Fleeting flurries: Sorry, romantics, yesterday's snow was short lived. Today, things will be wet. And not just because it's Valentine's Day. Rain is on the way. Or, depending on when you're reading this, it's already here.
Washington's in good hands: At least that's what our leaders are telling us. On Thursday, Gov. Bob Ferguson (Bobby Ferg, to some) held a press conference with other Washington state officials including Attorney General Nick Brown to assure Washingtonians that they would "shield" us from the Donald Trump administration's "chaos." So far, $162 million-worth of federal funds (much earmarked for solar power investments) is frozen. Ferguson said he'll fight for those funds and keep up the fight for Washington's "policies protecting transgender rights, fighting climate change, and prohibiting local police from aiding in mass deportations of undocumented immigrants," the Seattle Times wrote. Brown issued another message for Trump: "Follow the damn law." You tell him.
Law-abiders unite: Trump's sycophants in the Justice Department urged Manhattan's U.S. attorney to drop the corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. The interim U.S. attorney in Manhattan, Danielle R. Sassoon, said fuck that and resigned. Trump's cronies urged the dismissal of Adams' case on the basis that the legal battle would prevent him from helping with Trump's deportation order. In other words, an entirely political rather than legal reason. Sassoon is a staunchly conservative former clerk to Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, a member of the Federalist Society, and was appointed by Trump. “I have always considered it my obligation to pursue justice impartially, without favor to the wealthy or those who occupy important public office, or harsher treatment for the less powerful,” she wrote in her resignation letter. The Justice Department transferred the case to the public integrity arm in Washington, D.C.. Then, following Sassoon's lead, the two men overseeing that department resigned. Three other lawyers in the unit also resigned. This is courage and resistance.
Not everyone is standing tall to Trump: In case you missed it on Slog yesterday, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center told staff it will dismantle its diversity and inclusion programs to comply with Trump's anti-DEI order. The research center stands to lose $400 million in federal funding every year—about 70 percent of its research portfolio. There are pending legal challenges to Trump's executive order, which could change the landscape for DEI funding, but in a letter to staff, the center made clear that they felt Trump's agenda was inevitable: “While we don’t know whether the lawsuits will be successful or if the order may be modified," they wrote, "what we do know is the current administration clearly intends to make ending DEI programs a condition of receiving federal funding.”
Backdoor access: Apparently, the Musk whiz kids spinning up code to create the Department of Government Efficiency didn't lock down the databases they created and anyone can get in there and edit them. Some pranksters tagged the site already—and their taunts are still online.
lol doge.gov still shows defaced pages
doge.gov/workforce?or...
— Comfortably Numb (@numb.comfortab.ly) February 14, 2025 at 4:04 AM
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Yakima coroner pleads not guilty: Yakima County Coroner Jim Curtice has been criminally charged for lying to police about stealing drugs from dead bodies and then doing the drugs in his office. He entered a not guilty plea in court this week.
Mexico threatens Google with lawsuit: Google changed the "Gulf of Mexico" on its maps to read "Gulf of America." Ugh. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said her government wasn't ruling out a civil lawsuit against Google. Her office sent a letter to Google saying it was wrong to label the entire gulf the "Gulf of America" despite Mexico's majority control of the gulf. Google did not budge. An interesting tidbit is that only people in America see the gulf named on the map as, "Gulf of America." In Mexico, it still reads "Gulf of Mexico." In other countries, it reads "Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America)." The whole thing is stupid and embarrassing.
Trans erasure: Yesterday, the National Park Service wiped all evidence of transgender people from the Stonewall National Monument website. The change went so far as to change the LGBTQ+ acronym to just "LGB." While a disgusting move on its own, the change happening on the Stonewall Monument site is stomach-churning stuff. Read this newly-edited line from the site: "Before the 1960s, almost everything about living openly as a lesbian, gay, bisexual (LGB) person was illegal. The Stonewall Uprising on June 28, 1969, is a milestone in the quest for LGB civil rights and provided momentum for a movement." Trans people like Marsha P. Johnson were instrumental figures in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights. The Stonewall Inn, The Stonewall Inn Gives Back Initiative, and other organizers are planning to fight to restore the mention of transgender people to the site. We cannot stand idly by while our government tries to erase an entire group as well as history.
Is there anything funny I can share with you? I would love to break up the bleak with the fun. Um. All I have is that comedian Bill Burr says he thinks billionaires should be put down like rabid dogs. Is that enough? Do you feel happier?
Oh, here's something nice: The worldwide bird count starts today and goes through February 17. Notice some birds this weekend, count them, and then submit your counts.
Back to woe: In the wake of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s ascension to secretary of health, the Louisiana Department of Health announced it will no longer promote mass vaccination.
Don't forget about light rail disruptions: There's no service between Capitol Hill and SODO stations this weekend. Sorry, lovers, if you're planning a romantic night downtown, consider taking the bus.
Riding the 1 Line this weekend? Plan ahead for a service disruption through downtown Seattle as crews conduct systems integration tests for the 2 Line.
Shuttle buses will be available to keep you moving and will run every 10-15 minutes. Get the details here: www.soundtransit.org/disruption
— Sound Transit (@sound-transit.bsky.social) February 13, 2025 at 2:03 PM
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Cop City activists surveilled: People who fought against the construction of a $109 million police training center in Atlanta have noticed strange black boxes attached to utility poles outside their homes. Through a clear panel on the box, you can see a camera. Three of the houses where the cloaked cameras are situated were subjected to raids last February. Police raided the homes of people they suspected of burning police motorcycles in 2023. One camera is aimed at a community center. Seems very clearly like a violation of privacy.
More federal worker layoffs: Trump isn't kidding around about shrinking the federal workforce, otherwise known as real people with jobs and families. In his most recent move to lay waste to the foundations of the federal government, Trump has targeted 200,000 public servants on probation—which usually means newer workers without the same protections as more senior employees—for termination. Of the cuts, 1,000 of the slated-for-termination workers are employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
ICYMI: My newest column about Seattle subcultures came out. This time, I carved a spoon at the Seattle Spoon Club's monthly meeting and met people passionate about "the most egalitarian" craft. Read it here.
A not-quite love song for your V-Day: There's some debate about whether this Mountain Goats song is a love or a hate song. Maybe it's both. Regardless, probably best not to croon it to anyone you want a long and happy life with. Should I start a group text with my divorced parents and send this song with no context?
