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Drinking Liberally — Seattle

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DLBottle
It’s an election night!

Not so much in Washington. But it is in Wisconsin, where a series of recall elections are taking place against six Republican incumbent state Senators. The latest polls suggest that two, and maybe three, Democrats will win. But the elections are unprecedented in the modern era of polling, so anything could happen.

Please join us tonight for an evening of election-watching under the influence at the Seattle chapter of Drinking Liberally. We meet at the Montlake Ale House, 2307 24th Avenue E. Starting time is 8:00 pm, but a few folks will show up before then for dinner and early election returns.

Can’t make it to Seattle tonight? There are 233 chapters of Living Liberally, including thirteen in Washington state and six more in Oregon. Here are some other meetings over the next week:

If none of these works for you, consider starting a new chapter that does.

Comments

  1. 1

    Those polls cover only 4 of the 6 races. Democrats have a chance in the other 2 races. So I’m gonna say 3, maybe 4, Democrats could win. I feel pretty sure of 2 races, but the grand total could be anywhere from 2 to 4 seats flipping tonight.

  2. 2

    Speaking of drinks, I could use an Italian Sidecar right now. One more hour and the day will be over!

  3. 3

    What was he going to do, have them deported?

    NOGALES, Ariz. — An American immigration agent bounded up the steps of a bus about to cross the United States-Mexico border recently and demanded to see the papers of all those aboard. “Papers!” he shouted, eyeing passengers warily as he walked up and down the aisle.
    Multimedia

    Such checks are not surprising given all the attention focused on illegal immigration these days. But this bus full of migrants was leaving the United States, not entering it.
    http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08.....=1&hp

  4. 4

    Why yes, yes they are.

    Immigrants who are found to have criminal records face more aggressive treatment. They are likely to be arrested and then formally deported.

    They were leaving anyway, just let them go.

  5. 5

    Washington State needs a law like California’s AB1581

    http://www.ebbc.org/?q=node/156
    This bill would include as an official traffic control device a traffic-actuated signal that displays one or more of its indications in response to the presence of traffic detected by mechanical, visual, electrical, or other means. Upon the first placement or replacement of a traffic-actuated signal, the signal would have to be installed and maintained, to the extent feasible and in conformance with professional engineering practices, so as to detect lawful bicycle or motorcycle traffic on the roadway.

  8. 8

    Actually, I don’t have a problem with border checkpoints for those departing the country for Mexico.

    It is a reasonable precaution to cut down on the flow of drug money back to it’s source, and the flow of weapons back to the cartels (although the numbers given in the article indicate that they haven’t been very successful in this so far). It doesn’t make sense to pretend that this is only a one-way flow of good and money. A severe crimp in the flow of money or weapons back to the cartels could go a long way toward reducing the amount of profit they make, and thereby reducing the resources they have available to control the police and government there.

    I probably wouldn’t bother to detain people long enough to photograph or fingerprint those who just don’t have papers. I say let them leave, if they want to do so.

    But it’s reasonable to check to see if there are warrants out for their arrest on non-immigration violations. Why give a fleeing felon a pass just because they made it within a few miles of the border?

    By the way, in every other country I’ve visited, there was at least some form of exit process, where I’ve had to submit my passport, have it checked against the computer, and I received a departure stamp in my passport. Is this any different?

  9. 9

    i’m taking my “busting youse guys ballses” hat off for a minute.

    after watching the riots in london, even though it was apparently set off by a police shooting, it has been suggested it’s also about cutbacks. it has never occured to me that the reason cuts are so resisted in this country is that the government is afraid that it might stir social unrest. is that a fair assumption?

  10. 10

    Must read English blogger’s take on the riots in England.

    Penny Red: Panic on the streets of London.

    In the scramble to comprehend the riots, every single commentator has opened with a ritual condemnation of the violence, as if it were in any doubt that arson, muggings and lootings are ugly occurrences. That much should be obvious to anyone who is watching Croydon burn down on the BBC right now. David Lammy, MP for Tottenham, called the disorder ‘mindless, mindless’. Nick Clegg denounced it as ‘needless, opportunistic theft and violence’. Speaking from his Tuscan holiday villa, Prime Minister David Cameron – who has finally decided to return home to take charge – declared simply that the social unrest searing through the poorest boroughs in the country was “utterly unacceptable.” The violence on the streets is being dismissed as ‘pure criminality,’ as the work of a ‘violent minority’, as ‘opportunism.’ This is madly insufficient. It is no way to talk about viral civil unrest. Angry young people with nothing to do and little to lose are turning on their own communities, and they cannot be stopped, and they know it. Tonight, in one of the greatest cities in the world, society is ripping itself apart.

    Go read the rest.

  11. 11

    # 9: I will also take off my gloves for a moment to provide some serious answers.

    Social scientist and political theorists have taken a long look at the history of civil unrest. In general, civil unrest which rises to the point of arson, violence, and destruction occurs in the following circumstances (or any combination thereof):

    (a) When people perceive they have nothing left to lose, and lash out at anyone they feel is responsible for their situation. If they don’t have an easily identifiable target, they may simply engage in destruction for it’s own sake, as a form of releasing built up frustration.

    (b) When people with rising expectations find them frustrated. This was a primary element in the riots of the 1960’s, in Watts, Harlem, and in many major cities after the assasination of Martin Luther King Jr. They were finding their optimism brought about by the civil rights movement was being frustrated by continued barriers to social and economic progress in the form of police and judicial system bias, a “glass ceiling” which replaced the more formal segregation of a few years before, de facto segregation (as opposed to de jure segregation), etc.

    Although the Nixon administration used racism in the form of it’s “Southern Strategy” in 1968 and 1972 to win elections, it sought to remedy some of the social conditions which caused the riots by approving affirmative action by executive order in government contracting. This might be perceived as a fear of renewed outbreak of violence, or it might simply be one of the few instances where the Nixon administration simply did what was right.

  12. 12

    One of the frustrating things about riots is that it invariably does more damage to the rioter’s neighborhoods than it does to anyone who might be responsible for their plight. I’ve seen some articles which suggest that Watts never recovered from the riots in the mid-1960’s, and Harlem has only recently begun to recover, albeit in a “gentrification” mode.

  14. 14

    The latest scare in the corporate media is all about these “violent flash mobs” organized through social media. A bunch of kids with no prospects for jobs (summer or otherwise) doing their back to school shopping on the cheap it would seem.

    Heh. The flash mob organized through top-down media (Faux News) called the tea bagger party did no violence oh no unless you’re dumb enough to consider the damage they’ve done to a wrecked economy “non-violent”.

    A wrecked economy left to us by the ugliest flash mob of all – the smirking GWB shock doctrine disaster mis-adminstration.

  15. 15

    GOP Takes Early Lead In Wisconsin

    With only 1 precinct of 1 district reporting, Cowles (R) leads Nussbaum (D), 33 votes to 2 votes.

  17. 17

    By the way, AOL Daily Finance on Monday listed Boeing CEO Jim McNerny as one of the CEO’s who should be fired.

    “Boeing has built a reputation on the late delivery of its most important products. Its flagship 787 Dreamliner has begun commercial distribution three years late. The delay cost billions of dollars in revenue, some of which the company will realize in the future … maybe. Boeing has also consistently lost key clients to rival Airbus. Its most recent catastrophic loss was a large portion of the American Airlines business. CEO W. James McNerney, Jr. has been able to hold onto his job since June 1, 2005, which was about the time the early work on the Dreamliner began. Boeing shares have underperformed the S&P 500 over both the last five years and one year periods.”

    Nine CEOs who need to be fired

    Locally, this article has received some criticism because the authors don’t think that two aircraft types equal a “reputation” for late delivery, or that only Delta defecting to Airbus is a sign of customer flight (although Delta is by far the biggest customer in the U.S.). They also say that the article ignores the defense side of the Boeing business.

    But what neither the article nor the critics of the article mention is that Boeings woes on the Commercial Airplane front were largly self-inflicted wounds, for which McNerny bears responsibility. He complains about local unions causing labor “instability”, but he went out of his way to push bargaining positions which no union could accept (i.e., allowing non-union workers to do union work in the plant, out-sourcing union work to non-union firms, etc.). The pay issue was a smoke screen. The last strikes were entirely avoidable by Boeing if they had taken a more reasonable stance in negotiations. I knew lots of Boeing workers who didn’t want to strike, but felt that McNerney’s position left them no choice.

    In many ways, McNerny is to Boeing what Scott Walker is to Wisconsin – he creates a self-inflicted crisis, and then tries to run over somebody else to pay for it.

    If McNerny had listened to Boeing workers – you know, the ones who actually know how to build an airplane and bring a new model to delivery stage – he could have avoided at least two of the past three years of delays, avoided the considerable cost of building the Charleston plant, etc.

    Yes, he should be fired. But he won’t be. He’s got the board in his pocket.

  18. 18

    In the pivotal District 14 race, Democrat Fred Clark has taken an early lead over Republican Luther Olsen, 76 votes to 60 votes.

  20. 20

    Wisconsin Election – Early Results

    GOP leads in 3 races, Democrats lead in 2 races, no results for 1 race

    District 2: Cowles (R) 60%, Nussbaum (D) 40% (4% of precincts)
    District 8: Darling (R) 62%, Pasch (D) 38 % (1% of precincts)
    District 10: Harsdorf (R) 0%, Moore (D) 0% (0% of precincts)
    District 14: Olsen (R) 48%, Clark (D) 52 % (2% of precincts)
    District 18: Hopper (R) 54%, King (D) 46% (6% of precincts)
    District 32: Kapanke (R) 48%, Shilling (D) 52% (7% of precincts)

  21. 21

    Wisconsin Election – 8:32 PM (CDT) Update

    GOP leads in 5 races, Democrats lead in 1 race

    District 2: Cowles (R) 62%, Nussbaum (D) 38% (16% of precincts)
    District 8: Darling (R) 62%, Pasch (D) 38 % (2% of precincts)
    District 10: Harsdorf (R) 58%, Moore (D) 42% (4% of precincts)
    District 14: Olsen (R) 59%, Clark (D) 41 % (17% of precincts)
    District 18: Hopper (R) 54%, King (D) 46% (6% of precincts)
    District 32: Kapanke (R) 48%, Shilling (D) 52% (7% of precincts)

    Democrats must win at least 3 of these races to take control of the state senate.

  23. 23

    Wisconsin Election – 8:50 PM (CDT) Update

    GOP leads in 5 races, Democrats lead in 1 race

    District 2: Cowles (R) 57%, Nussbaum (D) 43% (49% of precincts)
    District 8: Darling (R) 71%, Pasch (D) 29 % (7% of precincts)
    District 10: Harsdorf (R) 58%, Moore (D) 42% (50% of precincts)
    District 14: Olsen (R) 51%, Clark (D) 49 % (30% of precincts)
    District 18: Hopper (R) 54%, King (D) 46% (7% of precincts)
    District 32: Kapanke (R) 49%, Shilling (D) 51% (24% of precincts)

  24. 24

    Rachel’s campaign is at $860,000 with 51 days to go. I’m glad to see that they extended it.

    http://www.mycharitywater.org/.....n_id=16396

    Here’s a Charity:Water blog post about Rachel’s mother, Samantha, with a link to a CBS interview. In the interview she displays remarkable poise, grace and courage. There’s also a brief clip included of her father speaking from the heart. Good people. It’s easy to see where Rachel got her values.

    http://www.charitywater.org/blog/rachel-update/

  26. 26

    Didn’t DUMMOCRAPTS here claim when a Republican has a transgression he’s returned to their seat? Well the one Republican loss was over an affair he had with his staffer and he only lost by 712 seats. So much for those big flipper screams.

  27. 27

    @25,

    Still reading the left wrong puke sites eh arschloch?

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