Rich city...
Rich people city... Charles Mudede

Embattled Mayor Murray Surprises Everyone With a Proposal to Tax Seattle's Rich: According to the Seattle Times, Mayor Ed Murray proposal to impose a city income tax on the rich had for many at a forum for mayoral candidates that happened in a Lake City church last night the unmistakable air of coming out of nowhere. It was like nothing he had said before. And why was he saying such a thing now? Was he looking for light, any light out there, because his political career is in its darkest hours?

Seattle Times says that the former Mayor Mike McGinn, who attended the forum, and who announced his run for mayor early this week with, indeed, a proposal to tax the rich, could not hide his surprise when he heard Murray talking his talk, and also the talk of the progressive organization Transit Riders Union, which, with other like-minded organizations, believe the tax is needed to "Trump-Proof Seattle." (The urban planner and activist Cary Moon and lawyer and activist Nikkita Oliver also participated in the forum.)

Our embattled mayor even said he was going to do this thing in a matter of weeks. The City Council would vote on it; but even if it cleared that hurdle, it would most likely end up stuck in our courts for lord knows how long. The rich hold on to their money with the tenacity of a dead man.

What Are The Current Layoffs At Boeing Really About? According to an internal memo from John Hamilton, the head of engineering for Boeing Commercial Airplanes, the job cuts are all about keeping the company competitive in a harsh market environment. So, those who lose their jobs should not take it personally. It's just business. But the real reason for the cut is found in the heart of the excellent and frank post on Everett's Herald Net:

Boeing executives have promised to keep sending more cash to shareholders and to boost profits to about 15 percent of revenue, more than 50 percent above the company’s performance last year. They also pledged to continue spending billions of dollars to buy back issued shares, driving up the value of outstanding shares.

It's not that Boeing is not making profits (seven percent profit is actually a big deal); but the company is not making enough profits for its shareholders, who need big profits today in order to extract more wealth from the future, capitalism's final frontier. If profits are small today, then more of tomorrowland closes up.

Guns And Cars: The picture Edmond's police have of this incident: There was a burst of road rage at an intersection, then bullets started flying, then there were speeding cars, and all of this ended in a two-car crash. Ain't that America.

Washington Woman Convicted of Animal Cruelty Arrested in Oregon: Last year, a court found 58-year-old Kathryn St. Clare guilty of making the lives of 100 cats in her RV miserable. When she was arrested this Monday in Warrenton, Oregon, there were 41 live cats and a dead one in her car, according to the police. When called to do so, my mind needs only to make a little effort to provide me with a very distinct idea of the smell of St. Clare's car.

Two Teens Enter a 7-Eleven: In the 600 block of 1st Avenue. One is said to be a 19-year-old man; the other, a 17-year-old girl. According to KOMO, this is how it all went down: They took stuff (booze and so on) out of the store allegedly without paying for it. When confronted by a store employee, one of the teens, the 19-year-old man, allegedly pulled out a gun. If he did so or no, one thing is for sure: these were the last moments of his young life. The countdown to his Armageddon started. He may have sensed this, for what else is a moment of danger but the feeling that this might be it, this is what undoes me—this avalanche in the distance, this speeding and skidding car, this charging water buffalo—this is how I end. That attendant of the 7-Eleven? He was looking at one of the last persons he would ever see again. And the sky—that sky, which was blue around this time with, in the distance, clouds as big and majestic as continents? If he looked up, that was the last bit of blue he would see because in a few minutes all would be nothing to him.

Cops were called, soon arrived, and almost immediately contacted the suspects. A struggle ensued; and the 17-year-old girl allegedly hit one of the cops over the head with a beer bottle. Bullets were exchanged. An officer's chin was hit. One officer's hand was hit. Another officer's life was saved by their bulletproof vest. The 17-year-old girl was captured, and the 19-year-old man was found dead in an office building he had slipped into. The police have not informed the public of how this young man died. He was only 19, in a madman's dream.



Louisiana Man Who Has Been Shrimping for Years Is Just Like Trump: He hates science. He knows things have changed, but that has nothing to do with "man-made climate change." The man has been shrimping in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, for 54 years. He is 67-years-old. Everything looks just fine to him. "I work outside in the weather on a boat, and it's all pretty much been the same for me," he told CNN. "The climate is exactly the same as when I was a kid. Summers hot, winters cold." There you go. The world is fine because this man's world is fine. The world is the same because this man's world is the same—and he is right. The day his heart stops, which can't be too far in the future, the climate would not have changed much for him.

Trump Is Not a President: Or a king. He looks and behaves like a chief from some dusty and underdeveloped country that's not "up on things."


The Price of Too Much Loving a White Man:



It's Been One Year and So Many Hours Since You Took Your Music From Me: