by Carl Ballard — ,
I really like that Seattle is always changing. Like, you can definitely complain about Amazon and expensive housing. But there isn’t a mythical time when Seattle was better. There are real problems to fix, but I am glad that we’re doing it in a city with a $15 minimum wage, and a growing public transportation system.
Anyway, please wash your hands right now, and get vaccinated if you haven’t yet.
by Darryl — ,
Roy Wood, Jr.: CP Time—Black labor union leaders
Jimmy Kimmel: The week in unnecessary censorship
Roll Call: Congressional hits and misses of the week
Republicans…and Other Horrible Near-Human Beings:
The New York Times: How does America’s response to climate change look from abroad?
Robert Reich: The Secret Tax Loophole Making the Rich Even Richer
Seth Meyers: Sec. Deb Haaland on being the first Native American Secretary in the U.S. Cabinet
Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ Hip Hip Hooray for Jared (He brought peace to the middle east) ♬
WaPo: Will Congress miss their moment to pass police reform?
ТрампPlague:
Samantha Bee: Full Frontal wants to take your guns—Full Special
Roy Wood, Jr. Exposing Chevron—The world’s biggest crime syndicate
John Oliver: Stand your ground
Last week’s Friday Night Multimedia Extravaganza can be found here.
by Carl Ballard — ,
I am excited for Bellevue’s Grand Connection. It seems like a fun ride when it’s all complete.
Anyway, please wash your hands right now and get vaccinated if you haven’t yet.
by Carl Ballard — ,
Good morning. Do you live in King County? Are you behind on rent or utilities? Well, the county is going to help people with rent. So you might as well apply if you’re eligible.
And for goodness sake, wash your hands right now, and take the vaccine as soon as you can.
by Carl Ballard — ,
I generally don’t like the line item veto. But as long as it’s being used, it can go to better housing laws (first item). More accessory dwelling units are great for density. I will be glad if there are more. I know people who lived in them right out of college who wouldn’t have been able to afford their neighborhood otherwise.
Anyway, please wash your hands right now, and get vaccinated if you haven’t yet.
by Darryl — ,
Now This: Kirsten Gillibrand on sexual assault in the military
Stephen interviews Michelle Obama Part I
Stephen interviews Michelle Obama Part II
Stephen interviews Michelle Obama Part III
Roll Call: Congressional hits and misses of the week
Grif-ters, Трампs, and Thieves (and Other Types of Republicans):
John Oliver: Black hair
Trevor: Caitlyn Jenner takes on Gavin Newsom in the California recall election
Jimmy Kimmel: The week in unnecessary censorship
Andre Antunes: ♫ Bitconnect goes METAL! ♬
The Week in ТрампPlague:
Lewis Black’s rantcast: Mother Earth
Roll Calls: How redistricting will shape the fight for House seats
Robert Reich: Democrats are running out of time
Samantha Bee: Gun violence is a public health crisis (extended edition)
Last week’s Friday Night Multimedia Extravaganza can be found here.
by Carl Ballard — ,
Got my second shot on Wednesday. Since a lot of people are talking about side effects, I should mention that mine were pretty mild. I felt like I needed a nap all day. Then I took one, and felt fine. My arm wasn’t even sore. I think mild or no side effects is probably more common than you might think based (understandably) on how people report on them, especially on social media.
Anyway, please wash your hands right now and get vaccinated if you haven’t yet.
by Carl Ballard — ,
It’s pretty exciting when there’s progressive legislation that you weren’t aware of until it already passed. What a great thing that agricultural workers will have the same overtime rights as the rest of the state.
Anyway, please wash your hands right now, and get vaccinated if you haven’t already.
by Goldy — ,
Seventeen years ago today I clicked “Publish” on the very first post here at HA, with obviously no fucking idea how blogging would soon take over my life. Had I to do the past 17 years over again, I wouldn’t, even if I wanted to, because how could anyone even hope to retrace the bizarre path I followed from accidental activist to foul-mouthed blogger to talk radio host to foul-mouthed Stranger writer to mysterious behind-the-scenes benevolent-plutocrat-funded progressive propaganda king?
That said, how’d the past 17 years turn out? Well, on May 10, 2004, I wrote this:
I have serious political goals, and I intend to pursue them. I intend to help educate the public and the media about an astonishingly regressive tax system that gives billions of dollars of tax breaks to wealthy special interests while placing an almost unbearable burden on the backs of middle- and low-income families. I intend to work for real, progressive, tax reforms that provide meaningful relief to those who need it most, assure adequate funding for essential public services, and create the kind of positive, rational business environment that all citizens want. And I intend to continue my efforts to expose Tim Eyman as the lying, thieving, blowhard even many of his most ardent supporters admit he really is. (Did I mention Tim Eyman is a lying, thieving, blowhard?)
But I also intend to have a little fun.
Well, progress report: this year the state legislature passed and the governor signed into law a modest capital gains tax—Washington state’s first bit of progressive tax reform in forever. Meanwhile, after losing a long drawn out civil suit brought by the state Attorney General, Tim Eyman is in the process of paying something like $5 million in fines and legal fees for at least some of the many crimes he’s committed over the course of his lying, thieving career. I can’t say exactly what I had to do with the outcomes, but it was something. Also, I did indeed have a little fun along the way. So progress!
Anyway, a big thanks to all the loyal readers and vicious trolls who helped make HA more than just a narcissistic exercise, and an especially big thanks to Darryl and Carl for keeping it going these past few years. Don’t know if I’ll ever come back to regular blogging, but if you miss me, I do spit out the occasional foul-mouthed tweet.
by Darryl — ,
Parody Project: ♫ Environmentally Resigned (a parody of “Gentle on My Mind”) ♬
Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ First 100 Days ♬
Roll Call: Congressional hits and misses of the week
Race in America:
Winlar: ♫ You got the right to love ♬
WaPo: How Kamala Harris is approaching her historic vice presidency
Lauren Mayer: ♫ I’m Fine (With an Asterisk) ♬
Liars, Grifters, Incompetents, and Other Types of Republicans:
Legal Eagle: Do students have First Amendment rights?
The Remix Bros: ♫ JOE.I.AM’s Americans Always Get Up ♬
AJ+: How to end homelessness in the U.S
This Week in ТрампPlague:
Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ Doing nothing is not an option ♬
VICE News: The surprising contenders in California’s recall race
Jimmy Kimmel: The week in unnecessary censorship
Last week’s Friday Night Multimedia Extravaganza can be found here.
by Carl Ballard — ,
Good morning to everyone but Pierce County Executive Bruce Dammeier. Seriously, it’s a couple months. Just let the grocery workers have hazard pay for a while. It’ll be over and you won’t have been the asshole. If you wanted a broader plan, you could have negotiated it. Gah.
Anyway, please wash your hands right now, and get vaccinated if you’re eligible.
by Carl Ballard — ,
Well, if my email and Twitter feed are correct, the deadline for Give Big is midnight tonight. If you have a local charity that you like, your donation will go further today. I gave to a local food bank, but there are a lot of good causes.
And also, wash your hands and get vaccinated if you are eligible.
by Carl Ballard — ,
It looks like King County (among others) will kick down to phase 2 of the reopening plan. Restaurants have been flouting the 50% capacity rules, and we’re going in the wrong direction. Eventually, the vaccine use should catch up, but in the meantime, I don’t mind a bit of caution.
by Darryl — ,
Trevor: 2020 Census results—Low population growth and a House seat shuffle
Stephen: Biden’s speech promises “Jobs, jobs, jobs”
Amber Ruffin: ♫ A White Guy Musical Recap of President Biden’s First 100 Days ♬
Now This: Biden’s first 100 days
Bill Maher: Crypto mania!
Race in America:
Stephen: Tracking President Biden’s progress after 100 days in office
Jimmy Kimmel: The week in unnecessary censorship
Samantha Bee: President Biden needs to end Трамп-Era immigration policies, pt. 1
Samantha Bee: President Biden needs to end Трамп-Era immigration policies, pt. 2
Trevor: Biden’s big speech
Liars, Grifters, Seditionists, Child Traffickers and Other Republicans:
Roll Call: Congressional hits and misses of the week
The Daily Show: The ProbleMagic Kingdom!
Stephen: “If you have ideas, we want to hear them”—Sen. Sanders to GOP on climate change
Samantha Bee: Why Washington D. C. should be a state
Bill Maher: Old Malarkey
VICE News: Space Force is totally serious, stop laughing
This Week in ТрампPlague:
The Late Show: ♫ Grandpa Joe Has A Biden Ticket ♬
Winlar: Five Little Monkeys
Bill Maher: Ben Sheehan on “court packing”
Vox: Why the US has two different highway fonts
The Daily Show: America’s foot problem
Last week’s Friday Night Multimedia Extravaganza can be found here.
by Carl Ballard — ,
Hey people from Tacoma (What’s the official nomenclature? Tacomaians? Tacomaites? Tacomegians? Tacoma Tuesdays?) do you qualify for GRIT. $500 a month for a year could go a long way. It also seems like it will help the community writ large to have people a bit further from the edge.
Anyway, wash your hands right now, and schedule a vaccination appointment if you haven’t.
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!I no longer use Twitter or Facebook because Nazis. But until BlueSky is bought and enshittified, you can still follow me at @goldy.horsesass.org