Friday Stuff

Brian Tyler Cohen brings us the sickening story of sycophants of Dear Orange Leader sucking up to him all over the place...they’ve obviously learned the lesson that kissing Mango Mussolini’s oversized butt will likely get them whatever they want...and yeah, you guessed it; here comes the “A lot of people” lying tell again...it is indeed pathetic to see people who, chronologically, are adults massaging the fee-fees of Cheetoh Hitler (NSFW/H)...



...and Chris Hayes comments on the D.C. national guard personnel on trash patrol with no crimes to fight...insulting and worse to tell people trained to put themselves in harm’s way for our country to act like employees at a McDonald’s (“lethality, lethality, warrior ethos...mulch” indeed)...good point by Hayes that this is part of Combover Caligula’s effort to normalize military patrolling U.S. streets, which should NEVER be normal (if Stanley Kubrick were still with us, he would likely make a movie out of this, but the problem is that it would be a documentary)...



...and David Shuster tells us about ICE profiling and pretty much illegally detaining a guy named Paul Bryant, who is a former U.S. Army infantry officer and an attorney – rut-row...we also learn about Torez Riley, who was stopped for a search that was ruled illegal by Judge Zia M. Faruqui (sounds like the Trump minions should try acquainting themselves with the notion of probable cause, though I’m sure it wouldn’t do much good sadly...and I know I already included the clip of the ICE vehicle in LA getting towed)...



...and Ben Meiselas of the Meidas Touch Network brings us some actual good news; don’t look now, but a Dem just defeated a MAGA Repug running for a state senate seat in deep red Iowa – the winner is Catelin Drey over Christopher Prosch, and yeah, this is a district that the Gropenfuhrer carried by 11.5 points last year...and yeah, this breaks the Repug super majority in Iowa’s state senate...and yep, this continues the trend of Dems over performing in special elections...Prosch didn’t come off as particularly terrible in his segment (he was all over the place and sounded like he cared more about a pipeline and nuclear energy than anything else), though Drey came off as someone a lot more in touch with the issues that matter...I didn’t know just how courageous Josh Turek was (seeking the Democratic nom to run for U.S. Senate against Joni Ernst) until I saw this clip...



Update: And speaking of Iowa, how interesting is this?

...and Tennessee Brando tells us about Illinois offering an LBGTQ help line, providing free legal advice for those facing discrimination (here)...about freaking time that somebody did, but credit where it’s due...and yeah, I have to admit that I thought a lot of the battles we fought in the past were won, but more fool me I guess...with the rise of Our Ochre Abomination, it has been made painfully clear to yours truly that this country will FOREVER be looking for someone to tap into the latent racism, misogyny, and anti-immigrant and anti-non CIS (for lack of a better way to put it) bigotry that I guess will ALWAYS exist in this country...slightly NSFW/H...



...and would that more of this country would “turn blue” (especially the suckups in the first clip), as Mr. Newberger shows us...



...and this is kind of a late entry when it comes to my seasonal selections, but I didn't want to pass it up...



...and it seems like another summer has basically slipped by (sad face), though we should still have a little while left when it comes to enjoying the sun and the outdoors generally...for anyone keeping score at home, you know I include this tune as we head into Labor Day weekend, so here it is again.

Thursday Stuff

I should warn you that Francis Maxwell really goes off in this highly NSFW (but appropriate) commentary on the recent shooting in Minnesota, and he’s about 150 percent correct; he feels the way I did after Sandy Hook, and one of my most vivid memories from that awful carnage was Obama trying not to break down during the SOTU shortly afterwards, while that death eater Sen. Mr. Elaine Chao smirked over denying another “victory” to #44 and scowled when that was pointed out to the Senate “leader”...so much that we need to do in response that I and many, many other people have already mentioned, and Maxwell does that also here...



Update: And along comes "Bobby Brainworms" with his take right out of Gonzo land (here).

...and this clip from The Majority Report features Emma V. discussing Yambo killing a wind farm project to power 350K homes in Rhode Island...and the fact that the project is about 80 percent complete is the cherry on the icing of this sh*t sundae as far as yours truly is concerned (and I share Matt Lech’s comment about this being a “layup” for the Dems, but I have a feeling they’ll “put up a brick” anyway, to overwork the basketball metaphor...love to be wrong)...to be fair, I need to temper my indignation here by recalling Ted Kennedy’s opposition to Cape Wind off Martha’s Vineyard for his own reasons also; yes, wind projects have their own environmental impact, but it’s waay worse for other forms of energy...that being said, Lee Zeldin’s claim that windmill imports could be a national security threat is particularly ridiculous even for this regime of frauds and lowlifes...glad Emma mentions projects started from Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act and how we’re behind on power, particularly given these AI data centers that are springing up, with one of these places consuming enough energy for 100K households according to the Guardian (Emma really connects the dots form about 6:10 to 6:18)...good point about wind turbines working in adverse weather conditions, such as those in Texas where all of those people froze to death...after watching this clip, I think “pipeline” should be Zeldin’s middle name...interesting chip-related discussion at the end about how behind Intel is versus NVIDIA (NSFW/H also)...



...and sticking with environmental matters, this segment from More Perfect Union tells us about national park rangers and other park workers trying to unionize...I honestly don’t expect the cretins in charge of our government to have the remotest clue as to what workers in our national parks do or what they have to manage or how they care for a legacy that we need to hand down to future generations (not excusing the negligence of our “leaders”), but at least this clip gives us a hint as to what the people doing this noble work are going through under the ruinous reign of Bronzer Beelzebub and his minions...



...and Jesse Dollemore brings us the story of Missouri farmer Fred Higginbotham going off at his U.S. House Rep Mark Alford over Cantaloupe Capone...as Jesse says, this is EXACTLY the energy that EVERY SINGLE GODDAMN DEMOCRAT should be putting out there (and by the way, Jesse, you be you...BTC and Pakman are great, but you’re doing fine as far as I’m concerned)...



...and The Good Liars present more interviews with folks discussing flag desecration, with those people interviewed showing a rather astonishing lack of self-awareness; part of this makes me laugh, part of this makes me cringe, part of me makes me shake my head and walk away...



...and happy upcoming 80th birthday to Chris Copping of Procol Harum.

Wednesday Stuff

Sharon Reed of Rebel HQ gives us Navy vet Chris Farrell responding to Baby Goebbels who says that D.C. is less safe than Baghdad...the video also includes Mary Trump responding about Stephen Miller (and oh yeah, along comes Clay Travis, Gutfeld and this Rob Schmitt character to spread more lies about crime in “blue” cities...I would say that the reality perspective on this issue is here)...



...and Mike Figueredo of The Humanist Report brings us this segment of Ali Velshi basically saying that we have dictatorial rule right now, aided by utterly supine congressional Republicans, ineffectual Democrats, the thoroughly compromised High Court of Hangin’ Judge JR, and a gaggle of media lapdogs...Velshi carefully explains all the ways that Democratic norms in this country have been toppled (I think Velshi is generally a straight shooter, to his credit)...I knew there were protests in LA fortunately, but I didn’t know how continuous they were...and oh yeah, Cheetoh Hitler signed that EO of his criminalizing flag desecration; IMO, burning the flag is a stupid and insulting act, but it is protected free speech...I have to admit that it’s difficult to listen to Our Treasonous Orange Pestilence given what a stupendous liar he is...and no, this won’t make me a fan of John Bolton or Governor Bully also...and of course, leave it to our gang of unindicted criminals to continue abusing Kilmar Abrego Garcia...and I knew about Mango Mussolini going after CHOP to get the records of trans kids, typically despicable as that is; glad Figueredo is pointing that out...didn’t know the term “competitive authoritarianism” either until now (NSFW/H)...



...and the following is a PBS Newshour report on Russian propaganda being well received by fundie “Christian” nut jobs in this country, in particular Marjorie Train Wreck Greene and The Swanson TV Dinner Heir (and oh yeah, that nut case Alex Jones also)...and yeah, I know about Glenn Greenwald, a supposed lefty who is nothing but a “tankie”...and I’d never heard of this Robert Amsterdam lying nut until now (and it figures that Vlad The Butcher is shutting down “non Orthodox” churches in Russia, showing how utterly clueless the fundie nut jobs in this country are about the guy in charge of Russia supposedly being so devout)...make no mistake; these “fellow travelers” within our shores have played an outsized role in landing us in the autocratic mess in which we’re currently stuck...



...and speaking of authoritarianism, apparently Bronzer Beelzebub has created a spreadsheet showing how supposedly loyal companies are to him, and yeah, this indeed is straight out of the playbook of Vlad The Butcher...#47 is absolutely the most easily manipulated human being perhaps in the history of creation (Farron Cousins and Caleb Cunningham of America’s Lawyer tell us about it)...



...and Thom Hartmann suggests that maybe the only way around fascism is universal health care (Medicare for All to be exact)...and Thom is right about Taft-Hartley getting passed under Republican control to basically undo (as much as possible) the Wagner Act that established collective bargaining, passed during the Great Depression...and yes, health care should be a right and not a privilege...didn’t know that President Lincoln created 74 land grant colleges – important history...and if Dean Baker is making the Medicare for All argument, then you know he’s doing that with sound economic footing...and I’m pretty sure Thom means that there was legislation passed in 2021 to increase ACA subsidies, with that legislation due to expire at the end of this year...didn’t know also that Taiwan was so progressive when it came to providing health care for their citizens (speaking only for myself, I know someone who left this country in search of better health care and apparently found it)...



...and SRV left us 35 years ago today.

Tuesday Stuff

This video from More Perfect Union tells us What Rail Corps Don’t Want You To Know About A New Safety Request...looks like CSX and some of these other outfits want to go to “automated rail inspections” from 2x a week to 2x a month, using some “track geometry” technology that wasn’t intended to replace human track inspections...and oh yeah, let’s not forget that Couch Boy did indeed help lobbyists push back against Vance’s own rail safety bill that was created after the East Palestine rail disaster (here)...more on David Fink (#47’s nominee to head the Federal Railroad Administration) is here...



...and Tennessee Brando informs us that Ryan Walters (who apparently puts the “O” face in Oklahoma...here) now wants teachers to pass “loyalty” tests, that is, if they’re coming from those allegedly nasty blue states such as NY and CA in an effort to combat...OK, everybody now...”woke ideology” (and don’t ask Walters or any of his fellow troglodytes to try and explain what that means) – and yeah, I’m sure teachers from CA, NY, MA, Illinois, NJ, etc. will just be lining up to teach kids in that red state now (oh please)...and once again, I feel the need to point out that we now have a *preznit who doesn’t have a clue as what constitutes a Bible passage (hell, he didn’t even know how to correctly hold one for display), when, on the other hand, we pretty much just drove out of office a Catholic who regularly attended services (NSFW/H)...



...and Jesse Dollemore brings us the tale of the D.C. judge who released the kids charged in the attack on “Big Balls”...as Jesse says, monitoring these two 15-year-olds to get them to not try anything like this again is the common sense approach...it always gets me that the wingnuts oppose anything short of confinement, even though it’s actually cheaper to do stuff like this judge did (costs more to lock them up) – you’d think the cost savings argument would appeal to conservatives, but it never does on this stuff – punishment of the “other” ALWAYS comes first...



...and it looks like “Disappointed” Susan Collins in Maine has at least one Dem declaring to run for the nomination in next year’s election for her seat, and that would be Graham Platner...yeah, I’m partial to team “D” of course, but on top of that, I’m genuinely impressed by what Platner brings to the table here...



...and I thought the apropos lyrics in this upbeat number were totally deserved, especially in light of this...



...and I don’t know exactly what’s going on with the hobby horses here, but I like this newer tune, so here it is.

Monday Stuff

Chris Hayes discusses CA governor Gavin Newsom doing a pretty expert job of trolling Cantaloupe Capone...I can’t think of a word (ironic may be it) to describe how apt the advice from Dana Perino of Fix Noise is CONSIDERING THAT IT SHOULD BE AIMED DIRECTLY AT #47 INSTEAD!...



...and Emma V. and the crew from The Majority Report tell us that DHS Secretary Kristi (“Unsafe At Any Speed”) Noem recently went to the southwest border to paint the wall, thinking that will be a deterrent to immigrants...”Build Black Better” – good one...I personally subscribe to the theory in the clip that Sherwin-Williams gave a massive campaign donation...the Majority Report clips often aren’t bad, but as far as I’m concerned, they go on for way too long with barely any production values and include a lot of extraneous remarks...and I realize the tune by the Rolling Sones would be too easy of a selection here (NSFW/H)...



...and in what I would call a bit of a related item, it appears that Transportation Secretary and former Fix Noise personality (and I know that covers a lot of people in this gaggle of idiots and charlatans) Sean Duffy ordered the rainbow crosswalk in Orlando near the Pulse nightclub (where, at the time, the worst mass shooting in U.S. history took place) to be painted over (a very happy update is here)...



...and Leeja Miller discusses the very real possibility that the High Court of Hangin’ Judge JR could take up a case next term that could gut Obergefell, with nutball Kim Davis right in the middle of this mess (Miller gives probably the best takedown of Davis that I’ve ever seen, and it most definitely is deserved)...typically good explanation of how the concepts of “liberty” and “privacy” have gone together in court rulings, basically saying you can’t have one without the other...and yeah, I think the whole “this should be handled by the states” argument is BS, particularly because of the sordid history of states persecuting same-sex couples with their own pernicious laws...of course, our SCOTUS has no problem taking a metaphorical wrecking ball to rulings that assumed the right to privacy that are mentioned in this clip...didn’t know there were 800K same-sex couples in the U.S. – gives you an idea of the impact if the Supremes try to do anything to Obergefell (and I know Miller knows the law on this, but as far as I’m concerned, going after Obergefell would most definitely impact current same sex marriages)...interesting discussion of rights v. burdens also...and yeah, isn’t it just peachy to read the dissent at about 18:00 from Almost Silent Clarence Thomas that pretty much cheers on Davis’s bigoted antics...”everything is on the table with this conservative supermajority” on the SCOTUS indeed...(NSFW/H also)..



...and I realize that, when you’re talking about humor, sometimes you have to dance a bit on the razor’s edge, you might say, and I think Mr. Newberger does that here concerning the Cracker Barrel logo thing...



...and temps in this area should be pretty seasonal with nice weather, but the heat can still get to you if you’re not careful, so please take any precautions (especially if you’re in Flori-DUUH! or “the land of the yellow rose”).