Good morning! It’s Indigenous Peoples Day, the federal holiday that most of us have to work through, when Democrats briefly remember that Indigenous people exist, and conservatives get really angry about respecting Italian heritage. Cheers to all who celebrate.
Let’s do the news.
SeaTac Doesn’t Shill for Trump: Picture it. You’re half asleep, dragging your carry-on through the TSA line, checking your phone every 45 seconds to make sure you’re not about to miss your flight, when, jump scare: Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s face, with a pair of hoop earrings that looks like a model of the solar system, pops onto every screen around you. “It is TSA’s top priority to make sure that you have the most pleasant and efficient airport experience as possible while we keep you safe,” she says in the video. “However, Democrats in Congress refuse to fund the federal government, and because of this, many of our operations are impacted, and most of our TSA employees are working without pay.” The Trump administration wants this playing at every airport in the country. SeaTac airport said “mm, no thanks,” but they will “continue to urge bipartisan efforts to end the government shutdown and are working to find ways to support federal employees working without pay at SEA during the shutdown.”
Speaking of Shutdown: We’re on day 14 and the government is, in fact, still shut down.
Voting Rights Throwdown: SCOTUS will hear arguments this week in a case from the Trump administration and the State of Louisiana that literally takes aim at the Voting Rights Act. On Wednesday, they will make a case to get rid of the state’s second majority Black congressional district, and make it impossible to consider race in redistricting in the future. You know you’re on the right side of history when your agenda is easiest to push through when the fewest, least diverse swath of people vote. Right?
Feds Are Escalating in Chicago: The Trump administration hasn’t managed to send the National Guard to Chicago yet, but they’re doing a lot of harm without them. They’ve sent a deluge of federal law enforcement into the city, and they’re doing exactly what we’ve come to expect. “One unauthorized immigrant was fatally shot. American citizens have been detained along with undocumented immigrants. Border Patrol agents have walked in groups through downtown Chicago. Residents have given chase to federal agents’ vehicles. And chemical agents have been used on protesters, journalists and clergy members,” the New York Times wrote.
Ceasefire Update: On Monday, in the first stages of a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, Hamas released 20 Israeli hostages and Israel released almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. According to the agreement, Hamas still has to release the 26 bodies of hostages that died in captivity, and Israel still has to open Gaza up to allow desperately-needed aid into the region.
Rest in Peace, Annie: Just as we all recovered from the social-media-induced panic of Dolly Parton’s mystery health concerns, Diane Keaton passed away this weekend at age 79.
Weather: Clear and in the high 50s. We have a few dry days ahead of us, so get outside and soak in the daylight while we’ve got it.
Holy Shit the M’s Had a Weekend: On Friday night, the Mariners played for five hours and 15 innings to finally beat the Detroit Tigers and claim the AL West Championship title. The game was neverending. There were two salmon runs. And when they won it, fans created a tiny but detectable earthquake. Then on Sunday, after playing that marathon of a game, getting on a delayed flight, and arriving at their hotel at midnight before their first game against Toronto, they still managed to take home the win. It’s a good weekend to be a Mariners fan (or to become one, like half the city did).
Master Debaters: Seattle’s biggest trolls got back from Trump’s “Antifa Roundtable” just in time for Seattle’s conservative political event of the season this weekend: the We Heart Seattle-backed “Great Debate” at the Washington Athletic Club. The event was supposed to host the candidates from all of the city-wide positions that are up for election this year, and the county executive race. But like most conservative events in Seattle, the “great debate” was a media setup. If the more progressive candidates did show up, conservative “journalists” like Jonathan Choe and Brandi Kruse would use the event as a rage-bait clip farm. If they didn’t, they’d use it as a way to “prove” that the progressive left is afraid of a fight. Most of them chose the latter, so Council President Sara Nelson, Council candidate Rachael Savage, and Mayor Bruce Harrell all got on stage alone and debated themselves.
Harrell Finally Found a Vision for Seattle’s Future and We Wish He Hadn’t: Mayoral Candidate Katie Wilson cancelled her appearance at the debate last minute, so the organizers gave Mayor Harrell a full hour onstage to hype the crowd in his own personal WAC rally. Publicola’s Erica Barnett live-tweeted the whole event, and she caught a rare moment of vision from Harrell. Unfortunately, it’s not a vision anyone wants to see: a downtown that’s rejuvenated by a 10-foot wall where people can talk to AI versions of historical figures, like Martin Luther King Jr.
“And you could say, Well, Dr. Martin Luther King, I’ve always wanted to meet you. What was your day like today? What did you have for breakfast? And he comes back and he talks to you. How cool would that be if we have a series of historical figures that we all could agree on, that we respect?”
— Erica C. Barnett (@ericacbarnett.bsky.social) October 11, 2025 at 4:39 PM
Outside of that nightmarescape, Harrell mostly stuck to his usual talking points, just to a friendlier crowd. According to Publicola, he insisted he isn’t passing the buck on housing and homelessness, but then said that it’s the county’s fault. He pushed the lie that Wilson was a chief architect of the Defund SPD movement. And even in a friendly, more conservative crowd, he still managed to dodge answering many of the questions.
13 Units: This morning, the Seattle Times’ Greg Kim fact-checked Harrell’s repeated claim that he’s added 3,000 units of housing during his term—a claim he’s repeated in debates and campaign ads all year. Turns out, 65 percent of the units of supporting housing that he takes credit for were already in the works when he took office, and counts tiny home relocations as new units. Ultimately, the city only has 13 more units of housing than we did when he took office. Thirteen.
Capitol Hill Shooting: Over the weekend, SPD announced that there was a third victim in Thursday night’s shooting on Pike and Broadway. The shooting was just a couple blocks away from where Robert Fleeks was shot and killed in his SUV last month, but the police haven’t officially linked the two incidents. In response, Capitol Hill Seattle Blog reported that City Councilmember Joy Hollingsworth, who represents Capitol Hill, released a five-point safety plan for the area, which is basically all initiatives that are already happening.
The news was a lot today, so let’s wrap up with the best protest of the weekend: Portland’s naked bike ride.
Looks like Nepali citizen Bipin Joshi, one of the hostages Hamas held in al-Shifa Hospital, didn’t make it out alive. As a polytheist mushrik, he was up against long odds in the hands of Islamic fundamentalists. That sure will teach Nepal not to be such settler-colonialists. 😏
Bruce Harrell on AI MLK: “And you could say, Well, Dr. Martin Luther King, I’ve always wanted to meet you. What was your day like today? What did you have for breakfast? And he comes back and he talks to you. How cool would that be if we have a series of historical figures that we all could agree on, that we respect?”
Is this an idiotic statement from Bruce Harrell? Of course it is. But you know what, we had four years of having to endure idiotic statements from Joe Biden, and oh, I do miss those times.
OK, I guess this is not a fair comparison. I still have to catch up on where Katie Wilson stands on light rail, but based on what I know, I’d still take Bruce Harrell’s stupidities any day over Katie Wilson’s stupidities. And even then, as lame as our current choice may be, I’m just thankful I don’t have to choose between Andrew Cuomo and Zohran Mamdani.
P.S. Clearly, our jumpy AIPAC influencer was just chomping at the bit this morning. 🤣 🤣 🤣
What shutdown? Isn’t the point to create some urgency so parties will go back to the negotiating table? I’m not sure that supporting ongoing operations is having the intended effect.
“Donald Trump was chosen by God. You can tell because he’s invincible. He can wriggle out of scandals that would sink Tricky Dick Nixon ten times over. He can run on a platform of punishing illegal immigrants, and the illegal immigrants themselves will rally to his banner. He can support Israel harder than anyone has ever supported it before, and Arab-Americans will break fifty years of Voting Blue No Matter Who to march behind him. He can get 100% evangelical backing while oozing contempt for Christianity, 100% libertarian support while trampling the Constitution, and 100% allegiance from Wall Street while dismantling global trade. KKK wizards and celebrity rappers compete to compliment him loudest; Nazis and the ADL jostle past each other to sing his praises. Shooting him in the head only makes him stronger.”
-Scott Alexander
“And even in a friendly, more conservative crowd, he still managed to dodge answering many of the questions.”
My goodness gracious Hannah, Katie Wilson dodged ALL the questions by cancelling at the last minute!
“… [Bruce Harrell] isn’t passing the buck
on housing and homelessness, but
then said that it’s the
county’s fault.
He pushed
the lie that Wilson was
a chief architect of the Defund SPD movement.”
what?
in the Age of
the Eltrumpfster
you Expect Honesty?
omg how
Quaint.
our
Status
Quo is Safe
af with Bruce.
so vote
Accordingly
“You know you’re on the right side of history when your agenda is easiest to push through when the fewest, least diverse swath of people vote. Right?”
Are you claiming that Black people are not “diverse”?
@4: Impeached twice, voted out of office once, convicted of felonies thirty-four times, shot with an AR-15 … it is kind of darkly amazing how resilient this guy has been. 😆
It’s unfortunate that Wilson, Rinck, Foster, and Evans don’t have confidence in their positions and policies and their ability to defend and define them in front of any audience.
Doesn’t bode well for their ability to create coalitions.
Even if all four of them win Wilson will still be facing a Council with 5 members who don’t share her political philosophies.
Haha I shamed you into mentioning Thursday night’s shootings/murder on Capitol Hill. Finally. Way to go Slog (eyeroll emoji)
@9, Moderate candidates running for city office also pass on attending The Stranger candidate events — it’s very common to not show up if you’re the token piñata.
I have long complained about the tired protest tactics of “the left”, but I think Portland may have finally showed us a new way – as long as the “Anarchists” stay away.
And why did Ms. Wilson back out of the debate?
Wilson really leaning hard into her role as “the dog ate my homework” candidate.
To Wilson & Co: FTW! Good call! They already stand a good chance of getting rid of the latest right-wing puppet in mayoral office – no need to debate known liars and regime cucks on their own ground. Conservatives who appropriate MLK’s legacy (a common theme in today’s sycophant politics, I’ve noticed) should just be ignored and dismissed.
@2: It sounds like you and Tensorna would be in complete agreement.
Oh man. I was totally gonna vote for Wilson but she didn’t show up to a shitty debate nobody cares about so now I’m going to totally switch everything I care about and believe in and vote for Harrell instead…
…said no one ever.
The Mariners won the American League West “championship” before the regular season ended.
[They then defeated Detroit in (one of) the American League Division Series, which sent them into the American League Championship series against Toronto]
This has been your near-daily reminder to please hire a copy editor.
re: 12: Cuuuuck cuck cuck 🐓cuuuuck cuck cuck cuck 🐓Cuuuuck cuck cuck cuuuuck cuck cuck cuck 🐓Cuuuuck cuck cuck cuuuuck cuck cuck cuck 🐓Cuuuuck cuck cuck cuuuuck cuck cuck cuck 🐓Cuuuuck cuck cuck cuuuuck cuck cuck cuck Cuuuuck cuck cuck cuuuuck cuck cuck cuck🐓
@14: “regime cucks”
lol you talk like a gamergater, horseshoe theory claims another one 😂🤣😂🤣
Happy Canadian Thanksgiving! Fuck Toronto!!!
@14: The right wing spectrum must be wider than from here to the moon in your eyes, like from Harrell on one end to Stephen Miller on the other.
@17 – That was rude.
I figured Slog AM would have been all over the several (black) homecoming-related and the several other (black) mass shootings that happened this weekend, since yall are all about gun control and mass shootings (well, if a white person does it).
Weird, I guess they didn’t fit your “progressive narrative”. I’m sooooooooooo surprised you didn’t mention them (insert eyeroll emoji here lol). How very “progressive” of you.
Looking at the list of hostages released by Hamas, all of them were men. I can only take that to mean every remaining female hostage was killed. I’m sure that was just a coincidence.
If the Progressives candidates can’t stomach advocating their vision for this city in front of a crowd who is skeptical of their ideas they aren’t fit to lead.
@23, my recollection is that women, children, and old people were released in earlier rounds of releases. The “able-bodied” men were always going to be the last released.
Offering this data point not as a defender of Hamas but rather as a defender of objective reality when it doesn’t lend itself to our preconceptions and political talking points.
Apparently, the cessation of hostilities in Gaza is limited to that between Hamas and the IDF. Operation Iron Swords is giving way to Clan Wars. Hamas claims it cannot fully disarm because it needs to defend itself from the clans. Dozens of people have already been killed. Some clans are attempting to end Hamas rule with their own militias. Hamas is labeling anyone who opposes their rule as “collaborators.”
What are the odds TS will accept the Hamas narrative? Or accept temporary clan rule that explicitly rejects armed “resistance” to Israel? Perhaps the eternal labyrinth of mideast politics will bring TS to sobriety and humility, but having invested two years in the primitive and jejune such habits may be too strong to break.
@9/13/23 so in your opinions any and all weirdos who schedule a “debate” are entitled to the time and attention of busy candidates for office? Wilson et al are somehow lacking in your mind because they declined to indulge a Twitter gotcha “journalist” like Jonathan Choe? Bizarre take.
@25: Sadly, no. The anti-Hamas militias in Gaza aren’t anywhere near strong enough to displace Hamas without Israeli help. Hamas fielded tens of thousands of fighters, these militias field a few hundred at most. Even after Hamas’s losses during the war, they likely outnumber the militias at least twenty to one.
Israeli probably could have built a credible proxy force, but they’d have had to invest in it much more, much earlier. Cobbling a proxy force together now is too little, too late. The Israelis would also need to support their proxy force with ISR and air strikes, the latter of which appears not to be happening at all for the Doghmush militia—to the extent the Doghmush even could be called “proxies” at all. 😉
No, for a non-Israeli anti-Hamas force on the ground, it’s going to have to be the international stabilization force or nothing, I’m afraid! 😃 The big downside being that the international stabilization force does not, in fact, exist! 😃
It’s hilarious how you goofy naive White Guilt libprogs totally ignore what is happening in your own city, because of your (probably willful) naive White Guilt, but you argue all day about shit happening 6,900 miles away.
“…Israel still has to open Gaza up to allow desperately-needed aid into the region.”
This statement is completely false. As I quoted into the Slog AM comments over the weekend, aid was flowing into Gaza all day Sunday:
‘“The United Nations said it is scaling up humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza, bringing cooking gas to the enclave for the first time since March when it was banned by Israeli authorities. The U.N. said it also brought in tents for displaced families, frozen meat, fresh fruit, flour and medicine throughout the day Sunday.”
‘The article goes on to say the UN will deliver 190,000 metric tonnes of aid in coming days.’
(https://www.thestranger.com/slog-am/2025/10/10/80276779/slog-am-trump-loses-nobel-peace-prize-israel-and-hamas-agree-to-release-hostages-and-school-board-rejects-cops-at-garfield/comments/85)
I understand the Stranger is deeply unhappy about the war ending — and, worse yet, to the disadvantage of Hamas. Those provide no excuse for publishing blatantly false statements about Israel.
Well my gosh, my dears, I do believe that this is my ten thousandth post!!! (in the modern era of registered commenters. I date back to that earlier time, and have no idea how many comments I made back then. I was much younger and had more stamina.)
Although we have our little spats from time to time, I truly do enjoy Our Little Slog family.
And now that the Israeli hostages have finally been released, I hope that some of us can find something else to talk about.
See you at No Kings! And remember – Republicans are horrible people.
30: You think you’re so cute and adorable with that ‘Republicans are horrible people’ catchphrase, but you’re not.
@30,
You’re cute and adorable as fuck, here’s looking forward to another 10,000!
@30: Congratulations on your most honorable achievement! You are quite correct about Republicans, as Coolidge Dollar proudly affirms! 😁
@30: “now that the Israeli hostages have finally been released, I hope that some of us can find something else to talk about.”
Unlikely, I’m afraid. So long as the Israeli flag bears the Star of David, our progressive friends cannot bear Israel. 🤣
@33: You should know by now that politics is a game of addition, as the saying goes. “[People of party] are [adjective] people” is anti-intellectual, thumpo.
@34, It will never not be funny the way catalina’s tag line gets under your skin. Even after all these years and your many, many profiles, you just can’t get over it.
Catalina @30: “And now that the Israeli hostages have finally been released, I hope that some of us can find something else to talk about.”
Congrats on the 10K milestone, but when it comes to the comments section of this Seattle blog, I for one simply can’t get enough one-sided bad-faith arguments about an intractable conflict on the other side of the world.
Coolidge dear, instead of dismissing my comment, why don’t you counter it with examples of Republicans who are not horrible people? They’re out there, but it’s not my place to help you with that. Pull yourself up with your own bootstraps and all that.
@34: “politics is a game of addition”
lol sure when I’m dumping on progressives you just smile and nod along, but when it’s republicans suddenly you think I should be playing a “game of addition.” 🤣 Sorry but republicans are just as awful as progressives are! 😘
@36: The sheer fact that your premise is to say that people are horrible based on their political ideology is intellectually bankrupt, super weird, and points to an underlying personality disorder that afflicts you. What about people who vote for both Democrats and Republicans, are the only half horrible?
38 It’s not weird at all if you look at the present state of the republican party when it’s been clear for decades that this is where they were headed
Coolidge dear, your attempt at deflection is noted (with a warm chuckle, as befits a person of my age), but my question remains: “why don’t you counter (my assertion that Republicans are horrible people) with examples of Republicans who are not horrible people? They’re out there, but it’s not my place to help you with that.”
I prayerfully wait for your answer.
@40: I suppose I could provide a list of folks of conservative politicians and celebrities only for you deem them horrible anyway. Is that what you want? Of course, one can be moderate by voting in both parties.
It’s not my place to help you with examples of Democrats much less Republicans who are not horrible people.
I’d rather look to the good in people rather than assuming the worst by their politics. I guess I’m just not jaded as you. I do wish you peace on this. Maybe perhaps if you think of all the sexy boys you’ve had sex with who are now Republicans, it will put things in perspective.
balls
“Maybe perhaps if you think of all the sexy boys you’ve had sex with who are now Republicans, it will put things in perspective.”
Coolidge, dear, I’m flattered that you view me as an object of desire and have had some “dirty” thoughts about my sex life.
I’ll admit that I had more than a few “dates” back in the day, but I can’t think of one of them – bar or bathhouse, guys I met at the Men’s department at Frederick & Nelson, or in the restroom at The Bon, or at that disco they used to have at The Westin – who were, or became, Republicans. I did have some standards, after all. (Married closet queens don’t count. That was basically charity work.)
@7 I think you missed the sarcasm
@35: “It will never not be funny the way catalina’s tag line gets under your skin.”
The truth hurts! Watch:
@41: “It’s not my place to help you with examples of Democrats much less Republicans who are not horrible people.”
How about you make it your place to kindly tell the party of home wreckers, boy-chasers, and bathroom queens to FUCK OFF telling the rest of us (sex-positive adults, openly of all genders and expressions) what we can do with our bodies? Because then, maybe the rest of us wouldn’t call that gang of hypocritical lying perverts “horrible people”? But they are horrible people, because they punish everyone else for their own crimes.
@43: John Spellman was governor back in those days so I bet that some of those Frederick and Nelson penises were Republican and you just couldn’t taste the difference.
@45: Calm down. This is a figurative discussion, not serious one.
@47: You’re sitting here, inconsolably whining that Mrs. Vel Du-Ray is being mean to your poor little self. She’s not. She’s accurately describing how a major American political party behaves. Actual innocent human beings really get hurt by Republican policies, so you can buck it up and withstand a little justified humor at Republican expense.