Given the volume of posts and the amount of time it can take the uninitiated casual observer to wade through it, it's a welcome week-that-was retrospective of it all, a la Last Days.

So Josh, give your readers a clue. Are you lying, or do you really meet weekly with Team Nickels?

Who do you meet? What do you talk about? And how do they like your sassy coverage? This is your favorite subject (Josh Feit) so do tell. Have you lobbied them about dogs? And what's the plan for taking on Nick?

What's the ethics here? And why can't we just let Erica cover city hall?

Yay! I was hoping you'd respond. No, I wasn't lying. To get all your questions answered (who do I meet? what do we talk about? how do they like my sassy coverage? do I lobby them about dogs?), you should—as I already offered in my original comment—join us.

Call me at the Stranger (323-7101 ext. 3127) on Thursday...that's usually the night we hang out...and I'll tell you where we're going to be.

Meanwhile:

1. Erica already does cover city hall. I totally agree, she rocks!

2. The only stuff I've written about city hall in the past year has been: to trash Team Nickels for caving to Harbor Properties on the downtown heights plan (a story I broke); to trash Team Nickles for trying to bail out the Sonics; to trash Team Nickels for fucking over the city's staff photographers (a story I broke); to trash Team Nickels for giving Vulcan a break on South Lake Union park; to trash Team Nickels's Viaduct plan; to trash Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis for doing the bidding of developer Greg Smith; to applaud Council Member Peter Steinbrueck for getting in Team Nickels face on green building standards; to trash Team Nickels for threatening to fire a DPD employee if she helped Peter Steinbrueck (a story I broke); to trash Team Nickels's strip club rules; to trash Team Nickels's JAT; to trash Team Nickels for going after the Blue Moon Tavern in the U. District; to trash Team Nickels's hand-picked council candidate, Casey Corr; oh, and to applaud Team Nickels for getting in President Bush's face over the Kyoto Protocols at the U.S Conference of Mayors in Chicago.

p.s. We've still got some Mayor Gridlock tee-shirts around the office. They cost $10, I think. If you want, I can bring one on Thursday.

Many revealing things here. First, he says he will answer the questions -- but doesn't. He changes the subject to his favorite subject, Josh.

So again, Josh, who do you meet with? and what do you talk about?

And sorry, your litany about your ground-breaking coverage of Team Nickels is a description of pointilism, not exposes that had much impact. You're a lap dog that does a little nipping, Josh! And besides, your own list of exposes was sadly spun and self serving. Your report on Ceis? Check your own clips. You said he was taking a job with Greg Smith. Got that wrong, lap dog.

So who buys the beers? They should! No wonder they spend time with you! Sucker!

You've put me in a goofy bind. You challenge my coverage of Team Nickels, but then you get upset at me (accusing me of “narcissism”) when I talk about my coverage of Team Nickels. As I've shown, that coverage has been overwhelmingly negative.

Meanwhile: You want to know who I’m meeting and what we talk about. Gasgirl! Come out with us, and see for yourself.

As for my plot to destroy Nick Licata! I'll leave that to Erica. She covers city council.

But there's a deeper point here. Does your editor know you have a social relationship with them? And if you failed till now to report your weekly meetings, what else are you holding back? Isn't the whole Stranger thing to be brutally honest. But you aren't honest, at least on what's up with your meetings. You certainly were not honest about coming clean on your role in the Monorail meltdown. Comparing yourself to Walter Cronkhite and Vietnam was preening to the extreme. Gasgirl's on to something here. You do spend far much time discussing yourself and keeping tally of your mini scoops. But really, is shooting spitwads your idea of major stories?

Have you ever wondered why they meet with you if you are the "badass" you think you are? Maybe you're getting played.

Maybe you should think about that, and not launch into another tirade. It's not whether Gasgirl joins you or not -- the point is why do you join them, and what are they getting out of it.

For the record:

Here's what Thursday night looks like. One guy from Nickels's office; badass me; and a local hack who focuses on state politics all go to a restaurant that we call Taqueria Diarrhea. (I see that you live on Capitol Hill, Lewis. So you know the place I’m talking about.) We order lots of blended alcohol drinks and cheap Mexican food while yelling at each other about the Viaduct, Hamas, and whether or not we should end up at Neighbors later on. (A lot of times, other people show up at Taqueria Diarrhea too. Recently a city council staffer—a staffer for a council member who openly hates Team Nickels—joined us.) And hopefully, Gasgirl is going to come next week!

I’m not sure what your “deeper point” is. The relevant question is: What does the Stranger’s Nickels coverage look like?
(Better cover your ears Gasgirl. In order to defend my coverage, I have to talk about my coverage.)

On the majority of Nickels's major initatives, Team Nickels has not fared well with the Stranger. We were critical of lifting the U. District lease lid (backing Licata's reforms). We’ve made the case against—and will continue to make the case against—Nickels's viaduct tunnel plan (supporting the PWC plan). Go Erica! We opposed his new strip club rules, and we will editorialize in favor of the ballot measure to repeal them—not only because we oppose the dumb rules and like naked ladies, but because we'd love to see Nickels thoroughly embarrassed for his mayor's demagoguery on this issue.

We busted the numbers on Nickels's Mercer plan. We criticized and disputed the numbers and wisdom of his SLU biotech dreams. We ridiculed his SLU trolley plan. And we trashed Nickels for excluding Northgate neighbors from the redevelopment plan there.

We have supported Nickels's downtown heights plan, but we've seconded council member Peter Steinbrueck's calls for reform, including the push for more green space and for upping the percentage that developers must put into low-income housing. We've also supported Nickels’s push for density, but again, we've editorialized for reform: Criticizing Nickels for excluding single-family zones from the plan, warning that his plan will backfire—causing prices to rise—unless he targets single-family zones too.

If I’m a pawn in a Team Nickels strategy for favorable coverage, it must be a pretty elaborate strategy. Personally, I don’t think there’s any strategy, but if you think I’m that important… (Meanwhile, Joel Connelly has it that I’m a pawn in Nick Licata’s strategy.)

Last thing: I disagree that my invitation to Gasgirl is irrelevant. Gasgirl (and now you) have taken me to task for being secretive. If Gasgirl comes, she can see and hear all.

Josh the lapdog is still missing the point. He still hasn't identified who he parties with, or answered the question why they would regularly drink with him if he's such the fearsome one as he lets on. And in this post, he's still exaggerating his own record -- it was the Times that revealed the Mercer Street numbers.

Josh the lapdog says he meets with one Nickels staffer. Who Josh? Name names!

Josh throws spitwads. He's got a source or two on the city council. Big deal! All he does is flap his gums ("we were critical...we trashed") about issues already before the public -- items usually on the council agenda.

One more time Josh: who from the Team Nickels is your handler? Name him or her, big guy!

Well, Josh, Gasgirl still has a point. Why don't you settle with your readers.

Now I'm curious: who is the Nickels' staffer and have you ever criticized him in print? You've got to wonder: are you being played?

Spill the beans. Who are you slumming with?

Where? huh?

email me if you have to seattle98104 at g fuckin' mail.

Truth be told, I am not sure I want GasGirl invited on our next jaunt. Nothing personal, GasGirl, but by the rabid tone of your posts, I can't shake the mental image of a clocktower, some sharpshooting and maybe some foam around the mouth. (do you listen to Marilyn Manson by chance? i pray you're more an amy grant type.)

This last Thursday I kept looking nervously at my chest convinced I would see red dots circling around my heart. And then there is the obvious concern of combining someone named "GasGirl" with a night of beans and rice and cheese. (bathroom humor = funny). Now, if you've ever eaten at Taco Diarrhea, you'll know that adding stress to an already stressful experience (i am convinced i have had at least two sour cream-induced heart attacks there) does not a good night make. It seriously disrupted my ability to plot and plan Phase 1 of the "Greg Nickels Take Over of the Media".

Oh well, we'll have to doubletime next week boys. Now I am off to go club some seals, eat some kittens and sacrifice some babies at the alter of Greg Nickels. Hail Nickels!