A lot has happened since November 4; we decided to spend $1.4 billion more than we thought we would on November 3, for one thing. State legislators learned of the new $4.6 billion estimate this morning, says the P-I. In response, Governor Gregoire has asked state agencies to look at cuts of up to 20 percent across the board. You already know what the Republicans will say about this, so we turned to the plucky third-party GOP candidate, Dino Rossi. Whoops, nothing there. So back to the Republicans. Nothing there either. It's like these people only care about budgets when there's an election. more ›

Transportation professionals say Initiative 985 will make traffic worse. Tim Eyman says, "I-985 implements common sense reforms based on recommendations from Sonntag's thorough investigation." The P-I says, "Voters should decline to join Eyman in blowing this multi-toxin poison dart at themselves." But what do you say? Yea or nay? Our poll closes tomorrow at noon, and don't be shy about voicing your opinions in the comments. (More on I-985 here) more ›

Over the weekend we got an email from our friend in Wisconsin asking, "Why does Washington have a caucus and a primary? I don't get it. How does this work?" more ›

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As a brain-dead "undecided," we were naturally curious when we heard the Implicit Association Test people had set up a Presidential Candidates Test. It takes about 10 minutes, and purports to measure your neurological affinity for Clinton, Obama, Huckabee, and McCain (or little pictures of them). more ›

Is Washington State thinking of creating a modern day scarlet letter? Republican State Senator Mike Carrell has authored a bill that would require a person convicted of a DUI to have special fluorescent yellow license plates. If passed, the law would require anyone convicted of a DUI to have the plates for one year on both the front and back plates of their vehicles. Within that year, if a driver convicted of a DUI is pulled over for any reason and they do not have the required fluorescent plates, they could be charged with an extra misdemeanor. more ›

Not that it made much difference in real-world terms. Our precinct (189 people turned out) went heavily Obama, which we understand is how the wind blew in Seattle today. more ›

John McCain is coming to Seattle. This appearance, while putatively in support of his nomination campaign, will actually be one of the first stops in his presidential campaign--his nomination is a foregone conclusion now that Mitt Romney has dropped out of the race. more ›

We have gathered some of the top political writers in the country and asked them to discuss the presidential race throughout the year. Today they discuss McCain’s new frontrunner status, religion in American politics, and Edwards’ departure. more ›

The Seattle Weekly's Rick Anderson pointed us to what may be the greatest unintentional comedy festival in Internet history. more ›

We just heard about the benefit concert for one of our favorite 15th Ave irregulars, Orion -- whom you may know from such 15th Ave hotspots as the North Hill Bakery and the Hopvine. The benefit part is to help pay for uninsured Orion losing several teeth and fracturing some bones in his face after a bicycle accident. Why do bad things happen to good people? It's a fair question -- Orion is nothing if not good people. more ›

We Washingtonians don't get our chance to caucus until February 9th, and it was always unlikely that the Democratic nomination was going to be in doubt by then. more ›

Barack Obama's celebrity endorsement by Oprah Winfrey didn't go unnoticed by local Republicans. Never shy about borrowing strategy, they've recruited their own big name person--former Seahawk and Coug Robbie Tobeck. more ›

And it fucking sucked! more ›

We had no idea that FOSEP was hosting firebrands like these guys. As blogfish (where we also learned October 8 was International Cephalopod Awareness Day) puts it, the duo's Framing Science talk "has stirred some blogging scientists to react with great umbrage." Great fucking umbrage, indeed! (It turns out it's just the atheists, being thin-skinned again.) The Seattle event didn't umbrage that many Seattleites that we could see. Many headed over to McMenamins for beer after. But it should have, and not just Dawkins' apologists. We'll explain.
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Eaten: An onion burger and brick of fries. more ›

"Neighbors fear development" has become the Seattle equivalent of "dog bites man." Of course neighbors fear development. That's what they do. more ›

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The headline: "White House E-Mail Inquiry Will Widen." The story: how the Bush administration has quite possibly made a major infraction, broken big giant rules, or in the 's words, "committed 'extensive' [legal] violations." more ›

This Adbusters piece about liberalism and its current state of crisis isn't exactly new--looks like it's from their May/June issue--but it should be required reading in Seattle. The author talks about how liberals are rich white guys who don't really have anything to complain about, but don't seem to do much besides complain. They need to man up and start acting like the born and bred civic rulers they are and blah blah blah. You should read it. more ›

reports on his blog that state Sen. Joe Zarelli recently hosted right-wing Israeli politicians and others at a two-day conference down in Vancouver, to fan the flames of Islamophobia. more ›

What defines a terrorist or terrorism? You know, besides standing between a Republican and the camera he wants to install in your panty drawer? Is it your actions? Is it your nationality? Is it your race? Is it your intent? We better figure it out because there are suddenly a whole lot of laws on the books all over the place that say criminals get this sentence and terrorists get this other one. Down in Eugene right now the (and this next word is important) eco-saboteurs who perpetrated a string of arsons across the Pacific Northwest are about to be sentenced. more ›

--Gaysuit isn't just what Seattlest puts on for a night on the town anymore. It's also a less than creative slug at the Times. more ›

The scoreboard at Everett Memorial Stadium will be incredibly accurate this season. Why? Because Dino Rossi is buying a minority share in the Aquasox, and he tends to get bitchy when people lose count. more ›

"I voted for Dino Rossi" is not what you say when you are dating a hard-left politics dork. Seattlest once learned this the hard way. The revelation sparked an argument. We lost. For months, we spent lonely nights reading Lewis Lapham, trying to cure our moderate streak. more ›

Gov. Christine Gregoire got so frustrated trying to broker a compromise between Mayor Greg Nickels and House Speaker Frank Chopp on the Alaskan Way Viaduct that she turned to a Republican wise man for advice. more ›

The 2007 Washington Legislative session begins today, and Governor Gregoire wants to spend big. Her argument, we have a $1.9 billion surplus, and we should spend that money on education, health care, and other gross poor people things. more ›

--A P-I editorial targets what may be the state's last living Republican (via Northwest Progressive Institute) more ›

Dave Reichert not only admits that he tattled on a school-bus driver who flipped off President Bush, he brags about it. And David Postman of the Seattle Times has it on tape. more ›

[Congressman Dave] Reichert rode with Bush in his motorcade when the president came to the Eastside in June to raise money for Reichert and the state Republican Party. more ›