Sports Twitter when the Seahawks send Carroll to a farm upstate Credit: RONALD MARTINEZ / GETTY

Head-to-head: Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis faced off last night in their first one-on-one debate. The occasion marked the last chance for the candidates to drag each other in such a setting before the Iowa caucuses next week. Here’s the highlights:

Haley is not evil enough: DeSantis did a good job of making Haley seem a lot more normal than she would like. He criticized her for once saying that Republicans should not call all undocumented immigrants “criminals,” and he said she did not support the border wall strongly enough. Haley, desperate to prove her disdain for immigrants, said DeSantis left out important context that actually makes her still heartless. 

Haley is CERTAINLY evil enough: Along the same lines, DeSantis said that Haley might be more liberal than Gavin Newsom. Ridiculous. Haley wants to ban gender-affirming care for minors, she wants to raise the age of retirement, and she supports abortion bans. Stfu, DeSantis.

No, I love Israel more: Haley and DeSantis both tried to frame each other as Palestine-sympathizers. Republicans hate to stand against genocide. Very unpopular in their party… and in the Democratic Party if I’m being real. Anyway, DeSantis called Haley out for once holding the obviously super far-left belief in a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine. Haley immediately backpedaled and reaffirmed her unwavering support for arming Israel in its attempts to eradicate Palestinians. Haley turned the conversation back on DeSantis, accusing him of guilt-by-association for campaigning with Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), who Haley called the most “anti-Israel Republican in Congress” because he voted against a resolution equating anti-Zionism to anti-Semitism.

And the winner is: Some sources thought DeSantis really found his stride in the one-on-one format. I personally find him about as charismatic as a doorknob. Some said Haley clearly won the night, appearing better informed and less of a jackass. But, to be soooooo real, it’s silly to really consider either a winner when Trump didn’t even show up and he’s still leading in the polls.

Goodbye, Mr. Christie: Yesterday Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie announced he’s giving up on his presidential ambitions for 2024. According to the AP, Christie does not see a viable path to victory, and he recognizes that staying in the race may help Trump secure the nomination. Christie did not endorse either of his Republican opponents during the announcement, which seems like the very first thing you do when you drop out essentially for fear of vote-splitting. Instead, Christie shaded them on a hot mic, saying Haley was gonna get “smoked” and DeSantis was “petrified.” Who knows, if his goal is really to ice Trump, whose leaps and bounds ahead of Haley and DeSantis, then endorsing Biden might be his best bet. 

Weather? More like weathBRRRRR: Believe it or not, today Seattle will see its warmest weather before a week of major cold. So soak up the high of 40 degrees today at around noon because tomorrow temperatures will drop to the mid-20s, and we won’t break into the 40s again until next Wednesday. Winter’s here, bitches!

Need: Fuck beer, fuck cocktails. The only drink I want right now is hot cocoa. Thankfully, the fine people at EverOut already read my mind and compiled a list of the best places to get hot cocoa in Seattle. I swear EverOut has tapped my phone or something. I’m cool with it tbh. FWIW, I second their recommendation of Rey Amargo Chocolate Shop in Capitol Hill. That shit smacks. 

Waiting: The City of Tacoma promised to release its internal investigation of the cops who killed Manuel Ellis in 2020 today, but yesterday they announced that they will delay until next Tuesday. Last month, all three cops got acquitted in court, but on Tuesday, the Chief of Police will decide what consequences they will face at work. If you remember, in 2020, the Mayor of Tacoma called for all three to be fired. Personally, if I killed someone at my job, I would probably get fired! [Eds note: I didn’t see shit.]

More delays: Yesterday the City of Seattle planned to release the names of the people who applied for the City Council vacancy left by Teresa Mosqueda. But, with more than 70 applicants, the City got overwhelmed and failed to post. Hopefully they can get a list up today, since tomorrow the council is scheduled to meet to narrow down that list to top contenders. I’ll keep you updated—probably on Twitter first and then the blog shortly after. 

Feeling a lil embarrassed: I told a friend of the blog that the list would be up yesterday and the City made a liar out of me. SMH.

You will be missed: News broke yesterday that the winningest coach in Seahawks history, Pete Carroll, will leave his position as head coach after 14 years for a different, less flashy position with the company. The fans seemed really shocked, but, keep in mind, Carroll is 72 years old. That’s the age when you really gotta start thinking about running for president.

You know it’s bad when South Africa calls you out: Israel faces accusations of genocide from South Africa in World Court. After more than three months of bombardment, Israel has killed at least 23,000 Palestinians and has made Gaza uninhabitable. To South Africa, that does not feel like self-defense from Hamas’ attack on Oct 7, when the militant group killed 1,200 Israelis. It sounds like a quest to “destroy” Gaza, said Tembeka Ngcukaitobi, advocate of the High Court of South Africa. Israel clapped back, calling South Africa “the legal arm of the Hamas terrorist organisation.”

Get wrecked, Trump: Today, a New York court will hear final arguments in his civil fraud trial. That’s the case about him lying about his property values, if you can’t keep all his cases straight. 

As a wise woman once said, “Ariana run pop”: On Friday, the drought will end and Ariana Grande will bless us with a new single, “Yes, And?” For now, enjoy the last masterpiece she sent into the world. 

Hannah Krieg is a staff writer at The Stranger covering everything that goes down at Seattle City Hall. Importantly, she is a Libra. She is also The Stranger's resident Gen Z writer, with an affinity for...

67 replies on “Slog AM: The Last GOP Debate Before the Iowa Caucus, Christie Drops Out, and Seahawks Head Coach Pete Carroll Gets New Job”

  1. @63: Words mean things. Defending the true meanings of words is a valuable effort, especially when twisting meanings of words can be used to political advantage. (Don’t take it from me, George Orwell already did a better job of explaining this than I ever could.)

    @64: Conversely, are the victims more dead if they are victims of genocide, than simply mass murder? Why have you so much invested in making this one particular accusation of genocide, when you’ve displayed such little interest in knowing what the term actually means?

    @60: Speaking of cherry-picking your quotes, you left out a whole bunch of your own words, from that very same comment:

    “You sick bastards are like rabid dogs picking up your own vomitous propaganda with this dehumanizing rhetoric. You make me beyond sick. You are worthless examples of the human race with no feelings or empathy. I couldn’t be more disgusted or ashamed of your atrocious demagoguery.”

    Obviously, that should be read in conjunction with “I wish, I WISH, you could experience the sheer terror of bombardment” to mean you wish absolutely no harm on the very same human beings you’d likened to “rabid dogs.”

  2. the reptilian brain stem

    is what’ll likely Doom

    this Race to endless

    Misery cheered on

    by profiteers soul-

    less entities and

    excusers/enabl-

    ers Weapon-

    izng the Lin-

    go in defen-

    se of Horrif-

    ic & Repea-

    ted Acts of

    Holy Terror.

    get Over It

    they Scream!

    it’s Just

    WAR!

  4. “First

    you reference

    an opinion column

    full of cherry-picked

    quotes ripped *out of context”

    you mean

    Evidence of

    War Crimes in

    Israel’s upper ech-

    Elons given Freely

    and NEVER Expecting

    their Words to be Used

    against them? that’s an OOPSIE

    not a fucking

    Gotchya

    Wormy.

    Blame

    the Genociders.

    I know

    I know it’s

    Gonna show

    Israel in a VERY

    Bad Light but what

    About all that Personal

    Responsibility you’re always

    Demanding of others? It seems

    a little

    Selective

    when the

    Shoe’s on the

    Other foot: yours.

    *feel Free

    to supply us

    with some “Context.”

    I doubt I’ll read it

    But one never knows:

    It could be worth a Laff.

    surprise Us.

  6. for warmongers

    and wormtongues

    using OUR tax dollars

    to commit Mass Atrocities*

    Implicating US Too is Perfectly

    Accecptable. but not All of US are

    Sociopathic don’t the Empathic get a

    Say too?

    *how Long till we can call it

    Genocide? can we call it Infanticide?

    how ‘bout

    Matricide?

    or how ‘bout

    Just Fucking

    ENOUGH.

  7. @10 kristofarian: +1 Agreed.

    Thank you, retiring Seattle Seahawks’ head coach, Pete Carroll, for leading the Seahawks to our team’s first Super Bowl (#XLVIII) victory over the Denver Broncos 43-8, on February 2, 2014 at MetLife Stadium, and for the memories!

    I remember going out for gluten free pizza at a local sports bar. The game was on, and to my surprise, not a wall-to-wall crowd. No worries–there was plenty of seating room to watch the big screen for those of us who showed up. I yelled, screamed, and cheered my head off. Carroll got treated to a Gatorade shower. I left a large tip for my server. GO, SEAHAWKS!!! These have been amazing times. Seattle’s next lead coach has big shoes to fill.

    @74 kristofarian: +1 Agreed. Both you and pat L got it right: Who would Jesus bomb? Indeed.

    The Russian-Ukraine and Israel-Gaza/Palestine wars have gone on far too long.

    War is hell, no matter who or where you are, and what you’re doing.

    Nothing except billions of $$$$$$$ in structural damage, senseless deaths, and human displacement comes from war. Those who gleefully profit from war are beyond sick.

  8. @70: “…refusing to use your critical thinking to consider any possible alternative to the status quo to secure Israel’s safety other than starting a massive regional war with us joining the fight…”

    Envious of boatgeek’s gold medal in the long jump to conclusions, are you?

    One cannot reasonably expect to solve a problem without first accurately describing that problem. One cannot have a dialog without general agreement amongst all parties on what their terms mean. A dialog in which Israel, or anyone else, is committing genocide in Gaza, fails completely on both counts. That is why I’m trying so hard to address the ignorance and/or malice in abuse of the word genocide, and to remind everyone here that Hamas, via real genocidal acts on 10/7, has forced Israel’s hand. So long as the international community stands around yelling at Israel and does nothing to stop Hamas, the IDF remains the only actor trying to stop another genocide in Israel, and I am willing to accept collateral damage in Gaza to prevent another genocide in Israel. That is why I have taken and maintain the position that I have: because, unlike the Stranger and Seattle’s freeway-blockheads, I know what genocide means, and I take it very seriously as something the international community needs to stop.

    Now, should protesters in Seattle stop chanting slogans in favor of Hamas’ genocidal acts in Israel, and start demanding both a long-term destruction of Hamas, and a short-term international military presence to enforce cease-fire in Gaza, then I’d join a dialog on how best to effect a long-term regional peace. Until then, the Stranger and protesters have left the IDF as the only actor trying to prevent another genocide in the region, and I support that effort. That does not give anyone a free pass on war crimes, but I believe it justifies my position.

    So, on the topic of the term “genocide,” how about you stop being part of the problem, and start being part of the solution?

  9. yeah

    damit

    Garbby

    let us debate

    academically our

    Word Choices whilst

    wormtongue’s Buddy

    Nutnyahoo Slaughters

    Palestinians by the Score

    or rather be

    Scores of Scores

    of Scores times Three*

    remember: it’s just Palestinians.

    *for the

    (current)

    Moment:

    Israel’s

    Gonna Continue

    this Mass Massacurization

    till the Very Last Gazan — no, NO!

    til the last Hamas!

    yeah.

    whichever

    remember: it’s just Palestinians.

  11. @66: I happen to believe the Bible makes an excellent foundation for interpreting the current situation, and that no one necessarily advocates for genocide by citing the Bible. Glad to see you agree with me on that. 🙂

    Note that your quote from Proverbs refers to “dogs,” but you specifically had written “rabid dogs,” in your denunciation of we who’d dared disagree with you. Historically, “rabid dogs” simply had to be killed, to protect the local canine and human populations from rabies. This was not optional, but a requirement for the safety and health of the communities. Therefore, in context, I interpreted that as your saying our ideas were sufficiently dangerous to justify killing anyone who voiced them. Hence my skepticism that you actually wanted dialog.

  14. oh

    it Ain’t

    really much

    of a Twist Atall

    Wormtongue:

    “There

    is no justify-

    cation for terrorism. Ever.”

    tensorna on December 8, 2023 at 8:44 AM

    well

    spin

    that one

    for us Woulddja Wormy?

    or just

    keep Justifying

    Terrorism till the Final

    Gazan /

    Palestinian.

  16. BiBi’s gotta

    Hang On till

    El trumpfster

    steals the next

    one — the Body

    Count’ll Exceed a

    fucking

    MILLION

    disease rampant

    starvation no septic

    no water untold horror

    and

    WE THE

    PEEPS ARE

    HELPING P A Y FO IT

    why?

    with any Luck

    by then we’ll be

    able to call it genocide.

    end the

    Fucking

    Terrorism

    wtff

Comments are closed.