HorsesAss.Org

Last week I told you for whom I am voting for city council. (Awkwardly formal phrasing, but you try flipping that sentence around.) So with the ballots arriving this week I thought I’d also mention that I’m voting for Julie Wise for King County Elections Director.

Why? For the exact same reason why I opposed making the office elected in the first place: This is a position that demands a professional who knows how to run elections, not a politician who knows how to run for them. And with 13 years working in King County Elections, deputy director designee Wise is that professional.

Nothing against the two Democrats running for the office. I know and like Zach Hudgins, and from everything I hear, Chris Roberts is a great guy. But neither of them have any experience running an elections office, let alone the largest all vote-by-mail jurisdiction in the nation. For them, this office would be a mere stepping stone to something bigger—maybe Secretary of State. But for Wise, this is her career. And I feel a lot more comfortable with a career technocrat running this office than just another politician.

I cut my teeth as a blogger following the controversially close 2004 gubernatorial election, but we haven’t heard much in the press about King County Elections in the years since. That’s because it’s being run great. Let’s keep it that way. Vote for Wise.

In theory, I get back to normal.

Matthew 5:5
Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

Luke 12:49
I came to cast fire upon the earth. How I wish that it was already ablaze!

Discuss.

Mental Floss: Why is ginger a palate cleanser?

Obama’s Greek debt crisis solution.

White House: West Wing Week.

Thom: The Good, The Bad, and The Very, Very Phemicly Ugly!

Political Stars and Bars:

• Maddow: Confederate flag to come down on Friday
• David Pakman: SC House votes to remove flag
• Young Turks: Racists furious over confederate flag removal.
• Rep. James E. Clyburn (D-SC) slams Confederate flag amendment
• The flag comes down for good.
• House explodes over Confederate flag resolution.
• Young Turks: Crowds cheer as traitor’s flag is removed

Young Turks: Beware of people preaching morality.

Liberal Viewer: FAUX News says Americans are jerks?!?

Maddow: Debate entry rules to limit participation.

Thom: The Koch brothers plot to kill our national parks.

Young Turks: George W. Bush speaks to wounded vets…and charges them $100K.

Forgotten Assholes of History: The Woman Who Helped Kill Lincoln:

Follow the Money: Droughts, lobbyists, and you.

Mark Fiore: Selective hearing of gun violence.

Pap: SCOTUS has fractured the Republican party.

The 2016 March of the Clowns:

• BuzzFeed: There are so many white guys running it’s hard to tell them apart
• Pap and Farron Cousins: Chris Christie slowly waddles into the race
• Sam Seder: Who’s distancing themselves from Donald Trump now?
• Homer Simpson examines Donald Trump’s hair:

• Young Turks: The Donald insists that he’ll win the Latino vote
• Feel the #TRUMPMENTUM!
• Maddow: Trump doubles down on anti-immigrant rhetoric.
• Young Turks: Trump tries to backpedal but can’t stop saying racist shit
• David Pakman: Donald Trump insults Mexicans…and his clothing line is made in Mexico
• Young Turks: Modern Family writer owns Trump in Twitter war
• David Pakman: Donald Trump construction project reportedly employing ‘illegal immigrants’.
• The Retrumplican Party:

• Thom and Pap: Donald Trump leads the GOP; is the apocalypse beginning?
• Young Turks: Ted Cruz, “I like Donald Trump….I salute Donald Trump.”
• Pap and Farron Cousins: Ted Cruz’s most cringeworthy moment.
• Young Turks: Ted Cruz’s sleazy book sales trick ISN’T FOOLING ANYONE.
• Pap and Farron Cousins: Did Rand Paul and Cliven Bundy just become BFF?
• Richard Fowler: Huckabee resists gay marriage and perverts MLK quote
• Pap and Farron Cousins: Marco Rubio thinks the world will end if he isn’t elected.
• Thom and Pap: Marco Rubio wants NASCAR-style college tuition sponsors
• David Pakman: Rick Santorum (ewwwww) thinks SCOTUS decision proves ‘Man on Dog’ warning was accurate
• Richard Fowler: Jeb Bush totally misunderstands the Baltimore riots
• Young Turks: Jeb Bush thinks you don’t work hard enough.
• Ari Melber with Bernie Sanders: On Jeb Bush’s ‘work longer hours’ comments.
• Thom and Pap: Jeb Bush is completely out of touch with society

Sam Seder with Cliff Schecter: How President Obama’s new rules on overtime pay will help any Americans.

Mental Floss: Misconceptions about video games.

Congressional Hits and Misses of the Week.

Harry Reid calls out Republican’s silence on Trump’s racist comments.

When not to correct someone’s grammer:

Liberal Viewer: FAUX News hawks fake “gag order” on Oregon bakery.

Rover-eye view of Mars.

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

HA doesn’t really do political endorsements because A) I think unsigned endorsements are kinda stupid, and B) it’s generally no secret who we individually support. But since I haven’t been writing much at HA recently, and I don’t have Slog at my disposal anymore to influence elections, I thought I’d take a moment to clarify my thoughts on a handful of city council races.

District 2: I’m voting for Tammy Morales
Nothing personal against Bruce Harrell… but I’ve got nothing personal for him either, and I’m hard pressed to think of anything he’s accomplished during his eight years on the council. He’s way too conventional for my liking, and yeah, okay, I’m a little pissed off at his pissiness towards Kshama Sawant. So I’m voting for Tammy Morales.

Morales is affable, smart, energetic, and not totally full of herself. (Also, she doesn’t live in Bellevue, ever.) Yes, I know Josh Farris speaks more directly to my issues, and I’m glad he’s running, but Morales stands the better chance of forcing Harrell to break a sweat. And I want to see Harrell sweat.

District 3: I’ve maxed out to Kshama Sawant
I rarely donate to political campaigns because I figure my blogging is contribution enough. But Kshama is more than just special. Never in my 12 years of closely following state and local politics have I seen a newly elected official achieve so much so quickly, sometimes by the mere threat of her presence. And as much as Sawant has dragged Seattle politics to the left, her defeat would be taken as a mandate to drag it sharply to the right. That’s why the business community is spending so much to defeat her.

So as an indication of how strongly I feel about this race, I’ve contributed the maximum $700 to Sawant’s campaign, and I encourage you to give whatever you can afford. Sure, my generosity is partially a reflection of my improved finances, but it’s mostly a reflection of how important I believe it is to our city, our state, and our nation to keep this particular socialist in office.

District 4: I slipped Michael Maddux a $20
I could think of lots of reasons to deny Jean Godden yet another term, but I only need to give you two: She’s been there too damn long, and she’s simply too damn old. That may not be nice, but it’s true. It’s time for her to move out of the way and give somebody else a chance.

As for Godden’s main opponents, I don’t hate Rob Johnson, but I don’t particularly like a lot of the people and organizations supporting him. And when the Seattle Times endorses Johnson by praising his “willingness to break from Seattle’s insular liberal orthodoxy,” that just gives me the willies. So if I had a vote in this district, I’d be casting my ballot for Michael Maddux, who clearly represents the progressive values of the district and the city. Also, he shows up at Drinking Liberally. So there’s that.

Position 8: I’m voting for Jon Grant, if only to make a statement
This is without a doubt the toughest decision for me. First of all, I weirdly like and respect Tim Burgess (yay universal preschool!), even though he’s consistently the most awful vote on the council, and perhaps the biggest dick on the council when it comes to disrespectful treatment of Sawant. Second, I kinda like all three of Burgess’s serious opponents, if in different ways. Third, Burgess is almost certain to win reelection. So if I’m going to cast what I perceive to be a protest vote, then I’m going to cast it for Jon Grant, who is running almost entirely on tenants rights and affordable housing… issues Burgess kinda sucks on.

Position 9: I’m supporting Bill Bradburd (but secretly voting for Lorena Gonzalez)
The whole thing with Sally Clark’s sudden retirement followed by Lorena Gonzalez’s instant campaign stunk of Ed Murray trying to maneuver a political ally onto the council. But every time I’ve spoken to Gonzalez or have seen her speak, I’ve come away more impressed. I’d really like to vote for Bill Bradburd, what with his focus on affordable housing, but I’m not sure I trust his neighborhoody NIMBYist instincts. So, yeah, I’m voting for Gonzalez (who’s going to win anyway) and hoping she proves a disappointment to Ed.

The Others:
Mike O’Brien and Sally Bagshaw are going to win reelection regardless, and I haven’t paid close enough attention to District’s 1 and 5 (there’s just too damn many candidates!) for me to pick a definitive favorite in either. So if you vote in those districts, I’ve got nothing to offer.

There you have it. It’s not an endorsement, per se, because that would be stupid. I mean, who am I to tell you how to vote? Still, there’s no harm in telling you how I’m going to vote. Take it for what it is.

I’m out for a few days with computer nonsense, but enjoy this thread.

Join us this evening for some hot political conversation over a cold, cold beer at the 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. Our starting time is 8:00 pm, but some folks stop by even earlier for dinner.

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

There are 190 chapters of Living Liberally, including eighteen in Washington state, four in Oregon and two in Idaho. Chances are good there’s a chapter meeting near you.

– Can’t wait to give the Rainier Vista portion of the Burke-Gillman Trail a try.

– Donald Trump is really innovating here, in that he seems to be actually conning himself

– Also, speaking of Trump, it is interesting that people are finally calling his bullshit.

– Bill Kristol is such a problem.

– Oh hey, 25 Years of Tomorrow looks pretty great.

Thom: Reaganism…a failure from Kansas to Greece.

White House: West Wing Week.

Mental Floss: 24 unexpected things aboard cruise ships.

Songify the news:

If fast food commercials were honest.

Farron Cousins: Republican controlled states fail on EVERY measure

Minute Physics: How do bikes stay upright.

The 2016 Clown Brigade:

• Maddow: Fascinating 2016 race hints at deeper trends
• Pap and Farron Cousins: Which candidates are the billionaires buying
• Sam Seder: Huckabee on race, “less talk about race, let God sort it out”
• Pap and Farron Cousins: Scott Walker thinks white men will save Republicans in 2016
• Jon: Ted Cruz’s Simpson’s impressions
• Ann Telnaes: Ted Cruz does his best McCarthy Impression.
• HuffPo: Trump’s announcement
• Sam Seder: Trump will cause havoc in the Republican party
• Jon: The man who has been there for Jon
• Sam Seder: Republican voters love Donald Trump
• Pap and Farron Cousins: Trump’s poll numbers should terrify the GOP
• David Pakman: Donald Trump insults Mexicans, surges in primary polls
• Thomas Roberts: Macy’s to Trump, “You’re fired.”.
• Maher: Donald Trump is the White Kanye
• Young Turks: Trump doesn’t want poor people near his holes
• Sam Seder: Donald Trump goes to war with NBC and Univision over Miss USA
• Ann Telnaes: Chris Christie launches his presidential bid.
• Sam Seder: Chris Christie practically begs for a billionaire in his announcement
• David Pakman: Chris Christie launches abortive campaign
• Pap and Farron Cousins: Is Rick Santorum the most brain dead of G.O.P. candidates?
• Thom: How Scott Walker gave $124 MILLION to his friends.
• Sam Seder: This is the most dangerous Republican candidate but could he win the primary?

Thom: You too can buy a politician.

Jon: Some good news for conservatives.

What does the Waterkeeper alliance do?

Maddow: Impeachment of Governor LePage considered by Maine legislators.

Mental Floss: Why do Americans use Fahrenheit?

Thom: The Good, The Bad, and The Very, Very Parvisciently Ugly!.

The Supremes:

• Mark Fiore: Scalia’s Poetry Slam.
• Sam Seder: The SCOTUS Good, Bad, and Ugly
• Jon: The human dissentipede
• Pap and Farron Cousins: SCOTUS ends discriminatory gerrymandering.
• PsychoSuperMom: Acceptance, Equality & Cake!
• David Pakman: Defeated again…Court upholds ObamaCare subsidies

Young Turks: Catholics are super sad gay people can get married now.

If Mexicans toasted the 4th Of July the way Americans toast Cinco De Mayo.

VSauce: Who owns the moon?

Maddow: Court forces anti-gay holdouts on marriage equality:

Thom: The Good, The Bad, and The Very, Very Doxasticly Ugly!

David Pakman: Unemployment dips to 5.3%, debunking Right Wing ‘labor participation’ myths.

Palin Around with Irrelevant:

• Young Turks: Is Sarah Palin still relevant.
• Farron Cousins: FAUX News kicks Sarah Palin’s ass to the curb

Cold war reenactment.

Mental Floss: Misconceptions about the U.S..

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

Oh hey they’re temporarily reopening the waterfront.

But today, citing the need for access and especially because it’s tourism season (which you’ve definitely noticed because crowds of confused people, maps-in-hand, have nearly taken you out numerous times in the last week) the City of Seattle has re-opened the waterfront for a temporary summer vacation, so to speak.

“A temporary, park-like pedestrian promenade from University to Madison streets will be open with wayfinding, seawall project information, and activities, accompanied by approximately 70 new parking spaces adjacent to Waterfront Park. Seawall construction will continue from Madison to Yesler streets adjacent to Colman Dock,” reads a release from the City.

Enjoy it while you can suckers! One question: park-like? OK, I lied: another question, 70 new parking spaces? Why not more park-like stuff? Another another question: can we just ignore the thing underground keep the park-like pedestrian promenade? Whatever! I’m going to walk it this weekend! It’s going to be awesome. It’s totally going to be park-like!

The deadline for registering to vote in the primary is the 6th. So if you’re in King County, you can go here, and if you’re from another county, I guess, you can google it.

One of the things that baffles me about the GOP insistence pretending that global warming isn’t a thing and fighting efforts to fix it is that, you know, they can’t go live on some globe that isn’t warming. So when I read things like “Environmentally-concious organizations are upset that the deal would preclude Governor Jay Inslee from using executive authority to set new pollution standards, and have been calling for a no vote” I have to wonder how much of a deal Republicans think they’re getting.

I mean, if you represent farmers in Eastern Washington, why would you want to go back to your constituents and say something like “congrats, it’s going to be hotter and drier, but, also the state will have less and less water to help irrigate, and it’ll keep getting worse over time.” Or if you represent somewhere that’s on fire right now, being able to say “man in 50 to 100 years, we’ll look back and wish it was this wet and cool.”

Maybe 50-100 years is part of the key. Obviously there are differences between long term and short term incentives for these sorts of issues. But when it’s the health of the entire planet where everyone lives, you might think that GOP legislators, their campaign donors, and their constituents might find their way to a self-interested position.

– In conclusion, Jim McNerney is a terrible human being. And very emblematic of the New Gilded Age

– Oh hey, congrats to team Hanauer, and like a large portion of the middle class, on the new overtime eligibility rules.

– If you want to know what Seattle’s most radical anti-growth activists really think about multifamily housing, the mayor, transportation solutions, and “those people,” I highly recommend checking out any event put on by the City Neighborhood Council, a group founded in the 1990s to advise the brand-new Department of Neighborhoods on neighborhood planning.

– Also, I don’t know about the rest of the crew, but I won’t be posting anything on the 3rd.

There are just under 500 days to the next presidential election, but plenty of of local regional and state-wide issues to discuss now. So please join us for an evening of conversation over a beer at the 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. Our starting time is 8:00 pm, but some folks stop by earlier for dinner.

Can’t make it to Seattle tonight? Check out one of the other DL meetings this week. Tonight the Tri-Cities chapter also meets. The Lakewood chapter meets on Wednesday. On Thursday, the Tacoma chapter meets. And next Monday, the Yakima and South Bellevue chapters meet.

There are 191 chapters of Living Liberally, including eighteen in Washington state, four in Oregon and two in Idaho. Chances are excellent there’s a chapter meeting near you.

I don’t disagree with the Seattle Times editorial board on this headline:

Wash. Republican congressional delegation, stop Obamacare opposition

It’s just that, you know, if congressional Republicans are on the opposite side of the board on almost every issue, maybe it’s time for the board to stop endorsing Republicans for Congress. Just sayin’.