Facebook? Really? Fnarf's on Facebook and then Charles links to it going to former Stranger staffer Dominic Holden's FB page. All you guys keep giving Zuck head again and again, tsk tsk.

Why is a recall ELECTION "wildly undemocratic"? People petitioned for it, people voted for it - what about this is undemocratic. It seems the definition of democracy, albeit messy.

You will be pleased to know, Raindrop, that I post on Facebook because I got kicked off Twitter for calling a prominent Republican anti-vaxxer a mass murderer (which is the truth).

What's anti-democratic is deliberately maneuvering a special election in December of an off year in order to suppress the vote. Duh.

Fnarf!

Good to see you again Fnarf.

Aren't all the "Seattle is dying" folks moving to Texas? Good luck with that, you fucks.

The Underground Railroad always sounded really badass to me. Who's going to be our Harriet Tubman for abortions? I hope I can be a part of this.

@4: You were banned permanently or temporarily suspended?

@11: Not bulldozed but cleared efficiently and humanely.

@12 Leave no hair unsplit!

Charles, I trust you're not going to doxx any of us. Hiring security is expensive.

@5 Fnarf, that's the least of it, and the weakest argument against it. What's undemocratic about it is that her "crimes" didn't warrant a recall in the first place. They did not pose such a danger to the democratic institutions and rule of law that she must immediately be removed from office.

She was democratically elected with free and FAIR elections (unlike in many areas of the country). If she gets re-elected, that will show a mix of two things...

First, that the Dems are such epic failures that desperate people on the left will turn to anybody, no matter how terrible - that's the danger of desperation.

Second, that there are a lot of well-meaning left-wing idiots out there, as exhibited daily by the SLOG writes and commenters. She's a menace. But as long as the elections are fair, it's up to her opponents to convince people to vote for someone else.

I don't think there's anyone currently on The Stranger writing staff that can quite capture how fucking horrific the SCOTUS decision is.

@17 Anthro, "Was it abuse? Well, that is based on each person's perspective but the court oked it so that is the process we have."

Yes it is. But that just means there's a lot of people's perspectives that are seriously fucked up. You can point to the crumbling of our democracy nationally, and say "well, the courts oked it, so just part of our democracy," and here we are, on the cusp of being a "democracy" in name only.

To be clear, I'm not saying everyone who voted to recall her has a fucked up perspective - I think the vast majority of people who voted for the recall would have never have bothered to put the energy into a recall in the first place - but they were given a ballot, and just wanted her the fuck gone, and didn't think much about the implications for democracy.

Hi Fnarf!
Glad to see you are back!
And yes, the recall was a colossal waste of time and money, which has backfired on the recall petitioners!

@17:

The courts are also okaying returning women in this country to the status of third-class citizens with fewer rights than some inanimate objects, so you know I guess that's just a matter of "each person's perspective", too right?

The great Mike Nesmith has died.

Biden campaigned on the promise to codify Roe v Wade. All that voted for him might want to "hold his feet to the fire" (like you promised to do) rather than piss and moan about Texas. Dems are set up to do it, with a majority across the board, and their voters seem to be resorting to the usual practice of refusing to take responsibility for themselves while blaming everyone else (and Susan Sarandon). Hold your reps accountable. Or STFU.

@24,

How's he supposed to do that? I'd be fine w/ him adding an additional half-dozen or however many justices would be needed to seat a judiciary whose ideology more accurately reflects that of the populace at large, but he doesn't have the legislative mandate to pull that off and I'm not sure how else it could be done.

Charles - That was a FILTHY beat! Loved it.

Love your takes Charles! One thought is that movies that celebrate individual achievements (e.g. King Richard) while placing individuality as the prime factor, do not necessarily absolve society. One could make the case the victory is the overcoming an unjust society.

My primary point is we should celebrate individual strength without structuring our society around it. But I wonder how independent the two concepts can be, how to balance them.

Thanks again, appreciate you sharing your views.

King Richard, inspirational story? Abandons some kids, as if they don’t also deserve his love & attention. Sounds like a nasty piece of work.

Well we all knew it before but it's official now. SCOTUS is corrupt, criminal, and compromised. Roberts released a "strongly worded opinion" OH NOES! Words are meaningless. If the Supreme Court no longer wishes to uphold the law of the land, then the Supreme Court should be made irrelevant.

Our entire democracy (farce that it was) is also dead. Who knew that the United States would choose fascism in less than 250 years? But then again, I guess that's what happens when white men and the white women who believe their whiteness protects them from the misogyny (it doesn't) choose fascism instead of existing in a society that wants equality for all. Everything this country ever said it was was a lie and now it's over.

Xina, I’m not a citizen and feel so rage full at this bs from the Supreme Court. But women/ womb Havers & their allies can’t let this pass. Time to get into the streets, get political. Don’t give up, even as Democracy US style looks very shaky. The younger women need to vote every one of these fuckers out.

Well said GG @35. So many are lagging behind & have no way of gaining riches for themselves or their family , that focusing that rage on ‘other’ is easy. We see how Capitalism has murdered the people & the earth. Why can’t they? Because identity comes first & the new cultural ‘ changes’ challenge identity.

And welcome back, Fnarf! Even if it's only for a couple of comments you've already raised the level of discourse by a measurable degree. I mean, I completely understand why you felt the need to bail on this increasingly fetid cesspool that passes for a comments section on SLOG these days, but dang, some of us sure miss having you around.

@4 - AS much as I approve of "calling a prominent Republican anti-vaxxer a mass murderer, " you'll have to be more specific than that.

These boys are a challenge to me, COMTE. @37.
Since Dan Savage changed SL format to a dog’s breakfast one, I’ve moved on over to the Political pages,
frightening as they are.
And here are all these wayward males, needing transforming.
I worry about men, because so many commit suicide, one of my own sons attempted it. He’s doing well now. Another threatened it & was even going to video the lead up. I spent much time with him & yes he’s gone on anti-D pills. And is going well.
Ffs. What is this? Patriarchal training can be untaught,
and empathy needs to be part of it.

Then the other side to suicide is killing other people. Which our men have done forever. Domestic murders, school shootings, War. Something is really going wrong with how we rear our boys.
/ Can US citizens do a recall petition on Brett? We all saw what a disgusting sexist sham his investigation was.
Democrats do too much hand wringing , and not enough good political action.
GG @35 is right, you all have to fight to get your rights back. Mock boomers, yet we did it, fought back against the bastards & forged many changes in many areas. A lot trashed by capitalist forces over the years. So time to major push back, again.

@5: "What's anti-democratic is deliberately maneuvering a special election in December of an off year in order to suppress the vote. Duh."

Yes. And we apologize for that blatant manipulation. We'll try again next year and work it into the regular election cycle. Will that be OK?

Welcome back, Fnarf! Good to have to have your return in the comment thread. You're better off with The Stranger. I have neither been a fan nor a subscriber of Twitter, and am especially glad to have skipped the ugly recent four-year shitshow that was Trump's fanbase.

Rest in peace, Michael "Wool Hat" Nesmith at not quite 79. Thanks for the music and consistently spot on comic timing.
Micky Dolenz, at 76, is now the only Monkee remaining from the original 1966-68 ScreenGems TV show.

@32 xina and @34 @39 LavaGirl: Well said on the moral outrage that is officially the Neofascist Extreme Court, RepubliKKKan men and their bitches. Agreed, seconded, and thirded. My GOP misandry just increased 1000%. When everyone and everything RepubliKKKan is dead we will have just cause for celebration.

@45: Correction: Fnarf: It's good to have your return to The Stranger comment thread.

@32 xina, and @34 & @39 LavaGirl: It is now undoubtedly time for me to wear my pink pussy hat, more than ever. Who would have guessed that my full bilateral hysterectomy in 2020 would be so well timed? I don't know who to feel sorrier for----younger women and adolescent girls in their child bearing years, or little girls from birth to their preteen years who have yet to experience their first menstrual period. Death to the GOP!

@10 Brent Gumbo and @40 LavaGirl: I like your thinking! Sign me up.
I'll be the woman with the cardboard sign the reads "I shouldn't have to keep fighting your shit!"

@18 Pretty in Pink: +1 I'm still reeling over Hannah Krieg's bimbotic fluff piece over whether or not Doug Ericksen is okay after being flown to Florida from EL Salvador by private plane, and oh gee, is he going to make it? He's not returning my calls! Is something wrong with his ventilator?

I'm glad that Seattle voters could easily read through RepubliKKKan bullshit and vote wisely. Very much like the recall attempt by RepubliKKKans to oust California Governor Gavin Newsom, this entire recall was nothing but wasteful bullshit.