Two tax increases in two days.

@1 On top of that, lets insult our oldest ally and the country that we have to thank for the Statue of Liberty because their leader said mean things about a trade agreement that our leader also hates.

I read the news stories and I still don't understand why misleading fish into a dead reef is a good way to help the coral recover.

Hey Eyman, you fucking idiot: the “will of the voters” doesn’t take precedence over the State Constitution. Get that through your stupid meatball skull.

Dismantling NATO is top priority on Tr… oops, on Putin's agenda since Trump was elected. Trump’s rhetoric from day one in office indicates just that, and his out of nowhere constant skirmishes with European leaders can be explained in this context.
Sadly, ever since the Reagan years all the republican base really cares about is a strong anti-abortion stand from candidates and judges, blindly ignoring all other factors.

If the Russians conclude that Trump is on the verge of impeachment and/or not likely to win reelection his damaging moves against US interests across the world are likely to be way more dramatic than a pretentious argument with the French dude.

China is dystopian in the sense that they have the worst elements of capitalist exploitation and communist oppression, however they’ve been at peace for 40 years and their bizarre capitalist-communist hybrid mash-up has lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty. They plow nearly all of their resources into job creation and world-class architecture, mass transit, and infrastructure that we can only dream of.

Meanwhile, the US features the worst elements of capitalism and socialism for the rich, and has been reeling from non-stop wars of aggression based on lies that’ve murdered countless innocent people. Our insatiably greedy, cruel, sociopathic political and business rulers have installed a racist kleptocracy that’s driven millions into poverty and early death. China’s government goes through the motions of providing a better future for their people, while America’s national motto is “I’ve got mine, so screw you,” and this is considered to be normal.

The truth is complicated, but we’re also on the receiving end of the dystopia.

I miss the Seahawks game recaps from last year. I loved those and looked forward to them in the Slog. I know that Sports isn't exactly the Stranger's flex, but that's exactly what made those articles special and a little different than the usual op eds. Go Hawks!!

@8,

Agreed. Spike's recaps were fantastic. Miss him.

What @8 said. Go Hawks!

And @6 - don't forget the GOP appeal for a whites only party.
Since the days of Tricky Dick, the GOP has relied on dog-whistle appeals and thinly veiled racism. Trump has simply brought the tiki torches out of the closet.

@8: Agreed. And I've heard that Katie Herzog's presence at The Stranger is to blame for Spike's absence.

@7 - You should take a look at how the Chinese are treating their Muslim minority populations.

The paywall at WaPo (and NYT, and SeaTimes and on and on) is paper-thin. Log out of any sites you're logged into, clear your cookies and cache, and you're back to zero articles viewed. Repeat as necessary.

@7 Re: China. Yeah, it's pretty easy to build bullet trains/airports/highways when you can arrest anyone who refuses to get out of the way and there's no environmental impact studies or permitting required. Personally I think we should try that.

@ 12,

I did, and it’s appalling. But it’s no different than the pogrom the Tr666p-crazed Despicables will carry out against us if dicktator-sucking, war-criminal-humping Prezirapist AntiChrist is reinstalled in office by the (s)Electoral College after losing the “election” again next year. They hate us and want us dead.

@16: So in your mind, actual things that are happening are the exact same as the delusions in your masturbatory oppression dreams?

That does explain quite a lot aside from your hilariously rosy colored communist glasses.

@17 Unoriginal Andrew is here purely for entertainment value. I actually suspect he's a bot.

@ 15,

I’m not exhorting people to consider China’s system, I’m pointing out that it’s totally fucked up that they’re making more rational, strategically successful choices than we have.

We have to do better, and step one is voting every soulless, fascist, Greedy Ol’ Parasite out of office. Voting must still work, otherwise the RepubliKKKans wouldn’t be so desperate to stop it.

@ 17,

They’ve already kidnapped thousands of children, arrested thousands more for lawfully claiming asylum, and set up concentration camps. It never stops with the immigrants.

One prominent ChrISIStian Tr666p supporter recently said that if there were a button he could push to kill every LGBT person in the country, he would push it until it broke. We’ve all seen their seething, shrieking Nuremburg rallies.

This is who they are, and I believe them.

@20: Masturbatory fantasies, got it.

@21
Either utterly delusional, willfully ignorant, or happily drinking the fruit drink. Got it.

Seattle Weather Blog is pretty good. But I usually prefer the Magical Realist Weather Service:

Clear skies tonight, cooler, with
☆∴｡　*
･ﾟ*｡★･
･ ﾟ｡　　 *
･ ﾟ｡･ﾟ★｡
☆ﾟ･｡°. ﾟ
*　　ﾟ｡·･｡ ﾟ*
ﾟ .｡☆｡★　･
* ☆ ｡･ﾟ.｡
*　★ ﾟ･｡ * ｡
the eyes of angels filling the sky. They smell blood. They are coming.

@23,

Holy shit, how the fuck did you do that!?!

@12 - not to mention the Tibetans, and what they are about to do in Hong Kong. Regardless of what China has managed to accomplish economically (and which has come at enormous environmental costs), President Pooh-Bear has shown himself to be nothing but a dictator.

"I'm sure it's great, but I used my last free article [@ The Washington Post] reading the coral reefs story. Tell me how it is, Post subscribers!" --SLOG a.m. compilation artist

In order for you to do Your Job, The Stranger makes you BUY YOUR OWN MEDIA ACCESS?
They ARE Capitalists! Well Played, Stranger. WELL Played.

Do they also make you by Ink?

buy