Friday Stuff

As far as impeaching Our Treasonous Russian Operative of a former *president, the Dems need to go through this exercise of course; however, it truly would be a miracle if they were able to pull in enough Senate Republican cowards to convict...



...especially when so many of them are blowing off the proceedings, as John I. and Brett Erlich tell us; good points by Erlich about “jury tampering,” which the stuff with Graham, Lee and Cruz truly is – oh, and by the way, in case you think I intend to gang up only on the “party of Lincoln,” I give you this on wholly other matters...Kyrsten Sinema, weird hair and paisley dresses or whatever, has turned out to be as awful as I feared...



...and just so nobody can accuse me of stacking the metaphorical deck against former Generalissimo Trump, I’ll give you this ripe nugget from Michael van der Veen, one of 45's lawyers, allegedly in defense of the Gropenfuhrer (1:20 of this idiocy is about as much as I can tolerate, to be honest)...



...and why am I not surprised that Trump’s lawyers had access to the same security videos the impeachment managers showed, even though they claimed that they didn’t (a total lie of course, which would have probably been disqualifying all by itself and leading to an automatic acquittal if they hadn’t shared it)...



...and Chris Hayes gives us more on the threat to former VP Mike Pence, with Olivia Troye – and why am I also not in the least surprised that “dumb as a rock” Tommy Tuberville told Combover Caligula that Pence was in the Senate? And yeah, watch Cornyn try to “disappear” former VP Pence of his party – “oh him? Yeah, I heard he went back to Indiana”...truly, no honor among thieves; we know what Pence is, but just because he’s an intolerant, “pro life” bigot, that doesn’t mean that he deserves to be hung from a scaffold either...



...and Farron Cousins tells us that Former President Fergus Laing is so confident that he'll win his 2nd impeachment trial that he decided to go golfing; what's really depressing is that he's probably right (and speaking of the "karma" Cousins refers to, I give you this)...



...and David Pakman gives us a little more on the splintering of the “GOP,” though, to be sure, it’s waaay too early to forecast how much of that may actually help Democrats...



...and RIP Chick Corea.

Thursday Stuff

Gee, it looks like the red, white and blue longhorn lunatic, this Jacob Chansley life form (who apparently only wants to eat organic food in the “slam,” or something) felt “duped,” as 2nd impeachment manager and U.S. House Rep Diane DeGette tells us...aww, poor baby – have fun rotting in prison, you treasonous POS...



...and yeah, once more, I know what The Lincoln Project is, but this is yet another good ad...



...and David Doel presents new footage introduced at the trial showing how close politicians were to the rioters (Romney, Pence, Schumer – yeah, I agree with Doel’s Pence sentiment, but I’m willing to overlook that for now)...



...and in case you were wondering how The Roger Ailes BS Factory was treating the impeachment...well, John I. and Jason Carter tell us that they were covering the “kitten lawyer” instead (lather, rinse, repeat – sigh...to do more about this, click here)...



...and Sam and Emma tells us about Brian Kilmeade on Fix and Fiends advocating for ICE, who apparently are complaining about having to go after, y’know, actual criminals instead of comparatively innocent migrant moms and kids (important comment by Emma V. at the very end, which is completely bipartisan)...



...and speaking of driving under the influence in the prior clip, I hope The Boss gets the help he needs (here); easy trap to fall into...and no, I didn’t see the damn Jeep commercial in the Super Bowl, and I don’t care.



Update: What an utter bullshit bust by a cop apparently trying to make a name for himself by rousting somebody famous - if I were Springsteen, I'd sue.

Wednesday Stuff

This was part of yesterday’s opening presentation in former Generalissimo Trump’s second impeachment trial in the Senate from Dem U.S. House Rep Jamie Raskin – can’t imagine the courage of that man to carry on with this after the death of his son; we all owe him such a debt for this (here – very NSFW/H for a good reason...and I know I’m setting the bar pretty low here and he really has nothing to lose politically, but kudos to – ahem – Pat Toomey for actually doing the right thing for once as noted here)...



...and as for the trial, Brian Tyler Cohen tells us about Alan Dershowitz (who I hope was wearing underwear) and his remarks in support of Raskin, who apparently was a former student; Dershy said this on a Trump-friendly TV channel (and I’m not sure where the hell Bruce Castor was going, and I don’t think anyone else was either)...



...and Farron Cousins tells us about how Combover Caligula responded to his legal representation (heh), harking back to the prior clip a bit...



...and apparently, our corporate media is continuing to stack the deck in favor of the “party of Lincoln” by noting that a “slim majority” of 56 percent of those polled want the Gropenfuhrer to be impeached and convicted this time (as somebody said, yeah, lemme know the next time 56 percent is referred to as a “slim majority” about anything, as John and Francesca tell us)...



...and yeah, as noted here, Repugs suddenly care about the debt/deficit when Democrats are in charge again – how damn predictable...



...and I know my music choices have been stuck in the past a bit, but I didn’t want to ignore the passing of Jim Weatherly, who wrote this great ‘70s tune (forgot about how awesome the bass line is in this song).

Tuesday Stuff

I normally wouldn’t pay much attention to Brian (Iraqi Helicopter Ride – and yes, I know he apologized for concocting that story) Williams, but I thought this was a good discussion with author Jon Meacham about the Republican Party’s history of extremism and how Bill Buckley and Bush 41 dealt with the Birchers – I know there are fringe elements on both sides, but let me know if and when the Dems every try a violent overthrow of our government and I’ll condemn that too (and speaking of seditionists, please do not shed too many tears for this guy, who made the infamous list here – sorry he’s dead, but let’s not forget about context, OK?)...



...and oh yeah, a certain former 45th *president is getting impeached for the second time at this moment, as noted here...



...and speaking of insanity from the “party of Lincoln,” John I. talks with Thom Hartmann about the evolution of American oligarchy (we just observed Reagan’s birthday, and as far as I’m concerned, he’s more to blame than anyone else...Thom H. mentions something called the Tillman Act that passed under TR as well as the Buckley and Belotti SCOTUS decisions that pretty much legalized corporate bribery, as he notes)...



...and RIP Mary Wilson of The Supremes.

Saturday Stuff

We hear now from “The Damage Report” about how 20 million (!) COVID vaccines went missing under Generalissimo Trump – ugh...and boy, do I sympathize with John’s outrage (and happy birthday, by the way) on how we handled this, and Francesca is spot-on about countries that may be smaller but have a better health care infrastructure and probably would do a MUCH BETTER JOB than our prior ruling cabal didn’t bother to do – of course, assuming those smaller countries ACTUALLY HAD THE FREAKING VACCINE!...



...and I could probably fill up a whole other post with my issues with Repug U.S. Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska (and maybe I will one day, including with some of what he says here), but yeah, Brian Tyler Cohen points out how absurd it is that Sasse even has to say that stuff here to defend himself against not “taking the knee” for former President Fergus Laing...



Update 3/1/21: Yep, as usual, Sasse talks a good game, but never backs it up (here).

...and David Pakman tells us that, apparently, Mickey D’s is fine with $15 an hour as a minimum wage, contrary to what that lunatic Lauren Boebert says of course, though it looks like the Dems are having a hard time getting it into a COVID relief package as noted here – gnashing my teeth as I read that...

...and today marks what would have been the 110th birthday of The Sainted Ronnie R (who, as far as I’m concerned, was the blueprint for the typical clueless Repug preznit unable to govern in good times as well as those of a crisis – see also Dubya and Combover Caligula), which means it’s also the 10th anniversary of this post (and wise words for the occasion from The Rude One are here); whenever I think of our 40th president, this song comes to mind.

Friday Stuff

As we probably all know by now, Marjorie Taylor Greene was removed from her U.S. House committee assignments by a vote of 230-199 (Bri-Fi, it should be noted here, was one of the 11 Repugs who voted to give Greene the boot – commendable I realize, but as far as I’m concerned, Greene should be expelled from that body, to say nothing of prosecuted...K.O. tells us more)...



...and when it comes to the insurrection Greene supported, Brian Tyler Cohen tells us about the interview that Dem U.S. House Rep Katie Porter gave to Lawrence O’Donnell about how AOC was pretty much running for her life (the double standard here is unbelievable – if Dems did something like this, they’d already be gone and probably sentenced also, which would be deserved regardless of whatever party we’re talking about...and oh yeah, there's this)...



...and I heard that Rachel Maddow had another great “A” block on Greene last night, but instead, I’m going to focus on something which I think is more important, and that is President Biden trying to undo the damage caused by the family separation policy from our prior ruling regime of actual and would-be criminals...



...and David Doel tells about about another Biden move, and that is to get this country to stop supporting the Saudi slaughter in Yemen (here – a prior post is here...yes, I’m tempted to say “let the damn Saudis defend themselves,” but on the other hand, this undeniably is progress that we can’t ignore and Biden deserves credit)...



...and RIP legendary Oscar-winning actor Christopher Plummer; good luck trying to choose a highlight from his long and distinguished career, but aside from standing out as Captain Von Trapp in “The Sound of Music” (have to admit it), I thought he may have also been the best Star Trek: Original Series villain of all time, as noted in this clip (I always thought “The Undiscovered Country” was a great film, period, and actually topical for its time with one of the all-time-great movie scripts)...



...and I failed to note that yesterday was World Cancer Day – we should all do whatever we can with preventative screenings and checkups as our means allows, and if we’re able to donate to a worthy cause, we can click here.

Thursday Stuff

(And as pointed out here, they are STILL blocking this guy! However, with the Senate Judiciary Committee changing hands now to Dick Durbin and the Dems from the utterly repellent Lindsey Graham, I expect that will change shortly.)

Rachel Maddow gives us a history of Republican obstruction under our 44th president, something to keep in mind as Biden does his utmost to get a sane amount of $$ for COVID relief passed through “the world’s greatest deliberative body” (and with that in mind, this doesn’t surprise me at all...have to find out why she's at home and not at the studio)...



...and sticking with the "upper chamber," it looks like Sen. Mr. Elaine Chao has “gotten the memo” on Marjorie Taylor Greene (McConnell is a lot of contemptible things, but he isn’t stupid...and in a related vein, speaking of “contemptible”)...



...and Greene and Lauren Boebert have been getting the most headlines as the craziest Repugs nationally (along with Madison Cawthorn), but as far as I’m concerned, SD Guv Kristi Noem is right up there with them (Sam, Emma V., Matt and Jamie discuss)...



...and John and Francesca tell us about the anti-vaxxers shutting down the recent COVID immunization at Dodger Stadium (I’d honestly like to know more about who is bankrolling this garbage)...



...and Farron Cousins tells us about the Trumpsters who fought to deny COVID vaccine rollout $$ to states (and yeah, I would tend to agree that there are people in the Senate who should have made a lot of noise a hell of a lot sooner than now)...



...and Thom Hartmann tells us that we’re basically in the middle of the 2nd Repug Great Depression (truly scary economic statistics) – and these variants are pretty damn scary too (COVID shouldn’t have been an epidemic, or a pandemic, but we know why it turned into that)...



...and Ana and Ben Dixon tells us that the SCOTUS recently saved Generalissimo Trump’s butt on emoluments (setting what I’m sure is an absolutely wonderful precedent, I say through clenched teeth...another argument for term limits that Farron Cousins argued previously)...



...and the title of this song describes what I hope is the ultimate fate of Not Your Father’s Republican Party.

Tuesday Stuff

Good catch by Laurence Tribe here on the two lawyers who eventually agreed to represent Generalissimo Trump at his 2nd impeachment in the Senate (here); John and Francesca tell us about how those preceding Messrs. Schoen and Castor Esq. bailed on the whole damn thing (hard to blame them)...



...and normally I wouldn’t give a damn about Repugs and their pitiful attempts at self-examination, but to be fair (as noted in the Now This clip) Rep. Adam Kinzinger was one of the 10 U.S. House reps of his party who voted to impeach the Gropenfuhrer, so I give his words a little more credence than I would to most others (more on their civil war is here - and gee, isn't this interesting?)...



...and Rachel Maddow takes Kinzinger’s argument a little further and basically wonders how democracy can even survive when one of the two major political parties is pretty goddamn freaking nuts!...



...and David Pakman takes the allegedly august editorial board members of “the old gray lady” to task for telling President Biden to, more or less, ease up on the executive orders (we face a big threat from Repugs of course, but we also face a threat from wishy washy “status quo” sympathizers allegedly on our side too)...



...and Farron Cousins tells us how the “party of Lincoln” is responding in Georgia to the recent Democratic successes in the peach state, and that is to make it harder for people to vote (typical)...



...and Chris Hayes, echoing a similar theme, interviews Dem U.S. House Rep Ruben Gallego about efforts to try and disenfranchise voters in Arizona (and elsewhere)...



...and RIP actor Hal Holbrook, shown here in one of his iconic roles...



...and sticking with show business, kudos to Nancy Sinatra for this.

Sunday Stuff

Sam Seder and Emma Vigeland tell us that the Swanson TV Dinner Heir complained about “privilege” recently – I think Carlson just destroyed the irony meter (interesting "skill," I guess you could loosely call it, to utter such banal and ridiculous pronouncements with such certainty and conviction)...



...and as long as we’re discussing The Roger Ailes BS Factory, I thought I’d offer this clip from Brian Tyler Cohen where Chris Wallace gives his fellow network anchor John Roberts a lesson on COVID and the economy, albeit politely...



...and The Lincoln Project gives House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy the treatment he deserves here...



...and Rachel Maddow tells us more about the role of Generalissimo Trump in the 1/6 insurrection...and do you realize that, if 45 can’t find anyone to argue his case given this, he’ll have to do so in the Senate himself? I can’t think of a word for the absurdity of such a spectacle...



...and John I. and Dave Levinthal of Business Insider tell us more on the Gropenfuhrer and his – now how can you put this – singular legal troubles...



...and with Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert quite rightly generating headlines for their insanity, I don’t think we should forget Madison Cawthorn, another freshman Republican in the U.S. House, as David Pakman tells us (yep, Cawthorn visited Hitler’s vacation house...and yes, he mentioned Hitler was evil, which, yeah, is kind of like saying the sky is blue, but to be honest, I’m more concerned about the other lies Pakman notes here, which go to a general pattern of untrustworthiness as far as I’m concerned...and oh yeah, there’s this too)...



...and this Now This clip tells us that Honduras kept its abortion ban in place, as well as curtailing access to contraception – you want to know what fundamentalists like Amy Coney Island Baby Barrett have in mind for this country? Something like what is described here in that country...



...and I now give you today's regional weather forecast.

Friday Stuff

This Now This video brings us President Joe Biden signing executive orders to make the ACA and Medicaid more accessible and more affordable – basically undoing the garbage wrought by the Gropenfuhrer, particularly concerning women’s health care...



...and Farron Cousins tells us about federal judges retiring now that Biden is in office (and boy, is Cousins ever right about term limits for judges)...



...and Kyle gives us the distressing news about global job losses in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, paling in comparison to The Great Recession (ugh)...



...and when it comes to the economy and the stock market, John and Dan Evans give us more on all the recent stuff with Gamestop and Reddit (I heard some of these people were trying to do the same thing with Regal Cinemas lately – and personally, I don’t think an organization that tries to make a buck over trying to forecast economic failure deserves a dime of help if it goes under, though this isn’t surprising I guess)...



...and consider this clip as a tribute to Cloris Leachman; if she wasn’t the funniest character actress of all time, then she was easily in the top three (and RIP Cicely Tyson also)...



...and yesterday marked the 35th anniversary of the Challenger disaster...as much as we should honor the memory of our brave astronauts who perished, we should never forget the role of Morton Thiokol as well as the sheer idiocy of forcing the Challenger to launch in freezing Florida weather, all so The Sainted Ronnie R could mention the voyage in his State of the Union address (here)...here is something I’d like to offer as remembrance (HD images captured by NASA).

Wednesday Stuff

John and Francesca of The Damage Report tell us that it turns out that, gee, Tom Cotton wasn’t really an Army Ranger after all (though he did serve to be fair...I was prepared to kind of go “yeah, well, more Republican lies – must be a day of the week with a Y,” until Cotton’s spokesperson came up with that MASSIVE TOOL answer in response to the Salon reporter’s question at about 6:24)...



...and speaking of military matters, I now give you the latest installment of “This Day In Doomsy History” from 1/27/08, with Laurie Dyer of North Carolina protesting the Iraq war – just a reminder that, with the myriad other messes the Biden administration needs to clean up from the prior ruling regime, we need to look at our military engagements across the globe also...



...and mentioning Tom Cotton opens the door for Repug wingnuttery as far as I’m concerned, and that leads into Anderson Cooper and Andrew Kaczynski discussing U.S. House Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia (uh, yeah...so blame somebody else for what’s on your own Facebook page even though that basically ties into your own public statements – uh huh...and this is pretty vile too)...



Update 1/28/21: She just keeps digging that hole, doesn't she?

Update 1/29/21: God, what a reprehensible woman (here and here).

...and I think the Greene clip leads into this from Farron Cousins, telling us that crazed Trump supporters – are there any other kind? – are threatening House and Senate lawmakers over impeachment...and I definitely get Cousins’ argument about getting help to people who need it, and I’m not opposed to that in principle, but I’m sorry – with all due respect, I’m not in favor of paying ONE DIME on behalf of “deprogramming” anybody who supports our recently departed POTUS...they made A CHOICE to be part of the great unwashed in support of the Gropenfuhrer, and they should be forced to live with that...



...and Thom H. tells us that the WaPo is somehow trying to find what amounts to a “silver lining” based on what happened on 1/6 (good move to invoke Giuliani’s “broken windows” policy...and yeah, I can't wait for our corporate media to try and "both sides" this, though I'm sure they'll try anyway)...



...and in this very NSFW/H clip, Vaush tells us that the Biden Administration is telling the DOJ they can’t use private prisons any more, which definitely constitutes progress as far as yours truly is concerned (doesn’t affect ICE as stated, but it’s a good start)...



...and David Doel tells us that Dana Bash (returning to CNN) tried to bash Bernie Sanders over budget reconciliation, which Bernie wants to use for a variety of reasons to help actual people as opposed to deep-pocketed campaign donors (and I’ve stayed away from the whole “Bernie and his mittens” memes since they’re covered so well everywhere else, though this is praiseworthy and definitely in character)...



...and if there was ever such a thing as an all-purpose title to a song, I think this would be it.

Monday Stuff

Mika B. of “Morning Joe” speaks with historian Jon Meacham about Not Your Father’s Republican Party trying to create all kinds of new voting restrictions across the country (because, as a certain now-deposed 45th *president once put it...)...



...and Ali Velshi reminds us of the lies from Our Treasonous Former Chief Executive that led us to the 1/6 insurrection (and no, I don't much like pizza with pineapple either)...



...and when it comes to Trump-loving Repugs, it looks like PA’s own Scott Perry had his hands in the whole sedition mess (here) – what follows is a campaign ad he ran against his recent opponent Eugene DePasquale that, not surprisingly, was full of wall-to-wall lies...



...and this “Rational National” clip tells us how the even-more-right-wing Trump-loving media fluffers at Newsmax, in their effort to manfacuture scandals against the incoming administration, are critiquing the Oval Office décor of our 46th president (uuuhh, suuurre – and when it comes to media idiocy in this regard from an outlet that definitely should know better, I give you this)...



...and John I. and Brett Erlich tell us how Marjorie Taylor Greene said the Parkland shooting was a “false flag”; what a vile person this woman truly is (“This is a really depressing time to be a Republican” indeed, though all of their damage is self-inflicted)...



...and happy birthday to drummer Malcolm Green of the ‘80s band Split Enz (with the Finn Brothers).

Sunday Stuff

Brian Tyler Cohen shows Ted Cruz trying to corner Transportation Secretary Nominee Pete Buttigieg over the Biden’s Administration’s decision to abandon the Keystone XL Pipeline (and when it comes to Cruz’s claim about Biden allegedly killing Keystone XL jobs, I give you this...to be fair, I know Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was pissed about it, but I also know he and Biden talked about it, for what it’s worth...and by the way, I know the pic is a little edgy, but Cruz and the even-more-odious Josh Hawley deserve that level of ridicule and more for their role in the insurrection of 1/6/21 to try and keep the Gropenfuhrer in power)...



...and speaking of the recently-departed regime, this Lincoln Project video gives us “The Trump Administration By the Numbers” (to be honest, though, the COVID fatalities should have been first on the list – and thankfully, the last number is really about -5 or so at this point)...



...and I shouldn’t be giving Bill Maher the time of day, but I have to admit that this was a funny segment, though those he quite rightly ridicules here will no doubt wear such shaming as a badge of honor, as will their equally crazed supporters (NSFW/H)...



...and John and Cenk of The Damage Repoirt tells us about the “Fourth estate” and their hangup over Biden’s Peloton exercise bike (seriously?) – GREAT commentary by John on the “lather, rinse, repeat” news cycle of what he rightfully calls the “media/political/industrial” complex (more or less) that eventually leads us back, more often than not, to another Repug presidency which blows up our economy all over again...



...and like a lot of other people I realize, I was sorry to hear about the passing of talk TV/radio legend Larry King, but I really didn’t have any particular “take” on it until I read comments from other media people who actually knew him. The common thread, if you will, of what they said about King was that he was a pro when it came to letting his guests tell their stories (of course, with his questions to direct them) with King taking sort of a secondary role in the encounter, as opposed to saying or doing something to try and make headlines himself. And when I thought some more about it, I realized just how many stories or events he covered, and it was a ton... I KNOW I watched him on CNN during the infamous “low speed chase” with O.J. Simpson and Al Cowlings, for example, and I definitely respect people in media who get put into positions like that where they have to fill up air time with a story in progress, if you will, and think on their feet (or seats) and coordinate all over the place while live coverage is going on (another legendary example from this area is the TV coverage of Larry Kane and Harvey Clark during the MOVE bombing in May 1985).

This clip includes excerpts from King’s remembrance on the death of Frank Sinatra in ’98 with Don Rickles, Steve Lawrence, Vic Damone and Quincy Jones – another example of the rich entertainment legacy King left for us (Maher was one of many who communicated rather touching tributes to King...and again, I wouldn’t wish a COVID death on anybody)...



...and happy 80th birthday to the one and only Neil Diamond.

Friday Stuff

Yeah, I know what The Lincoln Project is, but damn, they make good ads (may be going through Trump meme withdrawal, but I’m happy to do it)....



...but just as a reminder that we still have a bunch of lowlifes to deal with, Chris Hayes speaks with HuffPo’s Matt Fuller about “Dr.” Andy Harris trying to bring a gun into the U.S. House chamber (yep, I agree with Hayes; there are QUITE A LOT OF PLACES where you shouldn’t be allowed to enter with a gun, and that’s one of them)...



...and RIP baseball legend Hank Aaron, a total class act who was one of many great players to feast on Phillies pitching from back in the day (this is his most iconic accomplishment of course...yes, Barry Bonds would break the record later, but this was truly a magic moment...and this is another reason to admire Aaron)...



...and somehow I missed Penguin Awareness Day last Wednesday – how about if I try to make amends with a little Friday funk?

Thursday Stuff

(Silly me for thinking I was actually done with the Trump memes, but I guess I’ll have to leave them behind at some point.)

Farron Cousins tells us that the incoming Biden folks just found out that the Trumpsters never came up with a plan for COVID vaccine distribution – heckuva job, as another Repug preznit once said in a wholly other context...



...but returning to the new regime, if you will, this tells us about the “Day 1” actions of Number 46...



...and because we need to hold the 1/6 betrayers accountable, I present the following...



...and today would have been the 80th birthday of folk rock (back when that was a thing) legend Richie Havens.

Wednesday Stuff

I would say the kid from Scranton made the most of his opportunity today.

There has to be a word that embodies the resilience, dedication and intelligence of Joe Biden. Have I always agreed with him? Definitely not (here is a rather ignominious example in the past from yours truly – mea maxima culpa).

But you’d have to go a looong way to find someone of his accomplishments. Yes, there are plenty of doddering old heads in our government (on both sides of the aisle), but Biden has found a way to outlast the vast majority of them and ascend to the very pinnacle of political power in this country, if not the world. I still remember that he once appeared as a panelist on “Real Time With Bill Maher” I think from the ’08 campaign and he basically held court and took over the show, not in a grating or obnoxious manner, but by the depth and breadth of experience exemplified in everything he said.

I thought his speech hit all of the right notes (yeah, it would have been hard not to like it, I realize). It was skillful (and completely necessary) to weave in the catastrophic events of two weeks ago into a message of hope and purpose. And the truth. And unity.

The harder work will come later, but this was a great start (like many of you I realize, I’d forgotten what actual presidential leadership sounded like and looked like...no, I also haven’t forgotten about his support for the awful bankruptcy bill, and the Iraq war which was worse, but we have to find a way to move forward)...



...and it sounds like at least a portion of the world, if not the majority, was pleased by what happened today also...



...and while I was digging around, I found this clip of Biden speaking about the importance of what would become the ACA from about 12 years ago, and I thought it was typical of the straightforward manner he demonstrated again today...



...and John and Francesca tell us about some stuff Biden can do pretty quickly, like reversing some of the ruinous policies of the Gropenfuhrer...



...and speaking of 45, as much as I wish we were rid of him and his cohort of grifters and criminals including much of his family, yeah, he’ll be back in the public eye, unfortunately, at some point; Rachel Maddow gave him the shove out the metaphorical door he deserved (but believe it or not, he apparently leaves office with a 79 percent approval rating from Republicans, as noted here – and THAT is the problem, dear reader!)...



...and by rights, I shouldn’t have anything to do with this guy since he’s been an anti-social distancing jackass, but I can think of no more appropriate tune for today than this one.

Tuesday Stuff

John Iadarola and Aida Rodriguez tell us that, apparently, Generalissimo Trump had to be stopped from going to the Capitol while impeachment was going on in the House (would have been still more of a ridiculous spectacle if they’d allowed it of course, which probably would have generated good ratings for cable news if nothing else)...



...and MSNBC’s Alicia Menendez speaks with Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Attorney General Dana Nessel about the threat of still more domestic violence for the upcoming inauguration (“This has been going on for 10 months and we’re asking people to take this seriously”...uh. yep...and I’m a little disgusted that they gave so much time to this knuckle dragger Michael Lackomar, who apparently has what passes for a political opinion that’s a mile wide but a quarter of an inch deep, but I guess it was necessary)...



...and sticking with Michigan, Rachel Maddow reports on the Flint water disaster and related recent indictments (good that she recalls that horrible Michigan “emergency manager” law that those disgusting Repugs in the state house passed...apparently, though, Snyder will be charged with a misdemeanor that is only punishable by a max of a year in prison...so naaah, he won’t see any jail time...love to be wrong)...



...and Thom Hartmann tells us about the right-wing nutzoids blaming Nancy Pelosi for 1/6/21 – gets to news at about 3:40 after some housekeeping stuff (”This is the result of coddling right-wing terrorists for 30 years.” indeed)...



...and Chris Hayes speaks with Christina Greer of Fordham University about the so-called “1776 Report,” which, given that this is pretty much the last gasp of Trumpsterism from the White House, is about as odious as you can expect (more here)...



...and speaking of conservatives having a hissy fit, it looks like they’re clutching their pearls, as it were, over the fact that Bernie Sanders is going to be the incoming chair of the Senate Budget Committee; David Doel tells us more (and I know people are pissed at Schumer for that power-sharing arrangement he’s concocted with Sen. Mr. Elaine Chao, but though Schumer definitely isn’t my favorite person by any means, I’m going to “keep my powder dry” on this one since I don’t think it’s worth the fight for now)...



...and yes, I know he was found guilty of second-degree murder in the killing of Lana Clarkson, and he was genuinely a whacked-out individual in a lot of ways, but there’s no denying the influence of Phil Spector on American music, particularly what I guess you could call pop music, rock and rhythm and blues, and I wouldn’t wish a COVID death on anybody – this tune is emblematic of his legacy...



...and in fewer words, here's a message for our 45th *president.

Monday Stuff

This footage from The New Yorker takes us inside the 1/6 insurrection - more here (NSFW/H...I realize this isn’t remotely funny in any way whatsoever, but I’m sorry – I couldn’t help but chuckle when that one meat sack in particular, after invading the Senate chamber, yelled, “Where the f*ck is Nancy?” – shattering the stoo-pid meter for sure...”I think Cruz would want us to do this. I think we’re good,” huh? Probably right...and "we can't lose the 'I/O' war? We're better than that?" Dream on, you treasonous nut job.)...



...and speaking of vandalism, David Doel tells us about the Trump gang making off with whatever they can from the White House...God, look at the looting from the white “overclass”...maybe we could reach out to faith leaders of the white “overclass” to make them change their ways and learn how to work for a living (a variation of what I and millions of others heard after Katrina when the metaphorical shoe was on the other racial foot)...



...and Rachel Maddow tells us that, apparently, the “secondary reserve” of COVID-19 vaccines doesn’t exist, but fortunately the incoming Biden Administration, which is actually made up of mature, intelligent adults, has come up with a plan to get as many people vaccinated as quickly as possible...



...and Chris Hayes gives an incredibly heart felt commentary aimed at the “professional class” of Republican operatives – I sure would like to be optimistic about this, but I can’t, because it’s all about the numbers in that survey, which represents a truly scary level of denial...



...and every once in awhile on MLK day, I put up this speech from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at Barratt Middle School in Philadelphia on October 26. 1967, with the them of “What Is Your Life’s Blueprint?,” and I thought the time was right to do it again...



...and I thought it appropriate to bring this back for the holiday also.

Saturday Stuff

Yeah, the drum beat against those who supported the January 6th insurrection is only going to get louder, and that includes this guy along with the U.S. Senate traitors in this video...



...and Farron Cousins tells us about how the Republican Attorney Generals Association launched the robocall that helped stir the great unwashed followers of Our Treasonous Orange Pustule into action (more here)...



...and Chris Hayes is absolutely right of course, but to me, all of this “the election was stolen” grievance BS (though down-ballot Repugs won like crazy, unfortunately) is what is sadly a profitable offshoot of the entire money-making conservative media and political model of “oh, we’re just poor, misunderstood conservatives oppressed by liberals who want free health care for immigrant caravans full of gangs, bathrooms with trans people using my toilet, and...all together now – ABORTION ON DEMAND” that the right has been milking dry for at least the last 30 or so years...



...and I thought Ari Melber did a good job here of linking the incendiary words of the lowlifes who encouraged the violence along with the knuckle draggers who carried it out (one of the last dying gasps of white privilege as far as I’m concerned, which can’t expire soon enough)...



...and this Now This clip features some of the Capitol officers caught up in the murderous mayhem (“The cognitive dissonance and the zealotry of these people is unreal.” indeed)...



...and I'm in the mood for a little late night musical escapism - I think this will suffice (and somewhat inspired by these clips, I have to admit).

Friday Stuff

The Majority Report tells us about a brief Fix Noise dustup featuring Brian Kilmeade over the recent treasonous insurrection (and I love the way Steve Douchebag first says a “Democratic” president and then corrects himself and says “Democrat” president as Sam and Emma tell us...get the script right or else they send you back to the factory, you numbskull – removing my tongue from my cheek)...



...and David Doel tells us about Cori Bush’s speech in the U.S. House while impeachment was being debated that pretty much cut right to the proverbial chase – and apparently she was booed, which she should wear as a badge of honor...and her remarks to Chris Hayes were even better...



...and Farron Cousins tells us that panic buttons were ripped out of Dem U.S. House Rep Ayanna Pressley’s office; my money is on sabotage, and I’m sticking with it until somebody proves me wrong...



...and this “Morning Joe” clip with Stephanie Ruhle tells us that the GOP’s beloved “bundlers” are getting a little nervous over last week’s attempt to overthrow our government...



...but let’s shed a tear for the “true victims” of last week’s seditious revolt, as we’re reminded by Trevor Noah and The Daily Show (insufferable white privilege on display of course)...



...and with all of the hot-and-cold-running insanity over the last week or so, I neglected to mention the passing last December 30th of Eugene Wright, bassist for The Dave Brubeck Quartet...here is another one of the band’s signature tunes.

More Wednesday Stuff

This is truly a first for Our Orange Pustule-In-Chief – nobody else is in the “two impeachment” club, as NBC News tells us here (unusually prescient remarks from Chuck Todd I believe – I think Sen. Mr. Elaine Chao will be in a mood to swing to impeach Combover Caligula because of what 45 did to, in McConnell’s view, cost him the Senate, as well as stain the already-fouled reputation of McConnell’s wife for being associated with this criminal enterprise of an administration...hate to keep going back to Rick Wilson, but he’s right...everything Trump touches dies...more here)...



...and yeah, here are all the Repugs crying about “unity” and “healing” after STILL contesting the PA and AZ election results after the catastrophe of 1/6 (vile, despicable life forms all, particularly McCarthy and Scalise...and that idiot Bob Good needs to wear his mask properly)...



...and better late than never I know – kudos to Mehdi Hasan for “going there” at long last on the question of our media normalizing Generalissimo Trump, as noted here...



...and I was trying to come up with a tune about incarceration, which is what 45 sorely deserves, and I found this; I thought a tune by Tom Waits was apropos (our current *president should have some company from his family and/or members of his political party by the time all is said and done).

Wednesday Stuff

(There is always a tweet, people.)

Ari Melber gives us more disturbing, graphic video on the treasonous insurrection that took place last week (and I know there’s some real wingnuttery going on today in arguing for a second impeachment with Gohmert of course, along with Lee Zeldin, Jordan as well and the other usual Repug suspects in the U.S. House, with some brave remarks by Ilhan Omar and Cori Bush of course...and I can’t imagine the guts and strength of character of Jamie Raskin to be an impeachment manager so soon after his son’s death)...



...and by the way, “sedition” and “insurrection” were also cited by our military in a recent correspondence condemning the uprising, as Rachel Maddow tells us, which of course carries legal implications, as well it should (and those carrying out these criminal acts were apparently aided by U.S. House Repugs Andy Biggs, Mo Brooks and Paul Gosar, as noted here, who should all be expelled from Congress and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law...and Bri-Fi dished up some truly weak sauce here with his motion to "censure" the Gropenfuhrer; to let him know what you think, click here...and yeah, "spineless" indeed from Fitzpatrick here)...



...and David Pakman told us more yesterday about the second article of impeachment coming (and great points about how going after 45 NOW takes no courage whatsoever – Sen. Mr. Elaine Chao won’t reconvene “the world’s greatest deliberative body” of course, so this definitely will be handled at some point by the new Dem Senate)...



...and David Doel tells us that, while they were in lockdown, Dem U.S. House Reps Pramila Jayapal and Bonnie Watson Coleman were stuck with selfish, idiot Repug House members who wouldn’t “mask up,” and now Jayapal and Watson Coleman have tested positive for ‘rona...they should sue everyone in sight...



...and this Now This clip tells us more about the U.S. House GOP bastards who wouldn’t take the incredibly simple step of mask protection for themselves and other people they work with (and yes, one Dem needed to be reminded to pull the mask up over his or her mouth and nose - fair is fair)...



...and yeah, I think something has changed too, but it may take a little more time to find out exactly what.

Tuesday Stuff

Chris Hayes brings us still more important video on last Wednesday’s treasonous insurrection – and believe me when I tell you that I am in NO MOOD WHATSOVER when it comes to trying to reach out to these cowards, but if you’re not prepared to tell me that Joe Biden is the legally-elected president-elect and Kamala Harris is the legally-elected vice-president-elect, then don’t waste my time about any alleged “reconciliation,” which I’m tired of hearing anyway – people need to be sentenced to prison, and politicians need to be disbarred and/or removed from office altogether...



...and here are more on the perpetrators (and nary a Muslim in sight)...



...and I thought this was a good clip from CNN’s Brianna Keilar calling out Republican politicians who ended up caving to Mango Mussolini, with the disastrous results apparent for the whole world to see...



...and Kyle’s takes have been kind of a mixed bag lately as far as I’m concerned, but I think he’s absolutely right here when it comes to corporations deciding not to donate to politicians because of last Wednesday (as Kyle says, they shouldn’t be donating to ANYBODY)...



...and when it comes to corporations and the “one percent” exercising outsized influence on our politicians, one member of that club most definitely was Sheldon Adelson, and this TYT clip from a couple of years ago, gives some indication why I’m not going to feel a speck of remorse over the fact that he’s dead (and let's not forget this)...



Update 1/13/21: More here...

...and happy belated 75th birthday to drummer Aynsley Dunbar of Jefferson Starship.

Sunday Stuff

Here is more Now This video on last Wednesday’s attempted coup to keep Generalissimo Trump in power (and apparently, Our Treasonous Orange Pustule is going to try and stage something at the Alamo on Tuesday, as noted here, though there are conflicting reports; wonder how much MORE dangerous he’ll try to be until he’s done – probably don’t want to know...and what does it tell you that, in response to last week’s carnage, MORE Republican members of the U.S. House support him, not fewer, as noted here?)...



Update 1/11/21: And why am I not surprised by this? Maybe this loon should have thought about his post-arrest "accommodations" a little earlier.

Update 1/12/21: Bette Midler is right - this guy IS a natural!

...and Chris Hayes brought us more disturbing video that we can add to the tragic catalogue of all of this stuff...



...and a hat tip goes out to Mrs. Doomsy for the video from this gentleman named Brian, who spelled out everything leading up to last week’s treasonous insurrection (oh, and of course, “Adolf Twitler” lost his account, which was long overdue)...



...and David Pakman tells us that Biden is apparently getting a whole new Secret Service team...good! God only knows how many Trumpsters are burrowed into our government at this point (and anything to do with that lunatic Dan Bongino is trouble...”it’s going to be a very interesting couple of years” indeed.)...



...and while I had a lot of disagreements with Schwarzenegger particularly when he was governor of Kaa-Lee-four-nee-ah, he was occasionally spot-on, particularly when it came to the environment, and I think he definitely hit the bullseye again here, you might say...



...and here's another musical selection that I offer without comment.