Godless in Seattle: The Seattle metro space is the least non secular a part of the nation based on a brand new ballot. Apparently, 44% of us are atheist, agnostic, or “nothing particularly.” For the primary time, the share of godless heathens is identical because the variety of Christians within the space. We aren’t the one high godless metro space, although. Seattle tied for the highest slot with, you guessed it, Portland.
Small Enterprise Affiliation hightails it: The SBA introduced it was leaving its Seattle regional workplace as a result of sanctuary metropolis protections. The SBA desires to “put Americans first by ending taxpayer advantages for unlawful aliens” and cling to federal pointers. Traditionally, the SBA has helped with “federal grants, contracting, certification, and catastrophe restoration,” writes the Seattle Instances. The SBA is closing regional places of work in different sanctuary cities, too, similar to New York, Boston, Chicago, Denver, and Atlanta. The closures, the SBA mentioned, “help President Trump’s agenda to safe our borders—which has already resulted within the lowest charges of unlawful border crossings in historical past.” One other day, one other quietly dystopian nightmare.
Shhhhhh: Two present Joint Base Lewis-McChord troopers and a former soldier on the base had been indicted for allegedly promoting navy secrets and techniques, in addition to bribery and theft of presidency property. Their scheme concerned promoting pc gear and different categorized data to China.
Lawmakers look to trainer bonuses to stability the price range: The state price range is in a foul means. A $12 billion deficit. Dangerous stuff. But, as a substitute of wanting into progressive methods to search out income, our lawmakers in Olympia are taking a look at cuts. One spot they’re taking a look at? A longtime price range program for Nationwide Board Licensed Washington state academics. Since 1999, the state has paid academics who earn the certification—a course of that takes 400 hours of their very own time to finish. Yearly, licensed academics—round 7,800 educators—earn $6,800 from the state. There’s a further $5,000 accessible for academics working in excessive poverty areas, too. It’s deplorable that our state would look to chop these small quantities from already under-compensated academics somewhat than flip its consideration to the rich in a state flush with millionaires and billionaires. This explicit sort of penny pinching is so emblematic of our upside-down regressive tax system that it is nearly satirical.
The climate: Chilly. Cloudy. Story as outdated as time.
Good ferry information: Full ferry service will return this summer time, based on Gov. Bob Ferguson. To repair the unreliability and low-staffing numbers which have plagued the ferry system for the reason that pandemic, Ferguson is in search of a price range that features funding for ferry crews. He’ll additionally put plans to improve the system’s largest vessels and convert them to hydroelectric engines on maintain. Hmm. Undecided this non permanent repair will avert any longterm ache, particularly with the entire local weather disaster, however a minimum of the midday ferry to Bainbridge may very well go away at midday quickly.
Why does a Democrat wish to do that? HB 1252’s most important sponsor is Rep. Lauren Davis (D-Shoreline). She is joined by two Republicans from the Peninsula in placing forth this very dangerous, no good piece of laws that might roll us again years if not many years on bail and pretrial detention. It will not solely require judges to elucidate any determination to supply decrease bail or pretrial launch in writing, discouraging them from doing so, but in addition successfully get rid of ankle monitoring by requiring “24/7 monitoring and fast regulation enforcement dispatch.” The invoice is theoretically in response to a few excessive profile incidents the place individuals launched on bail went on to commit violent crimes however, just like the SOAP/SODA laws and the entire drug recriminalization debacle, it is actually a few politician scoring “robust on crime” factors. In addition to nearly actually violating our state structure’s separation of powers rule, there merely is not house for all the additional individuals it might drive us to carry in jail. Gods keen, it’s going to keep in legislative limbo till March 12, the cutoff date for payments to make it out of their home of origin, however technically it is nonetheless alive. In case you stay in Shoreline and also you’re studying this, you already know what to do. (No, we aren’t suggesting you set a bag of flaming dogshit on her doorstep. Nonetheless humorous that is perhaps, it might be against the law. In addition to, there are many different methods to precise your displeasure!) (Visitor submit by Tobias Coughlin-Bogue)
One other SpaceX explosion: Elon Musk’s Starship rocket exploded once more, raining particles throughout the sky. I’m selecting to interpret this as an excellent omen.
It’s so fairly… One factor about Elon… He know he can fail!
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— Solomon (@solomonmissouri.bsky.social) March 7, 2025 at 4:37 AM
Jobs: U.S. employers added 151,000 jobs in February, barely falling in need of forecasts. In the meantime, unemployment ticked as much as 4.1%. Seemingly, these numbers do not but mirror the federal employees who misplaced their jobs as a result of Trump administration cuts. So, anticipate these numbers to worsen as cuts proceed and the economic system sags. Thanks, oligarchs!
DEI content material purge on the Pentagon: In an effort to take away all references to variety, fairness, and inclusion throughout the Pentagon, greater than 26,000 photos have been flagged in addition to accomplishments and milestones reached by ladies, celebrations of non-white conflict heroes, and references to the Enola Homosexual, the plane that dropped the atomic bomb. The latter was flagged for having “homosexual” in its title, in order that reveals you ways the Pentagon is hunting down this “DEI propaganda.” Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth has given the navy till Wednesday to whitewash and edit historical past.
That is why illustration issues: Montana’s transgender representatives Zooey Zephyr and SJ Howell spoke emphatically within the state legislature to battle laws that might ban drag performances and Delight parades and a invoice that might take away transgender kids from their mother and father. After their speeches, state Republicans flipped their votes. For the drag ban, 13 Republicans switched to voting no. One Republican even spoke up and defended Zephyr. For the opposite invoice, 29 Republicans voted no. Each payments had been defeated. Elect individuals who will defend your proper to exist. Elect individuals who will rise up for you. Elect individuals who will battle the mind worm-riddled majority.
Trump pens a letter to Iran: He desires to barter a nuclear take care of Iran, he mentioned. The objective of the letter is to restrain Iran’s advancing nuclear program. Trump described the sentiment of his letter as such: “‘I hope you’re going to barter as a result of if now we have to go in militarily, it’s going to be a horrible factor.'” Cool, cool, cool. All the time good to threaten navy motion in negotiations. Actual artwork of the deal stuff.
Bye, bye, butterflies: Butterflies in America are disappearing. The variety of butterflies are down 22% since 2000. On common, their inhabitants is declining 1.3% yearly. The culprits are local weather change, pesticides, and habitat loss.
Bizarre and sinister: In Maine, the Social Safety Administration is ending Enumeration at Start, a course of that permits new child infants to obtain their Social Safety numbers within the hospital upon beginning. As an alternative, mother and father and their newborns should go to one of many state’s eight Social Safety places of work to use for his or her kid’s SSN, exposing recent infants to crowded ready room germs and inconveniencing mother and father at a weak time. In response to Maine’s Portland Press Herald, it is unclear “whether or not it is a nationwide change, distinctive to Maine, or if it’s a change being piloted in Maine that might develop to different components of the nation.” What’s additionally unclear is the aim of ending Enumeration at Start, a course of that is been in place for many years.
A track in your Friday: Please take pleasure in this banger. Bonus factors for a music video that feels straight out of “Escape from New York.”
