Ceasefire now: As of yesterday, Palestinian officials report that Israel has killed at least 20,000 Palestinians, including 8,000 children, in its 10-week bombardment. Any elected official who has failed to call for an end to the bloodshed should be ashamed, ran out of office, and one day mocked as they burn in hell. 

Regular shmegular weather: Did you see that fog last night? Kinda fun! Well, as of about 3 am today, fog’s done and we are back to our regularly scheduled programming. For the rest of the day, Seattlites can expect cloudy skies and temperatures to hover in the mid- to upper-40s. If you’re fiending for sunshine, you’ll have the best luck between 1 pm and 4 pm when the Weather Channel says a lil sun may peek through the clouds. 

Soak it up: Today won’t just be a short day. It will be the shortest day of the year. As Vonnai Phair at the Seattle Times wrote this morning: “Eight hours, 25 minutes, 25 seconds — that’s how much daylight Mother Nature will grace us with on Thursday (how generous of her).”

Love to see it: The New York City Council passed a law yesterday that will ban solitary confinement and require jails to allow inmates to spend at least 14 hours outside of their cell every day. The law kept a few exceptions to the torture tactic—jails can lock someone up alone for a four-hour period for de-escalation purposes and in other emergency situations. But it still seems too based for New York City Mayor Eric Adams who apparently thinks less torture actually will make it harder to protect inmates. Whatever, man. If he vetoes the bill, the council has the numbers to override it.

Washington next: During the last legislative session, some Washington state Democrats tried to pass a law to limit the use of solitary confinement to no more than 24 hours at one time or more than 72 hours in a 30-day period. The bill died in committee, but I think we should run that one back. 

I need this so bad:

Look at me: Hey! I went on the Seattle Channel! I’ve long lobbied to host KING 5’s NYE special, but honestly, this end-of-the-year appearance just about scratched that itch. So until KING 5 lets me interview drunk people on TV, enjoy this lovely convo with Brian Callanan and Seattle’s best and brightest.

Could have called it: As you read in yesterday’s Slog AM, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled to keep former President Donald Trump off the state’s Republican ballot in the upcoming primary. And according to NBC News, the Trumpers are pissed. Fringe Trumpers have called on their peers to kill the justices who made the ruling. One social media user wrote: “Kill judges. Behead judges. Roundhouse kick a judge into the concrete. Slam dunk a judge’s baby into the trashcan.”

As for Biden: President Joe Biden is playing it cool. According to Politico, Biden agrees that Trump definitely incited insurrection, but he’s not going to weigh in on whether or not that disqualifies Trump from the ballot. Politico kinda sympathized with Biden’s reaction. After all, Colorado’s decision may not stand up to scrutiny from the US Supreme Court and celebrating could embolden his goons who absolutely love a victim narrative. 

Let them fight:

Rest in peace, Brianna Ghey: Yesterday a jury found two teenagers guilty of murdering 16-year-old trans girl Brianna Ghey in Northwest England earlier this year. The judge will officially sentence them after she receives the results of a psych evaluation, but they will face life in prison, she said. 

Required reading: Tomorrow, the Shrek Rave will return to the Showbox. Such an event has rolled through Seattle a few times in recent years and I’ve always been curious. After reading the Portland Mercury’s review on the event, I may just snag a last-minute ticket. See ya there?

I would die for her:

Hannah Krieg is a staff writer at The Stranger covering everything that goes down at Seattle City Hall. Importantly, she is a Libra. She is also The Stranger's resident Gen Z writer, with an affinity for...

15 replies on “Slog AM: 20,000 Palestinians Killed, New York City Bans Solitary Confinement, and It Is the Shortest Day of the Year”

  1. “Any elected official who has failed to call for an end to the bloodshed should be ashamed, ran out of office, and one day mocked as they burn in hell.”

    Yeah, right. Like they were after supporting the U.S. invasion of Iraq, right? Bush/Cheney got four more years. Kerry, Clinton & McCain were nominees for President. Biden is now in the Oval Office. The war machine always wins.

  2. “Ceasefire now”???

    I thought that got settled a week ago when protesters shut down the U Bridge. Wasn’t ‘the whole world watching’?

  6. Also, whether keeping people in their cells amounts to torture or not, some of the people in jail ARE straight up violent assholes, and having them free to mix with others for more hours a day certainly WILL make protecting inmates more difficult.

  7. This war can end anytime, via the simple expedient of Hamas no longer having ability to kidnap, rape, mutilate, or kill civilians in Israel. What are the protesters’ demands to the international community, to bring pressure upon Hamas’ backers, people, and finances to make this happen?

    Because if the protesters make the conscious choice to leave disabling of Hamas to Israel alone, then the results will continue as they have for the past months. It’s the protesters’ choice. Do they value civilian lives in Gaza, or do they not?

  9. @3 “ Or are you simply suggesting that Israel lay down its arms and allow Hamas to attack with impunity, so long as they then successfully hide their combatants among the civilian population?”

    I think the answer to this has been obvious for a while now. Israel is an “oppressor” and progressives think all oppressors should be punished

    @10 great point. Why are those people in solitary to begin with? Is it because they probably assaulted another inmate or a guard or did something else that was violent while in prison? Again TS focus is on the criminal and not the victim of their acts. people are in solitary not to punish them but protect everyone else from them.

  10. @20 I completely agree with you on that point. I think where we differ is whether you can achieve any kind of peace with Hamas still in control of Gaza. I don’t think you can and I have yet to see the rest of the world propose a solution that removes Hamas. In the absence of such a plan, Israel is going to continue their course of action.

  12. Relatedly, it is important to make sure the critical youth voting bloc gets Bob Ferguson’s stance, on the record, about the conflict, as a candidate for Governor – and let them know anything less than full-throated support for Gaza should be met with a withheld vote!

  13. 20,000 .. so this is a numbers game? Only Palestinians can be victims, not Israeli children? At least put up a score card if a metric is how we’re judging. Current score: 20,000 to 1,200. Oh wait, in the media those 1,200 don’t matter.

    I’m not prejudiced: I think they’re all despicable. I will say the supposedly “pro” Palestinian protestors are doing nothing to gain my sympathy. Their obnoxious and disruptive protests do nothing to make me think they have some moral high ground. However, I’m not taking sides; obviously both sides are fine with war, killing, butchering. Q is right, we humans are a grievously savage child-race.

  14. @4 Max Solomon: Hell DOES exist. It’s called Texas, Florida, Arizona, Idaho, and all other red states of confusion dumb enough to keep voting for the Orange Turd.

    @7 Max Solomon: Agreed about fog. Winter Solstice just started. I won’t go outside in fog, much less drive in it.

    Weather like this is largely why I keep my car garaged during the fall & winter months.

    Visibility in foggy conditions is horrible, and there are too many idiots on the road.

    Add ice and it’s a skating rink nightmare. Hard pass.

    @27: Leave xina alone, raindrop dear. She tells it like it is.

    @31 Phil in Seattle: +1 Agreed

    @33 grouchyoldmfer: War is indeed, hell, no matter who or where you are and what you’re doing.

    @34 nekrasova: No. Bob Ferguson is the ONLY choice for our next Washington State Governor in 2024.

    Corrupt-as-fuck former King County Sheriff Dave Reichert is a rabid pro-Trumpist nightmare.

  15. @35 STII (re @34): “1. What the fuck does a war over 6,000 miles away from Olympia have to do with the Gubernatorial Election?” That is indeed, comparing apples to oranges. We actually agree on something–yaaay!

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