Cascadia today: Cascadia confronts Trump war threats + WA courts to hear millionaire tax challenge + Seattle's liminal spaces
Good morning, friends. The world situation is perhaps as dire as it has ever been since the Trump regime took power last year. After the ruler of the United States issued a social media message today threatening "that a whole civilization will die tonight" if a deal isn't reached with Iran on opening the Strait of Hormuz, it's clear we are at yet another moral turning point.
Those of us who have the privilege of not being threatened and attacked by this regime – at home and abroad – can turn away and continue living our lives as well as we can. Or, as Trump commands what he now sees as his troops and not a nation's defense force to commit war crimes, those of us in Cascadia do what we can reject this illegal, immoral war.
The University of Washington's Jackson School of International studies last week fired associate professor Aria Fani as director of the school's Middle East center for criticizing Israel and the US for their war on Iran. Fani's email is exactly the kind of courageous acts of courage that are required in this moment. The Burner this week published Fani's full email.
Last week at Cascadia Journal I wrote about the national tax strike movement, in which increasing numbers of people are refusing to pay some or all of their federal taxes in protest of this regime's fascism and endless wars. You'll have to weigh whether the risks of such a protest are right for you.
"It is not enough to say we must not wage war. It is necessary to love peace and sacrifice for it." --Martin Luther King, Jr.
Cascadia responds to Trump's war threats
After US leader Donald Trump threatened to destroy every bridge and power plant in Iran if his demands were not met, Rep Adam Smith of Seattle, a ranking member of the house armed services committee spoke to NPR and said the threats "were completely unhinged."
Oregon senator Jeff Merkley posted on Bluesky that Trump's threats were "1000% out of sync with every moral code."
Refuse Fascism is organizing a protest against the war on Iran tonight at 5 pm April 7 at the Henry M. Jackson building in Seattle. I will be there.
Trump regime argues for Portland tear gas in court
OPB reports that members of the Trump regime will argue in the Ninth Circuit court of appeals that they have discretion to fire tear gas and other non-lethal munitions on protesters outside the Portland ICE facility. Several lawsuits are challenging the feds use of such crowd control weapons on peaceful protesters, including children and elders. You can watch court proceedings live today a 10 am at this link. In related news the South Seattle Emerald reports that Seattle mayor Katie Wilson has announced the city will dedicate $4 million toward legal assistance for detained immigrants.
WA supreme court will hear lawsuit against millionaires tax
KUOW report that Washington's supreme court has agreed to consider a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the 1% tax on incomes over $1 million passed into law this session by the legislature. A referendum on the bill has been prohibited in the legislation, a move that constitutional scholar and former UW professor Hugh Spitzer says is valid:
“The Legislature has to make tough choices about taxes and about budgets, and so it would interfere with the functionality of government if every time the Legislature adopted a tax or passed a budget bill, it went to referendum,” --Hugh Spitzer
In related news, Rob Foxcurran at the Urbanist argues that it's time to reform Washington state's limits on property tax increases, which hold back counties and local governments from adequately funding housing, education, and transportation needs.
OR sees huge drop in foreign tourism
Oregon Capital Chronicle reports that foreign flights into PDX airport in Portland plummeted 21% in 2025, including a 32% drop in Canadians visiting. Foreign visitor numbers have declined across Cascadia thanks to Trump's increasingly aggressive border agents, a threat to make Canada the 51st state, and well, just general hostility toward the rest of the world. In addition, crossing across the British Columbia and Washington border fell by 40% in 2025, Axios reported.
How can we recover and rebuild Cascadia's reputation with the world? Autonomy and independence are one approach:
Andrew Engelson
Mutual aid request: diapers for at-risk immigrants near Seattle
Cascadia Democratic Action is organizing a rapid mutual aid effort for a group of vulnerable Spanish-speaking families with newborns in the suburbs east of Seattle. 17 families are requesting help with diapers and baby wipes, which are expensive and for many of these families, simply going out shopping is often a risky endeavor with ICE abductions ongoing across the Puget Sound region.
I'm personally coordinating the effort, so if you'd like to support it, please send cash donations to @andyengelson at Venmo by this Friday, April 10 or contact cascadiademocratic@protonmail.com to arrange drop-off of donated diapers. The families are mostly in need of size 5 and 6 diapers, plus wipes. I'll be posting later in the month about total dollar amounts of donations, and photos from the drive.
The quiet of Seattle's liminal spaces
Finally, the Stranger offers an essay and photo collection by Julianne Bell exploring Seattle's liminal spaces: quiet, in-between spaces where one can feel moments of aloneness and calm – especially important in our current frantic moment. My personal favorite? A quiet morning or afternoon within Seattle University's contemplative Chapel of St. Ignatius, which Charles Mudede has described as being "more spiritual than Christian."
Thanks for reading. Keep loving and keep fighting. --Andrew
Do you appreciate Cascadia Journal's exclusive reporting on the ways the Pacific Northwest is pushing back against US fascism? If you have the means, please consider a paid subscription of just $5 per month. Each subscription helps me produce original reporting and opinionated notes on Cascadia's fight to build a more resilient and autonomous bioregion. And to those who already subscribe, thank you! --Andrew
