Friday Stuff

David Shuster of Rebel HQ brings us the story of some Fix Noise “news” mannequin getting busted by her own onscreen graphic...gas prices are “negative”? By a whole, whopping total of $0.01? And $20 trillion coming into this country in “new investment” from tariffs? I guess that last, lonely functioning synapse in Combover Caligula’s noggin is starting to flicker out...and before we all go “WOO-HOO! 200 BILLION!,” let’s take a look at what has happened to tourism, as well as the “brain drain” of individuals doing research at our universities who are leaving, to say nothing of our soybean farmers and cattle ranchers...Shuster’s report runs down the list of countries we’re supposedly receiving trade revenue from including Qatar, and as long as we’re mentioning that nation, I think it needs to be pointed out that we recently struck a deal with them to put boots on the ground in case they’re invaded in the same manner as an Article V resolution for a NATO member country, and without congressional approval for Qatar; I learned that from this CBC article...”presented for an audience that mistakes enthusiasm for insight” indeed...and as much as I’d like to dump on “MAGA Mike” Johnson, I know Shuster’s last two minutes here are behind the news cycle a bit, though cutting and running the way Johnson did in response to reporters’ questions is par for the course with him...



...and I’ve been meaning to get to this from Glenn Kirschner all week, so I’d better do so now...I can’t think of a word to describe how pathetic it is that a judge needs to rule on White House press briefings requiring a sign language interpreter, which that supposedly stinky Joe Biden had no issue with, it should be pointed out, but that indeed is where we are (yep, the Gropenfuhrer does indeed manage to plummet to new depths every day)...a completely predictable update is here...



...and turning to “the heartland,” Kyle Kulinski tells us about Iowa farmers teeing off on Repug Iowa U.S. House rep Mariannette Miller-Meeks at a town hall when she tries to blame JOE FREAKING BIDEN for the runaway inflation under Mango Mussolini (and Kyle is dead right about coffee; I’ve seen a bag of ground for $14 which we used to buy for $6.99)...this shameless goofball can try and machine gun as many lies as she can, but if she seriously thinks she’s going to win over anybody with this pre-rehearsed steaming pile of bullsh*t, she is very much mistaken...here’s what I think is going on with our farmers – our ruling regime WANTS them to go under so Apartheid Clyde, Peter Thiel and company can buy up the land cheap and use minerals from Argentina to help build more stinking data centers for AI purposes (I think Kyle’s explanation is partly correct, but he doesn’t go far enough IMO)...more on our soybean farmers is here (apparently, there was some sort of an agreement with China to purchase soybeans, but it’s only a “promise” from China...pinky swear, I guess...to buy soybeans from our farmers again, but at reduced levels - NSFW/H)...



...and Mike Figueredo of The Humanist Report lets us know about a lady named Nikalie Monroe who called the “church” of Joel Osteen and asked for formula for her (hypothetical) baby, and Monroe was told that it would take two days to weeks to get the formula, and that’s if the request was approved (Monroe was conducting a “social experiment,” it should be noted...and by the way, Osteen has a net worth of about $100 million as noted here)...Monroe called about 43 of these places with a request for formula, and 10 agreed to help, and that includes a Buddhist temple as well as an Islamic center and an African American church...not so much for Charlie Kirk’s parish also...oh, but Monroe is a “witch,” for making these calls? I must have been asleep during my elementary school religion classes when we were taught that that’s an acceptable response (snark)...and yeah, though I think the amount should be negligible, I think churches should pay taxes also...Figueredo is right about how the civil rights backlash helped to fuel more and more intolerant “religiosity”...and by the way, for Philly-area folks (including Bucks County), if you have a similar situation as Nikalie Monroe for real, go to the “Give or Get Help” section in the right-hand column of the page of this site and click the Aid for Friends link (or Catholic Charities USA if you’re outside of this area...NSFW/H also)...



...and Farron Cousins tells us that #47 haz a sad about air traffic controllers who wouldn’t work during the shutdown because they wouldn’t get paid...someone should try to communicate to Our Tiny-Handed Chief Executive that you can’t treat our air traffic controllers the same way you treat people contracted to do construction projects at Mar-a-Lago...and I agree with Cousins; Biden was slipping towards the end of his term to be sure, but at least #46 knows what verifiable truth and reality is, as opposed to the Tangerine Toddler...I have this creeping feeling in my gut that something truly awful is coming, and believe me when I tell you that I want to be wrong (I can see myself getting on a plane again, but not for a while yet)...



...and turning to local matters, Chris Hayes speaks with Bucks County Sheriff-elect Danny Ceisler on his contest with incumbent Fred Harran...there were road signs in strategic locations reminding everyone of Harran supporting ICE, in case anybody had forgotten that...Ceisler is right that Bucks kind of “swings” from one party to the other on municipal and presidential elections, but the Repug Party machine has a hammerlock when it comes to federal congressional representation, unfortunately, though we’ll keep doing our best to change that (including next year)...



...and The Onion gets particularly edgy at times, and I think they do so again here, though they make their point with humor as always...



...and tomorrow marks the 93rd birthday of Brit singing legend Petula Clark...in addition to that great run of hits in those swinging ‘60s (including the following), I always respected her for this also.

Thursday Stuff

(And for the record, the Tangerine Toddler said that the birthday card he allgedly sent to Jeffrey Epstein was "fake"...sure it was.)

Nicolle Wallace gives us the latest update with “the dog that hasn’t barked,” referring to the Gropenfuhrer of course, and the “hours” he supposedly spent with a victim of the Epstein scandal (based on emails dated from 2011), including Virginia Giuffre, who Epstein allegedly “stole” from Mar-a-Lago (and don’t waste my time with the response of this White House; I don’t take them seriously on anything, especially this)...glad to hear Michael Wolff not escaping accountability for his role in this mess also...I have a feeling that this is just the tip of the metaphorical iceberg, as it were...and yeah, I’m sure Ghislaine Maxwell is going to be looking over her shoulder (and funny in a way that, suddenly, you’re not hearing a peep out of all of the fundamentalist nut jobs out there who got played, thinking that #47 was some kind of a “godly” man)...Wallace speaks with Dem Congressman Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois (I’m not sure why Wallace is bringing up the Russia stuff here, unless she’s trying to argue a pattern of people coercing Cantaloupe Capone based on his bad behavior; she may have a point, but it’s a stretch IMO)...



...and Brian Tyler Cohen informs us of Utah Repugs’ attempt to redistrict their state’s voting map to give themselves an advantage (a la Texas), which was struck down by a judge, giving the Dems an extra seat in the U.S. House they’re likely to win next year...I’m sure Dem governors Wes Moore in Maryland and J.B. Pritzker in Illinois will do the right thing, but as far as Moore is concerned, I thought Maryland already had “fair maps” (just a little confused I guess, but I guess Moore and Pritzker need to be a little cagey about this)...important that Cohen mentioned that the 6 wingnut SCOTUS justices will likely jettison Section 2 of the VRA, which will enable MORE Repug-friendly seats, tragically...



...and lost a bit in all of this insanity is the news that Dem U.S. House Rep (and longtime speaker) Nancy Pelosi is stepping down...and I realize all of the people who want to be lied to will believe “MAGA Mike” Johnson about Pelosi supposedly being too far left for the neo-Marxists or whatever, but those in the reality-based community will see this as it is, which is Pelosi ringing down the curtain on decades of commendable service in public life and passing the torch to the next generation of leadership...and I hear what Brando is saying about Marjorie Train Wreck Greene; when we get ammo from these cretins whether it’s intentional or not, we should use it...I also agree with what Brando says about the “Democratic establishment,” embodied by this...and yep, I think Brando is also spot-on that Mango Mussolini CANNOT RESIST bragging about his damn ballroom and how rich he supposedly is, though that will NEVER be the “flex” that he thinks it is (slightly NSFW/H)...



...and Farron Cousins tells us that our *preznit said something recently about getting something like a $2K rebate check, but along comes Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to say Na-Ga-Ha-Pen...I know we’ve been in 25th Amendment territory for a good while yet, but as Cousins says, our economy is doing the big swirl in the hopper...”factories getting built”? “Inflation cooling off”? Ignoring layoffs? This truly is the stuff of madness...



...and Josh Johnson of The Daily Show gives us a bit of a comedic take on the pathetic financial mismanagement from Don The Con...oh, and by the way, AFFORDABILITY AFFORDABILITY AFFORDABILITY AFFORDABILITY AFFORDABILITY AFFORDABILITY AFFORDABILITY AFFORDABILITY...how’s that? And a 50-year mortgage? Great...so we’ll end up paying for our house TEN FREAKING TIMES INSTEAD OF FIVE!!!...and yeah, here comes the bait-and-switch on the tariff rebate again (with Grace Kuhlenschmidt)...



...and I don’t know if this newer number counts as a “relationship” tune or not, but in my quest to add some variation to the selections appearing here, I thought I’d add it anyway.

Wednesday Stuff

Richard Ojeda of Rebel HQ tells us about Repugs dragged down by polling data with the millstone of Pumpkin Pol Pot around their metaphorical necks (this clip predates the Dem “cave” by the “surrender caucus” on ACA health insurance credits, it should be noted)...and yeah, let’s actually take MAGA numbskull Chip Roy seriously about “leadership”; just keep playing that same old tune and see what happens a year from now...and I’d forgotten about cabinet members moving onto military bases, which is partly scary but also partly pretty damn funny in a way as far as I’m concerned...



...and Belle of the Ranch gives us an update on the pardons from our Tangerine Toddler...Ed Martin, who seems to be involved with just about every seamy, sordid legal maneuver from Combover Caligula, points out that 77 pardons have been issued by #47 since he was sworn in, with the latest aimed at anybody involved in the ’20 fake electors scheme...this of course is yet another legal gray area since a presidential pardon can only apply to someone convicted federally, and I’m pretty sure at least some of these are charges in particular states (do I have a suspicion that the High Court of Hangin’ Judge JR is going to get involved and throw yet another bone to Cheetoh Benito? Damn right I do...and sorry to steal Belle’s thunder a bit, but we’ve already gotten to the outrage over the surrender caucus, though I know we will revisit that)...



...and John and Jayar of The Damage Report inform us of a 1-year-old girl getting pepper sprayed by ICE on the way home from Sam’s Club with her family because I suppose a child poses a mortal threat to these useless soy Paul Blart knockoff rent-a-cops, to the point where a projectile spewing some type of gas needs to be fired into the family’s vehicle...oh, and there’s “infighting” at DHS between mush mouth Tom Homan and Kristi “Unsafe At Any Speed” Noem? How “on the nose” for Trumpers, amirite?...



...and turning to “the land of the yellow rose,” Farron Cousins lets us know that Repug guv Greg Abbott recently threatened to punish New Yorkers moving to Texas; what a cunning plan!...personally, I think this is a case of wingnuts getting high on their own supply, you might say; I think the prospects of anyone from a blue locale actually moving to the “lone star state” are grossly overinflated (and Abbott thinks he can impose a “tariff”? That’s almost way too damn funny)...I give Cousins credit for unpacking all of this lunacy, which is a more heroic feat than I could come up with on this, to be honest...

...and Seth Meyers gives us “A Closer Look”...yes, we need to revisit the retreat by the Senate “surrender caucus,” and ALL 8 OF THEM should be haunted by that until they leave office by one means or another...and it was great to see the Gropenfuhrer get the treatment at the Commanders/Lions football game that he so deserved, but it was also worth it to make “I’ll Drink To That” Hegseth endure all of that also...OH, PLEASE SCOWL HARDER, MR. “SECRETARY OF WAR”...HAHAHAHA!!!...also, if you’re going to name a construction project such as a domed football stadium after Cantaloupe Capone, you’d better make sure the contractors are paid in advance or he’ll try to stiff them and the work will never get completed...and I didn’t know RFK Jr. decided to do the “exit, stage left” move when the guy fainted in the Oval Office – not surprising...



...and happy 80th birthday to Neil Young.

Tuesday Stuff

Jesse Dollemore tells us that Our Very Stable Genius of a *preznit recently nodded off at an Oval Office meeting for 20 minutes (and yeah, the double standard between this and the “sleepy Joe Biden” BS speaks for itself)...oh, and the press asking about Bronzer Beelzebub dozing off was “inappropriate”? Yeah, I guess we’re North Korea now; I suppose the firing squad for journalists comes next (and yes, I hope I’m only joking)...



...and I know we really need to keep looking at the Democratic “cave” by the “surrender caucus” on the deal to end the shutdown...I thought this was a pretty clear-eyed analysis by Brian Tyler Cohen of what just took place; yes, it does indeed suck that the eight senators in the “coward caucus” caved on the ACA credits (and again, I have zero faith that the Repug-led Senate will even vote on those credits next month, let alone the outcome of that vote which is a foregone conclusion...and “MAGA Mike” Johnson wouldn’t even allow a vote in the House on the credits anyway), but funding SNAP and forcing Johnson to open up the House again (where he has no excuse any more to punt on swearing in Adelita Grijalva, meaning that the discharge petition on the Epstein files will go forward) are “silver linings” for sure...”if we want to purge our weak branding, we have to purge weak Democrats” indeed...great point by Cohen about not disengaging, since that never accomplishes anything positive (clip ends at about 6:49...and oh yeah, there is also this)...



...and Kyle Kulinski brings us the Dickensian tale of billionaires feasting while Americans starve from SNAP cuts...and of course, the High Court of Hangin’ Judge JR is just as culpable on making the hunger problem in this country worse because they granted that order allowing the Gropenfuhrer to get out of fully funding SNAP during the shutdown (the disgusting SCOTUS “shadow docket” strikes again)...oh, and our criminal regime also isn’t funding food banks as they are mandated to do, and as Kyle says, Pumpkin Pol Pot is also telling blue states to let people go hungry, while we fork over waaay too much damn money to that Trumpist idiot in Argentina...a related item on the economy is here (incredibly NSFW/H, but apropos IMO)...



...and Farron Cousins informs us that a federal judge just ruled that that our Tangerine Toddler and former Fix Noise personality Sean Duffy can’t withhold transportation funds from states like CA because these states weren’t helping the jackbooted thugs of ICE and their raids on people of another skin color; there’s absolutely NO STATUTE ANYWHERE that says that states must comply with the ICE garbage for transportation funding, and Duffy CANNOT arbitrarily withhold monies due to these states for that reason...



...and concerning the Dollemore clip, I thought this was an appropriate response from Mr. Newberger (very slightly NSFW/H)...



...and on this day in 1965, The Beatles completed “Rubber Soul,” including this tune.

Monday Stuff

Lawrence O’Donnell tells us about Cheetoh Benito looking away from a man who collapsed in An Oval Office during some weight loss drug event last week; I agree with O’Donnell that the pic in this post should indeed be the official White House portrait...looks like the Tangerine Toddler wants to get discounts for what #47 calls “the fat drug”...yeah, we know that Don The Con is a crook, but there also appears to be some serious medical stuff going on with this guy, and I know that has been pointed out already (and oh yeah, a person with a shred of conscience would have seen the man on the floor needing medical help and ensured that, at a minimum, 911 was called and an ambulance was on the way, but since we’re talking about Our Delusional Narcissistic Sociopath of a *preznit, he pretty much stood like a statue and did nothing)...and once again, HuffPo’s S.V. Date stands up like a journalist should in the face of Combover Caligula...and no, I’m not going to give Hangin’ Judge JR credit for a damn thing (i.e., saying something plainly obvious on tariffs) when he and the other wingnuts on the High Court have done somersaults to give Pumpkin Pol Pot everything he wants...also, we learn that the D.C. sandwich thrower Sean Dunn was acquitted (and no, the hoagie, as we call it in these parts, didn’t “explode” when it hit the vest of the ICE thug...more on that later)...

...and I know a lot more is going to be said about this, but despite the resounding victories in the elections about a week ago, it does indeed look like U.S. Senate Democrats are going to cave on the shutdown (here), and apparently the only thing they’re going to get is a promise from Senate Republicans to vote on extending ACA credits in December...and yeah, this is pretty much the same bunch, along with Manchin, that promised a vote on “Build Back Better” under Biden for climate initiatives, ACA credits, and other "social spending," and we know what happened on that one, right?



...and in response to Sen. Angus King of Maine (under the heading of what happens when you cave to Pumpkin Pol Pot and his lackeys), I offer the following (and I know PA’s John Fetterman is part of the “coward caucus”; I’m definitely not the biggest fan of Conor Lamb, but if he declared for Fetterman’s seat in ’28 right now, he’d get my support)...

...well, for the opposing point of view, Robert Reich tells us how Dems should be standing up to #47, basically, by REFUSING TO NORMALIZE ALL OF THIS GARBAGE; this can take the form of standing up to the never-ending torrent of misinformation including outright lies and calling for investigations into all of his self-enrichment dealings, including this crypto garbage (and of course, we need to take aim also at the “pay no price, bear no burden” bunch and all the havoc they’re creating at our expense)...and most definitely, demonstrating for a better future should be part of this as Reich says...



...and Kyle brings back the “Don’t Be A Sucker” ad from the War Department in 1943 (not sure if Schumer or anybody in the “coward caucus” has ever seen this; if not, they should...if “I’ll Drink To That” Hegseth made that film now, the crank on the street would be applauded by everyone and given a parade, likely with tiki torches...and oh yeah, I forgot about the TV episode of that western about the con man named Trump who wanted to build a wall – pretty damn spooky indeed...NSFW/H)...



...and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert has some fun with the recent acquittal of the D.C. sandwich guy (another glorious legal accomplishment from Judge Boxwine – more here)...



...and happy 50th birthday to Jim Adkins of the band Jimmy Eat World.