The precinct maps of ST3 are both illuminating and about what you expect. The cities, especially Seattle, and the close in suburbs are for it and the rest of the area isn’t as much or are against it. I hope as rail gets further and further out, that more people between the cities and further out can enjoy it as much as some of us in the city.

If you’re celebrating the Feast of Sol Invictus, Newtonmass, Festivus, or perhaps some obscure one, have happy holidays.

Good on the protesters of the new youth jail. I’m not as opposed to the jail as they are. But, I’m glad they’re keeping the pressure on it.

Y’all can guess I don’t like Cathy McMorris Rodgers, and her being Sec. of the Interior would have been bad. But holy shit, her being passed over for Donald Trump, Jr.’s hunting buddy is pretty awful. Trump can pick whatever unqualified asshole he wants. On the other, there should probably be a better process. I mean Trump Jr. is supposed to be running the business. Still, there has to be a better selection process.

Councilmember Sawant’s Wells Fargo, disinvestment bill is pretty rad. The city shouldn’t undermine its own values and positions with how it spends its money. I like this a lot better than Seattle boycotting states or cities.

I go to West Seattle via bus quite frequently, and I never noticed any problem with the bus shelters Metro is removing (h/t). That shelter in particular has some very neat history on it. I always appreciated those plates. Hopefully they can at least go somewhere. Also, maybe my least favorite thing in Seattle is when it rains hard and too many people share too few bus shelters.

Congrats to The Sounders! There will be a parade tomorrow and while good on the Sounders, I just hope it doesn’t screw up traffic too much.

When we get a little closer to the start of the legislative session, I’ll write my regular what do you want post. But for the legislative Republicans, they’ve already decided what they want. From being the worst to leaving and making their own state. They could chose to not be assholes instead of restricting abortion access, destroying the environment, and trying to make their own shitty state East of the Cascades.

I’m going to write a few letters to various state and local officials (and maybe my member of Congress and Senators). Mostly it’s urging them to do as best they can to resist Trump, but also other things maybe. Here’s the first one. I wrote the following to my city council members (at large and the one who represents me) and Mayor Murray and City Attorney Holmes. Murray’s has 2nd person language in the executive order section, but otherwise it’s the same.

I was heartened when Mayor Murray reaffirmed his commitment last month to make Seattle a sanctuary city. I hope you’ll do everything you can going forward to make that a reality.

I’m asking specifically that you use your power to have the city not to assist in deportations. People’s immigration status is not their value to the city. This is a moral issue in and of itself and it’s also a test for future issues.

Donald Trump has already threatened to do even worse. From Muslim bans to national stop and frisk. If you give in on the sanctuary city front, it will make it easier for him to do these other things.

Thank you,

Carl Ballard
horsesass.org

I don’t actually care about a temporary blip in Boeing stock. But I do care if Trump is trying to punish someone for saying they like trade. So here we are. Trump claims to want more manufacturing in the United States but is apparently prepared to lie about one of America’s biggest manufacturers out of spite.

More bike lanes. This time a 7th Avenue connector. It really looks like Seattle is really moving to a network of bike lanes and paths that connect as opposed to a few lanes in some places and some trails.

It’s obviously horrendous that we’ve set up a system where you have to drive for hours if you want an abortion. I do wonder how much we as a state can do. If people are driving to Yakima, a city not on the border, maybe there are ways to encourage more clinics closer to Idaho and Oregon. It’s probably the part of the state that’s the most hostile to that sort of thing.

In a lot of the open threads since Trump’s election, I’ve been harping on how Seattle and Washington State can push back against the worst of Trump’s policies. I’m glad to see I’m not the only person thinking about local resistance to these national issues (h/t). That leaves a lot of problems for people in a lot of places without much protection. And, frankly, I’m not sure how up to it, our local politicians are.

Pffffffffffffffffffffffffff. Man. Trump is like the worst, right? I don’t just mean whatever Godawful nonsense he’s decided to do between when I wrote this and when you’re reading it. I mean he’s so bad he’s making children sad.

If you were wondering “what’s up with those outlines of people around Seattle?” well here you go. Dead pedestrians. My primary means of getting around the city is walking, and I’ve noticed a few. I hope drivers see them too.