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...



Update 6/29/26: I guess I’m supposed to be happy that this utterly wretched bunch of political despots didn’t find a way to go after New York Times v. Sullivan, still kept the Tangerine Toddler on the hook in the E. Jean Carroll case, and found a way to absolve the Federal Reserve (for now) in its disgusting ruling that destroyed the 90-year-old precedent preserving the integrity of federal agencies, but I’m sure you’ll excuse me if I don’t feel like celebrating (here).

...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.

Thursday Stuff

Chris Hayes brings us the tale of Dementia J. Trump torpedoing the bipartisan Senate housing bill as noted here (with Elizabeth Warren as one of the architects) to try and strongarm senators into passing his garbage SAVE Act, which, once again, is a “solution” in search of a problem – actually, the bill does nothing but screw over core Dem constituencies, which is the true objective of course...also, all 3 congressional candidates endorsed by Mamdani won in New York on Tuesday, leading corpora-Dems into a fit (led by this idiot, Carville I mean)...and oh yeah, Trump’s postmaster general wants to restrict mail-in ballots to blue states unless they hand over the voting rolls to the Gropenfuhrer – so many levels of illegality here that it’s truly hard to count them all...”he would rather cheat than win” indeed...



...and this report from the PBS Newshour discusses the incredibly-over-the-top sentencing of anti-ICE protestors to 30 to 100 years in prison, definitely longer than the sentences of the treasonous 1/6 insurrectionists as noted...I can just about guarantee you that these sentences will be knocked down on appeal, but the point of course is to utterly stifle dissent...and yes, I realize a police officer was shot which makes the protest a hell of a lot more serious of a matter, but these sentences are still ridiculously excessive...with correspondent Ali Rogin and federal prosecutor Paul Butler...big surprise that this prosecution is based in Texas I know...the legal fig leaf here is that the government has labeled Antifa as a domestic terrorist organization, even though there is no political organization known as Antifa in this country (here)...and I suppose it fits in a typically demented way that those accused of belonging to Antifa denied it on the witness stand, but only confessed to belonging to a book group (once more, an unbelievable waste of taxpayer dollars from our idiot ruling regime)...we’re reminded once more of Presidential Memo 7 passed after the Charlie Kirk murder aimed basically at any person/organization Our Ochre Abomination doesn’t like, even though lefties had nothing to do with Kirk’s killing (it also fits that our ruling regime wants to punish people for “anti-capitalist views” – what a typical disgrace)...



...and this report from CBC News informs us of AI bots taking over fast-food drive-thrus, which I guess isn’t surprising (with White Castle being first apparently)...looks like “Julia” is taking care of about 90 percent of the orders correctly (a little spooky that that’s a higher average than for a flesh-and-blood human)...great point by the Canadian labor rep that fast food employment is a “stepping stone” job, and if that goes away, what will come in its place, if anything?...



...and speaking of nourishment, Farron Cousins brings us the sorry tale of Cheetoh Hitler and his same-party pals threatening to starve kids and families in this country with SNAP cuts...I know saying Republicans hate children is kind of extreme, but how exactly is Cousins wrong here, especially when we find out about a study looking at SNAP benefit cuts and what that’s doing to this country...1.6 million kicked off that vitally important benefit program, including about 776,000 kids in 12 states (at a cost of about $6 a day, versus our utterly insane Pentagon budget)...Cousins also points out how the latest class warfare from these Trumpist numbskulls is indeed incentivizing states to kick more people off SNAP...and yep, if you guessed that the typical mantra here from Not Your Father’s Republican Party is “oh, we’re cracking down on waste, fraud and abuse,” then you win a commemorative photo of The Sainted Ronnie R giving a speech braying about “welfare queens” (which don’t exist and have NEVER existed, by the way)...NSFW/H...



...and I now give you the following from Mr. Newberger based on today’s headlines...



...and here's a newer tune to try and keep the musical selections here from lapsing into a collection of "moldy oldies," at least for the moment.

Tuesday Stuff

Kenny Hesse of Really American informs us that, apparently, it looks like the “bromance” between “Bibi” and our thuggish ruling regime (and that includes Couch Boy) has hit the rocks, given that Israel will likely continue to attack Gaza, Lebanon, Iran, and God knows where else, alleged “deal” from the Gropenfuhrer be damned...yep, “Diaper Donnie” got played by our “ally” again (and yes, I know “No Malarkey Joe” was guilty on that score too, along with just about every other presidential administration)...and when you’ve lost The Swanson TV Dinner Heir (trying to look rugged without a tie I guess), then you’re truly losing the die-hard mouth breathers in your base on this...actually, VP “Hillbilly Elegy” shockingly makes some sense at around 5:00-5:20 or so; kind of makes me wonder what parallel dimension I fell into...I realize I shouldn’t pay much attention to “Tuckums,” but that remark “that was the story anyway” about 9/11 is typical for this self-serving puke – we lost 17 people from Bucks County based on a “story” as far as Carlson is concerned I guess (NSFW/H)...



...and we now go “across the pond” to Jonathan Pie, discussing “Trump The Peacemaker”...I hadn’t heard anyone drawing a comparison between this alleged deal with Iran and the fiasco with the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, but yeah, they’re both peas in the same awful pod, you might say...I’d forgotten about the $2.1 billion in oil trades placed just before the start of hostilities – don’t know how the hell that’s legal, because it probably isn’t...I could tell he was going to go off because he also went without a tie (NSFW/H also)...



...and David Shuster of Rebel HQ gives us more on Repugs revolting over #47’s capitulation in his war of choice against Iran, including Trey Gowdy, who ended up on Fix Noise after a career in the U.S. House as a wingnut lapdog...I don’t know what the hell happened to Mike Pompeo – seriously, I hope he’s not ill, even though I don’t agree with a damn thing he has to say...oh, and “missiles aren’t the problem,” Combover Caligula? Gee, what would happen if a warhead was unleashed in the direction of Flori-DUUH! (which I don’t want to see, I wish to emphasize)...and once more, Thom Tillis and Bill Cassidy are on their way out of the U.S. Senate, so they can actually speak truth to stoo-pid...there’s a lot of “doom and gloom” aimed at Not Your Father’s Republican Party at the moment, and justifiably so, but allow me to be a bit of a contrarian here and add that, likely starting just around Labor Day, there will be such a torrent of attack ad garbage on TV, online and everywhere aimed at the “D” team (who will likely be clueless to respond, if past is prologue) that that will likely cause the polling numbers to tighten up...believe me when I tell you that I want to be wrong about that, but I’ve seen this damn movie too many times before...



...and Thom Hartmann discusses “Tokyo Rose” Gabbard, on her way out as DNI, who apparently is endeavoring to come up with some devious new way to rig the fall midterms...her seat is currently occupied by Bill Pulte, whose Trumpist bona fides includes rifling through mortgage docs on #47’s political enemies as Thom points out...oh, and apparently there’s now a rift between the CIA and Gabbard/Pulte because the former doesn’t trust the latter two assclowns (don’t you feel safer already, my fellow prisoners?)...didn’t know that there was an ordinance in Philly saying that, if you’re in law enforcement and wear a mask and don’t identify yourself, you go to jail for 90 days and pay a fine – nicely done (and yep, the typical Trumpist goons reacted with “lawfare,” as they always do...definitely not the biggest fan of Larry Krasner, but props to him if he had anything to do with this)...didn’t know about that study involving deceased relatives, but I believe it to be honest...



...and by the way, in case anyone was wondering what the world’s first trillionaire was up to, I think this update from America’s Finest News Source answer that question (joke, but barely)...



...and here is today's regional weather forecast.

Monday Stuff

OK, I’m back and I’m going to get this thing going again...stop me if you’ve heard this before (and I’m sure you have), but the Gropenfuhrer hired a preferred contractor to do some work that got totally screwed up (and who likely won’t get paid anyway), and this time it involves the reflecting pool at the Lincoln Memorial (I realize I’m behind the news cycle on this a bit, but I still think it needs to be pointed out)...this report from the CBC News gives us more background...it looks like we have peeling paint and algae bubbling to the surface, which is a strangely apt metaphor for this regime as far as yours truly is concerned...oh, and someone with a sharp eye pointed out that, in that fifth-grade-looking poster board that Cantaloupe Capone held up in that press gaggle, #47 didn’t include the antenna on top of the Sears Tower (I think that’s what it’s called) in Chicago, probably out of spite to make it look shorter...the whole D.C. landscape, which is pretty much sunk in a basin, makes it extremely difficult to keep various substances from bubbling to the surface; there would have to be layers of probably sandstone and rock to keep the algae out, and I realize that studying the issue to that level of detail is beyond the grasp of the Tangerine Toddler (a completely predictable update is here, and it looks like Jonathan Karl of ABC News got his hand dirty on this issue based on this)...



...and Belle of the Ranch tells us about Dementia J. Trump telling people he’s king...with respect to Belle, I don’t give Roger Wicker credit for a damn thing; saying the supposed deal ending #47’s Not-So-Excellent Adventure in Iran is contrary to the *preznit’s goals or whatever is slathering perfume on the proverbial pig big time...and of course, Bill Cassidy is on his way out, so that means he can actually tell the truth according to their unwritten Repug rules of subservience I suppose...I don’t know much about this Jay Clayton guy who’s been nominated as the new DNI to take the place of “Tokyo Rose” Gabbard, but I’m sure I’ll find out (typical for this regime to nominate a mediocre white man to replace a woman in this administration)...and “I’m the president, and you’re not”? So what – we’ve got “Chevy Chase” Trump now? I also like Belle’s “Scooby Doo” metaphor here – “I’d have defeated Iran if it weren’t for those meddling kids”...definitely glad to hear Belle draw a line here from those cowardly Repugs acting like they have a spine at last to those same lickspittles having voting for the Big Beautiful Clusterf*ck...”the pushback isn’t out of principle – it’s out of political necessity” indeed...



...oh, and did you know that unemployment funds from the feds distributed to states (especially those with “Democrat” governors) are being fraudulently siphoned off to go to criminal gangs? Well, living in the world of reality, I didn’t know that either, probably because that’s not an actual “thing,” but in the demented musings of Trumpist Labor Secretary pick Keith Sonderling, that is taking place, which is another reason to disqualify this knucklehead (more here)...



...and I honestly try to not fill up this space too much with every stoo-pid thing that Our Ochre Abomination says or does, but I thought this was worthy of mention, with Don The Con blabbing that Italian PM Giorgia Meloni allegedly begged to have a photo taken with him, and #47 went along with it because he felt ”sorry for her” (once more, this supposedly big, strong man talks down to or tries to make fun of a woman)...I also think it needs to be emphasized yet again how Combover Caligula treats our allies versus our enemies (and I know there’s more than a little gray area there), as Meloni pointed out so accurately...and oh yeah, our Pretender-In-Chief abuses our allies with impunity, but yells his spoiled baby head off when they don’t step in to try and fix his mistakes, which are legion (including the mess in the Strait of Hormuz)...I think “total deference – zero accountability” as noted by Brian Tyler Cohen pretty much says it...



...and Seth Meyers gives us “A Closer Look” at the reflecting pool idiocy..Cheetoh Hitler rambles incoherently once more like a brain-added octogenarian (and not all octogenarians are brain-addled, I wish to emphasize)...also, I actually think the term “unbelievable makeover” for the Lincoln Memorial pool is pretty accurate since it sure is unbelievable all right...and what would another screwup by Pumpkin Pol Pot be without the hyenas from Fix Noise cheering him on and ridiculing “the left” and saying “oh, it’s really the fault of the Dem haters who want to see our *preznit fail” – uh, no...our side lives in the world of actual reality, as opposed to you assclowns...and dumping peroxide into the water to kill the algae blooms? Yeah, that will last as a fix for this mess at exactly half past never...



...and RIP Walter Parazaider of Chicago.