Is the Washington State Senate a hotbed of racism and sexism? That's the eternal question. Democratic senator Mona Das divulged her grievances to the Kent Reporter. The article essentially said that sexism and racism ran rampant in closed-door Democratic caucus meetings. Das claimed none of it was overt but said through "coded language" that all nonwhite people experience all the time. Das did not want to file a formal complaint, but the state senate will be conducting an informal review.
A Pride of firsts: For the first time, Seattle King County NAACP has an LGBTQ chair. De AuntĂŠ Damper will be marching in the Pride Parade, a big moment for a man who told the Seattle Times how he struggled to really fit in with his racial and sexual identity. On Sunday, look for him and the yellow NAACP truck.
Seattle Tunnel Partners receives slap on the wrist for spoliation: The company that made the SR 99 tunnelâhave you forgotten that exists yet?âis in hot water because it conveniently "lost" the evidence in its trial against the state. STP is suing for $500 million in cost overruns because of delays they say weren't in their control. Those delays? When Bertha, our sexy tunneling machine, broke down after hitting some pipe. The trial would be a whole lot simpler if STP hadn't thrown out the pipe Bertha hit or lost the journals detailing the event. That's spoilation, bitch (definition: losing or destroying evidence). The only ramifications are that a jury will receive "adverse instructions," whatever that means, and the expert witnesses STP can call to testify will be limited.
Wake Boeing up when September ends: The aviation company, notorious most recently for the software flaw in its newest death trap, has said that it will have a fix soon. The 737 MAX 8s have been grounded since mid-March because of software errors (I'm using the plural here because the Federal Aviation Administration announced earlier this week that there was ANOTHER software flaw in the planes). Boeing says the fixes will be made and finished in September.
Representation matters: Ronnie and Reggie are my OTP.
The London Zoo, home to the famous gay penguin couple, Humboldt penguins Ronnie and Reggie, is celebrating Pride month https://t.co/yNNnHQlXSB
â CNN (@CNN) June 28, 2019
Today is the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots: The momentous resistance launched the fight for LGBTQ civil rights.
Mountain goats will take flight again this summer: The National Park Service will be hosting free charter flights for goats July 8-19 and August 19-30 this year. There's only one flight path, though: from Olympic National Park to the North Cascades. The North Cascades are the goats' native habitat. Officials would like them to resettle there, really find their roots. Also to get them away from popular hiking trails since they've become addicted to lapping up human piss. But to do so they'll have to be lugged over in the air. You remember the scene, don't you? Gosh, I'd love to watch in person.
Flying goats! Olympic Range mountain goats are being relocated by helicopter and ferry: https://t.co/5ffsgHbeE0
The salt in human sweat and urine attracted mountain goats to hiking trails and backcountry campsites in @MtOlympusWA. Now theyâre being removed. pic.twitter.com/lwrIDFYpKx
â KUOW Public Radio (@KUOW) September 13, 2018
A man broke into the King County Sheriff's Office in Renton: He brought them doughnuts. He wanted a preventative jail stint, hinting ominously that he would rather go to jail than "kill his roommate." While he waited for police, he lit up a cigar and watched some TV.
Putin and Trump are getting chummy at G20 summit: These comments were made today, the anniversary of the day five journalists were gunned down in their newsroom at Maryland's Capital Gazette in 2018.
Trump also bonded with Putin over a scorn for journalists.
âGet rid of them. Fake news is a great term, isn't it? You donât have this problem in Russia, but we do.â
âWe also have,â Putin answered, in English. âItâs the same.â
They shared a chuckle. pic.twitter.com/atGGYxnwfc
â Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) June 28, 2019
Dispatches from the Democratic debate: It was a tough night for Uncle Joe Biden. Biden, the Democratic front-runner, was often on the defensive throughout the night. Most notably, Senator Kamala Harris called him out for working with segregationists in the Senate and his opposition to federally mandated busing.
Watch Kamala Harris confront Joe Biden on his record opposing federally mandated busing to integrate public schools: âThat little girl was me.â#DemDebate2 pic.twitter.com/WXdvgs5zL0
â Vox (@voxdotcom) June 28, 2019
Harris discussed how Biden's busing policies impacted her and her ability to get to school as a kid. It was moving. Also, how fucking old is Joe Biden? (Google result: He is 76 years old.) Ultimately, Biden talked the most last night with 13:19 of speaking time. But Harris was right behind him at 12:16.
While it's clear Harris won the debate, there was also another star on the stage: And that's Marianne Williamson. Who is Williamson? Great question. Her description during the debate just listed her as "author." But Williamson is way more than that (potentially an alien? Or a witch? She knows something we don't, that's for sure). She's a spiritual leader and a renowned "Friend of Oprah." Here are some people's reactions to Williamson's appearance last night:
Marianne Williamson is doing an incredible job for someone who is obviously digesting an edible on television
â Pablo S. Torre (@PabloTorre) June 28, 2019
I feel for people for whom Marianne Williamson is their first Wellness Weirdo Experience. One of the quintessential political experiences, I think across the spectrum, is agreeing with someone and then they say something like The Government Invented Sweet Potatoes To Enslave Us.
â David Roth (@david_j_roth) June 28, 2019
Marianne Williamson defends us every single day on the spiritual plane and you all have the nerve to call her "a joke candidate." well ive had enough. respect our astral troops
â disintegration fruitloops (@Lesbiabraxas) June 28, 2019
And I hope you're not sick of this lady yet, because I am going to show you some of her batshit old tweets. There's a lot of spiritual mumbo jumbo like this:
God is BIG, swine flu SMALL. See every cell of your body filled with divine light. Pour God's love on our immune systems. Truth protects.
â Marianne Williamson (@marwilliamson) April 30, 2009
And this inspiring environmental policy:
Visualize the oil spill plugged. Close your eyes for 5 minutes and see angels coming over it, filling it with sane and sacred thoughts. #fb
â Marianne Williamson (@marwilliamson) May 30, 2010
But this series is my favorite:
If you want a simple explanation for what's happening in America, watch AVATAR again.
â Marianne Williamson (@marwilliamson) October 26, 2017
All right. Where's the GoFundMe? James Cameron was robbed when he didn't get a Nobel Prize for Avatar, a truly mediocre movie.
All the films were good but AVATAR has changed the world. He didn't win an Oscar tonight, but James Cameron deserves a Nobel Peace Price #fb
â Marianne Williamson (@marwilliamson) March 8, 2010
Okay, I'm done with my girl Marianne. While she talked a lot about love and referred to the prime minister of New Zealand familiarly as "girlfriend," the other candidates spent most of their time discussing civil rights.
Supreme Court will hear DACA case: During the next Supreme Court term, which starts in October, the fate of the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program will be discussed. Federal courts blocked the Trump administration from ending DACA in 2017. But the administration urged the Supreme Court to overturn those rulings. The argument is that DACA violates immigration statutes. As it stands right now, the fate of DACA and the 700,000 young people it impacts is tenuous.
Sorry DeepNude fans, the creator is killing the software: Okay, let me clue you in on the most recent evolution of "The Internet Is Terrifying and Technology Will Destroy Us All." Some guy invented an app called DeepNude that can take any picture of a woman (it straight up does not work on pictures of me) and undress it with all the artificially superimposed nipples and vulva your depraved little heart could desire. After the initial article on the subject by Motherboard, DeepNude was inundated with users and it couldn't keep up the demand. Additionally, the creator had never considered that maybe this tech wasn't good for the world and could actually hurt people so, one moral epiphany later, he decided to pull the plug.
Today is the Big Game: It's France versus the United States in the World Cup quarterfinal. It's the most highly anticipated game of the tournament. It should be a final, but this is what we get (what we deserve?). It's on at 12 p.m. PDT. I'll be watching. You should, too.
A fun fact for your Friday:
A study in Washington State found 15% of drivers were âstrongly opposedâ to the idea of roundabouts. The most commonly cited reason is âfear of the unknownâ.
â Quite Interesting (@qikipedia) June 25, 2019
Happy Pride! The best Seattle entertainment options this weekend include: The Seattle Pride Parade, Queer Bar's Queer/Pride Festival, Trans Pride Seattle, and PrideFest Capitol Hill.