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The News You’ve Been Waiting for: Katie Wilson finished 91 votes up in yesterday’s ballot drop. Declaring a win is premature, but we’re sure you’ll find pleasure in this news. If you have any drywall lying around, please donate to the Bruce Harrell Coping Society at your earliest convenience.
And Now, the House: The bill to end the longest, most punishing government shutdown in the history of America, passed the Senate, and heads to the House. The shutdown could end as soon as Wednesday. As the New York Times reported, nothing was “off limits” during this shutdown. His administration took actions none had before.
Hey Senators, Republicans Want You to Kick This Football: Yesterday, seven Democratic Senators (and one Independent) said they were voting for the bill in exchange for Republicans agreeing to hold a separate vote on Affordable Care Act (ACA) health insurance subsidies. But guess what numbskulls, the shutdown was your only leverage to preserve these important subsidies. Republicans have their own ideas about health savings accounts, and House Speaker Mike Johnson is pretty non-committal about actually holding a vote.
Somebody Get the Hated Eight, We Need to Do This:
It’s Veterans Day: But earlier this year, Trump wanted to rename it Victory Day for World War I. He didn’t though. He forgot, we guess?
Shooting Myself in the Boot in Your Mouth: Trump and his minions’ government shutdown will have a long-lasting effect on the readiness of the National Guard and Air National Guard. Around 30,000 full-time civilian technicians who train troops and maintain equipment haven’t been paid since early September. There’s also all the school and training opportunities troops will have to make up. We’re talking thousands upon thousands of hours of vehicle and aircraft maintenance.
Fuck ICE, Says Redmond: Well, not really. But they did turn off their Flock cameras, an AI-powered license plate scanner run by a private company that can’t be trusted to keep its data from ICE, even in states with shield laws. Like ours. Redmond shut the cameras off last week after masked ICE agents arrested seven people. At least three lived less than a mile from the city’s cameras. According to Redmond police, the peeping Feds had not accessed its cameras. But better safe than sorry. Because on Thursday, a Skagit County Superior County judge ruled that data from Flock cameras in Sedro-Wooley and Stanwood were public record and must be released under the state’s public records act.
You’re Now Entering Bothell, so Slow the Heck Down, Buster: Bothell City Council is likely to reduce the speed limit on non-arterial streets from the blindingly fast 25 miles per hour to the just right 20 miles per hour. It’s a small change, but when Portland did the same thing a few years ago, there was a significant reduction in higher-end speeding. Road safety advocates say it’s been a success in Seattle, too, according to the Urbanist.
Weather: Partly sunny, with a high near 53. Light wind. Nice.
A Bad Chapter: I know some of you haven’t stepped foot in a library in years, but they’re very important to rural American life. They’re internet cafes, shelters, a social hub, and an access point for all kinds of services. The modern public house. Trump cuts, Trump ICE raids, and our limping economy are hurting them, the New York Times reports.
Cooked: Wendy’s is closing hundreds of restaurants in the next few months to boost profits and “make its remaining stores more appealing,” whatever that means. As far as Wendy’s is concerned, this is a drop in the bucket, and these stores are underperformers. They’ve got thousands more Baconator factories in this country. On a call to investors, interim CEO Ken Cook (likely name) said some Wendy’s do not “elevate the brand.” What kind of crazy shit are these Wendys up to? Has that red-haired little girl’s hamburger habit finally caught up to her?
Trial: The trial of Walter Jones, the 48-year-old former Seattle Public Schools volunteer weightlifting coach charged with raping a Garfield High School student between 2012 and 2016, began yesterday. The former student, now 25, will testify. Jones’ lawyer said Jones was falsely accused.
Something Good: Evaristo Salas Jr., who spent 27 years in prison for a wrongful conviction, was elected to the school board in Sunnyside, Washington, a city whose agencies he’s still suing for his imprisonment.
UK Suspends Some Intelligence Sharing with US Over Boat Strikes: Our capacity for imperial violence has gone too far, even for England. The UK doesn’t want to be complicit in our strikes on suspected drug traffickers, as our explosives play the role of judge, jury, and executioner. For years, the UK, which still controls territory in the Caribbean, has helped the US Coast Guard intercept suspected drug vessels. According to CNN’s reporting, the British think the strikes, which have killed 76 people, violate international law.
Making America Great, One Slammed Door at a Time: The Trump administration eliminated funding for migrant education. University of Washington’s federally-funded program to recruit students from migrant families and financially support their college education is suspended this year.
Makes No Sense at All:
