A couple of months ago, I left a QFC with a bottle of wine that I had failed to pay for.

245 replies on “A Note to Our Readers”

  2. I’m sorry you had to post this, Erica.

    I got busted for shoplifting once, too — a can of Drum cigarette tobacco, from Pay’n’Save in the U District. 40 hours community service at the YMCA. It’s no big deal. You’ll get over it.

    The apes demanding blood here won’t, but they have issues that can’t really be addressed here.

  5. Oh, Erica, you sometimes come off as pompous, self righteous, and you got busted for shop lifting. For this I respect you, but Erica, a dangling preposition?

  8. I’m also sorry you had to post this. The last two days of troll bullshit made Slog nearly unbearable. Fuck those assholes (or was it a solitary asshole?)

  9. Happens to the best of us.

    I remember one time a friend and I were shopping and were so engrossed in conversation she spaced that she had also picked up a small item.

    About half a block after leaving the store, she clued in and we went back and returned it.

    We’re all human.

    And I doubt @1 is really finished.

  10. OK, this is a bit half-assed.

    Did you “fail to pay for it” as in you got distracted and walked out? I did that once with a gallon of milk, totally not on purpose. Got in my car and drove home. Free Milk!

    Or did you “fail to pay for it” as in you tried to steal it and failed in a humiliating fashion? Which never has happened to me, because back when I used to shoplift, I was good at it.

    If you’re offering some sort of public statement, you really ought to STATE something, not just vaguely imply something or other.

    And now it’s time to listen to some Jane’s Addiction.

  11. Dangling prepositions are completely fine and in many cases (like this one) vastly preferable to the still alternative: “for which I had failed to pay” is putrid.

  14. It’s OK as long as you took public transportation to the store, and did not ride a fixie, nor drove a Zipcar.

  16. I walked out of Rite Aid once with a Christmas tape under my chin. Once I realized I had it there, I ran back in and apologized profusely to the first employee I could find, (a tall skinny kid with red hair, and bad acne… though I probably figured it was freckles at the time) and begged him not to arrest me.

  17. Seriously, EVERYBODY has some sort of skeleton in their closet, including the smugly sanctimonious mouth-breathers who’ve plagued us recently. And I’d bet dollars to donut-holes a lot of their’s are far, far worse than this. But, of course, they’re all anonymous-coward fucktards who don’t have the ball sacks to open themselves up to the same sort of picayune public pillorying you’ve had to endure from them.

    It’s done. Over. Move on, and learn from the mistake.

  21. We now return you to our regularly scheduled circle jerk in which all of the regular commentors get to abuse this space as their own little chear squad for their beloved Stranger.

  23. So is this an apology?
    Cause I didn’t see the word ‘sorry’.
    And if it’s just a statement of fact what’s the point?

  24. You know, the “uproar” over this the last couple days was less about the actual “crime” and more about the faux-transparency the Stranger operates under. You’re not media newbies, so you should know how to deal with such a matter directly (to get ahead of the story), rather than issue a statement like this way after the fact.

  26. Fnarf, I’m not really a grammar Nazi. (Just look at my contributions for proof of that.) I just wanted to be the first to nitpick, find something wrong with this post.

  27. My use of dangling prepositions (in speech, not writing) used to bug the shit out of my roommate in college. She was from the south, and her rationale was that it was much less common there. I’m from the Midwest, where no one batted an eyelash at things like “do you want to come with?”

    Dangling Prepositions. More interesting than this whole Erica thing.

  32. agreed with #10. This is ridiculous ECB. Your word play here makes it sound like it just slipped your mind that you pocketed a bottle of wine.

    Please.

    You stole. Own it.

  33. wait, someone wants an apology? an apology?? really???

    you shouldn’t have even posted this, erica. assholes will always be assholes. you should never try to placate assholes.

  36. When I was a teenager, we used to have competitions to see who could steal the most expensive bottle of wine from the Safeway on 15th and John or the Safeway on Broadway. We would consume our high class booty in either Volunteer Park or at the Denny family plot in the cemetery. As a result, my friends and I gained an appreciation for fine wines that continues to this day, about thirty years later.

  38. I thought you guys hired writers here?

    I mean, there is some serious self-effacing comedy gold here and it’s been squandered because some egos were hurt.

    If a real writer had found themselves in this predicament, I would have enjoyed reading the essay that explained it all and put it in a perspective. It would have been touching, funny, and humanizing.

    Instead, the Slog has produced this two-line denouement.
    Shameful. Worse than Charles Mudede’s movie reviews.

    Perhaps now we can get back to the inside-jokes about bacon.

  39. @10 and @24 For the win

    Erica this is half assed and you damn well know it.

    You as a journalist know damn well how to write an appropriate response. You have no remorse in this action of theft.

    The lame ass regulars here who have “supported” you and your actions have a huge double standard in conduct.

    Erica you left this post ambiguous as to your remorse and culpability. Go back and edit/add to it, and provide us all the logic you used when making the decision to steal the bottle. Don’t fluff over the real facts.

    Like was said above, SLOG should have done much better damage control over your fuck up. You should be ashamed for not taking responsibility for your actions, and then covering them up until public furor made you crawl out of your hole.

    Once a thief, always a thief. There is a statistical probability that you will do it again. The mental deficiency that you suffer from predisposes you to doing it again and again.

    Getting a slap on the wrist and some petty public service punishment and then coming here and not disclosing the details surrounding the crime don’t bode well for your liklihood of repeat offending.

  41. On the plus side, people, let’s all give a warm round of applause to the staff that methodically “moderated” the forums in an attempt to keep things from getting to this point.

    That must have been a thankless job and, evidently, required working around the clock.

    Those moderators (could they have been unpaid interns?) deserve a bottle of something nice for their troubles and dedication to the cause.

  44. 39 If you demand such transperency in all thing slog then start using a name. It can be any name but, as long as you use a different BS joke name every time, you loss the right to complain about accountability.

    as you say “You should be ashamed for not taking responsibility for your actions”

  45. Dear Inquiring minds, please permit me to answer in defense of “dare i say indefensible?”

    As a former grocery worker of 25 plus years… a couple of things come to mind when it comes to leaving the store without a receipt.

    One of the big ones is insurance.

    Excuses, lame ass or otherwise fall under a couple of catagorical nuances from internal security memorandoms and private public corporate policy.

    One of which is…

    Never try a slip and fall accident when the night crew is aware that the power scrubber has been boosted before the sherriff shows up with a warrant.

    Another may be… in the tactless exemplification of tunnel
    vision, nuclear medicine technocrats and spoof genre alienators in cg animation metaphors leave room for imbalanced and highly personal transferrance of schedule manipulation.

    Finally… if you want to research metaphysics…

    attend the debate in Ballard on Satan coming to your “Nightline” programming soon.

    Or not.

    Just stay at home and watch the out takes instead.

    You see dear inquiring mind,

    aside fom monumental locality advertising issues with death marches and chanting and idol worshipping screaming bands of youth and plots of very small real estate holes with your possible future location to be alienated by war, oppression and way to many hormones to effectrively handle the spit before you look to the corner bus stop protection plans… oh wait a minute…

    do you have spit and hormones when your planted six feet under…?

  46. Ohhh and btw to the other SLOG writers…

    Note that in the “A Note To Our Readers” posts, almost everyone is talking about a theft they did WHEN THEY WERE KIDS

    Or are we to believe that they youthful indiscretions of Staffers is the equivalent indiscretion of a SLOG senior staffer in their 30’s?

    The half assed lame replies from the other staffers are pathetic btw

  47. Dear fudgers….

    Stealing is allowed in Baseball.Check out the rule book.

    And another thing….

    the free quart of Ice Cream you get from little complaints, whines and bitching to the front end manager at the grocery store isn’t called a gratuity, it’s called a bribe.

    Now, go home and do your homework.

  50. I attended a Tupperware party in Kent nine years ago.
    Ten years ago I read a Dean C. Koontz novel to see if he lived up to his bestseller status.
    When I was seven I took seven dollars from my aunt’s purse.

  51. Spare us from responsibility queens who think they can lecture others about being responsible. Something must be lacking in you own lives. I’ll bet you go around saying such trite nonsense as “the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior.” Get the fuck over yourselves.

  53. so, I don’t have time to read all 50 or so comments here, so I apologize if this sentiment has been expressed already…

    See Erica, that wasn’t so hard, was it?

    Also, “failed to pay”??!!? WTF does that mean? As a “journalist”, would you accept that statement from the subject of a story?

    Finally, I too have shoplifted & got caught. I was 13. I “failed to pay” for a Metallica cassette (Ride The Lightning I think).

  54. We have to believe in holding bloggers to some level of journalistic ethics because like it or not, they *are* the news media now. Are the PI online writers that much different than Stranger editors, in terms of what they do and what they produce?

  55. This post is now in the “Most Commented” section.
    Check out how many other posts in that list were dedicated to THIS topic, rather than the actual headline.
    If an otherwise unengaged staff member (who no longer has to “moderate” the comments) took the time to cut-and-paste comments relevant to THIS topic, this comment would probably be comment #1,132.

  57. At the Ben Franklin in Libby, MT in the early 1980s I stuffed Snake-Eyes down my pants and walked out the door, back to my grandmother’s house. I still have that goddamm ninja too.

  58. I’m sorry you had to post this in response to some ridiculous troll. It really is none of our business. I’d rather see you delete trollspam than respond to it, but it’s your blog, not mine.

  60. Normally, I would say that this matter is between Erica, the QFC and the judicial system.

    But there have been so many over-the-top postings on this issue, that I am tempted to go steal (or fail to pay for, if you will) a bottle of wine myself, just to be in solidarity with Erica against all those who apparently have nothing better to do than to obsess over this truly stupid topic.

  62. Attention whiners of the “why so late” variety:

    Erica probably couldn’t comment on this until AFTER her plea thing.

    DURR!

  63. I steal babies and eat them. What’s the big deal?

    I don’t like Erica’s writing, and from what I get from her writing, I wouldn’t like her in person in the least (but I am not writing off being pleasantly suprised) but the recent witch hunt has been pretty fucking retarded, not something that a smal potatos “local celebrity” deserves in the least.

    She rides a high horse and her stances on certain topics are biased on Limbaugh/O’reilly levels, so feel free to crucify her there, but her personal life, which we know little about (and is frankly none of our business) should be left alone unless she gets to the point of infamy of the other two aforementioned blowhrds.

  64. I find it interesting that none of my favorite Slog editors have written “A Note to Our Readers” yet. I assume the stragglers just haven’t had a chance to write one, but it does make we wonder if these were editorially-mandated or simply done out of support.

  65. you’ve also written a number of stories w/o researching them, and left even more opinions in the same columns w/o noticing your own hypocrisy. glad you got caught; hope you find a way to learn how to be a journalist.

  67. I wish you guys had titled this series, “A Note to Some of Our Dumbass Readers Who Care About Such Meaningless Shit”

    meanwhile, the other 98% of us could care less.

    Also, it’s a bad precedent to feed the Sock Puppets…they’re like Gremlins and they are never satisfied.

  70. Erica,

    I’m sorry you had to post this and I don’t think it’s going to make the trolls go away.

    With that said, I loved the following “A Note To Our Readers” posts. Kudos to the staff of The Stranger for that.

    For the record, I’m the worst person of all. When I was in my early 20s and in the army as a Chaplain Assistant, I reallocated cheap ass communion wine (and various other snacks) so my friends and I could party. I also fucked a boy on the altar of the Four Chaplains’ Memorial Chapel in Fort Lewis, something I still brag about to this day (see?).

    Finally, I agree with Karla@48, you trolls are some sanctimonious butt clenching sphincters. How do you managed to do #2?

  71. I am amazed! I never understood why people spent so much time reading SLOG (or The Stranger, for that matter) and now I see why. It’s like reading a script for a really boring Springer episode.

    1. Every post on this subject seems to fit under the “troll” category, including this one (what the fuck does that mean? I was the last person to know what “lmao” meant.)

    2. If you want news written by decent writers who aren’t pushing personal agendas, stop reading blogs and local rags. That’s what they’re around for.

    3. Employed adults stealing ANYTHING is pathetic and sad. This woman has troubles far beyond her inability to “apologize” (no need) or truly own up to her crime (yes, it’s a crime.)

    Anyway, thanks for making my first trip to SLOG a super fun one!

  72. This has to be close to a SLOG record Erica! Congrats! What would you say? We’ve had around 200 posts today about YOU!

    I bet your ego has been satisfied for now?

    No rebuttal?

    The bigger question is… will you ever be able to post normal threads again? I tend to think not..

    Your credibility has been forever tarnished.

  73. How do you “fail to pay”? was it in your cart, or in your purse/messenger bag/backpack?

    Intent is different than oversight.

  74. @elenchos – It’s sad to me that I’d rather see something from Will than from you now. Your “credibility is tarnished” crap really only applies to the people who didn’t like her anyway and have an axe to grind. Those who don’t will be fine.

    You are a tool, get over yourself, and move on. I hear the Weakly Reader needs viewers.

  75. As a professional adult, I would go out to lunch on occasion with my co-workers to the Red Robin by the old Seattle library (is that still there?)(the RR, not the library)(well, the library’s not there, either, I suppose.)(or at least not the same one.) Every time we went, I’d ask the wait staff if I could keep my basket. They’d look around, or stammer that they didn’t think so. I’d push. They’d inevitably respond that if I could get it out the door, it was mine. I’d hold it up or put it on my head while walking out the door. I was never stopped. I have a lovely collection of red baskets I have no idea what to do with now.

    Was that stealing?

  76. What is it about hypocrisy that is so entertaining AND predictable at the same time?

    A holier-than-thou attitude and deceit are forever intertwined. ECB and Rush Limbaugh are essentially the same person.

  77. I collect Rainier Beer paraphernalia, so a few weeks ago I noticed a nice collectible piece of neon ($395 starting bid on ebay) in the window of some house in the u-district. That weekend I came back and originally was just going to smash out the window and grab the neon, but realized more than likely I’d smash the neon also. So instead I broke the glass in the door and let myself in, unplugged the Rainier sign and walked back out. Sorry!

  79. “I did not have sex with that woman, Monica Lewinsky.”

    ECB’s non-statement is right up there with that little gem in the history of non-denials/non-apologies.

    PS – I think shoplifting is actually a much bigger disqualifying black mark in public life than having consensual sex with someone of legal age, but a lie is a lie is a lie is a lie.

    PPS – Most employers would fire someone in a similar situation, as this does go to the heart of ECB – and yes – the Stranger’s credibility (such as it was).

  81. I still say that no one owes anyone anything in the way of an apology. More fitting might be an actual defense of why it’s okay to write about private mishaps of folks from other local media but not okay when the person’s on your own staff.

    For once, my status as a total dork serves me well–I can comment on this topic, since my shoplifting experience amounts to this: At a deli with a friend and her mom when I was around 7 years old, I took a crouton from the salad bar even though I hadn’t gotten the salad bar entree! I felt so guilty that I borrowed a nickel from her mom and left it on the counter as a payment.

  85. Jegae@82 – I can’t help it, they’re both annoying and aggravating. Right now elenchos is worse because of his pure ECB hatred and loathing (he probably can’t help his comments either, poor dear), but as soon as the topic moves on Will will say something idiotic and misinformed and I’m sure it’ll flip again.

  86. I’m sorry you had to give in to the assbag pseudonym-using craven no-life trolls for the sake of Slog commenting, ECB. No matter what I might think about this issue, it’s a shame to see people acting like such fuckheads get their way.

  87. @81 – Bullshit that “most employers” would fire someone in a similar situation. Bullshit. In a professional environment, there is no way that someone would be fired for this or any other extremely minor crime (parking tickets? jaywalking? trespassing?).

  88. It’s an even greater shame when people adults act like fuckheads and steal private property… but most of you commie fags don’t like private property so you better give away your Prius and your skinnyleg black jeans to the next homeless shitass begging junkie you see on Cap Hill!

  90. Arg, fine, I’ll be that guy. What started this? It’s bugging me. Did someone eyeball ECB pilfering wine and demanded she ‘fess up? Or what?

  91. My guess is that over the last 48 hours something like 80% of the snippy little three-line comments that have come in were all written by at most two people. It’s really a lot of time sent bashing at the keyboard; their fingers must be sore. Hopefully when the economy recovers a little those one or two people will have jobs again, and SLOG will become readable again.

  92. #89 Comment deleted for “Sock Puppetry?”

    Are you serious?
    First, anybody who posts something poorly-received is a “troll.”
    Then they’re a “sock puppet.”
    What next? I still like “terrorist” because that term has a proven track-record for ad-hominem effectiveness.

    I could give a rat’s ass about a bottle of wine. It’s this peurile “moderating” that got my attention. Seriously, Slog, you’ve been reduced to the conspiratorial antics of a high-school yearbook committee. And by what?

    Ah yes, trolls, that’s right. They’re in league with the sock puppets.

  93. @94 But how did the wine theft come up in the first place? It’s mentioned in comments that were posted 24 hours before this one. I’m sick of looking around for the root cause. I feel like I’m deciphering the Moron Da Vinci Code here.

  94. @94: No — there’s a lot of different people — well, at the very least somewhere in the neighborhood of ten. People are upset by this.

    This is why we need commenter login — then no one on either side of a debate can start shouting “sock puppet.”

  95. Regarding my post #10: I’m not asking for an apology. Simply a less weaselly statement. This post was like Clinton’s “I didn’t inhale.”

  96. 100 Posts! Woo hoo!

    Congrats ECB! Now just imagine if you really would have posted 2 paragraphs worth of explanation for the “why” of your actions.

    Please humor us and give us the scoop?

    Just think.. a few more posts and this thread will be #1 most commented above Dan running for Mayor!

    Sweet.

  98. The most disturbing revelation here is that fnarf used to roll his own cigarettes.

    I wonder if he buys ready-mades now. If not, unfiltered cigarettes are the fast track to lung cancer.

  101. Dan Savage is the one doing all this “moderating.”

    You see, every comment that gets deleted DOESN’T count towards the “Most Commented” count…
    Thus, with a “Deleted: Off Topic” here and a “Deleted: Sock Puppetry” there, the comment count keeps getting truncated by small amounts…

    All because Dan Savage will NOT be dethroned from the #1 “Most Commented” spot…

    Erica may need to go punch a baby in the face for the kind of exposure needed to take on Dan.

  104. Wow, all this attention over a shoplifted bottle of cheap wine?

    How’s the view from those glass houses, judgmental ones? Yeesh.

  106. @95 – Sock Puppetry is when someone comments using the name of another, established commenter, or a writer, or other well-known name that is not theirs. It has nothing to do with the content.

  107. Sort of like a certain local tv news reader who is much ballyhooed by Slog for “failing to pay for” things?

    To “fail” implies an attempt to succeed, and thus a conscious decision.

    Translation: “I stole a bottle of wine and got caught. – ECB”

    How fucking humiliating, considering your age and position in the community…

  108. #76, should I be surprised that the people that don’t have an axe to grind with EBC and don’t think her credibility is tarnished are the same thieving fuckheads that are posting their “hey look, I’m also an asshole” comments and posts to the front page?

    Look, the stories about how you stole a pack of gum when you were 8 are cute. Full grown adults stealing alcohol from someone else’s neighborhood economy is just sad. I understand personality disorders can’t be helped, so if you can’t help being a worthless sack and overall negative contribution to society, at least do it in your own neighborhood and don’t drive up my goddamn prices.

    This theft and numerous other thefts that she no doubt got away with, her hilariously SAD amount of parking tickets (which, lame as I sound right now, probably did nothing but inconvenience others and make the roads less safe), and willingness to fuck over someone else’s Zipcar reservation, AND nerve to whine about the consequences are just a small number of examples of what well-reasoned folks like elenchos have known for quite some time: ECB is a selfish–possibly narcissistic–bitter woman with a severe sense of entitlement, not to mention a complete hack with no business having a platform where someone that doesn’t know any better might take her hatchet jobs seriously.

    But don’t worry fanboys and fangirls, she didn’t steal, she just left without paying. Once.

  109. Hi Erica!!!! You didn’t mean to not pay right?? Otherwise that would be stealing. Once I almost forget to pay for tampoons at RITEAiD, OMG How. Totally. Embarassing. But I remembered before I walked out so it was no biggie.

    Anyways I can’t beleive all these people are accusing you of stealing something as DUMB as a cheap bottle of wine. As. IF. That is so sweet though how everyone at the Stranger stole something when they were kids. What a show of SUPPORT! What’d you do honey, forget it in your bag? But adults stealing, that’s bad.

  110. I only question why you stole a $9 bottle instead of something decent. It really brings into question your judgement and taste, which is the most disturbing part of this whole story since no one expects a high moral standard from the City’s most depraved print outlet.

  111. @108:

    You bet I’m judgmental… I don’t steal stuff.

    You steal anything from my store and you go to jail, period.

    thanks for the morals lesson you douchbag big tough enforcer of law and order, you. you sure told us there, Pops.
    great! now no one ever is gonna swipe anything ever again anywhere because you so forcefully made your important opinion known on some stupid blog.

    and then you tell other people to grow-up , sheesh. pathetic.

  112. @111 Exactly.

    The vast majority of shoplifting is not detected. It costs businesses a very significant amount of money, both if lost sales and increased costs for inventory and security.

    Erica is, in all likelihood, a serial shoplifter who has done this many, many times before getting caught. It is highly unlikely her first attempt would be with wine at a grocery store.

    The Stranger’s editors and other writers showing their “solidarity” with an admitted shoplifter is just sad. Advertisers should take serious offense to this. I don’t spend my extremely limited ad dollars on the Stranger so that the editor, Christopher Frizzelle and Dan Savage can make a mockery of my business on a blog. They should try surviving as a small business in this economy and then think about how funny it is to excuse shoplifters, make a big joke of it by equating a thirty-something year old senior news writer stealing wine from a grocery store with a kid picking a neighbor’s carrots.

    I expected an apology. I will certainly reconsider spending ad dollars on The Stranger if this is the attitude they take toward illegal activity that harms my business and the economy at large.

  114. 1 I’m a small business owner in the retail market.
    2 I budget a small percentage each year that I know I will lose to shoplifting.
    3 Right now I am barely making my rent.

  115. @114 Obviously you are too much a failure in life to even imagine having a store of your own. Someone expresses the opinion that shoplifting is bad, and the best you can do is call them “Pops” and a “douchebag.”

    That’s funny from a commentator. But from the people who run this publication and write for it – Dan, Christopher, Jonathan, Charles, etc. – you should be ASHAMED and EMBARRASSED by your oh-so-casual dismissal and tacit acceptance of a colleague who shoplifts. By sharing your own stories as if they’re morally equivalent (in some cases, they’re just as bad) you damage your own credibility and the reputation of the business you work for.

    I guess that makes me a “Pops” Well don’t forget it’s the hard-working “Pops” in this city that pay your fucking salaries by buying ads in your paper. You guys should be ashamed. I understand what The Stranger does but condoning shoplifting among your senior staff crosses the line. I will certainly do my part to draw attention to this within the business community.

  116. Wow. Just catching up with this now. No time to read the preceding 100+ posts, but dang, ECB… Scrolling through all the Notes to the Readers to get here, and then finding your post of this morning — I’m surprised to say I have tears in my eyes. It must be great to work in a place that has your back like this — I’m being sincere, no snark implied nor intended. Yep, everybody makes mistakes, that aint the thing.. Your post of 11:40 IS the thing, and it’s wonderful and thank you…. And your coworkers seem like a pretty good bunch, too, as it happens….

  117. @118:
    “Someone expresses the opinion that shoplifting is bad, and the best you can do is call them “Pops” and a “douchebag.”

    I think his/her point is stupid, and he/she is making it in the comments section of a stupid blog. (Sorry Slog, luv ya, but it is all pointless wankery).

    That comment mildly offended me and I mildly(yeah, honestly that was mild) expressed my opinion, to which you didn’t like and **news flash** none of it means a fucking thing the the real order of things.

    god, perspective people, it’s not that important.

    now go have a glass of wine.

  118. A few years ago, back when Red Hook had just come out with their Long Hammer IPA, I was at Finn’s with some friends. We were having a good time. I bought a pint of the Long Hammer and I loved that it came in an etched Red Hook glass. It was a really nice glass, I thought. After I finished my beer, I stuffed a napkin into the glass to soak up the dampness and hid the glass inside my jacket. I stole that glass.

    Finn’s, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have stolen your glass. I knew it was wrong. If you don’t want to serve me any more, that’s your right. But I hope that you can forgive me.

  120. The bigger issue here is not the theft. The issue is that if the Seattle Weekly or Joel Connelly had done anything remotely like this, and either publication would not even *talk* about it, the Slog/Stranger would be all over it.

    Hell, Didn’t you guys do a piece about John in the Morning possibly giving more airtime to bands he had a stake in or something..(my memory isn’t that great and I have like 5 seconds to post this comment)

    So the issue with the trolls is that if anyone else in the world had done this you’d be all up in their shit (“why are they denying this, why won’t they talk to the media, why is the publication mum on everything”). Erica is the NEWS EDITOR. At the very least, when the Weekly blog broke the story, she could have said “I am currently under investigation and cannot speak about actions that may or may not have occured on this day XXXX, I will discuss it after my court preceedings” or something to that effect.

    But no, there was this cloak and dagger deleting of comments, and ignoring the issue. And now this? It’s after your hearing, you can at least talk about it. Maybe it would help for you to talk about your experience? I don’t know the details, and I really don’t care. The only problem is the double standard in journalism where *you* don’t want your personal life out there, but if Joel Connelly was caught with a HOOKER or something, you wouldn’t stop the aggressive invasion of his private life. And you all know it. So why should commenters be any less mean than you would be?

  122. Also, one of the jobs I have had was to catch shoplifters/employee thefts in an army base overseas. I do know the difference between kids shoplifting, adults shoplifting, first time shoplifters, accidental shoplifters and habitual shoplifters. Those are all very different categories.

    I am not sure what category that Erica falls under (with the exception of child) but what others stated above is wrong. Just because you are older doesn’t mean you are a habitual shoplifter.

    I know it’s hard on people when they are caught shoplifting, I had to charge many, many people. And shoplifting is a huge deal to businesses (they call it ‘shrink’), it can eat up to 30% of your profits. However, employee theft is about $10 for every $1 shoplifted. If you have employees, watch them more than the customers. Your return will be much greater.

  126. Did you fail to pay for it on purpose?

    Did you try to pay for it, but it just didn’t quite work out?

    Or did you fail at stealing it? Well, we know you failed at stealing it. Doesn’t this job pay you enough?

  128. This is beginning to feel like a fund-drive, where they get down to the last bit, closing in on the goal.

    The goal here is to bump Dan Savage from #1 Most Commented.

    Dan’s post says “Look at me! I want attention and comments!”

    Erica’s post, on the other hand, meekly whispers “Don’t look at me. I’ve had enough of this. I hate you. All of you. Give me your worst. I can take it.”

    This is the Slog. It’s not a bowl of goldfish you can feed what you want. It’s a stream infested with piranha, that eat whatever’s tastiest.

    So get on it, Sloggers. We’re closing in.

    Then maybe we can all get back to bitching about foie gras and pretentious art.

  129. #122, I’m sorry that pointing out the very real consequences of shoplifting from my community and allowing a hack like ECB to have a platform sounds lame. Sorry for you, that is.

  130. @131:
    so you’re saying she is trying to steal his thunder(bird)?

    and he is angry like a pitbull or at least a maddog 20/20.

    what was the name where the raise the foie gras, wasn’t boones farm was it?

    lets take a nighttrain down south and find out.

  131. It’s not the crime. It’s the cover-up.

    The bottle of wine? Whatever…

    The deletion of posts, the silence on the topic, the insatiable “trolls,” the subterfuge of the “sock-puppets.”

    Oh, and the big show of solidarity where EVERYONE’S a thief!!! What member of the staff thought THAT would be brilliant?

    Sanctimony! Treachery! Hypocrisy! Other big dramatic words!
    THIS has been epic.

    Thank you, Slog. I love you. I hate you. I still love you when I say I hate you.

  133. Seriously, I’m not ECB’s biggest fan, but this is fracking ridiculous. It’s a cheap bottle of wine people. QFC is not going out of business. It doesn’t affect the Stranger’s credibility (insert joke here). It was just ECB being dumb.

    From reading the comments, I assure you that everyone in this thread is dumb at one time or another.

    ECB, I’m pretty sure I’m within easy walking distance of the QFC in question (near 15th and Dravus?). Send me an e-mail sometime, I’ll buy you a bottle of cheap wine just for having had to put up with this bullshit.

  134. Typical Stranger schlock. They pry into everyone else\’s lives and hang their dirty laundry for all to see. Then the second it\’s one of their own, it\’s suddenly move along, nothing to see here.

    What a proud day this is for the Stranger. This even trumps the Marlee Ginter goat-blowing fiasco.

  135. In my adolescent psychology class today, the topic was conduct disorder and socially deviant behaviour. We took an informal poll – who in the class (this is an upper-division psychology class at a university in BC, by the way), had stolen or shoplifted before? About 2/3 of people there raised their hands (and those were just the ones willing to admit it in front of a forensic psychologist prof). According to him, that’s right in line with the general population. Congratulations, ECB, you’re in the majority.

  136. @138 well according to Michael Strangeways, that is impossible. EVERYONE has stolen something at some point, according to him, so 1/3 are lying.

    It’s impossible for people with weak morals, like Michael, to even imagine that some us have never stolen anything.

    I have never stolen anything. Period.

  138. I like ECB, and I generally agree with many of her views. But learning this little tidbit about her, after reading her copious and sanctimonious rants about the evils of Portland’s Sam Adams … I mean, come on. He lied about having legal sex (that we know of), and you admit to an illegal (albeit a super minor, and I find hardly troubling) act. He leads the public (of Portland), you inform the public (of Seattle). It’s a smidge hypocritical.

    And that’s the black eye that I find in all of this. I hope you make it through this OK, and also that the experience informs the judgments you make of other people in the future.

  140. Yes! Most commented on the SLOG!!! Eat it, Dan Savage!!!

    TWO goddamn lines of kind-of, not-really, just-kidding admission of “I stole a bottle of wine…”

    BEATS out two goddamn PAGES (or thereabouts) of kind-of, not-really, just-kidding “I’m running for mayor.”

    Awesome!!! Erica WHO? Goddamn, you got some LOYAL readers now, girl!

    This has GOT to be the most relevant the Slog has been since the election.

  141. I had to get to @ 142 before I found the second thought that entered my mind.

    My first thought was … Winona Ryder?

    A very exciting NONstory this is.

  143. @145, i think she stole a bottle of “nine buck promotion at the stranger”.

    i’m stealing glances RIGHT NOW.

  146. It was a blustery fall afternoon at Hogwarts and Hermione Granger sat in the Gryffindor common with only a crackling fire to keep her company. Upon hearing footsteps coming from the boys’ tower she quickly glanced up from her copy of Zublin’s Advanced Potions, hoping to find Harry or Ron.

    “’Afternoon Hermione!” Neville Longbottom said, nearly tripping on the last few steps of the spiral staircase.

    “Oh, hello Neville” Hermione snapped. “You haven’t seen Harry or Ron up there have you? I’ve been looking for them all day!”

    “Yeah, they’ve been huddled up in Ron’s bed with the curtains drawn for hours!” Neville said, dumbfounded “I tried to peak in once to see what they were doing, but they shouted something about not wrecking their secret light sensitive spells. I didn’t want to be a bother, so I came back down here.”

    “Light sensitive spells?” Hermione said to herself, “Those boys could never master such advanced magic. Something fishy is going on here!”

    She quickly pulled out her charms textbook and began to rapidly search the index. The combination of heat from the fireplace and intensity of study soon created a seductive glow around Hermione’s young face. Soon, the perspiration spread through her underarms, neck and chest, highlighting key areas of her uniform.

    “You’re looking… hot” Neville murmured from the oversized armchair next to Hermione.

    “Yeah, I probably shouldn’t be sitting so close to this fire” She said.

    Hermione stuffed her papers into her bag and walked over to the couch across from Neville.

    “Oh no” He replied, moving to the empty seat next to Hermione. “I didn’t mean temperature”

    “Um, thanks” She gushed, “I’ve been using a new lotion. I think it really brings out the summers mist in my skin, don’t you?”

    “I don’t know,” He said, looking into her eyes “I’ve never tasted a summers mist before”

    Neville quickly leaned in and kissed her on the lips. Hermione did not protest, and had soon undone the top three buttons of her blouse.

    Neville slowly pulled out his wand and said “Displayus mammarium!”

    The remainder of Hermione’s shirt suddenly split open, exposing her young chest to the fall air. Neville smiled with delight and quickly pressed his face against her bare skin. Hermione felt waves of ecstasy as Neville slowly and carefully licked both of her protruding nipples.

    “I feel like a Hungarian Horntail” Neville whispered into Hermione’s ear “And I need to find a cave to…”

    “Hermione! Neville!” Ron interrupted from the top of the stairs. “What are you two doing? Oh bugger, we’ll have to get new furniture!”

    “You would say that, you old faggot!” Hermione laughed.

    She writhed with pleasure on an old persian rug while Neville carefully pulled down her white cotton panties. Ron stared, open mouthed.

    “I… but… how did you know?” Ron sputtered

    “Let’s just say it’s clear to all of us that you two are doing more than talking during those 45 minute ‘bathroom breaks’ at lunch” Neville said, wiping Hermione’s residue from the side of his mouth.

    “Bloody hell, does this mean Harry and I are a couple?” Ron said, slinking into an empty chair near the fire.

    “One thing’s for sure” Hermione replied, “You’re a couple of huffle puffs!”

  147. With the brain power in Seattle, you would think that people might draw the logical conclusion that Erica said what she said under the advice and guidance of an attorney. In fact, probably more than one, probably her own and probably one for the paper.

    Comparing underage sex with a minor BY A POLITICIAN with this just shows your personal bias.

    As for the myriad “small business owners,” here’s a scene:

    ***meeting of local chamber of commerce***

    SMO #1: People, we have a situation here. I want everyone to withdraw their advertising from the Stranger. The editor is a thief and they encourage shoplifting!
    SMO #2: Really? Can you tell me more?
    SMO #1: She was arrested for stealing a bottle of wine and the paper did not put it on the front page!
    SMO #2: *scratching head* okay, yeah, um, you know, 50% of my walk-in business comes from a Stranger ad, so I’m really going to need more than this before I pull my ads from them. Plus, I’ve advertised for so long, I get a great rate.
    SMO #1: It is a matter of principle!
    SMO #2: Principle ain’t paying my rent, buddy.
    SMO #3: No, I want to hear more about it. What happened?
    SMO #1: She did NOT apologize. SHe posted a statement that said that she walked out with a bottle of wine without paying for it.
    SMO #3: And?
    SMO #1: That’s Just It! She did not say anything else!
    SMO #3: Right, I get that, and shoplifting sucks, but it’s not like they did some series about how easy it was to shoplift, or wrote some article that was supposed to be ironic that talked about how cool shoplifting was – did they?
    SMO #1: No, but there was no transparency!
    SMO #2: How did this even get in the paper?
    SMO #1: Someone leaked it.
    SMO #2: Yeah, okay, I’m still not getting why I should stop advertising in the one paper that actually gets me business.

    ::the end:::

  148. Bozhe moi!

    I am directly responsible for the single largest mass extermination in human history, roughly 43,000,000 of my comrades were murdered because of my paranoia and insatiable appetite for power.

    But, against this Ericanovna, I am what you call “an amateur” for truly, leaving a grocery store having failed to pay for a single bottle of wine will completely erase my crimes from the books of history! From this day forth, until the end of time, whenever one looks in these books under the heading of “Worst Human Being – Ever!” no longer will they see my grim visage, but instead, they will cower in fear and disgust at the face of this devil’s daughter of Western Capitalist decadence!

  149. Seriously, Erica, you know the score with what you did and I really don’t need to add anything about that.

    But I am far more amazed at the Sloggers who are actually kissing your ass after this. I mean, WHAT. You fuckers have the moral code of a crackhead.

    I don’t hate hipsters, but I hate how hypocritically stupid they are.

  150. It is a moral curiosity that you stole a $9 bottle of wine. Why the cheap stuff? If I was going to take the risk of stealing a bottle of wine, I’d at least pick out a nicer bottle. You know … same risk, greater reward?

  152. They do, however, support the fact the he’s a dumbass thinking with his dick. Hmmm, similar to a dumbass thinking about a potential wine buzz?

  153. The $9 bottle of wine is most telling. It means that the theft was justified, because you know, the bottle of wine only cost the Kroger corporation about $2 after they were done fucking over the producers. Stealing a more expensive bottle of wine would be crass, but a $2 bottle of wine? They have it coming.

  155. Weee…look at me ….I am # 158!

    Oh, shit I forgot to post some asshole comment to make me feel better about my sad little life.

  156. I’m sad this didn’t break the 200 comment barrier. I blame all the posts with the same title adjacent to it. Made it look like a glitch in RSS readers.

  157. ECB’s posts are almost always thought-provoking and I find I agree with her most of the time. Also, she is cute. This wine thing? Meh… If anything, I dig her even more as a result. I wish she’d been better able to laugh about it, because it is some minor, minor shit despite the trollage.

  158. Given Erica\’s vocal hatred of \”yuppies\”, property owners, car owners and generally anyone that makes over $30K a year, I\’m not surprised by this at all. She feels that, as a poor writer for an alt-weekly, she\’s entitled to it. After all, QFC is a corporate giant, so fuck \’em. She probably genuinely feels that she DESERVES that bottle of wine, just like she genuinely feels that she shouldn\’t have to pay parking tickets or debt.

    Erica, honey, listen up. No one forced you to live an impoverished life as a \”reporter\” for a \”newspaper\”. You made that decision yourself. If you\’re poor and unhappy, why not get down off your cross and do something about it, like get a real job making a decent salary so that you can actually pay for things like cheap bottles of wine. Then again, your persecution complex probably won\’t let you, right?

  159. @ 108: I don’t steal. I don’t encourage or endorse stealing. So I don’t have to worry about what you’d do to me if I who stole from your store. Wasn’t the point. I run a tiny, 3-person business that sets up @ conventions, & have caught people red-handed trying to walk off with a comic book/tee-shirt/action figures. Theft costs money & hurts small business badly. It’s true.

    What I was amazed by, as I alluded to in my comment about glass houses, is HOW MUCH online bloodlust this one incident has incurred. It reminds me of flame wars from the early BBS/irc days. An opinionated poster turns out to have an Achilles heel & everyone goes nuts.

    Listen, I’m not from Seattle, so I freely cop to not knowing the general dynamic discussed here, of how she’d write/has written about other public figure’s private failings. If she’s a hypocrite that is unfortunate for her.

    However, from the amount of venom being flung at this woman, you’d think she murdered a tiny fuzzy black & white puppy while screaming about hating the US of A live on camera for the morning news. Clearly she had a rough moment; she got caught; she probably wasn’t allowed to talk about it until she dealt with the legal end of things. Maybe she’s had oustanding fiscal issues she hasn’t dealt with thoroughly. Maybe she’ll talk about it in a future column. Maybe not. Right now it’d likely just be giving all these scandalized people more to freak out about.

    The Stranger’s reporting seems to me to be sometimes-serious, sometimes satire: kind of Daily-show-ish. Since that show has seen its credibility rise, the standards to which writers & hosts of that satiric nature have been held, is also gonna rise as those news outlets cover more actual news.

    Still. That’s a whole lotta hell to raise over a bottle of wine.

  160. Shoplifting looks bad on background checks, too. And nearly every employer is doing them. They figure if you steal from a store, you’re going to steal from them. Some of you people sneering that it’s “no big deal and everyone does it” might want to consider hiring Erica for her next job.

  161. Wow. My internet goes out and I miss the best shit storm of the year so far.

    Me and the wife shoplift from Ikea every time we go. We’re monsters, I know. ECB, your response was glib and sanctimonious. I’m not going to judge you though. Its bad enough that you will NEVER live this down. That sucks but you reap what you so.

    You know what sucks? That the moderators censored the accusations for…what, a week?

    Let me say that again. The staff of the Stranger censored the Slog to protect the reputation of one employee.

    So Dan….what the fuck gives?

  164. Considering that ECB is the person who knows the facts the best, and yet her report was so bare and unconvincing … it makes me wonder how jilted the rest of her work has been.
    Yes, there is a link directly between this post and her credibility on other stories.
    That said, I hope everything works out in the end for her. Seems to have her heart in the right spot.

  165. Slog/The Stranger is nothing but a bunch of naive reality-denying buttfuckers who would let black gangsters rape and kill them, because otherwise they might be accused of being “racist”.

  166. The best comment on this whole post, and perhaps what everyone should be asking:

    “A person who will steal will fudge the facts in a story.”

  168. I don’t expect all of the people who write the news, police my streets, supervise me at work or vice versa, or who are the president of my country to have lily white pasts. People are fallible. They have lapses of judgment. They tell little lies, they steal pens from work, they put sick day on the time sheet when they just don’t want to take another vacation day, they shoplift from QFC, they smoke some weed. One indiscretion does not a life choice make. I am sure ECB will NEVER shoplift again. You’ve all saved her from a life of hard crime, I’m sure.

    If you have an expectation of squeaky clean morality in your journalists, that’s your choice. But that is not where the bar is set at the Stranger/Slog. The best part is, there is an incredibly easy way for you to never have to subject yourself to ECB again. Go elsewhere. Myself, I’ll judge her by the quality of her work.

    Look, trolls, you’ve all had your say — several hundred times — now take your holier than thou attitudes about a PERSON a fallible PERSON, shove them firmly up your behind and waddle away. The moment has passed. Move on. If you want to continue your crusade, host your own blog. It’s free. May I suggest ECBsBottleofWine.blogspot.com? There, the hard work is done!

  169. @171:

    Troll: One who posts a deliberately provocative message to a newsgroup or message board with the intention of causing maximum disruption and argument

    People having a contradictory and valid opinion does not makes them Trolls. Shoplifting is at the very least illegal and to the vast majority of people immoral.

  171. ECB is a nanny-statist do-gooder sanctimonious smug smarmy scold. She should fit in with Seattle wonderfully! Commies don’t like private property of free enterprise so it is only natural that so many of the scum that live in that shithole of Seattle are defending this bitch.

  172. @174: Soooo…. why are you here? What does reading the Stranger/Slog do for you other than piss you off? Here’s a great way for you to feel a lot better about life: don’t point your browser here. The Great Slog Hijacking of 2009 is not going to change all of us left-wing, wine stealing, nanny-stateists into good republicans. So save money on blood pressure meds — go be with people who think like you do. Or form a cogent argument. I love REAL discussion that makes me think. You do not make me think. You make me laugh.

  175. Wine listings? Sorry I had to do it. Is this exclusively your new beat? Probably a good idea…you get yourself laughed out of City Hall. Tell us the details Erica and all will go away….

  176. Enough of the tools supporting you being a petty thief.

    It’s not okay, you’re not forgiven.

    I am certain that the shopkeepers will keep a better eye on you now that they know your game.

  177. Honestly, Erica should have just said what happened, that she feels awful about it and hell, even try to laugh about it, make a joke etc. It would show that she is human, screwed up, is sorry and maby show some humor about it.

    But that oportunity has long since been missed. Remember when Johnny Carson was arrested for DUI? That was the funny and classy way of handling public embarassment.

  179. 175 – I am here because I am a SADIST and I love to TORTURE people like you. Eat shit, you are an idiot for supporting this nanny-state smarmy bitch.

  180. And it is fucking hilarious that you think I am a Republican! As if only Republicans are anti-stealing!!!! No wonder Seattle is so hopelessly fucked up.

  181. And it is fucking hilarious that you think I am a Republican! As if only Republicans are anti-stealing!!!! No wonder Seattle is so hopelessly fucked up.

  182. It is hilarious you think I’m a Republican. That just shows how close-minded you Seattle shits are… as if the only people who are anti-stealing are Republicans. No wonder Seattle is so hopelessly fucked up, full of wimps and junkies.

  183. You all look really stupid in those tattoos, toothpick-leg black jeans and those douchey Dumbo-style earlobe plugs. What a bunch of conformists.

  184. @175: I know this is a useless debate, but if you’re so troubled by people who disagree with you, why don’t you “go start a blog” and then institute comment restriction to registered and approved users. Then you can assure you never have to read something you dislike or disagree with.

    I’m not saying I’m a frequent commenter, but I read most of the threads and I see your name very rarely — How are you claiming some sort of OG Slog commenter authority?

  185. @132 – Wow, you are SO WITTY. Did you come up with that one yourself?

    @139 – You’ve never taken a pen home from work? Ever?

    @152 – Gomez, you’re so cute when you’re being sanctimonius.

    @166 – Very.

    @176 – When they do, will you be out with your little stick so you can shake it at her?

    @183 – Jigae is not a troll.

  186. I think it would rock if ECB did a hard hitting story on those shoplifting diversion classes they make kids go through … she could so provide a perspective that most of us, who don’t steal shit from stores, couldn’t.

  187. ECB: Whoever it was that you pissed off so much, it seems that you have cost far more of their time and energy than this incident has cost of yours. Wrong or right, I think you’ve won.

  188. @188, taking a pen from work is the same as taking a bottle of wine from a grocery store? Ah…think you are stretching that a little bit don’t you?

    Maybe if Erica was not such a sanctimonious bitch towards people that don’t agree with her various views perhaps they would show her more understanding.

    ECB! You reap what you sow! So start reaping! Oh yeah, don’t expect “City Inside Out” to be calling you to appear on one of their panels anytime soon.

  191. We love you Erica. You’re a great reporter.

    This was a mistake, but only clueless losers would be as worked up about it as some of the commenters here seem to be.

    I promise to read TWICE as many of your stories.

  192. @191 – In other words, you don’t believe that all stealing is a sin deserving of the utmost in public self-flagellation. Perhaps you should get your shaky moral compass checked.

  193. Doing my best to bring this up to 200.

    I think being a self righteous, judgmental prig is a far greater crime than stealing a nine dollar bottle of wine from a supermarket. All of us, myself included, have at least one incident in their past, maybe illegal, maybe not, that we are not proud of. A great man once said “Let the one who is without sin cast the first stone”.

  194. People… Fellow Slog readers.
    This has been the most entertaining the Slog has been since the election.
    Thank you. It has been engaging and thrilling.

    I’m not sure I believe this was the result of some large anti-ECB conspiracy.

    I just can’t believe this was all the result of one person. Or even one person directing some cabal of trolls and sock-puppets.

    More like a horde of copy-cats.

    You know how some writers have a lot of FANS? Evidently, this young lady had a lot of the opposite. Going back and reading some of the articles posted, one can maybe see why.

    I dunno… what do you think? I only been reading for a few months.
    A mastermind pulling the strings of a bunch of troll puppets?
    Or just a feeding frenzy because it was a slow news day?

  195. Oh, hey. Another question…

    How involved was the staff, what with all that moderating and deleting stuff?

    I bet that was a pretty DIVISIVE issue around the office! Awkward moments at the coffee pot.

    You think this was an inside job? Hard to say who might have been the brains behind it all.

  198. @187 – Jigae: I’m not troubled by people who disagree with me. I’m troubled that Slog, which used to be a mostly lighthearted blog with some serious thought and fun snark thrown in, has had an influx of really hateful people. People whose total presence on Slog is trolling. All they can do is say racist things to Mudede, call ECB a bitch (before this even started) and generally act in a way counter to the culture that existed here. It’s not intelligent debate, it’s anonymous, juvenile blogsturbation.

    I don’t want to start my own blog because the writers here are far better than I, have a wider net to find interesting tidbits and I appreciate most of the regular commenters here, even if I vehemently disagree with them, because they actually put THOUGHT behind their replies. I suggested that those who wanted to continue pillorying ECB get their own blog because their insistence of making everything here about the one issue is off-topic and getting old. Did I really mean it or think they’d take me up on it? No, because if they did, they’d be shouting at the moon and no one would listen or care and that’s not what they want.

    As far as my OG Slog commenter authority, I have none. I’ve been around several few years and posted under other names — this one has caught on and I like it. I just would like the people who have no real interest in dialogue — who just want to continue kicking dead horses to accompany the corpse to the glue factory and let the rest of us be able to have on-topic, grown-up (if sarcastic) discourse.

    Oh, and Donolectic @191: No, I do not believe that ALL stealing is deserving of the utmost in public self-flagellation. My moral outrage meter doesn’t have a black/white setting. Someone stealing a bottle of wine from a store doesn’t get my panties in a bunch as much as, say, someone stealing a car. I don’t approve of what she did, but I won’t condemn her and I won’t demand the end of her career. It makes me wonder what some of the loudest protesters in this uproar have hidden in their closet that they so badly want everyone to look the other direction. It’s like the closet cases that scream so loudly about the evil gays.

    Check out this video, it’s an interesting talk about our shaky moral compasses: http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/dan_a…

  201. What a lame statement. If it was accidental you would have stated so. You stole it. Have the guts to admit it. You so sanctimoniously judge people and make rash statements about them without doing any research or hearing their side of the issue. Give us a break. I hope this makes you into a more balanced writer and that one day you’ll actually graduate to becoming a reporter.

  202. There is not enough information here.

    And considering ECB’s attitude toward Sam Adams’ indiscretions, I sincerely hope someone investigates this further, exposes her crimes, and berates her with exactly the same amount of restraint and sensitivity that she showed Adams.

    For reals.

  203. Holy fuck! How did I miss this thread?

    I just want to point out that people made fun of ECB and Charles long before they trolls arrived. They write in styles that invite controversy. And ECB supported Clinton, which resulted in abuse far more vile than anything we’ve seen in the last few days. But the hecklers were regulars who stood by their statements by using consistent sigs.

  204. So, there was supposed to be a hearing on March 17, right? What happened at the hearing? Could we get some actual news and not this lame blame-avoiding statement?

    I will not lie: It feels good to see ECB come down a peg.

    After her shrill and holier-than-thou reaction to the Sam Adams situation, she deserves this and oh-so-much more. I hope she had as good a night with her $8.99 bottle of wine as Adams had with Beau Breedlove. (Oh, hmmm, and which one of them broke the law? Hmmmm?)

  205. Erica has no moral compass. She just charges off bullishly in random directions, mistaking her clumsy momentum for something meaningful. What kind of person brags about being a “former” vegan and then tries to tell vegetarians what to think about animal suffering? A shoplifter, does, I suppose. Thank goodness for the Page Down key.

  209. Gosh, I’m glad some other folks finally picked up on the Sam Adams meme. Thanks! She totally went off on him for lying about something that, as far as we know, was legal sex. ECB, I love ya. I like your writing. I generally agree with most of your views. But your Sam Adams rants were kinda crazy. And in light of this indiscretion by you, totally casts it all in a new light.

    Good luck getting through this … and please treat other humans with minor failings with a bit less indignation in the future.

    BTW, I also was a Hillary supporter, and I was a bit bummed when it was clear she was toast. But I gladly ripped down my Hillary posters and the Hillary bumper sticker on my car … and soon replaced them with “LGBT for Obama” stickers and posters. Hooray for his recent UN decision! And please keep it coming!

  210. For those of us who you have trashed in this paper without even a phone call to check for truth it is like Xmas, Hanukah and Kwanza all rolled up into a beautiful way to begin Spring.

  213. Erica C. Barnett is a pathetic hypocrite. She had a hissyfit at Nicole Brodeur over the semantics of what drives someone to rape, but then when her own colleague wrote an idiotic post defending an alleged sex offender, she cowered in the background, with only a tiny comment to contradict him.

    Compare this:
    http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archive…

    to this:
    http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archive…

    Savage’s round up the troops and circle the wagons approach is even more pathetic. Together he and ECB have turned the Stranger and Slog into a toilet bowl.

  216. Very telling that no Stranger staff has responded except to tell us what “bad things” they did when they were kids. Not adult journalists, but kids.

    ECB, it could be forgiven and finished if you’d come completely clean. Otherwise, sorry, the Stranger is damaged goods and always will be because of this. The integrity hit is irreparable otherwise, and as a journalist I can tell you ALL you have to go on is your integrity. Remember the goat fucker episode? Her integrity is trashed.

  217. @219, integrity pretty much got shown the door the day they made Savage editor.

    There have been a number of things where Stranger writers showed a complete lack of integrity or professionalism, and the only response from Savage and his lapdogs is to 1) offer up a snarky non-pology (Brendan Kiley is particularly adept at this), 2) complete silence or 3) circle the wagons, as it’s been said.

    There are still some awesome writers at the Stranger and Slog – David Schmader, Lindy West, Jen Graves, Megan Seling, which is why I come back here, and the old-time crew was by and large awesome (Annie, Amy Kate, etc.).

    Savage craves attention too much to be an “editor”. Dominic is okay, but parrots his editor too much. ECB is just a joke. She was a battlefield promotion after Feit left. She writes hack pieces full of misinformation, and her shrill tone is too much to bear. If she spent half the time looking in the mirror as she does ripping apart other local journalists, she might get somewhere, but she’s obviously not getting the direction or mentoring that she needs, which is no surprise, considering the clown that’s in charge. I mean, look at the glee over trashing local repoter Vanessa Ho and getting her name linked to “Stupid Fucking Credulous Hack” in Google. Savage just about wet himself when he accomplished that. Says a lot, doesn’t it?

  218. “Failed to pay for”? Do you mean you stole it or that you wandered out of the store oblivious? Let’s call a spade a spade, shall we? Then we can discuss the octuplets.

  219. When I was in college, we were required to do a little volunteer work for one of our classes. I chose the Toy Rescue Mission. On my last day of mandatory philanthropy, I spotted an old, beat up ukulele. It was blue with funky red flowers. When I left that day, I did so with an absurd ukulele-shaped lump under my shirt.

    I stole from needy children.

    I’ve never regretted it. I love that ukulele more than any of those kids could have.

  220. ” Stranger is damaged goods “

    Yes, because before shoplifting charge it was a hot bed of quality, pulitzer quality journalism.

    Please, the Stranger is a jerk off matt for Cap Hill hipsters. They make most of their money advertising prostitutes.

  221. I’d rather read a piece about what it’s like to get caught being a thief, than a vague one-liner that’s meant not to admit guilt, but that everyone sees through.

    (Sorry for ending in a preposition, but if ECB can, then so can I.)

    Also, Erica: Apologize to Sam Adams. NOW.

  225. I find it astounding that anybody spends this much time “watchdogging” slog.

    I also find it ironic that the people shrieking most loudly about this non-news by implication a) consider Ms. Barnett important, b) consider the Stranger important, c) consider themselves crusaders for some kind of truth, much like the apparent chorus of Mudede-haters, who obviously take a lot of time out of their own lives to follow his every post and decry his failings as a human being.

    If you buy the notion that our reporters must be paragons of virtue in order to be able to do their jobs, then it follows that you people who are trying to “expose” Ms. Barnett and are crying for her blood should also disclose your identities and confess to any past crimes in order for the rest of us to assess your credibility. You also have an impossibly idealistic view of the journalistic profession.

    Seriously, seeing that you spend so much time on this insignificant, small-minded crusade is depressing. Have some human dignity, for pete’s sake.

  226. @228, no one here is under any delusion that Stranger writers are “paragons of virtue”. But if wine thief Erica Barnett wants to root around in others’ dirty laundry and parade it around the town square, while at the same time leading a life of petty crime that she and her editor subsequently try to cover up, and when that fails make light of, then people are going to call them on it. If the Stranger is going to demand transparency and virtuous, objective reporting from others, then readers can demand the same of the Stranger. If the Stranger doesn’t want any of this feedback, then easy, either 1) stop blogging and stick to the print edition or 2) turn off the comments. If they do indeed want feedback, well then, they’re going to get it.

  227. @229 Well said.

    Erica brought this on herself by being A) a humorless, moralizing, self-important scold who delights in trumpeting the failings of others, and B) a failure herself.

  228. See, you make “feedback” sound constructive here, like something that they could read, process, and use to influence the way they do things in the future.

    But the way you’ve been presenting it is anything but constructive. Screaming your point over and over again isn’t feedback, it’s time-wasting irritation. It makes you seem not like a rational person, but like an alarmingly obsessed partisan with a personal axe to grind.

    “If the Stranger is going to demand transparency and virtuous, objective reporting from others, then readers can demand the same of the Stranger.”

    I haven’t seen any of your many, many, many tiresome comments demand that at all.

    “If the Stranger doesn’t want any of this feedback, then easy, either 1) stop blogging and stick to the print edition or 2) turn off the comments.”

    Or 3) eliminate bylines, so that people who can’t distinguish between journalistic integrity and civic integrity don’t have any room to grandstand over the behavior of their journalists, whose job description doesn’t have anything to do with past crimes.

    What’s more, if you think every journalist who has committed a crime should be drummed out of the profession, then you’d see an enormous reduction in the number of journalists.

  229. Dear Dan,

    I’m in a relationship with a newspaper that’s been going on for about 14 years. It’s an on-again, off-again thing, but lately things have taken a turn for the worse. You see, my newspaper used to be all smart, snarky and sexy. It was a great alternative to the local mainstream media, covered important topics, and had some top-notch writers. But for the past couple of years, I don’t know, I’m just not that into it anymore. You see, instead of going the extra mile to get good information, my newspaper now just throws together hack pieces full of misinformation. The tone has gotten so shrill I have to plug my ears sometimes. And worst of all, there’s a new level of personal meanness and character smearing against other local notables going on. The post are more flippant than ever, and clearly geared to start flamewars in the never-ending search for comments and site hits. Integrity seems to have been shown the door. And to top it all off, my newspaper has totally given up on personal hygiene. I feel like I’ve invested a fair amount in this relationship, but I find that my newspaper has become a skulking, negative rag, and I’m not sure there’s anything worth salvaging. What do you think, is there anything worth saving, or is it time to accept facts and move on?

    Sign me-

  233. Regarding @232: these douchenozzles will say *anything.* Sometimes they pretend to be concerned for LGBT fairness, sometimes for America’s financial security, sometimes for journalistic standards. But it’s never in response to anything that’s been said earlier it the thread (unless it’s a word for word parody where they change a noun or two), they never sign with a consistent handle (or they only post once per thread,) so they never dialog.

    DON’T PRETEND YOU’RE HERE TO DISCUSS ANYTHING, YOU FUCKING ASSHOLES.

  236. Is someone getting Erica the help she needs to overcome being a kelptomaniac and an alcoholic? (Only then can she work on the extreme bitchiness.)

  237. Typical of a marxist/communist posing as liberal…Comrade Obama would welcome such disregard for the laws… as we have seen thus far into his epic failure as a POTUS…

    Save America shoot a liberal

  238. I want more information about what “failed to pay for” means.

    Where were you holding the wine?

    Just in your hand? Or did you put it in a bag? Or under your coat? Or someplace more interesting?

    Details, please, so we can figure out what really happened.

  239. So we’re never going to get a straight answer to this until we petition for public records, huh? And you all will go on as if it didn’t happen.

    Journalistic integrity 0, hiding the truth 1. Your rep is permanently trashed.

  241. Yeah, I got busted for shoplifting too… When I was 8. I learned my lesson with a good scare from the security guards at the five and dime.

    It’s no surprise that someone with lefty arrogance like Erica, grew up to be an adult without ever learning the lesson.

  242. Erica–
    Your “rap sheet” is growing.
    How about all those parking tickets you failed to pay to the City of Seattle?
    KLEPTO ERICA…or KRIMINAL ERICA

    Neither one is good.

  244. I find some signs of Erica’s essential integrity in her one-line admission — just think of all the lies she managed to restrain herself from writing:

    1) I’m sorry
    2) I regret taking something that wasn’t mine
    3) It was all a mistake — I didn’t mean to do it
    4) I’ve never done anything like this before
    5) … or at least since I was a kid …
    6) I won’t do it again
    7) I don’t think the store owes me anything
    8) I don’t think an evil corporation like QFC deserves theft
    9) I’ll use this experience to become a better person
    10) I’ll embrace the community service as an opportunity give back

    there must be many more…

  245. Hey you guys – cut Erica some slack. It’s not like she grew up in a wealthy Houston suburb, in a large house, in a white middle-class family, and then went on to college (paid for by mums and dadders?). She’s had to claw her way up to where she is. At the very least, the world owes her a bottle of wine.

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