Take a minute to [un]wind with our Sunday morning newsletter. Grab a cup of coffee and catch up on what you may have missed from [un]Divided this week.
It’s going down
It takes a lot to distract me from a sorely needed vacation – but boy was I peeved this week. While celebrating a friend’s 40th birthday out of town, I saw the video of independent journalist Jonathan Choe being insulted by King County Executive Dow Constantine.
If you haven’t seen it, you can watch it here.
“Oh hell no!” I shouted, pacing around my hotel room.
It wasn’t just the treatment of Choe that I took issue with – it was the complete disregard for the question he asked.
Choe has been one of the only journalists covering concerns among Seattle’s International District community over plans for a homelessness complex near their neighborhood. As Choe detailed on [un]Divided this past Monday (11:45 mark), some community members say King County’s progressive leadership uses them for photo ops but doesn’t care about their safety concerns.
In asking Dow Constantine to respond to those concerns, Choe was fulfilling the most important roles of a journalist – to hold the powerful accountable and to give a voice to those who feel unheard.
When Dow Constantine ignored Choe’s questions, instead choosing to insult him, he might as well have been giving a middle finger to Seattle’s Asian American community.
After five days of letting my anger over this stew, I look forward to sharing my thoughts to open the show tomorrow.
West Coast troubles
On Wednesday’s subscriber-only episode, Kevin and Andrea of We Heart Seattle/Portland joined us to detail their recent trip to San Francisco’s Tenderloin District.
I was rendered speechless while hearing Kevin’s account of entering a quasi-injection site. The fenced off area seemed to be San Francisco’s version of “out of sight, out of mind” – a place where drug users can shoot-up out of view.
Not much of a solution.
While Kevin obviously never intended to use drugs in the area, he wanted to get a better understanding of what happens there.
What really struck him is the fact that offices inside the area that are supposed to be staffed with nurses and counselors to facilitate treatment options were instead empty. Kevin says he was handed a paper bag with foil and other items, then sat down and essentially told to have at it. Not once was he offered help or access to services.
“It was very quick,” he said. “Before I knew it, I had tinfoil in hand and a straw. They just assumed I had fentanyl on me. I’m thinking, ‘where is the effort to get me clean? At least make the attempt. Please!'"
Jay Inslee 2024?
Another story that caught my eye while I was away was this one from The Seattle Times, detailing Governor Jay Inslee’s continued fundraising efforts:
The article details Inslee’s fundraising tactics, which usually include scary emails warning of something Republicans are doing that will ruin the country.
“Such appeals have pulled in more than $600,000 from donors since last year for Inslee’s officially registered 2024 reelection campaign committee, according to Public Disclosure Commission filings. Adding in surplus funds from his last campaign, Inslee’s reelection campaign already has raised roughly $1.5 million.”
Not only is Inslee 71, but he’s already serving his third term. Would he really try for a fourth?
The answer is a resounding NO (at least in my opinion).
It is not unusual (or illegal) for candidates to continue raising money, even before declaring their intentions – and it’s not as if Inslee has accumulated a war chest. Much of the money coming in is going back into keeping the fundraising arm churning. So, in short, Inslee is raising money so he can keep raising money.
Rinse, repeat.
We’ll discuss Inslee’s 2024 prosects more this week. I'd also note that there is a long list of Democrats waiting in the wings to run for governor, including the aforementioned Dow Constantine.
Housekeeping
Please accept my apologies for the belated posting of Friday’s “Best of” episode. I’ll be back with a new episode tomorrow.
A couple other topics we'll be addressing this week on the show:
- The continued transport of migrants into Liberal jurisdictions
- A bipartisan report on how to improve trust in vote-by-mail
- Cracks in the criminal justice system that allow violent criminals to walk free
Have a great week – thank you all for believing in this mission to bring common sense back to news and politics.
