Posted Sat, Feb 21, 8:36 a.m.

With 689 administrative employees making more than $100,000/yr. it shouldn't be hard to find 10's of millions in savings. No need to go after the unionized workers or others such as librarians who actually perform a service for the public.

Posted Thu, Feb 19, 7:01 a.m.

"...calling for sacrifices, beginning with hizzoner." I could get behind that. Do you think Qwest Field would be large enough to hold all the people who would want to watch the Mayor sacrificed?

Posted Sat, Jan 24, 6:31 a.m.

There is about as much chance that there will be cuts in the corporate income tax, capital gains tax, and personal income taxes of couples earning over $200,000 as there is of Governor Rossi building a Bus Rapid Transit system and other famous prognostications of Van Dyk. It is more ...

Posted Fri, Jan 23, 5:37 p.m.

US imports and exports started declining in September, 2008, and have fallen each month since. With the contraction in World Trade that is now occurring and which will likely continue for at least another year, it is unlikely that we will hearing much about further free trade agreements for several ...

Posted Fri, Jan 23, 5:14 p.m.

Today, Obama met with Congressional leaders and rejected the Republican proposals to cut personal and corporate taxes. President Obama ended a philosophical debate over tax policy with the simple declaration that his opinion prevailed because "I won." Once a again VanDyk is revealed to be a naif as regards understanding ...

Posted Thu, Jan 15, 6:22 a.m.

Speaking to the California Republican Assembly in Oakland, California on October 5, 1935, Herbert Hoover claimed that he attempted to balance the budget, but was stymied in part by the Democratic Congress. He goes on to say that "had the Republican principles of balancing the budget been accepted in 1931 ...

Posted Wed, Jan 14, 8:36 a.m.

Huh! “Continued constructive policies promoting the economic recovery of the country must be the paramount duty of the Government. …Institutions and men may have resources and credit but unless they have confidence progress is halting and insecure. ”There are three definite directions in which action by the Government at once ...

Posted Fri, Jan 9, 3:56 p.m.

One more thought and I'll go away for awhile. The preliminary numbers I'm seeing for December personal spending show the sharpest contraction I can remember since 1960 and probably since the post-war slump in '45. They are truly alarming and if they continue will be a disaster for retail business ...

Posted Fri, Jan 9, 3:40 p.m.

Ted, "Cuts in general business tax or capital gains rates? These would have general and widespread effect on hiring, expansion, and investment decisions across the economy, but thus far they appear to be missing". These would have absolutely no value in jump starting the economy. With businesses operating at losses, ...

Posted Fri, Jan 9, 9:17 a.m.

"Jan. 9 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. lost more jobs in 2008 than in any year since 1945 as employers fired another 524,000 people in December, indicating a free-fall in the economy..." and Van Dyk urges caution. Hubert just rolled over screamed Ted was a republican mole.

Posted Wed, Jan 7, 12:29 p.m.

This whole analysis assumes that students attending Ivy League schools pay the full tuition, board and room rate, very few do. Many middle class families would find it cheaper to send their child to Harvard than the UW. Quoted below are the key parameters of Harvard's financial aid packages for ...

Posted Mon, Jan 5, 7:49 a.m.

It will have the devastating impact that Zoe Baird, Linda Chavez and Bernie Kerik did.

Posted Sat, Jan 3, 7:37 a.m.

You are right Sean, St. Clair has his mind so twisted from reading Friedrich Hayek he wouldn't recognize Salma Hayek walking down the street.

Posted Sat, Jan 3, 7:24 a.m.

In the last 50 years there have been 30 "Top of the Ticket" statewide races for Governor or U.S. Senator. Of those 30 races, three Republicans, Dan Evans, John Spellman and Slade Gorton won 8. The last Republican win was Slade Gorton's senate win in 1994. No other Republicans have ...

Posted Fri, Jan 2, 5:04 p.m.

The Directors of the Franklin & Eleanor Roosevelt Institute that award the Four Freedoms Award rather than being PC may have been respecting Eleanor Roosevelt's long association with and support for Planned Parenthood and Mary Lasker. ER's support of Women's Rights was part and parcel of her support of human ...

Posted Thu, Jan 1, 7:18 a.m.

Well John, he ran a lot stronger than the real conservative who garnered 39.7% of the vote in the 2000 WA gubenatorial race.

Posted Tue, Dec 30, 5:43 a.m.

Mr Baker You might want to review a number of articles in The Seattle Times and The PI starting about 9/24/2002 and continuing for several months regarding Joe Zarelli. He is what in common parlance is known as a welfare cheat or an embezzler. While employed as a Washington State ...

Posted Mon, Dec 29, 6:40 a.m.

To my eye, even more than the uncleared snow, the growing monuments of garbage cans and recycling bins demonstrate the failure of City Hall to tend to the most basic tasks of municipal government. Folks thinking about running for public office in Seattle this year should be out and about ...

Posted Sat, Dec 20, 8:55 a.m.

I would be more sanguine about this appointment if Salazar didn't look like Phil Gramm's twin brother. I know, don't judge books or people by their cover, still...

Posted Wed, Dec 17, 6:48 p.m.

Six different Republican candidates for Governor have lost the last seven elections since in Washington since 1984. That tells me the Republican problem in this state is more than disgust with Bush incompetence or poor campaign strategy in one race. Out of touch with the citizens of Washington makes more ...

Posted Tue, Dec 9, 8:42 a.m.

Don't often agree with Vance but he is correct about this non-partisan nonsense. All politics is partisan and should be. We have been well served by our two party system and should promote its preservation rather than pretend that "the common good" will ensue if everyone just pretends they don't ...

Posted Tue, Dec 9, 8:29 a.m.

"New York Times op/ed columnist Roger Cohen wrote... "Shame," ... "has become a quaint chivalric notion, like honor, a thing of another American time." Cohen is correct. We seldom hear the old term of opprobrium "shameless" any more. That is too bad. It is commonly used in Spanish to good ...

Posted Mon, Dec 8, 10:43 a.m.

Tony, The PI picked up $24 million from the Times last year when the Times was forced to settle their ill-advised attempt to shut down the PI. That money will carry the PI for a few years as they watch the Times crater. The PI has much lower overhead than ...

Posted Sun, Dec 7, 9:56 p.m.

Actually the 9 member city council has had 18 different members over the past 10 years, a fairly large turnover rate. That is higher than among the county council, ensconced as they are in their carefully crafted and secure district seats. Looking at the margins by which the Sound Transit ...

Posted Sun, Dec 7, 8:55 p.m.

Media giant Tribune Co., saddled with billions in debt since it became a privately-held company last year, has hired bankruptcy advisers, investment bank Lazard and law firm Sidley Austin, according to its flagship newspaper, the Chicago Tribune. The Chicago-based company owns television stations and newspapers in many of the nation's ...

Posted Sat, Dec 6, 8:32 a.m.

New York Times Saturday, December 6, 2008 "The McClatchy Company, burdened by debt and a steep slide in newspaper advertising, wants to sell one of its most-prized properties, The Miami Herald, according to people briefed on the company’s plans....." No buyers out there. Bye Bye Seattle Times...see ya Frank.

Posted Wed, Dec 3, 11:11 a.m.

Of the nations 3,115 counties, 2,437 voted more Democratic in 2008 than 2004 and 678 voted more Republican in 2008 than in 2004 as measured by the Presidential Vote. The counties that voted more Democratic were proportionately more Black and more Hispanic, they have a college educated population that is ...

Posted Wed, Nov 26, 12:47 p.m.

Angie has it exactly correct. As a long time South Seattle resident and parent and grandparent of public school students I agree with her analysis of the enrollment problems in the South End. The movement to close schools is primarily a political response to the know-nothings in the Seattle power ...

Posted Tue, Nov 25, 11:31 a.m.

See: http://www.squirepark.org/the_neighborhood/ Official Website of Seattle's Squire Park Neighborhood "As a part of the Seattle’s Central District, Squire Park is among the oldest residential areas in the city. This long and rich history has led to a diverse community, influenced both by the Capitol Hill and International District neighborhoods to ...

Posted Tue, Nov 25, 11:22 a.m.

Why is someone who hasn't been to Columbia City in three decades and doesn't know where Squire Park is (the Seattle U, soccer field and gym are smack dab in Squire Park) critiquing a story about Seattle? Next time maybe write about Langley.

Posted Tue, Nov 25, 6:31 a.m.

In this environment, who would want to buy the majority stake in something "worthless"?

Posted Mon, Nov 24, 7:56 p.m.

The McClatchy writedowns of their interest in the Seattle Times is probably driven by their outside auditors. It is reasonable in this market to assume the McClatchy interest is worthless and the auditors are pushing them to mark assets to market, otherwise their financial statements would be misleading to investors, ...

Posted Mon, Nov 24, 4:18 p.m.

The tone of the Times piece is rather off-putting, particularly since it comes from a business that in all probablility is insolvent in part because of its own management incompetence and demonstrated venality in dealing with the PI and others. The Times feels that it is OK to suspend voter ...

Posted Wed, Nov 19, 4:08 p.m.

WDM You can't add and subtract either: "It lost by seven percentage points, but 17 years later it passed by 58-42 — a remarkable swing of 15 points." 7+(58-42)= 15 in Carlson, WDM and Republican arithmetic. 7+(58-42)= 23 in Everybody else's arithmetic. Fortunately John Carlson lost to Gary Locke 58% ...

Posted Wed, Nov 19, 8:10 a.m.

Carlson writes, "Take Initiative 1000, the ballot measure to allow physician-assisted suicide for the terminally ill. A virtually identical initiative appeared on the ballot in 1991. It lost by seven percentage points, but 17 years later it passed by 58-42 — a remarkable swing of 15 points." And later, "The ...

Posted Fri, Nov 14, 5:34 a.m.

Smith may just be a Nickels plant with no intent to actually run. By talking up a run at this time he could scare off other serious candidates or handicap their efforts to find money and backers. The deviousness of Nickels should never be underestimated.

Posted Thu, Nov 13, 5:41 a.m.

For what it is worth, per the Secty. Of State's numbers this morning, Thursday, almost 25,000 more votes were cast in the gubernatorial race than in the presidential race. Those may have been Rossi voters who didn't like either McCain or Obama. That would cause Gregoire to underperform Obama. Of ...

Posted Tue, Nov 11, 8:52 p.m.

Sometimes, infrequently, Piper gets it right. He does tonight. In 2006, the CBC reported the dismal news that only two-thirds of Canadians had attended some kind of Remembrance Day exercises. The horror. We should have that problem.

Posted Tue, Nov 11, 7:33 p.m.

I suspect most Native American's find Mr. Van Dyk's list of wars incomplete, not to mention the family of Colonel Custer. We were also involved in several conflicts before the Revolutionary War. The casualty percentages in King Phillips War in New England in 1675-76 are thought to be the highest ...

Posted Sun, Nov 9, 1:19 p.m.

“Continued constructive policies promoting the economic recovery of the country must be the paramount duty of the Government. …Institutions and men may have resources and credit but unless they have confidence progress is halting and insecure. ”There are three definite directions in which action by the Government at once can ...

Posted Sun, Nov 9, 7:26 a.m.

Not all of God’s children accept that the election of the first African-American President is a major event in the history of the United States. Some prefer to wallow in their hatred and bigotry. Sad, but that’s the way it is.

Posted Sat, Nov 8, 6:19 a.m.

I have never understood, or seen a compelling argument, for Washington to develop its own testing program with all the attendant cost, time lost, and inherent problems with any new test, when there are long established, well researched and proven achievement tests available. In addition to the SAT IIs that ...

Posted Fri, Nov 7, 8:10 a.m.

The political transformation of the professional class over the past 50 years from Eisenhower Republicans to one of the most consistent Democratic voting blocks has cost the Republican Party the suburbs, not just east of Lake Washington but in most metropolitan areas of the country. There are not enough voters ...

Posted Thu, Nov 6, 2:34 p.m.

A substantial segment of the public does not differentiate between reporting and opinion writing. This morning in the PI David Horsey is drawing criticism for being one sided in a cartoon criticizing Dino Rossi's campaign ads. Many simply do not recognize that editorial writers, political cartoonists and columnists are tasked ...

Posted Wed, Nov 5, 8:48 a.m.

Piper Here is a little heads up on 2012 television programing. "You're watching Alaska Cable Access Channel 2. Welcome to Hockey Talk with your host, Sarah Palin..." I know, what goes around comes around, but for the moment I'm going to enjoy it. -Rat

Posted Wed, Nov 5, 7:10 a.m.

Actually, Obama's lead of more than 7 million votes and rising as West Coast votes are still being counted and 54% to 46% margin are very close to expectations and poll predictions. Rossi is political toast, behind by more than 100,000 votes and increasing. Sound Transit and no new roads ...

Posted Tue, Nov 4, 8:34 a.m.

Just my two-bits, but letting Jim Vesely, Joni Balter and Lynne Varner go would improve the quality of the paper and the circulation.

Posted Mon, Nov 3, 6:29 a.m.

It is a rare football program that can win on the field without recruiting losers off the field. The UW record over the past several decades is not encouraging.

Posted Thu, Oct 30, 7:34 a.m.

Two Quick Questions. How would this plan square with Initiative 91? As I recall that Initiative bans City investment of taxes in sports stadiums unless there is a positive return to the taxpayers equal to the Treasury Bond rate. If promoting tourism is the game, why wouldn't surplus funds from ...

Posted Thu, Oct 23, 8:20 a.m.

Hey Piper, I stay at much better places than Motel Six so I won't be slumming with you and John. At my advanced age, work, that four letter word, is but a memory. I wish you much success in your management recruiting business as I appreciate your continuing contributions to ...

Posted Thu, Oct 23, 4:49 a.m.

On the morning of November 5th, Scott St.Claire will pipe all hands on deck with his bagpipes, and he and Carlson will lead a rousing rendition of "Nearer My God to Thee" as the SS AlaskaDisasta sinks beneath the waves.

Posted Mon, Oct 20, 8:23 a.m.

Normally endorsements don't have much effect, but in the latter stages of campaigns there can be a self-reinforcing bandwagon effect. The double whammy of Obama raising more than $150 million in September ($200 million if you add in the DNC haul) and the Powell endorsement on the same Sunday morning ...

Posted Thu, Oct 16, 11:41 a.m.

Start checking the reports on Joe that are beginning to surface in MSM, not just the blogs. McCain campaign can't do anything right.

Posted Thu, Oct 16, 9:04 a.m.

According to the Toledo Blade, he is a registered republican. What a surprise!

Posted Wed, Oct 8, 6:21 a.m.

That One Delivered a Drubbing: All of the "reaction groups", even Fox News, confirm that That One mopped the floor with the other one. Actually, over the next three days as the tracking polls update we will find out who won the debate. The final judgment on presidential debates is ...

Posted Thu, Oct 2, 6:26 p.m.

Yes, But: Thirty or forty years ago commissioned loan officers were common at mortgage companies, but very rare at commercial banks and savings and loans. That changed in the early 1980's as management of these institutions, often coming from the sales side of the institution (Kerry Killinger for example) rather ...

Posted Wed, Oct 1, 11:32 a.m.

Just Wondering: Is it true that Blethen wants to outsource the Newspaper Guild jobs to the Little Nickel want ads.?

Posted Wed, Oct 1, 11:29 a.m.

RE: Ted Van Dyk comment: This is still Seattle, not Singapore or St. Paul. A little rudeness and disruption, even minor violence, is preferable to unquestioning conformity extracted at the end of a police baton.

Posted Thu, Sep 25, 7:06 a.m.

A Divorce Made in Heaven: Hard to say who will be happiest. Blethen getting rid of a union or the Union getting rid of Frank. If the agreement is anything close to what the Union described, the Times has just lost control of one more element of their costs. The ...

Posted Thu, Sep 25, 6:59 a.m.

Friend of the Family: Back in the 1970's, as I recall, an upstart mortgage company on the Eastside started running radio ads something like this; "Need a Friend, Get a Dog". I well remember that it drove acquaintances of mine at Washington Mutual nuts.

Posted Fri, Sep 19, 7:28 a.m.

Try Boise: If you like Spokane you will adore Boise.

Posted Thu, Sep 18, 5:30 p.m.

RE: It's interesting that the American Medical Association: "The medical profession needs to do its share, both clinically and in terms of advocacy, to ensure that dying patients are provided optimal treatment for these discomforts, both physical and emotional," but they haven't in the past, don't now and show no ...

Posted Thu, Sep 18, 8:34 a.m.

Flip-flopping Ron: I remember when Sims envisioned, promoted and led a "Dream of Fields" program in Seattle to build ball fields for kids. Now he proposes to turn a ball field for kids into an underground parking lot. As with light rail, Sims in his dotage has become a flip-flopper.

Posted Thu, Sep 18, 8:19 a.m.

I Have No Desire to Receive Elder Care: I've seen elder care in this country and frankly, have no desire to receive it. When my time comes, I have no fear of death - it's a great life and should end when I can no longer care for myself.

Posted Sat, Aug 30, 9:56 a.m.

Maverick?: Who knew Ella Mae Clampett was a maverick?

Posted Fri, Aug 29, 2:01 p.m.

RE: Huckabee Without the Wit, Charm & Experience: Many dems consider Obama's position on FISA, universal health care and offshore drilling more conservative than Clinton's. Free yourself from your reactionary cocoon.

Posted Fri, Aug 29, 12:59 p.m.

Huckabee Without the Wit, Charm & Experience: Seriously doubt Palin will move disgruntled Clintonistas to vote McCain. Palin will please the Republican base for sure, Piper predicted this months ago, beyond that not so much. The Undecided vote will break for McCain once they get in the voting booth for ...

Posted Tue, Aug 26, 8 a.m.

45 Grand, No Problemo: Nickels probably dipped into the Pot Hole Levy money to find the $45,000. It seems to be available for his every whim.

Posted Fri, Aug 22, 8:09 a.m.

Cheap Dates: The amazing thing about venal politicians is how little it takes to buy them. Almost every story of political corruption involves small dollars for large favors.

Posted Wed, Aug 20, 12:52 p.m.

Very Ho-Hum: The two legislative races in Seattle involve non-incumbent dems. In Renton however, incumbent Margarita Prentice, D-payday loans, will face a D challenger in the General. That must be a first here. That said, you are correct that it was pretty uneventful.

Posted Tue, Aug 19, 9:05 p.m.

RE: A Couple of Quick Points: You need to re-read what I wrote. My points are that despite the fact that I grow some of my food I do not believe that we will abandon cities and suburbs to become farmers or small town dwellers. We are not going to ...

Posted Mon, Aug 18, 6:23 a.m.

A Couple of Quick Points: Just a couple of quick points. "It's taken as a given in Seattle that the burbs are bad. Period." That is true, but the prejudice in the burbs that Seattle is bad, period, runs equally deep and is just as irrational. Both of these prejudices ...

Posted Fri, Aug 15, 7:59 a.m.

Others will be looking at the McClatchy Valuation: National Bank Examiners looking at the bank loans to the Times will look at the McClatchy valuation of the Times, which will be an awkward moment to say the least. Of course it may actually be a worse scenario; it is entirely ...

Posted Tue, Aug 12, 4:07 p.m.

Albert Speer & Albert Speer, Jr.: One commonality between the 1936 Nazi Olympics and the 2008 Chinese Olympics is the role of the Speer family. Albert Speer, architect, Nazi official and convicted War Criminal, directed the construction of the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games facilities and his son, Albert Speer, Jr., ...

Posted Tue, Aug 12, 9:29 a.m.

The Stranger Both a Paper and a Blog: The Stranger and to a lesser degree The Weekly differ from the other blogs mentioned in this series in that both are newspapers as well as running blogs. As such, they have "employed" staff. They are covering local politics and issues at ...

Posted Tue, Aug 12, 6:52 a.m.

Not So Fast Folks: If Goldstein had not publicized State Land Commissioner Doug Sutherland's sexual harassment improprieties the Seattle dailies would have continued to sit on the story. The PI and the Times were quite content to allow Sutherland a free pass for exactly the same conduct they used to ...

Posted Wed, Jul 30, 6:59 a.m.

Since NAFTA Not Necessarily Because of It: This is a very complicated subject, too often reduced to reduced to generalizations, so unlike Van Dyk I'm to going to make any, but one statistic seldom brought up by free trade absolutists in the history of the US balance of payments since ...

Posted Tue, Jul 29, 9:11 p.m.

Los Angeles Is Not Going to Take This Lying Down: LA City Council frustrated at being out-nannied by Seattle and San Francisco today banned new fast food restaurants in poor neighborhoods for a year. The poor in Seattle may have to take their own bag with them to buy food, ...

Posted Tue, Jul 29, 8:52 a.m.

RE: Feels Like the City of 1975?: David, I'm 67 and I remember the Mount Baker Tunnel controversy very well. I was involved in the controversy as a participant and that involvement cost me my employment. In the end it was argued through, in the pubic arena and the courts, ...

Posted Tue, Jul 29, 7:08 a.m.

Feels Like the City of 1975?: Richard Morrill writes that, "The future city will look and feel amazingly like the present city, just as the city today is much like the city of 1975." A different perspective I suppose, but I don't think either Seattle or the suburban cities look ...

Posted Mon, Jul 21, 9:12 p.m.

Fronting for Kemper Freeman: Van Dyk carried water for Michael Milken, now he is fronting for John Stanton and Kemper Freeman. R on Beacon Hill is correct, Van Dyk repeats the same old stuff over and over and over. Rice wanted an appointed Seattle School Board then he wanted an ...

Posted Tue, Jul 8, 6:06 a.m.

Eyeman's Current Initiative Will Abort BRT: In addition to the arguments against Bus Rapid Transit that David Brewster enumerates above, Doug MacDonald and other proponents of BRT forget that this year's initiative from Tim Eyeman places such severe restrictions on HOV and Hot Lanes that they will be effectively eliminated. ...

Posted Fri, Jul 4, 7:15 a.m.

K & L Gates Should Forego Fees: I lost interest in NBA basketball many years ago, but still think it is shame that they are gone. I don't have enough fingers to count those at fault for the Sonics leaving, but think Art Thiel had the best line of all ...

Posted Mon, Jun 30, 7:10 a.m.

The Explorations Model Works for Others: There is a case to be made that scientists do their truly creative work before the age of 35 or 40. There is certainly some empirical evidence that this is the case. The best example of this is the fascinating history of Research Corporation, ...

Posted Sun, Jun 29, 9:51 p.m.

Well, That is Settled: A quorum of Crosscut authors agrees that anonymous commenters are cowards. I'm glad we have that out of the way.

Posted Sat, Jun 28, 4:18 p.m.

I Don't Buy It, Charles: You say, "These days, we need to encourage people to identify themselves, so they are less likely to say something embarrassing and stupid." There is a Crosscut Writer, a writer not a commenter, who says embarrassing and stupid things almost every week. Many commenters need ...

Posted Wed, Jun 25, 2:04 p.m.

Doug, You have forgotten about Mr. Eyeman: What happens to Bus Rapid Transit if the Eyeman initiative to gut HOV and Hot Lanes passes this Fall. Guess it would be just more Bus Slow Transit.

Posted Tue, Jun 24, 7:17 a.m.

Doesn't $4.50/gallon Gas Change All Bets?: It strikes me that Sound Transit's studies and projections and Doug MacDonald's arguments as well, based as they are on historical growth rates and patterns, are no longer valid because of the much higher gasoline prices we are experiencing and are likely to live ...

Posted Fri, Jun 20, 7:46 a.m.

Cheney's "Go to Guy": Lest we forget, Russert was Cheney's "go to guy", Rove's boy, when they wanted to get their message out. How quickly everyone has forgotten the Libby trial.

Posted Thu, Jun 12, 8:30 a.m.

Finally Van Dyk Writes About Something In Which He Has Expertise: Having spent more than a decade helping convicted stock manipulator Michael Milken clean up and polish his image, Van Dyk is probably an expert in the field of financial impropriety. He would understand the sleaze in D.C.

Posted Thu, Jun 12, 8 a.m.

Handmaiden to National Disaster Seeks to Avoid Culpability: Bartlett's statement, "A broad swath of the movement has been in open revolt against George W. Bush--and the Republican Party establishment--for some time. They don't much care for the Iraq war or the federal government's vast expansion over the last seven-and-a-half years", ...

Posted Thu, May 22, 7:54 a.m.

RE: that last article continued here...: Off Topic.

Posted Wed, May 21, 8:11 a.m.

Apple Didn't Fall Far From The Tree: Considering the Colonel and the Judge, Frank proves the old adage.

Posted Wed, May 21, 6:56 a.m.

Some Googie is Great: With all that has been written about Googie architecture over the past few months I got to wondering if there were any Googie buildings that I really liked. Then I remembered Eero Saarinen's TWA Terminal at Idlewild Airport now known as Terminal 5 at JFK Airport. ...

Posted Tue, May 20, 6:16 p.m.

There Are More Apt Comparables Than Stanford.: Stanford neither "punishes the humanities" nor "devalues the undergraduate experience", quite the opposite, Stanford is heralded for its outstanding undergraduate educational experience and strengths across a broad spectrum of the humanities and the sciences. Biggest problem here is that we don't know what ...

Posted Sun, May 11, 5:52 a.m.

What a Cretin: The Nouveau riche have an exalted sense of entitlement which when combined with the absence of any smarts can be very ugly.

Posted Tue, May 6, 1:50 p.m.

RE: A new transportation line: Mayor Nickels announced today that he will reprise the role of Fatty Arbuckle in the upcoming remake of "The Gangsters" (1913). Others with roles in this madcap Keystone Cop's raid on Belltown sin spots include Gil Kerlikowske and Tom Carr.

Posted Tue, May 6, 1:06 p.m.

So Many Accurate Shots: Though, he does present a wide target.

Posted Sun, May 4, 3:31 p.m.

Different Realities: As is true in most of life, there are some cruel realities in academia. One of these is that there are academic circles and then there are other academic circles and movement between one group of circles and the other is quite limited. The trustees of world class ...

Posted Sat, May 3, 1:54 p.m.

RE: This is the future of higher ed: What nonsense. A quick check of the top 10 American Universities as listed in U. S. News & World Report shows that all ten are led by people with academic backgrounds. It is not until you get into second tier schools way ...

Posted Tue, Apr 29, 8:35 a.m.

Well Written: I have several reactions to this article: 1. Excellent article. 2. This is going to be a great comment thread. 3. Chuck Taylor is shamelessly fishing for hits on the Blog, as he should. The dailies not only have not covered the subject, when they publish an op-ed ...

Posted Mon, Apr 28, 8:54 p.m.

RE: Ward Politics Repeatedly Rejected by Seattle Voters: I don't think so. There is quite a bit of turnover on the Seattle City Council. At the present 2 council members or 29% are minorities. The two councilmembers elected last fall can hardly be called liberal Democrats, maybe not even Democrats. ...

Posted Mon, Apr 28, 2:20 p.m.

Ward Politics Repeatedly Rejected by Seattle Voters: Seattle voters terminated election of City Council Members by District in 1910. At least three times since then, most recently 2003, the public has voted with good reason against reintroducing Council Districts and ward politics. Without getting into names the example of the ...

Posted Sun, Apr 27, 8:50 a.m.

RE: Memo to Crosscut: Have you read Peter Jackson's fawning review of Ted Van Dyk's new book at Amazon? Despite the glowing review the book sits at #473,972 on the Amazon Best Seller List.

Posted Sat, Apr 26, 7:37 a.m.

For A Different View: For a different take on WASL and the industrial model of education I suggest an excellent op-ed piece in the PI, April 17, 2008, by David Marshak an emeritus professor in the College of Education at Seattle University. linked text

Posted Fri, Apr 25, 11:40 a.m.

RE: Thank You Deborah Jacobs [for what ??!]: I don't know John, I'm pushing 70 the technologically challenged generation, but I thought the card catalog was in a warehouse in Tukwila, because the card catalog I use when I'm at a micro-fiche reader or in the stacks is on my ...

Posted Fri, Apr 25, 7:13 a.m.

Thank You Deborah Jacobs: I can't think of a public official in the Seattle area over the last 40 years who has been more effective than Deborah Jacobs. I use the downtown library and one of the remodeled/enlarged neighborhood libraries regularly. I'm very happy with both of them. The neighborhood ...

Posted Thu, Apr 24, 4:55 p.m.

Joni Balter Went Around the Bend Years Ago: Joni Balter will be Exhibit C in the Post Mortem of the Seattle Times, after Frank Blethen and Jim Vesely. Ten or eleven years ago she wrote a series of columns about Italy, rants really, that can be condensed down to "there ...

Posted Wed, Apr 23, 7:33 a.m.

Why Sink to Stern's Level?: That was a good column by Art Thiel, however he lost me where he started pushing the idea that Balmer, Stanton, Sabey, et.al. should come back with a private proposal to build an arena and acquire a team. Why in the world would those folks ...

Posted Mon, Apr 21, 11:27 a.m.

Still Researching Ted?: This is the fifth day Ted. Are you still looking for evidence that Borkowski is on the take from Sound Transit? It is time to start preparing your apology.

Posted Wed, Apr 16, 6:50 a.m.

Things Never Change: The folks who are unhappy with the direction of any particular organization always call for a change in the form of governance. A year or so ago the Seattle Times editorial board and Don Nielsen were calling for an appointed Seattle School Board, to bring professionalism and ...

Posted Tue, Apr 8, 8:34 p.m.

The Times Will Never Again Find a Partner: Why would anybody in their right mind partner with Frank Blethen after the hosing he has given Knight-Ridder and its successor, McClatchy, as 49.5% minority owner of the Times?

Posted Tue, Apr 8, 9:07 a.m.

How To Read Michelle Malkin Posts: 1.) Place bottle of Absolut on table beside computer. (Any beverage of your choice that is 80 proof or more will work.) 2.) Drink 4 strong shots. 3.) Read first sentence. 4.) Drink another strong shot. 5.) Read another sentence. 6.) Repeat Step 4. ...

Posted Tue, Apr 1, 5:27 p.m.

Things Will Never Change: In a couple of years they will let the new Superintendent go because the gap between students in SE and High Point and the rest of the District hasn't been closed. Cut her off at the knees now and deliver the coup d' grace in 2010. ...

Posted Fri, Mar 28, 6:44 a.m.

UW Schizophrenia Study: I complain, and the UW Schizophrenia Study is published. This may be a very significant breakthrough both with schizophrenia and autism. Congratulations to all involved. Nonetheless, let's start keeping a scorecard.

Posted Thu, Mar 27, 10:32 p.m.

J. Edgar Hoover Lives, His Name is Jackson: See Hoover discussing the Hippie Problem with LA Police Chief Ed Davis in 1970: http://www.latimes.com/media/acrobat/2008-03/37186881.pdf

Posted Tue, Mar 25, 9:03 a.m.

What Are We Getting For All That Pork & Other Fed Research Funding?: I read a lot about sloppy accounting out at the UW for all that research money, sometimes even fraud, but not so much about results. The bounty of research money flowing to the UW has been going ...

Posted Thu, Mar 20, 11:20 a.m.

Money Will Still Dominate: Nothing surprising about the School Board or the Port races last time. It was the outsiders who had the big bucks and the backing of the downtown power structure.

Posted Thu, Feb 28, 11 a.m.

RE: In the End His Legacy Was Lost: Name-calling, the hallmark of the modern conservative.

Posted Thu, Feb 28, 10:54 a.m.

This Is A Difficult Balancing Act: The decline in the value of the dollar also helped our trade deficit nationally. For 2007, exports of $1,621.8 billion and imports of $2,333.4 billion resulted in a goods and services deficit of $711.6 billion, $46.9 billion less than the 2006 deficit of $758.5 ...

Posted Thu, Feb 28, 9:26 a.m.

In the End His Legacy Was Lost: Buckley dying of emphysema is a metaphor for the choking death we are witnessing of the conservative movement he started. Poor man lived too long. He lived to see the conservative movement he started taken over by the Limbaughs, Coulters and religious whackos, ...

Posted Wed, Feb 20, 7:33 p.m.

RE: World Class Universities: Well, I guess I know my place. Do not point out the blatant errors of your presumed betters on Crosscut, it might offend. I have no disagreement with Lazowka's main point. In my earlier post on the original thread by Margaret Pugh O'Mara I had pointed ...

Posted Tue, Feb 19, 7:45 p.m.

World Class Universities: The University of Chicago was founded in 1890 and many would argue that under the leadership of Robert Hutchins it was a world class university by 1940.

Posted Mon, Feb 18, 8:17 p.m.

Thought Provoking Article: I enjoyed this article. I have some other thoughts as well. Not only do we have to import high tech talent we have insufficient space at our colleges and universities to educate our own college bound students. We send them out of state in droves because we ...

Posted Thu, Feb 7, 6:03 p.m.

RE: Violation of ethics?: Doubtful, looks more like a decision made in the men's room.

Posted Mon, Feb 4, 12:59 p.m.

RE: See: 1 Kings 18:25-27: The Old Testament of the Bible. In the First Book of Kings at 18:25-27.

Posted Mon, Feb 4, 11:19 a.m.

See: 1 Kings 18:25-27: For the last word see: 1 Kings 18:25-27, in which David collects 200 foreskins of Philistines as a dowry for Saul's hot daughter Michal.

Posted Thu, Jan 31, 4:16 p.m.

Joe Zarelli?: Do you mean the Joe Zarelli who while a state senator stole $12,400 from the Washington taxpayers when he illegally accepted unemployment benefits for 25 weeks while employed as a legislator, that Joe Zarelli? Oh yeah, I bet the Governor is quivering. Whatever you say Austin.

Posted Fri, Jan 25, 12:18 p.m.

RE: Can you find your way back to the barn?: They have changed it. This is not the original posting. He originally referred to a Republican primary in South Carolina tomorrow.

Posted Fri, Jan 25, 8:47 a.m.

Can you find your way back to the barn?: VanDyk doesn't even know what primary is tomorrow. The republican primary in South Carolina was last week Ted, it has been settled.

Posted Wed, Jan 23, 8:20 a.m.

Revenge of the Mayor: That will teach those Georgetowners not to cross the Mayor when he wants a Georgetown garbage transfer station. He doesn't forget folks who diss him, he gets even.

Posted Tue, Jan 22, 10:49 p.m.

RE: I liked their spatulas so much, I bought the company!: Actually it is a fly swatter used to put down ill-mannered suburbanites.

Posted Mon, Jan 21, 9:10 a.m.

Cigarettes, Infants, Open Gas Cans and Wild Wild Women: Let's not forget the story in this morning's PI of the young mom down at the Pike Market starting to light up a cigarette with her unbuckled infant in the front seat and an open can of gasoline in the back ...

Posted Fri, Jan 18, 12:37 p.m.

Calcutta?: Well if Seattle is Calcutta, the new urbanized Bothell will be what, Port-au-prince? And don't get me started on Favela Kirkland.

Posted Thu, Jan 17, 8:07 a.m.

RE: Pigs have flown and I agree with Ivan: The folks at that Nunn/Boren meeting have been AWOL for the past seven years. They have no credibility and nothing to offer the country.

Posted Sun, Jan 13, 11:49 a.m.

RE: organized religion is an oxymoron: H. L. Mencken said it best, "Church is a place in which gentlemen who have never been to heaven brag about it to persons who will never get there."

Posted Fri, Jan 11, 8:38 a.m.

Read David Postman's Blog: See Postman's blog in the Times for some revealing and troubling information on Paul. Yeah, Paul is denying that he wrote the stuff but his denial doesn't pass the sniff test. Also check out the coverage on CNN and the original article in the New Republic. ...

Posted Wed, Jan 9, 1:49 p.m.

RE: ffort to legalize physician-assisted suicide.: I doubt if the tone of the conversation will remain civil very long. I think it is a subject, like abortion, where people have made up their minds and the person with a view different than ones own is not only wrong but immoral. ...

Posted Tue, Dec 18, 7:09 a.m.

Crosscut Must Have a Death Wish: For the umpteenth time Van Dyk subjects us to his Sound Transit rant. Now we learn that Cascadia transportation center will bring the Intelligent Designer to help the Rice Stanton clown car. What an absurd joke. Those two couldn't organize a one car funeral ...

Posted Thu, Dec 6, 1:27 p.m.

RE: Some more memory: I went to the City site to look at a larger version of the map in Knute's article. It is a PDF and can be magnified. I then compared Seward Park as it appears on the Google Satellite Map with the this map. They look like ...

Posted Sat, Dec 1, 2:59 p.m.

Interesting Column: In general I am in complete agreement with your analysis, however I do think you are a little hard on the legislature. Doesn't their stingy conduct just reflect the will of the people in this state. The success of Tim Eyeman and comments I read here and elsewhere ...

Posted Sat, Dec 1, 7:32 a.m.

RE: 2008: Be sure your passport is current. They have been very slow processing renewals and new applications.

Posted Tue, Nov 27, 4:48 p.m.

I Doubt Kotkin's Theory Holds Up: I can't top Cameron's comment and won't try. Kotkin selects sun-belt cities as family friendly, ignoring the fact that they have almost no growth plans or controls and in some cases no zoning, and compares them with mostly struggling northern rust belt cities (excepting ...

Posted Mon, Nov 26, 3:25 p.m.

Yes, it is just old-fashioned thinking in a new-fashioned news environment.: That was a Sunday Op-Ed piece that appeared Sat. night. The PI chose to leave it up well into this morning. I believe that means they liked the response. Hearst Corp. has been doing more experimenting with their online ...

Posted Mon, Nov 26, 7:41 a.m.

Update!! Trees replaced with Chain Link Fence!: To update my first post in this thread, the homeowner or contractor who logged off the trees on City Park land along Lake Washington Blvd. has replaced them with a retaining wall of those cheesy faux stone concrete bocks and a chain link ...

Posted Sun, Nov 25, 11:16 a.m.

RE: I question the numbers on decline of tree canopy: I'm not sure, but I think this was the original study and it does cover a wider region than just the City: http://www.american forests.org/downloads/rea/AF_PugetSound.pdf NOTE: american forests in the above address is one word with no space, but it was ...

Posted Sat, Nov 24, 7:45 p.m.

To Get Ahead Stop Cutting!: If you drive or walk along Lake Washington Blvd. between Mt. Baker Beach and the Stan Sayers Pitts you will notice on the uphill side of the road a freshly clear cut patch infront of a million $ plus home enhancing the view. The clear ...

Posted Thu, Nov 22, 7:21 a.m.

Pay Him Off to Go Away: Since he is into the initiative business for the money it would probably be cheaper just to pay him off to go away. He is a Republican after all and the recent experience with Jack Abramoff would indicate that they usually can be bought ...

Posted Wed, Nov 21, 11:42 a.m.

You are Correct: I pulled that out of this morning's NY Times. Went back and checked and it was 2006. I don't think that changes the point, however. Soccer has a long hard road ahead to gain anything like a major league audience. I wish them well.

Posted Wed, Nov 21, 9:03 a.m.

What More Can Be Said: MLS Championship Game Houston at New England Sunday, November 12 Attendance: 22,427 Houston 0 0 0 1 1* New England 0 0 0 1 1 *Houston wins 4-3 in penalty-kick shootout Twenty Two Thousand for the Championship Game!

Posted Tue, Nov 13, 3:05 p.m.

Seattle to the Govenor, Bye Bye: At her peril she will tell Seattle to kiss off. It is going to be a close race in '08.

Posted Tue, Nov 13, 7:24 a.m.

Raise You One Intelligent Designer: Skip, the Cascadia Center For Regional Development will see your Norman Schwarkopf and raise you one Intelligent Designer. Beat that for a Strongman.

Posted Fri, Nov 9, 8:23 a.m.

Martin Doesn't Look Old Enought to be Shaving Yet.: This idealogical twit's prior experience included serving on the Bush transition team and a short stint as an associate at a law firm.

Posted Fri, Nov 9, 8:16 a.m.

Gabo & Stambor have it Exactly Right: I was going to write a rebuttal to Lilly's self-serving screed until I read the above comments by Gabo and Stambor have it exactly right.

Posted Thu, Nov 8, 2:58 p.m.

How to fund transportation without raising taxes: Heck, let Kemper double deck I-405 with Lexus Lanes all exiting into Bellvue Square.

Posted Thu, Nov 8, 7:57 a.m.

Two More Small Fixes: 1. Reclaim gasoline taxes paid by King County drivers but used to repave Section Roads in Eastern Washington. We need to get all over our legislators to end the large subsidy we provide Eastern Washington residents. 2. Our scarce highway maintenance dollars would go a lot ...

Posted Thu, Nov 8, 7:29 a.m.

RE: two small, but good things: In southern Sweden many people commute between the city of Malmo and the university town of Lund, a distance of about 12 miles. They commute on a fast electric train. At each end of the line there are large bike racks, space for hundreds ...

Posted Mon, Nov 5, 7:58 a.m.

You Oversimplify the Vexing Nature of this Election: I think you oversimplify Mr. Brewster. It is not that Burgess has contributed to Republicans once or twice (actually many times) it is that he made a handsome living for a number of years promoting hate mongering organizations. And it is not ...

Posted Thu, Nov 1, 7:34 a.m.

Same as the Westboro Baptist Church: The CWA is in the same category as the Westboro Baptist Church, the hate mongers that were ordered to pay $11 million yesterday for disrupting the funeral of a Marine Lance Corporal.

Posted Sun, Oct 28, 8:52 a.m.

Remember the Public Safety Bldg. & City Hall?: Seattle has been down the path of quick, cheap and tasteless civic buildings in the not too distant past, we don't need to repeat that mistake. Meany, Sealth, Denny, Aki Kurose, South Shore, Rainier Beach, Washington Midlle School, Hale, and others were ...

Posted Thu, Oct 11, 2:53 p.m.

RE: Memorial Satdium "problem": Yes, the School District does own the Stadium. The problem for those who would develop the site with something else is not the School District, which could probably be bought-off, but the public. A sizeable portion of the public become incensed at the thought of destruction ...

Posted Thu, Oct 11, 1:05 p.m.

Interesting Concept: This is an interesting concept. Part of the allure is that it does not require a solution to the Memorial Stadium issue. None of the other proposals I have seen honestly address Memorial Stadium, they unrealistically assume that the problem can somehow can be finessed and the stadium ...

Posted Tue, Oct 9, 10:09 a.m.

Well Said Mossback: I think you have said it well and it is something that needed to be said.

Posted Mon, Oct 8, 2:16 p.m.

Too late Ron!: Before actual construction of the present light rail line commenced, but after it was apparent to all that the line would be much shorter than originally promised, much more expensive and much delayed, Sims more than anyone else led the charge to plow ahead and was dismissive ...

Posted Fri, Oct 5, 10:54 a.m.

RE: Let the record speak for itself...: Medved admits that "millions of slaves perished over the course of 300 years during the rigors of the Middle Passage," but claims it wasn't genocide because only live ones had value on this side of Atlantic. "Rigors"! Get a grip on reality Piper. ...

Posted Wed, Sep 19, 8:36 a.m.

WASL Mistake: The Iowa Test of Basic Skills (grades 1-8) has been around since 1935 and the Iowa Test of Educational Development (grades 9-12) has been around since 1942. These tests are widely used, time tested and proven. They have widespread acceptance and an established base against which current scores ...

Posted Sun, Sep 16, 10:58 a.m.

Bring Gas Taxes Home: Spending gas taxes in the county in which collected would also help address the most pressing transportation problems. It would have the side benefit of bringing some of the most incorrigible from east of the mountains to heel.

Posted Tue, Sep 11, 3:17 p.m.

Winning Me Over: I'm still not taken with the visual format of CC, but the content is steadily improving or at least winning me over. One aspect that is gratifying is that the comments being made are generally on point, literate and civil. That cannot be said about the comments ...

Posted Wed, Aug 22, 11:10 p.m.

King County Voting Machines Repaired or was it Fixed?: Take a look at the King County Elections web site. It shows that Satterburg received about 3,000 more votes (page 3) than people who declared themselves Republicans (page 1).

Posted Sat, Aug 18, 12:29 p.m.

There Goes the Neighborhood: As Chief Joseph said in the 19th Century, "there goes the neighborhood."

Posted Sun, Aug 5, 9:07 a.m.

What will be next?: Now that Fat is a transmittable social disease what will be next? What group will the politically correct pick out to shun? How about children with ADHD. Some researchers are now advancing a theory that ADHD is a precursor to criminal behavior. That's it, lets microchip ...

Posted Tue, Jul 31, 7:59 a.m.

Fine Analysis: Brewster has done a fine analysis of the situation at these organizations. I would be interested in his thoughts on the following; Speight's canning of Jane Eaglen for his final Ring (in favor of a slimmer Brunhilde), and Schwartz's dithering over a concertmaster. My thought on the former ...

Posted Sat, Jul 14, 7:40 a.m.

RE: Gregoire's operatives following Rossi around: Naw, they aren't worried about Williams nor Ken Eikenberry, Ellen Craswell or John Carlson. If Rossi keeps running around with that lunatic Lou Guzzo they won't have much to worry about with Rossi either. The republicans ought to try Jeannette Hayner or Pam Roach, ...

Posted Thu, Jul 5, 9:10 a.m.

Have you Flown Recently?: Corr writes, "it's hard to imagine an industry that does more to consistently abuse its customers." I think the airlines give them competition in customer abuse.

Posted Thu, Jun 28, 7:31 a.m.

Who Will Get To Us Next Week?: I'm happy for Mimi Sheridan that she is confident the City wasn't had by the developers. Much as the developers of the Arctic Building aren't pulling a fast one over on City Hall this week. The business of developers is to screw the ...

Posted Mon, Jun 25, 7:26 a.m.

What Surprise?: Let's see how this works. Two Clise employees were on the Planning Commission when the zoning relaxation was approved by the Commission. Having steered it to a vote they recused themselves from the vote. Wouldn't want any appearance of impropriety would we? As soon as the City Council ...

Posted Sat, Jun 23, 10:12 a.m.

Can police police themselves?: The short answer is No. To paraphrase an old saying, Police Chiefs and fish begin to smell after a period of time. Eventually you end up with the situation that the Port of Seattle has with its police force.

Posted Thu, May 31, 7:19 a.m.

Taylor is Correct: Greg Nickels is many things, pushy, sharp elbowed and unpleasant, but he is not a mobster. From all that I have read of this story there is not a hint linking the Mayor to any wrongdoing. This is a story about a young man who has made ...

Posted Thu, May 17, 10:42 a.m.

Oops!: Oops! Missed it, sorry.

Posted Thu, May 17, 8:31 a.m.

Rybczynski Misidentifies Sculptures: I would have been a little more impressed with Rybczynski's critique if he had not attributed the Serra sculpture to Caro, but I'm not surprised that Brewster failed to pick up on that. Brewster thinks he knows more that he does.

Posted Fri, May 4, 8:31 p.m.

Toll for Studded Tires: If we are going to have bridge tolls, I would suggest tripling it (or more) for vehicles with studded tires. The damage studded tires have already done to the I-90 bridge is painfully obvious.

Posted Thu, May 3, 8:56 a.m.

Exagerated Sense of Entitlement: An exagerated sense of entitlement is but one of the many similarities between bike riders and gun owners.

Posted Fri, Apr 27, 10:23 a.m.

Equal Opportunity Conundrum: Good piece, as is Shapiro's in the Weekly. Goes to show that having money doesn't make some vexing issues any easier to deal with.

Posted Fri, Apr 27, 9:58 a.m.

Gregoire's Mine Field: Gregoire faces a mine field in Seattle. Either the viaducty or 520 have the potential to cause some Seattle Democrats to sit out the next gubernatorial election. If 20 or 30 thousand Seattle D's are really pissed at her over the viaduct, she is toast. Not that ...