(And with the great Rob Rogers cartoon in mind, I'd also like to offer this.)
It’s no exaggeration to say that there are now so many mass shootings any more with them all running together that it’s hard to keep track of them all, but the latest took place outside of Miami, as Sam Brock of MSNBC recently reported (more here)...
...even though retired NYPD detective Pat Brosnan blamed mass shootings on the COVID vaccine – huh? (more here)...
...and Cenk, Jayar and Mike Doyle tell us about the truly awful anti-abortion bills that passed the PA “lege” (and once more, had Scott “Stomp Tom Wolf’s Face With Golf Cleats” Wagner somehow won in 2018, all of that monstrous insanity would be law)...
...and on an unrelated matter, Sean McCarroll, formerly of the Grosse Pointe school district, is a boss for this as far as I’m concerned, and I wish him all the best...
...and Trymaine Lee of MSNBC tells us about the Tulsa Race Massacre which took place 100 years ago today (sorry I forgot to note earlier the program that aired last night, but as mentioned, it's on demand on the Peacock channel - more here)...
...and Farron Cousins tells us that Arizona independent voters are getting PO’ed by the audit in that state (and I think the pledge is a great idea)...
...and I thought this was a well-done Lincoln Project video with today’s holiday in mind...
...and I’d like to offer the following as a tribute to all of those we’ve lost who have carried a weapon for this country (the theme of the ultimate sacrifice is universal as far as I’m concerned).
Nothing to see here as far as the "party of Lincoln" and "Curtsy Kyrsten" are concerned of course - just the U.S. Senate telling the Capitol police force that their lives aren't worth the time and trouble of an investigation into a riot that could have killed them all...
...and this Now This clip tells us about all of the Senate a-holes who voted against the 1/6 commission, along with the same in the House...
...and Francesca Fiorentini and Dr. Rashad Richey tell us that the “Qanon Shaman” nut job’s latest defense is trying to prevent the theft of a congressional muffin...really? (no word as to whether or not he lives on Drury Lane)...
...and the last clip was pretty ridiculous, but this one is scary IMO - it has to do with just how many people out there believe the Qanon garbage and where they get their media (assuming they get any media at all - Cenk and Ana tell us more)...
...and speaking of our corporate media, Robert Reich tells us about the dangers of collective amnesia when it comes to the 1/6 revolt along with other important issues...
I have to admit that I didn’t really realize just how badly broken an institution the United States Senate is until today.
Yes, I strongly suspected that the attempt to form a bipartisan commission to look into the January 6th insurrection would fail (as noted here). But now that it has, for what it’s worth, I’m more enraged than I thought I would be (and yes, I’m just a guy and my lone opinion in the scheme of things isn’t worth anything I’ll admit).
The vote was 54-35 as noted here, but of course, since we’re talking about the U.S. Senate, 60 is the only number that matters (unless you’re talking about reconciliation, which is another discussion).
To be fair, here are the six Republicans who voted in favor of the commission (though of course they’ll stab us in the back soon again to make sure their wingnut base is kept at “full froth”):
Bill Cassidy
Susan Collins
Lisa Murkowski
Rob Portman
Mitt Romney
Ben Sasse
And here are the 9 Repugs and 2 Dems who were absent for the vote (here):
Apparently, Patty Murray had to return home early because of a personal matter. And it seems that there was also some typical BS in “the world’s greatest deliberative body” on a vote over a technology bill related to China yesterday that pushed the 1/6 commission vote until today.
Aside from Murray, though, as far as I’m concerned, every one of these thoroughly compromised frauds who bailed on today’s vote should be forced to explain why on the Senate floor (including this beyond-useless life form from PA, as well as you-know-who).
There is now no excuse whatsoever to NOT abolish the filibuster. And I read a comment from someone on Twitter saying, “Oh, don’t pressure Manchin and Sinema too much, or they’ll flip to become Republican and we’ll lose our majority.”
To which I say – FUCK THEM! Knuckling under to blackmail is the worst thing we can do. Besides, unless they support utterly destroying the filibuster, they might as well be Republicans anyway.
And in case we needed a reminder about why all of this is so important, I offer the following...
...and also, in case anyone still has any doubts about what we’re up against on the other side, Farron Cousins tells us death threats against lawmakers have increased by over 100 percent (which, to me, is even MORE of a reason for the committee that just got voted down...and even though I think Sen. Mr. Elaine Chao is the most contemptible life form on two legs, as much as I despise him, I know it’s wrong to incite violence against him – again, I’m just one guy and definitely not a big deal, but I feel I should say that)...
...and also, in case yet again you thought the other side would somehow find a spine and stand up to the Trumpist insanity that spawned what happened on 1/6...well, you won’t get it from FL guv Ron #DeathSantis for sure, as Francesca and Jayar tell us (and OF COURSE there are "carve outs" in this insane "de-platforming" bill for some, including a certain entertainment company that has a rodent for a logo)...
...and to present an example of the U.S. Senate actually doing something good, I give you this video of Dem Elizabeth Warren (mentioned in the prior clip) grilling JP Morgan Chase chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon on why his bank is still charging overdraft fees which a regulator recommended that they waive...which DImon says they did waive for people under COVID-related stress, or words to that effect, but personally I’d like more info on that because I don’t trust Dimon as far as I can pee...and yeah, as Ana says, “regulators” are supposed to FREAKING REGULATE! And when it comes to “QE,” this is what Ana is talking about (she's rocking it on these segments by herself IMO)...
...and returning to our regularly scheduled COVID plague, David Pakman tells us that our U.S. vaccination map is starting to look a lot like the 2020 electoral map, with the predictable indicators, you might say...
...and David Shuster of Rebel HQ tells us about the recent protests on the one-year anniversary of the death of George Floyd...
...and I’ll admit that I’m a little overdue on this one, but this New York Times clip tells us how the rest of the world views the U.S. on the issue of climate change (and yeah, it’s pretty damn bad, and we deserve all of the ridicule for this issue in particular)...
...and I need a mellow tune as a bit of a "palate cleanser" because, to be honest, I feel like I'm reaching the end of my rope with all of this, so the timing for JT here is perfect.
Someone should find a way to come up with some kind of a memorial for the victims of gun violence in this country, on the order of “the wall” for those lost in the Vietnam War, and allow plenty of room for expansion since I’m sure more names will be added in perpetuity, though I would LOVE to be wrong on that; such a memorial should stretch from the end of one of the chambers of the U.S. Capitol to the other so our lawmakers should have to pass it EVERY SINGLE DAY on their way to work as a testimony to their collective failure to address the epidemic of gun violence. I realize that’s a woefully insufficient solution, but maybe it’s high time that we start shaming these cretins (in response to another mass shooting, this time in San Jose, with reporting in the following video from Vaughn Hillyard and Pete Williams of NBC News...I mean, it’s just another day with a “y” in it, so of course we have another gun-related tragedy, right?)...
...and Chris Hayes gives us a segment on the Biden Administration looking into the “lab leak hypothesis” when it comes to the origins of COVID...I’m not sure how productive an exercise that actually is, but yeah, whatever...I think Hayes says at the end here (kind of diplomatically) that we shouldn’t let Fix Noise mislead us yet again with more of their BS talking points (and I don't wish COVID on anybody, but if I did, it would be this asshat...the Repug KY senator I mean)...
...and the Morning Joe people talk about Republican politicians not meeting with the mother of Ofc. Brian Sicknick, who wants these soulless life forms to support a commission to look into the 1/6 insurrection (to tell you the truth, I’m tired of hearing these explanations from people like Barnicle and especially Michael Steele who, as far as I’m concerned, helped build this Frankenstein monster of an alleged “political party” by not calling these people to account when they should have to prevent their rise to power)...
Update: Yep, nothing but bad faith actors - but we knew that, right? (here).
...and with the prior clip in mind, here is your periodic reminder that the "party of Lincoln" is composed overwhelmingly (but not exlusively) of utter cowards (including this numbskull from our beloved commonwealth)...
...and I think Beau has an interesting theory about Former Generalissimo Trump and Baby Newton Leroy Gingrich teaming up for an updated version on the “Contract on America”...nothing against Beau, but unfortunately he’s probably right...I take from this that the Repugs will have their BS messaging all ready in time for next year, and the Dems had better have the same thing (but good messaging I mean) – I think Beau is absolutely right about the mid-terms being an opportunity to root out Trumpism and us being stuck with these life forms for a while if we don’t (knowing, of course, that Trumpism is just the latest iteration of what the Repugs are all about anyway)...
...and David Doel tells us about the AP sacking Emily Wilder, most likely for her pro-Palestinian advocacy, proving yet again that the very worst thing that someone in corporate media can do is to piss off a conservative (in all likelihood, the militarist wingnut in the U.S. Senate from Arkansas, as noted here)...
...and Mehdi Hasan and Robert Reich give us their take on the “labor shortage” (no disrespect to Hasan or Reich at the end, but the discussion about that anti-Semitic lunatic Marjorie Taylor Greene...and I remembered the “e”...was pointless; none of this matters unless her constituents say “enough is enough”...and I don’t know about the politics “on the ground” in her district, but I’m tempted to say that her antics don’t phase them in the least, sadly)...
Ana and Cenk of TYT tell us that TX Repug Guv Greg Abbott is set to sign off on a bill allowing people to carry guns without a permit if they’re not already banned by state and federal authorities...what could go wrong (all kinds of loopholes to the federal background check system, etc...and yeah, as Cenk says, the cops want to be able to ask about the gun if the person possessing it is the “wrong” skin color)...
...and John and Adrienne Lawrence of The Damage Report tell us that Trumpsters are still going nuts (did they ever stop?), believing that Biden is illegitimate, but the clip also looks at the context of polls where Dems viewed Dubya and Trump the same way (I would argue that there are actual grounds FOR REAL on 43 and 45, but hey, that’s just me I guess...sorry the bar graph is hard to read)...
...though Farron Cousins tells us here that what passes for Republican strategists are apparently mad at Biden because #46 isn’t agitating their beloved, Fix-Noise-ingesting base enough (Biden should hold a press conference in a tan suit and ask for Grey Poupon for his hot dog...the wingnuts will be in a lather for months)...
...and I now give you the latest installment of “This Day In Doomsy History” (more or less) from 5/25/10, in which we learn about the trash miniseries “The Kennedys,” which was due to air on The US History Channel that year (produced by utter scumbag Joel Surnow of “24,” pictured above) but was dropped due to commendable pressure from filmmaker Robert Greenwald and others as noted here...the program ended up airing on ReelzChannel in this country in February the next year, as noted here...
...and with our 35th president in mind, I should note that yesterday also marked the 60th anniversary of JFK launching his goal of landing a man on the moon before a joint session of Congress (here - speech in the clip with the same theme is an address to Rice University in 9/62)...
...and happy belated 63rd birthday to Paul Weller (of The Jam and Style Council).
Brian Tyler Cohen tells us that Peter Douchebag of Fix Noise recently tried to goad White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki into taking some kind of imaginary blame for COVID casualties in this country, despite this and this – yeah, unmitigated gall at a minimum by this lickspittle, meaning Douchey of course (and gee, nepotism much?)...
...and K.O. informs us that, collectively, the “party of Lincoln” doesn’t want to go along with a committee to look into what happened on 1/6 (some exceptions are here, with strings attached of course)...fine – let’s just go right to the special prosecutor, then (NSFW/H)...
...and this Don Winslow video reminds us of what happened on 1/6 before our corporate media tries to flush it down the memory hole, framed against the mind-numbing stupidity of the remarks from GA Repug U.S. House Rep Andrew Clyde...
...and John and Viviana V. tell us about this life form named Anthony Bouchard of Wyoming, who apparently is running for the U.S. House against Liz Cheney; most Repugs have some kind of baggage, and in Bouchard’s case, it’s a real doozy...seems he impregnated a 14-year-old girl when he was 18, so he’s basically guilty of statutory rape – oh, but the girl killed herself tragically...this guy has no business whatsoever in public life, and probably should be in prison at this point (and Bouchard called it a “Romeo and Juliet” romance – from what I remember from that play, Romeo killed himself – just sayin’)...
...and Lawrence O’Donnell speaks with Neal Katyal, Former U.S. Principal Deputy Solicitor General, who discusses the Biden Administration’s appeal of Judge Amy Berman Jackson’s decision to release the Bill Barr memo on not prosecuting Trump during the Robert Mueller probe (yeah, I think this is definitely disappointing by Biden also...I get it that presidents are loathe to do anything that could limit their power or authoritah based on past precedent, but the best I can say about this move is that it’s an unforced error)...
...and RIP Muscle Shoals drummer Roger Hawkins, who rocked it on many famous tunes, including this one.
Rachel Maddow tells us the latest on the infrastructure bill...and I don’t think Biden should cut anything to make idiot Republicans happy...OF COURSE the “party of Lincoln” doesn’t want broadband investment since that means that folks in rural areas would be able to get media aside from Fox, Sinclair and right-wing radio...
...and David Pakman tells that only half of rural voters know the COVID relief came from Dems...yet another example of crappy messaging on social media by team “D” (with the Repugs being typically lying dishonest actors as usual) though, as noted above, broadband access is critical for rural voters to find out what’s is going on since these folks mostly get their info from TV and radio, which is pretty much a dinosaur unless you’re talking about satellite vs. commercial...
...and Thom H. tells us how the Repugs have become the party of bullies (and I’m shocked to give props to Meghan McCain, but she’s right)...
...and John and Viviana V. of The Damage Report tell us that the Capitol police security bill BARELY passed 213-212 – kind of torn on “the squad” making a stand here, but they’re definitely right to wonder why this vote was scheduled NOW BEFORE any findings of the 1/6 commission (that has yet to be seated of course); the problem with what happened on 1/6 wasn’t because the Capitol police didn’t have enough funding...it was because Trumpsters like Chris Miller didn’t get help to the cops in time, and the complaint about funding the cops vs. providing relief where it’s needed to people who are likely to be stopped by police is also very spot-on...
...and Letitia James, the New York AG, has joined the criminal and civil legal effort by SDNY against the Gropenfuhrer (with the same, tired predictable response of course – Farron Cousins explains)...
...and more info on that is here..
...and this clip from More Perfect Union tells us that Don Mullen Jr., formerly of Goldman Sachs, is trying to make $$ off the COVID-19 housing crisis along with other scumbag equity firm managers at Pretium Partners and Ares Management (can’t think of a pit in hell deep enough for life forms like this guy)...
...and I'm not going to try and wax any of his lyrics to try and sound clever, but I'll just say happy 80th to "mistah Bob"; whether or not he chooses to actually enjoy it is up to him.
Gee, it sure didn’t take “Bibi” too long to break the cease fire between the Israelis and Palestinians, did it (David Doel tells us that the Israeli security forces recently raided the al-Aqsa mosque)...
...and Brian Tyler Cohen tells us that Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy recently complained about the House mask mandate, which is being kept in place by Pelosi (and rightly so) because the idiots in McCarthy’s own caucus won’t get vaccinated...
This clip from Meidas Touch is particularly relevant IMO given the claims from the “party of Lincoln” about “backing the blue”...sure, just as long as they’re breaking the law along with you, right?...
...oh, and I know this will come as a complete and total shock, but Sen. Mr. Elaine Chao opposes a bipartisan congressional 1/6 commission, blocking something he apparently had agreed to previously...yep, #MoscowMitch is doing what he absolutely does best, and that is to obstruct (mildly NSFW/H)...
...and I admit that I haven’t had many segments with Kyle Kulinski lately because, to be perfectly honest, I’ve had a lot of issues with his “takes” on particular subjects, and I do so again here – yeah, Smerky’s headline on CNN about Americans supposedly not valuing a work ethic any more is typical centrist corporate media garbage, and trying to justify that by quoting Daniel Henninger of the Murdoch Street Journal, of all people, is disingenuous beyond words, but I also think Kyle’s take here that people are avoiding work because of unemployment compensation of one form or another or wanting to do something else is wrong and disappointing in that he apparently didn’t do any research into what exactly is going on...if I read ONE MORE BLOODY “SKY IS FALLING” TAKE ABOUT THE APRIL JOBS REPORT, I’M GOING TO FREAKING SCREAM!!! WE NEED MORE DATA – LET’S CHECK THE MAY NUMBERS, OK??!!...actually, if you want to look at some “cross tabs,” if you will, on what’s going on, I think this link to Pew Research is informative...basically, jobs related to leisure and hospitality got hammered along with other low-wage industries, and people who work those jobs are primarily low wage white and minority women who also frequently have to deal with child care issues...also, if the available labor pool shrinks (maybe – oh, I don’t know -because those would-be workers are RECOVERING FROM FREAKING COVID OR DON’T WANT TO GET SICK AT THEIR OLD JOB!), then the cost of available labor goes up and those businesses don’t want to adjust salaries accordingly; hell, I’m definitely not a Wharton graduate, and EVEN I KNOW THAT!!...
...and this CBC report gives us the latest on Texas’s anti-abortion law (that photo-op of Greg Abbott with his Republican cohorts and that sanctimonious, ridiculous speech of his made me was to vomit; I think it’s a good idea to see how this story is covered internationally, since our bought-and-paid-for fourth estate is going to break it down with the typical lack of depth and substance for which they’re already notorious...and yeah, I think this says it)...
...and Sam, Emma and Brandon Sutton give us their take on D.A. Larry Krasner’s victory in the Philadelphia Dem primary; I’m glad to see Sam push back on all of the manufactured media BS...lots of good commentary, but I have to say that the Majority Report videos just run too damn long generally, with frequent U-turns in the discussion that are off-topic as far as I’m concerned...part of the reason I’m including this is because Chris Hayes recently had a well-done feature on Krasner’s win, but for some reason the video isn’t available online – for whatever my take is worth on these things, suburban conservatives and sympathetic media, most notably the Inquirer, wanted the contest with Carlos Vega to be more competitive than it turned out to be and that DEFINITELY played out in how it was covered (got almost as tired of hearing about how the cops were mad at Krasner as I did about finding “Trump voter in Trump country” stories), but Krasner turned out to be more shrewd politically than anyone realized, even though I’m sure that won’t be a part of the ongoing media coverage on this (I’ve gone back and forth on Krasner and MOVE mainly because it’s hard for me to have sympathy for that motley collection of bipeds, even though that will NEVER justify what happened on 5/13/85, particularly to the kids, and Krasner most definitely isn’t doing anything to help Mumia Abu-Jamal, which is the right call for a number of reasons...oh, and of course, “centrist” Dem and former Philly mayor and PA governor Ed Rendell weighed in for Vega – Rendell ceased to be relevant once he started shilling for the “catfood commission” of Pete Peterson...to be honest, I'm more concerned about those two garbage ballot questions to limit the PA Governor that passed than I am about Krasner)...
...and while the cease fire between Israel and Palestine cannot help but be a good thing, Omar Baddar, a policy adviser with the Arab American Institute, tells us that that DEFINITELY won’t be enough by itself to solve the crisis...
...and Rachel Maddow tells us that the WaPo’s Carol Leonnig has apparently written a jaw-dropping new book on the Secret Service with many mind-blowing revelations, including reporting on the Trump gang basically doing the nasty with some of those tasked to protect them (eeeewwwww!)...
...and did you know that yesterday was World Bee Day? Neither did I – learn something new all the time I guess.
Farron Cousins tells us that “Curtsy Kyrsten” is on the side of Sen. Mr. Elaine Chao when it comes to taxing the rich to pay for infrastructure (Sinema must have saw dust between her ears if she thinks this is a winning strategy for re-election and/or anyone is going to forget about her antics)...
...and Rachel Maddow presents a clip of Dem U.S. House Rep Tim Ryan quite rightly freaking out over all of the members of the “party of Lincoln” in that body who opposed forming a bipartisan commission to look into the 1/6 insurrection; yeah, good luck getting any kind of a “compromise” with these life forms (to his credit, though, I need to mention that Bri-Fi was one of the 35 who supported the Dems on this as noted here)...
Update: And of course, since we’re talking about the U.S. House Repugs and Bri-Fi, they tried to get back brownie points with their wingnut base by opposing additional funding for Capitol Police as noted here...and I respect the principles of “the squad” in their opposition, but I also think they chose the wrong vote upon which to make public their dissatisfaction, though the statement at the end of the Intercept story makes good points I'll admit.
...and speaking of the squad, this clip from More Perfect Union presents Dem U.S. House Rep Cori Bush speaking up for the unemployed in her state, in contrast with Missouri’s fat-headed white guy Repug governor trying to cut these people off at the metaphorical knees...
...and John and Jayar of The Damage Report tell us about AOC introducing a bill to stop the sale of about $735 million in bombs to Israel to try and get that criminal Netanyahu to agree to a cease fire at a minimum in the latest conflict between Israel and Palestine (selling so-called JDAMs)...
...and Sam and Emma V. tell us that there are actually 35 states where you can be denied a government contract if you support the BDS movement (here); on the other hand, Italian dock workers are supporting the Palestinians – I didn’t see the Tom Cotton clip, and rest assured that I don’t care to...
Update: It should not have taken all of this carnage to get a cease fire, but yeah - progress (here).
...and I’m afraid the title of this tune describes what will happen to the Dem congressional majority if they seriously think the GQP party will be honest actors in trying to do ANYTHING to help this country, as Tim Ryan forcefully pointed out.
David Pakman tells us Repug U.S. House Rep Andrew Clyde, who said the 1/6 insurrectionists were “tourists,” was shown helping to barricade the door of the U.S. House chamber; to me, this is why you can’t trust ANY REPUBLICAN to be an honest actor on ANY ISSUE (more here...if they’re not going to do the right thing on an attempted takeover of our democratically elected form of government...well then, is there ANY LINE that they’re willing to draw?)...
...and Thom Hartmann gives us a clue on what life could be like under a brutal American oligarchy (he mentions the “guard rails” being taken off by the SCOTUS in Buckley in ’76 and Bellotti in ’78...the last minute of this is huge)...
... and this Now This clip tells us of Dem U.S. House members speaking out on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict...as far as I’m concerned, Netanyahu should have been prosecuted as a war criminal in 2014 for this...
...and Chris Hayes gives us a litany of the bad faith conservative arguments against overturning Roe, which they’re chomping at the bit to do once and for all...
...and that actually leads us into the latest installment of “This Day In Doomsy History” (more or less) from 5/20/19, in which we learn about Repugs and their statewide anti-abortion laws...
...and David Doel tells us about Dem U.S. House Rep Katie Porter demolishing another fat cat CEO with her white board; this time, the thoroughly deserving victim is Richard Gonzalez of AbbVie, the makers of Humira, with Porter taking him to task over the INSANE prices of their medication as well as figuring out how the $$ is actually spent at his company (yep, you guessed right if you thought it was for stock buybacks and dividends)...
...and RIP actor Charles Grodin; kind of an offbeat guy I guess with good comic timing and an underrated actor generally (clip is from Midnight Run...NSFW/H)...
..and happy upcoming 75th birthday to Cher (hey, why not?).
Well, it seems the “holy grail,” if you will, for the wingnuts is within grasp unfortunately, and that is to overturn Roe v. Wade based on a Mississippi test case the High Court of Hangin’ Judge JR has agreed to hear (including Amy Coney Island Baby Barrett); Rachel Maddow speaks with Nancy Northrup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights...I hope all of you squishy Dems and independent voters who cast their ballots for Repugs are happy now, because this is what you’ve wrought, though many others are to blame also (I've since seen a comment online that the cabal of the Christian Handmaiden, "I Like Beer" Brett and Gorsuch also have their eyes on Griswold, which also figures unfortunately - I've never known wingnuts to merely settle for half a proverbial loaf)...
...and John and Francesca of The Damage Report tell us about Palestinian deaths skyrocketing as a result of the conflict with the Israelis – no goddamn excuse in the world why this shouldn’t be currently undergoing some kind of international peacekeeping intervention...
...and Brian Tyler Cohen tells us about U.S. House Dem Eric Swalwell speaking with Jim Acosta of CNN about Swalwell pushing back on an idiot aide to that utter loon Marjorie Taylor Greene on the subject of wearing a mask...
...and speaking of Greene, Farron Cousins tells us that she apparently committed tax fraud by claiming 2 residences on a homestead exemption instead of the 1 allowed by law – womp womp...
...and David Doel tells us that a guy accused of killing his wife signed her ballot for Mango Mussolini in the 2020 election – if he’s found guilty, he should be made to watch a seemingly endless loop of Biden speaking as president as the sentence against the guy is carried out...
...and this clip from More Perfect Union tells us about the Heritage Foundation working in secret with Repugs on voter suppression bills (“so [they] have that grass roots, from-the-bottom-up type of vibe,” huh? Utterly disgusting, deceitful wingnut harpie...and of course, this cretin is involved also)...
Update: Apparently this woman's name is Jessica Anderson (here), and she and Heritage Action may have violated House ethics rules...nicely done.
...and Robert Reich tells us about getting rid of the stepped-up basis rule loophole (wonky stuff I know, but important)...
I never thought I’d see the day of a Repug approving a tax increase – of course, it’s not aimed at the “pay no price, bear no burden” crowd in any way; just another attempt to stick the metaphorical shiv in the “99 percent”...
...which is all part of the fascist GOP garbage that we need to reject, as illustrated in this clip...
...and Brian Tyler Cohen tells us about Bret Baier interrogating Liz Cheney on behalf of Our Traitorous Orange Pustule (a particularly on-point commentary here IMO...if I were Cheney, when Baier asked her if she voted Republican, I would have said it’s none of your damn business)...
...and Joy Reid discusses Repugs whining about “critical race theory” (with historian and author Jon Meacham, who is exactly right in his comments)...
...and I think David Doel is correct as well; what MSNBC’s Ali Velshi states here (calling out “Apartheid” against the Palestinians) should be the norm in coverage, not the exception (part of the reason this latest horror show is going on in that area of the world is so Netanyahu can consolidate political power enough to form a government, and I can’t think of how disgusting it is to try and justify the carnage for that reason...
Update: Let's see if we can get "Bibi The Butcher" trending, OK? (here).
...and Cenk and Ana tell us that anti-maskers and anti-vaxxers are masking up and socially distancing to protect themselves from liberal proteins, or something...and nothing like the threat of impotency to get these clueless bipeds to start taking the virus seriously, right?...
...and the Daily Show gives us a bit of humor pertaining to Our Prior Treasonous Ruling Cabal and their attempt to destroy our democracy on 1/6...
...and I suppose the title of this newer tune is applicable every day, but it’s up to us to persevere in spite of it anyway I know.
Update: By the way, for anyone voting in person in tomorrow’s PA primary, please vote No on the two disaster emergency declaration ballot questions (here). They’re nothing more than garbage attempts by the Commonwealth Foundation (linking to Chucky Koch of course) to undercut Gov. Tom Wolf and give more of a say pertaining to disaster management to idiot Republican legislators in Harrisburg who are still butt hurt over Wolf’s pandemic management (and never forget that, if Scott “Stomp On Wolf’s Face With Golf Cleats” Wagner had his way, PA would have been every bit as bad as Florida under Ron #DeathSantis, and maybe worse).
Farron Cousins tells us that, based on our current trajectory, If we don’t meet Paris Climate Accord goals by 2060, we won’t be able to stop Arctic melting (but we shouldn’t just say the hell with it...need to keep working on trying to fix this, as Cousins notes)...
...and with the prior clip in mind, I now give you the latest installment of “This Day In Doomsy History” (more or less) from 5/13/16, in which we learn that Germany powered itself completely from renewable energy for at least one day...
...and John and Ana tell us about the new wind project approved for 12 miles off Martha’s Vineyard, which hits close to home for your truly; I originally opposed Cape Wind, but I’ve definitely reconsidered that (and of course, Our Treasonous Orange Pustule of a former *president opposes the project, which automatically counts in its favor)...
...and speaking of #45...gee, it turns out that former Reagan deputy national security adviser John Poindexter has emerged as a Trumper (here); wish I could say that I’m surprised, but given the following clip (about Poindexter and Ollie North each “taking the fifth” during congressional testimony on Iran-Contra from back in the day), yeah, it really does fit the profile (more here)...
...and Chris Hayes speaks with former Repug U.S. House Rep Mickey Edwards and Sam Seder about a potential 3rd party made up of disaffected people from the “party of Lincoln” (Sam is exactly right about drawing a line back for 20 years at least, and while I applaud Edwards’s efforts, he’s hopelessly naïve if he can’t see the line that Seder is talking about, though I think he admitted it a bit towards the end playing off Sam’s remark about the John Dean book)...
...and I know I included some videos on what’s going on with the Israelis vs. the Palestinians yesterday, but David Doel brings us this well-done clip featuring the late, great Michael Brooks on the overall conflict...
...and I didn’t want to let the week come to an end without noting the passing of Norman Lloyd at 106, a legendary actor, producer and director, and apparently, a pretty self-effacing guy by all accounts...
...and I’m glad to hear that the East Coast pipeline hack has apparently been resolved (here); I had this tune in mind for a few days but didn’t get around to it for various reasons, so I might as well do so now.
David Shuster of “Rebel HQ” tells us that, apparently, the anti-vaxxers put on their own version of “Burning Man” recently...what a bunch of asshats...
...and my bad for not acknowledging the current situation that has boiled over between the Israelis and the Palestinians; I thought this was a pretty good BBC report (sounds like an unholy cauldron, if you will, made up of political opportunism, religious intolerance and an oppressive occupation, made worse by an apparent split between Hamas and Fatah, which has a lot to do with this, and as usual, primarily innocent people end up as collateral damage)...
...and John I. and Dan Evans of “The Damage Report” weigh in also...
...and David Pakman tells us that Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, recently called out Fix Noise’s BS in front of news mannequin Martha MacCallum (didn’t see the Newsmax clip, but I’m sure it pertained to this – to be honest, I thought that was kind of a dick move by David Litt...probably partly deserved though...but having a conversation premised on Elon Musk hosting SNL is even more ridiculous as far as I’m concerned)...
...and Chris Hayes reminds us that the garbage Repug voting bills that statewide legislatures are trying to pass across this country would not even be possible without the High Court of Hangin’ Judge JR having utterly gutted the Voting Rights Act (the remedy is the John Lewis For The People Act, which looks less and less likely to pass with Manchin and Sinema in the way and making sure the filibuster doesn’t go anywhere – more on that is here)...
...and Brian Tyler Cohen tells us about Dem U.S. House Rep Ro Khanna ripping into Trump acting SecDef Chris Miller about the alleged 36-minute delay in sending troops to the Capitol (and Stephen Lynch quite properly IMHO piled on also - mildly NSFW/H...more here)...
...oh, and this clueless meat sack from Georgia named Andrew Clyde said those trying to violently attack our democracy and re-install the Gropenfuhrer for another term were “tourists” – I wish I were joking...
Update 5/14/21: Yeah, I think this says it.
...and congrats to Upper Darby’s Todd Rundgren for FINALLY being named to the Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame (here).
This clip tells us that the less-than-useless Repug governor of Mississippi, Tate Reeves, is saying no to extended unemployment benefits for those who are jobless (as usual, the only thing the “party of Lincoln” knows how to do is to “punch down” on those who need help...more here, and in a related story, this is noteworthy too)...
...and staying below that Mason-Dixon line in Tennessee, it looks like they just passed a garbage bill allowing motorists to run over protestors with impunity (and it looks like the governor of that state is imitating Reeves in Mississippi with this idiocy; for the reality perspective, I give you this)...
Update 5/17/21: And if we're talking about Republican stupidity, you just KNOW Greg Abbott has to be part of that discussion (here).
...and an Amazon worker in Bessemer, AL was found dead in a bathroom; yeah, I realize you can’t directly call this “Death by Jeff Bezos,” but for a company that spies on its workers as relentlessly as Amazon does, it’s pretty damn implausible to claim that they couldn’t have helped this guy (Cenk and Ana tell us more)...
...and echoing Paul Krugman a bit (from the Tennessee clip), I give you this from Beau of the Fifth Column (workers allegedly making more on unemployment versus going back to their jobs)...
...and I guess this is as direct as Chris Cillizza of CNN is going to get when it comes to cowardly Republicans and Our Traitorous Orange Pustule (and ex-President)...and when it comes to the political dustup du jour, I give you this...
...and Thom Hartmann gives us another valuable history lesson, this time of the Repugs and voter suppression (mentioning Paul Weyrich in 1980...really excellent analysis by Thom of the garbage voting bills proposed by Repugs and how it would turn over administration of elections to Repug legislatures, which indeed is truly evil stuff...to contact your U.S. Senators, click here)...
...and Robert Reich tells us that the political window of opportunity for Dems, particularly in the Senate, could close at any time...
...and happy belated 80th birthday to Eric Burdon (of the Animals and War of course).
Cenk, Jayar and Trae Crowder of TYT discuss the Missouri “lege” passing a bill to proclaim Rush Limbaugh Day; terrific – I guess that means that everyone in the state will get all jazzed on “hillbilly heroin” and head to the Dominican Republic for hookers, right? (more here and here)...
...and sticking with the “show me state,” CNN’s Brianna Keilar calls out that scumbag Josh Hawley for complaining about allegedly being censored (and I take particular offense over this garbage person’s claim about something allegedly being wrong with the vote in PA...as Keilar points out, Hawley has opposed EVERYTHING from the Biden Administration...and yeah, it appears that whining about "cancel culture" is now the go-to move for every entitled prick in this country who believes that they're not getting their way)...
...and as regards our corporate media, it seems that “Foxitis” could be a variation of the “Twinkie Defense” once used by Dan White on trial for murdering Harvey Milk and George Moscone in San Francisco (Alicia Menendez of MSNBC speaks to Jill Wine-Banks, a former Watergate prosecutor...interesting questions about using this as a defense in front of a jury, which is kind of pathetic actually...and with all due respect to J W-B, I don’t see anything happening from any legislature in this country in a “bipartisan” way when it comes to a 9/11-style commission, though it should of course, and though the gaggle of Trumpsters mentioned here including Barr and Giuliani SHOULD be disbarred, if I had to bet, I would say that that’s unlikely, though again, it would be totally deserved)...
...and turning to another network that is the direct political opposite of The Roger Ailes BS Factory (from Rachel Maddow), allow me to present the latest installment of “This Day In Doomsy History” (more or less) from 5/10/20 (just a short trip back today), when we had only about 76K in COVID casualties and Combover Caligula got “lava level mad” when he felt he was exposed to ‘rona (notwithstanding this of course...an update is here)...
...and kudos to Mehdi Hasan for doing a state-by-state breakdown of GOP voter suppression efforts – kicking butt and taking names in my book here...
...and Bill Maher is fading in relevance by the day; this time, he attacks Twitch users (yeah, it’s definitely not my first choice of online information or entertainment, but at a certain point, I think you need to ask yourself if you’re just a cranky old fart for complaining, and I think Maher reached that point awhile ago, as John and Francesca explain)...
Update 5/13/21: Please understand; I don't wish ill on Maher of course despite his idiocy, but I think it's concerning that he's supposedly fully vaccinated but tested positive anyway (here).
...and I thought this was a neat ad by Public Citizen on behalf of the John Lewis For The People Act (yep, when life forms like Barrasso, Mike Lee and Sen. Mr. Elaine Chao are all complaining, then you’re heading in the right direction)...
Rachel Maddow gives us a bit of a history lesson here on the “purity of the ballot box” language that found its way into the voting-related statutes in southern states, Texas in particular (no surprise I realize) and has re-emerged in the new, restrictive, Democracy-defying voting bills spreading across Republican legislatures (I realize I should never advocate violence at this site, but if I did, it would be to encourage the ass-kicking of that pusillanimous little creep trying to defend this garbage bill - more here)...
...and one way to defeat this insanity is to support the John Lewis “For The People” Act, which of course is one of the pieces of legislation that is currently blocked by Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema in the U.S. Senate, with Manchin getting called out by Chris Cuomo; the latter makes the excellent point about the Repugs knowing what to do with power when they get it, as opposed to weak, vacillating pols like the “Democrat” from West Virginia...
...oh, and since it’s a day of the week with a “y” in it, then it looks like there’s another mass shooting in this country, this time in Colorado Springs (here), which makes this “Now This” clip timely once more, unfortunately...
...and John and Yasmin Khan discuss AOC’s response to a tweet from bankster Jamie Dimon of J.P. Morgan Chase on the issue of President Biden wanting to raise taxes on anyone making more than $400K (apparently Dimon wanted an itemized list of how the tax $$ would be spent by the federal government) – sometimes the greed takes your breath away a bit...
...and David Pakman tells us about the soldier in the Wisconsin National Guard who was charged in the 1/6 insurrection; it may take years to totally unwind what led up to that as well as figuring out who all of the life forms were who participated and how exactly they were radicalized, including our military (I still say we’ll need what basically amounts to an ongoing “truth and reconciliation” commission with the ability to refer charges for some of these cretins)...
...and RIP actress Tawny Kitaen; she was up front about her fight against substance addiction and apparently she also helped women in abusive relationships, so kudos to her for doing good work (and I guess it’s trite to include this video, but how could I not, really?).
Adrienne Lawrence of Rebel HQ tells us about the 1/6 insurrectionist who basically claimed that he was brainwashed by Fix Noise and blamed the Gropenfuhrer for leading him on – the stoo-pid is strong with this one, I see (and that goes for his lawyer too)...
...and apparently, the whole “Russian bounties” story on our soldiers targeted in Afghanistan really was a thing after all, and of course it leads back to Putin’s GRU...big surprise I know – and of course, Mango Mussolini did nothing about it...
...and Dem U.S. House Rep Katie Porter wants to raise the fees charged to Big Oil who are developing on public lands...sure glad there was a robust public debate on THIS story (the businesses getting the land I mean, and yes I’m being sarcastic...kudos to Porter, and Louie Gohmert dumbs everything down as usual)...
