Washington
updated
9:29 p.m.
Some body needs a good clubbing with a large piece of anchor chain . The marine mechanic was reportedly working on an anchor aboard the 52ft Nilaya in Auckland harbour, when the yacht hurriedly cast off as immigration officials tried to serve deportation papers on the skipper, Jarle Andhoy, 34. Mr Andhoy and three crew members have embarked on an unpermitted voyage to Antarct...
Ornery Bastard - 9:29 p.m.
Obama Gingrich 100.0% probability 0.0% probability 421 electoral votes 117 electoral votes ...
HorsesAss - 5:40 p.m.
If you weren't sure before, the transparent dishonesty of the word salad he's tossed for the Senate Democrats' blog should convince you. You voted against my daughter's civil rights out of respect for her, Senator? You voted against the civil rights of an entire category of citizens, including citizens in your caucus, in your delegation, and likely, whether you recognize it or not, in your fa...
Upper Left - 1:23 p.m.
Striking headline in a Tacoma News-Tribune editorial: “It took Richard Nixon to go to China, Bill Clinton to reform welfare and state Rep. Jeannie Darneille to push House Bill 2588.” It’s apt, and it could mark a breakthrough. DNA evidence is something relatively new on the civil rights screen, and complex to deal with. DNA [...]...
Ridenbaugh Press (Washington) - 1:23 p.m. - 8 clicks 
…to the folks at VoteVets , who took the point in the campaign to keep fundie hatemonger William G. Boykin off the West Point podium... LTG (Ret) William Boykin has decided to withdraw speaking at West Point's National Prayer Breakfast on 8 February 2012. In fulfilling its commitment to the community, the United States Military Academy will feature another speaker for the event. This old sold...
Upper Left - 12:42 p.m.
“Down in a hole, Jesus tries to crack a smile…beneath another shovel load.“ - Soundgarden 1994 Using Soundgarden lyrics for vague political tinged quotes…makes more sense to me, than the Susan G. Komen’s race to defund the cancer screeners. But I suppose that’s why God created hydraulic fracturing – to create flammable drinking water and [...] ...
The Vigilant Lens - 12:08 p.m.
Eric dP: My top recommendation this week is the Boston Globe’s first-rate photo essay on the global coal industry . I got some laughs from Local Brew’s comedy series. (The snowmadgeddon piece is the best one.) And with a tip o’ the hat to former Sightline intern Matt Schoellhamer, I note that NBA superstar Lebron James could … read more » ...
Sightline Daily Score - 10:09 a.m.
Erica C. Barnett reports on a new study on gendered disparities in public transit. And while the study didn’t apply to Puget Sound transit orgs, Barnett looks at their conclusions and at Sound Transit, finding them lacking in at least one area. What are the implications? The Atlantic suggests that if transit agencies take women’s needs [...]...
HorsesAss - 8:09 a.m.
When Gov. Christine Gregoire signs same-sex marriage into law the week after next, Washington state will be catching up to that uber-liberal state known as Iowa. So when they heard the news, the Des Moines chapter of Drinking Liberally couldn’t resist teasing us a bit at the same time they sent a congratulatory message: ...
HorsesAss - 12:08 a.m. - 10 clicks
Always a good question. Maybe the question. Robert Reich asks it this time... What's the economy for, anyway? We should all be asking it, all the time. ...
Upper Left - Thu 10:09 p.m.
If the answer is yes , then please see me below the Fleur-de-Kos, so that I might inveigle you into dispensing to me some of your wisdom ... If not, take a chance, you might learn something, or better yet, find yourself engaged enough in the conversation to go out and find a candidate of your own to Manage ... ...
DailyKos (Washington) - Thu 9:43 p.m.
Dumb as he may be, Sherrif Dave apparently isn't as dumb as he might be... U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert, R-Auburn, will not run against Democratic U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell this year, a high-level Republican source said Thursday. ...
Upper Left - Thu 8:40 p.m. - 13 clicks
Chris in Paris inquires... Whose side is Rick Santorum on here? Since you asked, it's simple enough. Regardless of where "here" is, Rick Santorum is always on the wrong side and never on our side. ...
Upper Left - Thu 6:46 p.m.
Progressive wars are fought by the children of the Teabanging élite. Conservative chickenhawk wars are fought by the children of the Liberal élite. The wars against common sense are waged against us, because sugar is as good for you, as torture gets to the truth. We can’t blame the corn for its syrup, any more [...] ...
The Vigilant Lens - Thu 11:27 a.m.
My motivations for resolving to buy nothing new in 2012 are numerous, but chief among them is the desire to save money. It’s a point I want to stress because saving money appeals to just about everybody. Unlike cutting costs, though, efforts to live more sustainably have the potential to alienate some people. And while I hope my ‘year of nothing new’ will cut my family’s cl...
Sightline Daily Score - Thu 11:27 a.m.
- Reproductive Health and Rights Lobby Day - Darryl noted the state senate passing the marriage equality bill. Andrew has more details including the roll call. - And a couple bad bills fail to make it to the floor. - In other states: Do not let the media silence fool you: Hoosiers are making noise. - Republican [...]...
HorsesAss - Thu 8:28 a.m.
It was expected, but it's always a relief when it actually happens: On Wednesday night, by a 28-21 margin, Washington's state Senate passed a bill that would legalize marriage between members of the same sex. The state House is expected to follow suit next week, and Democratic Gov. Christine Gregoire has promised to sign the legislation. So how did the vote break down? The bill passed with...
DailyKos (Washington) - Thu 8:28 a.m.
AVAILABLE at 1400 PT - ...In prepared remarks to a Las Vegas association of family-owned casinos and defense contractors, Romney questioned the President's aggressiveness on fighting terrorism. "Every time I turn on Fox News, I see President Obama killing the Taliban with drone strikes, or sending Navy SEAL teams to kill Osama Bin Laden, or rescuing hostages from pirates,"... ...
Mr_Blog - Thu 8:00 a.m.
Not just a good idea, it's about to be the law… 7:58 p.m. "Mr. President, 28 yeas, 21 nays." (That's 24 Democrats and 4 Republicans voting yea, and 3 Democrats and 18 Republicans voting nay.) THE BILL PASSES. It now goes on to the state house, where it's assured passage, and then to the governor's desk, where it's assured her signature. The good guys win again. The fundies are going to...
Upper Left - Thu 1:44 a.m.
TAMPA, Fla. -- Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney coasted to a 14-point victory over Newt Gingrich in Florida's Republican presidential primary Tuesday after a bruising battle in which both campaigns and their backers spent an estimated $19 million attacking each other. H/T. The best part; ORLANDO, Fla. — Republican presidential contender Newt Gingrich said Tuesday that his second...
Ornery Bastard - Wed 10:23 p.m.
Senate Bill 6239 that legalizes same-sex marriage, passed tonight. The Senate was the big hurdle for this bill, pushed by Gov. Christine Gregoire as part of her final agenda as Governor. The bill passed 28 to 21. That’s quite a shift from two weeks ago, when only 23 Senators publicly supported it. Sen. [...]...
HorsesAss - Wed 9:49 p.m. - 12 clicks
Wonderful, wonderful news to celebrate tonight: After a debate that stretched for more than an hour and a half, and saw the adoption and rejection of more than a dozen amendments, Washington’s state Senate has voted to approve legislation making marriage equality the law of the land. The vote was twenty-eight to twenty-one. Four Republicans [...]...
Northwest Progressive Institute Official Blog - Wed 9:05 p.m. - 14 clicks
I’d like to follow up on Darryl’s piece about Darcy Burner’s polling. Specifically going after the unelectable meme. That she’s “some kind of ultra-liberal Daily Kos Manchurian Candidate destined to be an also-ran.” Darryl does good work dispelling it. Leaving aside the Kos thing, I think you have to say that the most important factor [...]...
HorsesAss - Wed 9:05 p.m.
Washington state residents have reason to be crying tears of pride and joy this hour, as the Washington state senate has voted 28-21 in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage. The house is expected to vote as early as Feb. 8, and is expected to easily pass the legislation. Our governor, Christine Gregoire, blessings on her house, has said she will sign it. Folks, we are on the brink of beco...
DailyKos (Washington) - Wed 9:05 p.m. - 12 clicks
The Bellingham Herald's Jared Paben reports ... The bill that would suspend changes in the minimum wage during times of high unemployment failed to make it out of a state House of Representatives committee. The same goes for the bill that would allow restaurants to pay servers less than Washington’s minimum wage if they would make that amount counting their tips. Put it in the "Why majorit...
Upper Left - Wed 8:06 p.m. - 14 clicks
Ian Murphy ... Polygamous, aggressive when threatened, and insulated by a thick layer of blubber, Newt Gingrich is the walrus of American politics… Really deserves the attention of someone with better Photoshop skills than I possess. Drifty ? Bluegal , maybe? ...
Upper Left - Wed 7:08 p.m.
Back in August, we published a post —and an op-ed in the Seattle Times —arguing that Washington cities ought to be able to lower speed limits on non-arterial streets without costly red tape. Moderate reductions in speed save lives and make streets safe—for kids, elderly, pedestrians, bikers, and drivers. In the months since, a bill has emerged in Olympia, championed by Sta...
Sightline Daily Score - Wed 5:40 p.m. - 12 clicks
The first time I met Gail Achterman was in the late 1990s. I was apprehensive, expecting a whip-smart but hard-edged lawyer. Her reputation was that of a policy fixer, depended on by Oregon governors to bargain out compromises on complicated natural resource conflicts like spotted owls and old growth forests. Instead, I found a friend. Sure, she was formidably intelligent, and she was impatient w...
Sightline Daily Score - Wed 4:02 p.m.
By “Romney family member,” I mean the Romeny’s former family dog, an Irish Setter named Seamus. Seamus achieved fame and glory during the 2008 presidential campaign cycle after one of Romney’s sons told a treasured family story: In June 2007 the Boston Globe reported that in 1983, current Republican presidential hopeful (and [...]...
HorsesAss - Wed 2:46 p.m.
A few days ago, White House officials let it be known that President Obama would be stopping in Washington State again for a mid-February visit. They didn’t announce his itinerary or schedule, but we figured it wouldn’t be long before the campaign began sending out invitations to fundraisers with the President. Yesterday, the first invitations [...]...
Northwest Progressive Institute Official Blog - Wed 12:05 p.m. - 13 clicks
The Darcy Burner campaign has released a second in-house poll for WA-1 (and accompanying memo). And it looks very good for Burner on the Democratic side. Campaigns normally don’t release internal polls unless there is some advantage to doing so. So we’ll look at the positives, and then read between [...]...
HorsesAss - Wed 11:23 a.m.
Or, "Buddy, can you buy a book?" Jonathan Bernstein , on why the grifter ain't going away... Remember, you need an enormous number of votes to be elected President of the United States, and quite a few votes to be nominated for that office. But you can make a very good living off of a fairly small number of dupes, as long as they're rich enough and willing to keep shelling out for every new ...
Upper Left - Wed 10:04 a.m.
Big media wants you to know, that it doesn’t matter what you think that you know. And that’s about it. From the AP we are warned that – ‘Iran said greater threat, while al-Qaida declines‘. From the bowels of the Washington Post’s Greg Miller, we can smell that: ‘Iran, perceiving threat from the West, willing [...] ...
The Vigilant Lens - Tue 10:07 p.m. - 9 clicks
Oregon’s congressional delegation is finally whole again. After having spent nearly six months without representation in Congress, voters in the Beaver State’s 1st Congressional District (which spans the northwestern part of the state) finally got the chance this month to choose a new representative to serve them in the U.S. House. And tonight, with the [...]...
Northwest Progressive Institute Official Blog - Tue 9:05 p.m.
Earlier today, along with NPI board member Steve Zemke and NPI contributor Steve Breaux, I participated in a public hearing in support of House Bill 2499, prime sponsored by Representative Andy Billig. HB 2499 would require advertising for or against ballot measures in Washington to include the name and address of the entity paying for [...]...
Northwest Progressive Institute Official Blog - Tue 4:07 p.m. - 16 clicks
In a matter of hours, Washington’s Senate is set to take up Ed Murray’s bill, SB 6239, to make marriage equality the law of the land across the Evergreen State. At least twenty-five senators (including some Republicans) have already committed to vote in favor of the bill, so it is expected to pass. However, if [...]...
Northwest Progressive Institute Official Blog - Tue 4:07 p.m. - 17 clicks
British Tourists Barred From Entering U.S. Over Tweet About ‘Destroying America’. Except 'destroying" is British slang for 'having a good time'. Don't know what's worse the way that homeland security acted or the fact that they're capable of monitoring your tweets and then tracking your movements. ...
ArtistDogBoy - Tue 2:46 p.m.
One of our most important projects, which we’ve been investing a lot of energy into lately, is turning seven today: Pacific NW Portal, first launched on January 31st, 2005, has now been online for a grand total of eighty four months. Since the day it launched, it’s helped to bring the netroots of Washington, Oregon, [...]...
Northwest Progressive Institute Official Blog - Tue 2:01 p.m. - 14 clicks
The end of 2011 brought both good news and bad news for Spokane. The good news was that in late December, the city council voted to change Spokane’s municipal code to require that street reconstruction projects include pedestrian and bike infrastructure. The bad news was that this vote came during the last council meeting of the year. And with four of seven council members to be replaced in 2012, ...
Sightline Daily Score - Tue 12:04 p.m. - 13 clicks
Last week in his State of the Union Address, President Barack Obama renewed the call to end the little-known unethical practice that helps members of Congress increase their wealth through insider trading. Today the Senate will consider S. 2038, sponsored by Senator Joe Lieberman (Party of One – Connecticut) which will prohibit members from trading [...]...
Northwest Progressive Institute Official Blog - Tue 7:26 a.m.
Bill White , Commander, American National Socialist Party... (Ron) Paul is a white nationalist of the Stormfront type who has always kept his racial views and his views about world Judaism quiet because of his political position. It takes a Nazi to know... ...
Upper Left - Tue 2:25 a.m.
Matt Tabbai ... If Gingrich ends up winning the nomination, Obama will essentially be running against the political version of Gilbert Gottfried or raw garlic. H/T Howie . ...
Upper Left - Tue 1:49 a.m.
…so help Charles Pierce … ...there is nothing important about Willard Romney as a candidate that has changed at all. He is still an unprincipled opportunist, incapable of telling the truth about his own record, and utterly without conscience when it comes to lying about someone else. ...
Upper Left - Tue 1:29 a.m. - 14 clicks
It is just all the Demons in Hell celebrating my birthday, fifty two years ago. As I recall from my Birth Certificate, I was born at 2:10 AM on January 31st, 1960. That was a long time ago. Just about the time the Oakland Raiders came into being too. Of course, having been shat out in Oakland, ya damn well know I have been a Raiders fan my entire life. No Color television, no remotes even, I W...
Ornery Bastard - Mon 5:44 p.m.
The Seattle Times has a roundup of presidential campaign activity in Washington state, which often – with its relatively late March 6 caucuses – isn’t a big factor in presidential nominations. If the battle for the nomination is still alive then, though, Washington could be a hotbed. In some ways, it’s a national mirror. The [...]...
Ridenbaugh Press (Washington) - Mon 11:00 a.m. - 16 clicks
George Clooney is a lot like Kevin Costner – in that neither of them starred in Avatar. When I saw Avatar, I was certain that Costner was in it, even though I’d just watched it without him in it. Having just watched The Descendants with a roomful of swooning 67- year-olds…I was certain that Don [...] ...
The Vigilant Lens - Mon 10:22 a.m.
Tight budgets and the internet have given rise to the hottest new thing in travel accommodations. Web-based company Airbnb has received a lot of press recently for its for-profit service that matches travelers with spare bedrooms, such as mine (pictured above). It’s already growing like moss in the Northwest winter, but the potential is much bigger than most have considered. Airbnb and other com...
Sightline Daily Score - Mon 10:22 a.m.
AVAILABLE at 1400 PT - (Westernmost, Florida) Just in time for tomorrow's Sunshine State primary vote comes the quadrennial Republican Deaf Politics Tour through the panhandle. The fun happens tonight at 8 pm at Westernmost's Comcast MetLife Home Depot Staples Arena. This year four comedians are featured in the highly anticipated laughfest, with routines that have become recognizable on Fox News,...
Mr_Blog - Mon 9:49 a.m.
...via Tbogg ... Top ten states for divorce: 1. Oklahoma 2. Arkansas 3. Alaska 4. Alabama 5. Kentucky 6. Nevada 7. Mississippi 8. Georgia 9. Tennessee 10. Arizona ...
Upper Left - Sun 11:09 p.m.
Take a gander of what this guy points out, oh, so well. It is to my discredit that I have not pointed him out far sooner, maybe my guilty pleasure. Please let me introduce to you, Grung E Gene, from Disaffected and It Feels So Good . Please take a moment and let what he said sink in. Tell him Busted sent ya too. He has been on Ye Olde Blogroll for quite a while now. ...
Ornery Bastard - Sun 6:27 p.m.
Jennifer Granholm , former governor of Michigan... "If you want to have a strong country, you have to make things." Yep. ...
Upper Left - Sun 3:09 p.m.
I finally got around to changing the belt on my Moms Kirby vacuum cleaner . I got in the closet and drug the sonofabitch out, sat down and realized there were some parts missing. I got back in the closet and drug out anything remotely looking like vacuum cleaner parts and sat back down. I sat and stared at the fucking thing for a good full minute, trying to figure out what I was going to have t...
Ornery Bastard - Sun 2:24 p.m.
Er, wait, that didn't come out right. Speaking of Right, the current Greek Tragedy of the Republican nomination process just took a turn I would never, ever expect to see. After all, Newt is a master of the racist dogwhistle. Desperate, are we? Myself, I am a lily white fella from Irish descent and if I were to meet Newt face to face, one of us would walk away with a slight discoloration un...
Ornery Bastard - Sat 9:40 p.m.
One of the funniest motherfuckers I have ever seen in my entire life, bar none. The man pulled no punches. RIP Richard. ...
Ornery Bastard - Sat 8:48 p.m.
Out here in Cascadia, we have a lot of fire lookouts. These were manned stations built on high ridges and mountain peaks to watch for forest fires. Because of the remote locations, at least in the western states, it wasn't possible to have daily shift changes, so the crews simply lived at the stations. The lockouts were equipped with special fire spotting equipment, such as the...
DailyKos (Washington) - Sat 4:03 p.m. - 4 clicks
Finding ourselves doesn’t require courage. Challenging ourselves to find the courage remains the requirement. It was from within the middle of many an Indiana field of corn – that my friends and I searched for ourselves. The corn was not yet Monsantoized, but the Maize had long ago been stolen. The history of the corn [...] ...
The Vigilant Lens - Sat 11:26 a.m.
In the '60's, Stan Freberg recorded this spoof of the Lawrence Welk Show as it existed in the late 1950s, early 1960s. Welk, who was the purveyor of pure midwestern corn set to treacly music with an orchestra led by......
BlatherWatch - Sat 7:41 a.m. - 24 clicks
It's Saturday morning in Central Florida, the fleas are hoppin' even though it's cold, just not cold enough to kill those little buggers. My little cottage and two mini dogs and myself are just getting over a costly infestation so I am not in a good mood. Their little bodies are strewn about and if you look carefully around you might see one or 500 dead ones small enough to ig...
DailyKos (Washington) - Sat 7:24 a.m.
...a random ten. I like the way those three 'town' tunes pop up in order...seems to make it mean something somehow... Grayson Capps - Highway 42 Tom Paxton - Sully's Pail Warren Zevon - Empty Hearted Town Rick Nelson - Lonesome Town Nancy Sinatra - Sugar Town Dillard & Clark - Train Leaves Here This Morning Buddy Holly - True Love Ways Buffalo Springfield - Sit Down I Think I Love You Chris Isaak ...
Upper Left - Sat 2:04 a.m.
... go Newt go ! Obama 100.0% probability of winning Mean of 416 electoral votes Gingrich 0.0% probability of winning Mean of 122 electoral votes ...
Upper Left - Sat 12:27 a.m.
Forgive me for remebering that classic line from The Jackie Gleason Show but now I am hearing that the Crazy Fuck known as Newt Fucking Gingrich promises us he will colonize the moon if elected President. In light of all of our economic woes, I fully and completely back this outrageous idea. As long as every fucking crazy Republican candidate is on board the first rocket. Start with the current...
Ornery Bastard - Jan 27
George W. Bush was a great man in the eye of many a beholder. Like myself, George spent quite a bit of time drinking his way into owning a baseball team…which of course, then qualified us to pretend to run a country. As an added bonus, neither of our combined awesomeness has yet been mentioned [...] ...
The Vigilant Lens - Jan 27
Editor’s note: We’re curious what readers think of this series. Is it useful? What do you like most? How can we make it better? Leave a note in comments. Eric dP: My top recommendation this week goes to James Wells’ righteous rant at Daily Kos , “ Pretty Much the Dumbest Idea Ever .” Wells unleashes a real fire-breather on the Northwest coal export plans: The plan is to di...
Sightline Daily Score - Jan 27
How fucking jingoistic-ly arrogant is it of Newt Gingrich to say he wants to turn the moon into the 51st US state? No wonder the rest of the world thinks we've lost our minds. Maybe he should check out the legality of that first. Here's the international treaty language on the uses of outer space: "Outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies,...
ArtistDogBoy - Jan 27
There's a bill in the legislature - once again - to ban the crude and barbaric practice of capital punishment... it is said to have a better chance this year than usual...Here's our post from September 2010 when the last......
BlatherWatch - Jan 27
It's nice to have friends. My buddy Steve showed up and used his Chrysler mini van with plastic bumpers to push that old Chevy around , backwards, forwards, into the drive way and into the garage head first where I can jack the fucker up and get under it. Bonus, he is the shit, he brought me some jack stands too. Double bonus points, my buddy and his partner in crime Tim showed up to make sure ...
Ornery Bastard - Jan 26
Matt Osborne reminds us... Newt Gingrich is the only Speaker of the House ever to be sanctioned in office. ...
Upper Left - Jan 26
Superheroes come in so many forms, that it’s hard for us to distinguish the K Street lobbyists from the Midwestern sales-rep for Lockheed Martin. Which is why Ralph Nader frightens progressive Democrats…far more than he bothers repressive Teabangers. And that, my fair-weather Twitter friends…is what we in the business of pointing shit out call…a clue. [...] ...
The Vigilant Lens - Jan 26
If you're out to raise money for transportation projects, one of the more clever methods is the so-called "barrel fee" that is the centerpiece of Governor Gregoire's new transportation package . It's structured in such a way that it minimizes impacts on Washington by effectively off-loading the costs to oil companies and out-of-state drivers. In fact, my back-of-the-envelope estimate is that for ...
Sightline Daily Score - Jan 26 - 10 clicks
David Dayen of firedoglake and Sam Seder discuss President Obama's State of the Union Address, the overall problem with underwater and foreclosed properties and whether New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman will sell out on mortgage fraud. ...
ArtistDogBoy - Jan 26
I regret the daily, even hourly, use of awesome! to express mild approval, when the antiquated Neat! or Dig it! or the still cool Cool! are hyperbole enough to high-five the fact that we will meet later for a beer......
BlatherWatch - Jan 26
The letter isn't addressed to anyone. It is addressed to everyone. Defending the notion that the civil rights associated with marriage should be preserved according to religious doctrine, 30 religious organizations representing various Roman Catholic, Latter Day Saints (LDS or Mormon), Lutheran, Wesleyan, Evangelical and Pentecostal, Baptist and Southern Baptist churches and organizatio...
DailyKos (Washington) - Jan 25
Stupid sonsabitches ran all the hot wires to the whole car from the starter solenoid. Like you can slide under a 1980 El Camino in a parking lot. All because of some fucking vacuum cleaner belts that my mom ordered on line over a month ago, called about last week and never fucking showed up. I crawled under that fucker with a pocket knife and finally got it to turn over untill my face turned b...
Ornery Bastard - Jan 25
Warren Buffett , whose straw is longer than yours or mine or yours and mine added up... "I want a government that is responsive to the people who got the short straw in life.” Me too. ...
Upper Left - Jan 25
A significant change in status that doesn’t seem to have gotten a lot of attention yet. To this point, when Washington state officially talks about its “state universities,” it means the University of Washington and Washington State University – those two and no others. (Similarly, the only official “state college” is the Evergreen State College [...]...
Ridenbaugh Press (Washington) - Jan 25 - 4 clicks
AVAILABLE at 1400 PT - ..."I support the President's goal of making government leaner, if that means smaller," said House Speaker John Boehner, who in turn issued his own challenge to the White House. "Most of what government is are laws. If we get rid of the securities laws strangling our financial sector, we reduce the size of government and, by definition, we end Wall Street crime. No more eco...
Mr_Blog - Jan 25
One of my favorite pretend poets was a fictional DJ who lived in a fictional Alaskan town. He worked at a fictional radio station that was owned by a fictional old-school conservative – who coveted an 18-year-old Canadian girl. Sure fictional art can imitate life. Nancy Pelosi just sent me an email in which she [...] ...
The Vigilant Lens - Jan 25
We’ve already seen how coal dust looks near export terminals at Point Roberts and Prince Rupert , British Columbia. Now let’s take a gander at the export facility at Seward, Alaska. As a 2010 article in the Anchorage Daily News calls it : When the north wind blows in Seward, dust flies off a large pile of coal and … read more » ...
Sightline Daily Score - Jan 25
See the previous post, I fell alseep about ten minutes in. So much for great oratory. Yawn. ...
Ornery Bastard - Jan 24
I keep my personal life on the down-low here at Blatherwatch. I piss people off more than occasionally, and have always figured my family doesn't deserve to suffer the consequences of my tasteless, infuriating, and so often senseless blathering. But......
BlatherWatch - Jan 24
Welcome all to NPI’s 2012 coverage of the State of the Union address. We’ll be updating this post periodically throughout the President’s speech. Various dignitaries are currently filing into the House chamber, and Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) just entered the chamber to a standing ovation. Giffords looks radiant. Her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly is a [...]...
Northwest Progressive Institute Official Blog - Jan 24
I need a shower and a shave in the worst way and I sure as shit hope that ain't my feet I smell, I think the cat has been rolling in something in the back yard. Been working, been busy, been tired. I asked the beauty to tune in the State of The Union on an alternate television because I am a nice fucking guy but I want to see it after all the goat fucking I have been exposed to lately, a jack as...
Ornery Bastard - Jan 24
Here’s a look at the latest coal report from the US EIA, taking us up through the third quarter of 2011. In this chart, you see the past 15 years of quarterly data. I’m showing Customs Districts here, not ports. The Port of Seattle does not move coal. But some coal does get exported out of the Seattle Customs District region by way of the rail crossing at Blaine, Washingt...
Sightline Daily Score - Jan 24 - 5 clicks
While we were out, common sense called us. She’s left several messages, but we’re not really big on returning the calls of common sense. We will however, always return the calls of ‘absolutely no basis in reality’. Which makes sense. Our old friend common sense last tried to reach us, just before Saddam’s non-existent Anthrax [...] ...
The Vigilant Lens - Jan 24
Dearest Occupy Seattle. “We do have a grand strategy, Nonviolent movements shift power by attacking the columns that hold the power structure in place. Those columns are the military, police, media, business, workers, youth, faith groups, NGOs and civil servants. Every time we deal with the police, we have that in mind. The goal is not to hit them, hit them, hit them and weaken them. The ...
ArtistDogBoy - Jan 24 - 6 clicks
It's wrong to put civil rights up for a vote. Oh well. There are potentially going to be a lot of wrongs come November, 2012. What's a few more? How much would YOU pay for a marriage equality ballot initiative? You probably read about The Washington State Senate today getting its needed 25th vote for marriage equality, and that the Washington State Assembly should hav...
DailyKos (Washington) - Jan 23 - 4 clicks
Archbishop J. Peter Sartain D.D., S.T.L. ( Archdiocese of Seattle ) From Dominic Holden at Slog: That was fast. When I went to Sunday mass last week as St. James Cathedral, their leadership was evasive and downright elusive when asked about the local Catholic Church's new campaign to oppose a same-sex marriage bill. But this week, the Catholic Church's position was in black and whit...
DailyKos (Washington) - Jan 23 - 4 clicks
AVAILABLE at 1600 PT - (Tampa) Mitt Romney picked up a key endorsement today, as he took his struggling campaign into Florida ahead of that state's January 31 Republican primary. The Romney campaign came to Tampa intent on shaking off Saturday's loss to former House Speaker Newt Gingrich in the South Carolina GOP primary. The former Massachusetts governor used an appearance at a roundtable here t...
Mr_Blog - Jan 23
Great news this afternoon: We finally have the votes to pass marriage equality in the Washington State Legislature! Minutes ago, Senator Mary Margaret Haugen – who had previously said she was only willing to support putting the issue on the ballot for a public vote – reversed her position and decided to join the forces [...]...
Northwest Progressive Institute Official Blog - Jan 23 - 3 clicks
Margarethe Cammermeyer listens to Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire announce support for legalizing gay marriage. Cammermeyer, a colonel in the Washington State National Guard, was discharged for admitting she was a lesbian in 1989, before being re-instated by court order in 1992 and served till her retirement in 1997. (Robert Sorbo/Reuters) How can Newt Gingrich's third marriage survive th...
DailyKos (Washington) - Jan 23
As the branches of Glenn Beck’s psychosis battle the looming corporatocracy for daylight…I’m left wondering, why can’t we get some sort of awesome socialist dental care from the current Oligarchy? Quick. What’s more frightening to 97% of We the Patriot Acted? 12 brown-skinned, wrong religion practicing humans who live in far away lands…who would find [...] ...
The Vigilant Lens - Jan 23
... what digby said ... When the authorities find themselves groping a US Senator's crotch in public without any suspicion of criminal activity, something's gone wrong. ...
Upper Left - Jan 23
PZ Meyers ... I think we can safely say that no Republican should be allowed anywhere near the reins of government. Ya' think? Me too, and not just because, as Dr. Meyers laments, " They're anti-science through and through ," though Cthulhu knows that's reason enough. ...
Upper Left - Jan 23
Big, big news out of Waterloo (Ontario) tonight: BlackBerry maker Research in Motion, one of Canada’s largest and most prestigious companies, has announced that its two top executives – who have jointly led the company as as co-chief executive officers and co-chairmen of the board for many years – are stepping down from those positions, [...]...
Northwest Progressive Institute Official Blog - Jan 22 - 2 clicks
AP) PANAMA CITY, Panama — A company expanding the Panama Canal has settled a strike by 6,000 workers that had paralyzed work for six days. The multinational consortium Grupo Unidos por el Canal says in a news release that the workers have agreed to a 13 percent wage increase and will return to work on Monday. Union representative Saul Mendez says workers are not completely happy w...
Ornery Bastard - Jan 22
Fourth and six, three points down in a Championship game,three minutes left, you use a time out and instead kicking a motherfucking field goal to tie it up and possibly go into overtime, instead, you opt to go for it. Idiots . Then ya get down to the last of the game and actually try to tie it up annnnnnd no. Missed the fucking field goal. There is a coach who should unemployed before I g...
Ornery Bastard - Jan 22
I know I’m late in writing about this. I had to deal with the continuing aftermath of my husband’s abrupt walkout on our marriage a few weeks ago, continuing physical therapy for my left hip (I had surgery back in September), and visiting my mother in rehab. If all that wasn’t enough, I also lost my cell phone at the Occupy Congress event, which I didn’t realize until after I returned to the Uni...
DailyKos (Washington) - Jan 22
If news networks’ projections are to be believed, Newt Gingrich has just won the 2012 South Carolina Republican primary, making him the third candidate in the party’s narrowing presidential field to have won a nominating contest this month. As pundits on cable television are noting, never before have Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina Republicans [...]...
Northwest Progressive Institute Official Blog - Jan 21
Here's a video I shot of this angry belligerent man at the Occupy Congress event outside the U.S. Capitol Building on January 17. As this guy was yelling and screaming his pants dropped, revealing his boxer shorts. He even took off his shirt even though it's winter. He threatened one of the protesters with beating him up until he resembled a box of crayons. It's a miracle that no punches were th...
DailyKos (Washington) - Jan 21
Wahh, they aren't getting obscene bonuses this year. Some are not getting any at all. The fucking horror. "It's a bloodbath," a midlevel Goldman Sachs employee said in an interview with CNBC. "One girl was actually crying, I think," another Goldman employee said according to the report . Some first-year Goldman analysts received $40,000 bonuses , and some second-year analysts receive...
Ornery Bastard - Jan 21
Remember when radio news mattered enough that they actually hired a full newsroom? Here's a 710 KIRO promo from about 1982. Notables making appearances: Besides Jim French, Bob Blackburn, Andy Ludlum, Dave Stone, Chris Rose, Jim French, Terry Rose and......
BlatherWatch - Jan 21 - 3 clicks
I was so saddened to see the passing of Etta . Dayum, that woman could make a dead man pay attention. Get after it baby. ...
Ornery Bastard - Jan 20
Sorry, my Irony meter started spinning like a gyroscope when I saw this one. Newt rips into the media for questioning him about allegations by his second wife that he asked for an open marriage because he was dicking Calista while he was married and howling like a wolf at the moon about Bill Clinton's affair with the famous blue dress at the same time.. Dude, The hubris burns. What do...
Ornery Bastard - Jan 20
As we reported earlier today, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has scrapped plans to hold a vote on the “Protect IP Act”, also known as PIPA, next Tuesday. PIPA is one of the two MPAA and RIAA-backed bills that would permit major media conglomerates to indirectly censor the Internet, using the long arm of the [...]...
Northwest Progressive Institute Official Blog - Jan 20
Microsoft Corporation, the most successful big business in the Northwest, spoke out yesterday on a piece of Washington state legislation (which is within a single legislative vote of having enough for passage) which it said would help its business, and it got five other businesses to go along in the announcement. The legislation happens to [...]...
Ridenbaugh Press (Washington) - Jan 20 - 4 clicks
The snow, then ice, then rain, then power outages at the legislative building – the very religiously inclined might almost wonder if someone is trying to keep the House Committee on Education today from holding a hearing on the charter school bill. Considering how short the session is, the delay could be fatal. The bill, [...]...
Ridenbaugh Press (Washington) - Jan 20
Another victory! From Senator Harry Reid’s office: In light of recent events, I have decided to postpone Tuesday’s vote on the PROTECT I.P. Act. There is no reason that the legitimate issues raised by many about this bill cannot be resolved. Counterfeiting and piracy cost the American economy billions of dollars and thousands of jobs [...]...
Northwest Progressive Institute Official Blog - Jan 20
Those idiot birthers that,cain't have no black folks around and general deniers of scientific theory, specifically those who think the Earth is only six thousand years old, flat and don't believe in evolution can now kiss my fucking ass on Main street at High Noon . Have a nice dose of Darwinism. The theory of evolution is that certain species adapt to environmental stimuli to beat out and a...
Ornery Bastard - Jan 19
We might not be the 99%er's, but we can seriously deliver a swift kick in the balls when it counts. Some folks woke up holding theirs in their hands this morning. When ya piss off Google and Wikipedia, people stand up and take notice. Especially some craven fucking asshole politicians. Us wee little Bloggers might not have made that much of a difference but if ya don't hang together, ya han...
Ornery Bastard - Jan 19
The jobs creation numbers are bullshit . The only numbers that count are the head count of the oil industry's bought and sold politicians in the House of Representatives. ...
ArtistDogBoy - Jan 19
(Available 1/19, 1400PT) ..."We talk of how much we value peace, but no one really knows what the value of peace is," said Romney. "I will find out, by negotiating with other countries in one-to-one, free market-style transactions -- because markets work, my friends"... ...
Mr_Blog - Jan 19
Governor Chris Gregoire proclaimed a winter storm emergency this morning, following a series of events that have forced schools and offices to shut their doors and made many roads impassable. “This is purely a precautionary measure,” Gregoire said in a news release. “So far, we haven’t received any requests for state assistance – but we [...]...
Northwest Progressive Institute Official Blog - Jan 19
Today, many of the most prominent websites (Wikipedia, Google, and many more) are symbolically “going black”, presenting arguments against SOPA (H.R.3261, the Stop Internet Piracy Act) and PIPA (S.968, the PROTECT Intellectual Property Act ... where PROTECT is actually an acronym for Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of). I’d join them if I kne...
Peace Tree Farm - Jan 18
Here’s a thought for how to deal with street gangs: Sue ‘em. Okay, sounds like a joke. But House Bill 2594 is actually an interesting idea, providing (with rules-style specifics on how it operates) the ability for a state or local prosecutor to ask a judge for a specific street gang injunction, intended to put [...]...
Ridenbaugh Press (Washington) - Jan 18
Since I just completed two Washington Dem gerrymanders , one clean and one dirty, I thought I would try my hand at drawing a Republican fantasy gerrymander with the goal of creating six Republican seats. I believe I have succeeded, although not all seats are entirely safe. 5 are at least R+4, and Dave Reichert gets a seat he shouldn't have any trouble winning. I also tried to ...
DailyKos (Washington) - Jan 18 - 9 clicks
We have very pressing family affairs to attend to. We'll be blogging lite for a while....
BlatherWatch - Jan 17
So far 26 Washington House members (all Democrats to date) have signed on with House Bill 2463, which would impose a capital gains tax – but with a twist: Just capital gains over $10,000, amounts below that being exempted. Washington doesn’t have a capital gains tax at all, which sets it out from the other [...]...
Ridenbaugh Press (Washington) - Jan 17 - 9 clicks
My internet friend, Just An Earthbound Misfit, I , wandered upon an interesting test. See how many pictures of Cops and Military personnel you can tell the difference between, 21 times. It is quite telling about what has been the militarisation of our police forces over the past thirty years and amazingly enough, even though I have never been in the military, I not only bested her score,(Nav...
Ornery Bastard - Jan 17
(Available 1/17, 1400PT) A California judge threw out Ben Stein's lawsuit against Kyocera Corp. and an advertising agency today, only a week after America's clown economist went to court... ...
Mr_Blog - Jan 17
Washington is one of the few states I had yet to diary where you can really go crazy without having to worry about VRA violations. As any of you who have drawn Washington before know, Seattle is very packed, so my goal was to unpack Seattle and shore up the surrounding districts. The first map is a clean 7-3 map that flips Reichert's seat and creates a new Dem-leaning 10th district. ...
DailyKos (Washington) - Jan 16
I'm not sure but the wife is convinced I got a dose of something from the brand new fry pans I got her. I ate the first meal of bacon and eggs. They tasted fine but she swears that pan smelled funny as it got hot, like it was out gassing something. They are those fancy green non stick (HA!) fry pans they advertise on tee vee. Anyway, went to bed about ten and woke up at twelve thirty and that wa...
Ornery Bastard - Jan 16
(Greenville, SC) Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich yesterday urged Americans not to worry about planned cutbacks at the US Postal Service. "The postal service is, frankly, an example of the type of big government we don't need anymore," Gingrich, the former House Speaker, said in a Sunday address to the First Ultrabaptist Megachurch of Superchrist in Greenville... ...
Mr_Blog - Jan 16
Among the more obscure enthusiasms of much of the Tea Party and some of its acolytes (including freshman Idaho Representative Raul Labrador) is the repeal of the 17th amendment: The one providing that U.S. senators be elected directly by the voters of each state, rather than by state legislatures, as had been the scandal-ridden procedure [...]...
Ridenbaugh Press (Washington) - Jan 16
Remember Courtney Stodden? She's a local girl (Westport, WA) making it BIG in Hollywood. Her talents are obvious and they could make for her a good couple of years in that fair city. Her career could sag if she can't......
BlatherWatch - Jan 16
At some point in the next month, an empty ship will likely arrive at the small port of Longview, Washington on the Columbia River. It's owner's goal will be to have grain already in storage silos there loaded. But just before the ship arrives potentially thousands of the ninety-nine percent are going to show up to try to prevent that from happening. Grain ship being loaded The ILW...
DailyKos (Washington) - Jan 16
From the DNC's Protecting the Vote site. This week saw the war on voting carried to a ridiculous extreme. In order to prove the conservative case that conspiracies to commit voter fraud exist, James O'Keefe carried out a conspiracy to commit voter fraud. It's a stunt that turned the families of the recently deceased into victims, and opens O'Keefe and his minions to criminal prosecuti...
DailyKos (Washington) - Jan 14
I-502 co-sponsor Salvador Mungia addresses the media while pro-502 campaign director Alison Holcomb (left) and Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson (middle) listen. I-502 opponents hold signs in the background. (Photo/Washington Secretary of State) Here’s a hot procedural fight in the making: House Bill 2500, introduced by 10 House Democrats, is intended to put a leash on [...]...
Ridenbaugh Press (Washington) - Jan 14
Now that a lot of redistricting maps at all levels-- Congress, State Legislatures, local-- are complete I thought it would be a good idea for the redistricting community here to work on getting the official maps into the tool of our choice-- Dave's Redistricting App. I started a GDocs folder to collect these maps, but I'll put the links to the maps themselves in this diary as well, and upd...
DailyKos (Washington) - Jan 13
As some regular DKE folks may know, I am a (lonely) advocate for retrocession as the solution to the reprehensible disenfranchisement of the District of Columbia. I attend university just miles into Prince George's County across the state line; I currently work part-time in downtown Washington, D.C. To my way of thinking, D.C. is just too small to be a state, but it's too big and too integral to...
DailyKos (Washington) - Jan 13
Today is The Wife's Birthday, she turned Fifty today. She is a good looking woman with a very fine figure and she puts up with my shit really well. I am waiting for her to get changed, I bought her a gift certificate for Christmas and she went to the spa and got all dolled up today. As if she wasn't hot enough, ooooh, la la! I am one lucky bastard. Sorry, no pictures for the pervs out there, t...
Ornery Bastard - Jan 13
Gov. Christine Gregoire (D-WA) Last week Washington state Gov. Christine Gregoire held a press conference to announce her enthusiastic support for moving the state to full marriage equality. Catholics for Equality in a press release thanking her notes she's the third Catholic governor to do so, after New York's Andrew Cuomo and Maryland's Martin O'Malley. Good news has since been tric...
DailyKos (Washington) - Jan 13
Americans for Prosperity – a group founded (inter-shell) by the hard-right Koch brothers, and highly active in support of Tea Party activities – has released its list of approval and disdain of members of Congress. Whatever your view, it can be considered indicative: You may consider an A or an F from these guys a [...]...
Ridenbaugh Press (Washington) - Jan 13
The short translation, Oh Fuck No! I could give a rats ass who does what when it comes to this goat rodeo anyway. Spend yer monies, knock the crazies and stupid fucks out on the corner on yer way to the next primary and let me know when the biggest fucking hypocrite with the deepest pockets emerges as the apparent winner in your little circle jerk is and then go the fuck away. Go for the th...
Ornery Bastard - Jan 11
Want proof the World Wide Economic Crisis is still in full bloom? England is telling Scotland they are on their own. LONDON -- Breaking up is supposed to be hard to do – but Britain's government confirmed Tuesday it would happily offer Scotland the powers it needs to sever centuries-old ties to England. Prime Minister David Cameron's government said it would sweep away legal hurdles to allow ...
Ornery Bastard - Jan 10
