Friday Stuff

I know I have to be careful about giving Joe Scar much credit here, commenting on the Repug attacks on Special Counsel Robert Mueller, since, when the Dems eventually regain power, Scarborough will be one of the first to go right back to attacking everything they do, but for now he’s pretty spot-on (I can’t verify the Ted Kennedy “brown shirt” comment about Iraq; not saying Scarborough is wrong, but only saying I can’t verify it)…



…and Rachel Maddow talks about Trump pardoning Scooter Libby – typically stupid on the part of the Gropenfuhrer and thumbing his nose at the rule of law as usual; I have to admit that, to me, Nicolle Wallace was just another Never Trumper and former conservative who I was automatically supposed to feel sorry for, but after watching this, I have to give her props for this segment (similar to how I feel about Scarborough I guess - more on Libby here and here)…



Update 4/14/18: Charlie Pierce ended up having a similar observation as I did about Scarborough, Wallace and that ilk, but as you might expect, he did a much, MUCH better job of writing about it here (h/t Eschaton).

…and this was a good segment by Jimmy Kimmel I thought with his “doorman” (kind of flounders a bit in the middle, though it’s still funny, but the end is worth it - here; I know Cenk is right when he says we pay too much attention to this stuff at times, but I'm sorry - this train wreck of a "presidency" is too hideous to ignore)…



…and Seth Meyers gives us an update on Comey and the “pee tape” along with Lyin’ Paul Ryan bailing again (this stuff comes at us pretty fast and furious and it’s easy to get behind I know - glad to see him drag Sean Inanity again)…



…and with all the Trumpian insanity out there, it’s easy to lose track of stories like this, though we shouldn’t – Our Treasonous, Tiny-Handed Orange Delusional Lying Maniac of a preznit wants a judge confirmed who apparently hasn’t made up her mind on Brown v. Board of Education (just say “oops” and get out, Wendy Vitter)…



…and I usually take note of Friday the 13th in my musical selections, and I was tempted to do that again today, but I decided to say the hell with it this time and include this instead, which absolutely blew me away.

Thursday Stuff

Rachel Maddow talks with NBC national security and military reporter Courtney Kube about the Gropenfuhrer maybe lobbing missiles into Syria – yep, typical Repug distraction (and I think this is noteworthy)…



…and I think it’s kind of amusing to hear Michael Brooks of The Majority Report actually going to the trouble of criticizing Sean Inanity over the optics of his lunacy – I guess you can call this my attempt to make up a bit for ignoring all the Hannity/Kimmel stuff, as noted here (NSFW)…



…and I actually think this matters a bit (gives you an insight into what an utterly soulless monster Number 45 truly is), as one of our felines rubs my leg in an effort to feed his food bowl :-)…

Trump is the first president in 130 years to not have a pet pic.twitter.com/z6YRwK9tCk

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) April 12, 2018

…and here’s kind of a dreamy new tune for a sunny April day.

Wednesday Stuff

Well, well, it looks like none other than Mr.-Puppy-Dog-Eyes-With-The-Shiv is the latest Repug to bail the sinking congressional ship (here and here); this makes me recall this recent video by Cenk of TYT on the abominable tax scam perpetrated by Ryan and his pals (I think Cenk takes his commentary a little far, though – he’s got to be kidding if he thinks unions carry anywhere near the weight of rich Repug constituencies)……

…and here is another example of “do as I say, not as I do” Repug non-governance under the current U.S. House speaker…

Paul Ryan just displayed a jaw-dropping level of hypocrisy pic.twitter.com/rIu4so7gAK

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) May 8, 2017

..and here is a reminder from John Oliver about Ryan’s supposed inspiration…



…and for someone who has dressed himself up as a person of alleged Christian virtue, I think this moldy oldie is completely appropriate.

Tuesday Stuff

Yeah, this reminds me of the time Obama’s personal lawyer was raided by the FBI, which happened at, ohhh, roughly about Never O’Clock…



…and Farron Cousins lays the blame right at the wretched feet of Sinclair Broadcasting for the existence of the Gropenfuhrer in An Oval Office (the last minute or so might be a bit harsh, but I can’t argue with it either)…



…and I kind of apologize for inflicting that utterly cowardly meat sack Ted Nugent on everybody, but I think he needs to be called in particular for this latest garbage…



…and it sounds like this is the end for Lindsey Buckingham with Fleetwood Mac, which is a shame of course – as I’m sure I’ve said before, I think it says something in particular that they’ll probably need two guitarists to replace him.

Sunday Stuff

I had to drop off the grid a bit over the last few days for unexpected family reasons and I may have to do so again over the coming days – not sure yet…

…anyway, here is our periodic reminder that we need sane, responsible gun laws in this country…

Gun violence now claims nearly 100 lives each day. pic.twitter.com/xItBSl9DHv

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) April 3, 2018

…and in a somewhat related story as far as I’m concerned, Mike Papantonio and Farron Cousins of ”Ring of Fire” talk about what I would call racism in reporting…



…and I don’t know what it says about lawmakers in Tennessee who apparently don’t realize that The Onion is a satirical web site – vote them all out so they’ll have plenty of time to read more about it, you might say…

This Republican cited the Onion while debating a bill pic.twitter.com/vs5Jy5YyQO

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) April 5, 2018

…and Kyle K. tells about another one of those evangelical frauds, Ralph Drollinger, who apparently forgot about the Bible passages saying we should be stewards of the earth (here – NSFW)…



…and as long as we’re talking about science a bit, I thought I should be a little more upbeat here and include this video about Prof. Stephen Hawking’s final gesture on earth (I have no doubt that he’s roaming the cosmos at this moment)…

Stephen Hawking's final gift to humanity was an Easter meal for the homeless pic.twitter.com/57IiY0ugcZ

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) April 5, 2018

…and I don’t know how many more times RT is going to come to the McCarter Theater in Princeton (his most recent one was his 20th since 1985), but he knocked ‘em dead again last Friday night (with guest Joan Shelley, who was also excellent), with a great set that included this recently-dusted-off number.

Wednesday Stuff

Did you hear the latest? Generalissimo Trump is claiming that he’s more popular than his predecessor based on a garbage Rasmussen poll – too funny (here)…



…and Ali Velshi breaks down the latest Trumpian garbage on DACA here (hey DNC? You want to stop playing patty cake with this cabal of outlaws and crooks and try messaging like this? You know – actually show a freaking spine for once! Try doing something besides putting the bite on me for $$ every other day!)…



…and I have no idea who Jess Phoenix is, but I’d damn well vote for her if I could based on this great ad (NSFW)…

Tired of what's going on in government? Me too.

Let's end the bullshit. It's time to roll up our sleeves & clean up Washington. Send me to Congress.

Donate now: https://t.co/C9HggzVQ9c#nomorebs #Jess2018 #RiseUp pic.twitter.com/943csz9eex

— Jess Phoenix (@jessphoenix2018) March 29, 2018

...and how could I NOT include this tune for today's commemoration?

Tuesday Stuff

Seth Meyers brings us an Easter-related update on the latest nonsense from the ruinous Trumpster regime (I think the look on the face of the Easter Bunny, that of utter shock, is perhaps the most apropos for what our country as a whole feels as these methaphorical train wrecks continue to unfold)…



…and I guess I’m not supposed to consider this “low-hanging fruit,” as it were (related somewhat to the pic), but maybe it is (Francis Faxwell is absolutely right about the double standard of hiding boobs vs. hiding guns)…



…and Chris Hayes tells us the latest on the striking teachers in Oklahoma and Kentucky (good job by Pedro Noguera in particular to link depressed teacher salaries and education budgets to “right to work” states as well as the ruinous austerity measures inflicted by Repug legislatures – this report could have run on for a least a few more minutes IMHO)…



…and yeah, color me NOT shocked to find out that the latest Repug tax scam meant bupkes in terms of actual money kicked towards the Doomsy household among millions of others in this country (I hope Farron Cousins is right about voters paying attention)…



…and it looks like Little Tommy Friedman poked his head out of his hidey hole here to say something else stupid recently; Sam Seder reminds us why Friedman shouldn’t be taken seriously – if anything, Friedman should be treated as a pariah – in this clip from 2014…



...and Marvin Gaye died 34 years ago yesterday (today would have been his 79th birthday).

Monday Stuff

So I want to get this straight – President Fergus Laing kills DACA, started under President Obama of course, then walks away from a deal the Democrats in the Senate stupidly offered him which included his stinking wall (here)…but somehow it’s still the Dems fault that he no longer wants to do something about DACA (more here and here)?

The bottom line is that Generalissimo Trump and congressional Repugs will NEVER agree to DACA funding without making taxpayers pay for his stupid $21 billion “wall” (might not agree to DACA even with wall funding), primarily because DACA came from Obama, and aside from the wall, all they care about is doing everything they can to avoid further legitimizing ANYTHING from Number 44.

I know this is not front-page news, but it still bears repeating – Number 45 is a lying, delusional idiot - makes me recall this Trevor Noah clip…



...and Ana and Mark Thompson of TYT give us the latest on Scott Pruitt (yep, take the "P" out of EPA under this guy - Thompson's "garage" metaphor at about 7:08 is perfectly apt; an update is here)...



...and Chris Hayes tells us about the woman on probation who voted in Texas and didn't know she wasn't supposed to do that and was sent back to prison for 5 more years (here…yep – pretty damn appalling all right; yes, she did wrong as Hayes notes, but how about a little perspective?)...



...and I couldn’t resist bringing this one back (SNL w/ Melissa McCarthy last Easter as you-know-who)...



…and speaking of TV, RIP Steven Bochco; watching “Hill Street Blues” used to be an event – never had a desire to watch another cop show after that one because I don’t know how it possibly could be topped…



…and happy belated 70th birthday to Jimmy Cliff; despite it all, I think there will always be a place for this song.

Happy Easter 2018

A little late I know, but may you all have a happy and blessed Easter. If you don't observe anything, may you have a happy and blessed long weekend.

Friday Stuff

I thought this was some pretty good push-back against that utter wingnut fraud Laura Ingraham, who of course tried to manufacture an issue against Parkland, FL mass shooting survivor David Hogg (and how dare this human stain invoke Holy Week as a supposed justification for her garbage!) - Ana and the TYT panel tells us about it (more here)…



…and the more I learn about the recent shooting of Stephon Clark, the more I’m sickened by it…

‘You’re killing us. It’s genocide.’ — Stephon Clark’s brother and a group of protesters shut down this Sacramento City Council meeting pic.twitter.com/LvF1BBq4rU

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) March 30, 2018

…and Rachel Maddow talks with Leo Shane of Military Times on VA privatization, which to me poses the potential for yet another cruel scam by this cabal of crooks and lowlifes (yeah, David Shulkin was supposedly fine as VA secretary – but of course, with our Treasonous Tiny-Handed Orange Dictator, ANYTHING is possible)…



…and Sam Seder tells us that September and October “scare the hell out of him” when it comes to that lunatic John Bolton trying something ridiculous at the behest of the Gropenfuhrer, like starting a war God forbid – that’s usually when they launch damn TV shows, which this administration of crazies thinks all of this is anyway…



…well, I’m going to try and lighten the mood a bit with this one, with Bill Maher basically just telling studio executives to throw a bone, as it were, to conservatives when it comes to TV and movies (though they tried that once, and I don’t think it was too successful – and in a related story, am I actually supposed to give a crap about Roseann Barr?)…



…and tomorrow marks what would have been the 110th birthday of legendary jazz vibraphonist Red Norvo (changing things up a bit again I guess).

Thursday Stuff

I thought David Pakman made an interesting connection here between the wingnut justification for the NRA accepting donations from Russia and their apoplexy when Planned Parenthood accepts funding from outside sources also; typical conservative double standard…



…and Mike Malloy gives us a NSFW analysis on last Saturday’s marches – he puts it in kind of polarizing, racial terms, but I think he’s right, at least about white people losing what they view as their position of privilege – “it’s because of the guns,” indeed…



…and John and Ana tell us about PA’s U.S. House Repug Ryan Costello, who has decided not to run again (more here)…



…and the prior video touches on the ridiculous gerrymandering in our beloved commonwealth – here is more on that (and no, the Dems aren’t innocent either – it’s just that some Dems are amateur crooks and the Repugs are professional ones...great video from the CBC)…



…and yeah, though I admit it’s kind of an interesting argument, I think the claim for religious protection by the so-called “cannabis church” is going to go up in smoke – heh (as Mike Papantonio and Peter Mougey explain)…



…and speaking of religion, even though it isn’t Sunday, that doesn’t mean we still can’t go to church as far as I’m concerned (particularly since it’s Holy Week, for the faithful).

Wednesday Stuff

RIP Linda Brown of Brown v. Board of Education, remembered by Joe Scar and company (in a way, I wish he and Mike Barnicle wouldn’t profane Brown’s memory by mentioning our current sorry political state, but on the other hand, I know they’re absolutely right – more here)…



...and Rachel Maddow tells us about the latest nonsense from Generalissimo Trump and his minions, and that is to play games with the 2020 census, despite the outcry from every official of either party who has had anything whatsoever to do with the census previously; Maddow speaks with former Obama Admin official Vanita Gupta (more here)…



…and of all of the unbelievable non-Trump stories out there, I have to admit that this has to be near the top of the list; kind of puts this in context as far as I’m concerned…

This Alabama sheriff bought a $750K beach house with money meant to feed people in prison — and he claims it’s legal pic.twitter.com/hwPX2OjQ0f

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) March 28, 2018

…and I’m sure that, as screwed-up U.S. states are concerned, Hosni Mubarak Walker would inflict the same thing on Wisconsin if he could; typical Repug – when you’re losing the game, pull every dirty trick you can to try and change the rules…



Update: Karoli at C&L is all over this here.

…and maybe this will go down as nothing more than grandstanding by former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, though I still think he needs to be commended for doing good (more here - hard to overstate how wrong-headed the Heller ruling by The Supremes really was)…



…and legendary bluesman W.C. Handy passed away 60 years ago today; here is a great cover of perhaps Handy’s most famous tune.

Tuesday Stuff

Yeah, I think these are pretty damn decisive numbers in favor of common sense gun laws, as Kyle K. tells us, and from Fix News no less (NSFW)…



…and I think it’s a pretty logical progression for the “ammo-sexuals” to look to a porn channel for their videos, as long as they’re apparently having trouble with YouTube – heh…

Gun videos are moving to Pornhub after being banned from YouTube pic.twitter.com/crWwgryaow

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) March 26, 2018

…and Cenk reminds us of what “Zig Zag Zell” Miller once said about President Obama, given Miller’s recent passing – yeah, Gorilla Glue is pretty mainstream stuff, but really, is Cenk so wrong to point out the problem with Miller’s insinuation here? Pretty sad that stuff like this (as well as his utterly despicable conduct towards John Kerry in 2004) is what Miller will be remembered for...



…and it’s also not that much of a stretch given that Bushco’s former defense secretary once compared Number 44 to a trained ape here on 3/25/14, and at the time, I put up K.O.’s first “Special Comment” as a response (yep, it’s time once more for This Day in Doomsy History, more or less)…



…and 23 U.S. House Repugs aren’t seeking re-election, as Farron Cousins reminds us (no doubt seeing the electoral handwriting on the wall, though we all still need to go out and make that happen)…



...and happy belated 70th birthday to Richard Tandy of ELO.

Monday Stuff

Sir Paul and Mrs. McCartney had the right idea, as noted here.

...and Joy Reid tells us about the March for our Lives on Saturday, with a GREAT ad from vets against AR-15 assault weapons; Joy Reid also speak with Dem U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar…



…and here is a NowThis report on the marches (a report on the Philly march is here; a report on the Doylestown march is here)…

Over 800,000 came out for #MarchForOurLives in DC, with hundreds of thousands more rallying throughout the nation pic.twitter.com/YXsZyGOeFd

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) March 24, 2018

…oh, and by the way, NRA, gun owners marched also, contrary to your propaganda…

Don't let the NRA fool you: Many proud gun owners believe in gun reform — and they attended the #MarchForOurLives to let the nation know why pic.twitter.com/hjBRUleYMZ

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) March 25, 2018

...and I'm not familiar with the singer Andrea Day, but I thought she spoke very eloquently here...

Singer Andra Day explains why she used her music to support student activists at #MarchForOurLives pic.twitter.com/9ezo2tABXb

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) March 25, 2018

...and here is a report from iTV...



...and I thought this was an appropriate song for the occasion.

Friday Stuff

God bless these kids, putting the trolls, bots and other lower life forms in this country (and probably hacking in with aliases from beyond our borders) utterly to shame (more here)…

We see these lawmakers representing the NRA, and not their constituents. We see our “leaders” making excuses and refusing to act. On Saturday, they’ll see US. pic.twitter.com/7OGttnRSsz

— March For Our Lives (@AMarch4OurLives) March 21, 2018

…and this “Worst Persons” segment with K.O. from about June of ’08 tells us that new Trumpian National Security Advisor John Bolton (cringe) predicted all kinds of awfulness with an Obama presidency which - whoops! - did not materialize in any way, shape or form (seriously, this guy shouldn’t be ANYWHERE NEAR U.S. foreign policy decision-making of any kind, but of course, he has the “magic R” after his name, so the “party of Lincoln” remains utterly cowed, apparently – more here, here and here)...



…and John and Cenk of TYT tells us the latest on the PA House Repugs’ hissy fit over the PA Supreme Court’s upholding of the newly redrawn congressional districts (Cenk is ON FIRE up to about 4:20, and he's absolutely right - and here is an update)…



…and I know I haven’t featured Sam Bee for a little while, so here she is on the firing of FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe and giving Hope Hicks an apropos sendoff (NSFW)…



…and this reminds us that it’s time once more to pay attention to Louie Gohmert, the stupidest life form in the entire universe (more here)…




…and I know Kyle K. took Bill Maher apart for this commentary earlier this week, but I thoroughly disagreed with what Kyle had to say (oooh, Nancy Pelosi corporate Democrat Nancy Pelosi corporate Democrat Nancy Pelosi corporate Democrat Nancy Pelosi corporate Democrat BAD BAD BAD BAD MUST PUNISH – you know, we can either insist on our damn purity tests all the time and keep losing elections, or we can rally behind these characters, hard as it is to do that at times I’ll admit, and hold them to account AFTER they win and we hang onto power); also, as great as it is that Conor Lamb won, I can tell you that he’s learning the ropes pretty quick – he’s already asked me for money (kind of a weak finish by Maher, but I still think he made solid points)…



…and yeah, we can watch all this stuff and have all kinds of reactions, but none of it matters unless we “get woke and STAY woke,” people…

We can't sit on the sidelines while politicians suppress voting rights. Join me in supporting @LetAmericaVote by texting VOTE to 44939. pic.twitter.com/limSa12JXv

— Allison Janney (@AllisonBJanney) March 22, 2018

…and damn if this doesn’t sound like Led Zeppelin 2018 – rocks big time (and it’s been a little while since I featured a tune with a killer drum solo).

Thursday Stuff

Kyle K. tells us about the David Hogg video against the NRA (NSFW of course) and the predictable backlash; the ad also tells us of the march set to take place this Saturday…



…and Cenk, Ana and company on TYT tell us about Eryn Gilchrist, who stepped up to run in a Maine state house election against Leslie Gibson after this fool decided to criticize Hogg and Emma Gonzales (Gibson dropped out, by the way, as well he should)…



…and I’m old enough to know that payoffs are part of the political picture for most politicos of high or low stature, but in true Trumpian fashion, it looks like that may be the case here despite security concerns for our military, particularly in Qatar, as Rachel Maddow explains with Mark Mazzetti of the New York Times…

…and Farron Cousins tells us of the media’s attempt to somehow “normalize” the alleged Austin bomber who blew himself up (if this Mark Conditt character had screamed “Allah Is Magnificent!” as he exploded himself, we’d be getting ready to invade somewhere; I agree with Cousins’s stupidity argument, but it also has to do with economics and not trying to alienate wingnuts and shut off a potential revenue stream from these characters – Exhibit A of that, as far as I’m concerned, is the Bucks County Courier Times)…



…and here’s a lesson in American Economics 101 from Sen. Elizabeth Warren…

How is it that while the very, very wealthiest Americans have never had it so good, the middle class has been in decline for the last 30 years? pic.twitter.com/rOSLl9YB5z

— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) March 21, 2018

…and in addition to Ringo Starr, Barry Gibb, the last surviving Gibb brother, was recently knighted also (here); here is a tune for the occasion.

Wednesday Stuff

After awhile, I have to admit that it gets hard to not be repetitive about just how bad a situation we face in this country with our Treasonous, Tiny-Handed Orange Dictator taking up space in An Oval Office – I know there are tons of memes out there about how Number 45 is nothing but a tool of his Russian puppet master (including the one above), but it’s becoming more and more clear that that is the actual reality we’re dealing with (and as far as Cambridge Analytica is concerned, I give you this)…



…and I give you, for the second day in a row, another installment of “This Day in Doomsy History” from 3/21/12, in which a certain Willard Mitt Romney is taken to task for his “Etch-a-Sketch” comment (something to consider in light of this)…



…and I thought Charlie Pierce had the right take, as he so often does, on Pete Peterson (here); I don’t wish ill on the man given the fact that he’s dead, but I’m also grateful that his plutocratic vision of this country (as John Nichols of The Nation explains) has never come to hideous fruition, though we need to keep fighting to make sure that remains the case (and there was a time when I gave Ed Rendell more credit than to associate himself with the “Fix the Debt” bunch including Peterson, but sadly no more)…



…and, as noted in this story, Congressman Mark Amodei of Nevada pushed to get a student suspended for using profanity when making a call to someone in Amodei’s office; no, I don’t condone that – it’s self-defeating – but I don’t condone petty vindictiveness on Amodei’s part either…"Welcome to the world where words have consequences” huh? Votes have consequences too…



…and it looks like Lt. Col. Ralph Peters finally got “woke” to what Fix Noise is really all about – kudos…



…and congratulations to Sir Richard Starkey (here...and yeah, it appears that we’re going to get plenty more of the white stuff here also).

Tuesday Stuff

Rachel Maddow takes us back to the story of the Watergate tapes and the so-called “Stennis Compromise” over them & when that was nixed, the “Saturday Night Massacre” followed – leading into a discussion of trying every possible way to shield Generalissimo Trump from Special Counsel Robert Mueller…heh…and then to the Cambridge Analytica stuff (more here)…”Crunchtime” indeed…if you take away absolutely nothing else from this, take the following: NEVER buy gas from Lukoil because you are literally helping Putin…



…and this is a few days old I know, but here’s the story of the looney tune Trumpettes in AZ who vandalized the mosque and encouraged their kids to help; they've since been arrested apparently - good…

This is absolutely despicable. pic.twitter.com/HHHxWnPTHM

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) March 17, 2018

…and I can think of no better response to the prior insanity than this one – and yes, this is another chapter of “This Day In Doomsy History” (well, basically) from 3/19/12, featuring a recording of then-Senator John F. Kennedy speaking on religion from September 1960 (“an act against one church is treated as an act against all” indeed)…



…oh, and by the way, the water of Flint still isn’t OK, as Dem U.S. House Rep Dan Kildee reminds us (to say nothing of the fact that Puerto Rico has far to go)…

Thousands of people in Flint still don't have clean drinking water. Rep. Dan Kildee is making sure we don’t forget them. pic.twitter.com/rmQqjrAjOD

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) March 9, 2018

…and here’s a bit of humor; apparently, Fix Noise is mad at Jim Carrey for his recent drawing of Sarah Hillbilly Sanders (tee hee – after years of having to endure utterly wretched cartoons by Glenn McCoy in The Philadelphia Inquirer, I consider this some justice)…



…and I have to chastise myself for falling down on the job a bit and failing to point out that yesterday was the 15th anniversary of the beginning of Former Commander Codpiece’s Not-So-Excellent Adventure in Iraq (here and here); here is a tune for the occasion (I also failed to commemorate what would have been the 90th birthday of the “patron saint” of this blog – here).

Monday Stuff

Cenk tells us that the House Intelligence Committee run by Trump flunkie Devin Nunes recently closed up shop, saying there was no collusion between the Gropenfuhrer and the Russians, of course (the Dems are hardly innocent I'll admit, but on this issue, I think Cenk is wrong to just say, basically, that both sides are corrupt, and that's that...we're not talking about campaign finance reform or trying to regulate the "banksters" - we're talking about something pretty damn basic to our government and national security)...



…and normally I’m not a fan of circular firing squads, but when it comes to “Democratic” U.S. House Rep Dan Lipinski, I’m willing to make an exception (especially since the primary election is tomorrow)…

This Dreamer is sick and tired of a Democratic congressman who votes like a right-wing Republican, and on March 20, Illinois voters will finally have a chance to replace him with a strong progressive, Marie Newman. @Marie4Congress pic.twitter.com/P3hbCQ8Lr9

— MoveOn.org (@MoveOn) March 9, 2018

...and when it comes to common-sense gun laws, I would say that the UK is miles ahead of us...

16 children and their teacher were killed in a school shooting in Dunblane, Scotland, in 1996.

Within 18 months, the U.K. passed bipartisan law banning handguns.

Now, only 20-25 people are murdered with a gun each year in Great Britain. pic.twitter.com/vSuumtabNx

— Tomthunkit™ (@TomthunkitsMind) March 18, 2018

…and Tennessee Repugs won't even debate an anti neo-Nazi measure – nice...

These Republicans are refusing to pass a bill that denounces neo-Nazis and white nationalists pic.twitter.com/EuhXcoAvru

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) March 18, 2018

…and this tells us that Sens. Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Michael Moore and others will be involved in an important town hall tonight at 7 PM EST (not the greatest Warren "face freeze" though ;-)…

Tomorrow night: a discussion on one of the biggest issues facing our country—the likes of which you'd never see in the mainstream media. I hope you will tune in. https://t.co/TRj9oeUby4 pic.twitter.com/XCCQxrBV3Q

— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) March 18, 2018

…and yeah, I guess you could argue that there’s an anti-Trumpster point of view in this video, but even if there wasn’t, I’d like it anyway.

Friday Stuff

Fix Noise should just rename itself as the American Pravda channel and make it official (as Bill Maher has said, all is forgiven if you have the "magic R" after your name)…

Fox News HATED the idea of Obama talking to foreign dictators. Guess how they feel about Trump doing it??? pic.twitter.com/gUBxfMa2dl

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) March 15, 2018

…and gee, it looks like “Lady Skeletor” broke the law, namely the Hatch Act; imagine that, a Trumpster not playing by the rules (OK, snark mode off…and oh, I guess I’m just a snotty lib to make fun of her appearance – all I can say in response is that I knew what this woman was all about after listening to all of the drivel she used to spout on “Real Time” long before she became a Trumpette…besides, she’s routinely ridiculed our side in worse ways...and I'm sure the Huckabilly Sanders remark at the end is tongue-in-cheek)…



…and Rachel Maddow tells us the latest on Russia hacking our infrastructure (God, is this story scary – makes it more critical that we stop screwing around and do something in response, but good luck on that with our Tiny Handed, Treasonous Orange preznit…)…



…and RIP Dem U.S. House Rep Louise Slaughter, a tireless advocate for her constituents…the clip below is from February 2010 as part of an effort (which turned out to be successful) to get the ACA passed into law (I think the part about the woman being forced to wear her dead sister’s dentures, of all of the other important stuff in this clip, was my biggest takeaway, and a jarring one at that as you might expect…God, Obama was so young, with so much obstruction yet to come)…



…and Seth Meyers gives us a wrapup of the week; like the remark about the sneeze guard around Mexico, mainly to point out the absurdity of the whole damn wall thing – love Seth’s reaction to the audience reaction to the Chris Matthews remark also (seriously, though, when the hell is someone going to cart Generalissimo Trump away a la Anthony Hopkins/Hannibal Lecter in “Silence of the Lambs”?)…



…and on this St. Patrick’s Day eve, I have to admit that I’m having a hard time getting my head around the fact that Dolores O’Riordan is no longer with us.

Thursday Stuff

I suppose that if the cretins among our elected officials supporting the NRA were capable of feeling shame, this would make them do so – but then again, maybe not…



..and al Jazeera English gives us their report on Gina Haspel, the nominee from Generalissimo Trump to head the CIA; as we know, being a Repug means never having to say you’re sorry, even when it’s demonstrably clear that that’s what you are (and again, how much bleeping actionable intelligence do you seriously think you’ll get when you water board somebody 83 times?)…



…and proud of making up facts, apparently? The Gropenfuhrer is not sane (NSFW)…



…and here is yet another example of Life in Donald J. Trump’s America (remind me never to visit North Versailles, PA)…

A police officer violently arrested a woman just for filming him while he kicked several young Black girls out of a movie theater pic.twitter.com/9bePPLDwNw

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) March 15, 2018

…and RIP Stephen Hawking (political stuff starts at about 1:30, such as Brexit and Trump’s climate agreement withdrawal – not an optimistic forecast I know, but one well-reasoned from one of mankind’s greatest minds...and in case you somehow still haven't seen it, "The Theory of Everything" is a great movie)…



...and here's another once-a-year song.

Wednesday Stuff

Yes, I agree of course that Conor Lamb’s showing was absolutely awesome last night (here), and I’m definitely in a celebratory mood, but I’m a little guarded because I have a feeling this may go to a recount…



Update 3/15/18: Good to know...

…and by the way, GREAT works by students protesting across the country for sane gun laws also…

…and yeah, it figures that CNBC’s Larry Kudlow would end up as the latest “Trumpster” (here); in this clip from ‘09, he’s apparently trying to allege that that nasty Kenyan Muslim Socialist #44 was behind a report in which the hallowed U.S. Chamber of Commerce claimed that they supported climate change legislation, which of course they simply cannot do apparently – typical…



Update: More Kudlow idiocy is here.

…and gosh, what a shame – men supporting Generalissimo Trump are having a hard time with the ladies; color me shocked – heh…



…and Cenk and Ana tell us about Uday Trump Jr. seemingly being interviewed by a chocolate bunny when campaigning for Rick Saccone in PA-18 (the Twitter comments about this were hilarious...but sorry, Ana; PA is a commonwealth, not a state, and yes, there is a difference)…



…and happy 85th birthday to Quincy Jones; if I’m looking for a good song he produced, I might as well try to single out a grain of sand on a beach, as it were, but I settled on this one.

Tuesday Stuff

Rachel Maddow speaks with Adam Schiff, senior Dem on the U.S. House Intelligence Committee, on how Trump flunky Devin Nunes just ended the “investigation” into Russia’s collusion in our election in 2016 in probably as partisan a manner as you can imagine…



...and yeah, nothing much to see here, just another mass shooting in this country; don’t know yet if an AR-15 was involved - U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A! (here)...

Dr. Jennifer Golick, Dr. Jennifer Gonzales Shushereba, and Christine Loeber were the 3 women killed in Yountville.

They dedicated their lives to serving our nation’s veterans.

These are their stories. pic.twitter.com/IZYlA2d8s9

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) March 12, 2018

...and speaking of AR-15s, if I could vote in Virginia's 2nd Congressional District election, I sure as hell would support Karen Mallard for this (and she turned the gun over to the cops, so what she did was OK; wrong again, trolls)...

This congressional candidate filmed herself destroying an AR-15. Now she's being trolled and accused of a felony. pic.twitter.com/KtbB5mK4Tr

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) March 13, 2018

…and good for Elizabeth Warren for going after Democrats who actually supported the most recent fraud banking legislation to emerge from the U.S. Senate (apparently, though, Bob Casey didn’t – nice work)…



…and for anyone in PA-18, it should be pointed out that Rick Saccone is an utter Koch-head (“this is an auction, not a democracy” – uh, yep – the legacy of Citizens United lives on)…



Update: One of these days, this diversion BS from these assclowns won't work any more - wouldn't it be awesome if that day was today?

…and speaking of today’s special election, here’s a tune to get motivated for Conor Lamb, as if we need that at this point (and by the way, happy belated 70th birthday to JT).

Monday Stuff

I mean, OF COURSE the NRA is suing to lift the age restriction on buying the weapon of mass slaughter that they want everyone to have (even though the bill doesn’t actually ban AR-15s, which it should, but the bill is progress of a sort, however minimal, but of course the ammo-sexuals won’t even allow that)…

The NRA is suing Florida to block the state's first gun law since the Parkland shooting pic.twitter.com/Phvb27eiSa

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) March 10, 2018

...and Don Lemon, David Jolly and Norm Eisen talk about more Trumpster “let them eat cake” BS, including Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s $139,000 office doors…and "outdated procurement processes"? Yeah, that's the ticket - not more greed head BS typical for this regime. GMAFB!...



...and normally I wouldn't take pleasure in another's personal misfortune, but I'll make an exception for this scumbag...



…and it looks like Dem U.S. House Rep Sean Maloney of New York ended up going toe to toe with The Dragon Lady (of all the incompetent Trumpsters, I would say that Mrs. McConnell…and she LOVES to be called that, by the way…is the most angrily combative, something to consider in light of this and this - I hoped I would never have to post on this woman again, but we are where we are I know)...

The transportation secretary admitted that Trump is trying to kill one of America's top infrastructure projects pic.twitter.com/XJGi6TDNNc

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) March 10, 2018

…and tomorrow is the day to get out and vote for Conor Lamb in PA-18, people!...



…and my guess is that, if Stanley Kubrick had lived to make a sequel to “Eyes Wide Shut,” it might have looked like this.

Friday Stuff

Sam Seder and Michael Brooks of The Majority Report give wingnut FL State Rep. Elizabeth Porter the response she merits for recently mocking the Parkland gun slaughter survivors (more here, and as noted here, Porter received a “100 percent” rating from the NRA…figures, I know...NSFW I think)…



Update: Uh, yep (more here and here).

…and gosh, what another surprise – another critic of our former ol’ buddy Vlad Putin was poisoned recently (honestly though, I don't trust "Business Insider," though I admit that they actually could be right)...



…and Ari Melber talks with presidential historian Michael Beschloss about the precedent of trying to tamper with witnesses by a president, notably Tricky Dick (don't know what the next story was…I don’t have an issue with Beschloss and I guess they have to mention the “Clenis” stuff, but that definitely isn’t in the same category as the non-stop scandals-for-real from our Treasonous, Tiny-Handed Orange Dictator)...



…and speaking of the Gropenfuhrer, here are his lizard-brained, “MAGA” followers doing what they do best to a bookstore owner in Berkeley, CA (very NSFW)…



…and I can think of no better counter response to the Trumpsters than this one – tie them all to chairs and let them watch a Muslim for real be elected president, and watch them all have nervous breakdowns (you go, Yusuf!)…



…and yesterday marked the 50th anniversary of the opening of Bill Graham’s Fillmore East (it closed in June of 1971) – The Doors performed there on March 22nd of that year, and this was the second tune in their set that evening.

Thursday Stuff

This story by Rachel Maddow about the genesis of Generalissimo Trump’s aluminum and steel tariffs was a bit of a head-scratcher even for him (“governance” by vendetta as usual, though), but then I saw that wall of the departures from this regime and I felt absolutely gobsmacked…



…and oh yeah, it looks like Number 45 is planning to screw over, among others, our neighbors to the north over those aforementioned, stupid steel tariffs…



…and kudos to the West Virginia teachers for winning a pay increase, as noted in the video, but no, I’m afraid this fight isn’t over either…



…and let us not forget one of the people who, as far as I’m concerned, ended up polluting our political discourse with her crackpot world view which, tragically, has become accepted conventional wisdom among wingnuts everywhere (“if there is no common good, there is no society” indeed)…

In Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged," John Galt was the reclusive billionaire who orchestrated the collapse of the US economy, society, government, in order to purge America of "collectivism," of any mushy-headed ideas about "the common good." pic.twitter.com/iHDHo8nydS

— Robert Reich (@RBReich) March 6, 2018

…and I think there’s a little too much “sensible centrist” in this video as opposed to “vinegar” a la Bernie Sanders, but I can only hope Conor Lamb knows PA-18 better than I do (special election is this Tuesday)…

…and happy International Women’s Day.