Im not saying this is like Chernobyl but Im not not saying this is like Chernobyl.
I’m not saying the First Hill spill is like Chernobyl but I’m not not saying it’s like Chernobyl. AVID_CREATIVE/GETTY IMAGES

Slog PM is brought to you by: This hand fan of Taron Egerton as Elton John in Rocketman, the upcoming Elton John biopic that looks as bad as Bohemian Rhapsody. I got it at R Place on Thursday as sponcon but it’s actually a very nice fan!!! I’m not trying to relitigate the whole Bohemian Rhapsody debacle, but I’m sure I will hate it and Stranger‘s Christopher Frizzelle will love it because Taron Egerton is 100% his type.

It me.
It me.

The president, as you know, has been accusing people of treason: An example.

Treason is punishable by death. NBC’s Peter Alexander reminded the president of this today during a press conference at the White House. Trump then rambled on about multiple people he believes has committed treason: Former FBI director James Comey, former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe, and “people probably higher than that.” Also Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, two FBI employees who sent text messages denigrating Trump. The Washington Post explained today how those people did not commit treason, but nevertheless the president of the United States, after being offered free counsel from a reporter that treason was a crime punishable by death, rattled off a list of names of people he thought fit for the punishment. As Slate put it, we’re all “LOLing our way to the gulag.”

Move on over Hanford, we’ve got a new doomsday spill to worry about: Authorities want you to know that THE PUBLIC IS NOT IN DANGER. That said, the First Hill building where nuclear waste spilled three weeks ago is still a mini-disaster. 200 employees have been moved and employees have to wait at least six weeks before returning to the building. The building contains 35 labs for important research on infectious diseases and other health issues, so the real tragedy may be how much this will delay all these research projects.

God, I love it when celebrities take public transit:

A little Memorial Day weekend project: After the news broke that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will not pursue the plan to redesign the $20 bill to have Harriet Tubman’s face on it, an artist’s Harriet Tubman $20 bill stamp has been getting attention.

The stamp appears to be legal. “The basic gist of it is you can’t render a bill illegible,” the artist, Dano Wall, told the Washington Post. “You can’t cover any text or numbers or anything on it to serve as an advertisement. … Anything outside of that—if the bill is still fit for circulation is fine. You can write on it and mark in any way.”

The stamps are out of stock due to the spike in interest, but you can refresh this page for updates.

More graffiti: A sign at Alki Beach.

Street Sign at Alki Beach from r/Seattle

Mr. Ike ain’t down with bikes:

Doctored video of Nancy Pelosi goes viral: In the video, Nancy Pelosi seems to be slurring her words while discussing Trump. The video is believed to have been viewed millions of times on Facebook. Rudy Giuliani shared the video on Twitter Thursday evening. Social media giants were forced to respond due to public pressure, but their actions have been predictably tepid. YouTube responded, stating that the video violated the platform’s standards and that it was removed. Facebook’s content moderators (via a third-party fact checker) had labeled the video as “false.” The video, however, remains on the site and the company is unsure how widely it’s been shared. Twitter has declined to comment. This will keep happening until social media giants are held to the same standards as traditional publishers.

I don’t care about this but it’s trending:

Jay Inslee is all but guaranteed to have a spot on the Democratic debate stage next month: Today the governor collected his 65,000th individual donor of his presidential campaign. The Democratic National Committee (DNC) has given candidates two paths to getting on the debate stage: passing 65,000 donors or getting at least 1 percent support in three or more qualifying polls. The DNC will cap the first debates to 20 candidates (holy shit that’s a lot), so four candidates are expected to be left out. But candidates who pass two of the DNC’s requirements will receive priority over the candidates who only receive one. The first debate will occur in Miami on June 26 and 27. They’ll be divided into two groups, 10 and 10.

Ashley Judd is an American treasure:


Maybe a tangent but I think about Where the Heart Is at least once a week. Ashley Judd helping Natalie Portman through her tough celebrity spell as the “Wal-Mart Mommy” is camp Americana gold.

Weather forecast: Some shade for the evening.

A bake sale hoping to raise funds for the creation of the 51st state ends with talk of bloodshed: Surprise, surprise, a wholesome separatist bake sale got a little dicey. State Rep. Matt Shea’s legislative assistant “said supporters of the 51st state idea were bound by a common sentiment: ‘It’s either going to be bloodshed or Liberty State,'” reports the Spokesman-Review. Then Shea denied global warming and talked about the United States being a Christian nation under attack by antifa. A makeshift militia was there with pistols. A couple of Shea’s former bodyguards showed up but were escorted away for being too rowdy, or something. It sounds like one hell of a bake sale.

Happy Memorial Day weekend! Party like you’re this robot.

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Chase Burns is The Stranger's former editor. He's covered everything from gay luchadores to chemical weapons to Isabella Rossellini's favorite pets.