Comedy filmmaker Adam McKay brings us this snarky little item about Chevron and our dirty energy criminals doing all they can on behalf of perpetuating climate change...I think this pretty much says it (NSFW/H)...
...and Jayar, Cenk and Ben Carollo of TYT tell us about Repug U.S. House candidate J.R. Majewski, running against Dem incumbent Marcy Kaptur in a redistricted seat; yes, Majewski did serve, but I guess it’s too much trouble to be honest about it (more here)...
...oh, and Farron Cousins says that, recently, “Strip Search Sammy” Alito said that you can’t criticize the SCOTUS...I have many responses to that disgusting, self-entitled comment, and one of them is here from “the old gray lady”...
...and I haven’t checked in with Kyle Kulinski in a while, but I thought this was a good segment on Iron Mountain CEO William Meaney saying he’s “praying for inflation” to jack up prices – reporting by Jon Schwarz and Ken Klippenstein...and yeah, “very strong pricing power” by Iron Mountain’s CFO is corporate-speak for price gouging; I wish I could disagree with Kyle’s economic analysis heading into the mid-terms, but I can’t at the moment (briefly NSFW/H)...
...and sticking with the economy, the latest from Second Thought asks “Why Is Everything Turning Into Uber?,” and the answer is that the so-called “gig” economy is growing because workers are always on call, they don’t get benefits, and they get paid lousy wages...what’s not for a corporatist greed head CEO to love?...
...and I really haven't had a "relationship" song/video in a little while, so I hope this newer tune will suffice.
John and Caroline Johnson discuss the latest MAGA insanity related to January 6th, and that is the clip of the insurrectionist nuts trying to cover the cops with that tarp/Trump flag, or whatever that madness was...as far as I’m concerned, just prosecuting those responsible isn’t enough – we need to find out everything on how this was all bankrolled, who paid for transportation for these lunatics (including Bri-Fi pal Jim Worthington as noted here)...EVERY SINGLE DETAIL on all of this should be found out, and if we can’t prosecute everyone responsible, they need to be held up for public ridicule at a minimum (maybe cold comfort I know)...
...and speaking of the treasonous events against our government, it's pretty hard IMO to take issue with this Don Winslow clip on Ginni Thomas in light of this - one set of rules for the rich and powerful, and another set for everyone else of course...
...and when it comes to people who think rules don't apply to them, Mike Figueredo (not him) of The Humanist Report tells us about some wingnut lawyer at the Pacific Legal Foundation (of course) based in Indiana, who claims to have standing, bringing a suit against Biden’s student debt cancellation initiative (yep, the whole damn program is means tested and voluntary, so I don't know what else Biden is supposed to do – and I think “selfish prick” says it pretty well...NSFW/H)...
...and Brian Tyler Cohen discusses the recent remarks in the U.S. House from Dem Rep Elissa Slotkin concerning the typical GOP pig-headed intransigence over a veterans funding bill...and I know it’s a shock to find out that it’s over ABORTION ABORTION ABORTION ABORTION ABORTION ABORTION ABORTION ABORTION ABORTION ABORTION ABORTION ABORTION ABORTION and ABORTION (yeah, not really I know)...
...and this More Perfect union clip tells us about Dem auto shop owner Marie G. Perez running against wingnut Joe Kent in Washington’s 3rd U.S. Congressional District...I don’t buy into her framing 100 percent that Dems have blown off rural America, but I give her credit for trying to make a difference, and she’s right on the issues of course...and Matt Gaetz is one of the VERY LAST people I would seek an endorsement from – actually, I’d tell him to get lost if he tried to give me one (and I thought this was interesting...and to help Perez, click here – slightly NSFW/H)...
Update 10/25/22: And why am I not surprised by this?
...and Thom Hartmann asks if Big Oil is price-gouging to try and screw over Democrats; as far as I’m concerned, if you have to ask a question like that, you basically already know the answer...
...and I guess you could say that this is a bit of a wonky clip from Vox on Western U.S. water usage, and how much of that precious resource is used by consumers vs. the agriculture industry (overwhelmingly, it’s by the latter, and I’m sure we’ve already passed the tipping point where we need a new strategy)...
...and happy 47th birthday to David Geraghty of Bell X1 (the band, that is).
Farron Cousins tells us here that Kellyanne ConJob is trying to make the argument that opioid deaths have doubled in PA under John Fetterman as Lt. Governor, which (and I know this is a shock for this woman - #sarcasm) ISN’T GODDAMN TRUE! – to help Fetterman, click here...
...and Jessica Burbank and Cenk tell us that Texas AG Ken Paxton fled his home, like a coward, to avoid a subpoena (and boy, if this isn’t the best justice money can buy, as noted in the video, I don’t know what is...at times like this, I remember how often The Eternal Molly Ivins would point out that Texas was pretty much the breeding ground of bad government)...
...and when it comes to self-promoting, opportunistic Republicans, J.D. Vance (running for the U.S. Senate from Ohio) is high on that list as well; this clip from “The Classroom” with Brian Tyler Cohen and More Perfect Union tells us more, particularly about how Vance is bankrolled by the thoroughly odious Peter Thiel...to help Vance’s opponent, Dem Tim Ryan, click here...
...and Jesse Dollemore tells us about STILL ANOTHER fraud from the “party of Lincoln,” and that is Tina Forte, running against AOC for the latter’s NY-14 U.S. House seat...yeah, and Forte’s really got that “New Yaaawk” accent going, but nothing else, sadly...we also learn that Mango Mussolini entertained the thought of bombing drug labs in Mexico...and yet again, this apparently came out in a book because somebody in our “fourth estate” didn’t think that was something important enough to tell us at the time it was first known (slightly NSFW/H)...
...and I know this is totally in (lack of) character for Doug Mastriano (the fifth member of his party in this little “rogues gallery” post), but it turns out that he said that murder charges should be filed against women who have undergone abortions in a 2019 radio interview – Sam and Emma of The Majority Report give us the gory details (and despite the way some of these races are trending as noted in the clip, I’m not sold on the idea of Dems spending $$ or trying to influence Republican campaigns to get the craziest candidates to be nominated...in response to Mastriano, click here to help Josh Shapiro)...
...and RIP Nashville guitarist Ray Edenton, who played on this hit among many others (for Patsy Cline, The Everly Brothers, Elvis, The Beach Boys – a pretty big list of artists actually).
David Shuster speaks with some Trump-supporting life forms in North Carolina (I believe), with Shuster reminding these bipeds that Congress can’t deny or promote a religion...actually, some of these people were a little docile when compared with other “Cult 45” lunatics, so I guess that counts as progress somewhat (and listening to that guy spouting about religion while wearing his Flush Limbore T-shirt is straight out of a Stanley Kubrick movie as far as I'm concerned)...
...and when it comes to folks “drinking the Kool Aid,” David Pakman tells us about Charlie Kirk and his ilk normalizing the disturbing electoral win in Italy of neo-fascist ultra-nationalists, including Giorgia Meloni (and I’m surprised Boebert actually got the spelling right in her typically nutty tweet, which was better than MTG...and unfortunately, the refugee crisis from Putin’s war of choice in Ukraine is helping to create the instability that has led to this and what’s going on in Sweden of all places)...
...and speaking of Vlad The Butcher and his war of choice in Ukraine, John and Francesca discuss Russia going nuts over Putin’s draft, including bombing a recruiting station (and Francesca is right of course about the Vietnam draft protests...there was a time when lefties were violent for sure, and I’m not condoning that, but it was in response to Vietnam and the draft; I would argue that lefties overall have definitely left political violence behind related to the other side – no excuse when anybody engages in that stuff I know)...
...and returning to this country, this clip from The States Project tells us about the effort to get Democrats elected in down-ballot races, which are critically important especially in an election cycle where Dems typically don’t do well, though we’re trying to change that of course...
...and I know it’s been a looong time since I had one of these segments, but I think now is the time to bring it back a bit, and I’m referring to the latest installment of “This Day In Doomsy History”...and I have a real “oldie buy goodie” for you – on this day in 2012 (approximately...maybe closer to 9/18), Willard Mitt Romney, who was at the time the Repug presidential nominee, brought us his behind-closed-doors quote about 47 percent of this country allegedly being “entitled” to having government do everything for them (including provide Social Security and Medicare, which we pay into and...make no mistake...would be on the proverbial chopping block if, God forbid, Repugs take control of the federal government again)...the difference between then and now, of course, is that the “party of Lincoln” says stuff like this out in the open, and usually coming from The Roger Ailes BS Factory...
Emma V. and company at The Majority Report tell us about Tuckums on Fix Noise going off on teachers allegedly sexualizing children...but The Swanson TV Dinner Heir is apparently OK with 15-year-old boys getting lap dances with a teacher’s face in the boy’s groin? I knew Carlson was sick and twisted, but I honestly didn’t know he was this far gone (I’m not exactly sure where that quote form Bill Russell ended, but it was pretty good...slightly NSFW/H)...
...and sticking with the prime time host from that abattoir of a TV network, Jeff Waldorf tells us about John Fetterman giving it back to the host of the White Power Hour over the PA Dem U.S. Senate candidate’s tattoos (and boy, it sure is FREAKING HILARIOUS for The Swanson TV Dinner Heir to imply that Fetterman was a rich kid sponging off his family...to help Fetterman, click here)...
Update: I give you this recent development concerning the Oz campaign (in the vicinity of Le Manse Doomsy).
I mean, I don’t condone or advocate vandalism, but it is pretty funny!
And before anybody clutches their pearls or looks for the fainting couch over those dastardly libs and their wanton acts of destruction, I should note that I’ve heard reports about Ashley Ehasz road signs near the intersection of Rts. 332 and 413 that disappeared or were ripped out and tossed over to the side of the road. And that intersection is pretty close to Bri-Fi pal Jim Worthington’s Newtown Athletic Club (and yes, apples and oranges...).
Coincidence? I think not.
Update 10/3/22: I swear, the more metaphorical rocks you turn over with Oz, the seamier he looks (here).
...and Jesse Dollemore and Brittany Page tell us that former Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre not only wanted PPP funds for speeches he never gave, but he also wanted prison labor to build a volleyball gym for his daughter...and Favre knew it was illegal of course (smiley face - more here)...and all the best to Dollemore with his health issues...
Update 9/30/22: What a self-entitled POS Favre is turning out to be (here...and funneling $$ earmarked for fighting cancer for his personal use...who does that remind me of? Thinking...).
Update 10/3/22: Birds of a feather, you might say (here)...
...and after hearing about the latest nonsense with Curtsy Kyrsten, I had to figuratively pour my white-hot rage into a teacup, but it was so profanity-laden that I have to cool it in the saucer of this admittedly dumb blog afterwards...if you don’t know what the hell I’m talking about, it’s in reference to this Brian Tyler Cohen clip of Sinema giving a speech in front of The McConnell Center, or wherever that mess was...if I actually received a compliment from Moscow Mitch over ANYTHING, I would immediately rethink the full purpose and scope of my entire life...this clip has the quote from Sinema about not giving the child everything he/she wants (more here)...I don’t know what is worse about this woman: her condescension, her corruption, or her stupidity (And by the way, a TYT clip on this basically told us that she’s gotten about $3 mil in donations for her antics, which is CHUMP CHANGE when you’re talking about the dark $$$$ poisoning our politics...mildly NSFW/H...also, Cohen mentioned the U.S. Senate races, but I didn’t hear anything about Ohio...to help Dem Tim Ryan, click here)...
...and if you want an example of how a Democrat is SUPPOSED to act, David Pakman tells us about CA guv Gavin Newsom giving it back to Greg Abbott of Texas and Ron #DeathSantis of FLA; I agree with Pakman...you don’t have to be the biggest fan of Newsom to completely respect what he’s doing here...
...and notwithstanding the whole “eye of Sauron” think going on (well, maybe not really), if I could, I would blare this song through the doors of Sinema’s offices every single freaking day!
Mike Figueredo of The Humanist Report gives us a brief look at the many ways that the “party of Lincoln” has obstructed Congress, including in response to a bill to codify election procedure (i.e., not allowing VPs to overturn elections), which received only 9 U.S. House Repug votes, and all from reps who were leaving, so of course Bri-Fi voted No also – to do something about that, click here...
...and turning to the U.S. Senate race in our beloved commonwealth of PA, it looks like one of Mehmet (“CALL ME DOCTOR, DAMMIT!”) Oz’s highest profile backers, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, has turned on his former pal for mocking John Fetterman over the latter’s stroke – to help Fetterman, click here...
...and it looks like Oz’s family had to pay the largest ICE fine in history (against the Asplundh tree cutting company...they’re all over the place in this area by the way), and of course, Oz crows about “illegal immigration” (the hypocrisy is the point of course...segment goes to about 5:30, then leads into a discussion about 58% of Republicans believing in “white replacement theory”...with Ana and Cenk)...
...and Chris Hayes speaks with Bernie Sanders about the popularity of Biden’s loan forgiveness and the response to the concentration of corporate wealth vis-a-vis the increased unionization efforts in this country (and of course, Cancun Cruz and his pals will try to fight student loan forgiveness because that’s what they do...yeah, numbers look good for now, but we should all work for campaigns as if we’re 20 points down, partly because – unfortunately – dark money swooping in at the 11th hour with a blitz of negative ads often still works in campaigns more than it should, though I honestly believe the tide is turning on that...will that hold be broken in this cycle? I don’t know, and we should assume NOTHING...this clip is a few days old and it took me a little while to get to it, I know...David Doel also had a good recent segment on this piece)...
...and it looks like FLA Guv Ron #DeathSantis is getting sued by the migrants he tricked into flying to Martha’s Vineyard, and of course he doubles down on his BS because that’s all he knows how to do...Brian Tyler Cohen tells us about it...
...and Beau tells us about the call that allegedly came from inside the White House to somebody at the Capitol on 1/6 based on the “60 Minutes” interview with Denver Riggleman (here)...it should be plainly obvious to anyone with at least a double-digit IQ by now that Not Your Father’s Republican Party hates representative democracy and demonstrates that at every opportunity...
...and Caroline Johnson of Rebel HQ discusses the “trickle-down effect,” if you will, when wingnut preachers try to cram their version of morality down everyone’s throats (I’m honestly not sure which one of those two guys in NYC is supposed to be the goofball; maybe the guy in the cap is supposed to be normal?)...
...and RIP Jim Post of the ‘60s one-hit-wonder duo Friend and Lover, with their signature tune.
Robert Reich gives us another one of his periodic reminders that the “self-made billionaire” BS is truly a myth, starting with Musk, Bezos, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, etc...
...and Chris Hayes gives us a preview of what would happen if (God forbid) Republicans capture any of the two legislative bodies on Capitol Hill, to say nothing of the White House also in 2024 (more motivation for us to do what we can to get Dems elected, as if we didn’t know how important that is already)...Medicare and Social Security ABSOLUTELY will be on the chopping block, and we can expect a federal 15-week abortion ban and more stinking tax cuts (and this J.R. Majewski clown really put his foot in it with his alleged military service, didn’t he...update is here...and what the hell is it with Repugs who actually think they can rap?...and I thought this was a hoot also)...
...and Trae Crowder tells us about Repugs losing what’s left of their minds over the Stacey Abrams quote about the lack of a six-week fetal heartbeat, which was verified by medical science (which Repugs don’t believe in, I know)...
...and John and Brett Erlich of The Damage Report tells us that protestors of Vlad The Butcher’s war of choice in Ukraine have automatically been drafted into service (and yeah, as they say, what kind of message does it send to your existing forces to conscript people WHO DON’T EVEN WANT TO BE THERE??!!)...
...and Brittany Page joins Jesse Dollemore on The Dollermore Daily to talk about Mississippi, first on the water in Jackson – and also what a doctrinaire Repug fathead Tate Reeves is – and second, having to do with the Brett Favre funds misappropriation stuff (mildly NSFW/H)...
...and it’s “up, up and away” with this neat newer tune (make sure you hang around until the end :-).
Jesse Dollemore tells us that Our Treasonous Tiny Handed Former Dictator is BIG MAD that #DeathSantis apparently stole his awful immigrant kidnapping idea, and of course leave it to #45 to add his particularly heinous twist to all of this of shipping actual violent criminals to blue states, and except for Cheney and Kinzinger, NOT A DAMN ONE OF THEM IN HIS PARTY WILL SAY ANYTHING TO OPPOSE HIM!!! And by the way, all the best to Dollemore on his health issues...
...and this clip from The Lincoln Project tells us about Doug Mastriano and the connection between his campaign and the utterly awful and depraved Gab anti-Semitic web site; to help Josh Shapiro, the Dem running for PA governor, click here...
...and uh oh, it looks like Mr. Crudite himself, Mehmet (“CALL ME DOCTOR, DAMMIT!”) Oz went to Kensington to (allegedly) help drug addicts shoot up to film a campaign video...and yeah, I’d like to know how many of those people in that vehicle made it to drug rehab also...this is a serious problem that deserves a MUCH BETTER treatment than a drive-by photo-op...that crowd Oz spoke to later (“See? I actually went to Democrat cities! I’m not just a Hollywood celebrity!”) was about as “diverse” as a jar of mayonnaise...I think this segment goes off the rails a bit in the last minute over the George Floyd stuff to be honest, though the fundamental point about performative stuff from the “R” party (and the Dems to a lesser extent) is true, I have to admit (in response, to help John Fetterman, click here)...
...and here’s a backgrounder on Ashley Ehasz, the Dem running to unseat Brian Fitzpatrick as PA-01 U.S. House rep; to help the campaign, click here (and more on Bri-Fi is here)...
...and Thom Hartmann tells us about more anti-abortion garbage in Georgia, West Virginia, Texas and Utah...and refusing to treat miscarriages? Looks like some of our states below that Mason-Dixon line are being run by some of the most enlightened minds of the 13th century...
...well, one way to try and fix that is to vote for Dems like Beto O’Rourke, running for Texas governor against the thoroughly despicable Greg Abbott – to help, click here (I keep waiting for elderly white conservative boomers to start loving their kids and embracing climate justice, economic reform and sane policies concerning women’s reproductive health more than they viscerally hate Democrats, and I’m sure I’ll keep waiting...clip is briefly NSFW/H, but for a good reason)...
Update: I saw on Twitter that the Houston Chronicle says that voters are breaking towards Abbott based on immigration and away from abortion; not taking issue with the paper, but this makes zero sense to me given that Abbott was responsible for this.
...and turning to entertainment, this week marked the passing of a guy who probably was the very last surviving male member of The Rat Pack, and that was longtime character actor Henry Silva – here he is in a truly great film that had trouble getting released for awhile because of the subject matter (re, an assassination)...
...and Silva made a living portraying villains, which brings to mind this tune (for me anyway, which is actually a cover of a Larry Williams song).
I realize that we here in our beloved commonwealth of PA don’t have bragging rights when it comes to election corrupt idiot politicians (see “No Corporate Tax” Pat Toomey), but I have to admit that it is predictably discouraging to see voters in Wisconsin apparently trending towards RoJo – love to be wrong...here is a reminder of why Johnson most definitely does NOT deserve another term in the U.S. Senate from Texas Paul at Meidas Touch, with RoJo blaming “CRT” and “wokeness” for the Uvalde massacre (to help Johnson's opponent Mandela Barnes, click here...NSFW/H)...
...and I thought this was a pretty well-done New York Times video with Johnny Harris (taking a break from bitching about NIMBY libs and real estate in Southern California) and Michelle Cottle about the most urgent threat to our elections...this is what happens when we coddle the Trumpsters including Bannon and Mango Mussolini himself, and this is also what happens when the John Lewis For The People Act gets stopped dead in its tracks in Congress by the “party of Lincoln” – Dems (and in this case, Liz Cheney also) have tried to pass laws to ensure election integrity (here), but as noted here, Bri-Fi (among others in his party) have opposed these efforts...to do something about that, click here (and let’s not forget the role of the John Eastman garbage in all of this as noted here)...
...and speaking of legal stuff, Farron Cousins tells us that the defamation lawsuit against Pillow Guy from Smartmatic will be allowed to proceed (and yeah, Dominion should follow with their suit also, and I’m sure they will)...
...but as deserved as that is, the REAL topper came from the 11th Circuit Court hours ago against Our Ochre Abomination himself, in which the whole “special master” ruling from Trumpster flunky judge Aileen Cannon got the legal thrashing it deserved...Beau tells us more (more here)...
...and from Satan’s lips to his minions’ ears as far as I’m concerned; I think that’s the best way to summarize this next story, with MAGA lunatics flooding the suicide prevention hot line for our veterans to try and release the treasonous insurrectionist 1/6 criminals (Ana and Cenk of TYT tell us more)...
..and this tune was #1 on the Billboard pop charts on this day 55 years ago.
(This is just a reminder that the "kangaroo court" pictured above, including that smiling African American woman, are the ones - along with all other Republican politicians - who have decided that women in this country shouldn't be allowed to exercise their own bodily autonomy.)
Sam and Emma of The Majority Report tell us about Huckleberry Graham’s latest abortion stunt blowing up in his face, you might say...and yeah, Dems damn sure should run with what Graham says here in ads throwing it back at him, but we’ll see – more here...
...and for a bit of heartbreaking reality on this story, Ana and Cenk of TYT discuss a Texas woman named Kailee DeSpain, who apparently was passionately anti-abortion along with her husband; she had to travel out of state to get an abortion herself because of truly dire pregnancy complications (to New Mexico apparently)...and in case anyone thinks I’m going to be snarky about that, think again; I’m genuinely sorry for the heartbreak she and her husband have faced as a result of this horrific development concerning the in-utero life inside her, but I would only ask that they please try to understand that anyone who is pro-choice loves the life of the unborn also, even though I’m sure the DeSpains can probably see our side in a more tolerant light now, though I’m sorry it’s because of what has happened to them – and I think Cenk is referring to the Sandy Senn clip that I included a couple of days ago with Brian Tyler Cohen...
...and turning to other domestic political matters, it looks like Our Ochre Abomination is threatening civil war if he’s indicted...well, he’s on the way to that based on this, among many other reaons (Richard Ojeda has more on this...and here is more on Matt Whitaker, yet another Trumpist bottom feeder from our prior ruling cabal)...
...and it sounds like U.S. District Judge Raymond Dearie, Mango Mussolini’s handpicked “special master,” is all done with the games from #45 on the Mar-a-Lago docs mess (David Pakman gives us the details - love the face freeze)...
...and in case anyone has forgotten about Vlad The Butcher and his war of choice in Ukraine, Beau tells us about the latest Russian referendum and how it’s a propaganda stunt as a likely pretext to further conscription of young men of fighting age in that country to be sent off to “the meat grinder”...
...and since tomorrow is the first day of fall, it’s time to ring down the curtain on my summer selections until next year (sniff, though this is a great time of year also).
Brian Tyler Cohen tells us about Javier Salazar, Bexar County, TX Sheriff, who is apparently trying to open an investigation into Ron #DeathSantis’s little stunt of flying 48 migrants to Martha’s Vineyard...of all of the aspects of this ridiculous story that (I have to admit) that I didn’t pay much attention to, one was the taxpayer cost of flying these people to the island...
...and Farron Cousins references the video clip with Sheriff Salazar...Judd Legum got his hands on the brochure that #DeathSantis used to lure the migrants, which may very well end up being more ammunition behind the lawsuit(s) that will surely follow from all of this...
...and John and Francesca of The Damage Report tell us about a MA lawmaker also looking at #DeathSantis for human trafficking...GOOD! (and good also for John for pointing out that immigrants come into this country from a whole bunch of other places besides the border with Mexico...it remains to be seen how much more of this Abbott and #DeathSantis are going to pull, but the more they do, the more it will add to the legal consequences against them)...
...and as if there weren’t more reasons to be mad at Flori-DUUH’s utter Republican mistake of a governor, this More Perfect Union clip notes that energy prices in The Sunshine State are going nuts because of the Florida Power and Light utility, which is a big-time player in Republican politics of course... wonder if #DeathSantis’s MVY stunt was intended to deflect from this? And more is here...
...and here is still another reason to despise #DeathSantis, with him making fun of those paying off student loans, and anyone going to college of course...thank God we didn’t have a-holes like this guy calling the shots after WWII when a whole bunch of vets, like my dad, went to college on the GI Bill – when this guy falls hard, which he eventually will, I’m going to sit back right easy and have a good laugh (and “zombie studies,” huh? And how big of a teacher shortage are you looking at again? And of course he utters this puke in front of those Heritage Foundation guttersnipes - to do something in response, click here)...
...and I’ve had this song on my mind while all of this migrant misery has been playing out, so I thought I’d share it here.
(I know the cartoon should say 2022 instead of 2019, but I think it's close enough.)
Mike Figueredo of The Humanist Report discusses the ongoing campaign in this country to take away women’s bodily autonomy, with a focus on “crisis pregnancy centers,” which are not licensed medical facilities, it should be noted, but are instead places for wingnut indoctrination – NSFW/H...
...and related to the prior story, Brian Tyler Cohen talks about 2 South Carolina Republicans in the state senate duking it out over more garbage anti-abortion nonsense...and yes, Sandy Senn is absolutely right here, and Shane Massey is just another idiot Repug male trying to regulate women’s biology (more here – and yeah, for every anti-abortion bill, I think a companion bill should be introduced that sets up a database that tracks purchases of Viagra and Cialis for male politicians, as well as keeping a record of which ones have received vasectomies)...
...and when it comes to that depraved stunt by FLA guv Ron #DeathSantis to dump the undocumented migrants at Martha’s Vineyard (who were transported off the island to a facility set up on Cape Cod where they can be processed through immigration), I thought Vaush had a particularly smart take here (more here – Emma V. of The Majority Report had a segment on this also, but it included a clip with Jesse Watters and Mike Pompeo, and I absolutely can’t stomach those two together)...
...and related to the MVY story, Stephanie Ruhle tells us how this little maneuver by #DeathSantis and Greg Abbott of Texas mirrors the “reverse freedom rides” of exactly 60 years ago (more here)...
...and Ana and Cenk of TYT bring us the story of Trumpster Cathy Latham in Coffee County, GA, who allowed voting machines to be hacked on 1/7/21, which of course was the day after the insurrection...time to start throwing these people in prison for a looooong time, as Cenk says – more here)...
...and in the Wordpress post I linked to above about Martha’s Vineyard, I mentioned the public radio station WMVY, which is terrific; this newer number comes right from their playlist.
(If you don't speak out against them, Bri-Fi, then you're complicit in these acts from the people in your party.)
To begin, Trae Crowder tells us about the sick, twisted scheme of Repug Guvs Greg Abbott of Texas and Ron #DeathSantis of Florida to fly 50 illegal immigrants from Texas to Florida to Martha’s Vineyard, with Abbott apparently flying some also to D.C. to the residence of VP Kamala Harris (mildly NSFW/H)...I mean, I know it’s not a news flash to point out how depraved conservatives are, but imagine being told that there’s a job for you in Boston, then you fly about 3-4 hours, and then get dropped off on an island where you don’t know ANYBODY, and you’re left to walk for about 3 miles to shelter (and the people living on the island don’t know you’re coming)...I’ve also read estimates that this cruel idiocy cost Florida taxpayers about $8 million and Texans $12 million (Update below: For #DeathSantis, this cost about $613K from a $12 M fund)...more on this here, here, here, here, here, and here...I also read that Charlie Crist, running against #DeathSantis for FLA governor, is going to ask the Justice Department to investigate since this is human trafficking...to help, click here...
...and Ana and John tell us about the Feds seizing the cell phone of cracked-out pillow guy Mike Lindell...c’est dommage, wingnut – yeah, what does it tell you about Lindell that all he had to do was wipe his phone, but he wasn’t even smart enough to think of that...
...and remind me to NEVER visit Florence County, South Carolina...at least, not if I can help it, because the cops might try to stomp my head in while they yell at me to “stop resisting” (yeah, it was a little odd for that guy to be filming the building, but he wasn’t breaking any law, apparently, and he was on public property)...David Shuster tells us more...
...and Beau tells us that “Dark Brandon” struck again, apparently averting a national rail strike, with the estimable help of Labor Secretary Marty Walsh (and Bernie Sanders standing up for workers again here)...
...and Thom Hartmann talks about the lady in Louisiana who was pregnant with the fetus that didn’t have a skull (I know I mentioned this previously) and how she could have been impacted by Huckleberry Graham’s potential nationwide abortion ban...and I haven’t heard anything from Silent Brian on this either (and I’m DEFINITELY not holding out much for Chuck Schumer to do what he’s supposed to as well)...
...and the very latest from Second Thought asks Why Is College So Expensive (and yep, the line goes straight back to The Sainted Ronnie R and Tricky Dick - more here...”If you think that ‘woke culture’ is what’s suppressing free speech on college campuses, consider how much more it hurts free speech to keep millions of working class Americans out of the conversation entirely.”...as I watched this clip, I recalled all of the trash columns J.D. Mullane wrote for the Bucks County Courier Times making fun of a liberal arts education...I don’t know if he’s still cranking out that drivel, but if he is, I wouldn’t be surprised)...
....and I’ve had this kicking around for a little while, and I really should get to it now – Hollywood actress Marsha Hunt recently passed away at 104, and the clip below tells us about her commendable activism while the studio system reigned and they really discouraged her from standing up...
...and speaking of activism (and with the Trae Crowder clip in mind along with the linked articles on the immigrant/MVY debacle), I thought the following tune from Jackson Browne and Sangre Machehual was appropriate for the occasion.
Update 1: I think DHS has ended up with a bit of egg on its face over this sick, cruel stunt from #DeathSantis and Abbott, but after watching this clip, I think one message should be loud and clear to these two; time to lawyer up, assholes!
Update 2: So #DeathSantis paid a firm $615,000 for relocation, huh? (here). That rounds off to $12,300 per refugee, as Charlie Crist says. Curious to know what Florida taxpayers think of THAT.
Update 3: Oh, OK...so, before we pile onto DHS, Ryan Grim reports that #DeathSantis TOLD the immigrants to change their addresses for USCIS (here...I probably should have picked that out earlier from the clip, but Grim did fortunately).
I think we’re getting to the point with this story where the U.N. Commission on Human Rights needs to weigh in.
Update 4: I know it shouldn’t come as a news flash that conservatives are monumentally bigoted and STOO-PID. However, the total shitposting about Martha’s Vineyard in the wake of this stunt from #DeathSantis and Abbott is plummeting to new lows even for them. And just about everything they say can be easily disproven by some of the easiest Google searches in recorded human history...too damn many to list here.
Farron Cousins tells us about that particularly bonkers lead-in to the recent candidates debate in Colorado involving incumbent U.S. House Repug Lauren Boebert and Dem challenger Adam Frisch, with Boebert arguing with the moderator over a tweet that the CO-3 U.S. House wingnut didn’t even bother to read completely...more debate idiocy with Boebert is here, including her not knowing the purpose of the 19th Amendment...and what does it tell you about the voters in Boebert’s district that, as Cousins says, she’ll likely win re-election anyway?...
...and Mike Figueredo of The Humanist Report discusses idiotic Republican attacks on “CRT” along with LGBTQ rights that has led to a 250% spike in “educational gag order” bills and what that means in our slow descent from democracy to some religio-fascist corpocracy (I definitely feel better about OAN going down the metaphorical drain after watching that extended clip of their “news” anchor spewing her nonsense about “the left”)...
...and Ana and Cenk tell us about 15,000 nurses in the Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota area (and Duluth) who are striking over patient care and nurse/patient ratios, which is a big goddamn deal (a 300 percent increase in unsafe staffing levels since 2014, huh? And money is an issue, but not the MAIN issue – certainly not one to strike over by itself...more here)...
...and turning to world stuff and Russia’s war of choice in Ukraine, it looks like Vlad’s troops are getting routed (Chris Hayes speaks with Ben Rhodes)...I hope our defense and intelligence geniuses in this country have thought about what could happen if Putin falls from power, which he should (not advocating violence, though he’d deserve it) – it could take decades to try and repair the damage in that besieged country (structurally, to say nothing of the brave people standing up for themselves...and let’s not forget that Mango Mussolini called Putin’s incursion “genius”...and speaking of stuff disappeared by our corporate media, has anyone besides me realized that the story of what Wonder Boy Jared got for $2 billion, likely form the Saudis, has somehow vanished from “the discourse” by our news orgs with initials for names?)...
...and speaking of Our Ochre Abomination, I thought this was a pretty hilarious self-own from Sean Inanity...
...and happy belated 45th birthday to Fiona Apple.
This just in...Huckleberry Graham just decided that about half the population of this country isn’t entitled to bodily autonomy that would allow for making their own health care decisions.
I mean, what does it tell you about the hubris of Graham and his same-party pals, along with sympathetic judges and Supreme Court justices, that they think they can metaphorically cram all of this stuff down women’s throats so close to a mid-term election? Hell, if it weren’t for stuff like this along with Dobbs which takes a nuke to Supreme Court precedent (as well as #45 showing his orange ugly mug everywhere), the Democrats would be getting their clocks cleaned in the electoral polling (to say nothing of considering what has happened in Kansas and Alaska so far).
And by the way, since Graham knows he doesn’t have a legal leg to stand on, allow me to point out that Roe was ruled on a “by trimester” standard for allowing abortions (affirmed by justices confirmed under Republican presidents) and Planned Parenthood v. Casey relied on a “fetal viability” standard which took into consideration innovations in pre and post-natal care over the prior 19 years since Roe (affirmed by Anthony Kennedy and Sandra Day O’Connor, installed on the SCOTUS under The Sainted Ronnie R). And both rulings allowed states to have a say in third-trimester abortions (which, again, don’t happen unless something has gone catastrophically wrong with the pregnancy). In other words, Graham somehow blaming the Democrats only for the status quo prior to Dobbs is just more proof that he’s a lying, opportunistic hack (and speaking of political bottom-feeders, who the #@$! was that smiling African American woman onstage with Graham, along with those other women who just nodded while South Carolina’s Republican U.S. Senate mistake announced that he was going to try and inflict more ruin on millions of people in this country?).
(I should add that I typically don’t wade into this issue since I’ll never birth a baby and definitely don’t consider myself an expert, but in my own small way, I’m trying to bring sanity to an utterly insane situation. And once more, if MEN got pregnant, none of this would be happening. “Morning after” pills would be available everywhere, and there probably would be a special section for getting abortions “on the go” at Home Depot, next to the aisle selling power tools.)
So without further ado, here is the Graham clip, with great commentary from Brian Tyler Cohen...
Update: Every time you think it can't get worse with lowlifes like Graham, it does.
...oh, and by the way, Ken Starr is dead (here - more here...TYT clip is from August '17)...
...and this Rebel HQ clip with Jayar and Jessica Burbank tell us that Goober Gohmert recently decided to “buddy up” to 1/6 insurrectionist Dr. Simone Gold (and oh boy, doesn’t that wingnut video with the orchestration turn the propaganda meter up to 11)...
...and Sam of The Majority Report tells us that Repug U.S. Senate candidate (and Peter Thiel-bankrolled) Blake Masters in AZ (who, when last seen, was busy trying to scrub anti-abortion language from his campaign web site as noted here) thinks Hispanics will support him...in a weird way, I have to give Masters credit for cramming so much BS into about a minute and a half, or however long that was...and boy, is Sam ever right about this segment from The Swanson TV Dinner Heir aimed at their majority white elderly audience – mildly NSFW/H...
...and I thought The Lincoln Project came up with a great ad here for Masters’ opponent, incumbent Dem U.S. Senator Mark Kelly; to help Kelly’s campaign, click here (and I'll overlook some of the McCain hagiography for now)...
...and RIP Ramsey Lewis; I give you his signature hit.
Brianna Keilar and Kristen Holmes of CNN discuss Maggie Haberman of the New York Times and her revelation that Trump said he wouldn’t leave The White House...and I have to admit that it’s darkly hilarious to hear Wonder Boy Jared Kushner compare himself to a priest (Mags saved these revelations for her book of course, just like every other disgusting lickspittle who knew how crazy Trump was but didn’t say anything until they could make $$ off it – more here)...
...and Farron Cousins discusses a Reuters poll indicating that the majority of the country agrees with Biden that the MAGA morons are a threat to U.S. democracy...and I agree that it doesn’t make a lot of sense to say “Yeah, MAGA is dividing us...but Biden is wrong to point that out.” (huh?)...
...and John and Jordan Uhl of The Damage Report call out Fix Noise for their typical hypocrisy over student debt relief, and a clip is also included about demonizing teachers while there is a nationwide shortage...and yeah, that mashup at the end is indeed sickening; kudos to the person at Media Matters who put it together...I can’t imagine a job where I had to watch that trash network and highlight their very worst excesses without losing what’s left of my sanity...
...and Sam discusses that recent clip on CNN (returning to that network) with Al Franken and wingnut Alice Stewart in the arguing-talking-head format moderated by Jim Acosta, and the subject is the legitimacy of the SCOTUS (Sam says independents are leaning towards Dems based on data at the moment, though you could argue that the data can be interpreted a couple of different ways at least – I’m afraid independents, who for my money are basically idiots, may turn against Dems on inflation, not realizing that inflation IS AFFECTING THE WHOLE GODDAMN WORLD COMING OUT OF COVID...and I’ve read people bitching at Franken for interrupting that mouthpiece for Mike Huckabee, and normally I might agree, but you know what? On this occasion, GOOD! This is what Dems have had to endure since forever, and far worse actually, and Franken is FREAKING RIGHT! It’s nice to see some damn push back for a change...when you lie like this Alice person does here, then you DESERVE to be talked over, and I don’t care if you’re a man or a woman...and as far as the Dobbs leak is concerned, I’m sticking with the story that the leaker was Ginni Thomas, and I dare anyone to prove me wrong)...
...and with all the changes “across the pond” (new PM, death of QE II), it might be a good idea to get a report on the UK from “Jonathan Pie” via the New York Times (somewhat NSFW/H, though a lot was bleeped - when we were there six years ago, you couldn't read anything about Jeremy Corbyn in the newspapers unless he was getting vilified every way possible; I can't possibly see how he could actually be worse than what has transpired since)...
...and sticking with world stuff, yesterday was the 45th anniversary of the death of anti-Apartheid South African activist Steve Biko; here is the tune by Peter Gabriel.
This video from More Perfect Union tells us about the unlikely ideological coalition behind Medicaid expansion in South Dakota, with idiot Repug Governor Kristi (“Unsafe At Any Speed”) Noem basically refusing free federal $$ to enable expansion in her state (for ideological reasons of course, since she’s no doubt looking to build her political career)...
...and Dems Elizabeth Warren in the U.S. Senate and Brad Sherman in the U.S. House have introduced a bill to overturn the “right to work” portion of the Taft-Hartley Act (Jessica Burbank and Cenk of TYT tell us more...I think they could have provided a little more background on this as opposed to immediately going to all the “corporate Democrats” stuff – not saying Cenk is wrong, but I think he should “turn the record over”...more here)...
...and Sam of The Majority Report discusses that moron Greg Gutfeld saying only angry single women vote for Dems (abortion on demand up until the point of birth, which actually happens to be illegal unless dictated by medical necessity in states without ridiculous anti-abortion laws, blah blah blah...oh, but Gutfeld is the new “king of late night” according to Bill Maher...give me a damn break!)...
...and Richard Ojeda of Rebel HQ tells us about GOP election workers in Michigan being trained to break the rules (lead-in from Brianna Keilar of CNN)...and why the hell shouldn’t people go to jail for this? (and by the way, Cheryl Costantino, voting isn’t supposed to be “fun,” you MAGA hack!)...
...and Jessica Burbank is back with John of The Damage Report to discuss former NFL quarterback Brett Favre (just in time for the new NFL season), who received $1.1 million from public funds in Mississippi to give motivational speeches, taking the $$ and not giving the speeches – and of course, in addition to asking why Favre was such a deadbeat on this, this also begs the question of why the hell an NFL gazillionaire like Favre would need public funds for any reason whatsoever...and when it comes to the totally fouled drinking water in Jackson, Mississippi, I overwhelmingly blame their idiot Repug governor Tate Reeves and the state assembly, but I think a measure of blame should also go to Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba, and I don’t enjoy saying that...I saw something on Twitter about Mayor Lumumba supposedly not coming up with a plan to repair the water infrastructure which he needed to submit to the state, and unfortunately I can’t come up with much to refute that...more here...
Update 9/13/22: And $5 million for a new volleyball stadium (here)? While Jackson doesn't have safe running water? Heckuva job...
...and the video for this tune contains a lot of bright, flashing images and the use of tobacco, so consider yourself warned.
