Kind of hard to believe that The Stranger is ignoring the violence happening in Ferguson again after the anniversary of Michael Brown's death.

Tyrone Harris, age 18 and proclaimed frend of Brown, was shot by police, still in critical condition.

One would think it would be an important story if black lives matter.

A black teabagger?!? Who knew there was such a thing. Talk about working against your own self interest.

I would be careful about suggesting to burn things down. That works both ways; that's what the concept of scorched earth is based on. If I can't have nobody can have it.

The second link, "very good time", in Marco Rubio lead is corrupted.

Did Black Lives Matter show up to Rubio's event in Bellevue? At the very least to protest outside while the GOP feasted while cashing in on racial tension in America? Or is that solely reserved for the one candidate in this election who marched with Dr. King?

This country is packed to the rafters with all kinds of cray cray.

She's correct in that our political system is hopelessly corrupt, but protesting Bernie Sanders is totally futile. Hillary Clinton and the RepubliKan Klown Kar don't give a damn about Black Lives or any lives. They only understand their own psychopathic greed and insatiable lust for power. They're the ones who should be protested, if anyone could get near them or their billionaire puppet masters, of course.

Burn it down? Well, we've all been their with the system we have and the frustrations that come with it. But then again, be careful what you wish for: you may just get it.

I'm guessing they're aware that the candidate they do want (who doesn't exist) would never have a chance in hell at winning. And they're okay with that cause fuck the system.

@5:

Would demonstrating outside of Rubio's chi-chi fundraiser move him to publicly embrace a platform of Racial Justice? I'm going to go with "Things That'll Happen When Hell Freezes Over" for $200, Alex.

she sounds quite naïve and young, but then again, I'm old and jaded.

being from an evangelical background isn't doing you any favors. here's the thing: YOU CAN'T BURN IT DOWN.

Babies at work? /vomit.

Why interview a known and proven liar? What is there to gain from listening to someone you know you can't take at their word?

Listening to Trump makes more sense than listening to Marissa Johnson.

The annual Perseid meteor shower is known for being among the brightest of meteor showers and it will happen a day before the new moon, meaning the night skies will be as dark as they get. Expect to see up to 100 shooting stars per hour at its peak between Wednesday evening and Thursday morning.

http://wpo.st/aAAU0

I think she went after Bernie because he was the rare candidate (Rep or Dem) who actually made public appearances here. Most of them (Rep or Dem) stop off to withdraw a suitcase of cash from the super-ATM in Medina, and then fly out before sunset.

An old man with a microphone is a weapon. If Johnson had put Sanders in jail overnight and then collected a public salary, I would be a little more critical of her.

@16: I'd rather see a baby with a parent at work than being parked in daycare.

@24, I don't really care what a parent does with their baby as long as it isn't crying while I work.

This whole Christian/teabagger connection to the BLM activists makes everything even more complex. Meanwhile seems like almost everyone on the internet is trying desperately to make it seem as simple as possible to suit their perspective.

We live in a strange nation, that's for sure.

"you lay down your life for other people and the most marginalized."

Saying this from a place of "religious convictions" usually means colonial style, top-down decisions about who YOU think is the most marginalized without asking lots of questions and how YOU think is the best way to solve their problems without asking lots of questions and how YOU think they should live there life without asking them any questions.

Uf.

her youth and lack of experience in the public sphere really shows thru in the way she talks about the response on stage to their action - if folks from any leftist or rightist group ran up there, there would have been the same response. the crazy/wacko factor in general has people on edge - i'm kinda amazed people like bernie do public rallies in general with almost no security.

for ex, Code Pink had lots of arrests at their public protests. Were those arrests racist? Hardly. The BLM got their chance to speak, lots of PR, and no arrest. Hardly a racist KKK audience like the announcer surmised.

BLM has a great message in general, but Marissa's real problem is her constant use of the phrase 'i'm gonna burn this down' - probably metaphorical, but who knows who it will inspire to do what. i wonder how that message relates to her deep evangelical christian soul?

@17, Sorry, no. I'd love to be proven wrong, but Sanders is irrelevant. If he maintains any kind of popularity in the months to come, then Queen Clintoris will bump him off. Perhaps she'll even go to the trouble of making it appear to be natural causes or a freak accident, but mark my words: Arkansas's most notorious, lesbian, drug-dealing assassin will add to Her body count.

So, let me understand this... a system of annual bike registration/plating using the DMV system we already have in place would not pay for itself above cost to administer so they drop it but a tax on firearm sales and between 2 and 5 cents a round is projected to collect only 0.3 to 0.5 million dollars and is worth doing ? Is that above the cost of collection ?

@25: Agreed. Mother rooms must be a prerequisite.

Lol... financial analysis that arrived at the 0.3 to 0.5 million figure is pulled out of thin air. The fiscal note they're all reading has no cost to administer and says "Revenue estimates have proven to be difficult due to the lack of available information. We estimate Revenue for this tax to be between $300,000-500,000 per year based on available information."

http://seattle.legistar.com/LegislationD…

I want to tell conservative evangelical separatist Marissa and her little band of religious teabagging cult followers what the world told her idol and famous Queen of Division & Hater, Sarah Palin. "Sit Down And Shut UP!!"

Create YOUR OWN platform and don't piggy-back off others' venues. This is what Secessionist Quitter Palin did - crashed other people's platforms so I guess you're taking a page out of the ho's playbook for attention. You quit voting so again, "Sit down and shut up!" This wasn't YOUR show to steal from many people who worked hard for this venue not to mention those who stood for hours. And who asked YOU anyway?? You're an embarrassment to Seattle, to #BLM and most of all yourself.

Your giddiness over watching yourself on TV and googling yourself will end in 15 minutes and counting.

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY. Where is it?

The face she's making in the video poster frame really says it all.

@12, 17: Stop giving the disruptors credit for Sanders' recent platform announcements. That isn't accurate.

Listen to Sanders' comments on Thom Hartmann's sho… from the day before his Seattle appearance in response to a caller who asked if he could clarify his civil rights positions on his campaign website (begins at 11:50):


I think our website is good, but it is not as strongly updated as it should be on a number of issues. In terms of civil rights, you're right, this has been a passion of mine throughout my entire life. I think if you check my record it is one of the strongest civil rights records in the United States congress over the last 25 years and even before that. The issue, it seems to me, when we deal with civil rights is two-pronged, and we've got to go forward simultaneously in both areas. I don't have to go into great length about the disgust of the American people, the African-American community, over issues like Sandra Bland, or Michael Brown, or Sammuel DuBoise -- people who died for no particular reason, who were unarmed, who would not have died if they were white. This is a profound issue that has got to be addressed through serious police reform, through community policing, through use-of-force issues. And this whole issue of the incarceration of so many people in this country so that we have more people in jail than any other nation, and disproportionately minorities, African Americans and hispanics, is an issue that must be addressed.

Simultaneously, though, we also have to -- as Dr. Martin Luthor King reminded us in his march on Washington in 1963 (that was a march for, Thom do you remember what the title of that march was? It was jobs and freedom) -- because he understood that it was absolutely imperative to create a strong economy for the American people and for African Americans as well. Right now today, we have over 50% of young African Americans between the age of 17 and 20 who are high school graduates who are either unemployed or underemployed. The gap between incomes of whites and blacks is growing wider. This is an issue that must be dealt with, we've got to go forward in both areas.

@35: IN THE TRASH WHERE IT AND ALL OTHER ASTROLOGY BELONGS

Getting tired of the "All GOP are racist" BS. The Democratic party is getting fat off of all of the undeserved publicity. We have had a black democrat president for 7 years and everyone thinks that things are worse now then ever. The idea the Tea Party people are racist is absolute BS. Everyone seams to forget the democratic parties past being KKK members while they bash those who want a smaller government. Or Bill Clintons past in Arkansas. Smaller government people are not racist. People who want more freedom are not racist. Our mayor who shuts down Hookah lounges to stop crime is a Democrat! That is restricting freedom and not dealing with the actual problem. Yes I am conservative. Yes I voted "for" gay marriage and believe in woman's freedom to do whatever they want with their bodies. Yes I am in an interracial marriage. And no I do not think that the democrats care about helping people more than they care about pleasing the unions and wealthy backers that support them. Their policy was bought with pensions and handouts, not with future of our country in mind.

Why are you giving her attention? She pretty much threw a tantrum.

I wish I could buy venomlash a drink for all the hard work he does around here confronting bullshit of all stripes.

@39: no, not all Republicans are Racist. but all Racists vote Republican. Dixiecrats all abandoned the Democratic Party for the GOP when LBJ signed the Civil Rights act, or hadn't you noticed the South has been solid Red since then?

And sorry, "smaller government" means you want to cut social programs, so yes, that's Racist. I don't see the Teabillies agitating to cut the MIC. On the contrary.

Less spending does not mean cutting social programs. That is also silly. When Democrats say that Republicans only want to cut social programs you are believing their lie. We keep increasing taxes in Seattle but magically it has only been in social programs? We spend the same amount on homeless in Seattle as we spend on cleaning Seattle parks. Seams silly right? The zoo alone gets 1/3 of the amount of money the homeless get. Seattle Annual budget 2.83 billion. 12% public safety, admin, 4.4%, funds subfunds and other 4.1%, health and human services 4.5%, neighborhood development 3%, utilities and transportation 59%, arts culture and recreation 6%!!!!. Next time you see the homeless guy or the drug dealer under the sculpture know that our government will spend more money on the art than they will getting people back on their feet.

You can also argue that in our countries history the less Democrats in power has actually led to less racism in the south. Do the homework. http://www.nationalreview.com/article/42…

@42: Actually, it's the complete reverse. To say that cutting social programs is racist, is to say that some people have more trouble without government assistance because of their skin color - which is in itself quite condescending and racist. Although that has been true for blacks it is the result of our nation's history. It is ineffective government to never adjust expenditures and entitlements using skin color as a criterion.

It seems ignorant for Marissa Johnson to imply that Bernie Sanders hasn't put his life on the line in some degree for civil rights, given that his younger years he coordinated sit-ins and was arrested at least once protesting segregated student housing. It's not necessarily 'laying down your life', but I'm guessing she hasn't really done that either.

But anyway, sure, it's valid to ask if is Sanders doing enough now, in his recent Senate years and his presidential campaign, and to criticize him if you think he isn't. Even if he is "the best option", it doesn't mean he's not subject to scrutiny and criticism.

Personally, while the interruption was rude, I don't think it was that big of a deal. Bernie handled it with much better grace than I bet you'll get from Clinton's group or any of the GOP candidates, and anyway he was there to talk about Social Security and Medicare's anniversaries, so it was bound to be a snoozefest anyway.

I think the real problem is Marissa Johnson doesn't know her audience. Stepping in front of a crowd and just calling them racists because they're booing you for interrupting the scheduled speaker is not a great way to advance your cause, radical or not.

If you're gonna go there, at least drop some knowledge on the audience before you about how they're racist. Do a lot of white progressive Seattleites condescend to you? Do they make patronizing assumptions about your life experiences? Do they tend to support racial justice more in the abstract than in reality? I've certainly heard those complaints around here.

If you want people to wake up to their own flaws, you gotta at least point them out. If you just want to label them, well they're not going to think very highly of your message, are they? And if you don't care what the audience thinks of your message, then why are you interrupting the event to preach at them?

@46 I can't praise your last 3 paragraphs enough. Exactly what I've been thinking about this.

@48: Dude, if I was Ted Gorath, I wouldn't publicly offer to buy myself a drink. I'd just buy myself a drink.
But because I am not Ted Gorath, I will not buy myself a drink. Instead, I shall pour myself a drink, because I've got a third of a jar of apple pie-flavored moonshine left and I'd like to finish it before I leave for Texas. Skål, l'chayyim, gānbēi.