HorsesAss.Org

The Seattle Times has the story of 41-year-old Pauline Goldmeier, who chased down a group of teens stealing her $500.00 mountain bike, eventually leading to the arrest and detainment of three of the five suspects.

When Pauline Goldmeier pulled up to her Seward Park home last week and saw a group of teens making off with her $500 mountain bike, something snapped.

She’d been the victim of a carjacking, a kidnapping and uncounted incidents of vandalism, but that day she’d had enough.

“They had no idea whose bike they were stealing,” said the 41-year-old legal secretary and mother of two. “I’ve had a lot of things happen to me, and I’m tired of it.”

Good for Goldmeier.  But imagine how differently this incident might have ended had Goldmeier, as so many on the right advocate, been armed at the time “something snapped” …?

I’m just sayin’.

Ambassador Joe Wilson’s gives a very entertaining and informative talk on neocons, America, patriotism, and Republican traitors:

Part I:

Part II

Part III

Part IV

Part V

(These and some seventy other clips from the past week in politics are now posted at Hominid Views.)

Oy…

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton quickly apologized Friday after citing the 1968 assassination of Robert F. Kennedy as a reason to remain in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination despite increasingly long odds.

“I regret that if my referencing that moment of trauma for our entire nation and in particular the Kennedy family was in any way offensive. I certainly had no intention of that whatsoever,” the former first lady said.

The episode occurred as Clinton campaigned in advance of the June 3 South Dakota primary.

Responding to a question from the Sioux Falls Argus Leader editorial board about calls for her to drop out of the race, she said: “My husband did not wrap up the nomination in 1992 until he won the California primary somewhere in the middle of June, right? We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California. You know I just, I don’t understand it,” she said, dismissing the idea of abandoning the race

Yes, it was offensive, and yes, it was an awfully dumb thing to say. And while yes, she was quick to apologize, yes, she should have worded her apology more directly.

But honestly… it’s true. Who doesn’t fear for Obama’s safety above that of the typical candidate, and why wouldn’t that thought enter into Clinton’s calculation? I’ve always assumed that one of her reasons for sticking with this so doggedly—however small—is the desire to lay undisputed claim to the nomination should anything, scandalous or tragic, happen to Obama.

You don’t come out and say it—that was a fuck up—but you can’t blame her for thinking it.

The Washington Post’s top political handicapper Chris Cillizza has updated his list of House seats likely to change party hands in November, and look what makes the top twenty:

19. WA-08 (GOP-held): Rep. Dave Reichert (R) is a very strong candidate but the demographics of this Seattle-area district are trending in the wrong direction for the incumbent. Democrat Darcy Burner came within 7,000 votes of beating Reichert in 2006 and is back for a rematch. Reichert could do everything right in the next five months and still lose. (Previous ranking: N/A)

Keep in mind that 13 of the races ahead of WA-08 are for open seats, and that Cillizza ranks Reichert as the second most likely Republican incumbent to lose his seat. And this analysis coming from a guy who thinks Reichert a “very strong candidate.” (Perhaps Cillizza was just referring to Reichert’s biceps?)

Once again, same city, same day, two newspapers, two headlines.

From the Seattle Times: “Housing prices slide in this state, 42 others.”

And from the Seattle P-I: “Area home prices up 2.8% from year ago.”

My suggestion… if you’re looking to buy a house, read the Times. If you’re looking to sell a house, read the P-I.

From the Seattle Times: “Wenatchee cyclist could get shot at Tour de France.”

My advice to 23-year-old Wenatchee cyclist Tyler Farrar is, if you could get shot at the Tour… for God’s sake don’t go! It’s just a bike race, and you’re too young to die!

UPDATE:
The Times has updated the headline in their online edition to read: “Wenatchee cyclist has shot at riding in Tour de France.”

Another victory for bloggers everywhere.

The TNT’s Niki Sullivan is fast becoming my favorite newspaper blogger. After being refused entry into a Christian Businessmen’s Connection (CBMC) event featuring Dino Rossi (obviously, one of the businesses they haven’t connected with yet is PR), Sullivan follows up by reporting that the gathering most likely violated the law, putting the organization’s tax-exempt status at risk.

The problem: CMBC is a 501(c)3 nonprofit. And, as far as the Internal Revenue Service is concerned, Rossi could have talked exclusively about his shoe size and the event still would have run afoul of the law.

That tidbit in itself is worth the read, but I just love how Sullivan writes up her exchange with CBMC organizer Dwight Mason:

“I feel like it’s a private party. Our purpose was not fundraising, I can say that,” he said.

I asked if fundraising occurred.

“There was no plea for funds. No funds were solicited.”

I told him I had heard otherwise.

“You know, if there were envelopes there, they weren’t anything that I had anything to do with. When you have a political campaign, I’m sure there’s going to be some envelopes around somewhere.”

Understandable. But whether there was fundraising is irrelevant in the eyes of the law.

“To me this sounds to me like a reporter who has an agenda.”

Correct. My agenda includes something about holding people in power accountable.

Now that’s blogging. You go girl.

Gen. Wesley Clark is going to one lucky Congressional district to do a community service project and we get to decide where to send him.  So go to Democrats Works today and vote for Darcy in WA-08.

It’s quick, it’s easy, and it’s free, so there’s no excuse not to show your support.

Um… no.

Some Republican insiders believe Congressman Dave Reichert is in trouble, not because his opponent Darcy Burner, is anything great, but because the Democratic tide could be so high it sweeps out moderates in swing districts. And the 8th District is ready to swing.

God forbid she give any credit to Darcy Burner—one of the smartest, hardest working candidates I have ever met—for coming from nowhere to put herself in a position to win.  And I suppose it never occurred to Balter to put part of the blame for Dave Reichert’s vulnerability on Reichert’s own “undistinguished” performance in Congress?

No, now that they see the handwriting on the wall, and suspect that Darcy might actually win come November, the Times editorialists just cover their eyes, ears and asses by blaming Reichert’s woes on tides, swings and Obamania.

Shorter Balter:  stupid voters.

Concerned that I didn’t give the buttoned-up Christian business man’s group that hosted Dino Rossi in Tacoma today a fair shake after they denied the News-Tribune’s Niki Sullivan access to a Rossi appearance and thus the ability to do part of her job, I decided to check out their national website. Nothing too unusual. Biblical inerrancy combined with a multi-level marketing approach to religion, plus plans to proselytize the known universe (or at least the top 100 cities in the country, anyhow.)

You know, the usual type of far right Republican-Christian symbiosis they’ve perfected. But nothing political going on, no-sireee. They’re charging $210 per table to meet the GOP candidate for governor just because he’s a swell guy.

But I can see now I was being unfair. Their slogan is “A movement of men,” and I think these screen shots pretty much show just how unfair I was being.

Not that there’s anything wrong with being well-dressed.

Did Kentucky just seal the nomination for Obama? Then who should he pick as a running mate? What does Sen. Ed Murray (D-43 LD) really think about Rossi’s transportation plan fantasy? Is American democracy being poisoned by right-wing hate rhetoric? What’s the matter with the DNC’s 50-state Blogger Corps Program? Goldy and friends frolic in these questions and more, and then conclude with a sober discussion of Sen. Edward Kennedy.

Goldy was joined by a star-studded cast of political pundits: Washington state Senator Ed Murray, Seattle P-I columnist Joel Connelly, DailyKos uber-blogger mcjoan, author of Outright Barbarous: How the Violent Language of the Right Poisons American Democracy, anthropologist, and blogger Jeffrey Feldman, Firedoglake front page editor Dave Neiwert, and EFFin’ Unsound’s Carl Ballard.

The show is 56:14, and is available here as an MP3.

[audio:http://www.podcastingliberally.com/podcasts/podcasting_liberally_may_20_2008.mp3]

[Recorded live at the Seattle chapter of Drinking Liberally. Special thanks to creators Gavin and Richard for hosting the site.]

Oregon Democrats were incredibly fortunate to have two strong, progressive Senate candidates in Jeff Merkley and Steve Novick. In the end Merkley won the primary by a slim 45% to 42% margin, but managed to win a plurality of votes in all but three counties. Congratulations Jeff.

Novick ran an impressive underdog campaign, producing some of the best political ads I’ve seen in quite some time, so he deserves congratulations too for being himself and making it so close. But in the end suburban and rural Democrats felt more comfortable with Merkley’s more traditional style. From a strategic perspective I think there were good arguments as to why either might have been a better matchup against incumbent Sen. Gordon Smith, but that’s all moot now. The job from here on out is to convince Oregon voters that Merkley will do a better job representing their interests than Smith.

On a personal note, this was a difficult primary for me, and I’m glad to see it over. I had the opportunity to meet with both candidates and genuinely liked them both. But I also had close blogger friends passionately on either side of this race, and at times felt like a child caught in the midst of a nasty divorce. My hope is that in focusing on November, we can come together as one big happy family again… without a custody agreement or court oversight.