Joel Connelly

I worked for Seattle Post-Intelligencer from 1973 until it ceased print publication in 2009, and SeattlePI.com from 2009 to 6/30/2020. During that time, I wrote about 9 presidential races, 11 Canadian and British Columbia elections‎, four doomed WPPSS nuclear plants, six Washington wilderness battles, creation of two national Monuments (Hanford Reach and San Juan Islands), a 104 million acre Alaska Lands Act, plus the Columbia Gorge National Scenic Area.
blog

Political Fallout from the Canadian Trucker Blockades

The “Freedom Convoy” protests began as an action by some truckers – angered that proof of vaccination is required to enter Canada – but was embraced by a variety of anti-vaxxers and right-wing groups.
blog

Interfaith Prayer Service for Peace in Ukraine: Wednesday Evening at St. James Cathedral

Seattle, though relatively unchurched, has a rich tradition of such interfaith services and marches in times of war and pain.
Politics

Attack: Trump Tries to Change Rules on Liz Cheney Primary

The battle in Wyoming puts a spotlight on survival struggles of Republicans who voted to impeach Trump after the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. 
Elsewhere

BC Premier: Let’s “Get Back to Things We Love” as Province Relaxes COVID Rules

B.C. Premier John Horgan observed: “I absolutely understand the right of people to dissent to public policy. I come from a party of dissent.  I don’t recall at any time participating in anything that involved threats and intimidation to other citizens.”
2022 Mayor's State of the City

Yay Team! (I Have A Cliche for That)

We saw a cautious guy, talking in the language of government, carefully wafting incense at the city’s interest groups, making fuzzy promises. He missed the moment, for the city is hurting, the town is impatient, and the new Mayor is promising only to be deliberate.
Politics

Anti-Vax Canadian Truckers Set Off Transborder Demagoguery

The Freedom Convoy aside, resistance to vaccination in the Great White North is far less than in “the states.” As of Wednesday, 90.3 percent (4.5 million) of eligible people aged 5 and older in British Columbia have received at least one shot in the arm, and 84.8 percent have received their second dose.
Politics

Trump Versus his Northwest Congressional Enemies

The Trump targets are getting support in usual and unusual places.
Politics

Off with his Head! Canada’s Conservative Party Decapitates its Leader

The Canadian Conservatives are in a dire place.  They have gone through six leaders since Prime Minister Stephen Harper was defeated in 2015.
Books

Dan Evans’ New Autobiography: An Uncommon Republican

The Republican Party was moving right, while Evans stayed loyal to the moderate-liberal Rockefeller wing and went down with that leaky ship.  Reagan forces denied Evans, a sitting GOP governor, a delegate slot to the 1976 national convention. 
blog

Canadian “Freedom Convoy” Fizzles as Anti-Vaxers Sputter

In a strong political position, Trudeau has shown no truck for the caravan or the shivering protest.  He warned last week that a “small fringe minority” was manipulating the protest.
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