.

Furthermore, this weekend sees announcements of a $500 billion federal bailout package, the biggest intervention since the Great Depression.

Do you have a question?

Yes. How can Shadow Governor Rossi keep running the "we're going to be fiscally conservative" campaign ad and identify himself as "GOP" with a straight face?

Why no bail out for Lehman Brothers?

Why was the Bush Administration willing to bail out Bear Stearns, and take over Fannie and Freddie, but drew the line at bailing out Lehman Brothers? How's this for a reason:

Investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., which filed for bankruptcy-court protection early Monday, has been the eighth-largest corporate giver to Sen. Obama's campaign this election cycle, with Lehman employees donating $361,000. Source

And what do you want to bet AIG doesn't get federal help either:

Trouble at several other companies could hurt fund raising for Sen. Obama and other Democrats. Employees of insurance giant American International Group Inc., for example, have given 66% of their $647,000 in total political donations to Democrats in the current election cycle, after favoring Republicans from the mid-1990s through early 2000s. (same source)

AIG -- too big to fail, I guess.

Tuesday Night Rhythm Society

TMBG- Don't Let's Start

Dan Rather to speak at Plymouth Housing Group event

That's right -- former CBS anchor and Texas Air National Guard truthteller Dan Rather has just been announced as the featured speaker for the annual Plymouth Housing Group "Key To Hope" event.

Rather is replacing original speaker John Edwards, who has withdrawn from public engagements for some reason.

The luncheon is Sept. 25 at Noon. Register at the Plymouth site ($150 suggested donation). See you there!