![My king, the movie is already perfect. Dont fuck this up. My king, the movie is already perfect. Dont fuck this up.](https://media2.fdncms.com/stranger/imager/u/large/42520882/1578621004-gettyimages-1197773017.jpg)
When is Nancy Pelosi sending the articles of impeachment over to the Senate? "Soon." That's all she'll say.
The Washington state Legislature gave their preview for the legislative session this morning: And Inslee slung this sick burn.
Anti-tax activist &governir candidate Tim Eyman interrupted @govinslee Q&A with the press at AP preview to ask about car-tabs.
At the end, Inslee says something like âdonât take the chair when you leave.â #waleg pic.twitter.com/oGfTOAkx9F
â Joseph O'Sullivan (@OlympiaJoe) January 9, 2020
But fuck Tim EymanâWhat actually happened at the state legislative preview today in Olympia? The Stranger's Rich Smith was there. Take it away, Rich:
Legislative preview preview: Today in Olympia the Associated Press invited Governor Jay Inslee and Republican and Democratic leaders in the statehouse to preview their plans for the upcoming short session. The big takeaway: We have several major crises we need to pay for, including but not limited to homelessness, housing, the environment, mental health care, and a potential $500 million hole in the transportation budget. However, weâre not going to raise taxes, cut programs, or tap into the ârainy day fundâ to pay for any of that.
Thatâs right: Despite the fact that Democrats boast healthy majorities in both chambers, plus a governor who is âopenâ to different financing options, no one is putting their money where their mouth is, and itâs all because no one wants to make any big moves during a 60-day âshort sessionâ that coincides with an election year that will draw arguably the largest Democratic voting population in the history of the state. The stakes couldnât be higher, the potential electoral blowback couldnât be lower, and yet still Washington Democrats are walking on eggshells.
Letâs just take one example: As we learned from the governorâs budget proposal last December, Inslee wants to âreduce the number of people sleeping outside by 50% in two years.â To do that, he wants to build shelters and provide rental assistance with money from the stateâs ârainy day fundâ because, when it comes to homelessness, âitâs raining.â But House Speaker-designate Laurie Jinkins and Senate Majority Leader Andy Billig say they donât have the votes for that. (Tapping the rainy day fund requires a supermajority in the Legislature to approve, which involves Republicans, who believe that âpeople who think solving homelessness is just about building shelters are perpetuating the problem,â according to Senate Minority Leader Mark Schoesler.)
So where are they going to get the money, if not the rainy day fund? Nobody knows. How about a tax on capital gains, which has been proposed every year for the last seven years? Nope. Why not? Short session. Plus, nobody knows if the billâwhich wouldnât even pay for everything anywayâwould pass the Senate, despite the fact that one of the four senators who helped block the bill last year is now an Amazon lobbyist.
What about stuff that doesnât cost money? How about a ban on high capacity magazines? Senate Majority Leader Billig: âToo early to say if itâs a likely chance or not.â Voting to expel Rep. Matt Shea, a domestic terrorist according to a recent investigation? House Speaker Jinkins is into it, but sheâs not sure if she even has all the votes among Democrats for that. How about eliminating the death penalty by state law and not just by the Supreme Court? House Speaker Jinkins: âWeâll talk about it.â GUH. Look, the session hasn't even started yet. They all clearly need to have big conversations about all this stuff before committing to certain proposals, but these crises have been crises for a long time now and you'd think they'd have more to say than "we'll talk about it."
But this isnât everything, of course. On Monday Iâll have a Slog post about what bills to keep your eye on, what might actually pass this year, and what people are really pushing for.
Thanks, Rich!
The US House debated an Iran War Powers resolution today: The vote ended up being 224-194 in favor of restraining "President Donald Trump's ability to use military action against Iran without congressional approval." Somewhat surprisingly, three Republicans voted in support of the resolution. "Republicans Reps. Matt Gaetz and Francis Rooney of Florida as well as Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky all crossed party lines to vote in favor of the resolution," writes CNN. Things are a still bit complicated: "House Democrats are arguing that concurrent resolutions under the War Powers Act are a special case, and they are legally binding. Republicans, however, say the resolution is not binding."
Good one! Maybe if you were as good at passing legislation as you are at one-liners you would be Speaker of the House.
How embarrassing. https://t.co/glDXsInxNP
â Bobby L. Rush (@RepBobbyRush) January 9, 2020
L.A. mayor Eric Garcetti endorses Biden: Woof.
More woofs: Parasite director Bong Joon-ho is reportedly in discussion to create a limited series version of Parasite for HBO. He'll be teaming up with Adam McKay, the director behind Vice and The Big Shot, reports The Hollywood Reporter. I'm nervous about this, because Parasite was practically perfect. "Bong and McKay would adapt the movie for an English-language limited series," writes THR. Doesn't this counter Bong's excellent line that "once you overcome the one-inch tall barrier of subtitles you will be introduced to so many more amazing films"?
Why were there so many Canadians (63) in the Iranian Boeing plane crash? And will Canada be involved in the investigation? BBC tries to answer all that in a new post published today, but the TL;DR is: Canada acknowledged that the plane may have been shot down in error, and "Iran appears open to [Canada being involved in the investigation] and Canada was moving ahead with seeking visas for their officials."
PM Trudeau on crash of Ukrainian plane in Tehran: "We have intelligence from multiple sources, including our allies and our own intelligence; the evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile. This may well have been unintentional." #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/6BSIj721nf
â CPAC (@CPAC_TV) January 9, 2020
Back to impeachment news: Our boy Rep. Adam Smith of Washington's 9th congressional district, the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, told Nancy Pelosi "it is time" to send the impeachment articles to the Senate. The media ran with Smith's comments and he later walked them back, tweeting:
I am concerned that Senator McConnell wonât have a fair trial and I am with the Speaker that we should do everything we can to ensure he does. Ultimately, I do want the articles sent to the Senate for the very simple reason that I want the impeachment process to go forward.
â Rep. Adam Smith (@RepAdamSmith) January 9, 2020
Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time continues: Last night, the epic tournament turned "into a dogfight," with James Holzhauer winning his first game in the series. That puts Holzhauer and Seattle's Ken Jennings tied with one win each. The first competitor to get to three wins is officially the G.O.A.T. The competition resumes tonight. More from Slate:
The greatest player in Jeopardy! history is either James Holzhauer or Ken Jennings, currently tied at one match apiece. If Brad Rutter wins in the end, it will be one of the most remarkable comebacks in sports history. (Yes, Jeopardy! is a sport, donât @ me.)
That the competition has been fierce is actually somewhat of a surprise. Coming into the tournament, Holzhauer was a huge favorite to win.
đ¨HOT ART ALERTđ¨: Try to find one detail to focus on. I can't. There's too much going on here.
Gov. Cuomo has designed this poster as a visual representation of where he sees New York in 2020 â both the accomplishments and the symbolic stormy sea. He's been giving it to people at the Capitol. https://t.co/4emgjy79uJ pic.twitter.com/YXAunNQepj
â Nick Reisman (@NickReisman) January 9, 2020
The attack ads against Mitch McConnell are ramping up: McConnell is up for re-election this year and many Democrats are running against him. Democrat Amy McGrath appears to be in the lead. A Super PAC set up against McConnell released this ad on multiple platforms today: