BlogNetNews.com » Washington

Slog: Gregoire Refusing to Take Any More Parolees from Arkansas

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 12:48:41 -0500

The move comes because of all the shenanigans related to Arkansas allegedly dumping Maurice Clemmons on Washington, and then declining to help Washington authorities keep him locked up without bail.

Get into our discussion of who's to blame for Clemmons being free HERE.

[ Subscribe to the [...]

Slog: Sorry About Throwing the Election

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 12:48:11 -0500

A reader writes in a letter:

I have watched with a great deal of horror through the years how The Stranger tells people how to vote and how people do what The Stranger says and get themselves in worse mess than before.

Dow Constantine is even more dangerous to this city than [...]

Huckleberries Online: Lost Again

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 12:45:48 -0500

A couple weeks ago I was running late for a meeting at Tapio Center in Spokane. Imagine my dismay when I ran into roadwork, and had to take a detour. Except it wasn't really a detour-- the road was just closed. I ended up lost on East Sprague. Not fun.

Yesterday,' [...]

Slog: The Twilight of the Goodtimes: Charles's Forgotten Photographs, Forgotten Album Covers, and Forgotten Bits of Music at Western Bridge

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 12:43:53 -0500

Mudede family

Charles will give a talk about his discovery of hip-hop as a teenager living in Zimbabwe. Building from a lost letter he wrote to a New York radio station, WBLS, he will discuss the impact that the new music (Run-DMC, MC Shan, Roxanne Shanté, [...]

Slog: Jimi Hendrix Liquid Experience

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 12:34:54 -0500

See the drink here.

[ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

[...]

Huckleberries Online: The Angry Wife Golf Club Guide

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 12:28:41 -0500

Maxim Magazine provides this useful reference: (Warning mature content-- or perhaps that's immature, if you know what I mean.)

"Most people assume that Tiger Woods' wife randomly chose a club to allegedly beat him with. That's not so. In fact, she (allegedly) chose the perfect club to fit the crime. So to'" [...]

Slog: How Clemmons Evaded Capture

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 12:27:31 -0500

The Tacoma News Tribune has chronicled the hours after Maurice Clemmons allegedly shot four Lakewood Police officers on Sunday, managing to get friends and relatives to give him rides and a cell phone.

After shooting the officers and struggling with one in the doorway of the coffee shop, Clemmons walked [...]

Slog: State Sees Spike in Domestic Partnerships

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 12:26:24 -0500

Posted by news intern Jon Brock

Since Washington voters approved Referendum 71 on November 3, the state has seen an uptick in registrations of new domestic partners. "There have been an average of 90 registrations a week since the election; the weekly average has traditionally been 35 to 40 new registrations," [...]

Clark County Politics: Last night, I expressd my disappointment in the ACORN-in-Chief's performance.

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 12:16:00 -0500

.
Last night's performance by the president, like all of his performances in every area since he took office, was abysmal.

There is no confidence within the military generally, and West Point particularly, in this empty suited clown's leadership or vision. They knew, like *I* knew, that the [...]

Slog: One of the "No" Votes in New York

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 12:14:07 -0500

JoeMyGod:

Marriage equality failed today in the New York Senate after a years-long battle to bring the issue to a vote. The final tally: 24 YES, 38 NO. Among the surprises was a "no" voted from Bronx Democrat Sen. Hiram Monserrate, who had previously been a vocal supporter. In October, [...]

Huckleberries Online: How Big is Yours?

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 12:13:21 -0500

Here's my favorite quote of the day:

"The bigger (the) TV you have, the dumber you are. Smart people have TV's, often-- but not very big ones." David Brancaccio, host NOW (PBS), quoted in the Santa Fe Reporter.

Agree/disagree?

' [...]

NW Republican: Global Warming Losing Heat

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 12:06:00 -0500

Just in time for Copenhagen corruption HT: NetRightNation [...]

Slog: Lunchtime Quickie: Today in Weird Beards

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 12:03:28 -0500

All you need to make your teen more socially responsible is a weird beard! Get it? Most effective PSA campaign ever!

[ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

[...]

Huckleberries Online: Gold, Frankincense, a Watch?

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 12:00:00 -0500

So, I'm wondering what kind of gift the SR will be giving DFO for his 25 years of faithful service.

A sliver pocket watchA goatA year's subscription to the CDA Press

Care to venture a guess?

' [...]

Slog: News Flash!

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 11:58:55 -0500

">Libertarians opposed to new war plans for Afghanistan

Wes Benedict, Executive Director of the LP, said, "Rush Limbaugh should buy Obama a nice cigar. The liberal president has done exactly what the conservative leader wanted: escalate the war."

Just thought you should know.

[ Subscribe to the comments on" [...]

Slog: Smoke Over Seattle

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 11:55:34 -0500

We've been getting calls about this:

Windowseat on Flickr

The Seattle Fire Department hasn't yet returned calls. Anyone near the fire?

UPDATE: Over at Seattlepi.com, Levi Pulkkinen reports: "Workers at a duel-fuel power plant at the University of Washington were transitioning from natural gas to oil Wednesday morning" [...]

Slog: This Week in Film: The Maid

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 11:53:09 -0500

Jon Frosch highly recommends:

With her troll-like physique, lipless grimace, and frumpy curls, Catalina Saavedra's ferociously territorial cleaning lady is an indelible creation—pathetic and vindictive, but never entirely ridiculous. The upper-class family that single, childless Raquel works for—frazzled parents and teasingly entitled children roaming about their spacious, [...]

Upper Left: Me too…

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 11:53:00 -0500

…I guess. Gordon... Obama talked me into giving him a shot. 18 months. I don't like it but I can live with it. He's not Bush.I don't think he's right, I don't think it will work, but he inherited a mess and deserves a chance to clean it up' [...]

Strange Bedfellows: Nature, meet the budget deficit; Gregoire announces changes

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 11:52:00 -0500

Facing a $2.6 billion deficit, Gov. Chris Gregoire on Wednesday announced that she wants to streamline Washington's natural resources programs. [...]

Slog: For Your Stomach's Consideration: $1 Ramen

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 11:47:44 -0500

www.genkisushiusa.comUnbeknownst to the smiling sushi chef, the large-headed Genki mascot had become very angry.

Genki Sushi—the Hawaiian chain credited with inventing the conveyor-belt sushi delivery system—is currently celebrating the one-year anniversary of its branch in [...]

Slog: The First Day of Strangercrombie

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 11:46:23 -0500

It's the first day of Strangercrombie, our annual charity auction!

If you visit our Strangercrombie page, you'll discover all manner of items to bid on. As the books editor, I'm especially proud of the literature packages we have up for bid this year. There are two [...]

Slog: Tiger's Message?

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 11:43:36 -0500

It's everywhere:

[ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

[...]

Strange Bedfellows: Two new top McDermott aides

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 11:37:00 -0500

Seattle Congressman Jim McDermott hires a new chief of staff and communications director. [...]

NW Republican: Man-Made-Global-Warmers; Follow the money

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 11:37:00 -0500

While much has been made by the left regarding the relatively small amounts of money that some corporations have paid for scientific studies, they continually overlook the monumental amounts of cash... [...]

Strange Bedfellows: Eyman at the bat again; aims to make tax hikes harder

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 11:28:00 -0500

Professional initiative promoter Tim Eyman, who tried unsucessfully to limit government spending last month with Initiative 1033, says next year he'll try to reinforce the two-thirds vote requirement for the Legislature to raise taxes.' [...]

Slog: "You cannot legislate morality, but you can legislate justice."

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 11:16:44 -0500

New York's state senate is debating a marriage equality bill right now. A vote is imminent. The other house of NY's legislature—the State Assembly—has passed a marriage equality bill three times (once again last night for emphasis), and NY's governor has pledged to sign the bill into law just as [...]

Huckleberries Online: Hump Day Wild Card -- 12.2.09

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 11:10:41 -0500

I'll be turning over the controls of HBO Central to CindyH for a few hours today -- from 11:15 a.m. to about 2:30 p.m. The class of 1984 -- the staffers who joined the SR in 1984 -- will be honored for 25 years of service with a nice lunch' [...]

Huckleberries Online: Prayer For Cops

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 10:54:11 -0500

They daily stand in danger's way
to shield us from the beasts of prey;
embrace them all with love divine,
and please protect their thin blue line.

The Bard of Sherman Avenue

[...]

Huckleberries Online: For Those Keeping Score At Home ...

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 10:51:12 -0500

... Challenger Jim Brannon is, indeed, seeking to annul the entire Coeur d'Alene City Council election of Nov. 3, from Mayor Sandi Bloem's victory over Joe Kunka, to the three council races that were won by the incumbents. City Attorney Mike Gridley, who said he's still trying to digest the lawsuit filed' [...]

Huckleberries Online: Sarah Palin To Visit Sandpoint, Too

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 10:46:06 -0500

Former GOP vice presidential candidate and Alaska governor Sarah Palin is scheduled to make a stop in Sandpoint this month to promote her autobiography.The book-signing event is planned for Thursday, Dec. 10, at the Sandpoint Business & Events Center. It lasts from 6-9 p.m. Palin’s plans were confirmed Tuesday through [...]

Huckleberries Online: Coming To A Newstand Near You ...

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 10:40:21 -0500

In this magazine cover image released by US Weekly Magazine, the Dec. 14 issue of "US Weekly" featuring Tiger Woods, is shown. The issue is available nationwide on newsstands on Friday. (AP Photo/US Weekly)

Question: Why do we enjoy seeing that our heroes have clay feet?

[...]

City Comforts: What's wrong with Dubai?

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 10:35:42 -0500

The Ascent, and Fall, of Dubai
Besides (or maybe beyond) excess capacity, Dubai suffers from a major design flaw: It's a brilliant copy of the very worst model of urban planning: USA 1975. Even in the 5-6 months of moderate [...]

Huckleberries Online: AM Scanner Traffic -- 12.2.09

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 10:16:09 -0500

10:43 a.m. Woman on Brunner/Athol complains that she's getting harassing phone calls from a collection agency.10:41 a.m. Resident on Burma/Harrison reports ongoing problems with neighbor.10:21 a.m. Brett has questions re: property in a divorce.9:15 a.m. Man complains that he left his wallet in Mike's vehicle, but Mike won't return it' [...]

Clark County Politics: So, do you Vancouver GOP'ers get it, yet? Leavitt IS a liar.

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 10:11:00 -0500

.
I have placed post after post on this blog pointing out where Tim "The Liar" Leavitt is doing his best to live up to the sobriquet I applied to him.

I pointed out that the ONLY reason this clown hitched his wagon to the toll issue was because [...]

Huckleberries Online: Roark: Obama Just Finishing Business

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 10:09:36 -0500

Idaho Democratic Party chairman R. Keith Roark made the following statement regarding President Obama's speech on the military effort in Afghanistan: "If the Bush-Cheney administration had kept its eye on the ball in Afghanistan and not plunged our nation into a reckless war of choice in Iraq, our" [...]

Huckleberries Online: Moon Rise Over Otis Orchards

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 10:06:50 -0500

The last frosty moon rise of November rises over Otis Orchards and reminds that December and winter's icy grip will be with us for awhile. (J. Bart Rayniak/SR)

[...]

Huckleberries Online: HBO Poll: What Would Mike Do?

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 09:46:18 -0500

Tuesday Poll: 84 of 104 (81 percent) of the respondents said that incumbent Mike Kennedy would defeat challenger Jim Brannon, if a new election were ordered, because residents would be upset that they had to vote again.
<a href="http://answers.polldaddy.com/poll/2331269/" mce_href="http://answers.polldaddy.com/poll/2331269/" mce_href="http://answers.polldaddy.com/poll/2331269/">What would Councilman Mike Kennedy have done, if he'd lost' [...]

Huckleberries Online: Woods: I Let My Family Down

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 09:43:51 -0500

Golfer Tiger Woods, engulfed in media speculation over his private life after a car accident in the middle of the night, apologized on Wednesday for "transgressions" in a statement that apparently addressed allegations he had extra-marital relationships. Woods, the world's number one golfer and a married father of two young [...]

Clark County Politics: Of Press Talk and self-delusion.

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 09:36:00 -0500

.
I recognize that the Columbian was moronic enough to carry the empty suit's water like Gunga Din in the last election. In fact, they carry it as much as they do that of our local Cowardman, Brian Baird.

They're as vested in this miserable excuse for a president' [...]

Kirkland Views: Kirkland City Council prepares to pass annexation ordinance by year end

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 08:58:50 -0500

Number of comments: 3
At the December 1 Kirkland City Council Study Session, annexation and the budget were front and center. With concerns or reservations about annexation expressed by only two councilmembers, it appears that Kirkland will proceed with annexation before the end of the year. Annexation is on track for passage by the Kirkland [...]

Sound Politics: Barack of Afghanistan

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 08:53:00 -0500

With apologies to the Grand old Duke of York: The grand old Duke Barack, he had 30,000 men He marched them to Afghanistan then marched them back again. clearfogblog... [...]

Sound Politics: David Broder sees big problems with costs of ObamaCare

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 08:46:00 -0500

David Broder calls Harry Reid on his cost-hiding tricks. If The Big Democrat has lost Broder he has trouble. David S. Broder - David Broder: Fears of health-reform cost are justifiable - washingtonpost.com: First, the public is opposed: The day... [...]

Slog: Pin Talk: Madeleine Albright on KUOW

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 09:36:20 -0500

Float like a butterfly...

Former secretary of state Madeleine Albright will discuss the diplomatic deployment of her brooch collection, as well as President Obama's speech on Afganistan last night, on KUOW at 10 a.m. this morning. Her book Read My Pins: Stories from [...]

Slog: Huckabee Says Religion Didn't Make Him Free Clemmons

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 09:33:15 -0500

Via Ben Smith, there's a long explanation of the Maurice Clemmons commutation process, posted by Mike Huckabee himself, over at Human Events ("Headquarters of the Conservative Underground").

An excerpt:

Religion had nothing to do with the commutation. It’s been erroneously expressed that my own personal faith or the claims [...]

Huckleberries Online: Morialekafa: Obama Speech Terrible

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 09:18:20 -0500

I thought it was a terrible speech. In fact, I found is so excruciatingly awful and embarrassing I had to fight myself to keep from turning it off. The speech had a weird kind of fairy tale quality about it, as if President Obama had swallowed some strange [...]

Slog: McDermott Not Convinced on Obama's Afghanistan Strategy

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 09:12:13 -0500

As mention in the Morning News, Seattle's Democratic Congressman, Jim McDermott, was not convinced by the president's speech last night. Here's McDermott's statement:

The President’s speech tonight did not convince me that his policy is worth supporting. Last week, I attended a memorial service for seven servicemen from the same [...]

Huckleberries Online: Chemtrails Worry Conspiracy Theorist

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 09:12:08 -0500

Item: Look, up in the sky, it's a bird, it's a plane, it's a ... Chemtrail? Conspiracy theorist warns of danger from passing jets/Alecia Warren, Coeur d'Alene Press

More Info: "These aren't contrails -- a contrail is vapor, condensation, it disappears," Langberg said of the condensation paths left by passing [...]

HorsesAss.Org: Ambivalence on Afghanistan

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 09:11:29 -0500

Number of comments: 5

I know a lot of my fellow Dems are disappointed in President Barack Obama’s decision to send 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan. Not me. For unlike a lot of my fellow Dems, I’ve always held my expectations of Obama in check.

I can’t even remember what Obama promised on the campaign [...]

NW Republican: Obama's War Speech not Idiotic; DANGEROUS

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 09:02:00 -0500

Number of comments: 3
Oh my gracious. I have come to the conclusion that this man (Obama) is not merely a bad president, a disingenuous president, but a president that is downright dangerous for this nation and the... [...]

Slog: The Morning News

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 08:57:45 -0500

It Takes a Village to Help an Accused Cop Killer Elude a Statewide Manhunt: "The team of people accused of helping Maurice Clemmons following the shooting of four Lakewood police officers has grown to six."

Obama Speaks on Afghanistan Plans: And U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott is among those who were [...]

Huckleberries Online: AM Headlines -- 12.2.09

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 08:52:04 -0500

It’s getting so a dog can’t take care of business anymore without risking life and limb to a big-eyed raptor just waiting to sink its talons into an unsuspecting pooch. A 9-year-old miniature pinscher named Mary Lew had just taken her owner, Sarah Miller, into the front yard of their [...]

Huckleberries Online: APhoto Of The Day -- 12.2.09

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 08:44:29 -0500

An unidentified New York Blue player, right, tries to control the ball during their match against Centurion at the 28th International Elephant Polo at Bardiya, Nepal today. The match ended in a 1-1 draw. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Binod Joshi)

[...]

Huckleberries Online: Simpleton: Would Jail Vote Pass Now?

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 08:30:50 -0500

Simpleton: I have a question for anyone smarter than me. If Brannon succeeds in overturning the election, does that also overturn the failed jail expansion proposition? Given the controversy over the Washington court allowing Mr. Clemmons out of custody, would anyone anticipate a different outcome here if there [...]

Huckleberries Online: SR: If You Don't Succeed ... Sue

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 08:28:36 -0500

There’s a plausible case to be made for such a strategy, given the allegations spelled out in Brannon’s suit. He doesn’t claim that the tabulation of ballots – 3,165 for Kennedy, 3,160 for Brannon – is inaccurate. He believes the election itself is flawed, so the outcome would [...]

NW Republican: America Exposed: Afghanistan may kill you

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 08:25:00 -0500

Number of comments: 2
President Barack Hussein Obama made a huge blunder last night. Instead being a true leader and announcing America's withdrawal from the hell-hole that is Afghanistan, he is now sending another 30,000... [...]

Slog: Better Late Than Never

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 08:18:20 -0500

I've Met Someone Else, Steven

Meredith Baxter—the mom on Family Ties—comes out as a "later-in-life" lesbian.

[ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

' [...]

Huckleberries Online: Idaho Solons Back Afghan Plan

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 08:17:16 -0500

Vietnam War veteran Rep. Walt Minnick sat in the auditorium at West Point on Tuesday surrounded by men and women in cadet gray uniforms being told by a president they could lose their lives in another Asian country. “It was an honor to be here, a generation later,” said [...]

Huckleberries Online: Signe: We'll Win ... Together?

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 08:13:00 -0500

Signe Wilkinson/Philadelphia Inquirer

[...]

Slog: Tiger Woods Starts Damage Control

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 08:08:38 -0500

NY Daily reports:
Tiger Woods offered a "profound apology" to his family and his fans Wednesday and admitted he had "not been true to my values" as the world's best golfer was linked to a third reported mistress.

"I have let my family down and I regret those transgressions with" [...]

Slog: Tiger Woods Will Wear You Out

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 08:00:32 -0500

Enter the sext: “I will wear you out…when was the last time you got fucked?”

[ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

[...]

The Pajamahadin: Climategate Makes The New York Times

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 07:33:00 -0500

Number of comments: 0
Yes, Times environmental reporter Andrew Revkin has been doing a lot of ass covering (the emails exposed him as a stenographer rather than a reporter), so I add a little more weight to this because it's a different writer. [...]

Kirkland Views: LETTER | Budget manipulations results in mutations

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 07:27:28 -0500

By Bob Style At 52 minutes and 18 seconds into the Council’s study session, Councilmember Asher questioned his ability to get to cause what was happening to the budget. He asked how come one week after the council fired 43 full time positions because of budget shortfalls; staff came up with [...]

The Pajamahadin: Tiger Fesses Up

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 07:27:00 -0500

Number of comments: 0
to affairs of the heart.

It's time to move on and let Tiger settle things with his wife without voyeurs. [...]

Silenced Majority Portal: TEEVEE: Chris Matthews Calls West Point "Enemy Camp" & Cheney a "Troll"

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 06:49:00 -0500

[...]

Silenced Majority Portal: For Christmas - Joan Jett Barbie

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 06:27:00 -0500

(LA Times Gift guide) [...]

Silenced Majority Portal: Obama Made A Speech Last Night AND Is on "Golf Digest" With Tiger Woods

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 06:26:00 -0500

[...]

Silenced Majority Portal: War Inside Walmart - Black Friday 2009

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 06:22:00 -0500

[...]

The Pajamahadin: The New York Times Discovers That Obama Is An Egotistical Amateur

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 06:12:00 -0500

Number of comments: 0
Arab-Israeli negotiations are on the rocks. And the New York Times is so unhappy that they're willing to risk their bailout by saying so.

Peacemaking takes strategic skill. But we see no sign that President Obama and Mr. Mitchell were thinking more than one move down the' [...]

Washblog: On speaking up and speaking out: The Value of original thoughts.

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 06:04:22 -0500

Facebook is an interesting and entertaining website. I spend more time playing the socially interactive games than posting comments or sharing info with frieds.

It's therapeutic for me cause I admit to advocacy-fatigue.

Particularly fatiguing is reading the thinking, values and partialities coming out of my LDS relatives in conservative Utah [...]

The Pajamahadin: Pay Any Price. Bear Any Burden.

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 05:55:00 -0500

Number of comments: 0

With caveats. No wonder Obama sent that Churchill bust back to Britain. He couldn't bear the unblinking gaze of a real man.' [...]

The Pajamahadin: Not exactly the kind of speech you would have heard from Henry V or Churchill.

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 05:44:00 -0500

Number of comments: 0
"The common security of the world is at stake." And we're gonna cut and run in 18 months.

' [...]

The Pajamahadin: Obama's Worst Speech Ever?

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 05:35:00 -0500

Number of comments: 0
According to Obama and his Approved Legitimate News Organizations, he has restored America's standing in the world. That's why they won't tell you this.

Never before has a speech by President Barack Obama felt as false as his Tuesday address announcing America's new strategy for Afghanistan. It seemed' [...]

The Pajamahadin: Obama Offers Victory To Taliban

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 05:32:00 -0500

Number of comments: 0

All they have to do is wait 18 months to open their present.

And Defense Secretary Robert Gates makes it clear, we're cutting and running - no matter what.' [...]

The Pajamahadin: More On The Sovietization Of Art Under Obama

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 05:26:00 -0500

Number of comments: 0
Barack Obama and the National Endowment For The Arts had a more elaborate propoganda plan than they have so far admitted. Don't expect big media to cover this though. They have their own agenda, and they can't afford to offend Obama. [...]

Upper Left: Two out of three isn't bad.

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 00:33:00 -0500

James Fallows is mostly right...
"The former vice president, Dick Cheney, has brought dishonor to himself, his office, and his country."To his (thankfully former) office and his country, no doubt. To himself? That presumes he had any honor to dis in the first place, a presumption that goes, I [...]

Upper Left: From the "Since you asked…" file.

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 00:20:00 -0500

Over at the New York Times, The Editors wonder... Will 30,000 additional troops be sufficient to curb the insurgency?Since you asked, no.

[...]

Seattle Weekly: Cover Story: Buddy Count

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:00:00 -0500

In Sgt. John M. Russell's chaotic Army world the morning of May 11, the enemy was closing in. For the previous several days at sprawling Camp Liberty outside Baghdad, the big Texan had talked of conspiracies, woken up from constant nightmares, and broken down in tears, wishing so... [...]

Seattle Weekly: Gregoire to Be Even Tougher on Clemency?

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:00:00 -0500

Jeff Ellis listened to the sound of helicopters over his Central District home Sunday night as law-enforcement officers waged a manhunt for suspected cop killer Maurice Clemmons. An attorney who frequently handles clemency cases, Ellis says his thoughts turned from "shock and despair" over the tr... [...]

Seattle Weekly: Does Reichert Pass the Purity Test?

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:00:00 -0500

The purging of moderates has been a hot topic of conversation recently around Republican water coolers. Now a member of the party's national committee has taken that talk and turned it into a standardized test.

Conservative attorney Jim Bopp, Jr. recently introduced a Reagan–inspired ... [...]

Seattle Weekly: Riveting Roundball Returns to the Key

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:00:00 -0500

When former UW assistant and UCLA point guard Cameron Dollar decided to take the head-coaching gig at Seattle University this past off-season, more than a few folks were perplexed. Dollar was the top assistant to a head coach (Lorenzo Romar) of a program on the rise; had he bided his [...]

Seattle Weekly: Now Tim Eyman's Going to F**k Up Your Computer, Too

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:00:00 -0500

Or so says Google.

According to a "Safe Browsing" advisory from the search giant, Eyman's site, permanent-offense.org (don't click that link, for the love of humanity!), is "listed as suspicious" and "may harm your computer."

It seems that d...' [...]

Seattle Weekly: Too Sexy for Her Skirt

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:00:00 -0500

Dear Dategirl,

My wife is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. But I just found out that maybe she's a little "too sexy," if you know what I mean.

The other night, on our first anniversary, we were drinking Champagne. I guess she drank m... [...]

Seattle Weekly: This Week's Horoscopes

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:00:00 -0500

Sagittarius (Nov. 22–Dec. 21)

It might sound weird, but words and ideas have more power than almost any other tool you can wield. Changing the way someone thinks (and therefore acts) is an incredible way to transform your world. You know all this already, and you're p...' [...]

Seattle Weekly: What's With Polacks and Whores?

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:00:00 -0500

Dear Mexican:

I used to frequent a cantina in Chicago where half of the bar was Polack, the other half beaner. The Polacks would speak in their native tongue and either start or finish all their sentences with the word kurwa [...]

Seattle Weekly: Shouldn't Mac McGinn Use a Hometown Product?

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:00:00 -0500

Dear Uptight Seattleite,

As a supporter of Mike McGinn, what do you think of his wanting to use Macs in the mayor's office? Shouldn't the mayor of Seattle support the hometown product?

Clippie

Dear Clippie,

The may...' [...]

Seattle Weekly: Five Holiday Shows That Won’t Make You Retch

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:00:00 -0500

The Charles Lloyd New Quartet

This Earshot-produced show isn't officially pegged to the holidays. But the veteran saxophonist has such an intensely spiritual vibe—apparent from the first note—that he'll instantly bring you back to the season's reason. "For me, the purpose of l..." [...]

Seattle Weekly: Q&A: Jay Farrar on Kerouac, Big Sur

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:00:00 -0500

Son Volt frontman Jay Farrar has been reading Jack Kerouac since he was a teenager. But writing the music and lyrics for the soundtrack to One Fast Move or I'm Gone, a documentary about Kerouac's semi-autobiographical novel Big Sur, provided plenty of firsts for...' [...]

Seattle Weekly: The Short List: This Week’s Recommended Shows

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:00:00 -0500

Rooney ~ Wednesday, December 2

Rooney is like the anti-Interpol. With their shiny and ebullient take on sunny American rock of the '70s and early '80s and their shaggy, post-hippie rocker looks, they stand as a mirror image of Interpol's noirish, British, post-punk-inflecte... [...]

Seattle Weekly: Rocket Queen: Losing the War

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:00:00 -0500

"I'm rebranding the space; this whole thing was just a publicity stunt," joked War Room owner Marcus Lalario, standing on the sidewalk outside his Capitol Hill club this past Sunday evening as friends and regulars poured in to say goodbye. Indeed, it's sadly true...' [...]

Seattle Weekly: Foscil’s Ancient Means

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:00:00 -0500

Have you ever looked at an issue of Esquire from the '60s? Or a Ray Gun from the '90s, or even a McSweeney's from today? They're not just magazines, but works of art you feel guilty throwing out because they're beautifully designed. Sure, the words and ... [...]

Seattle Weekly: Fool’s Gold’s Global Gumbo

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:00:00 -0500

White American pop musicians' recent fascination with African music has been the subject of heated debate. Even as Vampire Weekend continues to grow in popularity for a sound that fans feel is a fresh coat of paint on indie rock's aging facade, it's been derided by critics for ap...' [...]

Seattle Weekly: Legal Tandoor

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:00:00 -0500

Fifty years ago, most Americans had no idea what Indian food tasted like. Some say we still don't. As analyzed by historian Lizzie Collingham in Curry: A Tale of Cooks & Conquerors, the menus of most Indian restaurants in America describe a h...' [...]

Seattle Weekly: Ask the Bartender: Early Last Call?

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:00:00 -0500

If bars can stay open until 2 a.m., why do they give last call so early? It feels like most places in town start closing at 1:30 a.m. and kick everyone out by 2 a.m. They'd definitely get one last drink out of me if they let me drink until' [...]

Seattle Weekly: Up in the Air: George Clooney Swings the Corporate Axe

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:00:00 -0500

There is something oddly familiar about Jason Reitman's Up in the Air, in which George Clooney plays a commitment-phobic business traveler with no use for meaningful human interaction. Could have sworn we've been here before. When was it? And where? Oh, yes, of course: J...' [...]

Seattle Weekly: Brothers: Jake Gyllenhaal Stars in a Needless Remake

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:00:00 -0500

Jim Sheridan's remake of Danish director Susanne Bier's 2005 original about the familial and psychic trauma caused by Operation Enduring Freedom feels like Operation Endurance. Marine captain and stalwart head-of-household Sam (Tobey Maguire), married to his high-school sweetheart, Grace (Natalie... [...]

Seattle Weekly: The End of Poverty?: The Economic Meltdown Is Global

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:00:00 -0500

"Colonialism is always part of the expansion of capitalism," opines Bolivian vice president Álvaro García Linera in Philippe Diaz's devastating, radical critique of the colonialist enterprise as inextricable from the current global economic model. While most state-of-the-world docs ... [...]

Seattle Weekly: Everybody’s Fine: Robert De Niro’s Holiday Miscalculation

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:00:00 -0500

Don't be misled by the cheesy, generic poster for Kirk Jones' retelling of Giuseppe Tornatore's 1990 Stanno tutti bene, in which a grinning Sam Rockwell, Drew Barrymore, and Kate Beckinsale pose with Robert De Niro for their characters' family photo in front of a Christmas tree. It's a m...' [...]

Seattle Weekly: La Danse: Just Another Superb Doc From Frederick Wiseman

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:00:00 -0500

Frederick Wiseman's magnificent documentary offers a portrait of suppleness and agility—not just of the dancers' bodies but of the august institution of the title. Like all his documentaries, La Danse forgoes voiceover and identifying intertitles, allowing spectators' full immersion i... [...]

Seattle Weekly: The Maid: From Chile, One of the Year’s Best Movies

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:00:00 -0500

Not many films, or actresses, would let the central female role of a movie be underestimated for so long. Blank-faced, bone-tired, and implacable, Catalina Saavedra delivers a wonderful, slow-brewing performance as Raquel, a 41-year-old Chilean maid who's served one family her entire working life. B... [...]

Seattle Weekly: The Strip: Slackers Trapped at Radio Shack

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:00:00 -0500

Could Dave Foley prostitute his talent to amuse any further without actually becoming a prostitute? In a plunging step down from emceeing celebrity poker, Foley provides a recognizable face for Jameel Khan's picked-over Goodwill bin of workplace comedy, The Strip. Foley's Glenn manages a... [...]

Seattle Weekly: Stage: Penguins, Episode 1

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:00:00 -0500

The best and most polished of the current comedy triple-header at Annex (see our stage calendar for details) comes last in the evening's schedule. Penguins is a mordant, campy, hard-boiled Kalashnikov splatfest about the fallout when brawny, brogue-brandishing badass Sister Bernadette (L... [...]

Seattle Weekly: Stage: The Judy Garland Christmas Special

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:00:00 -0500

This year's version brings a new drunken Judy to the set in the person of Troy Mink (who replaces Andrew Tasakos), and if you ever wondered how hysterical it might be to watch Nathan Lane fight with Judy Garland for control of the same body, Mink sets the standard.

The play [...]

Seattle Weekly: Stage: A Christmas Carol

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:00:00 -0500

A Christmas Carol has been turned into a musical, performed on ice, animated with Scrooge McDuck and Mickey Mouse as the leads, told on recordings, broadcast as a radio play, and mangled in numerous Hollywood knockoffs (the latest an eye-popping Disney/IMAX amazement starring Jim Carrey)... [...]

Seattle Weekly: The Weekly Wire: This Week’s Recommended Events

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:00:00 -0500

THURSDAY 12/3

Music: Hard Times on Vinyl

Harry Smith was crazy as catshit. The Portland-born, Bellingham-raised eccentric (1923–91) couldn't comprehend paying bills. He would talk to people about things like "bioelectromagnetics...'" [...]

Seattle Weekly: The Fussy Eye: Na, Meet Xe

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:00:00 -0500

Fabric arts get no respect because, well, they're so soft. Yarn and string and wool are less manly than oil paint, granite, and steel, less inviting of critical theory and gratuitous Adorno references. And yet, what's more rigorous and hard science-y than the periodic table of the elements? Take ...' [...]

Seattle Weekly: Lethal Weapon

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:00:00 -0500

Remember when Mel Gibson wasn't an anti-Semitic Jesus freak with a penchant for drunk driving and directing gory history movies? The year 1987 is long distant, but this is the film (after The Road Warrior) that made Gibson a star in the U.S. A suicidal L.A. cop partnered with affable' [...]

Seattle Weekly: Trainspotting

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:00:00 -0500

Danny Boyle’s propulsively hyperbolic adaptation of the Irvine Welsh novel made a star out of Ewan McGregor, and the rest of the rogues’ gallery haven’t done too poorly—including Robert Carlyle, Ewen Bremner, and Kelly Macdonald. Thirteen years later, it’s hard to say if thi... [...]

Seattle Weekly: Privilege

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:00:00 -0500

There may be no one in the medium as honest, independent, intellectually rigorous, politically prescient, and utterly intolerant of cinema's systemic compromises as director Peter Watkins. His 1967 Privilege explores the role of entertainment media in controlling the masses, presaging hundred... [...]

Seattle Weekly: Rashomon

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:00:00 -0500

From 1950, Akira Kurosawa's ritualistic, exotic, philosophical action flick effectively invented Japanese cinema for non-Japanese filmgoers, despite the movie's global village synthesis. A samurai crime story with an investigative Citizen Kane flashback structure, Rashomon is a mesmeri... [...]

Seattle Weekly: Brazil

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:00:00 -0500

Terry Gilliam's grim, near-great Orwellian satire from 1985 stars Jonathan Pryce as the meek clerk who becomes an unlikely and reluctant resistance fighter in a fascist future. A big, messy, angry, and wildly inventive picture, Brazil didn't win a popular following during the fat Reagan-Thatc...' [...]

Seattle Weekly: Garth Stein

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:00:00 -0500

After Oprah, having a display at Starbucks may be the most effective way to launch a book. Mount Baker resident Garth Stein got the the green mermaid launch for his novel The Art of Racing in the Rain (Harper, $23.95), about car racing, dogs, reincarnation, and an ugly child-custody battle. [...]

Seattle Weekly: Tim Egan

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:00:00 -0500

Having been through the Gifford Pinchot National Forest many times, having swung a Pulaski doing trail maintenance work as a teen, I never considered their origins. Yet Timothy Egan relates how both men—one who led the U.S. Forest Service, the other, Ed Pulaski, a humble Idaho forester—def... [...]

Seattle Weekly: Garage A Trois

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:00:00 -0500

Okay, this band name is misleading on two counts. First, there are four guys in Garage A Trois, though originally there were three, and garage rock is not on the menu. Rather, the freaky New Orleans outfit dishes out a cosmic stew of equal parts funk, soul, rock, and jazz. [...]

Seattle Weekly: Fool's Gold

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:00:00 -0500

White American pop musicians’ recent fascination with African music has been the subject of heated debate. Even as Vampire Weekend continues to grow in popularity for a sound that fans feel is a fresh coat of paint on indie rock’s aging facade, so they have been derided by critics for [...]

Seattle Weekly: Slender Means

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:00:00 -0500

Slender Means is basically the go-to band for effusively perfect indie-pop in Seattle. That’s been the case since their 2005 jewel of a debut, Neon and Ruin, and the quintet’s new record, Adrift in the Cosmos, stays true to their lively, golden pop sound. Josh Dawson’s v... [...]

Seattle Weekly: John Doe

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:00:00 -0500

John Doe (nee Duchac) playing a club gig in Seattle isn’t all that uncommon. It’s just that when he’s touring alone—or with Kathleen Edwards or The Knitters or whoever—he tends to play the Tractor, the sort of “official” music venue you’d associate with an art... [...]

Seattle Weekly: Martin Bisi

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:00:00 -0500

Even if other producers like Steve Albini and Dave Fridmann have attained as much underground cred as Martin Bisi, few if any can touch his versatility. From the early days of hip hop to the downtown New York noise scene to Brian Eno and Sonic Youth and on down a [...]

Seattle Weekly: Grayceon

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:00:00 -0500

Diverse as it is, this city’s metal could really use some more progressive thrash artists, and luckily a few are starting to fight their way to the surface. Dog Shredder is a relatively new project featuring guitarist Josh Holland and drummer Noah Burns, who used to head up Bellingham ‘s [...]

Seattle Weekly: Urban Craft Uprising

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:00:00 -0500

For the fifth year in a row, Urban Craft Uprising is sticking it to the Man by means of coasters, refrigerator magnets, funky handbags, vegan soaps, and letter-press-printed greeting cards. Honestly, the Man doesn’t stand a chance. This weekend of... [...]

Seattle Weekly: Cliff Mass

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:00:00 -0500

Everybody talks about the weather, but how many of us are actually doing something about it? UW professor and recent SW cover guy Cliff Mass invites you to join the ranks of concerned amateur meteorologists i... [...]

Seattle Weekly: Rooney

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:00:00 -0500

Rooney is like the anti-Interpol. With their shiny and ebullient take on sunny American rock of the ‘70s and early ‘80s, and their shaggy, post-hippy rocker looks, they stand as a mirror image of Interpol’s noirish, British post-punk inflected sound and sleek, sharply dressed public f... [...]

Seattle Weekly: Renée Fleming

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:00:00 -0500

Even the blood-and-thunder melodrama of Verdi was not intense enough for the generation of Italian opera composers that followed him. Men like Ruggero Leoncavallo, Umberto Giordano, and Riccardo Zandonai dialed everything up, until a dramatic moment was a shocking backhand to the face and a romantic... [...]

Seattle Weekly: Joe Kurmaskie

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:00:00 -0500

Canada is big, but Africa is even bigger, and Joe Kurmaskie has pedaled across both. First he took his family—three sons, wife, various tow-along attachments—across the Great White North, as he documents in Mud, Sweat, and Gears (Breakaway Books, $23.95). It’s the kind of 4,000... [...]

Seattle Weekly: Punk Rock Flea Market

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:00:00 -0500

With goods ranging from tacos to bondage gear, the seventh annual Punk Rock Flea Market offers plenty of oddball, affordable gifts for our current hard times. Other items on sale include records, skateboards, furniture, clothing, toys, videos, and vegan treats. The event is all-ages until 8 p.m., wh... [...]

Seattle Weekly: Akio Takamori

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:00:00 -0500

Seattle artist Akio Takamori went to Denmark and returned with a bunch of vacation photos. Well, not exactly. The double portraits in Europeans are of Continental types ranging from teachers to queens, poets to princesses. One iteration is small and ceramic, a lumpy, thumb-pressed, imperfectl... [...]

Seattle Weekly: Winter Beer Festival

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:00:00 -0500

The annual Winter Beer Festival presents 30 local breweries and their most comforting seasonal ales. (Lagers are invited, too.) It’s like a barn dance, but with far, far superior alcohol. Big Time Brewing will bring its Malaprop 8, a melting pot of sugar, malt, oats, and wheat that defies descr... [...]

Seattle Weekly: Found Footage Festival

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:00:00 -0500

There’s a strong current of ’80s nostalgia running through the clips included in the Found Footage Festival, but that decade is a VHS gold mine of infomercials, workout videos, big hair, spandex, and worthless dating advice. It’s a period that curators Nick Prueher and Joe Pickett&#15... [...]

Seattle Weekly: Greg Vandy

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:00:00 -0500

Harry Smith was crazy as catshit. The Portland-born, Bellingham-raised eccentric (1923-1991) couldn’t comprehend paying bills. He would talk to people about things like “bioelectromagnetics,” even if they weren’t listening. And if he ever had money (which was rare), he would buy ... [...]

Seattle Weekly: Twelfth Night

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:00:00 -0500

Shakespeare’s most reliable crowd-pleaser, Twelfth Night shakes up a charming blizzard of misunderstandings, mistaken identities, gender bendings and status reversals for the purpose, ironically, of maintaining order. As in other seasonal festivals, like Saturnalia or carnival, the titul... [...]

Seattle Weekly: Winterfest

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:00:00 -0500

The kids are on holiday break and dying of boredom. Or you need a respite from the shopping madness downtown. Either way, Winterfest is only a short monorail ride away. Many of its attractions are free; and the rest are cheap—like the children’s carousel (by Fisher Pavilion) at a buck [...]

Silenced Majority Portal: Keeping Up With the Neighbors' Decorations

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 21:39:00 -0500

[...]

Silenced Majority Portal: Most Dangerous Cities 2009 - New Orleans Moves Down to #6 / World's Most Livable Cities

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 21:38:00 -0500

CQ Press: City Crime Rankings 2009 6. New Orleans | America's Most Dangerous Cities | Comcast.net World's Top 100 Most Livable Cities - no US til #28!! [...]

The Daily Score: Food cart culture: Portland vs. Victoria

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 21:00:00 -0500

Here's a food tale of two cities - one vibrant, creative and open, and the other Victoria, where city staff have recommended outdoor food kiosks be shut down because there might be future problems of noise or odours. [...]

The Daily Score: Dying to be green?

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 21:00:00 -0500

From coffins made of recycled cardboard to saying no to embalming chemicals that seep into the soil to bio-cremation, people are increasingly searching for ways to make their final resting place a more environmentally-friendly one. [...]

The Daily Score: An eco-friendly message for young minds

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 21:00:00 -0500

A Vancouver BC startup company says it has found a way deliver an eco-friendly message with a website for children in the five-to-11 age group, where users can play simple video games, create avatars in the form of hamsters, write blogs and chat with one another. And the company's future [...]

The Daily Score: California dams to feel climate impacts

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 21:00:00 -0500

California’s high-elevation dams could generate considerably less power over the next 40 years as a result of rising temperatures associated with climate change, according to a recent study by researchers at the University of California, Davis. [...]

The Daily Score: The greenest tree

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 21:00:00 -0500

What kind of Christmas tree is the “greenest” option? Opinions differ. Buying a live tree and replanting it or helping improve ecosystem health by cutting one from a nearby forest are Earth-friendly choices. Most artificial trees come from China and generate a much larger carbon footprint than driving to the [...]

The Pajamahadin: Politico - You're Next

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 20:59:00 -0500

Number of comments: 0
The Obama thugocracy has set its sights on another illegitimate news organization - The Politico.

Great idea, considering how well it worked out for them last time.

So far, I'd say that the Politico isn't any more intimidated than Fox was. [...]

City Comforts: Entirely "Transparent?"

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 20:36:10 -0500

Number of comments: 0
Lunch With The President: The Politics Of Obama's War Plan"This has been an entirely transparent process," Obama said of the months-long and often public discussion of Gen. Stanley McChrystal's request for additional troops. "There's no Gulf of Tonkin" [...]

Northwest Progressive Institute: Cantwell, Murray honor slain Lakewood officers on Senate floor

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 20:01:00 -0500

Earlier today, Washington's two United States Senators appeared on the floor of the Senate to remember and honor the four officers who were killed on Sunday in an appalling act of destruction.

Murray, who spoke first, repeatedly called the slayings senseless, and noted that they came on the [...]

Strange Bedfellows: McDermott: Obama's Afghanistan surge not worth supporting

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 19:17:00 -0500

Jim McDermott, Seattle's U.S. House representative, released this statement following President Barack Obama's announcement Monday that he was committing another 30,000 troops to Afghanistan"" [...]

Northwest Progressive Institute: In West Point speech, President Obama tries to justify escalation of Afghan occupation

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 19:07:00 -0500

Earlier this evening, in a major primetime speech at the United States Military Academy at West Point, President Barack Obama officially announced his decision to temporarily escalate the occupation of Afghanistan, and, unlike his predecessor, managed to defend his rationale for doing so without resorting to sloganeering.

"I" [...]