Lex Vaughn
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lex.vaughn.theneedling.com
Lex Vaughn
@lex.vaughn.theneedling.com
1.7K followers 1.4K following 1.5K posts
Founder & Editor of @theneedling.com, Seattle's Only Real Fake News. Pulitzer Prize-winning real real news reporter.

A lil more about me: https://tinyurl.com/awveap8v
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by Lex Vaughn
colinokeefe.bsky.social
The AI art for a logo on the Orca Appeal website (www.orcaappeal.org) really ties the whole sham together.

Shame on you @orcaconservancy.bsky.social for taking part in this.
January 29, 2026 at 12:17 AM
Reposted by Lex Vaughn
lex.vaughn.theneedling.com
All the late night shows featured this Newsmax clip last night because it's hilarious and absolutely insane.
thedailyshow.com The Daily Show @thedailyshow.com · 4h
Some Republicans are speaking out against Trump's ICE operations, but Newsmax is holding strong... and stupid
January 29, 2026 at 12:22 AM
Reposted by Lex Vaughn
pleasebegneiss.bsky.social
no no when we said “good guy with a gun” we didn’t mean a guy with a moral compass. we meant a short guy with a badge and a temper
January 28, 2026 at 10:58 PM
Reposted by Lex Vaughn
pearlmania500.bsky.social
Honest question, are you on meth?
gluesenkampperez.house.gov Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez @gluesenkampperez.house.gov · 6h
Things are terrible, but we need to be strategic right now.
January 29, 2026 at 12:27 AM
Reposted by Lex Vaughn
nora.zone
is this just the twitter thing again
justinbaragona.bsky.social Justin Baragona @justinbaragona.bsky.social · 5h
Below is the buyout offer all CBS Evening News staff received today.

"We hope you are excited about this vision, but we understand that some of you may not be, and we want to provide support. As such, we are offering an extraordinary chance to leave CBS News with an enhanced separation payment."
At yesterday’s All-Hands, Bari charted a course for CBS News that’s very different from the one we’re now on. The Evening News has a new host and a new direction, and there will be more change coming. We hope you are excited about this vision, but we understand that some of you may not be, and we want to provide support. As such, we are offering an extraordinary chance to leave CBS News with an enhanced separation payment. You'll find details below. We are extending a one-time Voluntary Buyout Program (the “Program”) to all eligible CBS Evening News non-union staff employees, as an option for those who decide to pursue a voluntary separation. How to express interest and receive your offer If you are interested in participating, please reply to this mailbox no later than 8:00 p.m. ET on Monday, February 2, stating your expressed interest in receiving an offer. We will provide you with the financial terms of your buyout offer (the “Offer”) to consider by 8:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, February 4. How to accept (opt in) and next steps You will have until 8:00 p.m. ET on Monday, February 9 to opt in and decide to resign your employment. If you opt in, that decision will initiate your separation process from the Company. After you opt in, you will receive a Separation Agreement (which includes a release of claims) for your review and, if you choose, signature. Your last day of work is expected to be shortly thereafter; the specific date will be communicated in your Separation Agreement. This Program is a one-time opportunity. The Offer will represent an enhancement from what you may otherwise be eligible to receive pursuant to the Paramount Severance Plan or your employment agreement, as applicable to you, if your employment were terminated by the Company. Please carefully review the materials once received. You are encouraged to consider this decision carefully and to consult with your legal and financial advisers. If you decide not to participate, no action is required
January 29, 2026 at 1:08 AM
Reposted by Lex Vaughn
washingtonstatestandard.com
The Washington state Senate voted Wednesday to ban law enforcement from covering their faces in response to growing concerns over masked federal immigration agents. washingtonstatestandard.com/2026/01/28/w...
WA Senate passes ban on police face coverings • Washington State Standard
The Washington state Senate voted Wednesday to ban law enforcement from covering their faces amid concerns over masked immigration agents.
washingtonstatestandard.com
January 29, 2026 at 12:11 AM
Reposted by Lex Vaughn
raesdeng.bsky.social
absolutely horrendous that in our current online environment false claims like this one about alex pretti — the result of ai-generated slop on a half-formed wordpress blog — can spread so quickly. for @snopes.com:
www.snopes.com/fact-check/a...
Was Alex Pretti fired from nursing job for misconduct? Here's the truth
After Pretti was fatally shot by U.S. Border Patrol agents, his family and friends said he became the target of a smear campaign.
www.snopes.com
January 29, 2026 at 12:36 AM
Reposted by Lex Vaughn
sarahannelloyd.com
The bar for ethical employment has lowered so much. I remember people having quibbles back when I was supporting myself writing celebrity clickbait and now it's just like "hm can I stomach doing anything for the plagiarism machine because I definitely don't want the shoot people in the head job"
January 29, 2026 at 1:02 AM
Reposted by Lex Vaughn
qagggy.bsky.social
Threatens to revoke the Elie Wiesel Foundation's tax-exempt status unless they hand over the late Mr. Wiesel's Peace Prize.
theneedling.com The Needling @theneedling.com · 21h
Trump Demands to Be Considered a Holocaust Survivor: tinyurl.com/3vyjrxy4
President Donald Trump with pouting face sitting in gilded White House room.
January 28, 2026 at 7:09 AM
Reposted by Lex Vaughn
greenevillezoo.bsky.social
Of course, ostriches don't really bury their heads in the sand. That's our OSHA officer
January 28, 2026 at 4:42 PM
Reposted by Lex Vaughn
hwoodtimes.com
Call for Submissions for February are out now.

In a world where not a lot of people get paid to write comedy, you could get paid a little bit to write comedy!

www.patreon.com/posts/call-f...
Call for Submissions - February 2026 | The Hollywood Time$
Get more from The Hollywood Time$ on Patreon
www.patreon.com
January 28, 2026 at 5:38 PM
Reposted by Lex Vaughn
nytpitchbot.bsky.social
He should have interviewed his dad.
bgrueskin.bsky.social Bill Grueskin @bgrueskin.bsky.social · 12h
Tuesday morning:
New CBS boss promises “huge emphasis on scoops.”

Tuesday evening:
CBS Evening News anchor interviews his mom.

www.yahoo.com/entertainmen...
‘CBS Evening News’: Tony Dokoupil Under Fire for Interviewing His Own Mom
Viewers accuse CBS News of 'dumbing down.'
www.yahoo.com
January 28, 2026 at 5:38 PM
Reposted by Lex Vaughn
thehardtimesnews.bsky.social
Kristi Noem Instructs Gun-Shy ICE Officers to Picture Protester as Cute Puppy
thehardtimes.net/news/kristi-...
Kristi Noem Instructs Gun-Shy ICE Officers to Picture Protester as Cute Puppy
WASHINGTON — Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem hoped to help ICE officers become more reckless by instructing them to picture protesters, legal observers, and bystanders in general as cute…
thehardtimes.net
January 28, 2026 at 8:00 PM
lex.vaughn.theneedling.com
All the late night shows featured this Newsmax clip last night because it's hilarious and absolutely insane.
thedailyshow.com The Daily Show @thedailyshow.com · 4h
Some Republicans are speaking out against Trump's ICE operations, but Newsmax is holding strong... and stupid
January 29, 2026 at 12:22 AM
Reposted by Lex Vaughn
greenevillezoo.bsky.social
ZOO ADVISORY: David Attenborough is loose in the zoo, narrating exhibits at random. Please enjoy his soothing voice as we work to get him back into his enclosure.
January 28, 2026 at 11:45 PM
Reposted by Lex Vaughn
hannahkrieg.bsky.social
For Harrell haters out there: What's positive about this interview is that it is the exact kind of shit you say when you intend to never run for public office again
January 28, 2026 at 9:07 PM
Reposted by Lex Vaughn
vikinggod.bsky.social
In addition, Trump demands that the Diary of Anne Frank be changed to:

The Diary of Donald Trump and Anne Frank.
theneedling.com The Needling @theneedling.com · 21h
Trump Demands to Be Considered a Holocaust Survivor: tinyurl.com/3vyjrxy4
President Donald Trump with pouting face sitting in gilded White House room.
January 28, 2026 at 5:42 AM
Reposted by Lex Vaughn
ohmonkey.bsky.social
Wait - Is @lex.vaughn.theneedling.com writing for the Seattle Times now?

That's what I thought at first...
January 28, 2026 at 6:36 PM
Reposted by Lex Vaughn
theneedling.com
“He’s already stopped playing with his Nobel Peace Prize and said he won’t stop crying until the Anti-Defamation League and Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu tell the world that no one survived the Holocaust better than Donald Trump.”
theneedling.com The Needling @theneedling.com · 21h
Trump Demands to Be Considered a Holocaust Survivor: tinyurl.com/3vyjrxy4
President Donald Trump with pouting face sitting in gilded White House room.
January 28, 2026 at 6:41 AM
Reposted by Lex Vaughn
theneedling.com
Trump Demands to Be Considered a Holocaust Survivor: tinyurl.com/3vyjrxy4
President Donald Trump with pouting face sitting in gilded White House room.
January 28, 2026 at 5:34 AM
Reposted by Lex Vaughn
nytpitchbot.bsky.social
More Homan Than Homan

As Trump's army of white zombies robs Minnesotans of life and liberty, he's sending Hellbilly Deluxe Greg Bovino packing and bringing in the B-Team led by Tom Homan. He wouldn't be my choice, but hey, it's better than Astro Creep Elon.

by Maureen Dowd
January 28, 2026 at 4:00 AM
Reposted by Lex Vaughn
kendallrjones.bsky.social
I was born in Moses Lake and lived there the first 26 years of my life and it was hard to leave because it was my home for so long…but this made me chuckle.
theneedling.com The Needling @theneedling.com · 4d
‘I Would Never Live in That Hellhole City,’ Says Man Already Living in Moses Lake: tinyurl.com/3ybb7ztv
Man with gray goatee in red shirt and overalls with crossed arms in front of bland Moses Lake landscape
January 27, 2026 at 7:09 AM
Reposted by Lex Vaughn
acluwa.bsky.social
As @oavotes.bsky.social shares in their testimony in support of the Driver Privacy Act (House Bill 2332), Washington should join the growing list of states that are passing common-sense regulations for automated license plate readers (ALPRs). Our safety depends on it.
January 28, 2026 at 1:24 AM
Reposted by Lex Vaughn
typewriteralley.bsky.social
All this over 90 units.
thebethocracy.bsky.social Beth Day @thebethocracy.bsky.social · 1d
Wow Bainbridge Island is having a REAL ONE over on Facebook: www.facebook.com/share/p/1HSw...
WE ANNEXED TO PROTECT BAINBRIDGE. COUNCIL AND CITY HALL NEED TO FOLLOW OUR GUIDING PRINCIPLES. Bainbridge is worth fighting for. We didn’t become a city to be governed by a closed circle. Thirty-five years ago, Bainbridge didn’t become a city because people wanted more government. We became a city because people wanted local control, the ability to guide the Island’s destiny. The Kitsap Sun’s article on the annexation tells the origin story: islanders were staring down the prospect of massive development and thinking traffic, pavement, suburban sprawl, and wells running dry. People saw what was coming, and they organized. Most Islanders value and love Bainbridge for its character and charm, a largely rural island, our forests, and a culture that protects it, with the shared understanding that we’re stewards, not just residents. Many of us aren’t native to Bainbridge. We chose it for exactly those reasons. No big-box corridors. No endless subdivisions. No density-for-density’s-sake. And that’s not an accident. So how did we end up here? Thirty-five years after the annexation fight that led to Bainbridge becoming a city, how did we end up here? We’re watching leadership operate with almost no transparency or accountability, with one consistent exception: Kirsten Hytopoulos. What’s evolved is the opposite of open government. Fewer meaningful ways for residents to weigh in. Experts sidelined when their input complicates a preferred outcome. Citizen groups weakened or dismantled. When committees designed to protect core Island priorities get muted, the public loses its early-warning system. And boy did we. Citizen voices and expert input have been sidelined. ETAC was built to give the City scientific and technical expertise from qualified local residents, the kind of expertise most towns would treasure. Instead, ETAC was sidelined through canceled meetings and institutional silence. During the Council discussion of the draft Groundwater Management Plan in September 2024, ETAC members testified that they had “not seen [the plan] in two years.” One ETAC hydrogeologist warned the plan appeared shaped to fit growth goals, and another argued the city’s water-use model was flawed. And let’s name names. In a published letter titled “Councilmembers shady,” ETAC member Charlie Kratzer alleges that Councilmember Clarence Moriwaki worked with Joe Deets behind the scenes to dismantle ETAC, then to “ignore ETAC… and hope it would fade away.” And for anyone who’s been paying attention, this doesn’t feel like a one-off. It feels like a pattern of how Clarence does things — quietly, behind the scenes. Then came the Historic Preservation Commission. By early 2024, relations had deteriorated so badly that commissioners raised concerns the City was “no longer adhering to city code” on historic preservation and that their role was being quietly diminished. They resigned en masse. And several years earlier, four of five members of Bainbridge’s Ethics Board resigned in protest, saying Council revisions “stifles citizen complaints” and reduced the board to an “administrative gatekeeper.” They also warned a sunset provision could let Council end the program quietly simply by doing nothing. Now layer in the LIHI deal I’m not going to unpack the full record on consultant Tory Laughlin Taylor here, that’s coming. But Bainbridge hired a consultant to protect the public interest, and what we got looks like the opposite: an agreement that shields LIHI and exposes the City. So will we let them outsource Bainbridge’s future to LIHI? LIHI isn’t a community partner. It’s a Seattle-based, multi-million-dollar real estate developer, with a long, well-documented history of broken promises, unsafe conditions, and financial mismanagement across Washington State. Their projects have been plagued by crime, safety failures, and poor maintenance. Bainbridge can and should support affor… This is what our Guiding Principles were written to prevent BAINBRIDGE ISLAND’S GUIDING PRINCIPLES 1. KEEP BAINBRIDGE… BAINBRIDGE Winslow stays small-town. Buildings fit the place. Nature, views, farms, and winding roads aren’t decoration, they’re the point. 2. PROTECT OUR WATER We drink from one aquifer. No backup. No second island. No do-overs. 3. HELP PEOPLE WITHOUT OVERRUNNING THE ISLAND We can care about people and respect limits. 4. THINK ABOUT REAL COSTS, TO NEIGHBORS Not just construction costs. Traffic. Noise. Safety. Taxes. Services. Quality of life. 5. LAND AND RESOURCES ARE FINITE This island has edges, physically and environmentally. 6. DON’T BORROW FROM OUR KIDS Plan ahead without compromising tomorrow. 7. BOOST CLIMATE RESILIENCE Reduce emissions and strengthen our climate response. 8. ALIGN BUDGETS WITH VALUES Fund policies that reflect our principles. Smaller, thoughtfully designed housing fits Bainbridge. Incremental growth fits our capacity. A single massive structure does neither. The SEPA checklist is a problem When public opposition got loud, City Hall didn’t slow down and listen. It hit the accelerator. On the SEPA checklist, they wrote “NOT APPLICABLE/DOES NOT APPLY” across critical environmental factors, even though the form’s instructions require those answers to be explained and supported. They even used an outdated form. This location makes air impacts unavoidable. The checklist requires disclosure of air emissions from both construction and ongoing operation, with estimates if known. If those questions were answered honestly and completely, it would force the kind of analysis that makes a “no significant impact” conclusion much harder to justify. That’s a serious red flag — and the public deserves answers. The good news: we can still reverse course I’m grateful Kirsten Hytopoulos has consistently defended transparency and accountability. For years, she was usually outnumbered. As of January, we have two new councilmembers, Mike Nelson and Laura Lant. Both campaigned on transparency, accountability, and putting Bainbridge first. Bainbridge finally has a path back to accountable governance. Now the question is simple: will the rest of the council keep disregarding the community? Dawn Janow did something brave in local politics. She put the community’s interests ahead of City Hall’s comfort. She filed a SEPA appeal to make sure the City follows the law and tells the truth about impacts. Watch this hearing if you care about transparency, environmental impacts, and how major decisions are being made on Bainbridge. SEPA APPEAL HEARING (REMOTE, VIEW-ONLY VIA ZOOM) Wed, Jan 28, 2026 @ 9:00 AM Fri, Jan 30, 2026 @ 9:00 AM (if needed) [Then a bunch of truncated links]
January 28, 2026 at 12:20 AM