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In Seattle, let the people 'chill'
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Crosscut most recent
Sausage Links, slow news day edition
The editorial board at the Stranger posted their interview with Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire yesterday — and boy, did she get defensive. Along with saying Republican challenger Dino Rossi's latest ads were "racist" and offensive, the governor got fussy on rapid transit relief, gay marriage, and the economy. Meanwhile, Fox News is making its case reporting on Gregoire's continuing battle with Republicans over tribal gaming compacts, while Rossi will reportedly be endorsed by the Seattle Police Officers' Guild later today. ...
The parade of foolishness
We're into August, which can be a dazzling month in the Northwest, with many things to enjoy and be thankful for: brilliant sunsets, fresh air, sparkling forests and water, music and arts festivals in places large and small, and, not least, an economy that is comparatively stronger than the rest of the country's. But concerns and irritations conspire to break the spell.
The good, the bad, and the vexing
Here are start-of-week cheers and Bronx cheers. First, the good stuff: Dave Niehaus in the Baseball Hall of Fame and justice at Fort Lawton.
Sausage Links, blame-game edition
David Goldstein at Horse's Ass says everyone has missed the boat about the latest mess surrounding the "top-two" primary. The Seattle Times blamed the parties. The parties blamed the state. Others blamed the lawyers. Goldstein, however, says the person to blame for what could be the "most monumental legal fuck up in state history — one which puts the legitimacy of our entire 2008 election in jeopardy" — is state Attorney General Rob McKenna.
Sausage Links, gun-ban edition
It's too soon to tell if gun enthusiasts will henceforth consider June 26 "Possess a Pistol Day," but here's the immediate reactions to the Supreme Court ruling rejecting the D.C. gun ban, from both sides of the aisle: Goldstein, Earling, Obama, McCain. ...
Polimedia lunch links, blackjack edition
Place your bets: Oregon Democrat Jeff Merkley is "something close to an even-money bet" against Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore. ...
Hummers, hybrids, and foreign policy
Back in the run up to the Iraq war, writer Brian Miller was working on an automotive story and dropped by the Seattle Weekly offices with an enormous new Hummer. We'd occasionally go out for test-drives of automobiles — we tooled around downtown's steep hills in one of the first hybrid cars, and the public reaction to that vehicle was strong: Everywhere we went, folks wanted to know what the heck we were driving. Their eyes sparkled like kids seeing a cool new toy. Seattle's reaction to the politically incorrect Hummer was entirely — and predictably — different.
America's national forests are in the middle of a "heritage" crisis as historic structures fall victim to budget cuts, vandalism, and neglect. Northwest forests are not immune, but citizens can help. How about vacationing in a fire lookout this summer?
Another Memorial Day brings another poignant roster of bios and photos paying tribute to those killed in Iraq. Here's honoring a few of them, both for who they really were — and who they weren't.
Also: Whom to blame for gas prices, kudos for the schools supe, Sound Transit's latest audit, and polygamy's free pass.
Rare butterflies in a war zone
The land around Ft. Lewis, or just "off post," as those in the military refer to it, has two competing identities. First and foremost, it has been set aside and used for decades as a training ground for war games. Students at neighboring Pierce College can hear the munitions detonations as persistent rumblings in the distance, a poignant, aural reminder of the war overseas.
The high legal cost of practicing journalism
The demise of newspapers is a very bad thing, and anyone who thinks the Internet will quickly step up to fill the void is delusional. It's hard, for example, to envision even an influential national blog mustering the resources to uncover what The New York Times reports today about retired generals who serve as expert commentators on TV:
Hidden behind that appearance of objectivity, though, is a Pentagon information apparatus that has used those analysts in a campaign to generate favorable news coverage of the administration's wartime performance, an examination by The New York Times has found.
It's hard when a friend goes off to war, especially when the president is envious.
In the Jet County, they're expending a lot of energy bemoaning Boeing's failure to win a big Air Force contract. There's not much locals can do about that. But a university, that's another matter.
The state's congressional delegation and others are shocked that we're shipping defense jobs overseas to Airbus. But isn't that the free trade they're always touting?
Will Paul Allen and Drew Carey succeed in establishing Major League Soccer in Seattle? Some suggest they're kicking the ball uphill.
How would Pacific Northwest history have differed had we taken pioneer James Swan's advice about how to treat the native population?
University of Washington computer science professor Ed Lazowska, a onetime Bush appointee, says scientific research and education are sputtering in the "dark time" of the Bush years. He also says Washington state's higher ed system is failing the next generation.
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Land rush on top of the world
The search for the Northwest Passage spurred the European exploration of the Pacific Northwest. With global warming, Arctic land claims are heating up as the U.S., Canada, Denmark, Russia, Iceland and Norway vie for sea lanes, the seabed and once ice-bound islands. Finally, there's a great visual to sort out these competing claims.
Seattle's money madness
Travels with Charley and GPS
The visual iconography of 'Yes we can'
Tallis in Seattle
Former Seattle Symphony violinist Ralph Heino is dead at 91
It's been a month. What's Bill Gates up to, anyway?
For the first time in history, a woman holds the Coast Guard's port captain post
What a cop will do for free Starbucks
A Miami man is charged with threatening to kill Barack Obama
Sausage Links, slow news day edition
The visual iconography of 'Yes we can'
Sheriff: 'Matter of time' before someone was killed due to lax forest safety laws
The Navy Blue Angels return to an Air Force town — landlocked Spokane
Go eastward, young Americans
How good a deal is Costco, really?
Must be a recession: Whole Foods now stresses bargains
In Seattle, let the people 'chill'
Art Thiel observes 'the world's largest party ... in the world's most uptight nation'
Slade Gorton and Wally Walker aren't behind the Sonics suit, says Howard Schultz's attorney
The name for Wenatchee's new events center: Town Toyota Arena
Art Thiel observes 'the world's largest party ... in the world's most uptight nation'
Sausage Links, 'you'll shoot your Eyman out' edition
Allegiant Air: Corporate smarts or corporate sharks?
Sidewalk crack addict
The Fearmongers, Definers, Swiftboaters, and Borkers square off
Losing your favorite Starbucks? The five stages of grief
Princeton Review confirms Evergreen's status as a tree-hugger's school
Tom Douglas cooks up a real estate design
(Not) in the garden: bees
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