This week @mhgreen3000.bsky.social and I sat down with Nilu Jenks, Iranian-American democracy advocate, for a deeply personal conversation about war, diaspora grief, authoritarianism, and the deadly lie of "liberation" through violence. It’s a must-listen. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/i...

I have been sitting with a grief that feels larger than I can name, so I turn to the poetry of my Persian/Iranian ancestors for comfort and guidance.

In his 1961 farewell address, President Eisenhower warned: "In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists & will persist.”

I was recently interviewed for this piece about Louisiana v Callais, a US Supreme Court case that could shape the future of voting rights here in Washington and across the nation.

it took me some years to learn this lesson but I finally understand it

I want to thank @theurbanist.org for writing the first piece on my campaign. It starts to lay the framework for how blue cities like Seattle can lead with our values and be pragmatic about getting results.

WA continues to provide driver data to federal officials for immigration enforcement, despite saying they shut down access

How in the triple-my-premiums healthcare did this get printed?

At the Ursula K LeGuin exhibit today: a poem, "Not making war." Seems relevant.

ICE is terrorizing communities. We must show up for our neighbors - citizen or not. Masked agents assaulting and kidnapping people like this is not justifiable in any context.

I'm not exaggerating when I say following @boltsmag.org rn will unlock money for our journalism. A generous reader, @russ41.bsky.social, has offered to donate $1 for every 1-person increase to our follower count. If you're not following @boltsmag.org yet, it'll directly help fund our reporting!

Today’s victory means that Washingtonians will continue to benefit from the work of these agencies. It also reaffirms that the President can’t reverse the will of the people and their elected representatives with the stroke of a pen. www.atg.wa.gov/news/news-re...

Maybe dumping poop on voters from an airplane is not a surefire electoral strategy

OUTSTANDING interview with @wilsonforseattle.bsky.social on @volts.wtf This is the ONE interview you got to listen to before voting in the Seattle Mayoral election. The fact that Katie is attracting attention from such national leading lights is telling - she is special!

The mass layoffs of federal workers on Friday night swept up the top two leaders of the federal measles response team, even as the nation grapples with the most cases recorded since 2000, when measles was declared eliminated in the U.S.

Trump’s deployment of troops to Portland is a dangerous escalation of authoritarianism. Now is the time to find our own ways of standing up and fighting back to preserve our democracy. Fellow vets: we need you to muster. And those serving: you can refuse an unlawful order as you may receive it.

This is the playbook, folks. If you're not paying attention now and doing something about it, then you're going to have to sit down the rest of your life because democracy is being taken away. Do not be quiet in this moment.

Yup.

“Any serious desire to address the root causes of political violence must include electoral system reform. The body of literature makes clear that proportional representation can help make American democracy more resilient against the scourge of political violence.”

“In one breath, we say we want to save American democracy from Trump. In the next, we insist on blocking the very thing—housing—that would help the state preserve its political clout and ensure the immigrants we say we want to protect can afford to live here.”

I am thinking about how much I love trees, as we breathe in the death of so many of them in Seattle today. 😢 Thoughtful density planning and expanded public transit is how we save not just trees… but forests.

As our neighbors vanish daily, this serves as a meaningful way to honor them and highlight the extent of this issue throughout the city’s

Agents have detained Muhammad Zahid Chaudhry, a disabled U.S. military vet and outspoken critic of U.S.-led war, after his naturalization hearing today at the Tukwila, WA ICE office. His wife, Melissa Chaudhry, ran against Rep. Adam Smith last year on a pro-Palestine platform.

The warming climate, not new infill housing, is the main threat to Seattle’s trees. In fact, the failure to allow infill housing and instead promoting sprawl is why we have a warming climate. If you oppose infill housing in Seattle, you’re helping put our trees at risk.

Democracy vouchers changed everything. Instead of spending my time calling people with money to ask them to donate, I knocked on thousands of doors and really got to understand my community’s needs better.

Everyone who thinks that voters are responding to their own lived experience needs to explain this graph.

Gerrymandering is out of control—and now they want to redraw maps mid-decade. The Fair Representation Act has been reintroduced in Congress, offering a better path: multimember districts and proportional representation. We can fix this—or keep clinging to a broken system eroding faith in democracy.

Almost half of Americans would Struggle to afford an unexpected $500 expense. Almost half. 25% have skipped meals just to make ends meet. This is what the average American is going through while the rich get even richer

Surprise! I didn’t get the District 5 appointment. But please don’t worry about me. My heart wasn’t trampled—I read the tea leaves (and every local media story) and knew where things were headed.

There is a sad dynamic playing out behind the scenes with the Aurora project right now. The legislature earmarked $50 million to reimagine the street. But the mayor isn’t interested in bold change. So SDOT is doing the bare minimum. And if SDOT continues on that path, they’ll lose the money.

Disappointed to see The Seattle Times editorial board leave me out of their article on the candidates for the D5 appointment yesterday. I get that I might not be their typical pick, but excluding me entirely still feels like a stretch.

Rooftop solar power in Australia is the cheapest power available to consumers in the world, full stop. I wish more people knew that.

Our Community Letter, delivered to the Select Committee on the Families, Education, Preschool, and Promise (FEPP) Levy, and to community. Sign on at bit.ly/FEPP2025

We are going to have to have contempt hearings in Abrego Garcia, and the district judge is going to need to start putting people in jail until they comply with the very basic order of “tell me where he is and what you are doing to find out.” I don’t know what else to do.

We should be working to expand and strengthen democracy… not shrinking access to it. We need our elected officials to prioritize our access to representation and to move away from our polarizing electoral system. We can and must do better.

This is what organizing over 1,200 events in a few weeks looks like. This is what democracy looks like. Join the more than half a million of us who will be taking to the streets tomorrow to stand up against Trump’s unprecedented power grab: handsoff2025.com?SQF_SOURCE=i...

This is horrifyingly correct.

Tariffs won’t just hit your wallet. They could also increase food waste. From farm to retail, the threat of trade barriers is already impacting the food supply chain. grist.org/food-and-agr... #Food #Waste #Trash #Climate #Agriculture

I emailed chuck's office last week asking for a donation to help me fight the administration.

KEEP CALLING. PEEL OFF ALL DEM SENATORS YOU CAN. ☎️: (202) 224-3121 Tell them to vote NO on Cloture and NO on CR. Vote is pushed to after 1:15ish for now. Situation is fluid. The only public YES votes are Schumer and Fetterman. They need 7-8 total. KEEP CALLING. Call retiring Senators too!

Join @alexis4seattle.bsky.social on Sat, March 15 from 3-5 at Vera Project! secure.ngpvan.com/LShRVsY-ZkOx... @ryancalkins.bsky.social @blacksandpaper.bsky.social @nicolegomez36.bsky.social @rianwatt.bsky.social @niluj.bsky.social @tech4housing.bsky.social @seiu925.bsky.social @oavotes.bsky.social

Demand the Immediate Release of Palestinian Student Activist Mahmoud Khalil from DHS detention actionnetwork.org/letters/dema...

Well worth a read.

The DOGE firings have nothing to do with “efficiency” or “cutting waste.” They’re a direct push to weaken federal agencies perceived as liberal. This was evident from the start, and now the data confirms it: targeted agencies overwhelmingly those seen as more left-leaning. 🧵⬇️

This is also why I don’t think journalists should allow people to use “woke” without forcing them to provide a specific explanation of what is meant. Too much focus on racial justice? Too much focus on LGBTQ tolerance? Make them say it. Because to be blaming marginalized folks for what’s happening…

The internet is out for the entire #waleg so a lot of committees are now suspended since we can’t hear virtual testimony or really do anything.

Vote YES for social housing (1A) & public schools (both levies)! We need social housing throughout all of Seattle to keep our city affordable for families, workers, artists, students, and more! Social housing + funded public schools = community! @thebethocracy.bsky.social @r343l.bsky.social

This is already out of date, as Amazon just dropped $100K to support Prop 1B. Also, famed Seattle Glass artist Dale Chihuly and his wife also donated $2k to the campaign. Meanwhile, Prop 1A raised almost $15k, including 40 new donors: gossipguy.net/who-is-fundi...

Dear elected officials: I don’t need you to post about the bad things Trump is doing. I need you to post about what you are doing to stop those bad things. And how you’re helping the people hurt by those bad things. Sincerely, Me