Posted Fri, Nov 6, 1:49 p.m.

In a city that prides itself on its tolerance, there isn't much for opinions that stray from the politically correct. Political and economic libertarians, free-market conservatives, people of faith, and others like them are increasingly unwelcome in the Seattle area because what we say is uncomfortable to hear. The truth ...

Posted Thu, Aug 20, 8:05 a.m.

One of the best come-from-behind victories I ever heard in baseball (I was listening on the radio, so I can't say I saw it) was by the old Seattle Pilots during that one season. It was early enough along in the season since I was listening in a dorm room ...

Posted Wed, Jul 29, 1:56 p.m.

SSgt. Powers' death (he was one of the Band of Brothers of Stephan Ambrose and HBO fame) did receive some media attention. But if he hadn't been the subject of a best seller and a popular mini-series, would that have happened. An open question... The Piper

Posted Mon, Jul 27, 4:16 p.m.

I had a letter to the editor on this issue in The Seattle Times on-line edition a few weeks ago: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/northwestvoices/2009429691_backyard_cottages_is_seattle_g.html. And one in the old P-I three years ago: http://www.seattlepi.com/opinion/280976_ltrs14.html Time to increase the stock of affordable housing, and backyard cottages is a way to do it. But why ...

Posted Thu, Jul 2, 1:20 p.m.

We either believe in a color-blind society, or we don't. Whe we engage in gimmickry on behalf of it we give the lie to our pronouncements in favor of it. There's a difference between working to elevate some in the society to equality versus dragging others down, which is what ...

Posted Tue, Jun 30, 7:43 a.m.

What's good for all of us in the state is that we're left alone to act in our personal self-interest. That's called liberty, and that's what the country was founded upon, the protection and preservation of which is the first priority of government. The Piper

Posted Mon, Jun 29, 4:38 p.m.

Good post, Floyd. And politicians wonder why the public regards them as so much pond scum. Sheesh. The Piper

Posted Thu, Jun 11, 7:32 a.m.

Cannot say them? Odd...I say them all the time. The Piper

Posted Tue, May 26, 5:48 a.m.

I watched Taking Chance twice over the weekend, once when I stumbled upon it while channel surfing, then again Monday night with my son SFC Mark. He remarked on its authenticity, especially when it came to uniforms. The fatigues of 2004 are different than those of subsequent years. It's a ...

Posted Wed, Apr 8, 4:52 p.m.

Sorry, EJS, your "argument" is rationalizatio... Civilized societies do not tolerate this type of behavior. When they do, they cease being civilized since they've ceded the setting of standards and norms to the lowest (read "criminal") common deominator. Pathetic... If you wish to avoid the stigma of incarceration, don't do ...

Posted Fri, Apr 3, 8:27 a.m.

Sadly, what Ted Van Dyke reports isn't limited to gutting Brian Sonntag's performance audit efforts. Sleight-of-hand budget tricks are an everyday Olympia occurance with the law or the will of the people or both ignored. Try to get a Legislator to explain the $9 billion so-called "deficit." You'll hear a ...

Posted Thu, Apr 2, 11:18 a.m.

There's a special place in the sewers of hell for people who don't like cats. The Piper

Posted Thu, Apr 2, 9:45 a.m.

Screw this noise...Just one more assault on our freedoms and liberty all in the name of the new high god environmentalism. If we succumb to every environmentalist demand forced upon us, we will become serfs in what once was a free country. Our rights and freedoms will evaporate - no ...

Posted Mon, Mar 30, 4:31 p.m.

The hue and cry for more money is like crying both "The sky is falling," and "Wolf!" at the same time. There is no shortage of revenue in Olympia. But there is an over abundance of wasteful and profligate spending ($150,000 to commemorate the 1909 Alaska-Pacific-Yukon Exposition). Look at the ...

Posted Mon, Feb 9, 10:18 a.m.

Hey Ivan! FYI...From 1975 to 1978, I was a business agent/organizer for Service Employees International Union, Local #38 in Tacoma (since absorbed into SEIU, Local #6). I organized health care facilities and rest homes, janitorial contractors, building maintenance workers of all types, and others, then bargained on their behalf for ...

Posted Wed, Feb 4, 9:10 a.m.

I was born in Pocatello, and haven't been back since leaving at six-weeks-old. Driving through on the way home from Yellowstone in 1995 doesn't count. The Piper

Posted Fri, Jan 30, 1:19 p.m.

DJ, We live in the realities we create...If you wish to verify my bona fides as an investigative journalist, go to www.Ferry-Tales.org, and read the stories I've written about Washington State Ferries. Again...thanks for reading...and for commenting. You're helping spike my numbers. The Piper

Posted Wed, Jan 28, 11:21 p.m.

DJ... Read my bio - The site is still up because I simply haven't taken it down as of yet. Thanks for reading... The Piper

Posted Tue, Jan 27, 10:49 a.m.

The idea of community is a good one - as long as it's a civil one. One thing electronic communication has done is to revive the art of letter writing. In the days before e-mail, did we communicate in a writen form to the extent we do now? And in ...

Posted Mon, Jan 26, 2:51 p.m.

When it comes to leadership on transportation issues, including reform of transportation governence, no one can hold a candle to my good friend Rep. Deb Eddy. I'm here to tell you that this woman has been there, done that on these issues as long as she's been in the legislature. ...

Posted Mon, Jan 12, 6:21 a.m.

The irony of the sale of the Chinook and Snohomish, the passenger-only ferries at issue, by Washington State Ferries is that during the sale process, WSF scrambled all over the place to lease, at top-dollar rates, POFs to cover runs since it hasn't enough auto ferries to go around. When ...

Posted Tue, Jan 6, 3:42 p.m.

There's not an editorial board in the state in support of de-funding performance audits. This is one issue Olympia-watchers of all political persuasions can rally around. If you peel back legislative opposition to them, you'll find some state agency pulling strings. The Department of Transportation, and more specifically Washigton State ...

Posted Sun, Jan 4, 1:17 p.m.

I have a friend, who is a former trial lawyer and now a journalist, who lives in New Mexico. He told me months ago to be on the lookout for stuff like this from Bill Richardson. He also tells me, "a poor politician is a poor politician" then he ticks ...

Posted Thu, Jan 1, 4:43 p.m.

Ross, "But a win is a win is a win. There is very little left to discuss." Isn't that a quote from the Monorail Project? The Piper

Posted Thu, Jan 1, 4:41 p.m.

As one of the "old team that is worn out," I'm again reminded of the wisdom never to take political advice from someone who never votes the way you do in the first place. Thanks, Floyd, but...no thanks. Becoming pale imitations of Democrats only causes voters to opt for the ...

Posted Thu, Dec 25, 6:50 a.m.

Here's a statistic I'd like to see: How many emergency vehicles (ambulance, police, fire) were prevented, or seriously delayed, from getting to where they needed to go because of road conditions? Any sick people who got sicker or died? Calls for police help that went unanswered such that, say, a ...

Posted Wed, Dec 17, 8:15 a.m.

Yarrow, Knock wood...an in depth investigation of WSDOT's Nickel Package efforts and the budgetary shell game it plays are on my list of journalistic to-dos for 2009 Thanks for the tip, however. The Piper

Posted Wed, Dec 17, 8:09 a.m.

Deb, "It's unlikely that a party headed by Gov. Palin will attract significant suburban moderates anytime soon." When suburban moderates become radicalized by the failure of bigger government solutions that will only erode their financial strength and cut into their freedoms, Sarah Palin will look increasingly attractive. Let's take the ...

Posted Wed, Dec 17, 5:26 a.m.

"WSDOT projects collectively consistently come very close to the construction budget." Do they now? Or does DOT move the budget numbers around from quarter to quarter to align them with spending such that at the end of the project-day, the Department can claim they were "on budget?" There is growing ...

Posted Tue, Dec 16, 8:04 a.m.

Crosscutfan, What truths have I ignored? And again, I don't investigate and report to push an agenda, I do so because the public both needs to know and has a right to know what is happening in an agency that ostensibly exists only to serve them - all of them. ...

Posted Tue, Dec 16, 7:02 a.m.

Crosscutfan, True, DOT plows Stevens pass...but it also plows other passes, roads, and highways at the same time. When it comes to building ferries, however, DOT, the parent agency of WSF, is close to abandoning plans to build ferries for any run EXCEPT one that carries but 3 percent of ...

Posted Mon, Dec 15, 8:51 p.m.

Mikemcc, No "e" at the end of my last name - say anything you wish about me, but please spell my name correctly. Regular Crosscut readers know my...uhm...orientations from the articles I've written and the comments I've posted. That my leanings run against the grain causes you concern. I will ...

Posted Mon, Dec 15, 3:59 p.m.

RichardinSeattle, I have several sources within Washington State Ferries. And I have interviewed people both within the system and outside of it who are involved in vessel construction. It is true that the WSF Island Home will differ from the Massachusetts Island Home. WSF's will be longer, won't have the ...

Posted Mon, Dec 15, 1:37 p.m.

Crosscutfan, The federal Jones Act prohibits having ferries built in Japan or Germany. Tax policy, whether state or federal, shouldn't be about creating jobs - that's best left to the private sector. If you want to stimulate the economy, cut taxes to spur investment and savings. The state's transportation policy, ...

Posted Fri, Dec 12, 12:02 p.m.

Ditto the sentiments. More than most, my interest in this, as evidenced by my Crosscut article cited by Daniel(greatly appreciated BTW), is personal, and so is Jack Creighton's. He's old Weyerhaeuser, while Steve Rogel is barely Weyerhaeuser - he came with WeyCo's purchase of Willamette Industries, a deal that wags ...

Posted Mon, Dec 8, 12:34 p.m.

Ted Van Dyke is right on the money in his criticism of public and quasi-public agencies and elected officials. The Washington Department of Transportation is a serial hater of performance audits, and that department has had its water on that subject carried in the Washington Legislature by some prominent elected ...

Posted Mon, Nov 17, 3:43 p.m.

What's really interesting about the I-35W collapse is how quickly it was rebuilt: complete design/build project in 339 days. That's traffic moving at full speed in well less than one year. For Christine Gregoire to wave a bloody shirt about the Minnesota bridge smacks of rank hypocrisy. Total up the ...

Posted Tue, Nov 11, 8:37 p.m.

It seems to me to be singularly inappropriate to discuss the legitimacy of any particular war on the day we set aside to honor the men and women who serve us and sacrifice for us by wearing their country's uniform. On any other day of the year, we can talk ...

Posted Wed, Nov 5, 8:58 a.m.

RCR, Don't gorge yourself at the feast. Sic transit gloria mundi. The Piper

Posted Wed, Nov 5, 8:28 a.m.

RCR, I am honored to be among such an august lineup - you even spelled my name correctly, which is more than what many of my creditors can do. Still, I do take marginal exception to being included with the gang at The Seattle Times - I'm still livid at ...

Posted Tue, Oct 28, 12:26 p.m.

Despite editorial perspectives that are left-wing and flat-earth in nature, I still like traditional newspapers, and I hate a lot of the changes I see in them. Two or three weeks ago, The Seattle Times stopped publishing all but one per day of the letters to the editor it receives. ...

Posted Mon, Oct 27, 12:06 p.m.

"I haven't seen incompetency or deep corruption out of her." I have - in addition to the smelley deal she cut with tribes on gambling, paid any attention to how she panders to public sector unions? They demand and receive fat wage increases despite the looming $3.2 billion shortfall in ...

Posted Fri, Oct 24, 4:47 p.m.

Matt, I have two sons in the military, and three other adult children, all of whom were raised in King County and all of whom instinctively know a rip-off when they see one. They've watched pork barrel programs like Prop 1 before, and they know that any politician who takes ...

Posted Fri, Oct 24, 11:16 a.m.

Spoke with my oldest, Sergeant First Class Mark, this morning. He'd received his absentee ballot and voted and he wanted to ask some questions and give me his thoughts. First...props to USPS since I Express Mailed it to him Monday from Bothell, and he got it in Bamburg, Germany Wednesday. ...

Posted Thu, Oct 23, 7:49 a.m.

Hey Reprobate, I don't much care what you say about me as long as you say it often and - SPELL MY NAME RIGHT! No "e" on the end - When people spell it like that it buggers the Google searches of my name and confuses my creditors. And, it's ...

Posted Thu, Oct 9, 9:26 a.m.

Music to my ears...: " I have long been irritated by the over-zealous efforts to 'clean the streets' by trying to Kirklandize downtown Seattle by limiting – or eliminating entirely – freestanding newboxes (this kind of over-protection is bad for places like Kirkland too, though not as bad as the ...

Posted Wed, Oct 8, 6:38 p.m.

RE: Van Dyk comment: You missed the point of the question...How can Obama give a tax cut to people who don't pay taxes? Sounds like gamesmanship to me. The Piper

Posted Wed, Oct 8, 2:31 p.m.

RE: Van Dyk comment: "Obama, presumably the next President, will have a doubly difficult job in January if he has not prepared public opinion beforehand for what is to come," which means BHO hasn't a clue as to what he's in for. John McCain isn't supposed to be the inspiring ...

Posted Wed, Oct 8, 2:14 p.m.

RE: emember the billboard?: How about asking whether we can afford the concessions extracted from us by government? And whether the IAM isn't going about killing what appears to be an increasingly irritated goose that looks close to quitting the laying of golden eggs for the strikeaholic machinists? We need ...

Posted Mon, Oct 6, 7:12 a.m.

You want spooky? I'll give you spooky!: Looking under the bed again for a boogie man, and this time woman, Casey? Raising the spectre of the evils of Huey P. Long/Willie Stark totalitarian populism by using a skyhook to reach for comparisons to Sarah Palin is stretching it. What's next? ...

Posted Fri, Oct 3, 4:59 p.m.

RE: Ted Van Dyk comment: So...what will be the standard? "Even minor violence, is preferable..." Let's see...How about a broken teeth barometer? A rioter who punches out someone or whacks them with an ax handle is allowed to take out two, but not three, teeth before police intervene? Or should ...

Posted Thu, Oct 2, 7:46 a.m.

He wouldn't be tolerated today: I had a late lunch yesterday at the Ivar's fish bar at Pier 54 while waiting to take the Bremerton ferry. Maybe a quart of malt vinegar on the fries and loads of cocktail sauce for the fish - and two cole slaws. I enjoyed ...

Posted Mon, Sep 29, 11:46 a.m.

Clueless Sound Transit: It can't even keep the small stuff straight: Here's a recent LTE I had published online at The Seattle Times: Very often, small things reveal greater, more profound truths. So it is in (a recent edition of The Times ) with a tiny snippet buried on page ...

Posted Sun, Sep 28, 9:57 a.m.

It ain't just bridges and roads...: When it comes to Christine Gregoire's "F" grades for transportation inaction, don't forget Washington State Ferries. Umpteen laws authorizing construction of new boats, increases in the gas tax (the Nickel Package), and a very sore-thumb-level clear and present need for new AND APPROPRIATE boats ...

Posted Sun, Sep 21, 10:01 a.m.

RE: Lainie and Piper,: I like the bumper sticker that says Think Globally, Act Locally. The message, to me, is to think long term - the last dominoe to fall needs to be taken into account along with the first. At the risk of being overly cryptic, the question, "Where ...

Posted Sat, Sep 20, 10:59 a.m.

A little further to the right, if you please: Gov. Christine Gregoire's recent ad featuring a sobbing woman complaining about Dino Rossi's failure to support stem cell research ought to move the needle to the right given that The Seattle Times has now called B.S. on the ad. That it ...

Posted Thu, Sep 18, 3:24 p.m.

RE: Onward Brightwater!: Lecture? Did you feel in need of one? Or is that your way of chastising me for my inconvenient and admittedly inarticulate reminder that government should be about protecting and enhancing the rights and liberties of the people, not trampling them all in the name of some ...

Posted Thu, Sep 18, 1:41 p.m.

RE: I won't go gentle into that good night: My mother - Ma, to me - was born of stern Minnesota pioneer stock. No one ever forced anything on her. This was a woman who moved to Kodiak, AK at age 56 to start a new life and earn enough ...

Posted Thu, Sep 18, 10:13 a.m.

I won't go gentle into that good night: For decades, we've been cavalierly sucking innocent life down a sink with unrestricted abortion on demand. Now we're about to rush pall mall into putting human beings down like we would a sick animal. Life is precious and should be respected on ...

Posted Thu, Sep 18, 9:37 a.m.

RE: Onward Brightwater!: "Technical legal arguments" - How quaint; a three-word justification for flushing the law down the toilet. "Technical legal arguments" are what seperate free people from oppressed people - when next arrested, it will be "technical legal arguments," in other words, "due process," that seperate you from the ...

Posted Tue, Sep 16, 2:22 p.m.

Bearly appropriate: The relationship between humans and bears has always been problematic and subject to the whims of popular culture, not to mention Mossback's continuing fascination with bears, his uncanny resemblence to them, and his studied assertion that Krispy Kreme donuts are the bear bait of choice. My 1958 childhood ...

Posted Fri, Sep 12, 10:47 a.m.

RE: Article II section2: "The President shall be Commander in Chief . . . ": So is ingratitude. The PIper

Posted Thu, Sep 11, 11:51 a.m.

RE: Article II section2: "The President shall be Commander in Chief . . . ": That's my son, there, Pilgrim. Marines are supposed to be...Proud, that is. The Few, The Proud - The Marines. To paraphrase the old saying, he stands watch in some lonely and dangerous place so that ...

Posted Sat, Sep 6, 10:01 a.m.

RE: A CONFUSED BRITISH RUN OF THE MILL SOCCER DAD !: For our cousins across the pond, think Sarah Palin = Margaret Thatcher. Maggie was dismissed as merely the daughter of a grocer who was raised in a flat above the shop. But she ended up besting the lot straight ...

Posted Sat, Sep 6, 9:46 a.m.

RE: To see the light, open your eyes: Aside from my incorrect use of the word "unprecedented" twice in a sentence, I stand by what I wrote. To compare attacks on Hillary with what we've seen spewed upon Sarah Palin is disingenuous. I don't recall seeing any suggestions anywhere that ...

Posted Fri, Sep 5, 5:11 p.m.

To see the light, open your eyes: The unprecedented vituperation being ralphed at Sarah Palin since two seconds after she was announced as John McCain's pick is unprecedented and unwarranted. As her grand salami homerun speech demo'd, this chick is tough in the clinch - you have to be to ...

Posted Wed, Sep 3, 9:48 a.m.

RE: Which "us" are you talking about?: You misconstrue the us/them divide - it's not ideologically driven. "Them" are the career insiders, Beltway elitists, and know-it-all pundits who constantly demean and belittle the lives and values of the common people. "Us" are who this country is supposed to be about: ...

Posted Tue, Jul 22, 9:14 a.m.

Where do I send my contribution?: I'm convinced - where do I send my check in support of "No Sound Transit Grab It." The religious fervor of light rail enthusiasts puts any Holy Roller to shame. It's an attempt to remake society into an image created and ordained by them ...

Posted Tue, Jul 15, 6:37 a.m.

He who laughs last...wins: The New Yorker is a good and literate magazine. Political persuasions aside, it contains some of the best writing to be found anywhere. It's cartoons, liberally sprinkled throughout its pages, are legendary. That Barack Obama - or his campaign geniuses - find The New Yorker cover ...

Posted Sat, Jul 12, 11:21 a.m.

Seen one city, you've seen 'em all: It's interesting how many come to the Seattle area claiming they were drawn here by a unique quality of life. As soon as they get their bags unpacked, they complain about how the area isn't like the place they left. So many who ...

Posted Tue, Jul 8, 9:20 p.m.

RE: carrying H2O for Group Health: Someone legit to criticize Baghdad Jim? Try Steve Beren who does an excellent job of it every day and who has the guts to bring the truth of the values of liberty and freedom into the heart of darkness. Go to www.berenforcongress.com and learn ...

Posted Mon, Jun 30, 12:39 p.m.

RE: Anonymous sources and editorials: Unsigned editorials represent the opinion of the periodicial in which they appear, so to that extent they're signed. In addition, the newspapers and magazines I read include the names of editorial personnel - with that, you have a number of donkeys upon whom you can ...

Posted Sun, Jun 29, 1:23 p.m.

RE: A Quandary!: If your erstwhile crazy idea is as good as you think it is, then you have to press for it without regard to what people think or say about you. Part of having the courage of conviction is not caring about the scorn and derision of others ...

Posted Sun, Jun 29, 8:36 a.m.

"There, I guess King George will be able to read that." John Hancock: Throughout history, polemicists and pamphleters have used pseudonyms, usually for reasons of personal safety or humility. At times anonymity has been necessary to avoid a knock at the door followed by a jail cell or the gibbet. ...

Posted Wed, Jun 4, 3:04 p.m.

I was there - were you?: I was at the Spokane convention, and I'll have much more to say about that shortly. Were you? The platform we passed - amended in a few spots - is a fair representation of conservative values and positions on issues. Nowhere does it call ...

Posted Mon, Jun 2, 2:38 p.m.

The ultimate in poliltical correctness: Not only Pat Davis, but also Greg Nickels, a majority on the King County Council, the board of Sound Transit (with which there is overlap with the King County Council in the form of Julia Patterson), the Kirkland City Council (I almost got tossed once ...

Posted Mon, May 26, 7:39 p.m.

Priorities: Sad that, aside from one from Steve Miller, the most important topic in Ted's compendium seems to have been overlooked. Today is Memorial Day, a day set aside to honor those who've fallen to secure and defend our freedoms. Yet nobody cares to comment upon that? Say "thanks" to ...

Posted Mon, May 26, 5:49 p.m.

A fine Memorial Day tribute: Thank you for your straightforward, soldier-focused Memorial Day tribute to your fallen comrades. No politics...no agenda...no personal ax to grind...no villains, only heroes. My oldest son was just promoted to sergeant first class even as he still scribes for Stars & Stripes in Germany. With ...

Posted Mon, May 19, 8:02 p.m.

Highway robbery: The Washington State Ferry System isn't a part of any tourism agency; it's part of the Department of Transportation with its routes actually given state highway designations. It was never intended to be a mini-ocean voyage with luxury accomodations just off the lido deck. Flinty old Captain Alexander ...

Posted Mon, May 19, 7:43 p.m.

The other half of the story: When it comes, the Big One won't simply impact buildings and transportation infrastructure, it will impact people everywhere. One thing we've learned from previous disaster experiences - Katrina glaringly so - is that we're fools if we think the government will be Johnny-on-the-spot with ...

Posted Mon, Apr 28, 1:15 p.m.

RE: Disenchanted Republicans: I was told by one who was there that the Democrats had a similar dilemma the following day. Can't claim first hand knowledge of this, but that's what I was told. And I reported what I saw - would you have me do anything less? The Piper

Posted Sat, Apr 19, 2:08 p.m.

RE: Oh puhleeze Piper: "That courthouse needs love and it needs it now." How much shall I put you down for? The Piper

Posted Fri, Apr 18, 11:07 a.m.

RE: Not quite: "The funny part is if there was a liberal Tim Eyman who, say, decided it was time to get past the glacial pace that health care coverage is being extended in this state, they probably could get MORE votes than the average Eyman initiative, based on I-688, ...

Posted Thu, Apr 17, 10:16 a.m.

How to be a good guest: Back in the day when I was in the pipe band, we had a practice at the home of a band member. I thought I was doing her a favor by pointing out to her some cobwebs up in the corners of the room ...

Posted Thu, Apr 17, 9:58 a.m.

Not quite: "Today's 'radical Whigs' in Washington state, like Tim Eyman, repeatedly assert that a majority of electors, through the initiative, can always trump the Legislature." Not quite...The theory here is less "trump" and more check the Legislature. The people of the State of Washington, via the initiative and referendum ...

Posted Sat, Mar 15, 2:54 p.m.

The Real Agenda: This isn't about sports, it's about power...and high-end extortion. Eventually, citizens somewhere will simply say, "Enough!" and figuratively lay down on the tracks of one of these professional sports palace financing scams to prevent the locomotive of the big-money, big-power consortium of leagues, owners, politiicians, and even ...

Posted Fri, Mar 14, 4:46 p.m.

RE: Stalker?: Stalker? Not hardly. Big fan? Absolutely. One reason is that I have five children as well, and I admire her and her husband for taking on that responsibility. I also share with her the fact that we are both military parents. It was on the pages of Crosscut ...

Posted Fri, Mar 14, 7:20 a.m.

Whippersnapper!: Any fool can grow old, but it takes real class to be immature for a lifetimel The Piper, 58

Posted Sat, Mar 1, 6 p.m.

RE: Befitting optimism: Uhm....So are you saying it's just a wee bit early to say, "Wait until next year?" Barack Obama aside, in baseball it's always more comforting to lose hope as early as possible in order to avoid bitter disappointment later on. The Piper

Posted Tue, Feb 26, 1:14 p.m.

RE: No play, no pay: Works for me. The Piper

Posted Tue, Feb 26, 11:52 a.m.

Not so strange bedfellows: On general principles, this is an issue upon which Republicans and Democrats agree whole heartedly; the parties belong to those who are in them, and they have the right to their business without interference from someone who's only connection with it is five-minutes with a voters' ...

Posted Tue, Feb 26, 11:18 a.m.

What did you expect?: A fish rots from the head down, and the attitude of a candidate is reflected in the kind of campaign that is run. From the staged crying times to the fake spontaneous debate lines, what about Hillary Clinton isn't a put-up show? Hollow vanity - nothing ...

Posted Fri, Feb 22, 11:24 a.m.

Waste not, want not...: Like dryer lint, old gum wrappers, and your appendix in a jar in your underwear drawer, some things aren't worth saving. Let it go...Burst the balloon of "have to have in order to be..." that's the stranglehold of allegedly big-league sports on cities and taxpayers. Let ...

Posted Thu, Feb 21, 9:32 a.m.

Must be something in the water: Only in Seattle is the important trivialized while the trivial is given importance. In the overall scheme of things, the Ballard Denny's doesn't register, yet now it's the object of a feel-good-without-commitment "solution" so typical of this town and aptly described by Benaroya attorney ...

Posted Fri, Feb 15, 9:05 a.m.

Light of day...: It's a shame this piece is on the Blog where it will be buried in a day or so without getting the attention and discussion it deserves. As the new inevitibility of Barack Obama gels, giddy euphoria over the new political Messiah will fade when it's discovered ...

Posted Thu, Feb 14, 8:55 a.m.

Glass houses that beg the throwing of stones: Leaving aside for a moment that the two buildings pictured are uglier than sin (the Fifth Avenue twin condo towers look like two electric baseboard heaters turned on end), the "edgy" attitude of the architects and developers says something. "Seattle is ready ...

Posted Wed, Feb 13, 12:19 p.m.

Coffee? Please!: Like what? Too far to go to the Blue Moon, which is where you'd really rather hang out? Real beaded journalists (think Hemmingway during WW II) hang out in dingy bars and other dens of iniquity, not scrubbed and sanitized sissy places like Starbucks or Tullys. If you ...

Posted Wed, Feb 13, 11:53 a.m.

Will the ghost of Bella Abzug pleae stand up? Then leave!: So much of this entire thread is so 70's it's not funny! You can pick up a tattered copy of Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique at nearly every used book sale in town, old pics of Gloria Steinem in ...

Posted Wed, Feb 13, 10:57 a.m.

RE: All one handed: A little whine with your cheese? Not sure I would characterize pointing out overboard bias as "whining," but each to his own. As an elected PCO in the 45th LD, I hosted a GOP caucus. I don't know about other districts, but in ours we were ...

Posted Tue, Feb 12, 3:59 p.m.

All one handed: Is Crosscut.com now the semi-official media outlet for the Barack Obama wing of the Democratic Party? Whether it's Mossback, Lisa Albers, or even jaded old Ted Van Dyk, the electronic pages seem filled with nothing but odes to Obama and how he's got truth by the tail ...

Posted Mon, Feb 11, 3:08 p.m.

RE: universal health care: Sorry, HRC wasn't talking taxes as much as she was forcing health insurance upon those who, for whatever reason, can afford it but choose not to have it. Read about it here. There's something really creepy about how HRC waffled all over the place on how ...

Posted Mon, Feb 11, 1:40 p.m.

Not that she's a woman, but that she's THAT woman: "Twenty years ago, when I was her age, I certainly never received the message that I could be president of the United States." Well over 20-years ago, Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister of Great Britain. Called the Iron Maiden for ...

Posted Fri, Feb 8, 11:27 a.m.

RE: Typically Seattle: Chuck, Mitt Romney didn't suspend his campaign until yesterday surprising even his own supporters since they went to bed thinking he'd stay in. But as he said, during the course of writing remarks to be delivered at CPAC he had an epiphony resulting in his decision to ...

Posted Thu, Feb 7, 6:54 p.m.

Typically Seattle: Everyone knows Seattle is a one-political-party town, but wouldn't you think that an article about the February 9th caucuses should warrant at least a nod to the fact that some party other than the Democratic Party is also conducting precinct caucuses, and that a lot of them - ...

Posted Thu, Jan 31, 9:10 p.m.

RE: eal versus fake: Somebody's working late... By opportunist I wasn't referring to someone who sees opportunites and then strategically capitalizes on them. Instead, I was thinking of an Elmer Gantry-type who wears a mantle of something less for what it represents and more for what it will get him. ...

Posted Thu, Jan 31, 8:18 p.m.

Real versus fake: Genuine populism - belief in the rights, wisdom, or virtues of the common people - is every bit a part of today's political landscape. Mossback, your recent article on the success of Tim Eyman proves this truth. The question should be whether someone is a populist or ...

Posted Wed, Jan 30, 9:28 p.m.

Oops!: Costco's federal district court victory over the Washington State Liquor Control Board was just overturned by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, which held that the liquor board can restrict price advantages given high-volume retailers and dictate certain methods of distribution. So the depression mentality, Prohibition ...

Posted Tue, Jan 29, 12:37 p.m.

RE: Obama Rising: Stuka... A couple points... In re my sons...The staff sergeant - he being a journalist working now as a staff reporter/photographer for Stars & Stripes after a tour in Iraq, Kuwait, and several weeks in the 'stan - tells me politics is mostly a taboo subject. Effectively, ...

Posted Tue, Jan 29, 12:05 p.m.

RE: WSLCB the first cut is the deepest: Hey! Don't forget Booth Gardner, Mike Lowrey and all the Democrats in the legislature. Come to think of it, the lot of them have driven most of us to drink, so this must be the grand marketing scheme for the WSLCB. The ...

Posted Tue, Jan 29, 10:18 a.m.

Deja vu all over again: Reading this: "...a perception, widely held, that Bill rather than Hillary Clinton really is calling Hillary's shots and that, if elected, he would be trying to do so in a Hillary White House," immediately brought to mind Lurleen Wallace who served as governor of Alabama ...

Posted Mon, Jan 28, 5:53 p.m.

RE: Cut to the chase: It's said that nothing is more sanctimonious than a reformed rake. I suggest that even more sanctimonious is a blue-nose liberal who knows better than you what's best for you. Why not? Why shouldn't adults be able to buy Dry Fly single malt or vodka ...

Posted Mon, Jan 28, 9:06 a.m.

Cut to the chase: Instead of dinking around the edge with direct retail sales and tasting rooms, why can't the legislature simply sell the state liquor stores to private owners and allow hard stuff to be sold in grocery stores and mom and pop package stores? The existing hyper-regulated retail ...

Posted Sun, Jan 27, 11:15 p.m.

RE: Its a TAKING!: Oops...Somehow the above posting made it on here twice, which certainly wasn't my intent. My apologies... The Piper

Posted Sun, Jan 27, 10:59 p.m.

RE: Pass the hat: All well and good, but without foundation in American law or history. Property rights are a specie of civil right, tracing their lineage back to Magna Charta and beyond. Our federal and state constitutions protect property rights from public abuse, although the courts have, in my ...

Posted Sun, Jan 27, 10:03 p.m.

RE: Its a TAKING!: You miss the point. Over time, the Common Law, supplemented by statutory law, developed land use schemes, including the concept of nuisance, that allow neighbors to be able to use and enjoy their property and be protected in that from your abuse of your right to ...

Posted Sun, Jan 27, 10:03 p.m.

RE: Its a TAKING!: You miss the point. Over time, the Common Law, supplemented by statutory law, developed land use schemes, including the concept of nuisance, that allow neighbors to be able to use and enjoy their property and be protected in that from your abuse of your right to ...

Posted Fri, Jan 25, 12:05 p.m.

RE: Wrong again: From the NY Times endorsement: "We know that she is capable of both uniting and leading." Oh really? Read the headlines this morning? Hill and Bill (with two you get eggroll) are slinging mud in ways hitherto unknown, and here's how it's seen by Peggy Noonan, an ...

Posted Fri, Jan 25, 11:39 a.m.

RE: Can you find your way back to the barn?: Did I miss something? The only South Carolina referance Ted Van Dyke made was the one I read about the Democratic primary, which is slated for January 26th. Please correct me if I'm wrong. The Piper

Posted Fri, Jan 25, 10:54 a.m.

Pass the hat: Mossback... First, it's Horsesass.org, not .com; the HA Happy Hooligans are, to borrow a line from the movie M.A.S.H., "Those loveable lugs with wonderful mugs," always yearning to group-hug all who post there. The whole thing about "owner consent" is bogus. To contend that owner consent is ...

Posted Tue, Jan 22, 10:24 p.m.

What's that definition of insanity again?: While a "czar" isn't a viable idea (autocrats aren't popular around here), without substantial transportation governance reform, all you'll have is the same old same old from the same old same old. Asking a cobbled together gaggle of elected and appointed politiicans from more ...

Posted Mon, Jan 21, 9:06 p.m.

I liked their spatulas so much, I bought the company!: Since when did Weird Al Yankovic change his name to Chuck Taylor? Welcome to Spatula City! Spatulas - that's all they sell! Were you able to meet Sy Greenblum? Shake his hand? Get an autographed spatula? It's enough to cause ...

Posted Mon, Jan 21, 7:59 p.m.

RE: Not A Populist: In the State of Washington, the "normal mechanisms of government" include the initiative and referendum exactly in the manner Tim Eyman employs them. In a real sense, why should he compromise with those who seek his political destruction? Where's your commensurate call upon them to compromise ...

Posted Mon, Jan 21, 1:59 p.m.

Mr. Speaker: Some of the following is excerpted from a column I wrote for the Kirkland Reporter-Courier. "In school, we learned that our national government consists of three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. But in Washington, we have a fourth: the people. To counter powerful railroad interests, Washingtonians amended their ...

Posted Sat, Jan 19, 10:01 a.m.

RE: Took my 3 year old son for a ride on the SLUT: While you may use the SLUT, will you respect it in the morning??? The Piper

Posted Sat, Jan 19, 9:58 a.m.

According the them, mighty Casey has struck out: Hey Corr! Limbaugh-like or not, I still love ya! Before you get accused of being Seattle's answer to Karl Rove, let me say that some out here in The Great Nearby recognize and accept tongue in cheek for what it is. Here's ...

Posted Sat, Jan 19, 8:32 a.m.

RE: The New Calcutta? You Must be Joking: Calcutta is more a state of mind than a literal representation. Given that Calcutta represents a complete failure of process because of hide-bound adhearance to a clearly bogus set of precepts, then the comparison is apt. Your complaints prove the comparison. Checked ...

Posted Fri, Jan 18, 2:56 p.m.

RE: Calcutta?: A great thing about America is not only can you be anything you want to be, you can make anyplace here like anyplace else in the world you want it to be. So if Bothell is your idea of the Haitian capital, then it's all good. As for ...

Posted Fri, Jan 18, 9:51 a.m.

Creature comforts...: What I want to know is whether the SLUT is hot? Who in his right mind would want to hang with a SLUT that isn't? A month ago I was in Memphis where they have a trolley that runs downtown and along the MIssissippi River. I asked a ...

Posted Thu, Jan 17, 9:07 p.m.

RE: people: A city without kids isn't worth living in. Adults are self-absorbed until they have children, and then they're humbled by both having to live for someone other than themselves and because children bring to the life of adults a wonder and awe that dispels the cynicism that comes ...

Posted Thu, Jan 17, 8:18 p.m.

RE: If the burbs are the new Seattle,: Calcutta. The Piper

Posted Thu, Jan 17, 7:47 p.m.

RE: people leaving?: Families with kids continue to leave. Middle class wage earners continue to get priced out of town. What's left? Not much in the way of the broad cross section of people necessary to build an interesting and vibrant city. The Piper

Posted Thu, Jan 17, 5:28 p.m.

RE: "this is the worst piece of drivel I've seen in this campaign and that's saying a lot.": Ill suited? Nah! It's just that no matter what he wears or how expensive it is, on John Edwards it's going to look cheap. No matter how much lipstick you put on ...

Posted Thu, Jan 17, 4:19 p.m.

We see it for what it is: Left and right see this Unity thing as a scam. Ratcityreprobate is correct in observing that this is a bunch that has been, for the most part, AWOL for just about forever. Their so-called "pragmatic" approach is nothing more than them insisting that ...

Posted Thu, Jan 17, 1:02 p.m.

Just the latest example: John Keister no more sold out than did Dennis Hooper selling mutual funds, Peter Frampton car insurance, or David Carradine the Yellow Pages. The guy's entitled to make a living since new houses in Kent don't come cheap! As for Emmett Watson's ghost? I'm sure we'd ...

Posted Wed, Jan 16, 3:51 p.m.

RE: You first!: Les... Since I believe that the earth was made for people to use and enjoy - responsibly, of course - yours isn't a credo to which I'll be subscribing anytime soon. Frankly, it's quite depressing and borderline creepy to see humanity as a net negative to the ...

Posted Tue, Jan 15, 11:28 a.m.

Dig deeper: It's pretty obvious that in both parties, there's no particular love lost among the candidates for President, and at the rate things are going, especially among the Democrats, by the time this is all over, there will be some serious hating going on. So, to think an eventual ...

Posted Tue, Jan 15, 8:47 a.m.

You first!: In the race for voluntary extinction, Les Knight and Alan Weisman can feel free to go on ahead without me. I'll be along in a couple, three decades after I've watched my five-kids add to my growing passle of grandchildren! These declining birth rate scenarios have been around ...

Posted Mon, Jan 14, 3:20 p.m.

RE: costs: So...if enough of your Eastside clients decide to drop you in favor of a local consultant because you blythely pass along the cost of a toll rather than taking a less expensive vacation, at what point will you simply be out of business? Does your logic result in ...

Posted Mon, Jan 14, 2:56 p.m.

RE: Uh...courtesy? Respect? Tolerance?: When some religious beliefs crossed into law the result was The Civil Rights Act of 1964. Care to repeal it? The Piper

Posted Mon, Jan 14, 2:50 p.m.

RE: ender unto Caesar...: "Anytime the source of law is construed to be 'divine', freedom dies." Completely untrue. Even Jefferson acknowledged that, "All men...are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights..." No where in the Constitution is the term "separation of church and state" employed. The intent of the ...

Posted Mon, Jan 14, 11:04 a.m.

RE: God, protect me from your followers!: Thank you for providing an additional example of in-the-name-of-tolerance intolerance. While you have an absolute right to your opinion, I submit that yours is the dark ages-like angry tone. Tom Robbins may be able to string sentences together such that he can make ...

Posted Sun, Jan 13, 11:36 p.m.

RE: organized religion is an oxymoron: While Mencken had a sharp wit, I doubt whether it's of much use to him today. I wouldn't want to trade eternal places with him for all the tea in China. The Piper

Posted Sun, Jan 13, 11:32 p.m.

Not a religion, but a relationship…: What makes right right and wrong wrong? Where do values of good and evil come from? For most, even those who deny it, they come from God. Believer or non-believer, "values" have spiritual roots, in the United States mostly Judeo-Christian ones. You got yours ...

Posted Sun, Jan 13, 8:43 p.m.

Another trophy on the mantle...: Banning microwave popcorn at City Hall, the Sea-Tac saga over Christmas decorations, Strippergate, and more dating back to the WTO riots and beyond make up a long and storied list of reasons to tell people you're from Idaho, not Seattle. Now we can add the ...

Posted Sat, Jan 12, 8:15 p.m.

RE: organized religion is an oxymoron: Please provide data in support of your allegation. If you accuse, it's only far that you prove. The Piper

Posted Fri, Jan 11, 10:53 p.m.

Where do I send my contribution?: Palmer, I'm good for $3 if ever student performing in a senior vocal recital sings 99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall. $7.50 if the School of Drama produces a couple faculty-directed plays each year that have absolutely no "meaning" to them whatsoever. Time ...

Posted Fri, Jan 11, 2:15 p.m.

RE: Hansen et. al. - Money for UW if you pick Everett: An idle observation... The proximity of UW Bothell to Everett argues in favor of a more northern new campus, say in Marysville. There's a lot of ground to cover between Everett and Bellingham that will be university-free if ...

Posted Thu, Jan 10, 10:12 p.m.

The world of make-believe: I live just over one-mile from the UW-Bothell campus. Every time I go past it or through it, I have to remind myself that it's there. Don't have that problem with Cascadia, its community college co-mingling neighbor. If UW-Bothell was designed exclusively for commuters, then, per ...

Posted Thu, Jan 10, 6:04 p.m.

RE: on Paul is a "selective Libertarian" re reproductive freedom: Again...I'm no Paulista, in fact I'm far from it. But perhaps Dr. Paul, an Ob-Gyn, supports liberty and freedom and rights, including the right to life, for ALL Americans, even the unborn? Perhaps he's as repulsed as are many Americans ...

Posted Thu, Jan 10, 5:57 p.m.

RE: Software not like government: I'm no Paulista, but your slap against libertarians as experimentalists was unwarranted. The root word of "libertarian" is "liberty," and that's something we all should strive to maximize. It's not experimentation for a citizen and taxpayer to be allowed to keep what he owns rather ...

Posted Mon, Jan 7, 6:05 p.m.

Meltdown...: Another example of HRC's ongoing meltdown, much like her emotional breakdown heard on just about every radio station in America this morning. Not at all a presidential moment! I am genuinely shocked at the imploding nature of her campaign! Until the past few weeks, I always regarded her as ...

Posted Mon, Jan 7, 4:55 p.m.

RE: 70's downturn was more than just SST cancelation...: "Boeing went 18 months without a single new domestic airplane order." Wow! I was in college in those days, and of course I remember how bad it was (Will the last person leaving Seattle please turn out the lights?), but I ...

Posted Mon, Jan 7, 12:23 p.m.

RE: Compromise Solution?: Wow! Like, the Denny's on steroids! Since the art of politics is compromise, I could live with that. After all, if Ballard can celebrate the eternally blinking left turn signal as a cultural icon, then the Denny's can be raised to lofty heights. Maybe turn it into ...

Posted Mon, Jan 7, 11:43 a.m.

History is as history does: If Tukwilla is the cradle of Puget Sound civilization, then I guess Mossback is right that the Ballard Denny's is worth a hoot. What's next? Today's Houghton transfer station is tomorrow's archeological dig? The Seattle P-I is a credible newspaper (is that oxymoronic, or what?)? ...

Posted Mon, Jan 7, 10:32 a.m.

RE: There still ought to be a law...: How much of your own money are you willing to invest to "save" the Googie Denny's? To me, it's a matter of moral principle: property owners ought to be able to develop their property as they see fit. If you wish a ...

Posted Sun, Jan 6, 10:24 a.m.

There still ought to be a law...: In response to Knute's reply to my first post... Landmark designation statutes can be Constitutional; I just don't accept the underlying rationale. I'm not, however, a sitting federal judge or legislator of any type, so not much I can do about it other ...

Posted Sat, Jan 5, 11:06 a.m.

Write when you find work...: Any truth to the rumor that his was a one-way ticket? Lord, let it be so! The Piper

Posted Sat, Jan 5, 8:16 a.m.

There ought to be a law: This whole issue is seriously bothersome from a property rights and liberty standpoint. Benaroya Partners owns the property, paid what can only be assumed is a substantial sum for it, must pay taxes on it, and must keep it in such a state of ...

Posted Fri, Jan 4, 10:29 a.m.

More of the same...: "Upscale retail." Why does anyone need more "upscale retail?" Therein lies a clue to the travesty of the whole Viaduct thing. Irrespective of what's done in St. Paul - did you know that everyone in the world has relatives in Minnesota? - what eventually happens in ...

Posted Wed, Jan 2, 6:31 p.m.

Didn't you get it?: No, no, no, no, no, no, no! You missed the point of the call! Because of all the $$$ he's getting per the new contract, there's not enough to stock up on equipment for the coming season, so Ol' Rick - the world's worst Beach Boys ...

Posted Mon, Dec 31, 5:48 p.m.

RE: Maybe I am a dummie.: Casey, Are you a gun owner? If not, would you ever consider owning one? As a journalist, I'm sure you're hardcore passionate about your First Amendment rights such that you'd go to jail rather than disclose the source of information. And if someone authored ...

Posted Mon, Dec 31, 5:28 p.m.

Of late, kind of one-sided...: Since not long after its inception, the Ol' Piper has been a frequent commentor at Crosscut, though of late I've tailed off, and it seems I'm not the only one. Why? Maybe because the conversations started to get pretty one-sided? So many articles don't get ...

Posted Mon, Dec 31, 12:11 p.m.

Alice never had it so good...: Adjust your hookahs, everyone, it's time for a foray into Bill of Rights baloney. Under current interpretations of the First Amendment, which have no historic foundation, pretty vile pornography is protected free speech, while honoring Christmas is subject to mouth-foaming attack by secularists all ...

Posted Wed, Dec 19, 5:47 a.m.

Another option: Given the results of the Mitchell Report on steroid use, wouldn't it be a good idea to peg ticket prices to the the juice levels of opposing teams? The more a team fields players with a history of steroid use, the lower the price of admission? Or, give ...

Posted Tue, Dec 18, 11:02 a.m.

About time!: I'm definitely not a Norm Rice fan, but even so any movement towards a de-Balkanization of transportation planning in the region is a good move, Norm or not. And taming the rabid beast of Sound Transit and getting it to both know and keep its place as being ...

Posted Fri, Dec 7, 7:52 p.m.

No charge: Best gift you can give to your kid costs zip in terms of money: time, attention, support, values, involvement... I'll bet there's not a kid out there who wouldn't trade all the swag in the world for a dad or mom who gives not from their wallet, but ...

Posted Wed, Dec 5, 1:11 p.m.

Try it and see what happens!: I used to be sympathetic to down-and-outters and their "Spare change, man" entreaties until I learned how much damage enabling does to the overall effort to address the real needs of the homeless and the root causes of homelessness. Yet, I don't mind buying ...

Posted Sat, Dec 1, 9:33 a.m.

Missed the point...: When the quality of anyone's life is dependent upon government, they cease to be free agents in control of their own life. If the satisfaction, support, succor, or sustinence you receive is that which you receive from government, then really that is pathetic. Whatever happened to personal ...

Posted Fri, Nov 30, 9:15 p.m.

RE: A quick word from the right...: Sigh... Cliches abound...Big, bad Haliburton (name another contractor who could do the work?) and the ultimate bogey man: Iraq. Before I get to a list of bogus programs, wasteful spending, and boondogles, I might as will annoy many of you now by reiterating ...

Posted Fri, Nov 30, 2:06 p.m.

RE: Harrassers.org: Hmmm... I like that...HarrAssers.org. Or, HorsesHarAssers.org... Thanks, Tooley; I'm going to add that to my repetoir of blogging terminology when posting among the HA Happy Hooligans. Would you like me to credit you? Or would you rather not be flamed? The Piper

Posted Fri, Nov 30, 1:39 p.m.

A quick word from the right...: Just a quick one to all who complain about Republicans: we think the same of most Democrats. Many of the people with whom Ted Van Dyke worked in the "old days" would probably vote GOP today even though they were Democrats back then. At ...

Posted Fri, Nov 23, 3:27 p.m.

It's not all bad...: There are a couple nice things about inserts, Chuck: (1) If you pick up the paper and shake it, they all fall out and then you needn't read them nor do they interfere with what you take the paper for in the first place, and (2) ...

Posted Wed, Nov 21, 6:58 p.m.

RE: Bummin': Sorry, EmeraldCityGooner, but there are distinctions you gloss over. Baseball and American football are like jazz and musical theater in that they're our sport/art forms; home-grown, all-American, and unique to us, we export them around the world, not the other way round. Baseball is quintessentially American. A comment ...

Posted Wed, Nov 21, 10:43 a.m.

RE: Watch it!: Since all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, prior to salvation, we're all in the same boat. As Norman Maclean noted in "A River Runs Through It" quoting his father, "Man, by nature, is a mess." So, on that score, there's no difference ...

Posted Wed, Nov 21, 9:07 a.m.

Even those who play or coach it hate it!: Cliff McGrath, recently fired soccer coach at SPU and second-winningest NCAA soccer coach in history, was interviewed by Dori Monson, and he said himself that it's a stupid game. When one team takes 32 shots on goal and the other three ...

Posted Wed, Nov 21, 6:31 a.m.

Watch it!: To those of us in the evangelical community, Joe Fuiten's "organic" comment is viscerally understood and accepted: Mike Huckabee not only talks the talk, he walks the walk, and he's done so all his life. While my candidate of choice is someone else, Huckabee continues to impress with ...

Posted Mon, Nov 19, 1:32 p.m.

Serves you right!: If Despair, Inc. returns your call, you deserve all the grief that comes your way! What? Like you're the only one with a singular talent of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory? That you and you alone have the spiritual gift of being able to see ...

Posted Fri, Nov 16, 1:40 p.m.

Just remember: It's more than turkey and football. That you can - eat, that is, with family members you don't see but this day each year - and celebrate abundance and freedom is cause to give thanks. Too much of the time, it's just bitching about this, that, or the ...

Posted Fri, Nov 16, 11:27 a.m.

It will happen: If some legal way isn't found to put this guy permanently out of business by either enjoining totally or criminalizing his behavior, someone will do it permanently in a way that's not quite legal. Fathers of daughters, especially, find him their worst nightmare, and either one of ...

Posted Thu, Nov 15, 8:11 a.m.

With you?: So...a local version? With you, whom? Must have area roots, so Knute and Courtney Love clubbing together or browsing the stacks at Half-Price Books or talking to workers at a Boeing shift change? Why not? Beats working for a living. The Piper

Posted Mon, Nov 12, 2:22 p.m.

The man!: No finer public servant in Washington than Toby Nixon, head of the Washington Coalition for Open Government and also the inspiration behind I-25, which will eventually (not soon enough, thanks to Bob Ferguson) bring openness and accountability to King County Elections. Too bad Toby was lied out of ...

Posted Sat, Nov 10, 10:22 a.m.

Visionaries...: Paddy who steals my name operates from exactly the same false premise that my visionaries would dispel: it's all about Seattle. I'm not interested in those who think the sun rises and sets only south of NE 145th, and the rest of Pugetopolis can go hang. What I would ...

Posted Fri, Nov 9, 5:11 p.m.

Or...: Knute, Ktaylor, and Kbrewster... The Piper

Posted Fri, Nov 9, 10:29 a.m.

Bees to honey...: It's axiomatic in politics that campaign contributions both flow to the viable and away from the toxic. The incumbents had "loser" written all over them well before the race began, and check-writers generally have no interest in investing in losers. Good riddance! The Piper

Posted Thu, Nov 8, 4:19 p.m.

Different message...: What I heard was that Prop 1, in conjunction with I-960, 4204, other measures, and a strong anti-incumbent thread is that the people don't trust the decision makers to not just get it right, but get it at all! Light rail partisans may have to look themselves in ...

Posted Thu, Nov 8, 3:47 p.m.

Precedent: I think it was Tacoma's Doug Tooley who first made mention of the Drew Carey video on Southern California private highways produced for Reason.org. Why must the government hold an unbreakable monopoly on transportation options? In fact, sounds like the state, region, counties, and cities could all stand a ...

Posted Thu, Nov 8, 12:18 p.m.

Workers of the world...: Since Seattle still buys into the pretty much discredited notion that unions have any relevence in the private sector, and since SLUT will be operated by public employees who are represented by unions that pretty much tell local politicians what to do, may I suggest three ...

Posted Thu, Nov 8, 10:58 a.m.

RE: SO IF SLUT AND HOOKER ARE SYNONYMOUS: How soon before Taylor deletes your comment, Palmer, for violating Crosscut's gold standards? To equate the saintly UW with anything hookerly is blasphemous! After all, not for money or anything does anyone at the UW play football worth a hoot! Or a ...

Posted Thu, Nov 8, 10:41 a.m.

RE: further suggestions and some comments: As someone who lost a really beloved orange kitty to a coyote, I'm hardpressed to call a coyote "beloved" in return. I now keep the .22 loaded and at the ready because I don't plan on losing another beloved kitty - white, this time ...

Posted Thu, Nov 8, 9:44 a.m.

Lucky SLUT Casino and Resort...: How about selling a couple cars to the Tulalip's or Muckleshoot's? Declare them reservation territory, put in slots, roulette, and a blackjack table. Maybe have the caboose run by the Washington Liquor Control Board, offering special discounts on past pull date Ol' Prop 1 Rock ...

Posted Thu, Nov 8, 9:34 a.m.

RE: There is more than one kind of slut...: Listen...it's sex that's going to drive this thread, so just enjoy it! Or...why not just stick a pic of Mayor Quarters' girth on a streetcar? Where is it written that only words can be used? And why can't the cars themselves ...

Posted Wed, Nov 7, 4:57 p.m.

Baloney!: One of the skirts electoral losers often hide behind is low turnout, which assumes a "real" turnout would have produced a different result. You got the vote you got, Dave...deal with it! Don't make excuses by blaming turnout since you were in just as good a position as anyone ...

Posted Wed, Nov 7, 4:49 p.m.

Wisdom: This is wisdom, and a too often overlooked truth about abandoning our collective trooping to the polls on Election Day. I taught my oldest son, now the ever famous staff sergeant, about democracy and America when, before he could even walk, I put his little hands on the big ...

Posted Wed, Nov 7, 9:46 a.m.

Blowing smoke...: It's horrendously hypocritical to fund healthcare measures with taxes on cigarettes, and just about every time someone pimps a scheme like that, it falls on its face. Voters aren't stupid. They know that funding something expensive by taxing a commodity they're increasingly unwilling to use is self-defeating. Econ ...

Posted Wed, Nov 7, 9:34 a.m.

It's pretty simple, really...: On Prop !, an Eastside well connected insider told me, "You can't deliver $1 of value for $2 of taxes and expect the electorate to go along with it." Sums it up nicely for me! The Piper

Posted Tue, Nov 6, 3:31 p.m.

RE: Support the Writers!: My point was simply that the writers don't appear to understand what a strike is really all about. Having been through several on both sides of the line, including one that went in total well over a year, it sounds as though these guys are in ...

Posted Tue, Nov 6, 3:19 p.m.

Better than Denny's: Why not have the mural declared a landmark? Give it historical status then the lawyer would be estopped (lawyers hate being estopped more than almost anything) from complaning. BTW...who ratted out to the oil company in the first place? Why a big stink all of a sudden? ...

Posted Tue, Nov 6, 2:40 p.m.

RE: No, trust the people: Elect someone else? Believe me, I try! But the mindset on the KC Council as it's currently constituted is Seattle-centric. As long as the whatever transportation governance we have is primarily King County, it will very likely stay that way. The only way you get ...

Posted Tue, Nov 6, 1:34 p.m.

Make it a two-fer!: When the Sonics leave town, could they do us all a favor and take the HeeHawks with them? Maybe buy two seats for Mike Holmgren so that the bus ride to Okie City will be comfortable? Please! The Piper

Posted Tue, Nov 6, 1:24 p.m.

Say it ain't so, Vance!: Trust the King County Council? Trust Phillips, Constantine, Ferguson, Gossett, and Patterson? Not with two quarters to buy a newspaper! The process by which we find ourselves in the transportation mess we're in is emblematic in the KC Council...and then some! Time for a change. ...

Posted Mon, Nov 5, 4:01 p.m.

Who needs them?: If a call went out for replacement writers, what would happen? How many scribes in Paducah and Bemidji would answer the clarion call? How many in Seattle who work for on-line Great Nearby news providers? When there was a strike in the NFL, replacement players were hired. ...

Posted Mon, Nov 5, 3:46 p.m.

RE: Not so fast on that watershed....: "Throw in the auditor..." Is that an implicit endorsement of I-25? You might want to check with the Democratic employees, both attorneys and otherwise, in the KC Prosecuting Attorney's Office, to see who they think will do the best job of running the ...

Posted Mon, Nov 5, 3:07 p.m.

Isn't every election?: The first ballot I ever cast was in the first election held after my 21st birthday (I am that old!). Just returned from living for several months in Britain, it was in a school board election in the Northshore District. I drove - absentee ballots weren't easy ...

Posted Thu, Nov 1, 6:45 a.m.

My, you're tall for your age....: And you were out working the streets because...??? Grab your pillowcase, did you, and go door to door after Snickers and Milk Duds? Claiming as your costume your naturally occuring incarnation of Fozzie Bear? Good haul? Full employment for your dentist and cardiologist? When ...

Posted Wed, Oct 31, 3:26 p.m.

It was a dark and stormy election...: The phrase "Joel Connelley had a good column" is oxymoronic. It's about time someone did to the legislature what Mossback got whacked for suggesting in an article of his the other day! I-960 addresses clear abuses in Olympia, such as the rampant use ...

Posted Wed, Oct 31, 1:43 p.m.

As American as apple pie...: While Beverly LaHaye (founder of Concerned Women for America) isn't someone I give much thought to, her organization is every bit as American as any other in our history. From abolitionist societies to the WCTU, religiously-based women's advocacy groups have played an important role in ...

Posted Wed, Oct 31, 9:55 a.m.

Mayor Quarters, you're not in Kansas anymore...: From those of us who remain unconvinced, may I simply say, "Yawn?" The pic of Mayor Quarters (let's not limit him to a 5-cent name, or even a dime) accompanying the article betrays both Hizzoner and Hizzagenda as being from the Emerald Green ...

Posted Tue, Oct 30, 4:56 p.m.

RE: Not religion but politics: Thank you for providing Exhibit A in support of what I said. The irreligious view the religious as cretins, while the religious view the irreligious as missing a tremendous blessing. The Piper

Posted Tue, Oct 30, 12:56 p.m.

RE: Have you been to Mars Hill? Or read Robinson's column?: Didn't I warn against simplistic classifications? Unless you've spent a good amount of time on the inside getting to know the people who live there, you can never come to an appreciation, let alone understanding, of the evangelical church ...

Posted Tue, Oct 30, 12:11 p.m.

Cut to the chase...: Net, net, net... The more supporters of Prop 1 seek to debunk opponents and their arguments, the more Prop 1 is made to look like the loser it is. Remember the first rule of holes: when in one...quit digging! The Piper

Posted Tue, Oct 30, 11:12 a.m.

Values voters look for values in candidates...: Careful how you characterize or seek to classify evangelicals, it's a losing proposition. We tend to defy such efforts and confound you with our contrariness. We survived the Romans, the Reformation, and Roe v. Wade, so we'll survive the 2008 presidential election. And ...

Posted Mon, Oct 29, 10:55 p.m.

RE: FAKE ID?: Did those "visits with Abraham Lincoln" take place in the John Wilkes Booth? In those days, a junior high school student ID card worked to not only get into most naughty nudie reviews, but also was sufficient to qualifiy a patron to order a round for the ...

Posted Mon, Oct 29, 7:52 p.m.

RE: NAME THEM CARS: Confess...Still have pics from Camera Day? And the fake ID you used to get in? No shame in acknowledging a reprobate past just so long as you have no current relationship with anyone named Colacurcio or patronize Rick's...But you wouldn't be caught dead in Lake City ...

Posted Mon, Oct 29, 5:40 p.m.

Name the passengers...: In order to ride SLUT, does my name have to be John? Please clarify. The Piper

Posted Mon, Oct 29, 1:30 p.m.

Flush toilets and all...: Despised inside Seattle, maybe, but greatly admired and appreciated throughout the rest of Washington, to be sure! And much to the chagrin of Seattle, us hicks from the sticks - we who are among the great unwashed, who are too unsophisticated or too poor to live ...

Posted Mon, Oct 29, 12:22 p.m.

Bass ackwards...: Keep the stadium, tear down then renovate the team! The Piper

Posted Mon, Oct 29, 8:13 a.m.

Not for the faint of heart...: A blog, huh? Like Sharkansky's or the barbed wire and broken glass of Goldy's HA? You sure you want to go that route? Given that a large percentage of bloggers spend most of their time going at each other (less civil discussion, more cat ...

Posted Fri, Oct 26, 3 p.m.

RE: Penumbras: Sadly, that would only encompass a few of them since so many of the area's alcoholic politicos aren't attorneys. Perhaps a better plan is to let the police pick them off one by one. Thoughts? The Piper

Posted Thu, Oct 25, 9:04 a.m.

It's Halloween, not April Fool's...: You're kidding, right? Paragraph by paragraph, line-by-line, your advocacy of Prop 1 suggests why it needs to sink like a manhole cover in a lake. You "can't foresee" something better? "Where there is no vision, the people perish." Proverbs 29:18. Blinders of the past and ...

Posted Tue, Oct 23, 5:37 p.m.

Confligration...: Uhm...is it just me, or does the accompanying pic of the Dubai Towers look like steel and glass flames such that you get the impression that the place is burning up? How creepy is that? The Piper

Posted Mon, Oct 22, 10:47 p.m.

RE: Since when does advertising equal education?: Absolutely! More information is always better than less information. Or would you rather have no information? Or controlled information? Thank you, no... I don't believe most advertsing misinforms people. Certainly, it seeks to persuade by presenting a product or service - or candidate ...

Posted Mon, Oct 22, 10:35 p.m.

RE: Since when does advertising equal education?: You presume all political ads are lies, which isn't true. Certainly, some are, but most bring information to voters they may not otherwise get. People complain, as Vance points out, that they're ignorant about some candidates because they never hear about them. While ...

Posted Mon, Oct 22, 3:14 p.m.

RE: Since when does advertising equal education?: Any idea how much detergent and how many cars are purchased based upon information disseminated through advertising? If it didn't work, why would P & G spend $3.5 billion this year to buy it? In politics it works, too. Ask anyone who's been ...

Posted Mon, Oct 22, 1:20 p.m.

Perspective...: Somewhere around $1.45 billion was spent on political advertising in the 2004, the last presidential year. Sounds like a lot of money, doesn't it? But consider...Procter & Gamble, all by itself, will spend in 2007 $3.5 billion on advertising with $2.5 billion of that earmarked for TV alone. One ...

Posted Mon, Oct 22, 12:24 p.m.

Ker-plop!: From your report, it looks as though the apple didn't fall far from the tree. The Piper

Posted Sun, Oct 21, 2:17 p.m.

RE: Laugh-In: I stand corrected. Thank you. It's good form to always thank one who shows us our mistakes and gives us an opportunity to correct them. I should have looked it up in my Funk and Wagnells, but I didn't... Speaking of Burbank...pretty soon there won't be anything in ...

Posted Sat, Oct 20, 1:28 p.m.

RE: McIver Takes Honorable Path: Until, that is, the voters got sick of Maggie and handed him his walking papers in 1980. Behaviors once tolerated or winked at no longer fly. What once was cute and "boys will be boys" womanizing is now sexual harrassment through and including rape. Ask ...

Posted Thu, Oct 18, 11:21 a.m.

RE: Walt Whitman at WW: My, you ARE young! Rowan and Martin's Laugh In, the break-the-mold comeday show on CBS starring Dan Rowan and Dick Martin that aired in the late 60's (the episode featuring the Smothers Brothers was as quintessentially 60's TV in an anti-establishment sense as you'll ever ...

Posted Thu, Oct 18, 10:09 a.m.

RE: Walt Whitman at WW: Please, Tooley, not W.O. Douglas! Gag! Known as the most prolific fiction writer to ever author SCOTUS opinions, Douglas was Mr. "I Make This Stuff Up as I Go Along." Besides, he was from Yakima, not Walla Walla, and as soon as he could, he ...

Posted Thu, Oct 18, 10:02 a.m.

Crosscut's answer to Rick Steves...: Another Mossback travel essay graces Crosscut. Must be nice to have a gig where your vacations are on the expense account. Any chance you'll find a Northwest connection to, say, Lake Como, trout streams in New Zealand, or...Scotland? Over the course of several years, Walla ...

Posted Tue, Oct 16, 4:31 p.m.

RE: All hail sharp-eyed Piper: That was Sen. Everett McKinley Dirksen who said it back in the days when a a billion-dollars actually was worth something! The Piper

Posted Tue, Oct 16, 2:27 p.m.

The price is right...: Your second paragraph says $2.8 million, while further down in the story it's $2.8 billion. I'm guessing the latter, correct? The Piper

Posted Tue, Oct 16, 11:19 a.m.

RE: who said what: Tell that to those supporting Bill Sherman. Many of the blogs in town are filled with postings from insiders in the PAO seriously concerned about what will happen to that office should the partisan Bill Sherman be elected. They're talking defections, leaving to take private sector ...

Posted Mon, Oct 15, 9:32 a.m.

RE: Question Authority: Tooley, The Drew Carey video was an absolute eye-opener. Should be mandatory viewing - tie them to their seats, if need be - for every transportation planner and politico in the Puget Sound region. Make them watch it over and over and over and over again until ...

Posted Sun, Oct 14, 10:08 p.m.

The sun 'ill come out, tomorrow, bet your bottom dollar there'll be sun!: What will happen if Prop 1 fails on Election Tuesday? We will wake up Wednesday, the sun will come up behind the clouds, babies will continue to be born, the rest of the world will be unmoved ...

Posted Fri, Oct 12, 12:39 p.m.

First things first...: Whatever is done, please remember to retain probably the most important single item on the grounds of the Seattle Center: the digger machine. You know how many guys got "diamond" engagement rings out of that thing? And how many area ex-wives got really steamed when they tried ...

Posted Thu, Oct 11, 11:17 a.m.

RE: 50 measly miles: "Where there is no vision, the people perish..." Proverbs 29:18 If we looked at the pattern of the last ten years for everything, we would spend all our time walking with our backs to the future. Neither history nor technology are that specific. If technology can ...

Posted Wed, Oct 10, 3:13 p.m.

RE: 50 measly miles: Had a naval captain friend say at the time, "No sailors involved in THAT!" Still, Washington DOT employees were, and trying to build a span that will accommodate "light" rail plus allow it to operate when the weather sucks (like it has recently) does not engender ...

Posted Wed, Oct 10, 1:02 p.m.

50 measly miles: Something I don't understand is the fixed-sum nature of a lot of the discussion about cars and so-called greenhouse gases. There's an underlying assumption in the debate over Prop 1, roads versus transit, and cars generally that seems to assume that what cars do or not do ...

Posted Tue, Oct 9, 7:03 p.m.

His Excellency wishes to announce...: ATTENTION: There is absolutely no truth to the rumor that Greg Nickels has changed his name to Greg Quarters due to his increased worth and inestimable value to such lesser personages as the common folk. This in a marginally royal proclamation from Hizzoner's new official ...

Posted Tue, Oct 9, 7:03 p.m.

RE: Shocking, just shocking!: He is... The Piper

Posted Tue, Oct 9, 4:22 p.m.

RE: Channel 21=Propoganda: Impossible! That would mean it leans so far left, it will either fall of its flat earth or eventually come around right. Which is it? The Piper

Posted Mon, Oct 8, 11 a.m.

RE: Credit where credit is due: Nope... What I do appreciate, is a new willingness to come out from under the covers on the issue and actually talk about things like adults. Brewster can vote as he wishes, but Crosscut's series of articles on both Prop 1 and transportation policy ...

Posted Mon, Oct 8, 10:47 a.m.

RE: Let the record speak for itself...: "Falsum etiam est verum quod constituit superior." Syrus. That's all... The Piper

Posted Mon, Oct 8, 10:30 a.m.

Credit where credit is due: "Foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds." Ralph Waldo Emerson. Never a fan at all of Ron Sims, on this issue I tip my hat to him. By doing what he did he's forcing debate not only on the merits of fatally flawed Prop ...

Posted Mon, Oct 8, 9:33 a.m.

RE: Let the record speak for itself...: The two greatest mistakes of the Eisenhower presidency were Earl Warren and William J. Brennan. A logical extension of Brennan's POV has judges making it up as they go along. Instead of respecting the framework of a separation of powers, Brennan's jurisprudence elevates ...

Posted Mon, Oct 8, 1:09 a.m.

RE: Let the record speak for itself...: Go back and read carefully what I wrote. At no time did I contend that either the Founders or the Framers intended this to be a Christian nation as we might understand that term today. What I said is that, by and large, ...

Posted Sun, Oct 7, 8:26 p.m.

RE: Let the record speak for itself...: The Sulla statement isn't something with which I take issue; I'm not a, "nuke 'em till they glow" guy. But I believe that, when push comes to shove, if the United States has to stand alone to do what's in the best interest ...

Posted Sun, Oct 7, 10:01 a.m.

RE: Let the record speak for itself...: Clever...but not quite. International co-dependency isn't a strategy, it's a recipe for subservience. History is replete with the sell-out of "friends" who, because their interests dictated, were willing to make their own pacts with any number of devils of their day. The United ...

Posted Fri, Oct 5, 2:27 p.m.

RE: Let the record speak for itself...: How many electoral votes does Pretoria have? While it's nice to have the approval of others, we must always remember that in international politics, no country ever has friends, it has interests. When those interests dictate strong measures, then so be it. That ...

Posted Fri, Oct 5, 1:09 p.m.

RE: Let the record speak for itself...: Glad your search remains unabated. Would that it be so for all seekers after truth. My daughter's experience, however, is that her search, her journey, is fraught with mines, pitfalls, and deliberate ambushes from those who insist that theirs is the only POV ...

Posted Fri, Oct 5, 9:58 a.m.

Let the record speak for itself...: It's hard these days to be objective about anything. No matter how hard you try, words are taken, spun into weapons, then used to smack you. The historical data to which Michael Medved refers speaks for itself. The history of the United States isn't ...

Posted Thu, Oct 4, 12:18 p.m.

RE: Polar bears? How about your children?: If you want to talk about it on a reasonable basis, like you just did, then I think reasonable people will talk. They may say things with which you disagree or might even cause you to pull what hair Tacoma allows you to ...

Posted Thu, Oct 4, 12:09 p.m.

Tip o' the hat...: From the New Yorker review cited by Casey Corr: "Three years ago, Seattle Public Television produced "The Perilous Fight," a documentary that chronicled the war with color footage that had never been seen before, and with dozens of letters and diary entries and some news reports ...

Posted Thu, Oct 4, 11:12 a.m.

Whoa, Nellie!: Let's not get carried away... Careful with extrapolations. Like: "I was fascinated by what happened when they closed those northbound lanes of I-5. Despite dire predictions, people actually used buses and trains and the backups to Tukwila didn't materialize." Nearly everyone can withstand temporary pain if it's really ...

Posted Thu, Oct 4, 9:29 a.m.

RE: Polar bears? How about your children?: I'm a child of the 50's and 60's, and I attended college at Western from 68 - 72. During that time, Paul Ehrlich's "The Population Bomb" was the cause de jour, cause de month, cause de year, cause de millenium. Ehrlich and many ...

Posted Wed, Oct 3, 9:37 a.m.

Piper Scott St. Clair responds to Aaron Palithorp...: That's right...Prop. 1 is DOA because I said so; it's a free country, after all, and I can say anything I wish, and therein lies, to me, the crux of the issue. I'm really a pretty simple guy who operates under some ...

Posted Tue, Oct 2, 6:18 p.m.

RE: Prop 1 lets traffic delay in 2030 become 79% greater than today: A plan that's DOA cannot be improved. But you could at least address the 10-issues raised by Stuka on this issue. The more people talk about Prop. 1, the worse it looks. The Piper

Posted Tue, Oct 2, 6:13 p.m.

RE: More at stake than polar bears and whales: True, not our only alternative, but it's an alternative that shouldn't be taken off the table before it's ever actually put ON the table. The Big Picture stakes are too...big...to do something so foolish. And in Texas, you have to like ...

Posted Tue, Oct 2, 10:54 a.m.

RE: More at stake than polar bears and whales: "Demand management?" When it comes to food, another word for "demand management" is starvation. If resources are there to the extent you claim, then as a matter of national interest and national security, at least very serious consideration needs to be ...

Posted Mon, Oct 1, 3:21 p.m.

RE: Skip, do you really think doing nothing is a good idea?: Hmmm.... Then tell me how many virgins does he expect will greet him in the after life when he dies on the hill of light rail? The Piper

Posted Mon, Oct 1, 2:47 p.m.

RE: Skip, do you really think doing nothing is a good idea?: Thank you for validating my point that decision making and taxing authority for all things transportation needs to be taken out of the hands of the political hacks, petty despots, wannabe-emperors in their new clothes, surface street option ...

Posted Mon, Oct 1, 12:19 p.m.

RE: Have they got a deal for us!: This poster is my Numero Uno candidate to either chair the ELECTED Pugetopolis Transportation Authority or be its staff executive director. The Piper

Posted Sat, Sep 29, 6:42 p.m.

Have they got a deal for us!: Mossback hits on a couple very key points that haven't gotten much play in our version of Peoria. The first one is the absolute mess we have that passes for transportation planning. Instead of cohesiveness, we have cacophony; it's a Balkanized bag of ...

Posted Fri, Sep 28, 5:21 p.m.

Check, please? Reality check, please?: No offense, Mossback, but something's askew here... Seven comments on two articles about a coffee shop while only three on an article about hate crimes and NONE on an article about Latinas and their growing influence in Seattle politics. Fair notice: My daughter is Celtic ...

Posted Mon, Sep 24, 3:53 p.m.

The great begats...: The first Crosscut paean to Walt Crowley was from Knute Burger, and the second from Jean Godden. Appropriate, since both serve as institutional links in the collective chain of memory about Seattle, how it got to be this way, and what it was like in times past...just ...

Posted Sun, Sep 23, 6:36 p.m.

RE: BURNS? I MAY HAVE HEARD OF HIM: Forgot to mention...The World at War is a fantastic series, but then again it was produced by the Brits. One thing that made it fascinating to me is the opportunity to see some of the still surviving key actors in the drama ...

Posted Sun, Sep 23, 6:26 p.m.

RE: BURNS? I MAY HAVE HEARD OF HIM: Hey Palmer! I've been a Ken Burns fan a long while, and I had originally intended to write some clever doggerel in response to your Homeric verse, but after reading how tender the subject of Burns and his WW II program is ...

Posted Sun, Sep 23, 5:58 p.m.

RE: Where?: Careful acknowledging deer meat in the deep freeze...Such specieism goes against the sensibilities of many in this the most politically correct community on the planet. Midwest values and heritage aren't always appreciated out here on the left coast. The Piper

Posted Sun, Sep 23, 1:29 p.m.

RE: Where?: Rhinelander...at the upper end of the heart of the Wisconsin paper industry! My parents were married in Superior, WI (they lived across the river in Duluth, MN...). Know what summer in Wisconsin and MInnesota is? Two weeks of lousy ice fishing. Since almost by law everyone in Wisconsin ...

Posted Sat, Sep 22, 1:04 p.m.

A link broken...: Good tribute to Walt Crowley, who was more akin to my movement-oriented sister back in UW days than he would have been to me. Still...his death, in John Donne's words, "...diminishes me." Sadder yet, though, is that we've lost someone who deliberately sought to connect the history ...

Posted Fri, Sep 21, 8:37 a.m.

RE: PS...: Huskies...Safeco Field? Basketball...Adieu, Sonics; don't let several hundred thousand slamming doors hit you in the collective butt as you leave town. But Key Arena wouldn't work for Husky basketball, which, like Husky football, should stay on the Husky campus. Remember...Husky stadium underwent substantial improvement not all that long ...

Posted Wed, Sep 19, 8:23 a.m.

The law of the hole...: The Laurelhurst community needs to remember that when you find yourself in a hole, the first rule is...QUIT DIGGING! At the end of the day, after all the discussion is over, and net, net, net...the efforts of Laurelhurst residents and their apologists has left them ...

Posted Wed, Sep 19, 7:33 a.m.

The ghost of Joe Hill...: My children are grown and long since out of the public school system, and my grandchildren (the youngest born just last Saturday) live in North Carolina, so the immediacy of my interest in the WASL is somewhat passing. But I have a strong interest as ...

Posted Mon, Sep 17, 4:28 p.m.

RE: crosscut: Not sure if this will qualify as trolling... Increased recycled content, anywhere from 20 to 40% (California requires 40% to be labeled "recyled"), smaller sheet size, and lower sheet basis weight all work to minimize the need for virgin fiber in groundwood (a pulping process substantially more environmentally ...

Posted Mon, Sep 17, 1:47 p.m.

RE: Casey, methinks you protest too much...: Your last sentence is a genuine stroke of genius! The Seattle City Council is a gaggle of Tweedle Dumb and Tweedle Stupid's led by their kindred spirit, Hizzoner. That's what you get when they're all elected at-large. But cut Casey Corr some slack; ...

Posted Mon, Sep 17, 12:50 p.m.

RE: OK... Let us put it another way...: Great points and excellent historic context. One of the real irksome tendencies of NIMBY'ism is, "I've got mine, now you can't get yours." Too bad there weren't NIMBY's yesterday to keep today's NIMBY's out. The Piper

Posted Mon, Sep 17, 11:09 a.m.

RE: Corrected reference to the "Piano Drop": Casey... Could you clarify whose helicopter it was that flew 240' in the air??? The Piper

Posted Mon, Sep 17, 9:09 a.m.

Laurelhurst...Community ain't just about you!: Fair notice: In 1977, I became the father of twin sons, one of whom died at Children's while the other, now an army staff sergeant in Germany, had his life saved at Children's. I'm not a neutral in this. And my story isn't unique; there ...

Posted Fri, Sep 14, 4:11 p.m.

Cattle versus farms...: Tolls work for me, but I only have a 12-foot vertical commute. Still, occassionally I take 520, and I wouldn't be opposed to a toll to PAY FOR maintenance toward the exisiting bridge or additional lanes in a new one. But tolls on a road, bridge, or ...

Posted Thu, Sep 13, 10:09 p.m.

RE: ant or flogging - take your pick: Sorry...Chuck's remark comes across as tongue in cheek...Yours as bitter...but that's just one reader's reaction. The Piper

Posted Thu, Sep 13, 5:56 p.m.

Danke Schoen all the way from Edmonds to Clinton?: Gawd, say it ain't so! Wayne Newton? Sucker's older than most of the Indian treaties that established reservations and allowed the tribes to fish, clam, and, yes, hunt whales, albeit only under the auspices of affected tribes and not as lone-wolf, ...

Posted Thu, Sep 13, 3:52 p.m.

RE: Take another look: OK...so I go to your web site and read your article. What's the first thing I catch? Perjorative comments in your link calling Chuck Taylor's article a "rant." Bad form, Briggs... I'm always suspicious of those who unabashedly tout awards they've received. Just because someone is ...

Posted Thu, Sep 13, 3:09 p.m.

RE: no answers: Like Mhays, I read a lot of different publications, though not necessarily the ones he mentions. Yet unlike him, most ads don't bother me...UNLESS they interfere with my ability to navigate or screw with my system. On that last point, David Postman at the times needs should ...

Posted Thu, Sep 13, 2:59 p.m.

RE: It's scary out there!: Is it Thursday? One day is as good as the next, and they all seem about the same to me. Besides...I'm not clever enough to be sarcastic...Sardonic, maybe, and then only after eating undercooked pork or overcooked anything else and reading the posts at Horsesass.org, ...

Posted Thu, Sep 13, 1:45 p.m.

RE: it's a steal: Heck, I'll,include his name in a poem for nothing: A kord koated kid named Greg, Teased for wardrobe malfunktions did beg, "Don't taunt me with snickers, 'Bout my koat or my knickers, Lest korporally I'll pelt you with egg! That work for you? The Piper

Posted Thu, Sep 13, 12:03 p.m.

Palmer, would that I could...: I confess...it's a fetish...corduroy sport coats, that is. I own one myself: forrest green from Orvis with suede elbow patches. Like the line from our National Anthem, I hail it proudly at twilight's last gleaming. Do all the K's konnote kraving for krispy kreme's? Or ...

Posted Thu, Sep 13, 11:26 a.m.

RE: female here: Palmer has already challenged me to buy his last coat for a $1,000 (for $1,500, he'll clean it) donation to a scholarship fund he set up for his late father at the UW music department. His challenge has shaken me...How shall I respond? The Piper

Posted Thu, Sep 13, 11:24 a.m.

Response to Editor Steve Smith of the Spokesman-Review...: Free content is what the Internet is all about... Eliminating overhead such as newsprint (sorry, Inland Empire Paper Co. folks), ink, presses, production employee wages and benefits, delivery costs, etc., must make some difference. From what I've seen and read, parking content ...

Posted Thu, Sep 13, 10:40 a.m.

RE: female here: Only when he sheds his corduroy sport jackets... The Piper

Posted Thu, Sep 13, 10:38 a.m.

BB in a boxcar...: Here's something conceptual I'm trying to understand: with the vast emptiness that's out there, why the fanatical insistence on forcing people to live in postage-stamp-sized cubicles within rigidly defined geographic limits? Mossback offers a necessary reminder that we're not running out of space for people. Why, ...

Posted Tue, Sep 11, 9:43 a.m.

RE: Mon Deau, Piper!: Hey! It was just a thought...And there's no truth to the rumor that underneath that organic Brillo pad we'd find Jimmy Hoffa... The Piper

Posted Tue, Sep 11, 8:19 a.m.

Your turn...: The request for reader comments and suggestions on how Crosscut is doing has been up for over 24-hours yet only four readers posted, one of whom was from yours truly. That's disappointing; surely there are others out there with something to contribute. As I scratched my head over ...

Posted Mon, Sep 10, 5:38 p.m.

But how do you line a birdcage with it???: Crosscut is one of the first things I peruse every morning, and, as a regular poster, I check it many times throughout the day. From where I sit, it's still a bit wobbly (infants don't generally walk with confidence at five-months), ...

Posted Mon, Sep 10, 4:14 p.m.

Proposition 1 - Sucks to be us!: Light rail is 19th-century technology masquarading as something innovative. It was foisted upon us - quite thugishly, actually - by politicos who know the original numbers they proffered were phonier than a Sound Transit ridership estimate. It will never get better, only worse. ...

Posted Sun, Sep 9, 1:11 p.m.

RE: Malls are NOT like Community Markets: One of Jackson's assertions is to crib the "save the wetlands" approach to government (who else?) mandating meeting places. That's what I object to. You and I disagree about shopping malls, and that's OK. But I take the "freedom" and "liberty" stuff pretty ...

Posted Sun, Sep 9, 9:45 a.m.

RE: Malls are NOT like Community Markets: The great thing about America as that you can think however you wish about whatever you wish; no one can force you to become part of a community to which you claim no affinity. Kayvaan has the absolute right to never go to ...

Posted Sat, Sep 8, 11:12 p.m.

RE: That's what Shopping Malls are For!: Malls are today what community marketplaces were many years ago; they're places to meet and greet, to see and be seen and generally socialize. Seniors walk them for health, kids are taken to play on the boats, there are food options, and nearly ...

Posted Sat, Sep 8, 6:54 p.m.

Soviet-style urban planning?: Command economics is a relic of the old USSR. Telling the factory to build umpteen-million tractors because Moscow said so without regard to whether anyone wants them is a lot like building so-called "community places" wothout regard to whether anyone wants them, either. Time and tide wait ...

Posted Thu, Sep 6, 12:17 p.m.

Bring together, not tear apart...: Jennifer Dunn was a uniter; she brought people into the big tent of the Republican Party as well as anyone. In watching the various blogs and postings chronicling her passing, I was struck by the respect she was accorded by everyone within the party. From ...

Posted Sun, Sep 2, 9:43 a.m.

No tears for Larry...: I shed no tears for Larry Craig. Nor for David Vitter, Mark Foley or any other elected public official who tries to hide a private life while on the public stage. Likewise, I put in their category Brock Adams, Bill Clinton, Gerry Studds (he had sex ...

Posted Mon, Aug 27, 12:53 p.m.

RE: UW #1!: The true and only reason the UW gets any points at all is because the ol' Piper's youngest daughter is the hardest working senior in the history of the institution. She left two weeks ago for France as a study-abroad-student at the University of Nantes, and upon ...

Posted Fri, Aug 24, 5:23 p.m.

From the base (part 2)...: As to Democrats? They all scare us. Hillary's negatives need to be taken seriously by her supporters. Claiming that overcoming them in New York evidences their non-issue status fails to take into account that New York isn't the United States. There's too much of Mommie ...

Posted Fri, Aug 24, 5:15 p.m.

From the base...: Any analysis of the heart and soul of the Republican Party in the modern era must begin with Ronaldus Magnus Reaganus, against whom all are measured and all fall short. The Great Communicator, alone among all others, inspires yet today, and all of us in the trenches ...

Posted Fri, Aug 24, 4:44 p.m.

RE: Challenge to Chris Vance to support public campaign financing: Here's a clue to the Republican base: public financing of political campaigns is tantamount to the Soviet's winning the cold war; it's G.D. big government interference in what should be strictly private decisions of individual citizens as to who should ...

Posted Fri, Aug 24, 4:35 p.m.

RE: If you wonder why no one takes you seriously...: He didn't compare urban planners and proponents of walkability to Pol Pot; he compared the doctrinaire THINKING style of urban planners and proponents of walkability to enforced working as agricultural stoop laborers, which was a hallmark of Pol Pot's ruthless ...

Posted Fri, Aug 24, 9:43 a.m.

RE: If you wonder why no one takes you seriously...: Actually, Mossback used humorous yet grim irony to expose, at least to a pro-life Libertarian-Republican like me, the seriously totalitarian mindset and ideology that passes for enlightened thinking in this town. It's a, "Let's jam everyone into the conformity of ...

Posted Fri, Aug 24, 7:36 a.m.

Let's not and say we did...: What's next, Dave? Claiming that the fate of Western Civilization rests on concocting a scheme to keep the Sonics/Storm in Seattle? Or that the only hope for Govimpersonator Gregoire to keep her job is to cobble together a rob-from-the-poor-to-give-to-the-rich funding package to bribe the ...

Posted Thu, Aug 23, 12:39 p.m.

Adieu, Sonics, we hardly knew ye!: Vegas and the Sonics are a match made in heaven. Couldn't happen soon enough to suit me. I'd even offer to help pack if it meant moving things along any quicker. The Piper

Posted Tue, Aug 21, 12:05 p.m.

Buelller?... Bueller?... Bueller?... Bueller?...: Watching the grist mill that is the Seattle City Council is as boring as the economics class Ferris Bueller wisely skipped in the movie about his day off. There must be something in the water at City Hall - Valium? - that causes this somnambulent result, ...

Posted Tue, Aug 21, 7:48 a.m.

Signs of the season...: I love political campaign signs! They're a good old-fashioned symbol of the vibrancy of democracty, and they help out in the garden (more on this in a moment). While it's true that personal contact in the form of doorbelling and direct mail are more effective in ...

Posted Thu, Aug 16, 9:46 p.m.

RE: Privacy Does not Exist: You can never go wrong assuming the worst of government; too often it's what we get anyway, so we have loads of experience from which to ponder scenarios. I've said it before...I don't fear Safeway tracking my purchases or Verizon Wireless, dropped call cads that ...

Posted Thu, Aug 16, 4:30 p.m.

RE: Will the last bleeding-heart liberal in Seattle please turn out the lights?: I think, though, that one of Mossback's arguments is that if the government can't help (Government? Help? That's an oxymoron), then it ought to butt out and leave well enough alone. And so-called "good citizens" might consider ...

Posted Thu, Aug 16, 3:57 p.m.

RE: Privacy Does not Exist: My good friend, Deb Eddy, makes an excellent point about privacy and government's they'll-figure-out-a-way-to-abuse-it access to data about us via RFID. It fascinates me that so many of the people who are blase about this are the same ones who scream bloody murder over the ...

Posted Thu, Aug 16, 3:22 p.m.

RE: Solutions? Inspiration for Possibilites?: Loose with your facts there, Tarantula. While drug use, alcoholism, and mental illness are serious issues among the homeless, alleging that upwards of almost half of them are either child molesters or criminal meth manufacturers is reckless and false. I know a lot of homeless ...

Posted Thu, Aug 16, 2:47 p.m.

A man's camper is his...impounded castle...: Expecting a whine fest about homelessness, Kent Kammerer's piece in fact raises interesting questions and illuminates interesting hypocrisies. Some questions, though, he needs to ask himself. People in this neck of the woods want to be known for good works while not actually engaging ...

Posted Wed, Aug 15, 10:06 a.m.

RE: good for the goose, good for the gander: Freedom, liberty, and my right to my property aren't deep intellectual arguments; to me, they're living, working, breathing realities! The bottom, bottom, bottom line? What's mine is mine and yours, yours. I object to any point of view bottomed in the ...

Posted Tue, Aug 14, 11:49 p.m.

RE: good for the goose, good for the gander: My youngest son is a Marine Lance Corporal stationed in Okinawa. For sometime, he's had the following quote on every one of his emails: "There is something more horrible than hoodlums, churls and vipers, and that is knaves with moral justification ...

Posted Tue, Aug 14, 9:56 p.m.

RE: Seattle School Board Needs More Light & Less Heat: Peanut Butter??? Would you mind telling me what type? It will have to be vetted against the new King County Board of Health rules on fats and cholesterol...Politically correct peanut butter MUST be used...May I suggest Adams' Old Fashioned? It's ...

Posted Tue, Aug 14, 5:12 p.m.

RE: good for the goose, good for the gander: Of course voters act in self-interest; free people always act in their self-interest becuase that's what makes them free. The people's self interest IS the public interest. Any claim to the contrary spits in the face of the essence of freedom, ...

Posted Tue, Aug 14, 2:57 p.m.

What kind of election???: Say again, please...is it catch-your-breath...or hold-your-breath...and nose? The Piper

Posted Tue, Aug 14, 2:20 p.m.

RE: good for the goose, good for the gander: Oh, please! The people are occasionally wrong, but they're not stupid! We have good instincts and a visceral understanding of when we're getting screwed. And Tim Eyman simply offers us the occasional vehicle by which to act on those instincts and ...

Posted Tue, Aug 14, 2:09 p.m.

RE: Note to Property Owners Who Refuse to Sell Out (No Gov't Official Here...): I'm no government official, landowner, developer or anything...Just an ordinary Joe Doakes...But I'll say this, all those who criticize or condemn property owners who sell or property developers who buy for their lack of civic virture ...

Posted Tue, Aug 14, 8:28 a.m.

RE: The Mariners are quietly the third best team in baseball...: "...they are prone to running on all cylinders for long stretches and then blowing a piston and falling into counterbalancing losing streaks." Excellent imagery! And very true! It's like they need an occasional time out to check the oil, ...

Posted Mon, Aug 13, 1:40 p.m.

Can you hear the people sing, singing a song of angry men...: Who among us is perfect? Certainly not Tim Eyman, and he'd be the first to acknowledge it. Be that as it may, he's been as good a friend us beleaguered taxpayers have had ever since ordinary guy Bruce ...

Posted Mon, Aug 13, 7:24 a.m.

T'aint necessarily so...: Saying that the golden key to the magic door of ending homelessness is housing with a nod to services or that the villain that created homelessness was the Reagan administration (long time since that bogey man came up for a flogging) is simplistic. Why people are homeless ...

Posted Sun, Aug 12, 3:02 p.m.

RE: eagan closed *State* hospitals?: Homeless by choice IS NOT a myth...I've met them. While they're an admittedly small minority of the overall homeless population, they do exist and can frequently be found living in Tent City 4 during the summer months. Likening it to camping out or the great ...

Posted Fri, Aug 10, 10:18 a.m.

The Missing Link...: Norm Dicks is probably the last of the old-style Democrats to hold office either in Washington State or representing Washington State. He's the progeny of Scoop and Maggie, two names unknown to most modern Democratic voters in these parts or considered by them to be quaintly antiquaited ...

Posted Tue, Aug 7, 3:11 p.m.

RE: I'm dying to know: The US Senate is frequently referred to as a "Cave of Winds." The Seattle City Council is a "Sewer of Winds..." The Piper

Posted Tue, Aug 7, 12:06 p.m.

RE: I'm dying to know: Close your eyes, and breathe deeply...you'll understand... The Piper

Posted Tue, Aug 7, 8:59 a.m.

And the winner is...!!!: David Brewster's lead sentence is incorrect; so far there is a clear winner in the Sonics end-game blame game: beleagured taxpayers. All the behemoths and behemoth wannabes circling each other looking for openings and advantage are like so many wild carnivores after the same crippled animal ...

Posted Sat, Aug 4, 10:24 a.m.

RE: Are you sure that's not Brad Pitt?: Enough about fishing...Were the onion rings at the drive-in any good? The Piper

Posted Fri, Aug 3, 6:28 p.m.

RE: Better to live in perpetual disillusionment than perpetual denial, as do most Rebublicans: Wow! A guy can't post an innocent comment and make an observation without getting his head snapped like a punching bag! But I still say his upper hand is too high on the rod. Being a ...

Posted Fri, Aug 3, 4:28 p.m.

Is this nannyism really necessary?: Like you, Mossback, I'm big boned. Yet I came by it in a morally superior way: I traded the ultimate health sin for that which brings about big bonededness. What's the ultimate health sin? Cigarette smoking, of course. Smokers are just around the corner from ...

Posted Fri, Aug 3, 11:53 a.m.

The forrest for the trees...: Arcane nuances of transportation policy - jots and tittles of numbers, carbon footprints, whether bus tires should be tubeless, choo choo choices - quickly become mind-numbing grist suitable only for the wonkiest of policy wonks. Liberal arts grads with advanced degrees think Big Picture, so ...

Posted Wed, Aug 1, 2:25 p.m.

It's all in the wrist...: Sigh...poor Casey disillusioned by an actor! But then again, he's a Democrat, and Democrats live in perpetual disillusionment! I'll bet ol' Tom Skerrit doesn't fly F-14 Tomcats either after his role as Viper in "Top Gun," either. Or perform surgery in a military hospital after ...

Posted Mon, Jul 30, 2:56 p.m.

RE: How about Crosscut 2.0 - The Balance Version: Moderate to conservative? You have got to be kidding! So far as I can tell there isn't a real red state voting, red meat eating, gun owning (and frequently using), pro-life, Iraq war supporting, bite-the-heads-off-chickens real live conservative regularly contributing to ...

Posted Fri, Jul 27, 10:43 a.m.

RE: You need help out with these today?: Well, Carless, I'll make you this deal...I will pay the full cost of my transportation options, and you can pay the full cost of yours. Last time I heard, transit rider fares would be pretty steep if that constituted the exclusive revenue ...

Posted Fri, Jul 27, 10:22 a.m.

RE: Well, okay, as far as you went ...: Red, blue, left, right, R, D, liberal, conservative...This is something we all need to support and join hands on. Governmental use of RFID may start out benign, but it won't end up benign. Big Brother is lusting in his heart for ...

Posted Fri, Jul 27, 9:32 a.m.

Newstand hide and seek...: OK...something I'm having trouble figuring out... Wednesday, I could scroll down the Crosscut home page and find a link to David Postman's blog. Thursday I couldn't. In your article explaining the new format, Chuck, there was a link to Newstand that got me where I wanted ...

Posted Fri, Jul 27, 8:44 a.m.

RE: Some additional feature requests: Confused...What's wrong with either essays by Republicans, more of which are needed, BTW, or multi-part essays by anyone? Nothing like a robust diversity of POV's to spark thinking and honest debate. The Piper

Posted Fri, Jul 27, 7:28 a.m.

"Mr. Mossback, those new Gap jeans that you like are now in stock...": Anyone who's ever seen the movie "Minority Report" probably felt slightly uncomfortable at the prospect of walking through a mall and having every store recognize you by way of retinal scanners or other similar devices. While that ...

Posted Thu, Jul 26, 9:04 a.m.

RE: Are you seeing a jumbled page?: Just remember...cache only...no checks, no credit! The Piper

Posted Thu, Jul 26, 8:32 a.m.

RE: You need help out with these today?: We don't live all over the world...we live here. And it's interesting to me that millions of people from places all over the world are clammoring to move here - legal or illegal, for these purposes it's beside the point - not ...

Posted Thu, Jul 26, 7:35 a.m.

RE: You need help out with these today?: Anyone with a passle of children will tell you that the family jalopy isn't a commuter vehicle, it's a necessity of daily life. On the way to work kids are dropped off, then you stop to pick up snacks for the team, ...

Posted Wed, Jul 25, 2:32 p.m.

You need help out with these today?: Would somebody tell me how you schlep several sheets of 4 X 8' wallboard, groceries for a family of four, the dry-cleaning, three banker's boxes filled with documents, a 50-pound sack of Purina Puppy Chow, several flats of marigolds or any other such ...

Posted Fri, Jul 20, 4:05 p.m.

This Hutch is for you...: There was a time when Susan Hutchison was simply one of the Three Blondigos on local TV news...Susan, Jean Enersen, and Kathi Goertzen. She's done her best work, however, since leaving KIRO. Her no-nonsense approach to juicing SSO and lighting a fire under a rather ...

Posted Wed, Jul 18, 10:47 a.m.

RE: Pricing the congestion: I'm waiting for the Fox mini-series starring Stallone, Bruce Willis, Morgan Fairchild, Alicia Silverstone, Moms Mabley, and featuring Zip the wonder dog as the architect of Western Washington transportation and urban planning. The Piper

Posted Tue, Jul 17, 7 p.m.

RE: why just buildings?: Why not just pour cement on him now, mount him on a literal pedestal (other than the figurative one he's currently on), and affix him at Westlake Center or that statuary park near the Market? No worry about pigeons; one look at him and they're history. ...

Posted Tue, Jul 17, 6:51 p.m.

RE: Jean Enersen?!?: Bea was one of my first cooking teachers. Whenever home from school sick, Bea would be my companion with her white hair and soft, grandmotherly voice. She taught me how to bake fish, bless her heart. How come there aren't any Bea Donovan's any more? I mean, ...

Posted Wed, Jul 11, 7:34 p.m.

RE: Walkability is the key: Big shady ones??? Hmmm...In Ballard didn't that used to mean overly large and portly Scandahoovian gangsters? The Piper

Posted Sat, Jul 7, 10:37 a.m.

RE: Windbag ego: Raw Sewage "piped" into Elliott Bay??? You can say dumped, channeled, deposited, flushed, tossed, chucked, pushed, posited, or proffered...but please...not piped! The Piper

Posted Sat, Jul 7, 9:14 a.m.

RE: the natives are rolling their eyes: About the cypress trees...I have to agree. Who in his or her right mind would eat salmon cooked on a cypress plank??? But a cedar plank is something else entirely. And we mulch our gardens with cedar bark. Cypress sounds hot and muggy, ...

Posted Fri, Jul 6, 6:42 p.m.

That was the town that was...: I was 13 when we moved to Kenmore from Arizona in April 1963. What made the new area different, aside from green versus brown, wet versus dry, hilly versus flat, and this weird thing called junior high school versus first through eighth grade schools, ...

Posted Tue, Jul 3, 5:58 p.m.

DBremner doth protest too much, methinks!: While I appreciate DBremner joining me in expressing outrage and dismay over Roloff's vile screed, I must take issue with his assumptions. Despite his protestations to the contrary, it's not, "finally pretty clear to all that Mr. Cheney and his ideological brethren have not ...

Posted Tue, Jul 3, 5 p.m.

He no less than anyone...: Mike Webb's death brings to mind the words of 17th Century English metaphysical poet, John Donne: "No man is an island, entire of itself…Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind." In discussing the untimely or wrongful death of anyone, it's important ...

Posted Tue, Jul 3, 10:13 a.m.

How low must the gutter go?: I'm glad Mr. Roloff copyrighted his work since I wouldn't want any other human being on the planet to ever take credit for this spew of disgraceful venom. It's sad that Crosscut allows a post calling for the death of children. Whether it's intended ...

Posted Sun, Jul 1, 12:59 p.m.

RE: Desicion Making Style: Are you saying Seattle is a municipal French-capital-hotel-chain equivalent? That's not nice! You might hurt someone's feelings, which is the ultimate Seattle sin...except Seattle doesn't acknowledge the concept of sin since there are no absolutes. Instead, we should form a civic committee of high minded noblesse ...

Posted Sat, Jun 30, 8:19 a.m.

RE: Clearly marked "ESSAY": Hear, hear! The Piper

Posted Fri, Jun 29, 11:28 a.m.

Study, study...who's got the study?: There's a story kicking around on how excessive computer game playing should be classified as an addictive behavior and listed in the DSM-IV, which is the bible of mental diseases and disorders. Published in 1994 (to be supplanted in 2011 by the DSM-V) it lists ...

Posted Wed, Jun 27, 8:04 a.m.

Memories...like the corners of my mind...: I'm all for preserving links to our history. Documents, artifacts, and even historic places need preservation in order for the present and future to connect with and learn from the past. But the Ballard Denny's is no Gettysburg...Hell, it's not even a Waldo Hospital! ...

Posted Tue, Jun 26, 6:12 p.m.

What's your Visa number again?: Everybody is eager to spend everyone else's money but their own, and they're equally eager to stop everyone else from making money - that would then be spent - by preventing everyone else from using their property to make some of their own. If that ...

Posted Mon, Jun 25, 3:28 p.m.

RE: The Totem Pole Story, But Accurate: Never mess with a guy who buys corduroy sport coats by the carload! The Piper

Posted Sat, Jun 23, 9:11 a.m.

As we speak...: As this little debate was raging away, the percentage of the private sector workface represented by a union fell once again. Is there nothing more emblematic of the middle-class than a Boeing technical or professional employee? Yet here they are rejecting their putative salvation. The Piper [June ...

Posted Fri, Jun 22, 11:26 a.m.

RE: The Piper Responds to Mossback - Part IV: Sorry for screwing up the title to Part IV...It should be as per the title to this reply. The Piper

Posted Fri, Jun 22, 11:20 a.m.

The Piper Responds to Mossback - Part VI: When the rules applicable to all the players are broken, then it's the proper role of government to penalize the rule breakers. Inside trading and those who engage in it are cheaters, and they should be prosecuted. Ditto those who loot publicly ...

Posted Fri, Jun 22, 11:19 a.m.

The Piper Responds to Mossback - Part V: As for government, what more needs to be said other than the words of Ronaldus Magnus Reaganus, "Government is not a solution to the problem, government is the problem." When government recognizes that its role isn't as a player in the economic ...

Posted Fri, Jun 22, 10:40 a.m.

The Piper respects The Seagull - Part IV: A genius of the American middle-class is its fluid nature. Members don't see themselves as static or stuck; they can do something about their situation. Sure, it may be tougher some times rather than others, but middle-class people are free agents and ...

Posted Fri, Jun 22, 10:38 a.m.

The Piper Responds to Mossback - Part III: Let's pull back the rug and see what other creepy-crawlies lie underneath... The UFCW, organizer of the rally you attended, Mossback, together with my old alma mater, the SEIU, the Teamsters, and several other international unions broke away from the AFL-CIO a ...

Posted Fri, Jun 22, 10:35 a.m.

The Piper Responds to Mossback - Part II: Unions remain stuck in a 1930's industrial unionization mindset and Paul Krugman does his level best to help turn back the clock. You claim he asserts, "labor is the engine of middle class prosperity and quality of life." Oh, really? If that's ...

Posted Fri, Jun 22, 10:33 a.m.

The Piper responds to Mossback - Part I: Mossback... Methinks I have riled his behemothness. First, I said you were the reincarnation AND SPITTING IMAGE of old Karl much in the same way I compared you with bears a few weeks ago. With respect, Mossback, you and Karl? Yours is ...

Posted Tue, Jun 19, 8:48 p.m.

Wobblies wobble and they always fall down...: Recently Mossback regaled us with a story about bears and how Krispy Kreme donuts are the answer to controlling their urban encroachments. I commented that he bore a suspicious resemblance to the subject of his piece and asked whether he wasn't one who ...

Posted Sun, Jun 17, 10 p.m.

RE: American values on display for all to see: Where? Rumor has it that he's on exhibit at Body Worlds. His is the one wearing a do-rag. Worst president? We'll always have Jimmy Carter! The Piper

Posted Fri, Jun 15, 1:23 p.m.

RE: American values on display for all to see: Good ol' Rev! Always has a Republican/Bush angle to everything. But you're wrong on one thing, Rev...Because of my Republican and military connections and my absolute American Christian values, I won't be the one snatched...I'll be the snatchor; you'll be the ...

Posted Fri, Jun 15, 9:37 a.m.

RE: ossi won't be able to hide his whacko-ness this time: After He's done with her, He told me He's coming after you! You'll be able to recognize Him...by the Rossi '08 button He's wearing... The Piper

Posted Fri, Jun 15, 9:32 a.m.

Coming soon to a mortuary near you!: When I was a kid, I'd spend summers with my Uncle in Salem, OR. He was a physician...an anaste - anasthezi-anaskezy-whatever...he was gas-passer. Because we were morbidly curious 10-year olds, my cousin Robert and I would sneak peaks at Uncle's medical school photo ...

Posted Thu, Jun 14, 10:21 p.m.

RE: ossi won't be able to hide his whacko-ness this time: Hey Rev! Odd comments from a member of the reverand clergy! Vituperation and comparative guilt. What an enlightened mind! But I will support Dino...absolutely! BTW...my D.C. sources tell me the Patriot Act has enabled them to examine all your ...

Posted Thu, Jun 14, 1:08 a.m.

A road heavily travelled...: Back to whether the Seattle City Council is relevant, are we? And we ask the question how many different ways disguised as slightly tipsy matrons at a book club gathering to discuss a book none of them have read? Begs the question: How many ways, in ...

Posted Wed, Jun 13, 9:35 a.m.

RE: It's ironic that about half of King County is locked up...: Actually, it's bull's eye dead on in exposing the hypocrisy of urban cave dwellers (not that Mossback is one, however - he's too furry for that) and their romantic notions of the great outdoors, which they seek to ...

Posted Wed, Jun 13, 8:26 a.m.

Via long distance...: Any truth to the rumor that this experimental game will actually take place in Oklahoma City? The Piper

Posted Wed, Jun 13, 8:21 a.m.

The tar baby...or the briar patch...we're stucker or suckered either way: All this transportation policy stuff about congestion pricing, RTID's and how to rifle-butt us onto bicycles, buses, or trains is like Brer Rabbit's encounter with the tar baby: the more you swing, the stucker you get. Shouldn't the point ...

Posted Fri, Jun 8, 4:59 p.m.

RE: She who has eyes, let her see...: But what do they give you??? The Piper

Posted Fri, Jun 8, 2:48 p.m.

RE: She who has eyes, let her see...: As in Act I, Act II, Act III...OK, I'll buy it. But say it outloud real fast and you sound like that duck in the insurance ads. The Piper

Posted Fri, Jun 8, 1:54 p.m.

She who has eyes, let her see...: Is "The economic impact act plays in Portland" supposed to be, "The economic impact art plays in Portland?" David Postman today reminds us of something I.F. Stone once said, "Typos are worse than fascism." Since I am not without sin among you, I ...

Posted Fri, Jun 8, 12:58 p.m.

Studies lie...and liars study...: He's dead? Franco is dead? Wow! What will happen to his American-style spaghetti and ravioli? In the couple days since the appearance Mossback's study of studies with its focus on arts studies, I commissioned a study of my own, and it's come back with some revealing ...

Posted Fri, Jun 8, 9 a.m.

Cold drinks here...Ice cold drinks!: Will no one rid us of this meddlesome Weaver? But if we must have one, can it not be, as Henderson suggests, a Sigourney? She may not have a good slider or fastball, but watching her wind up would be easy on the eyes. For ...

Posted Wed, Jun 6, 4:54 p.m.

RE: Thoughts on the Dem candidate(s) for prosecutor: But you sought to draw a distinction making Seattle voters special. The election will be for a KING COUNTY prosecutor, and that someone has the ultimate misfortune to live in the land governed by what is collectively known as the Wizard of ...

Posted Wed, Jun 6, 1:46 p.m.

RE: Thoughts on the Dem candidate(s) for prosecutor: Is jgastil's post illuminating or what? The King County prosecutor will be selected by who? SEATTLE VOTERS!!! And it's a given - a divine ordination, even - that it will be a Democrat. Is there any better evidence than this for the ...

Posted Wed, May 30, 8:15 p.m.

RE: 10-count, 'yer OUT!: No...more like what happens when you take your little boy cat to the vet and he tells you afterwards, "There he/it's fixed!" The Piper

Posted Wed, May 30, 3:45 p.m.

10-count, 'yer OUT!: Stick a fork in 'em, they're done! What passes for city government in Seattle just decided to fiddle while Rome burns. Proving its own irrelevence, the Seattle City Council has this day voted to spend $8.1 million to study the obvious and stupid: a surface street option ...

Posted Wed, May 30, 10:06 a.m.

Mossback and Ursus arctos horribillis...separated at birth?: Hey Mossback! Just how much of this is semi-autobiographical? I mean I've seen pics, and and any resemblance between your behemothness and your subject matter must have been strictly all in the family! Next time you're in Issaquah at KK, pick me up ...

Posted Tue, May 29, 9:32 p.m.

RE: TKO...The trouble with Mary Alice: Indeed...Tis a consummation devoutely to be wished... But those of us who are "uninc's" (meaning we live in unincorporated King County in the proposed annexation areas of Kingsgate, Finn Hill and Upper Juanita) are being herded like so many lemmings into a city that ...

Posted Tue, May 29, 1:37 p.m.

RE: TKO: So...it's a TKO in favor of the slightly insane voices of sanity? You think you got troubles in Seattle? Come over to the Eastside where the issue of neighborhoods in unincorporated King County (the uninc's) are faced with being annexed into the Soviet of Kirkland where we'll be ...

Posted Tue, May 29, 7:51 a.m.

RE: Yet another place for art dies in Nickles-Allan Seattle: Pronunciation guide, please... Is it condo-munity...or condom-unity? Either way, somebody gets screwed in the process...Is that your thesis? The Piper

Posted Mon, May 28, 10:10 a.m.

RE: PS, Nick - special post for you: Hey Stuka! In scoring rounds, do the posts from LoveYourViaduct count as one or two? Rounds, that is. And how do you score it/them? A question I forgot to ask: Strict Marquess of Queensberry rules? Would hate to see any rabbit punches ...

Posted Sun, May 27, 6:20 p.m.

There's nothing new under the sun...Eccl. 1:9: Sanjaya wasn't the first, nor will he be the last. Sounds like a great and revealing show. Two character pieces sometimes do the best job of exploring the human condition and teaching us about ourselves. Maybe the lesson here is to keep it ...

Posted Fri, May 25, 2:34 p.m.

RE: After 8 Rounds....: Channeling Don Dunphy, are we? http://www.radiohof.org/sportscasters/dondunphy.html Are we doing 12 or 15 rounds? 12 would be so Seattle, but 15 is what a true champion aspires to. The Piper

Posted Fri, May 25, 11:58 a.m.

Decency, honor, and respect...: Norm Maleng was a decent public servant and a better man. King County was made better by his life and work. Not many rememeber, but he was also a grieving father. Some 18-years ago, he lost his daughter in a sledding accident. My oldest son and ...

Posted Fri, May 25, 11:10 a.m.

It has frozen over...: Never thought I'd live to see the day... Joel Connelly in today's P-I has some pointed things to say on the whole "Seattle" thing... Want to know who's in Seattle government? Find the nearest mirror and see who's looking longingly and with admiration at themself hour ...

Posted Fri, May 25, 7:11 a.m.

Sorry, Nick...: It's axiomatic in politics that when you have to defend your own relevance, you've already lost the debate. Sorry, Nick, but you and your colleagues are irrelevant. Time and tide wait for no man, not even you. You are increasingly seen as hopelessly bogged down in mind numbing ...

Posted Thu, May 24, 2:50 p.m.

RE: amtha Channeling Emmet Watson: Ka-CHING! The Piper

Posted Thu, May 24, 2:25 p.m.

RE: A Competitive Slate: I nominate Charlie Chong! Dead he's still better than the lot that's there now! Love that word hustle! The Piper

Posted Wed, May 23, 6:40 p.m.

RE: The Take Away: Uff da! The jig is up! Emmett Watson rules from the grave. Here's an idea: Send a telegram to the Seattle City Council, Mayor Nickels, Ron Sims, and all the other talking heads in town that says, "All is discovered...Flee at once!" Then go down to ...

Posted Wed, May 23, 6:37 p.m.

RE: No vision: I saw that! A Soprano's episode! But it was the suffocated body of Christopher Moltisanti in a totaled Escalade...Tony went to Vegas for Peyote. BTW...am I the only one who thinks Mossback took a vacay in the American Southwest ony to write the whole thing off because ...

Posted Wed, May 23, 6:02 p.m.

The Piper respects The Seagull - Part II: Part 2... 3) I do not agree, "no individual's opinion in this matter should carry more weight than that of any other." We're talking campaigning here, not the voting booth. Liberty presumes the right to do with your property as you see ...

Posted Wed, May 23, 6:02 p.m.

The Piper respects The Seagull - Part III: Part III 5) There's a difference between policies with which we disagree because we're in the minority on that issue and supporting a candidate who as far as I'm concerned seeks to rob me of my life, liberty and property. We have ...

Posted Wed, May 23, 5:59 p.m.

The Piper respects The Seagull!: Dear Seagull, My response is in multiple postings because of Crosscut's 4K word limit, and because I write a lot. Thank you for respectfully addressing the issues I raised. We agree on much...I'll bet we agree that Jeff Weaver HAS TO GO! Unconditional release time! ...

Posted Wed, May 23, 11:56 a.m.

RE: Qualifications for Governor: I AM NOT FRANK CHOPP!: Chopp-Chopp!!! This was funny! And I'm not Frank Chopp, though I would like to play him on television! She's better looking than Frank Chopp, too, whose images aren't the result of his name. The Piper

Posted Wed, May 23, 1:45 a.m.

RE: Public Campaign Financing Passes Constitutional "Sniff Test": Of course candidates in the 46th District support PCF! It's one of the bluest districts in the state! When was the last time a non-Democrat got elected, or even came close to getting elected, in that district? Lobbyists aren't per se bad. ...

Posted Tue, May 22, 6:17 p.m.

RE: No vision: No, no, no!!! The Elks! The Piper

Posted Mon, May 21, 4:57 p.m.

RE: Clean Elections Is Good for the Market Place of Ideas: I know Clean Elections isn't, nor can it be, a mandatory program, yet too many of those who propse publicly funded campaigns position themselves in that direction. When government gets to decide who runs for office by deciding which ...

Posted Mon, May 21, 3:44 p.m.

RE: Density solves WHAT problem?: I'm not sure I agree, but it's nice to hear an argument that's less "what we have to do," and more "why we have to do it." A lot of the time advocates have great plans and schemes only to stumble when aske, "We must ...

Posted Mon, May 21, 2:31 p.m.

RE: Still...something of value will be lost: Exquisitely put! Sitting cross-legged on the floor turning each big, stiff page in a leisurely, studied manner. Absolutely! And where will find the really important bits of news that chronicle our own lives? I think I'll send something on that very subject to ...

Posted Mon, May 21, 11:35 a.m.

RE: Clean Elections Is Good for the Market Place of Ideas: Yes, democracy is about hustling for dollars. And it's about hustling for votes and hustling to get your ideas and candidates in front of the public. It's hustling harder than the other guy hustles. It's all about hustling. Efficient ...

Posted Mon, May 21, 10:13 a.m.

RE: Newspapers will go the way of the caveman!: Actually...hundreds of thousands of words predicting the demise of paper have been printed for years...on paper. I'm here to tell you that books will never go out of fashion, newspapers will still be published, and printed publications will simply adapt to ...

Posted Fri, May 18, 3:47 p.m.

RE: P-I denial: It's the P-I! Did you expect, like, accuracy? The Piper

Posted Fri, May 18, 3:38 p.m.

RE: If at first you can't succeed...slop at the public trough: See my reply to Stuka... Yes, citizens are often compelled to underwrite activities anathema to them. The activities of just about anyone whose last name ends in hyphen "D" I put into that category. Two can play at that ...

Posted Fri, May 18, 2:46 p.m.

RE: If at first you can't succeed...slop at the public trough: Hey Stuka! Uhm...I'm a Republican, I'm a fan of Fox News, I believe there are Islamo-fascists, and I believe the Iraq War to be a just cause. Call me crazy...but call me often! But I don't believe I have ...

Posted Fri, May 18, 10:20 a.m.

RE: Best piece yet on Crosscut: "If nobody cares enough to try hard, why do they deserve to elect people?" Amen, brother...amen! The Piper

Posted Fri, May 18, 6:43 a.m.

Let's get to the real issues...: Will you be able to line a bird cage bottom with it? House break a puppy? Roll it up and swat a spider? Wrap a fish? Protect grandma's dishes while in storage waiting for your daughter to eventually inherit them? Wad it up to ...

Posted Thu, May 17, 7:28 p.m.

If at first you can't succeed...slop at the public trough: Public funding of any campaign for elected office or ballot measure absolutely violates my rights under the First and 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution since it deprives me of my free speech and free association rights because I will ...

Posted Wed, May 16, 1:43 p.m.

RE: NEWSFLASH: Conservative shill finds 100s of improper votes!: You don't seem to get it, do you? KC Records and Elections didn't mail the damn thing in time for it to get to him! Read http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/jamieson/205686_robert29.html and http://www.opinionjournal.com/diary/?id=110006543 Here's a huge difference between me and you: I want KC Records ...

Posted Tue, May 15, 2:53 p.m.

RE: Good Piece on JOA History: Sorry...most junk mail is either supercalendered or coated making it unsuitable from an absorbtion standpoint. Nothing will replace newsprint or groundwood specialty grades for bird cages, puppy training and the like. Nice, big double-wide pages that are easy to fold and simple to dispose ...

Posted Tue, May 15, 11:38 a.m.

RE: Good Piece on JOA History: "Preserved" isn't the word. "Pickled" is more like it. But until I can figure out how to line the bottom of a bird cage with an on-line paper, I'll still read a print one. The Piper

Posted Tue, May 15, 11:20 a.m.

RE: NEWSFLASH: Conservative shill finds 100s of improper votes!: Sean, You betray the root of all your efforts: lingering bitterness over the 2000 election. Say what you will about it, I can't do a thing about Florida, but I can do something about Washington State. The money is there to ...

Posted Tue, May 15, 8:27 a.m.

RE: NEWSFLASH: Conservative shill finds 100s of improper votes!: In an election where the margin was eventually determined to be 129 votes, the finding of 129 misplaced ballots, or 129 improperly cast ballots is an absolutely determinative factor. There used to be a commercial on TV for, I think, IBM. ...

Posted Mon, May 14, 8:53 a.m.

A small town filled with even smaller minds...: I've said this before, but it's worth repeating: Seattle is a hick town filled with...hicks; whatever veneer of sophistication people think exists is very, very, very thin, and it's getting warped. People around here keep touting how special they are and what ...

Posted Sat, May 12, 7:57 a.m.

RE: hearstscribe can't spell: Hey Rev! Is no one safe from your scorn and contempt? The guy simply corrects a misspelling of his name, and you pounce on him like Ron Sims on a tax dollar! What's next? Blame the misspelling on Bush/Cheney? The Piper

Posted Fri, May 11, 6:02 p.m.

Update that resume...: Thank you Crosscut and Chuck Taylor for your, "Whoa, Nellie!" US Attorneys serve at the pleasure of the President of the United States. I seem to recall that President Clinton shared his displeasure with some 93 of them (that the number?) by sacking the lot. I've been ...

Posted Fri, May 11, 6:18 a.m.

Do it up right!: How about a real nice Stihl 18" chain saw? Or a new Makita circular saw? Maybe a case of Beers Around the World? Perhaps one of those beautiful Beretta Giubileo 12 gauge over-and-under shotguns? Some new chest waders (she'd want you to get them in your ...

Posted Thu, May 10, 6:35 p.m.

Say cheese!: Where did you get that picture of him? His driver's license? He'll be OK as long as he doesn't mess with Antiques Roadshow. Some private sector values and ethics ought to shake that place up! The Piper

Posted Thu, May 10, 6:33 p.m.

RE: Waiting for Weaver: Thank you for coming over from the dark side. Release him...Nothing personal; strictly business. The Piper

Posted Thu, May 10, 2:56 p.m.

RE: Gil Meche, where are you??: I hate you, animalal, I hate you, hate you, hate you...for pointing out the absolutely obvious and oh so true! To paraphrase what Casey Stengal said when he managed the Mets, "Can't anybody here make decent trades in this game?" The Piper

Posted Thu, May 10, 2:15 p.m.

No strikes you're out!: Weaver's not quite as good as some pitchers I've seen in five-year old Pee Wee T-ball games. When he goes out there, it's as if every hitter in baseball has put a sign on his back saying, "Hit me hard and hit me often." He gets ...

Posted Wed, May 9, 7:44 p.m.

Excuse me...Is this where I'm supposed to act wounded?: Uhm....methinks I have been insulted, but I'm not fully certain. I mean, I've been insulted by some real masters; verbal swordsmen with rapier wit have sliced and diced me like nobody's business. But I survive! Why, I've even taken on two, ...

Posted Wed, May 9, 5:03 p.m.

You have the right to remain silent. If you give up the right...: Lundgren puffed his own garbanzo beans without disclosing that they were his garbanzo beans...and he got caught! Arts reviewers shouldn't review their own "art." Or at least they should let the public know the lofty words they ...

Posted Tue, May 8, 5:16 p.m.

Oemig, the rain must fall...: I have a profound and systemic disagreement with the whole notion of domestic partnerships and what they stand for. I know that will infuriate many, if not most, of the readers of this post. Take it or leave it; that's simply who I am and ...

Posted Tue, May 8, 12:19 p.m.

A legend in his own mind...: IMHO, Chuck Taylor showed class in falling on his sword over the Lundgren affair. Integrity...I like that. It's not a tempest in a commode; it's an issue of credibility. Lundgren puffed his own work and got free publicity. If I want to puff my ...

Posted Mon, May 7, 7:35 p.m.

RE: Going my way?: To contend that demand management is necessary to adjust highway congestion is to ignore other options. Where is it written that all must report to work at 8:00 0r 9:00? Some companies now adjust starting and quitting times to avoid congested highways. Start at 6:30, get ...

Posted Mon, May 7, 2:13 p.m.

Going my way?: A lot - most? - of what passes for transportation policy in this region is decided behind closed doors, as Mossback contends. Lip service is paid to what those of us among the great unwashed think, feel, need, or want. Witness the shenanigan by the legislature and ...

Posted Mon, May 7, 12:23 p.m.

Link it to me...: The Seattle Times' David Postman links this story on his Blog today, and he more or less comes to the same conclusions as Editor Taylor. See it at http://blog.seattletimes.nwsource.com/davidpostman/ The Piper

Posted Sun, May 6, 5:59 p.m.

Choose this day whom you will serve...Joshua 24:15: Chuck Taylor writes: "Lundgren tells us he didn't mean to deceive us and is sorry for the confusion. That's fine. He's an artist whose job it is to blur the lines of whatever. Our job is to sharpen the lines, and in ...

Posted Sun, May 6, 7:30 a.m.

Three strikes is not enough and too many!: In the spirit of the impending death of $30 car tabs (which were really killed almost immediately upon their enactment) due to a bill signed by Designated-Governor Gregoire allowing local jurisdictions to hike them $20/year without a vote, the number of balls ...

Posted Sat, May 5, 1:02 p.m.

RE: Don't Shoot the Humorist: Greg's satire is unlikely to have any positive impact? Boy, dj, are you so wrong! What is it with everyone that humor has to have some social utilitarian prupose? How about humor simply as entertainment or serving to point out to us our foibles and ...

Posted Fri, May 4, 7:12 p.m.

RE: And the people all said, "Amen!": Per Dictionary.com...take your pick: unctuous \UNGK-choo-us\, adjective: 1. Of the nature or quality of an unguent or ointment; fatty; oily; greasy. 2. Having a smooth, greasy feel, as certain minerals. 3. Insincerely or excessively suave or ingratiating in manner or speech; marked by ...

Posted Fri, May 4, 7:15 a.m.

No room on the bus...: Wherever the M's go, could they please do so without Jeff Weaver??? On his last start, he couldn't even last an inning! It's unconditional release time. The Piper

Posted Thu, May 3, 4:28 p.m.

RE: Hard to Laugh: S'cuse me! In a former life I was Franklin W. Dixon! And Jonathan Swift who wrote that stuff about Irish kids? Isn't that where the Swift Meat Packing Co. came from? The Piper

Posted Thu, May 3, 10:35 a.m.

The India rubber man has nothing on this...: Are we stretching here, or what? Wishful thinking is nice at Christmas, but in May??? Oklahoma City Sonics...say it 10-times and it's yours. Up and down the line this Sonics thing has the stink of death. The legislature's breath taking (in a ...

Posted Thu, May 3, 9:20 a.m.

RE: xagerated Sense of Entitlement: Speaking as a gun owner...laugh away! Hmmm...How about a gun-owning, bicycling dentist??? Now isn't that a frightful thought??? The Piper

Posted Thu, May 3, 9:18 a.m.

RE: Thought: Wally... You made the choice, not me. Greg was both funny and perceptive. The best laughs we have should be the ones occassioned by looking at ourselves in the mirror. I get one every morning! Cheers and chuckles, mate... The Piper

Posted Thu, May 3, 9:13 a.m.

Life and breath...: I've been a season ticket holder to Taproot Theater for over 15-years. It's an outstanding local company that produces a bevy of works new and old that offer a perspective on the Judeo-Christian world view. It's not - never has been - preachy, but it is artistically ...

Posted Thu, May 3, 8:42 a.m.

RE: Thought: Thank you for serving as an excellent illustration of the points I made in my post immediately preceding yours. Res ipsa loquitur. The Piper

Posted Thu, May 3, 8:08 a.m.

Hester Prynne, where are you now that we need you?: There must be something in the water. How else to explain it? How else to understand the puritanical streak that runs the what's arguably the blueist town in America. A guy can't have a little fun in this berg by ...

Posted Wed, May 2, 5:11 p.m.

RE: Mission Accomplished!: Heavens to Murgatroid! Must everything end up being about Iraq??? What is this? Fixation city??? Give the poor guy a break! Unless, that is... Hey Chuck Taylor! Do you pay your contibutors by the word...or the comment? If it's by the word, each of Greg's were golden. ...

Posted Wed, May 2, 4:54 p.m.

RE: Corduroy sport jackets: Why, I had red shoes, too! Bought them in London in 1970. They were burgundy, actually. Patent leather burgundy tassel loafers. Wore them with a chocolate brown sweater suit of a skinny-rib turtle neck and bell-bottom sweater pants. Atop this was a brown leather trench coat ...

Posted Wed, May 2, 4:24 p.m.

RE: The Opening Paragraph Makes it Clear: Swift's motto? "Have a friend for lunch..." Curious...did he serve some fava beans and a nice Chianti? The Piper

Posted Wed, May 2, 4:16 p.m.

RE: The Opening Paragraph Makes it Clear: That's because after the Big Dig Mini-Me fiasco, most folks in town think the mayor is a giant posterior...Respectfully, of course... The Piper

Posted Wed, May 2, 3:48 p.m.

RE: Corduroy sport jackets: Sorry...revenge wa already taken...the polyester leisure suit... Rembmer the old Fred Meyer ad? "We have suits for guys who don't like ties." Confess...you had how many? The Piper

Posted Wed, May 2, 3:34 p.m.

Hardy-har-har!: Memo to Sean: The ol' Piper has an advanced degree. Memo to the humor impaired: The ol' Piper enjoys afflicting the comfortable with humor. He isn't amused when human tragedy - alcoholism and drunken binges - are used in a cynical manner...when the afflicted are laughed at. Of course ...

Posted Wed, May 2, 2:46 p.m.

RE: Corduroy sport jackets: Corduroy to Indian musicians? Gandhi would be PO'd! And he'd categorize your cold weather rationale as bupkis! After all, he went to England in the early 1930's where the weather is almost as sublime as ours, and he still wore his dhoti supplemented only by a ...

Posted Wed, May 2, 12:59 p.m.

Lighten up...even if only just a tad...: The secret to success when someone pokes fun at you is to join in the joke and poke a little bit at yourself too. Recognize your own foibles and how you do, in fact, appear weird from time to tome to those of ...

Posted Wed, May 2, 12:02 p.m.

Attention!: Amen again! Most of the time the response you receive from bicyclists is a digital salute as they run a red light or barely avoid running down some poor little kid on the Burke - Gilman who doesn't understand that all must yield to the power of the pedal. ...

Posted Wed, May 2, 6:33 a.m.

And the people all said, "Amen!": Now this is funny! And true! We've come a long way from the days when my Schwinn Paper Boy Special was both a fun thing, a tool with which to earn a little pork chop money, and my transportation to and from school (books ...

Posted Mon, Apr 30, 6:06 p.m.

And I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house down...: Sean... To set your mind at ease...George W. Bush was responsible for the Peloponnesian Wars. He fomented the Mutiny on the Bounty, and he, not Mrs. O'Leary's cow, kicked over the lantern resulting in the Great Chicago Fire. ...

Posted Mon, Apr 30, 11:19 a.m.

Our kind of guy!: Charlie championed the local citizen. He was a neighborhood guy who thought government ought to be ought taking care of neighborhood issues like potholes and burnt out street lights. He fought for the average guy, someone the current city "fathers" are doing their best to have ...

Posted Fri, Apr 27, 3:15 p.m.

Here chicky, chicky, chicky...: Don't you just love reading "How to Fix It" articles written by those who relish the fact you're broken? It's like the Boston Red Sox getting advice on how to win a pennant from George Steinbrenner...Just a total guarantee of a perpetual second place finish. What ...

Posted Tue, Apr 24, 7:28 p.m.

Take me for a ride in your car, car...Take me for a ride in your car, car...: Let's belabor the obvious: people prefer to commute in cars, and most of them prefer to drive their own cars. What is there about this politicos don't get? Light rail on 520, bicycle ...

Posted Tue, Apr 24, 2:58 p.m.

No one's life, liberty, or property are safe while the legislature is in session...: So...our Washington legislature and governor are patting themselves on the back for their "good works?" Yikes! From where I sit, those good works look more like filthy. At the risk of offending drunken sailors, the legislature ...

Posted Wed, Apr 18, 5:44 a.m.

RE: Don't let the door hit you...: Sean, my man... Take a look at my first comment in this string, and you'll see a response from the ubiquitous Cheech. You've got your knickers knotted because something you wrote didn't pass the Editor's muster. Welcome to writing, a collaborative effort. Writers ...

Posted Tue, Apr 17, 4:44 p.m.

Don't let the door hit you...: Cheech wrote: "Comments like this one remind me why I am a former resident of your fair city. One of the reasons I left Seattle is so I don't have to "hang around" with the homeless. Get over yourself. " My favorite part Cheech's ...

Posted Tue, Apr 17, 1:36 p.m.

Where's the beef?: Hey Mr. Editor! Are you going to tell us how the new differs from the old and what that all means to Ricky and Riki Reader? Or do we have to figure that out on our own without having the original against which to compare it? Just ...

Posted Tue, Apr 17, 9:01 a.m.

Is this shtick necessary?: I don't know...there's just something about drunkeness that isn't funny. I mean maybe it was at one time when done by Foster Brooks on the old Dean Martin Roasts, but these days...it just leaves me cold. Hang around with the homeless for any length of time, ...

Posted Mon, Apr 16, 7:09 p.m.

Before this disappears...: I gotta tell ya...Alaska's got the best lookin' guvner in all the 50-states. And she's a Republican and makin' waves to boot! You go, Sarah!

Posted Mon, Apr 16, 6:08 p.m.

RE: Sprawl Great Neighborhoods Horizontally, Stack Offices Vertically: My God! A fellow traveller! The Piper

Posted Mon, Apr 16, 5:37 p.m.

Social engineering run amok...: The best laid plans, etc., underpins a lot of what's going on. One comment talked about the need to be planning for the next 50-years. How in the world can we know what's happening over the next 50-years when we can hardly plan the next 50-hours? ...

Posted Mon, Apr 16, 12:38 p.m.

When you assume you make an ass out of u and me...: A couple more points... I've never owned an SUV, so you can take that accusation, stick it in your urban density pipe, and smoke it. Freedom and liberty are the highest values. If I choose to live in ...

Posted Mon, Apr 16, 12:14 p.m.

Phew!: At least now Dilbert is safe... The Piper

Posted Mon, Apr 16, 11:48 a.m.

Give me land, lots of land...: A few points... Removing the viaduct will innure substantially to somebody's economic benefit. To say that the land upon which the viaduct sits won't be developed because it's too narrow or that theree are promises to keep it green or whatever ignores a fundamental ...

Posted Mon, Apr 16, 7 a.m.

Noblesse oblige geoduck style...: Amen, Mossback! Seattle used to be a working town. People had real jobs where they did real work. Now, it's a haven for DINK elitist couples, so-called professionals, and other mega-income types who push development projects that are of the moneyed, by the moneyed and for ...

Posted Sat, Apr 14, 12:47 p.m.

Kurt, I hardly know you...: Ditto Charlton... I was at Western (Bellingham...not Steilacoom) in the late 60's and early 70's, and Vonnegut was all the rage, but he wasn't my bag. Still, I apprecaiate very much the personal and nostalgic Mossback memories. A good and entertaining (not always the same) ...

Posted Fri, Apr 13, 3:58 p.m.

A welfare check is a welfare check no matter how large the amount...: Public money for the Sonics? Not on your life! I don't care how you couch the whole crock of crap, any stadium or arena deal that comes out of Olympia will be just anohter piece of public ...

Posted Thu, Apr 12, 3:20 p.m.

Handwriting on the wall...: So...One down, one left to withdraw! Vocationally, I'm a 25-year experienced executive search consultant (corporate headhunter for the uninitiated). I can't tell you how many quality candidates I've seen go on an interview only to come back and tell me, "Not on a bet! They're looking ...

Posted Thu, Apr 12, 2:40 p.m.

RE: What's good for the goose...ought to be good for all geese...: Racism is a belief, and only individual human beings can believe. Institutions of themselves are incapable of opinion or belief, hence my absolute discomfort with the term "compassionate government." Only people can be compassionate, and only people can ...

Posted Wed, Apr 11, 5:23 p.m.

What will we do?: If The Times and P-I go toes up, what will we do? While they are 8-track thinking in an iPod world, as a 10/26/05 Seattle Times LTE of mine said, they still have a purpose. There are fish to be wrapped, bird cages to be lined, ...

Posted Wed, Apr 11, 9:40 a.m.

What's good for the goose...ought to be good for all geese...: Yarrow said: "I think the word "racist" gets used as a weapon, and flinging that weapon back and forth doesn't accomplish anything except re-enacting over and over how bad it feels to be silenced and excluded. ("You're a racist!" ...

Posted Tue, Apr 10, 7:49 p.m.

Guilt by association...: So Ol' Gordo votes the John Birch ticket, and that makes him a Bircher? That's like saying being in a garage makes me a car. Let's compare GasBaghdad Jim McDermott's record, or Tom Lantos or Maxine Waters or Alcee Hastings to the positions espoused by dubious groups ...

Posted Tue, Apr 10, 6:23 p.m.

Get it on...: Mossback's article was reasonable and pointed out some serious issues about which too many people in Seattle are unwilling to talk. Here's another example: it was fascinating to watch the dog and pony show surrounding the two candidates for Seattle School District Superintendent. So structured and rigid, ...

Posted Tue, Apr 10, 11:34 a.m.

What you cannot defeat, you become...: Snesich writes, "I guess Piper has done an in depth study of every single school and teacher in the Seattle School District. Congratuations." I will respond by saying that a fish rots from the head down...Are parents and kids fleeing toward Seattle schools...or from ...

Posted Tue, Apr 10, 9:33 a.m.

Once more, etc.: Part II... We all have realities in our lives that we wish were otherwise. If I could sing, I would; but I can't so I better not. Still, it's my choice, and I choose to exercise discretion by not showing up at American Idol auditions. Lucky for ...

Posted Tue, Apr 10, 9:31 a.m.

Once more unto the breach, dear friends...: The essence of freedom and liberty is the right of an individual to think, speak, and act as he or she sees fit in light of what's seen as the individual's best interests. Somewhere along the way, we've lost sight of not only ...

Posted Mon, Apr 9, 7:02 p.m.

Stuck record...stuck record...stuck record...stuck record...: Is this trip necessary??? Here we go again watching so-called educators in Seattle blame somebody else for their own incompetence. Let's lump people into groups and classes and refuse to look at them as individuals with varying degrees of ability, motivation, and background. It's silly ...

Posted Fri, Apr 6, 10:57 a.m.

Gimme, gimme...: Here's what I want from Crosscut: A letters to the editor page, not just blogs. Since the demise of the King County Journal, and because The Times and P-I are notoriously stingy with their space save to a select long-winded few, there aren't many places where one can ...

Posted Fri, Apr 6, 9:54 a.m.

Eric Oemig, you're no Toby Nixon!: Toby Nixon was my state representative, and I'm very sad that he's not my state senator. I've followed Eastside politics for many years, and the sleazy campaign that was directed against Toby in the last general election brought gutter politics to an all time ...