As part of an effort by the National Science Foundation to enhance numeracy and improve math education, the U.S. House today passed a resolution designating March 14 (a.k.a. 3-14) Pi Day. The resolution passed on a 391-10 vote:

“I’m kind of geeked up about it,” Rep. Brian Baird (D-Wash.) told POLITICO. “It’s crazy, but I’m a whole lot more excited about that than congratulating the winner of last year’s Rose Bowl.

“I’m not making this up. I have been fascinated by pi since I was a kid. It blows my mind. It’s lovely. The fact that it’s sort of this infinite number. I just think it’s this magical thing. … There’s a real beauty to mathematics.”

That’s the problem with Baird: he’s so…irrational.

It’s a mostly local edition of the podcast, beginning with a discussion of Seattle public schools funding, school budgets, school closures, class sizes, and other educational topics. Talk then turns to the highly contentious Seattle mayoral race where an anticipated field of strong challengers has now faded to hopes for just one. Will a third term be a slam-dunk for Mayor Nichols? After a brief stop at Ron Sims’ office, the panel heads to Olympia. Can new bonds save the state budget? And, anyway, would the voters approve?

Goldy was joined by Drinking Liberally co-host Chris Mitchell, Peace Tree Farm’s N in Seattle,
Effin’ Unsound’s & Horsesass’ Carl Ballard, and Hominid View’s & Horsesass’ …um, me.

The show is 48:00, and is available here as an MP3:

[audio:http://www.podcastingliberally.com/podcasts/podcasting_liberally_mar_10_2009.mp3]

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

Please join us tonight for an evening of politics under the influence at the Seattle chapter of Drinking Liberally. We start at 8:00 pm at the Montlake Ale House, 2307 24th Avenue E. Some folks will show up earlier for dinner.

For this week’s activity, we’ll celebrate the liberation of embryonic stem cell research with a harmless dose of eugenics. We’ll begin by designing Mr. and Mrs. Perfect, who will spawn a liberal master race as the Final Solution for dealing with Neocons and Wingnuts.

Or maybe we’ll just share a couple of pints over some beaver talk….

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iP-yflT40f0[/youtube]

Not in Seattle? The Drinking Liberally web site has dates and times for 327 chapters of Drinking Liberally spread across the earth. Join the Master Race in a neighborhood near you.

The podcast goes mostly national this week, beginning with a discussion of approval. Specifically…the public’s high opinion of Obama and his programs, and its low opinion of congressional Republicans (and their leader de profundis, Rush). Along the way some potshots are taken at “bipartisanship”. The conversation meanders through several foreign policy issues where we learn that Americans really do like Hillary, too. Returning from overseas, the panel takes a look at our 1997 economy, bank bailouts, stocks buys, taxes on the wealthy, and the future of reporting and the media.

Goldy was joined by Seattle P-I columnist Joel Connelly, DailyKos uber-blogger mcjoan, co-founder of Headzup.tv John Shay, and Donkeylicious’ Nicholas Beaudrot.

The show is 41:51, and is available here as an MP3:
[audio:http://www.podcastingliberally.com/podcasts/podcasting_liberally_mar_3_2009.mp3]

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

Please join us tonight for an evening of politics under the influence at the Seattle chapter of Drinking Liberally. We start at 8:00 pm at the Montlake Ale House, 2307 24th Avenue E. Some folks will show up earlier for dinner.

Tonight’s special topic is cats in the news. Cats…you can’t live with ’em, and you can’t live without ’em. And then there’s this.

Of course we’ll take a little time to write letters of apology to Rush.

Not in Seattle? The Drinking Liberally web site has dates and times for some 330 chapters of Drinking Liberally spread across the earth. Find one in a neighborhood near you.

Goldy and friends speak frankly and directly on three critical topics. They begin with a bar-room-inspired analysis of Obama’s address to the joint session of Congress. A few swings get thrown at Bobby Jindal and the pursed-lipped ninnies sitting on one side of the chamber. The topic then turns to former Governor Gary Locke, who is on his way to the other Washington to have his tax returns scrutinized. Regardless of a few jabs and hooks, Goldy really does like Locke. Really! Finally, at risk of a total brawl, the panel undertakes the task of fixing Washington State’s budget problems….

Goldy was joined by Seattle P-I columnist Joel Connelly, Group News Blog publisher Jesse Wendel, Effin’ Unsound’s and Horsesass’s Carl Ballard, and The Other Side –Online’s John Wyble.

The show is 37:35, and is available here as an MP3:

[audio:http://www.podcastingliberally.com/podcasts/podcasting_liberally_feb_24_2009.mp3]

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

Please join us tonight for an evening of politics under the influence at the Seattle chapter of Drinking Liberally. We start at 8:00 pm at the Montlake Ale House, 2307 24th Avenue E.

Some folks will show up earlier for dinner, or to watch President Barack Obama give the State of the…State of the Union…or State…ah… Speech to the Nation…whatever you want to call it—Speech to the Nation…. an address before a joint session of Congress. That starts at 6:00 pm.

Not in Seattle? The Drinking Liberally web site has dates and times for some 320 chapters of Drinking Liberally spread across the earth. Find one near you.

It is a special evening for the Seattle chapter of Drinking Liberally.

Tonight’s meeting will be held at Seattle’s Town Hall for a talk entitled “Barack Obama and the Challenge of the Bush Legacy” by Walter Williams (emeritus professor at the UW’s Center for American Politics and Public Policy) and Bryan D. Jones (professor at the University of Texas, Austin Department of Government). Start time is 7:30pm.

After the talk (around 9:00pm) the Drinking Liberally crowd will migrate to a (currently) undisclosed location for debriefing, drinks and discussion.

Not in Seattle? The Drinking Liberally web site has dates and times for some 320 chapters of Drinking Liberally spread across the earth. There’s bound to be one near you.

I found this glossy flier while going through my pile of mail this week. It came from the Timberlake church in Redmond…

“No weird stuff”?

That a church would place such a comment at the top of their advertisement is telling about the public perception of religion in America.

A couple of decades ago, Christians were just…Christians. But this changed with the rise of televangelism. A relatively small segment of the fundamentalist Christian right proclaimed themselves the “moral majority” and openly pushed a political agenda. To the majority of Americans this unholy commingling of religion and politics was uncomfortable at best, bordering on weird.

Over the last couple of decades the weirdness has accelerated to the point that it seems everything we hear about “religion” in the mainstream media now comes off as weird. If there isn’t something criminal being discussed then there’s probably politics involved. The “revolutionary suicides” of Jonestown and the Branch Davidians showdown were specular specimens in their day.

Today the weirdness has become a lot more normalized, so that “weirdness” seems to underly most of the media’s coverage of religion. We learn about the Westboro Baptist Church’s “God hates fags” protests, Sarah Palin receiving a blessing of protection against witchcraft, Rev. Hagee’s holocaust comments, Rev. Wright’s damnation of America, Rev. Rick Warren’s anti-gay crusade, Pastor Ted Haggard’s male prostitute problem, almost everything coming out of William Donohue’s mouth (like the evils of a Chocolate Jesus last year). The list goes on and on. Locally, we’ve even had our own special strain of weird in a homophobic Rev. Ken Hutcherson and his “Prayer Warrior” communiqués.

So we get “no weird stuff” from a church apparently trying to distance itself from the contemporary stereotype of American religion. And some Christians are becoming sensitive about how they are labeled.

I don’t think the labels are the real problem. Rather it’s the commingling of religion and politics that has nudged the image of religion out of the mainstream.

With rumors that Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske is heading to D.C. to have his tax returns scrutinized, the podcast panel spends more than a little time on drugs, meandering around topics from the mean streets of Seattle, to the state’s top cash crop, to national enforcement policy.

Nibbling on some local issues, the podcast turns to mayoral runs, and Goldy extracts answers from his panel, including a Seattle City Council-member. One improbable “yes” emerges.

Back on drugs, the panel takes a swim in the latest pool of Reefer Madness. It seems Tony the Tiger has forsaken his munching minions. And A-Rod hits one out of the park with banned substances. Ironically, it takes a “stimulus package” to close out the podcast drug-free.

Goldy was joined by Seattle P-I columnist Joel Connelly, Seattle City Council-member Tim Burgess, Effin’ Unsound’s and Horsesass’s Lee, and founder of Headzup.tv, John Shay.

The show is 40:58, and is available here as an MP3:

[audio:http://www.podcastingliberally.com/podcasts/podcasting_liberally_feb_10_2009.mp3]

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

Please join us for an evening of politics under the influence at the Seattle chapter of Drinking Liberally. Start time is 8:00 pm at the Montlake Ale House, 2307 24th Avenue E. Or show up earlier for dinner.

For tonight’s activity…we’ll come up with some “fair and balanced” stories for FOX News. Someone needs to take over for the Republicans as they take a break to figure out the new face of the Republican party. (Hint: the one that shows up.)

If you’re not in Seattle, the Drinking Liberally web site has dates and times of a chapter within sleighing distance of you.

The podcast returns to the Montlake Alehouse after a long winter vacation. And just in time for Goldy and friends to offer fond farewells to King County Executive Ron Sims who is on his way to the other Washington. His former spokesperson, Sandeep Kaushik, offers insight into Sims as number two at HUD.

The Seattle P-I is up for sale with an uncertain fate. A recent analysis puts the PI in the top 20 for online readership nationally. Will a robust on-line P-I arise from the ashes of the printed product? The panel reflects more generally on the fate of print media and online journalism. Can an online publication support strong local reporting and in-depth investigative journalism?

The panel notices a new administration in D.C. With Change™ come appointments, replacements, and confirmation votes. The panel chews over and through the issues…right down to local repercussions.

Finally, it was election night in King County. With the first ballot drop, the faceless technocrat holds a strong lead over the crazy gun nut and the black belt mother-beater. Apparently the voters prefer professional competence in an Elections Director. And Goldy proclaims this the closing chapter of the 2004 election saga.

Goldy was joined by a reluctant Sandeep Kaushik of PubliCola, Seattle P-I columnist Joel Connelly, Effin’ Unsound’s Carl Ballard and Peace Tree Farm’s N in Seattle.

The show is 47:08, and is available here as an MP3:

[audio:http://www.podcastingliberally.com/podcasts/podcasting_liberally_feb_3_2009.mp3]

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

Please join us for an evening of politics under the influence at the Seattle chapter of Drinking Liberally. Start time is 8:00 pm at the Montlake Ale House, 2307 24th Avenue E. Some folks show up earlier for dinner.

It’s a special election night in King County. So we’ll spend some time driving Seniors to the polls watching returns on TV driving from polling-place to polling-place stuffing the ballot boxes just drink beer and taking bets on how long it will take to get those envelopes opened and ballots counted.

Rumor has it that the podcast will return from its long winter vacation.

If you’re not in Seattle, no worries…stop by the Drinking Liberally web site for dates and times of a chapter within skeetching distance of you.

Yes you can. Please join us for an evening of politics under the influence at the Seattle chapter of Drinking Liberally. Start time is 8:00 pm at the Montlake Ale House, 2307 24th Avenue E. Some folks show up earlier for dining.

If you’re not in Seattle, no worries…stop by the Drinking Liberally web site for dates and times of a chapter within skeetching distance of you.

This is way more than I ever wanted to know about Barack and Michelle:

(There are some 60 other clips from the past week in politics posted at Hominid Views.)