It’s 2017: That means it’s time to stand together and begin working. Need some tips for getting started? Read Stranger contributor Ijeoma Oluo’s guide for fighting for justice in the New Year. Here’s where you can resist Trump in Seattle, tips for staying safe and on-message during protests, and organizations who need your help.
Some Motivation: President-elect Donald Trump is to be inaugurated in just 17 days. That’s 17 days before the next four years of his term.
There’s Even a ‘Roadshow’ for Resisting Trump: Seattleite Steve Jones, who works at Center for Biological Diversity, and a team based in Oakland, Calif. started the Trump Resistance Roadshow to kick off the new year. Jones and other organizers “are most concerned about what Trump’s agenda could mean for the climate and civil rights,” reports KING 5. You can follow the show through the hashtag #Earth2Trump.
Oldest Known Orca, Last Seen Near San Juan Islands, Considered Dead: The Center for Whale Research’s whale-trackers report that J2 Granny, the oldest southernmost killer whale, is likely dead. She was reportedly between 90 and 105 years old. “Perhaps other dedicated whale-watchers have seen her … but by year’s end she is officially missing from the SRKW population, and with regret we now consider her deceased,” said CWR director Kenneth C. Balcomb.
All the Cold Was Worth It! Washington’s Snowpack Is at Healthy Levels: The state’s current snowpack is at 117 percent of normal thanks to cooler temperatures and above normal precipitation, reports The Capital Press, an agricultural news publication. This is a big change from 2015, in which Washington was in an emergency state of drought due to record low snowpack levels.
To Prevent Mudslides, Mount Rainier Gets New Digital Warning System: Mudslide or lahar warnings went back decades before the deadly Oso mudslide destroyed a neighborhood in 2014. Lahar monitoring facilities surrounding Mount Rainier are working towards upgrading their digital alert systems, including emergency notification broadcasts, as part of a longterm upgrade plan, The Seattle Times reports. The upgrades could help prevent a much more catastrophic lahar from Mount Rainier, the size of which would be “exponentially greater” than the Oso slide, Scott Heinze, deputy director of Pierce County’s emergency-management department, told the Times.
House Republicans Vote to Gut Independent Congressional Ethics Office: And with what do they want to replace it? With “a new Office of Congressional Complaint Review that would report to the House Ethics Committee, which has been accused of ignoring credible allegations of wrongdoing by lawmakers,” reports The New York Times. Even Trump half-heartedly denounced the move.
With all that Congress has to work on, do they really have to make the weakening of the Independent Ethics Watchdog, as unfair as it
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2017
UPDATE 10:00 a.m. PST: After a deluge of bipartisan criticism, the House Republicans reversed their decision to axe the Office of Congressional Ethics, the Times reports.
……..may be, their number one act and priority. Focus on tax reform, healthcare and so many other things of far greater importance! #DTS
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2017
Can Democrats Learn from the Tea Party? “Indivisible” authors Leah Greenberg, Angel Padilla, and Ezra Levin, who was recently featured in the latest episode of Blabbermouth, say yes. They write for NYT:
The guide is informed by a simple principle: Federal policy change in the next four years doesn’t depend on Mr. Trump but on whether our representatives support or oppose him. And through local pressure, we have the power to shape what they consider possible.
This kind of local advocacy can make nearly any member of Congress think a lot harder about his re-election chances. It can ensure that the 10 Senate Democrats up next year in Trump-won states recognize that their best hope for survival lies in bold action to defend democracy rather than cutting deals with a petty tyrant.
If You Need a Morning Chuckle: Read the product description and reviews on David King’s Why Trump Deserves Trust, Respect and Admiration.
More in NEWS
Local (and not-so-local) news from your favorite writers.
