This was Bidens vibe during his speech about Afghanistan today.
This was Biden's vibe during his speech about Afghanistan today. JOSHUA LOTT/GETTY IMAGES
Today, President Biden defended his decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan: After facing fierce criticism over America's chaotic exit, Biden remained defiant about his decision saying, "It was time to end this war." CNN observed that Biden delivered his speech in an "impassioned tone that revealed flashes of anger toward his critics, offered no apology for how the war ended." The president said that the real choice presented to him was "between leaving and escalating" the situation in Afghanistan, with taking out troops being the only real option. "I was not going to extend this forever war, and I was not extending a forever exit," he said. Watch some of his speech here:

Meanwhile: The New York Times reports that "at least hundreds of U.S. citizens and potentially thousands of green card holders" are now stranded in Afghanistan with no clear path to getting back home. In his speech today, Biden said they got "ninety percent" of Americans out that wanted to leave, and they remain committed to getting more Americans out. Officials and advocacy groups say that "a lack of coordination across the U.S. government, frustrated attempts at outreach by the State Department, and increasingly frequent warnings of possible attacks that forced airport gates to close and meeting points to be moved" hampered the effort to locate and bring Americans in Afghanistan to safety.

"Offensive and inaccurate" plaque commemorating Spanish-American War veterans removed from Volunteer Park: The plaque—originally installed in the 1950s—came under renewed scrutiny thanks to an op-ed in the Northwest Asian Weekly calling out the false, colonialist inscription on the slab, reports Capitol Hill Seattle blog. The blawg confirmed with the Seattle Parks Department that the hunk of rock was officially removed from the traffic circle near the Asian Art Museum last week.

A crane collapsed on a home in Issaquah and injured two workers, reports KING 5. People on the scene told the news outlet that no one was inside the home at the time of the collapse.

🤘🏽Lol, can't wait to get old 🤘🏽: According to a new annual report put out by Social Security and Medicare trustees, Social Security is set to run out by 2034 if Congress continues to sit on its haunches and do nothing about it, reports CNN. That's a year earlier than expected, all thanks to the pandemic and the ensuing economic recession. But NO WORRIES, I never expected diddly squat from the government in my twilight years!

Just when you thought it was dead...When a judge struck Compassion Seattle off the November ballot last week, the proposed charter amendment's backers said they did not have any plans to appeal the ruling. But, lol, I guess they changed their minds. In an email today, the group said that an "outpouring of support over the weekend" convinced them that they "must take this action to represent the interest of tens of thousands of voters who signed petitions to put this amendment on the ballot." Thus, Compassion Seattle's lawyers have now filed an emergency appeal to keep the compassionless charter amendment on the ballot. Tim Burgess tries to strike again!

This is the worst rapper-artist link-up I've seen: Yesterday, Drake announced that his sixth album, Certified Lover Boy, would drop this Friday. He also released the accompanying album art, a painting of 12 "pregnant woman" emojis against a white background done by none other than artist/hypebeast Damien Hirst. It's vacuous, unclever, and—worst of all—totally boring. These guys are really phoning it in, huh?

One man dead after attempted robbery in Capitol Hill: A man shot and killed another man near the Capitol Hill Station apartments early this morning around 1:12 am, reports the Seattle Times. Police found a 24-year-old suffering from a gunshot wound on the sidewalk, and he was quickly transported to the hospital where he was later pronounced dead.

Google extends its voluntary return to work policy to January 10, 2022, reports The Verge. Googlers are welcome to come back before then if they want to, but after that date it's up to every country and location to "make mandatory return to work decisions depending on local conditions."

Heads up: I know you probably know this, but if you live in Washington and are getting an extra $300 a week with Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, those federal benefits are coming to an end this Saturday.

Is it possible to get turned on by a subway map? Asking for, uh, a friend. Anywayz, Sound Transit recently released a new map of the new names for all the planned link extensions. Starting September 18, the agency "will officially rebrand several existing routes with new names, numbers and colors," reports the Seattle P.I. Here are some of the new names and color designations via the P.I.:

The link will become the 1 Line, colored green; the Tacoma Link will become the T Line, colored orange; and Sounder North will become the N Line, and Sounder South will become the S Line, both colored light blue.

When the East Link extension launches in 2023, it will be named the 2 Line and colored bright blue. Future extensions will be the 3 (colored pink) and 4 (colored purple) lines.

Bonnaroo 2021 is officially canceled: The music festival was slated for this weekend, but organizers were forced to cancel after rainfall from Hurricane Ida flooded campgrounds and tollbooth paths, making it hard for vehicles to maneuver the site safely.

Fuck the Texas GOP: A bill restricting voting rights in the Lone Star state just passed the state legislature after Democrats walked out for six weeks in an attempt to prevent the heinous legislation from passing, reports the New York Times. Sick fuck and noted Republican blowhard Gov. Greg Abbott promised to sign the bill. Formed in conservative hysteria over Trump's loss, the legislation is insane. Among other appalling miscarriages of justice, it outlaws drive-thru and temporary polling locations, empowers partisan poll watchers, and even requires large Texas counties to "provide livestreaming video at ballot-counting locations." Texas is now one of the hardest places in the country to cast a vote. A shame!

You ever dig into a piping hot bowl of Kraft Mac & Cheese and think to yourself, "Damn, I really wish I could eat this in ice cream form!" Don't worry, Kraft and Brooklyn's Van Leeuwen Ice Cream knows just the thing to take care of sickos like you—Kraft Mac & Cheese ice cream. It apparently sold out in one hour and caused their website to crash back in July, but they brought it back thanks to popular demand. Go forth and eat creamy cold fake cheese you absolute freaks!

For your listening pleasure: Men I Trust's "Sugar."