Good morning! It’s Friday. The sun’s out. The birds are singing. We’re hitting 71 degrees today. So let’s ruin it by talking about the news.

Trump Tries to Use IRS as a Weapon: Do I need to say that that’s not normal? It’s not normal. After Harvard refused to comply with a list of the Trump administration's demands (including reporting foreign students and reducing the power of students and faculty over university affairs), Trump has called for the IRS to revoke the school’s tax exempt status. The IRS, an agency that has been intentionally independent of the president since the Nixon administration, is “weighing” the decision now.

He’s clearly trying to demonstrate that dissent hurts. He’s already frozen $2.2 billion in grants to the university. Then on Wednesday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem canceled another $3 million in agency grants to the university. Noem also wrote a letter to the school requesting “detailed records on Harvard’s foreign student visa holders’ illegal and violent activities” by the end of the month. If they don’t comply, they could lose the “privilege of enrolling foreign students.” I’m still not ready to start looking at Harvard as a scrappy underdog, but while so many of our institutions are bending the knee left and right, watching Harvard stand their ground is giving me hope that we might start learning what institutional resistance looks like.

A GOP Senator Tells the Truth: At a press conference in Anchorage on Monday, Senator Lisa Murkowski said out loud what I suspect half of her party is thinking. “We are all afraid,” she said. After a five second pause, she acknowledged: “It’s quite a statement. But we are in a time and a place where I certainly have not been here before. I’ll tell you, I’m oftentimes very anxious myself about using my voice, because retaliation is real. And that’s not right.”

Shooting at Florida State: Two people died and six others were injured at Florida State University yesterday when a 20-year-old gunman opened fire near the student union. The shooter was the child of a Sheriff’s deputy, and he used a handgun, his mom’s old service weapon. (According to the NYT, it’s not uncommon for deputies to be allowed to buy their old service weapons from the department for personal use.) In case you’re not confident that gun violence is an epidemic in this country, this might sell you: For some of the students at FSU, this was their second school shooting in less than ten years; the students that sheltered in place included some that were survivors of the mass shooting at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018. Fuck your thoughts and prayers.

Proof of Life: Maryland Senator Chris Van Holland was in El Salvador yesterday to meet with his constituent, Kilmar Ábrego García, in a Salvadorean mega-prison. Did you hate reading that sentence as much as I hated typing it? The Trump admin has admitted that Ábrego García was sent to the prison in error, but both Trump and El Salvador’s Bukele have refused to lift a finger to bring him home Bukele called him a “terrorist” while sitting in the Oval Office. That same day, a federal appeals court ruled that Trump officials could be forced to testify under oath about the deportation. "The government is asserting a right to stash away residents of this country in foreign prisons without the semblance of due process that is the foundation of our constitutional order," wrote one of the court’s conservative judges, Harvie Wilkinson III. "This should be shocking not only to judges, but to the intuitive sense of liberty that Americans far removed from courthouses still hold dear."

It’s not Just Ábrego García: Trump has sent hundreds of people to the prison, and earlier this week, said that he was open to sending American citizens to the brutal prisons as well.

 

 

Anxiety-Free Salmon: In case you missed it earlier this week, salmon are getting ballsier. According to research reported in Science, Atlantic salmon are swimming in a soup of SSRIs, but as a result, they appear to be bolder, and more successful in fighting their way upstream. I’m not saying we should put Lexapro in the fish ladder at the Ballard Locks. I’m just saying that it looks really stressful.

Just Tax the Rich Already: Yesterday, Governor Ferguson threw shade at another budget proposal from the Dems, because he really hates the idea of balancing the budget with new taxes we obviously need. If you’ve been following along this year, you know that our state has a $16 billion budget hole to fill, and Ferg has said he’ll veto any budget with a wealth tax (which surely has nothing to do with the fact that Microsoft, T-Mobile, Alaska Airlines, and Costco threw a $1.5 million-shaped fit over it). Earlier this week, the Dems proposed a $12 million budget that included neither a wealth tax nor the payroll tax that would have taxed companies like Amazon and Microsoft. And Ferguson still called it “too risky.” He didn’t offer any solutions, but his original budget proposal included furloughing state workers one day every month for the next two years (which they’ve given a hard “no” to). This legislative session ends on April 27th, so Fergie’s got nine days to get his act together.

ICYMI: Seattle Children’s Hospital is at it again. Stranger staff writer Vivian McCall reported yesterday that the hospital has stopped providing gender affirming surgery for patients under 19 again. Why? Good question. Trump' s Executive Order banning gender affirming care for minors (and 18 year olds) is currently blocked by the courts, so they’re doing this by choice. Read more about it here.

There’s a Rose With That Thorn: On Wednesday, the state legislature passed a bill that would compel insurance companies to cover 12 months of HRT at a time, making it easier for trans people to avoid disruption to their medical care while Trump tried really hard to do just that. More on that good news from Vivian later this morning.

We Live in Shoeboxes: According to the FYI Guy, among the 100 US cities with the largest number of rental units, Seattle ranks dead last for average apartment size. Of the apartments built in the last ten years, the average size is 649 square feet. Our apartments are smaller than Portland, San Francisco, and three of the five boroughs of New York City.

You’ve Got a Ballot Under that Pile of Mail: Election day is next Tuesday, and we’re voting on whether or not to renew a levy to fund King County’s fingerprinting system. Sound kinda wonky? Don’t worry, our endorsement is coming later today.

Looking for something to do tonight? Stranger Arts Editor Emily Nokes recommends Space Is the Place Fest. She writes: “Seattle, this is the energy. Back in the day, the Naf warehouse was the go-to for raves/early EDM, as well as a home to the ’90s underground music scene. Space Is the Place Fest is reviving that huge capacity venue to bring you two all-nighters full of music/raving/performance. Astro-jazz legends the Sun Ra Arkestra and lo-fi synth queen the Space Lady will be in town; expect a multimedia spectacle from the Fabulous Downey Brothers, and instrumental noise offerings from Diminished Men. Don’t forget we’re going all night: DJs Donald Glaude, Slantooth, Sherman, Riz Rollins, and Space Otter are bringing the old-school house, drum & bass, and more. Rumor has it there will also be modular synth work, live glass-blowing, some circus action, and ‘all things cosmic and wild!’”

And for a Song for Your Friday: Stevie Nicks announced that she’s working on her first new album in 14 years. So here’s a little live “Go Your Own Way,” as a treat.