tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36416120796049237052011-07-28T15:45:15.466-07:00News, views and commentary from the rain-addled minds of the Pacific NorthwestEmerald City Scionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16270776131588844716noreply@blogger.comBlogger621100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641612079604923705.post-4552494015905111832009-05-24T10:58:00.000-07:002009-05-24T11:00:09.331-07:00

Just a shout-out for an excellent blog--Injustice in Seattle. This blogger covers and comments on local and national cases of police misconduct and abuse. Check it out.

Emerald City Scionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16270776131588844716noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641612079604923705.post-33552229537698891152008-11-22T10:06:00.000-08:002008-11-22T10:16:06.721-08:00

If the election of Obama as president...an America-hating Muslim/radical/socialist/Marxist/terrorist-loving, effete arugula-eating/Black liberationist...represents a victory for center-right conservatives...then what did McCain/Palin represent?

Emerald City Scionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16270776131588844716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641612079604923705.post-41779428233460038742008-11-18T19:37:00.001-08:002008-11-22T10:21:38.257-08:00

11-22--Vote count is now 357. Woo-hoo!From my in-box:From: Todd Stenhouse, Brown for Congress This week Charlie, Jan and I made the trip to Washington D.C. for"Freshman Class Orientation" for the 111 th Congress. It's an exciting time to be in D.C. but it's a reminder we still need to fight to make sure Charlie gets to come back in January.Click here to help make sure Charlie gets to D.C. for

Emerald City Scionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16270776131588844716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641612079604923705.post-88078903872846576782008-11-18T19:07:00.000-08:002008-11-18T19:32:43.271-08:00

Continuing my list...Screw health "insurance." Health care for all on demand. Declassify all files on the Kennedy assination.Prioritize Hanford cleanup and get a handle on the plume of radioactive waste in the groundwater that's heading towards the Columbia River.Ban the use of antibiotics and hormones from animal feed.Adopt Prop 2 anti-cruelty legislation for farm animals as federal law.Allow

Emerald City Scionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16270776131588844716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641612079604923705.post-39396161639275909012008-11-09T16:10:00.000-08:002008-11-09T19:38:37.546-08:00

Today I attended two spontaneously-organized protests of Prop 8. I'm hetero so I'm not directly affected by Prop 8 or other anti-gay measures, but I am an a-theist, and I am more than ready to push back. Hard. I've got no tolerance anymore for holier-than-thou religious freaks and bigoted, hypocritical a-holes invading people's privacy, imposing religious litmus tests and advancing the purported

Emerald City Scionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16270776131588844716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641612079604923705.post-89925711939109132212008-11-09T00:42:00.001-08:002008-11-09T01:33:50.790-08:00

I haven't been posting to my blog over the past several weeks, but instead I've been intensely reading and posting at other political blogs and donating to candidates and issues I support. With the exception of the anti-gay marriage amendments passing, the election losses of some solid, progressive candidates, and the failures of various e-voting machines, I'm elated about the election results.

Emerald City Scionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16270776131588844716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641612079604923705.post-6906547816975650182008-10-19T20:39:00.000-07:002008-10-19T21:11:17.919-07:00

Racists fear an Obama presidency.There's substantial YouTube video available of Whites speaking out against an Obama presidency and giving voice to their overt racism. There's videos of older white men carrying Obama monkeys to Palin rallies, of young white men hanging Obama ghosts in effigy, of older white women stating that if Obama wins that the "Blacks will take over America." There's video

Emerald City Scionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16270776131588844716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641612079604923705.post-76693118470895548382008-09-28T19:50:00.000-07:002008-09-28T20:10:33.265-07:00

Here's a link to a compilation of statistics from votersunite.org that lists the HUGE error rates recorded on some e-voting machines in (of course) BATTLEGROUND STATES.Bradblog also has a report about the recent announcement that the Social Security Administration has shut down its database "temporarily" for "maintenance"--meaning that voter registrars now can't complete and process ANY new or

Emerald City Scionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16270776131588844716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641612079604923705.post-6295248199821756602008-09-28T06:58:00.000-07:002008-09-28T08:32:10.718-07:00

Everybody in the liberal blogosphere, and, finally, some mainstream media pudits, are rightfully pigpiling on the babbling, incoherent answers that Gov. Palin has given to normal, and often softball, questions posed in her interviews with Charles Gibson and Katie Couric. While Gov. Palin hasn't been widely known nationally, she obviously is experienced at being in the public eye, and being

Emerald City Scionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16270776131588844716noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641612079604923705.post-20061740374024823732008-09-27T11:02:00.001-07:002008-09-27T11:25:22.859-07:00

Here's just some issues that haven't been part of the national election discourse that I'd like to see happen under an Obama/Biden administration (in no particular order):1. Close all secret prisons. 2. Close Guantanamo Bay.3. Review & revise the No-Fly list. 3. De-fund US support for Colombia's right-wing dictatorships.4. Fully fund large-scale world-wide reforestation efforts.5.

Emerald City Scionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16270776131588844716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641612079604923705.post-33681676174116797852008-09-27T10:57:00.000-07:002008-09-27T10:58:56.675-07:00

Lyrics by Michael Franti & Spearhead:A revolution never come with a warningA revolution never sends you an omenA revolution just arrived like the morningRing the alarm, we come to wake up the snoringThey tellin' you to never worry about the futureThey tellin' you to never worry about the tortureThey tellin you that you'll never see the horrorSpend it all today and we will bill you tomorrowThree

Emerald City Scionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16270776131588844716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641612079604923705.post-80698593432100919392008-09-20T11:53:00.000-07:002008-09-20T13:19:49.046-07:00

I don't really know if allowing behemoth financial "institutions" to avoid bankrupty by providing taxpayer support is sound or sane economic policy. I'm not an economist and I have no background in finance. But, I've got a really, really, really bad feeling about the rush by Bush Republicans and their Neo-con supporters to push Congress into immediately passing their ready-made legislation

Emerald City Scionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16270776131588844716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641612079604923705.post-6201923819302300552008-09-20T11:48:00.001-07:002008-09-20T11:53:18.302-07:00

Just a shout out to a Alaskan Exposure, a really great blog about living in Alaska. Here's a small sample:I've been fascinated with this Alaskan immunity to grotesque levels of filth for months when I happened upon a feral child scurrying around my local dumpster. The small girl popped her head up from where she sat wedged between the dumpster and a cement curb. She stared at me while seated in

Emerald City Scionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16270776131588844716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641612079604923705.post-65487967864405828682008-09-14T11:10:00.000-07:002008-09-14T11:11:21.313-07:00

Did you know that Palin claims to be a big fan of both the Seahawks AND the Steelers?http://www.assistbythemitten.c om/2008/09/palin-says-shes-ste elers-and-seahawks.htmlIf she’s really a fan of either team, she’d have to know that she can’t have it both ways. You’re either with the Seahawks or you’re with the Steelers.Smells like more political pandering–just like McCain changing the name of the

Emerald City Scionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16270776131588844716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641612079604923705.post-70406410554939787882008-09-14T10:35:00.000-07:002008-09-14T11:12:15.820-07:00

Here are links to July and August Washington State Bar Association discipline notices. It's as good as reading local police blotters.Keep in mind that not all attorney misconduct makes it to the "public notice" stage.

Emerald City Scionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16270776131588844716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641612079604923705.post-18007670467468355402008-09-13T11:30:00.000-07:002008-09-13T12:20:13.505-07:00

In my lifetime I've had the misfortune to meet some cat-hating animal killers like Palin. To a person, all of them were self-righteous, rigid, bigoted, vindictive, cruel, abusive and full of sniggering mean-spiritedness. Often they were dog "lovers." What is it about cats that brings out such hatred, rage and violence in a particular personality type? I think it's because even though cats are

Emerald City Scionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16270776131588844716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641612079604923705.post-18939961332356832812008-09-13T09:51:00.000-07:002008-09-13T10:06:10.165-07:00

So I was screwing around on the internets reading what Vietnam POW-MIA families think about McCain when I came across a link to a blog kept by the family of a wounded Iraq-Afg vet.These people are not by any stretch liberals, or dems. So I was seriously wowed to read a post from early 2007 about a visit McCain paid to their wounded relative at Walter Reed:A few weeks before Chuck was wounded I

Emerald City Scionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16270776131588844716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641612079604923705.post-2788700134054980462008-09-10T20:40:00.000-07:002008-09-10T21:32:37.269-07:00

Like everybody else, I've been reading and watching and discussing McCain's choice of Sarah Palin as VP. Here's my take: She's good looking, has incredible charisma, is telegenic and articulate. She is flirtatious, sassy and sarcastic. She is brimming with sexual power. Don't believe me? Look again at her convention speech, but with the sound off. Watch the way she suggestively bites her

Emerald City Scionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16270776131588844716noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641612079604923705.post-38117368943381459912008-09-01T18:14:00.000-07:002008-09-01T18:28:20.676-07:00

Here's a link to the Patrick Henry College's summer camp "leadership" programs for Christian teens, which is run by a Dominionist nut-job.Apparently signing up to send your son or daughter to a summer camp to experience realistic role-playing at interrogation, torture and spying to develop their skills for a future career with the CIA is de riguer with patriotic Dominionists--they want to

Emerald City Scionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16270776131588844716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641612079604923705.post-38107974056532809362008-09-01T17:35:00.000-07:002008-09-01T17:40:00.867-07:00

Am I the only one that thinks that Cindy McCain's choice of clothes for her first appearance at the RNC promoting hurricane relief was completely bizarre?That woman was dressed up like a little girl's Barbie doll.She was wearing a bright gold, highly-stylized, avante-garde retro-cocktail type dress under a matching fitted jacket with oversized upturned lapels (aka 80s Michael Jackson), black,

Emerald City Scionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16270776131588844716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641612079604923705.post-80596999117906038202008-07-21T20:30:00.000-07:002008-07-21T20:35:33.222-07:00

Washington State DNR Commissioner Doug Sutherland is a serious scumbag. He bullied, humiliated, and repeatedly publicly sexually harassed a brand new female employee.Hat tip to Goldie @ horsesass.org for the story. The guy GROPED HER TWICE, made sexualized remarks, was dismissive of "her" and humiliated her--HE'S A PERVERTED, BULLYING SCUMBAG AND NEEDS TO BE IMMEDIATELY REMOVED FROM OFFICE!!!

Emerald City Scionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16270776131588844716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641612079604923705.post-82722945737449752372008-07-02T20:06:00.000-07:002008-07-02T20:47:55.567-07:00

Lately I've been hearing reported the result of polling showing that Americans now overwhelmingly support increased oil and gas drilling because they believe this will lower gas prices.This belief is the result of crappy, but unsurprising, news framing. What passing for respectable "journalism" and "reporting" in this nation truly, truly sucks.News Flash: It ain't the Arabs, or the

Emerald City Scionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16270776131588844716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641612079604923705.post-10977333846327596362008-06-18T20:43:00.000-07:002008-06-18T20:50:16.553-07:00

Using the immortal words of comedienne Kathy Griffin:Phil Gramm can suck it!David Corn has an investigative piece published at Mother Jones that exposes how sleazy and corrupt this guy and his wife truly are, and how he's at the epicenter of not only the foreclosure financial scandal, but the Enron scandal and others as well. Corn documents just how Gramm gamed the Senate into passing

Emerald City Scionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16270776131588844716noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641612079604923705.post-48116145162681258132008-06-18T20:30:00.000-07:002008-06-18T20:39:46.968-07:00

Here it is.Keep in mind that not all complaints or punishments are publicized.There's one suspension listed that, to my mind, should be a disbarment. How is it remotely possibly that it took a lawyer SIX YEARS to settle a personal injury claim for a basic automobile accident--for the regal sum of slightly more than $3,000-- and then he wouldn't/didn't pay the clients promptly???What an a-hole

Emerald City Scionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16270776131588844716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641612079604923705.post-5770923264054951952008-06-16T20:06:00.000-07:002008-06-16T20:29:07.205-07:00

Open Letter to the Cable News Kewl Kids:This is how you should have reported Tim Russert's death:Tim Russett was a TV interviewer (NOT a journalist) of politicians on a major news network for many years. He was a nice guy, a Catholic, and his Dad worked a blue collar job. When he was young he got to shake John Kennedy's hand, and through some connections, he landed a job working for Tip O'Neill,

Emerald City Scionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16270776131588844716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641612079604923705.post-29618664997574811332008-05-08T20:17:00.000-07:002008-05-08T20:54:45.527-07:00

Here's a link to a Court of Appeals' decision here involving DSHS's ongoing attempt to deny a foster care license to a previously-licensed Eastern Washington couple, Joshua and Janet Ruland. So what, exactly, was the horrible crime this couple committed to be denied an opportunity to continue as foster parents for needy children? What heinous acts were devised and carried out by this

Emerald City Scionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16270776131588844716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641612079604923705.post-35481132273247650532008-05-05T19:44:00.000-07:002008-12-10T16:55:27.745-08:00

Emerald City Scionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16270776131588844716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641612079604923705.post-63527969601334194072008-05-04T07:41:00.001-07:002008-05-04T08:06:59.627-07:00

Here's a link to a Popular Mechanics article about the amazing potential for producing high-quality biofuels from algae.Pond scum power plants are largely self-contained and highly space-efficient. They can be constructed almost anywhere. They are safe and clean. Plus using algae instead of corn, soybean or palms means that more lands won't be cleared for industrial production, and existing

Emerald City Scionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16270776131588844716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641612079604923705.post-7999462585309463292008-05-04T07:13:00.000-07:002008-05-04T08:01:40.924-07:00

This is a copy/paste of a recent e-mail I received:WHY WOMEN SHOULD VOTE! Last week, I went to a sparsely attended screening of HBO's new movie "Iron Jawed Angels." It is a graphic depiction of the battle these women waged so that I could pull the curtain at the polling booth and have my say. I am ashamed to say I needed the reminder. All these years later, voter registration is still my

Emerald City Scionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16270776131588844716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641612079604923705.post-39616585347756643222008-05-03T06:55:00.001-07:002008-05-04T08:04:19.540-07:00

There's going to be a HUGE crush of voters and votes cast in the upcoming presidential election. Your county election board is going to need an equally large number of volunteers to make sure that the election runs smoothly, that every voter who wants to vote can vote, and that every vote that is cast counts.We need progressives who care about maintaining the integrity of our electoral system to

Emerald City Scionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16270776131588844716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641612079604923705.post-42263995290481855892008-05-03T06:42:00.000-07:002008-05-04T07:39:08.201-07:00

Here's a link to the latest Washington State Bar attorney disciplines. It's almost as good as reading your local police blotter.

Emerald City Scionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16270776131588844716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641612079604923705.post-16481508195592543942008-04-22T20:44:00.000-07:002008-05-04T07:39:39.284-07:00

In the last month or so I've been reading and contemplating essays and posts written by Very Important People who are Very Serious, Highly Influential and Highly Respected about how they got "it" (the Iraq Invasion and Occupation) wrong. I'm not going to bother with providing links here to these Very Important Thoughts penned by these Very Important People. Most of their writings can be boiled

Emerald City Scionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16270776131588844716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641612079604923705.post-30199642553304332962008-03-23T08:45:00.001-07:002008-05-04T08:06:04.023-07:00

Sen. Lieberman and Sen. Brownback have proposed Sen. Resolution 483 to establish the first weekend of May 2008 as "Ten Commandments Weekend"Assholes. Here we go again. This type of dog-whistle "resolution" is nothing more than cheap political pandering by Republicans (and yes, Lieberman is a Republican by his votes, positions and conduct--despite his nominal label as "independent") designed to

Emerald City Scionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16270776131588844716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641612079604923705.post-90000487514497356002008-03-21T09:03:00.000-07:002008-05-04T08:06:23.286-07:00

Athenae at Firstdraft.com has written an amazingly powerful essay entitled "It's A Small Crime" reflecting on our passive acceptance and lack of outrage about massive federal bailouts for uber-wealthy corporate types versus the nasty judgments we reserve for poorer Americans. Excerpts:. . .Let me ask a couple of questions here. Does Bear Stearns have a big screen TV? What about bling? Any bling

Emerald City Scionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16270776131588844716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641612079604923705.post-14984892253188917792008-03-20T19:27:00.000-07:002008-05-04T08:06:44.352-07:00

PI reporter Mike Barber interviewed Maj. Gen. Peter Chiarelli about his background and upbringing, his career within the military and the Department of Defense and his military philosopy. He is apparently being considered by some as a successor to either Fallon or Petraeus.Chiarelli grew up in the Magnolia neighborhood of Seattle and attended local colleges, earning a Masters from the UW.

Emerald City Scionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16270776131588844716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641612079604923705.post-21618161701767974692008-03-20T16:07:00.000-07:002008-05-04T08:07:28.098-07:00

It also proves the point that eyewitness ID isn't always that great or reliable.

Emerald City Scionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16270776131588844716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641612079604923705.post-19576197254175401852008-03-20T15:07:00.001-07:002008-05-04T08:07:50.169-07:00

Well it looks like I broke the story about the god-awful 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decision on the industrial shark de-finning case before the mainstream media did. So today Reuters reported the decision correctly, but some idiot got the headline totally ass-backwards. The headline reads: In U.S. court fight, the shark fins win No, the shark fins did not "win" anything. The sharks lost. The

Emerald City Scionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16270776131588844716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641612079604923705.post-28693383267888317612008-03-19T08:46:00.000-07:002008-05-04T08:08:14.526-07:00

The King County Council is holding a public hearing on April 14th about the deplorable shelter operations documented by an outside consultant. Per the consultant's report, these same systemic problems were occuring back in 1998. Despite increases in shelter operations budgets since then, conditions haven't improved, and are the same or worse than the last series of independent

Emerald City Scionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16270776131588844716noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641612079604923705.post-30076056420379886672008-03-18T19:17:00.000-07:002008-05-04T08:08:35.096-07:00

Here is a link to the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Against the War's video feed of Winter Soldier testimony.It's impossible to do justice to the heartbreaking testimony of these soliders talking about the unconscionable, immoral and illegal conduct of the occupations of these two countries by providing snippets and summaries in a blog post. Instead, every American should simply watch and/or read

Emerald City Scionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16270776131588844716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641612079604923705.post-48370777068118286982008-03-18T10:21:00.000-07:002008-05-04T08:08:57.533-07:00

In an unpublished decision entered yesterday, the Washington State Court of Appeals reviewed a trial court's decision and concurred that defendants:Dick and Cecilia Pelascini;Thomas Boboth; andPacific Shoreline Mortgage, Inc. had violated the Consumer Protection Act.Per the court's decision, they took advantage of a long-time homeowner who had fallen on hard times and was facing foreclosure and

Emerald City Scionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16270776131588844716noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641612079604923705.post-68388756756093157782008-03-17T19:26:00.000-07:002008-03-17T19:29:30.084-07:00

Here's a link to the details of this month's Washington State Attorney Discipline notices from Bar News. (And there are disciplinary actions that don't appear in this publication.)It's as good as or better than reading the local police blotters.

Emerald City Scionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16270776131588844716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641612079604923705.post-51858424835335365592008-03-17T15:18:00.000-07:002008-03-17T16:03:53.670-07:00

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals recently decided in favor of large-scale industrial shark finners premised on a technical violation of "due process" by the feds in a civil forfeiture case brought against the defendants for violating the Shark Finning Prohibition Act. If you care about species protections, go read this decision. Seriously.Here's the nutshell: . . . Claimant-Appellant Tai

Emerald City Scionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16270776131588844716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641612079604923705.post-57987706360692816402008-03-16T14:24:00.000-07:002008-03-16T14:35:10.149-07:00

The 2008 Seattle Greenfestival is looking for volunteers to help run the two-day event April 12 and April 13 at the Washington Convention and Trade Center. Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels is a scheduled keynote speaker. Our city has lost a tremendous percentage of tree cover in the last decade. If there's a question and answer period I intend to ask the Mayor whether he's actually going to follow

Emerald City Scionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16270776131588844716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641612079604923705.post-38092823391665396702008-03-15T12:12:00.000-07:002008-03-16T14:35:22.678-07:00

Investigative reporter Greg Palast has a must-read article posted that exposes the back-scratching giveaways and the gross corruption behind the Bush administration's massive government bailout of predatory banks, brokers, corporations and lenders. Gov. Spitzer was leading the charge on behalf of Americans to fight back against these predators. Palast explores how Spitzer's resignation at this

Emerald City Scionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16270776131588844716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641612079604923705.post-10275852006622668072008-03-14T17:01:00.000-07:002008-03-16T14:39:09.663-07:00

A raw turnip in a gift bag led to a bomb scare at an Indiana law firm. The police bomb squad used a robot to move the gift bag to a parking lot and then unsuccessfully tried to detonate it before discovering the vegetable.I guess I could understand someone panicking over a suspicious package in the weeks following 9/11. But it's 2008. Come on people. Get a grip for crying out loud. Whatever

Emerald City Scionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16270776131588844716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641612079604923705.post-26579187873827127262008-03-13T21:50:00.000-07:002008-03-16T14:36:26.718-07:00

Firedoglake nails the latest in Republican concern trolling right on its ugly little head:Saw this headline in Yahoo!News: "Spitzer Scandal Tricky for Parents".Change "Spitzer" to "Clinton", and you have stories that were originally written ten...years ago... Oddly enough, there was no handwringing about "what will we tell the kiddies?" when David Vitter was exposed. Or Larry Craig. (That's right

Emerald City Scionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16270776131588844716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641612079604923705.post-17041798226105749042008-03-13T19:39:00.000-07:002008-03-16T14:36:54.030-07:00

The word "eco-terror" is being used with increasing ease and frequency by corporate media and the general public as shorthand for acts of anti-industrialism and anti-corporatisim via direct destruction, sabatoge and vandalism committed by individuals and organized groups. The word "eco-terror" is Newspeak, and progressive bloggers should consciously avoid using it. While some ELF acts have been

Emerald City Scionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16270776131588844716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641612079604923705.post-57458877543880554152008-03-12T14:33:00.000-07:002008-03-16T14:37:40.521-07:00

The IVAW is holding "Winter Solder" hearings starting March 13, 2008. The four-day event will bring together veterans from across the country to testify about their experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan - and present video and photographic evidence. In addition, there will be panels of scholars, veterans, journalists, and other specialists . . .To quote one serviceman who plans on testifying:I

Emerald City Scionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16270776131588844716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641612079604923705.post-46133244130553097872008-03-12T07:54:00.000-07:002008-03-16T14:37:30.769-07:00

The Second Chance Act passed the Senate yesterday. From the Reentry Policy Council of State Governments:The U.S. Senate passed today the Second Chance Act of 2007. This landmark bill, introduced by Senators Joseph Biden (D-DE), Sam Brownback (R-KS), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), and Arlen Specter (R-PA), provides critical resources designed to reduce recidivism and increase public safety. The

Emerald City Scionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16270776131588844716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641612079604923705.post-87149339746386429792008-03-11T15:50:00.001-07:002008-03-12T09:10:35.442-07:00

Some time ago I was in a position to assist a very sick young woman who was battling her disability insurance carrier because they had denied her claim for coverage and medical benefits because she had "delusional parasitosis," and "psychiatric" conditions of this sort were excluded from coverage.Before becoming ill, this young woman was by all accounts bright, funny and hard-working. When I met

Emerald City Scionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16270776131588844716noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641612079604923705.post-57606685726985654852008-03-09T22:35:00.000-07:002008-03-09T22:46:09.999-07:00

Is Tucker Carlson finally toast at MSNBC? Rumors are growing that his show will be canceled in the near future.I'm actually feeling kinda giddy about this prospect. One can only hope that MSNBC will actually replace him with a grown-up this time (a minority or a woman w/b nice, but I ain't holding my breath), and keep moving away from news as infotainment.

Emerald City Scionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16270776131588844716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641612079604923705.post-42955157966760169422008-03-09T19:47:00.000-07:002008-03-09T22:46:43.473-07:00

The finale of HBO's series The Wire aired tonight. I will miss it. What a truly extraordinary body of work. Everything about this series--the intersecting and paralell storylines, the cast, the locations and the settings--all of it was near-flawless in execution. The series' truly masterful storytelling allowed viewers to see far beyond stereotypes and 30-second headlines, to gain clear-eyed

Emerald City Scionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16270776131588844716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641612079604923705.post-22124210909415814442008-03-09T08:35:00.000-07:002008-03-09T12:52:18.769-07:00

Goldie over at HorsesAss has an excellent post up that pretty much captures my own sentiments about the fevered, mean-spirited pro and anti candidate opinion pieces rapidly suffocating the progressive blogosphere.To quote Goldie:No doubt my friends in the establishment press are looking forward to a bitter and divisive brawl between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton all the way up to the

Emerald City Scionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16270776131588844716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641612079604923705.post-63622508443565087772008-03-08T20:18:00.000-08:002008-03-09T13:26:59.396-07:00

Josh Mahar over at Cascadia Rising penned the lyrics to a great drinking song. He's looking for a tunesmith.

Emerald City Scionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16270776131588844716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641612079604923705.post-34482233469878051152008-03-08T08:09:00.000-08:002008-03-14T07:45:12.878-07:00

I've been reading, contemplating and researching issues relating to removal of a person's past criminal history from public scrutiny. It's not only recent parolees and repeat felons who are now summarily being disenfranchised and eliminated from access to all sorts of jobs, housing, licensing and other opportunities. Nowadays in our "post-911 world", because of easy, cheap access to permanent

Emerald City Scionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16270776131588844716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641612079604923705.post-60646495346935516092008-03-07T06:09:00.000-08:002008-03-10T14:14:16.539-07:00

I am becoming increasingly concerned, distressed and occasionally even distraught over the direction our country is heading--weaving and bobbing towards Big Brotherland where most all people are "presumed potentials" and treated accordingly--potential suspects, potential whack-jobs, potential criminals, potential terrorists, etc--and we are all under constant, perpetually retrievable surveillance

Emerald City Scionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16270776131588844716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641612079604923705.post-417157023352129982008-01-30T08:40:00.000-08:002008-03-09T12:53:05.109-07:00

I've been hired to work as a polling site supervisor for the upcoming Feburary 19th primary election. To get the job I simply called the King County Records & Elections office. That's it. The woman I spoke to said they were desperate for workers, so if you're looking for some temp work this is a good gig. I'll earn about $400 for attending a one-day traning session and working the day of the

Emerald City Scionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16270776131588844716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641612079604923705.post-27887809445050296432008-01-30T08:39:00.000-08:002008-03-09T12:53:32.161-07:00

Woo-hoo.I strongly support Rep. Chase's proposed legislation to ban the flimsy bags!http://blog.oregonlive.com/breakingnews/2008/01/some_washington_lawmakers_want.html

Emerald City Scionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16270776131588844716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641612079604923705.post-34741655000019472342008-01-13T09:53:00.000-08:002008-03-09T12:54:44.417-07:00

China passed a new law taking effect in June that will ban the sale of flimsy plastic bags, and will impose a fee for using the thicker plastic bags that would still be available to shoppers and merchants.In an article highlighting China's new law by AP writer Christopher Bodeen, (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080110/ap_on_re_as/china_plastic_bags;_ylt=ApMabP1VVqSbu4gxYSY7kIys0NUE), he reviewed

Emerald City Scionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16270776131588844716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641612079604923705.post-17966523149570855342008-01-11T10:01:00.000-08:002008-03-09T12:55:34.459-07:00

As a dedicated Northwest denizen I will freely admit that I enjoy our cool, rainy weather and cloudy days, but lately I've been feeling "off." I've got a raging case of "Northwest blahs"--feeling like I will Just Go Bonkers if I don't get more sunlight.It's just too damn dark around here. I've been contemplating taking a trip to the Southwestern United States, or Florida, or Hawaii, anywhere I

Emerald City Scionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16270776131588844716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641612079604923705.post-15068572520020335522008-01-10T14:18:00.000-08:002008-03-09T12:56:25.993-07:00

William Knowles has finally been disbarred. Per the latest Washington State Bar News:In or about June or July 2004, Mr. Knowles engaged in sexually related communications over the Internet with someone he believed to be a 14-year-old girl from Portland, Oregon. Mr. Knowles arranged over the Internet to meet with this individual for the purposes of engaging in sexual activity and traveled from

Emerald City Scionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16270776131588844716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641612079604923705.post-3719305117730654232008-01-10T12:50:00.000-08:002008-03-09T12:56:43.307-07:00

Greetings to all! This is my first blog.Emerald City Scion, is a collection of musings, opinions, critiques, essays, interesting tidbits and (hopefully) investigative work."Emerald City" refers to Seattle, Washington, where I live. A "scion" per the Encyclopedia Britannica is:. . . the act of placing a portion of one plant (called a bud or scion) into or on a stem, root, or branch of another (

Emerald City Scionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16270776131588844716noreply@blogger.com0