Seattle elects Socialist to City Council; "The Nation" spots a trend

[JohnnySavage]

It was a plan to build a bunch of supertalls in midtown. Cancelling it was bad because I'm a construction worker.

I didn't think the geology would allow that? Maybe the rent would justify the expense of really long piles.

 

[rosco rathbone]

I didn't think the geology would allow that? Maybe the rent would justify the expense of really long piles.

The area between midtown and downtown is bad for big buildings but midtown is ok.

 

[JohnnySavage]

The area between midtown and downtown is bad for big buildings but midtown is ok.

Ahhh... I was thinking "mid town" was the area of the skyline between the tall buildings.

 

[rosco rathbone]

Ahhh... I was thinking "mid town" was the area of the skyline between the tall buildings.

billionaires row they're calling it

http://blogs.wsj.com/developments/2...l-design-for-condo-tower-on-billionaires-row/

 

[JohnnySavage]

billionaires row they're calling it

http://blogs.wsj.com/developments/2...l-design-for-condo-tower-on-billionaires-row/

I like the engineering of tall buildings, but I think they'd be really inconvenient to live in. Up and down, up and down. I like walking out the front door and onto the ground. Although peeing off the 80th floor balcony would be fun.

 

[rosco rathbone]

I like the engineering of tall buildings, but I think they'd be really inconvenient to live in. Up and down, up and down. I like walking out the front door and onto the ground. Although peeing off the 80th floor balcony would be fun.

I guess you just think of it as an extra vertical block to your commute.

 

[KingOrfeo]

It was a plan to build a bunch of supertalls in midtown. Cancelling it was bad because I'm a construction worker.

What reason did De Blasio give for cancelling the rezoning?

 

[richard_daily]

What's funny about that, is that the rich don't generally ask for favors. They have bootlickers like Vette do it for them.

the rich's shock troops. They will never be rich, but they are so dumb that they're convinced that they will be. They're the buffer between the rich and the rest of us, and they enjoy the comfort that idiots like veteman give them.

 

[BotanyBoy]

No wonder after a left wing indoctrination against capitalism for 12 years of education.

^^ anti capitalist neo con/crony sack of shit bitching about anti capitalist liburhuls/socialist.

http://www.reactiongifs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/spongebobmoviehillbillylol.gif

 

[Sean Renaud]

I wonder where he went to school. All I got was America fuck yeah with a side helping of capitalism rules. They didn't even really cover that we have a mixed system which means the others have merit nor point out any of the advantages of other countries. Which considering the class was economics should have mentioned the pros and cons of all systems.

 

[RobDownSouth]

A single data point is not evidence of a trend, unless your user name is "Vetteman".

 

[BotanyBoy]

I wonder where he went to school. All I got was America fuck yeah with a side helping of capitalism rules. They didn't even really cover that we have a mixed system which means the others have merit nor point out any of the advantages of other countries. Which considering the class was economics should have mentioned the pros and cons of all systems.

I was the same until Uni....that was the first time I got the real "this is how fucked up we actually are" class, it was 2 US gubbmint class's btw.

 

[KingOrfeo]

Young people -- the collegiate and post-college crowd, who have served as the most visible face of the Occupy Wall Street movement -- might be getting more comfortable with socialism. That's the surprising result from a Pew Research Center poll that aims to measure American sentiments toward different political labels.

The poll, published Wednesday, found that while Americans overall tend to oppose socialism by a strong margin -- 60 percent say they have a negative view of it, versus just 31 percent who say they have a positive view -- socialism has more fans than opponents among the 18-29 crowd. Forty-nine percent of people in that age bracket say they have a positive view of socialism; only 43 percent say they have a negative view.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/29/young-people-socialism_n_1175218.html

Of course, that 2011 Pew poll does not define "socialism" or "capitalism" -- so they're really just polling for the popularity of the words.

 

[Sean Renaud]

I was the same until Uni....that was the first time I got the real "this is how fucked up we actually are" class, it was 2 US gubbmint class's btw.

Even in college I mostly got "it's not perfect but it's better than anything else." Same with democracy. Never heard a single kind word about any of the others even though there is really only one thing that makes Democracy better. The average man is convinced that he has some control and thus shares the blame of what's going on so he doesn't revolt as often regardless of how bad it gets. It's basically set both houses against the center and win.

 

[Dazzle1]

Story here.



The Nation:

While working out this morning I read article in 11/2 about Seattle voting. you have to be extreme liberal to win there. Obama is too conservative for them.

 

[RobDownSouth]

While working out this morning I read article in 11/2 about Seattle voting. you have to be extreme liberal to win there. Obama is too conservative for them.

How much can you bench press?

 

[ryan8558]

I like the engineering of tall buildings, but I think they'd be really inconvenient to live in. Up and down, up and down. I like walking out the front door and onto the ground. Although peeing off the 80th floor balcony would be fun.

That's all good until the electricity goes out or there's a fire and you have to walk the stairs.

 

[Wrong Element]

While working out this morning I read article in 11/2 about Seattle voting. you have to be extreme liberal to win there. Obama is too conservative for them.

Yeah, and you have to be a Tea Partier to win where I live. It's a big, diverse country.

Which reminds me of something: I'm amused that there's so much "sky is falling!" attention being paid to this one race. Yes, an actual leftist has won local office somewhere in America! But there have to be what, dozens of people holding office in the House, Senate, and as governors (to say nothing of state legislatures) who are as far to the right as Kshama Sawant is to the left?

There's no hysteria about that because we're used to it -- which tells you how far to the right American politics has been slanted for decades.

 

[BotanyBoy]

Even in college I mostly got "it's not perfect but it's better than anything else." Same with democracy. Never heard a single kind word about any of the others even though there is really only one thing that makes Democracy better. The average man is convinced that he has some control and thus shares the blame of what's going on so he doesn't revolt as often regardless of how bad it gets. It's basically set both houses against the center and win.

I had a pretty cool prof during the 1st half.

2nd prof was horrible....all we talked about is how much america hates everything but white people, and that white people should be ashamed of being born white.

 

[Sean Renaud]

I had a pretty cool prof during the 1st half.

2nd prof was horrible....all we talked about is how much america hates everything but white people, and that white people should be ashamed of being born white.

I only took the one class, not graduating has it's downsides.

I never had anybody REALLY talk down America. I got a few teachers who were "honest" but you know American Honest.

 

[KingOrfeo]

I only took the one class, not graduating has it's downsides.

I never had anybody REALLY talk down America. I got a few teachers who were "honest" but you know American Honest.

Then you really should read Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong , by James Loewen.

 

[KingOrfeo]

Kshama Sawant's inaugural speech.

My brothers and sisters,

Thank you for your presence here today.

This city has made glittering fortunes for the super wealthy and for the major corporations that dominate Seattle’s landscape. At the same time, the lives of working people, the unemployed and the poor grow more difficult by the day. The cost of housing skyrockets, and education and healthcare become inaccessible.

This is not unique to Seattle. Shamefully, in this, the richest country in human history, fifty million of our people—one in six—live in poverty. Around the world, billions do not have access to clean water and basic sanitation and children die every day from malnutrition.

This is the reality of international capitalism. This is the product of the gigantic casino of speculation created by the highway robbers on Wall Street. In this system the market is God, and everything is sacrificed on the altar of profit. Capitalism has failed the 99%.

Despite recent talk of economic growth, it has only been a recovery for the richest 1%, while the rest of us are falling ever farther behind.

In our country, Democratic and Republican politicians alike primarily serve the interests of big business. A completely dysfunctional Congress DOES manage to agree on one thing—regular increases in their already bloated salaries—yet at the same time allows the federal minimum wage to stagnate and fall farther and farther behind inflation. We have the obscene spectacle of the average corporate CEO getting seven thousand dollars an hour, while the lowest-paid workers are called presumptuous in their demand for just fifteen.

To begin to change all of this, we need organized mass movements of workers and young people, relying on their own independent strength. That is how we won unions, civil rights and LGBTQ rights.

Again, throughout the length and breadth of this land, working people are mobilizing for a decent and dignified life for themselves and their children. Look at the fast food workers movement, the campaigns of Walmart workers, and the heroic activism to stop the Keystone XL pipeline!

Right here in SeaTac, we have just witnessed the tremendous and victorious campaign for fifteen dollars an hour. At the same time, in Lorain County, Ohio, twenty-four candidates ran, not as Democrats or Republicans, but as ‘Independent Labor’ and were elected to their City Councils.

I will do my utmost to represent the disenfranchised and the excluded, the poor and the oppressed—by fighting for a $15/hour minimum wage, affordable housing, and taxing the super-rich for a massive expansion of public transit and education. But my voice will be heard by those in power only if workers themselves shout their demands from the rooftops and organize en masse.

My colleagues and I in Socialist Alternative will stand shoulder to shoulder with all those who want to fight for a better world. But working people need a new political party, a mass organization of the working class, run by—and accountable to—themselves. A party that will struggle and campaign in their interest, and that will boldly advocate for alternatives to this crisis-ridden system.

Here in Seattle, political pundits are asking about me: will she compromise? Can she work with others? Of course, I will meet and discuss with representatives of the establishment. But when I do, I will bring the needs and aspirations of working-class people to every table I sit at, no matter who is seated across from me. And let me make one thing absolutely clear: There will be no backroom deals with corporations or their political servants. There will be no rotten sell-out of the people I represent.

I wear the badge of socialist with honor. To the nearly hundred thousand who voted for me, and to the hundreds of you who worked tirelessly on our campaign, I thank you. Let us continue.

The election of a socialist to the Council of a major city in the heartland of global capitalism has made waves around the world. We know because we have received messages of support from Europe, Latin America, Africa and from Asia. Those struggling for change have told us they have been inspired by our victory.

To all those prepared to resist the agenda of big business—in Seattle and nationwide—I appeal to you: get organized. Join with us in building a mass movement for economic and social justice, for democratic socialist change, whereby the resources of society can be harnessed, not for the greed of a small minority, but for the benefit of all people. Solidarity.