Give Us Back Our Library Funding: The feds cut funding for Washington State libraries in prisons, in rural areas and on tribal lands. According to The Seattle Times, an April 1 memo from the Institute of Museum and Library Services terminated a $3.9 million grant they count on. Washington State Librarian Sara Jones says it will be difficult to run a state library that’s “anything close to what people recognize.” Not to get all Reading Rainbow on you, but Chaka Khan said it best. Books can take us anywhere (perhaps twice as high). Taking books away from people, especially people in tough situations with limited access to knowledge and entertainment, is a burn-in-hell-for-free card.

Give the Workers Money Too: The Washington State Federation of State Employees union staged a sit-in outside Bob Ferguson’s office and then marched to the executive mansion Wednesday. They were protesting the Governor’s proposed budget, which plans to cut their pay (in the form of 24 unpaid furlough days) instead of honor the 5% general wage increases he promised. According to the Washington State Standard, Ferguson rejected the union’s idea for a wealth tax, saying it could attract court challenges. Don’t knock it ’til you try it, Bob.

Washington Schools Chief Chris Reykdal has said no to the US Department of Education’s order to halt diversity programs. In a statement, Reykdal said the order is an attack on states with civil rights laws that exceed (dwindling) federal standards. The Department is threatening the federal funding of states that don’t comply. Last year, Washington state received $1.4 billion from the feds for education, about 7 percent of the overall budget.

The Seattle Times reported yesterday that people are just sitting in jail in Seattle for weeks without an attorney, their constitutional right. Public defenders told the Times this has happened at least 15 times in the past year, but those are just the stories reported to department leadership. It probably happens even more than that, they say. The issue started coming up last year, and with no fix, it just kept coming up. Read more here.

During his confirmation hearing to head the National Counterterrorism Center, failed Washington congressional candidate Joe Kent wouldn’t answer Senate questions about the Signal chat that mistakenly added Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg while discussing US war plans. Democrats on the panel didn’t dispute Kent’s qualifications for the job. Maybe they should have. Kent has limited intelligence experience and associates with white nationalists, Christian nationalists, and other far-right extremists. He even helped boost a far-right paramilitary group, 1st Amendment Praetorian, when it was just getting started, according to reporting from Mother Jones.

In the Market for a New E-bike? Enter the state’s e-bike rebate lottery. People 16 and over who make 80% of their county’s AMI or less (in King that’s $77,700 for singles, $88,800 for couples, and $99,900 for a three person household) can apply from now until April 23 for a chance to knock $1,200 off the bill (at participating shops). Those who make more than 80% AMI can apply to knock $300 off. The state will select 10,000 winners at random.

The economic news is hard to explain. It’s kind of like a monkey hitting itself in the face with a hammer. But it’s also like a clown rolling around in glass. So who’s to say what’s really going on. After taking a high dive into an empty swimming pool, global markets gave a bloody smile and (broken) thumbs up as they rebounded Wednesday in reaction to President Donald Trump delaying high tariffs on most countries for 90 days. But who knows if that will stick. He could just change his mind again. But don’t despair. At a National Republican Congressional Committee dinner Tuesday, Trump said that he “knows what the hell” he's doing. Confidence totally restored, Chief. My bad. While the EU reconsiders what to do about our dumb asses, the trade war with China rages on. Trump’s 125% tariff on Chinese goods remains in place, as does China’s 84% tariff on US goods.

In January, Virginia National Guard pilot Jo Ellis learned she’d commandeered the helicopter that crashed into a passenger jet over Washington DC. Except no, she totally hadn't. Posts blamed her and DEI (because she’s trans) for the disaster. Her employer sent a security detail to protect her from nutjobs. She started carrying a gun and posted a “proof of life” video on Facebook to try to dispel the rumors. It messed up her life. This week she sued Matt Wallace, the X influencer who promulgated the lie to his two million followers.

The US Postal service wants to raise the cost of first class stamps from 73 cents to 78 cents this summer. The agency says it needs this to stay financially stable. It might not mean much to those who don’t send a lot of mail, but this increase could hit businesses hard. But not as hard as privatizing the USPS, a stupid idea floated by President Donald Trump and President2 Elon Musk last month.

Trump Signs Order to “Make America’s Showers Great Again”: The order lifted energy department restrictions on water flow also known as Joe Biden and Barack Obama’s “war on water pressure” as we all surely know. I can’t make fun of him better than he can, so I’ll let him take it away: “I like to take a nice shower to take care of my beautiful hair,” he said. “I have to stand in the shower for 15 minutes until it gets wet. It comes out drip, drip, drip. It’s ridiculous.”

Kash Patel was removed as acting director of ATF because he didn’t show up to work for weeks. In Patel’s defense, he’s stretched thin. The poor guy was leading two federal law enforcement agencies: the ATF and FBI. You know it’s tough times when a man has to lead two federal agencies to feed his family (he is unmarried). Patel's been replaced with Daniel Driscoll, the Army Secretary. The New York Times reports it’s “highly unusual” for military guys to lead civilian law enforcement agencies. But what exactly is unusual these days? Is Dan Bongino “usual”?

Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons says the US needs to run deportations more like a business. “Like [Amazon] Prime, but with human beings,” Lyons said [evilly] at the 2025 Border Security Expo in Phoenix, Arizona. He was speaking to hundreds of representatives from tech and military companies vying to secure or expand federal contracts. “We need to buy more beds, we need more airplane fights and I know a lot of you are here for that reason … Let the badge and guns do the badge and gun stuff, everything else, let’s contract out.”

Girlboss Spacecraft: Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin is sending Katy Perry to space (for 11 minutes, so only kind of) on the first all-female spaceflight. NPR compiled a list of 20 musicians who deserve to go there first. But what if we went none at a time? I'm with Olivia Munn, who told Jenna Bush Hager (GWB’s daughter) on the Today Show: “What are they doing? Like why?”

The Weather: Expect a high of 67 and rain showers before 1 p.m. According to the National Weather Service, there’s a half chance showers stick with us through Sunday.

Some Music for You: Check out this video of the Reading Rainbow theme song. Due to a “bug” in YouTube’s system (“can’t revert,” the uploader says), LeVar Burton’s face has been blurred out, giving a very creepy vibe. It has 1.3 million views, more than any other version of this theme I could find. People are not talking about the blur in the comments. I find that creepy too.