We need to start seizing social worker pensions at Washington's Children, Youth and Families.

They cost taxpayers $201 billion.

The negligence leading to these claims won't stop, until it costs the worker their pension. These workers are 60% of the cost of negligence claims against State of Washington taxpayers.

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/budget-gimmick-endorsed-by-ferguson-downplays-was-huge-lawsuit-costs/

I knew musk and trump would end with a nasty break up but didn’t expect it to come this fast.

I think the biggest news so far in this mess is the Trump administration's FBI is getting involved. (shudder)

Didn't have a permit for their sound system... On the steps of City Hall, a space historically preserved for protest... 😆 🤣 😂 The City is desperately trying to get themselves sued for viewpoint discrimination, aren't they? And why should they care, taxpayers will foot any bill.

And no, it is neither cruel nor unusual to tell the bums to remove their shit from our sidewalks. "You can't sleep here. NEXT!"

You know what they'd check foreign student visa applicant's SM for: criticism of Israel, criticism of Trump.

@4: Mayday USA is basically trying to provoke the City into "persecuting" them so they can feel super Christian (and sue). One weekend it's evangelicals, next weekend Patriot Prayer will be out there with MSSAs and scary dogs.

@2 I'm kinda surprised it lasted this long. My over/under was about 2 months in.

Regarding the Christian rally at Cal Anderson: Why did the city of Seattle traumatize the fragile yet violent residents of Capitol Hill by exposing them to 𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩?

The more salient question is what do a bunch of bigots misrepresenting the teachings of their religion think they’re going to accomplish by hosting an anti-lgbtq hate rally in one of the queerest cities in the country? We all know the answer of course. Christians are the single most coddled group of people in this country, arguably the whole planet, but they want to feel persecuted so, so bad they’ll break the rules and dare you to hold them accountable for it.

To be clear, the views of those zealots are reprehensible. They should, however, be able to leave without being subjected to violence. Violence or threats of violence gives them, Trump and KOMO exactly what they want. WHy would you do that?

@6, It’s funny because this is how every relationship with trump ends but people keep sticking their neck out for him because they think they’re special.

@9 Exactly. I mean, the supporters of this group should not be fooled. They don't believe in religious freedom, they believe in creating a theocracy based on their own religious views. Matt Shea's Wikipedia page is a ride. The dude literally poured a 100-feet of oil across the Washington State Capitol's steps to cleanse it of Satan because he couldn't tolerate the Satanic Temple's own religious rally there. He also doesn't seem too interested in protecting women, given the protective order and allegations of domestic abuse made by his first wife.

That said, everyone has the right to free speech, even these hypocrites. The Stranger acting like it's unfortunate that they were protected on their way home is bad. The real issue is that SPD doesn't seem to care about protecting the counter protesters in the same way, at least based on several witness accounts, which allege that people just standing there holding signs were also physically harassed/assaulted by the department. Hopefully there is video footage of that.

Oh yes, Christians are the most coddled group on the planet. If they would just follow Christ's commandment to remain humble, they would be grateful to have their constitutional rights denied while being pelted with urine filled water balloons. They should also thank Mayor Harrell for defaming them. That would be the Christianly thing to do.

@8: What rules do they break? They don't block freeways to airports and destroy private property like college campuses. They don't murder people by throwing them off tall buildings in the name of their God. Obnoxious at times? Certainly. Coddled. Hardly.

@13, can you read? Are you sure? Quoting the post you’re commenting on:

“Meanwhile, the City confirmed that Mayday USA did not have a permit for the massive sound system they brought to City Hall. "Our building staff are on site and have given the organizers a copy of the rules and informed them that public speech activities must not be disruptive," Jesse Gilliam from the Department of Finance and Administrative services told me in an email.”

You would be hard pressed to name any events in recent times where christians were the victims of persecution, at least in countries where their religion dominates, because more often than not they are the perpetrators, targeting women and vulnerable minorities to strip them of fundamental rights when they could just keep to themselves.

More to the point, there has never a concerted effort to spread lies about christians throwing queer people off buildings, even as their most vocal representatives make hating lgbtq people one of the central features of their identity. Even when you’re trying to defend the most hateful amongst your faith you can’t help but take cheap shots at others. Incredible stuff.

@8 barth did the "Pajamaboy" meme (if only images could be attached here):

"no i'm not a christian and i have nothing but contempt for your backward religious beliefs

so yeah this argument wouldn't work on me but maybe if i use on you, you'll do what i want"

https://imgflip.com/memetemplate/546679109/No-Im-not-a-Christian

PS: I am not a Christian either lol

@15, As a non-christian your perspective is lacking. I was raised in the faith and my church never taught us to treat people poorly for any reason, let alone to intertwine our faith with our politics. We were specifically taught that all people are children of god and worthy of dignity. I think most christians are brought up this way but there is a fundamentalist christian movement in this country that has been consumed by extremist right wing ideology and it is a blight not only on our society but the christian faith at large.

https://youtu.be/qc2bmyCgJO8

@13 Nice try on the false equivalence. LGBTQ folks are not being thrown off of tall buildings in the US. However, they are regularly murdered in other ways for being LGBTQ, often by people who call themselves Christians. See, for example, O'Shae Sibley.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_acts_of_violence_against_LGBTQ_people#United_States

If you're going to broaden to the entire world, then there absolutely are "Christians" who kill LGBTQ people in a wide variety of horrifying ways. Notably, Uganda has the option to impose the death penalty for homosexuality.

@12, When one of your event organizers writes a 14-page manifesto telling his supporters to gird themselves for a holy war and to "kill all males" who stand in your way of overthrowing democracy, while he also taking part in several anti-government standoffs, Harrell calling them a "hate group" seems fairly accurate.

Expecting the liberal mayor to welcome you with open arms is as ridiculous as liberals expecting Trump to go a day without bashing liberals on Truth Social.

Pretty much everyone has ways in which they are shitty, although things like family and community standards, ingrained moral codes, and laws can help blunt that.

Of course, some people, being what they are, gravitate towards groups that give them licence to indulge their darker natures while celebrating its righteousness.

These fuckers are just another example of that, and it's a shame biblical Jesus isn't visibly present driving them from the temple.

It’s also worth remembering that Jimmy Carter was an evangelical and he represented the faith at its most humble. it’s hard to imagine a baptist as a progressive democrat today but before the moral majority movement consumed them, that was a thing, and it makes more theological sense than a religious-political movement defined by taking away rights and sending immigrants to labor camps. @15’s little 4chan meme is the actual logical fallacy and the greater insult to christianity, not the assertion that christ preached love, respect, and humility above all else.

The sprawling variety of Christian faith manifestation is a great example of how, for all their griping about it, the modern right is the world's foremost practitioners of post-modernism. The Bible can mean whatever you need it to mean.

Bible-addled nutjobs and sleazy, money-grubbing clergy have every right to “get their praise on” within the laws established by the city. The sound system is a bit much, especially if it was playing “Christian rock” or “Contemporary Christian”, which all sounds the same, and is uniformly horrible.

The police got a stroke job from the crowd, and I’m sure they ate that up with a spoon, but Washington State, and the Puget Sound region in particular has long been, and will remain, among the least religious parts of the country.

Oh the bigotry. From Russell Johnson, pastor of Pursuit Church and a leader of Saturday's event at Cal Anderson: "I was born by artificial insemination and I grew up in a lesbian household with two moms ... I have a lesbian mom to this day who I love and who I have a great relationship with. I've shared the gospel with her and she's a financial donor in my ministry."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D00TsypZp9c

Why would the Kraken hire someone who hasn't coached since quitting 12 games into a season five years ago when they have the NHL's first female assistant coach already on staff?

Yes I know, these kinds of christians always have queer friends and family and they are experts at loving people they don’t respect as equals but anyone with an internet connection can look up the event and see what it was about. If you don’t want your little church rally to be called out for anti-lgbtq bigotry, don’t host it in an lgbtq neighborhood while preaching an anti-lgbtq message.

They got the attention they ordered and they enjoyed it so much they came back for seconds. You should be happy but instead you’re here to pout for being called a bigot. Boohoo.

@26 As Russell Johnson states in the vid I linked to above, his ministry requested a permit for Pike Place but Seattle Parks gave them Cal Anderson instead. Johnson said he was wary of holding the rally there, given the significance of the park to Seattle's gay community. His concern was validated by the conduct of counter-demonstrators on Saturday.

The real crime committed by the rally was playing that God-awful excuse for music. Contemporary Christian pop music is the most cloying trash ever conceived by man. God must be up in heaven going, "What on Earth is that?"

Hundreds of years of the most gorgeous hymns and compositions for organ and harpsichord and strings, and they blast this vomitous noise pollution.

Herbert Hoover's tariffs ruled illegal by the US Court of International Trade. “The challenged Tariff Orders will be vacated and their operation permanently enjoined,” a three-judge panel ruled. All stocks are up after hours. The Orange King is very mad.

@27, According to the texts that Russell Johnson posted in support of his claims on X, he requested a Pike Place location, the city replied that it was too small to hold the size of his rally, and they recommended contacting the Parks department to ask about obtaining a permit at Cal Anderson, South Lake Union, or other locations.” That is literally what they responded, and if Johnson has any other written proof to support what he’s alleging, he should post it. Until then, I choose to believe someone who associates with crazy Matt Shea is not someone whose word is to be trusted about anything.

@25 -- there's nothing that professional sports teams love more than retread coaches. They all think they're going to find the next Belichick or Carroll and instead they wind up with Dom Capers or Bruce Coslet.

@27 Reading these comments, I am reminded of the observation by former staff writer at The Stranger, Katie Herzog, that Seattle is most beautiful city, filled with the ugliest people.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulDC1w1ydLI

Fire Aim Dear, why are you responding to yourself?

And I'll just quietly murmur that no one is forcing you to live in Seattle amongst all of us ugly people.

testing...

Alrighty, I guess I'm back.

@ Lissa... I think you might be right about Posob being the "Period" troll.

@ Tensor... You've always been yourself. I don't often agree with you, but you can make coherent arguments. The "people" Kristo are claiming to be your sockpuppets, that's ludicrous. (If you ARE doing the "sockpuppet" thing, then kudos, well done).

@ Kristo... As much as I admire your spirit and values, it is really hard to read your posts. And please stop with the sockpuppet thing.

@ Garb Garbler... I'm not going to go looking up random youtube shit without a little context letting me know what I'm gonna see.

@34 Dear Catalina, I appreciate your wise murmuring but I had already reached that conclusion. After 21 years in Seattle, I changed my address—discovering in the process that Seattle is a nice place to be 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮.

@26: "They got the attention they ordered and they enjoyed it so much they came back for seconds."

Exactly. Seattle would likely not provide effective opposition, just the black-clad 'anarchists' who show up and smash things at every opportunity. This gives the bigots both the attention and sympathy they crave. As the Stranger and other local activists have spent the last five years bitterly placing themselves in totally implacable opposition to the SPD, regardless of context, the bigots probably had the sympathy of the cops, as well. (Especially if the bigots physically behaved themselves, which they seem to have done.)

@11: "The Stranger acting like it's unfortunate that they were protected on their way home is bad."

The Stranger now actively denies the rights of persons with whom it disagrees. This continues a very long slide toward authoritarianism, which the Stranger began over a decade ago. Seattle and Capitol Hill just got played by persons whom the Stranger rightly despises, but instead of taking lessons from this humiliation and working to prevent a repeat, it cries, "The City Let Anti-LGBTQ Religious Zealots Take Over Cal Anderson." The Stranger could have noted that the Pride Committee itself begged the city to deny the permit, and persons running PRIDE of all things should instead have been VERY muscularly active in getting effective counter-protestors around (and even into) the bigots' faces.

The Stranger constantly pretends that persons willingly engaged in actively counterproductive anti-social behaviors (freeway blockers, rock-throwing black bloc 'activists', ACAB-spouting police 'reformers') constitute legitimate protestors, and so we should not find it surprising the Stranger cannot even recognize smart, effective protestors (here, MayDay bigots) for what they are. All the Stranger can do is snarl that persons it does not like should not have civil rights, and that position is a definite, long-term loser all around.

@36. Oh no, a link without context! Save me Tom Cruise!

@38 what exactly was smart and effective about the Mayday people? Do you think they convinced a lot of Seattleites to come to Jesus, or do you think they mostly just annoyed everyone? If, for example, Sawant-led Gaza protestors had brought a massive speaker setup to the City Hall steps, blasted awful music, and caused 4th Ave to be closed would you have the same take? Although more subtly disguised your perspective is essentially the same as Fire Aim Ready: someone who moved away from Seattle because you actually despise the people who live here yet still feel compelled to tell us about it on this website.

@40, You didn’t ask me, but what was smart and effective was their choice of location, knowing the response they’d receive, getting the media coverage they wanted, and getting the attention of Trump and the DOJ as a result. This was all by design. It was never about converting Seattleites. This was about effectively portraying themselves as the victims of a violent leftist mob that doesn’t tolerate free speech or religion. And based on all the mainstream coverage I’ve seen, they got exactly what they wanted.

They aren’t a peaceful, religiously tolerant group. Looking at Matt Shea’s history, anyone can see that. But they chose to portray themselves as such so that they can gain power and sympathy among the masses. Matt Shea literally wrote the blueprint for his Holy War plans, and this was the first step.

I do agree that they likely would have done so regardless of the few kids who acted out. Look at how they insist on alleging they were “made” to hold the rally at Cal Anderson, despite the texts they posted showing that was not the case. It doesn’t matter because they said it, made videos saying it, and now the media reports those allegations as a he/said, she/said deal, instead of doing journalism and getting the facts.

@41 right: they caused a scene, got in the news, and increased awareness of their cause--exactly what they no doubt hoped to accomplish. Like basically any protest. The reason I asked tensorna specifically is because they always disclaim those being worthy goals or disruptive protests being a worthy means when it's for a cause they don't like. But your response is 100% correct.

Fire Aim Ready dear, if you were able to remove yourself from Our Fair City, why are you still commenting on Slog? Shouldn't you be concerning yourself with issues at whatever new town you are in? Or is there perhaps some relocation regret that you have yet to confront?

@42: "...they caused a scene, got in the news, and increased awareness of their cause--exactly what they no doubt hoped to accomplish."

Then why did you claim @40 that they were seeking converts?

"Like basically any protest."

The freeway-blocking protestors also "...caused a scene, got in the news, and increased awareness of their cause...", but what did they accomplish for their cause? Here's a hint: they wrote a headline post here in the Stranger, crowing about how great they're blocking the freeway was, https://www.thestranger.com/guest-editorial/2024/01/10/79339309/in-defense-of-the-shutting-down-the-highway

If they felt the need to defend their methods, then their methods were not effective in advancing their cause.

@44 "Then why did you claim @40 that they were seeking converts?"

I didn't, I asked if you thought they won any because that's your criticism of protests you disagree with, like here:

https://www.thestranger.com/news/2024/01/06/79334614/advocates-for-ceasefire-in-gaza-shutdown-i-5-north-for-five-hours/comments/58

@45: Contrary to your assertion that all protest movements have the same goals, @41 agreed with me (and others here) that the May Day USA folks got what they wanted. Not converts, but making LGBTQ+ persons look intolerant, perhaps violently so.

By contrast, the Gaza protestors you cited had wanted Israel to stop fighting Hamas in Gaza. That hasn’t happened. At all.