(By the way, I’m planning to link to this post about the U.S. Senate elections as much as I can until November 6th because I expect to have updates.)
Rachel Maddow tells us how “the old gray lady” was too quick to dismiss the Trump/Alfa Bank story before the election…more here – sounds like a report by Eric Lichtblau of the Times was spiked (BUT HER EMAILS!!!!!!!...heckuva job!)…
…and Cenk, Brett Erlich and Margaret Cho tell us about Taylor Swift supporting Dems Jim Cooper and Phil Bredesen in TN, inspiring a big uptick in registered voters in Tennessee (people, even if you’re not a big Bredesen fan, you do not want Marsha Blackburn in the U.S. Senate…sorry I was late in mentioning the registration date for voting, which was yesterday in many localities including our beloved commonwealth)…
…and Farron Cousins tells us that Sen. Mr. Elaine Chao thinks that voters will just blow off the whole “Bad Boy Brett” thing and just write it off as NBD (uh, sorry Mitchy The Turtle – of course, the greater net impact remains to be seen)…
…and in the matter of racial justice, while this was positive (the verdict, I mean), this definitely wasn’t – made me want to put up this video…and we’re talking about Meek Mill here, so you KNOW it’s gotta be all about Philly (NSFW).
“What’s The Matter With Kansas”? Who the hell cares at this point…if these people are too f*cking dumb to educate themselves, then just put them on an island by themselves where they can’t break much of anything while we actually try to fix problems, as Farron Cousins tells us (pic pertains more to the next video I guess)…
…and this tells us about Viktoria Marinova, the Bulgarian journalist who was recently raped and murdered, and tragically, this attack on a journalist isn’t an isolated crime as the video tells us – shades of Anna Politkovskaya, who was killed at about the same time 12 years ago…you can look it up; not alleging a connection between that killing and Marinova’s (Putin?) because I have no information on that (and yes, the Gropenfuhrer and his attacks on the press are mentioned at about 11:56, and I believe I heard some applause from the audience, very much unlike those rubes in Kansas of course)…
Update 10/10/18: And speaking of dead journalists (here)...
…and gosh, it looks like we have another case of “Civility For Me, But Not For Thee” courtesy of U.S. Senate Repug Charles Grasshole, fresh from looking like a complete and utter fool during the “Schlitz” Kavanaugh circus (hat tip to Bill Maher for that one...NSFW)…
...and gee, I don't mean to be an alarmist, but maybe we should do something about this climate change thing, huh? (here)...
John I. and Jayar Jackson of TYT give us some more info on what was and was not included in the FBI's so-called "investigation" on Bad Boy Brett…
…and Farron Cousins tells us about the voter purging going on in Florida…about 20 percent of African American voters, 14 percent Hispanic, college students, and those number are on the rise (figures…the United Nations should monitor OUR elections!)…
…and with the prior clip in mind, I should note that we can use all of the attempts at humor that we can – this one courtesy of Robert Reich (and with an important message too of course)…
…and happy belated 75th birthday to Steve Miller (a far cry from the cretin inhabiting the White House, it should be noted).
Yeah, I would call this “asked and answered” on Bad Boy Brett also (and by the way, this isn’t done. Call 202-224-3121.)…
(Oh, and we know what the guy on the left is, but the one on the right is nothing but a stinking coward. Try firing a gun at your reputation for anything approximating decency, you POS).
…and Hasan Piker brings us another “Breakdown” on Tucker Carlson (the clip also mentions Hazelton, so by default I should include its former mayor who, as it turned out, made his political bones by stabbing that city’s immigrant population in the back, as noted here – to do something about that, click here)…
…and Kyle K. tells us about an OMIGOD SCARY MUSLIM TERRIST!!! attack campaign ad run by Duncan Hunter in CA against Dem Ammar Campa-Najjar (though Hunter has his own issues to distract from, to be sure – NSFW)…
…and Pap speaks with Brigida Santos on secret DOJ rules targeting journalists (yeah, I know this is The Putin Network, but again, this looks like solid reporting, unfortunately…and by the way, for anyone who thinks I’m just picking on Generalissimo Trump here, I could, but Obama didn’t have a great record on whistleblowers, to put it mildly, though the FISA garbage really happened under Dubya, with congressional Dem acquiescence, it should be sadly noted – Pap lays out some hard truths here, and kudos for bringing up the Church Committee in the 70s, and yeah, suddenly embracing John Brennan is kind of a squeamish place, but all I can say is that we have to fight our most immediate battles now and other battles later, which isn’t that great of an answer I know – we’ve gotten to a bad place in this country and it may end up taking as long to fix this as it did for the ruinous conservative ascendancy to take hold, and we’re talking about a couple of decades, so we need to be smart and “woke” for sure – may not need to say that with the Kavanaugh stuff going on, I realize...)…
…and John of TYT, along with Aida Rodriguez and Nando Vila, brings us the results of a recent poll on millennials (still some fault lines for white males, but definitely moving towards MORE socialism, which works for me to be sure)…
…and by the way, Joe Manchin, you stinking pustule of an excuse for a human being (who voted to end cloture and move to a vote for confirmation on Bad Boy Brett), here is a picture of someone truly courageous (noted previously by people smarter than your humble narrator).
Heidi Heitkamp may actually lose her Senate race, believe it or not (what the hell is wrong with you, North Dakota? To help, click here.), but she opposed Bad Boy Brett anyway even when the polls told her that the politically expedient thing would be to support him, so I dedicate this song to her (and Lisa Murkowski also).
Cenk gives us the latest in The Brett Kavanaugh Whitewash Festival; I guess it should come as no surprise whatsoever that the “investigation” into Bad Boy Brett was so completely politicized, including by these two clowns, typically projecting as usual…oh, and when it comes to supposedly not having a soul, I give you this, though John “No Relation To You-Know-Who” Kennedy is actually right about the American people making up their minds (here), though not the way Kennedy wants I’m sure (and oh yeah, the fix sure is in all right)…
…and I think Farron Cousins made some GREAT points here about the connection between Former Commander Codpiece and our current ruling Repug regime, including Number 43 calling Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee about Kavanaugh…
…and Kyle tells us that some wingnut in West Virginia named Carol Miller is complaining about alleged “dark money” from some unscrupulous operation called Act Blue on behalf of her Dem opponent Richard Ojeda; Kyle explains how ludicrous this is (more on Ojeda is here, and let’s not forget that Ojeda was attacked and nearly beaten to death as noted here – NSFW)…
…and believe me when I tell you that I have A LOT of issues with “Morning Joe,” but I think they did good work here on the border detention crisis in this country, something that it’s easy to lose sight of given all of the other horrors we’re dealing with (actually, the credit goes to Jacob Soboroff)…
…and it’s hard to find humor the way things are now, even something kind of tongue-in-cheek, but here it is anyway; may have to crank the volume a little (and never forget that Bri-Fi in PA-01 voted Yes on last December’s tax scam and also voted to make the cuts for the rich permanent – to do something about that, click here)…
…and rockabilly legend Eddie Cochran would have been 80 yesterday (I’ll work in something more current one of these days).
Yep, I think we can just retire phrases such as “at another unhinged rally,” and saying Number 45 was “combative,” and “engaged in sparring once again” or whatever the approved Beltway courtier media language is concerning our Treasonous, Tiny-Handed, Delusional Orange Dictator.
At a certain point, you just kind of run out of words to describe what a foul, evil piece of crap this guy truly is – almost makes me wish HE was put in a position to fear a sexual assault…almost (here).
(Oh, and please don’t give me this, “well, what he said wasn’t factually incorrect” stupidity. Everyone KNOWS what Number 45 was saying. And I’m not going to go through the exercise of trying to parse nuggets of intelligence coming out of the mouth of someone who lies like the rest of us breathe.)
And as far as those flatulent meat sacks who applauded and cheered are concerned, it again almost makes me want to laugh at the thought that THEY will suffer worse consequences from climate change, and THEY will face more hardship if, God forbid, the social safety net is cut to ribbons (assuming they aren’t just paid actors, which I’m sure many of them are anyway)…
…and in a related story, Farron Cousins brings us statistical evidence to prove that women are indeed leaving the Trump-era Repug Party, and yeah – a few weeks before a mid-term election is a particularly bad time for that kind of a development (and in a related story, I give you this)…
…and Stephen Colbert brings us the latest on Brett Kavanaugh – maybe I’ll arbitrarily throw a piece of ice at someone for no particular reason (and would he be talking about the same Chris Dudley as noted here?)…
…and Sam Seder and the TMR crew go after Ben Shapiro (yeah, this tool attacks Norway, which is #23 on the survey, with all of its disgusting “libtard” social spending, and meanwhile, we’re #18 with LESS social spending on average – MAGA! MAGA! MAGA!).
And gosh, there’s no poverty in America? Just because Ben Shapiro says so? PRAISE WILLIAM F. BUCKLEY!!! And yeah, at a certain point, I was asking what the supposed problem is that Shapiro is trying to discuss.
But oh, we can’t have social spending because of the “blahs” and the welfare queens and those sinister “multi-cultural” folk as well as Teh Scary Gay and women with their abortion for birth control, right?
OK, snark mode off...
…and Cenk and Ana do a pretty deep dive into that New York Times story on the Trump family and taxes, and all of the ways that these criminals has been ripping us off all of these years…
I thought this was a really good “Now This” feature on the effort to combat voter suppression in Scott Walker-istan, principally as a result of voter ID (I’ll never understand how anyone can actually take a life form like Glenn Grothman seriously, interviewed in the clip…and by the way, you can get license updates and a state ID on the spot in PA)…
…and Michael Brooks of TMR tells us about the latest wingnut propaganda on health care (wow, I had no idea Josh Hawley, running against Claire McCaskill in Missouri, was such a Republican POS, but yeah, it looks like he is all right)…
…and Kyle K. tells us that, according to his latest measure on this, the Dems score a 67 percent on “voter enthusiasm,” though the Repugs are at 59 (with their leader in town today, apparently), which means we can’t take anything for granted – and by the way, I definitely don’t share Kyle’s opinion of Nancy Pelosi…how about giving her credit for getting shit done (NSFW)?…
…and I agree with Cenk; Kanye West did indeed “break the stupid meter” recently over the 13th Amendment, about which we literally fought a war in this country…
…and speaking of clueless morons, I totally agree with David Pakman when it comes to Jimmy Dore (when I see Dore actually debate someone to argue his positions, then MAYBE I’ll consider taking him seriously)…
…and I haven’t had anything to say about the one-year anniversary of the Las Vegas gun massacre (here) because I really don’t have much of anything to add to the discussion, except to point out that this is yet another example of our legislators’ cowardice in response to the NRA, which we know is “status quo” anyway unfortunately…allow me to offer the following as a bit of a remembrance.
I thought Cenk, Ana, Ben and Tom Morello did a really good “deep dive” into the Kavanaugh testimony last week (and yep, as Cenk says, “his go-to move is the lie,” for sure, including this one)…
…and Thom Hartmann chimes in on Kavanaugh also, and mentions a great column by Alexandra Petri of the WaPo, along with a story about a woman in Texas imprisoned for voting illegally (yeah, GREAT use of taxpayer dollars on THAT one, you knuckleheads!)…
…and when it comes to lying political operatives (which is all Kavanaugh is, let’s not forget), I think we should keep in mind whose interest is served the most by all of this, and that would be the Gropenfuhrer of course (oh, and remember those stinking tax cuts for the rich that Republicans in Congress passed last December, which Bri-Fi voted for? Well, Bri-Fi recently voted to make them permanent, as noted here…to do something about that, click here)…
…and as Farron Cousins tells us here, Generalissimo Trump’s payoff to the farmers who are being hurt by Number 45’s ruinous tariffs didn’t amount to much…
…and I now give you the latest installment of “This Day In Doomsy History” from 10/1/09, in which former (and now current, having taken over for John McCain) AZ Repug U.S. Senator Jon Kyl engaged in more than a little bit of demagoguery over the Affordable Care Law (a typically disgusting update, given our Treasonous, Tiny-Handed Orange Dictator and his sabotage, is here)…
…and RIP Marty Balin of Jefferson Airplane/Starship.
I know Lindsey Graham was “showing a little bit of leg” yesterday during the Brett Kavanaugh hearings, basically losing what’s left of his mind in his quest to get this thoroughly-unqualified nominee confirmed, but I have just a few responses to the clip below from earlier yesterday (here).
1) If he’s so concerned about the damn investigation into Kavanaugh, then turn everything over to the FBI, 2) If he’s also concerned about what he views as any procedural irregularities, then all I can say in response is MERRICK GARLAND, MERRICK GARLAND, MERRICK GARLAND, MERRICK GARLAND, MERRICK GARLAND, MERRICK GARLAND, and MERRICK GARLAND!!
Oh, and as far as his threats are concerned about any nominees from the Democrats (who he won’t vote for anyway), my response is as follows: bring it, you partisan hack!
(Note: May have to press on pic above to isolate view on a mobile device - hat tip to Whitney Cummings on Twitter.)
...and Cenk and Ana tell us about Kavanaugh's response yesterday afternoon (and I don’t give a shit about Kavanaugh’s tears or anger...and blaming the Clintons was hilarious – and I know I'm repeating myself, but all he has to do is let the FBI investigate, and he never will…also, during what decade will we FINALLY hear from this Mark Judge character? Also, Sam Seder was on “All In” last night and said that we won’t have to wait months to hear about more Kavanaugh crap, but weeks…after he may very well be confirmed of course…and I think that’s absolutely right…once again, this is white privilege on display; there are definitely people in this country in other demographics that, if they had engaged in activity like this Renata stuff or trying to pin a then-young woman to a bed, would have been imprisoned...I guess I need to say this; imagine if Kavanaugh were African American - to try and derail this, click here...and I'm not saying much about Dr. Blasey Ford because I believe her, and in a sane and just political landscape, her testimony alone would have sunk this cretin)…
…and Farron Cousins tells us that Trumpster Kirstjen Nielsen is typically lying about signing off on her regime’s typically cruel and stupid border separation policy…
…and with the prior clip in mind, I give you a preview of one of the latest offerings from Brave New Films…
…and I thought this was a pretty well-informed segment on the effects of tariffs from David Pakman…
...and to support Scott Wallace in the PA-01 U.S. House contest against Brian Fitzpatrick, click here...
…and I know this is ostensibly a humorous “New Rule” from Bill Maher (NSFW), but I also think it’s scary as hell, and we shouldn’t be laughing too hard (and again, the response is not to curl up in a ball in fear, but to DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!)…
…and speaking of our Treasonous, Tiny-Handed Orange Dictator Wannabe, I put up this song on the day of his inauguration…I know it has to do with a girl in a wheelchair who is angry because she wants to be in love like other women, which shouldn’t be too much to ask I know, but I thought it was an apt metaphor for our ruling regime, namely, wanting to be legitimate in a way they never can be (the month reference also being appropriate of course), and I think it also fits in a way for the whole Kavanaugh circus (something that ALSO will never be legitimate as far as I’m concerned).
(By the way, please understand that I’m not trying to compare a disabled person to anyone associated with Trump or to His Fraudulency 2.0 himself. In Morrissey’s song, the girl is a victim of cruel circumstance I know, but the actions of anyone associated with Number 45 are choices. All I’m saying is that rage is the common thread.)
Farron Cousins of Ring of Fire tells us about Tomi Lahren trying to be relevant with some supposedly clever tweet about Michelle Obama, someone who has more stature and accomplishment than Lahren will ever have as a momentary right wing pundit du jour (Cousins quite correctly notes that Lahren’s shelf life, you might say, is winding down, and I’m sure she’ll end up in the same scrap heap as this Kennedy person, S.E. Cupp, etc.)…
…and given the parade of rich, right-wing male privilege currently taking place on Capitol Hill disguised as the Brett Kavanaugh hearing, I thought this was a timely segment from Ari Melber with Helaine Olen of The Washington Post and Liz Plank about Kavanaugh’s treatment of Bill Clinton 20 years ago, and how karma truly is a bitch (and let’s not forget Ken Starr’s own related baggage, as noted here…Kavanaugh should be asked about a cigar and his genitals, but I’m sure he won’t be)…
…and Sam Bee gives us a nauseating look at the non-Lahren right-wing idiocy on this (not criticizing her on this of course, just her subjects – and I must have missed the bit behind the “full Carrie” fire graphic)…
…and Kyle K. discusses Michael Moore talking to Bill Maher about “Fahrenheit 11/9” recently on “Real Time” (and again, Maher has a lot of moments of clear-headed commentary, but he’s an entertainer first and foremost, and I’m tired of listening to him act like he’s supposedly the gatekeeper of sane discourse when, in fact, while he’s definitely not as anti-immigrant as Generalissimo Trump, he’s definitely anti-Muslim in his way, which is pretty repugnant too – I can’t argue with Moore because he was on the ground talking to people, and he makes a GREAT point about more people voting in the Dem MI primary than the general election, for the reasons that he points out)…
…and on a wholly other note, Paul Newman died 10 years ago yesterday, believe it or not; not sure it’s possible to calculate the philanthropic benefits owing from his “Newman’s Own” line of products (here is one of his most memorable movie scenes)…
…and I think this is another notable recent milestone, which is monumental courage which we should all acknowledge and appreciate (the current loathsome regime in that country...and ours...being completely unworthy by comparison of course) – makes me recall this tune.
Our country fought and won World War II (with a lot of help of course, but it took our leadership). We created the interstate highway system as part of an infrastructure network that was once the envy of the world. We also took the lead in instituting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (the 70th anniversary of its ratification is this December 10th, by the way). We also put a man on the moon, multiple times as it turned out.
Now in 2018, however, our “president” addresses the United Nations, and he is laughed at. And he (and by extension, we as a nation) completely deserve it (and let's keep this in mind too)…
…and Seth Meyers comments on the latest Trump idiocy at the UN, as well as Bill Cosby’s sentence, among other items…
…and I don’t think an entire family has taken out an ad against its brother in a political campaign, but that what Paul Gosar’s siblings did in Arizona as noted here (and the predictable response is here)…
…and Farron Cousins tells us about a laughably bad Photoshopped pic of the Gropenfuhrer supposedly rescuing a victim of the flooding from Hurricane Harvey (more here)…
…and don’t worry, there’s nothing to see here, just a third woman making a charge against Brett Kavanaugh (more here and here – interesting polling analysis by Cenk)…
...and happy 70th birthday to Olivia Newton-John – best wishes for good health (here).
(And by the way, today is #NationalVoterRegistrationDay - more here).
Trevor Noah brings us the latest on Brett Kavanaugh (and is there a THIRD accuser now? NSFW at the very end – and I know we’ve covered some of this stuff, including the part about that five-woman Republican focus group as noted here)…
…also, Farron Cousins tells us about this hedge fund gazillionaire named Seth Klarman who is apparently going to support Democrats now (and I think Cousins’s take on this is exactly right…besides, if – God willing and if WE get out and make it happen – the Democrats return to power, the people Cousins mentions, like Scarborough, Steve Schmidt, Nicolle Wallace, etc., will likely turn on a dime and start supporting the Repugs again)…
…and Kyle K. tells us about the threat by Jordan Peterson to sue someone who criticized him (typical…Kyle is right, and I’m glad he mentioned Bill Maher, who gave a platform to Peterson, Bari Weiss, and other “glibertarian” goofballs, who otherwise would probably have remained obscure…well, Peterson anyway – and I wasn’t aware of “The Streisand Effect”…NSFW also)…
…and Robert Reich tells us about another tax scam for the rich proposed by the Trumpsters, which would be trying to basically lower the capital gains tax rate by making any taxable increase due to inflation non-taxable instead – no end to their deceit and chicanery…
…and to help Scott Wallace, running against Brian Fitzpatrick for the PA-01 U.S. House seat, click here.
…and I hope you’re in the mood for a little escapism, because I sure as hell am.
Cenk Uygur of TYT tells us about the latest Brett Kavanaugh accuser, and that would be Deborah Ramirez, who apparently was reluctant to come forward at first for the reasons Cenk tells us – that’s understandable as far as I’m concerned; as important as it is that the truth comes out, the person saying these things will have her life turned upside down as a result…do I even have to ask where we would be in this story if the Democrats tried something like this (and yeah, as a YouTube commenter noted, Cenk is referring to “Mark” Judge, not Mike)...
…and Michael Brooks of The Majority Report tells us about this idiot Repug congressman from South Carolina named Ralph Norman, who apparently made a “joke” about Ruth Bader Ginsburg being groped by Abraham Lincoln (where is Major Bowes’ hook when you need it, I’m tempted to ask…more Norman garbage is here)…
…and I would say that Farron Cousins brings the appropriate level of outrage here (and concerning that allegedly objective CNN panel being questioned, I give you this)…
…and with all of this going on, I couldn’t help but think of this song (wouldn’t be a bit surprised if women in this country staged something like their own version of “Lysistrata” as a result).
David Pakman tells us about Generalissimo Trump declassifying materials related to the investigation of Special Counsel Robert Mueller (but of course, Sean Inanity says it’s OK – more here and here).
(After Trump is finally gone and – if there’s any justice whatsoever – incarcerated, which can’t come soon enough of course, there are going to be SO MANY rules passed about what a president can and can no longer do based on prior understandings that Trump has completely trashed…and declassifying intel like this is one of them…that the next person who gets this job may be completely hamstrung)…
…and for anyone who thinks there isn’t a human cost to be paid for all of the political stupidity in this country, I give you this (kudos to Chris Hayes for keeping stories like this from falling under the proverbial radar)…
…and speaking of pointless deaths, Cenk and Ana of TYT tell us about the shooting at the Rite Aid distribution center in Aberdeen, MD (I realize this goes against the grain on how these stories typically go; namely, that a handgun was involved as opposed to an assault rifle, and the shooter was a woman who died of a self-inflicted wound, but I don’t think it is less important for us to pay attention…have to admit that I didn’t know about the shooting in PA…hard to keep track of them all, sadly)…
…and while we’re on the subject of guns, I should let you know that, these parts, Steve Santarsiero is running for the PA state senate (more here)…
…and returning to the Brett Kavanaugh stuff (could this be more of a train wreck, I wonder?), Farron Cousins tells us of the wingnut conspiracy theories to try and smear Dr. Ford and her charges against Kavanaugh – and as far as why it apparently has to be Kavanaugh, it’s all about falling in line, and Morrison of course…and I wouldn’t want this Ed Whelan guy to represent me in court if I were contesting so much as a traffic ticket (and yep, when it comes to legitimizing talking points from the right-wing fever swamps, Kathleen Parker is ON IT, PEOPLE!)…
…and while we’re on the subject of anything related to the Gropenfuhrer, this CBC review tells us about Michael Moore’s new film, Fahrenheit 11/9 (don’t know if the review noted the similarity in the title of Moore’s other Bushco-era pic)…
…and I don’t think I’ve included a clip from James Corden before, so I’ll let him join the party now (yeah, the Stormy Daniels stuff just about turned my stomach – what a horrible thing to do to a video game character – but as the saying goes, I report, you decide…and “The Uranus Examiner” with the “finger” headline…way too damn funny)…
…and a hat tip goes out to Eric Schuman of WXPN for pointing out that today is the 40th anniversary of the release of Love Bites by The Buzzcocks, featuring this tune.
Rachel Maddow had a feature last night in which the woman pictured, Barbara Ledeen, was mentioned. Ledeen (wife of neocon Michael Ledeen) was involved with the document that was improperly taken from Sen. Patrick Leahy, something which first came out in Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing for the federal appeals court years ago (this kind of winds a bit, so I’ll try to be careful in summarizing).
(The Kavanaugh SCOTUS confirmation) hearing was the latest effort by Leahy to suggest Kavanaugh knew he had received information improperly taken from Democrats. He questioned Kavanaugh about the matter in confirmation hearings in 2004, when Kavanaugh’s nomination for the federal appeals court was stalled, and in 2006, when Kavanaugh won confirmation. During both hearings, Kavanaugh said he learned about (the action of Manual Miranda, Republican counsel on the Senate Judiciary Committee) only from news reports, and Leahy did not have access to Kavanaugh’s emails.
That changed at this week’s hearings, when the committee released a number of previously undisclosed emails that Leahy said raised new questions about Kavanaugh’s knowledge that the documents were improperly taken.
In a July 28, 2002, email, Miranda wrote Kavanaugh that Leahy’s staff has distributed a confidential letter to Democratic staffers, and then described the contents of the letter.
An email written by Miranda on March 18, 2003, and copied to Kavanaugh, had the subject line was “for use and not distribution.” Miranda wrote that “Dem staffers say that they have confidential information,” and he then listed “points they make.” Leahy said the points came from a draft of a letter written by his office. “We have every reason to believe that was taken,” Leahy said.
Separately, an email written to Kavanaugh by a then-staffer to the Republican leadership, Barbara Ledeen, had the subject line “spying.” Ledeen wrote that “I have a friend who is a mole for us on the left,” and described information she had learned about spending plans by liberal groups on judicial nominations. “It is important to note that IF we have a nominee, we need to ZIP THAT PERSON RIGHT THROUGH THE PROCESS….WE CANNOT BEAT 20 MILLION DOLLARS,” Ledeen wrote on June 5, 2003.
Kavanaugh forwarded the message to his boss, Counsel Alberto Gonzales, and others, writing, “interesting Ledeen email . . .”
Ledeen, who now serves as a Republican staffer on the committee, did not respond to a request for comment.
No, I don’t suppose she would, would she?
Oh, and did I mention that (as noted in the story) Ledeen is on the staff of the Senate Judiciary Committee, working for Sen. Chuck Grassley, as noted here? She also circulates in all kinds of neocon circles and is pals with Michael Flynn (I realize that’s not legally actionable in and of itself, but I think it’s interesting all the same).
And by the way, when considering Kavanaugh’s response (something more likely to come from a political operative than someone charged with administering the law), I would ask that you recall what former Vice President Al Gore did in a similar circumstance when he received “oppo” information on then-presidential candidate George W. Bush here – namely, he turned it over without using it against his opponent.
At a minimum, Ledeen should be barred from serving in any kind of public capacity whatsoever given her subterfuge in obtaining the confidential Democratic Email and forwarding it to Kavanaugh (And please, Democrats, can we tighten up this sort of thing? I realize there’s only so much we can do about a “mole,” but we can damn sure not share ANYTHING on a server with a Republican!). I know the focus here is on the Supreme Court nominee, as it should be, but I don’t think Ledeen should be let off the hook in any way either.
And while we’re on the subject of Kavanaugh, Chris Kang of the Obama Administration (who vetted Obama’s Supreme Court picks) tells us more on the blocking of Kavanaugh’s records (a petition against Kavanaugh is here, and to contact your Senator and voice opposition, click here)…
Update 1: And by the way, in case anybody out there somehow doesn’t get how personal all of this is, I give you this.
Update 2: Man, is Dean Heller a piece of shit for this – to do something about it, click here.
Update 3: When somebody finds me the emoji of smacking the palm of a hand against a forehead, let me know, OK? (here and here).
…and while we’re also talking about The High Court of Hangin’ Judge JR, Cenk and Ana tell us about a ruling that’s actually GOOD for a change on campaign finance reform, affecting the Chamber of Commerce, the Kochs, and Karl Rove/Crossroads GPS, as well as other “big funders”…
…and Sam Seder of The Majority Report gives us the latest on the Beto O’Rourke/Ted Cruz contest, in particular on the Botham Jean case (and yeah, I know I touched on this story a bit yesterday, but kudos to O’Rourke – I see no demagoguery in O’Rourke’s words or actions whatsoever, by the way)…
…and it looks like, according to Trump econ guru and recovering cocaine addict Larry Kudlow, that cuts are indeed coming to Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid, which should surprise absolutely no one (Farron Cousins explains – and the reference to the Florida congressman with the yacht was this guy, by the way.)…
..which is actually the perfect segue into this clip from 9/20/11, in which The Onion teeters dangerously close to reality once more (some bad words at the end – and yeah, you guessed it…time once more for “This Day in Doomsy History”)…
...and despite it all, I think we all need to hear this song - maybe especially now.
Farron Cousins of “Ring of Fire” tells us about Ted (“Raphael” Born In Canada) Cruz claiming that Beto O’Rourke will ban barbecue, or some such nonsense…I’ll refuse to gloat over this until the day mercifully comes when Cruz is defeated…tells you something about Texas that this race is as close as it is, and I don’t mean that as a compliment (and in a related story, kudos to Willie Nelson for this)…
…and nice work here also by Maya Wiley here, former assistant U.S. Attorney for the southern district of NY, on the latest Brett Kavanaugh garbage (Nail. Hammer. Head.)…
…and when it comes to Kavanaugh and everything else really, Corker, Flake and the rest are just the same old Republicans (here – they’re going to use Dr. Ford’s quite reasonable demand to have the FBI investigate first as an excuse to have no more hearings at all and go right to the vote).
(By the way, I have been quite understandably flooded with requests to call Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Elevator) and urge him to vote No on Kavanaugh. And I haven’t done it. And it is because I’ve called Toomey over a dozen times on various issues since he tragically was elected to the Senate in 2010, and he has steadfastly refused to vote the way I have asked him to on ANY ISSUE WHATSOEVER.
If you live in PA and want to try, go ahead (here). Sadly, the opportunity to get rid of him came and went in 2016, and short of his resignation, I see no way to be rid of him until 2022 at the earliest.)...
Update: I emailed Toomey and told him to oppose Kavanaugh - should have made clear earlier that I did something anyway.
…and I know a little bit about this issue myself; Kyle of Secular Talk discusses the typically stupid and pointless crackdown on vaping by The Gropenfuhrer’s FDA…yes, I know that, when discussing cigarette smoking and vaping, you’re talking about two activities that are inherently unhealthy, but Kyle is absolutely right – in my experience anyway (which is supported by Kyle’s data), you have an easier time working yourself off regular cigarettes (with their many foul carcinogens, to say nothing of nicotine) than you do off of an e-cigarette…if you have to choose between the two, I suggest going the e-cigarette route (but of course, do that and Big Tobacco haz a sad...NSFW)…
…and Cenk and Ana of TYT tell us about this CNN segment with Trumpster-ettes, you might say – Nell Justilliano, who I think is totally out to lunch, is the first person interviewed by Alisyn Camerota – easy for me to look down my nose at these women, though I obviously am not doing that and I would be wrong to do so (the young twenty-something woman with black hair impressed me with her knowledge and overall awareness); I just thoroughly disagree with these women panelists, though I respect their right to have an opinion…should almost go without saying I know (and I think Cenk is particularly correct about them getting bad – or at a minimum, incomplete – information)…
…actually, maybe these panelists (and everybody else) should just watch this video from Robert Reich and THEN speak to Camerota…
…and I think this is a GREAT New York Times commentary on where we are vis-à-vis the midterms…
…and happy birthday to David Bromberg (and I promise I got the date right… biggest finish of them all coming up; just wait for it).
I’ll have to admit that I don’t understand how a waste disposal company can sue anybody who doesn’t pay their bill (Doesn’t the municipality just withhold any monies owed by the customer whose waste is being picked up? Or are these customers that destitute? I don’t know.), but that’s what Scott Wagner and Penn Waste are doing, as noted here.
I have more of an issue with the fact that Wagner won’t release a tax return, as noted here (just like the Gropenfuhrer pictured above).
This makes me recall the following clip with Wagner (more here) – to do something about it, click here…
…and with that in mind (under the heading of out-of-touch, self-entitled Republicans running for governor of PA), I give you the latest installment of “This Day In Doomsy History” (more or less) from 9/16/13, in which “Clueless Tom” Corbett said that, gosh darn it, those lazy cheats collecting unemployment just need to get off their asses, apply for work and stop trying to “game” the system…or something…
…and Kyle K. tells us that Former President Highest Disapproval Rating In Gallup Poll History is out campaigning for Republican politicians not named Ted Cruz (and yeah, I’ve had some issues with Glenn Greenwald lately, but he’s spot-on here – typical that Ex-Commander Codpiece would think Alleged Forcible Sexual Assault Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh is just dandy…“there is nothing you can do to be excommunicated by the donor class.” – uh, yep…and Kyle is dead-on in the last minute on Bernie Sanders…NSFW)…
…well, since our corporate media has, as usual, come down with a case of amnesia on terrible Republican presidents, I guess I’d better present this clip once more to show why Number 43 should be vilified as much as possible…
…and this is ostensibly a humorous clip from Seth Meyers, even though I’m quite sure he realizes the predicament were in over the Kavanaugh mess and a host of other issues is definitely not a “laff riot,” expect maybe for Fix Noise “Judge” Jeanine “Demon Rats” Pirro…God, that woman is SOOO around the bend…
Update: Typical Trumpster garbage on the Kavanaugh story, as predictable as flatulence after an attack of indigestion (here)…
..and Stephanie Ruhle tells us that Repug mega-donor Les Wexner is leaving the Repug Party (following the money as usual…sad that this character will get much more media attention than any of the 40 million people living in poverty in this country – interesting remark about the “92 percent”…and this business about “Oh, I heard Obama speak, so now I’m not a Repug” is ridiculous…YOU HEARD HIM SPEAK FOR EIGHT YEARS AS PRESIDENT, YOU SOULLESS GREEDHEAD MONSTER! YOU JUST CARE ABOUT YOUR BALANCE SHEET! And DEAR GOD, MICHAEL BLOOMBERG MUST NOT RUN!)…
…oh, and did you hear the one about FEMA’s Brock Long claiming that the horrific casualty numbers in Puerto Rico were due to spousal abuse (which, if anything, is in keeping with the overall Trumpster undercurrent of abusive behavior towards women…with that remark, of course, having nothing to do with the world of empirical reality)? Farron Cousins gives us the gory details…
…and I’m sorry that there’s not a lot that’s uplifting in this post (living up to the title of this blog again I guess), but there isn’t a lot I can do to try and control the news – oh, and I might as well finish it with this item; Jim Croce died in a plane crash 45 years ago today (oops - two days early on the date; my bad).
Cenk, John and the TYT crew tell us here about Arkansans losing Medicaid coverage over work requirements, with residents of Indiana and New Hampshire potentially facing the same fate (the pic ties into the clip near the end, at about 7:30)…
…and I thought Farron Cousins showed some commendable outrage here, outlining the wretched spending excess of the Trumpsters; add to that Nikki Haley’s curtains for $52K…
…and Kyle of Secular Talk tells us about the Trumpsters and the EPA rolling back federal regs on methane - I may have touched on this before, but here it is again...
…and all the best to Elissa Slotkin (here) - many thanks for her service (and THIS is how you go after a Republican...to do more, click here)...
…and I guess we have to find humor where we can in all of this; I have to admit that I was amused by this bit from Trevor Noah…
…and at first, I thought I was watching a teaser here for a “Walking Dead” spinoff, but maybe not.
I would say these recent developments on Brett Kavanaugh should be enough to slam on the proverbial brakes when it comes to his nomination, at a minimum to investigate this charge against him…this whole thing looks seedier by the minute (more here, and let’s not forget this and this too, and GREAT points by John in particular…the U.S. Senate Repugs knew about this, especially Grassley, but are still trying to ramrod Kavanaugh onto the Supreme Court anyway, which is foul and disgusting on a whole other level I realize)…
…and I would call this a particularly ridiculous attempt at distraction from Dana Loesch and the NRA, as Jeff Waldorf of TYT Nation tells us (It’s “Thomas The Tank Engine,” you dimwit, and when I watched this many years ago with The Teenaged One, I never considered Sir Topham Hatt to be "an authoritarian maniac"…puh-leeze!)…
…and speaking of idiocy, it looks like another one of Bri-Fi’s sleazy campaign tricks has backfired, as noted here (like this also) – to do something about it, click here…
…and as noted here, Lehman Brothers crashed 10 years ago today, ushering in The Great Recession, from which we were saved by President Obama and Congressional Democrats; here is a tune for the occasion.
Hasan Piker gives us another “Breakdown,” this time on the Gropenfuhrer lying about the PR death toll (good job to link this to what victims of Florence may face – love to be wrong, but what else can we expect from the insane, treasonous individual at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue?)…
…and Seth Meyers chimes in a bit also on Generalissimo Trump and his lies about the catastrophe in Puerto Rico (and we have to make that “blue wave” happen, people, which I'm sure we all know by now, right?)…
…and Kyle K. gives us a great big reason to vote these clowns out of office, tied to the reality point of view here on the deficit (GREAT analysis about the shell game on this issue played by the Repugs and their corporate media lackeys…NSFW)…
…and David Pakman tells us about the school in Georgia (of course) that has sent out consent forms asking if it’s OK to paddle students on the butt (and yes, I think it works to link this to abortion and other issues, given the notion of “strict father morality” as David discusses…and yeah, I also lean towards being horrified that a third of the parents surveyed think this is OK…what country am I living in again?)…
…and I now give you the latest installment of “This Day In Doomsy History” from 9/10/14 (more or less – I know I’m off by a few days with this…I miss these FAIR TV segments, to be honest…if you find yourself wondering why we seem to be engaged in wars without end, I think this segment from Janine Jackson gives you some insight; namely, skewed “reporting” gives us a skewed narrative that we want a more “muscular” response to problems around the globe…I give Richard Engel a little more credit than most other media types, but I think he was caught in a bit of hyperbole here too…oh, and the next time you hear about Bill Kristol, the man who is PERPETUALLY WRONG about just about everything, jumping on the anti-Trump bandwagon (which is the correct thing to do of course, against character you might say), remember how he, along with the late Charles Krauthammer, were probably the biggest media cheerleaders for Dubya’s Not-So-Excellent Adventure in Iraq)…
…and here’s a nice new tune to kick-start the weekend (hopefully a DRY one for as many of us as possible).
