HorsesAss.Org

The Freeattle myth is of course bullshit. Still and all, the media should maybe stop going out of their way to perpetuate it. It’s ridiculous that people would come in mass numbers to sleep outside in our cold wet winters. Seattle is one of the most expensive cities in the world, and the fact that we have the homeless problem we do is a disgrace.

Psalm 94:4-7
God, the wicked get away with murder—
how long will you let this go on?
They brag and boast
and crow about their crimes!
They walk all over your people, God,
exploit and abuse your precious people.
They take out anyone who gets in their way;
if they can’t use them, they kill them.
They think, “God isn’t looking,
Jacob’s God is out to lunch.”

Discuss.

Stephen: “O” Presidents.

Armchair Presidents: The CPAC Report.

The Trumputin Chronicles:

• Trevor: Media falls for Trumputin (again!).
• Olbermann: It’s time for a Grand Jury on Trumputin and Russia
• Young Turks: Fact-checking Trumputin’s speech
• Jimmy Fallon: Trumputin on his own speech.
• Kelly Conway is deeply sad.
• Stephen: Trumputin lays out his vision for moving forward
• Late Show: Waiting for Godot’s Obamacare replacement.
• Conan: Trumputin calls Obama to brag about his speech:

• Seth Meyers: Democrats call for Jeff Sessions’ resignation
• Trevor: Melania litmus test.
• Young Turks: Pence used private email and got hacked.
• Jonathan Mann: Sean Spicer Phone Check
• Olbermann: Why Trumputin is refusing to confront reality.
• PsychoSuperMom: If Trumputin’s lips are moving…
• David Pakman: Trumputin’s staff leaks story about Sean Spicer’s hunt for leakers
• Late Show: Jeff Sessions day planner
• Trevor: Sessions lied and must recuse himself from Russian probes.
• Seth Meyers: A closer look at the media fawning over Trumputin’s new tone
• Sam Seder: Jeff Sessions in 1999 tells us just what to do when a Lawmaker commits perjury
• Stephen: Jeff Sessions can’t recuse himself from the monologue
• Susie Sampson: Fake News; Real Dictatorship?
• Stephen: Late Show’s presidential leak-crets
• James Corden: Are we still applauding Donald Trumputin’s speech?
• Olbermann: Let’s be honest, Trumputin is banning Muslims and purging Hispanics.
• Watch Sessions lie to Congress.
• Stephen responds to Democrats responding to Trumputin.
• Young Turks: Trumputin lied about US steel for pipeline, everything
• Seth Meyers: A closer look at Jeff Sessions, Trumputin and Russia
• Conan: Trumputin calls Obama about Oscars and more.
• Jimmy Fallon Trumputin speaks
• Sam Seder: Trumputin announces “VOICE,” a Nazi-inspired way to persecute immigrants
• David Pakman: Trumputin told 51 lies in a 61 minute speech!
• Trumputin’s tremendous think about the Oscars.
• Trevor: Trumputin dresses up his act.
• James Corden: The secret behind Trumputin’s well done steaks.
• Stephen: After well-received speech, Trumputin’s team basks in the afterglow.

Jon Batiste and friends: Hey White people!

Trevor: The GOP versus constituents.

Last week’s Friday Night Multimedia Extravaganza can be found here.

Hrmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

It’s so frustrating that the legislature that only gave Sound Transit limited funding options is now trying to restructure them to make it less effective. I mean honestly. It’s bad enough that the Republicans are doing it, and that legislators outside of the boundary seem so excited about it. But Democrats in the ST boundary are particularly bad.

Recently if there’s Missing Link news, my reaction is something between “what a good plan to never be implemented” or just ignoring it. But this seems like it might actually come to pass.

Please join us this evening for our regular weekly meeting of the Seattle Chapter of Drinking liberally. Tonight Trump will give a fake State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress. (Really…it’s fake. Google it.) The fake-SOTU address begins at 6pm.

We meet every Tuesday at the Roanoke Park Place Tavern, 2409 10th Ave E, Seattle. You’ll find us in the small room at the back of the tavern beginning about 8pm. If you wish, show up early to watch the fake-SOTU address.

Can’t make it to Seattle tonight? Check out one of the other 213 chapters of Living Liberally, including nineteen in Washington state, three in Oregon and one in Idaho. Find, or go out and start, a chapter near you.

East Link tunneling has got underway. It looks great. I’m excited about not having to take the bus or a car to Bellevue. I’d guess it gets used less than the Seattle stations but more than the buses.

After the desecration of a Jewish cemetery in St. Louis, the Trump Administration was finally prodded to make a public statement about rising anti-Semitism. Last month, they said next to nothing about a mosque shooting in Canada that killed six people. And this week, while the whole clown brigade has been talking about Sweden for who-knows-what fucking reason, they’ve barely said a thing about the shooting of two Indian-born engineers in Kansas, which has rattled one of our strongest allies. Trump, and a lot of the people he’s surrounded himself with, have taken the white ‘Christian’ persecution complex to a new level, to where it’s difficult for them even to acknowledge that other groups can be victims as well. This isn’t a white-supremacy worldview as much as an extreme white-victimhood one.

And while it’s not as if those two worldviews are separated by a wide gap, the distinction did play out at CPAC, where unabashed white supremacist Richard Spencer was shown the door while Wayne LaPierre ranted about ‘violent liberals‘ and attendees scooped up books warning of the dire threats of Islam and immigration. This is Trump conservatism, a belief that whites are under siege at home by an oppressive multiculturalism, while America is getting ripped off by a world that has swindled us into a myriad of unfair alliances and obligations. It’s a self-serving fantasyland that requires constant bullshit to fertilize the faithful.

One of those faithful, finding himself on the front lines of this dangerous war while watching basketball at a Kansas bar, shot and killed an Indian-born engineer and wounded his friend and another guy who tried to intervene. Somehow, this man with 51 years of life experiences behind him believed the men were ‘Middle Eastern’ and therefore acceptable to kill. He then drove about an hour or so into rural southwest Missouri and confessed to a bartender. We still don’t know whether this ignoramus just sobered up enough on the drive to confess his heinous act or if he thought the bartender would give him a fucking medal. The bartender called the police.

The widow of the killed engineer spoke about whether or not Indian-Americans belong here. As someone who’s worked in high-tech jobs for nearly 25 years alongside dozens of brilliant, wonderful Indian-born professionals, I’m paralyzed with frustration to hear this. It’s impossible to imagine an immigration bloc less threatening and more beneficial than the pipeline of talented people who come here from top Indian universities to help build so much of the technology we use every day. Even back before the election, I spoke with state Rep Roger Goodman, who represents large numbers of Indian-Americans in the 45th district. He was already hearing some of this wariness as he knocked on doors last summer and fall. And this was when most people didn’t even think Trump would win. This question becomes much harder to answer when you have a President who isn’t even moved to speak out about a tragedy unless it fits within the narrative of white Americans being under siege.

What remains to be seen is how this mentality of the Trump administration will fully play out on the world stage. So much of diplomacy is about being able to convince your counterparts that you and they can find common ground and interests. This becomes impossible to do if it’s on full display that you’re convinced that the rest of the world is taking advantage of you and that you’re owed something for it. This is how you delude yourself into thinking that Mexico will not only accept a border wall, but also pay for it. After all, Mexico should recognize how much they’ve been taking advantage of the poor downtrodden USA, right? Outside of America’s right-wing media bubble and their fringe European fellow travellers, portraying America and western culture as the world’s most aggrieved victim is a remarkable absurdity and there’s no path forward for the Trump Administration to act on any of it without it blowing up in our faces.

2 Samuel 13:10-15
And Tamar took the bread she had prepared and brought it to her brother Amnon in his bedroom. But when she took it to him to eat, he grabbed her and said, “Come to bed with me, my sister.”

“No, my brother!” she said to him. “Don’t force me! Such a thing should not be done in Israel! Don’t do this wicked thing. What about me? Where could I get rid of my disgrace? And what about you? You would be like one of the wicked fools in Israel. Please speak to the king; he will not keep me from being married to you.” But he refused to listen to her, and since he was stronger than she, he raped her.

Then Amnon hated her with intense hatred. In fact, he hated her more than he had loved her. Amnon said to her, “Get up and get out!”

Discuss.

Kimmel: The week in unnecessary censorship.

Young Turks: Arizona’s fascist attempt to ban protests.

PsychoSuperMom: Hypocrisy, thy name is G.O.P..

Stephen: Senators Kid Rock and The Nuge

Young Turks: Bad news for Gov. Failed-trickle-downer.

President “Enemy of the People”:

• Stephen: One bathroom privilege Drumpr won’t take away—Toilet-Tweeting.
• Seth Meyers: A closer look at Drumpf’s wall and immigration policies
• Maddow: Drumpf admin spikes report that undercuts travel ban:

• Armchair Presidents: Last night in Sweden….
• Sam Seder: Drumpf gives us the inside track—a “nuclear holocaust would be like no other”
• Farron Cousins: Drumpf has spent more time golfing than attending security briefings.
• Stephen: Sorry, ISIS, you lost the title of ‘Enemy Of The American People’
• Young Turks: Drump gears up for a new war on weed.
• Jimmy Fallon: Worst president ever.
• Olbermann: He must go.
• James Corden: We should let President Drumpf play more golf.
• Seth Meyers: Hey, transgendered kids!
• Young Turks: Drumpf things the First Amendment is a joke
• Late Show: Bathroom signs have a message for Drumpf.
• Olbermann: The mistake Drumpf can’t ever walk back.
• David Pakman: Drumpf spends in one month what Obama spent on travel in 1 year
• Late Show: Donald Drumpf tries to say something bad about Russia
• Maddow: Drumpf administration’s litany of mistakes indicates malice or incompetence
• Armchair Presidents: Fine tuned machine.
• Sam Seder: The White House is in chaos.
• Jimmy Fallon: Drumpf goes to war with the press.
• Chris Hayes: Muslim adviser quits after 8 days of Drumpf administration
• Stephen: Drumpf bravely calls Slavery “Not good”.
• Young Turks: Idiot conservatives wave Russian flags at CPAC
• David Pakman: Americans increasingly think Drumpf is incompetent
• Late Night White House press conference.

A Special Four-Letter Tribute to Donald Drumpf:

• FDT:Garden State–The Shins
• FDT: Baby Groot dancing
• FDT: Love Actually cue card
• FDT: Dragonite and Charizard Dance
• FDT: Sid and the Science Kid
• FDT: How the Grinch Stole Christmas
• FDT: Winnie the Pooh dances
• FDT: American Beauty
• FDT: Guardians of the Gallaxy
• Jimmy Fallon: Drumpf has some Swedish confusion.
• Farron Cousins: Drumpf hasn’t gone a day as President without lying.
• Stephen: A reliable source for news Drumpf will like
• Maddow: GOP Intel chairs push media for Drumpf
• Seth Meyers: Drumpf makes Christie eat meatloaf & compares himself to Lincoln
• Michael Brooks: Stephen Miller’s whole career plan seems to be ushering in raging White Supremacy
• James Corden: Report says Drumpf lies.
• David Pakman: Drumpf is a hilariously weak President. Sad!
• Stephen: Drumpf goes on a field trip…
• Farron Cousins: Most Americans believe Drumpf doesn’t know how to do his.
• Late Night: The umbilical brothers grab Donald Drumpf by the pantomime
• Randy Rainbow: You’re making things up again Donald:

• Jimmy Fallon: Donald Drumpf unveils Drumpf News Network
• David Pakman: Drumpf staff admits to planting fake news to counter his Twitter meltdowns.
• Thom: Is Drumpf Anxiety Disorder the newest public health threat?
• Young Turks: Drumpf bans top media outlets from White House.
• Lawrence O’Donnell: Steve Bannon is the most powerful person in the Drumpf White House.
• Seth Meyers: Drumpf supporters hate the media
• Stephen takes a look at InfoWars and its carnival barker.

Late Show: No ObamaCare, no problem–try these GOP home remedies.

Young Turks: Statue of Liberty gets a sweet new sign.

Mental Floss: 28 facts about internet sensations

Stephen: Advice for avoiding campaign scandals–get it out there.

G.O.P. Snowflakes Find Now Town Hall Safe Spaces:

• Thom: Republican snowflakes are facing tough time at town halls….When they show up.
• Young Turks: Republicans were totally unprepared for the town hall backlash.
• Lawrence O’Donnell: G.O.P. are getting hammered in town halls.
• Late Show: GOP Town Halls devolved into angry mobs… and worse.
• Seth Meyers: Republicans face town hall protests, Drumpf golfs

Jordan Peele revives his Obama impression.

Last week’s Friday Night Multimedia Extravaganza can be found here.

The no on I-1552 people are having a rally to oppose the administration’s repeal of the protections for transgender students. The link is to a page where they’ll get your name and email address. And if it gets on the ballot, presumably ask you for money. But the rally in Tacoma at noon on Saturday is a worthwhile thing to go to on its own.

Not content to lose statewide running against Seattle, Senator Miloscia is now opposing safe injection sites. Here’s a press release about it. This is a month old, but I haven’t done a metacommentary piece in a while. Since it just passed out of committee (third item), now is as good a time as any to get back to it.

Sen. Mark Miloscia introduced legislation Monday that would ban the creation of heroin-injection sites in Washington cities and counties. King County has proposed creating two county-operated locations where heroin and other illegal narcotics may be consumed “legally” under medical supervision.

I’m pretty sure it’s not actually legal, since that’s not something a county can do. As such, I’m not sure why it’s in quotes. Who you quoting? There must be a better way to say that. Here are a few off the top of my head:

– without fear of arrest
– quasi-legally
– it’s-really-not-legal,-y’all
– the-legal-status-of-the-drug-use-isn’t-actually-the-issue
– illegally

In any case there will be doctors around in case they have overdoses. They’ll probably refer them to treatment if they think they can, like they do in Vancouver:

Through Insite, clients develop trusting relationships with our health care and social workers, making them more likely to pursue withdrawal management (detox), addiction counselling and other addiction treatment services.

Anyway, back to Senator Miloscia’s month old press release. I don’t know what I’m doing either.

“We must stop the push for decriminalization of drugs,” said Miloscia, R-Federal Way. “Standing idly by while addicts abuse illegal drugs is not compassionate, and it does not solve the problem.”

That’s the fucking plan: To stand idly by. To just hire people to fuck around on their phones while people shoot up. They’ll whistle a tune that they half remember from their youth. Maybe look up passively from time to time and give a thumbs up in the direction of the addicts before turning back to Instagram.

It won’t be harm reduction and redirection of people to treatment where possible. It won’t be making sure that people don’t pass around dirty needles. It’s just sitting idly.

His legislation is a direct response to a report issued by the Heroin and Prescription Opiate Addiction Task Force established by King County and the city of Seattle. The task force recommended two locations within King County where drug users can use illegal narcotics under medical supervision. The county recently approved funding for two injection sites in its 2017-2018 budget.

The people King County put in charge of this unanimously said it’s a piece of how we deal with the problem. But what if a grandstanding state senator decided his plan of do fuck all* was better?

Last year Miloscia toured Insite Coastal Health in Vancouver, Canada, the first supervised drug-consumption site in North America, to study the issue further.

He will proceed to say nothing about what he learned there for the rest of the press release. Instead he’ll take us home with a misleading statistic.

“Canada’s safe-injection site has completely failed and overdoses have skyrocketed,” Miloscia added. “We must focus our time, money and resources on treatment options that get people off illegal drugs, not encourage drug abuse.”

Overdoses are up in Vancouver, it’s true, and it’s tragic. They’re also up in lots of places where there aren’t safe injection sites. The reason seems to be fentanyl and other agents cut into heroin.

The Globe and Mail reports that overdose deaths rose to 914 during 2016. In contrast, there were 510 overdose deaths in 2015. It’s the province’s worst overdose rate in the 30 years it’s been keeping records.

In Seattle, KIRO 7 reports that the Seattle Fire Department has responded to 2,677 overdoses since 2014.

Canadian officials are blaming much of the rise on the inclusion of fentanyl, which is a synthetic opiate that can be cut into heroin. It is cheaper than heroin, yet much more potent, and can lead to overdoses. Fentanyl is suspected to be a factor in the recent surge in overdose deaths in Seattle, as well. What’s worse, is that another synthetic drug, carfentanil, has been found to have been mixed into B.C.’s heroin last fall. It is used as a large animal tranquilizer, and is cut into heroin for the same reasons as fentanyl. Though, it is even more potent.

Call me a dirty hippie if you want, but it seems like safe injection sites would be better places to test for fentanyl than in a hotel room. Or an abandoned lot near your dealer’s house. Or on your bathroom floor while your kids are playing in the next room.

[Read more…]

The library is not really designed to be a place for homeless people to hang out. It has become that de facto as the city’s homeless population increases. I don’t know what’s right on the no sleeping rule. Other than, obviously, enough places designed for homeless people to sleep.

The Seattle Chapter of Drinking liberally will meet this evening. Please join us for conversations over a drink.

We meet every Tuesday at the Roanoke Park Place Tavern, 2409 10th Ave E, Seattle. You’ll find us in the small room at the back of the tavern beginning about 8pm.

Can’t make it to Seattle? Check out one of the other 200 chapters of Living Liberally, including nineteen in Washington state, three in Oregon and one in Idaho. Find, or go out and start, a chapter near you.

Leviticus 3:17
So you and your descendants must never eat any fat or any blood, not even in the privacy of your own homes. This law will never change.

Discuss.