The Stranger, Seattle's Only Newspaper: Slog: Mailbag

Support Bradley Manning or Straight People Will Take Back Gay Marriage

Dominic Holden — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 10:26:52 -0700

Subject: Silence = Death

Stranger Editor and Staff:

I'm cribbing from Keith Haring because maybe that will get through the provincial hipster haze that is The Stranger. I'm referring to the case of Bradley Manning and the roar of silence from the gay community, which should be supporting him as much as any other issue, gay or otherwise. Glenn Greenwald offers a demolition of gay cowardice in today's Guardian.

Gay marriage supporters who obediently kick PFC Manning to the curb remind of nothing so much as African-American soldiers in the Civil War, who only had to wait 130 years before gaining the right to vote. Gay obedience will not protect marriage rights; just as the mass of progressive legislation from the early 1970's was ultimately thwarted, so too is gay marriage always open to reversal without a vigorous defense of human rights on all fronts.

The Stranger became an embarrassment as the Manning trial began and the silence could no longer be explained away. I reiterate my support for the permanent end of sexual closets, and also to ripping the gay activist base out of its newly-minted political closet.

Have a voice for Bradley Manning, because later on we straights might decide that gay marriage really wasn't worth the headache and wasn't a few decades enough?

Yours in contempt,
Dave Patten
Seattle, WA

You can read recent Stranger coverage of Bradley Manning here and here, plus this post titled "How to Write a Letter of Support to Bradley Manning."

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A Modest Proposal for Mayor McGinn: "I Know You Like Bikes"

Bethany Jean Clement — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 09:19:19 -0700

Hi Mike,

This is regarding bikes in Seattle:

I know you like bikes. So do I. I have a proposal for Seattle which could put it squarely in the spotlight as the most bike-friendly major city in the US (which as we know is a magnet to all those hip, educated, 20/30-somethings that are the lifeblood of a city’s future). And, as far as transportation infrastructure goes, it's really, really cheap.

It's called "1NS/1EW." One bike-only street that goes north-south and another that goes east-west. Cars get hundreds of streets, bikes should get one!

Cars have the right-of-way everywhere in the US. European cities often have big carless plazas and bike-only streets. But except for Mayor Bloomberg’s pilot in Times Square, cars are literally, literally everywhere in the US. Isn’t it about time we ask for one little strip of their domain?

This idea, by the way, is much different than a greenway. This isn’t a trail that skirts AROUND a city. And it isn’t tens of millions of dollars in cycle-track redevelopment. This is a NORMAL street.

We take a standard, low-vehicular-traffic, two-way street that is centrally located. We change it so that, except for major intersections, cross traffic must stop. Then we sign it so that it is “Local Access Only”—in other words, cars and trucks can still travel half a block to load/unload/park as needed. Then we tell the city and the world that Seattle just invented the first major bike-only street in America for the cost of a few signs and some green paint. Done.

Yes, it would be a small inconvenience for drivers, but it’s counterbalanced by the fact that it keeps cyclists "out of the way" of busier/faster streets. It’s like the “green streets” concept that Portland pioneered, only smarter.

I’m not a realtor, but I have a hunch it would be pretty cool to live or work on the bike-street. It’ll be quieter, safer and more pedestrian (aka shopper) friendly. I think property values would be driven up.

Hey, I’m a driver too. And I know that Seattle, with all its water, is hard as hell to navigate. But to me, getting cyclists safely off the thoroughfares and onto their own is worth the sacrifice of one street. Let’s try it. Let’s pilot it. And if it doesn’t work, it’s a song to undo.

Let me know what you think.

Mike

I say: Hear, hear! What do you say?

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Help This Verbose, Paragraph-Averse Woman from Scotland Find the People She Stayed With in Medina in 2009: UPDATE!

Bethany Jean Clement — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 13:08:40 -0700

A happy update:

Hello,

Thanks so much for posting my message, I found who I was looking for! Sorry about the layout of the message, I'd never emailed a newspaper before and I thought you would only publish the parts relevant to finding them :p the irony is I'm actually an English literature graduate but I never really use paragraphs in casual emails lol!

Thanks once again I really appreciate what you have done,

Michelle

So thanks, Slog! (I let Michelle know that I was just joking with the header, and that editing costs extra, payable in the form of baked goods.)

* * * * * * *

Without further ado:

Subject: a refreshing account of an act of kindness from one human to another, when most news is bad news!

Hi there,

I was wondering if you could help me with something. My name is Michelle Gallagher, I am from Scotland and I was working in California in the summer of 2009 when a lovely couple whom I had never met before, came into my workplace in the Northstar resort of Lake Tahoe, and out of the blue, after just ten minutes of conversation, and asking for nothing in return, invited me to visit them at their home in Medina, Washington at some point in my trip, so that I could experience the beauty of their city as I would probably never have seen it otherwise. I am pretty sure this area they said was six miles away from the home of Bill Gates, whose daughter the lady used to teach at elementary school. Their names were Pam and Chris Espinoza (or at least I am pretty sure that is their second name!). On the way home from our summer work experience, my friend and I decided to do something wild, and take them up on their offer and we called them and arranged to stay with them and honestly they treated us like royalty, but on the way home we both lost their card which contained their email addresses, I don't know how but we did and we have felt terrible about this ever since...

...I am wondering if you could possibly put out a message to them in your newspaper to let them know we have often thought about them and are wondering how their son's baby is doing, as his wife was due to go into labour in the few days after we left to go home. I feel awful that they may think that after them picking us up from the airport, taking us into their lovely home, buying us lunch and helping us with our lost luggage situation, that we just went home and never bothered to email them again, when this is not the case. The couple were two of the nicest people we have ever met, and i have tried to search their names on google and facebook to no avail, even tried checking the name of the school Chris taught at but because it is Bill Gates' daughter's school the name was not disclosed anywhere online. I hope that with the description I have given that you may do something fantastic for us and publish this message to them and let them know we are still so eternally grateful for their hospitality and kindness, and that we got home safely! My email address is [redacted; we will forward your help/verbosity, however, email us] if there is a way you can ask them to send me an email and let me know how they are doing, as this would be amazing and I would be so grateful. I hope that you may email me back at some stage and let me know if this will happen or if there is anything you can do, even if I have to pay to have this message published I will, I just hope I can get back in touch with them after the few years that have passed to let them know that what they did for us was so selfless and cool. If this message gets published I hope that readers will feel refreshed about the fact that in a world where many people are unspeakably thoughtless, selfish and even cruel towards others, there do exist lovely people who go out of their way to be nice to you, are instantly so trusting of you even although they hardly know you, and who love their city so much that they can surprise you by giving you a lovely experience which you never expected would happen in any other situation. These two are very special people who said that once another couple asked them to visit them at their home in the same way, and they did it! In just the same way as i did, and that they had such a great time and are so glad that they did it, that they wanted to pay the favour forward for someone else, doing something extremely extremely cool and kind for my friend and I, at such a vulnerable time when they were expecting a call any minute to say their their grandchild was being delivered. I have told many people this story and I always get the same amused and positive response from them, about this couple who simply did a good turn for someone else who would always treasure the memory, and who is so sorry it has taken this long to get in touch! I am sending this email to all of the newspapers in Seattle in the hopes that they or someone they know, sees my message, as I have officially ran out of ideas on how to contact them and so this may be my last chance.

Yours sincerely,
Michelle Gallagher

Subject: typo, the names were chris and pat!

sorry the names were chris and pat, not pam, please excuse!

Michelle Gallagher

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"Why can't I see the Space Needle?" A Letter to the Editor

Anna Minard — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 12:59:58 -0700

This just popped up in our inbox (emphasis mine):

Subject: Why can't I see the Space Needle?

Why indeed. Apparently because the mayor and city council are more concerned about developers desires than those of the citizens and visitors to this city of Seattle. Are they getting their palms greased? Perhaps. It sure seems that way. I was driving back from Portland this last Sunday. Seeing the Space Needle just made me feel like I am finally home again from that long drive known locally as the slog. The very idea that the city council and the mayor WANT to have bigger buildings is bad enough. I understand the need of commerce and expansion, but to do so with no concern whatsoever for the people of this region, not just Seattle, is just plain deplorable! Again, the people here get what they are given, not what they want. Or need for that matter. I feel very strongly their goal is just too much and the people need to speak out against the height and blockage of our icon that is the Space Needle. Other cities have spires, Las Vegas, Dallas and others. But NONE of them resemble the Space Needle. That was Bagley Wright’s goal. To create a place to see from afar and to visit up close that is uniquely Seattle. I can’t imagine how he would feel if he were alive today. He passed not so long ago. Perhaps the council and mayor were just waiting for his passing to pounce on this opportunity. I’m sure they’d have one hell of a fight if he were here today!

PLEASE DON'T BLOCK THE VIEW!

Rita Martinez
Seattle, WA

We assume she's referring to the Space Needle Corporation's recent campaign aimed at preventing new development in South Lake Union from blocking views of the Needle. But we'd like to point you, Rita, to a much more elegant solution than preventing development, which we reported on last week: "Build Additional Space Needles," the newest campaign to save your Space Needley views! Check out this rendering by KOMO News of our fair city with two dozen additional Space Needles—unforgettable! This is urban design at its best.

Meanwhile, as I was typing this, the Space Needle folks struck again, sending out a press release with the newest prong of their view-saving campaign: a one-minute radio ad. "Once our views are gone, we'll never get them back," it warns. Listen here!

UPDATE: Gold star comment of the day goes to MacCrocodile in the comments on this post:

Just yesterday, I went to the Space Needle with some friends from out of town. It was terrifying. I couldn't see the Space Needle from inside the gift shop. Of course I blacked out, and when I came to, I would have been completely disoriented except that I was outside and laying on the ground, looking up at the Space Needle.

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Someone Who Just Moved Here Tells Us About Seattle

Dominic Holden — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 16:59:11 -0700

A reader sent a letter to the editor in response to Anna Minard's "Are Seattle Schools Racist?" Estlin Graves writes:

Is this a rhetorical question?

When I tell Seattle folk that I'm a recent transplant from the Deep South, one of two general reactions typically occur. The first is an empathetic nod and a pat on the shoulder with "Yeah, man, me too. Don't all these passive-aggressive West Coast pricks drive you mad?" And the second, more common reaction is a disparaging forced smile and a slight eye twitch, carefully concealed immediately thereafter, as if to say "Now that I know I'm speaking with ignorance manifested, I'll try to keep my composure until I can find a way to evade deep conversation."

As I drove across the country a few months ago with nothing but the shit I could fit in my tiny car on my way west, I got to see and study the social climates of some of the USA's most defining cities—New York, D.C., Chicago—but what stands out to me still is the time I spent in Milwaukee.

One toothless laborer I met in a bar there boasted that Milwaukee is "among the top three most segregated cities in America," and indeed, my aimless walks around the city's various neighborhoods revealed abrupt shifts in culture every few blocks. The wealthy (almost entirely white) folks lived in small mansions looking over the city's (almost entirely nonwhite) slums. At the risk of sounding like a liberal arts student, I thought "Christ, this place is an embodiment of our entire nation's social and racial situation."

The northwest, though, is different. I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I got here, because if you say "Seattle" in most of the South, folks tend to look at you like you said "Cambodia," so far removed is its progressive culture.

The truth is, what I've found here is hardly any different than hellish Milwaukee. The west coast is no less racist than the rural parts of the Carolinas; it's just better at pretending to not be racist.

That's not a good thing. While I've suffered plenty of piercing glares from older black folks in the South who had likely seen a white man who looked a lot like me spray their loved ones with a fire hose in the streets, I feel a thousand times shittier here, because eye contact between myself and a nonwhite individual seldom, if ever, even occurs. He or she treats me as though I were invisible, and I, failing to make any human connection, reluctantly do the same.

That's not any one person or institution's fault, of course. I cannot pretend to speak from experience, though I imagine that if I'd been the lowest common socioeconomic denominator through no fault of my own, I'd be a bit spiteful toward lily-skinned pussies who, despite sitting pretty atop nearly every undeserved boon, still find something to complain about—my coffee is too cold; my phone sucks—I'd be in a state of almost constant anger; anger which might boil, in time, into resentment, then hatred, and, finally, disillusionment. I would resign myself from the impossible "American Dream" I was taught to believe in, and transform into something resembling a pure self-preservationist, knowing well that my culture is not designed to catch me when I fall unless I were to magically wake up tomorrow as some narrow suburban honky.

In sum, the question is not "Are Seattle schools racist?"—the question is "Is America, even in its most progressive parts, rife with ignorance and separatism?" And at either rate, the answer is a resounding YES.

But where do we go from there? I, for one, am no seer, no strategist, no sage—but I'll offer this: See yourself as a cell, an integral and irreplaceable part of a larger organism called society. Now, what if you were to make a supreme effort to be honest with yourself about what you take for granted? Who knows, you might just mutate—evolve, even—and maybe, just maybe, you'll start to infect other cells with your new brand of compassion until the whole damn organism starts to learn how to heal.

Estlin Graves

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Bicycle Shop Owner Opposes New Tax on Bicycles

Dominic Holden — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 16:00:45 -0800

I would like to know if someone at The Stranger is working on an article about the $25 bicycle tax that is being proposed by Representative Judy Clibborn. If possible I would like to talk to the person that is writing that article and if not I would like to talk to a reporter who would consider writing such an article. I read the SLOG post by Dominic Holden on the subject and while it addresses some aspects of what this tax would do there are some more specifics that I think are important.

As the owner of a local bicycle shop this proposal concerns me greatly.

My main points of objection are:

1. That it is based on the false premise that the roads, highways and bridges are paid for primarily by gas and motor vehicle taxes. My research has found that the majority of the cost is borne by the general fund that all taxpayers contribute to. If we drove cars instead of bikes it would cost taxpayers more, not less.

2. The tax would be due only on sales from local bicycle stores. People buying bicycles from out of state who are already not paying our 9.5% sales tax would not have to pay this tax either. On a $500 bike this would amount to a total of about 14.5% in taxes that we would have to charge.

Two more reasons from Montlake Bicycle shop owner Neil Wechsler after the jump.

3. When you raise the price of a product sales are certain to go down. Some people will find an untaxed out of state source, some will buy a lower quality bicycle, and some will not buy a bike at all. That will end up meaning less employment in bike shops in our state. (In the last campaign it seemed like every candidate was running on a pro-jobs platform, but actions speak louder than words.)

4. That the tax, which is projected to bring in only $100,000 in revenue per year may well cost the state more than that amount. Creating, collecting, and enforcing another tax don’t happen for free. If you include that some sales would be driven out of state the lost sales tax revenue would pretty much assure that the fee would end up costing the state money. To create the burden of a new tax that earns nothing for the state would be an insult to its citizens.

Neil Wechsler, owner
Montlake Bicycle Shop

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Letter to the Editor

Dominic Holden — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 12:17:35 -0800

Hello and greetings to you and your company. I am Stuart Harris and I understand your company deals in sex toys and vibrator which am very interested in. If you do have them email me with the model or types that you have including with their prices range on them thank you

Best regards
Stuart Harris

Truly, you can make just about anything out of recycled paper these days.

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Squirts of Racism

Dominic Holden — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 11:31:47 -0800

Dear Mr. Holden,

My daughter says that I recklessly put sriracha sauce on everything I eat. In your writing, I feel that you carelessly squirt the charge of racism on everything.

Not every social problem can be blamed on horrible racists running around being racist. After a while, the charge starts to seem forced... even lazy.

Yours very truly,

George Meyer
Seattle

I carelessly squirted back a reply to Mr. Meyer asking for examples of my writing placing "the charge of racism on everything."

Mr. Meyer pointed me to two pieces I've written. First, as evidence of my reckless squirting, he cited "Asian Americans Wonder if Racism Persists on Rob McKenna's Campaign," about the reaction to a McKenna staffer tweeting that Asians needed to "shut up and drive." How could anyone think that telling an entire race of people to shut up is racist? Mr. Meyer doesn't, apparently. Second, he cited a piece in which I used the word racism once: "It's Not About the Stoners." Only a reckless squirter would recklessly link the drug war and racial bias.

Squirt, squirt, squirt.

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Olympia's Last Punk Mourns the Death of Punk Rock

Megan Seling — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 16:40:44 -0700

Mr. Maxwell is back for more!

Punk Is Not Dead! - Letter to the Stranger

Congratulations, the Stranger! You’ve somehow managed to hire Emily Nokes, a music writer that’s even dumber than Megan Selig. Kudos.

But why stop there? Why not take this aging teeny-bopping worthless scenester and make her the editor of the whole music department? What’s that? That’s exactly what you did? Well, once again you’re one step ahead of me and a million miles behind the times. Let’s start with some excerpts of her reviews in your October 10-16, 2012 issue, and I quote:

“aww” – from Wreckless Eric & Amy Rigby review

“Double aww!” – from same

“EEEEEEEH!” – from Naomi Punk review

Those quotes are taken out of context, but they are there nonetheless. To be fair to Emily here is another quote from the Naomi Punk review:

“…they take their time, unwinding with high airy vocals and oddly gratifying key changes that fade in and out as they please.”

Which isn’t bad, except she’s describing Naomi Punk, a band that does none of those things. If you go to Naomi Punk’s bandcamp site you get the privilege of hearing two cuts from their latest sold out LP The Feeling. The first one is entitled Voodoo Trust, a bland garagey drone that sounds like it was recorded with a set of cheap headphones plugged into a boombox. They do not take their time. The vocals are anything but airy as the singer whines out of key in the background. Fortunately his poor voice is buried beneath an uninspired derivative surf guitar lick that is repeated over and over until the key does in fact change. Once. To an equally uninspired and stale progression until the song finally ends as though the band just stopped playing for no good reason.

The other song entitled The Spell sounds remarkably similar to Voodoo Trust. So much so that it’s not worth mentioning any further.

Cindy Will Never See This Post

Dominic Holden — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 10:47:13 -0700

She'll never see it because I wrote it on an internet. And Cindy doesn't want The Stranger on an internet. She would prefer the printed version, sent by courier, which she also used to send us this letter with an envelope. Here is the front:

And here is the back:

Cindy is a little pushy. She'll work out great here.

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A Reader Has a Fucking Problem with Our Shitty Endorsements

Dominic Holden — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 11:50:37 -0700

Every year we get these sorts of letters, but this one's special:

To: Stranger Editorial control board
Re: Complaint about profanity in Your “July 17, 2012 Endorsements for the August 7 Primary Election"

YOUR PROFANITY IN YOUR ENDORSEMENTS detracts, offends and renders your article far less effective. The strength of your article and recommendations arise from the specifics which you document. They have persuasive punch that the Seattle Times’ endorsements lack. But your profanity distracts, offends and shoots you in your collective feet.

it shows a poverty of language and thought which discredits the article - particularly amongst elderly people, residents of retirement homes who might otherwise follow your recommendations

Below is a copy of the article from which I have deleted your swearwords, and substituted words such as “fool”. I think it vastly improves the article

PLEASE publish a profanity free version - such as mine below, AND avoid profanity in your recommendations for the finals, This will greatly increase your audience, impact and influence.

Besides it shows more skill and competence, and ,should be more fun to write without profanity. ,

Blake Howe

And sure enough, Mr. Howe included a revised version of our endorsements with his superior word choices. Please compare our original endorsements to Howe's draft below:

Endorsements for the August 7 Primary Election
by Stranger Election Control Board

<< EDITED BY BH 7-24 TO REMOVE PROFANITY >>

Any FOOL can run for office.

In fact, your primary ballot is packed with FOOLs. Like the guy who wants to gut Obamacare by creating "looser rules" for the same health-insurance companies that routinely canceled policies when people had the nerve to go and get sick. Total FOOL.

But you? You're not an FOOL. And you don't want to vote for FOOLs. You want to vote for non-FOOLs who support the commie War on Cars and the entire tax-and-spend, pro-gay, pro-pot agenda embraced by all non-FOOLs everywhere.

This is your guide to FOOL-free voting.

Yeah, we know: The primary election lacks the glamour of the general election—Obama! Gay marriage! Legal pot!—but primaries are important, too.

The state's future hangs in the balance of several upcoming cases before the state supreme court—and one of the supreme court races will be decided in this primary. And tons of races are jammed with challengers (mostly FOOLs), so if you don't want two FOOLs making it through to the general election, thereby guaranteeing that an FOOL wins the seat, you have to vote for non-FOOLs in the primary.

And, yes, we know. It's ===== July. Summer started 12 minutes ago, so why the ===== are we voting already?

Here's why: The legislature moved the primary election to the first ===== Tuesday of ——r===== August because Washington's all-absentee voting system needed more ===== time to process ===== ballots from overseas voters in the ===== military. Long, stupid story short, that means all of our absentee ballots are being mailed this week, which means it's time to vote. In ===== July.

And remember: Vote * * * *.
The Stranger Election Control Board is: Bethany Jean Clement, Paul Constant, Christopher Frizzelle, David “Goldy” Goldstein, Dominic Holden, Tim Keck, Cienna Madrid, Eli Sanders, Dan “FOOL” Savage, and Kathlyn Ehl. The SECB does not endorse in uncontested races or in districts that are too far away to walk to from our office.

US SENATE
Senator

Maria Cantwell

Maria Cantwell has made very few mistakes in her second term as our junior US senator. She supported health care reform (even the beloved-by-liberals public option, after some foot-dragging). She dove deep into the weeds of the Wall Street meltdown and came back with smart proposals for regulating financial transactions. Her primary challenger, Republican state senator Michael Baumgartner, has tried to cast Cantwell as anti-family for being—the horror!—unmarried. * * * what an FOOL. Vote Cantwell.

US HOUSE
Congressional District 1

Laura Ruderman

The SECB loves a strong progressive woman, and this race features three of them—which made it hard to pick a favorite. Two-time loser Darcy Burner? We appreciate her impassioned populism, not to mention her determination. Suzan DelBene? Hey, if she can fund her own campaign, more power to her. But for us, Laura Ruderman's crisp talking points and clear positions proved compelling. She opposes a new coal port in the district, favors allowing the Bush tax cuts to expire, and supports throwing the Republicans' lack of a jobs bill in their face as often as possible.

Ruderman is also the only Democratic woman in the race with legislative experience. In 2000, she became the first Democrat ever to be reelected in the swingy 45th District—which lies within the newly redrawn 1st Congressional District—suggesting that her profile lines up well with the voters she's trying to court. In the legislature, Ruderman pushed for paid sick leave and collective bargaining rights for state employees.

And yes, we've reported that Ruderman's mom is funding a PAC to attack DelBene, but that doesn't scandalize us (and neither does DelBene pumping more than $1 million into her own campaign).

We're convinced that in Congress, Ruderman will continue doing good work. So vote Ruderman.

Congressional District 7

Jim McDermott

It's healthy for 89-term congressman Jim McDermott to finally have a challenger. He's been a reliable progressive over his 178 long years in office—taking a stand against the Iraq War, taking a stand for the Civil War, pushing for single-payer health care—but even a liberal lion needs a nudge now and then. And challenger Andrew Hughes, 30, has nudged McDermott to belatedly come out in favor of this year's marijuana-legalizing Initiative 502. Beyond that, however, Hughes has failed to articulate a convincing rationale for dropping McDermott, or even why Seattle voters should choose a guy with no track record in elected office—and little experience holding down a real job—to represent them in DC.

Congressional District 9

Adam Smith

Democrats fought hard last year to draw Washington's 1st District with a majority population of racial minorities. And then they inexplicably drew its borders around our delegation's least colorful congressman: Adam Smith (D). Go figure. Regardless, incumbent representative Smith promises to be a good fit. Marriage equality? Check. Don't ask, don't tell? He led the repeal efforts. Are taxes too high? "Heavens no," Smith told the SECB. Meanwhile, Smith's Republican opponent Jim Postma told us that he'd "never seen a tax cut I didn't like." And then he admitted that he had "worked on the government dole almost my entire life." Total FOOL. Vote for Smith.

STATE OF WASHINGTON
Governor

Jay Inslee

People bitch about how unexciting Jay Inslee is, but exciting governance and good governance aren't always the same thing. Inslee has tremendous political instincts, often putting him on the right side of crucial issues even when many Democrats are wrong.

Example: Inslee was an outspoken champion of green energy policies long before Al Gore uttered the phrase "an inconvenient truth." Inslee also broke with his party and his president to vote against 1999's disastrous repeal of the Depression-era Glass-Steagall Act, banking deregulation that arguably led to the Great Recession. He also helped tweak the Affordable Care Act so that it rewarded rather than punished Washington State for prior health-care reforms.

And unlike his opponent, Inslee is not a cowardly, - - - , two-faced, union-hating, light-rail-killing, gay-marriage- opposing - - - lawyer whose staff posts racist tweets (#FOOLs) and who threatens to arrest a reporter who ask him follow-up questions.
Do we wish Inslee didn't make us yawn? Sure. We also wish he wasn't in favor of locking up pot smokers. But he'll make a much better governor than that puckered FOOL Rob McKenna. Vote Inslee.

Lieutenant Governor

James Robert Deal

James Robert Deal warned the SECB that pro-fluoride "PR manipulators" have infiltrated every level of government to push their drug of choice and we, the sheeple, are chugging their fluoride-flavored lies. But hear this: Fluoride is poison, Deal says.

Deal's anti-fluoride agenda is - - - -, sure, but it's better than the guano we've been getting from our current lieutenant governor. Longtime incumbent Brad Owen has done nothing to promote a progressive agenda. Instead, he's been touring the state with his - - - - - - rock band on a ceaseless crusade to lock up pot smokers. If we're going to have a pointless position like lieutenant governor, then that person should use it for something harmless, like waging war on fluoride, instead of spewing anti-pot talking points.

Secretary of State

Kathleen Drew

If Democrats actually want to beat Republican Kim Wyman in November, the three-way Democratic race for secretary of state is a no-brainer. State senator Jim Kastama the Democratic base with his turncoat role in the recent senate budget coup, while former Seattle mayor Greg Nickels alienates non-Seattle voters simply by virtue of being a former Seattle mayor. (No Democratic Seattle mayor has ever gone on to win statewide office.) That leaves Kathleen Drew, a former state senator and Governor Chris Gregoire policy aide, who impressed the SECB with her thorough knowledge of election procedures and who, like Wyman (outgoing secretary of state Sam Reed's handpicked successor), * * * * . Non-crazy Republican women are hard to beat, so if Democrats want a shot at capturing this office for the first time since 1956, Drew is by far their best hope.

State Auditor

Craig Pridemore

All four candidates can reasonably claim that they're qualified, but only state senator Craig Pridemore has the character and demeanor to ensure that the auditor's office is as * * * boring as it ought to be. The chair of the Joint Legislative Audit Review Committee, Pridemore promises strong management rather than a strong agenda and he recognizes that a performance audit of, say, a hospital versus a transit agency requires specialized auditors. Vote for Pridemore.
Attorney General

Bob Ferguson

If all it took to run the Attorney General's Office were good looks, a terrible work ethic, and a prominent mother, Reagan Dunn would have our endorsement. But since "showing up and doing the hard work" is part of Bob Ferguson's description for the job, he gets our vote.

Ferguson has one of the best voting and attendance records on the King County Council; Dunn has one of the worst. Ferguson saved taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars by forcing the council to buy secondhand furniture, while the self-proclaimed "fiscally conservative" Dunn spent almost $6,000 of taxpayer money on a junket to Australia. Ferguson has four and a half years of civil law experience at a top Seattle law firm, while Dunn is an FOOL who claimed to have three and a half years of experience in a civil law practice when in fact he wasn't a lawyer for two of those years.

Dunn's already risen further than his natural abilities and work habits should allow. Vote for Ferguson.

Commissioner of Public Lands

Peter Goldmark

Incumbent Peter Goldmark is a genuine cowboy (with a PhD in molecular biology) who defied convention to become the first Eastern Washingtonian to win statewide executive office in forever, promising to protect public lands and end the office's too-cozy relationship with powerful timber, mining, and fishery companies. Goldmark delivered. Reelect Goldmark.

Superintendent of Public Instruction

Randy Dorn

Since we endorsed him four years ago, state superintendent of public instruction Randy Dorn has followed through on his election promise: He significantly reformed WASL testing by replacing the huge test with two shorter tests. Meanwhile, he's been knee-deep in the depressing ——show of fighting for public school funding in the midst of devastating cuts. Dorn has earned the endorsement of the state teachers' union and has no serious challengers. Vote Dorn.

Insurance Commissioner

Mike Kreidler

Since the US Supreme Court has upheld the Affordable Care Act, the state's insurance commissioner, who oversees the state's 48 insurance companies, must now oversee implementation of that health care law. The best choice is Mike Kreidler, a Democrat who's held the job since 2000, and is raring to shepherd in new health-care plans. Kreidler's challengers are John Adams (really his name), a crazy FOOL who believes teabaggy myths that have been debunked by Snopes, and a former insurance-industry Republican named Scott Reilly, a craven FOOL who says he wants, of all things, "a looser way" for insurance companies to do business here. The last thing we need is someone loosening the rules for the same insurance companies that <> up our health-care system in the first place. Vote Kreidler.

LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT 11

State Senator

Bob Hasegawa

Bob Hasegawa is on a mission to create a state bank, which would reinvest state money back into the state's infrastructure, like education and public health. He also likes closing tax loopholes on private planes, he's for gay marriage, and he wants to require insurance companies to offer equal abortion and maternity coverage. His opponent is an anti-choice, anti-gay-marriage candy-haired clown who believes that slashing taxes will fix our billion-dollar budget problem. It's almost an insult to FOOLs—which have their uses—to call this lady an FOOL. Vote for Hasegawa.

Representative Position 1

Zack Hudgins

Zack Hudgins is a good, solid Dem who supports a statewide income tax, backed a bill to allow 16-year-olds to preregister to vote (hell yes!), and supports a state bank. His opponent, Jim Flynn, appears to be basing his run on calls for a statewide income tax—which, as mentioned, Hudgins already supports. Vote Hudgins.

Representative Position 2

Rob Holland

Only one of the candidates in this race is an FOOL—a teacher named Steve Bergquist, who claims to be a Democrat but drives a Hummer, is iffy on a state bank proposal, and can't wait to vote against an initiative to legalize pot. So, yeah, Bergquist is an FOOL and a moron. On the other hand, Stephanie Bowman and fundraising pro Bobby Virk were strong progressives, but in the end, they didn't bring the experience of Rob Holland.

Holland has served on the Port of Seattle Commission since 2010 and he brings sterling politics to this racially diverse district. He's unequivocal about supporting a high-earners income tax, granting Seattle new taxing authority for mass transit, and legalizing pot. Plus, Holland is a gay black man, which is something our lily-white legislature has never seen. Holland isn't perfect; he sometimes struggles to articulate the nuances of policy. But we think he can polish up those skills in Olympia.

LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT 34
Representative Position 1

Eileen Cody

As a practicing nurse and chair of the house's health-care committee, Representative Eileen Cody sponsored legislation that successfully lowered prescription-drug costs and created a state program that allows people to compare insurance policies. While her opponent, William Giammarese, seems like a good-hearted liberal—he supports gay marriage and pledges to tithe 10 percent of his salary to the empty mothbag we call a treasury—he has no legislative experience and hasn't fundraised a cent.

LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT 36
Representative Position 1

Reuven Carlyle

Reuven Carlyle (D-Eltana Bagels) is finishing up his second term representing Northwest Seattle in the state house, and he's done a fine job. His best fight—to establish sunset dates for most of our state's stupidest tax loopholes—is one that he hasn't won yet. That's reason enough to send Carlyle back to keep trying.

One of Carlyle's challengers, Leslie Klein, informed the SECB: "I'm running to represent only people, not planets." Carlyle's other challenger is a sweet guy named Robert Canamar who looks like Abe Lincoln's grandpa and has $0 in his campaign fund. Vote Carlyle.

Representative Position 2

Noel Christina Frame

This might seem like a hard choice. Six people and a Republican are running to replace Mary Lou Dickerson, who is retiring at the end of the year, and all six of those people have very, very similar positions (they like gays, pot, transit, women's choice, funding education, creating jobs, etc.). But which one of them can capably turn those positions into effective policy?

Noel Frame.

She's zeroed in on the number-one issue our legislature needs to prioritize: fixing our state's tax structure.

In January, the state supreme court ruled that we're failing our constitutional duty to fund K–12 education, which will cost an additional $1 billion to $3 billion a year, and we'll have to solve that problem by 2018. That future budget shortfall will come on top of previous shortfalls that have already gutted college funding and social programs critical to ensuring that poor kids get a fair shot. And for the ===== record, it's not that the state has a spending problem, we just have a tax structure that falls disproportionately on the poor (relying heavily on sales tax instead of income tax) and simply can't meet the demands of our growing, aging, and schooling populations.

"I want to lead a statewide conversation about an income tax," Frame unabashedly said at a League of Women Voters forum on July 12. "I think it's time, and we have a window of opportunity because of the supreme court ruling." She also points out that investing in schools creates jobs—in the short term and long term.

Yes, every one of the other people in the race (Gael Tarleton, Sahar Fathi, Brett Phillips, and the rest) supports education funding and tax reform, too, but none is tackling this issue so aggressively.

As the Washington State director of Progressive Majority, which recruits progressive candidates for office, Frame is already a movement-builder. We believe that Frame can combine forces with tax-finance gurus (like Sarajane Siegfriedt, who we endorse in the 46th District) to develop strong policy and leverage pressure on the legislature to pass it. We want to see her in Olympia.

LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT 37
Representative Position 2

Eric Pettigrew

So the supreme court finally rules that the state is shorting its "paramount duty" to fund basic education by billions of dollars a year, and what does five-term Democratic incumbent Eric Pettigrew do? He squanders the opportunity by calling for charter schools. Charter ===== schools! Since his sole opponent is a nutty Ron Paul organizer, we're holding our nose and voting for Pettigrew anyway.

LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT 43
Representative Position 1

Jamie Pedersen

An articulate firebrand and economics instructor at Seattle University and Seattle Central Community College, Kshama Sawant understands exactly how the state's tax structure is failing its people and exactly what legislators must do to improve it. And hot damn would it be thrilling to send a brash, uncompromising socialist alternative legislator to Olympia to kick some majority-squandering, safety-net-degrading Democratic ass.
But if you're looking to send a message by running a referendum on do-nothing Democrats, three-term incumbent Jamie Pedersen is the last Democrat we'd pick. A lawyer, Pedersen is a co-plaintiff in a lawsuit to overturn Tim Eyman's initiative that requires an impossible two-thirds majority to raise any taxes and he's played a lead role in the fight to legalize gay marriage. Sawant had originally filed to run against house Speaker Frank Chopp. We wish she'd stuck with her instincts, because Pedersen isn't part of the Democratic problem.

Representative Position 2

Kshama Sawant

Representing the same district as Pedersen, house Speaker Frank Chopp has done a great job building and maintaining a Democratic majority, but he's done <> job using it, presiding over a decade of budget cuts while doing nothing to address our state's structural revenue deficit.

That's why we're writing in Kshama Sawant, who didn't file in this race, but should have.

LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT 46

Representative Position 1

Gerry Pollet

Gerry Pollet has a reputation for being an abrasive liberal <>, characteristics we here at the SECB normally embrace, but which many insiders worried would make him an ineffective legislator. Appointed last year to fill out David Frockt's house term, Pollet surprised even his harshest critics, earning high marks for his work within the Democratic caucus and even for reaching across the aisle (without a shiv). We like Pollet's smart, youngish opponent, Sylvester Cann. But Cann's lack of experience and his endorsement by charter-school advocates give us pause. Reelect Pollet.

Representative Position 2

Sarajane Siegfriedt

The SECB was torn between two sharp, accomplished women in this race (whose positions are nearly indistinguishable). On the one hand, Jessyn Farrell is totally fawn-worthy. The former director of transit-advocacy group Transportation Choices Coalition, Farrell could take her War on Cars to Olympia with the backing of nonprofit coalitions. She's also stunningly charismatic, and the legislature could be her launching pad for a career in national politics.

But we give our wholehearted endorsement, instead, to Sarajane Siegfriedt. Better versed in economics and business than any other candidate we encountered this year, Siegfriedt is focused on fixing a structural revenue deficit that is turning this state, one budget at a time, into a <>. For instance, she's presenting a plan to eliminate the business and occupation tax (which hurts new, small companies) and replace it with a 1 percent corporate income tax. A former businesswoman with an MBA and a current member of the county property tax board, Siegfriedt has her eye on the house commerce committee, where we think she would educate her underinformed colleagues about the urgency of fixing the state tax code. Plus she's right on all the liberal issues—including transit and education—and those, too, rely on a better understanding of how to raise money. We think Siegfriedt is the woman who can do it. Vote for her.

WA STATE SUPREME COURT
Supreme Court Justice Position 2

Susan Owens

Justice Susan Owens is a seasoned ——- who's been warming benches for so long in Washington that her <> is riddled with bedsores shaped like the state seal. Owens sided with the minority of pro-gay-marriage justices in 2006, she secured greater consumer protections against internet spammers, and she's endorsed by all eight of her colleagues.

One of her challengers, Scott Stafne, weakly insists, "I just think the supreme court needs a fresh voice." We disagree. Vote Owens.

Supreme Court Justice Position 8

Steve Gonzalez

Because of the weird rules for judicial contests, this race will be decided in the August primary. WE REPEAT: THIS SUPER- IMPORTANT RACE WILL BE DECIDED IN THE AUGUST PRIMARY, SO VOTE. * * * . State supreme court justice Steve Gonzalez is a highly qualified former terrorism prosecutor and former King County Superior Court judge who was appointed to the state supreme court in November of last year by Governor Gregoire. Gonzalez's challenger? A little-known Kitsap County lawyer who has lost three recent runs for local office and is totally unqualified for the high court—but who might actually win because of his amazingly Anglo-Saxon name: Bruce Danielson.

Matt Barreto, a pollster at the University of Washington, warns that "minority candidates, all other things being equal, are evaluated less favorably by the voters." And in judicial races that people don't follow, all things are equal, and many voters will just pick the guy with the white last name.

Sound far-fetched? It's happened before in these highly consequential, but little- noticed races. Vote Gonzalez.

Supreme Court Justice Position 9

Bruce Hilyer

This race features the return of disgraced former justice Richard B. Sanders, who voters booted off the high court in 2010 amid charges that Sanders made racist statements and showed unforgivable hypocrisy (he voted against same-sex marriage because he said gays have "more sexual partners," but it turned out that Sanders himself had multiple simultaneous girlfriends). Whatever you do, don't vote for that cherry-picking FOOL.

The hard truth, however, is that Sanders will probably get through the primary. Who's best positioned to beat Sanders in the general? Not Sheryl McCloud, who misguidedly donated $700 to Sanders in 2010. No, the best shot at keeping Sanders off the bench is current King County Superior Court judge Bruce Hilyer, who was rated "exceptionally well qualified" by multiple groups and was named the 2010 Judge of the Year by the King County Bar Association. Vote Hilyer.

KING COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT
Positions 25, 29, 30, and 46

Elizabeth Berns, Sean O'Donnell, Doug North, and Judy Ramseyer

These are hugely important races that almost no one—except us! And the indispensable www.votingforjudges.org! Check it out!—pays attention to.

We recommend: lesbian litigator and pro-tem judge Elizabeth Berns for Position 25, prosecutor Sean O'Donnell for Position 29, incumbent King County Superior Court judge Doug North for Position 30, and civil rights champion Judy Ramseyer for Position 46.

Position 42

Sue Parisien

We're breaking out this endorsement from our other superior court races because it's different. King County Superior Court judge Christopher Washington, who's held this seat for eight years, came in dead last in every single category of a recent survey filled out by local attorneys. His lowest score was for legal decision-making (where he scored a 2.7 rating out of 5), according to the King County Bar Association. And that's not an anomaly: He was ninth from the bottom of all 53 justices on the King County Superior Court in 2007. Those ratings alone aren't enough to disqualify Judge Washington, but they sure give us pause.

Washington claims disgruntled prosecutors, who oppose his leniency to young offenders in juvenile court, tanked his ratings. But we don't quite buy that reasoning. Another judge in the same juvenile court, Michael Trickey, got the highest rating for legal decision-making of all 53 judges on the bench and has been plenty fair to young offenders. Instead it seems that Judge Washington has simply ignored the law in too many cases and legitimately upset attorneys—especially prosecutors—who expect judges to play by the rules.

His challengers are all capable, but Sue Parisien is the best. She's an advocate for treatment programs and diversion, Governor Gregoire has praised her, and the Municipal League gives her a "very good" rating. So do we. Vote Parisien.

BALLOT MEASURES
King County Proposition No. 1

Approve

This $208 million levy would pay to rebuild our decrepit youth jail and courthouse. Located in the Central District, the 60-year-old courthouse is more dangerous than an electric-eel fishery: Plumbing and electrical is shot, drinking water is brown, and the whole place smells << * * * >> Unlike a 2010 attempt to replace the center, which failed as a proposed increased sales tax, this proposition is a more equitable property tax. The nine-year levy would cost $25–$30 per median homeowner annually (7 cents per $1,000 of assessed property), beginning in 2013.

Critics say we should be more progressive by abolishing jails altogether. But (a) that's ===== ludicrous, and (b) our juvenile justice system is a nationwide model that diverts youth offenders into treatment programs, so this jail will have dozens fewer beds than the old jail. Approve this —-===== already.

City of Seattle Proposition No. 1

Yes

The Seattle Public Library has lost the equivalent of four branch libraries' worth of funding in five years, resulting in slashed hours, furloughs, and fewer new books. If there are any more cuts, board member Marie McCaffrey warns, "We would have to start closing branches." This seven-year levy would raise $17.3 million annually via a property tax of roughly $52 per household, which would be used to beef up collections by 14 percent, e-book content by 45 percent, and restore 6,551 library hours annually. Critics say the city could siphon away the money for other purposes, but that's tinfoil-hat fearmongering. We'll admit, levies like this are an awful way to fund needed services, but thanks to a Tim Eyman initiative that caps the city's taxation authority, we have no other choice. <>

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LTE: "Public Pools and Mastectomys" [sic]

Dominic Holden — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 15:15:26 -0700

In response to our recent story about the city's ban on women with mastectomies swimming topless in public pools, a reader writes:

I have been a swimmer for my entire life and want everyone to be able to get the same benefits. WITHIN REASON. The community centers need to try and accommodate conservative beliefs so that more people can use the facilities. It is great that their are times set aside for Muslim women to swim in accordance with their lifestyle. Other women with conservative backgrounds probably go at those times also. If Parks doesn't do that then those women can't swim. Conservative families who aren't comfortable at the center won't go and it won't be the women and children who make that decision. Jodi Jaecks shouldn't make that decision either.

There are public pools all over the city with different time slots. Jodi should reconsider spending her energy hassling with the parks department and use it to work on healing. I hope she does and I wish her the best.

Anna Bergman

Anna Bergman, ladies and gentlemen.

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The Mysterious Vanishing Squirrels of Beacon Hill

Christopher Frizzelle — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 13:27:06 -0700

Patrik Mezirka / Shutterstock.com

A reader writes in to ask:

Why are there no squirrels on Beacon Hill this spring? They were all over the place in years past. Am I just impatient? Is it too early for them? Or has something catastrophic wiped them all out? Ordinarily the golf course at Jefferson Park is a squirrel factory. It keeps the surrounding neighborhoods abundantly supplied with our cute bushy tailed nut chomping pests. So far this year I have not seen even one squirrel anywhere. What's up?

All right, squirrel nuts (see what I did there????): Now's your time to shine. Put your theories in the comments.

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Which Stranger Writer is Being Threatened by a 13-Year-Old (Today)?

Cienna Madrid — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 17:33:26 -0700

Find out who teens are threatening to clumsily torture and kill over here!

Letter to the Editor

Dominic Holden — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 13:12:35 -0700

Dear Editor,

Only when every richly powerful and powerfully rich person on this earth is living in constant and abject fear of being cooked and eaten alive will there be peace in our world.

Sincerely Yours,
Leland Mellott
Mount Vernon, Washington

So true, Leland.

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Dept. of Unfortunately Timed Promotional Product Deliveries

Dominic Holden — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:35:08 -0800

The labels, which must have been printed more than a week ago, say: "FUZE is proud to donate $325,000 to Susan G. Komen for the Cure."

Also: tastes like snozberries.

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Postcard About the Catholic Church

Dominic Holden — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 12:58:35 -0800

Front:

Back (click to enlarge):

Thanks for the letter, Barbara.

Send us your Vatican-denouncing, revolution-inciting, peace-sign-and-crucifix-emblazoned postcards to: The Stranger | 1535 11th Ave (Third Floor), Seattle, WA 98122.

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Reader Letter Inspires Regret at Stranger Headquarters

Paul Constant — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 08:10:17 -0800

Good news! We got an actual, real letter in the actual, real mail! Let's just read what it says...

Click to enlarge.

For those who can't read print anymore thanks to rampant computer usage, here's a transcription:

Click to enlarge.

Dear Editor,

In reference to your Vol. 21, No. 18 issue—front page of Jan. 4-10, 2012, you spelled your own newspaper name wrong. It said The Starnger, instead of The Stranger. Since the main subject was on, "We Regret These Errors" I thought it should be corrected, too.

Sincerely yours,
[Basically Illegible Signature]

P.S. This is my 1st time looking at your paper.

The cover in question is posted on the left. Turns out, dear first-time reader, you were right. It does say The Starnger. How embarrassing for us! We regret the error. In addition, it is not our 129th annual regrets issue, as the cover claims. It was only our 9th annual regrets issue. We regret that error, too. Further, I did not write about the "Iowa Primaries" on our website, as the cover indicates. I wrote about the Iowa caucuses. There were no Iowa primaries. That is an error we regret, as well.

I could promise that we'll try to be more accurate in the coming year, but, really, what's the point? We all know the parade of fuckups never ends at the good ol' Starnger.

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Charles Mudede Responds to a Response to Charles Mudede"s Response to Jay-Z Banning the Word "Bitch" From His Songs!

Grant Brissey — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 12:51:25 -0800

When a male rapper calls another male rapper a bitch, and this is not uncommon, it is always in the spirit of mockery, and not camaraderie ("my nigga"). It's the same as a male rapper calling another a fag. Indeed, the very fact this is meant to express the extremely low regard one male rapper holds for another shows how low a regard they have for the rights of gays and women.

Read the whole thing here.

With Enemies Like These...

Bethany Jean Clement — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 11:44:37 -0800

From the electronic mailbag:

In my opinion savage spreads garbage. he is fowl mouth and a disgrace to journalism.

That's the entire message.

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Letter from a Bisexual Plunged into "Invisible Darkness"

Dominic Holden — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 10:50:54 -0800

Dear The Stranger,

I commend Governor Gregoire on her support of same sex marriage. At the same time, I would like to express my disappointment in the isolation that further separates bisexuals and transgendered individuals as a result of her announcement of support for same sex marriage. Why not support Marriage Equality instead? Why not frame the words in a way that does not make the LGBT marriage campaign strictly for gays and lesbians? I am a bisexual woman and I am proud of who I am. I am with a wonderful man who is my best friend and who I one day look forward to marrying. At the same time, I am still a bisexual individual and it could be that I marry a woman. But this would NOT make me a lesbian, this would not qualify me under her speech. There are also my transgendered friends, who do not fall under the premises of her speech, who would not be considered nor consider themselves "same sex" as her support explicitly states. The move for same sex marriage is not just for gays and lesbians. There are bisexuals and transgendered/intersexual persons who want to get married too; or who are married, who have lives and relationships; hopes and dreams. We deserve to be included. By leaving us out of her speech, she relegates us to an invisible darkness; to shame and isolation; to pain and suffering. We deserve to be included in this. And as much as I support and love my gay and lesbian friends, our brothers and sisters, I love myself too. Please support MARRIAGE EQUALITY and not just same sex marriage or marriage for gays and lesbians.

Sincerely, Shaunita Felder

Discuss.

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Today in Trenchant Reader Commentary

Bethany Jean Clement — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 14:07:22 -0800

An email from one "Cookin Better," in its entirety:

The Terra Plata Review wasn’t really written that well.

Not quite sure what to do with this one. Help me out, Slog!

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"Are you guys in that paper that much of a big fucking idiot you can't get your story straight?"

Eli Sanders — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 13:52:01 -0800

Figured I'd clean out my voicemail, what with the end of the year approaching and all. Turns out I missed an important call:

Received Sunday, Dec. 4 at 1:55 p.m.

Yes, I was reading your article at The Stranger, saying that the wealthiest of this state pay no income tax. NO ONE IN THIS STATE PAYS INCOME TAX! Are you guys in that paper that much of a big fucking idiot you can’t get your story straight? Or are you just trying to rabble rouse a bunch of idiots—idiot kids—and brain dead stoners who have no clue about anything that’s going on in this state. You seriously have got some serious issues. Why don’t you try printing the truth for once instead of this communist propaganda?

Time for a poll!

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LTE: Speculating on the Perils of Legal Pot

Dominic Holden — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 13:03:52 -0800

A reader named Kevin Zimmerman sent this:

To the Editor:

After reading Brendan Kiley's "Jesus Saves," I have a handful of concerns with how the question of marijuana legalization is being handled both in the press and in the public. First, I believe in marijuana legalization—primarily for reasons of individual freedoms and the ability of governments to collect reasonable taxes. What I take issue with is the dialogue centered around the potential for reduced crime rates and, as "Jesus Saves" highlights, reduced crime rates for the African-American community.

My concern is that we are blindly accepting the assumption that current marijuana industrialists (whether growers, distributors, or dealers) will legalize their black-market businesses after the fall of marijuana's prohibition. The story goes that once marijuana trade is legalized the majority of members of the black market will have good paying, reputable jobs to tend to without the fear of imprisonment. Unfortunately, that idea seems far fetched.

The current marijuana industry operates with the threat of criminal prosecution acting as a significant barrier to entry: this threat has kept reputable farmers, distributors and retailers from selling marijuana openly. However, for individuals with little to lose, specifically low income African-Americans, this barrier seems less significant. They choose to enter this risky market ripe with profits because others fear the consequences. However, with the passage of Initiative 502 (or even further, a national legalization), the industry will open up to legal trade allowing mega-farmers and Wal-Marts to apply their economies of scale and lower the cost of production, thus, pushing out the individual dealers at work now. We have already seen entire farms in California converting to marijuana production due to its profitability; supply chains will inevitably form around the state (or, later, country) pushing the individual dealers to obsolescence.

Following this thought process, the marijuana market will become another commodity traded in Chicago while corporate executives calculate their profit maximization. At the same time, the former black market dealers will face the daunting challenge of finding work in an industry that no longer has use for them. This is the crux of my concern. Without sufficient education, it seems unlikely that current dealers will enterprise their businesses into the niche boutiques that may still have a place in the market. Furthermore, these dealers likely will not have the education or opportunity to move into reputable employment as they likely would have been doing so currently.

A wasteland will remain of marijuana industrialists with no outlet to tab into. In the best case scenario, they will simply add to our current unemployment and homelessness statistics. In the worst case scenario, these dealers will move into more serious offenses: cocaine trading, armed robbery, or human trafficking for example. These impoverished individuals will still look at the black market as a place where they can succeed, and it would seem foolish to think they would sacrifice that opportunity. Although this thought process is discouraging, I feel we need to add this into our discussion and prepare for the large displacement of these workers. Social safety nets and education opportunities must be available to minimize the number of individuals turning back to the black market for work. Without this, I feel we won't see a reduction in crime rates, as "Jesus Saves" enticingly suggests, but a shift to more serious issues.

Kevin Zimmerman

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Bike Infrastructure Is a Women's Issue

Dominic Holden — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 15:16:13 -0800

Outstanding Slog commenter TVDinner just sent this excellent letter:

Dear Dominic:

Thank you for bravely posting about bike infrastructure on Slog. There's another angle to the infrastructure matter that I just wanted to toss on your radar, and that's the gender gap among cyclists.

In the United States, about 23% of all cyclists are women (which is based on Census data about commutes). In fact, the number of women who commute by bicycle has decreased from from 33% of all bike trips in 2001 to 24% in 2009 (this is from the American Community Survey, which is conducted by the Census Bureau). For comparison, 55% of all bicycle trips in the Netherlands is by women, and 49% in Germany.

The above data about the US is especially striking if you consider that bike trips are up significantly during the same period of time (2001 to 2009), which indicates that many more men are taking to the streets by bike but women are not.

There's something different about the United States. And it's infrastructure. Studies across all sorts of disciplines show that women are more risk-averse, and indeed, concerns about riding in traffic are overwhelmingly the reason women cite for not riding their bikes. Women also have different travel patterns: they perform the vast majority (77%) of all "serve passenger" trips (hauling people, usually children, around), engage in more "trip chaining," and run more errands, like grocery shopping. They also drive fewer miles to their commutes (this is all based on the 2009 National Household Transportation Survey).

And where have we invested in segregated bicycle lanes? Along recreational corridors, that don't lead to schools, daycare centers, grocery stores, or major employment centers. In other words, the safest bicycle facilities have been installed where few women really want or need to go.

If we're going to increase bicycling—which everyone agrees at least theoretically is in the community's best interests—then we need to invest in safer infrastructure to serve the population that isn't young, male, and super fit. If women are bicycling in equivalent numbers to men, then the revolution will be here.

I'm a graduate student in urban planning at Eastern Washington University, and I'm writing my thesis on this very topic. I have a shitfuckton of data and academic papers at my fingertips, if you want more info.

Here's a picture of my decidely unfit self, my incredibly cute and awesome daughter, and the kid-hauling machine we use to get all around Spokane. I even have studded tires. I'd sure like some better infrastructure, and every time I tuck my daughter into that trailer I wonder if I'm making the right decision. How will I live with myself if something happens to us?

I wish I didn't have to ask that question.

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We Just Got a Letter to the Editor

Christopher Frizzelle — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 06:34:31 -0800

...about Lawrence Weschler's proposal for a nation-wide loan strike that consisted entirely of this:

Couldn't have said it better myself.

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News Tip

Dominic Holden — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 14:58:01 -0800

On my voice mail just now: "Hi, Dominic, my name is Adam Miller, I am with PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Tomorrow in Seattle, two PETA activists wearing lettuce bikinis are going to be handing out free soy jerky at the 3rd Avenue electric vehicle charging station. The demonstration is in order to remind people that the best way to help the environment is to go vegan.... I just wanted to find out if this is something you'd like to cover in The Stranger."

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As Seen at 3rd and Union

Dominic Holden — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 10:46:34 -0800

Hot tipper Sarah Anne Lloyd just sent me this photo:

Come to think of it, I probably deserve having Occupy Seattle telling me "fuck you" for all those times I suggested they stop directing their anger at supporters who have constructive criticism and instead focus on their true opposition.

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Tell the Big Banks What You Think (and Cost Them Money, Too!)

Bethany Jean Clement — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 14:46:00 -0700

I just started doing this the other day: All you do is take all those pre-paid envelopes from all those credit-card offers from Chase, Bank of America, etc., and send them back empty. Or full of junk mail (costs them more!). Or with a note about what you think about the foreclosure crisis and the taxpayer-finance bailouts and their practices in general. Or with something even heavier, to cost them more!

This man has some good ideas, and his tie looks like it's about to have an interesting interaction with his throw pillow. LET'S DO THIS!

And don't forget Bank Transfer Day on November 5th—that's a week from tomorrow!

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