He loves sci-fi and the decline of democracy.
He loves sci-fi and the decline of democracy. WIN MCNAMEE / GETTY

Paul Allen is the scary goblin man we all thought he was: Allen, the Seattle billionaire no one really likes to talk about because all he does used to do is ruin coral reefs with his behemoth of a boat while larping 2008's Fool’s Gold, donated $100,000 to a GOP group angling to keep control of the U.S. House of Representatives. The group is aptly named Protect the House. Allen, owner of the Seahawks, the MoPop, the Seattle Cinerama, Upstream Music Festival, and more, has donated $173,500 to Republican causes and campaigns in 2017-8 while donating $45,900 to the Democrat equivalents. Elon Musk, scary goblin man-child, also donated to Protect the House. He shelled out $38,900.

Teachers across Western Washington reach deals, except for Tacoma: Seattle Public Schools resolved their strike on Friday when they reached a deal for a 10.5 percent pay increase. Other schools around the region have also reached tentative deals in time for school to start. Tacoma, on the other hand, didn’t have enough people present at the Aug. 29 meeting to start a strike. The teachers are thinking of striking starting today at their general membership meeting.

Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing is chaotic: Democratic senators proved that they actually do have spines as they interrupted the confirmation hearing for Brett Kavanaugh, Donald Trump’s controversial Supreme Court pick. The senators moved to adjourn the meeting, citing 42,000 documents about Kavanaugh sent to Capitol Hill last night. "Give us a chance to do our work," said Sen. Diane Feinstein. Protesters are also interrupting. The hearing is on-going. CNN has live updates. People estimate it may drag on into the weekend.



Arrested for protesting in the streets: Protesters wanting higher wages for hotel workers blocked the street outside the Westin hotel in downtown Seattle yesterday. They blocked traffic for about two hours. Police arrested 21 of them.

Tiny trucks needed for big tunnel: The new SR-99 Tunnel — when is that opening again? — will need maintenance. A fleet of nine, tiny yellow maintenance trucks will do the trick. They’ll be operated behind the scenes in the bowels of the tunnel underneath the roadway or on the sides. Drivers may never see these tiny yellow trucks. Will drivers ever see the SR-99? The powers that be say it “could” open in fall. That’s in 18 days.

Washington State Fair of death averted: A ride at the fair malfunctioned yesterday. It’s one of those ones that spins people around upside down. It kept going around in circles and also got stuck upside down. Firefighters rescued 19 stricken fairgoers from the ride. For whatever reason the ride is called El Niño.


Not quite fall in the forecast just yet: Those lows are looking crisp like an autumnal leaf, but those highs… those fucking highs.


Why is Ahmadinejad tweeting about Colin Kaepernick? You remember Iran’s former president, right? A dictator, Holocaust denier, and more evil things, Ahmadinejad has taken a break from politics and gone full steam ahead into Twitter. He’s decided to weigh in on the issues:


Fire rages at National Museum in Rio de Janeiro: The historic building which once housed Portuguese royalty and priceless contents spanning centuries of history was destroyed in a catastrophic fire on Sunday. Protesters took to the streets, angry and sad that the museum’s budget had been cut drastically in recent years.


New Yorker cans headliner after realizing he is indeed a White nationalist: Why the fuck did the New Yorker think hosting a conversation with Steve Bannon would be a good choice for the New Yorker Festival this year? Who thought paying Bannon top dollar to be interviewed on stage by David Remnick would go over well? Whoever it was, they grossly underestimated the public’s capacity for outrage and also, in my opinion, common sense. Steve Bannon does not deserve the limelight. The publication quickly backtracked and removed Bannon from the festival's lineup.

Nike spotlights Colin Kaepernick: The former-NFL quarterback and current activist is the new face of the 30th anniversary of Nike’s “Just Do It” campaign.


In addition to promoting Kaep and his message, Nike will also release Kaepernick apparel such as a shoe and a shirt. It will donate money to his “Know Your Rights” campaign. This is huge. Nike is one of the top contributors to the NFL and this announcement is already ruffling a few feathers. People are so enraged by this that they’re setting their Nike sneakers on fire. It’s beautiful to watch:


Turns out banning assholes works: Alex Jones thought negative publicity would bolster his far-right conspiracies on Infowars. He was, as usual, very wrong. Infowars has seen drastic declines in traffic after Facebook and YouTube banned it from their services. This will obviously be the center of intense debate soon as congressional hearings around the tech industry begin on Wednesday. One of the focuses there? That Silicon Valley is silencing conservative voices.

Baby got back to school: A Chinese kindergarten celebrated the start of school by hiring a pole dancer.

Tonight's best Seattle entertainment options include: Hooks, synths, and dream-pop at a show with Haunted Summer, Gold Casio, and Trick Candles, a reading with award-winning science fiction author Seanan McGuire, and the chance to see an art show all about snacks.