1. Staunchly anti-abortion U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA, 3) announced on Facebook today that her pregnancy has taken a sad turn: Her fetus has been diagnosed with Potter's syndrome, an often-fatal kidney disease that results from a lack of amniotic fluid to the brain. The (Lower Columbia) Daily News has the report. 

Herrera Beutler said she and her husband were "hoping for a miracle." 

2. Tacoma Mayor (and Pierce Transit Board of Commissioners chair) Marilyn Strickland and Pierce Transit vice-chair Rick Talbert argue in the Tacoma News Tribune that the state legislature should pass the proposed transportation revenue package (currently second in line after the general state budget), which would give Pierce Transit—an agency that is currently facing cuts of 28 percent after several other large cuts in recent years—the authority to increase the county's sales tax by 0.3 percent in a portion of the district. 

King County Metro's fate also hangs on the same transportation revenue package; without new taxing authority, the county transit system will face cuts of 17 percent, including the complete elimination of some "underutilized" routes.  

3. If you're curious what it's like to be an opioniated lady on the Internet (particularly if those opinions are about sexism), I highly recommend Lindy West's most recent video at Jezebel, where she reads, verbatim, some of the unbelievably hateful comments she received after daring to suggest, on Kamau Bell's "Totally Biased," that comedy has a problem with women and "rape jokes."

Trigger warnings galore, but I highly recommend checking it out.

4. Sightline evangelizes in favor of a super-futuristic idea: Carsharing, combined with self-driving (AKA driverless) cars, the idea being that you could order a car to show up at your door, for example, and take you where you want to go (or drop your kids off at soccer practice) without anyone having to know how to drive competently. (Such a service could also deliver people home who are too impaired, or sight-limited, or elderly, to drive). 

Sounds like a great idea. My only problem? I enjoy driving. I don't own a car, but I do belong to two carsharing services and rent cars when I'm in other cities, and I don't particularly relish the idea of just being driven around. If I wanted that, I could just take a taxi.