1) Something I really enjoy about writing, reporting, and editing at PubliCola—in contrast to my decade-long run as News Editor at the Stranger—is that we shoot for a dose of objectivity.

And I think I can objectively say:

Mike McGinn destroyed Joe Mallahan in last night's televised KING-5 debate.

To witness Mallahan's total implosion, check out his stuttering jag on bike safety and his meandering  attempt to avoid sounding like a big business lackey on the question of whether or not we should complete the missing link on the Burke-Gilman trail. And don't miss McGinn's crushing rebuttal:

"I support finishing the Burke-Gilman trail as currently planned and approved by the city. Joe's right. It is under litigation. And for Joe to say he shouldn't take a position on litigation doesn't really make sense. The defendent in this litigation is the city. And if Joe is the mayor, he's going to have to decide whether to support the city or not support the city.

"I think we need to complete the trail as planned, as approved and as funded.  But now it's tied up, and apparently with Joe's support, in more litigation."

However, we already knew that Mike likes bikes.



To really  get a sense of McGinn as Muhammad Ali (and Mallahan as a tomato can), check out these two opening left hooks from McGinn:

Joe, you don't trust me? Your  campaign is funded and run by the companies that stand to make millions of dollars from that deep bore tunnel on the waterfront ... I've gone to forum after forum with you. I've never heard you raise a single question about that tunnel. In fact, you say on cost overruns we have to live with it. One of your closest advisers is a state legislator who put that cost overrun provision into law [Editor's Note: Rep. Judy Clibborn]. You know, Joe, I'm not taking money from those folks, I'm running this campaign based on volunteers. I'm going to stand up for the people. I don't know how we can trust you to protect Seattle's interests.

Joe, you say I don't get it. The first responsibility of a citizen in a democracy is to vote. You've missed more elections than you've voted in. The next responsibility is, if you care about your city, you get involved. I've done that. And look at my campaign. We've held 18 town halls. We've went out and listened to the people. I'm my own spokesperson to the press, they all have my cell phone number. We've run a campaign on volunteer power. Your campaign is about paid advisers, paid spokespeople. And the big corporate power brokers that are running it. I get it Joe. I get what this campaign is about.

Technical knockout, McGinn. Watch the whole thing here.

For a detailed blow-by-blow, check out the Stranger's Eli Sanders' report on Slog.

I'll be at tonight's thriller at KCTS.

2) Speaking of completing the missing link on the Burke-Gilman trail—there's a community gathering to support the Fred Meyer-to-the-Ballard Locks link next Tuesday after work.

According to  the announcement: "Where: Shilshole Ave NW, opposite 17th Ave NW, just west of the Ballard Bridge - look for the people with the blinking lights!"

3) Hmmm. Erica was kinda quiet yesterday. I wonder if she's working on a big story.

4) State Sen. Val Stevens (R-39, NW Snohomish County) sent out a homophobic email rant this week. It's an anti-R-71 fundraising letter to her constituents. (I've linked it below the fold.)

Opening line:

Could this be the final battle?

Are the homosexuals finally going to take control of our culture and push their depraved lifestyle on our children and families?

Stevens' letter likens the domestic partners bill to  " 'free love' 60s radical culture " while simultaneously warning her constituents that "marriage is the end game" of "the bill's homosexual sponsors."

I had no idea free love and marriage were co-conspirators.

This morning's Morning Fizz brought to you by Fuse.

Sen. Val Stevens' Anti-R-71 Letter:

DearXXXX

Could this be the final battle?

Are the homosexuals finally going to take control of our culture and push their depraved lifestyle on our children and families?

Ballots were mailed last week to over 3 million voters in Washington State asking them to either approve or reject Senate Bill 5688. Passed last spring in the legislature, SB5688 would strip away the protections of traditional marriage that were ensured with the passage of DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act) just a few short years ago.

What kept SB5688 from being signed into law by a very willing governor were a few courageous people who came together to file a referendum to allow the voters to make the final decision - to REJECT this bill.

Frankly, it was nothing short of a miracle that R-71 qualified for the ballot.

Amidst harassment and even death threats by the homosexual radicals pushing this into our faces, just enough signatures were gathered to give you the final say on the upcoming ballot.

And now, we need one more miracle to stay the course and ward off - what could be - the final assault on our families and American culture by the homosexuals.

You may just be that miracle...

Do you realize what is going on here? Consider the following:

· In 1970, (on the heels of a "free love" 60's radical culture) sodomy laws were repealed in Washington State, with government turning a blind eye to a behavior commonly considered perversion - and still the case with a majority of Americans.

· Organizations, such as NAMBLA, (North American Man Boy Love Association) appeared on the horizon seeking to repeal "age of consent" laws (NAMBLA is still in business today).

· Various pro-homosexual websites (most now taken down) have shown that homosexuals' real intent is to "normalize" homosexuality - which means pushing the lifestyle through public schools, beginning with elementary school-aged children. They will settle for nothing less than your full-scale acceptance - whether you like it or not!

· After 27 years of relentless pursuit, homosexuals finally received protected class status from the Washington State Legislature in 2006, making it illegal for you to refuse to rent them a house, or hire them on account of their homosexuality.

· Canada already has laws making it illegal to speak against homosexuality on the streets. Bills exist presently in the U.S. Congress to do the same. In the last few weeks a Canadian church pastor was arrested for speaking against homosexuality.

Now do you see what's happening? Like the proverbial frog who ends up
paralyzed and unable to get out of the water as he waits too long and the temperature reaches boiling - the homosexuals have been winning incrementally, taking their time, while we've been asleep at the wheel.

But it's still not too late ... and I want this to be a wake up call.

And I hope you will put up a clarion call to your friends and family and let them know that we are on the verge of losing the battle of our lifetimes if we don't stand up now!

Or ... if we do stand up now ... we're on the verge of victory. It's up to us.

This is a fight we cannot afford to lose - but one we can win now. And the only thing standing in the way of an easy victory on November 3rd is a few miserable dollars to reach the voters with the truth - that silent majority of people who, for whatever reason, won't stand and fight.

To date (you can look it up your self on the Public Disclosure Commission website) the homosexuals have amassed over $1 million to sell this re-invention of marriage to an unwitting population.

That $1 million is in stark contrast to the paltry $60,000 we have raised.

Meanwhile, if we lose on November 3rd, people will approach me on the street and ask me how it happened!?

My reply? "How big was the check you wrote?" (Most will have given nothing... )

We don't have to lose. Every piece of research says that a large majority of people want to see our traditional definition of marriage remain intact. If the election were held before the media began, the homosexuals would lose by 7 to 8 points. That's why they are raising so much money to sell this as something it is not and overcome the deficit.

That's also why it is so very important that we raise enough money to reach voters with the real story and to combat the following:

· Ads cloaking this as a "fairness" bill - not being about marriage. (Senator Murray, one of the bill's homosexual sponsors said marriage is the end game. It is a Trojan horse from homosexuals who seek to overturn thousands of years of sacred family tradition).

· Ads showing homosexual couples with children trying to appear as normal American families. (The sociological effects of fatherless homes are clear from every study, and from experience as we see the devastation in Scandinavian countries where this is rampant. It also continues the objective of the feminization of the male in our society).

· Ads showing older couples in support of SB5688. (Citizens aged 62 and older were included in the bill only to help the homosexual community garner their support. Yet, there is little of consequence in SB-5688 that heterosexual domestic partners 62+ cannot get now from a simple power of attorney. Seniors are being used.)

Will you stand up now and come to the aid of marriage?

Larry Stickney, who is leading our effort, has put his life on hold to fight this fight
on our behalf. His household bills have at times gone unpaid, while he has remained faithful to this cause. Now it's our turn.

As a long time sitting State Senator, I'm asking you to join this fight - a fight easily winnable if we can just reach more people with the message you're reading now. So far, we cannot even afford to buy TV ads at all.

Perhaps you're a miracle person who can give many thousands of dollars for our TV ad campaign. Or, if you're like a lot of us, you can only afford to give $1,000, $500 or less. No matter where you are, or what you can give, every amount large and small will help us save the sacred institution of marriage we hold so dear.

We have faced several defeats on this front in recent years. This is one we can win and set the homosexual agenda back. Will you help us?

Sincerely,

State Senator
Val Stevens