Friday Stuff

Farron Cousins gives us the gory details on the massive bribery scheme that is the whole White House ballroom mess; I guess we kind of knew it was some big pay-to-play grift to benefit Our Tangerine Toddler, but the AMOUNT is staggering...two-thirds of the 24 known donors having received $279 billion in federal contracts as the clip says...I’ve heard that this ridiculous testimony to greed by the one percent should be renamed for Barack Obama (nothing personal against #44 I wish to add), but turning it into a soup kitchen and/or a free clinic is a great idea also...



...and this video from More Perfect Union brings us the sordid tale of Norfolk Southern’s potential merger with Union Pacific, creating yet another monopoly, this time for railroads, rewarding stockholders and private equity and endangering the rest of us of course (and I hope you won’t be shocked to find out that Union Pacific donated to that ridiculous ballroom, to curry regulatory favor on the merger no doubt)...clip tells us about the Staggers Act signed into law by Jimmy Carter that deregulated railroads, which was the first big domino to fall – I supported Carter, but he made a few deregulatory moves like this that ended up hastening the electoral victory of The Sainted Ronnie R in 1980...Wall Street got into the game in the 2010 decade (whatever that’s called), with CSX taken over by some financial outfit called Mantle Ridge, though the report focuses on Union Pacific trying to merge with Norfolk Southern...we learn the Dem Robert Primus of the Surface Transportation Board that would approve the merger was fired by Cantaloupe Capone in favor of another Repug to make a 3-1 “R” majority on the board, making U P and Norfolk Southern merger approval just about inevitable; good for Primus for suing in response here...to contact your U.S. Senator or member of congress to try and halt this merger, click here...



...and echoing the prior two clips a bit, Thom Hartman tells us how billionaires built a welfare system for the rich and we barely got the scraps...looks like our one percent cretins figured out a way to get their grubby hands onto SNAP, TANF and Medicaid (terrific) partly by pushing for work requirements, even though 80 percent of the recipients already work, but those running these companies paying crap wages know their employees will likely qualify for these programs because the workers make so little...I’ll have to look into David Ricardo’s “Iron Law of Wages”...not to rain on anyone’s parade, but yeah, I’d also like to see Dems speaking out about how the three programs I just mentioned are basically subsidies to low-paying employers (though I support the programs of course, I should emphasize)...and by the way, Senate Repugs already killed the filibuster as noted here; as much as I’d like to see the filibuster killed for real, I don’t share Thom’s vision of how the Dems would rally in response to what the Repugs would do (passing all the garbage they could without enough of a Dem majority to fight it...I mean, I wish the “D” team would indeed respond the way Thom says, but Mr. and Mrs. Scar and company on MSNBC would probably say it’s a bad idea and that would likely stop them unfortunately)...



...and I've been meaning to get to this next clip all week, and I just want to make sure I do that now...this segment from the PBS Newshour informs us that 75% of researchers polled think they’ll leave the US b/c of funding cuts, including Terence Tao, called the “Mozart of math” (poll from the journal Nature)...Ph.D. student Daniella Fodera is also profiled; it appears that she may go to Europe to continue her research in uterine fibroids affecting a sizeable female population...Anna Darling is another individual contemplating leaving our shores, along with biochemist Stephen Jones (yeah, let’s just kill the dreams of these devoted, talented individuals just to dole out more stinking tax cuts to the “pay no price, bear no burden” bunch...what a cunning plan!)...and a 30 percent increase in applications out of our country overseas – I can’t blame these individuals (and I realize that conflicts a bit yesterday with what I said about Timothy Snyder – I’m definitely not omniscient, people)...and oh yeah, we also learn that, of the six U.S. Nobel Prize winners, half are immigrants (but let’s drive them all out of here because of “DEI” and the fact that they’re “woke”... tell me when we’ve made America great again, you Trumpist assclowns)...



...and Jordan Klepper of The Daily Show gives us a recap of last Tuesday’s victories...and woo-hoo, THE GEORGIA PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION, BITCHES!!! (and no, I don’t know what they do either)...and I love the guy cussing out Curtis Sliwa (typically New Yaawk, but it would be Philly too if the guy were standing in line at Geno’s)...and yeah, wingnuts; you want out of The Big Apple? Maybe I can contact somebody to set up a shuttle service for you...and I would say that Eric Adams has been “stuck on stoo-pid” for a good while already, as evidenced in that great clip (mildly NSFW/H)...



...and apparently, Warren Zevon will get long-overdue IMO recognition and will be introduced into the Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame tomorrow (under the “musical influencer” category; nice touch to let David Letterman do that as noted here...hopefully Zevon will see that in the great beyond where I’m sure he resides).

Thursday Stuff

Kyle Kulinski tells us that the “crash out” for Combover Caligula has begun...man, what a psycho the Tangerine Toddler truly is, but we knew that of course (I’m not going to add much to what Kyle says here about Mango Mussolini since he pretty much nails everything I would add anyway...and Couch Boy has “the charisma of a dirty diaper” indeed)...I would only take issue with Kyle’s comment that we bombed Iran, though Israel acting as our proxy did that for sure, so I see his point a bit...also, I really don’t care about the wingnut “civil war,” but it is interesting I think to hear Kyle’s take on it IMO (incredibly NSFW/H)...



...and Brian Tyler Cohen tells us about more mania from Cheetoh Benito...as usual, we have more whining about “BIDEN PARDONS BIDEN PARDONS BIDEN PARDONS BIDEN PARDONS” (and I would ask that you keep this in mind as you read that)...and yeah, Cantaloupe Capone did indeed pardon the BINANCE crypto guy, with crypto being the preferred method of transacting financially by – oh, I dunno – BASICALLY FREAKING CRIMINALS ALL OVER THE GLOBE...and yeah, what a profile in Jello MAGA Mike “I don’t know what you’re talking about with the children” Johnson is, huh...(also NSFW/H)...



...and Farron Cousins emphasizes that the Repugs got humiliated on a national scale on Tuesday, from blue states to red states, from sea to shining sea you might say, including two seats in Georgia that the “R” party had held since the Carter Administration I believe...and yes, it wasn’t surprising that Zohran Mamdani won the NYC mayoral race, but the WAY he did with such a huge turnout was pretty breathtaking I would say...



...and Nicolle Wallace gives us her take on the election results...Prop 50 in CA (the redistricting in response to the nonsense from Texas) passed by nearly 30 points (wow)...good stuff from Gavin Newsom, who definitely met the moment for sure along with everyone involved in the California effort...as I watched this, I found myself thinking about people like Timothy Snyder, who left this country after Trump was elected; no personal disrespect to Snyder, but it would have helped if he had decided to stay and fight with the rest of us (with Jacob Soboroff, Alicia Menendez and John Heilemann; we hear from Soboroff in this clip...can’t say enough about the courage and determination of CA voters supporting Prop 50, and from different demographics also)...



...and NBC-10 in these parts offered an election recap with some close-to-home results here (every single Dem schoolboard candidate in Bucks County won, and I can NEVER remember that happening...and of course departing Repug sheriff Fred Harran would make it sound like lefty partisanship is an issue...for the reality perspective, I offer this)...



Update: More here.

...and I hope you're in the mood for a newer tune for this glorious occasion, because here it is.

Wednesday Stuff

David Shuster of Rebel HQ tells us about more Fix Noise propaganda with Harris Faulkner, who seems to be a recurring figure when it comes to misinformation like so many others on that trash network...I like Shuster’s line that “the difference between knowledge and noise is a mystery” for her...”Democrat Dan” makes a terrific comment on the pathway to citizenship being pretty much closed for anyone trying to emigrate here legally, and Amanda is correct to point out that the Dems are fighting for the ACA subsidies, while Harris prattles on about health care going up anyway, or something (like that’s the fault of the Dems somehow – the stoo-pidity is thick for sure on this one)...and OH MY F*CKING GOD, HEALTH CARE DOESN’T GO TO FREAKING ILLEGAL ALIENS, YOU DISGUSTING HARPIE!!! (and yes, I know Jay pointed that out to his credit, but hearing that still makes my blood boil)...



...but the big story on Action News, you might say, is last night’s election results...Mikie Sherrill wins in the NJ gubernatorial race (to be honest, I was a bit worried about this one because of the “machismo” factor Rachel Maddow mentions); Abigail Spanberger wins in Virginia over the utterly loathsome Winsome Earle-Sears, and of course that nutty commie socialist (joke) Zohran Mamdami won the NYC mayor’s contest over corporate centrist Cuomo and the beret guy (and I’m completely fine with a pork roll, egg and cheese sandwich for the record)...this is all great stuff of course, but we’re talking about basically blue areas (NYC and NJ, and VA definitely leans in that direction); the big test of course (to see if folks really are fed up with Don The Con and his “R” party flunkies) is coming next year...I wish the clip hadn’t cut off Chris Hayes because I would have liked to hear what he said...



Update: More good stuff is here.

...and Glenn Kirschner of Justice Matters discusses “a really bad 24 hours” for you-know-who (clip is almost a week old)...looks like the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals may take a shot at trying to keep Cheetoh Benito from militarizing the streets of Portland; also, some Senate Repugs actually joined Senate Dems to put a stop to #47’s idiotic Brazil tariff (we’re running a surplus with that country, but Bronzer Boy put a tariff in place to get back at the prosecution of Trump pal Bolsonaro); and finally, a Trump-serving attorney in CA (Bilal Essayli) was just disqualified in a matter that could affect the prosecutions of Letitia James and James Comey (I could care less about Comey to be honest, but if it makes Combover Caligula look bad, then it works for me...and apparently the Essayli case could impact Trumpette Lindsay Halligan, with the Comey and James cases mentioned potentially getting tossed...pass the popcorn)...



...and Farron Cousins reminds us of multiple humiliations for the Gropenfuhrer on his Asia trip, but none worse than the one he endured from Xi Jinping of China...yes, it was a statesman like response from Xi of course, but the intent was pretty clear; “President Deals” DID NOT allegedly end eight wars (sheesh)...



...and Seth Meyers gives us “A Closer Look” on Diaper Donnie renovating the White House bathroom while courts rule against him (this probably echoes some of the Glenn Kirschner stuff, but that’s OK)...and I know I mentioned the White House bathroom already also; well, since that represents such a “let them eat cake” moment, you can rest assured that I’ll be mentioning it again; the burning question to me is whether or not he’ll actually pay the contractors who did the work – my guess is that he won’t...and I suppose it definitely wouldn’t be a post about Cantaloupe Capone unless he was attacking a TV personality, and this time that would be Meyers himself (the methane dispensers who cast their ballots for Our Treasonous Orange Yam last year must be so proud of themselves)...oh, and the accordion hands are back for Don The Con because of course they are...

...and I suppose I’m catching up with a few items here, and I might as well do that also with this one – RIP Ace Frehley of KISS.

Tuesday Stuff

As all of us will do one day, it looks like “Deadeye Dick” has shed his mortal coil and gone onto whatever version of the afterlife awaits him...as I noted awhile back, I thought this Special Comment from Keith Olbermann was an appropriate response to this (maybe Big Time will get the chance to accidentally shoot someone in the face in Gehenna; I give Cheney credit for pushing back against Bronzer Beelzebub, which is more than Dubya did, but when it comes to Cheney’s good deeds, that’s the beginning and end of a very short list)...



...and Cenk Uygur of TYT gives us a commentary noting that Cheney was arguably the greatest fear of former President Eisenhower; Cheney spoke on that panel when #44 was president (oooh, scary black man wearing tan suit doesn’t defend us...GMAFB!)...



...and this shows Cheney’s neighbors toppling a makeshift statue of him in effigy near his home in Jackson Hole, Wyoming in August 2007 (a nod to this, with the crowd chanting “No More Iraq War” and “Impeach Cheney First”)...



Update: More here.

...and turning to the ruin from our current Republican presidential administration, Rachel Maddow discusses all kinds of negative polling for Cantaloupe Capone (including CNN, with a disapproval rating higher now than when it was in the aftermath of 1/6...also, most polled believe we’re losing our global standing; additionally, #47 has a 54 percent disapproval on the destruction of the east wing of the White House...also, according to an ABC/WaPo poll, the die-hards in favor of Don The Con are down to 20 percent, and #47 is also polling badly on Israel/Gaza, running the government overall and those stinking damn tariffs...also, ripping off the DOJ for $230 million is polling about as well as you would expect...also, I know it’s good that we have a higher polling number for No Kings than MAGA, but I’m a little stunned that that number isn’t higher than 43 percent (glad to hear Maddow cheering that on, though); I guess some people will just never learn...



...and speaking of our current ruling cabal, Trevor Hayes of More Perfect Union investigated hundreds of Trump donors to “follow the money”...oh, and of course, Couch Boy doesn’t tell us that the reason Mango Mussolini went after Google was because #47’s account was suspended after the 1/6 insurrection...looks like our tech behemoths all gave Don The Con at least a mil each for #47’s inauguration because there aren’t any rules apparently on that sort of thing (at some point, assuming we turn things around, we’re going to have to put up so many guardrails in our federal government over the Gropenfuhrer’s excesses that it will be beyond belief, and the “R” party will be kicking and screaming every step of the way of course)...and oh yeah, it looks like the CFPB has been neutered under Pumpkin Pol Pot, just to let you know...report tells us about all of the tech giants (Google, Apple, Meta, etc.) making out like bandits under our current regime, including Apple’s exemptions from those beyond ridiculous tariffs (“a bribe with extra steps” indeed)...1 in 3 lawsuits brought by the government against Big Tech have been dropped by the regime of Dementia J. Trump...all the dough that supposedly went into #47’s inauguration might collectively be the biggest slush fund of all time...and $2 million for Chevron to operate in Venezuela, huh? Nah, Don The Con isn’t blowing up all of those boats and killing people without accountability for oil, huh? Not much he isn’t...and Boeing got in on the action too of course, since they needed legal cover what with their 737s falling out of the sky, resulting in mass casualties...as Hayes notes, all of this is only the tip of the metaphorical iceberg; we’ll likely never know about all of the people and various entities who paid off Our Treasonous Orange Pustule to get what they want...



...and for anyone in the “garden state” reading this, today is the day to vote for Mikie Sherrill for governor (more here)...



...and Canada responds to the Gropenfuhrer’s tariff increase over the “Saint Reagan” ad, courtesy of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert...sorry about the Blue Jays also, and kudos to Boyertown’s Trey Yesavage – they had a hell of a run...



...and happy 85th birthday to Delbert McClinton.

Monday Stuff

Emma Vigeland of The Majority Report brings us a clip of working mothers discussing what the loss of SNAP benefits will do to them and their families...and as it turns out, there is a SNAP contingency fund that Cantaloupe Capone could tap into, which would partially cover the loss of SNAP, but of course #47 won’t do that because the cruelty is the point...and oh yeah, let’s not forget that the Repug-run U.S. House has been on an extended vacation FOR OVER A FREAKING MONTH because MAGA Mike Johnson won’t swear in Dem Rep Adelita Grijalva since she would be the 218th signature on the discharge petition to release the Epstein files (under the heading of part of the reason behind the shutdown, which happens ONLY WHEN REPUGS ARE IN CHARGE)...and for the bonkers point of view on this subject, I give you Repug guv Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma (oh, the “rainy day” fund in his state is only for a “state” problem and not a “federal” problem; somehow I don’t think the people in his state who will go hungry care about the difference)...NSFW/H because of a completely true comment by Matt Lech (the Capitol switchboard phone number is 202-224-3121, as mentioned)...

...and for another insane point of view related to doing without SNAP, I give you Repug U.S. House Rep Clay Higgins here (meanwhile, while Higgins yells about SNAP, Trump gets his golden ballroom and tries to shake down his own DOJ for $230 million...more on Higgins here and here).

Here's the Majority Report clip...



...and Tennessee Brando tells us about the ex-cop from that state who was jailed for posting an anti-Trump meme (which, basically, was a quote from #47 applied to the Charlie Kirk murder in which the Gropenfuhrer said “we have to get over it” concerning school shootings, which is typically awful from Cheetoh Benito)...and I’m sorry, but I think the whole “community anxiety” rationale for the cops to go after this guy was basically a pretense for “don’t you DARE criticize someone who’s a conservative hero to us (meaning Kirk)”...that being said, I think this Bushart guy should have taken down the post when he was asked to by the cops, even though he shouldn’t have had to do that; yeah, the whole notion of jailing someone over a meme is bonkers unless it’s a threat to harm someone, which this wasn’t of course...Brando is spot-on though IMO to say that this is pretty much all about MAGA wanting revenge on anybody they dislike...”the party of cancel culture” for sure...more here (slightly NSFW/H)...



...and Chris Hayes informs us that the whole MAGA “third term” fantasy is Trump faking strength...and it looks like “MAGA Mike” Johnson is suffering from the same mental delusions as his boss; yeah, Repugs are looking good over the shutdown mess (uh, no)...and leave it to meth head Bannon to give away the game on a third term for Bronzer Beelzebub in ’28; just keep running your mouth on that and see how that works for you (I’m sure our cattle ranchers and soybean farmers would like a word)...



...and under the heading of “getting over it” (concerning the Brando clip), I now give you the latest installment of “This Day In Doomsy History” (more or less) from 11/4/16, in which that phrase is uttered by Trump-supporting women voters in response to sexual assault allegations against Cantaloupe Capone (with Cenk and Ana of TYT)...yep, Heaven forbid that Dear Orange Leader is questioned in any way, which has worked out exactly as an adult with a functioning brain synapse could have predicted (and yes, this Carol Robertson person is indeed a “deplorable”...I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; there is definitely “Obama hatred” in this country, as well as “Biden hatred,” but there is NO HATRED in this country like “Clinton hatred,” which is pretty much a religion for a hell of a lot of people)...definitely NSFW/H...



...and I thought this was a particularly timely take from Mr. Newberger on the shut down and those miscreants who are most responsible...



...and as long as we're in a bit of a blues idiom you might say, I thought I'd include this number to get the week started.