After U.S. Senate Candidate Clint Didier lost to fellow republican Dino Rossi in Washington’s primary this month, Didier did what any classy candidate in the same party would do: he staged a press conference refusing to support Rossi. Didier is requesting Rossi cave to three specific wishes, magic genie-style, before he’ll anoint Rossi with the support of his legions of fans (7.7% of primary voters). There’s just one problem with Didier's non-endorsement plans and it's coming from the queen of absurd post-election rhetoric, Sara Palin. more ›

The results are in! Thanks to Washington’s painfully slow vote counting process, results won’t be made official till September, but thankfully there weren’t too many nail biters this primary season. If you’re itching for a more comprehensive list of the results, check out King County’s election website. more ›

The former Governor of Alaska and noted Culture Warrior Sarah Palin endorsed former Washington Redskins player Clint Didier for his US Senate run yesterday. This news came as a surprise to Democratic leaders in the state, already plotting a campaign against Didier's likely primary opponent Dino Rossi. The maverick-y former VP Candidate endorsed Didier despite recent polls showing that Rossi would be the strongest candidate against incumbent Senator Patty Murray in November. more ›

Anchorage is just about the same distance from Seattle as Chicago, yet it falls to Seattlest to chronicle not the latest Obama puppy story but an Alaska fish tale. more ›

The Yukon keta salmon carpaccio comes on a frosty plate, thinly sliced, with fennel and red onion salad, drizzled with lemon oil and smoked sea salt. In the glass, chilled Willamette Valley Vineyards pinot gris. Sublime. more ›

A new weekend post from our new fashion correspondent, Cameron Levin. But before we get to the fashion talk, she's also got the lowdown on some time-sensitive designer retailer events for you:
• Polite Society Trunk Show with acclaimed Russian talent, Madina Vadache, featuring her spring/summer couture collection on Thursday, January 29th, 6-8pm. Vadache will be there for personal consultations and custom fittings. RSVP by January 27th to info@shoppolitesociety.com or by calling 206-441-4796.
• Karan Dannenberg 70% off storewide sale, January 25-31
• Butch Blum Winter Sale, 50% storewide sale

Approximately 24,000 Alaska ballots from the 2008 election will be counted today, and then we should know if Uncle Tubes/convicted felon Ted Stevens has officially lost his Senate seat. (The only ballots remaining after today will be those votes received from overseas, which, if postmarked by midnight on November 4th, will be accepted until Wednesday.) As it currently stands, Dem challenger Mark Begich is up by 1,022 votes, a difference of 0.35%. If the votes are split by less than 0.5%, there will be a state-funded recount, but if Begich picks up a few more votes, this thing--and Sen. Stevens' and Sarah Palin's career--could be done for good. Keep checking Alaska's election results here. more ›

The New Yorker is reporting Alaska Governor Sarah Palin began actively campaigning for the vice-presidential gig almost immediately after she took the governor's office in early 2007. A key component to her vice-presidential strategy was to schmooze high-falutin' conservatives who were passengers on two Seattle-based Holland America cruise ships in the summer and fall of that year. more ›

While the country was busy blindly voting for whoever they fancied, Seattle Weekly writer Don Ward was hard at work being a true patriot and writing an important blog post for the Weekly. We only wish he'd opened our eyes sooner before we so ignorantly cast our ballot. more ›

Yeah, that's how stoked Seattlest is today. more ›

Throughout the campaign we have been gathering the top political writers in the country, and asking them to discuss the presidential race. Today they reflect on the campaign and what they expect on Election Day. more ›

This fall we are combining our love of the football and our dream of learning to cook by preparing a meal from the city of the Seahawks' opponent. more ›

• Hello, weekend windstorm! The neighborhood blogs were aflutter about wind damage, power outages, and waves crashing over 520.
• The Rainier Valley Post has their weekly must-read letting you know what your City Council Member is scheduled to be up to this week. Looks like an exciting week at the City Council, covering topics such as sidewalk cafes (right in time for winter!) and the Mercer mess.
• MetBlogs has something about free money--which automatically makes us click off, fearful of what identity scam is coming next. But at quick glance, it appears to be legitimate--show up and get $10 and there is some pay-it-forward aspect to the scheme.

SurveyUSA, who also conducted a poll of Washington State voters after the first Presidential debate, just released their results from last night's Vice Presidential debate: more ›

Since no one reads the Weekly's blogs, we figured the post where Chris Kornelis pulls for Sarah Palin in tonight's debate might have passed under the radar. more ›

Throughout the campaign we have been gathering the top political writers in the country, and asking them to discuss the presidential race. Today they discuss the Republican ticket and look at tonight's vice-presidential debate. more ›

YOU BETCHA: As far as Seattlest is concerned, there really is nothing worth doing tonight aside from watching the Sarah Palin show. Will she deliver endless bullshit answers full of noun phrases that seem to have nothing to do with one another? Will she address that "Putin flying over Alaska gives me foreign policy cred" absurdity? Will Joe Biden totally slaughter her, or will he make some "woops" remark that actually makes her come out looking like the more poised option? There is so much on the line, but mostly there's just so much entertainment value. We'll start you off on your drinking game plan: drink when Palin says "You Betcha!" more ›

It could be worse. Somehow. We guess SoDo could have been swallowed up in a giant sinkhole. Or the Mariners could keep playing for another three months. Thankfully, their season ended Sunday, bumbling to a 61-101 record, and our long civic nightmare appears to be over, or at least delayed for a few months. more ›

• West Seattle Blog has the latest update on Nickelsville. WSB also pointed us to a Nickelsville Google Group where residents and supporters are posting updates and minute-to-minute news.
• MyBallard has photos of hygiene stations planned for neighborhood homeless car camps. Maybe Mayor Nickels could talk to some Ballard community activists about options for homeless residents, at least Ballard seems to be dealing with the issue in a humane way.
• The most interesting meta post we've seen in an eternity: the strange (and occassionally yucky) search terms that lead folks to Tacoma's crime blog, Lights & Sirens.

We like to think of sports as a microcosm of society. And our society loves its freedom. (In fact, we are about to get real free with a bottle of something within the hour.) Said freedom has its limitations, though. For instance, you can't choose who roots for your team. Anyone with half a brain is welcome to hitch up to your favorite team whenever they want. But this realization doesn't mean we aren't really, really troubled by the wrong-headed Seahawks fan who thought it was a good idea to stir up a rivalry with the New York Giants (who the 'Hawks play next week) by posting 9/11 jokes and photos on a Seahawks blog. Our apologies to our brothers and sisters over at Gothamist. Next time you are in the area, coffee is on us. Deadspin has the gory details. (Consider yourself warned.) more ›

Though the political news of the day is most certainly McCain's ploy to "suspend" his campaign and delay the first presidential debate as well as the VP debate in order to concentrate on the economic crisis, there's other news out today about the plight of Republican candidates this year. According to the New York Times, Washington State Democrats are suing to force Republican candidate for governor Dino Rossi to list his party affiliation on the ballot as "Republican" and not "GOP" which apparently polls higher. more ›

Sudden celeb Sarah Palin, John McCain's Vice Presidential pick, has canceled a scheduled appearance next week in Seattle. Palin was the guest of honor (see: big money draw) at a fundraiser set for the 24th, but she won't be attending due to 'scheduling conflicts.' Palin will likely be in Michigan or some other swing state stumping for McCain. Since you won't be able to see the Tina Fey look-a-like in the flesh, we leave you this: the Sarah Palin baby name generator. If Sarah Palin was your mom what would your name be? Henceforth, we'd like to be called by our Alaskan name, Charcoal Sniper Palin. more ›

We're going to drop some locals-only wisdom on you, which Seattle natives rarely if ever do sober...so listen up. more ›

Sarah Palin and her husband Tom are members of a Seahawks fan club up in Alaska. Seth Kolloen at Sports Northwest confirmed it with the president of that club earlier today: more ›

According to a King5-commissioned poll, Barack Obama's lead in Washington is diminishing. Obama's lead has dropped from double digits in June to only four percentage points in the most recent poll. If the election was held today, 49% of Washingtonians would vote for Barack Obama and 45% would cast their vote for John McCain. more ›

In Gourmet's excellent "Politics of the Plate" series, Barry Estabrook reports today on Alaska's Clean Water Initiative. It would have protected salmon by capping pollutants from the proposed Pebble Mine on Bristol Bay. But the measure went down to defeat in an election last month. Biggest winner: the mining industry. Biggest loser: the Bristol Bay salmon fleet. Biggest opponent of the Clean Water Initiative: the state's sitting governor, Sarah Palin, whose (ahem, pregnant and unmarried) daughter happens to be named Bristol. more ›

There has been several flavors of WTF news from all over today. You have your tragic WTF news, the duh WTF news, and the just truly head-scratching WTF news. Behold: more ›

According to an email we got from the Washington State Democrats today, the state's Attorney General, Rob McKenna, laid out a plan for Dino Rossi to beat Christine Gregoire in November for state delegates at the Republican National Convention in Minnesota. In short, according to McKenna, McCain-Palin needs to carry Washington by 10-12 points. "If he fails to carry it by ten or twelve points, Dino doesn't win." Maybe it's scary thoughts like that which convinced the state's Republican party to put out only a "vaguely worded press release" when their booth got trashed at Bumbershoot this weekend. more ›

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