This Goddamn Week is turning into This Goddamn Month.

Gunman Kills Three Baton Rouge Police Officers on his 29th Birthday: The gunman, an ex-Marine, fatally shot three officers and injured three other officers with a semi-automatic rifle before being killed in a shootout with police on Sunday morning. According to The Associated Press, the shooter was supposedly trying to "ambush" law enforcement officers. The killings follow nationwide protests after police fatally shot Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge.

President Obama Condemned the Attacks: "We may not yet know the motives for this attack, but I want to be clear: there is no justification for violence against law enforcement. None. These attacks are the work of cowards who speak for no one. They right no wrongs. They advance no causes. The officers in Baton Rouge; the officers in Dallas – they were our fellow Americans, part of our community, part of our country, with people who loved and needed them, and who need us now – all of us – to be at our best," he said in a statement.

[T]hat is why it is so important that everyone, regardless of race or political party, or profession; regardless of what organization you are a part of; everyone right now focus on words and actions that can unite this country rather than divide it further.

We don’t need inflammatory rhetoric. We don’t need careless accusations thrown around to score political points or advance an agenda. We need to need to temper our words and open our hearts. All of us.

A full transcript is available here.

Ieshia Evans, Woman from Iconic Baton Rouge Photo, Speaks Out: It was her first protest, she told CBS.

"It was silence. It was just a lot of nonverbal communication," Evans told "CBS This Morning" co-host Gayle King. "Sometimes, silence speaks volumes."

"What did you want your silence to say?" King asked.

"I'm human. I'm a woman. I'm a mom. I'm a nurse. I could be your nurse. I could be taking care of you. You know?" Evans said. "I'm here. We all matter. We don't have to beg to matter. We do matter."

Jen Graves beautifully reviewed the photo and discussed it on Blabbermouth.

Vancouver Black Lives Matter Protesters Don't Want a Police-Only Float in the Local Pride Parade: "We cannot divorce the policing institution from its historical and continued violence against Indigenous and (minority) communities, racial profiling, or inaction around our missing Indigenous women," the group wrote in an open letter to the Vancouver Pride Society and the Vancouver Police Department. They asked VPD to voluntarily remove their float from the parade and instead be part of a public service float, which would include police officers, firefighters, and paramedics, CBC reports. The parade will be held July 31.

University of Washington Will Welcome a Diverse Freshman Class: According to The Seattle Times, the class, which has "fewer white students, more Latino students, and a slight increase in African-American and Asian-American students," is also the university's largest-ever class of in-state students.

Seattlish Slams the Skagit County Sheriff’s Office for Negative Facebook Post about a Sedro-Woolley Teriyaki Joint: Last Thursday, Skagit County Sheriff Will Reichardt posted on his office's Facebook page that the owner of Lucky Teriyaki supposedly asked officers who were finishing lunch at their restaurant not to come back because their customers were uncomfortable with the presence of law enforcement officers. Unsurprisingly, the post prompted people to barrage Lucky's Facebook page with negative reviews and hateful comments and, according to Seattlish, threaten the owners. According to Seattlish, the incident could have been a result of a language barrier between the owners and officers. Although SCSO said that the misunderstanding had been resolved, a number of people have vowed to never patronize the restaurant again. Seattlish explains why the story was fucked up:

First, that a local law enforcement agency would use their platform to blast a small business.

Second, that local news organizations—and even several national outlets—would gleefully run with the story purely to rile the community without even a hint of consideration about the impact on the business owner and their family. And, moreover, without actually clarifying whether the event had taken place before citing the allegations.

Third, that SCSO seems to think they can wash their hands of it by stating that it’s all fine.

And fourth, that this business owner now feels the need to feed, for free, the very law enforcement agency whose behavior could not only lead to reduced business, but potentially even hate crimes, vandalism, and other property or personal crimes.

If you're in the neighborhood, consider grabbing food at Lucky Teriyaki to help the owners through this shitstorm.

Heidi and Sydney Are in Cleveland: They'll be covering the Republican National Convention for Slog all week, so be sure to look for their updates on Twitter here and here and Snapchat.

Sounds like the fun is just beginning:



A small silver lining to the Republican hellfest:


Pokémon Go Players Find a Second Dead Body: This time in a park in San Diego, Calif.

"GTFO MY LAWN," Says Building Owner to Pokémon-Obsessed Millennials: *grumble grumble* stupid hipsters *grumble*


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