Seattle city attorney candidate defends
past inflammatory tweets as ‘satire
and sarcasm’
Posted By: Ron_lfp, 10/5/2021 4:21:40 PM
Seattle most high-profile election this November might well be one that’s often overlooked. One candidate, abolitionist Nicole Thomas-Kennedy, has come under fire in recent weeks for social media posts that go beyond mere abolition and trend toward overt threats of violence against police. (snip) Some of her past tweets defended violence against police. One describes those who committed arson against a city property as “heroes.” Another commends the use of explosives against the East Precinct.
Below, you will find ...
Most Recent Articles posted by "Ron_lfp"
and
Most Active Articles (last 48 hours)
Most Recent Articles posted by
Ron_lfp"
Seattle most high-profile election this November might well be one that’s often overlooked. One candidate, abolitionist Nicole Thomas-Kennedy, has come under fire in recent weeks for social media posts that go beyond mere abolition and trend toward overt threats of violence against police. (snip) Some of her past tweets defended violence against police. One describes those who committed arson against a city property as “heroes.” Another commends the use of explosives against the East Precinct.
And the category is: Failing leadership
2 replies
[cartoon] With a disturbingly big spike in gun violence this year, Seattle is beginning to feel like old Dodge City before Wyatt Earp showed up.
Tuesday afternoon, a woman was shot during a robbery in the Green Lake neighborhood. (snip) Oh, yeah, that staffing crisis. While more guns have been blazing, the city has seen 300 police officers quit their jobs in the last 18 months. A big share of those departures are certainly related to the drastic cuts in the police budget imposed by the city council majority — reductions that led to the resignation of Seattle’s first Black, female chief, Carmen Best.
The campaign seeking to recall Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant has officially turned its signatures in to King County Elections. (snip) The recall petition levies four primary allegations against Sawant:
-- That Sawant endangered City employees by admitting hundreds of protesters into City Hall after hours in June of 2020
-- That she violated City hiring rules by giving decision-making authority to Socialist Alternative
-- That she misused council resources to promote a ballot initiative in early February
-- That she led a protest to Mayor Jenny Durkan’s home, the location of which is protected under state confidentiality laws
Seattle Public Schools (SPS) withheld the religious and medical exemption forms for the COVID-19 vaccination mandate until after the first deadline to get the Moderna vaccine passed. This entire process seems rigged against using exemptions.
School staff in Washington must be fully vaccinated by Oct. 18, or they will be terminated. Medical and religious exemptions are supposed to be offered for employees who wish to seek them.
But a spokesperson for SPS confirmed that the district hadn’t sent out the forms yet. They are expected to go out this week. By the time staff receive the exemptions, it may be too late to use them.
Safety concerns over the scene in and around the King County Courthouse in downtown Seattle have increased in recent weeks.
These are concerns that existed even before a dozens-strong homeless encampment took hold at City Hall Park. (snip) Beyond judges, their staff, or anyone else working at the courthouse, many others either have to come to the courthouse in person because they are filing for a protective order, or need to engage... (snip) the court is ramping up so that we can get more cases out there. But we cannot do that unless we have jurors who are willing to come to court.”
Washington State's Tax Revolt
7 replies
Tax revolts are usually led by citizens, sometimes banding together into taxpayer groups. But in Washington State, the latest tax revolt is being engineered by cities and towns objecting to the Democratic-led state legislature’s attempt to impose a capital gains tax. Local officials fear that the new levy (snip) could hamper economic growth and opportunity. (snip) Five Washington communities have passed resolutions in recent weeks pledging to outlaw income taxes at the local level if the state adopts income or capital gains taxes. (snip) Over the years, voters have rejected ten attempts to amend the constitution to institute an income tax
Pete Holmes concedes Seattle city attorney
race; Thomas-Kennedy, Davison
will face off in Novembe 7 replies
race; Thomas-Kennedy, Davison
will face off in Novembe 7 replies
Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes conceded on Friday, as he fell further behind his two primary opponents in an election that will bring an end to his 12 years in office.
The result will leave Seattle with a clear-cut choice in November between a law-and-order candidate and an abolitionist who wants to halt most misdemeanor prosecutions. (snip) Davison says Holmes has been prosecuting too few misdemeanors (the city attorney does not handle felony offenses), while Thomas-Kennedy says he has been prosecuting far too many.
COVID mandates resulted in nearly 150 Seattle businesses permanently closing. But as the Seattle economy finally reopens, residents and tourists have a new retail outlet to buy clothing and alcohol.
It’s a few blocks away from Pike Place Market, occupying prime real estate near Sub Pop Records and trendy restaurants Serious Pie and Shaker + Spear.
But there’s a problem: It’s an illegal bazaar appealing mostly to homeless people. It sells what appears to be stolen goods. And the city hasn’t done anything about it yet. (snip) The Mayor’s Office ignored questions on whether or not they supported efforts to remove the bazaar from the sidewalk.
At least twice in recent years, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan’s administration rejected budget proposals to improve the city’s handling and preservation of text messages, shooting down detailed plans that staff said could help employees comply with state law and save the city from costly penalties for destroying public records.
Now the mayor and other high-ranking officials are embroiled in controversy over months’ worth of texts that have been deleted, including messages exchanged during the tumultuous weeks last June when Seattle police tear-gassed racial justice demonstrators and abandoned the city’s East Precinct station.
Thirty-three King County Superior Court judges and four court commissioners on Friday signed a letter to Seattle Parks and Recreation Superintendent Jesús Aguirre, requesting that he shut down City Hall Park and relocate residents of a sprawling encampment immediately south of the downtown county courthouse.
“We are writing out of deep concern for the safety of jurors, Courthouse employees, the general public and those who find themselves unhoused and sheltering in and around City Hall Park,” the judges and commissioners wrote.
“As you know, conditions in and around the King County Courthouse vicinity, including City Hall Park, have been in a critical, unsafe and unhealthy stage for years.
OLYMPIA, Wash. - With the state expected as of Wednesday to fully reopen June 30th, most parents are also wondering what schools will look like in the fall.
It's an important question to single dad Christopher Neugebauer who has an 11-year-old daughter.
(snip) That’s where the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction stands but how do the unions representing teachers feel about it? It will boil down to union negotiations with district administrators.
"I can’t promise that fully we just don’t know what the health and safety requirements will be for next year," said Jared Kink with Everett Education Association.
This month, youth homelessness was supposed to be solved.
Two years ago, members of Pearl Jam joined Seattle’s mayor, the county executive and philanthropy leaders representing the wealth of the region to promise that by June 2021, any young person who showed up at a shelter would get permanent housing in 30 days or less. (snip) The percentage of homeless youth housed in 2020 remained unchanged from before the campaign — 31%, making up less than a thousand people, more than 10% of whom will likely become homeless again in six months if past trends hold.
Most Active Articles (last 48 hours)
The union that represents some of Hollywood's most important workers has voted to approve a strike in a move that could shut down nearly all US film and television production.
Members of the International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees (IATSE), which covers camera crews, prop masters, hairdressers and other craft workers say they are being worked to death with gruelling hours and no guaranteed rest or meal breaks.
Members are demanding better work conditions, as well as fairer pay from streaming services to cover their share of labour.
Over 50,000 workers voted overwhelmingly - 98% in favour to 2% against
China warned that World War Three could be triggered 'at any time' on Tuesday after it sent dozens of warplanes into Taiwan's airspace.An article in the state-backed Global Times newspaper said that 'collusion' between the US and Taiwan was so 'audacious' that the situation 'has almost lost any room for manoeuvre, teetering on the edge of a face-off.'It claimed that the people of China were ready to back all-out war with the US, which backs Taiwan, warning the island nation against 'playing with fire'. Taiwan, a democracy which considers itself a sovereign state, urged China and president Xi Jinping to put a halt to 'proactive actions' after
After the patron saint of restricting Americans’ freedoms suggested we might need to cancel Christmas, I suppose this shouldn’t come as all that much of a surprise. The CDC is announcing today that they are recommending that Americans celebrate Thanksgiving virtually again this year. You probably don’t need me to tell you that this is one turkey of an idea that Joe Biden isn’t going to be able to make fly. But the new guidelines have all sorts of unpleasant nuggets built into them for any of you dangerous people who still insist on carving up the turkey with your family. Oh, and you have to scroll
Moving on Up: LA and Seattle Homeless
Will Be Relocated to Taxpayer-Funded Luxury Apartments 43 replies
Will Be Relocated to Taxpayer-Funded Luxury Apartments 43 replies
Three glistening new buildings in downtown Seattle with 165 studio apartments — originally to be rented at market rates — will instead house the homeless.
The Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI) is buying the buildings with taxpayer dollars for about $50 million, with federal COVID-19 relief funds splitting the cost equally. Seattle City Hall is contributing about $25 million, while also using “American Rescue Plan Act” funds. A large portion comes from Washington State’s Department of Commerce.
Left-wing Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, so unpopular she can’t run for re-election, claims the deals will house people quickly and cheaply, compared to the time and cost required to develop similar projects from scratch.
Well, well, well… This is interesting. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland recently instructed the FBI to begin investigating parents who confront school board administrators over Critical Race Theory indoctrination material. The U.S. Department of Justice issued a memorandum to the FBI instructing them to initiate investigations of any parent attending a local school board meeting who might be viewed as confrontational, intimidating or harassing.
‘F*** Biden’ signs outside Michigan
presidential visit were embarrassing,
says congresswoman 37 replies
presidential visit were embarrassing,
says congresswoman 37 replies
HOWELL, MI -- President Joe Biden saw a clear message from the window of his motorcade while driving to an event in Howell on Tuesday.
“F*** Biden” was visible on flags and signs carried by a crowd of protesters gathered along M-59 in Livingston County, a deeply conservative part of the state. U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Holly, said she was “embarrassed” by the profane message as she sat next to the president, who pointed out the signs as they passed by the rally.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen defended Tuesday the new IRS rule requiring all transactions above $600 to be reported as she backed Joe Biden's controversial anti-private banking, Soviet-born pick to lead her department's Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). 'Collection of information is routine,' Yellen assured when asked by CNBC's Squawk Box co-host Andrew Ross Sorkin about the new information collection that some Americans claim is an invasion of privacy.(Snip)She added: 'It's a simple way for the IRS to get a sense where that might be–it's just a few pieces of information about people's bank accounts.'
Biden is Brewing a National Crisis
34 replies
Have we ever had a president who in mere months made so many dumb, intemperate decisions, thereby precipitating major crises? You’d think that the Afghanistan and border fiascos would suffice for one four-year term. But the smart money is that we haven’t seen the last of Biden-manufactured crises. Biden is a nightmare version of Pig-Pen of the Peanuts comic strip.. A perpetual cloud of incompetence, conceits, corruption, and shabby political motives swirls around him. (snip) As Niall Stanage of the Hill put it, “President Biden’s biggest vulnerability isn’t any single issue. It’s the risk that he could be seen as losing control of events.”
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Monday urged Republican senators to “get out of the way” and let Democrats suspend the nation’s debt limit, hoping to keep the U.S. government from bumping dangerously close to a credit default as Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell refuses to lend his party’s help. Biden’s criticism came with Congress facing an Oct 18 deadline to allow for more borrowing to keep the government operating after having accrued a total public debt of $28.4 trillion. The House has passed a measure to suspend the debt limit, but McConnell is forcing Senate Democrats into a cumbersome
AG Merrick Garland Orders FBI to Combat
‘Threats of Violence’ Against Public
School Officials 33 replies
‘Threats of Violence’ Against Public
School Officials 33 replies
Days after a national organization representing school board officials lamented to the Biden administration about “hate groups” intimidating education officials, Attorney General Merrick Garland has directed the FBI to combat “threats of violence” against administrators.Without citing specific cases, in a memorandum issued on Monday, Merrick Garland expressed concern about a “disturbing spike in harassment, intimidation, and threats of violence against school administrators, board members, teachers, and staff who participate in the vital work of running our nation’s public schools.”“While spirited debate about policy matters is protected under our Constitution, that protection does not extend to threats of violence or efforts to intimidate individuals
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema was confronted by another group of activists on Monday during her trip back to Washington, DC, one day after she was accosted while teaching a class at Arizona State University. During and after her flight to Reagan National Airport, the Arizona Democrat was filmed by protesters who pressed her on her resistance to voting for the $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation bill. Video footage uploaded to Twitter showed Sinema walking through the airport and talking on her cellphone as several protesters gathered around her, filming on their phones.
Chicago now is like Dodge City before Marshal Dillon arrived: a fatal shootout on its streets is no crime because both sides were shooting. (snip) An escalating number of shootouts is the inescapable implication of the decision of the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office to release all five suspects arrested in a fatal shootout between rival gangs in the city’s Southside Austin neighborhood (snip) “Mutual combatants was cited as the reason for the rejection.” Mutual combat is a legal term used to define a fight or struggle that two parties willingly engage in.
Comments:
She was serious and was comfortable defending violence against police because elected officials from Gov. Inslee to Mayor Durkin were silent about it. And still are.