Posted Thu, Jan 12, 4:50 p.m.

I agree with Tony. Lots of people think of freedom of religion as freedom "from" religion. As this article points out, a vibrant public sphere will include diverse religious viewpoints that are voiced and appreciated. We impoverish ourselves when we promote a notion of separation of church and state that ...

Posted Tue, Jan 10, 8:57 a.m.

I don't quite understand how sending off students to other universities in the Seattle area enhances UW's mission. As well as being a research university, in the long term UW needs to be the primary provider of excellent undergraduate education in Washington State. If it allows other new/outside Seattle area ...

Posted Fri, Mar 18, 8:58 a.m.

As is common among anti-tunnel folk this article ignores Seattle's role as a transportation hub. The Port and its thousands of containers, the shipyards and factories and fishing fleets all require a ground transportation system to make them work. It's not just about zoning and density. We could have the ...

Posted Sun, Feb 6, 7:37 a.m.

Good to remember that people are resurrecting old church buildings, not old churches.

Posted Wed, Jan 12, 9:07 p.m.

Yes, the attempted murder of a prominent person is called an assassination. Webster's Dictionary: "Assassinate: to murder (a usually prominent person) by sudden or secret attack often for political reasons." Loughner described his task as "my assassination" and his act clearly fits the description of an attempted assassination.

Posted Wed, Jan 12, 2:56 p.m.

Thanks TVD for your piece. To summarize your argument: a) Arizona politics is conservative, but not weird. b) Oswald, Hinckley and Sirhan were all crazy, not politically motivated. d) Ray was the only politically motivated assassin. Therefore, d) we can't blame politics for this assassination attempt. Sorry, but I'm not ...

Posted Sat, Dec 25, 1:59 p.m.

@ carol -- I invite you to a careful rereading of my piece. I think you may be misinterpreting the main point. If it's still unclear after a rereading, let me know and I'll try again.

Posted Mon, Dec 20, 12:33 p.m.

There's a certain tentative grace about the decision of Port of Seattle to do away with Christmas trees. As one who participated in the decision I remember clearly that our decision was based on equity: either to honor all traditions or honor none. Ultimately it was a retailer who popped ...

Posted Fri, Dec 10, 9:13 a.m.

After reading and rereading this, I still can't really tell if Knute is for or against the Russell Investments sign. The article reads as a sort of lament about Seattle being beautiful while also being commercial and "for sale." Both things are true, but is Knute for or against the ...

Posted Tue, Dec 7, 6:04 p.m.

The size of the debt smacks of bad management of the Center. Very sad that this situation led to a greedy response to the Chihuly proposal. If the Center were managed better and tenants made their rents (or else) perhaps the Center could become what it needs to be -- ...

Posted Wed, Dec 1, 2:47 p.m.

As a candidate for President once said, "people can do more than one thing at a time." Sen. Murray's success at protecting our interests didn't seem to suffer the last time she did this job. Why would it suffer now?

Posted Sat, Nov 27, 8:47 a.m.

David, have you gone nuts? Rob McKenna the "likely next governor"? Heaven help us!

Posted Wed, Nov 3, 11:52 a.m.

Sorry, should've caught that. Mr. Shortridge has pulled out an old chestnut.

Posted Wed, Nov 3, 11:19 a.m.

"Historically in Washington, Republican candidates improve their percentages in each county in votes counted after Election Day, usually improving their margins by 2 to 3 percentage points." To make the case that Republican hopes are still alive Mr. Vance has pulled out an old chestnut from the days of absentee ...

Posted Wed, Oct 13, 4:40 p.m.

Thanks for your review. Organ soloists often do not get noticed in the general media -- another reason why Crosscut is to be cherished. As an organist I partly disagree that "...all organs are radically different from each other in design and specification and each must take some getting to ...

Posted Fri, Oct 8, 2:47 p.m.

Great piece, Hubert! OK, a little cranky, yes, but still fun. The legit comment behind the kind and grandfatherly grouchiness that is so Hubert is, "What happens to elders who need vehicles to make it around town and be part of our community life?" It's a legit question that shouldn't ...

Posted Fri, Oct 8, 10:58 a.m.

Studies show that parents' attitudes toward religion are the primary indicator of whether or not their children will become lifelong believers. As Knute writes, "Early on, I divined that something was fishy about a faith that allowed the patriarchs to opt out." This puts the finger as much on Knute's ...

Posted Mon, Sep 27, 9:13 a.m.

Valdez's argument convinces me that our City Attorney Peter Holmes is actually making a wise choice in this. Unlike Roger, who apparently believes the rules are more important than the interests of the City of Seattle, Mr. Holmes understands that the Council can and will validate Conlin's signature and that ...

Posted Tue, Aug 17, 8:19 a.m.

Tony, as always a well-written and thoughtful piece. The sale of U-Baptist is sad news for all who hope for vitality in progressive congregations. I'm not sure I agree that U-Baptist is riding the tide that was friendly to contemporary culture, or for that matter that Mars Hill is oppositional ...

Posted Tue, Jun 15, 7:18 a.m.

Knute, I'm afraid you've drunk the Chihuly/Wright kool-aid, spiked with a little bit of apathy toward the importance of Seattle Center. Here are some things to consider: 1) The $500,000 financial contribution of the Chihuly/Wright proposal amounts to only 1.5% of Seattle Center's $34 million annual budget. Seattle Center will ...

Posted Thu, Mar 4, 5:56 p.m.

Thanks for your input, Sarah. We'll definitely take that into consideration next time we build.

Posted Wed, Mar 3, 10:37 p.m.

@sarah - welcome to the world of downtown Seattle real estate and construction prices.

Posted Wed, Mar 3, 11:33 a.m.

@Wells -- Suggest some homework for you: study First Church's theology, which is far from conservative. The interior cross is actually a banner, which changes with the seasons (no cross there now). The exterior cross is permanent and is designed to help people know "this is a church," not "this ...

Posted Wed, Nov 18, 6:51 a.m.

Yes, the "Bodies" exhibit does share sacred relics -- the cadavers of Chinese prisoners who never agreed that their remains be on permanent display to raise money for their government. Before seeing "Bodies" take time -- unlike Knute -- to dig into the real story of where these bodies came ...

Posted Thu, Oct 29, 1:43 p.m.

I like your story, too, Judy. One question, though. I checked the Edinburgh info and it looks like they have a far larger number than 4 homeless. Here's their homeless strategy: http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/internet/Attachments/Internet/Housing/Housing_policies_and_strategies/HomelessStrat08.pdf Looks to me like the numbers of homeless -- charmingly called "rough sleepers" -- is around 2,000 - ...