Around 6pm US Pacific today (July 30 2024), The Needling published the following post, but pulled it offline sometime before 11:15pm that same evening.
The url was https://theneedling.com/2024/07/30/texts-reveal-mayor-harrells-kink-for-dressing-as-dog-sitting-in-rich-peoples-laps/ but now goes to an error page.
The article text is below.
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Texts obtained through a public records request by The Needling confirm suspicions that Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell has in fact spent the majority of his on-the-clock time in public office indulging a kink for dressing up like a dog and sitting in rich people’s laps.
“Up until now, we thought this idea that Mayor Harrell is super cozy with the richest people in town was more of a figure of speech, but we now know through texts he knew very well were public record that he spends much of his work time dressed as a leashed, furry pup going door to door in the city’s wealthiest neighborhoods,” said senior Needling investigative reporter Joey Tyler. “Now there’s nothing wrong with pup play–but on the job engaging in mansion backroom deals as a public servant? Some of these texts are graphic, so let’s just say he also likes getting on his knees and getting a really good sniff in there when he greets them.”
The interactions were confirmed by Stuart Sloan, the rich man and owner of U Village with whom Harrell “shared disgust” regarding Denny Blaine’s queer nude beach—enough to attempt ruining it with a privately funded children’s playground last year.
“While I am disgusted by human nudity at Denny Blaine Park, I do get off on mayors who want to wag their tails and lick my face when I need their attention,” said Sloan. “Bruce is such a good lap dog: He always comes when called. Just last night, he came over to my Lake Washington mansion, laid his floppy-eared head in my lap while I smoked $100 cigars and drank the last bottle of the most expensive wine on the planet. I told him exactly how I wanted this city run, and he agreed to every single request. Going forward, nudity will not only be banned in public parks but also inside your home.”
At press time, the city was hopeful Harrell would tie himself a little less to the demands of the rich when he was spotted playing fetch with Mr. Sloan in Cal Anderson Park’s unofficial off-leash dog area.
Ahh the New York Times, never missing an opportunity to throw trans folks under the bus.
Gov. Beshear talks a big game about vetoing anti-LGBTQ legislation, but the article they even link to about it points out (in the headline no less) that every one of those vetoes were overruled (and that doing so is trivial in Kentucky). He is describing a pantomime of concern for the queer community, wrapped in dog-whistle language (“all children are children of God”), while functionally doing as little as possible to actually help them.
This is a lesson for despondent Democrats in how they can softly give up on protecting a persecuted community to get what they want.
As a trans person, I agree the Democratic party’s messaging on trans issues has been lackluster and easy to counter.
The kids sports talking point was so effective because is brought up a good point that blanket trans acceptance hadn’t considered. Testosterone is literally a performance enhancing drug, so maybe going through male puberty makes someone ineligible to compete on a women’s team. That sucks, but in the same way that it sucks that other medical conditions would also keep you off the team. Being trans is not a disability, but the disqualification can be a point of disappointment as opposed to actual injustice.
I’m a late-transitioning trans lady, and I’m willing to concede that. These are the kinds of discussions that I’ve had with conservative family members that are very compelling, but they get bulldozed by broad, non-nuanced talking points that the media slaps against one another.
I’m also not a politician or an expert communicator. It is so frustrating that the people I literally rely on to do those jobs for my benefit are doing this so poorly.