Last Friday we attended a “<a href="https://standupforscience2025.org/">Stand up for Science</a>” rally in Seattle, Washington. Given that we both have science PhDs, have spent years doing research, and think science is a great tool for investigating the world, we were hopeful we’d find something to agree with. It wasn’t easy.
The rally was part of a national movement of “Stand Up for Science” events in dozens of cities, including one on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. The ostensible purpose was to protest budget cuts to science funding as part of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. And certainly the rally we saw offered plenty of budgetary complaints. Some research scientists who had lost their jobs or funding told personal stories that tugged at our heartstrings. There was something palpable throughout the protest, however, that muddied those sympathetic messages: far-Left politics, and lots of it.
Multiple times, after dutifully declaring their personal pronouns, speakers mentioned the importance of preserving “diversity, equity and inclusion,” charged that “When they come after transgender people we must fight,” and lamented Israel’s “attack” on Palestine while asking “How many Palestinians have died in Gaza?” The crowd cheered, and held up numerous protest signs affirming these messages.
Many signs bore trans symbols (one said “Trans Girls for Truth!”), LGBTQ rainbows, Palestine flags, or progressive slogans like “Eat the Rich” (one of which was amusingly biologized as “Phagocytose the Rich”). Calls for DEI and “inclusion” were ubiquitous, with a popular slogan on multiple rainbow-colored signs saying, “Powered by Science, Strengthened by Diversity.” One sign echoed Luigi Mangione, the new progressive folk-hero currently awaiting trial for the murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, saying “Deny Fascism, Defend Science, Depose Oligarchy.”
There were plenty of classic “anti-fascist” (aka cultural Marxist) slogans on display. One sign said, “Science over fascism,” another read “Believe scientists, not fascists,” another promoted the hashtag “#fightfascism,” and another declared “Real Americans reject fascism.” Perhaps the strangest showed a picture of a pipet and declared, “This machine kills fascists.” So it seems everyone working in a biology lab must now support Antifa.
We saw an occasional upside-down American flag. One sign showed Trump’s face crossed out, saying “America has no king, it just has a traitor.” Others said “Trust Science Not Trump,” “Farmers Against Trump,” “Dump Trump … Send Elon to Mars,” “Trash Trump,” and of course “F*** Trump.” One sign seemed to yearn for the death of the President, saying “Compost Trump” on one side, while the other side asked, “Is he dead yet?” to which the answer “No” was given, followed by “F***.”
The rally also pushed scientism — the idea that science is the only valid source of knowledge. One sign read “Without Science, It’s All Fiction,” while another turned science into a religion: “Believe, Call, Repent … Science Saves.”
<div id="attachment_890393" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-890393" class="size-large wp-image-890393" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/GettyImages-2203278899-864x576.jpg" alt="US TV presenter and former mechanical engineer Bill Nye &quot;The Science Guy&quot; speaks as demonstrators take part in a &quot;Stand Up For Science&quot; rally at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, on March 7, 2025. (Photo by Alex wroblewski / AFP) (Photo by ALEX WROBLEWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/GettyImages-2203278899-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/GettyImages-2203278899-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/GettyImages-2203278899-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/GettyImages-2203278899.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />ALEX WROBLEWSKI/AFP via Getty Images</div>
Amazingly, many in the crowd feigned ignorance that Left-wing ideology permeated the protest. Signs said, “Get your politics out of science!” or “Science is based on facts, not politics,” or “Science is Critical, Not Political.” Yet promoting an unholy union of science and politics is precisely what the “Stand Up for Science Rally” was about.
Most of the smart folks with PhDs at the protest seemed blissfully uninterested in the irony that they were protesting the interference of politics within science while they themselves endorsed the interference of politics within science. But, to his credit, one speaker got the point. Professor Chetan Seshadri of the University of Washington Department of Global Health told the audience precisely why their science funding was being cut.
“The root cause” of these budget cuts, he said, “is the erosion of trust in institutions” and “The erosion of trust in science by the voting public.” He then charged scientists in the audience to show more “humility” in how they do science.
Great idea! But if the rally wanted to reassure mainstream voters that taxpayer-funded science isn’t heavily infiltrated by Left-wing scientists-turned-activists, this absolutely was not the way.
Oh, and the rally repeatedly paid lip service to “academic freedom,” while trashing minority scientific views. The very ethos underlying the event was that “Science” represents a monolithic set of consensus ideas, and “Standing Up for Science” means not just promoting those viewpoints, but squelching those who disagree.
The public is rightfully repelled by this hypocrisy. In recent years they’ve witnessed too many politically motivated attempts to suppress credible scientists who challenged the consensus on Covid vaccines, pandemic lockdowns, evolution, climate change, and more. Here’s a final example.
One speaker at the main &#8220;Stand Up for Science&#8221; Rally in D.C. was Francis Collins, who headed the NIH from 2009 to 2021. As political scientist John West <a href="https://x.com/JGWestDI/status/1898198640331763734" target="_blank" rel="noopener">notes</a>, while Collins played guitar at the rally, “Behind him stood … people carrying signs like ‘Trump Trashes Science,’ ‘He Musk Go,’ and … ‘Diabolical Oligarch Grifting Efficiently’ (DOGE).” Also appearing at the D.C. rally was science popularizer Bill Nye “the science guy,” who charged that those on “the other side” must “oppose this suppression of science” and stop “censoring science.” Yet Collins himself has become notorious for doing just that.
In 2020, Collins sought to dismiss credible experts and lockdown critics like Jay Bhattacharya as “fringe” and “not mainstream science.” But Bhattacharya wasn’t fringe. He was a professor at Stanford, and author of the Great Barrington Declaration — a warning from epidemiologists and public health experts that the lockdowns were doing more harm than good. Scientists like Collins used name-calling and rank-pulling to shout down credible minority scientific viewpoints.
For the record, we’re not “anti-vax” (we both got the Covid vaccine), but much more than that, we are pro-academic freedom. So is the public — and their disgust at politically driven intolerance in the scientific community led them to vote accordingly last November.
As a consequence, Bhattacharya is now poised to replace Collins as head of the NIH, hopefully heralding a new era of real intellectual freedom and objectivity — showing what it really means to “stand up for science.”
* * *
<a href="https://caseyluskin.com/">Casey Luskin</a> and <a href="https://jonathanmclatchie.com/">Jonathan McLatchie</a> are PhD scientists working at Discovery Institute in Seattle.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Stand Up For Science Rally Held In D.C.

This ‘Science’ Rally Took A Hard Left Turn. We Were There.

This 'Science' Rally Took A Hard Left Turn. We Were There.

Bill Nye

Francis Collins

Jay Bhattacharya

Leftists

Opinion

Science

Seattle

Washington D.C.

Woke Culture

Anti-Racism Protests Continue In Seattle

Lord Of The CHAZ: When BLM Took Over A Portion Of Seattle, I Had To Go

Antifa

Books

Rioters

Riots

Summer Of Rage

The wife of a well-known transgender writer has been charged with murdering her father with an ice axe the night of Donald Trump’s election to the presidency. She then allegedly shattered the windows of the $800,000 Rainier Valley, Washington, home in which she and her father lived in what she claimed was an “act of liberation,” according to charging documents.
Corey Burke, 33, who is married to transgender writer Samantha Leigh Allen, the author of “Real Queer America: LGBT Stories from Red States,” was discovered after the death of her father, Timothy Burke, 67 — who had health issues — “smiling and clapping covered in her loved one’s blood, cops said,” according to <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/11/13/us-news/corey-burke-hacked-father-to-death-after-trumps-election-night-victory/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The New York Post</a>, which <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/11/11/us-news/corey-burke-accused-of-killing-father-timothy-burke-with-ice-ax/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">added</a> that Burke “allegedly confessed to investigators the next day that she killed her father with the ax and also by strangling him. She also admitted to biting her father while choking him, the docs alleged.”
Timothy Burke “rarely left the house, where the two lived together, according to a Seattle police report &#8230; Officers discovered a silver-and-blue ice climbing ax on the floor, with blood on it,” the Seattle Times <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/law-justice/woman-killed-father-with-ice-ax-in-rainier-valley-charges-say/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. “‘Corey stated (when) her father started arguing with her about the lights being shut off, that she ‘just freaked out,’ Seattle Detective Azrielle Brikey wrote.”
<a href="https://www.amiracist.com/?_gl=1*jtghwp*_gcl_au*ODQ1NjYzNTg2LjE3Mjg5MDk3OTE.*_ga*MTc2NzM0NDQ2NS4xNzI4OTA5Nzkx*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTczMDEyMDgwOS40OS4xLjE3MzAxMjA4MzkuMzAuMC4w" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MATT WALSH’S ‘AM I RACIST?’ NOW STREAMING ON DAILYWIRE+</a>
Court documents reportedly state that Burke, with her face still covered with blood, told police that her father’s murder was meant to “help people change their attachment to their parents” and “had to happen today.”
The Post reported that Burke was upset about the election results and was aware that Trump had won. She allegedly became upset because her father would not turn off the lights, then went upstairs, seized an ice pickaxe, came downstairs where she tripped her father, strangled him, and then used the pickaxe to bludgeon him.
The Post continued:
<blockquote>Burke then sat down next to her father and watched him die, then smashed all the windows in the house in what she described “‘as an act of liberation,’” officers reported. When the cops arrived, they found Burke “clapping … because she was so happy.” &#8230; Donald Trump’s election victory “overwhelmed” her and finally pushed this tension to the breaking point, she said.</blockquote>
Charging documents stated that Burke whispered, “I killed him,” to one police officer.

Ice axe with mountaineering rope

Wife Of Famed Trans Writer Charged With Bludgeoning Dad To Death With Ice Axe After Trump’s Win

Crime

Donald Trump

Murder

Transgender

U.S.

Washington

A rap artist who goes by the name <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rapper-macklemore-talks-about-being-sober-following-pandemic-relapse" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Macklemore</a> was slammed on social media after encouraging others in the crowd at his concert in Seattle to chant “F**k America.”
In a clip that surfaced on <a href="https://x.com/EndWokeness/status/1837704621822714322">X</a> over the weekend from his concert, the 41-year-old rapper-born Benjamin Hammond Haggerty appeared to react to something he heard in the crowd, telling his fans, “Straight up say it, I’m not gonna stop you. I’m not gonna stop you. Yeah, f**k America,” <a href="https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/macklemore-hinds-hall-2-f-america-chant-seattle-show-1235781597/">Billboard magazine</a> reported.
The crowd then begins to cheer, yell, and clap loudly for the performer, before he debuted a new track titled “Hinds Hall 2,” which contains anti-Semitic rhetoric, in which he blasts Israel for defending itself following the deadly October 7 attack that left more than 1,200 dead and hundreds kidnapped.
It came during a music event in Washington titled, “Palestine Will Live Forever Festival.” The description of the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Macklemore/">event</a> said, “All funds raised will be split between: Pious Projects, HEAL Palestine, UNRWA, Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, and grassroots mutual aid.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
&#8220;F*ck America&#8221; &#8211; Macklemore tonight in Seattle. The cheering crowd goes wild. <a href="https://t.co/gF8AP6uAje">pic.twitter.com/gF8AP6uAje</a>
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) <a href="https://twitter.com/EndWokeness/status/1837704621822714322?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 22, 2024</a></blockquote>
Reaction to the video was swift with people blasting the rapper’s comments.
One person <a href="https://x.com/Sassafrass_84/status/1837705105652511121">wrote</a>, “If you hate this country, then get [the f] out. Go find one that represents your ideals. American doesn&#8217;t want or need your trash here.”
Another <a href="https://x.com/Bubblebathgirl/status/1837708439453106237">added</a>, &#8220;Hey<a href="https://x.com/macklemore"> @macklemore</a>, since you hate America so much why don’t you leave? Thanks.”
While a third wrote, “Shame. This country made Macklemore possible. Where else could he have got rich and famous?? Shame.”
The rapper has been vocally anti-Israel, even dropping an earlier version of his song “Hinds Hall” in May which blasts the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas following the terrorist attack on October 7. The song references the many anti-Israel protests on college campuses that were happening at the time, <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-13880077/macklemore-leads-anti-America-chant-charity-concert-Seattle-benefit-Palestinian-refugees.html">Daily Mail</a> noted.
In the song he called out President Joe Biden and raps, “&#8217;The blood is on your hands Biden, we can see it all. And f**k no, I&#8217;m not voting for you in the fall.”
Last year at another anti-Israel rally in Washington, D.C., Macklemore took the stage and told the crowd, “I don&#8217;t know enough, but I know enough that this is a genocide,” the outlet noted.
Weeks before the rally, the rapper released a statement in which he condemned both the bloody Hamas attacks on Israel and Israel&#8217;s response, calling the latter an “unfolding genocide” and a “U.S. backed human catastrophe,” <a href="https://pitchfork.com/news/macklemore-delivers-impromptu-speech-at-pro-palestine-rally-in-dc/">Pitchfork</a> noted.

Macklemore-2

Rapper Slammed After Encouraging Crowd To Chant ‘F**k America’

America

Celebrities

concert

Entertainment

Rapper

While blue states in the West are losing police officers who are disillusioned with soft-on-crime policies, conservative Idaho is gathering them in great numbers.
The Idaho Peace Officer Standards &amp; Training (POST) reported that between 2019 and 2021, the number of officers from other states applying for certification more than doubled, Fox News <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/blue-line-getting-thinner-west-coast-states-police-take-refuge-idaho" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
“They come to Idaho where they can enjoy their career and make a difference,” Idaho Fraternal Order of Police President Bryan Lovell stated. “They see that, in large part, our communities are supportive of law enforcement and public safety.&#8221; Lovell stated that officers from other states said they were fed up with policies that defunded police departments or decriminalized drugs.
“The Seattle Police Department has lost more than 700 officers in the past five years and is at its lowest staffing level since the 1990s,” King 5 <a href="https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/seattle-police-staffing-shortage-action-needed-councilmembers-say/281-c3f43855-f877-4ba9-a37b-aeaf27e1ec67" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> in March.
“We&#8217;re already at critical levels &#8230; We are really struggling to make sure we maintain all the calls that are impacting, not just to maintain the calls, but also investigating those calls and also doing the other type of tactics that actually make for safer outcomes for the community,” Seattle Police Chief Adrian Diaz said.
“I think if rock bottom was ever a thing, we are probably here,” councilmember Rob Saka echoed.
Regarding Portland, Oregon, which has just 1.26 officers per every 1,000 residents, 48th among the nation’s 50 largest cities, the Manhattan Institute <a href="https://manhattan.institute/article/portlands-police-staffing-crisis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posited</a>, “In the short run, the city’s particularly harmful riots following the 2020 murder of George Floyd, as well as its leadership’s embrace of the ‘defund the police’ movement, dealt a massive blow to police morale, driving mass resignations and retirements, which have continued to hamstring operations.”
“The LAPD is hemorrhaging officers, with more leaving the force than are joining it. Police Chief Michel Moore reported last week that sworn staffing had fallen to 9,103, down nearly 1,000 from 2019, the year that preceded the outbreak of COVID-19,” The Los Angeles Times <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/lapd-lost-nearly-1-000-120008003.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> in April 2023.
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-9096" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://onelink.to/dwapp&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1716488494520000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2dyxfpdB0XAtZIqaVVdwYr">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP</a>
Former California Highway Patrol officer Seth Horst, who moved to northern Idaho, commented on the tremendous public support for the police in Idaho, saying, “That is so powerful for the men and women in uniform up here to have that backing. It&#8217;s a pretty phenomenal place to do the job.”
He said of the blue states, “The district attorney doesn&#8217;t back them, there&#8217;s too much liability, so the department won&#8217;t let them enforce the law, which is their job. And that bugs a lot of people. They get a job up here, oftentimes taking a huge pay cut because the pay here does not compare to a lot of states. But it&#8217;s worth it to them to raise their families in a place that is safe and has those old-school values.”

City of Moscow Idaho police department

Red-State Idaho Sweeping Up Cops Disillusioned With Blue West Coast States

Defund The Police

Idaho

Police

Portland

Seattle Public Schools is shutting down its program for gifted and talented students, where the majority are white or Asian, citing &#8220;equity&#8221; concerns.
The school board voted to scrap its Highly Capable Cohort program in 2020 after a 2018 survey <a href="https://www.parentmap.com/article/equity-teams-seattle-hcc-racial-disparity-gifted" target="_blank" rel="noopener">found</a> that only 3.7% of participating students were Hispanic and 1.6% were black. Meanwhile, 11.8% were Asian, and the majority were white.
“Numbers would suggest that within our city … predominantly white children are more gifted than other cultures and races, and we know that is absolutely not true,” Kari Hanson, the district’s director of student support services, <a href="https://www.parentmap.com/article/equity-teams-seattle-hcc-racial-disparity-gifted" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> Parent Map in 2018.
“Clearly we’re not identifying our children of color and we need to get down to why,” Hanson said.
The district began phasing out the gifted program in the 2021-22 school year, and it will be gone entirely by the 2027-28 school year.
Starting next year, every school will have a new &#8220;more inclusive&#8221; Highly Capable Neighborhood School Model.
&#8220;The program is not going away, it’s getting better,&#8221; the school district said in a <a href="https://www.seattleschools.org/departments/advanced-learning/services-and-programs/service-delivery/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">release</a>. &#8221;It will be more inclusive, equitable, and culturally sensitive.
&#8220;In particular, students who have been historically excluded will now have the same opportunities for services as every other student and get the support and enrichment they need to grow,&#8221; the district said.
Currently, the district has three elementary schools, five middle schools, and three high schools for students in the Highly Capable Cohort program.
Under the new program, gifted students <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20240331204001/https://www.seattletimes.com/education-lab/why-seattle-public-schools-is-closing-its-highly-capable-cohort-program/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">will not be</a> separated from other students but will remain in the same classroom, and teachers will have to develop individualized education plans for each student.
Critics <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20240331204001/https://www.seattletimes.com/education-lab/why-seattle-public-schools-is-closing-its-highly-capable-cohort-program/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">argue</a> that the new model puts an unfair burden on teachers who do not have the time or resources to give 20 to 30 students an individualized plan, especially since the district is currently facing a $105 million deficit.
Some parents also worry that the new model will overlook more advanced students.
Minority representation in the Highly Capable Cohort program has improved since 2018. In the 2022-23 school year, 8.2% of gifted students were Hispanic, and 3.4% were black.
The school district is made up of about 14% Hispanic students and 15% black students.
Nevertheless, it is still replacing the program after years of attacks from critics.
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-9096" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://onelink.to/dwapp&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1712234347815000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1G-VkjVO0p4qoEkiCI9cqF">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP</a>
In 2021, Rita Green, the education chair of the Seattle Chapter of the NAACP, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/new-york-education-new-york-city-united-states-race-and-ethnicity-f8cbdb50edba9802fe9ad503cfe7d467" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called</a> for the elimination of Seattle&#8217;s gifted program.
“We want the program just abolished. Period. The Highly Capable Cohort program is fundamentally flawed, and it’s inherently racist,” Green said.
The district&#8217;s decision also comes amid broader <a href="https://www.edweek.org/leaders/leadership/a-formula-for-creating-more-equitable-gifted-and-talented-programs/2023/02" target="_blank" rel="noopener">criticism</a> of gifted programs due to equity concerns.
In 2021, then-New York City Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio <a class="color-link" title="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/08/nyregion/gifted-talented-nyc-schools.html" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/08/nyregion/gifted-talented-nyc-schools.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-ga-track="ExternalLink:https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/08/nyregion/gifted-talented-nyc-schools.html" aria-label="ordered">ordered</a> the city’s elementary schools to stop testing for giftedness.

Rear view of large group of students raising arms during a class at amphitheater.

Seattle Public Schools Cites ‘Equity’ In Shutting Down Gifted Program With Majority White And Asian Students

Seattle Public Schools Cites 'Equity' In Shutting Down Gifted Program With Majority White And Asian Students

Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

Education

Equity

Politics

Public Schools

A Seattle comedy club abruptly canceled four comedians&#8217; shows, citing the neighborhood&#8217;s &#8220;progressive values.&#8221;
Capitol Hill Comedy Bar dropped shows from April to October for comedians Dave Smith, Luis Gomez, Jim Florentine, and Kurt Metzger.
Two of the comedians, Florentine and Metzger, shared the email they said they received from the comedy club informing them their shows were canceled.
The club called it a &#8220;challenging situation&#8221; and said it considered the matter with investors, local comedians, and neighborhood advocacy groups.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
I guess I need to clean up my act. My comedy shows in Seattle are cancelled along with <a href="https://twitter.com/luisjgomez?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@luisjgomez</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/ComicDaveSmith?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ComicDaveSmith</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/kurtmetzger?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@kurtmetzger</a>.
After careful consideration and discussions with our team, investors, local comedians, and neighborhood advocacy groups, we&#39;ve encountered a…
&mdash; Jim Florentine (@Mrjimflorentine) <a href="https://twitter.com/Mrjimflorentine/status/1761071406467473577?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 23, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
I’m sorry, but this is too funny not to immediately put on blast! Also, am I mistaken that this club is in Seattle’s historic “CHAZ” district? (Kurt looks up toward heaven.) THANK U GEORGE FLOYD! For the fun Im about to have with this on Twitter after I take a quick shit! BRB! <a href="https://t.co/K4gGSGoPkW">pic.twitter.com/K4gGSGoPkW</a>
&mdash; Kurt Metzger (@kurtmetzger) <a href="https://twitter.com/kurtmetzger/status/1760824699624505541?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 23, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;Capitol Hill is known for its progressive values, and we&#8217;ve received significant feedback expressing concerns about the alignment of these upcoming shows with the neighborhood&#8217;s ethos. This feedback includes concerns from local advocacy groups that are deeply embedded in our community and work towards upholding its values,&#8221; the comedy club wrote in the email. &#8220;This decision was not made lightly, and we want to ensure it does not reflect on your talent and the quality of your work but is instead a reflection of our commitment to our community&#8217;s values.&#8221;
The club added that it would refund people&#8217;s tickets for these events and promised that &#8220;we truly value the art of comedy and the diverse perspectives it brings.&#8221;
&#8220;I guess I need to clean up my act,&#8221; Florentine posted Friday on X.
Metzger expressed how hilarious he found the decision.
&#8220;I’m sorry, but this is too funny not to immediately put on blast!&#8221; Metzger posted Thursday on X.
&#8220;Also, am I mistaken that this club is in Seattle’s historic “CHAZ” district? (Kurt looks up toward heaven.) THANK U GEORGE FLOYD! For the fun Im about to have with this on Twitter&#8230;,&#8221; the comedian added.
The comedy club is located in the former Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ) area of Seattle, the six-block area leftist anti-police protesters barricaded and declared &#8220;autonomous&#8221; after George Floyd died in police custody in 2020.
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-9096" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://onelink.to/dwapp&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1700760801843000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2PQrVSrJfhxNb4LcARqniG">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP</a>
Gomez commented on his podcast that it is &#8220;the right of any business&#8221; not to book him but called the comedy club &#8220;super woke.&#8221;
“Are they idiots for booking us and then unbooking us? Yes, it’s a dumb move. Is my former agent an idiot for booking me at a super woke progressive venue that like the entire lineup is like f***ing blue-haired f***ing freaks?” Gomez <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Supg09fMTgI" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
He added that another factor could be &#8220;young, jealous&#8221; local comics.
&#8220;This is what happens when comics don&#8217;t have anything going on. They just look for drama,&#8221; Gomez said.

Comedy show neon template. Comedy lettering and glowing neon microphone

Seattle Comedy Club Cancels 4 Comedians Over ‘Progressive Values’

Seattle Comedy Club Cancels 4 Comedians Over 'Progressive Values'

Business

Cancel Culture

canceled

Comedy

Social Issues

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/madonna">Madonna</a>, age 65, fell off her chair during a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/seattle">Seattle</a> concert on her &#8220;The Celebration Tour&#8221; on Sunday.
The Grammy Award-winning singer was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/music">performing</a> &#8220;Open Your Heart” at the Climate Pledge Arena when the incident occurred. As Madonna began singing, one of her backup dancers started dragging her chair across the stage. That’s when the male dancer tripped while wearing high heels, causing the “Like a Virgin” singer to tumble off the chair onto the floor.
Videos of the fall show Madonna laughing it off. She got up and sat back down on the chair, though she was facing the opposite way. The singer can be heard saying, &#8220;Sh**, I forgot the words,” while the song kept playing in the background. This led to accusations of lip-syncing.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
NEW: 65-year-old Madonna falls out of her chair on stage during a performance at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle.
Maybe having a man in high heels dragging you in a chair on stage wasn&#39;t a good idea? 
Madonna was singing &quot;Open Your Heart&quot; during the mishap. 
Someone is… <a href="https://t.co/Tu3pX4PyAv">pic.twitter.com/Tu3pX4PyAv</a>
&mdash; Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) <a href="https://twitter.com/CollinRugg/status/1759659850437698040?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 19, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
When a backup dancer brought her another chair, Madonna got back to singing, and the show went on.
Though the fall was mostly the fault of the stiletto-wearing backup dancer, this incident led fans to question Madonna&#8217;s decision to keep doing such physically demanding performances at her age. 
Images of the singer dancing on a moving platform while gripping a support pole made the rounds on social media in January. While many fans argued the pole was for her safety, others believed the performance to be risky. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Leave it to Madonna to reinvent pole dancing <a href="https://t.co/Ch0gcbugaB">pic.twitter.com/Ch0gcbugaB</a>
&mdash; David (@armano) <a href="https://twitter.com/armano/status/1743382873019707750?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 5, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Her “Celebration Tour” had to be rescheduled following a medical incident in 2023. Madonna was hospitalized in June with what her manager called a “serious bacterial infection,” and the tour was put on hold.
“Love from family and friends is the best Medicine,” the “Material Girl” singer captioned an Instagram post <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/madonna-praises-her-kids-says-shes-lucky-to-be-alive-after-hospitalization">reflecting</a> on the incident. “One month out of the hospital and I can reflect.”
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-9096" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://onelink.to/dwapp&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1700760801843000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2PQrVSrJfhxNb4LcARqniG">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP</a>
She went on to credit her friends and family for helping her pull through.
“But when the chips were down my children really showed up for me,” she continued. “I saw a side to them I had never seen before. It made all the difference. So did the love and support from my friends.”
Madonna said she was “lucky to be alive” and thanked all her “angels who protected” her.

Madonna

WATCH: Madonna, 65, Falls Off Chair During Seattle Concert

Madonna, 65, Falls Off Chair During Seattle Concert 

Music

pop music

Remains belonging to the Green River Killer’s last known victim have been identified, 20 years after the killer himself showed authorities where the victim had been left.
Gary Ridgway, known as the Green River Killer, was a prolific serial killer who murdered women and teenage girls throughout the 1980s and ’90s, until he was caught in 2001. He has pleaded guilty to the murders of 49 women and is suspected of killing upwards of 90.
In 2003, Ridgway led authorities to an area where he said he had left his final victim, the King’s County, Washington, Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) said in <a href="https://www.facebook.com/KingCountySheriff/posts/pfbid0zRf26kpgppNUBu6bALBPxhwF3B9NGzTxWadZvYajke2xYzTrYHfHp4TxjgatujoNl">a press release</a>. There, law enforcement found the partial remains of a teenage girl, but without the ability to identify her when her remains were located, she was labeled Bones 20, and remained with that identification for the next two decades.
In 2022, authorities had given the bones to Othram Inc., a private laboratory that has been helping law enforcement solve crimes and identify bodies by comparing DNA to databases of those who have voluntarily provided DNA to genealogy kits, like “23 and Me,” and finding family members of the deceased.
In August 2023, Othram told the KCSO they had developed a DNA profile for the unknown victim, and had tentatively identified her as Tammie Liles. Liles has previously been identified as a murder victim in 1988 after a separate set of remains were discovered in King County. Dental records from those remains identified the victim as Liles.
Liles’ mother was contacted after Othram’s tentative identification, and a DNA sample was obtained from her. The University of North Texas was able to determine that the victim was, indeed, Tammie Liles.
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-9096" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://onelink.to/dwapp&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1706112210661000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0yXz5MGfb1M_98UW6ctqZe">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP</a>
Just last month, authorities were able to identify another victim of the Green River Killer. In 1985, authorities discovered two sets of human remains, which were labeled Bones 16 and Bones 17. Bones 16 were identified in 2012 through DNA testing as Sandra Majors.
Bones 17 remained unidentified until December 2023, when investigators working with Parabon NanoLabs used forensic genetic genealogy to identify the remains as Lori Anne Ratzpotnik, CBS News <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/green-river-killer-gary-ridgway-victim-lori-anne-ratzpotnik-bones-17/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> at the time.
Ratzpotnik, 15, and Liles, 16, were both runaways.
“It’s an immense feeling of satisfaction that in this case, that started in the early 80s, we are able to identify all of Gary Ridgway’s victims. All 49 of them,” KCSO spokesperson Eric White <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/law-justice/last-known-set-of-remains-linked-to-green-river-killer-identified-as-everett-teen/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> the Seattle Times.
Ridgway is currently serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole at the Washington State Penitentiary, the New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/01/23/news/remains-of-green-river-killers-last-known-victim-idd-as-tammie-lies/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.

Green River Killer

Last Known Victim Of The ‘Green River Killer’ Identified After 20 Years

Serial Killers

An investigator who has been trying to determine the true identity of infamous plane hijacker D.B. Cooper believes he has found “a compelling person of interest.”
Eric Ulis, the star of “History’s Greatest Mysteries,” has dedicated thousands of hours to researching the legendary D.B. Cooper, who in 1971 threatened to blow up a commercial jet, demanded $200,000 in <a href="https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/db-cooper-hijacking">ransom</a>, and then leaped from the plane with a parachute and was never seen again. Ulis now believes he has discovered a clue to Cooper’s real identity, Fox News <a href="https://www.foxweather.com/lifestyle/new-evidence-d-b-cooper-skyjacking-case" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
Cooper actually identified himself as “Dan” during the hijacking, but a reporter with the Oregon Journal misheard the name and reported it as “D.B.,” leading to the legendary moniker. Authorities, however, have always assumed that Dan Cooper was a fake name.
Ulis now thinks he may know the real man behind the crime.
One of the few pieces of evidence left behind by Cooper was a clip-on tie, which Ulis told Fox News may have been purchased from JCPenney for $1.49. The tie has been analyzed before, but Ulis believes microscopic particles scraped from the tie may be the link to discovering who hijacked Northwest Orient Airlines flight 305.
&#8220;He applied these sticky stubs, they’re like little carbon circles that he could apply to portions of the tie and then when you pull them off, you’re pulling off some of the particles from the tie,&#8221; Ulis told Fox, referring to the scientists who found the particles. &#8220;You apply modern state-of-the-art technology to it, things they didn’t have back in 1971 when this occurred. It tells a story.&#8221;
Ulis used those particles and U.S. patents to trace three fragments to a steel plant in Pennsylvania, Crucible Steel.
&#8220;Headquartered in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, a significant subcontractor all throughout the 1960s,&#8221; Ulis told the outlet. &#8220;It supplied the lion&#8217;s share of titanium and stainless steel for Boeing&#8217;s aircraft.&#8221;
Ulis suggested that evidence indicated Cooper knew his way around a Boeing 727, the same type of aircraft he hijacked. Cooper also allegedly knew Seattle, Washington, well, which is where the plane was scheduled to land. Crucible Steel workers reportedly traveled to Seattle often to visit Boeing, which contracted the company.
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILY WIRE APP</a>
&#8220;This is also the time, 1971, when Boeing had this significant downturn, the big depression, with ‘The last person leaving Seattle, please turn out the lights‘ [billboard sign],&#8221; Ulis told Fox. &#8220;It’s reasonable to deduce that D.B. Cooper may well have been part of that downturn.&#8221;
Ulis admitted to the outlet that findings are not yet concrete, and named a titanium research engineer with Crucible Steel as a potential suspect for D.B. Cooper. The engineer died in 2002.
&#8220;I can put him in Seattle, I can put him at Boeing,&#8221; Ulis said of the man. &#8220;He’s a compelling person of interest. He’s definitely someone I’m going to continue to dig into.&#8221;
Ulis <a href="https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/investigator-believes-new-details-could-help-find-landing-site-db-cooper/HT2MFGGMYNBIXGQHDKAQUJYYWQ/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in the past</a> has told media outlets he may have a lead on Cooper’s landing site, and has <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/27/us/db-cooper-skyjacking-mystery-ulis-cec/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sued the FBI</a> to gain access to evidence in the only unsolved hijacking in U.S. Aviation history.

D.B. Cooper

Investigator Thinks He May Have Identified Famed Hijacker D.B. Cooper

Hijack

The Seattle area notched a grim record for deaths that involved fentanyl last year, with more than a thousand fatal overdoses.
King County saw a total of 1,284 fatal overdoses from drugs and alcohol in 2023, and 1,060 of them involved fentanyl, <a href="https://kingcounty.gov/en/dept/dph/health-safety/medical-examiner/reports-dashboards/overdose-deaths-dashboard" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to county data.
Another 72 suspected overdoses from last year are pending toxicology reports.
Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/portland-sees-biggest-fentanyl-bust-in-sheriffs-office-history">about</a> 50 times more potent than heroin, has been on the rise in the U.S. for years, but last year&#8217;s numbers are more than a 30% spike over 2022, which saw 717 fentanyl-related deaths in King County.
The deadly synthetic opioid is inexpensive to make, easily transported, and has been increasingly smuggled over the southern border by Mexican cartels.
In King County, fentanyl has <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/king-countys-2023-fentanyl-deaths-top-1050-surpassing-record/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shown up</a> in both powder and rock form and caused fatal overdoses involving the drug to skyrocket over the last few years.
Back in 2015, only three people in the county fatally overdosed involving fentanyl. In January 2019, about eight people were fatally overdosing per week. As of October, about 18 people fatally overdose every week.
Drug users in the area often combine fentanyl and methamphetamine. About half the county&#8217;s overdose deaths in 2023 involved that opioid and stimulant combination.
As little as two milligrams of fentanyl weighing the same as a few grains of salt can cause a fatal overdose, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/portland-sees-biggest-fentanyl-bust-in-sheriffs-office-history">according</a> to the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). Because it is often cut with other drugs, users may often be unaware that they are consuming the powerful substance, which can be deadly even in small doses. The DEA <a href="https://www.dea.gov/alert/dea-laboratory-testing-reveals-6-out-10-fentanyl-laced-fake-prescription-pills-now-contain#:~:text=It%20is%20a%20highly%20addictive,considered%20a%20potentially%20deadly%20dose." target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that six out of ten fentanyl pills the agency tests contain a potentially lethal dose.
In October, Seattle&#8217;s new ordinance against possessing and using drugs in public went into effect, and police started making more arrests. By the end of November, 47 arrests had been <a href="https://www.kuow.org/stories/is-seattle-s-new-drug-law-working" target="_blank" rel="noopener">made</a> under the new law, and most of those arrested were sent to case managers to help them with things like housing and addiction treatment.
Other West Coast cities are battling a similar deadly fentanyl crisis.
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-9096" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://onelink.to/dwapp&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1700760801843000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2PQrVSrJfhxNb4LcARqniG">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP</a>
San Francisco <a href="https://abc7news.com/san-francisco-record-overdose-deaths-fentanyl-wastewater-drug-testing/14186379/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">saw</a> its deadliest year for drug overdoses last year with more than 750 deaths, more than 80% of which are believed to have involved fentanyl.
The City by the Bay is notorious for the open-air drug market plaguing downtown and other areas. In October, a homeless man was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/convicted-child-molester-who-set-up-free-fentanyl-sign-across-from-california-school-arrested" target="_blank" rel="noopener">arrested</a> after he set up a &#8220;Free Fentanyl&#8221; sign across from a school that serves preschool children.
East Coast cities are <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/new-york-city-saw-record-fatal-drug-overdoses-last-year" target="_blank" rel="noopener">battling</a> fentanyl as well. In 2022, New York City <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/new-york-city-saw-record-fatal-drug-overdoses-last-year" target="_blank" rel="noopener">saw</a> a record more than 3,000 fatal overdoses, 81% of them involving fentanyl.
Overall, 31 states saw their fentanyl-related deaths increase last year compared to 2022. Those states included Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Oklahoma, Alabama, Texas, Utah, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Maine, Georgia, Minnesota, and Colorado, among others.

Supervised consumption sites in the DTES give addicts who use fentanyl, opioids, crystal methamphetamine and other drugs a place to use

Seattle Area Saw Record Fentanyl-Related Deaths In 2023

Drugs

Fentanyl

Health Care

A <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/seattle" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Seattle</a> high school teacher allegedly marked a student incorrect on a quiz for several gender identity questions, including for saying that &#8220;only women can get pregnant.&#8221;
The quiz about &#8220;understanding gender vs. sex&#8221; was administered by a 10th grade Ethnic Studies World History teacher at Chief Sealth International High School, Fox News <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/seattle-student-failed-quiz-answering-only-women-can-get-pregnant-school-responds" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
One boy in the class marked the statement, &#8220;all men have penises,&#8221; as true, but the teacher marked that answer incorrect.
The boy also marked as true the statement, &#8220;only women can get pregnant,&#8221; but the teacher again marked his answer as incorrect.
The quiz also included the questions, &#8220;When someone uses &#8216;they/them&#8217; pronouns, what does that mean about their gender identity?&#8221; and &#8220;True/false: Transgender people are gay.&#8221;
The Seattle Public Schools district acknowledged that a &#8220;knowledge check quiz&#8221; was given to students in the high school&#8217;s Ethnic Studies class about two weeks ago.
However, the district said the quiz grade did not affect students&#8217; final class grade.
&#8220;SPS remains committed to fostering inclusive environments that encourage the exploration of contemporary issues, particularly the examination of power systems such as racism and patriarchy. This dedication extends to providing a space for thoughtful exploration and dialogue on these issues,&#8221; the district <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/seattle-student-failed-quiz-answering-only-women-can-get-pregnant-school-responds" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a statement.
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-9096" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://onelink.to/dwapp&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1700760801843000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2PQrVSrJfhxNb4LcARqniG">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP</a>
The district also said that the course description for the Ethnic Studies class &#8220;underscores that students will be ‘investigating &#8230; the global economy, society, and culture.'&#8221;
The student&#8217;s mother, who said she identifies as a moderate liberal, expressed her “frustration and anger” to the Jason Rantz Show on KTTH.
“I keep trying to wrap my head around how it is legal to teach inaccurate information and force students to answer against their beliefs or receive negative scores,” the student&#8217;s mother <a href="https://mynorthwest.com/3942486/rantz-seattle-student-failed-quiz-for-saying-men-cant-get-pregnant/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> the outlet.
The mom said she is “proud of him because he refused to answer against his beliefs (which are medically and scientifically accurate, or at least used to be).”
The mom also accused teachers of calling her son names, including “f****d and racist” and a “product of the patriarchy that teaches young boys not to care about anything.”
The school <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/seattle-student-failed-quiz-answering-only-women-can-get-pregnant-school-responds" target="_blank" rel="noopener">denied</a> that any name-calling occurred.
&#8220;Claims that the student was called names have not been reported to SPS. We have confirmed with [the] school&#8217;s principal that this is the first reference to any name-calling,&#8221; the district <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/seattle-student-failed-quiz-answering-only-women-can-get-pregnant-school-responds" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
Gender identity has become a hot button issue in public schools over the last several years, with parents across the country expressing concerns about curriculum content.

Promoting Breastfeeding In Europe

Seattle High Schooler Marked Incorrect On Quiz For Saying ‘Only Women Can Get Pregnant’: Report

Seattle High Schooler Marked Incorrect On Quiz For Saying 'Only Women Can Get Pregnant': Report

Gender

Menu