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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.

Please join us this evening as the Seattle Chapter of Drinking Liberally gathers for toasts and talk.

We meet tonight and every Tuesday at the Roanoke Park Place Tavern, 2409 10th Ave E, Seattle. You’ll find us out on the rear deck 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.

ONN: Tesla launches new model of explosions

Roll Call: Congressional hits and misses of the week

The Dozy Dotard’s Diaper Dumps:

• John D. Cundle: ♫ Трамп’s “Steroid Pool” Turns Swamp Green ♬
• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ The Pound-Scum Presidency ♬
• JoJoFromJerz: Трамп’s election rigging scheme nobody’s talking about
• Tiny Hands Productions: Political memes that deserve an award
• J-L Cauvin: The Dotard reveals the truth about the Reflecting Pool
• Rocky Mountain Mike and Mary: ♫ Algae ♬
• Paula Poundstone: Трамп says we’re the “hottest country in the world”
• Stephen shows you this summer’s hottest look
• JoJoFromJerz: The double standard—Tomatoes vs. Трамп’s wrecking ball
• The Resistance: ♫ Vandals in D.C. ♬
• Jon Stewart: Трамп sends Vance to concede to Iran & Reflecting Pool is filled with corruption
• Patrick Fitzgerald: ♫ Green Water ♬:

• Paula Poundstone: Трамп blames “vandals” for the algae
• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ Трамп said to be “mostly dead” ♬
• Jen Psaki: Трамп even fails at the little stuff, haunted by Mamdani’s success
• Shirley Șerban: ♫ The Algae Reflection—A Kermit Ballad for Today’s Nuttiness ♬
• Tommy Campbell: Трамп botches medal ceremony AGAIN & Reflecting Pool swamp fail
• John D. Cundle: ♫ Трамп—“Truth Deficiency Syndrome” ♬
• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ Трамп Begged ME for a Photo at the G7 Summit! ♬
• Tiny Hands Productions: The internet’s favorite political memes
• J-L Cauvin: The Dotard celebrates Supreme Court cruelty
• Paula Poundstone: Трамп’s pull-string doll
• Rocky Mountain Mike: ♫ Pool Change ♬:

• John D. Cundle: ♫ Memorandum of Misunderstanding—Трамп’s Hilariously Broken “Deal” with Iran ♬
• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ The Трамп “Song of Shame” ♬
• LegalEagle: Трамп vandalizes Reflecting Pool, arrests Olympic athlete for touching it
• Jen Psaki: Vance accidentally admits that Трамп is way worse than Nixon
• Jimmy Kimmel: The week in unnecessary censorship
• Get High, Watch This: Трамп’s big beautiful Reflecting Pool is a SWAMP!!!!
• JoJoFromJerz: Трамп thinks “nobody cares about housing” while Americans struggle!
• Stella Magz: Трамп wants to celebrate his failures…. That tracks.
• J-L Cauvin: The Dotard reacts to Iran breaking peace deal (pt. 97)
• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ The Трамп Fuck-up Song ♬:

• The God Show: Трамп rally FAILS and he BEGS people to show up for next one
• Jen Psaki: Report ties Трамп’s GREEN POOL GOOP to his UFC birthday bash
• Rachel Maddow: At least our bad president is an incompetent buffoon
• John D. Cundle: ♫ Robbin’ Трамп–How the 47th President Robs the People for the Rich ♬
• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ Трамп and the pool are now leaking ♬
• Jonathan Jensen: ♫ What’s It All About, Algae? ♬
• Robert Reich: How Трамп’s gerrymandering plot could backfire
• J-L Cauvin: The Dotard reveals truth about Reflecting Pool
• Paula Poundstone: Трамп spent $13 million and turned the Reflecting Pool green
• Shirley Șerban: ♫ Big, Orange, Tacky ♬:

• Caitlin Speaks: The making of a fascist housewife—Lara Трамп
• Unsourced News: 60 Seconds—Трамп’s Reflecting Pool
• John D. Cundle: ♫ Трамп’s Iran “Peace” Deal—The Art of the Blame ♬
• Christopher Titus: No one’s seen anything like it!
• Paula Poundstone: Commander in Chicken
• Josh Johnson: Трамп starts Reflecting Pool war
• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ What If Трамп’s Ballroom Turns Out Like His Pool? ♬

Stella Magz: Remembering radical extremist socialist leftist FDR….

The Resistance: ♫ Only We Can Fix It ♬

The MAGA Deplorable Brigade:

• JoJoFromJerz: Dear Ma & Pa MAGA, how stupid do you have to be?
• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ If Трамп Seems Normal, Then (quite likely) You’re Not ♬
• J-L Cauvin: The births of The Dotard’s five kids
• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ Трампers, You Got Scammed! ♬
• Stella Magz: Sean Hannity’s tales of the boogyman are nothing new….
• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ Make Algae Great Again! ♬
• Paula Poundstone: J.D. Vance lies just like Трамп
• LegalEagle: INFOWARS is back… And Alex Jones hates it!
• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ Marco Rubio—The Prince of Humiliation ♬
• John D. Cundle: ♫ JD Vance—“The Fall Guy VP” ♬
• Tiny Hands Productions: The most outrageous political memes
• JoJoFromJerz: MAGA are the biggest snowflakes on planet earth
• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ Pay to Play, or a Kash Advance? ♬
• Unsourced News: 60 Seconds—Miller’s Lair

Puppet Regime: Трамп and Xi consult AI

Liberal Redneck: How hard is it to clean a durn (reflecting) pool, anyway?!

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

It is Tuesday, and that means some liberals will be getting together and engaging in sipping, swigging, chugging, or quaffing beverages of various sorts. And chatting. Join us tonight for the weekly meeting of 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.

The Resistance: ♫ Heartland Heartbreak ♬

Stevie Wonder and friends ♫ SLAY at Obama Presidential Center opening ♬

Tiny Hands Productions: Political memes that are breaking the internet

Brenna Perez: The Reflecting Pool is PEELING (…already)

U2’s Bono and The Edge ♫ perform at Obama center opening ♬

Jen Psaki: “Pep rally for America”—Obama reminds Americans of the power of hope

The Incompetent, Corrupt, and Narcissistic Authoritarian:

• J-L Cauvin: The Dotard delivers Iran peace deal for Whites
• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ The Dotard’s Final Cage Fight? ♬
• JoJoFromJerz: Трамп seriously got DEFEATED by a medal clasp on national TV
• The Resistance: ♫ A Perfect Reflection ♬
• Spitting Image: Exclusive look—Трамп and Putin’s phone call
• John D. Cundle: ♫ JFK and MLK Roast The Dotard ♬
• Lawrence O’Donnell: Really? Versailles? Трамп picked the worst place in the world to sign his terrible deal with Iran
• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ Трамп Fails to Measure Up to Obama ♬
• Paula Poundstone: Трамп’s enemies list is getting long
• Jimmy Kimmel: Трамп’s childish behavior with world leaders & Republicans bash his Iran deal
• Seth Meyers: Трамп’s “swimming pool on steroids” turns puke green and G7 summit comments
• Jordan Klepper: Трамп autopens the Iran deal, lands a res at G7 summit & spawns an algae conspiracy
• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ G7 leaders are laughing behind Трамп’s back ♬
• Chris Hayes: Трамп’s big beautiful pool is turning into a swamp
• Tommy Campbell: Трамп’s White House UFC mocked—$60M excess, seat fillers & sponsor hypocrisy
• Jimmy Kimmel: Трамп’s dummy of a deal with Iran faces backlash
• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ Something’s Wrong with the Dotard ♬
• Rachel Maddow: Трамп lost the war he started with Iran and is humiliated on world stage
• Paula Poundstone: Трамп thinks you can walk from Qatar to Iran
• John D. Cundle: ♫ 86 the Трамп Arch ♬
• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ It Was Трамп ♬
• Tiny Hands Productions: These memes are saying what everyone’s thinking about politics
• Sandy and Richard Riccardi: ♫ You Have Been Seen (in the Files Epstein) ♬:

• Paula Poundstone: Трамп trades every 7 mins
• John D. Cundle: ♫ Epstein Files—How Трамп’s White House Melted Down ♬
• Tiny Hands Productions: Unforgettable political Memes
• Seth Meyers: Трамп’s name removed from Kennedy Center & weird UFC birthday bash & Iran deal disaster
• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ The Best Трамп Birthday Song EVER ♬
• Jimmy Kimmel: Трамп’s big violent 80th birthday party at the White House & “great deal” with Iran
• Knotheadusc: ♫ Have a Crappy Birthday ♬
• John D. Cundle: ♫ White House Octagon ♬
• Chris Hayes: Трамп’s reflecting pool fiasco gets a “Greenwatergate” twist
• JoJoFromJerz: Трамп’s $380 BILLION Iran disaster we’re FORCED to pay for!
• Paula Poundstone: Трамп turns 80 and wants to look “strong”
• J-L Cauvin: The Dotard celebrates his birthday with sweaty men
• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ Who Needs Food and Housing When You’ve got a Pond? ♬
• Josh Johnson: Josh Johnson roasts Трамп’s weird America 250 party
• Tiny Hands Productions: These political memes are too real to ignore
• John D. Cundle: ♫ Uncle Scam Dandy ♬
• Paula Poundstone: Our embarrassing President wandered off at the G7
• Jimmy Kimmel: Трамп’s wasting taxpayer dollars on vanity projects, Iran victory lap & the nuttiest RFK Jr story
• Lauren Mayer: ♫ Grifters, Scamps & Thieves ♬:

• Seth Meyers: Трамп claims he sees war “better than maybe anybody”
• The God Show: Трамп HUMILIATED on world stage as Iran deal BACKFIRES bigly
• Lawrence O’Donnell: Трамп’s describing his so-called Iran deal the only way he knows how. With nonstop lying.
• John D. Cundle: ♫ Obama did it better (than Трамп) ♬
• Calmly Unhinged: Трамп’s deeply unhinged G7 speech as read by a British lady
• J-L Cauvin: The Dotard is jealous of Knicks and Barack Obama
• Rachel Maddow: Why we can’t have nice things—Трамп’s corruption
• JoJoFromJerz: Трамп promised to drain the swamp—He literally created one instead
• Chris Hayes: Трамп’s reflecting pool makeover FAILS in spectacular fashion
• LegalEagle: Court orders Трамп to remove his name from Kennedy Center
• Jordan Klepper: Трамп deal lets Iran keep missile arsenal and $400 billion & Republicans lash out
• Robert Reich: Freedom 250—Gladiators, parades, & the grifting of America
• Christopher Titus: Трамп’s Iran gamble backfires
• Seth Meyers: Трамп faces GOP fury over Iran deal & FAUX News blames JD Vance & Iran gets $300 billion
• John D. Cundle: ♫ Трамп the American Screw Worm ♬
• Paula Poundstone: Трамп announced the Iran peace deal 38 times

Christine Aguilera ♫ sings “What a Wonderful World” at Obama Center grand opening ♬

Jimmy Kimmel: The week in unnecessary censorship

Michelle Obama’s speech brings Barack to tears:

John D. Cundle: ♫ Beacon of Hope ♬

Bruce Springsteen: ♫ Obama Presidential Center dedication ♬

Whack-jobs, Pedophiles, and Other MAGA Morons:

• Clare Blackwood: Karoline Leavitt defends President Трамп’s wonderful UFC birthday party
• LegalEagle: Government lawyers will be disbarred for this
• Michelle Wolf: Ice is
• Jordan Klepper: JD Vance bombs his book tour & The Dotard’s Iran “deal”
• Luke Nickle: ♫ Fuck your AI ♬
• Jesse Welles: ♫ The Ballard of Big Balls ♬:

• Mr. Newberger’s AI Funnies: ♫ My Kashy Fash Fund ♬
• Jordan Klepper crashes Трамп’s UFC birthday celebration at the White House

President Obama opens his Presidential Center in Chicago

Tiny Hands Productions: The reasons The Dotard cannot stand being compared to Obama

Eddie Vedder and friends ♫ perform at Obama Center ceremony ♬

PBS NewsHour: Bruce Springsteen on “critical patriotism” and the power of protest music

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

Please join us this evening as the Seattle Chapter of Drinking Liberally gets together for conversations, drinks and good cheer.

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: The hidden danger of America’s wealth gap

ONN: Slow-witted conspiracy theorist convinced government behind NASA

Jeffery Epstein’s Best Friend:

• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ Diddy Diet? ♬
• The Resistance: ♫ Twenty-Two Doctors Is Not Nearly Enough ♬
• J-L Cauvin: The Dotard loves inflation!
• Christopher Titus: The Washington Hillbilly
• Seth Meyers: Трамп “loves” inflation and lies about “no wars” and FAUX News criticizes his Iran claims
• Tiny Hands Productions: Political memes that broke the internet
• JoJoFromJerz: If it’s a hoax, why the Situation Room, Dotard?
• Marsh Family: ♫ Трампy Doodle ♬:

• Paula Poundstone: Трамп said “I love the inflation”
• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ Трамп’s “Statue of Liberty, Total Makeover” ♬
• Jimmy Kimmel: Трамп’s nipple fetish revealed, UFC-themed birthday party & commemorative coin con
• The Resistance: ♫ It’s My Birthday And Obama Made Me Cry ♬
• Seth Meyers: Трамп crashes the NBA finals party, throws unhinged tantrum on Meet the Press
• Randy Rainbow: ♫ A Very Stable Genius Part Two! ♬
• Jimmy Kimmel: Трамп attends NBA finals, cries election fraud in California & storms out of interview
• Tiny Hands Productions: Political memes that are taking over the internet!
• JoJoFromJerz: The Dotard doesn’t give a fuck about you
• Rachel Maddow: White House UFC stage as a monument to Трамп corruption
• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ Lullaby for Dotard ♬
• The Resistance: ♫ I Love Inflation! ♬
• Sandy and Richard Riccardi: ♫ War’s On, War’s Off ♬:

• Paula Poundstone: They’re taking Трамп’s name OFF the Kennedy Center
• Mr. Newberger’s AI Funnies: ♫ Man Baby ♬
• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ King of Bankruptcy Now Working on Bankrupting America ♬
• Christopher Titus: Here’s why some felon keeps calling elections rigged
• Ari Melber: Трамп’s Epstein problem returns with blockbuster testimony
• The Resistance: ♫ The Rise and Ruin of The Dotard Трамп ♬
• John D. Cundle: ♫ Oh Say Can You Finally See? ♬
• Patrick Fitzgerald: ♫ Don (Go Away) ♬:

• Seth Meyers: Трамп gets booed and falls asleep at NBA finals, spreads deranged CA election lies
• Jimmy Kimmel: Трамп gets booed & falls asleep during NBA finals, claims war is almost over & goodbye Spencer Pratt
• Tiny Hands Productions: Political memes so wild
• JoJoFromJerz: The most corrupt administration in history
• Lauren Mayer: ♫ New York Hates Трамп ♬
• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ It’s Amazing What Трамп Says He’s Accomplished! ♬
• John D. Cundle: ♫ Трамп, Epstein & ‘Transparency’ ♬
• Paula Poundstone: Трамп saw 22 doctors—but he’s in “perfect health”?
• Tommy Campbell: Трамп vs Kaitlan Collins & leaked tape rocks Melanie backstory

Jimmy Kimmel: The week in unnecessary censorship

Roll Call: Congressional hits and misses of the week

Liars, Thieves and Thugs:

• Desi Lydic: Трамп sells UFC coins as Iran strikes & Melania pushes AI in a speech worthy of AI
• Steve Shives: Republican Congress courageously falls in line with Трамп
• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ CBS, Consumed By Stupidity ♬
• Robert Reich: How does this keep happening?
• Knotheadusc: ♫ Welcome to the Reviled Side ♬:

• Desi Lydic: Bad luck Трамп ruins Knicks’ winning streak & Spencer Pratt loses L.A.’s Mayor race
• John Oliver: New College of Florida
• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ Melania Slept Her Way There, Donald Got There and Slept ♬
• Marsh Family: ♫ Bile and Lies ♬:

• 60 Seconds: Hegseth talks competence
• John D. Cundle: ♫ The Only Fraud Is You—CNN’s MAGA Meltdown ANNIHILATION ♬
• Tiny Hands Productions: The Funniest Political Memes

The Daily Show: Mark Zuckerberg—Human Status Update

Liberal Redneck: Did California just perpetrate the most brazen election fraud in history? Uh…No

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