Posted Mon, Jul 18, 4:35 p.m.

I should have mentioned, the score was 1-0.

Posted Mon, Jul 18, 4:32 p.m.

It was July of 1963 when Warren Spahn and Juan Marichal pitched the greatest game ever. 16 innings won in the bottom of the 16th on a Mays homer. Age verses youth. Both pitchers went all the way. Those were the days, eh? (Marichal refused to leave the game as ...

Posted Thu, Jul 7, 7:52 p.m.

Honestly, this piece is enough to make a person cry. Look, people, who changed your lives when you were young? Who gave you a sense of value and respect as a person and an intellect? Who helped you discover what you loved in education and where you wanted to go ...

Posted Fri, Jun 24, 4:36 p.m.

If you had watched the public hearings during the debate over the school closings, you would have seen something obvious. Sally Soriano and Mary Bass were the only members of the Board who actually listened to the public input. They responded intelligently and voted responsibly. Only they showed the traits ...

Posted Thu, Jun 23, 12:15 p.m.

We have voted for every SPS levy for forty years, but I think this year, perhaps we will go negative. I want to see (1) a strong and aggressive expression of failure regarding the recent scandals. I want to hear the people who engineered the MLK fiasco explain what they ...

Posted Wed, Jun 22, 1:16 p.m.

I mostly agree with and admire coolpapa, but one thought comes to mind. Is it fair to judge the District performance on the entire student body, not taking account for the fact that many homes undo the growth in one summer that might have taken the schools two years to ...

Posted Wed, Jun 22, 1:01 p.m.

It is a pleasure to read coolpapa's thoughts and arguments. On the issue of the school closings and predictability, I suggest going back to the issue of Viewlands. There was a Viewlands parent who did a thorough demographic study, and who reported that within a very short time the building ...

Posted Wed, Jun 8, 11:47 a.m.

I wonder why only one person on the thread mentioned the SeaTimes article yesterday about the corrupt process involved in the sale of Martin Luther King Elementary. It seems to me that what they discovered should be headline news here on Crosscut, but no sign of it. The SPS maneuvered ...

Posted Mon, May 16, 10:10 p.m.

When administrators fire someone in this manner, then say they can't make any comment because it is a "personnel issue," the public can be fairly certain that something is rotten somewhere, and not in Denmark. The real reason could be as simple as the removal of a person because of ...

Posted Mon, May 9, 10:15 p.m.

I am surprised that no one has mentioned Hattie's Hat down on Ballard Ave. It hasn't changed in forty years and is missing only the dense smoke from 1970. The servers are great; the food is classic fare. You can get your center cut pork chops there, and a delicious ...

Posted Tue, Apr 19, 10:58 a.m.

Your moving and well-written piece should be frightening to any reader over the age of forty, especially with all the news coming out of Wisconsin regarding the attack on the unions by the new Republican government. It is time for us to remember that unions are the main restraint on ...

Posted Thu, Apr 14, 12:14 p.m.

I always wondered how the Boston Red Sox head office conversation went when they talked themselves into trading Babe Ruth to the Yankees. Now I know!

Posted Thu, Mar 17, 12:39 p.m.

PJS - Since untolled lanes on 405 are purely hypothetical for now, perhaps people might be skeptical. Let's talk about the untolled lanes on the 520 bridge. Wait, are you saying that there are untolled lanes there? Your argument seems to be missing something. I would suggest that your high ...

Posted Thu, Mar 17, 12:15 p.m.

And by the way, Andy, saying that people who might disagree with you are merely "squawking loudly" doesn't advance your argument. All it does is show that you are so cock sure that you feel free to go to ad hominem tactics, to demean people who might have alternative perspectives ...

Posted Thu, Mar 17, 12:12 p.m.

Andy -- I am trying to decide whether to go for humor or seriousness here. In the area of transportation, this is indeed the "American Way" of life. That is, we have had a system that allows the greatest number of our citizens the ability to move freely around the ...

Posted Thu, Mar 17, 10:51 a.m.

So PJS has an argument based essentially on the "other places give special privileges to their rich and powerful, why shouldn't we?" Yes, and the Soviet Union had designated highway lanes for politburo members and party leaders, so why don't we? PJS sounds like someone with not enough places to ...

Posted Tue, Mar 15, 10:41 p.m.

Underneath all the verbage is a fairly simple social fact. This is part of the "Roads for the Rich" program that has as its basic reality the ability of financially comfortable people to pay tolls and get nice speedy trips on the public highway. We will be seeing the separation ...

Posted Mon, Nov 8, 7:55 p.m.

What struck me in this campaign was how the GOP doomed itself with a fundamentally blind campaign attitude. It is unable to portray itself as a party which loves Puget Sound and Seattle. It accepts the contrast between East and West in Washington and embraces the East, but that is ...

Posted Thu, Sep 23, 5:45 p.m.

An excellent piece of personal history. I have enjoyed reading Crosscut from the beginning, though I am picky about what to read. I do tend to read your pieces, though, and I agree that Crosscut is increasingly important in the Seattle media, especially since the P-I lost its voice. I ...

Posted Thu, Sep 23, 5:30 p.m.

Reading mhays' thoughts, one can only think of the words of the immortal William Shakespeare: "What fools these mortals be." Well, some people can't think of them, of course.

Posted Tue, Sep 7, 7:44 p.m.

I am glad to know that the teachers will be in the classroom tomorrow, but the conversation here neatly avoids the absolutely crucial issue in education today. The business model is going to destroy education. I wonder if any of your read a superb essay in the SeaTimes. On August ...

Posted Mon, Apr 12, 10:30 a.m.

Has anyone ever wondered whether that building should have been condemned and torn down because of ugliness?

Posted Wed, Apr 7, 6:53 p.m.

These are all big memories. I would add one more: the sinking of the I-90 Lacey V. Morrow bridge in that November storm. It is hard to forget the images of that huge bridge turning turtle and sinking like the Titanic, right there in Lake Washington. And maybe not up ...

Posted Thu, Feb 4, 6:29 p.m.

There is a simple and obvious response to this issue, isn't there? If a placard is past its dates, then put a ticket on the car and charge a high fine. If a person has a valid sticker, he or she then has in the wallet the plastic card that ...

Posted Mon, Jan 11, 4:42 p.m.

By the way, I had a friend who was the official editor of the Longfellow letters. As he neared retirement, I asked him how he was going to spend the retirement years. His answer? "I am going to read Trollope until I die."

Posted Mon, Jan 11, 4:28 p.m.

I think you are right about not wanting to touch the Mona Lisa, but I also think that when you see something that has a clear tactile beauty, you want to touch it (not that you do it, but the desire is there). When you see a beautiful silk, you ...

Posted Mon, Jan 11, 10:32 a.m.

A delightful article aboout the power of beauty. You know what came to my mind? How were you able to be so close to this man as he slept and not give in to the desire to touch something so beautiful? Didn't you want to touch his face, perhaps his ...

Posted Sun, Jan 10, 12:01 p.m.

Many years ago, Mr. Todd let me down into the basement of the old old Shorey's. I found that you could not walk on the floor down there, but rather you had to walk on books piled and strewed. I found my left foot standing on a 1st American edition ...

Posted Thu, Nov 5, 5:22 p.m.

Eyman has greatly eased the voting decision process for many people. If an initiative has his name attached to it in any way, one simply votes against it. Question. Why didn't Constantine nail Hutchison for her "He is slinging mud" response when Constantine simply pointed out the fact that Hutchison ...

Posted Thu, Aug 27, 8:40 p.m.

Hmm. Well, I don't know the need level. I have seen no figures about how much is needed nor how much they reap from the universal furlough. I think, though, that the furlough should only go as deep as the financial crisis requires. I don't think this experience should be ...

Posted Thu, Aug 27, 8:40 p.m.

Hmm. Well, I don't know the need level. I have seen no figures about how much is needed nor how much they reap from the universal furlough. I think, though, that the furlough should only go as deep as the financial crisis requires. I don't think this experience should be ...

Posted Thu, Aug 27, 3:19 p.m.

I hope you are wrong in your belief that closing the website is for political rather than financial purposes: "to remind us of the people who are going without work." It is not hard to give full support to the shut down when the motives are economical, but to hear ...

Posted Wed, Aug 26, 8:41 p.m.

I agree with this opinion piece. It seems to me as well, that leaving the online access would be simple and pretty much free. Sort of like leaving a light on when you leave the house. Why would there be any substantial cost to running the website? On the other ...

Posted Wed, Aug 19, 9:24 p.m.

This election was a good example of how people are motivated to vote. I think I am fairly typical. I have voted for GN repeatedly, because I generally support his political positions. As the years went by, though, I saw that he repeatedly ignored what the citizens of Seattle clearly ...

Posted Sun, Mar 8, 11:10 a.m.

It is good to see that the "Roads for the Rich" lobby is plunging ahead in these difficult days. Those tolls will get the proletariat out of our way, force them onto the bus and the bike to get wherever people like that need to go. And we with the ...

Posted Sat, Jan 31, 11:21 a.m.

I pretty much agree with what has been said above, but for me there is a background point that is ignored. The Board/Administration is acting on a premise that is patently false: the belief that large elementary schools are some kind of improvement over smaller ones. The goal now seems ...

Posted Mon, Jan 12, 7:22 p.m.

I have seen no comment about the paper that has already gone through this transition. The Capital Times in Madison, Wisconsin, separated from its dominant JOA partner The Wisconsin State Journal and went totally on line several months ago. I would like to hear Crosscut do a bit of hunting ...

Posted Wed, Dec 24, 11:20 p.m.

P.S. I got a good laugh at seeing the Mayor's grade of B for the city's snow removal. In Minneapolis he would be ridden out of town tarred and feathered on a rail, or bouncing along in a handbasket to....

Posted Wed, Dec 24, 11:18 p.m.

There is another twist to Seattle habits. If you live in the Midwest, the primary sound the day after a snowstorm is the scrape of shovels as the citizens all go out and shovel the sidewalks in front of their homes. Out here the citizens just let the snow sit ...

Posted Wed, Dec 17, 5:31 p.m.

J.R., What you point out here, is the kind of opportunity that the state GOP seems unable to grab to its benefit. If they tell those "independent" campaigns not to do so something (such as those offensive ads), and if those "independents" continue to do so, then the party has ...

Posted Wed, Dec 17, 2:01 p.m.

Addendum: I commented to my wife about this issue and she immediately responded: "And that terrible ad with the gasoline and the match! And that awful ad with the baby!!" LOL. I think the normal human response to the campaign ads was pretty much along those lines!

Posted Wed, Dec 17, 1:27 p.m.

CV, Okay. I hear you, but I think you are missing the essential angle for thinking about this subject. There is nothing that Rossi or the party could do about "events." They may have made victory impossible this year. But the state campaign did have control over one area of ...

Posted Wed, Dec 17, 12:04 p.m.

CV, You are probably right about events ultimately determining the election. You wouldn't believe the number of women who told me that they were lifelong Republicans but that Palin was just too much for them, too great an insult to intelligent women. But I was more interested in your thoughts ...

Posted Wed, Dec 17, 10:42 a.m.

The issue of how massive incompetence can be repackaged as incompetence is quite interesting, to be sure, but I would like you to comment on what to me seemed obvious in the campaign for governor. The actual fact is that Dino Rossi is a very attractive man in his personal ...

Posted Thu, Dec 11, 8:39 a.m.

I would take a different approach to the question. Until the last eight years there was a constant debate about who was at the top/bottom of lists of bad qualities in presidents. Depending on the list (venality, stupidity, evil, incompetence, etc.) we had a number of good candidates (Buchanon, Grant, ...

Posted Wed, Oct 8, 12:29 p.m.

stool: One of the commentators on Rasmussen made a really interesting point today. He said the wandering around the stage by McCain was likely the result of the failure of his staff to see that he had a comfortable stool. The one provided was too high for him and would ...

Posted Wed, Oct 8, 12:04 p.m.

Things, not Events: The actual Emerson line is "Things are in the saddle and ride mankind." Emerson was talking about something very different from "events." The line still works, though, with the change.

Posted Fri, Aug 15, 9:59 a.m.

the meaning of slut: Actually, it gets more interesting if you know the history of the word. For ages the word meant nothing more than a sloppy housekeeper. Remember Shakespeare's Sonnet 55 in which he refers to an untended monument being "besmeared with sluttish time"? The narrowing of its meaning ...

Posted Sat, Jun 28, 9:43 p.m.

RE: Author's Note: I don't see anonymity as "kowtow"-ing to prejudice. I see it as recognition that prejudice exists and interferes with communication. Crosscut is a place for ideas. Anything that enhances interaction is good, and the fact of prejudice hinders interaction. Anyone who would begin reading with a negative ...

Posted Sat, Jun 28, 3:52 p.m.

RE: Anonymity cloaks: How curious this topic is. I would say just the opposite; it allows people to speak out. The issue is not governmental intrusion into free speech. It is personal for each potential commenter. Having to be open and public with one's name means that many people would ...

Posted Sat, Jun 28, 11:41 a.m.

name: I should probably reveal that my real name is Che Malcom X de Valera.

Posted Sat, Jun 28, 10:35 a.m.

RE: oad rage on the Information Highway: Were we talking about libel and slander? I didn't think so. I thought we were talking about exchange of ideas and whether anonymity was a plus or a minus. You are awful quick with your slinging of "bull" around. I didn't say anything ...

Posted Sat, Jun 28, 8:09 a.m.

toss?: So your parents encouraged you to toss gum wrappers and bottles out of the car window? Well, mine didn't. I would have got a good spanking had I done that. On the main topic: when it is just a matter of opinions, there is no reason why a pseudonym ...

Posted Thu, Jun 19, 10:34 p.m.

RE: Changing the things you can: "Angry, alienated, disengaged, self-righteous, they wish everyone else would just go away and leave them alone with the city they somehow feel entitled to, and they act sullen and surprised when no one complies. If these do-nothings ran the show...." Hmm. I don't think ...

Posted Thu, Jun 19, 9:17 p.m.

RE: Changing the things you can: Well put KB. I tend to be more personal in my response to the issue. It is amusing that Sean sees people like the elderly woman in Ballard as a "Do Nothing." He should read the long article in the P-I about her amazing ...

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

RE: Changing the things you can: "A bigger problem are all the old timers...." Is there anything more infuriating than the attitude expressed in this paragraph? The problem in Seattle is the "old timers," eh? What gives those old timers the right to think that they have a right to ...

Posted Sat, May 31, 4:17 p.m.

RE: Actual Children: You are absolutely right that "parents who are involved in their children's education tend to have more successful students." There is no doubt at all the MM's daughter and your children have a high likelihood of success in school and life, especially if they are placed in ...

Posted Sat, May 31, 10:15 a.m.

The broader issue: I am not sure I can go where I want to go in this comment, as it is too complex a social issue. And, for that matter, a Crosscut reader issue. I like Crosscut and read it daily, but I have always had a problem with what ...

Posted Fri, May 30, 2:25 p.m.

RE: No one asks, apparently...: Your thoughtful consideration is really wonderful. My problem was not that the experiences would have been anything other than great, not only for themselves but for the parent memory you are giving her. Your blog, though, gave none of the weighing of loss and gain, ...

Posted Fri, May 30, 10:38 a.m.

No one asks, apparently...: Every single detail in this blog entry is delightful; it sounds like wonderful times with the kid. No one has questioned the premise of this activity, though, and I find that quite depressing. No one has asked why all this activity could not be done on ...

Posted Sun, May 25, 1:51 p.m.

RE: numbered streets: Is that right? I have driven it hundreds of times, and I would have said it passed right through Ravenna Ave. NE and continues on down the hill past Candy Cane Lane. Hmm. Now I have to check on it.

Posted Fri, May 23, 11:16 a.m.

RE: numbered streets: And to make it even more difficult for people from Missouri, there are two totally separate 1st Aves (actually more than two if you throw in downtown) in two separate parts of the city. 1st ave. NW is over by Ballard; 1st Ave NE is over by ...

Posted Thu, May 22, 2:52 p.m.

RE: street mnemonics: I never needed more than the letters. Which comes first is too persnickety. I mean, really, how far do we have to take this? LOL

Posted Thu, May 22, 10:30 a.m.

street mnemonics: I hope someone told you long ago the mnemonic trick to remembering the downtown streets: Jesus Christ Made Seattle Under Protest, with each initial letter standing for two streets (Jefferson Jackson Cherry Columbia, etc.) You don't have to remember Spring, which is right next to Seneca. And Pike ...

Posted Sat, May 17, 1:36 p.m.

RE: wahh wahh: Interesting to ignore the (what was it?) 50,000 dead American soldiers, killed fighting for (what was it?) the incapable and corrupt SVN "democracy." Well, those were other people's children, weren't they? Go visit that Vietnam War wall in D.C. and ponder the virtue of that war. And ...

Posted Fri, May 9, 11:38 a.m.

RE: So tired: Amen, Raven. I keep wondering what group is sitting around city hall thinking up new good deeds. I expect that one of them will read that cutting toenails with the curve causes ingrown toenails. Pretty soon, for our own good, the mayor will have a ToeNail office ...

Posted Sat, Apr 26, 9:23 a.m.

Roads for the Rich: Since the end result of this proposal will be to free up the highways for the wealthy who can afford tolls without wincing, why not go right to the end result and save a lot of money along the way? Restrict the highways to cars with ...

Posted Tue, Apr 15, 10:41 a.m.

Roads for the Rich: It is interesting to see the "Roads for the Rich" group going merrily along with their lobbying for special privileges for those who can freely toss in the bucks to speed past the peasants. I love the sophistry which tries to make a case that REALLY, ...

Posted Thu, Mar 27, 10:54 a.m.

RE: just a few points on a piece i mind a lot less: "Most of the politeness is hypocritical in the worst kind of Nordic way" What a curious point of view. The writer is obviously trained in utterly serious and truthful politeness. That would be the place where if ...

Posted Sat, Mar 15, 10:18 a.m.

Saturday P-I: Today's P-I has a good article on the Memorial Stadium part of this "visionary" plan. It is worth reading and should largely convince the reader that the District would have to be run by totally irrational people for them to swallow the pig in a poke that is ...

Posted Fri, Mar 14, 2:24 p.m.

RE: quick hits: Hmm. The stadium is adjacent to the Center. It is not the Center. It is owned by the School District, which should be maintaining and using it. All of its school uses are part of its reason for existence, though it is used for a large variety ...

Posted Fri, Mar 14, 1:40 p.m.

RE: quick hits: No discussion needed here, I guess, as mhays perfectly illustrates the frame of mind I was citing. The stadium means nothing to him/her, no matter what its builders intended when they dedicated it. It is just "space." "Underused" is just a judgment; anyone involved in high school ...

Posted Fri, Mar 14, 11:37 a.m.

Memorial: Reading Brewster's article reminds one how it seems as though the people who sit around making "plans" for Seattle are utterly without respect for those pieces of our city that should be sacrosanct for one reason or another. It is so disturbing to hear this blithe disregard for Memorial ...

Posted Sat, Mar 8, 11:59 a.m.

RE: Viola!! LOL (Or as the French say, Voila!): And just to expand a bit -- Coolpapa speaks with such certitude that one is tempted to take his word. If you look into truth, you will find that Broadview-Thomson is a K-6 school. It has a population of around 680. ...

Posted Fri, Mar 7, 7:32 a.m.

RE: Viola!! LOL (Or as the French say, Voila!): It is interesting how coolpapa sets up straw men to demolish. Most of what he argues has nothing to do with the points I have been making. I will say again: well run schools can be fairly large and still successful. ...

Posted Thu, Mar 6, 8:18 a.m.

RE: Viola!! LOL (Or as the French say, Voila!): I don't see that you are addressing the issue at all. I don't recall saying anything to the point that larger schools cannot be excellent. I don't believe that. Larger schools that are run properly can serve their students well, and ...

Posted Tue, Mar 4, 10:34 a.m.

Viola!! LOL (Or as the French say, Voila!): You put your finger right on the center of the problem in the Seattle Schools. Smaller schools enable the kind of more personal and intimate community in which teachers know the students and the students feel personally encouraged to do well. The ...

Posted Sat, Feb 23, 7:49 p.m.

RE: Got it Right: I don't think there is any predicting the process that saves or fails to save any particular landmark. It does seem that the amount of protective passion (and how close it is) is the key element. Manning's raises the local passions of Ballard. No, it is ...

Posted Thu, Feb 21, 3:32 p.m.

RE: To improve the visuals ....: Yes, this is as I remembered. My strongest memory is that Denny's made some mileage out of saving the landmark. They wanted people to know that corporate policy was the same usual symbolic Denny's building that we see everywhere, that the Manning's building was ...

Posted Thu, Feb 21, 11:30 a.m.

RE: To improve the visuals ....: And by the way, anyone who knows anything of Lutheran culture would recognize that the Manning's building is just another variation of Lutheran Church architecture. Those swooping roof lines could be in any village in Minnesota. Thus it is particularly comforting in Ballard. Sanctity ...

Posted Thu, Feb 21, 11:25 a.m.

RE: To improve the visuals ....: Correct me if I am wrong here, but didn't Denny's admit that the Manning's building was a landmark? My memory says that the building still stands, because Denny's was convinced that the building was a landmark. They gave up their own institutional recognizable structure ...

Posted Sat, Feb 9, 12:17 p.m.

small universe?: LOL. Somebody should tell those Easterners that there is more than their little universe. The "small universe" of Washington is a heck of a lot larger than the "universe" of voters in the State of Maine. I find I get increasingly irritated by the East Coast bias revealed ...

Posted Tue, Feb 5, 10:17 a.m.

RE: Sorry to insert science here: I think the subject is much narrower than your interesting posts. No one denies that alert and intelligent carefulness is important. The issue, though, is whether circumcision has specific health benefits (as opposed to being merelly cosmetic or religious). The NYTimes article, and others, ...

Posted Mon, Feb 4, 6:19 p.m.

RE: Sorry to insert science here: "and it's still mutilation because it destroys the function of the penis and makes sex less enjoyable for both partners. " Look, people won't take you seriously if you insist on saying things that are patently NOT TRUE. Do you want to be laughed ...

Posted Mon, Feb 4, 5:49 p.m.

Sorry to insert science here: By coincidence, the NYTimes has an article on page A12 today that summarizes current studies regarding circumcision. The headline says: "Male Circumcision No Aid to Women in Study." The full text makes it clear that circumcision is a major benefit in fighting AIDS in Africa: ...

Posted Fri, Feb 1, 11:23 p.m.

Check the link on the new circumcision piece: Crosscut likes all the passion on this subject, so there is a new piece up discussing some comments by Erica Jong on the topic. Take a look at the link "Is Erica Jong Insane." Read the variety of comments. Very interesting. Apparently ...

Posted Wed, Jan 30, 12:22 p.m.

RE: DOCTORS OPPOSING CIRCUMCISION REPLIES: Hmm, makes you wonder. All those men (the majority) who are wrong when they think they are getting pleasure but are really not " no, most american boys are not doing just fine in those areas of life, they think that they are but that ...

Posted Wed, Jan 30, 11:03 a.m.

RE: DOCTORS OPPOSING CIRCUMCISION REPLIES: Honestly, how can we talk when stuff like this comes up: "results in a complete inability to masturbate and nearly complete dysfunction of the penis during intercourse. that is what it was designed for and that's what most american boys are put through." Do you ...

Posted Tue, Jan 29, 8:45 p.m.

RE: Circumsexuals: If you read my posts you will find nothing "Pro" circumcision in them. I want to understand the significance of the operation culturally and its effects on the large majority of men in America who have it done to them as babies. The "Antis", though apparently are unable ...

Posted Tue, Jan 29, 7:15 p.m.

RE: Circumsexuals: I wondered how long it would take for one of you to descend to this kind of tripe. Are you ever ashamed of yourself? You are so over-the-top on this issue that you literally cannot hold a reasonable discussion, not can you stay in the area of rational ...

Posted Tue, Jan 29, 8:33 a.m.

RE: my opinion: Your parents circumcized you as a baby, something done to up to 80% of American males in parts of the country, and something done to 100% of Jewish and Muslim males. And you haven't spoken to them for two years as a result of this miniscule operation? ...

Posted Tue, Jan 29, 8:29 a.m.

RE: Genital Integrity is in.: Here are the stats from the Hospital Discharge Survey. They speak for themselves. From 2003 on, all areas show increasing rates. The West coast has a 2004 rate of 31.7%, which is not one in four, more like one in three. Of course, the West ...

Posted Mon, Jan 28, 9:11 p.m.

RE: Genital Mutilation is not an artifact of culture: Moreover, statistics seem to show that circumcision has been increasing in all areas of the United States since 2003.

Posted Mon, Jan 28, 9:09 p.m.

RE: Genital Mutilation is not an artifact of culture: Circumcision rates are well over 50% in all non-western parts of the United States and as high as 79.5% in parts of the country. It is in fact an expression of culture (ask any Jew or Muslim). Denial of what is ...

Posted Mon, Jan 28, 1:40 p.m.

RE: Anti-circumcision zealots tire me: I agree totally. What is curious about the zealots is that they make claims utterly invalidated by experience. I never met an actual normal man who felt that there was some kind of trauma or anguish involved with being circumsized, not to mention any who ...

Posted Sat, Jan 26, 11:40 a.m.

President King: And, of course, there was President Leslie Lynch King (Gerald Ford). We coulda had a King for almost a full term.

Posted Tue, Jan 15, 10:37 a.m.

those tolls: It's pretty frustrating reading these posts, I have to say. Youse guys start with the idea of your perfect bridge then back up to the crippling tolls to pay for it, most of you perfectly able to charge your "clients" for the new ten dollar tolls. I see ...

Posted Mon, Jan 14, 12:31 p.m.

RE: costs: So what does "Editor's Pick" mean? It looks as though the editor approves of a post that shows a mind utterly unaware that most people can't bill up or raise rates for their "clients." Does the editor really not see how the proposed tolls will affect real people? ...

Posted Mon, Jan 14, 10:03 a.m.

Roads for the Rich: Do we all live in a world where we can simply pass the costs upwards? The question was about the guy in a pickup who is a regular worker, who cannot afford ten bucks a shot, not a subcontractor who can bill upwards. For Pete's sake, ...

Posted Sat, Dec 15, 12:39 p.m.

offensive cookies: I enjoyed this brouhaha, at least I enjoyed reading about it. For me the depressing aspect of the hyper PC attitude of the HR person is how it ties into the current phenomenon of choosing to be offended when someone is trying to be pleasant and friendly. No ...

Posted Sat, Nov 24, 10:09 a.m.

the good china: We are wavering these days between the dining room and restaurants, but once again we did the home dinner thing. The issue of leftovers is rightly raised by others here. I wonder about what we get as a family by the tradition elements of Thanksgiving. I set ...

Posted Tue, Nov 20, 2:30 p.m.

RE: What's wrong with tolling?: And the better allocation for space on the bridge will be by personal wealth? This is the Capitalist way? We no longer as a society see that absolute essentials are available to the people, but turn our infrastructure over to "profit" and allow people to ...

Posted Tue, Nov 20, 12:26 p.m.

Ah, yes: Good to read about the "Roads for the Rich" program. We will keep those bridges wide open, so those who can afford to drive over the water will have nothing keeping them away from the Bellevue malls. As for those who can't dump six bucks into the bucket, ...

Posted Wed, Nov 7, 5:33 p.m.

privacy gone: I find it very irritating to have to agree with Piper Scott, but on this issue he is right. Moreover, It interests me that we have abandoned the absolute key to our system of voting. When I was a child, and Piper, too, we were taught that what ...

Posted Mon, Nov 5, 9:40 p.m.

and further by the way: I am sure she would appreciate your words that you do not intend personal attack. Yet, your conclusion based on her votes is that she is the leader of a band of Marxists? Hmm. I just watched her vote repeatedly, and what I saw was ...

Posted Mon, Nov 5, 4:40 p.m.

and by the way: I met Sally Soriano once at a cocktail party. She was pleasant, amusing, clearly serious about her job, easy to talk to and intelligent. She listened without an eye over one's shoulder looking for more interesting people. I wasn't scared of her at all. Sean's words ...

Posted Mon, Nov 5, 4:37 p.m.

the school board election: I don't know what you would call your style, but when the language reaches "Soriano and her band of Marxist protestors" there is something going on other than lack of diplomacy. Nothing you say rings true with what I saw going on at the public hearings. ...

Posted Mon, Nov 5, 2:41 p.m.

the school board meetings.: Well, this is interesting. I wonder if we saw the same meetings. There were indeed angry people at the meetings, and words were slung around, some unacceptable in civil discourse. What I saw, though, was ordinary citizens trying to talk to the Board, mostly in reasonable ...

Posted Mon, Nov 5, 12:46 p.m.

conspiracy, eh?: Well we certainly do get a good example of what you are attacking, don't we? No one talked about "conspiracy" until you showed up with the "small group" "beholden" business. Aren't you ashamed of yourself? I haven't the vaguest idea who the small group is. I did in ...

Posted Mon, Nov 5, 10:38 a.m.

One disagreement: I will address just one area of disagreement with your essay. When I read essays like this, I look to see if the writer is part of the cabal to oust Sally Soriano from the school board. When she is attacked, I look for other indications that the ...

Posted Sat, Sep 29, 1:01 p.m.

elasticity: You mention something I would like to read more about, the elasticity of demand for roads. I have wondered whether the wisest tack might be simply to let the congestion take care of itself. (I am not advocating that but wondering about it.) The I-5 project showed that people ...

Posted Sun, Sep 23, 12:04 p.m.

RE: Where?: Thank you! Rhinelander is probably the very center of Northern Wisconsin. Your hub is probably a fifth cousin of my brother-in-law. I think Albers is a very scarce name. To be honest, until your name popped up, I had never seen it except for my sis.

Posted Sun, Sep 23, 10:46 a.m.

Where?: I enjoyed this piece a lot. It is interesting to hear your perspective, especially interesting to all of us who came to Seattle over the years. We came nigh onto forty years ago, and even with the changes, much of what you say rings true. I do have a ...

Posted Wed, Sep 19, 4:33 p.m.

what is not being said: what people are not saying Posted by: Spike on Sep 19, 2007 4:31 PM I found the Vance items very interesting and well written, and the comments are as well, but I don't see any focus on the two big subjects around the water cooler ...

Posted Mon, Sep 17, 10:51 a.m.

crosscut: I am trying to think of what might be the Achilles heel of Crosscut. I like the concept and the actualization of what you are doing. The articles are excellent, and some of the writers are, too. I read it, or scan it, pretty much every day. I can ...

Posted Wed, Sep 12, 11:40 a.m.

Nessun dorma comparison?: This was a fine personal memory piece about LP. I wonder if you would do a quick comparison for me. A few years ago when Franco Corelli died, I was driving across the I-90 bridge when NPR played Corelli singing Nessun dorma. It was so beautiful, it ...

Posted Tue, Sep 11, 2:54 p.m.

Try WPR: Just a suggestion: Take a look at Wisconsin Public Radio. It has two different networks that blanket the state, one for music, one for ideas. The ideas network is absolutely wonderful and has much of what is gone from our area. I listen to WHWC and love both ...

Posted Sat, Sep 8, 11:46 a.m.

Thanks!: This was delightful. It is even more amusing read aloud. What a great change of pace. I wonder if rhythm and rhyme come as easily to you as this poem feels to the reader.

Posted Mon, Jun 11, 2:05 p.m.

Get those excess people off the roads.: We need to be clear about this, though. The real goal here is to free up the highways for those wealthy enough to be able to pay the outrageous tolls cited here. We need to get the poor and the retired and the ...

Posted Tue, Jun 5, 12:32 p.m.

RE: What Gates could do: I can only assume, Sean, that you didn't read my post with any care. What I was proposing was nothing like any of those nice elite schools. I do know education, and they don't need to be reduplicated. I can also only assume that you ...

Posted Mon, Jun 4, 11:50 a.m.

RE: What Gates could do: Well, that is what Rockefeller did when he founded the University of Chicago, which was such a successful philanthropical gesture that the University is even better than Stanford or Harvard. I would like to see the concept at the high school level. It would not ...

Posted Sun, Jun 3, 10:54 a.m.

What Gates could do: To go counter to the current education buzz, I would suggest that the Gates family consider a radical retrenchment in education. The best use of their money would be to create schools that go all the way back to fundamental education. You start with excellent teachers; ...

Posted Sat, May 5, 7:43 p.m.

passenger trains: Your comments are well expressed. I would argue only one point. It is not a simple fact that people abandoned trains for cars, though the Interstate system was rising as passenger trains were dying. Anyone who remembers the old train system knows how determinedly the railways made taking ...

Posted Sat, May 5, 10:18 a.m.

RE: For whom the toll helps: I think the bigger picture is pretty clear. It is a social engineering project to turn (in this case) the public highways over to those whose wealth can purchase access. The goal is highways for the wealthy and public transit for the average person. ...

Posted Fri, May 4, 8:34 a.m.

Roads for the wealthy: I am always amazed to hear good liberal Democrats in a progressive state push for tolls on the highways. What they are actually doing is changing a crucial demographic equity -- all people can use the highways -- to a service for the wealthy. The tolls ...

Posted Thu, May 3, 7 p.m.

good one: I have enjoyed the lengthy brouhaha over the Palmer bike satire. The article itself is one of the first I have read on Crosscut that I wanted to copy and send to friends. It is really excellent satire, and in spite of some claims, it is very Swiftian, ...

Posted Thu, Apr 12, 12:02 p.m.

Soriano/Bass cont'd.: I don't see the virtue in having unanimous votes on any elected board. Soriano/Bass have not stopped the majority from pushing their agendas. My point, though, was that anyone who watched the public hearings would have noticed that they two were the only directors who were listening and ...

Posted Thu, Apr 12, 10:15 a.m.

Soriano/Bass: It is hard to believe that you commend the shunting aside of Soriano/Bass. It is impossible to believe that you watched any of the airing of the board meetings regarding the school closures. The only members of the board who actually listened to the public were Soriano and Bass. ...