Cascadia today: OR & WA move to limit ICE + fighting a tire-burning cement plant + Seattle video store buys its building
OR and WA move toward limits on ICE after another killing
After the domestic terrorist squads known as ICE and CBP last week shot and killed 37-year-old nurse Alex Pretti– yet another peaceful monitor in Minneapolis– Washington governor Bob Ferguson and Oregon governor Tina Kotek denounced the feds' rampage and vowed to set limits on the rogue agencies.
At a press conference yesterday, Ferguson said federal agents are “completely and totally out of control," and Kotek told reporters "It's alarming, and what we need is the federal government is de-escalate the situation." Yesterday, responding to widespread national outrage, Trump demoted the fascist fashion icon and CBP field commander Greg Bovino.
Ferguson said he might order the state National Guard to create a buffer between ICE and residents if that becomes necessary and he backs a state bill banning police face coverings. Oregon may introduce an amendment to the state constitution banning "secret police." Democrats in Congress are now threatening a government shutdown over ICE atrocities, but don't count on southwest Washington Congressional rep Marie Gluesenkamp Perez to stop ICE, after she was just one of seven Democrats to vote to give more money to Homeland Security with no strings attached. Democrat Brent Henrich is running in the primary against her.
Meanwhile, things have gotten so bad that the Canadian government is advising members of First Nations not to visit the US, The Tyee reports. First Nations in Canada are outraged at border agents detaining Indigenous people born in Canada, who point out that the 1794 Jay treaty that allows Indigenous people to freely cross the 49th parallel border now dividing Cascadia.
Cascadia needs to assert its sovereign autonomy, and protect all its residents by kicking ICE goons out of Oregon and Washington.
Andrew Engelson
Hundreds show up in Olympia to demand tax fairness
Yesterday I joined a small crew from Cascadia Democratic Action to speak up for progressive taxation in Olympia yesterday alongside teachers, advocates for the homeless, and those who want to fix Washington's tax system, which is the second-most regressive in the US.
Several progressive legislators spoke at the rally on the steps of the legislative building, including rep. Shaun Scott (D-Seattle) a socialist who touted his Well Washington Fund bill that would tax large companies for any employee making over $125,000, and a proposed wealth tax on those making $1 million or more. Scott urged the legislature and governor Ferguson (who Scott quipped should have an "R" rather than a "D" next to his name) to speed up implementation of the millionaires tax, slated to begin in 2029 if passed.
If you live in Oregon, join Cascadia Democratic Action and the Working Families Party at Oregon state capitol building in Salem at noon on Thursday February 5 for the Fight For our Future rally to tax the wealthy and oppose an austerity budget in Oregon. Email cascadiademocratic@protonmail.com or message andyjourno.55 on Signal to RSVP.
Seattle residents fight tire-burning cement plant
The South Seattle Emerald has a great article about something truly bonkers that I only recently learned about: the Ash Grove cement plant alongside Seattle's Duwamish River burns used tires to power its plant! The resulting air pollution affects neighborhoods near Seattle's industrial district, which have populations that are 65% people of color, and suffer some of the highest rates of asthma in the nation. To find out more about groups fighting the plant and seeking environmental equity in Seattle, visit Front and Centered and the Duwamish River Community Coalition.
Former Blazer Chris Dudley to run for OR governor
The Oregonian reports that former Portland TrailBlazer player Chris Dudley and one-time candidate for governor in 2010, will again seek the Republican nomination. There's a crowded field on the Republican side to face governor Tina Kotek in November. Republicans haven't held the governor's office since 1987. Meanwhile, another WA state supreme court justice, Raquel Montoya-Lewis, the first Indigenous person elected to statewide office in the state, is retiring, meaning two seats on the court will be up for election in November.
Scarecrow Video buys its building & Powell's lays off staff
Seattle's Scarecrow Video, a nonprofit video store that has the nation's largest public collection of films for rent, announced this week it has purchased its building the the U-District. And speaking of longtime legacy institutions, Powell's Books completed a round of layoffs that have reduced staff by 20% over the past year, Willamette Week reports. And longtime Seattle music venue The Crocodile is up for sale.
If you like independent bookstores, video stores, cinemas, live music, and live theater, please please please support them by spending your money there!
Thanks for reading! – Andrew
