It is a reminder of the goodness I am searching for in this world right now.
I am in pain, and I am grateful to those who have reached out to me. Grief and fear are easier to carry when shared. I am also thankful to those working to protect immigrants, the unsheltered, and other vulnerable communities.
I am trying to give space for one another in this moment, knowing none of us hold all the answers. And remembering that in a world that often seeks to divide us, loving the people around us and caring for our neighbors and community is perhaps the only thing within our control.
Rumi reminds us that there is a place beyond human judgment, beyond the lines we draw around one another. In an ever more fractured world, especially when some of the people I love feel impossibly far away, I hold on to the truth that our hearts are not separate.
I have been sitting with a grief that feels larger than I can name, so I turn to the poetry of my Persian/Iranian ancestors for comfort and guidance.
In his 1961 farewell address, President Eisenhower warned: "In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists & will persist.”
At a moment when democracy feels fragile in many places, and as my family in Iran endures violence and uncertainty, I keep coming back to the same belief: everyone deserves freedom, justice, and equality. May we see democracy thrive in both nations.
I was recently interviewed for this piece about Louisiana v Callais, a US Supreme Court case that could shape the future of voting rights here in Washington and across the nation.
Was happy to organize the training. I think it’s an important time to build both community and more skills to help each other. Glad you could make it. More to come!
it took me some years to learn this lesson but I finally understand it
I want to thank @theurbanist.org for writing the first piece on my campaign. It starts to lay the framework for how blue cities like Seattle can lead with our values and be pragmatic about getting results.
WA continues to provide driver data to federal officials for immigration enforcement, despite saying they shut down access
How in the triple-my-premiums healthcare did this get printed?
At the Ursula K LeGuin exhibit today: a poem, "Not making war." Seems relevant.
ICE is terrorizing communities. We must show up for our neighbors - citizen or not. Masked agents assaulting and kidnapping people like this is not justifiable in any context.
I'm not exaggerating when I say following @boltsmag.org rn will unlock money for our journalism.
A generous reader, @russ41.bsky.social, has offered to donate $1 for every 1-person increase to our follower count.
If you're not following @boltsmag.org yet, it'll directly help fund our reporting!
Today’s victory means that Washingtonians will continue to benefit from the work of these agencies. It also reaffirms that the President can’t reverse the will of the people and their elected representatives with the stroke of a pen. www.atg.wa.gov/news/news-re...
Maybe dumping poop on voters from an airplane is not a surefire electoral strategy
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 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.
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.
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.
Yup.
“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.”
“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.
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
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.
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.
