Archives for November 2018

The Atlantic: China is surveilling and threatening Uighurs in the U.S..

Ilhan Omar: Diversity in Congress leads to better policy

Wendover: The deadly logistics of climbing Everest.

Stephen looks back at America’s epic fall.

The Dotard Трамп and Other Disarticulating Collusioners:

• Trevor: Трамп’s side hustle vs. Obama’s side hustle
• WaPo: Matthew Whitaker’s past criticisms of Dotard Трамп
• Rachel Maddow: Unlike Richard Nixon, Dotard Трамп misconduct is piling up in full public view
• Ari Melber: Cohen bombshell confession—I reached out to Kremlin and Трамп knew
• Stephen: Cohen exposes Трамп’s business ties with Russia
• Trevor: Трампy news
• WaPo: Why Трамп has become ‘Individual 1’ in Mueller’s investigation
• Watch people’s faces as they react to Трамп:

• Late Show: Pompeo exonerates a crown prince and a Lion King
• Chris Hayes: The President was compromised…full stop!
• Rachel Maddow: Michael Cohen plea shocker exposes Трамп camp lies about Russia dealings
• Mark Fiore: Трамп News Network
• Ari Melber: Retired Lieutenant Colonel—“Infantile” Трамп is no patriot
• Trevor: Migrants get pepper-sprayed at the U.S. border
• Stephen: The Dotard describes earth’s climate as “record clean”
• WaPo: Michael Cohen pleads guilty to lying to Congress about Moscow project
• HeadsOfState: Trump brags about gassing women and children at the border
• Stephen: The Russia probe’s newest character
• Rachel Maddow: Michael Cohen knowledge a “very dangerous threat” to The Dotard Трамп
• Late Show: Is tear gas a nacho topping?
• Trevor: Michael Cohen pleads guilty and Truth Трамп makes an appearance
• Ari Melber: Трамп planned to give Putin Moscow penthouse
• Mother Jones: Secret Service visits Tom Arnold after Трамп tweets
• Stephen: Paul Manafort auditions for a pardon:

• Robert Reich: What’s a subpoena, and should Трамп fear it?
• WaPo: Трамп keeps exaggerating his official White House numbers
• Trevor: Трамп’s broken promise to General Motors
• Stephen: The Dotard Трамп stole Stephen’s bit

The Atlantic: The chaos of the universe is contained in a watch.

Veronica Escobar sees unity between left and right.

Jim Jefferies throws a party for fellow soon-to-be U.S. citizens.

Kurzgesagt: End of space—Creating a prison for humanity.

The Atlantic: Your brain perceives reality by hallucinating.

Jon Stewart does Stephen Colbert:

• Jon Stewart’s interview with Stephen Colbert
• Even more of Jon Stewart’s interview with Stephen Colbert

Antonio Delgado is for a public option, renewable energy and restoring people’s faith in democracy.

Nova: Fireproofing our future through better design.

The Atlantic: Sex and the 1960s college girl.

Adam ruins guns:

Vox: FAUX News keeps breaking its own rules.

Real Engineering: Vinyl versus digital.

Trevor: Al Gore weighs in on ManBearPig.

Rashida Tlaib can’t stand bullies and is keenly aware her district is third-poorest in nation

Last week’s Friday Night Multimedia Extravaganza can be found here.

Darryl already did a Tim Eyman piece. So rather than some informed addition to that, here’s a hastily written limerick:

There once was a fellow, Tim Eyman.

This time can we say, goodbye man?

He’s super corrupt,

Tim went bankrupt.

No money from the “my biggest lie” man.

Over the years, this blog has not been immune to legal controversy. Ignoring the toothless comment thread threats, we occasionally receive take-down demands, cease and desist letters and the like. Indeed, this blog was born out of a lawsuit. It began with Goldy’s Horse’s Ass initiative catalyzing a lawsuit brought against him by Washington’s then state Attorney General, Christine Gregoire. Goldy fought the AG and the AG won:

Siding with the state attorney general, Thurston County Superior Court Judge Gary Tabor ruled yesterday that a proposed statewide initiative declaring Eyman to be a horse’s ass isn’t a proper subject for an initiative. It isn’t legislative in nature, he said, and therefore is “outside the power given to the people.”

An initiative, the judge added, must be “for a purpose other than expressing a sentiment.”

Besides providing the seed for this blog, the only other positive outcome of the whole fiasco was giving the Seattle PI’s Neil Modie the type of multi-layered pun that a lesser journalist would kill for in the headline “A Bum Rap?”

Of course, for Goldy, the start of this blog launched him into a decade of impoverished muckrakery, living off of small donations, double digit blog advertisement revenue, and an occasional ghost-writing gig. Those were hard, if fun, years; Goldy took some scalps along the way.

Times have changed. We all have troubles, it seems. Just today we learned that farm bankrupcies are way up in the midwest.

And legal problems have finally brought down Horsesass. Fines, legal fees, court orders, high voltage! (done dirt cheap).

When I say “Horsesass”, perhaps I should say, the Horse’s Ass. Yes…the anti-government agitator, the perpetual purveyor of defective initiatives, Mr. self-identified lying liar, this blog’s namesake himself, Tim “Biggest-Lie-Of-My-Life” Eyman has filed for bankruptcy:

Attorney General Bob Ferguson has accused Eyman of secretly moving funds between two initiative campaigns in 2012 and receiving $308,000 in kickbacks from the firm that collected signatures for both measures.
….
Ferguson filed a lawsuit in March 2017 seeking $1.8 million in penalties, plus reimbursement of the funds Eyman received from the firm.
….
In documents filed Wednesday, Eyman reported assets of more than $2 million and liabilities of $3.2 million. He owes $77,000 in legal fees and a disputed $3.1 million to the Office of the Attorney General, according to the reports.

It’s an “own goal.” Eyman blatantly violated campaign finance laws, and thwarted court orders. And, apparently, he’s fresh out of sugar daddies.

Eyman claims the legal actions against him have caused his wife to divorce him. Yeah…I’m guessing it’s the lies! (Or maybe the embarrassing costumes?)

No word yet on whether his dog has run away.

Buses honking at cars in the stop is my favorite thing. I don’t know, yesterday coming home honk honk honk. Sure it’s like 10:30 in a fairly residential neighborhood. So great from the bus, probably less so if you’re in an apartment trying to sleep. I assume it’s rideshare drivers, but maybe it’s delivery people. I know that it’s tough to find a place to idle your car for a few minutes while you wait for the next customer, but stay out of the bus stop. Honk honk honk.

The Seattle Chapter of Drinking Liberally meets this evening for some politics and conversation over a pint. Please stop by.

We meet every Tuesday at the Roanoke Park Place Tavern, 2409 10th Ave E, Seattle. You’ll find us in the room at the rear of the tavern beginning about 8pm.

Can’t make it to Seattle? Check out one of the 260 chapters of Living Liberally, including 22 in Washington state, eight in Oregon and three in Idaho. Find a chapter near you. Or you might consider starting your own chapter!

Can whoever is killing sea lions please stop? It seems like not fucking killing sea lions would be the default. Come to think of it, I have lived my whole damn life not killing sea lions.

If you see a sea lion today, just let it be. Same tomorrow and the next day. Pretty soon you’ve gone a week without killing any sea lions. Then a month of no killing sea lions. Because you know it, not killing sea lions becomes a habit.

Farron Cousins: Motel 6 agrees to massive settlement for turning guest info over to ICE

Seth Meyers: Minority voter suppression.

Roll Call: Lame duck Congressional hits and misses.

Rachel Maddow: GOP gerrymandering—Democratic votes not matched by seats gained:

Chris Hayes: Cindy Hyde-Smith stumbles in senate debate.

Mental Floss: Cooking facts and life hacks!

The Atlantic: The most extreme railway in the world.

WaPo: Cindy Hyde-Smith’s controversial comments, a timeline.

Lauren Mayer: Thanks for rich liberals!

Louis Black: Flat Earth International conference.

Mother Jones: Lockdown!

The Dotard Трамп and His Band of White Nationalist:

• Jimmy Kimmel: The Dotard Трамп pardons some turkey
• Stephen: The Dotard Трамп goes to battle with another war hero
• Farron Cousins: Трамп says Republicans lost because he wasn’t on the ballot
• Ari Melber: Bombshell—Трамп ordered Hillary Clinton, James Comey prosecution:

• Ari Melber: Former DOJ Prosecutor, “I could draft Трамп indictment right now”
• Young Turks: Трамп picks a fight with a Supreme Court justice
• WaPo: Here’s why private email accounts can be problematic in the White House
• Stephen: Melania Трамп has more staffing demands
• Chris Hayes: President Dotard Трамп links cheap oil, Saudis and Jamal Khashoggi murder
• Seth Meyers: Трамп’s weird lie about raking in Finland
• Ali Velshi: Ivanka Trump used private E-mail for government business
• Rachel Maddow: The Dotard Трамп defies CIA with lie about Saudi role in Jamal Khashoggi murder
• Stephen interviews Chris Wallace’s interview of Dotard Трамп.
• Jimmy Kimmel: Dotard Трамп furious over Ivanka’s emails
• Stephen: Why hasn’t Трамп visited U.S. troops in a war zone?
• Late Show: A tale of two email controversies on FAUX News:

• Ari Melber: Why Трамп’s own lawyer is Robert Mueller’s most important witness
• Stephen: Трамп flubs the name of the disaster zone he’s in
• WaPo: What Matthew Whitaker has said about Hillary Clinton
• Mark Fiore: You’re welcome America first.
• Seth Meyers: Трамп turns on allies, stands by Saudi Arabia
• Stephen: Трамп pardons peas, carrots, and Saudi Arabia
• Ari Melber: Трамп WH rattled by rare rebuke from Chief Justice John Roberts

Trevor: Kristen Gillibrand is fighting for New Yorkers and celebrating the “Bold & Brave”.

Jimmy Kimmel: The week in unnecessary censorship.

Vox: The roots of America’s democracy problem.

Ari Melber: New Blue Congress breaks diversity records, plummets average age.

Jim Jefferies: Why immigrants should be celebrated, not feared

Trevor: Khizr Khan paying tribute to Democratic values in “An American Family”:

The Atlantic: A dangerous job at the highest point on Earth.

Chris Hayes: A humanitarian crisis unfolds in California

Real Engineering: Britain’s most daring WW2 raid

Stephen: Justice Sonia Sotomayor allows Stephen to approach the bench

Trevor: Pete Souza on being the eyes of the White House in “Obama: An Intimate Portrait”.

Last week’s Friday Night Multimedia Extravaganza can be found here.

Man, what the hell, Republic? If you care about the Second Amendment, form a well regulated militia. You actually can do that. I mean protect yourself from invading Canadians, or insurrectionary elements or whatever. But this is silly.

Please join us for an evening of politics over a pint at this evening’s Thanksgiving warm-up edition of the Seattle Chapter of Drinking Liberally.

We meet every Tuesday at the Roanoke Park Place Tavern, 2409 10th Ave E, Seattle. You’ll find us in the room at the rear of the tavern beginning about 8pm.

Can’t make it to Seattle? Check out one of the 260 chapters of Living Liberally, including 22 in Washington state, eight in Oregon and three in Idaho. Find a chapter near you. Or you might consider starting your own chapter!

When you call the police on Black people, you are running all sorts of risks. There are worst cases, but even if they don’t happen, it’s still pretty bad. So sometimes you “just” humiliate someone supervising a parental visit.

The role of police in that instance wasn’t to remove fear. It was to move it from the white employees to the Black man minding his business.

Trevor and Jaboukie Young-White discuss Amazon’s move to NYC.

Minute Physics: Impossible muons.

Lynzy Lab: Subtract the Divide.

Bill Maher: Just don’t go there.

The Dotard Трамп and Other Soulless Grifters:

• Stephen: Only Трамп can politicize forest fires!
• Jimmy Kimmel: Трамп can’t control himself around Putin
• John Oliver: Draining the swamp
• Stephen: The President’s new punching bag—Sean Hannity
• Hallie Jackson: Judge sides with CNN, White House must restore Acosta press pass
• Robin Williams on The Dotard Трамп
• WaPo Opinion: Don’t panic about the future of the Mueller investigation—yet
• Jimmy Fallon: Трамп wants to fire his Chief of Staff and Homeland Security Secretary
• Rachel Maddow: Трамп aims to placate Turkey to cover Saudis on Khashoggi killing
• Seth Meyers: Getting to know Matt Whitaker
• Stephen: Elvis, Babe Ruth, and the rest of Трамп’s Medal of Freedom winners
• Jimmy Kimmel: Трампy Bear
• Late Show: Policy time with Трамп and Kelly
• SNL: Jeff Session’s farewell:

• James Corden: Dotard Трамп will soon be a beautiful butterfly of bitterness
• Stephen: The White House has reached peak insanity
• Late Show: Kim Jong Un reaffirms his promise to Трамп
• James Corden: Трампy Bear is very real and very weird
• Jimmy Kimmel: Melania Трамп says YOU’RE FIRED
• Stephen: Melania Трамп says “You’re fired!”
• Chris Hayes: Трамп makes some questionable ambassador picks
• Seth Meyers: Late Night White House press conference with Трамп
• Jimmy Kimmel: The Dotard Трамп is Spinning Out of Control
• Late Show: A message from the White House on cereal
• Jim Jefferies: Трамп’s dangerous attacks on the press (feat. April Ryan and Sean Spicer)
• WaPo: She gave the GOP millions this midterm season. Now she has the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
• SNL with another farewell to Jeff Sessions
• Stephen: Ivan Drago wants to fight… Russian stereotypes
• Late Show: The President is afraid of a little rain
• WSJ: What Трамп did to silence Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal
• Jimmy Fallon: Obama responds to Трамп’s memorial visit rain check
• Hallie Jackson: Unique security detail for Betsy DeVos to cost tax payers millions
• Mark Fiore: Fight the victims
• Stephen: Whose Boat Is This Boat? An animated holiday classic
• Трамп signs of dementia, volume 6
• Jimmy Kimmel: The Dotard Трамп’s awful response to California wildfires
• Stephen: Acting AG Matt Whitaker’s history of time-travel, toilets & bigfoot

Robert Reich: How blue states help red states.

WaPo: From Chicago to the White House—The life of Michelle Obama’s mother.

Jimmy Kimmel: A chat with Michelle Obama.

Mind Warehouse: The most protected Presidents in the world.

Wendover: Why China is so good at building railways.

Post-Midterm Madness:

• Seth Meyers: The Dotard is depressed after the midterms
• Late Night Writer Ally Hord explains why Florida always has trouble with elections
• Trevor: Democrats plan their House takeover and fire up THE SUBPOENA CANNON
• Late Show: Getting to know your Congressional body
• Seth Meyers: Трамп and his fellow grifters lie about “voter fraud”
• Jimmy: Florida—where everything is wrong!
• Stephen: Meet the new faces of Congress
• Trevor: The Florida recount explained
• Late Night: All aboard the redemption train—Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith
• Jimmy Fallon: Трамп’s post-midterm blues
• Stephen: Does Трамп Understand How Elections Work?
• Seth Meyers: Трамп panics as the Blue Wave gets bigger
• Bill Maher: Burning down the House:

• Trevor: Florida’s midterm election drama
• Jimmy Kimmel checks in with Florida recount officials
• Lauren Mayer: Congress finally looks more like America
• Stephen: The Big Blue Wave makes one man really angry
• Trevor: A dead brothel owner makes history in Nevada
• Seth Meyers: Трамп and his fellow grifters lie about “voter fraud”

Roy Wood, Jr.: CP Time—Contributions of the black soldier.

Vox: The Kamasutra is not (just) about sex.

The New Yorker: How doomsday preppers get ready for the apocalypse.

Jimmy Kimmel: The week in unnecessary censorship.

Last week’s Friday Night Multimedia Extravaganza can be found here.

I am pretty much fine with a leadership fight after an election. So a challenge to Nancy Pelosi in and of itself seems fine. It’s a little weird coming right after a major pickup in the House. I think Nancy Pelosi is great, but leadership challenges help define the party.

I am on the bus after Drinking Liberally, and am behind someone who smells strongly like vaping. I have smelled worse many times on the bus, or on the light rail. Hell, many times on this route.

But what is our obligation to smell reasonable on the bus? And did this person move in that direction by switching from smoking to vaping?

Please join us Tuesday evening for the Seattle Chapter of Drinking Liberally. We’ll be raising a toast or two to some fine election results.

We meet every Tuesday at the Roanoke Park Place Tavern, 2409 10th Ave E, Seattle. You’ll find us in the room at the rear of the tavern beginning about 8pm.

Can’t make it to Seattle? Check out one of the 260 chapters of Living Liberally, including 22 in Washington state, eight in Oregon and three in Idaho. Find a chapter near you. Or you might consider starting your own chapter!