The week’s major votes included the confirmation of Janet Yellen as Secretary of the Treasury and the defeat of a Rand Paul gambit to nix Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial.
Monthly Archives: January 2021
Sarah Augustine chosen as Chair of the 2021 Washington State Redistricting Commission
Meet the newest member of the body that will attempt to redraw Washington State’s legislative and congressional district boundaries for the next ten years.
WaPo’s Marty Baron retires: An appreciation for one who confronted power with truth
The Marty Barons of this world are essential to an informed citizenry. As the Washington Post put it in a motto adopted under Baron: Democracy dies in darkness.
COVID-19 Update: Pacific Northwest mounts valiant effort to avoid wintertime virus spike
From the ashes of the worst of the COVID-19 outbreak, attempts at righting the situation are in progress. (Sadly, so are attempts to make things even worse.)
Congratulations, KNHC! Seattle’s student-run C89.5 is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary
Read NPI’s tribute to the world’s longest-running dance music station, based in Seattle at Nathan Hale High School.
Book Review: When “A Libertarian Walks Into a Bear”, nobody wins (except the reader)
Read NPIs review of Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling’s book about the New Hampshire town that libertarians tried to turn into a utopia.
Last Week In Congress: How Cascadia’s U.S. lawmakers voted (January 18th-22nd)
The week’s major votes included approval of a waiver to allow General Lloyd Austin to serve as Secretary of Defense and Austin’s confirmation, along with that of Avril Haines to be Director of National Intelligence.
A spectacular fall to earth: Canada’s Governor General Julie Payette resigns in ignominy
The former Space Shuttle astronaut will no longer represent Her Majesty the Queen as Canada’s head of state following the release of a blistering report which found she was responsible for a toxic work environment.
Read or watch the amazingly talented Amanda Gorman’s 2021 inaugural poem
If you did not get a chance to watch or listen to Gorman’s stirring rendition of this beautiful composition, you can do so right now, right here.
Read or watch Joe Biden’s Inaugural Address
Read Joe Biden’s inaugural address, delivered Janaury 20th, 2021 in front of the United States Capitol.
We made it! Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have been sworn in as America’s new leaders
We must and should commend ourselves for all we did to fight against all of the above and reach this moment. When you’re going through hell, keep going, the old adage goes. And so we did.
Joe Biden and the Salish Sea: Will cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline mean Alberta’s bitumen crude oil is headed to our waters?
Progressives will need to back the forty-sixth president, but make sure he will have our backs when it comes to safeguarding shared waters of the Salish Sea. Our worries should be heard and considered at the highest level.
Secretary of State Kim Wyman is thinking of quitting the Republican Party. Great idea!
“I don’t know that I can continue being a Republican, because that’s not what republicanism is about,” Wyman told KUOW.
Incoming Biden-Harris team signals it will avoid repeating many of Obama’s missteps
At this incredibly fraught and perilous moment in American history, we don’t just need steady, compassionate governance — we need savvy, capable leadership with a respect and appreciation for history and a willingness to learn from it.