After Wall Street, Can We Please Repair Our Democracy?

The United States is deep in debt and it’s getting worse. We’re not only in a financial hole, our country is also experiencing a deficit in democracy.

Last week, Sen. John McCain said he couldn’t attend the Mississippi debate because he needed to work on fixing the financial crisis. This led to much confusion regarding the debate, and many wondered if the event was going to be canceled. Our two-party system is so integrated with our government that it’s assumed the Republican party will be part of any presidential debate. But there are other people running for president besides the two major-party candidates. If Sen. McCain couldn’t make it, why not invite Bob Barr, Ralph Nader, Cynthia McKinney, or Chuck Baldwin? Any of these candidates would have jumped at the chance to express their policy proposals at the Mississippi debate.

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The Bridge From Capitalism to Socialism

The players in Washington are paid to represent their constituents. Lawmakers work for the folks back home, and most lobbyists work for the highest bidders. The financial industry’s lobbyists—looking out for their clients’ best interests—pushed for the deregulation of lending practices and convinced lawmakers to deliver the changes.

They sold this bill of goods by making the case for less government intrusion. The nature of risk, and the way it leads to prudent lending, was supposed to take care of things. All the while, industry lobbyists heaped plenty of money on lawmakers and the respective Republican and Democratic campaign organizations.

The current financial meltdown is a product of pay-to-play politics in the halls of power. Give enough money, throw enough fundraisers, and you’ll get noticed in the capital. If you do get noticed, you’ll get access. If you get access, you can change laws to benefit yourself or—just as good—receive public funds.

From the halls of congress and the White House to state legislatures and down to Main Street USA: Get noticed, get connected, get public money. It’s a public official’s duty to look out for his or her constituents, sometimes in the form of sending jobs and federal funds back home. They are not, however, to be bought, which is exactly how we got to where we are today. But before we throw all stigmatized buzzwords out the window, let’s preserve one: earmarks.

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Socialism and Capitalism: A Wonderful Relationship

Novoselic in NYC

As I write this from downtown Manhattan, Wall Street’s going through one of its most hellish periods in recent history. As the housing crisis takes lenders down, and the quasi-governmental Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are thrown a lifeline, the pro-capitalist chants of not so long ago are still fresh in my memory.

What happened to that “government regulations are hindering trade” talk? Before this crisis, when oil was relatively cheap and housing prices were never gonna come back to earth, people argued for the natural law of economics—the incentive of potential profit and the dissuasion of potential loss. In other words, people tend to put their money where they think it’s treated best.

Nobody likes government until they need it, as illustrated by the recent turmoil in the financial world. But when markets fail, the first place people run to is the state’s safety net. In the United States, the marriage of socialism and capitalism is usually a successful, happy relationship. We enjoy public roads, schools, and law enforcement, among other services.

Regardless of this arrangement, conservatives still disparage socialism. It’s like some kind of dogma left over from the Cold War. Even the slightest utterance about some kind of public-health system will elicit the derogatory term “socialized medicine.” But public systems already steward health issues.

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Looking for Krist?

Krist Novoselic's column, usually seen on Tuesdays, will move — just this once — to Wednesday (tomorrow). I won't bore you with the scheduling drama we had to go through to make this happen.

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Sarah Palin: The GOP Taps Their Inner Chavez

PHOTO CREDIT Pedro Meyer Five Dollar Bill
VIVA PALIN - VIVA LA REVOLUCION!! !

“When oil and gas prices went up dramatically, and filled up the state treasury, I sent a large share of that revenue back where it belonged—directly to the people of Alaska.

And despite fierce opposition from oil-company lobbyists, who kind of liked things the way they were, we broke their monopoly on power and resources.” —Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, accepting the Republican Party vice-presidential nomination.

When Sarah Palin told the party faithful at last week’s RNC that she had stuck it to the big bad oil companies as governor of Alaska, she did so in a way that would make even old-school leftist revolutionaries blush.

As Democrats and others on the left try to dig things up on Palin, her dirty little secret hides in plain sight: Gov. Palin is the head of the Socialist state of Alaska.

Thanks to increased oil taxes, state revenue has swelled to $10 billion, and Alaskans pay no state income or sales tax, with the state government mostly funded by taxes on the oil pumped from public lands. There’s so much money, in fact, that the state mails individual checks to residents every year. And because of the boom in oil prices, a typical Alaska household will receive a payment of up to $13,000 this year.

Governor Palin deserves at least part of the credit for her state’s great fortune. In 2007, she signed into law a tax increase on crude oil exported from Alaska. The base tax is 25 percent. The tax increases an additional 0.4 percent on each dollar of the price above $52.00 per barrel. The Seattle Times quotes an official from ConocoPhilips, “Once royalty payments and other taxes are added in, the state captures about 75 percent of the value of a barrel.”

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Socialism: Yes or No?

Deutsche Demokratische Republik

During Nirvana’s first tour of Europe in November of 1989, we found ourselves at a historic moment. Germans were tearing down the Berlin Wall, piece by piece, the broken concrete a symbol of forty five years of Soviet domination crumbling away.

We drove through East Germany en route to Berlin. On the road leaving the east side, we counted a line of cars 45 kilometers long full of East Germans going through the Western border.

Almost without exception, East Germans drove the same kind of car, the Trabant. This vehicle was made of cardboard and featured the same kind of engine that power chain saws. Even though it was 1989, the East Germans were driving a car with a design that had changed little in the 1950s.

Since the East German State owned the means of production and distribution, there was little incentive to develop products. On the other hand, West Germans were leaders in developing autos that were efficient, safe and reliable. With the free enterprise system, innovation was bred in the atmosphere of competition.

Most people know of the failings of State Socialism. In the United States, the term socialism is loaded, usually surfacing in conservative political rhetoric pointed at Democrats and those with left-wing ideals. Often, when a discussion on health care mentions state involvement, the idea is derided as socialized medicine.

I’m a staunch supporter of the free enterprise system and live a good life as a result of capitalism. But I’m not so quick to dismiss socialism. Socialism is all around us in the United Sates, and especially Washington State.

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Democracy Prevailed, Free Association Lost in Last Week's Primaries

Party Faithful

This week's Democratic National Convention is the culmination of a long process of hard work and coordination on the part of Democrats around the nation. And if you participated in the Democratic caucuses last February, you were part of the political process that sent the delegates from our state to Denver.

But as we learned in last week's primary, Washington State’s new Top-Two primary system is putting our ability to associate with a political party in jeopardy. Take, for example, what happened in the county commissioner race in Wahkiakum County, where I am chairman of the county Democrats, and have been associated with the group since attending my precinct caucus for the presidential nomination in 2004.

As a result of the new election law, Democratic party rules changed regarding party nominations, with the party officer (PCO) from each precinct now charged to decide every nominee at a locally organized convention.

As a proponent of the caucus system, I wasn’t enthusiastic about PCO’s determining the nominations. However, the PCO position itself is on the public ballot, and Washington voters were invited to pick the party official for their precinct in last week's primary. To be inclusive, our county party purchased advertising in the local paper. The ad invited any candidate who was interested in the Democratic Party nomination for local office to contact us and engage our process. We also ran notices in the paper inviting people to run for PCO in the August 19th public primary.

We followed all of the State Democratic Party rules and by May 23 nominated a candidate for our local County Commissioner race. In the first week of June, our nominee in the commissioner race filed his intent of candidacy.

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A Free and Fair Vote Gives Power to the People

Cumulative Voting Ballot

As you vote in today’s primary for your representative in Olympia, your friends in other legislative districts across town, the state, and possibly even the street are looking at a different set of choices. The way legislative districts are drawn is at the heart of our elections. Demographics, geography, and political considerations come together in a sophisticated process that can determine the difference between a safe seat and a competitive election.

Unfortunately, this system has bred both disenfranchisement among voters and a lack of interest from potential candidates. It’s also had a sorry history regarding race relations. Before the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA), lines could be drawn straight through areas with high minority populations, splitting the bloc of voters and deliberately preventing them from electing a candidate to represent their interests. The VRA makes it illegal to draw district lines with the intention of discriminating on race.

Marilyn Montgomery, the Constitution Party candidate for Washington Secretary of State, however, calls for a repeal of the Voting Rights Act. Montgomery is calling for elections that are free and fair but offers no alternative other than a simple repeal of the VRA. While I don’t think it’s a good idea to repeal the VRA, we can speak to its objectives and at the same time widen the franchise of voting for everyone in a way that is free and fair.

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Rating Top Two, and the Candidates for Secretary of State

Vote Novoselic for PCO!!!

I just received my ballot and voters’ information pamphlet for Washington’s primary election on August 19th. I like all of the choices in the primary and I’m glad we moved away from the old system with the party sections on the ballots. Like local non-partisan elections, the top two vote getters in every race will advance to the general election. With the new system, you can really vote your conscience because if your first choice doesn’t get in the Top Two, you get a second choice in November.

I don’t have a problem with a Top Two runoff. My concern is with the association issues of the new system. On the ballot itself, the partisan designation beside the candidates’ name is only the party they prefer. The voters’ pamphlet states: "A candidate’s preference does not imply that the candidate is nominated or endorsed by the party, or that the party approves of or associates with that candidate." In other words - buyer beware! What is the value of a party designation on a ballot when the state claims it might not really represent any association? It’s worthless, which leads me to say that if an actual party nomination is so bad that it cannot appear on the ballot, why don’t we have a non-partisan system and dispense with the partisan charade!

The voters’ pamphlet can come in handy as voters have a closer look at the candidates in their own words. The office of Secretary of State is on the ballot. This position is for the top election official in Washington. Let’s look at the four candidates.

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You Can't Blow Up A Social Relationship

Krist Novoselic observes the demonstrations during the WTO Ministerial Conference in 1999. Photo by Mickey. Novoselic's column runs every Tuesday on the Daily Weekly.

You Can’t Blow Up A Social Relationship is an anarchist pamphlet first published in 1979. The point of the treatise is that meaningful work, through association, is a greater tool for change than violence, which only invites authorities to constrict civil liberties.

After reading the assertions in the pamphlet, two events came to mind: the November 1999 World Trade Organization ministerial meeting in Seattle, and the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States.

I was on the street in Seattle in ‘99. There was a big march planned and many people came from all over to express their feelings about the WTO. A lot of people put time into creative forms of expression. There were costumes, props, and street performances. I was part of a musical performance at the Showbox.

During the first day, it was interesting and fun to see how people tried to make statements. Later, I noticed a change and the mood got darker with more graffiti and broken windows. I came across a person spray painting some forgettable slogan while standing atop a storefront awning. I couldn’t help myself but to yell, "How would you like if someone did that to your house?” He replied, “Fuck You”, as did the couple with indignant faces standing next to me. I said, “I thought this was a non-violent protest?”. I split for home because this scene was going downhill fast.

I was in a vacuum of chaos. And this leads us to another premise quoted in the pamphlet, “The total collapse of this society would provide no guarantee of what would replace it.”

No WTO Combo Live From the Battle In Seattle November 1999, Showbox Theater, Vocal - Jello Biafra, Guitar - Kim Thayil, Drums - Gina Mainwal, Bass - Krist Novoselic

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War-Torn Croatia Shaped My World View

Tito & Partisan Monument 1949

Radovan Karadzic, one of the worlds most wanted war criminals, was arrested in Belgrade on Monday for his involvement with atrocities committed during the break-up of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s. Though there have been indictments regarding war crimes of individuals on all sides of the conflict, Karadzic was at the top of the list by his implication in the Srebrenica massacre of 1995 in which 8,000 Muslim males were executed.

I lived in Croatia, when it was part of Yugoslavia in 1980 and have been there many times since. In school, we had a class on Marxism. On warm days, the teacher would pace barefoot up and down the classroom espousing the virtues of communism and dialectic thinking. The country was neither east nor west, but it had an endearing culture and natural beauty regardless of the political system.

I traveled to Croatia in 1993 and the ravages of war made an impression on me about the importance of stability and peace for humanity. I had never seen a bomb crater up close. An artillery shell not only punches a hole in a wall, it sprays deadly shrapnel that pockmarks around the hit. It was terrible to see homes collapsed. And people were scarred too. Many lost loved ones and deep anger compelled some to settle scores thus creating a downward spiral of violence.

This experience, along with my political work after Nirvana, shaped my world view tremendously. We’ve got a good thing going here in the U.S. There are no militias coming. We can work to change our political system without persecution. Things are not perfect but neither are they dire for most of us.

Revolution means turning or rotating. History shows us that social order could go upside down with civil liberties suffering in the vacuum of revolution. Better to work for change in a stable system like we have in the U.S.

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Get Ready For More Nasty Political Punditry

Novoselic New Years 1995. Photo by Allen Draher.

The July 6th New York Times Magazine featured a story on Rush Limbaugh. I was surprised that Limbaugh would have anything to do with the Times. The NYT is considered by conservative spinsters as the flagship of the Liberal Media Elite that’s supposed to control information in this country. (Anyone with sense who has lived in the U.S. for the past eight years has to know this is not so.) The cover story on Limbaugh gives a rare look inside the life of AM talk radio’s biggest personality.

The NYT’s article comes on the heels of Limbaugh’s new multi-million-dollar contract. The deal is a good sign that Sen. Obama will win the election. The investors must know that Limbaugh will taunt President Obama on a daily basis for the next four to eight years.

Limbaugh is a radio success because he takes aim at politicians, an easy target that everyone loves to knock around.

Limbaugh seems to be everywhere. When I was looking for a good auto mechanic earlier this year, every shop waiting room — OK, all three of them — had the show on. On the show, there was a skit that made fun of Sen. John McCain and his position on global warming. The skit painted governmental action on climate change as only a field day for opportunistic attorneys and government agencies.

It’s in this perspective where I can see another of Limbaugh’s appeal to folks. These auto shops are independent businesses with hard working proprietors. Part of running the shop is managing the government regulations. And doing the books always has that tax component: another bill on the ledger. Limbaugh’s rhetoric offers relief in the form of comedy.

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Mudhoney Defined Grunge

This video of Mudhoney, circa 1990, was shot by Krist Novoselic on a Fisher-Price PXL-2000, and is being seen here for the first time. Clip includes "In and Out of Grace,” “You Got It,” and “Come to Mind.”

Congratulations to Sub Pop records for their 20 year anniversary.

Of all the Sub Pop bands I must say that Mudhoney are my favorite. In the beginning days of the label, it was Mudhoney who led the charge. Mark Arm, Steve Turner, Danny Peters and Matt Lukin were a group that defined the term Grunge.

Touch Me I’m Sick was the tune that blew the walls out for the band, the music scene and the world. Like Seattle’s Space Needle or the St. Helens volcano Grunge was on the map.

Mudhoney picked up where NW bands like The Sonics and Kingsmen left off. They conjured the Stooges wrapped in the sensibilities of American Hardcore of the early 1980s.

I first met Mark Arm at the Metropolis punk club in Seattle’s Pioneer Square around 1983. Buzz Osborne and Matt Lukin from Montesano’s Melvins took me to my first punk show. The first stage dive I ever witnessed was performed by Mark Arm!!! He was studying english at the UW and was in the band Mr. Epp and the Calculations. They had this weird song called Mohawk Man. Matt, Buzz and I would go to partys and shows in Seattle and we’d almost always see Mark. The man had a biting wit that he took with him to front the twisted Glam ensemble Green River. At a Green River show in Tacoma, Mark came out in a dress with his long black hair done in high-set pony tails, looking like some kind of nightmare chick.

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How To Buy A Used Record

Flipper Seattle June 27, 2008 Photo: Gillain Gaar

I have been collecting records for over 25 years and have accumulated nearly two thousand. Many of these I bought used. It’s fun to rummage through stacks of old records. Even after all these years there’s still surprises and curiosities to be found. Vinyl isn’t just about ears, the big covers and sleeves have much for the eye also.

Long Play vinyl discs seem to be making a comeback in the music world. It has been reported the one-stop retailer Fred Meyer is selling LP’s. Apparently some discs were ordered by accident and they actually sold so the retail chain decided to keep them in stock.

I buy new LP’s. I own the new Raconteurs and REM records on vinyl. There are reasons why I hold onto records and it’s not only about nostalgia.

Ever since computers and music started to merge, there’s been a debate between the virtues of analog and digital music reproduction. Sound processed through vacuum tubes and magnets does gain certain characteristics. Analog music will tend to be warmer to the ear. On the other hand, digital reproduction, through its inherent perfection can come across as cold.

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Museums, Bass Guitars, Punk Rock & Beer

Flipper West Bank
Here's an mp3 of Flipper performing "Ha, Ha, Ha," at The Funhouse last summer. 2007 Reppilf Music.

This Friday evening, I will be bestowed a double honor. I have been invited to participate in an Oral History Live at the Experience Music Project. Experience Music Project|Science Fiction Music (EMP|SFM) has created an archive of interviews with the musicians, authors, filmmakers, producers and other key figures who have shaped American popular music and science fiction.

Jacob McMurray, the Senior Curator of of EMP / SFM will be asking about my participation in the music world. We’ll also touch on the intersection of Grunge and state politics.

After the Oral History program, we’ll cross the street and head over to the Funhouse for the Flipper show. If you don’t know, I play bass in Flipper now. It’s great to be out on bass again and with a band that really had an influence on me. Flipper played the Funhouse last summer and it felt like an honest-to-god punk rock show: down to the beer-soaked floor and audience standing just mere inches away!

Flipper has been recording a new album with Jack Endino. All I can really say is that we’re making a Flipper record. Ted Falconi is doing his guitar thing, Stephen Depace has got that backbeat down and Bruce Loose is on vocals. I’m on the bass: a culmination of years of studying the Flipper dynamic through the listening experience of Generic and Gone Fishin’ records.

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