A lot's been said about Proposition 1, but apparently it's not enough, as the Crosscut "prediction" poll says it will fail.
I hope these Crosscut readers are looking into defective crystal balls. Seattle's inability to get with the transportation program is a source of embarrassment for me, as my family and friends back in Missouri (a red state, no less) are poking fun. They, and not Seattle, after all, have light rail, and I'm not talking about some cute little trolley with a politically incorrect (but unforgettable) acronym.
If your phone is ringing today, chances are it's a campaign calling with a pre-recorded message.
In the last 10 minutes I got one from Tim Burgess, candidate for the Seattle City Council, and another from Darlene Flynn, candidate for the Seattle School Board. Burgess used his own voice to speak against mail pieces by his opponent, incumbent David Della. Flynn used a Seattle teacher to speak on her behalf.
"No money? No downloads. No downloads? No peace." It's not exactly WTO or an anti-war demonstration, but the emotional notes are being hit high in the Writers Guild of America strike, which started this morning.
Seattle has become something of a half-assed sports town, and that half happens to be the first. On Sunday, Nov. 4, both the Seahawks and the Sonics were competitive going into the second halves of games against, respectively, the Cleveland Browns and Los Angeles Clippers. Late during both games, the other club pulled ahead. Sound familiar?
Oregon's statewide vote-by-mail elections are often held up as an example of electoral innovation that motivates more voters to do their thing. But not everyone loves the arrangement–each election brings some minor grumbling that the need for a voter to pop for a stamp is really a sneaky poll tax. (Hey, good disguise.)
Bill Clinton was in Seattle last week, at the U.S. Conference of Mayors' climate summit. He reframed the discussion about coping with global warming by saying it was a golden opportunity to make money. One week earlier, Seattle business leaders were hearing the same siren song at the Chamber of Commerce retreat in Vancouver. A bank president declared, "Green is the new gold."
Chiming in today is a story in The New York Times that points out how bicycling in Portland is turning into a small industry. So can we all relax, now? Has market capitalism saved the earth, just as the big bad villain was about to do her in?
Beyond the pettiness of the campaign just ending lies the potential emergence of a whole new mood in Seattle-area politics. It would start with a muting of the cultural wars that have bedeviled Seattle politics ever since 9/11. Call it the revenge of the center.
The Discovery Institute's head uses the James Watson controversy to make a good point about the legacy of eugenics and the dangers it poses for the future. But the role of religion in that history shouldn't be given a free pass.
Twitter
Facebook
RSS Feeds