Archives for July 2019

Good. The state House will finally investigate Matt Shea. It was a long time coming. We knew about the chat logs months ago. We knew about the genocide fantasy even earlier. That asshole really has to go.

The Seattle Chapter of Drinking liberally meets tonight for drinks and political conversation. Tonight is the first night of Democratic Debate 2, so stop by and watch the debate.

We meet every Tuesday at the Roanoke Park Place Tavern, 2409 10th Ave E, Seattle. Look for us in the back room of the pub beginning about 8pm. The debate starts at 6pm, so show up early if you want to watch it.

Can’t make it to Seattle? Check out one of the 265 chapters of Living Liberally, including 22 in Washington state, seven in Oregon and three in Idaho. Find a chapter near you. Or start a new chapter for your community!

Dear Senator Cantwell,

I am writing because I hope that you will join Senator Murray and all of the House Democrats from Washington in support of an impeachment investigation. While I realize that the House is the body that impeaches the President, support from the Senate is important. The President has committed many high crimes in the open and, as seen in the Mueller report, behind closed doors. Congress has an obligation to hold him responsible to the extent possible.

Thank You,

Carl Ballard

Jim Jefferies: The American “work ethic” is completely stupid.

Joy Reid: Why is Mitch McConnell blocking bills to protect U.S. elections?

Samantha Bee: How to get away with widespread election interference…again!

Minute Earth: The bacteria that made life possible are now killing us.

Roll Calls: The week in Congressional hits and misses.

The New York Times: How walls ended up along the U.S.-Mexico border.

The Dotard Трамп and His Band of Co-conspirators, Liars, Racists and Rapists:

• Jimmy Kimmel: We need to talk about Rudy Giuliani’s hair
• WaPo: “Problematic is an understatement”: Mueller comments on The Dotard’s past WikiLeaks praise
• Stephen: Трамп surrogates claims “Send Her Back” chants can’t be racist
• Now This: The biggest moments from Robert Mueller’s Congressional hearing
• Seth Meyers: Трамп lies about Robert Mueller’s testimony
• Chris Hayes: Detained American teen speaks about his ordeal
• Jimmy Kimmel: Mueller’s Testimony
• Stephen: Трамп gets trolled at Turning Point USA teen summit
• Rachel Maddow: Another former Dotard Трамп aide convicted & Mike Flynn strategy suffers blow
• WaPo: Robert Mueller’s full opening statement:

• Stephen: Трамп tried to set up a race war on The Apprentice
• Robert Reich: The real reason for Impeachment
• Samantha Bee: Oh SNAP! It’s time to use comments for good.
• Now This: The Dotard appears on stage in front of fake U.S. seal that mocks him
• WaPo Fact Checker: Rising tensions between the U.S. and Iran, explained.
• Ari Melber: Context of Dotard Трамп’s impeachment improves Democrats’ legal case
• Daily Show: Video surfaces of Трамп partying with Jeffrey Epstein
• Stephen asks a few questions at Robert Mueller’s hearing
• The Late Show: White House limits what Robert Mueller can say in his testimony
• Vox: How Трамп took over America’s courts
• Stephen interviews Major Garrett’s interview of Mike Pence
• The New Yorker: Robert Mueller testifies before Congress on possible Трамп indictment
• Jimmy Kimmel: Dotard Трамп & Kanye West are helping A$AP Rocky
• Now This: The Dotard hasn’t built a SINGLE MILE of border wall yet
• Stephen: Трамп teaches young people to hate “The Squad”
• WaPo: Mueller says “We have underplayed” Russia’s effect on our elections
• Seth Meyers: Mueller says Трамп wasn’t exonerated and could be charged after leaving office
• Trevor: “Send her back” & Трамп’s divisive 2020 strategy
• Chris Hayes: The Dotard loves FAUX News polls until he doesn’t
• Stephen: Robert Mueller—This investigation was not a witch hunt
• Mark Fiore: The acid-washed witch hunt hoax apple
• WaPo: This presidential seal does not look like the others
• Joy Reid: Трамп policies create chaos on both sides of the border
• Jimmy Kimmel: United Kingdom has their own Dotard Трамп now!
• Stephen: Трамп explodes on Twitter as Mueller testimony concludes
• Trevor: Robert Mueller’s Congressional hearing
• Now This: AOC Calls for a “9/11-Style” Commission on Трамп Administration’s child separation policy
• Samantha Bee: The Mueller Hearings—The Movie
• WaPo: Трамп denies Mueller said things he actually said during his testimony
• Stephen: Robert Mueller repeatedly declines and deflects at Congressional hearing
• Roll Call: On the front lines of the migrant children debate in Homestead, Florida

The Atlantic: The death of the non-unanimous jury.

Stephen: John Oliver Describes Boris Johnson, England’s Very Own Трамп

Jimmy Kimmel: The week in unnecessary censorship.

CH: Alabama’s other abortion options:

Trevor: If you don’t know, now you know—Asian nations reject Western trash.

Stephen: Jon Stewart-backed 9/11 first responders bill finally passes the Senate.

Roll Call: I.C.E, C.B.P. and O.R.R. What’s the difference, explained.

Twenty-twenty Vision:

• Seth Meyers: Michael Moore has a winning strategy for Democrats in 2020
• Now This: 2020 candidate Julián Castro unveils police reform plan
• Stephen: Why Presidential candidates are staying off FaceApp
• Lauren Mayer: Any functioning adult 2020:

• Seth Meyers: Sen. Cory Booker on civility in politics and working with Mitch McConnell
• WaPo: ‘I’m black and I’m proud’—Kamala Harris and other 2020 candidates speak on race
• Stephen: Julián Castro—Трамп’s cruelty has failed
• Seth Meyers: Michael Moore reveals which 2020 candidate he thinks could take on Трамп
• Now This: Kamala Harris wants to protect Black Moms with the Maternal CARE Act
• Stephen: Joe Biden says he’s not using Barack Obama as a crutch
• Jimmy Kimmel: Bernie Sanders is ready to defeat The Dotard
• Seth Meyers: Beto O’Rourke on Democratic debates, immigration and why he’s running for President
• WaPo: Why Michael Bennet is running for president
• Stephen: Marianne Williamson—Peacebuilders will have a seat at the table of power

Now This: Tennessee community forms human chain to protect family from ICE arrest.

Wired: Scientists explain how moon mining works.

Daily Show: Student debt in the U.S. reaches an all-time high.

Full Frontal: The border can be fun!

Stephen interviews CBS Evening News anchor Norah O’Donnell.

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

I support impeachment. The President has committed many high crimes. From welcoming election interference to obstruction of justice to emoluments violations to putting children in cages, you barely scratch the surface of his many and varied crimes. All that said, I find much of the commentary in favor of impeachment to make some logical leaps. It’s like:

Impeachment

???

Removal

Or

Impeachment hearings

???

Real oversight

But the Senate isn’t going to remove him. It needs 2/3 of the Senate, so almost 20 Republicans if all Democrats support removal. I don’t think they would even have a trial (McConnell’s super power is not doing things), but smarter people than me say he would have to. And the Trump administration would certainly obstruct an impeachment investigation as much as any other oversight.

This isn’t a reason not to impeach him: If anything it’s more of a reason. The House of Representatives should be on the record that what he did was impeachable. I just hope we know what comes next.

This Mueller testimony is really something:

Democrat: [Reads from the report] Is this accurate?

Mueller: Yes

Democrat: Is that bad?

Mueller: I refer you to the report.

Republican: How come a conspiracy theory about Hillary Clinton wasn’t central to your report?

Mueller: ????

Republican: I don’t see anything in this report about what a bitch she is.

Mueller: That’s outside the scope of my testimony.

Please join us tonight for an evening of drinks, conversation, and political prognostication at the Seattle Chapter of Drinking liberally.

We meet every Tuesday at the Roanoke Park Place Tavern, 2409 10th Ave E, Seattle. Look for us in the back room of the pub beginning about 8pm.

Can’t make it to Seattle? Check out one of the 265 chapters of Living Liberally, including 22 in Washington state, seven in Oregon and three in Idaho. Find a chapter near you. Or start a new chapter for your community!

Hello. Let’s stop calling racist people, racist chants, racist tweets, and other things “racially charged” or “racial”? Can we stop pretending groping or unwanted kissing, especially but not exclusively in the workplace, is just “incidents”? Euphemisms help us get through conversations that we don’t really want to have. But for journalists and for HR people, these conversations need to be clear.

The Daily Show: The fight to turn Lake Erie into a person.

Jimmy Kimmel: This week in unnecessary censorship.

Rapey McRacist and His Pack of Pedophiles, Criminals, and Nazis:

• Stephen: Donny Deutsch—America has a despot in the White House
• Mark Fiore: R is for racist
• Chris Hayes: Трампism must be peacefully but completely destroyed
• Jonathan Mann: White Peeple
• Seth Meyers: Republicans pretend they haven’t seen Трамп’s racist tweets
• Rachel Maddow: USDA pushes out scientists with relocation ultimatum
• WaPo Opinion: Trump is a bigot. Attacking Ilhan Omar proves he is the real threat to religious freedom.
• Joy Reid: Трамп defends racist attacks as world leaders condemn
• Trevor: Trump’s racist-fucks chant “send her back” about Ilhan Omar
• Jimmy Dore: Rick Perry’s “environmental” speech goes off the rails:

• Chris Hayes: The violence in the Dotard Трамп’s wake
• Stephen: Трамп distances himself from the racist chant he inspired
• Full Frontal: Republicans, do you have a moment to talk about the President’s racism?
• Ari Melber: Democrats plan to press Mueller on evidence of Трамп’s alleged crimes
• Stephen: By attacking Democrats, Трамп unites them
• Jimmy Kimmel has a message for the Dotard
• Rachel Maddow: Трамп campaign hush money scam appears to have worked
• Samantha Bee: Jeffrey Epstein’s got friends in high places
• Trevor: Chaos ensues during house vote on condemning Трамп’s racist comment
• Seth Meyers: Трамп lies about racist rally chant
• Stephen: Don’t watch this Трамп-Epstein video alone
• Chris Hayes: The Трамп swamp—Dept. of Labor Edition
• Mother Jones: “The Squad” condemns Трамп’s racist remarks
• Ari Melber: Трамп backtracks on race-baiting MAGA chant
• WaPo Opinion: Трамп’s racist tweets will not age well
• Jim Jefferies: Evan McMullin’s Anti-Трампism is about more than Трамп
• Stephen: A House divided cannot stand Dotard Трамп
• Stephen: The GOP reacts (and doesn’t) to Trump’s racist tweets:

• Seth Meyers: Rep. Hakeem Jeffries wants his Republican colleagues to put country before party
• Jimmy Kimmel: The Dotard Трамп swears he’s NOT racist
• Stephen: Racism Is Donald Trump’s Brand
• Trevor: The Dotard defends his racist tweets.
• Samantha Bee: A rundown of Трамп’s racist racisms
• The Late Show: A puzzle that’s too hard for Republicans
• Seth Meyers: Трамп’s racist attacks on Democratic Congresswomen
• Jimmy Kimmel: Another embarrassing Трамп video unearthed
• Stephen: The Squad says they’re more than four people
• Trevor: Трамп buddy Jeffrey Epstein arrested for trafficking minors
• Seth Meyers: Rep. Hakeem Jeffries on Robert Mueller, impeachment and Mitch McConnell

Rachel Maddow: Report exposes data, unconscionable business of opioid epidemic.

Robert Reich: How corporate welfare hurts you.

The New York Times: Hear the words of detained migrant children

Twenty-Twenty Vision:

• Seth Meyers: Late Night Democratic Presidential debate
• Jimmy Kimmel: Kamala Harris thinks The Dotard Трамп is a coward
• Stephen: Which celebrities are donating to which candidates?
• Lawrence O’Donnell: 2020 contender Julian Castro responds to “send her back”
• Conan: Bernie Sanders cosplays as Junebug from “My Little Pony”
• Trevor interviews Mayor Pete Buttigieg on his approach to reparations and fixing the economy

Terry Gross (Fresh Air) interviews Randy Rainbow:

Wendover: The economics of private jets.

Roll Call: Congressional hits and misses, dark spirits edition.

50 Years After Landing on the Moon:

• The Atlantic: Apollo 11—NASA and civilians remember the moon landing.
• CBS Sunday Morning: To the Moon! Apollo 11’s great adventure
• WaPo: Here’s how Apollo 11 forever changed how we watch TV
• NASA: Space to ground—History’s greatest adventure
• PBS: What Apollo 11 pilot Michael Collins feared most during critical NASA mission
• Mental Floss: 22 solar system facts
• Wired: Former NASA astronaut explains how food is different in space.
• Ayman Mohyeldin: Former Astronaut Peggy Whitson on Apollo 11 anniversary
• Brian Williams: NASA Astronaut Massimino—Apollo 11 is humanity’s greatest achievement
• 60 Minutes: The moon landing at 50—Neil Armstrong in his own words
• CBS: Apollo—50 years later.

Minute Earth: The cruel irony of air conditioning.

Samantha Bee: The Late Shrill featuring Tammy Duckworth

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

Your ballot should be arriving soon, Washingtonians. Local elections matter a great deal. This year city and county races are on the ballot. They will decide many quality of life issues.

Please join us this evening for some politics, conversation and drinks at this week’s meeting of the Seattle Chapter of Drinking Liberally.

We meet every Tuesday at the Roanoke Park Place Tavern, 2409 10th Ave E, Seattle. Look for us in the back room of the pub beginning about 8pm.

Can’t make it to Seattle? Check out one of the 265 chapters of Living Liberally, including 22 in Washington state, seven in Oregon and three in Idaho. Find a chapter near you. Or start a new chapter for your community!

Last night I saw Seattle Shakespeare’s outdoor showing of Twelfth Night. It was pretty fantastic. I had been to one of their performances a few years ago, and my recollection was that it was pretty small. This time around was quite a bit larger. My one complaint is that there was quite a bit of noise: if next time they could change the flight pattern of airplanes, that would be better.

The Atlantic: The horrific untold story of trans ICE detention.

Vox: The problem with America’s college entrance exam.

Now This News: Migrant kids’ drawings reveal the detainment camps.

The Dotard Трамп and Other Child Rapists, Racists, and Liars:

• Lawrence O’Donnell: William Barr reportedly won’t recuse himself from Epstein case
• Ari Melber: GOP defector blasts Republican party for shielding The Dotard
• Now This News: What the Mueller report reveals about Трамп’s mental state
• Jimmy Kimmel: Трамп’s skin is officially too thin
• Our Cartoon President: Space Force
• Reflect: Kellyanne Conway’s pathetic answer to Трамп’s role in Jeffrey Epstein’s child prostitution ring
• Rachel Maddow: Migrant children describe sex assault, retaliation by border agents
• Bad Lip Reading: Трамп in Asia:

• Ari Melber: Team Трамп rocked by new report inside “Access Hollywood” crisis
• Lawrence O’Donnell: Migrant kids report, misconduct by agents at Arizona border station
• Chris Hayes: The Dotard,”The kidney has a very special place in the heart”
• Now This News: Трамп’s new NAFTA is a bad deal, says Reps. Jayapal and Pocan
• Ari Melber: Трамп’s own War On Christmas exposed—He’s literally scrooge
• Rachel Maddow: Acosta makes himself look worse with defense of Epstein deal
• Mark Fiore: Migrant Detention, Inc.
• Jimmy Kimmel: The Dotard Трамп would never boycott anything… right???
• Ari Melber: Alexander Acosta tried to “weasel out of responsibility”
• Now This News: Everything we know about Трамп pal Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking charges
• New York Times: Who is Jeffrey Epstein?
• Lawrence O’Donnell: Secretary Acosta refuses to apologize for Epstein plea deal
• Ari Melber: Трамп braces for Mueller as Dems prep obstruction subpoenas
• Jimmy Kimmel: Трамп vs. Twitter:

• Now This News: Soccer champ Megan Rapinoe slams Трамп in interview
• WaPo: Трамп fanboy Sebastian Gorka argues with Playboy Magazine’s Brian Karem in the Rose Garden.
• Lauren Mayer: What they did for Трамп
• Chris Hayes: The consequence of elite impunity
• Rep. Jayapal slams Трамп’s immigrant child detention center conditions
• Ari Melber: “It’s child abuse!’ Dems blast Трамп’s “kids in cages” policy

Jim Jefferies: Even condoms are connected to Wi-Fi now.

Wapo: Inside the holding facility for migrant children in Carrizo Springs, TX.

Wired: Scientist explains how sunscreen affects your body.

Physics Girl: How we’ll find the aliens in our solar system!.

The Battle for Twenty-Twenty:

• Rachel Maddow: Bernie Sanders pushes back on ageism—Look at the totality of the person
• Trevor: Kirsten Gillibrand’s plan to unite Americans & fight climate change
• Joy Reid: Democratic 2020 field shrinks by one and other news of the Democratic primary
• Now This News: How Kamala Harris plans to lift up the middle class and unite Americans
• WaPo: How 2020 Democrats tout “conversations” instead of details

The Atlantic: Why doctors are taking on the NRA.

Kurzgesagt: Could your phone hurt you? Electromagnetic pollution.

Chris Hayes: Behind the DNC staffer murder conspiracy theory.

WaPo: How the U.S. Women’s World Cup win became political.

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

Look who is running again. Carolyn Long lost her race in the last cycle. It’s still a long shot like last time. If you’re able, they could use some money or someone to knock on doors or do data entry. It’s a long way to go between now and election day, but she could use your help.