• On January 13, four Catholic bishops in Washington State—including Archbishop J. Peter Sartain of Seattle—called on Washington Catholics to oppose the governor’s gay-marriage bill, arguing that the “continuation of the human race” hangs in the balance and “bringing to life the next generation” requires denying equal rights to gay couples (while allowing wiggle room for pedophile priests, naturally).
• In response, commenter “tniel” on Slog, The Stranger‘s blog, offered an idea for liberal, churchgoing Catholics: “Might I suggest a campaign to put note cards in the collection plates of all Catholic churches in Washington State that say, ‘I am withholding my usual pledge of $___ because of the church’s meddling interference in the affairs of the state pertaining to gay marriage.’ That would quickly get the message across in the way nothing else would.”
• On January 14, RealNetworks founder Rob Glaser brought in Elvis Costello to play at his 50th birthday party. Sources say Costello’s ringtone is “London Calling” by the Clash.
• The Henry Art Gallery has announced Luis Croquer will be its new deputy director of art and education, starting March 13. Reliable sources say Croquer sometimes talks in clichés but that his work beautifully speaks for itself.
• After a months-long independent investigation, the Department of Justice announced on January 13 that it won’t seek federal civil rights charges against former Seattle police officer Ian Birk, who fatally shot Native American woodcarver John T. Williams in August 2010. The US Attorney’s Office concluded that the “evidence was insufficient, beyond a reasonable doubt, that [Birk] acted willfully and with the deliberate and specific intent to do something the law forbids.” Birk has never been charged with a crime, but thanks to Google, no one will easily forget “motherfucker + killed John T. Williams + Seattle.”
• Hot on the heels of Amazon.com‘s announcement that Nancy Pearl will be publishing a line of books with them, the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association is said to be circulating a scathing open letter chastising Pearl for turning her back on the independent bookstores that helped her rise to national prominence. Will we ever see this open letter? Some in the PNBA say its angry language goes too far, while other booksellers say it’s not far enough.
• Speaking of Pearl and Amazon.com, sources say the January 12 report by KUOW’s Amy Radil on the deal smacked less of journalism and more of brand management, since Pearl is a beloved contributor to Seattle’s NPR affiliate.
• On January 11, Carmine Smeraldo of Pioneer Square’s Il Terrazzo Carmine died from a stroke. He was 69. Two weeks prior, 71-year-old “meat maverick” Daniel Sandal, the founder of Daniel’s Broiler, passed away following complications of pneumonia. Sources say these things come in threes.
As a practicing Catholic who support gay marriage, withholding money from collections may be a good strategy, as long as it doesn’t hurt your local parish or social service programs, which much of that $ goes to support. A better strategy may be just to tell the bishops why they’re wrong, which I have done. On a related note, the bishops opposition isn’t working–a Pew Research study a few years ago showed that nearly 75% of American Catholics support gay marriage or civil unions. “Catholics are more supportive of legal recognitions of same-sex relationships than members of any other Christian tradition and Americans overall,” the survey concluded.