Did you know this is our city flag?
Did you know this is our city flag? City of Seattle

What do you see when you see the City of Seattle's flag?: I see sperm fertilizing an egg. So does Nathalie Graham, former Slog AM/PM writer (who will be resuming her position as Slog AM writer starting on Monday—but more on that at the bottom of this post). Seattle's official flag, created in 1990, when the city was about to host the "Goodwill Games," is turquoise and white "with swirling currents flowing around the city's seal," writes the Seattle Times. But a Portland flag expert has concluded that the Seattle flag is heinous and breaks 2 of the key flag rules, determined by the North American Vexillological Association (NAVA):

ACCORDING TO NAVA
5 key elements of good flag design
1. Keep it simple. The flag should be so simple that a child can draw it from memory.
2. Use meaningful symbolism. The flag’s images, colors or patterns should relate to what it symbolizes.
3. Use two or three basic colors. Limit the number of colors on the flag to three that contrast well and come from the standard color set.
4. No lettering or seals. Never use writing of any kind or an organization’s seals.
5. Be distinctive or be related. Avoid duplicating other flags, but use similarities to show connections.

Which rules do we break? Read the Seattle Times piece. It's funny, and I agree that our flag is weird, but you know what? It's Pride month. Leave our flag alone. Cummies for everyone. UPDATE: Upon further review, I've decided our flag is ugly. Your weekend assignment is to design a new flag. Email it to Mayor Durkan or me.

Greasy:

In case you're curious what Trump actually did on his birthday: CNN broke down the wildest lines from Trump's 50(!)-minute appearance on "Fox and Friends" this morning. Here are some of my "favorites":

  • "But nobody is going to say bad things to me. They know that I'm a very straight player."

  • "I call her 'nervous Nancy.' She's a nervous wreck."

  • "The big thing though is they spied on my campaign. That's probably one of the great criminal acts of all time."

  • "If—if I were a Democrat liberal, I think I'd say I was the greatest president in history."

  • "So the wall is going up. It's going up rapidly."

  • A teenage camp counselor was fired from a Christian camp outside of Bellingham for being gay: Reports AP. At first, I was a bit surprised that every outlet was reporting that this teen was fired for being gay—because, you know, libel—but low and behold this non-denominational Christian camp confirmed to the AP that the teen's sexuality was the reason for the firing. Seems kind of dumb, considering Washington state law dictates that an employer can't discriminate against someone based on their sexual orientation.

    Breaking news! Bleach does not cure autism: I didn't think this was something we had to spell out for people but apparently people are using this chlorine dioxide mixture (spoiler: it's the same as bleach) to, get this, cure autism. This Kansas woman has been administering bleach to her two adult autistic sons for OVER A YEAR. She put videos of it on YouTube! Thousands of people saw it! When she administered the bleach her one son (hang in there, Jeremy) howled in pain and spasmed. Her ex-husband has been trying to get guardianship from her but no one—not the police, not the doctors administering care, not adult protective services—has intervened. And this mixture? It was originally founded by a Scientologist as a cure for AIDs. It didn't work for that either.

    More fake news: This isn't real. But I wish it were.

    Seattle Public Schools ends partnership with Native American youth program: Seattle Public Schools (SPS) claims the program missed paperwork and was noncompliant. The program, the Urban Native Education Alliance, rejects SPS's account, characterizing the decision to end the program as "an assault on our students." They intend to push back at a School Board meeting on June 26.

    What's the editorial office like at The Stranger?: Basically, this.

    Just kidding, we don't talk to each other: But if you like the non sequitur-man above, read this review of this book from Rich Smith.

    Women across Switzerland protest gender inequalities: They blocked traffic! Walked off the job! Banged drums! Burned bras! Even though Switzerland is one of the richest countries in the world, gender inequalities run deep. Women across the European country left work today to call for equal pay and greater representation. Politicians involved in the protests believe the actions will raise the profile of women's issues before Switzerland's federal elections in October.

    More strikes! Postmates workers in Seattle and across the country are striking on Saturday: In response to Postmates cutting pay by 30%, according to workers, delivery drivers are going to turn the app against itself by refusing to accept delivery jobs that don’t have “blitz pricing” (that’s Postmates lingo for surge pricing). That way, they'll get paid what they deserve for the job, at least for a little while.

    Bad timing: Earlier this week, Amazon was sued for allegedly storing the conversations and voices of children without their consent. Today, Amazon announced it will let developers build "premium Alexa content" (content you pay for) directed at children with an expansion of its in-skill purchasing feature, reports GeekWire. The lawsuits also came right as Amazon was unveiling its Echo Dot Kids Edition smart speaker.

    Inslee did a good tweet:


    The antonym of Washington state is Florida state: Inslee, as you'll remember, recently signed a measure into law declaring Washington a sanctuary state. This drew criticism, like from the Spokane County sheriff who said Inslee needed to be held in contempt. Florida's governor Ron DeSantis has adopted the sheriff's POV, and signed a bill banning sanctuary policies that protect undocumented immigrants. "The bill was signed in the Okaloosa County Commission’s meeting room with an overflow crowd dotted with red 'Make America Great Again' hats," writes HuffPo.

    It's Lori Matsukawa's last day at KING 5: She's been with KING 5 for 36 years. The station offered her a retirement buyout in 2016, but she declined it, saying, "I still have work to finish here." She spent the next year working on “Prisoners in Their Own Land," a series about Japanese American internment. She called that "the exclamation point" of her career, writes Asia Fields at the Seattle Times.

    More on what’s up with Slog AM/PM: We’re making some permanent changes to Slog AM/PM. Nathalie Graham, former Slog AM and former Slog PM writer, will be returning to Slog AM starting Monday. Our former AM interns, Timothy and Michael, have done excellent jobs, but Nathalie really misses giving you your morning news, and frankly she’s too good at it for me to tell her no. Don’t worry, she’ll still be covering city council, strippers, and whatever else you people want. So there you have it: You’re stuck with me and Nathalie. Forever, probably.

    Happy Father's Day weekend: Despite my twinkish appearance, I'm not into dads. However, I understand their appeal, even though I only text my own father 1-3 times a year. It's dad's day this weekend, so I guess it would be apropos to finish with one extra hot dad today:


    Those coats! So many! So hot!