Bloglander

Washington is representin’ in the House — Good news, Washington residents. Thanks to your prodigious non-stop baby-making, you’ve gained one seat in the House of Representatives. Now, perhaps, if we really put our minds to it, we can finally gain that third seat in the Senate we’ve been hoping for. (SR)

How the Idahoan Stole Christmas — Three Couer d’Alene neighborhoods have had Christmas gifts stolen off their front porches. We recommend looking out for a shady, long-fingered, 6-foot-3-inch male with a sickly-green complexion and a heart condition. He may be armed and dangerous, so avoid disturbing him, even with a 39.5-foot pole. (KXLY)

House of Leaf — That Ryan Leaf kid. He’s going places. Sure, his football career (after his star turn as Washington State University quarterback) may  have flamed out, but now that Texas has ordered he spend the next decade on probation (after being convicted of obtaining pain killers by fraud), he has a lot of more time to return to his love of writing. He’s writing three books, all of which are about his favorite subject: Ryan Leaf. (KREM)

In Spokane, violent crime is all the rage — Despite economic challenges, crime has been steadily decreasing across the nation. But the Pacific Northwest, never one to be beholden to peer pressure, has defied the trend. In Spokane, violent crime and property crime rose in the first half of 2010. (ST)

Democracy at (very, very gradual) work —The purple paint had long since been washed off the fingers of the Iraqi democracy. But nine months after Iraq’s election, Iraqi lawmakers have finally approved a new government. The cost has been tremendous, but we’ve finally spread the American value of partisan deadlock to the Middle East. (NYT)