For nearly seven months it seems that the City of Pasco has had to deal with a small group of pro-life constituents (and many non-constituents) who opposed Planned Parenthood’s plans to open a new clinic in Pasco. Planned Parenthood, noting an increase in teen pregnancy and STI’s, found an upward [...]
I really appreciate Michelle Dupler from the Tri-City Herald. She’s a straight on young reporter and seems to be filling in the shoes of the Herald’s political beat quite well. It may be kind of dull politics around here but when Speaker Chopp shows up in town to coo the [...]
Man… Yakima… Yet another reason I don’t like to go there. Yet another reason people laugh at you. And I always wondered why people called Yakima the “Buttcrack of Washington”.
By Associated Press YAKIMA, Wash. — The Yakima City Council is cracking down on what an ordinance delicately refers to as [...]
It probably isn’t a first (but it’s the first I’ve witnessed), but the online news blog, for lack of a better term, Pubicola, has been bought into by private invester and green developer Greg Smith. Aside from being giddy about the prospect that it may be the first of [...]
Every year, usually more than once, I set out on one of my favorite day rides. The route scenery is a mix of dry desert plateau’s and mountain forests wandering through south-central Washington and from where I come from to get here, starts just outside of Mabton.
More often than not these rides [...]
It’s National Outdoor Intercourse Day! (AKA - 69th of March)
Sadly, it almost seems the tradition has faded. But with all the uptight people in this country, perhaps it’s time for a revival? What say you?
(image via spaceandmotion.com)
[...]If you are a Republican in Franklin County Washington and weren’t at the last central committee meeting, you probably should have been. Your county party has been officially hijacked! At the last meeting, word is the overly-zealous-anti-everything-hyped-up-on-teabagging-evangelical-wing-of-marginal-Republicanism voted to “censure” Washington State Representative Maureen Walsh (R-16) over her vote on [...]
Quicky note… good friend and old drummer from the Uncle Dirt Nap day’s has been in and out of town here in the Tri-Cities. That has inspired some impromtu get togethers of which one was last night at Richland’s Uptown Bar and Grill. It’s been a long time since we [...]
One band I’ve been following is Heartless Bastards. I’d hoped they would have a decent website but unfortunately it’s still pretty much only a link to a MySpace page (ick… enough of MySpace already). But what brings this post about is I recently saw they will be playing [...]
Surfing I found a review of the Zero S electric motorcycle over on engadget.com. Here’s a pic:
(photo via engadget.com)
Hmm…. looks fun huh? Does it wheelie? Probably since from the description it’s a torquey little bastard. But what struck me from the review was this:
Like most great [...]
Ive been riding motorcycles a long time but it’s only in the last four years that I’ve had a bike I would consider something worthy of riding an actual race course. In fact, most of the motorcycles I’ve owned would scare the crap out of me to ride through any [...]
Note changes… more coming.
[...]“The first thing that would make me feel a little bit better towards them if they’d follow the Japanese model and come before the American people and take that deep bow and say I’m sorry, and then either do one of two things — resign, or go commit suicide.” - [...]
I once went to a St. Patty’s day party in a very small conservative town in Indiana where I was nearly accosted by a patron who, for some strange reason, brought his own green food coloring turn his beer green. Unfortunately, for him, the more he drank [...]
I got turned on to this from Eli Sanders over at Slog and “Made in America” seems like bad ass documentary to me. Eli’s review was something of a rememberance for me for the very brief experience I had with an LA gang. Nothing dramatic happened in my experience [...]
Your service is getting nearly useless. I was promised much better internet speeds. So much for that promise? Fix it!
If you were thinking about ordering Clearwire, don’t do it until they get their shit together.
[...]For most folks, it’s easy to take for granted the DNR. And equally easy for us all to let slip into the grey matter or our minds the totally great and awesome Commissioner of Public Lands, Peter Goldmark. Fortunately for me, having been a supporter since Peter’s 2006 congressional run, [...]
I’ve been reading the Seattle PI as long as I can remember. When I was 6 or so, my brother and I had 2 delivery routes in a then not-so-wonderful Seattle neighborhood near Madrona where we fought off angry dogs and angered subscribers with our superior throwing skills (remember aluminum [...]
Embryonic stem cell research is fascinating. But what becomes of the therapies once available? It’s a little early to know if we will see television ads from Pfizer on their latest therapy (just imagine that in today’s context of marketing… ick). Here’s an interesting and informative Slog post that [...]
Normal false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Normal false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4
Now you too can apologize to Rush Limbaugh!
I wish republican leadership would toss Rush to the curb. They will have to at some point so why not now? They need ideas [...]
Salon’s Glenn Greenwald - Fox News “war games” the coming civil war - article has been talked up on the internets pretty well so I won’t expand on my shared sentiments. I’ll just share my favorite quote.
In sum, they dressed up in warrior clothing to fight against Bill Clinton’s [...]
DALLAS — A month after leaving the White House, former President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura, moved into their new Dallas home Friday.
[...]
Dallas police and Secret Service agents have set up a barricade in recent days limiting access to the neighborhood. They have even [...]
The big story may not be the selection of Grant’s sucessor [Laura Grant-Herriot], but rather the coming election they will face, and more importantly when. It’s no secret Republicans would like to gain a seat in the legislature and given the nature of the 16th LD, this may be the place to [...]
This is a big day for the 4 counties that comprise the 16th LD here in Washington. This afternoon, commissioners choose who will replace the late Rep. Bill Grant. Grant, one of the very few democratic legislators in Eastern Washington, was highly regarded for his ability to bring partisans together [...]
Whatever your fantasies…
[...]… in the news on dope.
Reducing penalties for possession of weed:
And you know… I’ve never been a fan of Adam Kline. But I love this quote.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Adam Kline, D-Seattle, joked that marijuana was in fact a gateway drug: “My own experience shows that marijuana is. [...]
So much for getting off this planet. Enough sattellites collide there could be too many high speed projectiles to dodge!
It happened some 490 miles above northern Siberia, at around noon Eastern time. Two communications satellites — one Russian, one American — cracked up in silent destruction. In the aftermath, [...]
Rush Limbaugh. I kind of like the sound of that.
Kind of reminds me of this movie I once saw…
(A Face in the Crowd - 1957)
[...]Huh! Kind of a surprise to me that we are going into this territory but… ok! Looks like the expansion goes into some area’s of pensions and according to what I gather, shores up some of the previous legislation. Look for the coming minority frenzy and concerted letters to republican [...]
There is a reason newspapers are dropping like flies. And today’s editorial is one of them:
The urge to “improve” on the standard version of our national anthem is apparently difficult for a lot of musicians to resist.
To this we say, “Try harder.”
Perhaps the most egregious example of the “star-mangled” [...]
I told a friend I might go see Clint Eastwood’s new movie Gran Torino and she told me, “It’s a Clint Eastwood movie. You can’t go wrong”. So I reminded her about ‘Every Which Way But Loose”. (Zing!) But despite Eastwood having the honor of a long career in spaghetti [...]
First off, the Drinking Liberally in the Tri-Cities Inauguration Party was nothing less than a complete success. It was by far more than anyone who was involved in putting it together expected. Being a potluck sort of event, usually there is quite a bit of food, but you would never [...]
Updated:
A couple updates on this:
First, was it just me or was Warren completely uninspiring? I know this is days old but really… it wasn’t just the words in his invocation, it was the delivery and cadence. Where is Brother Swaggart (a real sinner) when you need him?
Second, if you haven’t [...]
As you can see from the picture in the previous post, just post election I had a little vacation. A much needed vacation. While I can’t say it was perfect, it was as perfect as it was going to get and I enjoyed myself, the ocean, and a few Mayan [...]
There are still 25 thousand ballots in the WA-8th LD race to count and the Benton County Auditor hasn’t posted up results since 8pm last night. WHAT ARE THEY HIDING!!! I think Bobby Gagner should have a press conference. Yes, that is exactly what she should do right now and [...]
Looks like I’ll never get on that Blueberry Commission.
Dammit!
I hope sometime during the next 4 years we can put some teeth into the Washington State Public Disclosure Commission laws. The flagrent violations by the BIAW needs to be stopped. Fines of 15k here and there after 500k worth of violations [...]
This is fantastic news…
| County Results & Map Last updated on 11/5/2008 6:26 AM Commissioner of Public Lands (Partisan office, 4-year term) Statewide | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote | Vote % | ||
Doug Sutherland
(Prefers Republican Party)
|
753,558 | 49.46 % | ||
Peter J. Goldmark
(Prefers Democratic Party)
|
769,926 | 50.54 % | ||
| Total Votes | 1,523,484 | 100.00% |
This is a pretty close race. While Brad Klippert is already considering his “mandate”:
Klippert viewed his narrow lead not only as a victory, but also a mandate to take the conservative ideology that formed the foundation of his campaign.
The Army National Guard reservist and Benton County sheriff’s deputy campaigned on [...]
And man I’m tired….
| Candidate | Vote | Vote % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Dave Reichert
(Prefers Republican Party)
|
34,460 | 47.64 % | ||
Darcy Burner
(Prefers Democratic Party)
|
37,869 | 52.36 % | ||
| Total Votes | 72,329 | 100.00% |
First of all, despite what I figured to be some groundbreaking gains in Central Washington it seems as so the nation goes, Eastern Washington runs the other way. It’s a bit tragic in the sense that I feel we are being left behind in the past. If anyone in this [...]
I’m heading out in a bit to the Democratic Headquarters here in Benton County and if things go right I should be providing some fun here so check back. Until then…. hold your breath… no, don’t do that. Breath! Wait… just go eat leftover halloween candy.
And for my first report… [...]
I’m not to big on predictions but I’ll kinda-sorta throw some out. Throw out some of yer own in the comment thread. At least you can be anonymous there you jerks…
8th LD
Larry Haler will win big. Rob Welch was arrested Sunday night over a family fight and his threatening suicide. [...]
I’m not sure what to make of this but legislative candidate Rob Welch was involved in a family arguement and was arrested last night after punching a glass pane and threatening suicide.
I could probably be real snarky right now but I’ll take a pass. I will say that I never [...]
The race in Washington’s 4th CD between George Fearing and Richard “Doc” Hastings could be a close one. Until recently, no polls were available to show how this race might turn out leaving only speculation that Hastings would easily win with similar numbers as previous elections. Even strong challengers rarely [...]
Corrupt old bastard anyway.
The verdict throws the upcoming election into disarray. Stevens is fighting off a challenge from Democrat Mark Begich and must now either drop out or continue campaigning as a convicted felon.
That shouldn’t be a problem for him…
[...]If you use the schoolyard taunt “then why do you talk about him so much”, then Washington 8th District Legislative candidate Rob Welch loves imcumbant Larry Haler… lots! But thats not exactly a fair assesment. Because if you’ve been reading the paper, its pretty clear that it’s anything but *hearts*! [...]
One of the Mid-Columbia races that has been interesting to me is the 8th LD race between Carol Moser and Brad Klippert. Moser, the lone Democrat in the primary advanced to the general election despite a crowded field of Republicans, with roughly 40% . And amongst those Republicans, social conservative [...]
I’ve often lamented that the Republican party has gone over the edge and someday, just maybe, real Republicans will take back a party that despite its sometimes monumental policy failures, has much to be proud of. And if there were a role model for the future of Republican Party it [...]
A couple times… And man was that fun.
That’s my “new to me” Kawi KLR 650 ditched in the slop. The KLR is a gem of a bike. I’ve been out of the dirt riding for far too long (does it show?), but I’m so impressed by this [...]
Excuse the sarcasm. We all knew it would happen. The Tri-City Herald’s endorsement follows the print media’s legacy of endorsing incumbents. Funny… Goldy recently wrote,
I was chatting with a long-time local politico over the weekend, bitching about the P-I endorsement of Reichert, and the old-timer sarcastically responded “Big [...]
In light of the glowing incompetence of the McCain/Palin ticket and the monstrosity that is the VP pick of Sarah Palin I thought I’d do Doc Hastings a favor are re-issue his August 29, 2008 press release (emphasis mine):
For Immediate Release
August 29, 2008
Contact: Tim Kovis, 509-736-1510
Doc Hastings Applauds [...]
Because your “Inner Jew” knows it’s the right thing to do.
The Great Schlep from The Great Schlep on Vimeo.
[...]
Linking here is a must read from Dan Savage that not only will put tears in your eyes, it should give you a better understanding to I-1000 and what it means to the individual vs. well… the individual! You see, that’s what it’s really about. Argue all you want [...]
Is another mans desperate campaign meme… via Fox News (of course):
BETHLEHEM, PA-A day after Senator McCain did not even mention Bill Ayers during the Nashville debate ( despite the anticipation by many that he would) his campaign sent out a strong statement,by John M. Murtagh who’s family’s house was [...]
It’s Tuesday and time for Drinking Liberally in the Tri-Cities and tonights DL falls on the same day as the Predential Debate between Barak Obama and that other older gentleman with the Grandpa Simpson laugh. So come on down early since the debate starts at 6:00pm.
Drinking Liberally [...]
[UPDATE: HA has news that the court is allowing the suit to push forward]
While Attorney General, Rob McKenna may appear (non-partisan) to have done right in bringing suit against the BIAW for its illegal campaign fundraising, it was a clear partisan move to omit the culpability of Dino Rossi. [...]
So, we… us taxpayers and stuff… just got saddled with bailing out Wall Street. Perhaps all for not as the markets could still crash on the rocks and the very banks we prop up, could still fall down. It’s pretty obvious why:
The Keating scandal is eerily similar to today’s credit [...]
But it’s short, and for about the 1.4 seconds at the end it seemed worth it.
[...]These guys put out more than one album but I can’t find it anywhere. What was it called?
The Williams Brothers put out some good stuff. A bit cheesy but outstanding harmonies. I found this album and can download it but the song I’m looking for is not [...]
Thanks Doc. And to the others in the Wa delegation (except for that tool Reichert who is too stupid to actually understand what was going on anyway)… thanks as wwell.
Too bad it passed anyway.
Stupid stupid stupid…
[...]Somewhere in the back of my mind the “angry liberal” in me hoped Palin would have that deer in the 
headlights moment, seize up, and perhaps even walk off stage. But she didn’t. And the realist in me knows that wasn’t likely to happen. Otherwise the McCain [...]
If dying were a disease I’m sure some pharma-co would come out with a new drug and a highly paid celebrity surrogate to market it. Unfortunately, dying is certain. And sometimes certain and painful. But Martin Sheen shilling for the anti-1000 group wants you and I to not have a [...]
It must be a Multi Media Day!!!
I just love these things. It was put up back in July but kinda relevant for this run up to November 4.
SINGAPORE (AP) — Oil prices rose above $99 a barrel Thursday in Asia on expectations the U.S. Congress will pass a reformulated $700 billion financial industry bailout package this week that will help stabilize a faltering economy.
This is what we are getting for our $700 billion bailout? [...]
Who can feel sorry for someone who can’t… er… ok… I kinda feel sorry. She was too stupid to tell McCain “no thanks” for that carreer path to nowhere.
[...]Channel 73. Tune in and get to know your next president.
Not much of a fair deal when McCain has had Fox News since his nominiation.
[...][UPDATE: Goldy has the “smoking gun”… Click HERE for the story.]
The evidence released today shows that Mr. Rossi was not just a beneficiary of these illegal activities, but was a knowing and active participant. The Attorney General’s lawsuit found that the illegal fundraising campaign involved BIAW senior [...]
Drinking Liberally in the Tri-Cities is tonight and every Tuesday night. With just a couple days to what should amount to be a vastly entertaining VP debate, come on down and enjoy the good weather we are having with 20 - 30 of your closest friends!
(Also, this would be a [...]
I dunno how I missed this… well, actually I do. I’ve been trying to stay away from blogging and intentionally reducing my news consumption out of consideration for my well being. But I can’t believe I missed this quote from our very own Doc Hastings:
“It [...]
Sara Palin - single handedly saving jobs at Saturday Night Live…
[...]A quick warm up for this post from Horsesass.org
The Seattle P-I’s Neal Modie. The Everett Herald’s Jim Haley. The Columbian’s Gregg Herrington. KING-5 News’ Robert Mak. The AP’s Dave Ammons. The Seattle Times’ Ralph Thomas and David Postman. And that’s only a partial list of Washington state political reporters [...]
I’d like to give McCain credit for this first debate, but I can’t. When his moments happened, it was his broken re-theme of the Bush administration or a contorted regurgitation of Obama in a twisted “change” fashion that didn’t settle into the stomach like a meatloaf comfort meal. It was [...]
Obama puts out a good message here. Interesting is the reality of it all when we talk about expenses and healthcare, the middle class… Almost polar opposite is McCain who I keep hearing say “I know how to do this” like a kid who really doesn’t, but just wants to [...]
I’ve been a bit out of the loop but as far as I remember, Drinking Liberally is every Tuesday at O’Callahans. Be there tonight. I’ll bring that really cool invention of John McCains for everyone to see…. The Blackberry!
Drinking Liberally in the Tri-Cities
50 Comstock Rd.
Richland
7pm till?
Posted Via Blackberry Mobile
Update: [...]
No, he has never put lipstick on a pig, Sen. Barack Obama told David Letterman in an appearance to be broadcast tonight on CBS’s “The Late Show with David Letterman.”
“But I think it might be fun to try,” Obama said.
In defense of his critique Tuesday in Virginia of Sen. [...]
Oh yeah… I knew I’d heard that somewhere before!
The Obama camp could probably pull a page from The Daily Show and laugh their way to the end of the election. Ya ya… I know. Enough voters would be turned off that it could backfire if the Obama folks took to [...]
I wonder if Biden has ever had a mooseburger? If not, I think he’ll have that opportunity.
[...]Who ever thought we’d have product placement in a blog post? The deliberate human manipulation of placing the commercial world into our daily lives, until now, was mainly reserved for Sylvester Stallone movies. Until now. Over at HA, Darryl has broken through that barrier.
With credentials come bags (typically [...]
Pretty weak so far. And there is a few ways to look at this. First, this isn’t 1968 when the warhawks weren’t so far and few between. And with the general message of withdrawal from Iraq a common theme, I don’t anticipate much of a disturbance. But it’s early [...]
