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Robert Cruickshank

@robertcruickshank.com
11K followers 906 following 14K posts

Digital Strategy for California YIMBY. Seattle resident. Personal account -- what you see here represents my own opinions, for better or worse.

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Robert Cruickshank @robertcruickshank.com · 2h
Interesting. I don't know if she can win, or if she'd be any good, but Joe Fitzgibbon is definitely vulnerable, having been totally absent on school funding despite being #2 in House Dem leadership. Showing up drunk to committee meetings was also bad. I'm not endorsing her, it's just notable.
seattletimes.com
Here's who The Seattle Times endorses for WA 34th Legislative District, Pos. 2 | Editorial
Newcomer Mary Anito presents fresh ideas and sticks to key priorities of education, housing and healthcare. Voters ought to elect her to LD 34, House Pos. 2.
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Dan Ancona @danancona.bsky.social · 3h
Massively important story. We’ll see how this goes, but Talarico isn’t within striking range because of some kind of heterodox move to the right. He’s making a strong, clear case for ideas that work better than plainly horrific Republican ones.
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Karl Bode @karlbode.com · 3h
I'm absolutely fascinated by "journalism" that can't seem to tell readers an obvious truth. Like the fact this is absolutely meaningless bullshit designed to pre-empt real oversight
reuters.com
Trump releases AI accord with tech executives
President Donald Trump released a document on Tuesday that his administration cast as an accord ​on artificial intelligence and which he said earlier was signed by ‌him and tech executives that he met...
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Robert Cruickshank @robertcruickshank.com · 3h
Might need this in Seattle - and for the same reasons
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Sanho Tree @sanho.bsky.social · 11h
Google and Apple immediately update their maps.
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Robert Cruickshank @robertcruickshank.com · 4h
Matt is correct here. It's a problem in Seattle Public Schools too. Parents and educators have tried pushing back, but district admins resist hard. And then they eliminated "walk to math" where K-5 students are grouped and taught according to math ability. Why can't we just teach kids basics?!
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The Needling @theneedling.com · 12h
Ballard Congratulates Golf Course on Its New Light Rail Station: tinyurl.com/yncw9jep
Map of new Pinehurst light rail station opening Sept. 30 next to I-5 and 160-acre Jackson Park Golf Course.
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James everything is analog @analogist.net · 13h
Black Site Bob, whose previous work includes literally *overseeing CIA torture camps*, can shut the fuck up when it comes to budget priorities for equitable housing in Seattle
Glen Stellmacher @HardPressedN

SEATTLE CITY COUNCIL MEMBER Bob Kettle says he oversaw Camp Cropper Prison in Iraq as part of CIA DIA operationThe New York Times
THE STRUGGLE FOR IRAQ: MISTREATMENT;
Earlier Jail Seen as Incubator for Abuses in Iraq
By Douglas Jehl
May 15, 2004
An American-run detention center outside
Baghdad known as Camp Cropper was reportedly the site of numerous abuses of Iraqi prisoners several months before the mistreatment of prisoners unfolded last fall at Abu Ghraib prison, according to documents and interviews.
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Robert Cruickshank @robertcruickshank.com · 13h
This is a really good episode of Seattle Now by @kuow.org about problems with Superintendent Ben Shuldiner mandating a top-down daily elementary schedule. He has slashed and capped recess time, when 30 minutes was supposed to be a floor. Students also say they don't have enough time to eat lunch.
podcasts.apple.com
In Seattle schools, will less recess mean more learning?
Podcast Episode · Seattle Now · September 29 · 15m
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Sam @samd.bsky.social · 13h
should be instructive for democrats that Magyar is living up to his promise to prosecute Orban officials for corruption and is continuing to poll extremely highly
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Robert Cruickshank @robertcruickshank.com · 13h
Me, in Seattle: “Wow, we have two complete rail lines, they’re amazing, feels like a real city now” Me, in NYC: “Wow, Seattle has such a long way to go.”
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Robert Cruickshank @robertcruickshank.com · 21h
One of Mayor Wilson's best hires is Aly Pennucci, who is quietly but crucially doing an absolutely amazing job driving a bulldozer through years of calcified budget and process morass. The mayor is down in the weeds on this as well and they are an excellent team.
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Zoomer Antimillenarian @surcomplicated.bsky.social · 19h
FWIW, I think a fuckup on this scale in time to wreck them electorally was *almost* inevitable from Day 1, precisely because this is the Special Birthday Boy presidency in which there are almost no limits on Trump's madness and every proposed policy disaster has a real shot at going all the way.
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Greg Greene (he/him/his) @greene.haus · 21h
To quote a @chrislhayes.bsky.social jape at the Roberts Court: "They go fast when they want to go fast and slow when they want to go to slow and the decision is *always* an ideological one."
Steve Vladeck, a professor a Georgetown Law, writes up breaking developments from the Supreme Court. The last post in the three-post thread is the kicker, for our purpose here.

"#BREAKING: Over dissents from the three Democratic appointees, #SCOTUS grants a stay in the third-country removals case; clears way for Trump admin. to continue removing non-citizens without a full chance to litigate the conditions in those countries (while also taking up the full merits appeal). 

"Link: [URL of a supremecourt.gov PDF]

"By my math, the order was filed 11 minutes after the Trump administration's reply brief came in."
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Mayor Katie B. Wilson @mayor.seattle.gov · 19h
Many of us who live in Seattle don't have a ton of personal space. That's why the public spaces we all share are so important. My proposed budget includes $1.4 million for 12 new public restrooms across Seattle so everyone can explore our beautiful city with comfort and confidence.
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Robert Cruickshank @robertcruickshank.com · 21h
One of Mayor Wilson's best hires is Aly Pennucci, who is quietly but crucially doing an absolutely amazing job driving a bulldozer through years of calcified budget and process morass. The mayor is down in the weeds on this as well and they are an excellent team.
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Ned Resnikoff @resnikoff.bsky.social · 22h
Left-NIMBYs love to pit welfare state expansion against land use reform, but the latter can 1) can achieve significant poverty reductions 2) without means testing or administrative burdens, and 3) at a net gain for the public budget, which can then be used to expand the welfare state.
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Robert Cruickshank @robertcruickshank.com · 22h
Long prison sentences are a must for everyone involved, from Trump and Miller on down to the guards and admin staff. Anyone who works for these concentration camps should be hounded until imprisoned, just as we did with Nazi concentration camps.
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Senator Dr. John Brown stan account, Esq., PhD, MD, JD, LCSW @johnbrownstan.bsky.social · 23h
Yes. Having the confidence of your base is actually extremely important. Dems discount the importance of it at their own peril
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KPM @kpmcgrath.bsky.social · 23h
Every mayor in America should be asked what they are going to do to ensure civilian control of our police forces, and what they will do to officers or departments that break the law.
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Robert Cruickshank @robertcruickshank.com · 23h
I am biased but I strongly agree! And the waterfront, which is great, would have been even better if it was Moon and McGinn who made all the calls there, without state/WSDOT interference.
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Robert Cruickshank @robertcruickshank.com · 29/09/2026
The thread I’ve always wanted to see: what a rail tunnel bypass of the San Clemente coastline would look like. An essential piece of SoCal infrastructure given the ocean is eating the current beachside tracks.
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Gordon Padelford @gordonofseattle.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Seattleites are most concerned about traffic safety because we all experience it regularly: narrowly missing getting hit while walking in a crosswalk, seeing people using center turn lanes as their personal speedway, etc. Most people also know someone who has died or been seriously injured:
Info graphic showing most people will know 6 people who die in a car crash and 28 who have major injuries
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Erica C. Barnett @ericacbarnett.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
The mainstream press continues to say the biggest issue with Bite of Seattle comms was the lack of a press conference for TV and print. In fact, SPD put no information out on social media—where most people get breaking news—at any point that night, after one alarming 6:30pm post on X.
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Erica C. Barnett @ericacbarnett.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
The Seattle Times has chosen to ignore overwhelming written contemporaneous evidence and take a comment from a police chief as gospel in order to blame Mayor Katie Wilson for SPD's failure to put out any information after the Bite of Seattle shooting. Different day, same obsession.
seattletimes.com
After debacle that followed Bite of Seattle mass shooting, city must set a new course | Editorial
As the city begins its search for a new police chief, it must be held accountable for promised improvements in order to attract the best potential candidates.
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The Bulletin @thebulletinsea.org · 29/09/2026
Good news everyone: no more October Shuffle! Superintendent Ben Shuldiner has responded to years of community advocacy and seems to have largely fixed the staffing mismatch that plagued schools and caused disruptive changes every fall. More here:
thebulletinsea.org
Issue 44 – No More October Shuffle
Shuldiner puts an end to the disruptive dislocations in SPS classrooms every October. And school bus drivers may soon go out on strike.
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Darin Self @darinself.com · 29/09/2026
We need to stop being clever and just do proportional representation.
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The Urbanist @theurbanist.org · 29/09/2026
NEW STORY// Katie Wilson’s City-Centered Anti-Fascist Playbook Emerges at Author Talk By Amy Sundberg via @theurbanist.org
theurbanist.org
Katie Wilson’s City-Centered Anti-Fascist Playbook Emerges at Author Talk
Mayor Katie Wilson joined bestselling authors Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor to lay out an antidote to fascism at a book talk at Town Hall Seattle last week.
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Dan Ancona @danancona.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
This is a huge shift. The data is so clear even Third Way is on board. Strength and clarity beat “heterodox” mumbling and weakness every time. Hopefully next time we have this debate Dems can skip over the years of running ads that help Rs.
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Robert Cruickshank @robertcruickshank.com · 29/09/2026
On my way to NYC for the first time in 30 years.
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Sam @samd.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
it is quite confusing that “inclusionary zoning” is not the opposite of “exclusionary zoning”, but actually functions as a tool of exclusionary zoning
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Yonah Freemark @yonahfreemark.com · 29/09/2026
Unfortunately, we're going in the wrong direction on several fronts: —Proposed fed transport bill would *reduce* transit funding —Cities & states allow sprawling development —Congress eliminated funding supports for electric car purchases —Trump admin worsened fuel efficiency standards Read more ⏬
urban.org
Rising Gas Prices Are Punishing Household Finances. Policymakers Should Invest in Transit to Reduce Household Costs.
Amid months of rising gas prices, a typical driver now spends $65 more on fuel each month today than they did a year ago.
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Jay Willis @jaywillis.net · 29/09/2026
Wrote about the decline and fall of SCOTUSblog, which used to be the single best resource for Supreme Court stuff, and (thanks to some intervening crimes committed by its co-founder) is now a weird platform for conservative pundits to talk about what a good job the conservative justices are doing
slate.com
It Was the Essential Home of Supreme Court News. Now It’s a Joke. What Happened?
How high-stakes poker brought down a pillar of Supreme Court coverage.
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Lindsey Boylan @lindseyboylan.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
This man is a monster. He seeks out women survivors because he hates them. And he hates them because he hates himself. He has harassed me and other women survivors many times over the years. It must end. He should never have a job anywhere.
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Guy Oron @guyoron.net · 29/09/2026
At this point they're basically inventing reasons to be mad at Katie Wilson
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Max Dubler 🏳️‍🌈 @maxdubler.com · 28/09/2026
So-called “inclusionary zoning,” the practice of requiring home builders to rent new apartments at a loss to low-income tenants, is a tax on new housing that worsens the housing shortage and raises rents overall in exchange for a handful of means-tested units. It’s bad policy!
thecooldown.com
Greater Boston builders say affordable-unit rules stall housing, but Boston won't budge
Developers and city leaders across Greater Boston are clashing over whether affordable-housing requirements are helping address the region's housing shortage.
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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
I know Rahm Emanuel. I worked with him for years in the Clinton administration, and then when he was Obama’s chief of staff. Rahm Emanuel represents everything that’s been wrong about the Democratic Party for the last 30+ years. Be warned. robertreich.substack.com/p/the-rahm…
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Robert Cruickshank @robertcruickshank.com · 29/09/2026
This is the way
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Oliver Willis @owillis.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
so post primary what it appears to me is el-sayed is a good candidate who uses every media avail to talk himself up while talking shit about his opponent, precisely the kind of thing the leftist and centrist wings of the party should want.
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Robert Cruickshank @robertcruickshank.com · 29/09/2026
A nightmare vision for American education
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Robert Cruickshank @robertcruickshank.com · 29/09/2026
This is why life in prison is the better sentence than the death penalty theintercept.com/2026/09/27/c...
theintercept.com
The “Satanic Panic” Made Her a True-Crime Obsession. The Truth Is More Haunting.
After 30 years on death row, Christa Pike faces execution for a grisly murder she committed at 18.
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Spokane Rising @spokanerising.com · 29/09/2026
Send Stephen Miller to The Hague.
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Robert Cruickshank @robertcruickshank.com · 29/09/2026
This is basically terrifying
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Robert Cruickshank @robertcruickshank.com · 29/09/2026
So basically Carney’s going to be PM for life
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Summer Sandiego @summerasana.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
WTF are we doing. Like, really. As a society, as a nation, as a species.
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Robert Cruickshank @robertcruickshank.com · 29/09/2026
Local right-wingers: "Nobody will want to apply to be the new SPD police chief!" Reality:
kiro7.com
SPD police chief search continues, two dozen qualified applicants so far
According to Mayor Katie Wilson’s public safety director, there are around 24 qualified applicants for the job so far.
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Robert Cruickshank @robertcruickshank.com · 29/09/2026
Absolutely this. College is getting harder to afford under Trump and MAGA -- and that was deliberate. We need to reverse the trend and go all-in.
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Ryan Packer @typewriteralley.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
When Seattle transit advocates successfully fought against the cap on the city's share of a pass-through on the new countywide 0.1% sales tax this summer...that resulted in a $4.7 million annual contribution to SDOT's budget that is now preventing cuts to urban forestry & bridge maintenance.
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Ben Raderstorf @raders.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
This poll from Cook is bonkers. A *huge* plurality of voters (43% overall, 61% of Ds) want Dems to focus on changing the political system overall vs. just opposing (21%, 36% of Ds) or working with Trump (35%, 3% of Ds).
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Robert Cruickshank @robertcruickshank.com · 28/09/2026
People have been flagging these concerns about SDOT finances since at least the early 2010s. Mayor Katie Wilson is facing it head on and taking action.
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