It takes work for a Republican legislator to get censured by a legislature where their own party holds 80% of the seats, but Priscilla Giddings (photo, left) pulled it off. How? By doxing a rape victim, in this case a legislative intern allegedly raped by a fellow Republican legislator, and then mes[...]
Archive for November, 2021
City of Spokane banned from county health board
This spring, the Washington Legislature changed how local governments structure public health boards. “Gov. Jay Inslee praised the bill as he signed it, saying it would ‘take politics out of public health,’” the Spokane newspaper said (here). Little did he know. The Spokane Count[...]
November 17th, 2021 - 6:33 pm § in Law and Courts, Misc.
Drunk driver hits police car
This blog opposes drinking and driving. Driving drunk and hitting a police car is an even worse idea. In Spokane, Washington, a pickup driver made a “California stop” at an intersection, i.e., he slowed at a stop sign, but didn’t come to a complete stop, as drivers are required to [...]
House sanctions GOP Rep. Gosar for “kill” video
The House voted Wednesday to censure Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ), and strip him of his committee assignments, as punishment for a doctored video that depicted him killing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY). The vote was 223-207-1, with only 2 Republicans voting in favor, and 1 abstaining. He’s th[...]
November 17th, 2021 - 2:30 pm § in Environment
Western Washington floods: Bad for people, good for fish
Battered by super-wet “atmospheric rivers” coming in from the Pacific Ocean, western Washington is once again dealing with overflowing rivers, flooded streets and homes, and people needing rescue. More or less happens every winter, although it’s unusually severe this time, because [...]
November 17th, 2021 - 1:15 pm § in Misc.
Boy with a gun who shot at 4 people insists, “I did nothing wrong”
“I did nothing wrong” Someone sure as hell did. Responsible adults don’t let children play cops-and-robbers with real guns. This child wasn’t trained for policing a riot, no one was supervising him, and he lacked the maturity, wisdom, and experience to make life-and-death jud[...]
November 16th, 2021 - 11:53 pm § in Law and Courts, Racism
Did an Iowa town whitewash a lynching?
Grinnell is a college town of 9,564 mostly-white folks (fewer than 2% African-American) a long way from anywhere. In September 2020, a local black man was found in a ditch, a rope around his neck, and his dead body on fire. A jury has decided his girlfriend’s white ex-boyfriend did it. On Tues[...]
Are the Democrats throwing immigrants under the bus?
“Democrats are set to leave immigrants in the lurch again” That’s the headline of a Vox article published on Monday, November 15, 2021 (here). I say, “click bait.” Why? That article begins, “The House may soon vote on Democrats’ $1.75 trillion budget reconciliat[...]
November 16th, 2021 - 12:20 pm § in Economics, Schools & Colleges
Why school bus drivers are striking
A Kentucky school bus driver says she makes $19,000 a year (story here). In Rhode Island, drivers for three school districts unionized, then authorized a strike after the school bus company refused to bargain (story here). In Minneapolis, school bus drivers unanimously authorized a strike if mediati[...]
November 15th, 2021 - 10:47 pm § in Humor
Are Washington’s football programs black holes?
With Jimmy Lake now gone from U.W., following WSU’s dismissal of Nick Rolovich, both of Washington’s Division 1 public universities have sacked their 2nd-year football coaches. Reportedly, physics faculty and postdocs at both institutions are applying for National Science Foundation gran[...]