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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 is a Saint Patrick’s Day edition of the Seattle Chapter of Drinking Liberally this evening. Stop by for a drink, diverse conversation and good luck.

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.

Barack and Michelle Obama announce that the Obama Presidential Center opens June 19

Reign of the Most Popular Guy in the Epstein Files:

• Tommy Campbell: Трамп neck rash trolled & — Noem Roasted After Firing
• Stephen: Oil market chaos & Трамп sez expensive gas is “a small price to pay” & D.C. hot rods
• Knotheadusc: ♫ Shaddap You Face– Little Dotard Edition! ♬
• The Resistance: ♫ GTFO! ♬
• Mr. Newberger’s AI Funnies: He Lied To Us
• Christopher Titus: Трамп’s war in Iran…so far!
• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ More Body Bags as Dotard Brags ♬
• Jimmy Kimmel: Трамп’s an absolute disaster, Iran aspires to attack California & MAGA coalition is cracking
• Lawrence O’Donnell: Трамп’s lie about Iran school bombing disgraces the American presidency
• Stella Magz: The Dotard dances while the world burns….
• J-L Cauvin: The Dotard drops biggest bomb ever on Iran
• The Resistance: ♫ Don’t Believe a Word ♬
• Seth Meyers: Oil and gas prices soar amid Трамп’s Iran war, worst energy crisis in decades
• Parody Project: ♫ If You Only Had a Dog ♬:

• Mr. Newberger’s AI Funnies: ♫ When to wear a hat ♬
• Stephen: Трамп got to name the war & tankers on fire & Hegseth’s insecurity
• Lawrence O’Donnell: Трамп’s war in Iran shows he doesn’t know what he’s talking about
• The God Show: Bless the PBS reporter who broke Трамп’s brain
• Hitler Rants Parodies: Hitler phones Трамп about the Iran war
• The Late Show: ♫ “Closing Time” by The Dotard Трамп ♬
• Knotheadusc: ♫ We Still Got Трамп ♬
• Marilyn Dee: ♫ You Give Buildings a Bad Name ♬
• JoJoFromJerz: Трамп’s war is costing over $2 billion a day!
• David Corn: This may be the worst planned war in history
• Seth Meyers: Трамп & MAGA clash over sending troops to Iran & Hegseth splurges on steak & lobster
• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ Madman in the White House ♬
• Jimmy Kimmel: Трамп golfs amid Iran war, wears his own merch to honor fallen soldiers & tries to fix next election
• Shirley Șerban: ♫ You Just Leave Your Hat On ♬
• The Resistance: ♫ Everything He Touches Turns To Shit ♬
• Stephen: Трампn sez “war is over” & Hegseth’s shellfish splurge & the Florsheim boys
• Get High, Watch This: Трамп gets terrible, horrible, infuriating news…and he’s DEVASTATED!!!
• Marsh Family: ♫ Grief and Destruction ♬:

• SNL Weekend Update: Трамп fires Kristi Noem and wants to pick Iran’s next leader
• Parody Project: ♫ When Johnny Comes Rolling Home (Iran War) ♬
• The Late Show: The Dotard Трамп hosts “The Celebrity Ayatollah”
• Mr. Newberger’s AI Funnies: ♫ Then Don’t Start A War ♬
• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ Angel of Death Considers PR Campaign Idea ♬
• Jimmy Kimmel: Трамп claims Iran war will end soon, suggests school bombing wasn’t U.S. & Hegseth blows billions
• Seth Meyers: Трамп’s Iran war sparks massive oil crisis as he declares victory at bizarre rally
• LegalEagle: The Felon Von Shitzenpantz’s Most Illegal War Yet
• Stephen Colbert: Iran’s new iron fist & Трамп under fire for undignified transfer & not learning your damn language
• J-L Cauvin: The Dotard explaining why he wore a hat at Dover
• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ Even the Dopes are Getting Wise to Трамп ♬
• The Late Show: The Dotard Трамп declares war on Asian carp
• Puppet Regime: Трамп tries to name a new leader of Iran
• Knotheadusc: ♫ Uno Pendejo Blanco ♬
• JoJoFromJerz: Трамп wears disgusting MAGA merch hat at fallen troops ceremony
• Lawrence O’Donnell: Трамп’s Iran war propaganda videos show the depths of his depravity
• The Resistance: ♫ A Fish Starts To Stink At The Head ♬
• Jimmy Kimmel: Трамп thinks we’re as dumb as he is, gaslights us on oil prices & Hegseth’s a sensitive snowflake

Roll Call: Congressional hits and misses of the week

More Perfect Union: The secret reason you can’t buy a house

The Worst of the Rest:

• ScaredKetchup: ♫ Kristi Noem is an Unemployed Bird Legged… ♬
• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ Трамп’s Next Golden Opportunity? ♬
• Patrick Fitzgerald: ♫ Bondi, Bondi! ♬
• JoJoFromJerz: BUSTED! Team Трамп blew BILLIONS on fruit basket stands, donuts and crab?!
• SNL: Hegseth Iran presser
• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ Why Pete Hegseth is an Idiot ♬
• Caitlin Speaks: Markwayne Mullin—Трамп’s pick to replace Kristi Noem might be WORSE:

• Jon Stewart: GOP’s next-level hypocrisy on Minnesota ICE protests, 2nd Amendment & Epstein files
• Stella Magz’s opinion: Pete Hegseth is a FRAUD
• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ Steve Witkoff—Rich, Dumb, and Dangerous ♬
• LegalEagle: Bondi demands the DOJ be exempt from ethics oversight
• John D. Cundle: ♫ Markwayne Mullin, Watch Out He Bites! ♬
• Patrick Fitzgerald: ♫ I Guess That’s Why I’m Wearing Clown Shoes ♬:

• Stella Magz: Erika Kirk’s sympathy tour scores her another job
• Knotheadusc: ♫ Behind Closed Doors (Kristi and Corey edition) ♬
• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ I’m Not Thinking of the Epstein Files AGAIN ♬
• Lauren Mayer: ♫ Fixin’-To-Vote-Rag ♬
• Mr. Newberger’s AI Funnies: ♫ Say Goodbye, Dear Kristi Noem ♬
• The Resistance: ♫ Where Is The Line ♬

John Oliver: USAID

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

The Seattle Chapter of Drinking Liberally gets together this evening for drinks and discussion. Join us, if you can.

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.

Rogue History: The (literal) fight for free speech they don’t teach you

Whitest Kids U’ Know: We wouldn’t happen to be invading Iran today, would we?

Roll Call: Congressional hits and misses of the week

Hitler Rants Parodies: Hitler is informed about the US and Israeli strikes on Iran

Reign of The Felon Von Shitzenpantz:

• Seth Meyers: Трамп’s Iran war plan and timeline keep changing, Трамп gets distracted by drapes
• Jimmy Kimmel: Трамп’s mixed messages about war in Iran, he gets a vigorous stroking by tech CEOs & his gross rash
• Lauren Mayer: ♫ Nobody Likes Трамп (the SOTU song) ♬
• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ “Just Look at These Drapes!” The Трамп War-Briefing Song ♬
• J-L Cauvin: The Dotard replaces the war draft with ICE
• Dark Brandon: World War Epstein—Did Трамп start a war to distract from the files?
• Jen Psaki: Трамп admin unable to explain attack on Iran
• Stephen: Трамп can’t stop saying “war” & Israel says they will eliminate Iran’s next leader
• John D. Cundle: ♫ No More Wars (Just One More Lie) ♬
• The Late Show: Kesha blasts Трамп for stealing her song
• J-L Cauvin: The Dotard declares war on Iran
• ScaredKetchup: Presidente Трампito BANNED from YouTube (he’s BACK)
• Christopher Titus: Epstein fury:

• Rachel Maddow: Трамп’s CLOWN CAR CABINET now an alarming liability as threat from Iran spikes
• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ Let’s Forget About Трамп and Epstein! ♬
• Lawrence O’Donnell: Трамп speaks lovingly about drapes as U.S. death toll in his Iran war rises
• SNL: Трамп Iran war address
• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ Hail The Heroic Draft Dodger! ♬
• John D. Cundle: ♫ Трамп vs Iran—“The Plan Is We Have No Plan” ♬
• Desi Lydic FAUXsplains Трамп’s Iran not-war
• Mr. Newberger’s AI Funnies: It’s ’cause the Midterms
• J-L Cauvin: The Dotard reveals Operation No Means Yes
• 60 Minutes: This federal judge ruled against Трамп. Then the death threats rolled in
• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ Thank You President Трамп! ♬
• Jimmy Kimmel: Трамп distracts from Epstein files with war in Iran, MAGA tries to spin & Dotard’s big red rash
• Seth Meyers: Трамп & MAGA clash over whether Iran war is a “war,” & Трамп says wars can last forever
• Michael Kosta: Трамп stumped by worst-case Iran scenario & Hegseth gives bullying pep talk
• Parody Project: ♫ Pervy Con Man ♬:

• Liberal Redneck: So does anyone know why we, ya know…STARTED A WAR WITH IRAN?!
• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ Peace Board Bombing ♬
• The Resistance: ♫ The Most Highly Anticipated Obituary in the History of the World ♬
• Jen Psaki: Трамп FLUNKS wartime president test with disturbing, flippant attitude
• LegalEagle: Трамп’s insane plan to steal elections leaked
• Jon Stewart: Трамп launches war with Iran and refuses to explain…anything
• Stephen: U.S. abandons citizens across Middle East & Трамп, “The big one is coming” & Iran war is “God’s plan”
• Rachel Maddow: British Intel spotted Трамп camp Russia ties
• Puppet Regime: Trump & Netanyahu’s war plans hit a snag of “utmost concern”
• The Late Show: The “war” against Iran
• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ The Proof in The Трампstein Files ♬

Sandy Pliskin: ♫ Here’s to the State of Mississippi, 2026 ♬

John D. Cundle: ♫ Your Kids Go First ♬

Knotheadusc: ♫ I Don’t Want To Think About It ♬

Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ The Justice John Roberts Song ♬

Shirley Șerban: ♫ I Will Survive? I’ll Unsubscribe! ♬:

The Late Show: Book your next event at Mar-a-Lago

Jesse Welles: ♫ The Great Caucasian God (live) ♬

LegalEagle: ICE gets hammered in court

Grifters, Goons, Ghouls, and Gullible Fucks:

• Seth Meyers: Noem out at DHS & Bondi subpoenaed over Epstein files & gas prices rise due to Iran war
• Jimmy Kimmel: Трамп fires Kristi Noem, missing Epstein files published & Republicans play both sides of Iran war
• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ Operation Epic Fury (or is it Epstein Fury?) ♬
• JoJoFromJerz: Pete Hegseth thinks fallen troops don’t deserve headlines
• Patrick Fitzgerald: ♫ Don’t You Want Me, Epstein? ♬
• Mr. Newberger’s AI Funnies: War briefing with Pete
• Stephen: America at whaaa? Seeking regime change. Hegseth: No “stupid” rules of engagement.
• Michael Kosta: MAGA refuses to call Iran war a “war” as Americans scramble to flee Mideast
• Knotheadusc: ♫ Oh! Kristi ♬:

• Jimmy Kimmel: Трамп goes to war with Iran, Bill Clinton testifies about Epstein & Boebert explains inflation
• ScaredKetchup: ♫ Adios Kristi Noem ♬
• J-L Cauvin: The Dotard fires Kristi Noem
• Lawrence O’Donnell: Трамп’s son will not fight in his “illegal and unconstitutional war” in Iran
• JoJoFromJerz: Wake up MAGA! Трамп’s using our troops as props!
• NM RagingGranny: ♫ House of the Epstein Crimes ♬
• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ Kristi Noem—America’s Most Expensive Date ♬
• SNL Weekend Update: U.S. launches attack on Iran & Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei killed
• Michael Kosta: Трамп axes Kristi Noem & Hegseth strong-arms “too-woke” Boy Scouts
• Stephen: Noem’s colleagues celebrate her firing & ICE whistleblower testifies & RFK Jr. attacks New England
• Lauren Mayer: ♫ Occam’s Razor ♬:

• Patrick Fitzgerald: ♫ ICE Under My Skin ♬
• Champnella: Love thy own fanatics
• JoJoFromJerz: The Dotard FIRES Kristi Noem. The reason might surprise you…
• Ross Childs: JD Vance & The McDonald’s CEO
• Chris Hayes: Noem’s tenure is ending in spectacular and humiliating fashion
• Rachel Maddow: Patel’s petty FBI firing spree guts key Iran unit at worst possible time
• Stella Magz: Трамп to Kristi Noem, “You’re fired!”
• Campbell: Трамп’s “mushroom doc” Casey Means & Boebert’s Clinton photo mess

John Oliver: Police body cameras

Grace Kuhlenschmidt: Culdesac is the first car-free neighborhood and conspiracy theorists hate it

Robert Reich: How we actually pay for war and billionaire tax cuts

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

Swing by the Seattle Chapter of Drinking Liberally this evening. We’ll be watching a few elections around the U.S., engaging in discussions about politics, and having 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.

USAFacts: A data-driven State of the Union

Rachel Maddow: DOJ is all apologies as judges lose patience with defied orders

Jesse Welles: ♫ Domestic Error (live) ♬

Reign of The Felon Von Shitzenpantz:

• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ Some Find Lying Exhausting. Not Трамп ♬
• J-L Cauvin: The Dotard gives medal to Connor Hellebuyck
• Hitler Rants Parodies: Hitler is informed that Трамп has raised global tariffs to 15%
• Seth Meyers: Трамп throws tantrum at SOTU, tries to co-opt men’s hockey Olympic gold medal victory
• Jimmy Kimmel: Трамп claims everything is GREAT, MAGAland gives rave reviews & bombshell Epstein report about The Dotard
• Lawrence O’Donnell: Трамп is the only president stupid enough to believe he has unlimited power to set tariffs
• Stella Magz: Трамп’s State of Disaster
• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ Here Lies Трамп ♬
• Knotheadusc: ♫ And As He Begins to Ramble ♬:

• JoJoFromJerz: That wasn’t a state of the union. It was an ad for erectile dysfunction.
• The Resistance: ♫ The Real State of the Union (Stand Up, Speak Out) ♬
• Liberal Redneck: The State of the (super divided, probably about to fully implode) Union, apparently
• Jon Stewart: SCOTUS torches Трамп’s tariffs, Iran war looms & MAGA co-opts Team USA hockey win
• Stephen: A dark speech filled with divisive lies & USA women’s hockey gets a better offer
• Jimmy Kimmel reacts to Трамп’s State of the Union Address 2026
• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ Трамп’s Getting More Demented Every Day ♬
• LegalEagle: Tariffs are dead! Long live tariffs!
• J-L Cauvin: The Dotard takes credit for USA hockey Olympic gold
• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ Pervert Messiah (Now available in Orange!) ♬
• Former Kimmel writer Bess Kalb hilariously roasts Трамп’s free speech charade (in Congressional testimony)
• Desi Lydic: SOTU recap—Трамп gets Tarantino-gory & award-crazy in record-long address
• Seth Meyers: Трамп threatens war with Iran over nuclear program he claimed he obliterated
• Jimmy Kimmel: Трамп attacks Jimmy again, goes to war with Supreme Court & Kash Patel parties at Olympics
• The Late Show: ♫ The Dotard Трамп Is Deeply Unpopular ♬
• Stephen: Трамп’s speech was disborbing & why DOJ didn’t search Epstein’s storage units
• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ Little Dotard Melt-Down ♬
• J-L Cauvin: The Dotard’s State of the Union Speech LEAKED
• The Resistance: ♫ The Legacy He Deserves ♬

LegalEagle: Colbert’s banned interview

Parody Project: ♫ Weapons of Mass Illumination ♬

Robert Reich: Billie Eilish debunks billionaire charity

Piedmont Raging Grannies: ♫ The Constitution Binds Us All ♬

The Gullible, The Grifters, and The Goons:

• Tommy Campbell: RFK Jr & Kid Rock’s shirtless workout is trolled and mocked
• Jesse Welles: ♫ Join Ice (live) ♬
• Mr. Newberger’s AI Funnies: ♫ He’s Coverin’ Up Them Files ♬
• J-L Cauvin: The Dotard defends Kash Patel’s hockey fantasy
• The Late Show: The DOJ explains missing Epstein files with allegations about Трамп
• Seth Meyers: Kash Patel parties in Italy, SCOTUS strikes down tariffs, Трамп to release UFO files
• Matthew Cooke: How is everyone still falling for this?:

• Desi Lydic: RFK and Kid Rock strip down for workout video & Kristi Noem flies in a fuck plane
• Bruce W. Nelson: ♫ The Dotard Трамп and the Pedophile Elite ♬
• Jonathan Jensen: ♫ Jesus Doesn’t Love You When You Lie (the Karoline Leavitt Song) ♬
• Patrick Fitzgerald: ♫ We Gotta Stop the Raids ♬
• The Late Show: Kash Patel ruins hockey
• Jesse Welles: ♫ Red (live) ♬
• Mr. Newberger’s AI Funnies: ♫ Official Business of the FBI ♬
• Randy Rainbow: ♫ The Fate of Melania ♬:

• Jordan Klepper: LindellTV News is QAnon meets QVC, and now they’re in the White House Press Corps
• Desi Lydic: DOJ buries Epstein files on Трамп & snowball fight turns MAGA into snowflakes
• Jimmy Kimmel: Трамп hasn’t testified about Epstein but Hillary Clinton forced to & Mayor Mamdani visits The Dotard
• The Resistance: ♫ When Will MAGA Wake Up? ♬
• J-L Cauvin: The Dotard reacts to RFK fitness video

ONN: U.S. populace appoints designated survivor

LegalEagle: Super Bowl ad announces 4th amendment nightmare

John Oliver: Twitter

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