Nancy Pelosi, handing Trump his ass for a second time.
Nancy Pelosi, handing Trump his ass for a second time. Stefani Reynolds / Getty Images

Here's your daily evening roundup of the latest local and national news. (Like our coverage? Please consider making a recurring contribution to The Stranger to keep it comin'!)

The House has impeached Donald Trump for an embarrassing and historic second time for the traitorous crime of "incitement of insurrection" in which he encouraged his simpleton followers to storm the nation's Capitol, which led to the deaths of five, including one police officer. Even better, along with 222 Democrats, 10 Republicans (not heroes, just buttholes who happened to do a single, decent thing) voted in favor of impeachment, which may not sound like a lot—but it's a clear signal that the GOP's lockstep with Trump is definitely stumbling. We'll drop the full impeachment resolution's text at the bottom of this post.

Every House member from Washington state voted to impeach Trump except: Cathy McMorris Rodgers, who continues to be the worst. Her Washington GOP colleagues, Reps. Newhouse and Herrera Beutler, were among the 10 GOP House members who voted for impeachment.

Meanwhile, the "obstruction general" and current Senate Majority Turtle Mitch McConnell is pooh-poohing any notion that the Senate could vote to convict Trump before he leaves office, because... well, it's not like they're trying to ram through a Supreme Court justice or something!

Citing very real safety concerns, around 15,000 National Guard members are being sent to Washington, DC to guard the inauguration festivities—and many of them will be armed. Meanwhile the Secret Service says they are even "throwing the kitchen sink at this event" making the inauguration one of the most protected affairs in modern history.


Teachers and school staff in New York state could begin receiving vaccines as soon as Monday: In California, educators could receive vaccines as early as Friday. Over here in Washington, half of our educators will currently have to wait until "nearly the end of the school year to get their first dose of vaccine," reports the Seattle Times. Recent federal changes could alter Washington state's vaccine distribution schedule, but teachers and their union are rightly pissed and asking for the state to make quick changes. In some counties, schools have already been in session for months. Seattle Public Schools will start opening up schools for in-person instruction in March. "It just feels unjust and immoral that we are putting teachers knowingly into these environments," a UW critical care pulmonologist commented to the Times.

"The downsides of returning to the buildings outweigh the positive outcomes, especially with only three to four months of school remaining in the year with [Seattle Public School District's] plan of starting on March 1": That's the message from the Staff of Dearborn Park International School in Seattle, which published a letter in the South Seattle Emerald today. Here's a snippet, bolding mine:

Educators put students’ learning and well-being at the forefront of our work. It is highly inappropriate to ignore the layers of trauma that all families and staff have experienced this year. This change will disrupt student learning and routines they have already developed with their current teachers. Completely uprooting the routines, schedules, and hard work that have been created for online learning this year and demanding that educators rework everything with four months left will cause huge levels of stress and anxiety. Working under high levels of stress and anxiety will affect classroom educators’ capacity to engage students in high-quality education. Educators’ own mental health directs classroom interactions. Not knowing whether we are doing enough to keep our community safe is not in the best interest of young children, staff, or families. To return to in-person learning would negatively impact Dearborn Park’s dual language learning model, effectively ending it.

Read the entire letter here.

A gold medal-winning Olympic swimmer, Klete Keller, was arrested today for participating in the domestic terrorist siege of the Capitol last week. See? Olympians can be chuds, too! (I suppose I already knew that.)

Governor Inslee made a historic third inaugural address today: He mentioned the Seattle Kraken, among other very important things.

A "Stop the Steal" right-wing organizer of the Capitol tragedy claims that he had some help putting it together: From Trump-supporting GOP Representatives Andy Biggs, Mo Brooks, and Paul Gosar. Can't remember exactly where I've heard this phrase before, but "LOCK. THEM. UP!"

Gyms and fitness centers reopened this week in Washington state: They've been closed for eight weeks and are reopening under new restrictions, like appointment-only workouts and letting one customer per room or per 500 square feet for larger facilities. I know fitness is necessary, but how is it that gyms are open but museums are not? If a person can make an appointment to huff and puff in a room, why can't they make an appointment to walk around a big hollow museum? Our priorities are so strange.

Happy headline of the day: "Parler CEO says social media app, favored by Trump supporters, may not return." A suggested addition to this headline: "And don't let the door hit your ass on the way out."

Actor Jessica Campbell, best known for her roles in Freaks and Geeks and Election, has died at the age of 38: Here's a clip of her famous "Who cares??" speech from Election.

Okay, let's end the evening with a little light reading: Here's the text of the House impeachment resolution charging Trump with "incitement of insurrection."

RESOLUTION

Impeaching Donald John Trump, President of the United States, for high crimes and misdemeanors.

Resolved, That Donald John Trump, President of the United States, is impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors and that the following article of impeachment be exhibited to the United States Senate:

Article of impeachment exhibited by the House of Representatives of the United States of America in the name of itself and of the people of the United States of America, against Donald John Trump, President of the United States of America, in maintenance and support of its impeachment against him for high crimes and misdemeanors.

ARTICLE I: INCITEMENT OF INSURRECTION

The Constitution provides that the House of Representatives “shall have the sole Power of Impeachment” and that the President “shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors”. Further, section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution prohibits any person who has “engaged in insurrection or rebellion against” the United States from “hold(ing) any office … under the United States”. In his conduct while President of the United States—and in violation of his constitutional oath faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed—Donald John Trump engaged in high Crimes and Misdemeanors by inciting violence against the Government of the United States, in that:

On January 6, 2021, pursuant to the 12th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, the Vice President of the United States, the House of Representatives, and the Senate met at the United States Capitol for a Joint Session of Congress to count the votes of the Electoral College. In the months preceding the Joint Session, President Trump repeatedly issued false statements asserting that the Presidential election results were the product of widespread fraud and should not be accepted by the American people or certified by State or Federal officials. Shortly before the Joint Session commenced, President Trump, addressed a crowd at the Ellipse in Washington, DC. There, he reiterated false claims that “we won this election, and we won it by a landslide”. He also willfully made statements that, in context, encouraged — and foreseeably resulted in — lawless action at the Capitol, such as: “if you don’t fight like hell you’re not going to have a country anymore.” Thus incited by President Trump, members of the crowd he had addressed, in an attempt to, among other objectives, interfere with the Joint Session’s solemn constitutional duty to certify the results of the 2020 Presidential election, unlawfully breached and vandalized the Capitol, injured and killed law enforcement personnel, menaced Members of Congress, the Vice President, and Congressional personnel, and engaged in other violent, deadly, destructive, and seditious acts.

President Trump’s conduct on January 6, 2021, followed his prior efforts to subvert and obstruct the certification of the results of the 2020 Presidential election. Those prior efforts included a phone call on January 2, 2021, during which President Trump urged the secretary of state of Georgia, Brad Raffensperger, to “find” enough votes to overturn the Georgia Presidential election results and threatened Secretary Raffensperger if he failed to do so.

In all this, President Trump gravely endangered the security of the United States and its institutions of Government. He threatened the integrity of the democratic system, interfered with the peaceful transition of power, and imperiled a coequal branch of Government. He thereby betrayed his trust as President, to the manifest injury of the people of the United States.

Wherefore, Donald John Trump, by such conduct, has demonstrated that he will remain a threat to national security, democracy, and the Constitution if allowed to remain in office, and has acted in a manner grossly incompatible with self-governance and the rule of law. Donald John Trump thus warrants impeachment and trial, removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States.