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flatdawgs

Certifiably Surly
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Everything posted by flatdawgs

  1. “Of seventeen field marshals, ten were sent home during the war and three lost their lives as a result of July 20, 1944 [the plot against Hitler]. Only one field marshal managed to get through the war and keep his position. Of thirty-six full generals eighteen were sent home, and five died as a result of July 20 or were dishonorably discharged. Only three full generals survived the war in their positions.” - Field Marshal von Manstein, testimony at Nuremberg So, about those "German generals doing what they were told...."
  2. My niece in the UK turned 18 in August (no pics ya filthy animals); she's a dual US/UK citizen. She just missed being able to help vote out the Tories but has already returned her ballot for our election. When I talked to her today she was so excited to have voted - glad it seems to be the same rite of passage for her that it was for me. One more youth vote in the bank!
  3. This is a major issue in Canada as well. Just terrible, and as down here mostly ignored.
  4. Yes, the judicial positions in WA state are non-partisan, both at the state and local levels, as are school boards and, at least in Seattle, the mayor and city council (those are off-year elections and so we didn't vote for them this time; they will be ranked choice in 2027). You can't vote a straight party ticket anyway, nor is party registration really a thing here. Almost all of that dates back to the Progressive movement at the turn of the previous century when many Western states wanted to get corrupt party politics out of, well, politics. (King County, which Seattle is a part of, switched to non-partisan offices a couple of decades ago when it became clear to the GOP that even in the suburbs they were becoming unpopular and wanted to hide who they were; it didn't really work for them.) Statewide positions and the Lege are partisan and in other counties/cities they may be as well. For the non-partisan positions I do study the state and county voters' guides as well as other sources - sometimes the candidate's statements in the guides are clear evidence; sometimes it's who they claim support from. There have at times been efforts by the right to "flood the zone" particularly when it comes to the state Supreme Court; to my relief the voters have seen through that to date. This year that didn't happen. We'll see what the voters think about the efforts via initiative to overturn some of the more progressive recent legislation to come out of Olympia.
  5. Filled out ballot this past weekend, researched non-partisan positions (judicial, school board) in the comfort of my home. This year's ballot went quickly as the four state initiatives were all written by hard-core out of state right-wingers and the Seattle transportation levy renewal was a no-brainer yes. Drove past drop box this am, rolled down window, voted. Ballot received by county this afternoon. Yay! Thanks to all of you participating in our democracy, particularly those of you having to wait/stand in line. It's a nice, big middle finger to those who do not want you to vote at all.
  6. Received ballot here in WA Friday and will drop off tomorrow. Definitely not a swing state (Seattle was D+84 on 91% turnout in 2020), but I'm sure the 12 EVs will be appreciated on Election Day. A little bit about how it works here for those of you doing the work to get people to the polls, early voting, and the like. WA was the second fully vote by mail state and has been such for 20 or so years. There are in-person voting centers if you need, or if you want to register - you can register and vote until the polls close at 8pm on election day. There are also drop boxes, some 80 in my county - 2 within 5 minutes of me, and which I'll use rather than the mail. You can sign up for texts that let you know when your ballot is received, counted, etc. Ballots mailed or dropped by 8pm election day are counted. Thanks to all of you doing the hard work in TX, GA and elsewhere - although I hope someday all states make exercising the right to vote as easy as it is here; even the R candidate for governor has been doing GOTV spots - y'all are making the difference in places where they really don't want people to vote. Believe me, it's appreciated here.
  7. Couldn't they find Admiral Horthy Salazar de Schuschnigg? (Kurt Schuschnigg of course being an original member of the Leopards Eating Peoples' Faces Party....)
  8. This made me happy. Go Sonics, go KD. (And go Singaporean char kway teow!)
  9. Fortunately it rarely rains here in western Washington.
  10. True, and you find them even in the bluest of blue areas. In 2020 Trump lost Seattle 92-8, on 91% turnout. Even that means that statistically 1 out of every 11 people you see here voted for Trump, which is weird to think of when you're in the store or on the train or whatever.
  11. Fair point. My first work visits to Texas were 30 years ago and I recall that. I'd posit that part of the difference is the Black community in that part of WA is tiny (although ironically two of the most important pioneers in WA were Black men kicked out of Oregon in the 1860s when the entire state of Oregon became a "sundown state"; WA Territory had no such laws, nor did WA enact anti-miscegenation laws when OR did). But yes, the far right here has a much greater hard right, violent libertarian/"sovereign nation" bent to it than a particularly racial animus. That was particularly reserved for the Chinese in the 1880s.
  12. All y'all planning to move up here to the great PNW, be aware of some things: 1) Everything between Vancouver WA and Olympia is basically Alabama with scenery. By all means help to change that if you want - we can always use the votes especially as that House seat just barely flipped blue in 2022. 2) WA state tax is technically a "sales and use tax", so take the shit you buy in Oregon home with you to avoid paying it. Don't have it delivered or you'll get dinged. 3) Don't bother going to Oregon to buy groceries; groceries haven't been charged sales tax in WA for decades (prepared food, yes). Prescriptions are also exempt. Weed tax is 37% but worth it, if you partake. 4) Fairly sure if you physically work in OR you still have to pay state income tax to OR, even if you live in WA. 5) We don't do "Horns down". You're welcome here. 6) UO sucks just as OU does. It is known.
  13. In two years, the last Apollo mission will be closer to WWI than to the present. Furk.
  14. Dammit, I was about to make a quick run down there and provide the Surly faithful with an update, but they removed it overnight.
  15. Pretty much all I hear the PA guy saying is "Há uma falta na jogada" (there is a foul on the play). 🙄
  16. "A leading chain of psychiatric hospitals...." "...to maximize insurance payouts...." 'Murica kicks ass in so many ways. This is where 'Murica sucks ass.
  17. That's an interesting point about the third-party complaint. "Denunciar" (at least in Portuguese) can mean "to report" and "to complain (about)" as well as "denounce", so that term makes some sense without necessarily having the same harshness that denouncing someone has in English. Plus the dog poopy toss following the denunciation is never not funny. I'd also go with "I rebuke thee!" prior to the flinging of Fido's feces if possible.
  18. Yeah, I've gotta go with the WSJ on that one. Washington had 15 medalists among current and former students, not 3 (2G, 3S, 10B). So - Texas to the podium!
  19. The Romanians recommended all three get bronze (the two Romanians tied on score, with the tiebreaker being degree of difficulty - but of course the judges hosed the second Romanian out of 0.1 when she didn't actually go out of bounds). This seems eminently fair to me, but the IOC said nah, fuck off. Perhaps the IOC delegation to LA can be shown to their rooms at the Royal Roach in San Bernardino when they arrive in 2028, with a heartfelt apology: "We're so sorry, but your room requests arrived 4 seconds too late."
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