Slog AM: Some in Seattle Felt that Earthquake, Repeal of Washington’s Millionaires Tax Is Polling Poorly, Sen. Amy Klobuchar Saves the Day
Schmitt accused Smith of perjury over an alleged meeting connected to an Atlanta Hawks game.

SOURCE CHECK
TAP FOR WHYThe Stranger is an established local publication with an identifiable author, though this page is a highly opinionated roundup rather than a straight news report. The article provides limited sourcing detail for several claims.
- Source type — Established local outlet; a moderate credibility prior.
- Editorial standards — The commentary style and polemical language make this less comparable to a straight-news report.
- Author attribution — The page identifies Charles Mudede as its author.
- Transparency — Some claims are attributed to other reporting, but the article provides little underlying documentation.
The piece includes specific figures and a concrete account of the hearing, but offers little supporting documentation or source detail and gives no meaningful competing account. Its openly polemical framing limits its value as balanced reporting.
HOW WE SCORE ↗The article is commentary with strongly one-sided assessments and little presentation of opposing arguments or responses. The hearing account and tax-poll item are embedded in a broader polemical roundup.
- Opinion vs reporting — The piece relies heavily on the author’s judgments and rhetorical asides.
- Loaded language — Frequent insulting and emotionally charged phrasing favors the author's viewpoint.
- Counterarguments presented — Opposing views are briefly described but not developed or answered by their proponents.
- Source diversity — Few named sources or perspectives are offered.
The article uses openly left-leaning language, praises socialist approaches and sharply criticizes conservative figures and policies. Its framing and word choice make the political lean pronounced.
- Language tone — Uses insults and emphatic condemnations of conservative figures and ideas.
- Framing — Frames economic and tax questions from an explicitly pro-socialist perspective.
- Source selection — Presents few opposing perspectives or responses to the author’s political critiques.
The roundup reports poor polling for a Washington initiative to repeal the millionaires tax and describes a Senate hearing exchange in which Amy Klobuchar challenged Eric Schmitt’s accusation against Jack Smith. It also covers Seattle, an earthquake and other news.
The article says a statewide poll found 57 percent of voters rejected Initiative 645 when they were told of its projected effects on the state budget, compared with 35 percent who supported it. The author argues that voters should see the fiscal information on the November ballot.
At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Eric Schmitt accused former special counsel Jack Smith of perjury over an alleged Atlanta Hawks game encounter with Fani Willis. The article says Amy Klobuchar’s questioning established that Smith had attended a different game in Maryland, involving the Iowa Hawkeyes. It also describes a welfare-related ad by Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and reports that no damage had been reported from an earthquake near Port Orchard.
Community verdict
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SWIPE →Senator who accused Jack Smith of perjury at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing
Senator who questioned the account of Jack Smith’s attendance at a basketball game
Klobuchar's version of this story ↗Discussion · 0
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