Marissa Johnson Gave Her First Interview About the Action to Elon James White on This Week in Blackness:
"I Don't Have Faith in Politicians. I Don't Have Faith in the Electoral Process," Johnson Said: "It's well-documented that that doesn't work for us, no matter who you are," she continued. "So my gaze is not toward politicians in getting them to do something in particular. I think they will change what they do based off of what I do, but that's not my center. My center is using electoral politics as a platform, but also agitating so much that people continue to question the system that we're in as they're doing it in that we start to dismantle it. Because I refuse to believe the system that we're in is the only option that we have."
To Bernie Supporters Who Say, "He's Your Best Option": "If he's our best option then I'm burning this down," Johnson said.
Johnson Also Addresses Claims About Palin-Supporter Past and Evangelical Christian Beliefs: Johnson describes herself as a "devout evangelical Christian" who grew up with Tea Partier parents. "So yes, I did run up there and confront Bernie Sanders because of my religious convictions," Johnson said. Those convictions, Johnson added, aren't right-wing, but dictate "you lay down your life for other people and the most marginalized."
And the Seattle Times Investigates Johnson's History of Activism: Local activist Mohawk Kuzma told the Times that "he knew Johnson from past activism but that she generally didn’t get involved 'unless it’s a public stunt.'" Read more here.
Republican Senator Marco "No Abortions!" Rubio Was Scheduled to Raise Money in Bellevue Last Night: KING 5 reported that Rubio was scheduled to attend a $1,000-per-head fundraiser at an investment firm on Monday night. Ticket prices rose to $2,700 per person for the "hosted roundtable." Rubio's been in the news after he told Republican debate host Megyn Kelly that he was against abortion even in cases of rape and incest. Democrats are having a very good time with this fact.
King County Officer Fired Thanks to Body Cam Footage: But not because of body cams worn by police. Metro bus driver Kelvin Kirkpatrick, who is black, was wearing his own glasses with a built-in camera when he got into an argument with King County sergeant Lou Caballero about the performance of his deputies. One of Caballero's deputies, Amy Shoblom, later wrote up a report about the argument saying that Kirkpatrick had cursed. An internal investigation—and Kirkpatrick's footage—revealed this wasn't true. King County Sheriff John Urquhart fired Shoblom. "Urquhart’s decision whether to fire the sergeant, Lou Caballero, who initially accused the driver of using the profanity, has been delayed while the sheriff’s office looks into a new, similar allegation recently brought by another Metro driver against Caballero," reports the Seattle Times.
The City's Changing On-Street Parking Rates: The Seattle Department of Transportation will raise parking rates in 12 areas and lower parking rates in five. SDOT will also install new pay stations in eight areas, as well as adjust some paid parking hours.
The City Council Approves a "Gun Violence" Tax on Guns and Ammo Sold in Seattle: "The new rule will charge gun sellers $25 per firearm sold and $.05 per bullet on most ammunition," Heidi reports. Council president Tim Burgess, who introduced the legislation last month, estimates that the new tax will bring in $300,000 to $500,000 a year. Heidi: "That's a tiny sliver of the cost gun violence costs the city each year, and the funds will be targeted at one specific hospital intervention program for gunshot survivors."The city council approved the measure unanimously. Read more here.
King County Aims to Get Every Homeless Military Veteran in Housing By the End of the Year: "Operation: WelcomeOneHome" projects that there are still 600 military vets living on the streets in King County. Senator Patty Murray, Speaker of the House Frank Chopp (D-Seattle), Mayor Ed Murray, and King County City Council member Joe McDermott (D-West Seattle) spoke on Monday in support of the initiative. "As part of the initiative, they've set up hotlines for homeless veterans and for prospective landlords," KING 5 reports. "Veterans in need of housing can call 1-877-904-8387. Landlords can join the initiative by calling 206-336-4616 or visiting onehomekc.org."
More State Government Employees Can Bring Their Babies to Work: Well, it won't exactly be Marissa Mayer's executive nursery, but the Washington State Department of Health and the Washington Traffic Safety Commission recently announced that they'll allow employees to bring their babies to work until those babies are six months old. That's how one state agency employee's baby, Gavin, earned the nickname "Office Baby." This is true. Read it here.
In Related News, the United States Remains One of Three Countries Worldwide That Still Doesn't Provide Paid Maternity Leave: Papua New Guinea and Suriname also do not offer paid maternity leave.
Watch a Meteor Shower Tonight or Tomorrow! If it isn't cloudy and light pollution isn't terrible, you may be able to watch a sky full of "fireballs" from the Perseid meteor shower.
Hillary Clinton Came Out with a Plan to End a Lot of, But Not All, Student Debt at Four-Year Public Colleges: "Mrs. Clinton does not go as far as her Democratic presidential opponents in promising to end tuition debt altogether, since her plan would still require a family contribution that could involve parents taking out loans to cover some tuition," the New York Times reports. The plan involves $175 billion in grant incentives that states can receive if they make sure students don't need to take out loans to pay for four-year educations.
