Eric Holder is not running for President. I probably wouldn’t have voted for him, but I think that he would have been a good addition. So what makes it good to get in a crowded field? Some combination of better than the median candidate and specific issues that they will bring up.

Congrats to Jay Inslee on the Presidential run. I like him quite a bit; He’s probably the best governor since I moved here. I thought he was great as my Member of Congress. And I am glad to see someone running explicitly on environmental issues. Still, I will probably not vote for him. Democrats have such a great field, of candidates it will be tough to choose.

On an ideal world, the blue slip rule in the Senate might not exist (in my ideal world, the Senate wouldn’t exist). So perhaps it would be better if there were fewer choke points in nominating judges. Still, there is a value in the unwritten rules. And to get rid of them like this is not good. If you want to end these things, be explicit and change the rules.

Still on vacation. Talk among yourselves.

I am on vacation! While you suckers are toiling away at your bullshit job, I will be, um, on a train. Seriously Amtrak is great, but I am a bit nervous about going crazy being on a train for 22 hours. The most I have taken before is 13 hours. My itinerary is pretty full, but if there’s something I have to do in the Bay Area, let me know.

I don’t understand what makes me mad on public transportation. I was in the bus tunnel* and there was a metal grate loose. Some teenager was standing on and off it and making noise. It should have annoyed me but I didn’t notice it until someone started yelling at him. And I was much more upset with yelling guy than clanging guy. I would have thought that I would be equally, or nearly equally, upset with both. I had to stifle a laugh when clanging guy started clanging again with yelling guy walking away.

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Are you doing OK in the national emergency? Did the fact that Congress only appropriated some wall money stop you from living your life? In some ways it feels like it was before the emergency, but that can’t be right.

It’s pretty awful that we’re going to have a declaration of a national emergency over nothing. And it’s so obviously an impeachable act, but add it to the list of things that he won’t be impeached for.

You would think that if I was snowed in that I would at least be able to stay on top of Open Threads. But since I often write them on my commute, I guess not. Anyway, Seattle passed its levies, so yay.

Everyone stay safe. Check your bus to make sure that it isn’t a snow route now. Give yourself extra time to get places. And give a thought for the people who have to work in this mess.

Finally, we’re going to get to the most important post imaginable! Why are people yanking the stop cord on the bus when it has already been pulled? I get if you’re absent minded or something, but then when it doesn’t make a sound, instead of looking up to see the lights show a stop has been requested, just pulling the cord more and more aggressively. Maybe it’s just new bus riders in the cold snap.

Brrrrrrr. Stay warm everyone.

Hey, Seattle and anywhere that has levies on the ballot, vote for your damb levies. The way we fund education in Washington is better than a lot of states, but it still relies too heavily on local funding. Still, it is how we fund education. So if you want structural change statewide, call your legislators. But fund education in the mean time.

On the bus home from Drinking Liberally last night, there was a homeless man with a keyboard. He was hitting the keys, but it wasn’t making any sound. At some point he started singing under his breath. In many ways Metro buses are homeless shelters, especially later at night. The louder version of that is something that happens at many homes.

Please, Howard Schultz, don’t run for President. Instead, you can not run for President. Maybe start with Senate. From Oklahoma, because Washington doesn’t need you.