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Eli Sanders Revisits the Part of King County Liberals Just Can't Win
"Back in the 8th Congressional District. Back on the breakfast beat. How many times can I cross Lake Washington and drive down Bellevue Way Southeast and sit in some artery-hardening diner or other because I need a backdrop, some "color"? How many times can I write the same fucking story about the Democrats' flailing efforts to win an Eastside congressional seat that they should own by now but have never, ever won?"

Jonah Spangenthal-Lee on the Man Arrested for Taking the Photo on the Cover of The Stranger This Week
"Shane Becker, a Seattle web designer, says he was standing in line at REI, getting ready to purchase a lock for his car's bike rack, when he saw two Loomis security guards refilling the ATM. Becker walked over and took a picture of the security guards and the open ATM with his phone because he's 'fascinated by the insides of things that we don't normally get to see'..."

Bethany Jean Clement Reviews Three New Sushi Places in Ballard
"You could get sushi in Ballard before: inexpensive sushi, usually described as "okay," at the unfancy Bento Sushi and Sam's Sushi Bar & Grill. But Ballard is no longer inexpensive, "okay" is no longer okay, and, in an evolutionary quantum leap, three fancy new sushi bars have opened in Ballard in the last five minutes..."

Dave Segal Profiles Local Band(-with-a-Comma-in-Its-Name) The Beats, Man
"They combine a madly eclectic sonic aesthetic with a healthy appetite for absurd lyrics. Though it may pain Erik Baldwin to hear it (bandmate Tim Cady seems okay with the comparison), the Beats, Man bear similarities to Ween, but on a lower budget and with a slightly higher level of decorum..."

Paul Constant on a Poetry Program at Juvie
"Adrienne Johanson leads a group poetry-writing exercise, writing down ideas for poems on a large pad of paper. 'What makes you feel strong?' she says. A lanky boy in the back bellows, 'Weed'..."

What Erica C. Barnett Learned at a City Council Candidates Debate
"Although first-time candidates are always rough at this stage, the consensus seems to be that this year's crowd is especially lackluster—with a few exceptions..."

Lindy West on Tom Hanks, Angry Hindus, and Dead Popes
"A lot of people—and not just Catholics!—are mad about Angels & Demons, the latest popey poo-poo platter from poop-monger Dan 'Poopin' Out Poops and Callin' 'Em a Book' Brown..."

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE: Pieces in the music section about Obits (rock), NOMO (Afro-funk-jazz), and Moderat (Berlin techno), plus a whole bunch of other stuff in the music section; what Belltown is doing about its crack problem, plus much more in the news section; world-famous bartender Jamie Boudreau weighs in an a "hideous and tacky" new trend; reviews of art by Yann Novak at Lawrimore Project, Frank Zaldo at OHGE Ltd., and a group show at Howard House; Brendan Kiley on a man whose piece at On the Boards this weekend will include "sodomy with a rifle barrel, sex with furniture, women birthing consumer products, a shopping-cart ballet, more sex," plus theater reviews of Maria/Stuart, The Center of the Universe, Picasso at the Lapin Agile, and Plastique!; reviews of the films Enlighten Up ("really bad"), Little Ashes ("generally unsatisfying"), and Outrage ("wisely seizes this moment of unprecedented support for gay equality to dissolve the glass closet and name names"), plus Kelly O's porn column; Savage Love ("Fuck your asshole therapist"); Last Days; a highly insensitive New Column!; and all the other columns and calendars you love.

Now please enjoy the Illustrated Comment of the Week:

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