Good morning! The deep freeze is really over. The weather is mild and wet, and the highs and lows are both in the 40s, just like the Seattle Gods like it. In all of the frigid weather, it might have been easy to miss that we’re also squarely out of the Big Dark. The sun’s going down at 5:36 pm today, and we’re way closer to the spring equinox than the winter solstice. High five, you got through the worst of it and showed your seasonal affective disorder who’s boss.

Okay, we’ll start with Trump this morning.

“He who saves his country doesn’t violate any law.” That quote was plastered across Trump’s social media accounts over the weekend. If you use any Meta apps like Facebook or Instagram, you probably saw it against your will, like I did. It’s a twist of a quote often attributed to Napoleon, but it also reminds me of a Nixon quote: “When the president does it, that means it’s not illegal.” Didn’t quite work out for him.

Presidential Immunity: The New York Times interpreted it to be the ethos of his second term: “Mr. Trump, through his words and actions, has repeatedly suggested that surviving two assassination attempts is evidence that he has divine backing to enforce his will,” Charlie Savage wrote. He’s already pushing the limits of presidential authority, and unfortunately, the Supreme Court gave him an advantage that Nixon never had: “The powers of the presidency that he returned to were bolstered by last year’s Supreme Court ruling that he is presumptively immune from prosecution for any crimes he may commit using his official powers.”

Cuts Hit the FAA: Hey remember when that horrible, fatal mid-air crash was (possibly) blamed on understaffing in air traffic control? This weekend, the Trump admin started firing hundreds of Federal Aviation Administration employees. According to the AP, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association said it was “analyzing the effect of the reported federal employee terminations on aviation safety, the national airspace system, and our members.” I’ll be holding off on getting on a plane while they sort that out.

The Anti-Science Administration: The American Association for the Advancement of Science gathered last week, and they’re spooked . “Angst and anxiety and, to a certain extent, grief,” is how one scientist summed up the mood. The Trump administration’s cuts to the sciences—through funding freezes crackdowns on DEI initiatives, threats to endowments from DOGE, and the possible deportations of undocumented students—have taken less than a month, and the science community is worried the worst is still to come. The New York Times analyzed how Trump’s cuts to medical research alone would hit universities in each state, and surprise! Washington is one of the worst. The University of Washington could lose $86 million in NIH funding—and that’s just one institution. But the courts still have to allow these changes to move forward.

Speaking of Cuts: Our very own nuclear site is working on a skeleton staff. Senator Patty Murray sounded the alarm over the weekend after dozens of Department of Energy workers were laid off, costing the central Washington site safety engineers, environmental scientists, and employees who protect workers’ rights, Murray said. “These reckless firings will slow down critical cleanup work and make workers less safe—trying to run Hanford with a skeleton crew is a recipe for disaster that could have irreversible impacts.”

Gulf of Mexico Fun Fact: Did you know that the Gulf of Mexico is home to the Hot Tub of Despair? It’s a deep sea lake off the coast of New Orleans, about 3,300 feet below the surface. It’s so salty that it kills almost everything that enters it. Why are we telling you this? No reason, really. But we heard Trump hates it when news outlets call it the Gulf of Mexico.

Need a palate cleanser before we move on from Trump? I’ve got a good one. Last Thursday, New Yorker editor Susan Morrison sent out a mass email invitation to an event for her forthcoming biography of Lorne Michaels. Apparently, she didn’t know that she should put everyone on bcc, so inevitably, the Boomer Reply Alls started rolling in. Some people politely said they couldn’t make it, or asked, bewildered, why they were on this list. Gradon Carter replied, in all seriousness: “Honestly, I have my own life. I cannot devote any more time to Lorne …” And then the comedians started chiming in. It’s a goddamn delight, and it has zero implications about our national security, basic human rights, and a decline into authoritarianism. Read it here .

Harrell’s War on Graffiti: Because it wasn’t embarrassing enough that he’s trying to use drones to fight graffiti in Seattle, Harrell’s battle against tagging continues. Since 2022, the City has spent $12 million on graffiti removal and abatement.

Your Least Favorite NextDoor Commenter Is Running for Mayor: Remember Rachael Savage ? Yeah, we’d forgotten about her for a bit too. As a refresher: Last fall she went a little viral after posting a racist, fear-mongering clip on twitter with then-Republican Attorney General candidate Pete Serrano. (She said she was scared of entering the Capitol Hill light rail station while her camera man zoomed in on a Black man just…sitting on a bench). She’s also one half of Savage Citizens, an organization that was leading a campaign to block construction of a 120-unit supportive housing building on Belmont Avenue in favor of mandatory treatment and abstinence-only living spaces. And now, she’s running for mayor , as a Republican.

What Does a Republican Seattle Mayoral Campaign Look Like? Well so far, her plans sound familiar: Declare a state of emergency on day one; Call in law enforcement from outside of the city; Stand up a temporary jail on city property; Saying things like “We can create the best version of Seattle that has ever existed.” Looks like she saw the Trump campaign and thought, “that seems like fun.”

Washington Republicans Are Pissed: Conservatives showed up to the state capitol this weekend to protest Dem’s changes to the so-called Parental Bill of Rights. Conservatives think Democrats are taking away their right to parent their own children. Democrats are literally just abiding by the laws that allow kids aged 13 and up to manage their own mental health care. State Senator Jamie Pederson pissed the Fox News crowd off by saying just that, which was cute.

Wage Theft in the City? According to Geek Wire , a class action lawsuit was filed against the City of Seattle last week. The suit alleges that a new payroll system from a company called Workday caused payroll errors that affected thousands of employees across the City.

Pardon Me, Ferguson: With the Trump administration threatening deportation for any immigrants that are convicted of crimes, immigrants in Washington State are looking to the governor for help. Ferguson is still empowered to pardon many convicted of crimes on the state level, so people are fighting for limited hearing slots before the state Clemency and Pardons Board . “It’s one of the very few options that exist when a conviction creates mandatory deportation,” said Jennie Pasquarella, legal director of the nonprofit Seattle Clemency Project.

ICYMI: The social housing initiative, Proposition 1A trounced the Chamber of Commerce-backed alternative this month. Considering Mayor Harrell plastered his face across the campaign, it’s not only embarrassing for him—it tells us a lot about what we can do in November. Stranger columnist Katie Wilson broke it down here .

Ever Heard of a Hydrofoil? I hadn’t either, but if they’re anything like the Seattle Times described them, I’m on board: “Two local endeavors are aiming to build passenger-only boats with hydrofoils—underwater wings that lift a boat’s hull out of the water, lessening drag on the vessel for a faster, less choppy journey and producing little to no wake, allowing them to sail close to shore without disturbing banks or piers.” These “flying ferries” could be part of your future commute, if Olympia funds them.

Have you heard the one about the guy who got swallowed by a whale? It actually happened, sort of, in Chile and it’s my new favorite video on the internet. A father and (adult) son were kayaking in the Strait of Magellan when a humpback whale scooped the son up in his mouth, kayak and all, promptly realized he wasn’t a small fish, and let him go. Catch and release, you might say.

 

 

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22 replies on “Slog AM: Farewell Deep Freeze, a Napoleonic Trump, and Nuclear Shenanigans”

  5. TWO? I count 1, and a stalker hiding in the bushes at his golf course. That’s not an “attempt”.

    I’d be fine with Harrell spending 12 million a month fighting Grafitti. It makes this city look squalid. Spray paint should be a controlled substance like ephedrine – you have to show your driver’s license to buy.

  6. “Mr. Trump, through his words and actions, has repeatedly suggested that surviving two assassination attempts is evidence that he has divine backing to enforce his will,”

    What’s the saying again? Third time’s the charm?

  7. Trump is clearly referencing Revelations 13:3

    “And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast.”

  8. What Sen Petersen doesn’t say about the 30 year old law is that when it was first passed in was intended to be used for kids to access talk therapy and drug counseling. There were a series of bills in recent years that vastly expanded the scope of what constituted mental health care. These included SB 5313 that encompassed gender affirming care and made it medically necessary to bar insurance companies from notifying parents. In 2023 HB 1340 included reproductive services for minors. One of Sen Pedersen’s comments that really riled people up was when he said if a minor is old enough to get pregnant they are old enough to make these decisions. It’s a really callous statement to make and one most people find offensive especially considering 13 year olds are below the age of consent in WA state. Beyond that 13 year old are not allowed to drive, get a tattoo, vote, smoke a cigarette but we are supposed to think they are old enough to make permanent, life altering decisions? It’s a very misleading argument from Sen Pedersen and he rightly took heat for it.

  10. Hilariously the first comment on the previous article about Rachel Savage was:

    “Anyone that disagrees with the Seattle leftist talking points on crime, drugs, homelessness, public disorder, and policing is painted as a Republican. There are very few Republicans in Seattle. You seem to be missing the point that a growing number of people on the left that live in cities are also fed up the progressive agenda on these issues which obviously has failed.”

    Buuuuut turns out she is in fact (surprise!) a Republican.

  12. @10 — yeah there’s several comments on that article that turned out in retrospect to look incredibly stupid:

    5

    “If you’re this hesitant to ride public transportation in Seattle, then we have some serious work to do”

    Yes, work on yourself. Get professional help to stop being such an irrationally fearful weirdo.

    thirteen12 on October 2, 2024 at 9:07 PM”

    Considering a Metro driver was subsequently murdered while on duty, calling people concerned with their safety on Metro busses “irrationally fearful weirdos” has aged about as well as saying there’s no difference between Trump and Harris.

  13. @2 the Victoria clipper boats are not hyrdofoils, they are catamarans, which are not the same thing but similar. Cats travel faster than normal single hulls typically but not quite as fast as a hyrdofoil, which is more like an underwater spoiler.

  14. @12 if one murder on transit is enough to render it too dangerous to ride there’s basically nowhere in the world that’s safe. Best to never go outside your house–oops wait people have been killed in their houses too.

    But thanks for adding to the list of comments that will look incredibly stupid in retrospect (or in your case, the moment they were typed).

  15. Do your homework. Nixon was forced to resign, nothing more. He retired. Done.

    One should not wonder if the proletariat is sick of the political class.

  16. @14 — the union representing Metro drivers disagrees with you, but I’m sure they have no idea what they’re talking about when they are demanding enclosures to keep drivers safe and you’ll come on here and yell about how their concerns for their well-being are stupid. They’re only the ones who drive the busses every day and have their brothers and sisters being repeatedly assaulted — and murdered — but who cares what they think, right?

    https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/king-county-metro-drivers-death-highlights-urgent-security-needs-new-safety-barriers-unveiled/FTZFT4EGABBCXGGFGMKTVJE5F4/

  17. @12 classic data free fear-mongering

    Seattle public transit is very probably much safer than the streets in Seattle, like everywhere else where the statistics exist, and bus drivers spend orders of magnitude more time interacting with potential assailants than the average rider

  19. @17, @18 — it makes sense that wherever there are societal tradeoffs, you both have repeatedly shown yourselves to be in favor of accommodating anti-social and criminal behavior rather than accommodating pro-social and law abiding behavior. It’s right in line with doing everything in your power to get Donald Trump — the ultimate example of someone who is anti-social and criminal as opposed to pro-social and law abiding — elected in 2024. Congrats! Now the rest of us will try to clean up the wreckage you’ve left in your wake.

  21. @20 another media anecdote huh, guess you didn’t read the wiki I linked. Around 250,000 people ride Metro every day per their data so that means even yesterday only 0.000008 riders were shot. And King5 reported “there is no danger to the public or other bus riders, according to the sheriff’s office.” But by all means don’t let any of that stop you from choosing to live your life in fear.

    https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1tFUsbWmfk3A6MdQjuxWg3JUYs7vqbSt62JRQY1V3fKI/pubhtml?gid=1914679577&single=true

    https://www.king5.com/article/news/crime/king-county-metro-bus-shooting/281-477ea6fc-4ee7-4566-aba4-0a329aa851be

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