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Crosscut highlights
To appeal to moderates and independents in the next four months, Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain will seem closer on the issues than they really are. Here in Washington, the desire for change, which comes in the form of a Democratic presidential victory, could bode well for incumbent Gov. Chris Gregoire.
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. ...
Sausage Links, debating the polls edition
Washington state pollster Stuart Elway unveiled his latest poll — and it's a doozy. Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire is crushing GOP challenger Dino Rossi by 16 points. A SurveyUSA poll taken last week, however, showed Gregoire only up 49 percent to 46 percent — a pretty big discrepancy. Either way, voters will get a chance to refine their choices in coming months, as the two gubernatorial candidates agreed yesterday to debate at least three times before the Nov. 4 general election. So far, the debates would be in Seattle, Yakima, and Spokane. ...
Sausage Links, endorsement edition
It turned out to be a lucky weekend for civil litigator and state Supreme Court candidate Michael Bond, who got an endorsement Sunday from The Seattle Times because he is not his opponent.
Sausage Links, bag fees and phone ban edition
Plastic bag fees are so rive gauche. First, Seattle instated a 20-cent fee on disposable plastic bags. Then Portland decided to consider a similar idea. Now, the residents of Pullman say they want a bag fee, too. ...
Sausage Links, no pun intended edition
Seattle Post-Inteliigencer political writer Chris McGann reports how Republican gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi's opposition to abortion, gay marriage, gun control, stem cell research and gay rights' expansion has been underplayed by his campaign in an effort to sway liberal voters. Rossi, however, says those aren't the issues he's running on. Meanwhile, Josh Feit at the Stranger has some potentially bad news for Gregoire — the ominous Obama-Rossi yard sign juxtaposition. ...
Sausage Links, Uncle Ted's excellent indictment edition
Seattle Post-Intelligencer columnist Joel Connelly sounds off on the latest bad apple ousted from the Department of Justice, as well as Ted "series of tubes" Stevens' federal indictment in a corruption scandal. Seattle Times chief political reporter David Postman takes a look at what Uncle Ted's indictment means for his chances at re-election, while U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore., joins the parade of GOP members promising to rid themselves of Stevens' campaign donations. ...
The next president will inherit a tough U.S. economy in an increasingly complicated world marketplace. Both candidates have done their share of pandering to ailing industries and workers, but simplistic campaign rhetoric about protectionism isn't going to help the man who wins the White House. Here's why.
Sausage Links, plastic bag identification edition
Democratic congressional candidate Darcy Burner is sitting on a boatload of cash. So far she's raised $1.2 million, while her opponent, Rep. Dave Reichert, R-Auburn, has only received $916,000 from donors. David Goldstein at Horse's Ass has more coverage. ...
Sausage Links, beer for thought edition
Is beer the sleeper issue of the 2008 election? The folks at FiveThirtyEight seem to think so. Apparently, Cindy McCain's company, Hensley & Co., is set to make at least a million bucks from InBev's takeover of Anheuser Busch — a merger which Sen. Barack Obama called a "shame" and which has already sparked some antitrust interest. ...
It's the mother of all political battles. Anything can happen, and it probably will.
Sausage Links, row, row, row your boat edition
Gov. Chris Gregoire spent yesterday on Puget Sound, touting her environmental record while bashing her Republican opponent, Dino Rossi. Seattle Post-Intelligencer columnist Joel Connelly rode along (you can even see him to the left of Gregoire in the Everett Herald's photo of the boat tour), but remained unconvinced of her ability to connect with voters. Here's Sound Politics' take on the story. ...
Sausage Links, transit migraine edition — part deux
Want to know if the new light rail line will stop in your neck of the woods? Any minute now, the Sound Transit board is expected to approve this map of proposed transit routes to be placed on the ballot. For now, here's the buzz:
Who hosed pantyhose?
Michelle Obama's appearance on The View last month — sans pantyhose — has women debating whether to don them or diss them. Pantyhose had already become a topic of conversation on the show when Barbara Walters reluctantly stopped wearing them on the air after her co-hosts convinced her it is no longer necessary. On the day of the Michelle Obama appearance, Walters decided she had better wear them, and then, lo and behold, Obama herself showed up bare-legged. So they asked Obama to weigh in on the debate. She said she does not wear pantyhose because they are uncomfortable, and since she's tall, hard to find in her size. She later clarified that she wore them on cold days and for special occasions.
Lesson in laughter
Controversy this week over the current New Yorker cover, showing Barack and Michelle Obama in all the worst ways the paranoid right could imagine, proves two basic lessons from the history of journalism.
The first is that a medium that is in the process of being overrun by emerging new media had better understand what that involves.
Sausage Links, fancy-pants luncheon edition
The Queen of fist-bumps, New Yorker cover girl Michelle Obama, is in Seattle today to headline a fundraiser for Gov. Chris Gregoire. The event is expected to bring in $400,000 for Gregoire's re-election campaign. Seattle Times chief political reporter David Postman will have live coverage of the event as it develops, while Eli Sanders at the Stranger already has pictures from the WaMu Theater. ...
Sausage Links, cougar-hunting edition
Praise the Lord and release the hounds — because our good state Legislature has enacted a law which makes it legal once again to use dogs to hunt cougars. Now, I didn't even know cougar hunting was legal in Washington — minus Cougars wearing crimson — but apparently, it is. While the bill was actually passed by the Legislature in February, the Department of Fish and Wildlife will hold a public meeting on Friday to discuss whether the pilot program should continue for another three years.
Meanwhile, Micheal Reitz of the Evergreen Freedom Foundation has compiled a list of some other curious laws enacted by the Washington Legislature this year. My personal favorite: Violators may face up to $1,000 or up to a year in jail for selling raw or unprocessed huckleberries without a permit.
Sausage Links, sex, satire, and rock 'n' roll edition
At Horse's Ass, David Goldstein has a lengthy investigative story detailing a case of sexual harassment at the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR). According to a 62-page document obtained from public records, a young woman who worked at the DNR quit her job after being harassed by 68-year-old Commissioner of Public Lands Doug Sutherland. The story goes on to say:
It's time for New York magazine editors, Seattle bank executives, and Puget Sound transportation leaders to exit their elevators — at the lobby level.
Sausage Links, tree-cutting edition
Timber! The Seattle Times has a series of special reports about the lack of oversight in the logging industry and the cost to state taxpayers. According to the report, no one checked when Weyerhaeuser started clear-cutting unstable slopes, some of which eventually slid and cost millions of dollars to clean up. Naturally, David Goldstein at Horse's Ass blames Republican-led deregulation. ...RSS FEED
Other media
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'
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?
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
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
Sidewalk crack addict
The Fearmongers, Definers, Swiftboaters, and Borkers square off
Losing your favorite Starbucks? The five stages of grief
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