And a happy first day of the legislature in Washington. If you have some pressing concern, you should contact your legislators. The session will probably focus on COVID-19. So you might want to push them to make sure that funding doesn’t fall on the poorest people in our lopsided sales tax heavy tax system. Maybe you have some issues that you’re afraid will be overlooked in a probably narrow focused session.

Also, wash your hands right now.

What is going on East of the Cascades? First the attempted bombing in Spokane. Now Leavenworth bomb threat. Scary stuff.

Anyway wash your hands right now.

I am glad that the action of Governor Inslee meant that Washington’s unemployment system still worked during President Trump’s delay. No missed payment. No reapplying. It would be better if President Trump had not fucked around, but at least we mitigated most of the damage.

Anyway, wash your hands right now.

The oil train derailment and fire in Bellingham is scary stuff. Fortunately, if you can call it that, it wasn’t an explosion. The environmental damage is still going to be pretty gross. And these trains running through our cities is going to inevitably be derailments.

Anyway, this is the last post before Christmas, so have a good one if you celebrate it.

Anyway, anyway, wash your hands right now.

I don’t know about the rest of you, but since the city cleared out Cal Anderson Park, it seems like there are more tents popping up in the rest of Seattle’s urban core. Not getting people the help they need — starting, but very much not ending with housing — is just shuffling them around. Shame on us, in the shadow of Amazon and other large companies, we can’t find the resources to help.

Seattle Police are taking public comments on use of force and crowd control policies. They have decided to make it difficult, so there are several links to PDF’s at the bottom. You can comment at the bottom of those. Nonetheless, it’s worth commenting on.

For me the issue starts with a massive provocation every time the police show up. Namely that they are armed at all. The average beat cop having a gun, bringing long guns to protests, it really makes the police antagonistic.

Then when they deploy tear gas or rubber bullets, they get labeled as “less lethal” as if they are the gentle alternative to firing indiscriminately into a crowd, rather than a last resort. But it shouldn’t be an option!

In much of the world, most police don’t carry guns. There are still problems with policing, but there’s one less.

Anyway, wash your hands right now.

Man, fuck NIMBYs. Fuck the demonization of homeless people. Fuck kicking people out in the middle of a pandemic. Fuck thinking that an empty hotel is more desirable than one housing people.

Fuck kicking homeless people out of Cal Anderson Park without having a place for them to go. Fuck. It doesn’t have to be this way.

And wash your hands right now.

We’re less than a month away from the new legislature meeting. It’s going to be less liberal than we thought on election night, but still pretty solid Democratic majorities.

So, what should we push for?

I think it’s going to be COVID-19 related. We are going to have to figure out how to make sure that there isn’t an eviction crisis once the moratorium is lifted. That probably means at a minimum making sure that unemployment stays funded no matter what the Federal government does.

It would also be nice if we could figure out ways to not blow up the budget. Generally, the more progressive the taxation, the better. I can understand if legislators don’t want a fight over the income tax to delay getting the money. But I hope funding wouldn’t just be more sales or sin taxes.

And please wash your hands right now.

We have Democratic members of the redistricting commission. It’s the guy who is maybe most well known because he ran against Pramila Jayapal and a woman I had not heard of but sounds like she has done good work at the Labor Council.

If Washington gets another seat, hopefully they’ll make sure it is a Democratic seat.

If Washington doesn’t get that seat, I hope they can figure out how to make the Southwest Washington seat competitive. Also, for the last decade, the map of Washington Congressional Districts has featured a corgi standing on its front paws; The commission should commit to making at least one district that adorable.

And you should commit to washing your hands right now.

Jenny Durkan isn’t going to run for reelection. It’s not something I am going to shed a tear about.

One thing that strikes me, generally, is how many mayors are not good at mayoring. In Seattle every mayor since Rice has either lost the election or left at or before the end of their first term.

Nationally, I was struck during the Presidential primary how many of the candidates had been mayors and not a lot of successful ones. Other than Booker, they all seemed like either they were forgettable or bad mayors. Even people who did well in other jobs. Maybe there are different standards we hold mayors to, or maybe it’s the job.

Anyway, wash your hands right now.

Seattle has 2 self testing COVID-19 kiosks. If you can get to Northgate or the Central District, you can get a test. If you get one, let us know how it goes.

In any case, please wash your hands right now.

Forgor to post earlier, sorry. There is a lot to sort out if someone jumps from one city race to another. How will Democracy Vouchers work with different requirements per race? Reading the options, the one that makes the most sense is asking for permission.

Wash them hands right now.

Good morning to everyone but the Mossyrock City Council. Imagine gathering together in this difficult time to make sure that your community gets more COVID-19. What a bunch of jackasses.

I hope that they get $0 in relief money. Relief money should go to people who weren’t actively making the pandemic worse. I am sorry for the residents and businesses that are not dipshits.

Anyway, you are not a dipshit or a jackass, so please wash your hands right now.

I’m more of a tea person than coffee. But the other day, I needed a bigger jolt of caffeine so I made myself a big, strong pot of coffee. Then I masked up and went out.

Let me tell you folks, I cracked a code. It turns out that the anti mask folks just have stink breath. It was annoying for one day, but imagine living with it every time you leave the house. Not worth killing your neighbors and spreading a disease, but still. Yuck.

It also explains the people who keep taking their mask off, and then putting it back on when people approach. Gotta loose some of that stink.

Still, no matter how stinky your breath, you have to wear a mask. And wash your hands right now.

Good morning! If you are still planning to have a large Thanksgiving, please cancel it. There’s still time. Seriously tell your aunt you’ll see her after you both get vaccines. Do Zoom or phone calls. But please let’s stop this virus.

And while we’re stopping the virus, please wash your hands right now.