Comments

2

So wait, the Hyatt was “targeted” because they...expressed support for BLM? How does that make any sense whatsoever?

Also, with the left screaming for her resignation and the right threatening to charge her with sedition, Durkan is clearly doing a great job.

3

Re: TikTok mutherfuckers

Just so that we're clear: The Republinazi regime is actively interfering with private businesses and picking winners and losers, as well as purchasing corporate bonds, which has ended the myth of "capitalism" and created an open kleptocracy.

Hold on a sec... bwahahahahahahahahahaha. The hypocrisy, stupidity, and insanity of these hateful assholes never ceases to amaze.

4

@1: You'd think the reaction would be being appalled at the overreach of Federal power but instead the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

I suggest you address your deficiencies in moral clarity.

5

@3 Capitalism doesn't supersede a National Security threat. It is well-known that TikTok is collecting personal data for the Chinese Government. Many other Countries are considering a ban and India has already banned Tiktok.

6

People should follow the link in the Tiktok item and read just what Trump said - its demented. He complains that there's no legal channel by which corporations can bribes him to approve the deal.

Ironic that Trumpite cranks are always scolding us to study up on civics.

7

@4:

Fuck off, wanker.

8

@5:

Name a website or mobile app that DOESN'T collect personal information to some degree; it's literally the only reason most of them exist.

9

@8: Yes, it's a matter of degree. The concern exists regardless of other apps.

12

How is there not a former 'Man Show' or 'Fear Factor' staffer somewhere with a Joe Rogan #metoo moment? He seems like that kind of guy.
I've also just noticed that three of the most influential people in America are or have been reality-TV hosts in Rogan, Trump, Kardashian. Seems like we could put a stop to all this by developing a tiem musheen and offing a few TV producers in the past!

13

So now Larry Ellison gets all that data and he can sell it to the Chinese government. An improvement for sure. I mean, unless Byte Dancer retains majority stake in which case nothing has changed at all.

You'd think that after all this time, Donald Trump would have blundered into an effective policy (that didn't involve tormenting and mutilating marginal populations) by accident. But nope.

14

Peoples data should only be exploited by american companies

17

Trump and Barr deserve to share a prison cell, unless America decides to get real and take the extreme action that is allowed for treason: execution.

Barr thinks he can do whatever he wants. Trump thinks he can do whatever he wants. Fuck both of them and every single enabler, supporter, and sycophant around them.

There's a paper trail of Trump's purposeful decision to murder people in blue states (because Trump is either too stupid to realize how many Republicans live in and vote in Blue states or he just does not give a fuck about those Republicans because the states go blue).

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/9/17/1978126/-Post-Office-documents-reveal-that-Trump-scrapped-a-plan-to-send-masks-to-every-home-in-April

Meanwhile the number of cases and deaths keeps increasing in red states (as they refuse to do anything to stop the spread and they refuse to report actual data in order to make it look like there is no problem - like Florida dictating schools stop reporting cases so people will send their children to the slaughter, because who cares, am I right?

https://www.salon.com/2020/09/15/trump-thinks-he-gets-to-be-president-of-just-the-republican-states-so-how-are-they-doing/

The depraved indifference to life and the choice to murder Americans instead of being the president of the United States - you know actually doing his fucking job (remember that oath he took) is inexcusable. Trump deserves the worst punishment possible, whatever that is for him. Total isolation in a prison cell until he dies? His entire family in prison, too? Will he care? Or would a public trial and execution pierce his tiny, hate filled brain the second before he was gunned down or hanged?

18

So Joe Rogan is "transphobic" because he believes trans women shouldn't be able to compete in women's sports? By that measure, about 90% of the American public is transphobic.

19

Rogan is the typical "independent" who is "just asking questions" that just so happen to coincidentally align with the backwater conservative ideology used by your run of the mill moron or Russian bot.

20

I forgot to mention he "thinks for himself."

22

@17 If (when) Trump goes to prison, there's a real quandary. Does the Secret Service still provide protection? Does he have to go into solitary to get that protection? Or is he in the general prison population? I'm not even sure which would be worse for him--leaving him alone with the voices in his head or leaving him to interact with a prison population, even if it's a low-security one. Would the Secret Service intervene in a fight if his life wasn't threatened? What about verbal abuse? I look forward to having that moral debate.

To any commenters following, please no prison rape jokes. Because rape is never funny.

24

Mainly commenting here to thank schmacky for two pithy and sane statements @2. I'm just so pleasantly surprised anymore when I come across sensible thinking in the public sphere.

Speaking of the public sphere, I'm not particularly a fan of Durkan, even though I voted for her. And I think there's nobody out there working harder to reelect Donald Trump than Kshama Sawant. But recall efforts like the ones against the two of them are evidence of a populace that isn't mature enough for this representative democracy thing.

As for Bill Barr, I think he's graduating from Trump's Roy Cohn to Trump's Rasputin. Clearly he's the sort of guy who would have been perfectly happy disappearing thousands of citizens in Argentina or Chile back in the day.

25

Cal Anderson and Capitol Hill will continue to be a shit show until the city gets some real leadership on the Council, at the Mayor's office, and especially the city prosecutor.

Clear out the tweakers, arrest/prosecute the dealers and send the people who won't take help somewhere else, like California, New York, or Alabama.

Of course, none of this will happen so Seattle will continue to crumble away.

26

@17: Entire family in prison? Surely you wouldn't want to include Barron and Tiffany.

27

@25:

By that logic, what's to prevent CA or NY or AL from sending their "tweakers...dealers...and people who won't take help" HERE? This is precisely the problem with such a strategy: if everyone is just going to sweep their local problem under some other state's rug it'll only result in a lot of lumpy floor coverings.

If you're not willing to recognize the root causes of the social problems around addiction, mental health and homelessnes, they're never going to go away no matter how many times you try to relocate people who make you uncomfortable instead of actually providing them with help - even if they're not wiling to accept it voluntarily.

28

@26 Tiffany seemed to be distancing herself from the shitshow until the RNC so I say throw her on the pile.

At the end of 2020 we are going to find out the whole year took place in Barrons snow globe.

29

Just a reminder that today is National Physicians Suicide Awareness Day.

Be nice to your doctors

30

I thought it was a summer of love??

31

What is "deceptive" prose?

32

I used to believe that Tiffany had the good sense to distance herself from her grifting clan/Klan. But then she shows up at the RNC & proves she's every bit the disreputable c*** that the rest of them are. No sympathy/slack for her.

Barron may still be innocent of the whole thing. Best case for him is that his entire family gets tossed in jail for life or better (xina kinda nailed this part), and he can get adopted by some actual human beings. Maybe after about 50 years of therapy he'll be OK.

34

From CHSB (always a better source than the Stranger):

SPD is not identifying the suspect found dead inside the pump station but people familiar with the camp have identified him as Travis Berge.

CHS is not identifying the woman killed until we can confirm her identity with authorities after the family notification process is complete.

Berge had been living on the streets around Capitol Hill since at least 2015 and has a lengthy criminal record including convictions on several felonies. His most recent felony case involved more than $5,000 in damage to window panes at the King County Jail Community Center for Alternative Programs. At the time, prosecutors said he had been jailed in King County 47 times since 2013 and “was not interested in mental health or substance abuse treatment.”

Berge had become a symbol for law and order advocates in Seattle and the “Seattle is Dying” cause after he was featured in the early 2019 KOMO news reports focused on repeat offenders in the city. Berge had become a regular character for local TV news. “He’s become a symbol of how Seattle and King County handle homeless habitual offenders,” KOMO reported on Berge last June. CHS first met Berge in January of 2015 as we reported on the coming demolition and redevelopment of the Piecora’s property along E Madison. Berge, who identified himself as Traveltron, had set up a sprawling, junk-filled camp next to the old building.

36

Too bad the crimes of the rich and powerful are not listed here. They refuse to remedy themselves of any treatment. They cause poverty and misery but these cowards would rather focus on one mentally ill homeless person.

37

35 Jail is not a service idiot. Except for the rich and powerful.

Barr should stay out of the Durkan debacle. I am all for her resignation though.

40

35 You appear to be a major dumbfuck with no understanding of reality.

41

@39 & 40: I’m pretty sure if we loaded the homeless, mentally ill and drug addicted on to box cars to be sent to camps in parts unknown both old guesty and Swiftress would be fine with it. I mean it wouldn’t be a like a mask mandate or anything....

42

@37: Ahem. @35 wasn't saying jail is the answer and posed a ubiquitous question in our society that neither you or @39 posses the intellectual fortitude to address.

43

@21 Professor, interesting - thanks for sharing.

One thing everyone should keep in mind in the twitter age is how a few people can be inflated into a majority of people. There are now constant headlines of "twitter outrage" where tweets (or similar) are often provided as "proof" that it's somehow representative of the many.

From what I’ve seen, there are many transgender people who understand the complexity of the issue and it’s not just a knee-jerk reaction to exclusion for them. However, their voices are unlikely to be counted because they’re not “activists”, and they’re not outrage tweeting about it (and often they really just don't care that much about sports to begin with).

44

@40 35's comment may not reflect your opinion but it wasnt that different from many other Seattleites fed up with the general tolerance of street crime brought on by expansive homeless encampments. Does not make them a "dumbfuck."

46

It is really quite a chuckle to hear every day in the news and comment sections from the intellectually dumbest and morally bankrupt people in society lecturing everyone else on intellectual fortitude and moral clarity.

It would be LOL funny aside from all their political decisions leading to Republicans willfully killing 200,000+ Americans, our air poisoned from climate fire smoke, and on and on and on. All the economic and social programs that Democrats try to enact to right society's ills before they become society's ills, and Republicans fight to stop every single one of them. And then they bitch and complain about society's ills.

This can be pointed out to them a hundred times over, and they will never get it. Maybe because they lack intellectual fortitude and moral clarity?

50

We all know @33 lacks the intellectual integrity to grasp this, but just in case someone else is interested in some actual history ... we've been here before:

https://virus.stanford.edu/uda/fluresponse.html

https://www.history.com/news/spanish-flu-pandemic-response-cities

https://www.history.com/news/1918-spanish-flu-mask-wearing-resistance

Interesting stuff!

51

Commentary outside one's comfort bubble is threatening for some of us. Rather than addressing the matter in good spirited debate, they regress into a sophomoric response of talking points sandwiched between put downs and insults.

53

@51 raindrop, LOL. This has been explained to you a thousand times. Most of us are not going to waste our time trying to have a serious discussion with trolls, morons and crazy people - we've all tried it before and it always ends the same. It's like trying to have a serious discussion with a toddler. That we're going over this yet again just proves it.

And you won't go away no matter how many times you've been shown the door. So we're left with either ignoring you or insulting you.

54

@51:

Fuck off, gobshite.

57

@53: So you recognized yourself in @51.

I rest my case.

59

Somebody who has been jailed 47 times and refuses any treatment or help, and keeps committing crimes. You're right, I don't give a shit about such people. Send them to Alabama.

62

It's not one bit sociopathic. The guy just killed his lover and drowned in vat of bleach. If you feel so strongly about it, you can invite such people to live in your house while you try to educate them. Shortly afterwards, you would be "hiztory".

65

@63 Hahahaha, you are an idiot. Fine, 3 strikes, send them to jail forever. I'm all for helping people who will help themselves and charity for those who need such help, but if you're an unreformed tweaker in and out of jail every couple months and committing crimes of violence, I've got nothing for you but a lifetime prison sentence.

66

@38. If one could refrain from using "schizophrenic" as an insult, that would be great.

67

@64 just because someone suffers from mental health and addiction issues and refuses treatment that doesn’t mean they forfeit their rights.

68

@17 xina for the WIN! Thank you and bless you for mailing it again. I have nothing more to add.

69

@68: Dang it! I meant "nailing it". Seriously--xina, bless you for being so consistently spot on. :)

70

So--are Trumpty Dumpty and its Enabler, Bill Barrf, duking it out for the title of Mr. Gross Tonnage? It's gonna take an eighteen wheeler to haul DJT's sorry fat ass out of office.
January 18, 2021: BEEP.....BEEP.....BEEP.........

72

Can a long-time methamphetamine user ever be "rehabilitated" back into society? They say meth alters your brain permanently; however, I don't know if that is something they say to keep people from trying it or truth.
What to do with all the people you can't force into rehab or mental health facilities but who clearly need it and are more than a nuisance? Seems Seattle has been struggling with that for a great while.
It supposedly is very difficult to involuntarily commit someone to a mental health facility and keep them there, so that is out of the question. I have no idea what the answer is for these poor souls, jailing them is not compassionate but neither is leaving them to fend for themselves on the street. Some would say open a housing facility with support services to house the mentally ill, but that sounds a lot like involuntary commitment.
As far as addiction goes, there seem to be quite a few deferral options for offenders these days and they are expanding. What to do with those who are so gone in the depths of addiction that they refuse to enter deferral programs or repeatedly violate the rules of them? I believe there needs to be several good rehabilitation facilities that these individuals can be forced to enter and remain in by order of the court. This isn't a guarantee that they will get better, obviously, but it does provide them a shot at improving their life at no cost to them and at least gives them a shot at sobriety. Having had my own struggles with addiction in the past, I can tell you that it is no way to live a life. It is miserable and I am glad that I had people in my life who were able to make me see that and I had the resources/doctors to get better. Now, I don't do drugs. Just weed.
tl;dr uhh...no easy answers, I guess

73

@45 involuntary treatment doesn't work. You want a solution, pay for housing. I pay taxes and I'm willing to do that. I don't want them in the fucking park, and I don't really think sweeping them is very nice either. More than happy to pay.

74

Here's another solution: legalize it. Legalize all drugs, but for the hard drugs, only make them available to people who are already addicts. This is what Switzerland does. They literally give out heroin, in controlled doses, and provide services to the addicts so they can get clean at their own pace. of course that will never happen because this is America and we can't have nice things. So lunatics on the left and right will continue to bang their heads up again against 12-step and forced treatment which never ever works. People have to want to get clean. You can't force that.

75

@60: "And not one person has claimed that letting people camp out in parks is a solution."

Our City Council just eliminated all funds for the Navigation Team, so they seem to be happy with "letting people camp out in parks" as "a solution."

"It's just the only humane option..."

Allowing a person to commit multiple felonies en route to dying in a vat of bleach is "just the only humane option"?!? Do you actually know what the words "only" and "humane" really mean?

A person who squats, steals, and assaults belongs in jail, to protect the rest of us from him -- and, in this case, him from himself. We have jails, and we can use them to protect ourselves whilst we find better solutions.

77

@76: "So lock up all the homeless mentally ill people."

No, I wrote, "[a] person who squats, steals, and assaults belongs in jail..." Please feel free to argue with that point anytime you like. I won't engage your silly straw man.

"And then don’t raise taxes and don’t pay for it..."

Seattle spends over $100M annually on the homeless, and the problem just keeps getting worse. So, why has all of our previous spending failed? We need to know why, before we throw yet more money at the problem.

(I'm still curious: do you really believe that leaving a person to die in a vat of bleach is "just the only humane option"? Because that's what all of our previous spending on the homeless has bought.)


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