I am raging so hard i am about to cry. This is pointless. The President doesn't decide on vaccines. He has no power over this. And even if he was, this would actively harm and kill kids. Its an evil, stupid choice. There is no punishment in Hell that is strong enough for RFK Jr. and Donald Trump.

Dan Diamond@ddiamond.bsky.social · yesterday

BREAKING — Trump is planning to sign an executive order today that calls for spacing out childhood vaccines, breaking the MMR into three separate shots and making other key vaccine changes. @lenasun.bsky.social @rachelroubein.bsky.social

I think this is my favorite smoke-related health impact finding bsky.app/profile/tkov...

PM2.5 Kills ~9 Million People Each Year Worldwide@tkovach.bsky.social · 3w ago

PS: My favorite paragraph from all the papers I read was this one from Law et al (2025), which concludes reducing wildfire smoke would have a public health benefit comparable to the invention of the flu vaccine www.nature.com/articles/s43...

The First Amendment still exists in this house!

The Needling@theneedling.com · 4d ago

Nation Reminded This Is Last Day You Can Talk About Jimothy: tinyurl.com/2ym7b22y

LIFE IS SO COOL I LOVE IT

August 9th: Happy Richard Nixon Resignation Day. When there were consequences for corrupt, criminal presidents.

NEW OP-ED// Op-Ed: State Lawmakers Must Step Up Wildfire Alleviation Efforts By Rep. Shaun Scott via @theurbanist.org

Op-Ed: State Lawmakers Must Step Up Wildfire Alleviation Efforts

Much more work needs to be done to keep Washingtonians safe from forest fires. State Rep. Shaun Scott shares his plan, building on his recently passed Wildfire Alleviation Support Act.

theurbanist.org

UFW union members from WAs Chateau Ste Michelle spent the day handing out N95 masks to non-union farm workers affected by the smoke & fires near Sunnyside WA. “Jesus” shared "We benefitted from a union and want you to benefit too.” #WeFeedYou

Apparently, a speaker advocating for Moda Center subsidies at yesterday's Portland City Council forum looked a lot like Trail Blazers owner Tom Dundon in disguise. Did he really pull a Mr. Snrub?

For Friday's newsletter, I suggested a productive way to address the AI elephant in the room. Subscribe here for our twice-a-week newsletter: www.lni.media

I'd love to credit whoever wrote this. No idea. But I'm 100% with its message. When I think of how the '80s ethos, "Greed is Good" has metastasized, it surprises and depresses me. Imagine having so many millions, hundred of millions, even billions & caring about nothing except your own vanity.

Firefighting aircraft operate at low altitudes, often just a few hundred feet above the ground – the same airspace frequently used by recreational drones. This creates a significant risk of mid-air collisions or dangerous pilot distractions that could lead to catastrophic accidents. #wawildfire

Hey Seattle don’t forget to vote by tomorrow evening, the low turnout for August elections means your vote is going to be extra potent, like you’ve been gooning for democracy

Lefty Cheat Sheet@electioncheatsheet.org · last wk.

Your boss and your landlord have voted.

Please stop flying your personal drones over wildfires. They can ground or collide with our firefighting aircraft, disrupting time critical firefighting and threatening people’s homes. Your photos are not worth someone’s home. If you fly, we can’t.

As everything seems to crater around us, I want to impress upon you that there is ALWAYS SOMETHING YOU CAN DO. Billionaires and their politicians want us to believe that we are helpless. We are NOT. If something makes you mad, find out who's responsible and CALL THEM. Tell others to call.

A video made for me, a loud and unabashed passenger rail lover.

The Urbanist@theurbanist.org · last wk.

NEW STORY// Sunday Video: Where Are America’s Trains? By Stephen Fesler via @theurbanist.org

This is huge

Ada Palmer@adapalmer.bsky.social · 2w ago

Endometriosis takes nine years to diagnose. That’s about to change. NICE has approved two tests: a saliva test reading microRNA markers, and a gut-sensor test returning results in 45 minutes, sparing women the keyhole surgery currently needed. buff.ly/QX3jHk8 #ShareGoodNewsToo

All the video game studios that refuse to use generative AI aftermath.site/video-games-no...

There is no topic in urban planning that has been more exhaustively researched than food deserts. And this research has all shown that the actual constraint is time, not access. Low-income people tend to have less time to cook fresh meals.

Just like last year, it's important for King County voters to mail ballots in early. How early? Why not today? Due to mail processing delays by Trump's USPS, ballots mailed just before or on Election Day are at rick of not being counted. If you do wait until the last minute, just use a drop box!

I have been to so many Democratic org meetings where people insisted the Democrats were a "big tent coalition". I had to accept people who were anti-tax, anti-trans, anti-universal healthcare, anti- every social good because the Democratic party welcomes everyone. Funny how that means nothing now.

Adam H Johnson@ahjohnson.bsky.social · 2w ago

Centrists in Congress (anonymously) threatening to leave this Democratic Party. James Carville calling for a schism. Top Dems refusing to endorse Dem primary winners. Pouty (also anonymous) pro-Israel donors in MI calling for a donor strike—I wrote about the emerging centrist Uncommitted Movement.

I was at the vigil organized by community members from gun violence prevention groups tonight at #Seattle Center. Some folks came and heckled @mayor.seattle.gov. Friends. I know you’re angry and scared. But if I may, let me offer you some better people to yell at. Yell at me. And I can say why 🧵

The gun industry will tell you that guns make us safer. No one in Seattle was made to feel safer yesterday. Victims of domestic violence do not feel safer when their abuser has a gun. Parents in neighborhoods with high rates of gun violence do not get to feel better about their children’s safety. 1/

Beware anyone who expects you to die for the cause when they won’t even cross the street for it.

Bob Hasegawa doesn't usually get called out as one of the leading progressives in the WA Leg. But hes been leading on universal healthcare and public banking for so long. Hes a real one.

Money on the Left@moneyontheleft.bsky.social · 2w ago

As a leader in the rank-and-file movement to democratize the union and eradicate systemic corruption, Hasegawa was elected to union leadership in the Teamsters’ first-ever democratic vote, only to subsequently witness a disappointing return to corruption enabled by the Clinton administration.

We won. Thousands of kids in Seattle will not go hungry this school year because we organized, fought hard, and won. Huge credit to @mayor.seattle.gov Katie Wilson for pushing the universal free school meals proposal. It’s her victory too.

Amy Sundberg@amysundberg.bsky.social · 3w ago

WOW. New announcement from Seattle CMs Strauss, Hollingsworth, and Foster saying they will fund universal school meals starting in the fall after all by using the general fund. Hard to see this as anything but a realization of the high political price they paid for their votes yesterday.

I spent the first 5 years of my public health career working on WIC, SNAP and SNAP-Ed. Any program that requires "qualifying" is going to under deliver to people who need that assistance while costing more to implement. Universal school meals is good, equitable policy that should've been passed.

Erica C. Barnett@ericacbarnett.bsky.social · 3w ago

The Seattle City Council just voted 6-3 to approve Joy Hollingsworth's amendment to delay universal school lunches for kids, replacing them with vouchers for qualifying low-income parents to buy groceries over school breaks and weekends. Eddie Lin, Alexis Mercedes Rinck, and Rob Saka voted no.

Here is AMR dissenting over the false dichotomy of providing school meals for kids. These are the sources that the more tenured city councilmembers funded this year - Graffiti abatement: $4.1M - Unified Care Team (homeless sweeps): $30M - Real time crime center funding for Axon CCTV cameras): $4.9M

Brett Hamil@bretthamil.bsky.social · 3w ago

btw AMR is the ONLY councilmember who has pointed out that we could easily take this $3m out of SPD funds and they wouldn't even notice. That is literally the whole debate and every single one of them has elided that fact but one

While the annual So Cal family visit is always a delight, theres nothing greater than coming home to the PNW and chugging a glass of delicious tap water.