Where did Joe Kent work last year? On official filing documents, the MAGA dork who is expected to win southwest Washington's 3rd Congressional District claimed he worked at some place called "American Enterprise Solutions," where he said he did some "5G conversion type of stuff." One problem: The Daily Beast couldn't find record of the company anywhere. His campaign spokesperson doubled down on the claim but failed to offer any explanation. Fraudulent filers face "up to a quarter-million dollars in fines and as many as five years in prison." 

Late Tuesday evening, Kent's campaign released photos of tax documents showing that Kent worked at a place called "Advanced Enterprise Solutions." According to OPB, "The documents suggest that Kent and his campaign have repeatedly misstated his company’s name, both in person at campaign events and in federal filings." 

Enjoy what's left of the light: After tomorrow, the sun will start setting before 6 pm, according to the Seattle Times. We won't see the sun set after 6 pm again until March 5. The National Weather Service describes the intervening months as "The Big Dark." 

Earthquake shakes Bay Area: No injuries or damage were reported after a magnitude 5.1 quake rattled Santa Clara County this morning, the Bay Area News Group reports. The day's gonna come, though. Experts put the chances of a substantial quake hitting the area within 30 years at 72 percent.  

Traffic alert: Vice President Kamala Harris's movements about town today and tomorrow will create traffic, according to the Seattle Department of Transportation. Drivers should keep their eyes out for detours due to suddenly closed roads and highways. Transit riders should sign up for alerts about bus disruptions here. Bikers should continue complaining about the dearth of protected lanes. Rollers should keep raising hell about bad sidewalks and curb cuts. Walkers should continue shouting about the lack of crosswalks around town. Swimmers should try this: 

Speaking of Vice Presidents: A land conservation organization called Forterra fired a Vice President in the wake of a couple apparent scandals, the Seattle Times reports. Recently, the Snoqualmie tribe and Tacoma's community foundation accused Forterra of duping them into supporting a big federal grant application for a complex initiative to cut down trees to make wood panels for a housing project in Tacoma. Dozens of employees also signed a letter calling the organization "toxic." For his part, the VP basically told the Times that he personally did a great job. 

NEW COLUMN: We're writing about the wild stuff that happens on tour. In the first iteration of "From the Backseat," Kathleen Tarrant tells the story of Death Cab for Cutie frontman Ben Gibbard finding a scorpion in his pants. Welcome back to the blog, Kathleen!

Red Wave update: For Democrats, the national picture is looking bleaker by the day. The Cook Political Report now expects the GOP to pick up between 12 and 25 seats in the House. They only need to net five to win back control. The New York Times reports that Democratic donors and operatives directed most of the PAC money to districts where Biden led, and about 1/4 of that money went to districts where Biden led by 10 or more points. All that leads to the obvious conclusion: The Dems are "heavily" on the defensive. 

The only debate between Dr. Oz and John Fetterman started at 5 pm: The race could very likely determine whether or not the Dems hold the Senate, a goal that seems to be slipping through the party's fingers, according to FiveThirtyEight's model. Here's a rundown. 

Congressional Progressives pull request for diplomatic talks with Russia: Seattle Rep. Pramila Jayapal fell on the sword in the Washington Post after, she claims, a staffer released a letter asking President Joe Biden to "make vigorous diplomatic efforts in support of a negotiated settlement and ceasefire" between Russia and Ukraine. Jayapal, who runs the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said the letter wasn't vetted. Several signatories took to Twitter to express confusion about the timing of its release and to reaffirm their commitment to more arms and money for Ukraine. 

In the letter, the 30 signatories expressed "no illusions" about trying to convince Putin to end his "outrageous and illegal invasion" of the country. They also praised the billions in economic and military assistance that the US has delivered so far. Given the threat of starting WWIII with a nuclear power, the global threat to food and oil prices, and the US's major financial investments in the country, they just wanted Biden to simultaneously pursue diplomatic talks with Russia, as many Americans wanted to do this July when the letter was originally drafted. 

Speaking of nuclear devices: Writing for The Spectator, Mark Galeotti argues that Russia probably isn't accusing Ukraine of planning to use a "dirty bomb," i.e. a bomb with "radioactive material" packed around it, as an excuse to use one itself. Instead, he's probably just floating the claim to stoke mushroom cloud fears in the hopes of making the US and other allies flinch and let up on arms sales. He also argues that Putin pressing play on a nuke is more difficult than simply hitting a red button. Dr. Kate Hudson, who runs the campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, thinks "leaders on all sides are pursuing policies inexorably driving us towards nuclear war." 

RIP Mike Davis: The author, reporter, and New Left activist died of throat cancer. Read The Nation's obit.

In a nod to "The Big Dark" and the new column, I leave you with Death Cab's argument for love as death's ultimate rejoinder:Â