Friday Stuff (updates)

(I have updates to prior posts here and here.)

Cenk and Ana tell us more on the “suspicious packages” recently sent out to anti-Trumpers (and kudos to Ana for teeing off on this nonsense…I don’t want to imagine how f’d up in the head you have to be to actually take Flush Limbore seriously – and Politico is nothing but garbage IMHO…oh, and “trying to encourage the Democratic vote” by blowing people up? ARE YOU MENTAL??!! And apparently, a suspect is in custody (more here), with some rather telling decorations on his vehicle I must say - here)…



…and this AP report gives us an update on the Kroger shooting in KY (and apparently this lunatic tried to gain access to an African American church, including the pastor and congregation, as noted here…and we must say “alleged” shooter of course…looks like another chapter of Life In These United States, Part The Infinity, as Charlie Pierce might say)…



…and apparently, some Fix Noise life form named Griff Jenkins is all over some Honduran refugees trying to, y’know, come to this country so they WON’T BE BLEEPING KILLED by staying where they are (TMR with Sam Seder, Michael Brooks, etc. – and on that subject, it looks like Generalissimo Trump & co. are going to try to act like actual human beings and NOT shoot anyone crossing illegally as noted here, at least not “right now”…what country am I living in again?)…



…and it sounds like FDR nailed the Gropenfuhrer when it comes to lying, as Thom Hartmann tells us (“When do we learn from history?” indeed)…



…and to help Scott Wallace, click here (for PA-01 folk).



And by the way, while I was in the middle of working on this post, the pic below popped up on my cell phone:

No end to Bri-Fi and his garbage (but we knew that)…

Update 10/29/18: I Just got another spam message on my phone like the one above:

How much lower into the gutter are you going to crawl with this garbage, Bri-Fi?

Update 10/31/18: Not even taking a break for Halloween...

These are coming from (215) 515-0486, which I believe is a non-residential number. I wonder if the Better Business Bureau should know about this?

…and Mike Papantonio and RT (and yes, I know it’s The Putin Network) tell us about fast food workers striking at midterms – kudos to them for their courage…



…and Stephen Colbert tell us about Number 45’s cell phone likely being hacked (wow, what a “tragady”)…



…and yeah, I’m in the mood for a bit of a “healing tide” myself.

Thursday Stuff

So now they’re messing with Robert De Niro? Time to go whack somebody for real (kidding)…

And let’s make no mistake, people. This is all being orchestrated to keep us yelling at each other and to keep us distracted from the issues that matter (trying to replay 2016 all over again). If you don’t believe me, then watch this video on YouTube and read the comments. God knows how many bots and trolls have been unleashed to spew even more hateful garbage actually blaming Democrats for this.

Yep, this, along with voter purging in Georgia in particular and “Crosscheck” (see Greg Palast) along with more servile corporate media compliance (apparently, Philadelphia’s conservative newspaper of record has yet another fluff piece today on Bri-Fi – I don’t know exactly what it says because I refuse to pay for their content)…I guess that’s the formula the Repugs are using to try and hold onto power. God knows that they don’t have any policy successes, especially with the stock market now going south (though, to be fair, it seems to be rallying today)…



Update: An updated recipient list is here.

…and this video is over a couple of years old, but I thought it was a really good primer on how we got to the present mess we’re in…



…of course, if you want something to worry about for real, I give you this…



…and it didn’t take too long for me to settle on this musical selection.

Wednesday Stuff

It’s funny in a teeth-gnashing kind of way I know to see Generalissimo Trump campaigning for Republicans and calling the Democrats “an angry mob,” as Seth Meyers tells us…hey, at least we’re not leaving pipe bombs sending suspicious packages to with anybody, as noted here…



…and Rachel Maddow tells us more about Republicans and dirty electoral tricks (and yeah, our enthusiasm number is good, but based on what the other side’s number is, we can’t take anything for granted)…



…and at this point, I don’t know what else needs to be said – to do something about it, you can find links here and here…



…and Kyle tells us that cigarette maker Altria (Marlboro) is in talks to buy a Canadian weed (as in cannabis of course) company…



…and I have to admit that I REALLY messed up on a date that I wanted to get right, and I didn’t; I thought the 60th anniversary of the speech by Edward R. Murrow at the Radio-Television News Director’s Association convention was on 10/25, but it was 10/15…my bad…the speech follows (more here and here – to say it was prescient by somebody who saw the direction this country was going is an understatement…“no law that says dollars will be defeated by duty,” but to try and echo and amplify Murrow, maybe there should be)…



…and if we were to update Murrow’s speech for the current day, I realize we would have to include just about every digital device with a picture screen of any kind, but I thought this tune was still appropriate in the current context.

Tuesday Stuff

Ali Velshi and Maya Wiley tell us more about what women endured to earn the right to vote in this country in 1917, including imprisonment as well as torture in other ways (proud to be an American, where at least I know I’m free)…



…and, on the complete opposite end of the political spectrum as it were, Farron Cousins tells us that the ladies handbag queen from Mar-A-Lago is apparently going to be our new South African ambassador (once again, heckuva job, all you idiots who had anything whatsoever to do with getting the Gropenfuhrer elected – try to redeem yourselves in two weeks, if you can)…



…and the BBC does some actual, y’know, reporting on the immigrant “caravan,” if you will, approaching this country from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador (more here)…



…and when it comes to election issues for real, I give you this from 10/21/13, in which “Obamacare” delivered all across the country, something to keep in mind while watching the antics of those trying to destroy it, as noted here (and yep, you guessed it – time once more for “This Day In Doomsy History,” more or less)…



…and yeah, I would say that Nebraska needs to rethink its travel slogan also, as Stephen Colbert notes (in spite of that, please support Jane Raybould for the U.S. Senate anyway; a link to her site can be found here…I like some of Colbert’s other ones too, including New Jersey)…



...and happy belated 73rd birthday to Leslie West of Mountain ("Nantucket Sleighride" is one of my all-time favorite recordings).

Monday Stuff

I’ll admit that I’m having a hard time keeping up with the stories from our “allies” the Saudis and MBS about the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi – like you, I heard about “rogue killers” who somehow were credentialed and allowed access inside the embassy where Khashoggi was murdered, then a story about an interrogation that somehow went badly (complete with bone saws)…and now, it looks like a body double was employed to cover up everything (here).

I have a pretty good idea of how a sane, adult, responsible president would have handled this (sanctions maybe, holding up an arms deal, and helping to mobilize international condemnation for starters).

But of course (thanks to people like the life form above), we’ll have to wait for that, at a minimum, for two more years, apparently…



…and it looks like Generalissimo Trump was guilty again of a little “mansplaining” on the upcoming mid-term elections, as Stephen Colbert tells us (including the U.S. Senate contests as noted here)…



…and with the mid-terms in mind, Robert Reich has a message for millennials (I think the registration deadline has passed in a few states by now as well as in PA – more info is here)…



…and if I could vote in The Sunshine State, I would definitely vote in favor of Amendment 4 (and I think this is a particularly great ad…more here)…



…and Farron Cousins tells us that Laura Ingraham is apparently still having trouble getting advertisers after attacking the Parkland, FL shooting survivors and her “summer camp” garbage about kids detained by ICE (you know what they say about paybacks, don’t you?)…



…and I have to admit that I’m chastising myself a bit because I failed to note the passing earlier this month of legendary Beatles recording engineer Geoff Emerick, who helmed “Sgt. Pepper,” “Abbey Road,” and “Revolver,” including this number.

Friday Stuff

(I have an update to this post, by the way.)

Again, I know this is courtesy of The Putin Network, but it sounds like the Gropenfuhrer is making noise like he wants our military to close our southern border to keep out Honduran refugees (as well as those from Guatemala and El Salvador…Anya Parampil and Eugene Puryear discuss)…



…and Robert Reich gives us more details on Generalissimo Trump’s support of totalitarian regimes around the world (and we should keep this in mind also…what country am I living in again?)…



…and sticking with world stuff, Michael Brooks of The Majority Report tells us about Secretary of State Mike Pompeo laughing with the Saudis when talking about the murder of Jamal Khashoggi (NSFW)…



…and turning to our elections, Thom Hartmann and Greg Palast tell us more about voter disenfranchisement (14 million people??!!) – more on Kris Kobach’s “Crosscheck” is here…



And by the way, as long as we’re talking about elections, I just want to say that, without a doubt, this election cycle has been the ABSOLUTE WORST that I have ever seen when it comes to utterly ridiculous, over-the-top, completely unprovable LIES from the “party of Lincoln.” Maybe it’s because I’m paying a little more attention to the U.S. Senate contests than I would normally, but the utter deluge of complete falsehoods has been mind-numbing (which, I’m completely sure, is the intention).

Yes, all politicians lie. I get it. But the DEGREE and VOLUME of the lies is something that I have never seen before. And I’ve been watching this stuff longer than I care to admit.

If anyone has any doubt, the answer is an unequivocal yes – The Repug Party is now DEFINITELY the party of Donald J. Trump.

…and keeping it local with elections once more, here is a link to help out Steve Santarsiero, running for the PA Senate in District 10…



…and even though the temps are fall-like in these parts and the weather’s clouding up a bit, I don’t think that automatically rules out a bit of summer-like escapism, right? (and the title of this video is completely coincidental to the prior clip).

Thursday Stuff

(By the way, I have updates to recent posts from here, here, and here.)

Rachel Maddow tells us the latest on the Repugs and their voter suppression games, particularly in North Dakota (to help Heidi Heitkamp, click here…and “Doc” should be careful with that “Vote Democrat” slip, and there’s nothing amusing whatsoever about those “True The Vote” scumbags…and as usual, wingnuts prove that they can’t spell…updates to the issue of Native Americans voting to North Dakota are here and here)…



…and Farron Cousins of “Ring of Fire” tells us that Sen. Mr. Elaine Chao has made it clear that he and his pals are after Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare, and any other entitlement that he can get his greasy hands on – by the way, and I know this is a minor point, but I don’t think the beard is a good look…



…and speaking of lowdown political types, Sam Bee gives us a mashup of some OMIGOD THA’ LIBS R ALL COMING TO KILL US!!! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!! clips from “The Grand Obstructionist Party” (I’m not sure voters can dig their way out of all of this horseshit even if they had a front-end loader, which is exactly what the other side wants – NSFW)…



…and Kyle of “Secular Talk” tells us that the pending arms sale to the country that brought us 15 of the 19 9/11 hijackers is more important to Generalissimo Trump than holding the Saudis to account in light of the gruesome murder of Jamal Khashoggi – yeah, leave it to the Gropenfuhrer to be too typically stoo-pid to truly understand what to do when controversy hits on the world stage (and when it comes to the Saudis and arms sales, I give you this – NSFW also)…



…and in my admittedly imperfect quest to keep my musical selections interesting, I should note that today would have been the 100th birthday of jazz pianist and bit character actor Bobby Troup; here, he performs with wife Julie London – both would appear on the TV series “Emergency!” later (not sure if the Surgeon General’s Report had come out yet)…



…and the recent stretch of nice weather kind of puts me in the mood for this tune, which is a bit of a bonus (also an excuse to note the recent birthday of Temple alum Daryl Hall – hope it was a good one).

Wednesday Stuff

Farron Cousins tells us that – WAAAHHHHH!!! – White Supremacist Mouthpiece Tucker can’t eat out anymore – maybe he should try a TV dinner, as Cousins explains (NSFW)…



Update: And just think, Tucker, they're not eye holes in those Klan hoods - they're really table cloth spots to put the salt and pepper shakers (I wish I could take credit for that, but I'm sure somebody else thought of it - here).

…and oh noes – it looks like Generalissimo Trump’s alleged business acumen failed him – c’est dommage (Cenk’s wrap-up in about the last minute and a half or so, citing Bernie Sanders, is absolutely brilliant)…



…and I know I’ve been focusing on the Scott Wallace/Bri-Fi and Wagner/Wolf contests in PA (here), but there’s also an election for U.S. Senate of course – to help Bob Casey, click here…



...and I hope you're in the mood for a little Wednesday blues/funk, because here it is.

Tuesday Stuff

Pap and Farron Cousins tell us here about climate change reports being buried by our corporate media (again, this is The Putin Network, but it looks true unfortunately…and I’d heard the Chris Hayes anecdote before, but it bears repeating…here is more on the IPCC report)…



…and Cenk talks with Mallory Hagan, running as a Dem for Alabama’s 3rd District in the U.S. House against Mike Rogers – yeah, the odds are long, but the name of the game is to fight them everywhere (kind of makes me recall this prior post from over a year ago)…



…and I now give you the latest installment of “This Day In Doomsy History” (more or less) from 10/15/12- hey Utah, before you automatically vote for Willard Mitt Romney as your next Repug U.S. Senator, you might want to try watching this…



…and yeah, it’s pretty sad when a Repug pol from our beloved commonwealth becomes a national laughing stock (here – I was so repulsed by the violence of Wagner’s rant that I happened to overlook the elitism…I guess Wagner is too much of a charter member of the “one percent” country club to say something thuggish like “pull up with a stick” or whatever – to help Gov. Wolf in response, click here)…

...but when it comes to lying Repug idiocy, let's not forget Bri-Fi - to help Scott Wallace, click here...



...and Nico of The Velvet Underground would have been 80 today.

Monday Stuff

(By the way, I have some updates to this post about Bri-Fi and the Humane Society signs, and my Senate contests post is here, and to help Heidi Heitkamp, who needs our help, click here.)

I’d love to gloat over this, but Sen. Mr. Elaine Chao is way too cagey to NOT be playing some kind of a game by saying this typical nonsense…namely, that the Dems shouldn’t investigate the Gropenfuhrer because, gosh, McConnell is just SO WORRIED about how the Democrats will make out this year and in 2020…uh huh, sure – Farron Cousins explains…



…and when it comes to being branded a “troublemaker” or part of a “mob” (here and here), Francis Maxwell reminds us about MLK Jr., Rosa Parks, and many others who wore that mantle bravely (but let’s get it straight with Almost Silent Clarence Thomas – “harassment,” bad as it is, isn’t “assault”)…



..and Kyle K. of Secular Talk tells us that our corporate media, of course, ignored the New York Times story on all of Trump’s tax fraud…I know Kyle thinks the Russia story is a nothing-burger, you might say, but I think he’s wrong…NSFW – and praise “the old gray lady” for the tax coverage, but pan them for paying yet MORE attention to Trump voters in red America…how many of these damn stories are they going to publish (here)?

Oh, but we MUST write about Trump voters or else, if we blow them off, they'll claim that the li-bu-ruul media refuses to understand them so OF COURSE they end up voting for Trump. News flash: THEY'RE NOT GOING TO VOTE FOR A DEM ANYWAY!

And by the way, Kyle, you DEFINITELY don’t have “a rinky-dink show”…



...and Cole Porter died 54 years ago today, believe it or not – I’m kind of in the mood for a show tune, so I give you this with Seth MacFarlane doing the Sinatra part and Curtis Stigers doing the Der Bingle part (if you ever get the opportunity to see it, “De-Lovely” with Kevin Kline and Ashley Judd is a GREAT biopic).

Friday Stuff

Kyle Kulinski tells us of a recent “Frontline” documentary on decimated working class America…again, I’ll NEVER know how the Hillary Clinton campaign totally missed or ignored this somehow, or at least didn’t give it the attention it deserved, to say nothing of the Obama Administration…of course, this country electing Republican congresses only made this worse…and do you notice that nobody talks about the “sequester” anymore? I’m old enough to remember “CBS Reports” documentaries such as “Harvest of Shame” that would have drawn attention to stuff like this…and I’m coming around on UBI too, for what it’s worth (NSFW)…



…but as part of the Repugs’ never-ending “LOOK OVER THERE!” strategy, John and Cenk of TYT tell us that their main talking point at the moment seems to be OMIGOD THE DEMOCRATS ARE COMING TO KILL US!!!!!! And yeah, we’d expect this idiocy from Fix Noise, but of course CNN and MSNBC fall in line and parrot this nonsense like the sheep that they truly are, the vast majority of the time anyway (oh yeah, we Dems are SO TERRIBLE that we killed Heather Heyer, as John says – oh, wait)…



…though I wonder if the proverbial jig is up, seeing as how the Gropenfuhrer’s little Bund rallies aren’t automatically being covered by the leading corporate propaganda channel in this country, with Number 45 acting in a typically sane manner in response (just kidding)…



…and David Pakman below confirms for us that the “investigation” into Bad Boy Brett was indeed restricted (actually, the fact that an FBI investigation was restricted by the White House is something that I’m sure has happened before, but as usual, the typical blatant lying by our ruling regime of crooks and lowlifes is probably the biggest takeaway here…and I’m wondering about Jeff Flake’s role in all of this too – I’m inclined to believe “useful idiot” as well…)…



…and I didn’t want the week to end without putting up this “New Rule” by Bill Maher…I utterly despise Republicans of course (no secret, I know), but they DO know how to wield power, unlike our side more often than not (here)…



…and I don’t know about you, but I’ve had it with that fool and idiot Mike Love; I’m putting up this video in response to this item because it was sung not by Love but by Blondie Chaplin, who basically walked into the studio out of nowhere and killed it when nobody else could (and yep, though I’ll always respect Brian Wilson, I’m sorry; The Beach Boys are now dead to me as well).



(By the way, I have updates here and here.)

Thursday Stuff

(My U.S. Senate guide can be accessed from here.)

Hasan Piker brings us yet another stupendously outrageous lie from Generalissimo Trump and the Repugs, this time when it comes to health care and pre-exiting conditions (here)...



...amplified a bit here by Sen. Bernie Sanders (the rebuttal I mean)...

...and oh yeah - does anyone out there besides me remember that we're still at war in Afghanistan? Show of hands (more here)...



…and with the prior clip in mind, I give you the latest installment of “This Day In Doomsy History” from 10/11/09, in which the recently late Sen. John McCain said we were distracted by Iraq – at the time, I didn’t like the way he tried to blow off the Iraq war like that and try to get out of his responsibility a bit, but that doesn’t mean that I didn’t think he was fundamentally right…doesn’t make me feel any better, of course…



…and as long as we’re in somewhat of a military theme, I’d like to bring you this item from Kyle K. about Dem Richard Ojeda in West Virginia, running for the U.S. House against Carol Miller…the ad Kyle notes is great, and so is this one…I’d really argue with Kyle about that “Philadelphia suburbs” comment if he we wrong, which he isn’t – NSFW…



…and I know I’m overdue for another “relationship” song, so I hope this qualifies.

Wednesday Stuff

(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).

Tuesday Stuff

(I also posted here.)

“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)...



…and happy 70th (!) birthday to Jackson Browne…



…and the eternal John Lennon.

Monday Stuff

(I also posted 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).

Friday Stuff

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).

Update: You might as well retire right now, lady (here...actually, it's more like this).

Thursday Stuff

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).

Wednesday Stuff

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…



…and RIP legendary Chicago bluesman Otis Rush.

Tuesday Stuff

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.

Monday Stuff

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.

Friday Stuff

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)…



Update: There may be hope after all.

…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.)

Thursday Stuff

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.