Snohomish County Council voted 4-1 tonight to appoint my wife Brandy Donaghy to the vacant Washington State House seat for the 44th legislative district left by John Lovick moving to the State Senate. She was sworn in about an hour later by Judge Okoloko. Congratulations Brandy! I am so proud!
I just filled in my ballot. I’m heading to the drop box momentarily. If you live in South Snohomish County and haven’t already voted, check out electbrandydonaghy.org and get that ballot in!
On this week’s Curmudgeon’s Corner, guest host Brandy joins Sam to talk about this week’s news. The main topics for the week are of course the events in Charlottesville, everybody’s reactions to Charlottesville, the reactions to the reactions to Charlottesville, and the debate over Nazis and free speech. In addition, they also discuss Bannon’s departure, what that means to the administration, if we’re heading toward an invocation of the 25th amendment, Bannon’s “war”… and if the left should double down on their base or try to reach the Obama voters who flipped to Trump in 2016… and a few other things too.
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Show Details:
Recorded 2017-08-19
Length this week – 2:26:15
(0:00:17-0:20:30) But First
Agenda
Intro to Brandy
Base vs Middle
Why Fire District?
(0:21:15-1:14:42) Charlottesville
What happened?
Why is this different?
Motivating resistance
Has Trump done damage?
Trump’s reactions
Trump racist himself?
Why is anyone surprised?
Trump vs Pence
What can R’s do?
What’s next?
Provoking violence
(1:15:48-2:03:00) Free Speech and Nazis
Disclaimer
Why Charlottesville isn’t a good example
Sam and Ivan conversation
Sam gets extreme on free speech
What about politicians and war?
Who gets to decide?
Judging entire groups
Actual speech vs symbols and code words
What about private speech, newspapers, websites?
Limits on government
How big is the threat?
Old doesn’t mean good
(2:04:08-2:25:55) Bannon Out
Chaos or Improvement?
Kelly in control?
Trump and his Staff
Controlling Trump
25th Amendment
Bannon declaring war
Everything messy
The Curmudgeon’s Corner theme music is generously provided by Ray Lynch.
Maybe she didn’t win her race this time… but I’m pretty sure she isn’t done with public service of one sort or another. Like her Facebook page to keep up with her in the future!
Just finished filling out my ballot. I got to vote for my wife!
We will be dropping all three ballots from our family off at our closest drop box very soon.
If any of you actually live in Snohomish County Fire District 1 (map below) and haven’t voted yet, there is still time! Ballots need to be postmarked today, or in a drop box by 8 PM this evening. My wife and I thank you for your vote!
This week on Curmudgeon’s Corner, Sam and Ivan talk healthcare (recorded before McCain killed it, oops), the Spicer to Scaramucci transition (recorded before Scaramucci’s New Yorker rant, oops again), the Trump vs Sessions battle, and Kushner’s testimony. But they also talk about the Charlie Gard case, data tethering, Ivan’s treating himself after getting a new job, some TV stuff, Sam’s wife’s run for office, and even more! Another big full show as usual!
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Show Details:
Recorded 2017-07-27
Length this week – 2:14:12
(0:02:15-0:31:26) But First
Agenda
Intro Length and Show Length
Tethering and HBO
Ivan’s new job
Ivan fails
Ivan glasses again
Ivan’s Treat
(0:33:08-0:57:12) Healthcare
McCain and the MTP
Sausage making
Republican no-win scenario
What comes next?
Skinny repeal
(1:01:31-1:40:43) Trump Administration
Spicer Out, Scaramucci In
Trump vs Sessions
Kushner Testimony
Who is cooperating?
Ongoing drama
Trump misdirection?
(1:41:28-2:13:50) Lightning Round
TV: Class (2016)
Charlie Gard
Trump and the Boy Scouts
Run Brandy Run
The Curmudgeon’s Corner theme music is generously provided by Ray Lynch.
The official voters’ pamphlets dropped a few days ago for the local primary elections on August 1st, two weeks from today. The ballots have been delivered as well. People are already voting.
The above is my wife Brandy’s section of the voter’s pamphlet. I’m very proud of her. She’s been getting lots of very positive reactions at various local events, and we keep hearing from more supporters. Win or lose, this has been a great experience. But of course we want Brandy to win, right? There are five people running for Snohomish County Fire District 1 Commissioner Position 3, and the top two from the primaries move on to the general election.
So if you haven’t yet, it would be great if you took a few minutes to help out by doing a few things… ESPECIALLY if you live in Snohomish County… but even if you don’t.
If you have something to say or ask about the campaign, leave a message on her Facebook page as well
And finally, of course, if you actually live in Snohomish County Fire District 1 (map below), VOTE for Brandy!
Don’t wait, do it now! :-)
Thanks all!
And here is that map. Fire District 1 is actually three discontinuous pieces. Odd. But there you go. The areas surrounded by blue lines are all in Fire District 1. I think. :-)
For those who don’t already know… My wife Brandy is running for local office! Specifically, she is running for Snohomish County Fire District 1, Commissioner Position 3. Check out her candidate statement on her temporary campaign website. (She’s working on a more complete site, I quickly threw that one together for her as a starter site to have something up right away.)
This is a non-partisan position. There are five candidates in the primaries. The top two move on to the general election. The incumbent is David Chan, who got into trouble a few months ago for some comments about Mexicans he made during an official meeting.
Ever since the 2016 election… actually before, but it accelerated afterwards… Brandy has been increasingly engaged politically, and looking for places to make a difference. She’s been connecting with all sorts of people locally, and was urged by several to run for this position. It is her first run, but she is learning quickly. Win or lose, I’m pretty sure she intends to be actively engaged in things going forward.
If you are in the local area and want to know more or to help out, let me (or her) know!
I guess this means we’ll be investing in lawn signs and such soon… :-)
On this week’s Curmudgeon’s Corner, guest host Jenn joins Sam to talk about the latest developments in the Trump/Russia saga, as well as Trump’s big overseas trip. Those are the big topics, and there is lots to talk about there, but they also touch on Jenn’s love of the Bay Area, healthcare for women, the Manchester attack, ransomware, electronics on planes, and something Sam’s wife is doing. Oh, and another WotD update too.
Click below to listen and subscribe!
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Show Details:
Recorded 2017-05-27
Length this week – 1:36:06
(0:00:13-0:10:22) But First
Ivan Out
Agenda
The Bay Area
WotD Update
Brandy running
(0:11:00-0:51:04) Trump/Russia
Note taking apps
Just Stupidity?
Lack of Trust
More on Kushner
Trump fatigue
Nixon comparison
Republicans Afraid?
Draining the swamp
Follow the money
Collusion? Or just alignment?
Other Russia stuff
(0:52:24-1:08:02) Trump Trip
Success?
Trump and Melania
The non-stories
Body Language
Language Deterioration
Saudi Policy
NATO Policy
(1:09:10-1:35:45) Lightning Round
Hotel Lounge
Healthcare for Women
Search for new FBI Director
Manchester
Ransomware attack
Electronics on planes
The Curmudgeon’s Corner theme music is generously provided by Ray Lynch.