Election Stinks
It does Seattle Weekly little credit that you are incapable of coming out and admitting that the election of Christine Gregoire was marred by problems that render the outcome totally unreliable [“The Do-Over Campaign,” Jan. 12]. The recount procedures in King County were seriously marred, the votes of fighting men were not counted, and the votes of dead people were real, not inventions of the Republicans. The election stinks to high heaven.
Gregoire talked sanctimoniously about “counting every vote,” etc., while losing the first two counts; now that she has won in a scandalously questionable way, she blithely disparages those who want a fair election.
Rather than some “wacky” idea of the Republicans, a revote is the only way to elect a governor who can be considered legitimate by the people of Washington.
Penelope Purdy
Seattle
New Color for Yellow Dog
What a great press release by Christine Gregoire regarding Sam Reed’s legislative proposal [“The Do-Over Campaign,” Jan. 12]. I’m a yellow dog Democrat, and I am embarrassed by my party’s support of her all the way from the primary. So far, she seems to be just as much of a loser for the citizens of this state (as governor) as she was when she was the attorney general. That’s why I voted Libertarian.
Mike Jacob
Bainbridge Island
The Hand Count Counts
What in the hell is a revote for governor going to prove [“The Do-Over Campaign,” Jan. 12]? The votes will hardly be as accurate, or as honest, as they were when cast on Election Day. You know, Nov. 2? Besides, no matter what the result is, the loser will again be a poor sport and blame their loss on the electoral process while pretending to stand up for “disenfranchised voters.”
We already know that the election process at the national level is screwed, i.e., the “re-election” of George W. Bush. If these guys really give a damn about the process, then why don’t they start putting their two cents into reforming the electoral system?
The hand count counts—get over it, because a revote will definitely “disenfranchise” me.
Carrie McNamara
Burien
Sports vs. Art
Rick Anderson’s analysis of the upcoming scramble to the feeding trough in Olympia by the Sonics and Seahawks illustrates the teams’ blatant insensitivity to the public’s exhaustion with corporate welfare for sports moguls [“What the Big Boys Want,” Jan. 12]. The problem is worse than Anderson suggests. In the case of the Sonics, Anderson fails to mention that if the Sonics succeed in getting an extension of the 2 percent hotel/motel tax to pay for renovations, they may do it at the expense of nearly 200 arts and heritage groups in King County. These groups range from the Black Diamond Historical Society to the Museum of History & Industry, which benefit from a little-known provision in the tax that reserves a portion of the revenue to support several grant programs aimed at not-for-profit groups and individuals.
Since the Sonics’ announcement of their plans, 4Culture, the agency that administers the funds, has scrambled to find a way to counter the Sonics’ high-powered lobbyists’ whispering in the ears of state legislators. I’m told it may have to spend precious money meant to support arts and heritage on counter-lobbyists to make sure arts funding remains in place. We may have to waste taxpayers’ money on our own lobbying to keep the Sonics from gutting our cultural landscape.
(Full disclosure: I was awarded a $1,500 grant last year from 4Culture to complete a manuscript on local history. The tax financed this grant.)
Joe Follansbee
Advocacy Committee, Association of King County Historical Organizations
A Winning Strategy
Could there be a connection between the Sonics’ nascent miracle season and their quest for tax dollars to re-revamp their stadium [“What the Big Boys Want,” Jan. 12]? This team that last year defined mediocrity now rarely loses, despite no significant roster additions. PR is crucial to the Sonics’ tax quest. Without the public support, politicos won’t bite. The league knows that the best PR is a W.
Pro sports already jettisoned its integrity by raiding the public till for the stadiums. It would be a small step from there to tinker with the standings. Much worse has been done for much less than the $200 million–plus jackpot at stake here.
Russell B. Garrard
Bellevue
Great Body Review
Congratulations to Laura Cassidy for her terrific review of body/BODY: You Can’t Tell by Looking [“Body Doubles,” Jan. 12]. It sounds like I saw very much the same show with the 2003 “Aphrodite” version, and while I was writing for TheatreSeattle.com, I’m afraid I gave it far too much praise, primarily because the subject matter seemed very important to me. I also saw the show with my then-11-year-old daughter, and it engendered a lengthy and important discussion between us. Even then, however, the “play” by Vanessa McGrady was by far the weakest element, and it’s time that was pointed out. She has been overpraised and (no pun intended) overexposed. Cassidy does such a good job of distinguishing between the validity of the question and the insubstantiality of the treatment. In many ways we’ve been outraged by the “Barbie” issue of women’s body expectations for nearly 40 years now, and simply to say once again that women come in many shapes and sizes, and that self-acceptance is important, is both trite and boring, two things theater ought never to be.
Thanks for an excellent review.
Jerry Kraft
Port Angeles
Queen’s Own ‘Bomb’?
After reading Dave Queen’s “review” of U2’s How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb [CD Reviews, Jan. 12], I’m left with one question: What about the CD? I implore you to read his review—because apparently no one on Seattle Weekly‘s staff had the opportunity before the issue went to print—and tell me what it has to do with the topic at hand. Queen seems to be a big fan of The New York Times book reviews, which often contain, at best, two oblique references to the actual work of art and another 250 or so words inexplicably describing the author’s personal experience: in this case, Queen’s apparent drinking problem and a trip to a Canadian bar to see a cover band, with the added bonus that they are presented in randomly sequential, disconnected sentences that would make William S. Burroughs proud. Tell me why this should be of interest, and why you decided to print it in the space normally reserved for a review.
In the end, I can only assume that Queen, like myself, has never heard the new U2 effort; unfortunately, it happens to be his job to actually listen to the CDs before tossing off a half-page of bong-inspired digressions minutes before deadline.
Brian Arundel
Seattle
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