First they dont wear masks, now theyre not getting vaccines. Protect and serve indeed.
First they don't wear masks, now they're not getting vaccines. Protect and serve indeed. TRISTAN FAIRCHOK

SPOG admits too many cops are anti-vaxxers: After state and local politicians announced that many public employees will be required to get the vaccine, the Seattle Police Officers Guild said in a statement, "SPOG is concerned for the safety and wellbeing of all of our members including those with personal vaccination beliefs. Our Seattle community is already experiencing a Seattle Police Department staffing crisis. Given this crisis; which in part resulting [sic] in an alarming crime wave, can Seattle now endure more losses of police officers due to Mayor Durkan’s vaccination order?"

The answer is yes: But let's address some of these points. To steal Jamelle Bouie's bit, there is no such thing as "personal vaccination beliefs" because we live in a society. If you fucks don't get the vaccine, then the economy slows or shuts down and then crime, which arises from poverty, goes up. Furthermore, SPOG provided no evidence that the "staffing crisis" is contributing to "an alarming crime wave." According to SPD's own "crime dashboard," violent crime rates have basically remained flat since 2008 (currently up 8% since then), and nobody yet knows why murders—but not crime—are up nationwide.

I guess SPOG members could make themselves useful to the public in this way? Kaiser Permanente is looking for un-vaxxed people for clinical trial. If you're not vaccinated (why???), you enroll in this clinical trial assessing different booster shots and make $75 for each of the nine visits you'll make over the course of a year, KIRO reports.

Coming up today for the cops: Seattle City Council members will talk about moving parking enforcement out of the Seattle Police Department, SPD will report its quarterly finance and staffing situation (including details about high attrition), and this afternoon U.S. District Court Judge James Robart will have a status hearing regarding the consent decree, SCC Insight reports.

COVID-19 outbreak at ICE's immigrant jail in Tacoma is getting very bad: The Seattle Times reports that "150 people, including seven guards and a federal health care worker" have tested positive for the virus since June. The rapid rise in infection came after the feds "transferred nearly 1,100 immigrants" to the facility to make more room for asylum-seekers at southern border jails. The Northwest Immigrant Rights Project and the ACLU have filed a class-action suit.

Given the low risk of surface transmission, I wonder why they're focusing so much on cleaning?

Some people are "desperate" for booster shots: Local health care workers tell KOMO they are encountering people trying to sneak in an extra coronavirus vaccine shot. "They are like, 'I won't tell.' And they're like, 'Can you just give me one? And we're like, 'no we can't," registered nurse Kimberly McLeod told the station.

Tacoma opens applications for guaranteed income program: Tacoma will soon begin a guaranteed income pilot program to pay about 100 residents $500 a month for a year. Applicants must be Tacoma residents, and preference will be given to single heads of households and Black, indigenous and people of color, the Tacoma News Tribune reports. Tacoma is one of about two dozen cities to benefit from a $15 million donation by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, and no taxpayer dollars will be used, according to TNT.

This but for a month please:

Police say man they shot near White Center last week was suspect in fatal church shooting: The man, 22-year-old Isaiah Hinds, had previously been identified as the suspect in the killing of Omari Wallace, 19, at a South Seattle church in March, according to the Seattle Times.

Filson lays off dozens: The apparel-maker laid off 56 Seattle-area workers in July but claims it does not plan to end manufacturing in Washington next year, according to the Seattle Times. A shame about the job losses. The company makes fine coats, in my view.

What are we putting in time capsules these days for the post-climate-apocalypse future? A 1906 time capsule was found at the site of a Queen Anne church. The capsule included publications from 1906 and "a booklet of financial information includes church donations from Seattleites," KING 5 reports. I would put a bottle of water in my time capsule, assuming that whoever dug up the box may have gotten a little thirsty in the process.

New York will see its first woman Governor soon: After a mountain of grotesque sexual harassment allegations, and after allegedly hiding data on COVID deaths in nursing homes, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has finally resigned. Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul will step up to lead the state in fourteen days.

The big federal budget push begins: On Monday Senate Democrats proposed to propose a $3.5 trillion budget by this fall, the New York Times reports. The so-called "blueprint" basically sets the spending limit and then instructs a bunch of Senate committees to write up the actual legislation. The vote on the blueprint this week will give us a good idea if Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin will pitch a fit. Sinema has already said the price tag seemed too high, which is bad news because Democrats need all 50 votes to skirt the filibuster.

The wish list includes *takes a deep breath* extending the current Obamacare subsidies, extending the child tax credit, expanding Medicare to include dental and vision "and possibly lowering the eligibility age," increasing long-term care funding to address the oncoming "silver wave," guaranteeing free preschool and the first two years of community college, implementing paid family and medical leave, tax incentives for electric vehicles, a "Climate Corps" to build climate friendly projects, funds for wildfire prevention, policies designed to lower the price of prescription drugs, and huge investments in Native American infrastructure. They want to pay for all of that by raising the corporate tax rate to 25%, which is 10% below where it was in 1993, and by raising income taxes on the wealthy.

Here's your budget committee chair, Bernie Sanders, on the legislation:

But first, the Senate takes a swing at the measly $1 trillion transportation bill: With 70 senators voting to debate the bill on the floor, the package is expected to pass today, though not before Republicans do some culture warrioring first:

Meanwhile, Republicans are pretending to care about the debt: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said the GOP plans to risk the country's credit by refusing to raise the debt ceiling, Politico reports. Republicans want to see Democrats raising the ceiling on a party-line vote and then attempt a big budget so they scream about spendy Dems during the midterm elections, but the Dems plan to call McConnell's bluff. Not sure if it'll work.

Judge suggests insurrectionists should face steeper fines: During a court hearing Monday Chief U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell asked why the Department of Justice only wants "$2,000 in each felony case and $500 in each misdemeanor case," which would add up to around $1.5 million all told, when we taxpayers will ultimately have to pay half a billion dollars just to cover the National Guard response to 1/6, the Washington Post reports. Taxpayers will ultimately pay $2 billion to fix broken stuff, pay off the cops, and make some "security improvements." I don't think jail time will do much, but fining these people—that might help.

Wildfires rip through Greece: After "strong winds and Greece's worst heatwave in decades, over 580 fires have broken out across the country since late July," according to the BBC. The fires razed towns, killed three, and stressed the country's already anemic fire response. Prime Minister Mitsotakis said the country is "facing a natural disaster of unprecedented dimensions."

U.S. plans to ask the Taliban to stop trying to take over the country: After 20 years of bloodshed, a failed nation-building project, $2 trillion down the drain, and the humiliation of defeat, we've finally decided to try diplomacy, Al Jazeera reports. After we pulled out, the Taliban launched an offensive to try and take over the country—they're having some success in the sticks, but not really in the major cities.

Reservation Dogs looks pretty good: The show, which premiered yesterday on FX (you can stream it on Hulu), is drawing positive reviews for being funny as hell.