The Stranger (but not its usually supportive commenters) got owned as well:

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/seattle-got-owned-in-the-latest-free-speech-battle/

https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/editorials/free-speech-must-come-first-even-as-tensions-flare-in-seattle/

"Mass shooting in Tacoma:"

Apparently deaths one at a time, don't matter to The Stranger any more:

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/law-justice/two-deaths-in-federal-way-include-child-and-adult-man/

The first, a death of a five-year old child never mattered to The Stranger, because if a firearm wasn't the tool used, the death didn't matter.

The second, an unrelated firearm death, used to get not by The Stranger in its war on firearms, but apparently no longer.

Their editorial priorities are a changin'.

@2 I predict the left warms up to the Second Amendment as American life destabilizes. I know a few progressives that are quietly buying guns and frequenting the shooting range.

Cue FZ's "Cocaine Decisions" here.

Brand new hit single - TACO TACO TACO!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaJ2jni3D4I

Those Swiss geologists are fucking heroes.

The taco thing is funny because he’s such a thin skinned baby but also if we keep it up he is going to get us all killed

@1 no, you and Westneat are dumb. If the counterprotestors were all 100% peaceful the bigots would still post videos of them being "triggered" and claim victory. If there were no counterprotestors at all the bigots would post videos of themselves taking over Seattle and claim victory. There was never any circumstance in which they would not, like Trump, claim whatever happened to be a victory for their side. Given that, we should all be appreciative that at least some Seattle residents stood up for our values. Well, those of us who actually value inclusion of the LGBTQ+ community--if you agree with the bigots I can see why you'd be mad at the counterprotestors.

The craziest thing about the Assessor story is when Publicola emailed him for comment he claimed to still be in a relationship with the ex and that no restraining order or active legal proceeding existed. Regardless whether he did what he's accused of, that level of apparent delusion is disqualifying.

"Assessor? I hardly know her!"

@2 Do you just want them to cover every death in the entire state? Why don't they just go to the Seattle Times every morning and post a bunch of links to it for you? Good lord. You're the most boring troll in the entire world.

Maybe putting a heroin junkie in charge of our healthcare systems isn’t such a great idea….

Considering how supportive of all the junkies destroying Seattle the Stranger has been you would think they would also be on team Musk/RFK Jr.

5 of the 7 people shot were teenagers…
Any bets that the shooters were also teens?

Suing the oil & gas companies is a waste of time, energy and money. I get the lady is upset about losing her mother, but this seems more like a cash grab than anything else.

Nothing wrong with being a recovering addict. The problem is allowing a trial attorney who makes his living off of class action lawsuits who has no medical expertise and a vested financial interest in the widespread acceptance of anti-science conspiracy theories to make unilateral decisions about public health policy. He is already responsible for dozens of preventable deaths, mostly children, and he is about to rack up so, so many more.

@14

The fact that both Musk and RFK Jr. decided to abuse Ketamine and Heroin, shows a serious lack of decision making and reasoning skills.

No one dumb enough to take either of those substances should ever be placed in a position of authority.

@15 now do alcohol and nicotine

Using drugs on the job is obviously bad but having ever used drugs is extremely normal behavior and disqualifying former users is pointless and arbitrary. The only relevant factor is whether the person has the credentials to serve their role adequately and both of them fail to make the cut by miles.

@17

Not all drugs are created equal.

Anyone who becomes addicted to heroin ir methamphetamine is obviously unfit for public service.

Sorry but if you really believe that you have lived a very sheltered life bc it sounds like something a home school victim would say. Many people who ended up addicted started with legal prescriptions used as indicated but also you would be hard pressed to find anyone who completed a college degree who has not put a potentially harmful or addictive substance in their body at some point.

Opiate addiction is a serious medical condition that can happen to anyone. I know multiple people with chronic pain who fell into it without realizing it until it was too late. I don’t know rfk’s situation but it sounds like a struggle with being mediocre in a highly accomplished family. In any case he has plenty of legitimate reasons to not be making life or death decisions at a population scale without his past drug use being a factor.

@12: RFK and Musk need to be put into a diversion program where they can take steps to address their substance abuse and get their lives together. Each needs to be shown how their addiction is causing harm to themself and the people around them.

@16 It turns out making a drunkard Secretary of Defense was a pretty terrible choice.

@8 you missed the point of Westneat’s column - it wasn’t that there was a protest, it’s that it was the same tired crap we see protest after protest.

As another poster pointed out, the protest should have leaned into the community - it should have looked like a warmup for pride (and I mean the types of celebrations happening at the cuff, neighbors, pony, wild rose, etc. - one giant gay dance party / love-in).

We all know those bigots couldn’t / wouldn’t use images of some hot bear on otter fun - this would have denied them what they wanted (which was pointless violence). It would have also potentially had the added side benefit of outing the assumed numerous closet cases at that event.

We’re a creative community - dealing with homophobes should be easy.

@22 I disagree. Here's a quote:

"That right-wing rally last weekend, as the mayor called it? News flash: It just owned us. Look at how excited those quotes are at the top of this column. The harsh takeaway is that street pastor hit the jackpot."

You and Westneat think this situation was somehow winnable but you are wrong. If people did what you suggest the pastor would just gleefully post about how they courageously ventured into the heart of one of the most demonic neighborhoods in the country, full of people "living a homosexual lifestyle," to preach the Good News amongst crowds of heathens. And they absolutely would share images for their followers to deride. Like I wrote, there is no way anyone in Seattle could have responded that this charlatan would not have labeled a victory for his bigoted clownshow.

The situation might not have been winnable (or maybe it was) but violent behavior made it worse.

Hey Stranger writers, Lakewood isn't Tacoma. It is its own municipality. Please stop smearing Tacoma with your stupid crusade against guns. Firearms are here to stay. Maybe think about picking up one and learning how to use it if you don't want those fascists you're afraid of to roll you over and kill you so easily.

Remember: the fascists are armed, trained, and ready to kill you. They can't be defeated with drum circles. Don't be stupid hippies.

@13
those pesky "teens"

@19 “ also you would be hard pressed to find anyone who completed a college degree who has not put a potentially harmful or addictive substance in their body at some point.”

So in your world there’s no difference between bong hits of sinsemilla and injecting heroin?

Drug addiction isn’t something that just happens. At some point the drug addict makes a conscious choice to seek out and inject a known dangerous drug.

As a late-Boomer Kennedy really has no excuse. Anyone born between 54 and 64 knows damn well that drugs like heroin are in a different category from grass.

Heck I was offered heroin many times in my youth. Even as stupid, and stoned, as I was I knew enough to refuse that crap.

RFK Jr. became a drug addict because he wanted to. That’s disqualifying. It’s not the only thing about him that is disqualifying but it came before, and is likely the cause of, all of his other issues

@27, Not what I said but you seem to be under the misguided belief that alcohol and tobacco are nbd. In addition to being highly addictive, both damage multiple organs and cause cancer. There is no safe amount of alcohol or tobacco you can consume. If you’re singling out specific dangerous drugs snd overlooking others based on your personal feelings or experience you’re being arbitrary and hypocritical.

Drug addiction does just happen to people sometimes because they are medically treated with addictive drugs. Of course some people just do it for fun but if you believe everyone makes a conscious choice to become an addict you are just displaying your ignorance. We’re still dealing with an opioid crisis in this country because these drugs were marketed as safe and handed out like candy under completely legal if misguided and sometimes exploitative conditions. Countless people have become physically dependent on drugs under medical supervision through no fault of their own.

Having consumed any potentially addictive or harmful drug is going to eliminate >90% of candidates and leave you with weirdos like Trump who are also deeply unqualified despite passing a completely unhelpful and irrelevant purity test. Stick to conditions that matter line having the training and experience to be qualified for the job.

@28 "if you believe everyone makes a conscious choice to become an addict you are just displaying your ignorance"

Worth repeating.

@27 "Anyone born between 54 and 64 knows damn well that drugs like heroin are in a different category from grass."

Really because that generation is the one that's been insisting on keeping marijuana scheduled alongside heroin, and pushed the "gateway drug" nonsense on mine.

Another shooting in Belltown that The Stranger will ignore
you heard it here first, Sloggers

@8, The 1st Amendment supports rights of people you disagree with to free speech or it supports the rights of know one to free speech.

All the whining about, "Why did the City we live in have to allow them to use any AVAILABLE public forum of their choosing to speak," shows incredible ignorance of the 1st Amendment and has the government censoring based on point of view. The outrage at the Mayor and Parks Department for providing a permit is totally misplaced and is where the counter-protesters got owned.

Counter-protest to your heart's content. That too is protected by the 1st Amendment.

Violence or property damage by any side is not protected by the 1st Amendment.

@3, More power to them. As long as they use those guns lawfully, they should exercise that critical civil right.

@11, There was time when The Stranger did exactly that kind of SLOG post for just about every car and gun death in Puget Sound, and to lesser degree, the rest of the State. They are backing off that since Noisy Creek took over.

If someone was beaten or stabbed to death, not so much, as if somehow those deaths were any less preventable, less tragic, or, when applicable, less criminal.

Noisy Creeks reduction in lines of narrative to at least mention nearly every car and gun death that occurred, be they mass, or one at a time, within at least Central Puget Sound,raises the question, "Where they wrong in that editorial choice then, or are they wrong now?"

Or was it never a principled choice? Was the change more a matter of measuring what gets the most eyeballs on ads (clicks) per line of paid narrative provided by its staff, from The Stranger's niche audience, while hopefully adding to that audience on the margins by the change?

No, they stopped posting content of all kinds about 5 years ago when the pandemic destroyed their business model, making this blog a landing page for a morning news post and little else. Shootings still get shared on occasion, depending on whether the author decides to include them, and proof of this has only changed your tune from “they never cover shootings anymore” to “they cover shootings about 80% of what they used to” without admitting you were lying the first time, let alone admitting you’re just making up a number to make your bullshit sound more convincing.

You also have yet to explain how posting about shootings is a hallmark of progressivism when these events make the news at all kinds of outlets and when they get posted here it’s always by linking to non-progressive media companies. At least try to make it make sense.

@8 & 16 killin’ it today! But I guess the point is that this MAGA regime has more substance abuse issues than any other cabinet that I have witnessed in my lifetime. But when your gov is toxic taco Donny, what else could you expect. At least the MagAtS are getting what they deserve. Go fuck yourselves MAgAtS. Fuck the GOP and fuck you too!

@29

A good portion of that generation is the generation that spent at least 20 years pushing for the decriminalization and eventual legalization of marijuana. It also happens to be a very large generation so some members are extremely liberal, even radical and others extremely conservative or even Trump.

Kind of like the huge millennial generation, many of whom helped Trump’s reelection. One difference between you and me is that I won’t dismiss the entire generation based on the votes of those currently flocking to Trump, MAGA, and MayflowerUSA.

@34, 80% less than what they used to.

@2 it’s a fucking blog. They cannot report on everything. Stop holding it to a standard that is not possible.

Two days in a row Posob. It’s a blog, calm down. They aren’t ignoring it. They can possibly talk about everything. No one is suppressing the story, you can read about it elsewhere.

Rest in peace, Kristofarian. You are finally free from all illusion.

@37,

And they "used to" have far more and different writers, with differing personal interests and ideologies than those currently on staff. And you have not ever and will not ever provide anything that qualifies as remotely compelling, much less verifiable evidence that the new ownership group has mandated anything about their coverage guidelines. You're a fucking ass, Neale.

@37, et al

And they used to be an actual publication with a physical product printed on newsprint weekly.

Now it's basically an online event calendar, with a comment board.

Their news output is limited to a snarky daily newsrecap, and maybe 2 or 3 opinion pieces a week.

It is a sad tale of what has happened to journalism, not just the alternative press, but the mainstream press as well.

Considering that Natalie, Charles and Vivian only seem to write one story a week, it is surprising that Noisy Creek can afford to keep them employed.

I guess my clicks are more valuable than I thought....

"I know it's bad form to talk about other people's relationships but, uh, this one seems particularly fucked."

Wilson should look on the bright side: after his political career is rightfully dead and buried he can always get a job at The Stranger. After all, they hire people with an even worse history of DV than Wilson's, and he'll be able to slide right in to write the "Bad Apples" column.

@36 ok but you wrote "anyone" in that generation knows there's a big difference between marijuana and hard drugs, not some recognized it and fought the good fight against the ignorant majority for decades. Of course there are outliers in any group.

In more optimistic news:

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/law-justice/fatal-stabbing-in-downtown-seattle-believed-to-be-self-defense/

@41, Who interviews them and hires them based on the writer's editorial interest and focus?

So if that focus has changed and diminished regarding the war on guns and war on cars, isn't it ultimately determined by the publisher?

The fact that it has changed reflects the publisher's hiring choices and priorities.

@3 Totoman: What a shame that it's come to that.
@5 Swiftress: If it helps wipe out Mu$k, his Mein Trumpf, and their MAGA fool ad nauseum, M-M Good!
@6 Barth: At least those of us ~200 million citizens in this benighted country who knew how to vote wisely will go to heaven. Hell is reserved for Mu$k, his Mein Trumpf, and their MAGA bootlickers.
@23 thirteen12: The late President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela (1918-2013) would be in agreement with you, regarding nonviolence being essential in peaceful protesting--until violence is necessary to prevail against brutality and social injustice. That was the main difference between Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948), Indian lawyer, anti-colonial activist, and political ethicist: Mandela argued for the need for violent rebellion.
@40 criscofoolery: Too bad you're not.