Episode Seven of the podcast “Concrete Mama” includes an eye-opening summary of new programs enthusiastically embraced by inmates, staff, and administrators at the Washington State Penitentiary.
Walla Walla County Democrats

Rosalia Manuel had worked for McDonald’s for more than 20 years when she was suddenly fired in 2022. Until then, she had been considered “the best employee,” she said, and had worked her way up to shift manager at a location in Saratoga, California. It was a role she took seriously.
Bryce Covert, The Nation

If you eat, you should understand how your food is grown, processed, transported, and marketed. You may be shocked by the impact the foods you eat have on our environment.

Two films are now available on Amazon Prime that will help you understand this important topic: Kiss the Ground and Common Ground.
Walla Walla County Democrats

The emergency is here. The crisis is now. It is not six months away. It is not another Supreme Court ruling away from happening. It’s happening now. Perhaps not to you, not yet. But to others. Real people. We know their names. We know their stories.

The president of the United States is disappearing people to a Salvadoran prison for terrorists. A prison known by its initials — CECOT. A prison built for disappearance.
Ezra Klein, The New York Times

Jo Ellen Grzyb, a member of this Substack community, noted in response to one of my posts that she’s seeing a lot of the phrase “courage is contagious.” She mentioned Bernie, AOC, Cory Booker, Tim Walz, Jasmine Crockett, and Elizabeth Warren. She’s right. And in these darkening times, this contagion is critically important.
Robert Reich, Substack

Last week I posted Part I of a primer on financial crises. Although the post was motivated by the wild market action after Donald Trump unveiled his Rose Garden tariffs, it was getting too long, so I promised to address current events today. To be honest, I was also hoping that the situation would become clearer after a week.
Paul Krugman, Substack

Our Policy Briefing presenter, Nancy Hirsh, knows energy. She heads the NW Energy Coalition. To level the playing field, Nancy will brief us on climate change and Washington’s staged phase out of fossil fuels.
Don Schwerin, Ag & Rural Caucus

America has periodically faced great national tests. The Civil War and Reconstruction. The Great Depression. McCarthyism and the Red Scare. Jim Crow and the civil rights movement. And now we face another great test — of our Constitution, our institutions, our citizens — as President Trump ignores courts and sabotages universities and his officers grab people off the street.
Nicholas Kristof, The New York Times