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Friday Night Multimedia Extravaganza!

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Thom: The Good, The Bad, and The Very, Very Ugly.

Sam Seder: Republicans try to slash funding to EPA and the arts.

John Fugelsang: What to say to people who defend Walmart:

Pap and Thom: How GOP greed destroyed Detroit.

This Week in the Republican War on Women™

Maddow: NC GOP continues despicable effort to thwart minority votes.

Thom: Holder to Perry….You feeling lucky?

ONN: The Week in Review.

Mark Fiore: Cruel and unusual blues.

Cuccinelli’s Bizarre Views:

Katrina vanden Heuvel: One word to describe the Republican party today.

Alex Wagner: Feds target Texas’ racist voter restrictions.

Obama on The Economy:

Bashir: U.S. has highest first day infant mortality rate of industrialized countries.

Obama on Trayvon Martin:

DEA raids medical marijuana dispensaries.

Bill Maher: Tweets from Pope Frank.

Pap and Sam Seder: Rep. Gohmert’s rhetoric echoes racist militia talk.

Red State Update: How freedom sounds fifth anniversary (Podcast 36).

Young Turks: Bill-O the Clown on black people.

Thom: More Good, Bad, and Very, Very Ugly.

Susie Sampson’s Tea Party Report: Week in Review.

Weinergate 2.0:

Ezra Klein : Holder cites evidence of racism in Texas.

Pap and Sam Seder: Liz Cheney’s crazy talk campaign.

Young Turks: NC voter suppression bill would ruin real democracy.

White House: West Wing Week.

Ann Telnaes: Exposing the media.

George H.W. Bush shaves his head in solidarity with 2 year old battling leukemia.

Rep. Steve King (R-IA) is a fucking bigot:

Sam Seder: The silliest G.O.P. conspiracy yet.

Young Turks: Glenn Beck’s bizarre dollar bill conspiracy theory.

Obama on Education and the economy.

John Fugelsang: Exotic dancers of America, John McCain has your back.

Thom: Boehner brags about turning America into Detroit.

Mental Floss: 26 Weird Animal Mating Habits.

Ezra Klein : GOP political hooliganism over Obamacare.

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

Drinking Liberally — Seattle

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Please join us tonight for an evening of politics over a pint at the Seattle Chapter of Drinking Liberally.

We meet every Tuesday evening at the Montlake Ale House, 2307 24th Avenue E. Starting time is 8:00pm. Some people show up earlier than that for Dinner.




Can’t make it tonight? Check out another Washington state DL. The Tri-Cities chapter meets every Tuesday night. The Bellingham and Burien chapters meet on Wednesday, and the Woodinville chapter meets on Thursday.

With 207 chapters of Living Liberally, including eighteen in Washington state, four in Oregon, and three more in Idaho, chances are excellent there’s a chapter meeting near you.

Friday Night Multimedia Extravaganza!

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ONN: Week in Review.

Mental Floss: Fictional Character Names Revealed!

Thom and Pap: Time to Stand our Ground against ALEC.

Spawn of Dick Cheney:

Obama and soldier’s exploding fist bump (via Political Wire).

Maddow: The Smoking gun in the Gov. Bob McDonald corruption case.

White House: West Wing Week.

This week in the G.O.P. War on Voters™:

John Oliver on Weiner and Spitzer.

Young Turks: Michele Bachmann on “spanking Obama’s magic wand”.

Thom: More of The Good, the Bad and The Very, Very Ugly.

Obama speaks on the Affordable Care Act.

Matt Binder: Lawmaker Proposes LGBT rainbow flag ban in Louisiana.

Stand Your Ground (and Shoot a Boy):

John Fugelsang: ‘Rush Limbaugh is so racist…’.

The awkward moments when a Tea Party rally turns racist.

Stephen does Elliot Sptizer (via Political Wire).

Sam Seder: Republicans cave to Nuclear Option.

John Oliver: CNN’s “Rock Block”.

Red State Update: The week in review.

Thom: The Good, The Bad, and The Very, Very Ugly.

Ann Telnaes: Gov. Perry thinks the justice system is color-blind.

Cover of The Rolling Stone:

Nancy Pelosi on the G.O.P. lady problem.

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

Eyman initiative wasting tax dollars

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Tim “Biggest Lie of My Life” Eyman’s I-960 and I-1185 require “advisory votes” for tax increases passed by the legislature. Unfortunately, it comes with a lengthy and burdensome voter pamphlet statement:

The Secretary of State’s office says explanations for last year’s measures added about eight pages to the voter pamphlet, which cost about $100,000. Using the same layout, this year’s measures would add about 20 pages, and $240,000.

And then there is this:

But Tami Davis, the voter education and outreach manager, is looking for a way to cut pages and costs.

So on top of the printing costs, the initiatives force us to use state employees to write, proof, and figure out new layouts that save money. All that costs money.

Eyman defends himself:

…whatever the cost may be, it will be “chump change” compared to the taxes those five new laws will collect. Voters deserve a chance to weigh in, he said.

Except that the advisory votes are only…well, advisory. Very expensive ones, at that.

Has the process done anything besides bloating the voter pamphlet and require the legislature to raise taxes to pay for bloating it? Well…maybe. Rodney Tom indicated he used these advisory votes in his decision to join the Republican caucus. And the result was a cluster fuck….more gummed up government leading to a wasteful double overtime legislative session.

The scam Eyman has going here is self perpetuating. He preys on unpopular topics—essentially forcing voters to give a thumbs up or down to raising their own taxes—in order to pass initiatives that gum up government. And when the government gets gummed up, people become unhappy with government. They make a statement through their next initiative from the Mukilteo Menace.

This is the very definition of wasteful government—the very thing the admitted liar is supposedly against.

Eyman isn’t against wasteful government, of course. It is a sham. The only thing Eyman is interested in is lining his own pocket.

Drinking Liberally — Seattle

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Please join us this evening for some politics over a pint at the Seattle Chapter of Drinking Liberally.

We meet every Tuesday evening at the Montlake Ale House, 2307 24th Avenue E. Starting time is 8:00pm. Some people show up earlier than that for Dinner.




Can’t make it to Seattle tonight? Check out one of the other DL meetings this week. Tonight the Tri-Cities and Shelton chapters meet. The Lakewood and South Seattle chapters meet this Wednesday. And for Thursday, the Spokane and Tacoma chapters meet.

With 204 chapters of Living Liberally, including seventeen in Washington state, four in Oregon, and three more in Idaho, chances are excellent there’s a chapter meeting near you.

Friday Night Multimedia Extravaganza!

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Ann Telnaes: Call force feeding what it is.

Thom: The Good, The Bad, and The Very, Very Ugly.

Young Turks: Is Michelle Malkin a Jihadist for Fascism?

ONN: Week in Review.

This Week in the GOP War on the Poor™:

Thom: Wisconsin has discovered something very creepy in their woods.

Red State Update: Podcast episode 34.

Young Turks: Do-nothing GOP Congress admits to being American Taliban.

Thom: Why 30,000 prisoners strike.

Rand Paul’s Friends:

White House White Board: Why Immigration Reform Is Good For Our Economy:

PitTV: School of Social Media Arts.

Young Turks: Sarah Palin threatens to run for Senate.

Mark Fiore: Coup, or not a coup.

Thom: More Good, Bad, and Very, Very Ugly.

This Week in the Republican War on Women™:

White House: West Wing Week.

Mental Floss: 50 Science Misconceptions.

Sam Seder and Cliff Schecter: Republicans are political arsonists.

Liberal Viewer: Impeach Obama for NSA spying?

Zina Saunders: The Republican Party gets its wish:

Virginia Gov. Bob “Ultrasound” McDonnell gets probed:

Kimmel: This Week In Unnecessary Censorship.

Thom: Even more Good, Bad, and Very, Very Ugly.

Ann Telnaes: An American Sickness.

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

Quote of the Day

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They sound like a bunch of eight-year-olds who think they’ve come up with an oh-so-clever way to trap dad into raising their allowance or something.

Kevin Drum on House Republican’s amateurish plan to hold America hostage to get stuff in exchange for raising the debt ceiling.

Drinking Liberally—Seattle

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DLBottlePlease join us this evening for some politics over a pint at the Seattle Chapter of Drinking Liberally.

We meet every Tuesday evening at the Montlake Ale House, 2307 24th Avenue E. Starting time is 8:00pm. Some people show up earlier than that for Dinner.




Can’t make it to Seattle tonight? Check out the plethora of other DL meetings over the next week. Tonight there are also meetings of the Tri-Cities and Vancouver, WA chapters. On Wednesday, the Bellingham chapter meets. On Thursday Drinking Liberally Bremerton meets. On Friday, the Centralia chapter meets. Finally, next Monday, the Yakima and Olympia chapters meet.

With 203 chapters of Living Liberally, including sixteen in Washington state, four in Oregon, and three more in Idaho, chances are excellent there’s a chapter meeting near you.

Friday Night Multimedia Extravaganza!

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Tweety: The G.O.P. “Demographic Death Spiral”.

Ed: Will the hateful house GOP ever pass an immigration bill?

Maddow: What happened with the Bolivian President’s flight?

Barack Obama’s alter ego on wire taps, Sallie Mae, 800 numbers, and the Kardashians.

Ann Telnaes: George W. Bush insists he’s protected civil liberties.

Gay Breakfast Cereal!!!!

Obama: Independence Day weekly address.

Thom: The Good, The Bad, and The Very, Very Ugly.

Mental Floss: 50 facts about 50 states.

Young Turks: Getting money out of politics.

Pink Tennis Shoes:

White House: Fireworks from the White House.

Mark Fiore: Prop-8 personal injury.

Ann Telnaes: Trading freedom for security.

Barely Political: NSA Wiretapping revealed!

Nutjobber Sen. Ted Cruz sings ‘Amazing Grace’ to the tune of ‘Gilligan’s Island’ (via Crooks and Liars).

Young Turks: Lady Gaga vs Allen West in ‘defiling’ the National Anthem.

Maddow: Virginia’s “Governor Ultrasound” Bob McDonnel is asked to resign (via Crooks and Liars).

Sam Seder: Random Rush.

White House: West Wing Week.

SlateTV: Rush Limbaugh goes after FAUX News.

This Week in the G.O.P. War on Women™:

Steve Kornacki: Inside the collapse of the IRS ‘scandal’ (a.k.a. The G.O.P. witch hunt).

SlateTV: Chick-fil-A President just couldn’t keep quiet on DOMA decision.

Marijuana retail rules released by Washington State Liquor Control Board.

Thom: The Koch brother’s new plan to destroy democracy and the world.

Young Turks: Conservatives exploding over Bert & Ernie???

Red State Update:Podcast 33.

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

Rodney Tom’s failed experiment

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Was Rodney Tom’s Republican coup a success? Goldy puts it in perspective:

After six months of grandstanding and hostage taking, two special sessions, and the very real threat of an economy-wrecking state government shutdown, the legislature passed a compromise budget on June 27 that was nearly identical to the budget Democrats pushed through the state house on June 6, apart from significantly less money for education. And from a spending perspective, even that June 6 budget wasn’t much different from the one house Democrats passed way back on April 12, in plenty of time to finish their job without a special session or two.

The catch is how Tom’s Republican coalition paid for it:

They blocked house Democratic efforts to raise $1.1 billion in new revenue by closing $475 million in unproductive tax exemptions and extending $600 million in expiring business taxes. “That was their central strategic priority,” says [House Finance Committee chair Reuven Carlyle (D-Seattle)], “to prevent new revenue at any cost.”

If they blocked the revenue, where did the Republicans get the money?

Instead of closing loopholes and extending business taxes, the compromise budget largely makes up the $1.1 billion difference by siphoning hundreds of millions of dollars away from the public works assistance account (a capital fund that helps local governments pay for critical public infrastructure), spending substantially less on K–12 schools, and relying on revised caseload and revenue forecasts to brighten the state’s fiscal future.

Goldy points out that all Tom’s Republican coalition succeeded in doing was to block a number of important social programs—things that Tom claims he supports—and a critical transportation funding package.

The net result of the session plus a pair of special sessions can only be described as second rate. That makes Tom’s experiment a failure. It might be good enough for an Alabama or Oklahoma, but I expect much better from those who represent me in Olympia.

Today in protests

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Protests aren’t only happening in Egypt. Some Puget Sound area grocery store employees are also picketing for a fair contract:

Grocery store employees at four major supermarket chains in King County will be picketing from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesday.

The employees from Safeway, Albertsons, Fred Meyer and QFC are picketing to promote a fair contract for 30,000 Puget Sound union workers.

The previous three-year contract expired on May 4th, but was extended into July for further bargaining on a new contract. The workers and grocery store management have been negotiating since March.

Workers say grocery store management wants to:

  • Eliminate health care coverage for thousands of workers
  • Cut holiday pay
  • Offer no wage increases
  • Take away paid sick days for Seattle workers and forbid others in the region from getting them
  • Cut the “10 cent above minimum wage” guarantee for lowest paid workers

Next time you go grocery shopping, tell a manager you support the members of the three unions involved: UFCW 21, UFCW 367 and Teamsters 38.

Drinking Liberally — Seattle

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DLBottlePlease join us for a pre-Independence Day celebration the Seattle Chapter of Drinking Liberally.

We meet every Tuesday evening at the Montlake Ale House, 2307 24th Avenue E. Starting time is 8:00pm. Some people show up earlier than that for Dinner.

Can’t make it to Seattle tonight? Check out another DL meeting over the next week. Tonight the Tri-Cities chapter also meets. The Bellingham and Lakewood chapters will meet on Wednesday. And for Thursday, the Spokane and Tacoma chapters meet.

With 203 chapters of Living Liberally, including sixteen in Washington state, four in Oregon, and three more in Idaho, chances are excellent there’s a chapter meeting near you.

Friday Night Multimedia Extravaganza!

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Susie Sampson’s Tea Party Report: GOP Invades Netroots Nation.

Behind the Scenes with The President & The First Lady at Gorée Island:

Same old party: Part 1.

Sam Seder and Cliff Schecter: Justice Scalia’s hypocrisy.

DOMA Dies:

Ann Telnaes: Shooting the messenger.

White House: West Wing Week.

Darrell “Grand Theft Auto” Issa’s “Scandals”:

Adam Burke: The death of political comedy.

John Fugelsang and friends: Rick Perry & Chris Christie.

Ann Telnaes: Aiding and abetting journalism.

Where is Jon Stewart?

Thom: The Reagan Revolution is an utter failure.

Mark Fiore: Wiretapping Saves!

Kimmel: The week in unnecessary censorship.

Killing the Voting Rights Act

Thom: More Good, Bad, and Very, Very Ugly.

Susie Sampson’s Tea Party Report: Fetal masturbation .

WA’s “pot czar”: Federal govt. should sign a treaty with state.

#StandWithWendy:

Pres. Obama: sweeping climate change plan

Mental Floss: Drinks.

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

Rick Perry calls for killing women and girls and how Democrats can stop him

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Following last night’s remarkable events in the Texas Senate chamber—an eleven hour actual filibuster followed by public disruption right down to the last second–Rick Perry has called for another special session. This one may have but a single piece of legislation on the table—the highly restrictive abortion bill the Republicans were unable to pass yesterday.

As I recently discussed, restrictive abortion laws translate into deaths of more women and teenage girls. It is not opinion, it is long established fact. In the U.S., restrictive abortion laws are also illegal—the Supreme Court has ruled them unconstitutional. The Texas law, besides restricting abortions to before 20 weeks, will effectively shut down most of the abortion facilities in the state.

If it passes, women and teen girls in Texas will die—because of the law.

What can Texas Democrats do about it? A filibuster is out of the question. Special sessions can be as long as 30 days!

But a Democratic walkout could work–that is, they can engage in a quorum block. The Texas Senate has 32 members, the Lt. Governor plus 31 Senators. The two-thirds quorum requirement means that the absence of 11 members shuts down voting. Currently the Texas senate is composed of 12 Democratic and 19 Republican Senators. This means that a group of 11 Senators is sufficient to shut down voting.

They might even flee the state like they did in 2003 during a highly unusual “mid-decade” redistricting move by Republicans. Eleven Democratic Senators fled Texas during a third special session:

…the minute it became clear the GOP was going to force the issue in the Senate by voting on a rule change, he said, the 11 executed their escape plan and broke the quorum. They grabbed bags already packed in their offices and boarded SUVs that took them to the airport, where two jets were waiting to fly them to Albuquerque.

The Democrats checked into a Marriott hotel in Albuquerque. The senators didn’t hide. They decided to call themselves the Texas Eleven, and even developed a logo – a silhouette of Texas inside the symbol for New Mexico under the words, “Never, Never, Never Quit.”

Eventually, one Democratic member, Senator John Whitmire, relented and returned solo to the chamber. The quorum block failed.

Sen. Whitmire is still in the Texas Senate (in fact, he is the longest serving member). So, Democrats would need a solid block of the other 11 Senators to pull off a shut down.

But Democrats were successful in blocking a quorum in 1979 that prevented a change in the Texas primary that would have benefited a Republican candidate. The story is told by former Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby (R):

The whole thing was a fiasco. In protest, twelve “Killer Bee” senators flew the Capitol to break a quorum. The “Worker Bees,” who stayed behind, spent each session haranguing the absentees, since we didn’t have the quorum necessary to transact any business. And we were in the very last weeks of the session with lots of legislation in the pipeline.

Before long, the Worker Bees put a call on the Senate. This action required all absentees to return. The Worker Bees sent the Texas Rangers to net the Killer Bees wherever they had flown. The fact was, for several days the Killer Bees had been hived up in Dora McDonald’s small garage apartment. Dora McDonald, Sen. Carl Parker’s chief of staff, lived only blocks from the Capitol. Her guests passed the time playing cards, arguing, and listening to each other snore. The Worker Bees continued to harangue them from the Senate floor.

One senator, Gene Jones, left the hive — he wanted to see his granddaughter. The Rangers heard that Jones was home in Houston. Photo in hand, they knocked on his door. A man who looked a lot like the picture opened the door. The Ranger asked him if he was Jones. He said yes. They arrested him and took him to Austin. He was Jones all right, but not Gene Jones. They had arrested Gene’s brother, Clayton. When the knock came at the door the senator had jumped over the back fence and stayed lost for another day.

The other possibility is for the House Democrats to flee the state. In fact, 52 Texas House Democrats fled the state earlier in 2003 during the regular session, as well. Of the 150 member House, a 2/3rds quorum is required, so that if 51 members are absent, the House shuts down. Currently there are 55 Democratic members and 95 Republicans. So…this isn’t out of the question.

Ultimately, it would be great if the Senate and House joined forces and every Democratic legislator left the state. They would likely endure fines and ridicule, but they would be saving lives of women and teen girls.

That kind-a makes it worthwhile.

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