Those of you who are recent listeners should know that I wasn’t always so serious, which is why I dug up this song, inspired by one of my first interviews when I started my talk show, which was Sir Mix-A-Lot. Mix-A-Lot had a hit with a song called “Baby Got Back,” about his preferred female body type. So I thought, why shouldn’t I borrow that idea for a song about my preferred book authors?

or click on the player below to listen to the song. (It’s a lot more fun if you listen!)

More from Dave Ross: Enough of the broken muffler noise from motorcycles

Woman’s voice: You look at that guy. I mean, is he a nerd or what? Nobody carries that many books and look how thick they are. Totally academic.

Rappin’ Dave: I like fat books, and I can’t deny.

It literally makes me hide when the cover is really shiny and the print is really tiny.

Give me Kafka or Dickens, and left the plot just thinking, let it move me, improve me.

Can’t wait for the movie.

I started small with Mother Goose, worked my way to Dr. Seuss.

My teacher said, ‘Hey, read a real book.’

Hemingway was all it took. His style, is terse but you end up immersed, and then you’re stuck; you’re hooked; you can’t put down that book.

Say, fellas! YEAH!

Fellas! YEAH!

You got your library card.

Then check in, check in, check out that big fat book.

Some folks want quick, but you can make mine thick.

The feeling so outrageous when you turn those naked pages.

And when I’m finally through, I’m gonna have one fat IQ.

My books are thick and heavy.

I pile them in my Chevy.

I like my language strong and I like my novels long.

Give me some book.

My love life is quite active.

My books make me attractive.

Let me give you a little advice.

A big fat book breaks ice.

See, women find it sexy when you quote from Dostoyevsky, and I think it’s really peachy when you mention Bruce to Nietzsche.

Just watch her love increase when you read from “War and Peace” or any other thing that fits in, like Croix to Solzhenitsyn.

Pretty soon you’re both upstairs.

You read her some Voltaire.

Pretty soon you quote Cervantes.

By dawn, you’re reading Dante.

Give me some book.

Give me some book.

Give me Edgar Allan Poe and Harriet Beecher Stowe.

Who knows what you’ll discover when you jump between the covers.

Give me some book.

Give me some book.

Haven’t got a body, but I got much book.

Haven’t got a body, but I got much book.

Haven’t got a body, but I got much book.

Got much book.

Give me some book.

Listen to Seattle’s Morning News with Dave Ross and Colleen O’Brien weekday mornings from 5-9 a.m. on 成人X站 Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.

Which is why every four years or so, I dig this song out of the archives to remind us why it never gets done:

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DON’T CUT A CENT

America’s upset

At this big bodacious debt

We wonder how much longer we’ll survive?

The government’s finances

Could make you wet your pantses

The people with the pitchforks have arrived

Well, you can cut the schools

You can cut the public pools

Cut the onions, cut the mustard

Cut the sauce,

You can cut away the fat,

Fire every bureaucrat

But there’s a line that you had better never cross.

Don’t cut a cent

From my entitlement

I’m worried that you’re gettin’ mighty close

“Cause if you cut a cent from my entitlement

You can kiss your re-election adios

Oh, each retiree

In the double-A-R-P

Has a very simple message to convey

That whoever cuts a cent

Of my entitlement

Gonna find a big surprise election day!

Oh Mr. President

You can go and cut my rent,

Or you can cut my hair or even cut my lawn

You cut anything you please

You can even cut the cheese

But you cut my entitlement

And you gone.

More from Dave Ross: Voters weren鈥檛 just voting for change, they were voting for a hormone

Listen to Seattle鈥檚 Morning News with Dave Ross and Colleen O鈥橞rien weekday mornings from 5-9 a.m. on 成人X站 Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast聽here

And the more I read the post-election analysis, the more I鈥檓 convinced voters weren鈥檛 just voting for a change 鈥� they were voting for a hormone.

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I actually wrote a song about it a few years back when I was in my country phase:

Guys picking fights in a Honky Tonk bar

Flashing loaded guns from a souped up car

Bully hits your kid, but you never see him cry 鈥� I think we all know why

It’s testosterone 鈥� simple little hormone, very good for muscle tone

Everybody hates all the trouble it creates

But its handy on a date

Man with a chainsaw revving up his toy

Father watching football rooting for his boy

Puts hair on your chest and a tiger in your pants 鈥� but it has no place in France

It’s testosterone 鈥� simple little hormone, gets you to the end zone

Once upon a time your body made it from scratch 鈥� but now we use a patch

The French have wine, and the Germans have beer,

Italians have spaghetti and a lot of gondoliers

But they ain’t the ones who are calling all the shots 鈥� and I bet you know why not

Because while they were all watching soccer, we were taking over the world’s supply of …

Testosterone 鈥� we are a steroid nation, its in our legislation

We put it in our sons, and its even in our daughters

In fact, I think we even put it in the water!”

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Just kidding, of course, but if it is in the water, I鈥檓 pretty sure RFK, Jr. will take care of that.

Listen to Seattle鈥檚 Morning News with Dave Ross and Colleen O鈥橞rien weekday mornings from 5-9 a.m. on 成人X站 Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast聽here

No. 1, we now have many election days, because people have been voting for weeks. No. 2, we have developed this expectation that, in addition to being Election Day, it should also be the day we find out who won.

And this is at the heart of the crisis of trust that we鈥檙e going through.

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There鈥檚 this fiction as the votes come in that we鈥檙e witnessing a game in progress. Therefore, there could be fixers or saboteurs in the wings ready to throw in manufactured votes if they see their candidate losing steam in a certain part of the country.

But once the deadline passes tonight, the game is over. The actual decision has been locked in. All that鈥檚 left is the clerical exercise of finding out what that decision is. That聽job should be free from outside influence.

When you release partial results 鈥� supporters of the losing candidate tend to get upset. And suddenly, there鈥檚 pressure to do something about it. Heck, a candidate might even pick up the phone and try to put pressure on an election official to change the results!

That should never be an option.

We should redefine Election Day as just the beginning of a process that actually culminates on what I would call “Decision Day.” That would be the day when states release the final results — not before then.

I鈥檝e floated this idea before, but now we have an actual law that makes it possible. The , passed in 2022, provides a five-week period for canvassing all the ballots, conducting recounts and settling court challenges. Until the end of that five-week period, the numbers are unofficial.

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So why not reflect this new reality and spare ourselves the phony horse race by requiring that states do not release any election results until each state is ready to certify that every legal vote has been properly counted? Instead of all the focus being on Election Day, the focus would be on Decision Day which, based on the new law, would be Dec. 16.

I know it sounds like a long time. I know this would ruin our tradition of election night coverage. And I would miss it.

But the goal is to prevent tampering and create confidence, and our current practice of releasing partial results is like publishing a book with half of its pages missing.

Listen to Seattle鈥檚 Morning News with Dave Ross and Colleen O鈥橞rien weekday mornings from 5-9 a.m. on 成人X站 Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast聽here.

People say they hate negative political ads, but the reality is conflict is the soul of drama, and negative ads work. They can make you hate anything. Here, read this in your own slimy political ad voice.

Apple pie. Many people equate apple pie with America, but is apple pie what America really wants? That’s certainly what Apple Pie would have you believe. Many people have questions, why does it have a crust? What is it trying to hide, and why is it so often served with French vanilla? Apple pie wants you to think it’s American, but is it really?

Very sad. Having been the target of negative ads myself once upon a time, I made my peace with them long ago. Maybe because I remember the heyday of trash TV. . Maury Povitch.聽 Morton Downey. And 30 years ago, at the peak of my music career, I even wrote a hymn to negative political ads.

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Jerry Springer is too tame for me. I want a good fight when I watch TV; I want it nasty. I want it bad. That’s why I love those political ads.

I want to see a political ad. I want to see politicians get mad. I want to see if they spend a million bucks to say that their opponent sucks.

One guy hates the other’s guts. One guy calls the other a . This guy says he never lies, while his opponent hates the elderly, hates children, hates the flag, makes truck bombs, is dating your wife, passes stop school busses and doesn’t care if your kid’s hamster dies.

Give me another negative ad. I want to see grown-ups acting bad. Set an example for our children that only suckers tell the truth. Yeah, we want to see politicians be bad. That’s why I love those negative ads more colorful than the leaves in autumn, they tell us all we need to know about the jerk who bought them.

Listen to Seattle鈥檚 Morning News with Dave Ross and Colleen O鈥橞rien weekday mornings from 5-9 a.m. on 成人X站 Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast聽here.

鈥淭he crowd was unbelievable,” former president Donald Trump said. “The love in the air, I have not seen anything like it.”

He鈥檚 said it many times before:

鈥淭here was also a love fest between the police, the capitol police, and the people that walked down to the capitol.”

He said it again yesterday on FOX News. I assume he鈥檚 talking about the peaceful part 鈥� the rally that preceded the attack on the Capitol.

Dave Ross: Denial is still in style when it comes to election results

But his critics naturally accuse him of glossing over what followed — the guillotine, the vandalism, the targeting of the Vice President and members of Congress, the 140 people who were injured — or worse.

But this seems to be his sincere belief: that since it began as a peaceful protest 鈥� that鈥檚 what matters.

What鈥檚 significant to me 鈥搃s that he didn鈥檛 always think that way.

More Dave: Don鈥檛 criticize the man who鈥檚 giving you cheaper gas 鈥� if only for an hour

During the occupation here in Seattle, when mayor Jenny Durkan said the occupation might lead to a 鈥淪ummer of Love鈥� — he threatened to send troops in.聽 Back then he said 鈥淭hese liberal Dems don鈥檛 have a clue.鈥�

But now 鈥� he seems to have evolved. A peaceful INTENTION is all that matters. Maybe he鈥檚 decided the way to own the libs is by becoming one. I don鈥檛 know. But in any case, despite his reluctance to protect the Capitol, polls show he has the support of about half the country, so all we can do is accept that for millions of Americans, January 6 was a love fest, just like Seattle鈥檚 CHOP occupation was a summer of love. Jenny Durkan has been vindicated.

Listen to Seattle’s Morning News with Dave Ross and Colleen O’Brien weekday mornings from 5-9 a.m. on 成人X站 Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.

And it鈥檚 unfair to try to trick his supporters into saying otherwise.

But some members of the media, like ABC鈥檚 George Stephanopoulos, insist on asking the question. Yesterday, he put it to House Speaker Mike Johnson.

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“Can you say unequivocally that Joe Biden won the 2020 election and Donald Trump lost?” .

“See, this is the game that is always played by mainstream media with leading Republicans,” Johnson responded. “It’s it’s a gotcha game.”

Come on, George. Where do you come up with these impossible questions? He鈥檚 only the Speaker of the House! Not Einstein! How is he supposed to know this stuff?

In fairness, Speaker Johnson had no trouble answering the follow-up question.

“What will you do next Jan. 6 if you are indeed Speaker? If every state completes the certification process successfully, will you accept the results?” Stephanopoulos asked. “Even if Kamala Harris is the winner?”

“George, I’m going to follow the Constitution. Article Two of the Constitution is very clear,” Johnson answered. “Congress has a very specific role, and we must fulfill it. I’ve made a career defending the Constitution. I always have, and I’ve demonstrated over and over that we are going to do the right and lawful thing. So you can count on that. We’re going to do our job.”

More from Dave Ross: Enough of the broken muffler noise from motorcycles

So there鈥檚 your guarantee 鈥� he鈥檒l do his job even if Harris wins and Trump loses. Although that raises the question 鈥� if he鈥檚 still not willing to say Trump lost four years ago, even though 60 court cases upheld the results, how would he be sure Trump lost this time?

But that would be a gotcha question, wouldn鈥檛 it?

Listen to Seattle鈥檚 Morning News with Dave Ross and Colleen O鈥橞rien weekday mornings from 5-9 a.m. on 成人X站 Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast聽here.

reports that initiative sponsor Brian Heywood will go to a gas station and pay the owner around $1,000 for the right to run the station as he sees fit 鈥� for an hour.

And what he does is 鈥� he instantly lowers the pump prices!聽 To demonstrate to surprised and delighted motorists how liberated they will feel if his initiative passes and the carbon fee disappears.

Like the Internet is always telling us 鈥� 鈥淚t鈥檚 genius.鈥�

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And yet, I see that some supporters of the carbon fees are claiming it鈥檚 unethical.

Really?

It seems to me if someone with a lot of money wants to spend it cutting gas prices for an hour, don鈥檛 CRITICIZE the guy 鈥� ask him to do it for TWO hours! Or all day! And ask him to adopt more gas stations!

This looks to me like a breakthrough in the whole discussion over tax fairness because it indicates that some of our wealthier neighbors MIGHT be willing to subsidize the highways WITH THEIR OWN MONEY! And if that鈥檚 the case, let鈥檚 not QUESTION their motives. Let鈥檚 ENCOURAGE them. And let鈥檚 be NICE to them.

Patti Payne on Dan Evans: 鈥業 loved his spirit, respect and humility鈥�

Because if you take a good look at the highway projects all around us 鈥� you know there鈥檚 no way we ordinary drivers can afford to build and maintain all that.

Here鈥檚 my prediction:

In a few years, cars will come equipped with toll chips standard.聽 Those chips will document which roads you use and for how long.聽 They鈥檒l feed that into the AI brain which will know what it costs to build and maintain the EXACT roads you use, and what YOUR share of the cost should be 鈥� based on how much you use them.

And just like you get a customized bill for electricity and water, you鈥檒l a customized bill for pavement. SO be nice to the rich people.

Because when THAT bill comes, we鈥檒l ALL want to be friends with a rich person.

Listen to Seattle’s Morning News with Dave Ross and Colleen O’Brien weekday mornings from 5-9 a.m. on 成人X站 Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.

From several hundred feet away, we can hear the growling echoing through the car deck.

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It鈥檚 everywhere during the summer. Go into a tunnel or under a lid; there鈥檚 a good chance you鈥檒l hear a rider who wants everyone to know the law doesn鈥檛 apply to him.

The problem is that it can really startle drivers who are already white-knuckling it because of the street racing, the road rage, the carjackings, the random gunshots and the confusing lane markings this area provides.

I know riders feel the need to bathe in their exhaust from time to time, especially in tunnels, to “drop a gear and let it sing,” as one rider put it on Reddit.

And I enjoy singing. I pay a fortune to hear trained tenors try to crack my reading glasses, but I do it inside a soundproof opera house. Whereas outside on Mercer Street, the evening motorcycle rally can completely drown out the brave busker at the exit trying to earn a few bucks from his saxophone.

And, full disclosure, I do know a little about generating noise. I have an electric wood chipper that can scare off crows and terrify small pets. But I don鈥檛 fire it up unless somebody goes first with their leafblower. And I certainly don鈥檛 go riding it up and down the street to show off.

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The seems pretty clear to me: “No person shall modify the exhaust system of a motorcycle in a manner which will amplify or increase the noise emitted by the engine of such vehicle.”

So if you need to wallow in the noise, rent Climate Pledge Arena and do it indoors the way nature intended. Instead of forcing your noise on people who just want to get home without feeling like they鈥檙e being buzzed by the Blue Angels.

Listen to Seattle鈥檚 Morning News with Dave Ross and Colleen O鈥橞rien weekday mornings from 5-9 a.m. on 成人X站 Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast聽here.

It鈥檚 a little concerning because they鈥檙e running for a job where the decisions involve trillions of dollars and the world鈥檚 most powerful military 鈥� and they went public with a story that turned out to be a neighborhood rumor.

I understand why they鈥檇 run with it. It鈥檚 because some stories are just too good to fact-check. And sure enough, once fact-checking was done here, the story fell apart and became boring: It was based on fourth-hand information; pictures of a cat and geese from unrelated incidents.

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A site called “Newsguard RealityCheck” quickly traced the story to Springfield resident Erika Lee, who had heard it from an acquaintance of a friend of a neighbor and then posted it to a Facebook group called “Springfield Ohio Crime and Information.”

There it was picked up by a conservative influencer, and then by J.D. Vance, then Trump 鈥� who shared it with the 67 million people watching the debate.

When Erika was contacted by , she said she was very sorry about this, and didn鈥檛 mean for her post to go viral. But of course, it鈥檚 too late.

The lesson here is that all of us need to understand that in any heated political campaign, there are politicians who will believe anything we post if it helps their argument.

On the weekend talk shows, J.D. Vance was unapologetic, basically saying that whether the story was true or not, it reflected the very real concerns of his constituents about immigration, and so it would be wrong to suppress it.

Because there is an immigrant crisis in Springfield 鈥� everybody acknowledges that 鈥� and Vance argued that if a made-up story helps to call attention to a real problem, it鈥檚 fair game.

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That鈥檚 the reality of our information universe.

So I say to Erika Lee, and to everybody else out there spreading rumors, you are the mainstream media. The politicians are listening to you, not me. I know that fact-checking is a pain, and you are under no obligation to do the work, but just understand 鈥� you are playing with matches in a very dry forest.

Listen to Seattle鈥檚 Morning News with Dave Ross and Colleen O鈥橞rien weekday mornings from 5-9 a.m. on 成人X站 Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast聽here.

How did it come to this?

The idea of making energy companies pay for the carbon they put into the air was one of those market-based conservative ideas that didn’t rely on guilting people into doing the right thing. Instead, it was based on the concept that if you just put a price on pollution, the market would do the rest. No need to threaten people! Just let the market nudge them into doing the right thing.

Just one problem: The groups who pushed this idea didn’t want to admit that it would raise gas prices. And now a lot of voters feel they were lied to.

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At the same time, I have to ask, what did we expect? When you’re using the market to discourage the use of gas, the higher price is the whole point! Like with the express toll lanes!

Of course, there’s an important difference: With the toll lanes, you get instant relief. With the carbon tax? All you get is a promise that maybe in 20 years we won’t burn to a crisp. And the people pushing that tax knew that a vague promise like that wasn’t enough to sell it, so they downplayed the effect at the pump.

And now — voters don’t trust them.

In fairness, this kind of magical economics is not just a habit on the left. Remember how China was supposed to eat Trump’s import tariffs? Same deception.

So how about this: Just tell the truth about the price of not controlling CO2. And the truth is that the laws of atmospheric physics are ruthless. Physics doesn’t care if civilization survives or not. And in some states, the laws of physics are now burning down suburban neighborhoods on a regular basis. That’s why California just gave Allstate approval to increase home insurance rates by an average of 34%. Try repealing that!

All that time spent hoping climate change was a hoax! All that time looking for painless responses!

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Now it’s too late for gimmicks. The market is taking over, and it’s giving us a choice: Pay more for gas, or be your own fire department. Happy voting!

Listen to Seattle鈥檚 Morning News with Dave Ross and Colleen O鈥橞rien weekday mornings from 5-9 a.m. on 成人X站 Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast聽here.

鈥淲hen a US president colludes with or outright coerces media companies to censor free speech, it’s an attack on our sacred right of free expression,鈥� RFK Jr. said.

But what I want to know is: How is it possible anymore for the U.S. government to outright censor a point of view?

Is there anybody who doesn鈥檛 know where Kennedy stands on vaccines? All I had to do was ask

I got the whole list of Kennedy鈥檚 vaccine warnings. Vaccines and autism, the safety record of the COVID vaccine, his claim that research labs have created whole new diseases. It鈥檚 all there.

Of course, I then asked Co-pilot, 鈥淲hich of these claims have proven to be correct?鈥�

More Dave Ross: Liberal protests outside DNC challenge Democrats鈥� message of unity

And the answer was 鈥渘one.鈥� 鈥淣one have been proven correct by the scientific community.鈥�

Which I think is the real problem and he seemed to admit as much in his speech over the weekend.

鈥淓ven today users who try to post my campaigns videos to Facebook or YouTube get messages that this content violates community standards,鈥� RFK Jr. explained.

I鈥檓 sure that stings 鈥� but ending up on the wrong side of a fact-check isn鈥檛 censorship.

For there to be meaningful censorship there would have to be some centralized control of all media in this country.

I admit, once upon a time, mainstream media companies like us could bury ideas for being too fringe, or in poor taste, or just false. But those days are long gone. Social media is the mainstream media now.聽 And it resists censorship efforts from both the right the left.

Commentary: Political rallies鈥� crowd size, who鈥檚 faking it and who鈥檚 complaining about it

Liberals complain about Conservatives trying to yank books from libraries. But it鈥檚 become a badge of honor. Libraries now put up displays of banned books, where they gather up the banned books under a big banner so you don鈥檛 even have to search for them!

And even when censorship can be enforced it doesn鈥檛 work. Take swear words: We broadcasters 鈥� by government directive 鈥� have been censoring swear words for years and yet 鈥� your kids still know every (BLEEP)ing swear word in multiple languages.

But I will say there is one type of censorship which is聽 working. And that鈥檚 the relentless censorship of anything smacking of rationality. A media that survives on clicks 鈥揳s social media does 鈥� must avoid boredom at all costs.

And that leads to a particularly insidious form of censorship. A The censorship of complexity-avoidance imposed by the crushing boredom inherent in any story that offers a solution, or corrects a falsehood, or calms a crisis.

Listen to Seattle’s Morning News with Dave Ross and Colleen O’Brien weekday mornings from 5-9 a.m. on 成人X站 Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.

But in Chicago, thousands of demonstrators from across the country could flip that message, like the big contingent demanding that Democrats cut off all aid to Israel.

“Somebody has to stop this,” Hatem Abudayyeh, the national chair of the , said. “If Kamala Harris isn’t going to do it and Joe Biden isn’t going to do it, and definitely Blinken is not going to do it, then the people have to do it. That’s why we’re doing this.

Abudayyeh summoned up the specter of the 1968 convention, saying, “this is our Vietnam,” pretty much the last thing any Democrat wants to hear.

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At the same time, there was of the Legalization for All Network with another demand.

“We have chapters from all over the U.S. that are going to be marching, demanding legalization for all, no deportation,” Montes said.

Legalization for all, no deportation. And you may wonder, why weren鈥檛 these activists at the Republican convention?

Well, some of them were. But they had no chance of convincing Republicans, so they deliberately decided to save their big push for the Democrats, who are more prone to be nursing a guilty conscience on these issues.

So, while delegates will be celebrating party unity and reveling in the novelty of their shiny new candidates from within the hall, the streets outside will be filled with activists demanding cutting off aid to Israel and opening up America鈥檚 borders.

Which of those shows do you think the cameras will be attracted to?

More from Dave Ross: Political rallies鈥� crowd size, who鈥檚 faking it and who鈥檚 complaining about it

Of course, it could all go without a hitch. The protest organizers said they have their own security in place, and will be so well-disciplined that there is no need for any police presence.

“The only worry about police is about violence coming from Chicago police 鈥� we keep us safe,” Abudayyeh added.

I鈥檓 sure every Democrat hopes he knows what he鈥檚 talking about. But I鈥檒l bet a lot of them right now are thinking about a wise Frenchman by the name of Voltaire and his simple prayer: “Lord, protect me from my friends. I can take care of my enemies.”

Listen to “Seattle鈥檚 Morning News” with Dave Ross and Colleen O鈥橞rien weekday mornings from 5-9 a.m. on 成人X站 Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.

And it just ruins the moment. Are we really back to crowd size?

Of course, the problem is most of us only experience crowds through media coverage TV, so how does anyone know for sure it鈥檚 not some kind of AI special effect?

Take the closing ceremonies: What are the chances that Tom Cruise really rappelled into that stadium, picked up the Olympic flag, stuck it on the back of his motorcycle, rode it onto a cargo plane, flew to LA, skydived onto the Hollywood sign and added three more O鈥檚 to mimic the Olympic Rings?

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I know he does all his own stunts, but Paris-to-Hollywood in seven minutes? Come on! It would take at least an hour.

But it鈥檚 entertainment, and everybody loves it, so it doesn鈥檛 bother me. Faking crowd size for political gain, however, would be election tampering and it needs to stop.

So to get to the bottom of this, I typed in the question: “Has Kamala Harris used AI to make her crowds look bigger?” and sent it to . It consulted the entire internet, and in a split second answered (quote): “As of now, there’s no verified information supporting this claim.”

But Dave, you say, you鈥檙e asking AI to rat on itself! Of course, ChatGPT would say that. Fair enough.

So I鈥檒l simply go with my perception, having watched these rallies on C-SPAN which I鈥檓 pretty sure has no budget for AI effects. And my perception is that Kamala Harris has had big crowds, and Trump has had big crowds.

But Trump is the only one complaining about his opponent鈥檚 big crowds, which sounds like he鈥檚 feeling insecure.

Plus, I also read that his advisers have been urging him to come up with some new speech material (besides just mispronouncing his opponent鈥檚 name) which I don鈥檛 think they鈥檇 be doing if they were satisfied with the crowds.

More from Dave Ross: Blue Angels, and their noise, a good reminder of America鈥檚 war machine

And there鈥檚 no shame in that. Sure, Harris has a little more sparkle right now, but if Seinfeld could reinvigorate his career with a Pop-Tart movie, so can Trump.

As for getting accurate crowd-size comparisons, the only solution I see is to have impartial crowd-size referees assigned to each political event, who would employ the latest technology — be it drones, satellites or space lasers to gather an accurate head count — because as with every human endeavor, collecting more data is what will save us.

Then again, you鈥檇 probably need AI to crunch it all, and then we鈥檙e right back where we started. But welcome to life in the future.

Listen to “Seattle鈥檚 Morning News” with Dave Ross and Colleen O鈥橞rien weekday mornings from 5-9 a.m. on 成人X站 Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.

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But I would like to gin up a little excitement for a different race. A voter turnout race. A race to be the county that turns out the most voters, because the biggest lesson I learned in my brief political career was that if you don’t vote, you don’t exist. No politician is going to push programs that don’t get votes.

This means if a lot of people don’t vote — over time, the government becomes unresponsive.

More on the primary election: Blue Angels, and their noise, a good reminder of America鈥檚 war machine

Turnout is important, so maybe the answer is to appeal to our competitive spirit.

For example, as of the last ballot count, the top turnout goes to — not Snohomish County, not Pierce County, not King County … but to ! The south edge of the state along the Columbia! Now, they’ve only counted 3,491 ballots so far, but that’s enough for a turnout rate of 42.77%!

Way ahead of Pierce and King County, which are about 20% and Snohomish which is at approximately 22%.

I’m sure those numbers will improve, but come on people. Are we going to be outclassed by some tiny county with more elk than people? I actually don’t know how many elk they have, but the point is along with the partisan get-out-the-vote efforts, we need some non-partisan pride in our turnout numbers.

2023 King County election: Lowest voter turnout in nearly 90 years

But Dave — what about a reward for voter turnout? A prize for the winner? I’ve been thinking about that. How about, for the county with the best turnout, you get a state tax rebate. A nice fat check in the mail for everyone in the top-turnout county. Not only motivating you to vote, but motivating you to urge others to vote.

So I say offer a fat check to the county with the highest turnout. But even if it’s a skinny check, or just a coupon for an Italian soda, there has to be a way to hammer home the message that the real threat to democracy doesn’t come from any one candidate — the threat is from voters who just tune out.

Listen to 鈥淪eattle鈥檚 Morning News鈥� with Dave Ross and Colleen O鈥橞rien weekday mornings from 5-9 a.m. on 成人X站 Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast聽here.

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He has a point there. While sitting in my backyard yesterday, I used my sound pressure app and clocked the sound at 107.5 decibels. Our neighbors had similar readings. That鈥檚 because we鈥檙e on Mercer Island, and the planes do those hairpin turns maybe 300 feet above the rooftops. And of course, we hear every show and every rehearsal.

More 成人X站 Newsradio Opinions: America is a melting pot and diversity is one of our greatest strengths

And yet, as annoying as it can be, I鈥檝e come to see it as a necessary dose of reality. Like it or not, this is part of our war machine. You can鈥檛 pretend it鈥檚 not there.

I even went down to see the USS Sampson 鈥� the destroyer docked at Pier 46. It鈥檚 got 96 total missile cells. And that鈥檚 just one relatively small warship. We need to remind ourselves this stuff exists, and it鈥檚 standing by for the next war. And we鈥檙e not the only country with weapons like this.

We need to imagine, at least once in a while, how it would feel to be sitting in a backyard hearing that sound from a weapon that isn’t on your side. Because that’s the reality all this represents. The nations of the world are bristling with powerful weapons that can obliterate cities, all under the control of fallible human beings.

And this is an excellent time to conduct that thought-experiment, with the Blue Angels overhead, because it just so happens we are in the process of voting on who those human beings will be. That鈥檚 the purpose of the ballot that鈥檚 sitting somewhere in your house right now.

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And whether you came away from Seafair in awe of that display of military power, or terrified by it, or just enraged because your ears are still ringing, all the more reason to pick up that ballot and use it wisely.

Listen to 鈥淪eattle鈥檚 Morning News鈥� with Dave Ross and Colleen O鈥橞rien weekday mornings from 5-9 a.m. on 成人X站 Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast聽here.

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So went to chatGPT and asked the chatbot what it could do to reduce the amount of power it was using. It instantly gave me a list.

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1. Optimize the algorithms
2. More efficient cooling systems.
3. Enable a sleep mode.

I was impressed.

“Why have companies failed to do this already?” I asked chatGPT, impressed with its initial response. I got another list.

1. Energy-efficient technologies involve significant upfront costs.
2. Companies may need government pressure to make changes.
3. Companies may put speed above AI energy efficiency

So there it is! The computer brain already knows what to do to keep itself running.

“Should AI companies themselves be required to pay for the construction of the necessary power supply facilities,” I finally asked it, and 鈥� I kid you not 鈥� instead of an answer, I was hit with a paywall asking me to pay $39.99 for a year of chatGPT. Well, I did have to finish my Monday commentary, so I paid for it, only to find out I鈥檇 been diverted to a third-party website that had partnered with chatGPT.

Now I鈥檓 ticked off.

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However, if your air conditioner conks out some hot afternoon because some data center sucked all the energy out of the wires, I want it known I paid my share for my AI use.

Although I have no idea who actually got the money. Thanks again, internet.

Listen to 鈥淪eattle鈥檚 Morning News鈥� with Dave Ross and Colleen O鈥橞rien weekday mornings from 5-9 a.m. on 成人X站 Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast聽here.

And immediately, I thought of my favorite New York Times reporter who predicted that very thing three weeks ago after seeing the debate.

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“So many of the Democrats’ problems are tied to Joe Biden, specifically to his age,” New York Times investigative reporter said on Seattle’s Morning News July 2 (Farenthold is on with Ross every Tuesday). “And with the things that have happened on his watch, I just feel like there is there’s still a very strong chance that it’s going to be somebody other than Biden.”

And then a week later, on July 9, Farenthold doubled down on the belief that the president will ultimately not pursue a second term with a timeline of how it will play out.

“I think what will happen is Jim Clyburn, the congressman from South Carolina who sort of helped Biden get elected by sort of telling people to consolidate their votes behind him in 2020, I think that he will step in — and he’s already stepping in that direction — and say, ‘look, Biden’s got to go,'” Farenthold told Ross July 9. “And then Biden will go and I think it will happen before the Democratic convention so there’s time to get everybody lined up. I don’t think it will happen at the convention.”

And yet, Biden remained all in. How can you throw out those 14 million primary votes? Then came the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, who suddenly looked so invincible that maybe the Democrats couldn鈥檛 run the risk of starting over.

“But if you think that’s true that Trump is a is a shoo-in, it seems like that would be a more of an impetus to try something unusual, rather than just like accept it and say, ‘no, we’re all going down with the ship,'” Farenthold said.

Fahrenthold stood firm that Biden would declare it a career. I still didn鈥檛 believe it.

But yesterday, it happened. And it happened before the convention, just as Fahrenthold predicted.聽 He also predicted something else last week 鈥� who might replace Biden.

“I mean, I think Whitmer and Warnock would in particular be very strong,” Farenthold said.

More from Dave Ross: Motive of Trump shooter not important, how he got an AR-15 is

Now of course, Biden is all in for Kamala Harris, and I鈥檝e heard no mention of Raphael Warnock (Senator from Georgia) getting involved. As for Gretchen Whitmer (Governor of Michigan), she has said she will definitely not be running.

But considering Fahrenthold鈥檚 record, I鈥檓 going to wait and see. I鈥檓 also thinking of asking him for a few stock tips.

Listen to 鈥淪eattle鈥檚 Morning News鈥� with Dave Ross and Colleen O鈥橞rien weekday mornings from 5-9 a.m. on 成人X站 Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast聽here.

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As much as we would all like to , other than satisfying our curiosity, I don鈥檛 see us doing much with that information.

The theme of the official reaction so far has been that we have to lower the temperature. But the bad guy with the gun wasn’t engaged in some political debate. That’s not his defining characteristic. His defining characteristic was access to a powerful weapon and a determination to kill innocent people.

Previous coverage: Trump rally shootings being investigated as 鈥榓ssassination attempt鈥�; One spectator and gunman dead

Every time somebody does something like this, I keep thinking that, at some point, there has to be a way to keep powerful weapons out of the wrong hands. But the wrong hands are everywhere.

How many nightmares does it take? This has happened at music festivals, classrooms, theatres, nightclubs, along the freeway, at a shopping mall. Now it happened at a campaign rally.

Fortunately, the good guy with the gun won this time, but only because he was a trained counter-terrorist sniper. And even then, it was way too close 鈥� and also too late for the firefighter who died saving his family.

We all know no candidate deserves to be shot while running for office, but it’s also important to remember that no one deserves to be shot sitting in the bleachers watching a campaign speech — or in any of those other public places.

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And if all that happens as a result of this investigation is that we beef up protection for candidates and just accept the threat to the rest of us, I don鈥檛 think our prayers for peace are going to be answered.

Listen to “Seattle鈥檚 Morning News” with Dave Ross and Colleen O鈥橞rien weekday mornings from 5-9 a.m. on 成人X站 Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.

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On June 19, (WSP) ticketed a man for driving in the High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes with a fake “dummy” passenger, a sight not too uncommon for patrol officers in the state.

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A WSP District 2 motorcycle trooper spotted an Acura with a dummy in the passenger seat of his car to use the HOV lane, stopping the driver on Interstate 405 (I-405) heading south near Interstate 90 (I-90).

According to , the driver said he had been using the dummy for a long time “due to carpooling being so screwed up.”

The dummy can be seen adorned with glasses and a goatee while wearing a Columbia zip-up and appropriately wearing a seatbelt.

Dave Ross content: We built it, and they had better come

As a result, this commuter will be paying hundreds of dollars into the state treasury, which I have no doubt will be spent on making our highways even better.聽 And so, as a tribute, I dedicate one of my biggest hits to you, sir:

Editors’ note: Editors Frank Sumrall and Steve Coogan of MyNorthwest provided some of the background information to go with this Dave Ross commentary.聽

Listen to “Seattle’s Morning News” with Dave Ross and Colleen O鈥橞rien weekday mornings from 5-9 a.m. on 成人X站 Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.