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By a 5-4 vote yesterday afternoon, the King County Council voted to adopt a Metro funding plan that would implement the first round of scheduled cuts in September, but would defer adopting further cuts in the hope that increased sales tax revenues, higher fares, transfers from capital funds, and additional savings could close the gap. King County Executive Dow Constantine immediately vetoed the plan:

“We need a reliable way to pay for bus service – but until then, we shouldn’t spend money we don’t have, we shouldn’t use one-time money to pay ongoing expenses, and decisions to save or cut service should be based on objective criteria and data, not on politics,” said Executive Constantine. “This ordinance falls short on all counts. I must respectfully veto this legislation, and ask that the Council keep working on a solution that is responsible and sustainable.”

Council member Rod Dembowski spearheaded the plan along with the four suburban Republicans, and no doubt his intentions are pure. His objective is to avoid unnecessary pain. The problem is, without substantial additional revenue, much of the pain will be unavoidable. And by putting off the decision as long as possible, we risk lulling voters and Metro riders into a state of complacency.

The anti-Prop 1 folks like to promote this meme that new revenue is unnecessary—that if Metro just tightens its belt a bit, everything will be okay. For example, yesterday the Seattle Times editorial board urged Metro to “begin the hard work of reforming the agency,” once again ignoring the fact that in response to collapsing revenue and a state performance audit, Metro has implemented substantial reforms that achieved hundreds of millions of dollars in long term cost savings.

The Demobowski plan, unfortunately, just feeds into this fiction that Metro has a spending problem, not a revenue one.

The other Democrats on the council proposed an alternative plan that would have adopted the proposed cuts, phased in over the next year and a half or so, but would have also given Constantine the flexibility to delay cuts if revenues rebound or cost savings materialize. That seems like a more responsible approach to long term planning, and a more realistic presentation to the public of what most likely lies in store.

Ostensibly small government representative Jay Rodne is still in favor of the state being able to put a needle into someone’s arm and put enough poison in them to take their life. You know, small government. Smallity small small. He’s angry enough to have a press release. Sorry this is a bit old.

Gov. Jay Inslee today announced he was suspending the death penalty in Washington state for as long as he is in office. In the wake of this announcement, Rep. Jay Rodne, R-Snoqualmie and lead Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, issued the following statement:

There has to be a more effective way of saying “cruel and lacking any political power” than “lead Republican on the House Judiciary Committee” but I don’t know what it is. Maybe just “powerless asshole.”

“The governor’s decision is a distraction from the issues that people care about the most. It also seems very political – at the expense of victims of violent crimes and their families. This must be a difficult day for these families as they are confronted with the reality that the governor cares more about a few convicted killers than justice for their loved ones. It’s unfortunate and prolongs the closure they deserve.”

It’s a distraction to even talk about it says the press release about it. And you know, I haven’t seen any polling on Washington and the death penalty, but I’m guessing the political thing to do would have been keeping it.

Also, what kind of a dickbag can write “the governor cares more about a few convicted killers than justice for their loved ones”? Seriously, is Jay Inslee making sure that victims of crimes are locked up for life? Because that’s what he’s doing with the killers. Unlike Representative Rodne, I won’t pretend to speak for all victims of crime or pretend they’re a monolith. However they feel about Inslee’s decision is the right way for them to feel. But to pretend that the state isn’t doing anything for them because the state hasn’t killed their killers is just so spectacularly dishonest, that I don’t know what to do with it.

Radical reality-denying rightist Congressman Steve “Never Heard of Anyone Getting Pregnant by Statutory Rape” King (R-IA-4) was recently on a call-in talk show and had this conversation:

CALLER: When I see the First Lady and the beautiful girls going off to the Bahamas waving goodbye to us, it’s really hard to stomach. When we’re tightening our belts, either all of us should do it or none of us should do it. This, I am pretty tolerant, I always have been, I usually shut my mouth. This is not acceptable.

KING: Carla, you’re on point and on the mark all the way through. […] You’re right on the president. He needs to show some austerity himself. Instead he wanted to tell America how bad it was going to be. […] We’ve got the president doing these things. He sent the daughters to spring break in Mexico a year ago. That was at our expense, too. And now to the Bahamas at one of the most expensive places there. That is the wrong image to be coming out of the White House.

A couple of corrections for the underformed nutburger of a Congressman. First, Obama did not “send his daughters to spring break in Mexico.” One daughter (Malia) was allowed to…

…join a school trip to Oaxaca [, Mexico], where students volunteered at an orphanage, visited archaeological sites and sipped vanilla milkshakes on the honey-colored town plaza.

The school has done such trips for years.

Second, the Obamas pay for their own vacations and school field trips. The government pays for security, as it should. And notice that King isn’t complaining about that—for good reason. Imagine the PR disaster he would endure should any member of the First Family get hurt.

King believes Obama “needs to show some austerity himself” because he was telling “America how bad it was going to be.” Obama has pointed out how the sequestration cuts will hurt Americans, but so have a bunch of Republicans Congresscritters—you know, the the ones whining about losing tax payer-funded economic subsidies to their districts.

How odd that King’s calls for Obama to show austerity.

Obama makes a fair amount of money. He is wealthier than most Americans. Oh…and he is the leader of the free fucking world. He certainly has the money (and credit line) to allow his child to go on a school trip to Mexico, or to send his family on the occasional vacation, like the trip to the Bahamas.

So what’s gotten up Rep. King’s ass that makes him think that the President shouldn’t use his own money how he wants to use it? Isn’t that the American way?

You know who would agree with King that Obama should renounce the trappings of wealth and live the life of a commoner?

Karl Marx.

Once again, I call upon the major newspapers of this country to investigate these members of Congress to find out if they are pro-America or FUCKING SOCIALISTS!

[In a fit of nostalgia (and laziness), I’m marking my remaining days here on HA by posting links to some of my favorite and most influential posts. If you have favorites you’d like to see, please let me know.]

04/25/2008: Goldy’s Adventures in Muniland

I crashed the Municipal League’s 2008 Civic Awards last night at the Olympic Sculpture Park, where my friend and colleague David Postman was being honored for “Governmental News Reporting of the Year.” Knowing that Postman’s bosses at the Seattle Times had forbade him from accepting the award in person so as not to compromise his impartiality—and unencumbered by these (or any) ethical burdens of my own—I realized that there must be an unused name tag at the registration table with at least half my name on it… and sure enough I managed to sign in as Postman, no questions asked.

His “Honoree” name tag firmly pinned to my lapel and a surfeit of free drink tickets in hand, I strolled into the PACCAR Pavilion determined to do Postman proud by mingling with our city’s power elite on his behalf. As it turned out, I would need the drink tickets.

I don’t do nearly enough straight satire here on HA, but this was certainly one of my best. Read the whole thing.

When I see bad, or for that matter good, polls I can’t be too worked up. Of course I prefer the Democrat up, and up by a lot. And of course I’d prefer the generic ballot look better. But I’m not staring into the abyss, because the Democrats aren’t in the same place as the Mariners.

Believe me, as a Mariners fan, I’ve slogged through some terrible seasons without being able to change anything. A few years ago at the end of a bear of a season when Seattle and Texas were long eliminated, I was sitting in the first row of an outfield seat. Right in front of me, a Mariner’s popup came near the warning track, and the Ranger’s right fielder went into a dive for the ball. “I got it, I got it!” I yelled, and the Ranger dropped the ball. While I like to think I made him drop it, the truth is he probably just bobbled it because he was an AAA call up without much Major League experience. That’s the closest I’ve come to changing anything on the field.

But it’s often said that politics isn’t a spectator sport. And this year as every year, I’m not going to just sit and watch. I’ve worked the phones, donated, and knocked on doors for candidates I believe in, and will continue through November.

And that’s where the next few months for the D’s can be a lot better than the next few months for the M’s. There are enough fine candidates that we can all make a difference. I don’t know what the polls show for DelBene, but I’ll be making calls and knocking on doors for her. Same with Patty Murray (the poll Goldy cited earlier aside). Those of you who live south of here can do the same for Heck.

If you aren’t inspired by those people, there are plenty of state and local races and initiative campaigns. If you don’t like to talk to strangers about politics, they can all use money. They can all use letters to the editor. They can all use you mentioning them on Facebook and Twitter. They can all use you talking to friends and putting up yard signs. All of those things will change the facts, and matter more than what you see in polls.

As a follow-up to Goldy’s post below, there’s already a group organizing an initiative for Washington. It’s called Sensible Washington and they expect to release the final wording of their initiative and begin signature gathering by March 1. Their initiative is not expected to specify the state liquor stores as the distributors, but will only legalize possession for adults. The state would then be on the hook for setting up regulations for where and how it can be sold.

One of the concerns of legalization advocates (both Goldy and I share this concern) is that there won’t be enough money to collect the necessary signatures. As the top post at Sensible Washington points out, PayPal has a history of freezing the accounts of drug law reform groups, and banks won’t work with them. I’d be curious to know how much of this results from archaic rules and misconceptions about drug law reform, and how much comes from potential crackdowns from the federal government. As for Paypal, one clue might be that one of its founders considers the era of alcohol prohibition as the last great era of American politics (I guess that makes him a libertarian).

So for now, they’re taking mail-in donations before a volunteer army of signature gatherers hit the ground across the state to put this initiative on the ballot. There’s certainly enthusiasm for drug law reform right now, but no one is really sure whether it will be enough to qualify. I guess we’re about to find out.

UPDATE (Goldy):
As an followup to Lee’s followup, Sensible Washington’s account of their difficulties in securing credit card processing is worth a read. On the one hand, if millionaire investment banker Michael Dunmire wants an initiative on the ballot, he just writes Tim Eyman a check; on the other hand, if a group of grassroots activists wants to raise money online from small contributors, the banks won’t give them a merchant account, out of fear of I don’t know what.

So much for “direct democracy.”

That said, I emailed the folks at Sensible Washington earlier today to suggest that they set up an account with ActBlue, the same progressive online fundraising site through which we collectively raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Darcy Burner. ActBlue is now set up to handle state legislative and initiative campaigns in Washington state, in addition to federal races, a feature that R-71 made good use of last year.

The 520 bridge replacement project is more than another transportation project.

It is an opportunity to build healthy places to live, work, and play that our region won’t see again for at least another half century.

It is an opportunity to be good stewards of the environment and to address climate change.

It is an opportunity for our many local communities to come together and act as a region.

It is an opportunity for us to determine what kind of city we want and the quality of life of our neighborhoods.

It is an opportunity for our state to offer a vision of transportation for the 21^st Century and not just building roads like its 1959.

Finally it is again an opportunity to move our transportation system forward.

It will take leadership to bring together all the many points of view on how to best move forward on transportation. But we have done it before.

During my time as Chair of the House Transportation Committee, working with my Republican and Democratic counterparts in both the House and the Senate, we passed fourteen and half cents in gas taxes by bringing road and transit advocates from the east and west side together.

(I point out the fact that I worked to pass the largest financing package for roads in our state’s history only to preempt the pigeonholing of my perspective here as that of another Seattle Democrat transit advocate.)

It will take leadership from the environmental community to get transit right. Transportation remains the single largest contributor to global warming in Washington State – over half our greenhouse emissions come from vehicles. The 520 bridge project offers a real opportunity to build a transportation structure of the future that contributes to the solution.

Neither the legislation authorizing the new 520 bridge, nor any of the current designs, integrate transit into the design or planning of the project. Nor is there any financing mechanism for new transit in the corridor, particularly for high capacity transit. The name alone — “The 520 Bridge and HOV Replacement Project” – is proof that again we are building a road to move cars, and not a transportation corridor to move people and goods. The current plan amounts to placing existing buses onto new HOV lanes to share with cars. Glaringly, it lacks a streamlined connection for transit riders between the north/south transit corridor at new Sound Transit Station at Montlake and any future transit riders moving east/west from the new 520.

It will take leadership from the City to bring neighborhoods that currently disagree amongst themselves together. Far more people live and work near the 520 bridges then the Viaduct. The City should use the model it developed during the creation of urban villages to approach the project in a comprehensive manner. It should put the Departments of Planning, Neighborhoods, and Transportation on the ground and bring together neighborhoods that are currently divided, creating an all-neighborhoods comprehensive mitigation and transportation plan. It is impossible for the Seattle legislators to support a city position when one is lacking.

It will take leadership on the part of the county to bring urban and suburban interests together. The county with the new leadership of Dow Constantine from Seattle and Fred Jarrett from the east side of Lake Washington is uniquely positioned to bring both sides of the lake together and act as a region. The state should consider allowing the County to assume all coordination for planning and financing for a new 520 and I-90 corridor transportation authority.

It will take leadership in the Legislature to address the fact that the current financial plan is unattainable. During the negotiations to pass the nine-and-a-half-cent gas tax east of the lake, legislators insisted on moving $1.5 billion out of 520 and applying it to I-405. Now we have a shortfall. The solution is to toll I-90 in addition to 520, and committing toll revenues to the construction, maintenance and operations of the bridge and of transit.

If we fail to come together as a region on a project that is crucial to our economic future, I believe we will destroy the coalition that moved our transportation system forward and return again to the defeats we suffered in years past.

We have succeeded in the past and we can do it again. Let’s capitalize on the many unique opportunities we face. Let’s move our transportation system forward.

— Sen. Ed Murray

Gov. Gregoire has a diary up at Daily Kos right now. Here’s a slice:

Why are they attacking me so early? Because they know there is something happening in our country – people are hungry for a new direction, away from the Bush Administration.

They are so aware of this fact that my opponent filed as a member of the “GOP Party,” hiding the fact that he is a Republican. And what is on my opponent’s website? The word “Change” in the largest font you have ever seen.

We all know that voters are desperate for change in our nation, ready to turn around the failed policies of the Bush Administration. But voters are smart. They know the kind of change they are looking for.

Republican Dino Rossi can spend millions on attacks, pretend he isn’t a Republican and even give lip service to change, but he can’t hide his George Bush record.

Remember all those funny acronyms from last fall’s mainstream media coverage of the Roads and Transit campaign? YOE, for year of expenditure was a favorite of many of Seattle’s newspaper writers and columnists. They were fixated (examples here, here, and here) on slapping the Roads and Transit plan with as high a price tag as they could by including inflation into the total price tag of the plan, not just the price tag in current year dollars. By doing so, they held the Roads and Transit plan to a standard never before seen for a tax measure or capital construction program in our region.

Yesterday Dino Rossi released his transportation fantasy and said it would cost $15.5 billion in 2007 dollars. Keep in mind, that’s in last year’s dollars.

I have done a little bit of “back of the envelope” math (you know the kind that Rossi’s Republican, anti-light rail pals did when they fed the media their scary cost numbers on Prop 1) and the results I get are staggering. Rossi’s $15.5 billion plan, when you account for 4 percent annual inflation over a 30 year construction schedule, suddenly balloons to $50 billion dollars. And this doesn’t even include the interest on the bonds that would be needed to finance all of Rossi’s made up project cost estimates. So we would have to add all of the interest payments to the $50 billion number to get the true cost, well at least according to our friends in the “traditional media.”

You can do the math yourself with this handy little inflation calculator.

UPDATE [Lee]: This part from a post by Martin at the Seattle Transit Blog made me laugh:

So I looked to Dino Rossi’s Transportation Plan with hope and anticipation. I shouldn’t have. This document was first sent to me by a Gregoire operative; when your own campaign literature is being gleefully distributed by the other side, that’s a bad sign.

It’s January 20th, and it’s been one hell of a year. The Seattle Chapter of Drinking Liberally will be getting together this evening. Because we need a drink!

We meet tonight and every Tuesday at the Roanoke Park Place Tavern, 2409 10th Ave E, Seattle. You’ll find us in the back room starting about 8:00pm.

Chapters of Living Liberally are all over the place…if you can’t make it to the Seattle chapter, stop by another chapter near you.

John D. Cundle: ♫ The Dream Still Marches On ♬

Resistor Vic: The four seconds everyone missed

Jesse Welles: ♫ Nothing ♬

Roll Call: Congressional hits and misses of the week

The Resistance: ♫ Raise Your Voice! ♬

Reign of The Felon Von Shitzenpantz:

• Jimmy Kimmel: Трамп responds to outrage in Minneapolis by sending in more ICE agents & wants a Nobel Peace Prize
• The Late Show: Трамп-Tosterone creme
• Ari Melber: Трамп is LOSING the public; 58% reject ICE and view ENTIRE 2ND TERM as a Failure
• Lawrence O’Donnell: After Трамп’s lies about Renee Good shooting, exodus at DOJ over botched investigation
• The Humanist Report: Ford worker who got suspended for heckling Трамп gets the last laugh
• Jordan Klepper: Трамп makes milk whole again, Europe defends Greenland & MAGA blasts Mamdani
• Christopher Titus: It’s ALL GOOD!:

• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ Insane Old Man Claims Venezuelan Presidency ♬
• Jen Psaki: Трамп’s ongoing freakout over viral video message to military spurs weaponized DOJ
• Seth Meyers: Late Night White House Press Briefing
• Mr. Newberger’s AI Funnies: ♫ Uncovered old documentary “How to be a Fascist!” ♬
• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ Трамп Renames “Land of the Free” ♬
• Stephen: Wall Street scolds Трамп over Powell charges & more ICE goons headed to MN
• Chris Hayes’ map-based theory behind Трамп’s unhinged Greenland obsession
• Tommy Campbell: Трамп pushes taking Greenland the hard way
• J-L Cauvin: The Dotard reacts to Jerome Powell video
• Jimmy Kimmel: Трамп wants Greenland whether they like it or not, Lindsey Graham bombshell & FCC Chair testifies
• Marsh Family: ♫ Battle Hymn of the Empire ♬:

• Steve Shives: Can A.I. predict which country Трамп will invade next?
• Jon Stewart: ICE’s killing of Renee Good and Трамп’s model of compliance for protesters
• The Resistance: ♫ We Will Rebuild ♬
• Seth Meyers: Трамп flips off auto worker who called him a “pedophile protector,” pushes whole milk
• Liberal Redneck: America is fully off the rails, y’all
• Stephen: Powell charges set off alarm bells & Трамп is destroying the world & monkey ‘mergency
• John D. Cundle: ♫ Obama On My Mind ♬
• The Late Show: The Nobel Peace Prize can not be re-gifted
• Jimmy Kimmel: Трамп gives a crazy speech in Detroit, the finger to a Ford worker & an ominous threat to Minnesota
• J-L Cauvin: The Dotard declares himself the “King of Peace”
• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ Трамп—The Diet Cola Ayatollah ♬
• Jordan Klepper: Трамп flips the bird & Minnesota tells ICE to fuck the fuck off with Pickle Rick and Bologna
• The Late Show: How to get your kids to drink milk:

• Neal Brennan: Hank Azaria reads Трамп quotes as Simpsons characters
• Stephen Colbert: The secret police fitness test & smoking diplomacy & sexualized human-dog hybrids at Mar-a-Lago
• Jen Psaki: No one is buying Трамп’s ICE shooting narrative and videos of ICE abuses are making it worse
• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ Трамп’s Massive Insecurity is Totally Justified ♬
• John D. Cundle: ♫ Were You Born a Narcissist? ♬
• Seth Meyers: Noem flails on CNN over ICE shooting; protester schools FAUX News; Трамп’s oil meeting
• J-L Cauvin: The Dotard reveals the next country he will invade
• The Other Brother: ♫ Bow Down before Me ♬
• Knotheadusc: ♫ One of these days ♬
• Mr. Newberger’s AI Funnies: ♫ Give me A Piece of that Peace Prize ♬
• Jimmy Kimmel: Трамп finally gets his Nobel Peace Prize, floats skipping midterms & fans the flames of violence

Steve Shives: Renee Good was killed for not treating tyranny as normal

The Resistance: ♫ Am I A Domestic Terrorist? ♬

More Perfect Union: 60,000 Трамп voters just elected a socialist. we asked them why.

Robert Reich: Make America affordable again

Other Pedophiles, Executioners, Grifters And Nutburger Deplorables:

• Seth Meyers: ICE polling hits new low amid backlash; new recruits called “pathetic” & “a disaster”
• The Late Show: EPA—Your life is worth NOTHING!
• JoJoFromJerz: Maga has no use for facts
• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ ICE Can Shoot You Dead (Трамп Says So) ♬
• ScaredKetchup: Presidente Трампito’s muy gigante clusterfuck w/ICE fails, JD Vance, Erica Kirk & more!
• Patrick Fitzgerald: ♫ You Must Have Been a Beautiful MAGA ♬:

• Stephen: The “War On Protein” is over & Трамп unveils our new national bird & “high-grade” morality
• Mr. Newberger’s AI Funnies: ♫ Eric Трамп, Not Greenland ♬
• Ross Childs: JD “Ice Boy” Vance does a press conference
• Jordan Klepper: RFK gets carnivorous in new food pyramid & Hegseth is accused of perfidy war crime
• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ Patriotic protesters, don’t give them what they want! ♬
• Rachel Maddow: ICE intimidation tactics BACKFIRE as Americans rally to defend their communities
• Matthew Cooke: MAGA just broke the matrix:

• Mr. Newberger’s AI Funnies: ♫ We Hate ICE ♬
• Patrick Fitzgerald: ♫ Mar-a-Lago Girl ♬
• Knotheadusc: ♫ For What It’s Worth—2026 ♬
• LegalEagle: ICE shot and killed her
• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ https://youtu.be/TCVbXTAiCc8 ♬
• Lawrence O’Donnell: Sen. Kelly puts Pete Hegseth on the defensive by making him a defendant
• Phil Ochs, updated by Ben Grosscup: ♫ Anti-ICE Protest—“Knock on the Door” ♬:

• Caitlin Speaks: Marco Rubio’s drug war—RULES for THEE, NOT for HE
• Stella Magz: Infamaous “beard” Megyn Kelly mocks Minnesota protesters
• Rachel Maddow: Repeated bungling exposes cluelessness of Von Shitzenpantz’s ICE secret police
• Charlamagne Tha God: MAGA’s fight against MLK Day & why it matters
• Mr. Newberger’s AI Funnies: ♫ Shady Vance ♬
• LegalEagle: Трамп DOJ in contempt of Congress

Rachel Maddow: Трамп REBUKED at every turn; Courts and Congress show new spine as Americans take to the streets

Lauren Mayer: ♫ We Need To Laugh Now, More Than Ever ♬

Stella Magz: : Give them what they want!!!

LegalEagle: How is the Maduro trial supposed to work exactly?

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

The Seattle Chapter of Drinking Liberally will, as usual, be getting together this evening. Stop by, have a drink, and join the conversation.

We meet tonight and every Tuesday at the Roanoke Park Place Tavern, 2409 10th Ave E, Seattle. You’ll find us in the back room starting about 8:00pm.

Chapters of Living Liberally are all over the place…if you can’t make it to the Seattle chapter, stop by another chapter near you.

Robert Reich: Where are America’s leaders?

WaPo: The Capitol insurrection changed his life. Now he teaches about it.

Reign of The Felon Von Shitzenpantz:

• Jimmy Kimmel and Rachel Maddow: Трамп’s extreme unpopularity & ICE shooting in Minneapolis & peaceful protests
• Seth Meyers: Трамп admin lies about deadly ICE shooting in Minneapolis amid national outcry
• John D. Cundle: ♫ Jack Smith’s “Proof” Exposed—That’s a Fact, Jack! ♬
• Steve Shives: The President of peace
• LegalEagle: Venezuela invasion is a crime
• Jon Stewart: Трамп kidnaps President Maduro, targets Venezuelan oil & ditches “America First”
• ScaredKetchup: ♫ Presidente Трампito sings Maduro meme anthem: “Ole Ole” ♬
• Jimmy Kimmel: Трамп delivers scatterbrained speech to GOP, he guns for Greenland & 5th anniversary of insurrection
• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ Трамп Touts “All-Aspirin Diet” ♬
• J-L Cauvin: The Dotard says ICE feared Renee Good’s “slam poetry”
• Puppet Regime: Putin calls Трамп about Venezuela invasion
• Stephen: Did Maduro’s dancing prompt Трамп to attack Venezuela? & no regime change & another war for oil
• John D. Cundle: ♫ Jimmy Kimmel THANKS Трамп?! ♬
• The Late Show: ♫ A New Dance Craze Sweeps Across The Americas ♬:

• Patrick Fitzgerald: ♫ Send the Marines ♬
• John D. Cundle: ♫ Трамп wants to be Obama ♬
• Seth Meyers: Трамп says U.S. will “run” Venezuela & take its oil, threatens Colombia, Mexico, Cuba
• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ Трамп Reveals Plan for World Domination ♬
• Ari Melber: 4-Star General on Трамп’s ‘clueless’ blundering into Venezuela war
• Get High, Watch This: Трамп’s approval ratings are unbelievable!!!
• Stephen: Jan 6 is a permanent stain on Трамп’s legacy & the Pokémon President & Colbert out-rates The Don
• John D. Cundle: ♫ Moves Like Obama—Трамп vs Obama ♬
• Political Primate: Stripped bare–The real cost of Трамп’s 2025 demolition project
• Mr. Newberger’s AI Funnies: ♫ Трамп the Conquerer ♬
• Patrick Fitzgerald: ♫ Трамп Dropped In (To See What Condition His Cognition Was In) ♬
• Shirley Șerban: ♫ Man, I Feel Like a Woman (Felon Von Shitzenpantz edition) ♬
• John D. Cundle: ♫ Fake News ♬
• ScaredKetchup: Presidente Трампito’s inaugural address
• Jimmy Kimmel: The crazy stuff Трамп did over the holidays & takes cognitive test Dotard “aced”
• LegalEagle: Трамп violated international law
• Matthew Cooke: Трамп’s invasion of Venezuela is the job of the U.S. Presidency
• Liberal Redneck: So what’s the REAL reason America raided Venezuela and took Maduro??
• Political Primate: Why The Dotard’s Greenland gambit is a warning for democracy
• Seth Meyers: Трамп rules out Venezuela election in the next 30 days
• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ Трамп—Rotting Just a Little Each Day ♬:

• J-L Cauvin: The Dotard addresses the world after Venezuela attack
• Stella Magz: New year, new Venezuela, same Stella Magz….
• David Corn: The Трамп administration has a warning—We will use violence
• Patrick Fitzgerald: ♫ King of the Hemisphere ♬
• JoJoFromJerz: That fucking felon WILL NOT ERASE THE TRUTH OF JANUARY 6th
• Ronny Chieng: Трамп puts the squeeze on Venezuela’s oil & eyes Greenland as next target
• Jonathan Pie: Трамп vs The World
• Hitler Rants Parodies: Hitler is informed that Von Shitzinpantz wants to take over Greenland
• J-L Cauvin: The Dotard names “Jan 6-7” a national holiday
• Stephen: Трамп admin, “Obey or die”
• John D. Cundle: ♫ Fortunate One ♬
• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ Venezuela, The ULTIMATE Epstein Files Distraction ♬
• Jimmy Kimmel: Трамп’s Venezuela money grab, problem falling asleep in meetings & unarmed woman killed by ICE

Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ Hey Canada, if you’re listening…. ♬

Roll Call: Congressional hits and misses of the week

Miscellaneous Grifters, Insurrectionists, Executioners and Pedophiles:

• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ Poor Tina Peters—A Plaintive Prison Ballad ♬
• Knotheadusc: ♫ MAGA Face ♬
• Lauren Mayer and Scott Grinthal: ♫ Bad Case of Health Care Blues ♬
• Jonathan Mann: ♫ Fuck ICE! ♬
• The Late Show: Don’t use Grok, use Gros
• Stella Magz: Ice agents executes a Minneapolis woman
• Jimmy Kimmel: Jimmy Kimmel on the awful ICE shooting in Minneapolis & a baseline of decency being gone in America
• Christopher Titus: We’re Living In 1937 Germany Right Now:

• The Late Show: Celebrating January 6th?
• Jesse Welles: ♫ Good vs. Ice ♬
• Stephen: Rubio, “U.S. wants to buy Greenland” and stealing Venezuela’s oil & Dr. Oz: booze brings people together
• Stella Magz: Farewell MTG
• J-L Cauvin: Mike Lindell roasts Tim Walz
• Ronny Chieng: Maduro faces Judge & MAGA scrambles to justify abduction
• Stella Magz: Pee-wee Hitler threatens the world
• Caitlin Speaks: How MAGA is pushing the very thing they fear:

• WCCO (Minnesota): Former Gov. Jesse Ventura visits Roosevelt High School following ICE activity…and has some words
• Jordan Klepper: Meet Benny Johnson—The YouTube star cosplaying as White House press commentator
• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ That ICE Agent was Pretty Proud ♬
• Francesca Fiorentini: Kristi Noem’s lies are failing in court
• Mr. Newberger’s AI Funnies: ♫ I Don’t Wanna Talk About Jeffrey Epstein ♬
• NPR: Трамп calls Jan 6 a “day of love.” This bodycam footage shows otherwise.
• Seth Meyers: Трамп & Pee-wee Hitler threaten Greenland and MAGA dumps “America First” for “Law of the Jungle”
• New York Times: Videos contradict Трамп administration account of ICE shooting in Minneapolis
• Tommy Campbell: Трамп’s embarrassing Mar-a-Lago New Year party

Lauren Mayer: ♫ Where In The World Is Congress? ♬

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

Here we are in 2026! Celebrate a new (and better?) year by stopping by the Seattle Chapter of Drinking Liberally.

We meet tonight and every Tuesday at the Roanoke Park Place Tavern, 2409 10th Ave E, Seattle. You’ll find us in the back room starting about 8:00pm.

Chapters of Living Liberally are all over the place…if you can’t make it to the Seattle chapter, stop by another chapter near you.

Brenna Perez: Is It Illegal To Film ICE?

Jimmy Kimmel: The year in unnecessary censorship

Reign of The Felon Von Shitzenpantz:

• John D. Cundle: ♫ Justice Arc #1—Fake Kings Fall ♬
• Mr. Newberger’s AI Funnies: ♫ The Thin-Skinned War-Spinned Liar ♬
• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ Трамп’s FINAL Goodbye ♬
• ScaredKetchup and Patrick Fitzgerald: ♫ Gavin Newsom’s epic New Year’s MTV Трамп troll ♬
• NM RagingGranny: ♫ It’s Beginning To Look a Lot Like Fascism ♬
• John D. Cundle: ♫ Jimmy Kimmel vs Трамп at the Kennedy Center ♬
• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ Talentless Трамп Tanks the Kennedy Center Honors ♬
• Parody Project: ♫ The Big Bad Governor of California ♬:

• J-L Cauvin: The Dotard reacts to WSJ “fake health news”
• Sarah Cooper: How to MRI
• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ Трамп’s Worried He’ll Fall Down Stairs ♬
• John D. Cundle: ♫ For My Friends, Everything (For My Enemies, The Law) ♬
• Paula Poundstone: A White House Christmas romance
• Randahl Fink: Why Трамп’s regime will fall:

• Get High, Watch This: The Dotard takes ANOTHER cognitive test
• John D. Cundle: ♫ Трамп Kennedy Center Calendar 2026 ♬
• The Other Brother: ♫ Presidential Immunity ♬
• Sandy Pliskin: ♫ Three chords and a lie ♬
• J-L Cauvin: The Dotard’s 2026 New Year’s Resolutions
• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ Трамп is Full of “It” ♬

Matthew Cooke: “Merry Christmas” is back! No more of this “happy holidays” !@$(&@#

Liberal Redneck: Goodbye 2025 (yayyyy), hello 2026 (boooo)

Other Grifters, Goons and Sex Offenders:

• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ Richard Grenell Can Just Go to Hell ♬
• Tommy Campbell: Newsome trolls Трамп and Co-Grifters
• John D. Cundle: ♫ Трамп’s Highway of Cowards ♬
• The Other Brother: ♫ The Sixth Day of January ♬
• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ Masks are for cowards—The ICE recruitment song ♬
• Jesse Welles: ♫ Masks Off ♬
• The Resistance: ♫ How Bad Could It Be? ♬
• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ Have Yourself a Stephen Miller Christmas ♬
• John D. Cundle: ♫ Don’t Let It Be ♬

Mrs. Betty Bowers, America’s Best Christian: Top 10 tips for surviving 2026

MS NOW: “We the People”—The movements, protest groups and people that made a difference in 2025

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