Tuesday Stuff

Farron Cousins lets us know that Hangin’ Judge JR was whining recently that folks are complaining that the SCOTUS is too politically biased or whatever...hey, time for you to own that, pal (and I would say that that’s a fairly comprehensive list of rulings from this wretched SCOTUS that Rolling Stone has assembled that have ensconced power for the one percent and corporations while sticking everyone else in the metaphorical neck, and that’s only for the last few years...very slightly NSFW/H at the end)...



...and Rachel Maddow lets us know about some Trumpist nut beating on a door where Nancy Pelosi supposedly was at Coral Gables in a 2018 protest who is our new ambassador to Panama (not familiar with this incident I’ll admit), and Maddow does so against the backdrop of the possibility that the life forms responsible for 1/6/21 could get pardoned...take a bow, all of you numbskulls who enabled this by wasting your vote last year...I realize Maddow has to calmly and logically look at the fact that one of our political parties commendably wants to continue playing by the rules of governance that have been in place for roughly 250 years and the other major political party wants to drive our democracy right off a cliff, as it were, but to be fair, she spent months up to now warning us that we were at a “break the glass” moment...and leave it to the Murdoch Street Journal to try and soft-sell the threat imposed by Mango Mussolini...the only options I can think of besides trying to endure all of this as best we can are those that I don’t want to speculate about in this space (and no, I don’t mean violence in opposition)...



...and the latest from More Perfect Union brings us the sorry tale of corporations trying to buy influence with #47 and King Elon I through Xitter, which has to be pretty much of a “loss leader” at this point from its collapsing revenue, though our corporate bottom feeders know that and pretty much don’t care if it frees them from experiencing one of Bronzer Beelzebub’s legendary hissy fits (NSFW/H also)...



...and Kyle Kulinski informs us of China pretty much kicking our butt on high-speed rail as well as infrastructure overall...and yeah, I’ll admit that China’s approach is to do everything perfectly or people end up disappearing if they don’t, which is terrible in its own right of course, but you can’t argue with their results vs. ours unfortunately...and I agree with Kyle on the insidious influence of neoliberalism and the heavy hand of private equity in this country (NSFW/H as well)...



...and Brittany Page lets us know about Cenk Uygur and Ana Kasparian tripping over the metaphorical rake when it comes to the “housing first” model to fight homelessness, with Ana merely misunderstanding the concept but Cenk claiming that getting rid of “housing first” ended up cutting down on homelessness of our veterans, which is flat out wrong (highest numbers of homeless ever recorded according to the most recent HUD report, tragically, among vets and everyone else, and again, don’t expect that to get any better with this incoming regime of grifters and frauds)...I’ve tried to avoid commentary on the rightward turn of the TYT hosts because I think there’s more important stuff out there, but sometimes that situation is impossible to avoid...



...and I now give you today's regional weather forecast.

Monday Stuff

John Iadarola and Abelina Sabrina of The Damage Report inform us that the bloody purge against any actual undocumented immigrant or someone viewed to be such from Our Ochre Abomination seems just hunky dory for about a quarter of this country, including 46 percent of Republicans among those polled...sure, let’s just pleasantly stroll right into fascism...God almighty...



...and Jesse Dollemore brings us the tale of a South Dakota dairy farmer hoping he doesn’t get screwed over by Mango Mussolini, assuming that #45/47 and “Unsafe At Any Speed” Kristi Noem won’t do their level best to put him out of business...yeah, him hedging in response to the reporter’s questions isn’t a good sign right off the bat, people; why indeed would someone go along with this? I guess he was brought up to believe that that the “D” party is the “mommy” party and the “R” party is the “daddy” party...more fool him (mildly NSFW/H)...



...and David Pakman tells us that 47 is approaching a “fork in the road” when it comes to his promised economic policies and their real-world impact (i.e., tariffs, roundup of immigrants, etc.)...and I have no sympathy whatsoever for low-income residents of our beloved commonwealth of PA who didn’t bother to educate themselves on what Combover Caligula was proposing and cast their ballot for him anyway...another terrific discussion from Pakman about the importance of immigration to sustaining and growing our economy; again, this version of Not Your Father’s Republican Party, based on their idiotic notions of “governance,” doesn’t have a clue about this stuff...”the slogans don’t pay the bills” indeed...



...and I know I’m a little late with this, but Mike Figueredo brings us his “Best and Worst” of 2024...and by the way, I think scolding John Fetterman for supporting our “ally” “Bibi” AND telling people not to take pleasure in the execution of Brian Thompson of United Healthcare is entirely consistent...and I wish Figueredo had cited one particular instance of Bill Maher needing to STFU; I think Maher is the correct choice, but that doesn’t mean we should be “painting with a broad brush” either...more reasons to go after Maher are here...and yes, he’s allowed to criticize the alleged leadership of the Democrats, but Maher’s reasons have to do with affecting his privilege and not because of anything remotely close to issues affecting people who constitute his ever-shrinking audience...I think Figueredo is a little too tough on Biden here; yes, Biden should probably have dropped out at the midterms, but he was going to get pilloried regardless of what he did – I don’t agree with Biden on Israel either, but does anyone seriously think that situation won’t get more out of hand after Our Treasonous Orange Pestilence is sworn back in? (NSFW/H)...



...and awww, let’s all break out the tiny violins for Bronzer Beelzebub who haz a sad over flags set at half-staff for former President Jimmy Carter (here)...Texas Paul gives our incoming preznit the response he deserves IMHO...and on that note, I give you more Repug BS here (and I saw that Jim Worthington of the NAC FINALLY set his flag at half-staff a day or so ago)...

Texas Paul with some truth regarding Trump's hissy fit about the flags flying at half mast during his innauguration. 🎯🎯🎯👇 pic.twitter.com/UG86sXNQO1

— Bill Madden (@maddenifico) January 4, 2025

...and happy belated 80th birthday to Stephen Stills.

Saturday Stuff

Before we matter-of-factly decide to certify the re-election of Cantaloupe Capone on Monday, I thought it would be called for to present the latest installment of “This Day In Doomsy History” (more or less) from 1/8/21...I have absolutely nothing else to add to this outstanding commentary from Seth Meyers in response to the insurrection incited by #45/47 except to point out that a majority of people in this country utterly ignored Meyers’s fine words and re-elected not just Bronzer Beelzebub, but Cancun Cruz and “Running Man” Josh Hawley also (still hard to wrap my head around the utter failure of our media, courts and political institutions that enabled this latest travesty)...



...and Chris Hayes responds to more wingnut BS in the wake of the New Orleans terror attack (this Mike Waltz and the inaptly-named Randy Fine screeching about OMIGOD THE “OPEN BORDER” AND SCARY MUSLIMS COMING TO KILL US ALL!!! as the reason for the NOLA attack which doesn’t stand up to, y’know, VERIFIABLE FACTS AND REALITY!!)...the attacker was a U.S. Army vet who rather obviously had problems, and we still need to do more digging into what exactly led to this, assuming we’ll ever find out the exact reason, and it’s quite possible that we never will...



...and David Pakman informs us that the Las Vegas truck bomber (a decorated Green Beret vet) apparently was a Trump supporter, though, as Pakman rightly says, we don’t know all of the motivation behind this act also and it’s possible we'll never find out exactly what happened here as well...and I read King Elon I sh*tposting on Xitter about “oh, this guy messed with the wrong person” more or less meaning Musk, which is a typically ridiculous thing for Elon to say given that 1) The vet driving the truck is dead, and 2) Were the vet still alive and had the chance to go mano-a-mano, the vet would likely break Elon in half...



...and here’s another unsettling item about Life In These united States, you might say; Jesse Dollemore lets us know that the FBI sez it has seized the largest cache of weapons in the history of the FBI in a Virginia home (as Jesse says, this may have slipped under the radar with the NOLA and Las Vegas attacks)...and yes, this Virgina person is also a Trumper, with pretty strongly implied threats of violence against (still for now) President Biden and Vice President Harris...



...and as if we weren’t bummed out enough, Farron Cousins tells us about babies found in dumpsters and drainage ditches (mostly dead) in Texas, which is a completely foreseen consequence of making abortion illegal and cutting funding for adoption services and pre-natal and early childhood development services...I’m sure there are destitute third-world countries that take care of kids better than they do in “the land of the yellow rose”...



...and there are times when I feel like tunes like this are the only response I can provide to all of this madness, so I hope you’ll indulge me for this occasion.

Thursday Stuff

(More on that utterly sick and twisted T-shirt is here, by the way.)

Jesse Dollemore brings us the news of some Trumpist nut job in Grand Junction, Colorado named Patrick Thomas Egan, who followed a journalist (in a cab for 40 miles??!!) and then attacked this person of color, yelling “This is Trump’s America now”...add this life form to the seemingly unending list of gullible saps who’ve been utterly played by Combover Caligula, and let the heavy hand of justice fall on this attacker like the proverbial ton of bricks (mildly NSFW/H)...



...and Thom Hartmann tells us that it looks like Nancy Pelosi put her metaphorical thumb on the scale, as it were, in favor of Gerry Connolly to be the ranking Dem member on the House Oversight Committee over AOC...on the one hand, yeah, the Dem leadership proved to be tone-deaf once more by blowing off someone who could bring younger voters to the party as Thom says, but on the other hand, I think AOC is smart enough such that she would have gone along with the overall Dem House agenda, and I don’t mean that as a slam towards AOC (realpolitik at work, people)...I think Thom means the contest was over who would be the ranking Dem member; the Repugs will still run the committee (maybe Comer again) unfortunately (but don’t look for this committee to do a damn thing with The Big Orange Cheetoh in charge)...didn’t know the median U.S. age was 39 (and the question Thom asks at the very end is one I’ve asked myself a few times lately, I must confess)...



...and don’t look now, but Marjorie Train Wreck Greene recently took to Xitter to prattle on about an alleged $17 mil slush fund to pay off victims of sexual abuse at the hands of GOP politicians that MAGA Mike Johnson knew about, supposedly (gee, did I qualify things enough?)...and wouldn’t it be just way too damn funny if the “R party” did end up screwing up the election certification on 1/6 because they couldn’t elect a U.S. House speaker? And Jeff Van Drew may be the biggest embarrassment New Jersey has to offer, and if that isn’t an insult, I don’t know what is...and by the way, can we please dispense with this “electoral mandate” BS about #45/47? Trump won because the votes were suppressed for Harris/Walz, and there were a lot of different reasons for that...and boy, is Ben Meiselas right about the Dems and their disappearing act...ugh! (NSFW/H)...



...and this video from Katie Nixdorf of More Perfect Union brings us the aftermath of the devastation from Hurricane Helene in North Carolina (Asheville in particular); basically, people’s lives and businesses have been ruined...and yes, FEMA’s focus isn’t on rebuilding (that’s just how that agency was set up, that’s all), but on providing temporary relief, though that can and should include infrastructure repair...focus goes to the effect of climate change at about 6:25, which I think is spot-on (and yeah, make these dirty energy criminals pay for their misdeeds in ignoring the climate crisis...relief info is here)...



...and I’ll be honest; I can pretty much take or leave Nicolle Wallace, but I thought this was a good segment on the intra-MAGA blowup over H-1B visas (Bannon vs. Vivek and President Musk)...normally I could care less about Stuart Stevens, though he’s also OK in this segment, but I have a little more respect for Ruth Ben-Ghiat and Eddie Glaude, both of whom are spot-on also...



...and since powerful people and institutions aren't going to hold you-know-who and his minions to account, it does indeed look like it's up to us (NSFW/H also)...

This woman is 100% spot-fucking-on. 🎯🎯🎯👇 pic.twitter.com/FLe1I16xxE

— Bill Madden (@maddenifico) January 1, 2025

...and Sam, Emma and Matt Lech of The Majority Report present a clip of Fix Noise numbskull Ainsley Earhardt who sez that Trump “fixed autism” (OWWW! TEH STOO-PID!!! IT BURNS US!!!)...and by the way, I’ve eaten overseas also, and yes, in our experience there is a difference in the food, but a lot of that has to do with the GMO garbage that’s allowed in this country versus the rest of the world (coming mainly from Monsanto, which donates to both Repugs and Dems, so good luck trying to regulate that bunch of corporate stooges...and portions in this country are indeed part of the problem also, though the whole issue is more complicated than these “news” mannequins on Rupert’s BS channel would have us believe)...



...and I hope you’re in the mood for an upbeat newer tune to help usher in the new year, because here it is.

Wednesday Stuff

To kick off 2025, I give you this clip of Dem Rhode Island U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse discussing proposed reforms for the High Court of Hangin’ Judge JR (including commentary from Chris Williamson of Rebel HQ)...yep, term limits are one long overdue measure for our Philistines in robes (I would say 10 years and not 18, but that’s just me I guess...new appointment every 2 years is good also, along with raising the number of justices from 9 to 13 for each U.S. circuit court), to say nothing of actual penalties for non-compliance with judicial ethics guidelines...I don’t know much about this Kelly Shackelford person from this “First Liberty” bunch of ideological hacks, but he ought to be clapped into a yardarm for implying that SCOTUS Justice Kagan is “treasonous” (Sharon Reed also provides commentary on how some in our military were allegedly “oppressed” for not being able to express their religious freedom or whatever by not getting vaccinated during the worst public health disaster this country has seen in about 100 years...and oh yeah, there are more “favorite moments” from “Almost Silent” Clarence Thomas also)...



...and David Pakman provides an overview of Why Red States Are Failing (taking a more wholistic approach)...GDP better in blue states, poverty higher in red states, more blue state subsidies in red states, health outcomes including maternal mortality worse in red states, Medicaid expansion denied and systematic underfunding of education in red states, infrastructure investment better in blue states, anti-union policies in red states...lots of important data to factor into the discussion...



...and Mike Figueredo brings us the story of a gay store owner in Lancaster, Ohio who was targeted for a boycott even though he apparently had nothing to do with what was being boycotted...oh yes, here comes more umbrage over drag queens performing at a public event which was subsequently investigated (at taxpayer expense of course), leading to the conclusion that no laws against indecency were broken in any way, and as a result, the aptly-named Brandon Love was targeted by these troglodytes - and that led to increased business at his store and other LGBTQ-friendly businesses that were also targeted (it’s possible that one of these days, it may be found out that an LGBTQ individual is tied to abusing kids for real, but that day hasn’t arrived yet and there is no sign at this moment that it ever will...on the other hand...mildly NSFW/H)...



...and Rachel Maddow provides a brief commentary on the danger posed by the oligarch-ization (for lack of a better way to put it) of this country...

Rachel Maddow, on the grotesque oligarchization of America. 😡😡😡👇 pic.twitter.com/7FlG1a3paF

— Bill Madden (@maddenifico) December 25, 2024

...and speaking of the ruin of the "one percent," Tennessee Brando comments on some billionaire scumwad mocking the poor (in the true MAGA spirit of the season of course) with the Trumpist life forms apparently loving it – what a bunch of saps! – the guilty culprit is some entitled prick named Dan Pena (here)...I think Brando is right about “planting seeds,” and I also think he’s right about never getting credit for dragging people kicking and screaming into the cold light of day, as it were, though I’ll admit that looking for credit for oneself shouldn’t be the top priority (mildly NSFW/H)...



...and as noted here, the location featured on the album cover for “Morrison Hotel” recently burned to the ground, unfortunately, which gives us an excuse for this tune to begin the festivities for '25.