Comments

2

re: cargo washing up on shores.

One of the things I've long thought interesting to consider is whether prohibitively large tariffs could actually serve a reasonable purpose if only in that they'd provide a much stronger incentive for the world's peoples to source and manufacture their own products when possible. This would significantly reduce the need for the environmental catastrophe that is international shipping and commerce. I'd thought it interesting that whenever donnie dumbass was adamantly promoting this aspect of his dumb "America First" tariff heavy agenda, maybe there was a silver lining to it.

On the other hand, I'm also pretty sure manufacturing cheap-ass crap to be shipped overseas to cheap-ass consumers is maybe the only thing that offers any hope for a source of meager existence for lots of third world citizens. I guess it's a mixed bag.

3

There may be no redeeming Facebook, but boy, John Cleese alone redeems Twitter. That last tweet got me to chortle a little more than I should have.

Speaking of tweets, that one coming from the Seattle DSA in support of Nikkita Oliver reminds me of the irony that Oliver is both supported by the DSA and opposed by the DSA. (The former being the Democratic Socialists of America and the latter being the Downtown Seattle Association.) And I do find it interesting that in this campaign I'm seeing more use than usual of the appeal, "Vote for me because so-and-so opposes me." Which I guess is still better than "Vote for me because my opponent is supported by so-and-so."

11

I'm afraid those screens in the Link stations are still more of a set of guidelines than real-time info. If you want to know when the next train is arriving, wait for the blast of air out of the tunnel - it's about a minute out.

12

Arnold Schwarzenegger owes his political career to Big Energy. Enron's artificial energy crisis (orchestrated partly by Dick Cheney) led directly to Gray Davis' recall. It's nice to see Arnold on the right side of history now, but he's got some pretty fucked up skeletons.

16

Now we just need working escalators and some way to determine which train is leaving first when there are two present at Northgate.

17

@7 is it possible to have a preference without being "biased"? Or are you treating them as synonyms?

22

@20,

Can you provide any examples of instances when Nathalie's coverage went beyond reporting or endangered her peers? Stranger obviously has a very well pronounced ideological bias that's reflected in much of their reporting, but I'm pretty sure a large segment of their angst laden readership allows for their own biases to cloud their judgment in how they perceive the paper and it's writers.

23

@20 is just sad they're losing, because Facts >> Fiction

25

And I'll also note that I know plenty of folks will always point to the fact the current crop of writers is far MORE radical and left wing than those who preceded them. Though I call bullshit on that. Ever since his arrival, Rich has struck me as very much a carbon copy of Paul Constant (and I don't read much of Paul's post Stranger writing, but when I have, this has been confirmed as accurate.) Moreover, it's worth noting that none of us would even know who in fuck Kshama Sawant even is were in not for the efforts of Goldy here nearly a decade ago.

29

@25: Though similar, Rich Smith is more acerbic than Paul Constant, and less comprehensive at incorporating other ideas and perceptions. Slog articles back then weren't so angry.

31

@27 -- "realised" is a perfectly acceptable spelling of the word, and more common in England (like colour). In that tweet, the only typo was "has".

32

@7 -- Nice try. Oliver is endorsed by several Democratic organizations (like the 11th Legislative District Democrats, the 43rd District Democrats and the King County Young Democrats). Nelson isn't endorsed by any. If you honestly think party affiliation matters, then Oliver is the clear choice.

33

@32 you have it backwards. The fact that local Dem districts changed their bylaws to be able to endorse candidates that are not part of the Dem party shows how little credibility we should give to their endorsements. Oliver is not a Dem, she is a member of the Peoples Party and Sawant is part of DSA. The platform and policy positions of these groups is not aligned with Dems and there is no way they should have earned an endorsement. Those are the facts.

Most of these local groups have a very low participation rate so it is very easy for them to be taken over and used as a propaganda tool which is what has happened. Hopefully voters in those areas realize this and start participating to take back their party. In the meantime I’ll give their endorsements the consideration they deserve, None at all.

34

@33,

Nonsense. If you're operating within the confines of a two party system, endorsing the candidate whose values most closely align with your own should be expected and even encouraged. We're the ones consistently and far more vocally advocating for an overhaul of that dumbass system, but we also have no choice but to adhere it's dumbass structure until that happens.

35

@34 nope. If you’re a political organization you endorse and support members of that organization. If you want to endorse Oliver create a local version of the Peoples Party. By having a Dem group endorse a non Dem it normalizes their extreme positions and makes it seem they have widespread support of the party. They do not. You can not expand on a 2 party system by corrupting one time of the parties. If you want alternatives form an alternative and convince people to join you. Deception and manipulation are tools of those who know they can’t do that.

36

@33: Sawant is actually a member of Socialist Alternative, which is a rival to to the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). (Callback to "Life of Brian," with "Splitter!")

@35: Does the People's Party even exist?

37

@36 thanks for the correction. The Seattle Peoples party has a website so I assume they are still active. There is another global Peoples Party that list Susan Surandan as a member but I’m guessing they are unrelated.

39

@35 DSA is not a branch of the Democratic Party or a political party. Being democratic doesn't necessarily mean "the Democratic Party." They can endorse across groups as they please, just as any other organization that makes endorsements. I hope that helps you sort things out. But of course you don't really want to.

40

@39 of course being democratic doesn't mean the Democratic Party but when you are speaking about local organizations aligned with political parties that is absolutely what it means. Who do you think the district dems are? Here is the blurb direct from their website:

The 43rd District Democrats is a volunteer organization, working to connect Democrats in Washington's 43rd Legislative District with elected officials, grassroots organizations, and effective advocacy for our party. The purpose of the 43rd Dems is to promote the Democratic Party and to increase participation by educating individuals about the principles, goals and candidates of the Democratic Party.

Note the reference to the Democratic Party. Stop being obtuse about this. The 43rd district Dems changed their bylaws in 2019 so they could endorse Sawant a non-Dem and someone who actively works to undermine the Democratic party. These locals orgs have no credibility and anyone who listens to their endorsements is being manipulated.


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