I think we need to recall the clip from here, particularly since this Steve Bannon person from the Dead Breitbart site is in charge now of the "Donald Drumpf" campaign (I don’t recall who the guy was with Jimmy Dore, but it was nice to see a Dem who actually served give it back to this deceased coward, which Breitbart ultimately was as far as I’m concerned – NSFW)…
…and I thought this was an interesting segment on what started the tradition of presidential candidates receiving intelligence briefings (didn’t see the follow-up segment) – I would tell Trump just about nothing, but if I did say anything, I’d make sure it was bogus so, when he tweets it (and you KNOW he will), it won’t do any damage (maybe it should go kinda like this)…
…and by the way, just because Bernie Sanders isn’t the Democratic Party standard bearer doesn’t mean he still doesn’t have a role to play, and this tells us how he plans to re-introduce the public option in response to the latest bullshit from AETNA (NSFW also - more here)…
…and go grab a fistful of valium and lay down somewhere, Rudy, for God’s sake (and get a load of this as an excuse)…
…and reliable sources tell me that U.S. House Rep Mr.-Puppy-Dog-Eyes-With-The-Shiv is coming to PA-08 in an effort to prop up “Mikey Part 2” this fall; I think the best we can do in response is click here to help Steve however we can (and yes, I need to point out for the eleventy bazillionith time that background checks weren't enacted even though they should have been, and Steve worked like hell on that)…
…and I’m winding down with the summer tunes – can’t forget this also (and James gets a little rude, so please don't be shocked).
Food for thought...the next time you hear people bitch about how awful Philly sports fans are (they booed Santa Claus!!! And yeah, we’ve had our moments – so what?), show them this clip – Chase Utley, now of the Dodgers (don’t get me started on “the slide”), returned to Citizens Bank Park last night, hit two home runs against the Phils (the second a grand slam – a “four bagger” was also Utley’s first major league hit against CO in ’03, by the way)…and he got not one but two “curtain calls” from the fans in response – you win in this town and they’ll love you forever…
…and returning to stuff more in my line, it looks like "The Donald" did it again on race in a recent speech in Milwaukee, and fortunately, Van Jones stood up and responded here (and, for the record, I should point out that I will never give a crap about anything Ana Navarro has to say ever again)...
...and Rev. Al talks to Georgetown Law Center Professor (and former Federal prosecutor) Paul Butler about President Obama’s efforts to help combat policing abuses of African Americans in this country (and yes, I think that’s an appropriate description of what’s going on)…
…and I seriously hope that this clip isn’t the reason why Larry Wilmore was cancelled (here) – would be pretty damn pathetic if that were true…
…and I honestly think that more people than we realize go into politics to try and change things for the better (of course, how that turns out is often another story), and I think, if nothing else, this gives us a glimpse of the path that the Democratic Party’s nominee for president has taken to get to this point (and yeah, I pretty much believe all of this – if somehow any of this ends up proven wrong, I’ll make note of that)…
…and kudos to Natalie Maines for reminding us here of the double standard of those cheering for “Fergus Laing,” many of whom once agreed with the “shut up and sing” sentiment noted in this song.
By the way, Rachel, PA is a “commonwealth” (once again, I hark back to the “Big Dog” intervening in the 2012 Democratic primary for AG on behalf of Kane and against Patrick Murphy for the latter’s decision to support Obama for president; not going to hold this against Hillary now, though, because, IMHO, Bill Maher – can I drop MORE names? – is right when he says that you can’t run on “boutique” issues in an Armageddon election)…
…and speak of the devil, the Big Orange Cheetoh can answer the questions on his tax returns all right - will he (here)? We'll see (and it’s pretty sad when Former Gov. “Hike The Appalachian Trail” looks like a paragon of virtue here - and talk about sordid birds of a feather here)...
...and with the prior clip in mind, Cenk gets into all of the Ukraine/Paul Manafort stuff as reported by “the old gray lady”…
Update 8/19/16: If you can’t take the heat, might as well get out of Trump’s kitchen, comrade (here).
…and I know I touched on this last week when I said something about MSNBC’s coverage, but I’m glad Brian Stelter of CNN decided to take a bit harder of a look at the latest nonsense from Sean Inanity and his odious fellow travelers about alleged health issues plaguing HRC here (and I think this is one hell of a response)…
…and good job by Planned Parenthood here, giving “No Corporate Tax” Pat Toomey exactly what he deserves (more here, and to help Katie McGinty, click here)…
…and here’s a tune that, sadly, is topical once more (more here - to help if you can, please click here).
Update 8/17/16: I don't know the first thing about her music, but kudos anyway for this.
This is the crap you get when you vote for Repugs, my fellow prisoners – and in case you hadn’t guessed yet, I should point out that Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner is a thoroughly unconscionable liar (here)…
...and Cenk helps lift the veil and explain more seedy goings-on at Fix Noise (here)...
…and kudos to Jimmy Dore for unearthing this foul nugget from Sen. Mr. Elaine Chao; I have a little more faith in HRC than Jimmy does, but we’ll see of course…
…and happy belated 75th birthday to David Crosby; I know there are dustups going on right now with Nash and Young but I’m staying out of that – just appreciating his music, that’s all.
I couldn’t let the week come to a close without noting the passage of Captain Noah, a beloved kids' show host in these parts from too long ago of a time – he was one of a group that included Pixanne, Gene London, Sally Starr, Chief Halftown, and a bunch of others; there was once a time when they held court on weekday and Saturday mornings, and they basically were surrogate parents to an entire generation of baby boomers, and when I say surrogate parents, I mean that as a compliment…can’t put a number on how much all of that stuff means before someone else quite correctly pointed out that “it takes a village”…RIP…
…and returning to the present day, Rev. Al recently spoke with Cheryl Lankford, a Gold Star widow whose husband was killed in Iraq and who is currently suing “The Donald” (others have joined her suit) in response to the Repug presidential candidate’s “Trump University” scam…
...and yeah, here we go with The Big Orange Cheetoh again, but I can’t resist the opportunity to feature both David Cay Johnston and Charlie Pierce at the same time, all including Lawrence O'Donnell making good points as usual…
...and such classy supporters, of course...
...and when it comes to "Fergus Laing," I give you another lesson in “the art of the deal” – give me a break (didn’t see the follow-up clip)…
…and maybe this is how true change starts to happen (and don’t laugh when I tell you that the Dems actually tried to clean up the student loan mess – well, somewhat – at least when it comes to subsidized student loans, as noted here)…
…and this may be the most important 6:24 you’ve seen and/or heard in a long time, and it comes to us courtesy of Thom Hartmann, which really isn’t surprising (and to illustrate his point, I should note that Chris Hayes had a really good interview last night with an economist about what Hillary Clinton is proposing - you think there's a snowball's chance that that video can be found on MSNBC's still-utterly-wretched web site? No way in hell...but ample time was devoted on "All In" tonight to the supposedly burning issue of whether or not Hillary Clinton is trying to hide a stroke, purported by Sean Hannity and Alex Jones of course; for the latter, reality itself is a "false flag")...
…and this is just a reminder to folk in PA-08 that Steve still needs our help (and yes, for the umpteenth time, background checks on private gun sales weren’t enacted, but not because Steve didn’t fight like hell for them) – to do what you can, click here (and I thought this was interesting)..
…and happy belated 62nd (!) birthday to Joe Jackson.
Yep, all it takes is one all right (I think Cenk from yesterday is absolutely right; the Big Orange Cheetoh is pretty much desperate at this point and looking for an escape hatch, for the right price of course)…
…and I gotta tell ya’ that I saw this item about Joe Scar telling Mika not to bother her pretty little head, you wimpy little Democrat you, while daddy here tells her all about how the Repug Party will be “serious,” and what put me off wasn’t even his attempt at “mansplaining” (bad as that was), but the notion that, somehow, the “party of Lincoln” belongs to Scarborough, a charter member of our thoroughly-bought-and-paid-for Beltway corporate media; the sense of self-entitlement from “Morning Jo(ke)” on display here is almost nauseating.
I hate to break the news to Scarborough, but this is truly the face (ahem…) of Not Your Father’s Republican Party (h/t Wonkette).
And I think this pic is a perfect complement to Kyle’s related NSFW commentary here (the ACORN stuff is truly hilarious)…
…and in case “Governor Bully” thinks the Bridge stuff is going to go away – heh heh (here - NSFW)…
…and I hope you’re in the mood to rock out in the middle of a thunderstorm (at least around here for the moment).
Kudos to Cenk for bringing the outrage against the “Trumpster fire,” and kudos for focusing on his single-digit-IQ’d followers also ("red shirt guy" would decry what Trump said later)…
…and I would say that the rules of logic and common sense never have applied to the “Donald Drumpf” campaign, and I would also say that this proves it (Rachel was quite rightly laughing a few days ago, but I don't think anyone is laughing now)…
…and I know I recently featured a “Special Comment” from Keith Olbermann last week as part of “This Day In Doomsy History,” but here is another one from 8/10/09 featuring Caribou Barbie and her “death panel” lie about health care reform, which was working its way through Congress at that time of course; another high-profile Repug inflicting stupidity on our discourse, not unlike “Fergus Laing” and his recent language (some reality on the Affordable Care Law is here)…
I agree with Seth Meyers in that everybody should stand back from the “Trumpster fire,” though I'd say Hillary thus far is doing a good job of using this stuff to keep The Big Orange Cheetoh off-balance (here) - and Meyers is definitely right about people being more interested in the sideshow than the show…I would take it a bit further and tell people to wake the #$@! up, but if he did, I’m sure his audience would disappear)...
...and by the way, the Repug presidential hopeful is getting trounced when it comes to the millennial vote (I'm more concerned about the Stein/Johnson numbers, actually - I think expecting a high-profile Repug to endorse Gary Johnson is "pie in the sky" at this point, but stranger things have happened)..
...also, I'm not sure that I agree with Kyle here that prostitution should be legal, but I think that, otherwise, he makes some good points in this commentary on China's typical repression of dissent…
…and whaddaya say we enjoy the last few weeks of the season we have left, OK?
This is genius stuff by John Oliver on newspapers (and funny too, by the way - NSFW), even if it is depressing in its utterly real depiction of what’s going on with “the fourth estate.”
I know he’s right about supporting local news organizations, but let me just tell you my little tale on this for what it’s worth, OK?
Currently, we subscribe to the Bucks County Courier Times in these parts; I say “currently” because that is always subject to household budgeting decisions (and by the way, the fact that we subscribe to a newspaper doesn’t make us special, I hasten to add). It is also subject to my ever-shrinking tolerance for putting up with the never-ending and utter bilious conservative garbage that composes the vast majority of the Op-Ed page of that newspaper.
When was the last time the Courier Times published Gene Lyons? David Sirota? Joe Conason? Connie Schultz? Froma Harrop? Cynthia Tucker? Not a clue – couldn’t tell you.
George Will? Charles Krauthammer? Cal Thomas (and assorted other whack jobs)? That’s easy – too many times to mention.
And by the way, I know the paper is going to publish conservative content. As much as I detest these people because what they say bears absolutely no resemblance to my day-to-day reality (and because they are SO UTTERLY WRONG on the issues that matter most to my family), I still realize that their voices deserve to be heard also. However, the notion of editorial balance in that paper is a choice between “glibertarian,” right wing and ultra right wing (with Eugene Robinson thrown in once and awhile, along with “liberal” Richard Cohen).
Bottom line: I can see myself one day cancelling our subscription. And yes, that will hurt the efforts of the paper’s beat reporters, who do genuinely good work. And I’m sorry about that.
However, the Courier Times (among many other news organizations) has made the calculated decision to cater its editorial content to elderly white conservatives first and foremost. And in that regard, they are hastening their own extinction (there ARE other audiences, by the way).
And for that reason, I do not understand why I should feel any responsibility for what will likely be their demise one day…
…and yeah, I would say that Bill Maher is spot-on here (NSFW also)…
…and speaking of The Big Orange Cheetoh, kudos to Stephen Colbert and particularly that guy in drag (here – what a creep; “The Donald” I mean of course)…
…and these guys are coming to the TLA in these parts in early October – should be a rockin’ good time.
I guess “Donald Drumpf” would consider a boot across someone’s throat to be “safe” too (here)…
…and apparently we need to update this ad based on this…
…and by the way, I’m not kidding (and the stuff about Nixon is truly chilling)…
…and I wonder if we should start calling him “Donald Trumpovich” (here - more here)…
…and I know some of this stuff on "Fergus Laing" has been done to death already, but I liked the comment from Seth Meyers in particular about Twitter here…
…and it shouldn’t be necessary to run this ad since women should be on a par with men when it comes to equal pay, among other measures, but it is (to help, click here – I’m going to miss Barbara Mikulski)…
…and this is just a reminder to PA-08 folk that we can’t forget to help Steve Santarsiero in his fight to prevent “Mikey Part 2” this fall – to help, click here (and yes, it's true background checks weren't enacted, but not because Steve didn't give it a hell of an effort)…
…and I guess, given the earlier videos in particular, you can call this a theme for a “Trumpocalypse” that we have to make sure never happens.
…a question that should be posed to this fraud from our own beloved commonwealth also (to do something about "No Corporate Tax" Toomey, click here...and let's not forget this too)…
…and I am sooo glad someone brought back this clip about how "Donald Drumpf" VP candidate Mike Pence once compared Iraq to an Indiana open market, or something (here, and I got a kick out of this too)...
Update 1 8/14/16: I would say that this fits the sorry "Pence profile" also.
To me, this clip proves that all of the stuff with “Fergus Laing” is waay too far inside the proverbial looking glass to just write it off as partisan politics…
…and dare I hope that this is the beginning of the end of voter ID laws?...
…and as long as we’re talking about legal stuff, I should note that this may be the best commentary on holding hearings for the nomination of (and eventually confirming) Judge Merrick Garland to the U.S. Supreme Court that I've heard yet…
…and a belated happy 90th birthday to Tony Bennett.
Note to HRC – this particularly abysmal Gallup number for Trump is golden, but there’s a long way to go in this election; it still has to be won…
…and yet another funny commentary on the most recent election stuff from Samantha Bee has an appropriately hard edge at the very end (here)…
…and I’m not sure exactly how Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley got out of his most recent infidelity scandal, but I guess he did somehow…and who knows, he might get out of this too…
…and yeah, I think it’s time to dial up some sweet jammin’ blues – enjoy.
No, I haven’t forgotten about “This Day In Doomsy History”; the latest installment below is from 8/2/11, in which K.O. delivers a truly epic “Special Comment” on that stinking debt deal between Number 44 and “Man Tan” Boehner, who was then Speaker of the House, which brought us the beginning of the wretched austerity we, and a good part of the world, still live under…
Update 8/12/16: And here is why that still matters.
…and by the way, let’s not forget about the antics of Fix Noise head Roger Ailes (“alleged,” let’s not forget, though it’s telling that, as Chris Hayes and Gabriel Sherman tell us, the stories of these women are pretty similar even though they, in all likelihood, have never communicated with each other…a related post is here)…
…and I don’t know how the hell the miserable ingrates shown at this rally for Repug VP nominee Mike Pence can boo and throw catcalls at the military mother asking about “Donald Drumpf” and his attack on the Khans, and then applaud themselves with Pence making the utterly saccharine and disgusting remark about “honoring their service” in regard to our veterans (and here is more garbage from Pence on this – by the way, as nearly as I can tell, Pence never served, though his son serves in the Marines…also, as Think Progress tells us, Humayun Khan was killed in 2004, while Former President Highest Disapproval Rating In Gallup Poll History was still taking up space in An Oval Office, as opposed to Number 44…”that’s what freedom looks like,” huh? Shouting down someone who disagrees with you? Well, I guess that’s how it looks to YOU)…
…and a hat tip goes out to Dan Reed of WXPN in these parts for the reminder that “The Concert for Bangladesh” took place 45 years ago yesterday, which, to my knowledge, was the first of the all-star shows of its type for various worthy causes, including “Farm Aid” and “The Concert for New York City” after 9/11 – as the Wikipedia article tells us, the money raised from the two shows was eventually distributed to those who needed it by 1981, and if you want to blame anyone for the holdup, blame former Beatle manager Allen Klein…George Harrison would also advise Bob Geldof on financial matters for “Live Aid” in 1985 to prevent the same mistake.
Geez oh man, it’s looks like that “Indian-sounding” Fareed Zakaria brought his potty mouth to the party here – kudos (and when it comes to racist, sexist, and other types of garbage spewing from the mouth of the presidential nominee of the “party of Lincoln,” it’s a feature, not a bug, you might say)…
…and yeah, what John Oliver says here too – NSFW (I just hope HRC doesn’t get caught up in this stuff too and realize that she’d got to go out and win this election)…
...and here is more from Donald "A Little Ride" Drumpf (hard to catalog all the refuse he spews, I'll admit - and by the way, here is a bit of reality on this subject - not saying our military hasn’t gotten its act together on this, but we’d all be best served by the proper context)...
…and I don’t know if this tune is apolitical or not, but I think it rocks, with maybe more than a bit of a message to the subject of these videos.
I’ve got some leftovers from the prior week I still need to get to, so here they come – among other things, last week was a really bad one for voter ID laws, as noted here, which is truly good news…
…and the Rev. Dr. William Barber really “brought the heat” at the DNC, as it were, reminding us of what Democrats are supposed to be all about (and no disrespect to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who I’m sure was good too, but how on earth do you top that?)…
…as did former Dem Michigan Mayor Jennifer Granholm here – I’m sure a lot of people got the Carly Simon reference, but I’m sure many others were scratching their heads over it too (didn't know Granholm packed that kind of ooomph - learn something new every day)...
…and I absolutely can’t forget about this summer tune, now can I?
(By the way, my page views have been going insane over the last week or so, which is probably coincidental timed for the conventions…still, thanks to one and all.)
And speaking of same, kudos to Gen. John Allen (here) – like, wow…
…and I would call this stirring also, though for a wholly other reason; tied to the same theme as the prior clip, though…
…and from the sublime to the ridiculous we go here – just say “oops” and get out, NC Repugs (more here)…
…and I have a feeling Ed Schultz is still getting over the fact that Hillary is the Dem nominee for prez and not Bernie Sanders, but we are where we are, and credit to HRC where I think it’s due – besides, it’s all about keeping out “Fergus Laing” at this point…
…and maybe I shouldn’t be diverting attention to “The Donald” again, but I feel I have to; kudos to Thom Hartmann here…
…and when even those evangelical sheep finally realize that they’re getting conned, then maybe the shadows for the Repugs are longer than we thought…
…and it’s probably no surprise whatsoever that I agree with Eric Holder’s assessment of the nominee of the “party of Lincoln,” namely, that his latest remarks about Russia hacking Hillary Clinton’s Email automatically disqualifies him for president, but I’m presenting the clip anyway…
…and best wishes for a happy 70th birthday tomorrow to Jeffrey Hammond of Jethro Tull (doesn’t rock out quite like the original, but I would still call this a pretty good version).
This may be it for President Hopey Changey and his great speeches – if so, he sure exited with a memorable one (here); the wingnuts will always hate him of course, in no small part because Obama truly understands this country better than they ever will (and I'm sure the Dems had permission to use the music)…
…something amplified by Joe Biden earlier, particularly in this excerpt (here)…
…and I always respected Joe Crowley for a lot of reasons, but I REALLY respect him for this (Sam Seder is talking about “The Music Man” and Professor Harold Hill, by the way, which would fit The Donald if he had a benevolent molecule in his body, which of course he doesn’t)…
…and given that the Dem convention is wrapping up tonight, what do you say to a tune to help us get about the tough work of winning this damn election, and (dare I hope) taking back Congress?
I know the focus in Philly is quite rightly on the Democratic National Convention, but I thought this was a cautionary discussion Chris Hayes had with Howard Fineman and E.J. Dionne recently; I’d love to agree with the latter about Trump’s “ceiling,” but one of the truly scary aspects of all of this is that I don’t think we really know what that is – just means we have to work harder for HRC, that’s all…
…that being said, I should also say that this absolutely has to mean the end for this guy and his presidential hopes (and yes, I know there have been a slew of these moments already, but this has to be the proverbial last straw – more here)…
…and this starts with Sen. Al Franken talking about Michelle Obama’s speech, but it ends with Franken telling the media to do their damn jobs (“facts don’t seem to matter,” Mrs. Greenspan? Are you vying for the title of Grand Dame Of Our Beltway Courtier Media?)…
…and when I think about Trump (I try not to do that a lot, I'll admit), songs like this come to mind.
…and yeah, I guess I got trolled by Juilan Assange on some of the earlier Wikileaks stuff – not ashamed to admit if I made a mistake; I thought he had the wherewithal to know when he was getting played by Putin, but apparently he doesn’t (stuff like this from the Trump campaign shows a sophistication I didn’t expect I’ll admit, though I don’t think it shows sophistication to violate U.S. campaign finance law either…you would think that the quite-likely involvement of foreign actors in our election would infuriate the voters of this country…you would think)…
…and I thought this was a good commentary by Kyle Kulinski about what was probably the most memorable line of Michelle’s Obama’s speech at the Democratic Convention last night (NSFW also – the last minute or so in particular is the true takeaway IMHO)…
…and a happy belated birthday to Chepito Areas of Santana – I hope the title of this song reflects the spirits of the country overall after Day 2 of the Dem convention as opposed to last week’s hatefest in Cleveland.
Kudos to Fareed Zakaria for this (and I don’t give a damn about his accent – actually, if you want to hear an extremely NSFW response to Coulter, click here)…
…and memo to our corporate media; any chance that you people are going to wake the hell up and confront “The Donald” over his failure to release his tax returns (here)?
Naah, didn’t think so (zzzzzz)…
…so yeah, maybe it’s time once more for some good old fashioned outrage, and Jon Stewart brings it, as they say, just in time (here)…
…and I don’t know if the rain making its way through these parts will bring much relief over the next day or so – hopefully it will.
For the record, this is Cheri Bustos, Democratic Party U.S. House Member from Illinois.
Also, she is absolutely driving me nuts with solicitation Emails and phone calls (home and cell) to support her campaign for re-election.
Let’s see now, Cheri Bustos…why is that name familiar again?
Oh yeah, it’s because she partnered with our very own Mikey the Beloved in this “No Labels” idiocy over at least the last two years. You know…pretending to be a Sensible Centrist™ even though she is, in fact, a version of Republican Lite (more here).
So guess what, Cheri Bustos? I hope you lose your election. And stop asking me for money, because I’m not giving you a dime!
Yeah, that means one less Dem in a contest where we need all the Dems we can get, I know. But with “Democrats” like Bustos, we’d be better off with the wretched status quo we already have.
Back to the videos - and all I have to say in response to this is buen trabajo, Tim Kaine (in the clip below, Kaine joined the filibuster by Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut in favor of common sense gun reform - can't track down the rest of what Kaine said, but I think you can get the gist from the clip)...
...and kudos to the NBA for this (and Pat McCrory’s utterly predictable, and stupid, temper tantrum of a response is here)...
…and I think this utterly idiotic GMO labeling law is par for the course with this wretched Congress…
…and here’s something a little dreamy and ethereal in the spirit of the season.
In light of all of the nonsense from Cleveland this week, I thought I would provide this as a palate cleanser of sorts.
Now that the convention idiocy is over and the “party of Lincoln” has proclaimed Donald Trump as its standard-bearer, Republicans all over the place are saying, “oh, Trump doesn’t represent me…how in Heaven’s name did we get to the point where he is our nominee for President,” clutching their metaphorical pearls all the while and looking for their also-metaphorical fainting couch.
(In a similar vein, I give you this today from the eternally wretched Christine Flowers, concocting yet another unintentionally hilarious diatribe which is truly all we can expect from philly.com’s conservative quota hire columnist.)
Do you want to know how you got to the point where “Fergus Laing” is actually your nominee for president, Republicans? Do you want to know who is really to blame?
Try looking in the goddamn mirror!
Every time you demonize and ridicule someone without any basis in actual fact, or at least without any evidence that will stand up to what you might call “the cold light of day”…every time you demonize and ridicule someone merely because they belong to a particular race, gender, or other demographic that takes issue with what you might call your political point of view…every time you repeat baseless charges over and over and over again against your opposition when they have been thoroughly or utterly disproven or, perhaps, not even proven to begin with…every time you demonize a political member of the opposition for all of the reasons I noted previously in this paragraph without any provable, corroborated facts or evidence…every time you demagogue against those who are most vulnerable in our society, again without facts or evidence…every time you demagogue against someone trying to address the most vital issues we face, such as matters of war and peace, the economy (and, as a part of that, issues pertaining to what you might call economic and social justice), and the future survivability of this planet (and, in the process, argue with proven principles of math, science, and, pretty much, plain common sense)…when you do any or all of that, do you know what you also do?
You perpetuate the forces that ultimately gave us Donald J. Trump as the Republican Party nominee for President of the United States, that’s what you do.
So spare me your pitiable mea culpas, because, now, it is up to Democrats to try and clean up the mess you created but, not surprisingly, couldn’t find the political will to fix yourselves.
Now for some videos – and it looks like, based on this, Laura Ingraham gave away the game, as they say…
…and yeah, it sounds like Bill Maher captured what went on in Cleveland this week pretty well (here)…
…and I thought this was some great perspective on “The Donald” from filmmaker Ken Burns, speaking with Christiane Amanpour (and of course, the inevitable wingnut outrage followed here)…
…and our neighbors to the north are paying attention (as is the rest of the world, as noted here – dear Lord)…
…also, I cannot possibly imagine why Fix Noise didn’t want their viewers to see this (here – removing my tongue from my cheek)…
…and it seems like Republicans can’t get through a week, or even days sometimes, without infringing on a musician’s work without getting permission, which, in this case, I’m sure they’d never get anyway (I think the following tune, were it to be allowed by the estate, would be more appropriate).
Awww, poor “Governor Bully,” in response to this (naah – just kidding…more here and here)…
…and this is funny stuff from Stephen Colbert, bringing back his “Comedy Central” character a bit, but the very last sentence is about as tongue-in-cheek as you’re going to get (here)…
…and Trump’s veep nominee gets the Samantha Bee treatment here (NSFW)…
...and no "milestone" or "message" music tonight - just a cool new tune.
It looks like time is drawing short for Roger (“Voldemort”) Ailes in light of this (a day that has been a long time in coming)…
...and golly, it looks like the latest trophy wife of "The Donald" sure put her I'm-sure-elegantly-pedicured foot in it big time (here)...
…and Kyle Kulinski tells us about the latest in the annals of “Do As I Say, Not As I Do” Repug Party nonsense, particularly regarding Trump VP nominee Mike Pence (NSFW)…
…and I know people are going to be having fun with the latest idiocy that transpires from Cleveland (not a shot at the city, mind you – we hosted these characters in 2000, after all), and it’s going to be hard to pick and choose of all of what I would call “hate porn” in an effort to find what is most despicable (the grieving Benghazi mother who deserves our prayers, respect and support but who was allowed by life forms almost too despicable for words to rant in a public forum against HRC, along with all of the calls for Former Secretary of State Clinton to be imprisoned or worse, etc.), but right now, this might be the lowest of the low (a lot of competition, I’ll admit) – if Freddie Mercury were still with us, he might offer this as a response.
Yeah, I know some of this stuff may be a little too “inside baseball,” but I still think it shows that not everyone is singing “Kumbaya” in Cleveland (here)…
…and speaking of the all-but-named Democratic Party nominee, I have only three words for this video: Nail. Hammer. Head. (here)…
...also, David Pakman tells us about recent shootings in this country we may not have heard about (telling that, while overall violent crime is down in this country, shootings are up)...
…and happy belated 70th (!) birthday to Linda Ronstadt; all those years I spent holding up her poster with one hand – smile.
God, hasn’t France suffered enough already? To help, click here…
…and I honestly was going to ignore this – naah, sorry, I can’t (kudos to Kyle for keeping it clean)…
…and hey, as long as “The Donald” just gave us fresh, new ammunition (here)…
…and speaking of Trump’s new veep nominee, Rachel Maddow brought us this report earlier in the week on how it can be a fruitless exercise to try and run against the “number 2” on the ticket…
…and I agree with South Carolina Republican Sen. Tim Scott on nothing, but kudos to him for this…
…and while making a lot of money isn’t a crime I know, it could be if you use the influence it buys to screw over everybody else…lots of ways that our senatorial mistake from PA has done that which I’ll try to present over the coming weeks and months; in the meantime, to help Katie McGinty, click here…
Update 7/18/16: Actually, this should go a long way towards telling us how awful a senator Toomey truly is.
…and what, are we actually supposed to think that Stuart Varney ISN’T a scumbag because he has an English accent? (NSFW)...
…and Harry Chapin left us 35 years ago tomorrow – among his other accomplishments, he also was a tireless advocate against hunger and poverty in this country…to say his voice is still needed is a huge understatement.
Fine – let everybody shoot each other; no never mind to me…
…and it looks like Indiana Governor Mike Pence may be the VP for “Fergus Laing,” though it isn’t official of course (dag, all those Mickey D’s meals “Governor Bully” got for Trump for nothing, apparently); I thought this was an informative segment about Pence’s most recent moment in the spotlight (don’t think his “freeze” was a big a deal as that awful law he signed)…
Update 7/15/16: And speaking of Pence, does anyone remember this besides me?
…and isn’t this just precious? Sam Seder tells us that Jeb Bush blames the Pope for losing the South Carolina Republican primary and shooting down his presidential hopes; naaah, didn’t have anything to do with his brother’s utterly failed, ruinous presidency…not much (NSFW)…
...and it looks like Dale Hansen has done it again here - kudos...
…and as damn awful as this is, and it is that, I’d love to see Governor Bully take time from waiting on “The Donald” to try and explain this, assuming he gives a crap, which I’m sure he doesn’t of course…
…and I think this is a really cool tune from an exceptional musical family (that twangy axe in the background can only mean the "Bob Dylan of Britain").
As I watch this about the so-called Chilcot Report, I keep hoping for something like that in THIS country (yeah, I know – keep hoping)…
…and like it or not, it’s time for another installment of “This Day In Doomsy History” from 7/13/11, with the Foxies doing what they do best, and that is to smear anybody who points out that they’re nothing but the media wing of Not Your Father’s Republican Party, though, based on this, it looks like their “dark Lord” has some actual honest-to-goodness legal stuff going on; couldn’t happen to a more deserving scumbag (more here and here)...
...and Elijah Cummings does a first-class job here IMHO of taking apart more wingnut nonsense...
…and I’m falling behind a bit on my summer songs, so here comes another one.
We all know what Rudy 9iu11ani is as well as the other “Foxies” (and what a sad epitaph for Wayne Rogers, by the way), but in spite of that, I thought this was a good discussion Chris Hayes conducted with Heather McGhee and Eugene O’Donnell – great job by McGhee to tie police tactics to trying to generate revenue strangled by austerity, by the way…
…and by the way, Rachel Maddow tells us how “Fergus Laing” is resurrecting some of the very worst of the Nixon years (oh goody – just kidding; how truly pathetic)…
…and this tells us about Rep. David Jolly’s bill to limit the amount of time congressional candidates spend on fundraising; an “A” for effort on this one…
…and all the best to Joe Perry of Aerosmith (here).
...also, Rev. Al talks to Marc Morial of the National Urban League about the aftermath of the most recent headline-making gun violence in this country…
…and aside from the Hillary Email stuff which never was a “thing” in the first place IMHO, I think Larry Wilmore is spot-on here…
…and also while we were away, Elie Wiesel left us – so many reasons to honor his life and accomplishments, but this one stands out in particular (and of course “The Sainted Ronnie R” went to Bitburg anyway - have to crank the volume a bit)…
...and when it comes to the recent violence in Minnesota and Louisiana, I had this song very much in mind.
“Secular Talk” tells us of Bernie Sanders’s recent Op-Ed in the New York Times (NSFW…don’t quite despair in HRC as Kyle does…don’t know how you can consider HRC to be the same as Trump when it comes to the corporate nonsense, though I admit that he makes good points…”ya’ gotta go left” – damn correct on that)…
…and with that in mind, I give you the following recent great words from Sen. Elizabeth Warren on the TPP…
…and oh yeah – anybody out there beside me remember Zika? Fortunately, Harry Reid did here…
…and I hope you’re in the mood for some great live (more or less) music, because here it comes (not sure what's up with the letterbox formatting in Chrome and IE on the laptop, but it sounds fine and all is OK on the smartphone, so there you are).
It’s getting to the point where the shootings are going on in this country faster than I can comment on them, though I’ll admit that I don’t have anything particularly brilliant to say on any of them.
I’m sure Dem Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton is right to say that race played a role in the shooting death of Philando Castile, a resident of that state, particularly when, as noted here, Castile had a license to carry and notified the police officer about it, but was shot anyway when apparently reaching for identification to present to the officer (noted here – and yes, the sound of crickets from the NRA over this speaks volumes about that organization as far as I’m concerned). However, I’m not sure that Dayton should have been so quick to point that out before all of the facts were in.
(And yes, this video is graphic, particularly up to about 1:48 – NSFW of course)...
Update 8/11/17: ZOMG, the NRA FINALLY has something to say on this from their shrieking harpie Dana Loesch here (and of course, they're wrong, since they can never be right on this anyway).
And as for Alton Sterling, it apparently remains an open question whether or not he struggled with police after he was told to lie on the ground before the police shot him, though, to me, it’s telling that the cops removed the surveillance video of the encounter even though they had no warrant and the owner of the store where the shooting occurred, Abdullah Muflahi, did not consent to them removing it (here)...
Of course, none of this is justification for the shooting of the Dallas police officers at the protests over the Castile and Sterling shootings (here)...
And with all of this in mind, maybe it isn’t too bad of an idea to think about this (clip ends kind of suddenly)…
I’m sorry I don’t have anything better to say about any of this. I just wish we were better in this country at building bridges instead of walls (yeah, I know – corny, dopey liberal sentiment, but it’s all I got). And oh yeah, as far as I’m concerned, the NRA has blood on its hands for this, among other gun-related atrocities in this country too numerous to mention.
Maybe this isn’t too bad of a time for those so inclined to pray for tolerance and understanding on all sides (and by the way, I’m not trying to imply any equivalency here, since we overwhelmingly have an issue with African Americans shot by police as opposed to whites). And yes, I know this is coming from someone fortunate enough to be white and living in an area where the cops leave us alone and, when they do interact with us, they treat us with respect and we try our best to reciprocate.
But trying to talk to one another is preferable to trying to shoot each other. Right?
Even for Archbishop Chucky, this is utterly ridiculous (you can consider the following video as a response - meanwhile, the spaces in those pews on Sunday will only get bigger)...
…oh, and let’s not forget that Pat “No Corporate Tax” Toomey is still defending the Senate seat that he paid for won in 2010 – to help him fail at that task, click here…
…and this is almost too appalling for mere words from yours truly (NSFW)…
…and I give you today’s regional weather forecast.
It looks like “Bush’s poodle” will skate on Dubya’s Not-So-Excellent Adventure in Iraq after all, at least for now (more here, here and here)…
...and while the apology stuff from Pope Frank is nice, it would be even better to see it followed up with substantive policy changes in Church doctrine...
…and Thom Hartmann tells us that Sen. Elizabeth Warren has kept up the proverbial drum beat, as it were, against Comcast and other corporate miscreants ("If you want less government regulation, reduce the need for it" indeed)…
…and I’m glad to see this guy finally enjoying the fruits of newfound stardom after a lot of long, hard years.
