Posted Mon, Oct 17, 11:02 a.m.

The problem is in Knute's final statement: "Leaders are not an end in themselves, but the folks who can help take us to a better place." Leaders have taken on business' short-term thinking, and only seem to focus on doing things that they can point to when they want to ...

Posted Mon, Sep 19, 8:27 a.m.

David, best of luck on this new fund-raising drive. I'm betting that, like myself, people are going to keep wanting Crosscut's insightful articles and opinions. For those of us who are only in the Pacific Northwest in spirit, Crosscut takes us back again, if only for a few minutes in ...

Posted Thu, Dec 9, 8:03 a.m.

Two sides of the same argument: Tom Brokaw wrote in the New York Times about his native South Dakota: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/20/opinion/20brokaw.html?_r=2&scp;=2&sq;=Brokaw&st;=cse The Daily Yonder (subtitle: Keep It Rural) argued he was wrong: http://www.dailyyonder.com/brokaw-says-big-counties-cheaper-small-they-arent/2009/04/29/2088

Posted Fri, Dec 3, 8:47 a.m.

Down here in California, where we *really* can't fund road repair, Caltrans (the state's department of transportation) donated $600,000 to the creation of a county park. Now, it turns out that as part of its "mission statement" on its web site is a commitment to the stewardship of open spaces. ...

Posted Tue, Nov 9, 8:36 a.m.

Liberal senator Alan Cranston served California for almost a quarter-century, not because he was a great senator, but because the California Republicans consistently nominated right-wing nut jobs to run against him. The tradition continues. This year, the Republicans nominated Carly Fiorina, who was endorsed by Sarah Palin, over Tom Campbell, ...

Posted Thu, Oct 7, 6:08 p.m.

For more about the DeHavilland story from a fictional standpoint, read Nevil Shute's "No Highway" or watch the Jimmy Stewart movie based on it, "No Highway in the Sky." As for the cultural impact of the 707, my favorite comes from the baseball world. With the debut of the 707, ...

Posted Mon, Aug 30, 1:16 p.m.

It's clear from the last administration that the Republicans aren't against big government -- they're against big Democratic government. They're happy sticking their noses into people's bedrooms and women's wombs, and funding defense projects. I think most U.S. citizens don't care whether it's big government or small government, as long ...

Posted Tue, Jun 8, 7:34 a.m.

We are not going to solve the shortage of primary care physicians until we solve the problem of outrageous malpractice insurance fees. The cost of malpractice insurance drove my internist spouse out of private practice once and for all. That's why there's no money in primary care -- it's not ...

Posted Tue, May 4, 8:01 a.m.

A wonderful piece, but I'm really waiting for the day when someone being gay or black or female or whatever stops being pertinent enough to call out in a story. On the other hand, the fact that Dr. P and his partner had been together 47 years -- THAT'S newsworthy.

Posted Thu, Apr 29, 5:45 p.m.

The idea of a small food mart -- something along the lines of Philadelphia's Reading Market, Toronto's St. Lawrence Market, or Boston's Quincy Market -- would be great ... if Pike Place Market didn't already exist.

Posted Tue, Mar 16, 7:35 a.m.

I was going to rail that numbered streets were not just for the mathematically challenged. They are a great comfort to both newcomers and the directionally challenged. You always know how far away you are from making your next turn. Then I realized that GPS devices have eliminated that need ...

Posted Fri, Mar 12, 6:56 a.m.

I'm convinced that Glenn Beck is the bastard child of Captain Kangaroo and Dancing Bear, if only because the audiences of both shows have the intellectual capacity of five-year-olds.

Posted Mon, Dec 14, 9:12 a.m.

I always said that Stanford was a great place to go to school, except for having to take classes. So why not eliminate the professors (who cost money) and keep the students (who pay money)? Isn't that more economically sound? Of course, the parents may wonder what they're getting for ...

Posted Mon, Dec 14, 9:07 a.m.

It's at this point, after finishing an article such as Ann's, that I turn to my wife and say, "Thank you," which in our family is shorthand for "Thank you for not wanting to have children."

Posted Wed, Nov 11, 7:19 a.m.

I never thought we'd learn who Deep Throat was, but we did. Somebody will say something on their deathbed. Besides, no one's investigated my favorite theory -- that Jackie had him whacked for cheating on her.

Posted Thu, Oct 8, 9:11 a.m.

Well, it's not quite Swift's "A Modest Proposal," but it's distressingly close!

Posted Thu, Aug 27, 7:20 a.m.

Okay, I'm going to guess based on timing, surname, and funeral guests that Jackson's father was Senator Scoop Jackson, for whom Sea-Tac was briefly renamed. But it would have been nice to have it explicit rather than implicit.

Posted Sat, Jul 18, 7:15 a.m.

Ironically, I believe it was Walter Cronkite who said (and I'm paraphrasing): "More amazing than a man walking on the moon was the fact that we sat in our living rooms watching it happen."

Posted Mon, Jun 8, 8:33 a.m.

I'm not sure it's a GM moment as much as it is a Coca-Cola moment. Starbucks first made me hesitate with the swill it calls its Pike Place Roast. It was like tasting New Coke. That, combined with the economy, has made me less of a Starbucks devotee. Either way, ...

Posted Fri, May 8, 12:24 p.m.

How does a thinking man's frat boy know how big Jimi Hendrix's erect penis was?