Weather: News-wise, I’m not gonna lie to you, it’s gonna suck harder than a Hoover vacuum in a black hole. But while the headlines are a disaster buffet, and no, you can’t skip the sides, thank the maker for small mercies (at least if you live in Seattle): clear skies and a high of 85. Sure, the world spirals into climate collapse and political absurdity, at least the sun’s still pretending everything’s fine.
Not all of Western Washington is catching a break, though. Temps hit the 90s in some areas yesterday, and since we now live in a world where the weather is actively trying to kill us, the National Weather Service has extended its Heat Advisory through Thursday for parts of the Puget Sound region. Meanwhile, the Cascades are under a Red Flag Warning thanks to hot, dry, wildfire-friendly conditions. The NWS is basically pleading with people not to keel over in the heat, especially the young, the elderly, and anyone stuck without A/C. So here’s the plan: hydrate, avoid the sun like it’s your ex with a grudge, and try not to burst into flames before the weekend.
The Tooth Fairy Lives in Seattle: I know this isn’t the most important story, but hell, we’re going to need to start off with something light. Dr. Purva Merchant, a pediatric dentist in the 206, has been the secret Tooth Fairy for the past 20 years, quietly replying to over 6,000 email pleas from kids and parents around the world. What started as a fluke email grew into a mission to “preserve the magic”, sending whimsical, comforting responses (and a dollar or two) to reassure kids that growing up isn’t so scary. Signed off with a warm “Happy growing up,” her notes are a reminder that small acts of kindness can shield innocence in a world that’s increasingly harsh.
Fiscal Gaslighting: Senate Republicans pushed through a $9 billion Trump-backed clawback package that guts funding for foreign aid and public broadcasting, including NPR and PBS. Of course, nothing says “fiscal sanity” like cutting global health programs and public media in the middle of multiple crises. The bill passed by a razor-thin margin, with all Democrats and two Republicans voting no, and now heads back to the House. GOP leaders are calling it a commonsense move against “waste,” but let’s be real—this is about flexing power, punishing programs they politically dislike, and handing Trump another symbolic win.
But There’s Always Money for the Pentagon: Don’t worry, folks, if you thought maybe, just maybe, we’d cut a few bucks from the Pentagon’s bloated murder fund to help people not die in a flood or starve during a heatwave, think again. Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Act” cranks military spending up to a trillion dollars because apparently national security these days equates to 178 megatons of carbon emissions and enough firepower to blow up a planet we’re already cooking alive. Meanwhile, Americans are drowning, burning, or sizzling like bacon in a cast iron pan, and the response from the government is: cut food stamps, slash disaster aid, and cancel climate programs because that money is needed for bombs and billionaire tax breaks.
Central Banking, Now a Bloodsport: In true Trump fashion, a meeting that was supposed to be about crypto turned into a vent session about one of his favorite punching bags: Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Trump waved around a draft letter to fire Powell like it was show-and-tell, griping that interest rates are too high and hinting (without evidence… surprise, surprise) that the Fed’s building renovation might be riddled with fraud. While some insiders say he’s just trolling, MAGA loyalists like Rep. Anna Paulina Luna are already cheering for Powell’s head on a pike. If Trump actually goes through with it, it’d be an unprecedented assault on Fed independence, and a reckless flex that could rattle the entire economy.
Coincidentally, Maurene Comey, daughter of former FBI Director James Comey, has been fired from her role as a federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York. She helped put Epstein’s partner in crime, Ghislaine Maxwell, behind bars and led separate cases against both Epstein and Sean “Diddy” Combs. Apparently, her last name was too much baggage for an administration hellbent on revenge and image control. No explanation given—just another quiet purge from a Justice Department that’s starting to look more like a loyalty cult than a legal institution. All of this comes as Trump World scrambles to bury the Epstein case, and maybe anyone who ever tried to expose it.
Trump Melts Down Over Epstein “Hoax”: In a chronic case of being unable to put the genie back in the bottle, Donald Trump continues his meltdown over the Epstein files after his own supporters refuse to let the story die. Trump, never one to handle being questioned (especially by his own base), went full unhinged boomer on Truth Social, rage-posting like a rejected Reddit mod and calling his supporters “weaklings.” He went on to accuse them of falling for a “radical left” scam. Meanwhile, MAGA loyalists and Republican heavyweights, from Marjorie Taylor Greene to Mike Johnson are demanding transparency, forcing Trump into the awkward position of disowning the very conspiracies he once perpetuated. Elon Musk, never one to miss a messy moment, chimed in to mock Trump’s “hoax” claims, basically telling him: if it’s fake, release the damn files. While I’m not holding my breath, if we’re lucky, this Epstein fiasco could do what no indictment or insurrection ever could: split MAGA from its messiah.
Thanks for Your Service! Now Let’s Deport Your Dad: Narciso Barranco, a father of three U.S. Marines, was just released after spending weeks in federal custody for the crime of… mowing a lawn while undocumented. ICE agents tackled him outside an IHOP, pinned him to the ground, and accused him of assault with a weed whacker. However, no assault charges were filed, of course, just the usual “you don’t belong here” charge from a country built entirely by people who didn’t belong here. His son, a Marine vet, picked him up and said what we’re all thinking: “We give everything to this country, and they still come for our parents.” Welcome to America, where the flag-waving never stops, but the compassion sure as hell does.
Israel has killed 93 Palestinians in just the last 24 hours, striking civilians sheltering in schools, and even a church. An Israeli tank shelled the Holy Family Church, killing two women and injuring a disabled child and the parish priest, because apparently no place is sacred anymore. In Khan Younis, what was billed as “aid” turned into horror when guards with the U.S.- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation allegedly fired tear gas into a starving crowd, triggering a deadly stampede. Survivors aren’t buying the PR, demanding not food drops under fire, but open borders and the basic right to survive.
Pickleball for the Housed, Silence for the Displaced: A 54,000-square-foot indoor pickleball facility, Pickle at the Palms, is now under construction in the Interbay neighborhood, on the former site of Salmon Bay Village, a city-sanctioned RV and tiny home community for unhoused residents. The project, led by Seattle Storm co-owner Ginny Gilder and her family, promises a “premium” experience for pickleball enthusiasts, but has raised uncomfortable questions about what happened to the roughly 50 people displaced when the site shut down in May. While developers talk about community and the rise of America’s trendiest sport, nearby residents like 82-year-old Penny Fuller are asking the more pressing question: “Where do those people now live?”
Puppy Saved by Narcan: In a moment that somehow manages to be both heartbreaking and weirdly hopeful, a Lacey paramedic had to administer Narcan to a puppy likely exposed to fentanyl during a police investigation in a parked car. The little guy was unresponsive, barely breathing, until a small dose of the overdose-reversing drug brought him back. Within minutes, he was awake, tail wagging, and licking everyone like he just saved them. He’s now in the care of animal services.
To Leave You On: Yeah, this story’s a few days old, but it needs to be dragged back into the spotlight because it’s the kind of thing that slips into silence if we let it. Youman Wilder, founder of the Harlem Baseball Hitting Academy, had ICE agents roll up unannounced to a kids’ baseball practice on the Upper West Side and start interrogating his players, mostly Black and Latino teens, about where they and their parents were from. Wilder stepped in like any decent human should, told the armed goons the kids would be exercising their Fifth Amendment rights, and called the whole thing what it was: state-sanctioned intimidation. But here’s the part that guts you, speaking on MSNBC, he said what hurt most wasn’t the agents, but the people around them who said nothing. “I saw cowards,” he said. “And I hate to say that as somebody who loves their city.”
Ultimately, this isn’t just about ICE or one coach. It’s about what happens when cruelty shows up in public, and the crowd looks down at their phones. If we want to resist the machinery of fear and control that defines our current regime, then courage can’t be rare. It has to be reflexive, and not a one-person act.
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@50 Your ACAB attitude basically proves his point.
You spent the summer of 2020 rioting in support of criminals, and even today you spend your energy defending indefensible violent felons.
@49 here’s a summary of the relevant law taken directly from the dissent in Phan et. al.’s case, which was authored by Justice Sotomayor and joined by Justices Kagan and Jackson, the three of whom you and Aguecheek must consider pro-crime progressives:
“Federal law generally permits the Government to deport noncitizens found to be unlawfully in the United States only to countries with which they have a meaningful connection. 8 U. S. C. §1231(b). To that end, Congress specified two default options: noncitizens arrested while entering the country must be returned to the country from which they arrived, and nearly everyone else may designate a country of choice. §§1231(b)(1)(A), (b)(2)(A). If these options prove infeasible, Congress specified which possibilities the Executive should attempt next. These alternatives include the noncitizen’s country of citizenship or her former country of residence. §§1231(b)(1)(C), (2)(E).
This case concerns the Government’s ability to conduct what is known as a “third country removal,” meaning a removal to any “country with a government that will accept the alien.” §1231(b)(1)(C)(iv); see §1231(b)(2)(E)(vii). Third-country removals are burdensome for the affected noncitizen, so Congress has sharply limited their use. They are permissible only after the Government tries each and every alternative noted in the statute, and determines they are all “impracticable, inadvisable, or impossible.” §§1231(b)(1)(C)(iv), (2)(E)(vii).”
Noncitizens facing removal of any sort are entitled under international and domestic law to raise a claim under the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Dec. 10, 1984, S. Treaty Doc. No. 100–20, 1465 U. N. T. S. 113. Article 3 of the Convention prohibits returning any person “to another State where there are substantial grounds for believing that he would be in danger of being subjected to torture.” The United States is a party to the Convention, and in 1998 Congress passed the Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act to implement its commands. The Act provides
that “[i]t shall be the policy of the United States not to expel, extradite, or otherwise effect the involuntary return of any person to a country in which there are substantial grounds for believing the person would be in danger of being subjected to torture, regardless of whether the person is physically present in the United States.” §2242(a), 112 Stat. 2681–822, codified as note to 8 U. S. C. §1231. It also directs the Executive to “prescribe regulations to implement” the Convention. §2242(b), 112 Stat. 2681–822. Those regulations provide, among other things, that “[a] removal order . . . shall not be executed in circumstances that would violate Article 3.” 28 CFR §200.1 (2024).
@47: Yes, the Trump administration has been abusive (ooh, spicy adjective!) in enforcing immigration law. That’s not the point here. Their abuses change neither the law, nor the status of persons who remain illegally in this country. (If you’re actually worried about the Trump administration trying this on citizens, as I am, then address it at their actual point of attack, upon birthright citizenship. Opposing them there is far more likely to succeed, in both the constitutional and popular senses.)
“…and the trump administration is choosing to do so in a way that most americans find repulsive.”
First: feature, not bug. Second: combine that with Trump’s attack upon birthright citizenship. I believe you’ll find that more effective than championing lawbreakers.
Out of all of this, I hope we can start a national civic dialog on our shameful exploitation of undocumented immigrant labor. We’ve ALL been complicit in it, and it’s time to put a stop to it, in a way that provides a path to citizenship for our country’s hardest-working fellow inhabitants.
@51 “You spent the summer of 2020 rioting in support of criminals”
Wow, mask all the way off
@54 How else to describe the ACAB movement?
@44, You are wrong again. In Washington State, Judges must sentence within this grid.
https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=9.94A.510
I have personally, on more than one occasion, watch Prosecutors and Defense lawyers tee off for a two hour hearing ,on whether the convicted person would get 42 or 48 months for a serious felony, with a relatively modest offender score from prior offenses. Then the judge asked to hear from the family and victims present, and they would ask for even more than the top end of the range, to be told by the Judge that the Legislature had tied their hands.
Fuck A.I. Read the damn RCW for yourself.
@49
I am a Democrat. I was 14 years old when I was wearing my first Presidential campaign button, my green “Carter for President” button, that I still have.
I’ve been alive for 12 presidents, Clinton was the best, Obama the most inspirational (I was alive for JFK but too young to be inspired by him).
The first campaign I donated to was Dukakis’ 1988 run. I knocked on doors or made phone calls for Gore, Kerry, Obama, Obama, Hillary, Biden, and Harris.
The hard left Progressives have cost us victories in 2000, 2016, and 2024.
I really have no more patience for progressives and their fantasies.
@47, You are entitled to discuss the situation generally, but the SLOG story, and my comment are on a specific case.
Each case stands on it own merit. Where rule of law isn’t being followed (e.g. Garcia) I agree injustice is being done.
I support Mahmoud Khalil’s $20 million lawsuit for his detention while being a lawful resident alien of the United States, because Trump didn’t like his opinion on the Israel-Hamas War.
I won’t suggest we depart from enforcing the law, even when I disagree with the law or the outcome of the law, on an immigration matter. The solution to bad law, is to democratically reform it. It isn’t to ignore it or subvert it, which is what Trump does with laws he finds inconvenient. If you do that on justly enforced laws you (and I) disagree with, such as the one that has the father of three Marines being deported, how are you any different than Trump? You aren’t. You are for rule of law if it gets an outcome you like, and want to abandon rule of law if someone is deported following the letter of the law you don’t agree with.
@47, Most American’s may, or may not, find it repulsive. Irrelevant. Do most voters in red Congressional Districts or red Senate states find it repulsive. Is anyone new calling for Trump’s impeachment that wasn’t before he started the current enforcement action? I think not. Is any Congressman or Senator, holding their fingers out to take the pulse of the constituents that vote for them, figuring their seat is in danger over Trump’s immigration enforcement policy? Nope. When that changes, the policy will change. Not until then.
Here is my general statement on the immigration mess:
We have lived with this world where we keep the law one way to satisfy one group of voters by being “tough” on immigration, and then don’t enforce it as written, or fund enforcing it as written (hello, hire more immigration judges to clear the backlog of cases), to satisfy a competing constituency. The voters need to grow-up, decide what our country’s laws are going to be on enforcement and then enforce them to the standard written, and not ignore the standard. That is a disregard of both democracy and rule of law.
@56 “Read the damn RCW for yourself”
You need to take your own advice
RCW 9.94A.010: “The purpose of this chapter is to make the criminal justice system accountable to the public by developing a system for the sentencing of felony offenders which structures, but does not eliminate, discretionary decisions affecting sentences”
RCW 9.94A.535: “The court may impose a sentence outside the standard sentence range for an offense if it finds, considering the purpose of this chapter, that there are substantial and compelling reasons justifying an exceptional sentence.”
@57 “The hard left Progressives have cost us victories in … 2016, and 2024.
I really have no more patience for progressives and their fantasies.”
No you’re clearly occupied with your own fantasies
@52, And where is a judicial showing that the limitations you note have not been observed. I.e. That the government hasn’t exhausted all the remedies before deporting to a third country not of the deportees choosing. nation of citizenship, or nation from which they entered the U.S.?
When there is such a judicial showing, I will support the Court ruling in question and the Judiciary in any constitutional crisis that may follow, not that it will do any good given that my Representative has already voted to impeach Trump at every opportunity and my Senators already have voted to remove him at every opportunity.
Until arguments from people like you are tailored to appeal to voters in states that can move the needle on Congressional support for Trump, its a dead issue. Yet Progressives, in spite of seeing their policy positions and messaging repel, not persuade, persuadable voters in key Districts and States, keep doubling-down and repeating, vainly hoping for a different result. To stop Trump, somebody has to win back the working-class and minority voters that have told the Progressive Wing of the Democratic Party to fuck off, and that have abandoned the Dems until the Progressives do.
@52: Glad to see you can actually quote from something other than your own feelings, even if it takes an only week or so of criticizing you to get you to do it. And while I’d really like to know what credible threat of “torture” Tuan Phan faces in South Sudan, that’s beside the point. There’s now an entire universe of demonstrably abusive and illegal acts the Trump administration has committed — and continues to commit — yet you persistently focus upon one of the absolute least possible sympathetic targets of Trump’s autocratic endeavors.
As a result, instead of banding together as progressives and liberals to oppose our common opponent, we liberals spend our time arguing with all of the ways you progressives arrogantly persist in being foolish, wrong, or both. As in Gaza, where instead of coming together to end a preventable ongoing humanitarian disaster, the Stranger and supportive commenters have wasted 1.5+ years (and counting) on trying to bully liberals into admitting Israel is committing “genocide” there — and then engaging in bitter personal attacks, when we liberals dare to note that word already has a long-accepted meaning worldwide.
I’ve written this already, and I’ll write it as many times as I see relevance in it: if your goal is to divide Trump’s opponents so he can succeed in his autocratic and illegal endeavors, then you’re doing a great job. If your goal is to stop Trump, then you’re failing every bit as miserably as you did last year.
@45,
Why did you think it necessary there to blatantly obviously lie and claim that Balk and the Seattle Times were displeased? You know who also consistently finds it necessary to lie to justify their reliably bad faith arguments is Trump. The tactical rhetorical similarities between the two of you are undeniable and embarrassing. You should honestly become a Republican.
@63 “instead of banding together as progressives and liberals to oppose our common opponent, we liberals spend our time arguing with … you progressives”
I agree this is the problem
@64, I have an email from Balk.
@ neale frothingham,
For the millionth time. I don’t give a fuck what the law states and i don’t need any help understanding how the legislative branch works. I am sharing my opinion about how the law is being enforced and those feelings are completely independent of the law and unchanged by your tedious googling.
You keep demonstrating my original point that you represent the white moderate mlk spoke of. You’re not educating anyone, you’re just showing your whole ass over and over again.
@2 That the GOP has chosen to break its previous budget deal with the Democrats is why no Democrat should vote for the next Republican budget, nor for any continuing resolution. The GOP will need to pass such legislation without any Democratic support. I hope the Democrats on the Hill have the spine to shut the government down until Trump agrees to restore all cut funding!