There is a gulf in America. I submit it is the gulf between good and evil, or at least not-evil and evil. The gulf is not just between people who oppose this and people who are indifferent to it or reluctantly accept it in support of immigration policy or see it as collateral damage. /1

Wow, what an uninspiring message. So much so it's incredible it was even said out loud. Anyhow, of course we should hope. No one knows what's going to happen in the future. So let's hold strong to our convictions and work towards a better world.

We are thrilled to announce that our NEW Large Language Model will be released on 11.18.25.

Like collecting more surveillance data that the feds can then try to co-opt. Nothing could go wrong with this plan.

Yes, exactly this. There are some things that can't be compromised on. The paradox of tolerance and all that.

This IS a great headline and also: Seattle! Get the word out! Someone was exposed to rabies and needs to seek medical care IMMEDIATELY!

A lot of misinformation is sort of like a sci-fi world where stories were developed to keep the proles in line, but the people consuming those stories came into power and took them as fact and this is what we got, and now it's just untethered from any sort of grounding.

I'm watching today's Maritza Rivera-dominated budget meetings, and she said some wild stuff, including that the CARE first responders may be a waste of money (she's seen "no data" or results; there is data, and results).

Harrell's Latest Budget Spikes City's Deficit by Piling On New Spending In Election Year Harrell's 2026 budget includes big new investments in police, the 2026 World Cup, and graffiti removal—plus millions in one-time spending on priorities that require a long-term approach.

This thread is heavy on Harrell’s responses, but justifiably so: as the incumbent, Harrell should be held to task for his failings, including how what he’s saying now doesn’t measure up to what he’s done. He’s been inadequate for Seattle’s needs and his behavior now shows he’s unfit to continue.

It also remains interesting (if a bit predictable) that Harrell's entire pitch against Wilson seems to be that Seattle can't accomplish big things and must accept the inadequate status quo.

Obligatory reposting to make sure @tonydowler.bsky.social has seen this—it looks like something I should check out, too! (I could use a new webcomic to follow, so I do kind of wish this were that rather than a physical manga series.)

You guys, the proposed Metro budget invests in TROLLEYBUSES!

As one should!

The city council is failing Seattle. The mayor is failing Seattle. The people need to recognize this and not fail to vote for progressive change in the next election.

Mayor Harrell is out of touch and thinks the rest of us should be too.

They're similar games, in that Pasiones de las Pasiones lets you do any story in the style of a telenovela while GURPS lets you do any story in the style of a spreadsheet.

"We have all become characters in a story where our actions carry actual weight and consequence. Our industry faces the most sophisticated, venomous, creeping evil in America’s history. There’s no standing above this conflict."

A few months ago I pitched @lisatozzi.bsky.social a story about the revival of an ancient Hawaiian board game. She said just go and write it. Before the story was published today she was laid off — so thank you to Lisa for making this happen and everyone involved in the story except Mark Zuckerberg

Earlier this year, my office went to the State Capitol to support SB 5184, which slashes parking mandates. The bill passed, but Seattle isn’t required to comply until 2027. With the passage of my Comp Plan Amendment 85, however, we’ll be putting these reduced parking mandates into effect this year!

So honored! Let’s go win this!

Only one note --which is that many of them are not "moderates" - they are "centrists" as in, on the edge between Dems and Republicans.

What the fuck is wrong with you, my native state of New Hampshire? Why aren’t you part of this? I hate how often NH seems to mistake the meaning and implications of “Live Free” and ends up choosing “or Die” as its preference.

This is a remarkable declaration and challenge to Congress: "We call on you to pass nothing less than a fighting CR: a funding bill that not only keeps the lights on, but that also includes statutory protections to rein in executive lawlessness." Spread the word.

Exactly this. Upzoning everything between the ship canal and 85th in particular would go a really long way toward addressing this.

NEW // Hundreds Turn Out for Last Seattle Growth Plan Hearing By Doug Trumm via @theurbanist.org // 🔗 www.theurbanist.org/2025/09/15/h...

This entire thread is an excellent set of safety practices

👀

WHAT IF WE HAD POLITICAL WILL? Transportation dollars are scarce, but a new progressive mayoral administration can make a big impact without breaking the bank. Here’s my list. 🧵

"Day Tents" and "Active Rat's Nests": Council's Housing Budget Interrogation Goes Off the Rails The council was supposed to be discussing why the Office of Housing has money left over at the end of each year. They quickly turned to other grievances. publicola.com/2025/09/12/d...

Harrell on the Attack and Defensive in First Televised Mayoral Debate Referring to his opponent as "this person," the mayor called labor advocate and policy wonk Katie Wilson a lightweight with no experience while dodging questions about his own missteps. publicola.com/2025/09/12/h...

This incidentally is why we keep getting saddled with feckless mayors and now the incompetent idiots that make the majority of the council. Seattle has been a major US city for more than my 55 years and yet reactionary small-minded people keep a stranglehold on it, trying to deny that reality.

I travel a fair amount, and most parts of Seattle are depressingly bereft of urban life compared to comparably sized (and bigger) cities across the US and the world. The insular, parochial attitudes here will continue to keep Seattle from being a real city unless city leaders decide to let it.

Ultimately, the argument for "quiet," "quaint" neighborhoods occupied entirely by car-based house owners is that cities are bad and Seattle shouldn't be a city. Cities have places to go, people on the street, opportunities to encounter people who aren't in your nuclear family. They want suburbs.

I co-sign this thread about the hearing for Seattle’s Comprehensive Plan update. Somehow I never stop being flummoxed and appalled by how many people act like Seattle, in the top 25 US cities for DECADES, is a small suburban city like Nashua NH—1/10 the population of Seattle—where I grew up.

It’s a neat trick these council members pull to be so serious about their concerns while demonstrating through their ignorance and recalcitrance an utter lack of seriousness about their jobs. Their ignorance and incompetence feed each other in a vicious cycle that drags the whole city down.

For some reason everyone focuses on the Midwest or central-West states as the whitest, but fun fact: for decades, the three whitest states have been the New England trio of Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire. As of 2022, West Virginia took third from NH; Utah was 12th in 2015 and 18th in 2022.

If you condemn the death of Charlie Kirk—and you should—then you must also condemn the life of Kirk. But the people who most need to understand that are those who support Kirk, and they will never condemn his work because they too want the impunity to kill anyone who is not like them.

I love this whole thread. Transit is magic, and the promise of a better world.

/4 But it’s perfectly reasonable to point out that the people who will wave the bloody shirt over this — the people who support Charlie Kirk — are evil hypocrites who endorse and excuse violence every day. Refraining from celebrating doesn’t mean tolerating bullshit. bsky.app/profile/thre...

The truth of the matter is that if anyone but Charlie Kirk had been killed at today’s shooting, then Charlie Kirk would be out there right now using the shooting as pretext to deliver arguments designed to make sure that the next shooting would happen, and the next one, and the next, and the next.

It’s fine to say that violence is never the answer, but I can’t help but observe that for Charlie Kirk violence was always the answer, and it was the only answer he offered, and, because of the privilege that he refused to admit he had, he could enact it from a comfortable and respectable place.

Harrell's repeated insistence that opponents have no right to criticize his policy priorities shows that he's on the defensive. It also highlights the tendency among this mayor and this city council to express high umbrage at the dissent their dissatisfied constituents have every right to express.

Brief thread that illustrates how Harrell is a blustering do-nothing of a mayor and we very much need him replaced in this year’s election. Vote Katie Wilson for mayor!

And yet, I fully expect (the majority of) this council to ignore the public comments, claim to have broader support across the city, and push through this legislation that will harm the city in the delusional belief it will instead be making things safer and better.

So, so tired of the reactionary nonsense endlessly bogging down Seattle politics and making things in the city worse out of some misguided delusion it’s what “the people” want and will somehow make things better, actually.

I’m glad both Kettle and @alexis4seattle.bsky.social support some version of making my neighborhood a Neighborhood Center, but Kettle could still be doing better; likewise the QA Community Council neither opposing nor supporting the QA Urban Center expansion. www.theurbanist.org/wp-content/u...

In fact I do like infinitely large buildings, surrealism, and god-patrons -- if you do, too, this looks like a winner.

This Office of Civil Rights report on Seattle's surveillance expansion is enlightening. I'll unpack it for you later this week, but if you want to take a look now, it's a good source for helping you write any emails and/or public comments regarding the final council vote tomorrow afternoon.

I’m hoping this is a thing that could change with better leadership at the top, say with Katie Wilson for mayor…?