HorsesAss.Org

The women on the Seattle City Council have written a nice opinion piece rebutting the garbage people have thrown at them over their stadium/land use vote. It’s sad that the article was necessary in 2016.

Oh man Don Benton’s make work job is going away.

Benton and three other employees’ jobs will be eliminated due to the reorganization, and could save the county as much as $1.2 million over the next two years, McCauley said. Benton’s salary and benefits package totaled about $154,000 in 2015, according to Clark County.

Benton’s position has been the subject of continuing controversy after he was appointed to lead the department in May 2013 on the orders of Republican County Commissioners Tom Mielke and David Madore. As the controversy built, both men, who at the time had sole authority to hire department heads, have denied their role in Benton’s hiring. Instead, they blame then-County Administrator Bill Barron for the action.

On the one hand, I know, I know. I know. There are all sorts of government orgs, non-profits, and businesses that hire legislators. It’s not really that different from the former members of Congress (even ones I like) who are now lobbyists. It’s not that different from Ed Murray’s job at the UW (Seattle Times link). It’s not the best look, but whatever.

But on the other hand, I am definitely petty enough to laugh when it’s an asshole like Benton. Especially given the process in the first place. So ha!

It’s been three years almost to the day since Madore and Mielke tapped Benton to lead the environmental services department during a now-infamous board time meeting in 2013. The issue has continued to be a popular subject for those who comment to the council, despite Madore and Mielke’s continued insistence that they never directed Barron to hire Benton in the first place.

Benton’s appointment also drew criticism from around the state, including a Seattle Times editorial headlined “State Sen. Don Benton for environmental post? Really?”

And I’m legit sorry to anyone else who got caught up in the restructuring.

I cast my second meaningless vote in the primary (my caucus would have been 2 delegates for Clinton, 4 for Sanders no matter how I voted; this one awards no delegates). Still, if the system is going to be this, I’m happy to participate at the cost of a couple weekend afternoons and a stamp.

…and occasionally other content. Really. Twelve fucking years ago, Goldy wrote his first HA post.

And in his first post ever, he was already offering media criticism:

So to those upstanding members of the political and media establishment who insist I cannot possibly expect to maintain my credibility as an activist while producing an irreverent and outrageous blog, the Goldy half of me respectfully says: “fuck you.”

And the first use of the word “fuck” on this blog. (These are the small things that mean so much to us…)

Yes, I am writing this blog to amuse myself; if I entertain, educate or motivate others… great! But if some people occasionally find me rude or offensive, well… that’s okay too.

Judging by the number of comments we get to our endless series of open threads, there is, at the very least, some entertainment happening.

Little known fact…a blog-year is equal to about seven human years. That makes HA a “senior netizen” among blogs. And judging by the endless open threads of late, I guess you can say we are feeling it in our muscles and joints. We expect to feel more energetic any day now.

In the mean time, thanks, Goldy, for creating this blog. Thank you, dear reader, for stopping by our geriatric blog. And thank you, dear commenter, for playing in our cesspool.

Great news that the Army Corps of Engineers rejected a permit for the Gateway Pacific terminal. It’s still something that may be appealed, but for now it’s a good thing for those of us who have to live along the route. For anyone who has to breathe or to fish between Montana and Bellingham. It’s also pretty important for the climate impact going forward.

And it is important in a history of defining taking in the treaties. The right to take is pretty meaningless if what’s left to take is inadequate or non-existent.

This week in electoral politics includes a Nebraska GOP primary and a West Virginia primary. And there will be plenty of other topics to raise at this evening’s Seattle Chapter of Drinking liberally.

We meet tonight and 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. We start at 8:00pm.

Can’t make it to Seattle tonight? Check out one of the other DL meetings happening this week. Tonight, the Federal Way, Tri-Cities and Redmond chapters meet. On Thursday, the Kent chapter meets. Finally, on Monday, the Yakima chapter meets.

There are 178 chapters of Living Liberally, including nineteen in Washington state, three in Oregon and one in Idaho. Find (or start!) a chapter near you.

I’ve been quite impressed by KUOW’s series on The Jungle. The most recent piece this morning on the social worker and the preacher who go into the jungle was just amazing. It tied those two to the larger situations and to the city’s looking at future policies, so well.

2 Samuel 17:29
Cheese.

Discuss.

Matthew Filipowicz: Lack of living wills for too-big-to-fail banks defended by hedge fund executive.

Sam Seder: Can you guess how many toddlers shot people this year?

Jonathan Mann: Throw the pundits down a hole.

Jimmy Dore: Political jokes of the week.

Samantha Bee: Andrew Jackson was so, so bad.

The 2016 Top Clown Show

• Eulogy for Republican candidates …at CA’s GOP convention
• Stephen: Dyin’ Ted edition of “Hungry for Power Games”.
• Sam Seder: Cruz drops out and punches his wife in the face….
• Daily Show: Donald and Ted throw down in Indiana.
• David Pakman: Cruz ends his campaign by elbowing his wife in the face.
• Stephen: To know Ted Cruz is to wish you didn’t
• Ted Cruz wants to rule the world.
• Why does the GOP hate Ted Cruz?
• James Corden: Ted Cruz quits.
• Stephen: Do or Die for Ted Cruz…probably die.
• Sam Seder: Prediction of how badly Drumpf will lose the General.
• Bill Maher: Reagan v. Drumpf
• Jimmy Dore: The mind of Drumpf supporters.
• Maddow: Drumpf’s ignorance is terrifying!
• Stephen: Drumpf puts ISIS on non-specific notice.
• Umm…Unifier?
• Drumpf writes a poem to America:

• Thom: Republicans have rejected the Republican Party
• Young Turks: Prominent Republicans say “never Trump”.
• PsychoSuperMom: Joker Drumpf
• Jimmy Dore: Republicans fleeing their party as Drumpf takes the reigns.
• Red State Update: America has given up.
• David Pakman: Growing list of Republicans will vote for Hillary over Drumpf.
• Sam Seder: Will Drumpf hurt down-ballot candidates?
• Young Turks: Bushes won’t back Drumpf.
• Drumpf’s taco bowl tweet.
• Seth Meyers: Drumpf becomes the GOP nominee…A closer look.
• Young Turks: Who will Drumpf choose as his running mate?
• Stephen: Why would God let Drumpf happen?
• Mark Fiore: How to nominate a Drumpf
• Jimmy Kimmel: Donald Drumpf is choosing a running mate.
• Maddow Performs anti-Drumpf Republican anguish

• Drumpf is Anonymous.
• Jimmy Dore: Donald Drumpf to America, “Just hold still and let me finish”
• Drumpf’s presumptive nomination has Republicans voting Democrat
• Stephen: A brief history of laughing at Drumpf
• Young Turks: The force was not with John Kasich
• Stephen: President John Kasich

Amy Schumer: The Gun Show.

Mental Floss: 32 facts about NYC.

Hillary Clinton ruins “Hamilton”..

Republican Voter Suppression:

• Matthew Filipowicz: How North Carolina, Wisconsin and Ohio made it harder for people to vote.
• Matthew Filipowicz and Alice Ollstein: Voter suppression and election problems in the 2016 primaries
• Young Turks: The real reason voter suppression laws exist….

Jimmy Dore: Andrew Jackson full of wit and rage at being booted from the $20.

Politician’s less graceful moments.

Seth Meyers: Women and the draft…A closer look.

Daily Show: American soccer’s gender wage gap.

Comedian-in-Chief:

• Obama does his last White House Correspondence Dinner.
• Obama: Couch commander:

• Obama’s best moments of the 2016 White House Correspondence Dinner
• Sam Seder: Obama mocks Ted Cruz.
• Young Turks: Obama drops the mic on the press.
• Larry Wilmore has some words…
• Sam Seder: Obama’s future in stand-up…

Thom: The Good, the Bad & the Very, Very Interlacustrinely Ugly!

White House: West Wing Week.

Mental Floss: Why do some countries drive on the right and some on the left?

Seth Meyers: Detroit teachers stage a sit-out.

Stephen: Political Week in Review:

Hillary celebrates Mother’s day.

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

So, I get it. You like your arena, or at least the thought of it. You had to learn about street vacation. And you don’t like that the City Council voted against it. You or one of your Facebook friends, maybe someone on Twitter, noticed that all the women voted one way and all the men voted the other way. Instead of going “huh” and considering how to lobby for your preferred option going forward, things go off the rails.

But, you know what? Do fucking better. As a man who doesn’t take a position on street vacation, but generally supports efforts to get a men’s basketball and hockey arena, this is a disgrace.

Oh hey, it looks like people are using the Viaduct closure to bike from West Seattle to Downtown. Good news. Now that it’s overcast, maybe that number will go down a bit. But still. I hope some of them keep going.

Darryl mentioned it in this morning’s Drinking Liberally thread, but it’s kind of a big deal that the US Supreme Court won’t hear the Seattle minimum wage case. There are 2 reasons why it’s mass rad. First, for Seattle and other places where we want to set a minimum wage, and are going to have the sort of slow, multi-tiered implementation that we got. We can keep the law in place without this imaginary legal hurdle. For the fast food workers and other franchise employees who’ll get a raise going forward, it’s worth it on its own.

But, it also signals that with Antonin Scalia off the court, maybe the country won’t slip further into a new Lochner era. Maybe we won’t decide as many cases primarily on the basis of what’s good for business.

The Supreme Court will not hear a challenge to Seattle’s minimum wage law. And tonight’s election calendar includes an Indiana primary. We’ll roll these topics into our political conversations with cocktails at this week’s Seattle Chapter of Drinking liberally.

We meet tonight and 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. We start at 8:00pm.

Can’t make it to Seattle tonight? Check out one of the other DL meetings happening this week. Tonight the Tri-Cities, Long Beach, and West Seattle chapters also meet. The Lakewood and Bellingham chapters meet on Wednesday. On Thursday, the Tacoma chapter meets.

There are 178 chapters of Living Liberally, including nineteen in Washington state, three in Oregon and one in Idaho. Find (or start!) a chapter near you.

I hope you survived your May Day (or your m’aider as the news seems to think). For me it consisted of walking home and seeing a lot of cops, and wondering why there are so many. Then kind of remembering and keeping walking. And then having someone in my building freaking the fuck out. Also some people on Twitter. In conclusion, I almost feel like we need better shitty anarchists.

Genesis 5:1-3
This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;

Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.

And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, and after his image; and called his name Seth.

Discuss.