Category Archives: Government

The signal app snafu

Posted on March 27, 2025 by Jim deMaine

Heather Cox Richardson Mar 27 Monday’s astounding story that the most senior members of President Donald Trump’s administration planned military strikes on Yemen over an unsecure commercial messaging app, on which they had included national security reporter and editor in … Continue reading →

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Violation of the Espionage Act?

Posted on March 25, 2025 by Jim deMaine

Heather Cox Richardson Mar 25 Today the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg, dropped the story that senior members of the Trump administration planned the March 15 U.S. attack on the Houthis in Yemen over Signal, a widely available encrypted … Continue reading →

Posted in Communication, Government, Media, War | 1 Comment

Skybridge proposal goes to City Council’s Transportation Committee today

Posted on March 18, 2025 by Jim deMaine

The City Council’s transportation committee meets today at 9:30 AM. The second item on the agenda is a vote of approval for Skyline’s skybridge. Three residents are slated to give a brief supportive statement during the public comment period. If … Continue reading →

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Happy Birthday, Maine

Posted on March 15, 2025 by Jim deMaine

Heather Cox Richardson March 15 is a crucially important day in U.S. history As the man who taught me to use a chainsaw said, it is immortalized by Shakespeare’s famous warning: “Cedar! Beware the adze of March!” He put it … Continue reading →

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NIH to ax grants on vaccine hesitancy, mRNA vaccines

Posted on March 11, 2025 by Jim deMaine

Thanks to Ed M. A UW  colleague who has published multiple studies on immunization hesitancy received this notice from NIH today: [All your] federally funded vaccine research projects terminated today effective immediately. In the termination letter, the NIH says this: … Continue reading →

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Trump Is Nero While Washington Burns

Posted on March 9, 2025 by Jim deMaine

‘Trump’s message is that being his ally serves no purpose, because he will not defend you.’ By Claude Malhuret in The Atlantic (thanks to Mary Jane F.) March 8, 2025, 7 AM Editor’s Note: On Tuesday, the French senator Claude Malhuret gave … Continue reading →

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Telephone Town Hall

Posted on March 8, 2025 by Jim deMaine

Thanks to Rick B and Mary Jane F. You’re Invited: March 11th Telephone Town Hall! people Update from Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal  – If you weren’t able to make it to my last town hall, where we had 1,000 people come … Continue reading →

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From Churchill to Trump – a terrifying transition

Posted on March 6, 2025 by Jim deMaine

Commentary by Heather Cox Richardson (thanks to Mary M.) In the gym of Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, on March 5, 1946, former and future prime minister of the United Kingdom Winston Churchill rose to deliver a speech. Formally titled … Continue reading →

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Letter: This will truly be a new golden age for America. Out with D.E.I., in with T.E.I.

Posted on March 3, 2025 by Jim deMaine

Letter to the editor in the Salt Lake Tribune – thanks to Bob P. (Photo courtesy of Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation/© Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation) Maurizio Cattelan’s “America”, is a solid gold, fully functioning toilet that was installed in the … Continue reading →

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Keepers of the Land

Posted on February 27, 2025 by Jim deMaine

by David B. Williams in the Street Smart Naturalist (thanks to Mary M.) Many, many years ago, I was a national park ranger at Arches National Park and the Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site. As a ranger, I led … Continue reading →

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The budget mess – commentary by Heather Cox Richardson

Posted on February 25, 2025 by Jim deMaine

On Friday, February 21, former transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg posted: “A defining policy battle is about to come to a head in this country. The Republican budget will force everyone—especially Congress and the White House—to make plain whether they are … Continue reading →

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Commentary update by Heather Cox Richardson

Posted on February 22, 2025 by Jim deMaine

Ed note: Historian Heather Cox Richardson helps make the current current political chaos understandable putting events in context. In an appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) yesterday, billionaire Elon Musk seemed to be having difficulty speaking. Musk brandished … Continue reading →

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How to topple Trump in six steps

Posted on February 22, 2025 by Jim deMaine

By David Brewster February 21, 2025 Like many, I am tired of waiting for the congressional Republicans to grow a spine, and for Democrats to get their resistance act together. Instead, I suggest aspects of a shadow government and an … Continue reading →

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Trump in the World 2.0 Spring Lecture Series

Posted on February 18, 2025 by Jim deMaine

Thanks to Marilyn W. Join us for Trump in the World 2.0, a series of talks and discussions on the international impact of the second Trump presidency. Moderator: Danny Hoffman, Director of the Jackson School of International Studies and Stanley … Continue reading →

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Congresswoman Jayapal at Town Hall

Posted on February 16, 2025 by Jim deMaine

Thanks to Mary Jane F. There is no question that it has been a difficult start to this year and the new Trump administration — from funding freezes to executive orders that have caused chaos across the country. We must … Continue reading →

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Make your voice heard.

Posted on February 15, 2025 by Jim deMaine

Ed note: Please consider joining this group: https://5calls.org/. It connects you with issues of concern and gives you the number/persons to call. You can also subscribe to their newsletter. It’s a chance for your voice to be heard. Calling your … Continue reading →

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Understanding RFK Jr.

Posted on February 11, 2025 by Jim deMaine

Ed note: Since the time of Pasteur, Lister, Koch and Semmelweis we’ve all (but for a few) accepted the germ theory of disease. One of those few who does not accept established science is RFK Jr. Yet, he’s about to … Continue reading →

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Thousands of Danes sign petition to buy California from U.S.

Posted on February 11, 2025 by Jim deMaine

 Travis Schlepp in KTLA5 Morning News (thanks to Bob P.) In response to President Donald Trump’s continued musing about the U.S. acquiring Greenland from Denmark, Danish citizens have launched their own effort to purchase America’s most economically prosperous state. An online petition seeking the … Continue reading →

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A sidelined Congress and Republicans are largely mum about the seizure of their power.

Posted on February 10, 2025 by Jim deMaine

Heather Cox Richardson Feb 10 On Friday, President Donald Trump issued an executive order “protecting Second Amendment rights.” The order calls for Attorney General Pam Bondi to examine all gun regulations in the U.S. to make sure they don’t infringe … Continue reading →

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How, when and why Seattle started to shift into a bike-friendlier city

Posted on February 9, 2025 by Jim deMaine

By Tom Fucoloro in the Seattle Times My note: Our first home (rental) in 1969 was near those railroad tracks and Matthew’s Beach. Sandy Wood and Jim Todd lived near us and we would gather the neighborhood to discuss world events. … Continue reading →

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I Ran U.S.A.I.D. Killing It Is a Win for Autocrats Everywhere.

Posted on February 7, 2025 by Jim deMaine

By Samantha Power in the NYT (Thanks to Diana C.) Ms. Power was the administrator of the United States Agency for International Development in the Biden administration. We are witnessing one of the worst and most costly foreign policy blunders in … Continue reading →

Posted in Essays, Ethics, Food, Government, Health, Justice, Kindness, Morality, Philanthropy, Poverty, Social justice | Comments Off on I Ran U.S.A.I.D. Killing It Is a Win for Autocrats Everywhere.

Data and communication are gold

Posted on February 4, 2025 by Jim deMaine

“What the hell is going on? by Katelyn Jetelina in Your Local Epidemiologist Feb 04, 2025 It’s February 4. That matters because, as of February 1, the communications freeze at federal agencies, including CDC, FDA, and NIH, was supposed to … Continue reading →

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CDC Data Are Disappearing

Posted on February 3, 2025 by Jim deMaine

The agency has already removed scientific data from public view. More could follow. By Katherine J. Wu (Thanks to Ed M.) The CDC campus in Atlanta (Smith Collection / Gado / Getty) Last night, scientists began to hear cryptic and foreboding warnings … Continue reading →

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What so proudly we hailed …

Posted on February 2, 2025 by Jim deMaine

Thanks to Dan S. As the Pentagon and the State Department try to cancel Black History Month, our Martin Luther King County (Harborview) Hospital flies the Afro-American Black Liberation flag with the American flag, no longer at half-mast in observation … Continue reading →

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RFK Jr.’s War Against Cancer…Prevention

Posted on February 1, 2025 by Jim deMaine

A recent Senate confirmation hearing revealed RFK Jr.’s secret war against cancer prevention. by Paul Offit (thanks to Ed M.) Human papillomavirus (HPV) causes cancer. Every year, HPV causes about 20,000 cancers in women and 14,000 in men. For women, … Continue reading →

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