Sandeep is now a lobbyist for Moneytree? Ugh.

Man, that underground bunker was pretty freaking cool. Anyone wanna build one with me? We can keep BB guns there & hang up pictures from my uncle's Playboys.

I've been 7 dollars-an-hour poor and knew better than to ever consider payday loans. Can we throw some money at modernized home economics/don't be an idiot with your finances education for middle and high schools instead?

Quick, outlaw stupidity!

Also, ban dirndl and lederhosen-wearing Oktoberfest reveling while we're at it. Definitely don't want to piss off the Germans.

There will be fewer fast food places, especially the independents, after the $15 per hour kicks in. That's a fact. Liberals can't expect businesses to stay open if they can't make a profit.

@7 If a business can't make a profit selling their product/service at a price congruent with paying their employees a livable wage, then they deserve to go out of business.

@ 7, conservatives can't expect businesses to continue fucking over employees, squeezing the maximum work for the minimum reward, indefinitely. Small businesses aren't all good people, so the ones that also fuck employees deserve to go under if they can't figure out how else to be profitable.

Why am I not surprised that Sandeep and so-called "Democrat" lobbyists will do the bidding of payday lenders?

@7 How will Seattle survive without Chick Fil-A and Poo Poo Johns?

but muh burgurz

Wait...whut? The commentariat told me The Stranger was hell-bent on silencing Paul Constant...and here they are promoting him at his new berth? On Goldy's blog no less? Me confused?

Also: @4, while yes, one answer is to improve consumer education, not everyone is really intellectually capable of grasping how these things (compounding interest) work. So, what, does the Law Of Socio-Economic Darwinism require that we allow the 10% of predatory sociopaths to feed upon the intellectually defenseless? Falling prey to these kinds of predatory economic practices doesn't always flow from a moral failing and is therefore not always "deserved". Sometimes we need laws to stop the predators. This is kind of like saying "murder is bad, but we should have better self-defense classes in high schools". Gimme a break. Not every one is the same size physically and has an equal opportunity of self-defense.

A-freakin'-men on the apple watch. Conspicuous consumption is alive and well in the 21st Century.

When you report on significant legislative stupidity and meanness, please include bill number if nothing else. Links straight to vote at leg.wa.gov would be even better. Pay day lender bill in Senate is SB 5899 and the roll call is available here.

@13
These alternative news sources are so inbred, expect confusion, fuck logic, and long live hypocrisy.

Thanks for the link. I miss Paul.

Isn't the Fiesta Ole Run (and related) pretty much the same as St. Patrick Day type events where lots of non-Irish people wear stereotypical (and often ridiculous) "Irish" things? Putting a sombrero and fake mustache on is more fashion razzing than a sign of racial supremacy. The whole economy of Leavenworth is based on these sorts of good humored cultural homages.

@15 go jump off a tall bridge.

Horse Sass? A website for sassy horses? Ansel, I know you pecked this out on an iPhone this morning while still hungover, but try to be a little bit professional and check your work before posting. ...or was this some kind of dig at Horse's Ass?

Oh yeah, while we're complaining about stupid shit in the Stranger, CAN YOU DROP THOSE FUCKING POPUP ADS ALREADY?!?!?! The 90's porn sites called and they want their advertising strategy back.

I'm not taking that pledge, though I will agree not to fuck payday lenders, lawyers for McDonalds or Jeb Bush.

@19 - I'm glad someone else is getting those, I actually thought I had some old-timey virus.

@8, @9 - Of course, you're entitled (as well as I) to only patronize business that you see as fair to their employees and treat them well. But that doesn't negate what I said.

@19

Interesting. I didnt think to see 'Horse Sass' as a dig. It may be. My motives for most anything is exploring the love of language. I dig at people, but as a secondary enjoyment. I fully appreciated 'horse sass' for the fun simplicity it is.

@7 we're currently subsidizing those business. If you oppose handouts, then you are for companies paying a livable minimum wage. I don't believe you are actually confused on that. Your argument is about as hollow as Apple executives complaining about the US education system.

Lots of progressive democrats are happy to stick it to the poor by supporting the "let's give those payday loans biz a break" Bill. They've been so regulated and it's just killing their profits. Yay for 87% APR. Hello annual interest rate of 400%. Thank you house rep. Eric Pettigrew and Sound-View Strategies. We see you have found your Moneytree.

(Yes Charles, Seattle hates poor people.)

Loan sharking should remain illegal. pretty cut and dried for me. Also we could drop minimum wage to 1$ and even more marginal businesses would become profitable, but that's not a compelling argument to do so. Smart watches aren't for me, but I've already fucked people that wear them.

Get used to the Apple watch. Just like the original iPod, iMac, and iPhone that were so bashed by the cooler than you crowd, these products will evolve and become better and other people will figure out new uses for them and we'll see a lot of people using them when they become proven 2nd and 3rd gen products (at more reasonable prices). Maybe the watch won't become as ubiquitous as the iPhone, but it doesn't have to be for Apple to stay on top. It's not Apple's only product after all.

I'm so glad Seattlish spelled out what is and isn't ok anymore,

"Because here’s the thing: Have a race. Have a race for charity that also involves tacos. Everyone loves tacos! But take the bullshit Mexican/Hispanic/Latinx stereotypes out of it. No more sombreros."

So tacos are OK but sombreros are right out. Reconciling this with the new annual tradition of pearl clutching over 20-somethings at music festivals with feathers in their hair I have come to the conclusion that hats are sacred. You are allowed to appreciate other cultures food and clothing that you DON'T PUT ON YOUR HEAD. That would be appropriation.

@29 Primarily, it's a status symbol. It will succeed or fail on that fact alone. Beauty or function be damned (mostly).

@29, What's the primary purpose of an iPod? Play music? Shit, we had CD players and the walkman to do that already. That didn't stop Apple from making a crap ton of money off of what started out as a $500 mp3 player. We had phones too, but to the average cell phone owner Apple completely changed what they were for. That's the same thing that easily could happen here with the watch. The first one is too expensive and doesn't do enough, but in a couple generations it can easily become the interface that we all use.
I'm not going to run out and buy one right now, but I see that there could be some potential in it. Socially, not needing to look at your phone all the time and be considered rude. Conveniently getting information in new ways through tactile response. There are opportunities in the device that we're just not used to yet or that haven't been released in new apps. No guarantee that it will become second nature to have one, but to completely rule it out at introduction is a little premature and closed minded.

@30, The iPhone and iPod were status symbols too when they first came out but everyone takes them for granted now. Maybe the watch is different, but I won't pronounce it dead or a success until we see what it can really do after the third party developers start to integrate it into their apps.

@ 22, but it does negate your implication that that's a bad thing.

Anyway, what will negate the more factual, less judgmental part of what you said is that Seattle is too big of a market for that to come true. Businesses know that if they close, someone will open another such restaurant. So they'll figure it out. Most, anyway.