The first paragraph could use a little tightening! The parties reached an impasse but also a tentative agreement on the same day? Good luck learning kiddos after schools shut down for 18 months? Ouch, public school is hard enough without the media dropping the ball on effective reporting.

@1 Yes. Last night the Seattle Times reported that it was looking "increasingly likely" that school would be delayed due to the district's failure to find an agreement with the custodians et al, and the teachers' union and others would have stood in solidarity, delaying school. Then, a few hours later, the two sides reached a TA.

Thanks Rich!

Correction: The "Proudest Boy" was Mr. Stand Back and Stand By. His sentencing awaits.

Since Rich brought up Jake Sullivan, everybody should pay attention of the new Saudi-Israeli “normalization” proposal that he and the Biden admin are pushing. Watch last night’s PBS News Hour for a good summary. In short, the U.S. is to provide a slew of new advanced weapon systems and financial and technical support for a civil nuclear power program that includes weapons-capable enrichment in exchange for Saudi Arabia and Israel to start up diplomatic relations. Part of the deal would include yet-to-be-specified Israeli concessions to abate Palestinian apartheid and occupation, but not a Palestine state. Backstabbing the Palestinians while strengthening ties with a murderous monarchy and creating another mid-East nuclear state…what could go wrong?

"If only Democrats had an ounce of this gall"

New York State Democrats would like a word, Rich. Democrats might've held onto a trifecta in 2023 if this guy hadn't screwed the pooch: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/28/nyregion/jonathan-cervas-redistricting-maps-ny.html

"All of this power play for only ONE seat in the House of Representatives, perhaps the least consequential position in politics"

It's the difference between being able to enact legislation and not being able to enact legislation in 2025. I think that's a pretty big fucking deal.

why is TS always downplaying violent elderly woman crime in Tacoma?

Rich: "Boy, the 'right-wing Seattle Times and KUOW' didn't check their facts well before reporting on Diaz."

Also Rich: "I'm sure without any evidence other than my gut it's people wanting more copaganda and punitive policies who made up that rumor."

Sad trombone.

Never change America, acting like you have a right to be the arbiter of who gets to sell weapons to whom. Oh! MBS is calling! Must be time to order more bonesaws.

I've probably been to at least 20 women's apartments where there was no intention of having sex, so it sounds like some incel "proud boy" (gelding unaware they are a gelding) in SPOG got his feels hurt from some insane fantasy he had about the alleged woman in this.

Stop being so gullible.

“... no concrete evidence of the affair, which, to be fair, would be a tough thing to do.”

First thing, I always enjoy your stuff, Rich. Thank you. Second, might you mean evidence would be hard to acquire or get, not do? Third, oh, I know about three people who’d be able to find out everything by the end of the week if the parties aren’t alerted to the investigation (psssst…there aren’t any secrets anymore).

Flexible ethics and morality are going to be the death of us all. Isn’t there no one left we can count on to be trustworthy and upfront?

When that woman representing Charlotte, NC (a democratic district) ran as a pro-choice, progressive Democrat and won and then changed her party affiliation about 15 minutes after taking oath and voted for the abortion ban in that state a few days later, then I knew for certain Republicans will stop at nothing…nothing – including misrepresentation. You couldn’t have done more damage to our democratic ideals if you were Joan Crawford and democracy was a rose bush. Tina! Hand me that axe! I guess we can expect more of that in red and purple states.

Kim Jung Un is really chubby again. He was slimming down for a while. Some thought he was ill. Others thought he had surgery. I can’t help but think those 15 people in DPRK who have overweight issues still use tapeworms for reduction as they did here in the early 20th Century. Google Scolex. It was rumored that Maria Callas slimmed down with the help of a tapeworm. Wildly disgusting. Anyway, he’s going to Moscow as he did in 2019 on an armored train and like the advance team did last week. No planes for Kim! So odd. That’s a long-assed train ride, too. What? Like 10 time zones? He and Putin will be up to plenty no good, rest assured. Putin’s wanting to buy back some of that old Soviet-era weaponry in exchange for helping Kim build a better bomb and missile to carry it. If North Korea had a cheeseburger and milkshake franchise chain, Kim would be a wonderful brand mascot. Smiling. Winking. Chomping. And those chubby, chubby, rosy cheeks.

Yeah, Buffet. Rare and aggressive skin cancer. “Come Monday” is my favorite. Not a big fan of his gimmick stuff. We won’t have to worry about his family’s financial situation. Man. Oodles and oodles. His great-great-great grandchildren will be in Bentleys and pulling up to another car asking, “Pardon me. Have you any Grey Poupon?” They’re gonna try to keep his businesses running without him, but I don’t know.

correction: IS there no one....

11: There are several UN resolutions that make it just more than “America” saying NK shouldn’t be exporting weapons.

Jimmy Buffet was also the chairman of the Save the Manatee Club, so kudos for that.

@4 DOUG for the WIN!!

@14 are you comparing Saudi Arabia’s weapons needs to Ukraine’s need to fight off an invading force? I know you like to play the contrarian, but good lord, listen to that internal governor once in a while (sometimes an asshole isn’t clever - they’re just an asshole).

Wake me when the Proudest Boy, a.k.a., the Orange Turd, gets 22 years to Life in the federal pigpen, then gets cornholed in Hell for Eternity by all his alleged "beautiful people" who ended up in prison for violently storming the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, all because their idol, Babyface Donnie said so.
Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un are laughing their asses off, building bombs. Jesus wept.

@1 Totoman, @2 Rich Smith, and @3 pat L: I can't imagine being a parent of public school aged children between the ages of 5 and 18 anymore.

@2 Rich Smith: Agreed with @3 pat L. Thank you for another well written article.

@2, thanks for clarifying! Really do appreciate any airtime media gives to the beleaguered public school system.

Jimmy Buffett was never my bag either, but he had his moments:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGZOA4J3V5A

Rich Smith, in a stunning show of hypocrisy and/or a profound lack of insight, chastises KUOW's reporting on a possible scandal involving SPD Chief Diaz: "As journalists, we have a duty to substantiate or disprove these sorts of explosive rumors to the best of our abilities."

Smith forgets that this "duty to substantiate or disprove" requires first reporting on scandals, something Smith and The Stranger have assiduously avoided since 2017 when it comes to the substantiated scandals that have rocked Seattle's police accountability system, as documented by Carolyn Bick (see https://hjgale.tumblr.com/post/668337923167485952/articles-by-carolyn-bick-on-the-failures-of), KUOW (e.g., https://kuow.org/stories/seattle-s-top-police-watchdog-wants-a-job-in-phoenix-two-former-city-employees-aim-to-thwart-him), & myself (https://hjgale.tumblr.com/home).

How can one "substantiate or disprove" when one ignores? Which is worse when it comes to journalists' most important duty of holding those in power to account?

The Stranger editorial policy for 6+ yrs. has been to blame the animals in the zoo but never the zoo keepers.

Also, for Smith or The Stranger to critique KUOW's coverage when they thrive on scandal, innuendo, and click-bait is next level hypocrisy.