Weather: A dense fog warning from the National Weather Service is in effect until the sun breaks through around 10 am. Look both ways when you cross the street, and use low beams if you’re driving. Today, expect a high around 45 degrees, and a low of 35 degrees tonight. Thursday’s cloudy and Friday brings a 30 percent chance of rain, increasing to 80 percent in the evening ahead of a wet weekend.
🌫️ Dense fog and areas of freezing fog have developed around the Puget Sound once again this morning. Be sure to slow down, use your low beams, and give yourself plenty of time on the road. #WAwx pic.twitter.com/ftcJvlVeFM
— NWS Seattle (@NWSSeattle) December 4, 2024
Tammy Morales resigns from Seattle City Council: Morales, who defeated Tanya Woo won re-election to her seat last year, is resigning effective January 6th. Morales announced her resignation two days after Alexis Mercedes Rinck was sworn in. Morales said the “hostile” culture of this council caused her “mental and physical well-being to deteriorate.” This dashes hopes for starting the year with two progressives on the Council.
BREAKING: Council Member Tammy Morales has resigned. pic.twitter.com/ZpKaUulAIP
— Hannah Krieg (@hannahkrieg) December 4, 2024
Edmonds police officer arrested in Lynnwood: Officer Melinda Leen, 35, driving off duty and wanting to make her Subaru look even tougher, flashed a pistol at another driver in a fit of road rage this Monday. The driver called Lynnwood police, who promptly detained and arrested Leen. Edmonds Police Chief Michelle Bennett said Leen, who has not been charged with a crime but could face second-degree assault charges, is on administrative leave pending an internal investigation.
Now to Ashley for some election news!
The said news: Seattle attorney Rory O’Sullivan announced his candidacy for the position of City Attorney today. O’Sullivan has a background in legal aid, fighting landlords, and pushing for public fundings for elections. He dislikes just about everything current Seattle City Attorney has done in her time in office and can’t wait to see someone—even if it isn’t him—replace her.
Back to me.
ICYMI: On Black Friday, Activists with Apples Against Apartheid protested Apple’s relationship with human rights abuses in Gaza and the Democratic Republic of the Congo at the company’s store in University Village. Alex Garland has more here.
Voodoo Doughnuts opens in Capitol Hill next week: It’s bright pink, on Pine, open 24 hours a day, and full of doughnuts in an already doughnut-y neighborhood. The Portland-based company is planning a grand opening next Tuesday and said the first 50 people in line will get an “exclusive gift.” (Do you think it’s a doughnut?)
Alleged worms be damned, the show must go on: I never expected to hear from FOB Sushi again after TikToker Keith Lee claimed it served him worm-infested sashimi, but it’s reopened with a clean bill of public health. After Keith’s video, FOB denied the allegations in an Instagram post testifying to its safety standards. According to FOB, the “worm” Lee’s followers saw was actually the elastic tissues in the fish snapping when Lee touched it with his chopsticks. Still, FOB voluntarily shut down for two weeks. When Public Health – Seattle and King County visited nine days in, it granted the restaurant the highest possible “excellent” rating for the second time since January. The real worm in the ointment here is, well, when I think “FOB Sushi,” I think “wormwormwormwormwormworm.” I doubt I’m the only one. It’s hard to come back from that.
That was fast: Martial law lasted only six hours in South Korea yesterday. Now the country’s unpopular President Yoon Suk Yeol faces the music. Members of the opposition party have moved to impeach him over his undemocratic attempt to stifle dissent and quash political scandals involving his wife and cabinet. Unions have threatened to strike if he does not step down. Thousands have held vigils in Seoul asking for his resignation.
CEO of UnitedHealthcare insurance killed: The New York Post reports a masked man shot Brian Thompson, 50, in the chest outside the Hilton Hotel in Midtown Manhattan and fled on a bike at about 6:46 am Eastern. Sources told the paper the shooter wasn’t a guest and it is “unclear if he had other business there.”
Israel kills more Gazans: The Gazan Health Ministry says the Israeli military killed 30 Palestinians and wounded another 84 in the last 24 hour reporting period. Al Jazeera reports the humanitarian situation is worsening ahead of the second winter of the war. The UN estimates billions in damage since October 7, 2023, and says Gaza will need the largest post-war reconstruction plan since WWII.
A big day for trans rights: After months of intense legal preparation, the ACLU’s Chase Strangio became the first openly transgender attorney to argue a case before the US Supreme Court: United States v. Skrmetti, a legal challenge to Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for kids. It’s tremendously important and asks if banning such care is a violation of the Equal Protection clause. (I wrote about this and more the week of the election). CNN reported the crowd outside the Court this morning is by far the largest crowd since its term began in October.
This is the transgender lawyer from the ACLU who will argue before the Supreme Court that underage children should be allowed to undergo life-altering surgeries (castration, chest binders, horomones etc.).
This “person” argues even two year olds know they should be trans. pic.twitter.com/HH5ne4EXiI
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) December 3, 2024
Thnks fr th Mmrs: Americans had three beautiful days with the idea of Chad Chronister, President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to head the Drug Enforcement Agency, before the Florida sheriff got cold feet and told us he’s not ready for that level of commitment. I don’t expect any Chad to follow through, but it’s really for the best. Like most of Trump’s picks for senior government positions, Chronister was an oddball, outsider choice with the wrong experience and few friends in Washington, which would have made him dependent on the president’s favor. Trump’s people didn’t even like him because he enforced COVID-19 regulations during the pandemic.
More nom news: Trump is reconsidering his nominee for Defense Secretary, Fox News host and military veteran Pete Hegseth, and may replace him with Republican arch-villain Florida’s Gov. Ron DeSantis. At least six Republican senators worry about Hegseth’s alleged drinking problem and mistreatment of women. NBC reports Sens. Joni Ernst of Iowa and Bill Hagerty of Tennessee are also in the running.
No homo? Victor Willis, straight Village Person and co-writer of “Y.M.C.A.,” says both Trump and gays have the right to enjoy his song, but he’ll sue the jockstrap off any news agency that refers to it as a “gay anthem.” In a Facebook post defending Trump’s continued use of the song (and the millions of dollars its made with the renewed interest), Willis denied his song was gay. Legally, he’s the sole lyricist, and explained people just assume it’s gay because his writing partner, Jacques Morali, was gay and members of the Village People were gay and gay people have read it as being about gay life for decades (“get your minds out of the gutter,” Willis wrote). Enjoy this straight video. Nothing gay about it, not even the leather daddy. These guys are just hanging out with the boys straight-style. This is straight. (Here’s an article from the Library of Congress on how “Y.M.C.A.” became a g** a*****)
I’m in favor of the court upholding Tennessee’s ban.
Re: Morales resignation. The council has the opportunity to do one of the funniest things ever. Paging Tanya Woo!
@1, To be clear, this is exactly what I was talking about when I said we are facing a christian nationalist movement that us using the power of government to strip Americans of their rights. You are a part of the problem you claim to be against. The government has no business interfering with anyone’s right to consent to safe and effective medical care.
@1 No shock there. You definitely seem like the type that wants more government interference in individual health care decisions. Because freedom!
@2 that would be great because it would 100% ensure a progressive wins the resulting special election. Tanya Woo for all-time conservative Council jobber!
@1 You can go straight to hell. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200.
@6 I’m all in favor of adults doing whatever they want with their bodies (abortion, gender reassignment, etc.). Children, well, not so sure, especially if the parents object. If I was a parent at the very least I’d want the kid to give me an iron clad guarantee that they wouldn’t sue me in 10 years if they change their minds!
Good by Tammy, you’ll be missed (not so much actually).
People under age 18 cannot consent to any medical care without parental assent. The medical system is already designed to prevent the problems these busybodies want the federal government to solve. Bodily autonomy is our most fundamental right and this will not stop with trans kids.
@2, @5: Morales had the advantages of incumbency and name recognition, and she barely beat a then-unknown Woo.
Watching the Mean Girls at the Stranger explode with utterly impotent rage, followed by their joint production of Hate Tanya II: Hatred Boogaloo (gotta love the Stranger’s actual commitment to DEI), would be more than worth any future election risk.
speaking of heading our War Dept
“At least six Republican senators worry about [Fox News host and military veteran Pete] Hegseth’s alleged drinking problem and mistreatment of women.”
of Course they ‘worry’ about that!
they’re Worried he’ll dovetail Perfectly
with Kavanaughtius Mazimus on ‘our’ form-
erly-Supreme ct and not get HIS Chance to help
Make America Even More Fascist Again. and who can Blame them?
on the Other hand
Fla man/goobernor Run
de Santos, a former Gitmo
employee/Enthusiast’d make
a Great Addition to our War Dept!
Torture’s right up
eltrumpster’s alleyway
and when our Military’s
sweeping our Streets of
Commies, Leftists, Unionists
LGBTQs, Intellectuals, loud/un-
accompanied Women, all Non-cor-
porate types sans a Note from their
Senator, we’re gonna Need all hands
on Deck and de Santos’s hands’re as
Bloody as Anyone’s. he’ll be a Perfect
asspoinment.
@9 and yet many countries in Europe have restricted the use of these procedures on minors
https://segm.org/Denmark-sharply-restricts-youth-gender-transitions
https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/13/uk/england-nhs-puberty-blockers-trans-children-intl-gbr/index.html
This isn’t a christian nationalist movement, this is looking at the science and understanding the risks far outweigh any potential mental benefits. Even one of the foremost experts on trans care (and herself a trans woman) has expressed doubts: https://www.yahoo.com/news/transgender-psychologist-reckons-support-generation-100020070
@4 Any pretense of caring about government dictating medical care was lost during Covid especially now that data has come out that shows they knew all along the vaccines didn’t prevent spread.
vivian’s sad trombone continues unabated.
“Victor Willis, straight Village Person and co-writer of ‘Y.M.C.A.,’ says both Trump and gays have the right to enjoy his song, but he’ll sue the jockstrap off any news agency that refers to it as a ‘gay anthem.”
it’s Gay
as Fuck but
don’t let That
Stop ya donold!
here’s Another song
y’all can Dance all
fucking Night to
tho Slightly less
gay as ‘YMCA’:
Willie Nelson’s
Cowboys’re Frequently
Secretly Fond of Each Other
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=willie%27s+gay+song&atb=v314-1&t=chromentp&iax=videos&ia=videos&iai=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DBirJMnMcfBs
@10 ya and then, once people knew her, Woo got absolutely destroyed in her next attempt. Turns out once you get to know her there’s not much to like, as an elected official anyway.
@12 good thing we have politicians to look at the medical science, decide the doctors got it wrong, and overrule their best judgement. Me personally, when I have a medical concern, I always make sure my first call is to a politician–ideally a Republican.
@12, These same countries all have nationalist factions gaining traction in their governments. They’re not immune to extremism and moral panic simply because the American stereotype of Europe is a progressive hellscape where they love queers, minorities, and immigrants — quite the opposite actually, especially in Northern Europe.
The entire western world is currently under threat of far-right creep and they are just as susceptible to disinformation and propaganda as we are. Politicians and courts have no business overruling the medical advice of doctors and scientists and everyone’s autonomy is at risk when we allow them to do so.
And speaking of disinformation and propaganda: the covid vaccine.
It works exactly as we understand and expect vaccines to. It is >90% effective at preventing infection within the first ~6 months. Sterilizing immunity — preventing transmission from vaccinated people — is a bonus feature that is not guaranteed and cannot be tested for in a clinical trial setting. The covid vaccine does not induce sterilizing immunity and no one said it did or would.
The government’s information at the time was accurate and has since proven to have saved hundreds of thousands of lives. This is borne out in the hospitalization and fatality rates between vaccinated and unvaccinated. Requiring people to demonstrate proof of vaccination in the first year of the pandemic was critical to our return to normal.
@12 Nobody was tied down and forced to get a vaccination. Yes, some people were fired for not getting the vaccination, but they were primarily in public-facing jobs where, you know, public safety is kinda important. But you knew all that. It’s just Talking Point #12 again.
@15 would still be worth it just to watch TS and the other activists around here lose their mind for the next 11 months lol
@15/16 the medical science is undecided and there is mounting evidence that the benefits from affirming care for minors do not outweigh the potential risks from waiting until the person is old enough to make their own decision (no matter what you say a child can not give informed consent for something like this). It’s this sort of all or nothing zealotry when it comes to these issues that undermines the entire issue of rights and leads to the backlash you think you are fighting.
19, It isn’t undecided at all. We have been transitioning adults and teenagers for decades without controversy. It only became an issue in this country after the marriage equality ruling neutered the gay panic as a wedge issue for right wing extremists and they started targeting trans people with bathroom bills and restricting their access to medical care.
The regret rate for gender affirming medical care is lower than any other form of elective surgery. If anything the greatest regret that trans people report is not transitioning sooner. Children can and do consent to medical care all the time with the guidance and agreement of their parents. It’s baked into our medical system.
Your prejudices about trans people and their understanding of their own bodies is none of your business but it’s always the “small government” types who think they know what’s best for everyone else even when they demonstrate they have no idea what they’re talking about.
https://apnews.com/article/transgender-treatment-regret-detransition-371e927ec6e7a24cd9c77b5371c6ba2b
@15: Woo was appointed to a seat for which she’d never run, and faced an election less than a year later. You might want to throttle back a bit on your claim the entire city got to know her really well in that short time.
Appointing her to the Council seat for District 2 would allow her to bring her long experience there to bear on what has been a neglected district. Hopefully, the Council will now do just that.
@20 we are not talking about gender affirming care for everyone (which is what your linked article discusses). We are talking about minors who can not fully understand what they are consenting to undergoing irreversible procedures that permanently alter their bodies. If you don’t think we should be carefully think that through I’m not sure what to say. I have no prejudice against the trans community and wish them well in their journey to finding understanding and peace but you lose a lot of support when you insist the issues of gender affirming care for kids is 100% the right thing.
https://acpeds.org/position-statements/gender-dysphoria-in-children
23, Citing an anti-LGBTQ hate group as a source is certainly a choice. If you want the opinions of actual pediatricians you should try the AAP.
https://publications.aap.org/aapnews/news/25340/AAP-reaffirms-gender-affirming-care-policy
We are not talking about children of any age, we are talking about teenagers from 16 and up, most of whom have already reached sexual maturity. There is nothing magical that happens to a person’s ability to consent when they turn 18. They are at youngest less than 2 years from being able to consent without their parents’ approval, but you keep speaking of them as though they are incapable of understanding their own bodies and require big government to save them from themselves.
The medical care they are eligible to receive before age 18 are puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones. The former buy them time so they can be sure they are making the right decision — something you ostensibly support — and the latter are used only in cases where they have passed through multiple medical screens to ensure it’s the right decision. Both of these treatments are reversible. Gender-affirming surgeries are reserved for people of full sexual maturity because the tissue needs to be fully developed.
Simply put, your concerns are unfounded and not supported by the science nor the leading professional association for pediatric care, but I suspect learning this will not change your opinion at all.
@20 “it’s always the “small government” types who think they know what’s best for everyone else even when they demonstrate they have no idea what they’re talking about.”
And, in this case at least, the “focus on the family” types who don’t trust parents to look out for their own kids’ best interest.
@23/24 I gave you the findings of two countries who came to the conclusion this is not settled and you dismissed those as right wing. I cited one of the leading experts in trans care and you didn’t even acknowledge that and now you are saying a group of pediatricians who have expressed concerns are anti LGBTQ. Then you have the audacity to imply nothing can change my views after you summarily dismissed any views counter to the one you hold based on idealogical pretenses. Its pointless to argue with you both but I would reiterate my point that your dogmatic views on this subject are exactly the reason why you are seeing such a pushback.
@24
alas
the irony
if Only they
might See it
they’d
Smile at
the Absurdity
and
Shudder
at The Cost
great comments!
barth too
@25 “now you are saying a group of pediatricians who have expressed concerns are anti LGBTQ”
American College of Pediatricians is a conservative advocacy group not a professional medical organization. They ARE anti-LGBTQ that’s their whole purpose. You either got fooled by the name or really think the fact some MDs are bigots means anything. And your other link was broken but same response.
25, This is the source you cited:
“The American College of Pediatricians (ACPeds) is a socially conservative advocacy group of pediatricians and other healthcare professionals in the United States, founded in 2002. The group advocates in favor of abstinence-only sex education and conversion therapy, and advocates against vaccine mandates, abortion rights and rights for LGBT people. As of 2022, its membership has been reported at about 700 physicians.”
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_College_of_Pediatricians
I stand corrected, it’s not an anti-LGBTQ hate group, it’s an extremist organization that promotes all manner of fringe beliefs not supported by science or the medical establishment that also includes anti-LGBTQ beliefs.
I trust the AAP and the AMA over not only this fringe group but any foreign government or random medical expert you can site. The US remains the leading voice globally on all matters pertaining to the biomedical and pharmaceutical sciences. Your sources are at best inferior and at worst politically motivated conspiracy cranks and you are clearly completely unqualified to understand what you’re reading or vet the sources you’re citing. Sorry, just calling it as I see it.
For the record, here is the AAP’s guidance on youth gender affirming care. You can see for yourself this is not “undecided”. This is a 14 page document with nearly 100 scientific citations that covers all of the risks and considerations for doctors providing care to trans youth.
https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/142/4/e20182162/37381/Ensuring-Comprehensive-Care-and-Support-for?autologincheck=redirected
@28, “I trust the AAP and the AMA.”
You will until they change their position to disagree with the outcome you want.
You’re placing an awful lot faith in that “until”
“ The US remains the leading voice globally on all matters pertaining to the biomedical and pharmaceutical sciences.”
That’s a bold statement and I have no idea how you could possibly prove that or back it up. Mea culpa on the pediatrician site, I didn’t look at that very closely. Your continued insistence that this is settled is just not correct though and is actually pretty scary. Its not like US medicine has ever completely messed up something with kids before like say repressed memories.
@30, The foreign sources cited by @31 turned a 180 on the issue.
@31 “Your continued insistence that this is settled is just not correct though and is actually pretty scary.”
You say this but all you can point to are politicians and an advocacy org. Some idiots still think the Earth is flat, would you say that question is also not settled?
@31, Do you think contributions to the medical sciences isn’t quantifiable? The US dominates in terms of the total amount of research and advances in medicine and it’s not even close. The FDA has set the global standard for clinical research and the NIH is the single greatest funder of medical research in the world. This country is a shithole but we have the most innovative, funded, and respected medical research industry in the world.
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-00755-9
Also sorry but again you don’t understand how medical science works. You could always argue that no science is ever truly “settled” but given the preponderance of existing evidence it is extremely unlikely that new science would completely contradict the existing body of data. We have decades worth of data and incoming research continues to support the efficacy of youth transition.
@32, You are overstating the change. They still offer gender affirming care for kids including hormone treatment — even in the UK which is in the grips of an even bigger anti-trans panic than the US — but they are more restrictive about the criteria for transition after decades of being much more lax. Despite what the article suggests Denmark is still progressive on youth transition. SEGM is an anti-trans conversion therapy advocacy group so take their reporting with a grain of salt.
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/10/06/us-europe-transgender-care-00119106
https://lgbt.dk/en/denmark-opens-up-to-legal-gender-change-for-minors/
@17, @34- thank you for injecting some reason and I dare say truth into this discussion. If the whale decapitator really gets into government we’ll need much more of this to counter his bullshit. Can’t wait until Jenny McCarthy gets made Undersecretary for Vaccines.
Unfortunately, too many people seem to think that sitting in your parents basement in your underwear doing your own “research” in between incest porn wank sessions is equally valid as real medical research. Sad.
@12 “government […] knew all along the vaccines didn’t prevent spread.”
This is serious disinformation that could cost lives because the vaccines help reduce the spread of COVID. Extensive data shows the vaccines provide some immunity for the first 6 months, and they are very effective at preventing hospitalization, serious illness and death.
For example:
“People who received the updated COVID-19 vaccine were 54% less likely to get COVID-19 during the four-month period from mid-September to January. ”
https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/73/wr/mm7304a2.htm
@1: Phoebe, what are you going to do when the Orange Turd and its crime syndicate threaten to strip you of your healthcare and constitutional rights, too? Will you still be cheering on Tennessee state legislators then?
@16 & @17 barth and @24 thirteen12: +3 Hear, hear!! Bravo and kudos for nailing it!
@26 kristofarian: +1 Agreed and seconded.
Ron DeSantis leading the War Department. Jesus. Fucking. Wept.
How much longer before all this benighted country’s foreign allies say ‘Fuck it–the U.S. isn’t on our side anymore—they’re too destructive, greedy, and stupid’ and all nuclear weapons are pointed at US?
“ The US remains the leading voice globally on all matters pertaining to the biomedical and pharmaceutical sciences.”
Just wait until that raspy-voiced demential-addled drug addict gets in. They lobotomized the wrong Kennedy, and that worm was a quitter.
@38 Catalina Vel-DuRay: I share your concerns.