Wednesday Stuff

Seth Meyers brings us the latest on Our Treasonous Tiny-Handed Orange Dictator (and now with China?) and the second whistleblower too…and the thought of Rick Perry as an alleged criminal mastermind is bust-a-gut hilarious…



…and Rachel Maddow interviews Brett McGurk, former Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL under Dubya, speaking out against Generalissimo Trump on Turkey and Syria (the last minute of this is pretty damn terrifying, but again, it’s not like we weren’t warned)…



…and Farron Cousins gives us the latest polling numbers on Mango Mussolini concerning impeachment and removal from office…



…and Kyle K. tells us about Dr. Oz making sense on Medicare for All, so of course Fix Noise has to cut him off…



…and with the prior clip in mind, Cenk and Ana tell us about a great video made by a Bernie Sanders supporter (I agree with the commentary a thousand percent – have to admit that I was shocked by Trevor Noah)…



…and Sam and the crew from “The Majority Report” discuss Ellen DeGeneres with Dubya at the football game recently – yeah, here is my admittedly boring “hot take”…Ellen is allowed to hang out with whoever she wants, but when it’s Dubya don’t be shocked by the backlash…and anybody in the public eye has to have the equivalent of a Ph.D. in self-promotion as far as I’m concerned, and I think that’s on display here from EDG, milking this for every bit of publicity...and GREAT points by Sam at the end about The Dixie Chicks and Janeane Garofalo (and I know this is a little off-topic, but am I the only one who finds it a little weird that Laura Bush was wearing pearls for the occasion?)…



…and happy birthday to Jackson Browne (David Lindley on lap steel guitar)…



…and John Lennon (“faith in the future out of the now”).

Monday Stuff

I thought this was a pretty clear-eyed commentary from Kyle Kulinski on the US deciding to pull our troops from Syria in the support of the Kurds, who helped us fight ISIS, and of course now the Kurds will likely get demolished by Turkey…I think Kyle makes good points about how our military presence(s) abroad should be defined properly by Congress, but of course now world leaders will have less of a reason to actually trust us…so much winning…



…and Farron Cousins reminds us that the stuff with Mango Mussolini and Deutsche Bank is by no means settled either…



…and Brian Tyler Cohen tells us about that disgusting amoral fraud RoJo getting commendably called out by Chuck Todd the other day on the Ukraine stuff and the Gropenfuhrer…



…and Sam and the crew from “The Majority Report” tells us about that Lyndon LaRouche nut of a supporter (any other kind I wonder?) who wore that “eat the babies” shirt in front of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (yep, I’m sure we’ll have a lot more of that to look forward to in the runup to 2020, unfortunately)…



…and I was remiss in noting that last Friday was the 30th anniversary of the passing of Graham Chapman of Monty Python, of course…



…and damn, it wasn’t that long ago that we also celebrated the 80th birthday of Ginger Baker – RIP.

Friday Stuff

Farron Cousins tells us that “Pastor” Robert Jeffress has said that there would be “a Civil War-like fracture” if our Tiny Handed Treasonous Orange Meat Sack were to be removed from An Oval Office – so many reasons to detest Jeffress, pretending to be a “man of God,” which he clearly isn’t based on this, as well as a coward, egging on others dumb enough to buy his “culture war” rhetoric…



…and Thom Hartmann tells us about U.S. newspapers calling on the Gropenfuhrer to resign…



…and Brian Tyler Cohen tells us about Shep Smith unpacking the latest lies from Generalissimo Trump on Ukraine (a little past the news cycle I'll admit, but it bears repeating, especially coming from Fix Noise)…



…and Robert Reich gives us some reality on the supposedly great economy from President Fergus Laing…



…and if somehow God willing a Dem can manage to win the White House in 2020, I hope this person at least asks WA Dem Gov. Jay Inslee to be Secretary of Energy (but again, even if that happens, it won’t mean a damn thing without winning Congress too – every single damn election matters, and we should punish every single Republican for this horror show we’ve had to live in since 2016)…



...and happy belated 70th birthday to Lindsey Buckingham, formerly of Fleetwood Mac - best wishes for continued good health.

Thursday Stuff

(I thought I’d take a bit of a break from our typical “Mad King Donald” insanity and remind everyone about this, and also wish the Obamas a very happy anniversary also; nice to see them trending on Twitter for good reasons – here).

In a weird way I guess (about the only way you COULD expect with the Gropenfuhrer), I now have to wonder why we went to the trouble of instigating a probe of Russian interference in our election and potential collusion, since apparently President Fergus Laing invited other heads of state to try and dig up dirt on Joe Biden today, as well as trying to discredit Robert Mueller…I mean, is there even a question at this point whether or not Number 45 has enough of a brain to know where to draw the line on this stuff? And I wish I could disagree with Ana on the Dems and Mueller, but unfortunately I can’t...



...and a trench filled with alligators and snakes on our border, huh? Someday this nightmare will end, I tell myself - more here from Seth Meyers...



…and David Pakman tells us that Trump’s support is polling 6 points lower than impeachment/removal – every Dem running for any elective office anywhere should hang this around the metaphorical neck of anyone who still supports Mango Mussolini, including this guy…



…and Farron Cousins tells us about Repugs in the land of the yellow rose getting all freaked out about their beloved base not holding sway in elections like they used to – somebody once said “demographics is destiny”…and yes, Karl Rove is an utter scumbag, but he’s nobody’s fool either…



..and speaking of fools, apparently Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook is all in a snit over the possibility of Elizabeth Warren winning this whole thing (here and more Zuckerberg idiocy is here...might be a good reason to delete your account); I tracked down this tune for the occasion (incredibly NSFW)…



...and RIP Kim Shattuck of The Muffs (here).

Wednesday Stuff

It looks as if the Gropenfuhrer may be losing it yet again right before our eyes, as Cenk and Ana tell us – we ventured into 25th Amendment territory long ago with this cretin, and all of this is just the icing on the proverbial cake (more here)…



…and John of “The Damage Report” tells us about U.S. House Dems grilling Giuliani and Pompeo (the TYT clip gave away a bit on Pompeo I realize – and I thought this was appropriate about the “Mayor of 9/11”)…



…and David Doel tells us about how Bernie Sanders, while not leading in every poll, is in the top 3 at a minimum on most, mainly because he focuses on policy ignored by the news organizations with initials for names, as emphasized by his fine new ad (and he did well with last quarter fundraising also, though I hope he manages to get some rest based on this…and yes, that means he’s definitely qualified for the job of president anyway)…



…and when it comes to blowing off Bernie, here is another ridiculous new example – again, I don’t know who I’ll vote for in the Dem primary since we’re a loooong way off from that, but if I support Bernie, I guarantee you it won’t be because of sexism – apparently, the subject in question here is a child of entitlement who works for the Center for American Progress, which used to be good as far as I’m concerned, but not any more apparently – still don’t understand why they couldn’t have found a way to help Think Progress...kind of a long-winded explanation by Michael Brooks, but he's right…



…and happy belated 95th birthday to President Carter on 10/1/19, speaking about renewable energy…



...and here's a neat new tune with words to live by.

Monday Stuff

Kyle K. tells us about Stuart Varney trying to concoct some kind of a hit piece on Bernie Sanders and his support of striking GM workers – yes, ridiculous for all of the reasons astutely noted by Kyle in the clip (mildly NSFW...and yeah, supposedly, Bernie's support among African Americans is cratering - uh huh)…



…and keeping with the theme of income inequality, I give you this from John, Cenk and Mark Thompson…



…and boy, this is truly the stuff of nightmares – Sam Seder and the TMR crew present a clip of Naomi Klein telling us that the wingnuts could actually be WORSE than they are now if they come around on the issue of climate change…



…and I’m going to dig back in the archives a bit and present this from last December, with Farron Cousins telling us just how bad Jeff Flake really is in light of this; our bought-and-paid-for Beltway corporate media courtiers just LOVE to shine a spotlight on some supposedly middle-of-the-road Republican to lecture the rabble about staying in line, so they don’t do stuff the elite punditocracy doesn’t like, such as GM workers striking for higher wages and getting their health benefits back as shown in the first clip…



Update: I would be inclined to agree with this.

…and I now give you the latest installment of “This Day In Doomsy History” (more or less) from 9/29/14, and it would be a “Worst Person” segment from K.O. featuring Baby Newton Leroy Gingrich in which he criticized former President Obama for appearing as Disneyworld; the timing of this follows somewhat that of the U.S. Senate’s passage of the Contract on America a little over 24 years ago on 9/19/95, an utterly craven exercise brought to us largely from the disgraced former U.S. House Speaker (a bit of an NSFW update with Gingrich is here)…



...and happy 55th birthday to Trey Anastasio.

Friday Stuff

John Iadarola of The Damage Report tells us here about the feud brewing between Shep Smith and Tucker Carlson of Fix Noise over the latest antics from Mango Mussolini, with Smith coming to the defense of Judge Andrew Napolitano (lots of issues with Napolitano, but he’s right to call out the Gropenfuhrer over the Ukraine-related stuff – by the way, the pic has to do with the fact that Carlson inherited his money when his father remarried, as noted here)…



Update 9/29/19: Way too damn funny (here)...

..and with apologies to Cenk, I don’t trust a single word coming out of the mouths of Jeff Flake or Willard Mitt Romney, but to me, the takeaway in this clip is the polling on the question of impeachment, which definitely is moving against Generalissimo Trump…



…and I’ll admit that I’m not the biggest fan of Nicolle Wallace, since she’s just another “Never Trumper” who will likely flip back to Team R when Our Treasonous, Tiny Handed Orange Dictator is finally gone, but kudos to her for cutting away from President Fergus Laing over his incessant lying (and Matt Miller also)…



…and I didn’t want to let the week come to a close without acknowledging this bit of revisionist history from the WaPo on Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren; I see much to like and support in both of them, and I definitely haven’t made up my mind yet, but “Democracy Dies In Darkness” when you don’t tell the truth either, as David Doel explains…



…and I think this is an even more ridiculous example of what Doel is referring to…



…and with all of the speculation about the brave whistle blower who started the metaphorical ball rolling against our calamitous, incompetent head of state over Ukraine, it’s perhaps an odd coincidence that another patriotic American has now left us, and I’m referring to Joe Wilson – tributes are here, and this makes me recall this clip when Bill Maher used to be good (NSFW)…



...and as far as I'm concerned, "only a fool" would be unhappy to hear the news that Archbishop Charles Chaput of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia has tendered his resignation (more here and here...now he can go on Hugh Hewitt's program and whine about America's moral decay, or something, at his leisure - yep, as I said, only a fool...)...



...and here's a nice, relatively new tune to help us kick-start the weekend - hope it's a good one for everybody.

Thursday Stuff

Rachel Maddow speaks with Dem U.S. Rep Jackie Speier of CA about the IG report on Generalissimo Trump and Ukraine that was deemed “credible and urgent” (and it sounds like Trump Acting DNI Joseph Maguire turned the tables, as it were, or tried to anyway for some reason – and maybe I’m a little late to this party, but I’m now wondering why Dan Coats appeared to resign as suddenly as he did...and "boom" indeed)…



…and Cenk and Ana of TYT tell us how Rudy 9iu11ani has immersed himself in the Ukraine mess, along with (potentially) Trump Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, among others (and yeah, it's pretty damn hilarious to watch Fix Noise eat itself life this - more here...pass the popcorn)…



…and as Farron Cousins points out (sticking with the scandal), if Matt Gaetz is looking bad yet again, then it’s a good day (and good for Hallie Jackson also)…



and happy 65th birthday to Craig Chaquico of Jefferson Starship.

Tuesday Stuff

For what it’s worth, I checked a video from Brian Tyler Cohen and Judge Andrew Napolitano on Fix Noise over the Gropenfuhrer and the alleged 8 times that he encouraged the president of Ukraine to get dirt on Joe Biden or else Trump would withhold military aid. To be fair, Napolitano held Trump’s feet to the fire, which is exactly called for, but this numbskull interviewer from The Roger Ailes BS Factory kept trying to push this alleged scandal about Biden trying to get a prosecutor in that country to drop charges against Hunter Biden (and I don’t even care who this alleged “newsman” is – all he cared about was covering up Trump’s latest malfeasance with the Biden business).

The whole angle with Biden and his son is complete horseshit. And if you don’t want to believe me, fine. Believe Kurt Eichenwald responding to Ken Vogel of the New York Times here (with Vogel trying to push the equivalent of “BUT HER EMAILS!!!” with Biden doing well according to some Democratic primary polls, though the ones I see show Elizabeth Warren taking the lead – waaay too early to care seriously about this stuff, though, I’ll admit).

I guess I’m going to turn to Stephen Colbert here as a bit of a palate cleanser (I guess some of the jokes are just going to go splat at times)…



Update: Oh, and as if by magic, guess what happens to be trending on Twitter with all of this going on?

Yep, the Russian trolls and bots are hard at work, I see.

…and John Iadarola and Brooke Thomas tell us about Dinesh D’Felon calling Greta Thunberg a “Nazi” – nice guy (and it looks like Fix Noise apologized for that sick bastard Michael Knowles calling Thunberg mentally ill, apparently)…



…and Farron Cousins tells us about Laura Ingraham’s brother calling out his sibling for comparing Thunberg to the “children of the corn” (how wacked do you have to be to get blasted by a family member like that? I guess I should ask Paul Gosar too while I’m at it – here)…



…and given Stephen Colbert’s monologue, I guess I could have gone in a couple of different directions with the musical selection (either with Sir Paul or Sir Elton), but I’m going to use this one which I think is timely (not a call for violence, I hasten to add, but removal from office at a minimum).

Monday Stuff

I wonder how many more concentric circles of hell we’re supposed to descend through with Mango Mussolini before SOMEBODY claps him in irons and a straight jacket and carries him off to the rubber room that he should inhabit for the rest of his sorry remaining days on this planet, as Brian Tyler Cohen explains…



…and I only wish Davey Koch were still alive to hear these chastising and totally appropriate words from Greta Thunberg (more here…more guts in this young lady than that entire assembled body put together)…



…and speaking of getting real, this ad from Sandy Hook Promise sure does it just in time for school, as Kyle K. explains…



…and happy 70th birthday to The Boss!

Wednesday Stuff

(I may shut this down for a few days after this, just to let you know.)

Seth Meyers gives us the latest on the Gropenfuhrer and (God help us) the potential of war with Iran, which no sane person wants (and I realize that automatically rules out our Treasonous, Tiny-Handed Dictator Wannabe – I hope Meyers retires the whole “sideways glance” shtick…it was cute at first, but now it’s just old, and I’m sure he knows it…and oh yeah, apparently “Onward Christian Soldiers” Pence really wasn’t bitten by American Pharaoh – I say that because the horse didn’t immediately retch and die after doing so)…



…and Lawrence O’Donnell talks with freshman Dem U.S. Rep Elissa Slotkin of Michigan (a rather disgusting update on the striking autoworkers is here, not because of the workers I hasten to add…Slotkin loses me a bit in the discussion about the drone strike on the Saudi oil fields, automatically blaming Iran, though she’s definitely right about “drawing a breath” on the issue)…



…and Brian Tyler Cohen gives us his typically well-informed take on the perjury of Corey Lewandowski during the House Oversight Committee hearing yesterday – womp womp (this maggot Lewandowski should have been held in contempt, though the problem of course is that such a citation would have to be enforced by notorious Repug fixer Bill Barr, which will never happen in about a trillion years…I realize it’s definitely beyond the scope of thinking, rational people no matter which political party we’re talking about – though anymore that’s the Dems by default – to deal with these Trump cretins, but the Dems are trying to stick to regular, orderly procedure while the Repugs insist on playing Calvinball…even though it wouldn’t have amounted to anything as I said, Lewandowski should have been clapped in irons for that “Mueller Report Pg. 90” nonsense by itself...an update is here)…



…and I now give you the latest installment of “This Day In Doomsy History” (more or less) from 9/16/19…I wish Jason Kander all the best with his PTSD issues; glad to hear that he’s coming back to the political spotlight you might say, and I had him in mind after this recent tweet, which I think gives us enough of an excuse to bring back this truly great ad that he ran against Missouri Repug Sen. Roy Blunt in 2016, particularly in light of this from #MassacreMitch…yep, just trying to run out the proverbial clock on the horrific gun slaughters that continue in this country, hoping that people don’t pay attention until the next mass shooting which, given our awful lack of sane gun policy in this country, I’m afraid is inevitable…



…and here is a “Young Turks” clip with Cenk from 2014 on Cokie Roberts...yes, praise her for her many journalistic accomplishments, but never, ever forget that she was a charter member of our Beltway courtier media class – not trying to tear her down necessarily, but only trying to be fair…in her way, she helped grease the proverbial skids for more Repug electoral wins…and please, get breast cancer screenings every single year – vitally important; all cancers are bad, but this one is an MFer because it metastasizes quickly and in all kinds of hideous ways…



…and what do you say to a little mid-week blues as we enjoy the nice weather in these parts?

Monday Stuff

I would say that it’s pretty damn obvious by now why the “party of Lincoln” wanted no parts of Deborah Ramirez during the Schlitz Kavanaugh confirmation hearing based on this – the clip below with Katy Tur and Heidi Przybyla reminds us how the allegations were treated the first time around (and once more, the expression on the face of Kavanaugh's wife speaks volumes as far as I'm concerned)…



…and the TMR crew, including Heather "Digby" Parton, tell us about Beto O’Rourke’s reaction to AR-15's from the last Democratic debate (I definitely agree with him in principle, but I don't know of a practical way to get all AR-15's out of commission...as much as I hate to admit it, they're people's property and I don't think you should just arbitrarily take them...don't have a better answer unfortunately...and yeah, I'll keep my eye on Chris Coons also)...



Update: Wow, THAT didn’t take long (here) – not sure how much combat Coons could have seen at Yale Divinity School; as soon as I find out who will primary Coons (who’s up for re-election in 2020), that person can count on a contribution from yours truly.

…and Brian Tyler Cohen tells us about the Gropenfuhrer actually entertaining the possibility of bringing the Taliban to Camp David for peace talks around the 9/11 anniversary (once more, if a certain 44th President of the United States had entertained such an idea, all the Fix Noise talking heads would have stroked out in an apoplectic fit – I think Chris Wallace took it easy on Pompeo here because I’m sure Wallace got spanked over his last Pompeo interview, where I think Wallace did a good job...Pompeo is of course a pompous ass, which makes him perfect for this administration)…



…and Robert Reich tells us about the GOP’s plan to hold onto power in next year’s election – we all need to make sure we vote for Democrats like our lives depend on it, because that may very well be the stakes…



…and man, all of a sudden, it’s a bad time for “classic rock” performers – RIP to Eddie Money…



...and Ric Ocasek of The Cars (here).

Friday Stuff

Farron Cousins tells us about something called the Foundation for Government Accountability, which demonizes poor people as you might expect, and yeah, if you guessed that this links back to Charles Koch, you win a free copy of the speech “A Shining City On A Hill” by The Sainted Ronnie R, which you could easily shred and use to line your cat’s litter box, if you’re so inclined (and if you have a cat of course, or maybe shred it even if you don’t)…



…and speaking of Chucky Koch, he apparently is using consumer data to target voters the way the wingnuts want (using something called i360, which benefited Marsha Blackburn in 2018; basically, in this “Citizens United” era, reality has pretty much been chucked right out the window in attack ads - better be careful, John...too much truth-telling might get you demonetized...Ana's commentary in the last two minutes is pretty good)...



…and Kyle K. tells us that the Repugs are trying to “dump the dregs” of their party in anticipation of the 2020 election (yeah, good luck with that – focus seems to be on Steve King and Liz Cheney, who are bad for different reasons as Kyle points out)…



…and speaking of dregs, this woman Elizabeth Heng has been trying to get this vile campaign ad out in online media for a little while apparently – Facebook temporarily blocked her, but of course there was enough $$ to eventually make it worthwhile, as John I. alluded to previously, so now it’s out there…truly no bottom for these life forms, in this case comparing Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to “the killing fields” in Cambodia under Pol Pot – I realize it’s pointless to try and tell people like Heng that “socialism” also includes tax breaks for oil companies, tax breaks for sports franchise owners trying to buy stadiums, “social” security, health care to our veterans through the VA, labor unions, bank deposit insurance, farm price supports, and on and on (more here...and as far as the Green New Deal being “ridiculous” goes, I give you this)…



…and like a lot of other people out there, I’ve gotten annoyed at the Democratic Party leadership at times for maybe being over cautious (though I’ve also reconsidered and realized they were right), so I should also give them props when they stand up and do the right thing as Nancy Pelosi does here on guns (Brian Tyler Cohen explains)…



…and I think this is an appropriate tune befitting this calendar date and day.

Wednesday Stuff

“Everyone’s days in the Trump Administration are numbered” – that’s probably correct, as long as it never applies to the rest of us as well (in the matter of “Blow ‘Em Up” Bolton supposedly getting canned by the Gropenfuhrer, though I’m also inclined to believe that Bolton quit…”working for a four-year-old in a really old body”…uh huh…and “Team of Rivals” vs. “Team of Rodents” – heh)…



…and no, I don’t think he’s joking either about trying to stay in office, as Stephen Colbert points out (those evangelicals continue to allow themselves to be played like cheap fiddles; I could say a lot worse about them, but I’ll hold off for now)…



…oh, and did you hear about the Gropenfuhrer shoring up his failing golf resort with tax $$ and making millions, as Kyle K. tells us (NSFW…Kyle needs to give it a rest on the Clinton Foundation, though…more here)…



…and before Lawrence put his metaphorical foot in it on Trump and the Deutsche Bank stuff, he had this clip a little while ago about Mango Mussolini “stealing grief,” which I think is timely for this day even though part of me truly hates to mention him as part of our remembrance (and notice that he’s holding a Sharpie in his hand of course – here...more is here)…



Update: "Never forget" indeed - bastards (here).

…and these next two clips are timely for this day also of course (related items are here, here, and here).

Monday Stuff

Thom Hartmann looks at “Trump-istan” of the US of A versus the rest of the world, and it’s a pretty sorry comparison as things stand at the moment, including torture of children and telling sick kids trying to get treatment to go die somewhere else (he gets to the gory details at about 4:25 or so…I vaguely recall the Kitty Genovese story)…



…and yeah, don’t look now, but our Treasonous Orange Pestilence compromised a Russian intelligence asset who we had to get out of the picture quickly – and yeah, good luck trying to get someone on the inside like that again anytime soon (here – Reason #4,687,212 why a certain Gropenfuhrer needs to get his ass impeached, and then convicted and sentenced to prison)…



…and Kyle tells us about Ro Khanna speaking with someone named Steve Hilton on Fix Noise about a public/private partnership to try and keep tech jobs in THIS country, for a change (what a concept – Khanna continues to impress, FWIW)…



…and Sam and the crew from “The Majority Report” tell us about the latest apparent craze in the “ed-biz,” and that is to design school buildings in such a way that it’s harder for mass shooters to fire and easier for kids to hide out I suppose…of course, we could PASS COMMON SENSE GUN LEGISLATION INSTEAD…BUT THAT’S SOMETHING A GODLESS LIB WOULD SAY…U-S-A! U-S-A!...



...and speaking of godless libs, it looks like we have another wingnut movie coming out - OMG! IT'S ANTIFA! AND THEY ALL HAVE M4s AND AR-15s HIDDEN IN THE BACK OF THEIR PICKUP TRUCKS! AND SOMEHOW, THEY'RE ALL EXPERT SHOTS! AND THE COPS HAVE FAILED US! GRAB A GUN AND RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!!

(And I'm sorry - well, actually I'm not - but firing a gun into the sky like that is laugh-out-loud hilarious)...



...and this song has some words to live by - these guys don't make a big presentation I'll admit, but they rock!

Friday Stuff (updates)

I think this video from Rachel Maddow last night should be required viewing for anybody who thinks that the Gropenfuhrer’s involvement with Russia is a “nothing-burger” of a story (more on the disappearance of funds heading straight for that stupid wall is here, here, and here)…

Update: Gee, I guess this settles it, huh - smh...

…and according to Farron Cousins, it looks like Mango Mussolini is going after former staffers for allegedly violating their NDAs, though he may end up losing on that also (one can only hope...and I may order my copy of the "Impeach" board game soon - heh)…



…and Cenk and Ana of TYT tell us about the Swanson TV dinner heir basically advocating violence against cops if they come to take anyone’s guns, which will NEVER HAPPEN anyway, people (there has been some talk about “red flag” laws I know – not the biggest fan, but literally better than nothing…great point by Ana about law enforcement getting shot in Odessa, TX, tragically…wonder how many advertisers Tucker will lose for this?)…



…and Amanda Litman tells us about the importance of down-ballot races in elections (cannot stress this enough, people – we were massacred in the 2010 midterms, something which became obvious as the decade unfolded – more here)…



…and I now give you the latest installment of “This Day In Doomsy History” (more or less) from 9/7/13; I know we just recognized Labor Day, and with that in mind, I don’t think this clip needs any further explanation…



…and I might as well ring down the proverbial curtain on my summer selections with this tune.



Update 1: Speaking of "ringing down the curtain," this indeed is bad news – I enjoyed reading Joe Romm, E.A. Crunden, Casey Michel, Alan Pyke and Ian Millhiser. I hope everyone lands on their feet and continues to do great work.

Update 2: Not sure how I could have forgot about Judd Legum, who founded the site in the first place; all the best to him also.

Update 3: I saw somebody comment on Twitter that if Howard Schultz and Michael Bloomberg had pooled their resources, they might have been able to save the site. I'd throw Tom Steyer in with the two of them also.

Update 4: I wish I could argue with this, but I don't see how I can.

Update 5: OK, I'll be honest - I could definitely have lived without Jessica Goldstein, who I think was doing her part to turn the site into The Huffington Post, but just because I didn't care for her content doesn't mean that someone else couldn't have found it worthwhile.

Thursday Stuff

Hold on a minute – I’ll just get my Sharpie and make myself look about 10 years younger and give myself about a million page views a day...yes, I’ve definitely asked the question Ana poses at the end (more context on the latest Gropenfuhrer insanity is here, here, here, here and here)…



Update 9/9/19: Typical for this pathetic bunch of criminals, frauds and pissants (here)...

…and Seth Meyers gives us a “Closer Look” from a day or so ago with more on Dorian, as well as Pence joining in the grift in Ireland (and yes, here is more related idiocy from our Treasonous Orange Meat Sack)…



…and Farron Cousins tells us about Repugs freaking out over the disclosure of their donors which, as Cousins points out, is readily available public information (and I checked out on Whoopi Goldberg awhile back also, to tell you the truth)…



…and David Doel tells us about the British MP who gave it back to Boris Johnson over Johnson’s ridiculous racial attacks (I was waited on by a cashier wearing a burqa in the Boots chemist a few years ago, and yeah, I lived to tell the tale, shockingly enough – in a related story as they say, I don’t have a clue as to whether or not Johnson will be able to force a “snap” election which, I believe, may enable him to get a “hard” Brexit passed with or without the Queen’s support; Chris Hayes had a good video about the UK thing last night, but of course it’s not available from MSNBC’s awful web site…the more I watch the news reports on this, the more confused I am, which may be part of Johnson’s scheme also I realize…also, apparently YouTube demonetized this video for some reason – to support David Doel, please click here)…



…and believe it or not, the “Button-Down Mind” himself is 90 – happy birthday to Bob Newhart…



…and speaking of milestones, I don’t know how Al Stewart can be 74, but somehow he is – here’s to an appreciation of someone who has made a lot of great, literate music, not just including “Year Of The Cat.”

Tuesday Stuff

I thought this was some good work by CNN to remind us how much #DonaldTheDuffer has lied about golf in particular, as opposed to his other lies on everything else (and yeah, this is about what you would expect from a pathetic little baby like him)…



…and Kyle K. tells us about the answer from Bernie Sanders in response a question about the rise of right-wing populism (Kyle is so right about the Dems, and I think he’s basically correct about HRC, but God, I wish he would give up on Tulsi Gabbard, who to me is an utter fraud…the last minute or so of this in particular is thoroughly spot-on IMHO)…



…and Robert Reich, with the just-passed holiday still in mind, tells us the 5 biggest corporate lies about unions…



…and gee, don’t look now, but it looks like corrupted electronic voting machines were discovered in Mississippi, but don’t look for #MoscowMitch #MassMurderMItch to do anything about it (but to do something about Sen. Mr. Elaine Chao, click here)…



…and we just passed on Friday what would have been the 75th birthday of The Eternal Molly Ivins, who definitely would have run with the just-highlighted story about Mississippi’s voting machines – can’t wait for this doc to be available and streaming somewhere…



...and here's a neat new tune featuring another woman who kicks ass in her chosen profession.

Monday Stuff

It looks like it’s yet another time in this country not to politicize gun control (here); more info on the latest mass murdering lunatic in this country is here (and yeah, definitely not a Muslim or immigrant), and here is a link to more ridiculous gun-related bills due to be enacted in Texas as noted in the report…



Update: Normally I wouldn't bother to highlight Republican simpatico idiocy on the issue of guns like this, but this response from Tony Perkins unofficially breaks the stoo-pid meter as far as I'm concerned.

Update 9/6/19: As noted from here, Not Your Father's Republican Party has learned absolutely nothing on this issue.

…and speaking of the Gropenfuhrer, don’t worry, I’m sure Neil Cavuto will be back towing the line for him soon enough, but for now, credit where it’s due for this…



…and Farron Cousins tells us that Republican senators are worried that Adolf Twitler will sabotage their careers – boo-freaking-hoo! (unfortunately, Cousins is wrong about Pat Toomey; he's up for re-election in 2022, but he's right that the same Republican policies are consistently wrong no matter which Republican is in charge)…



…and Thom Hartmann speaks with Larry Cohen, the board chair of Our Revolution, regarding the current state of labor (not TOTALLY bad news, but we have a lot of work to do in this country – there are many reasons why I despise The Sainted Ronnie R, and this may be the biggest)…

…and here’s a reminder of the importance of the holiday, as well as the labor movement overall (more here and here)…



Update: Talk about a relic (h/t to Thom Hartmann on Twitter)...

...and here's a work-related tune that I don't think I've ever included before at this site.

Friday Stuff

Farron Cousins tells us about one North Dakota farmer in particular who has had enough of Mango Mussolini and his tariffs (I think Cousins misspoke on the “voted on by a court” phrase, but the rest of his commentary is spot-on IMHO)…



...and Cenk and Ana of TYT connect the dots, as it were, between the rapacious, capitalist corporate greed head scam going on in the Amazon and the regime of the Gropenfuhrer, including Blackstone and Stephen Schwarzman (I don't condone violence, but if I were a U.S. soybean farmer watching this, I might be inclined to go get a gun and arrange transportation to Washington, D.C.)...



..and Amy Goodman of Democracy Now talks to Lee Gelernt of the ACLU about the atrocities going on at our southern border; how anyone can claim to belong to any kind of organized religion at all and still support this is something I will never, ever understand…



…and David Pakman tells us that Generalissimo Trump may be turning on Fix Noise at long last (good point at the end about George Lakoff)...



…also, Rachel Maddow interviews Ellen Weintraub of the FEC about that regulating body being short changed by Moscow Mitch and the Repugs, including *President* Orange Cheetoh of course (more here)…



…and David Doel gives David Koch one more shot, which I think is apropos even though the latter has shed his mortal coil, if you will (stuff is included in this clip which should be part of Koch's legacy for sure as far as I'm concerned)…



…and turning to the world of sports, I thought this was yet another good commentary from Dale Hansen on the occasion of the retirement of quarterback Andrew Luck (ironically named given his injury history) from the NFL (here) – I don’t think Luck has to prove a damn thing to anybody, and any elite athlete who sacrifices his health at this age for fame and fortune is playing with fire – not the most original of “takes” I realize (some in the Philly sports media have been speculating that Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz might do the same thing one day, which Wentz is entitled to do as far as I’m concerned – speaking of the Birds, they just completed yet another ho-hum preseason…I realize those games don’t count, but losing 6-0 to the New York Jets? Really??!!)…



Update 9/2/19: Classy...

…and it seems we have indeed come to the official end of the summer season with the Labor Day weekend upon us (sniff) – I may work in a couple of more seasonal tunes anyway despite that over the next few days, but for now, here’s a little “Friday with Frank.”

Wednesday Stuff

(Oh, and in case we'd somehow forgotten with all of the other Trump lunacy out there, the pic has to do with this.)

Cenk and Ana of TYT tell us about conservatives targeting journalists – and their families apparently – who report negatively on the Gropenfuhrer… good point by Cenk about Roger Ailes with his binder against non-Fox hosts, and an even better point by Cenk about courage...



...and let's not forget about this either...

A source close to Deutsche Bank says Trump’s tax returns show he pays very little income tax and, more importantly, that his loans have Russian co-signers.

If true, that explains every kind word Trump has ever said about Russia and Putin. @TheLastWord 10pm

— Lawrence O'Donnell (@Lawrence) August 28, 2019

Update 1: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!

Update 2: #RussianCosigners

Update 3: Ugh - in the end, just some sloppy journalism (here)...sometimes I wonder if the networks screw this stuff up on purpose; you either have the proverbial smoking gun or you don't...reminds me of Dubya's pals complaining about broken typewriter keys on the memos about 43's time in the Air National Guard (and don't think for a minute that this lets President Fergus Laing off the hook).

…and Sam Seder and the “Majority Report” crew tell us about Trump AG Secretary Sonny Perdue referring to farmers as whiners, pretty much…and gee, to me, this sounds like the dreaded “S” word that the Repugs like to throw around when it suits them, particularly against Bernie Sanders…



…and speaking of Bernie, David Doel of The Rational National takes Zerlina Maxwell to task for claiming that Sanders doesn’t have any policies, or something – try doing the admittedly hard work of reviewing everything Sanders has written to see if you have an actual disagreement before opening your pie hole next time, OK?...



…and Farron Cousins tells us why it’s a bad idea to cut payroll taxes as a way to try and get out of a recession (oh, but Our Treasonous, Tiny Handed Orange Lunatic In Charge tells us that we’re not heading towards that, of course – uh huh)…



…and I have to admit that I got a kick out of this concerning NYT columnist Bret Stephens and his recent “snowflake” moment (more here and here)…



…and here is a somewhat more conventional musical number for this time of year (James gets a little rude part of the way through, so please listen on your headphones).

Monday Stuff

Ali Velshi sits in here for Lawrence O’Donnell on “The Last Word” and interviews reporter Leigh Ann Caldwell, who tells us that voters may be a little further ahead of the media/political/industrial complex when it comes to the “I” word and the Gropenfuhrer (and I guess I shouldn't be surprised by Conor Lamb sitting on the fence here, though it is disappointing)...



…and in another bit of Dem squeamishness, this clip tells us that the DNC voted down a climate debate (and the resolution definitely failed with the full committee – ugh...and I know it's way too early to take this stuff seriously, but the polling data I'm seeing tells me that Biden is sinking like a stone)...



…and this clip gives us a little insight into what it’s like to try and live off food stamps (sounds like, for at least one week a month, you’re on your own; I give you "the ownership society," something right out of Dickens and “Les Miserables”)…



…and Sam Seder and the crew of “The Majority Report” quite rightly take Kelly O’Donnell of NBC News to task over Generalissimo Trump and immigration (slightly NSFW, and sorry I’m a little behind the curve on this)…



…and Kyle K. tells us how “Goodhair” Perry got scammed recently (if The Eternal Molly Ivins were still with us, she definitely would have fun with this, though, given that Perry is in charge of our nukes, I suppose it isn’t that particularly hilarious)...



…and my musical selection from last Friday was stuck in the ‘70s for sure, and this one is too…last Saturday marked the 45th anniversary of the release of “Verities and Balderdash” by Harry Chapin; we know “Cat’s In The Cradle” was the signature song from that recording, and “Shooting Star” was also a memorable tune, but I’m going to take a bit of a deeper dive with this one (this tune is preachy as hell, but as you know, that’s never stopped me before :-).