Credit: Charles Mudede

Let’s get this straight. Seattle’s next mayor, Katie Wilson, is not a socialist, as a number of headlines claim. She is a democratic socialist. The difference between the two political programs is easy to explain. The goal of democratic socialism is to construct institutions and policies that counter the failures of capitalism: billionaires, the destruction of the environment, poverty, low wages, and so on. The goal of socialism is to abolish the capitalist class altogether.

To Go a Little Deeper: Marxism, another term you’ll hear thrown around about our progressive leaders, is not socialism because it’s descriptive. A Marxist only says what capitalism is, how it works, how it reproduces, and why it divides its form of society into classes. Now, Keynesianism (named after the celebrated Depression-era British economist John Maynard Keynes) is prescriptive. It provides solutions to market failures, which were painfully evident in the 1930s.  Combine Keynesianism with Marxism, and you get social democracy. Combine Marxism with socialism and you are on the way to communism. But the world has yet to produce a communist society. What has appeared instead are forms of capitalism. The Soviet Union, for example, never abolished the class structure (called by Marx “the relations of production”) generated by market forces (“the means of production”). It simply replaced the capitalist with either experts (engineers, managers, and so on) or a party. I hope that clears this up.

One more thing. The Stranger‘s former news editor, Josh Feit, put it this way on Facebook: “For those calling Katie Wilson a socialist, please note that in 2019, your bogeyman Kshama Sawant derided Wilson as the leader of Seattle’s liberal faction. In her inimitable 1930s lingo, Sawant called the Wilsonites: ‘the Katie Wilson-dominated liberal activist layer.'”

Yesterday, mayor-elect Katie Wilson wasted no time joining a protest organized by Starbucks union members. It happened outside of the closed Starbucks Reserve Roastery on the corner of Minor Street and Pike Street. Wilson also told the union members, who are demanding a fair contract from the Seattle-based corporation, that she’s “not buying Starbucks.” New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani also wasted no time “urging people not to patronize the iconic coffee chain while baristas remain on strike.” This, of course, is something Bruce Harrell or Andrew Cuomo would have ever done. Standing with workers. It’s just not their cup of tea. It’s also why they lost.

My forever lovely Kate Bush (one of the queens of the 80s), do your hear that? It’s the real rain. It fell all night. It’s falling this morning, which is universally grey. And what happens “every time it rains” just like this? Kate Bush: “You’re just in reach, when you and sleep escape me.” Today will be wet. Tomorrow, not so wet.   

Look, we no longer need the Epstein Files. Let the Department of Justice keep them. Why? Because we already know the man sitting in the White House was in deep with the creep. The emails released by both parties this week, the photos that are all over the web, the birthday card—what more do you want? It’s all there. If the press had pictures and videos of Obama partying with the pimp (Jeffrey Epstein was not a “financier”), that would have been enough to destroy his career and initiate an official investigation. But with Donald (White Skin Matters) Trump, we keep needing more files, more letters, more pictures. But to insist that the matter can only be settled by the files is to give them a power that’s metaphysical and even mystical. But in truth, it’s more like a dog biting a rock.

Is this dark warning, offered by Rep. Thomas Massie of the members of his party, the GOP, of any value? “[If] you vote to cover up for pedophiles, you’ve got cover in a Republican primary. But I would remind my colleagues that this vote is gonna be on your record for longer than Trump is gonna be president. And what are you gonna do in 2028 and 2030 when you’re in a debate either with a Republican or a Democrat and they say, ‘How can we trust you? You covered up for a pedophile back in 2025.'” And so the question is not whether Trump is a pedophile or not. The question is, in Massie’s context: Did you vote to withhold or release the files. This again gives the files too much importance. The game is already up. You—Massie and your Grand Old Party—are already providing cover for the man we well know is in the files.

My god. The awfulness of this man is really on another level:

 

To combat all the evidence from the Epstein Files showing that Donald Trump raped children, the White House’s strategy is to show pictures of Trump on occasions when he wasn’t raping children. 👀 [image or embed]

— The Sgt Joker (@thesgtjoker.bsky.social) November 13, 2025 at 7:03 PM

 

 

Trump’s plan to deal with an issue that got Zohran Mamdani and Katie Wilson elected, the affordability crisis? Hit the road and hold rallies on the government’s dime. The public can, apparently, eat and pay bills with just his hot air: prices are the lowest they have ever been in the whole history of the world, I’m great, Biden bad, this is a golden age.

Dig this. Trump recently denounced a National Museum of African Art exhibit, “From the Deep: In the Wake of Drexciya with Ayana V. Jackson,” that had Drexciya, a Detroit techno duo, at its center. The administration saw it as anti-White and pro-Black. But who is Drexciya? In the 90s, their electro music created an “underwater kingdom populated by the children of pregnant women who had been thrown overboard or jumped into the ocean during the Middle Passage.” Let’s end Slog AM in this underwater world that the White House hates so much.   

Charles Mudede—who writes about film, books, music, and his life in Rhodesia, Zimbabwe, the USA, and the UK for The Stranger—was born near a steel plant in Kwe Kwe, Zimbabwe. He has no memory...

123 replies on “Slog AM: Mayor-Elect Katie Wilson Not Buying Starbucks Coffee, We Really Don’t Need the Release of the Epstein Files, Trump Plans a ‘US Economy Is Just Too Great’ Tour”

  1. @33: “Is that what I fucking said?”

    @34: “Also, I’m literally married to a therapist…”

    Mm, obviously it isn’t working! 😂😂😂

  2. 50 as many conservative commenters like to remind us — including coolidge “ebephilia” dollar — bill clinton has been named in many of the epstein documents even though the most recent emails appear to vindicate him, but he’s been publicly accused many times over the years and i have never heard anyone defend him the way republicans circle the wagons around their own

  3. and

    Then

    there was

    the Time wormmy

    got all over my ass for my

    calling centrist capitulator Wild Bill

    Clinton Slick Willy and he became Unglued

    what the fuck

    it was just a

    seegar oh

    & a con-

    Senting

    Adult

    who just

    Happened

    to fucking Work

    FOR The President.

  4. @49 “Of course, I could dig up your original comment”

    Here I’ll do it for you:

    “I don’t have any problem with people showing up for the No Kings events, but people should realize they are absolutely not “Trump’s worst nightmare” and not overstate their importance. Masses of people gathering in non-disruptive demonstrations has symbolic value, but an authoritarian’s actual worst nightmare is people rising up in ways that disrupt the economy or impedes the work of his agents like ICE.”

    https://www.thestranger.com/slog-am/2025/06/10/80094866/slog-am-trump-deployed-marines-to-los-angeles-fire-evacuations-in-cle-elum-macklemore-robbed/comments/12

    “these marches have nothing at all to do with any policies they are strictly a rebuke of Trump* and ~7 million people from all over the country joined in said rebuke so they seem pretty broadly popular.

    that and building email lists for Democrat fundraising”

    https://www.thestranger.com/slog-am/2025/10/20/80290469/slog-am-90000-seattleites-hit-the-streets-for-no-kings-fed-file-their-first-antifa-terrorism-charges-the-ms-play-for-the-world-series-t/comments/22

    “No Kings on the other hand is an astroturf voter targeting op by a Democrat-affiliated organization, which is about as effective as everyone involved making an anti-Trump Bluesky post, but it does seem like a lot of fun for participants.”

    https://www.thestranger.com/slog-am/2025/10/30/80303999/slog-am-big-tech-has-a-secret-code-with-israel-trump-takes-another-swipe-at-trans-healthcare-issaquah-is-sick-of-ice/comments/41

    You’re welcome.

  6. A little performance trolling for barth

    ~~~~~~~~

    And now it’s…

    Springtime for Donald and Jeffrey

    The Island is happy and gay!

    We’re marching to a sexy pace

    Common, let’s all masturbate!

    Springtime for Donald and Jeffrey

    Palm Beach a fine land once more!

    Springtime for Donald and Jeffrey…

  8. @52: “…bill clinton has been named in many of the epstein documents even though the most recent emails appear to vindicate him, but he’s been publicly accused many times over the years and i have never heard anyone defend him the way republicans circle the wagons around their own…”

    And, by and large, we didn’t defend Clinton’s actions. Rather, we said that what he and Ms. Lewinsky did was between CONSENTING ADULTS, and so should not be any of the public’s business. Our point about CONSENTING ADULTS was, of course, lost on the Republicans, due to most of them not understanding either concept, and the few who do, despising both. (Horrible people, indeed.)

    If Clinton did rape an underage girl, I’d demand his punishment, to the fullest extent of every law which applied. Sad to see how unusual it is for a Republican to say the same about one of their leaders.

  9. Bi-pedo @29… What should I cry about more? That I miss an antagonist/friend that I would have gladly bought a drink (or several) for, or having to deal with a semi-literate douchebag who can barely construct a complete sentence. Yes, I am referring to you, Bi-pedo, you fucking moran. Anytime anyone answers you with substance, you either ignore it or go gaslighting.

    You got nothing.

    Keep up your stupid shit-posting to prove me wrong.

  10. @59: May I make a suggestion that you take things in stride. Everybody is getting excessively angry these days, and we need to rein in our cyber egos and try not to take things personally or attack our fellow avatars by throwing nasty pixels at them (all advice for me was well).

  11. Oh, I’m striding just foine. I’ve been dealing with this asshole for years.

    And, by the way, Coolie, I don’t think you should be one to talk about this (if you catch my drift).

    If you don’t get it, then let me explain. I usually let most shit slide, but when I’m bored and dumb motherfuckers like Bi-pedo start spewing nonsense, well yeah, Imma gonna fuck with them.

    It’s not like I ever got a coherent answer out of them.

    (probably just pissed the shit out of them for using a gender neutral term for them. Holy Shit!!!! I just did it again!!!)

  15. Bi-pedo @62…

    Gotcha, you fucking idiot. Of course I know how to spell ‘moron’. I knew that misspelling it would trigger you, and you would focus on that rather than the substance of what I was saying. You make it so easy sometimes.

    Again, thank you for proving that you are a world class dumbfuck.

  17. Yeah, I did mean to do that. I did that on purpose. And I got the dumbass response that I expected. Trolling trolls is fun.

    Whatcha got for me now, big boy? Not to disparage Pee Wee Herman, but holy shit, is that the best you can come up with?

    You need to up your game, son…

  19. Oooh!!!

    Going from Pee Wee to the Brady Bunch!

    Wow! you are just a fountain of wisdom and knowledge…

    You really suck at trolling. You are here all day, every day.

    I just do this on my days off when I’m bored. What’s your excuse?

  21. “You really suck at trolling.” Shoulda put “FULL STOP.” That makes it have so much more impact lol

    “You really suck at trolling.”

    Apparently I’m really good at it, because you keep whining at me.

  22. I would call it more laughing at your pathetic stupidity.

    Honest question… what do you get out of this? I just do this for shits and giggles, exposing stupid idiots for who they are.

    You are trying to troll me with TV memes from the 70s and 80s.

    Wow. What an edgelord you are.

  24. Ooh! Satan! Pleased to meet you!

    Nah, just another stupid comment.

    Give it up, dude. There is no shame in failing. You just learn (hopefully) from your mistakes.

    But, yeah… you really suck at this.

  27. I don’t think you understand the word ‘whining’.

    I am openly laughing and mocking you to your face.

    It is telling that you are such a fucking idiot that you can’t recognize this.

  28. Whine whine Whine

    You are Whining at me again

    You’ve whined at me for 2 days now

    Whine about that cop 5280 some more, that was very Impor-

    tant for you to Whine about That

    and for some reason it was very impor-

    tant That I “know” Who he WAS (I did, he was some cop)

    You even Called me a “coward” for “not answering you”, when I had already answered you 3 Times (that 5280 was some cop).

    You are a Total Whiner,

    Who is laughing at who, Whiner?

    you are so Earnest

    and so Progressive

    Whine some More

    comedy Gold

    — kristofartian

  29. Where is the comedy?

    You don’t understand definitions of words?

    You have to parody Kristo to fail to make your point?

    I’m gonna keep giving you shit whenever I can, because you are a stupid asshole, and this is fun for me.

    Any other words you want to mangle?

  32. “Where is the comedy?

    You don’t understand definitions of words?”

    Since you seem a little slow, drool2, the “Comedy Gold” refers to YOUR posts, not to mine.

    You’re so cringe and earnest and progressive, it makes sense that you don’t understand how hilarious your posts are.

  33. This is what I am saying…

    You are now resorting to using Kristo to try and get to me.

    As I said before, you got nothing, and it shows in this thread.

    And again, it is a compliment to be more progressive than Kristo.

    (You’re still pissed I got you with the ‘moran’ joke, aren’t you?)

  35. Ooh, Bi-pedo has a new word to obsess over.

    I am deliberately mocking you for being a stupid idiot. That is not what the word ‘whine’ means.

    Holy christ! Did you ever graduate from 3rd grade?

  39. @64: Thanks for the NYT article, which — while a bit fluffy — did a good job of describing the Stranger’s influence.

    As you implied, I wish the NYT had spent some time on the substance of what the Stranger publishes. Their very questionable lifestyle piece on Katie Wilson provides an important case in point. Commenters noted the article had completely misrepresented her father’s academic work, and accepted as fact her story about how she dropped out of Oxford — even though the article itself contained information which cast doubt upon this claim. (One of her longest-standing acquaintances in Seattle had never heard of her story about her dropping out of Oxford.) The Stranger does not appear to have done any journalism of any kind whatsoever on these points. Should anyone else ever do so, what the Stranger would do if her story was proven false would make for an entertaining read, to say the least!

    Again, thank you for the article.

  40. and

    That

    is How

    it’s Done,

    “Buggers”:

    first

    you Mock

    then you Imitate

    and then you Emulate

    but you can’t Never match

    Elkristo.

    b.

    why

    has tS

    allowed

    your Existence?

  43. and*

    up pops

    wormmy

    still Smarting from

    tS’s Schweep of 11/4/15

    and Progressives’ MASSIVE WIN

    Cross fucking Country on that every same day.

    pardon me whilst I Gloat

    and enjoy (as well!)

    MTG’s brand new

    War on thedjt,

    tangentially

    speaking.

    *Could tS do Better?

    well, Fuck Yes!

    they’re not Alone.

  44. @92: Oh you know the link, my dude. You posted like 8+ times in that thread melting down because you got ranked so low among the stupid people 🤣🤣🤣

  50. Ok, went and re-read that thread.

    Holy fuck you guys!!!! Projection much?

    All y’all are just butthurt because I’m owning y’all in this thread.

    Suck it up, losers.

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