I don’t know exactly the details of “try” to solve homelessness crisis in Seattle. But the main thing is to build more housing. A lot more. Public and private sectors. It probably means better zoning and better incentives to not just build luxury housing.

It isn’t punishing people for being homeless, especially when they don’t have other options. Best case, that means they leave the jungle and go somewhere else. Maybe a sanctioned place, maybe some other unsanctioned place, maybe another city or the suburbs.

As a white person, far be it from me to tell the majority Black Seahawks that they’re protesting police brutality wrong, especially when they’re at work. Still, I think if you thought it hit the right cord or if you thought it was a bit too all-lives-matter, we can all agree fuck the mayor of DuPont. What an asshole. I hope he draws strong opposition next time he’s up.

I’m both inspired and a little pissed off about Bob Ferguson supporting an assault weapons ban. On the one hand, it’s well past time, and I hope his push for this adds to the call. I suppose it’s possible to get something passed depending on the makeup of the next legislature.

On the other hand, it’s a relatively small amount of the gun deaths. And we’re going to need a lot more wholesale change than nibbling around the edges.

It always strikes me when I read about people rolling coal how right environmentalists are. This is how you protest? This? I mean it’s every asshole who shouts nonsense at a bicyclist or rides a bit (or a lot) too close seemingly intentionally. But pretending that instead of being an asshole, they’re protesting, something. It’s like, oh, how can global warming be real if I’m this much of an asshole?

Seattle Transit Blog have published their endorsement of ST3. On the one hand, this is probably the most predictable endorsement of the campaign season. On the other hand, it’s such a refreshing change of pace from The Seattle Times’ uninformed screeds or Reuven Carlyle, all of a sudden and way too late, deciding he wants different financing.

Of course, I agree with them. It’s a great thing to be able to travel so easily to the U District and to South Seattle. Expanding the rail system is exactly the right thing to do.

I don’t. I mean. What?

Obviously, we’re not going to just ship Seattle’s homeless to, like, some island. I’m not sure there are any around that would really fit the bill. The San Juans? Blake Island? Can Seattle just acquire an island? Would we build an artificial island in the Sound just for that like in China or Dubai? All the time and effort to build housing, sewage, roads, transit, etc. to the island could be better used if you want to help Seattle’s homeless. Or just Seattle in general.

Also, it’s fucking cruel. If homeless people want to live on an island, they can right now. But to separate them from community and family because, reasons, doesn’t seem like it will help anyone.

I know this is one person who I hadn’t heard of before, and their idea is being soundly rejected. But on the other hand, they do hold leadership in the county Democrats.

It’s sort of amazing how little King County is paying to make its own EpiPens. The article makes it clear that in their current form, they couldn’t be for wide use. But it seems like the free market would mean that some company or other org could step up and put something into wider use. Or maybe King County could figure out how to make them easier to use and sell them. It seems like a good use of my tax dollars if the private sector can’t step up.

Back to the usual nonsense next week.

Something something Carl’s vacation.

Still on vacation.

I’m still on vacation. This thread is still abbreviated.

It’s my first day of vacation, so nobody rob my apartment.

Seattle, we need to talk about standing. Like, how are we all so bad at it. I don’t understand, for example, how we’ve figured out the stand on the right thing for the escalators in the U-District and Capitol Hill stations but no where else. I assume most of the people getting off at one of those two stations use another station. It’s not just people traveling between the two of them (and I guess the surface level ones). There must be people who go from University Street to the University District, leave standing on the right and then come back, and get out of the bus tunnel standing on the left. This is not OK.

But that’s an old complaint on this blog. Another thing I’m seeing now is people standing in front of stuff. I was at the Seattle Art Museum and their Graphic Masters exhibit. A lot of the pieces were quite small, so you had to get your face into it and take your time. I have no problem with this, and in fact, Seattle folks should do more of it at SAM and other museums. But it did mean that toward the beginning there was a bit of a line. Anyway, in front of me two people start talking about what phone they use. Have that conversation if you want, but don’t do it standing in front of a piece of art you can’t see without getting close up, for God’s sake. Take two steps back.

And, I’ve seen this sort of thing a few times recently. I think part of is is the Seattle chill, that we don’t call them on it. I also think is generally good. I’d rather wait a minute than have a conversation with a stranger. All I want is for everyone to not get in people’s way when you’re standing.

A future Open Thread will probably deal with how bad we are as a city at walking.

There has been a long time where people would say about Trump, that you might not like his positions, but at least he tells it like it is. Of course that was always bullshit, Mexico isn’t sending rapists, and we can’t build a wall with their money just because. At the time, he was several years into his investigation of Obama’s birth certificate. So no. He never told it like it is. But now that he’s saying that he sees planes full of Iranian bribes that don’t exist, and that Obama founded Islamic State, can we please stop saying that? Thanks!

I’m going on vacation pretty soon. I plan to keep up the contingent of nonsense Open Threads, and then hopefully when I get back, to start posting more.

Anyway, do you have any recommendations for light summer reading? Beach read or airplane. I have this on hold from the library, but I’m not sure it’s going to arrive in time.