I am beginning to suspect that electing a man who admitted to crimes while he knew he was on mic, and who surrounded himself with criminals, was a bad idea. Although Donald Trump is a crisis to our democracy, the fact that he got so far for so long is also exposing a flaw in our court system. The man’s criminality was known for a long time, but allowed to fester. We have had decades to do something, and yet he has been mollycoddled for 4 decades.
Anyway, lock her up or whatever.
Good dog.
I’ve had my dog Feisty almost as long as I’ve had this blog, a 13-plus-year span in which she has been a source of love, metaphor, and humor. And so, while I don’t really blog here anymore, I thought it appropriate to briefly post on her passing.
She was a good dog (mostly), a loyal companion, and an enthusiastic hiking partner. In fact, without her, I don’t think I ever would have cultivated my love of hiking through our region’s many mountain trails. I already miss her deeply. But after months of progressive kidney failure that left her unwilling to eat and increasingly unable to walk, my daughter and I sadly did the only humane thing to do, and held her in our arms as the vet relieved her of her suffering.
But since this is HA, it would be a disingenuous tribute to Feisty to mark her passing without making at least one political point: When we euthanize a beloved pet, we rightly call it an act of compassion. But if we euthanize a beloved family member, the law calls it an act of murder. Whatever. When my time comes, if I am unable to avail myself of WA’s Death with Dignity law, I sure hope that my daughter has the strength to lovingly murder me the way we just lovingly murdered our family dog.
Rest in peace, Feisty. In the remote event that there’s a doggy heaven, I hope you were greeted by 72 squirrels to do with what you please.
The Seattle Chapter of Drinking Liberally has been getting together weekly since early 2005. For our first nine months, until the indoor smoking ban, an evening in a Washington pub meant inhaling lots of second-hand smoke and going home with stinky clothes. So join us this evening for an (unintentional) retro edition of DL. I mean, if you are going to inhale smokey air, you might as well do it while sitting in a bar with a drink in your hand talking politics! Amiright?
We meet every Tuesday at the Roanoke Park Place Tavern, 2409 10th Ave E, Seattle. You’ll find us in the room at the rear of the tavern beginning about 8pm.
Can’t make it to Seattle? There are 255 chapters of Living Liberally, including 23 in Washington state, seven in Oregon and three in Idaho. Find a chapter near you. Or consider starting your own chapter.
Thank you for asking, I am enjoying my vacation.
Thank you for asking, I am enjoying my vacation.
I feel like there has to be a better way of explaining the smoke than an out of context number. I mean the higher number is worse. But is, like, 50 smoke tolerable? If the number doubles do I cough twice as much?
Maybe thre can be a rating based on how many tears it’ll cause standing in this crap for an hour. Or maybe this is the new normal, and in a few years, we’ll all just have an intuitive sense of what the numbers mean.
Deuteronomy 19:21
Show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
Discuss.
Samantha Bee: Fascists to watch 2018
WaPo: Wisconsin’s lieutenant governor candidate wants people to know that he is alive.
The Atlantic: Why the U.S. should provide universal basic income.
Seth Meyers: Senator Elizabeth Warren talks about the Democratic Party’s shift to the left.
Slate: Attention, cyclists, it’s fine for non-bikers to use the bike lane.
Vox: How ID laws can put trans people in danger.
The Atlantic: Is the dinosaur–apocalypse story wrong?
Trevor: Spike Lee, “BlacKkKlansman” and fighting the rise of racism in the Трамп era.
WaPo: FAUX News’ latest fringe theory—Robert Mueller is more dangerous than Vladimir Putin
GQ: Why bad cops are almost never held accountable.
The Dotard Трамп and Other Puppets:
Amber Ruffin remakes art created by problematic men.
The Atlantic: Can the undocumented “earn” citizenship?.
WaPo: How “Respect,” Aretha Franklin’s iconic song, came to be
Jim Jefferies replaces his weatherman.
Mental Floss: The 2000s internet.
Trevor: Why people uncomfortable with breastfeeding should suck it up.
Seth Meyers: Spike Lee on the connection between Charlottesville and BlacKkKlansman.
Kurzgesagt: Wormholes explained.
Stopping Gun Violence in America:
Vox: Why is California always on fire?
Trevor: Washington D.C.’s Unite the Right rally is a flop and Leo Deblin comes to the rescue.
Seth Meyers: The kind of story we need right now—waitress body slams groper.
The roots of racism in Charlottesville.
Samantha Bee: Undocumented immigrants make your food.
Minute Physics: The twins paradox hands-on explanation.
The Atlantic: A surprising U.S.-Canada border dispute
Last week’s Friday Night Multimedia Extravaganza can be found here.
Thank you for asking, I am enjoying my vacation.
Thank you for asking, I am enjoying my vacation.
I don’t understand how Medicare for all became the liberal end all be all for healthcare. I mean, sure, it’s better than the status quo. It’s much better than what came before the ACA.
But it’s still insurance reform rather than healthcare reform. Granted, it’s a rather extreme version. But it still says that we need insurance for everyone. I would rather have the Federal government build and staff hospitals and doctors offices than be everyone’s middle person.
Also, given some states’ grossness, I don’t think they would implement it, at least for a while. It took a while for the states to implement Medicare in the first place. Many are still resisting expanding it basically for free under Obamacare. It’s tough to imagine them being on board for covering everyone.
Thank you for asking, I am enjoying my vacation.
OK last vacation post. Back to the regular nonsense schedule later.
Join us this evening as the Seattle Chapter of Drinking Liberally gathers for drinks, conversation and prognostication as the Connecticut, Minnesota, Vermont, and Wisconsin primary returns come in.
We meet every Tuesday at the Roanoke Park Place Tavern, 2409 10th Ave E, Seattle. You’ll find us in the room at the rear of the tavern beginning about 8pm. Feel free to show up earlier to watch returns from other states.
Can’t make it to Seattle? There are 253 chapters of Living Liberally, including 23 in Washington state, seven in Oregon and three in Idaho. Find a chapter near you. Or consider starting your own chapter.
Deuteronomy 23:12-14
Set up a place outside the camp to be used as a toilet area. And make sure that you have a small shovel in your equipment. When you go out to the toilet area, use the shovel to dig a hole. Then, after you relieve yourself, bury the waste in the hole. You must keep your camp clean of filthy and disgusting things. The LORD is always present in your camp, ready to rescue you and give you victory over your enemies. But if he sees something disgusting in your camp, he may turn around and leave.
Discuss.
Eager to share our brilliant political commentary and blunt media criticism, but too genteel to link to horsesass.org? Well, good news, ladies: we also answer to HASeattle.com, because, you know, whatever. You're welcome!