Friday, June 26, 2026

Friday Stuff


Alicia Menendez of MSNBC anchors a discussion with Melissa Murray, Andrea Flores, Amanda Carpenter, and Leah Litman about the latest legal atrocity from our bought-and-paid-for SCOTUS, denying legal protections to Haitian and Syrian refugees at our border...and oh yeah, our theocrats in robes also struck down a Hawaii gun law and said that, if you get cancer from Roundup, you can’t sue (more here)...as Murray says about the TPS nightmare, these hideous rulings make our existing statutes “parchment promises”...Murray also mentions this case of the Rastafarian man who had his dreadlocks shaved and sued, but he was told that, because his jailers didn’t consent to the man’s religious practices in advance, the claimant couldn’t bring an action; somehow I think the ruling would have been markedly different if that man had been a Christian...looks like our Philistines on the High Court are intent on whittling away temporary protected status to those coming from every location except a Nordic country and South Africa (if you’re white, that is)...aside from the human cost of revoking TPS, there’s also the economic impact, which no Repug seems to care about either...I think Menendez is right about our gaggle of conservative Neanderthals “hiding behind judicial review,” and I’m not a lawyer either...”The largest de-legalization effort in the modern era” is sadly apt also...GREAT point about how these people targeted by Cantaloupe Capone and his foul ilk (including Pee Wee German) often hold jobs as caregivers in our communities...also spot-on to note that this ruling will step up harassment against those here with TPS, who likely have been here for awhile...



...and I now give you the latest installment of “This Day In Doomsy History” (more or less) from 6/24/14, in which former President Hopey Changey makes high-minded remarks about our beyond-wretched SCOTUS respecting existing precedent, which is almost quaint to consider after all this time (oh, and Repug Sen. Chuck Grasshole stands up for aggrieved white people everywhere to decry our former Kenyan Muslim socialist president – bad joke at this point I know)...I realize Obama was all about taking the high road, and I respect that, but I guess I’m including this to show how far we’ve fallen if for no other reason...also, I know I didn’t say anything about the opening of #44’s presidential library, which looks like an absolutely stunning facility, but that’s only because I wanted to comment on other stuff instead...definitely miss the voice of Ed Schultz, especially these days...



...and this clip from J.T. Cestkowski of Status Coup informs us that companies are reining in their AI spending, according to the Financial Times...yep, our august captains of industry promised AI to be a magical elixir to both raise productivity AND cut costs, but as usual, this mirage is slowly disappearing, with OpenAI and Anthropic facing the proverbial music here...usage caps on AI tokens is the first sign of “trouble in paradise,” with Uber and Amazon beating the retreat...next comes a chip shortage, which is yet another cost multiplier buffeting our economy (and data centers are indeed an ecological plague on this country – if we end up in something similar to the Great Recession of ’08, the collapse of the AI bubble will be a huge factor)...



...and this week also saw the exit of Labour’s Keir Starmer as Britian’s PM, their sixth Prime Minister in 10 years, as noted by Andrew Chang of the CBC (‘the charisma of frozen peas” – gotta love those zany Brits)...naming Peter Mandelson as Britain’s U.S. ambassador was definitely an unforced error on Starmer’s part, given Mandelson’s connection to Jeffrey Epstein...clip discusses Labour getting electorally creamed under Jeremy Corbyn in 2019 and how it at least temporarily revived itself, up to now...Labour never really had what you could call a mandate, dating back to ’24...as I watch this, I can’t help but draw a parallel to former president Biden, who did indeed deliver positive change, but not as quickly as expected (accompanied by the usual utter failure of the “D” team to communicate its accomplishments to the voters)...didn’t know about Our Treasonous Orange Pustule’s idiocy on Truth Septic announcing that Starmer would step down before it happened, but that definitely tracks also...all of this is good news for Andy Burnham, but now, he has to try and deliver also, in a nation still recovering from years of economic pillaging by the Tories...



...and just in time for summer (which is official as of last Sunday), Lewis Black is here for more on the latest exercise trends (wonder what “sword yoga” would be like mixed with ample doses of alcohol? Might lead to misdemeanor charges in a court of law I guess)...and oh yeah, “pistols and Pilates” – can’t wait for the screaming headlines about mass carnage on THAT one either...



...and RIP David Clayton-Thomas of Blood, Sweat & Tears...probably too easy of a call on this selection, I know.

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