Reposted by NiluJ
Maybe dumping poop on voters from an airplane is not a surefire electoral strategy
November 5, 2025 at 3:04 AM
Maybe dumping poop on voters from an airplane is not a surefire electoral strategy
Reposted by NiluJ
OUTSTANDING interview with @wilsonforseattle.bsky.social on @volts.wtf This is the ONE interview you got to listen to before voting in the Seattle Mayoral election.
The fact that Katie is attracting attention from such national leading lights is telling - she is special!
The fact that Katie is attracting attention from such national leading lights is telling - she is special!
Today on Volts: In a big blue city, a progressive up-and-comer is challenging an establishment Democrat to be mayor, having already scored a surprise win in the primary. Naturally I'm talking about Seattle's Katie Wilson! We talk housing, transit, public order, the threat of Trump, & much more.
Seattle mayoral candidate Katie Wilson on governing a blue city in 2025
NIMBYs below, Trumpies above, oh my.
www.volts.wtf
October 15, 2025 at 9:20 PM
OUTSTANDING interview with @wilsonforseattle.bsky.social on @volts.wtf This is the ONE interview you got to listen to before voting in the Seattle Mayoral election.
The fact that Katie is attracting attention from such national leading lights is telling - she is special!
The fact that Katie is attracting attention from such national leading lights is telling - she is special!
Reposted by NiluJ
The mass layoffs of federal workers on Friday night swept up the top two leaders of the federal measles response team, even as the nation grapples with the most cases recorded since 2000, when measles was declared eliminated in the U.S.
C.D.C. Layoffs Included 2 Top Measles Experts Amid Rising Cases
Scientists who focused on other infectious diseases, like an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, also were let go.
nyti.ms
October 11, 2025 at 9:30 PM
The mass layoffs of federal workers on Friday night swept up the top two leaders of the federal measles response team, even as the nation grapples with the most cases recorded since 2000, when measles was declared eliminated in the U.S.
Reposted by NiluJ
Trump’s deployment of troops to Portland is a dangerous escalation of authoritarianism. Now is the time to find our own ways of standing up and fighting back to preserve our democracy. Fellow vets: we need you to muster. And those serving: you can refuse an unlawful order as you may receive it.
September 29, 2025 at 4:55 AM
Trump’s deployment of troops to Portland is a dangerous escalation of authoritarianism. Now is the time to find our own ways of standing up and fighting back to preserve our democracy. Fellow vets: we need you to muster. And those serving: you can refuse an unlawful order as you may receive it.
Reposted by NiluJ
This is the playbook, folks.
If you're not paying attention now and doing something about it, then you're going to have to sit down the rest of your life because democracy is being taken away.
Do not be quiet in this moment.
If you're not paying attention now and doing something about it, then you're going to have to sit down the rest of your life because democracy is being taken away.
Do not be quiet in this moment.
September 18, 2025 at 4:12 PM
This is the playbook, folks.
If you're not paying attention now and doing something about it, then you're going to have to sit down the rest of your life because democracy is being taken away.
Do not be quiet in this moment.
If you're not paying attention now and doing something about it, then you're going to have to sit down the rest of your life because democracy is being taken away.
Do not be quiet in this moment.
Reposted by NiluJ
“Any serious desire to address the root causes of political violence must include electoral system reform. The body of literature makes clear that proportional representation can help make American democracy more resilient against the scourge of political violence.”
Proportional Representation Could Reduce the Risk of Political Violence in the U.S.
There is no single cause of political violence in democracies. But one critical source is often overlooked: electoral system design.
www.justsecurity.org
September 11, 2025 at 7:28 PM
“Any serious desire to address the root causes of political violence must include electoral system reform. The body of literature makes clear that proportional representation can help make American democracy more resilient against the scourge of political violence.”
Reposted by NiluJ
“In one breath, we say we want to save American democracy from Trump. In the next, we insist on blocking the very thing—housing—that would help the state preserve its political clout and ensure the immigrants we say we want to protect can afford to live here.”
The San Francisco Chronicle makes the case for SB 79: "The bill would make it easier to boost California’s population in areas with the best infrastructure to support new residents, reinvigorate struggling public transit systems and help workers avoid soul-crushing commutes in gas-guzzling cars."
California will do anything to save democracy — except build housing
OPINION: Republican states like Texas are undergoing building booms and positioning themselves for a demographic takeover. Meanwhile, California dithers, the Editorial Board writes.
www.sfchronicle.com
September 6, 2025 at 8:01 PM
“In one breath, we say we want to save American democracy from Trump. In the next, we insist on blocking the very thing—housing—that would help the state preserve its political clout and ensure the immigrants we say we want to protect can afford to live here.”
I am thinking about how much I love trees, as we breathe in the death of so many of them in Seattle today. 😢
Thoughtful density planning and expanded public transit is how we save not just trees… but forests.
Thoughtful density planning and expanded public transit is how we save not just trees… but forests.
September 5, 2025 at 11:03 PM
I am thinking about how much I love trees, as we breathe in the death of so many of them in Seattle today. 😢
Thoughtful density planning and expanded public transit is how we save not just trees… but forests.
Thoughtful density planning and expanded public transit is how we save not just trees… but forests.
Reposted by NiluJ
As our neighbors vanish daily, this serves as a meaningful way to honor them and highlight the extent of this issue throughout the city’s
August 31, 2025 at 12:19 AM
As our neighbors vanish daily, this serves as a meaningful way to honor them and highlight the extent of this issue throughout the city’s
Reposted by NiluJ
Agents have detained Muhammad Zahid Chaudhry, a disabled U.S. military vet and outspoken critic of U.S.-led war, after his naturalization hearing today at the Tukwila, WA ICE office. His wife, Melissa Chaudhry, ran against Rep. Adam Smith last year on a pro-Palestine platform.
August 21, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Agents have detained Muhammad Zahid Chaudhry, a disabled U.S. military vet and outspoken critic of U.S.-led war, after his naturalization hearing today at the Tukwila, WA ICE office. His wife, Melissa Chaudhry, ran against Rep. Adam Smith last year on a pro-Palestine platform.
Reposted by NiluJ
The warming climate, not new infill housing, is the main threat to Seattle’s trees. In fact, the failure to allow infill housing and instead promoting sprawl is why we have a warming climate.
If you oppose infill housing in Seattle, you’re helping put our trees at risk.
If you oppose infill housing in Seattle, you’re helping put our trees at risk.
That heat last week really took out a bunch of trees in city parks. The city needs to be aggressively managing our public trees if we’re gonna keep having these hot summers.
August 16, 2025 at 9:55 PM
The warming climate, not new infill housing, is the main threat to Seattle’s trees. In fact, the failure to allow infill housing and instead promoting sprawl is why we have a warming climate.
If you oppose infill housing in Seattle, you’re helping put our trees at risk.
If you oppose infill housing in Seattle, you’re helping put our trees at risk.
Democracy vouchers changed everything. Instead of spending my time calling people with money to ask them to donate, I knocked on thousands of doors and really got to understand my community’s needs better.
Eight years ago, Seattle began distributing vouchers to residents that they could then use to donate to local candidates of their choice. Voters appear to have renewed the program for 10 more years.
boltsmag.org/seattle...
boltsmag.org/seattle...
Seattle Voters Are Renewing Their Unique Approach to Public Campaign Financing
The democracy vouchers program hands residents $100 to donate to local candidates and it’s credited with broadening civic involvement. Voters on Tuesday appear to have extended it by 10 years.
boltsmag.org
August 9, 2025 at 9:47 PM
Democracy vouchers changed everything. Instead of spending my time calling people with money to ask them to donate, I knocked on thousands of doors and really got to understand my community’s needs better.
Reposted by NiluJ
Everyone who thinks that voters are responding to their own lived experience needs to explain this graph.
August 3, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Everyone who thinks that voters are responding to their own lived experience needs to explain this graph.
Gerrymandering is out of control—and now they want to redraw maps mid-decade. The Fair Representation Act has been reintroduced in Congress, offering a better path: multimember districts and proportional representation.
We can fix this—or keep clinging to a broken system eroding faith in democracy.
We can fix this—or keep clinging to a broken system eroding faith in democracy.
I wrote a one-act play about gerrymandering. Come for the trenchant analysis. Stay for the jokes.
GLAUCON: What's the Phenomenology Pilsner like?
WAITER: Hard to describe in words. You'll have to experience the thing-in-itself.
GLAUCON: Perfect. Two of those.
open.substack.com/pub/leedrutm...
GLAUCON: What's the Phenomenology Pilsner like?
WAITER: Hard to describe in words. You'll have to experience the thing-in-itself.
GLAUCON: Perfect. Two of those.
open.substack.com/pub/leedrutm...
Democracy in pieces: Did the Texas gerrymander just break the districting game?
Or was it already broken all along? A Socratic gastropub journey through America's most unsolvable political puzzle
open.substack.com
August 2, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Gerrymandering is out of control—and now they want to redraw maps mid-decade. The Fair Representation Act has been reintroduced in Congress, offering a better path: multimember districts and proportional representation.
We can fix this—or keep clinging to a broken system eroding faith in democracy.
We can fix this—or keep clinging to a broken system eroding faith in democracy.
Reposted by NiluJ
Almost half of Americans would
Struggle to afford an unexpected $500 expense.
Almost half.
25% have skipped meals just to make ends meet.
This is what the average American is going through while the rich get even richer
Struggle to afford an unexpected $500 expense.
Almost half.
25% have skipped meals just to make ends meet.
This is what the average American is going through while the rich get even richer
August 2, 2025 at 5:16 AM
Almost half of Americans would
Struggle to afford an unexpected $500 expense.
Almost half.
25% have skipped meals just to make ends meet.
This is what the average American is going through while the rich get even richer
Struggle to afford an unexpected $500 expense.
Almost half.
25% have skipped meals just to make ends meet.
This is what the average American is going through while the rich get even richer
Surprise! I didn’t get the District 5 appointment.
But please don’t worry about me. My heart wasn’t trampled—I read the tea leaves (and every local media story) and knew where things were headed.
But please don’t worry about me. My heart wasn’t trampled—I read the tea leaves (and every local media story) and knew where things were headed.
July 30, 2025 at 4:41 PM
Surprise! I didn’t get the District 5 appointment.
But please don’t worry about me. My heart wasn’t trampled—I read the tea leaves (and every local media story) and knew where things were headed.
But please don’t worry about me. My heart wasn’t trampled—I read the tea leaves (and every local media story) and knew where things were headed.
Reposted by NiluJ
There is a sad dynamic playing out behind the scenes with the Aurora project right now. The legislature earmarked $50 million to reimagine the street. But the mayor isn’t interested in bold change. So SDOT is doing the bare minimum. And if SDOT continues on that path, they’ll lose the money.
July 28, 2025 at 11:52 PM
There is a sad dynamic playing out behind the scenes with the Aurora project right now. The legislature earmarked $50 million to reimagine the street. But the mayor isn’t interested in bold change. So SDOT is doing the bare minimum. And if SDOT continues on that path, they’ll lose the money.
Disappointed to see The Seattle Times editorial board leave me out of their article on the candidates for the D5 appointment yesterday. I get that I might not be their typical pick, but excluding me entirely still feels like a stretch.
Seattle City Council should choose a fresh face for District 5 seat | Editorial
In appointing a new D5 representative, the Seattle City Council can move forward with fresh faces or slide backward. It ought to go with a new approach.
www.seattletimes.com
July 25, 2025 at 3:56 PM
Disappointed to see The Seattle Times editorial board leave me out of their article on the candidates for the D5 appointment yesterday. I get that I might not be their typical pick, but excluding me entirely still feels like a stretch.
Reposted by NiluJ
Rooftop solar power in Australia is the cheapest power available to consumers in the world, full stop. I wish more people knew that.
July 22, 2025 at 8:56 PM
Rooftop solar power in Australia is the cheapest power available to consumers in the world, full stop. I wish more people knew that.
Reposted by NiluJ
Our Community Letter, delivered to the Select Committee on the Families, Education, Preschool, and Promise (FEPP) Levy, and to community. Sign on at bit.ly/FEPP2025
May 22, 2025 at 1:35 AM
Our Community Letter, delivered to the Select Committee on the Families, Education, Preschool, and Promise (FEPP) Levy, and to community. Sign on at bit.ly/FEPP2025
Reposted by NiluJ
We are going to have to have contempt hearings in Abrego Garcia, and the district judge is going to need to start putting people in jail until they comply with the very basic order of “tell me where he is and what you are doing to find out.”
I don’t know what else to do.
I don’t know what else to do.
April 13, 2025 at 11:11 PM
We are going to have to have contempt hearings in Abrego Garcia, and the district judge is going to need to start putting people in jail until they comply with the very basic order of “tell me where he is and what you are doing to find out.”
I don’t know what else to do.
I don’t know what else to do.
We should be working to expand and strengthen democracy… not shrinking access to it. We need our elected officials to prioritize our access to representation and to move away from our polarizing electoral system. We can and must do better.
Federal SAVE Act is the latest attempt to erode voting rights | Op-Ed
In Washington state, voting rights advocates like me watched nearly all democracy-related bills stall in our Legislature this year.
www.seattletimes.com
April 10, 2025 at 2:52 PM
We should be working to expand and strengthen democracy… not shrinking access to it. We need our elected officials to prioritize our access to representation and to move away from our polarizing electoral system. We can and must do better.
Reposted by NiluJ
This is what organizing over 1,200 events in a few weeks looks like.
This is what democracy looks like.
Join the more than half a million of us who will be taking to the streets tomorrow to stand up against Trump’s unprecedented power grab: handsoff2025.com?SQF_SOURCE=i...
This is what democracy looks like.
Join the more than half a million of us who will be taking to the streets tomorrow to stand up against Trump’s unprecedented power grab: handsoff2025.com?SQF_SOURCE=i...
April 4, 2025 at 4:10 PM
This is what organizing over 1,200 events in a few weeks looks like.
This is what democracy looks like.
Join the more than half a million of us who will be taking to the streets tomorrow to stand up against Trump’s unprecedented power grab: handsoff2025.com?SQF_SOURCE=i...
This is what democracy looks like.
Join the more than half a million of us who will be taking to the streets tomorrow to stand up against Trump’s unprecedented power grab: handsoff2025.com?SQF_SOURCE=i...