Archives for May 2008

One my many sacrifices to the angry god that is blogging was my garden.

Over a period of years I painstakingly built up 175 square feet of raised beds out of the compacted sod, clay and cobbles in my backyard, and one of my greatest joys was eating and sharing the produce of my labor:  raspberries, tomatoes, peas, lettuce, cucumbers, carrots, mustard, kale, radishes, arugula, green beans, herbs, and of course, zucchini… more zucchini than one family can ever eat, and always more than I ever intend to grow.

But between the demands of the blog and the dog, my garden has laid fallow over the past two years.

Well, no more.  This year I vowed to reclaim my yard and garden, and so far have kept my resolution.  And I’m loving it.

So if, occasionally, on sunny days like today, I disappear for a few hours… you’ll know where I am.

Over at Slog, ECB sticks it to Knute Berger for his latest column on Crosscut (you know, that online “newspaper” that has no news and no paper), and while I genuinely like Skip personally… Erica’s kinda got a point. There’s a “Blast From the Past” like quality to the Brewster/Berger/Van Dyk crowd that fails to connect with mere 16-year transplants like myself. Their’s is a Seattle more commonly found in history books than in, um… Seattle.

But I was particularly struck by Erica’s snide comment on Skip’s snide comment about Mayor Greg Nickels’ supposed call for secession:

Nickels’s “call for secession,” as Berger surely realizes, was a joke.

Or does he? This is the second column in a row in which Skip has raised this canard, to which I previously (and sarcastically) responded:

Berger dismisses Nickels’ assertion that his call for secession was “tongue-in-cheek” because apparently, journalists are much more capable of climbing inside the heads of their subjects than their subjects themselves, and no politician could ever be subtle enough to deliberately suggest an absurdity purely for dramatic effect.

In writing that sentence I was very conscious of my own recent run-in with the joke police, when the Times’ David Postman rejected my explanation that my intent was satirical when I responded in kind to BIAW charges of eco-Nazism. In his headline, Postman put the word “satire” in quotes, clearly refusing to accept my explanation as anything but an ex post facto excuse.

So I feel Nickels’ pain. Nickels denies that he really supports secession, in the same way that I denied that I really think the BIAW are Nazis. (Compare that to the BIAW, who passionately defend their assertion that our state’s stormwater regulations are the environmental equivalent of the Nuremberg Laws.) In both cases, journalists have concretely taken our original comments at face value, while stubbornly refusing to do the same when we explain that we were speaking tongue-in-cheek. Apparently, they did not find it funny, so it couldn’t possibly have been joke… a standard by which the bulk of sitcoms would be properly classified as reality television.

Years back, before I started blogging, I responded to yet another Eyman tax-cutting initiative by writing an update to Jonathan Swift’s classic satire “A Modest Proposal,” in which I proposed slaughtering students who failed the WASL, and using their flesh to supplement our school lunch programs. My column was instantly rejected by the Times and P-I, but the editors of the TNT mulled it over for weeks, eventually declining due to the consensus opinion that their readers “lacked the satire gene.”

I’m beginning to wonder if our journalists suffer from the same genetic defect?

On May 8 the Washington State Republican Party reported a $30,000 contribution from the Republican Governors Association, which in itself wouldn’t be all that extraordinary except for the fact that the check was cut on January 24th.

That’s four months late in reporting a pretty substantial chunk of change, and I’m told even then they only filed after being prompted by the Public Disclosure Commission in response to an inquiry from a watchdog following up on the RGA’s own federal reports.

I suppose it was most likely an accounting screw-up rather than a deliberate attempt to evade our public disclosure laws, but if they can’t audit their own books it doesn’t give much credence to the GOP’s tired old saw of being the party of fiscal responsibility.

In the middle of a busy week. Here’s a bunch of random stuff:

I’m surprised that no one had pointed this out already, but (barring unforeseen disaster) Obama’s nomination speech on the last day of the Democratic National Convention will be on the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech.

A list of possible McCain slogans.

A substitute teacher in Florida lost his job after he was accused of ‘Wizardry’ (for doing a magic trick in front of middle school students).

Can the San Diego State University fraternities busted this week for drug distribution legally be considered “gangs”? The President of San Diego State’s chapter of Students for Sensible Drug Policy speaks out.

What do the current British and Canadian governments have in common? They’re both threatening to ignore their own appointed advisors in order to fall in line with the drug war.

Which is the more infuriating drug war story: this or this?

Some amazing photos of a volcanic eruption in Chile.

A strong contender for the Nobel Prize in Marketing.

Game 1 of the Flyers-Penguins Eastern Conference Finals is tomorrow. If you’re looking for a good place to watch the game, head to Spitfire at 2219 4th Ave in Belltown.

This week’s Birds Eye View Contest is posted along with a special announcement.

Perhaps I just missed it, but I don’t remember seeing anything about this in the Times or P-I:

Microsoft stirred some controversy last week by announcing that it would no longer issue DRM keys for defunct MSN Music after August 31. This effectively will prevent former customers from transferring their songs to new devices after the deadline. Customers could potentially lose their music if they get a new computer or if the hard drive crashes on their current one

[…] “MSN Music customers trusted Microsoft when it said that this was a safe way to buy music, and that trust has been betrayed,” Corynne McSherry, an EFF attorney, said in a statement. “If Microsoft is prepared to treat MSN Music customers like this, is there any reason to suppose that future customers won’t get the same treatment?”

Um… no.

Microsoft’s Rob Bennett said that continuing to support the DRM keys was impractical…

Because that would require maintaining and operating these strange things called “servers,” something Microsoft has absolutely no experience with whatsoever.

… that the issue only affects a small number of people…

How many exactly is a “small number of people” to a behemoth like Microsoft? A couple dozen? A couple hundred thousand? A couple million?

… and focusing exclusively on Zune was the best way to go.

Well, the best way to go for Microsoft.

He also noted that it wasn’t Microsoft’s decision to wrap music into digital rights management.

They were just following orders.

I know Microsoft is a mainstay of our local economy and has made a lot of people here very wealthy… but this is simply a crappy way to treat your customers, and you’d think our local media would have called them on it.

Sen. Russ Feingold is offering a $5000 check to one of ten progressive House candidates. You get to help decide who gets the dough.

Cast your vote for Darcy in the Progressive Patriots Fund election today. Let’s show them the kind of strong grassroots support that has allowed Darcy to kick Reichert’s ass in dollars raised and number of individual contributors in every quarter since she joined the race this election cycle.

I’m filling in for Dave Ross this morning for the final two hours of his show, from 10AM to Noon on News/Talk 710-KIRO. Here’s the show as it’s shaping up right now:

10AM: How do you fix a failed state?
And is it possible? Ashraf Ghani and Clare Lockhart join me in studio to talk about their new book, “Fixing Failed States: A Framework for Rebuilding a Fractured World.” What can be done to save the 2 billion people living in collapsing or collapsed states, and is it the United State’s responsibility to solve their problems?

10:45 AM:  Will the Democrats seat the delegates from Florida and Michigan?
David McDonald is a Democratic National Committee member from Washington state, an uncommitted superdelegate, and a member of the all important Rules Committee that will make the decision whether to seat the delegates from Florida and Michigan.  We’ll ask him what he expects to happen on May 31st, what the options are, and why he first proposed stripping Michigan of their delegates.

11 AM: Can (should?) government do anything about rising gas prices?
Senate Democrats have introduced their plan to combat higher energy costs: roll back tax breaks for big oil, invest in renewable energy, and temporarily halt government purchases of crude for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve… but Republicans say this plan won’t work, arguing instead for drilling in ANWR and (surprise) more tax cuts! Here’s my proposal: increase the gas tax, dramatically, and invest the revenues in a massive transit infrastructure program nationwide.

Tune in to 710-KIRO, or stream online at MyNorthwest.com.

The Roman Catholic Church equals Hitler, huh?  And John McCain sought out and embraced Rev. Hagee’s endorsement, but apparently he doesn’t have a preacher problem.  Go figure.

Did Obama just wrap up the Democratic nomination? Is Hillary’s gas tax relief a bunch of hot air? Would raising the gas tax be the responsible thing to do? Are Democrats dismissing Dino Rossi at their own peril?

Goldy and friends engage in some friendly sparring but, as the evening wore on, nearly ended up in a death fight over these and other big issues of the moment at the Montlake Ale House. Goldy was joined by blogging pioneer N in Seattle, the lovely, talented, and hard-working Molly, Seattle P-I columnist Joel Connelly, and HorsesAss personality Carl Ballard.

The show is 46:04, and is available here as an MP3 file.

[audio:http://www.podcastingliberally.com/podcasts/podcasting_liberally_may_6_2008.mp3]

[Recorded live at the Seattle chapter of Drinking Liberally. Special thanks to creators Gavin and Richard for hosting the site.]

Far be it from me to offer advice I rarely follow myself, but I think the editors at Crosscut might want to actually read Crosscut before slapping on headlines. Take for example Knute Berger’s latest Mossback, whose teaser scolds:

Seattle’s mayor waves the flag of secession. In so doing, he may have waved goodbye to a future in state politics.

… but whose closing paragraph acknowledges:

One thing we can be certain of: Greg Nickels’ ambitions do not include running for governor. Being Seattle mayor has long been a dubious Olympia springboard.

So… Nickels has, uh, waved goodbye to a future in state politics he’s never had? Um… huh?

In fact, Nickels destroyed any chance he might have had for statewide office the minute he was elected Seattle’s mayor, because the rest of the state fucking hates us, a cold reality implicitly (if politely) acknowledged in Berger’s closer. Which brings us back to subject of Nickels’ little rant.

Nickels criticized the Legislature and regional governance. He said he was tired of rural legislators weighing in on issues like the Alaskan Way Viaduct and gun control. He was frustrated that Seattle was being held back by the rest of the state and said that it was time to consider secession.

Berger dismisses Nickels’ assertion that his call for secession was “tongue-in-cheek” because apparently, journalists are much more capable of climbing inside the heads of their subjects than their subjects themselves, and no politician could ever be subtle enough to deliberately suggest an absurdity purely for dramatic effect. But absurd as secession is, there is a truth at the heart of Nickels’ complaint that deserves more scrutiny than our state’s holier-than-thou editorialists are willing to proffer.

The fact is, Nickels isn’t the only Seattleite who is sick and tired of the rest of the state interfering in our business. We’re tired of being told by voters elsewhere that we’re not allowed to tax ourselves locally to build the local transit we want. We’re tired of being told that we shouldn’t have a say in whether a massive double-decker freeway continues to mar our waterfront, or whether the 520 bridge should have six or eight lanes. We’re tired of being told how much we can spend on our schools or on our roads, and having our hands tied behind our backs by the legislature when it comes to options for raising tax dollars. And we’re goddamn sick and tired of sending our tax dollars out of city and over the mountains, only to be abused and reviled under the deliberately perpetrated false impression that money flows in the other direction:

The Yakima Herald-Republic called Nickels’ secession call “absurd” and wondered where Seattle would get its food if it lopped off its agricultural arm. Looking on the bright side, they opined that at least “we’ll get out of our share of the billions needed to fix Puget Sound’s traffic problems.”

A) We’d get our food the way we’ve always gotten it: we’d buy it! And B) Where the fuck do they think the billions needed to fix our traffic problems is coming from? It sure as hell ain’t coming from Yakima. If Seattle were to secede, Yakima’s share of its state’s transportation budget would be a helluva lot less than it’s getting now, so have fun maintaining all those roads we built.

What galls me about the reaction to Nickels’ comments is how incredibly one-sided the discourse in this state has become. Politicians and columnists throughout the state have free reign to dream up paranoid fantasies about big bad Seattle—Dino Rossi wades in it; Mike McGavick ran on it—but heaven forfend if a Seattle politician responds in kind. Do Nickels’ comments help tear down the Cascade curtain? Hell no, but at least they add a little balance to the popular fiction that Seattle is a drain on the rest of the state’s tax coffers, rather than the other way around.

The Columbian is reporting that officials now don’t know what caused the deaths of six sea lions near Bonneville dam earlier this week.

The mystery is thickening in the deaths of six sea lions over the weekend near Bonneville Dam, with federal authorities reporting this morning that a preliminary examination of the bodies “found no evidence of recent gunshot wounds.”

Although authorities initially suspected the animals died due to gunshot wounds, the National Marine Fisheries Service reported today that the cause of death remains unknown.

“We are assuming nothing at this point,” said Brian Gorman, a NMFS spokesman in Seattle. “We don’t have a working hypothesis, but we’ll come up with one and we’ll pursue it and try to find a cause of these deaths. It’s a mystery right now.”

Okay then. We’ll just call it a mystery and leave it at that. Odd how this story was presented as some kind of mass carnage, and now it’s like “oops.”

Sure, the Clinton’s say they’re fighting on through West Virginia, Oregon and beyond, but their faces say something entirely different. This thing’s over, and they know it.

I’ll be on KUOW’s The Conversation this afternoon at about 1:20PM for our weekly “Beat the Press” segment. Topics of discussion will include those dangerous harmless Arab European terrorists tourists planning to blow up take snapshots of the WA state ferries, and Hillary Clinton’s big win loss in the Indiana primary.

And tomorrow morning I’ll be filling in for Dave Ross during the final two hours of his show, 10AM to noon on 710-KIRO.