What a lovely, crisp morning.

• Is it bad that the Hanford Advisory Board is in shambles? It seems bad.
• Age verification on the Internet seems like more an excuse for surveillance than protecting children.
• Tax the wealthy.
• Contact your legislator.

Good morning.  I hope you are well.

• That extra $11,000 in Jaahnavi Kandula’s settlement is heartbreaking.
• It is wild that an anti ICE executive order is needed. But King County is right to have one.
• Also appreciate Maritza Rivera opposing cooperation with ICE. Although we’ll see about the implementation.
• If you like football puns, you’ll love this story about transit during the Seahawks parade.
• Good to see the rare instance of Representative Gluesenkamp Perez not on the wrong side of a critical vote.

I went for a walk in Downtown Seattle this morning and not even on the parade route. Crowded and everyone in Seahawks gear. Only more so to come.

• If you’re planning to come, you really shouldn’t drive. Maybe take public transportation.
• Or bike.
• That sex trafficking presentation at Seattle City Council a few weeks ago was pretty gross. Glad people are calling it out.
• Data centers don’t produce many jobs and they take up a lot of energy and many are polluting. Really seems like the worst things to give a tax break to.

Did you enjoy the Super Bowl? Did you have a lovely weekend in general?

• Photos were used for unofficial discrimination in a similar way to how gender markers are used today.
• Glad we’re considering what a penny free Washington looks like.
• Good luck to Spokane’s High Utilizers Initiative to secure funding going forward.
• When I look at the mountains, I think there isn’t enough snow for early February. Unfortunately, the data agree with that.
• Your legislator may be a bit tired this morning, but they can still hear from you.

Go Hawks.

• SPD will no longer be grouping public requests. Hopefully actual information comes out at the given deadlines.
• The millionaire tax still has holdouts.
• Too damn long in a detention center.
• Contact your legislator today, please and thank you.

Hello! I hope that you’re doing well.

Often in these open threads, I will suggest that you call or email your legislator, or member of Congress or City Council members or whatever. So let me suggest a few tips for when you do.

Calling is probably the best, not least because there might be some verify that you aren’t a robot things. Do what you’re comfortable with.

If you are calling, you can say whatever before you actually call. Many organizations will have a script, but even if they don’t, you can write it down before calling. You will probably talk to an answering machine, especially if you call outside of business hours.

Only contact the people who represent you, sorry.

Generally, it should go something like:

Hi, my name is [name] from [location in the district you are actually from],

I’m calling about [issue or specific bill]. I am urging you to [support/oppose] it because [1 or 2 reasons, maybe a short personal story or connection to the issue].

Thank you

That ‘s it. The more you do it, the better you’ll be at it. Emails can be similar.

Hello. I don’t like that it’s February and I didn’t need a coat to walk around yesterday. Please winter properly. Thank you.

Anyway…

• I had no idea about the Grays Harbor County War
• I hope that Washington State is up to the task of opposing ICE.
• Terrible, the shooting on Rainier.
• If you don’t contact your legislator, they’ll only hear from asssholes.

Good morning!

• Are you national shutdowning today?
• Do you need a whistle, or to make a sign? Push/Pull in Ballard has you covered.
• The police mask ban is moving along.
• The Feds are going to delay PFAS cleanup.
• Density is good for the climate.
• Call your legislator.

I look forward to all the clouds and drizzle.

• Fuck Flock, and congrats Prosser for getting rid of them.
• ICE stop terrorizing children challenge.
• Why are you giving out personal information to ICE contractors, Spokane County?
• Idle your car if it saves a puppy.
• SPD respond to public information requests in a timely manner, pleez.

Hey gang, how are you doing? I was in Tacoma on Saturday and I went to an anti ICE rally there. Man, there were a lot of cops there. Like, bike cops and cops just standing there. Feels very oppressive compared to Seattle and Suburbia where the police have kept their distance, at protests I’ve been to. Maybe that’s the point but it really is a noticeable contrast.

Stay warm, everyone. Anyway:

• Why does every picture of Brian Heywood look like he’s about to volunteer for the genital inspection squad?
• Pretend police plows pedestrian.
• Actual police in Portland are also a problem.
• I can’t imagine it passing, but I do like the legislation saying that the state won’t hire ICE agents.
• Hot take: you are a monster if you detain a 10 year old.
• Your legislators miss you and want a call.

On a scale of -5 to 3, how excited are you?

• When the response to Federal agents is indistinguishable from a shooter, maybe there should be fewer Federal agents?
• Also, let’s make it so those Federal agents can’t fuck around with license plate information.
• The Kennedy Center became so toxic so quickly.
• It’s a great day to write your legislators.

Gaaah.

• How much of a fuck up do you have to be for The Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs to be like, come on, buddy? Keith Swank levels of fuck up.
• Katie Wilson’s early executive orders are looking good.
• Fuck ICE and whatnot.

So, etiquette question: I was biking to Drinking Liberally and it was dark out. It was still a bit crowded on the bike lane. I was behind someone with their light turned off. Should I have said something?

Anyway…

• ICE is not welcome in Seattle. And they are going to have a hard time getting convictions.
• A proper parole system would be better, but I do like Rep. Tarra Simmons’s bill to let prisoners petition for early release if a judge finds that they are no longer a threat to their community.
• If you’re on Bluesky, Representative Julia Reed has some good informative threads about the legislature.

Remember how on Monday I said that you could contact your legislators? Great news, you can do it today!

Good morning to the legislature. A short session starts today. We have both a current budget shortfall and a structural one with our upside down tax policy. I am glad Governor Ferguson has proposed an income tax on people earning over a million dollars. That will be good for 2030 Washington state. But right now, Representative Scott is proposing a payroll tax to compensate for the immediate problems.

But it’s not just budget stuff. Also:

• There is a bill to ban police officers from hiding their face.
• There are the garbage initiatives that aren’t going to pass but might suck some of the oxygen from discussions, and will likely go to the voters.
• Making AI chatbots identify themselves as such.

It’s a good time to write your legislators. And let’s hear any bills that you’re interested in in the comments.