Bethel. The Bethel School district, in Pierce county has cancelled classes. Bremerton isn't anywhere near Pierce County.

As I started reading the first news item, I thought perhaps Charles Mudede had accidentally logged in as Nathalie.

Also from the Seattle Times article: "...the youngest drivers—those 16 to 25—are responsible for nearly three times the number of fatalities on Washington roads as drivers age 70 and older."

Meaning that Millennials are still the biggest threat to our highways (and probably far more likely to text while driving than some old lady is).

I was not on board with Oprah running for president, “ugh, not another celebrity,” however after The Speech, I’m thinking “hey, I’m actually OK with this."

If she can mobilize her armies to slay the sadistic, psychotic, hate-crazed, treasonous RepubliKKKans and Tdumbpnazis, then to hell with them, why not?

@5: That may be true, but this one is a WOC. You aren't some Nazi, are you?

Though UW's computer science department has the most funding in an absolute sense, it is one of the most underfunded relative to student demand. I believe it has the lowest major acceptance rate (~40%), and there are many talented undergrads who would like to study comp. sci. who are rejected from the major.

@1 Thank you. Humans at work. Fixed.

Has she even commented on the whole President thing? Until I hear otherwise, I've gotta assume there's literally zero reason to take any of it seriously. The Michelle Obama thing was trending for a while too, but there was never any chance of that and I feel like it was just a goofy meme and method for throwing some love at a public figure who's done some good for a cause. No cause for panic. I'm sure there are some aging women and housewives like my mom who would love to see it, but that doesn't give it legitimacy.

The best thing about the Golden Globes is that they're all drunk.

@12. Says the doughboy with tissue soft hands.

@ 5,

Our democracy is a failure. The hopelessly ignorant, willfully obtuse masses cannot be trusted to make good decisions, and the only real factors in our despicable, evil political system are the white supremacists' racist hatred exploited by the uber-rich that are motivated by insatiable greed.

Until we admit that fundamental truth, we're just gonna continue tailspinning until we crash.

Oprah isn't qualified to be president--her lifelong interest in pseudo-scientific quackery should make that clear--however in these desperate times, I'd back any candidate that has a realistic shot at beating back the degenerate, fascist hordes currently holding us hostage, as well as installing actual experts in positions of power and returning the nation to some semblance of sanity. If that candidate is Oprah, then so be it.

For what it's worth, Oprah did not grow up hyper-rich. Part of Trump's problem is he never knew any real people problems in his life, so even if he has the biological capacity for empathy he was in a bad place to develop it.

Oprah grew up pretty poor, with a single mother. I doubt she's nearly as ignorant of life as Trump is.

I might wish the Constitution said you have to hold some elected office before President.

@3: Thank you.

Yes, i realize that allows President Michelle Bachman or whoever. Can't have everything.

@15: "I might wish the Constitution said you have to hold some elected office before President."

That's a great idea!

Re the large numbers of seniors driving cars in Washington State, I think the bigger issue for them is that many of them don't live in areas that are as walkable or public transportation rich as Capitol Hill. If your super market is 2-3 miles from your home, you've got no choice but to drive. If your doctor is 5-10 miles away and you live in a suburban area (possibly due to being priced out of the city proper) with no timely or accessible public transportation to reach him or her, you have no choice but to drive.

You want to keep seniors and millennials out of cars, radically expand timely public transportation all over the sound.

However, that would have also cut out:
- Dwight D. Eisenhower
- Herbert Hoover
- Ulysses S. Grant
- Zachary Taylor

"Reining in." Not "reigning." It's an equine metaphor, about pulling on a horse's reins to slow him down, not a metaphor involving royalty.

@20: You quaintly envision seniors just picking up their Ensure and deli items and taking a bus home, but forget that we need to do heavy duty shopping, e.g. potting soil, large fabrics, antique lamps, where we need a car, dear.

You mean the same baby boomers who were at one time Woodstock-dancing-pot-smoking-hippie-tree-huggers who helped get the civil rights pushed in the early 60’s and the women’s liberation and gay rights movements going in the late 60’s? Those old baby boomers? With attitude like that I see why all the “negative” press of the younger generation comes to the forefront - especially when any one of “the younger generation” is in such a rush to go sit down someplace they weren’t sitting before just to be glued to a smartphone and pop a superior attitude.

...served as GILDING obscuring the dark underbelly of depravity...

landslide SITE.

@30: Name one good reason why the Salvadorans should leave. Just one - and make it your best shot.

@24, Au contraire mon ami! I was criticizing the article for pointing out that seniors are big on driving cars almost everywhere. I have little doubt that seniors have no choice but to drive for shopping for groceries and other heavy consumer items, particularly if they have a long distance to commute; However, radically expanded public transportation could help them to reduce their use of cars as it would for other generations.

“Unsurprisingly, people are anticipating (hoping?) this signifies a presidential run, as if they learned nothing from the last time people bought into a tv personality with no political experience running for president.”

Right. Unless: one might happen to consider the Candidate’s ethics morality their teevee show’s actual content -- their HISTORY -- etc. Having one's very own teevee show shouldn't necessarily disqualify. Surprised? So'm I.

@21 Eisenhower actually turned out okay as they go, but I could do without all four of those.

"Just as Trump's celebrity did not make him qualified to be president, Oprah's celebrity does not automatically disqualify her. Many celebrities have transitioned to political careers - Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ronald Reagan, even Al Franken. The skills necessary to rise to the top of an industry can be crossed over.

Unlike Trump, Oprah actually HAS come from nothing to run very successful businesses. She is smart, well-read, educated, worldly and curious. Trump has none of these traits. Mostly, Oprah is smart enough to know - and admit - what she doesn't know, is secure enough to surround herself with true experts rather than sycophants, and possesses a genuine desire to serve which means she is willing to learn what she needs to learn to make wise choices. Again, traits that are currently completely absent in today's president.

American's disgust with Washington is real - one thing Trump supporters got right is that we are all sick of the status quo career politicians who care only about the next election and are willing to do whatever it takes or sell out anyone necessary to keep their seat in office. Oprah is an outsider, but instead of one who has no business anywhere near the Oval Office, she might actually do some good.

America deserves the right to decide if her policies fit the majority opinion and if she comports herself in a way that we determine is presidential. If we find that she doesn't measure up, then we vote accordingly, celebrity or no celebrity."

--“L,” in a comment from today’s NYT opinion piece, “Oprah, Don’t Do It.”

@32 - Really, that's your best shot? You should think about it some more.

@33: Okay - but please also accept that living away from public transportation and stores and having to drive is not inherently a bad thing. It depends on one's preferences.

@3 DOUG and @4 & @14 Original Andrew: Thank you both. So well said.
@20 neo-realist and @28 ROThornhill: I'm among the last of the boomers. I take public transportation when neither walking nor driving. When I drive I stay off I-5 NOT because I'm old and addled (yet, anyway). I drive a classic older car with a manual transmission that has been in my family since Day One. My automotive sweetheart and I prefer the roads less traveled--and likely to be overridden by distracted drivers. When we're out, heads turn.
@35 Mtn Beaver: Agreed.

I'd be up for Oprah running in 2020. My question is: does SHE want to run and would she?

@39: Meaning: "My automotive sweetheart and I prefer the roads less traveled and also less likely to be overridden with distracted drivers."