Today’s Episode EP 592

Spokane is burning. Ballots in the fire zone. Four independent vets on the line. WTF Wednesday

Spokane is literally on fire — 8,000 acres burned, 65,000 people evacuated, a VA medical center shuttered — and voters still had to find a way to cast ballots in a race with four independent veterans on the line. Meanwhile the other Washington is burning too: CENTCOM is emailing analysts begging for "creative ideas" on Iran, the Pentagon is quietly splitting the wounded-in-action ledger to shrink the headline number, and spoiler Democrats in Montana and South Dakota are refusing to get out of the way of independent vets who can actually win. This is a no-BS ground-truth read on a week the two-party system would rather you not look at closely.

August 5, 2026

Read Brief

Spokane is burning. Ballots in the fire zone. Four independent vets on the line. WTF Wednesday

EPISODE592

Daily Edition

Spokane is burning. Three wildfires have merged into the Spokane Complex, torching more than 8,000 acres, destroying over 700 structures…

The Brief

→ Four things from today’s episode

The Spokane Complex fires. 8,000+ acres, 700+ structures gone, 65,000 evacuated, VA hospital shuttered inside the evacuation zone

Four IVA-endorsed independent veterans on the Washington bal. Four IVA-endorsed independent veterans on the Washington ballot in the middle of the wildfires — Powell, Tarkington, Croft, McCoy

Why Washington's top-two open primary is "what right looks l. Why Washington's top-two open primary is "what right looks like" for an independent movement

Todd Blanche advancing at DOJ and what a loyalist AG means f. Todd Blanche advancing at DOJ and what a loyalist AG means for primaries and Trump's political enemies