Sausage Links, media-bashing edition

Lefty blogger David Goldstein at Horse's Ass has been battering the local media lately. Yesterday, he unleashed on Seattle Post-Intelligencer reporter Chris McGann for his coverage of Gov. Chris Gregoire's now infamous state gambling compact. Today he asks Crosscut's Ted Van Dyk to apologize to Gregoire for his own coverage of Casino-gate. ...

Meanwhile, Righty blogger Stefan Sharkansky at Sound Politics goes after The Seattle Times for its story about the Gregoire donors who made it big after they helped her win in 2004. ...

Bigger, faster, stronger: The editorialists at the News Tribune make their case for fast-tracking light rail to ballot boxes. Here at Crosscut, former state Secretary of Transportation Douglas MacDonald says we should rethink plans for trains 'cause buses work better. ...

Bigger, stronger, sadder: The Seattle Times ed board expressed disappointment today with the recent passing of the FISA bill through the House. Oregon Democratic Senate challenger Jeff Merkely laments the bill's passage and tells what its implications are at Daily Kos. ...

Meanwhile, Merkely's opponent, Republican Sen. Gordon Smith, looks to be trying to win over Obama supporters, despite being Sen. John McCain's Oregon campaign chairman. Jeff Mapes at The Oregonian breaks down the Democrats' outcries. ...

How does Greg Nickels take his coffee? The Seattle Times reports the Seattle mayor could be a sidewalk coffee shop enthusiast. ...

Demolition derby? Now that Ballard's "landmark" Denny's is gone, is the Alaskan Way Viaduct next? A committee of stakeholders will discuss it Thursday. ...

Deficit? Recession? War? Not in Canada. The Vancouver Sun reports "O Canada!" is rolling in dough. ...

Bilungual students? Not in Oregon. They take the first step to make English the Official Language of Oregon. ...

Everybody already knows: Lou Guzzo at Whacky Nation calls for a replacement to "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." ...

Everybody's talking about it: Michelle Obama will fund-raise for Gov. Chris Gregoire. Here's the P-I's take. ...

Everybody's voting for it: Dan Savage at The Stranger asks if the people in San Francisco can name a sewage treatment plant after George W. Bush, what should people in Seattle name after Bush? ...

And finally, the quote of the day (via Mapes):

"Germany, a country as cloudy as the Pacific Northwest, is now a world leader in the solar power industry and the quarter-million new jobs it has created. To truly harness its potential, we urgently need real leadership from Washington — leadership that has been missing for decades."

—Barack Obama, speaking in decidedly sunny Fresno

• Clark Fredricksen is a University of Washington student majoring in journalism. You can reach him at clark.fredricksen@crosscut.com.