John and Jayar of The Damage Report inform us of Dementia Donnie blowing off the funeral for Dem state rep Melissa Hortman and her husband...I realize it isn’t exactly front-page news to point out that Cantaloupe Capone is a heartless, narcissistic monster, but part of the reason I’m mentioning this is because everything pertaining to this Vance Boelter person (the alleged assassin) has somehow fallen off the media radar, as nearly as I can tell anyway, particularly given the fact that this guy had a weapons cache and a bunch of other Dems he was apparently targeting...gee, you’d think that would be worth a few more stories at least, along with the possibility that he might have had an accomplice or two...??...with all of his myriad outrages, I’d forgotten that Our Ochre Abomination didn’t even issue a statement in response to the shootings of the Hortmans, along with John Hoffman and his wife (and apparently Boelter may or may not be on a suicide watch as noted here – don’t look for a speck of sympathy from me)...
...and Thom Hartmann tells us that almost a quarter of those polled according to yougov think we’re already in a dictatorship...peachy...Thom says that if you intimidate a couple of people in certain jobs/industries, you can intimidate other people in those jobs/industries, and he may be right...and once again, it’s a comment to how dark a place we’re at when someone like Thomas Massie stands as a voice of reason, but that’s the case for now, so OF COURSE a Super PAC now arises to take down Massie in Kentucky, and Thom is correct about Chris LaCivita and the Swift Boat Lying Liars from about 20 years ago (more on the War Powers resolution with Ro Khanna and Massie is here)...
...and Farron Cousins tells us how underwater Our Treasonous Orange Pustule is when it comes to his approval rating, which is only bound to get worse after the passage of his Big Beautiful Obscenity, with 53% of those polled saying we’re going in the wrong direction; I know the BBB number was bad, but only 35 percent approval? Yeah, that’s a pretty subterranean polling number...
...and Sam and the crew from The Majority Report tell us that it looks like Dem U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff recently tried to get Repug Doug Collins to explain exactly what is proposed to be cut by $17-18 billion in the VA budget, though it appears to be a reduction in headcount, which will no doubt mean a reduction in services for our veterans (typical Trumpist move to stonewall anyone conducting oversight)...figures for this bunch...and apparently it was too much trouble for Collins to properly prepare for the hearing even though all he had to go over was a 26-slide Power Point presentation...”the dog ate my homework” indeed from Collins...
...and I think this clip puts Trumpist spokes-liar Karoline Leavitt in the context she truly deserves...
...and here is another seasonal tune.
Update 1: Damn straight (about the "Big Beautiful Atrocity")...
Update 2: Don't give Bri-Fi a moment's peace over this...
(One more time, click here to contact your U.S. senator and tell them to vote NO on the "Big Beautiful Atrocity"...more here).
Richard Ojeda of Rebel HQ brings us more voter remorse over #47, including the woman laughing about the “Trump mobile” scam (ummm...I wouldn’t be laughing if I knew how hard I got utterly played, but that’s just me I guess)... I have to admit that I get a little fed up with how Joe Rogan is taken seriously as some kind of a political prognosticator, but I guess that’s just the reality...and Thomas Massie definitely isn’t a “profile in courage” by any means, but at least he can “read the room”...and yeah, the “four dipsh*ts of the apocalypse” are indeed saddling up (NSFW/H)...
...and Belle of the Ranch gives us more background on Combover Caligula’s Medicaid cuts, and she commendably blows up some of the rhetoric on BBB...the CBO has released their numbers, cutting Medicaid, Medicare and the ACA by $1.1, mostly out of Medicaid...also, 11.8 million people losing health insurance by 2034, all for massive tax cuts for the “pay no price, bear no burden” bunch...also, $325 million to create an additional bureaucracy and paperwork hurdles to require constant tracking of people receiving Medicaid, and possibly Medicare too to make sure they remain eligible...and yes, the Senate version is actually worse when it comes to work requirements and proof of attending school...and of course, the Repugs are saying this will only affect undocumented workers, which (and you’d better fetch the fainting couch when you hear this) is a BIG FAT LIE; “non-verified citizenship” only affects 1 in 10 of those who will be kicked off Medicaid...I have a feeling that passing this bill will truly be the reckoning for the utter stoo-pidity of anybody who voted for Cantaloupe Capone, as well as the rest of us who will pretty much be collateral damage...and oh yes, it’s time to dump on LGBTQ individuals again; for the umpteenth freaking time, KIDS AREN’T GETTING BOTTOM SURGERY! THEY’RE GETTING REVERSIBLE PUBERTY BLOCKERS, WHICH MOST OF THEM WANT BECAUSE THEY’RE SERIOUS ABOUT TRANSITIONING!!! And as Belle says, we’re only talking about 13K surgeries per year in a country with about 330 million people...and by the way, every freaking bit of this mess was completely predictable, and individuals like yours truly, filthy unkempt liberal blogger that I am, were yelling as loud as we could to warn everybody...
...and Tennessee Brando brings us Repug U.S. Senator form North Carolina Thom Tills going scorched earth on BBB...of course, Tillis is on his way out the door, but credit where it’s due I guess...and oh yeah, let’s pillory Obama again for saying “if you like your doctor, you can keep him,” which admittedly was a mistake, while also not counting the DAILY TORRENT OF LIES from the “party of Lincoln”...imperfect as the ACA was (and still is), it still covered millions who would have otherwise been left to fend for themselves...and with respect to Brando, work requirements in Medicaid would cause the largest increase in the number of people without health insurance; the Kaiser Family Foundation breaks that down here, so Tillis is wrong on that score...also with respect to Brando, Clinton, Obama and Dubya were right to ignore Our Treasonous Orange Egomaniac (NSFW/H also)...
Update 1: I suppose this was inevitable given the election results last year, but the fight was still worth it.
And by the way, don’t give “Fake Ophthalmologist” Rand Paul and “Disappointed” Collins any credit. Their opposition was political theater; the result was predetermined (and yeah, Lisa Murkowski sure reached for the "chicken switch" also...and even though he was a commendable No vote, now John Fetterman can begin his vacation down the shore).
Also, here’s a message for those clueless election losers at the @DNC...this is a golden opportunity to put into place your thus-far-nonexistent social media strategy. It shouldn’t be up to a British-sounding comedian to explain to this country how monumentally awful this legislative atrocity truly is.
Update 2: A LOT more like this (as far as I'm concerned, Warren should be the Dem Senate leader for real).
And now, for no particular reason, I’d like to step back and “go meta” a bit and discuss “how the sausage gets made” around here.
I happened to come across a couple of Rebel HQ clips in which they presented Marjorie Trailer Park Greene getting called out by Dem Rep Melanie Stansbury as well as another clip with another Repug numbskull named John McGuire getting the same commendable treatment from AOC. I actually tried to listen to Greene and her “Democrat colleague” this and “Democrat colleague” that, as well as this guy McGuire peddling his garbage in front of Dem governors J.B. Pritzker and Tim Walz. I actually stopped watching both clips after a few seconds, even though I’m sure Stansbury and AOC did indeed respond effectively. Here is why...Greene and McGuire proved that they are both stupendous liars, and even though I give Rebel HQ credit for putting up the clips with AOC and Stansbury, I refuse to give bandwidth to people who plainly are trying to cram as much disinformation as they can in a limited space (referring to Greene and McGuire of course). Given that they don’t know or don’t care about verifiable truth and reality, Greene and McGuire simply do not deserve to be taken seriously on any topic as far as I’m concerned (makes me recall this post).
(Of course, putting Greene in charge of ANYTHING, let alone a House subcommittee, is a great big middle-finger-raised-on-high from Not Your Father’s Republican Party aimed right at our democratic form of government, but that’s a whole other discussion I know.)
Now back to the videos...I suppose this item makes the following relevant again...
...and RIP Lalo Schifrin, who composed this memorable theme among many others...
...and this may be the longest “moving” song I’ve ever heard, but it’s kind of a badass tune IMO, notwithstanding “AI Melania” on guitar :-).
Hunter Avallone of Occupy Democrats brings us the tale of the Norwegian tourist who was stopped at Newark Airport and sent home over an ant-Trump meme (oh, but DHS says that’s wrong as noted here)...and when you’ve lost a bulb as dim as Joe Rogan, I would definitely say that you’ve gone WAAAY too far...and of course, Pam “Blondi” figures into this mess somehow, because of course (and kudos to Dem U.S. House Rep Madeleine Dean for giving it right back to this clueless bimbo)...and Avallone is right; it makes you wonder who ICE is really looking out for if they’re preoccupied with trying to nail people who don’t genuflect properly before the altar of Cantaloupe Capone (and apologies for scaring anyone with that pic)...
...and Farron Cousins tells us that the “Sunshine State” is proposing a new migrant detention center based in the Everglades, an “Alligator Alcatraz,” if you will, which of course would utterly destroy the ecosystem of that area (I mean, I realize it’s not as if any Repug actually cares about that I know), in addition to representing still more cruelty and barbarism from Our Ochre Abomination and the “party of Lincoln”; apparently the alleged genius who came up with this sadistic idea was Flori-DUUH! Attorney General James Uthmeier...(more here and here – also here and here...NSFW/H)...
...and John and Brett Erlich of The Damage Report let us know that, while they were on their way out the door to begin their vacations, our wretched SCOTUS under Hangin’ Judge JR allowed Mango Mussolini to determine whether or not birthright citizenship applies to residents born in this country to parents here temporarily or under protected status, which kind of flies in the face of...wait, let me think for a second...oh yeah, THE 14TH FREAKING AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION!! And for now, this garbage decision only applies to 28 states, but just wait until cases start popping up in other localities currently not affected that will enshrine this dictatorial insanity there also...one of John’s great points is that our joke of a SCOTUS isn’t even defending actual laws, but merely decrees from Bronzer Beelzebub which may or may not stand up in other courts, which is probably as pathetically servile as you can get...also, good for John for mentioning the INSANE inconsistency in this SCOTUS doing all it could to destroy Biden’s attempt to forgive student loan debt on the one hand, but on the other hand, giving Our Treasonous Orange Demagogue EVERYTHING he wants here, and in other decisions...
...and RIP former Dem U.S. House Rep Caroyln McCarthy, who got into politics when her husband was murdered and son critically injured by the Long Island subway gunman (here)... powerful testimony about her career to combat gun violence (she doesn’t mention fighting the NRA in this clip, though that definitely was part of her courageous profile)...
...and here’s a new hit tune that we can sing along to while our economy does the “big swirl in the hopper”...
...and I would say that it’s time for another seasonal selection.
Kyle Kulinski brings us the latest polling on Bronzer Beelzebub’s bombing of Iran...the good news is #47’s overall awful numbers as brought to us by Harry Enten of CNN, but the bad (but not surprising) news is the rock-solid support Our Treasonous Orange Pestilence still enjoys from his party...and boy, is Kyle ever right about Dubya’s administration spending two years beating us over the head with “IRAQ HAS WMD! WE WILL BE GREETED AS LIBERATORS!!,” etc., etc, prior to launching his illegal war...and I pretty much gave up hope on any Repug when it comes to this or any other issue that matters in my life, to be honest (NSFW/H)...
..and with the prior clip in mind, Jesse Dollemore brings us the gory details about “Whiskey Pete” Hegseth’s freak out in front of the media, especially to Fix Noise reporter Jennifer Griffin (I honestly didn’t know that network actually paid attention to news for real)...GREAT point by Jesse that every single word of that rant from Our Completely Out Of His Depth SecDef was written in advance...oh, and speaking of “leaking classified information,” let’s not forget this...and once more (and here I go again I know), we had a deal with Iran to keep them from enriching uranium that was achieved under President Obama principally by former Secretary of State John Kerry, and Iran abided by that deal, but Trump walked away from it (by the way, I cannot POSSIBLY imagine why MSNBC decided to make the Chris Hayes video "private"...what utter morons!)...
...and Brian Tyler Cohen and Glenn Kirschner give us another “Legal Breakdown” episode...the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals just issued a ruling about another immigrant snatched by our ruling regime and transported to El Salvador by the name of Jordin Melgar-Salmeron, saying that the gangsters in charge of the executive branch must return Melgar-Salmeron to this country “as soon as possible”...sounds like, if the Trumpsters had just left this guy alone and let justice run its course, he would have been deported anyway, but of course they didn’t do that and this guy was denied his “reasonable fear” hearing as Kirschner explains (NSFW/H)...
...and Yasmin Khan of Rebel HQ lets us know about #47’s pick for director of the Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships within DHS (think counter-terrorism), and it looks like it’s a 22-year-old Repug named Thomas Fugate (you can tell how seriously this nematode takes his job from his pic) – Rachel Maddow rightly calls out this guttersnipe...Khan goes over other news stories and comes back to the Maddow clip at about 4:26...soooo, what exactly are this guy Fugate’s “qualifications”? Well, he apparently mowed lawns and worked as a supermarket clerk – ah, smell the “free-dumb,” my fellow prisoners...and oh yeah, he also had an internship at The Heritage Foundation and is a big time fluffer for Our Sweaty Orange Boy, and in MAGA world, that apparently is all you need...
...and Tim Miller and Sam Stein of The Bulwark discuss “Grim Reaper” McConnell’s “They’ll get over it” remark on Medicaid (story originated from Punchbowl News)...yep, Sen. Mr. Elaine Chao just wants to push through his stinking tax cut, and it doesn’t matter to him how many dead bodies he racks up as a result...maybe not quite as bad as Joni “We’re all going to die one day” Ernst, but right up there all the same...and let’s not forget that that death eater from Kentucky has one foot out the door, as it were, as noted in the clip (more fool the people of his state commonwealth who kept sending this decrepit fossil back to D.C. every six years)...and I can just imagine what kind of lies the Trump Super PAC is spreading about the “Big Beautiful Act” in ruby red Louisiana...I didn’t know that North Carolina could end up losing the most Medicaid funds; no wonder Thom Tillis wants McConnell to STFU, and I know “Running Man” Josh Hawley is at least pretending to be concerned also (mildly NSFW/H)...
...and RIP Bill Moyers...I always thought he was a pretty straight-shooting news/editorial pro on the issues that mattered...the New York Times obit described him as the opposite of a self-promoting blowhard, and I think that’s a pretty correct observation...Moyers IMO was responsible for a lot of quality journalism, especially on TV...many years ago, I saw him interview Joseph Campbell in that series about “the power of myths”; interesting, albeit a little highbrow...this clip is a commentary about a US drone attack in the Middle East which no doubt drove those we were trying to win over right to the cause of terrorists seeking to do us harm...and don’t be too shocked to realize that this commentary is aimed right at President Hopey Changey...yes, I supported Obama and still do, but he’s not infallible; no one is of course...
...and I’m glad FEMA head David Richardson (the guy who didn’t know there was a hurricane season) seems to have “righted the ship,” to a degree, as noted here, but it looks like he now has a brand new scandal – heh (NSFW/H as well)...
...and happy upcoming 80th birthday to bassist David Knights of Procal Harum.
This clip from More Perfect Union tells us about a 32-year Pharma rep named Lisa Pratta who spills the beans on some of the ways people in her business comped doctors...if you can imagine it, then it was probably used as an incentive to get the drugs in circulation; this clip discusses the pressure to over-prescribe Acthar made by Questcor for MS patients...as is often the case, Questcor was bought up in a merger, this time with a company called Mallinckrodt, which subsequently paid $15 million to make claims of wrongdoing against Questcor go away...just keep telling yourself that this country has the greatest health care system in the world...sure we do...
...and Robert Reich revisits the question of “Should America Be Run Like A Business?” (presumably the government of course, to which the correct answer is “Hell freaking no!”)...and as Reich points out, that’s code language anyway for privatizing the hell out of everything so only those with the most dough can benefit, which basically is the story of this country over the last 40 years or so...”the purpose of government is not to show a profit” indeed...
...and John Iadarola of The Damage Report tells us that Trumpist numbskull Sean Duffy recently said that states that don’t let ICE goons in to seize people illegally won’t get infrastructure funding, a move that no doubt is illegal as hell and will be ruled as such by a court (with Elex Michaelson)...
...and David Doel brings us the story of Zohran Mamdani’s victory in the Dem NYC mayoral primary...and of course, it tells you what kind of an inside-out world Fix Noise inhabits where they put up that pic saying, among other things, that Mamdani will combat ICE...and their audience is supposed to think that’s a BAD thing? And yeah, that graphic showing the amount of dough that the DNC centrist establishment basically set on fire for Andrew Cuomo is an eye-opener all right (and kudos to David Hogg for playing his part in this)...and yes, Mamdani bringing out new voters is HUUUUGE! And yeah, kind of a ballsy comment about Cuomo from Brad Lander IMO, though not undeserved, and kudos to Lander for helping Mamdani...not sure it really does any good to resurrect what happened with India Walton, but whatever (NSFW/H)...
...and Seth Meyers brings us “A Closer Look” on Our Ochre Abomination dropping an “F” bomb when Israel and Iran break a ceasefire...and oh yeah, Combover Caligula thinks he should get the Nobel Peace Prize; only someone with the gnat-on-meth brain of Our Treasonous Orange Pustule could bomb another country and then somehow claim that he’s a “peacemaker” (although, to be fair, I give you this)...
...and I know I'm definitely overdue for a new tune - I hope this will suffice.
Rachel Maddow tells us of opposition to Cantaloupe Capone growing as he betrays immigrant family members of service personnel; particularly timely given Iran’s retaliatory strike at our base in Qatar (hopefully there were no injuries or fatalities; there are none that I know of so far)...and it looks like ICE goons beat on the father of two active duty Marines and one who is retired...”proud to be an American, where at least I know I’m free,” right?...and I apologize for being a little “behind the curve” on the protests from last Saturday, but Maddow commendably brings us an update here...
...and David Pakman pretty much busts our ruling regime of lying grifters and frauds on using fake protest images, trying to create and perpetuate the myth that Los Angeles has been on fire for weeks and #47 had no choice but to send the National Guard and the Marines...oh, and speaking of the Gropenfuhrer, apparently our allegedly august corporate media will focus more on the impoliteness of this moment, as opposed to the bald-faced stoo-pidity of what Cantaloupe Capone actually said...
...and Brittany Page informs us of U.S. Senate Repugs doubling down on the cruelty in the “Big, Beautiful Act,” which, again, represents the largest wealth transfer in our country’s history...yep, our task is to get the word out about this garbage, and as I’ve said before, any member of the Democratic Party (besides AOC I mean) should be YELLING THEIR HEAD OFF about this on social media...tens of millions of people losing health care coverage, including medications and life-saving treatments, according to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities...as far as I’m concerned, you have to be a stone-cold moron to trust Repug politicians on this (and as pointed out previously, the head of the CBO is a Repug named Phillip L. Swagel, definitely not some pointy headed lib, but someone who, apparently, sticks to the numbers)...and once more, to contact the Senate and tell them what you think of this garbage bill, click here (and to contact the House, click here)...
...and Mike Figueredo of The Humanist Report tells us about U.S. House Repug Rep in Flori-DUUUH! Kat Cammack who got pregnant, had an ectopic pregnancy, feared for her life and was able to get the help she needed because she’s a Repug woman with influence (and of course, since Florida’s ridiculous anti-abortion law wasn’t written by a doctor, there’s no attempt to define how an ectopic pregnancy is an exceptional circumstance that allows for treatment)...and somehow, she STILL blames Democrats for her ordeal??!!...despite her stoo-pidity, I wish her the best with her latest pregnancy...oh, and I’m sure it will come as absolutely no shock whatsoever that Cammack is NOTORIOUSLY anti-abortion, with a 100% rating from the Susan B. Anthony bunch of anti-choice zealots, voting against the DoD allowing service members to travel out-of-state for abortions (and this is from the “states’ rights” party of course); Cammack also voted to defund NGOs for women in developing countries who may need an abortion...she also voted to keep abortion drugs from being sent through the mail, and also supports the Hyde Amendment named after a serial philanderer to make sure federal funds aren’t used to cover abortions because of course (how the $#@! does Hyde still exist?)...and women in states in this country arrested for miscarriages? I would say that we’re devolving into a banana republic, but based on this, I think we’re already there...I most definitely am not a life sciences professional, but through a simple Google search I found this...do you want to know what basically isn’t dangerous in this country? Abortion. Do you want to know what IS? PREGNANCY! And as far as I’m concerned, the fact that this idiot Cammack goes right to GEORGE SOROS GEORGE SOROS GEORGE SOROS GEORGE SOROS GEORGE SOROS is PROOF POSITIVE that she is LYYYY-ING!!! (more here - NSFW/H)...
...oh, and let’s not forget how far-reaching the impact of Bronzer Beelzebub’s utterly ridiculous tariffs is – heh (based on this, let’s not forget)...
...and RIP guitarist Mick Ralphs of Bad Company and Mott the Hoople.
It appears that the L.A. Dodgers are not just champions of basball, but also of human rights - kudos; Hunter Avallone of Occupy Democrats tells us about ICE thugs getting turned around recently when they tried to invade Dodger Stadium...oh, so NOW ICE is claiming that wasn’t them at the ballpark? Gee, then who owned those vehicles with CBP markings?...
Update: I didn't really have this in mind for the pic, but it does seem to fit, so...
...and in a related item, Chris Hayes gives us the latest on Bronzer Beelzebub’s ICE goons and how they are gradually eroding the freedom we have enjoyed as a nation for all of these years to come and go as we please (“an assault on the idea of America itself” indeed)...
...and David Shuster of Rebel HQ discusses the anti-Trump statue on the national mall...report also covers other types of expression, such as the person complaining in a Trump baby costume (equipped with a diaper of course) outside of a D.C. courthouse, as well as the leering statue of the Gropenfuhrer in Philly...oh, and it looks like “Trump Mobile” is going to be yet another failed enterprise from this conniving bunch of grifters...
...and Kyle Kulinski brings us the story of the utterly awful polling on the “Big Beautiful Act”...a lot of times, I get PO’ed at Kyle for going out of his way to hit Dems, but not here; if, as a national party, the Dems knew what the hell they were doing with social media, our feeds would be FLOODED with ALL OF THE WAYS THAT THIS BILL IS A DISASTER...and once more, to contact the Senate and tell them what you think of this garbage bill, click here (and to contact the House, click here – NSFW/H)...
...and I now give you the latest installment of “This Day In Doomsy History” (more or less) from 6/23/21, in which Thom Hartmann informs us that elementary schools in Finland are teaching kids media literacy - great idea, and one which should be replicated in this country IMO, especially given the proliferation of right-wing BS in this country as Thom points out...by the way, the Fairness Doctrine and the equal-time requirement for presenting opposing points of view didn’t apply to cable TV and definitely didn’t apply to online sites, and they were overturned by a court anyway under The Sainted Ronnie R...and Thom is also correct to point out that the 1996 Telecommunication Act signed under Clinton would have to be revisited also...it took awhile for conservatives to lock up control of the media, and this is a big part of how they did it, and good luck trying to reverse it...”We need to educate Americans about how to spot propaganda” indeed - might have to adjust the volume a bit...
Belle of the Ranch gives us her analysis of Generalissimo Trump’s decision to bomb Iran...I have to admit that I’m a little skeeved to find myself on the same side once again with Thomas Massie, along with (and this is EVEN MORE of a shock) Marjorie Train Wreck Greene...and John Fetterman continues to prove to me that there is something medically wrong with him and he needs to resign...the one part of this awful story I definitely believe is that congressional Repugs were briefed in advance but Dems were not...the biggest concern to me are the “non-state actors scattered across the Middle East,” as Belle points out, who might now engage in an action on Iran’s behalf, with 40K U.S. troops in the region...
Update: And in a move that surprises virtually no one, I give you this - hopefully our personnel weren't harmed.
...and Tennessee Brando gives us his take on #47’s illegal pre-emptive strike on another nation, including Combover Caligula predicting that former President Obama would attack Iran...oh, and VP “Hillbilly Elegy” said we had “dumb” presidents over the last 25 years? And THAT is why the couch f*cker’s boss launched this dangerously ridiculous move? Gee, projection much, J.D.?...and Brando is spot-on to point out that our utterly wretched SCOTUS of Hangin’ Judge JR has their grubby fingerprints all over this too by giving this maniacal orange doofus a pass for “official acts” (and as usual, AOC is spot-on)...
...and of course, leave it to The Onion to send our esteemed legislative branch a timely message (and I’m sure Bri-Fi was included – heh)...
...and I don’t know who this gentleman is from Occupy Democrats, but doesn’t it give you a warm, cozy feeling, my fellow prisoners, to know that the person in charge of White House staffing may be a Russian agent?... when you’ve lost Rupert The Pirate’s vanity rag, I would say that you have a problem...and kudos to Brian Krebs for figuring this out, but if I were him, I’d stay clear of any open windows on upper levels of apartment buildings, and I’d probably hire a food tester too (here)...
...and RIP Gunilla Knutson, the Swedish model/actress featured in this ad from the hippy, trippy ‘60s...
...and from that era, the Electric Prunes had a big hit with this number, which I present as a tribute to band member James Lowe - RIP also.
David Shuster brings us the latest on ICE thugs arresting people in Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket (aside from the grotesque human rights abuse, yeah, this will pretty much destroy retail businesses at the height of the tourist season...and not that this Lying Treasonous Orange Glob of Trans Fats actually cares, but he’s basically destroying tourism overall to this country, as Shuster points out)...if memory serves, it looks like the exchange with the ICE thug, the guy filming and island law enforcement took place in an area of Oak Bluffs on MVY on the way to Vineyard Haven...
...and returning to the murders of Melissa Hortman and her husband and the near-killing of John Hartman and his wife, Jesse Dollemore lets us know that, apparently, the wife of suspect Vance Luther Boelter was apprehended on her way to the airport I believe...yeah, considering that (as someone on Bluesky pointed out) Philando Castile was complying with police in Minnesota by presenting his firearm when he was shot dead, and here Boelter’s wife from that state was allowed to skate despite compiling her cache of ammunition, along with a gun and passports (nah, this guy isn’t a flight risk...not much he isn’t), given all that, I would say that there are at least two versions of justice when it comes to Life In These United States...Jesse makes a damn good argument when it comes to making sure this isn’t a federal case, because I ABSOLUTELY could see the Gropenfuhrer letting this psycho skate if he were convicted...and I know we touched on Mike Lee’s thoroughly stoo-pid propaganda on this already in the BTC clip with Tina Smith, but I have no problem mentioning it again (actually, I think Lee’s cruel, lying nonsense should be kept on a continuous loop of sorts to make sure everyone knows what a guttural lowlife he truly is)...mildly NSFW/H...
...and I really haven’t bothered to say anything about the NYC mayoral primary to this point, but Mike Figueredo tells us that it looks like Zohran Mamdani is putting up a pretty good fight against Andrew Cuomo, with the latter being the big-money-endorsed Dem in the primary (which basically is the election, when you get down to it)...I’d honestly forgotten about the stuff with Andrew Cuomo and COVID patients dying in nursing homes, but I’d remembered the “sex pest” stuff though...I would support Mamdani just for shouting at mush mouth Tom Homan the way Mamdani did...and yeah, Cuomo’s response to ICE goons like Homan seems to be, “oh well, tsk tsk, ICE shouldn’t be doing that, but let’s not be rude,” whereas Mamdani’s response, quite rightly, is to tell ICE and Homan to GTFO...I know Figueredo gets a little pedantic at times, but I think he’s fundamentally right when he talks about needing socialism (to a point) to combat late-stage capitalism, since neoliberalism very definitely has failed IMO (and that “We stand with Israel” moment with Dem “leaders” Schumer and Jeffries along with “MAGA Mike” Johnson tells you how rigged the game truly is)...I’m also not sure how productive it is to revisit the Kamala Harris campaign; as far as I’m concerned, yes, she’s partly to blame for what happened, but more than anything else, she was betrayed by DNC-centrist-Beltway losers who think the base of their party watches “Morning Jo(ke)”...that being said, I think Figueredo is right to say that Dems need to start electing people with a genuine vision for the future...(NSFW/H also)...
...and Kyle Kulinski brings us the sordid tale of a 1/6 vermin who Generalissimo Trump pardoned, and it turned out that this nematode had a child p*rn conviction, because of course...actually, finding the child p*rn stuff stemmed from a warrant over the 1/6 insurrection, and this scumwaffle is saying, “oh, you have to let me walk over my child p*rn charge since I was pardoned,” and unfortunately (as Kyle says), this tactic indeed might work (NSFW/H also)...
...and here’s an upbeat message from The Onion to take us into the weekend – heh (very definitely NSFW/H)...
...and with the recent precipitation in these parts, this tune has been on my mind...
...and I'd like to wrap up my tribute to Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys with these two selections.
Brittany Page tells us about Repugs in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate fighting among themselves about how much to steal from poor people in order to pass their latest tax scam bill (and of course, the “party of Lincoln” is claiming that the CBO are a bunch of godless commie libs, when, in reality, they most definitely are not)...Page is absolutely right about the utterly BS framing of the question from the CNBC news mannequin towards Philip Swagel, the CBO head (who is indeed Republican)...and gosh, I thought Grandpa Thune was supposed to be a common-sense Repug, or something; the Senate Majority Leader said here that the CBO was “flat wrong” over the bill, putting him in league with Trumpette spokes-liar Karoline Leavitt (202-224-3121 is the number to call to tell your U.S. Senators to vote No on this cruel madness...you can also send an Email from this link)...
...and Rachel Maddow lets us know that Bronzer Beelzebub is apparently unable to contend with “the depth and breadth of feeling against him” based on the protests, and getting treated like he’s “Putin’s intern” at the G7, which apparently prompted him to leave early in a hissy fit; heckuva job, all you idiots who could have prevented this last year, but didn’t (and speaking of the election, I definitely think this needs to be looked at more closely...I’m not an IT guru by any means, but it appears to at least be possible that King Elon found a way to put out a “patch” on voting machines in swing states in particular that ended up with some kind of algorithm that changed machine votes in favor of Cantaloupe Capone and undercounted Kamala Harris...and if you want another angle to this, I would ask that you read the comment in the article from Robert Jaffe about shenanigans with a company called Tripp Lite that Leonard Leo...yes, him again...sold to Eaton Corporation that eventually bought Palantir, with the latter adept at making behind-the-scenes software changes...curiouser and curiouser)...
...and David Shuster of Rebel HQ tells us about a C-SPAN caller (Sarah from Virginia) who commendably gave it to Jake Tapper for his junk screed on former President Biden...as the caller rightly pointed out, the Biden criticism is INCREDIBLY disproportionate in response to his accomplishments in the White House (of course, just about anybody would stand out in response to the cretin-in-chief we have now)...at about 6:40, the clip turns to Elizabeth Warren grilling Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent over the utter fraud of the “Big Beautiful Act”...in a weird way, I acknowledge that Bessent has a disgusting capability to cram a bunch of out-of-context utter lies into his monologue in response to Warren’s question...yes, kids get a benefit from Medicaid, which THEY FREAKING NEED BECAUSE PARENTS WHO ARE WORKING ALSO INCLUDE THEIR KIDS IN HEALTH COVERAGE!! Also, work requirements have been tried on the state level, and they actually discourage employment BECAUSE PARENTS ON MEDICAID HAVE TO CHOOSE BETWEEN WORK AND TAKING CARE OF THEIR KIDS OR ELDERLY DEPENDENTS!! (God, I’m SO F*CKING TIRED of dealing with the UTTER BULLSH*T arguments from the other side on this!!!)...
...and I didn’t say anything last year about today’s holiday, so I’d like to make up for that now with this clip with Dr. Marcia Chatelain of the African American Studies program at Georgetown University, speaking about Juneteenth...date marks the day that African Americans in Galveston, TX found out that they were free after the Civil War in 1865, and of course, the holiday has come to represent so much more than just that, as Dr. Chatelain tells us...
Update: I suppose (DEFINITELY MAGA)...
...and returning to Brian Wilson, here are two more Beach Boys tunes.
Farron Cousins tells us that the whole “No Tax on Tips” thing in the latest tax scam bill from Congress is yet another bait-and-switch...and yeah, having the CEO of Uber on hand when you’re discussing what supposedly is a policy initiative of your administration is yet another “tell” that you’re peddling snake oil...and I’ve been waiting to hear someone explain why the whole “no taxes on tips” thing is another con, and I'm glad Cousins does that here (namely, because it does indeed depress wages and disincentivizes businesses to RAISE wages, and also, service workers get clobbered on their tax returns also, as Cousins notes)...
...and David Pakman informs us that Sarah Huckabilly Sanders recently appeared on Fix Noise and trashed California, saying “oh, we wouldn’t have protests in Arkansas like those in that dreaded liberal hellhole of California,” and in response Gavin Newsom absolutely flattens her by pointing out that the homicide rate in Walmart-land is twice that of The Golden State...Pakman is also spot-on to note how advanced California is vs. Arkansas; as noted, the latter is basically a third-world country by comparison...
...and Brian Tyler Cohen interviews Minnesota Dem U.S. Senator Tina Smith in response to the murder of Melissa Hortman and her husband and the near-killing of John Hoffman and his wife (and I give Smith so much credit for going right after that disgusting, demagogic Repug meat sack Mike Lee for his beyond insulting tweets in response to the shootings, and I totally believe that he didn’t know how to act when he was called on his garbage)...NSFW/H but for a good reason (Smith calling out Lee’s bullsh*t, that is)...
...and I suppose I’m legally obligated to acknowledge the Trump fellating spectacle U.S. Army anniversary parade last Saturday, so with that in mind, here’s this...
...and here are more tunes from Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys (the latter is based on this).
Anthony Vincent Gallo of Occupy Democrats informs us that a gunman was apparently camping out at a “No Kings” protest in Salt Lake City, and one man is dead as a result, basically (story is still kind of fluid at this point to be honest and some details haven’t been confirmed)...and of course, leave it to loopy Laura Loomer to pour gasoline on the metaphorical fire over the Minnesota gunman...and if it turns out that the man in Utah who was killed died as a result of friendly fire, don’t look for me to dump on the cops because they didn’t initiate the conflict; they were only responding as best they could - blame the coward who started the whole mess (and also of course, spineless politicians who constantly do the bidding of the NRA and refuse to enact virtually any kind of common sense gun laws...more here...also this)...
...and speaking of right-wing violence, Jesse Dollemore tells us that this Vance Boelter psychopath is apparently an obsessed Trumper, despite the wingnut caterwauling to the contrary – figures...and oh yeah, he was also a fundie nut job who viscerally hated abortion – yep, this guy checks all the boxes all right when it comes to domestic terrorism (NSFW/H)...
...and Tennessee Brando chimes in with some thoughts on the assassination of Melisssa Hortman and her husband in Minnesota, along with the serious wounding of John Hoffman and his wife...and I give Brando credit for his approach of waiting a bit so many of the facts are in before he opines on a particular topic...and not surprisingly, Governor Tim Walz hits just the right notes in his remarks on this tragedy...I’m glad to hear Brando speak out so forcefully to make it clear that IT’S NOT OUR SIDE LOOKING TO ENGAGE IN POLITICAL VIOLENCE! (NSFW/H also)...
...and Sam and the crew of The Majority Report discuss a Trump voter in Flori-DUUUH! (Key West in particular) who runs a roofing company telling everyone how he’s upset about ICE taking his workers...awww...and I’m sorry, but this Vincent Scardina guy can go take a long walk off a short pier if he says he wants “normalcy”...WHAT THE #$@! WAS “NORMAL” ABOUT TRUMP 1.0 TO MAKE YOU THINK 2.0 WOULD BE ANY BETTER? And yeah, ”What’s on the other side of this ledger?” indeed...
...and maybe it’s just as well that I keep presenting these Beach Boys tunes in honor of Brian Wilson since they’re a bit of a salve for the insanity reigning all about us, I have to admit.
Jesse Dollemore provides an update on the murder of Minnesota state rep Melissa Hortman and her husband and the serious wounding of fellow Dem state rep John Hoffman and his wife...it looks like the (alleged!) murderous freak responsible is named Vance Luther Boelter (here)...and one of the reasons why I don’t give a flying...fig...about what Dear Leader has to say about this is because he was absolutely fine with what happened on 1/6...as Jesse says, apparently this nut case had a hit list of about 70 Dems, which is another vitally important element of this awful story...an update is here (NSFW/H)...
...and this clip from More Perfect Union provides a dire warning from measles country, with doctors sounding the alarm in Dallas County, TX...yep, funding cuts from “Bobby Brainworms” is a big reason, along with this ridiculous, Repug-backed (of course) bill allowing parents to opt out of mandatory vaccinations for their kids...beyond belief that this country, despite decades of hard work enabling us to develop state-of-the-art treatments, is now allowing some uninformed, provincial rubes to destroy all of that progress...I also have a feeling that it will take decades to restore this country to a sound footing to face these threats to public health...
...and Kyle Kulinski tells us here that it looks like Stuart Varney is out of patience with Trumpist BS on the economy (I believe the person Varney is talking with is Lori Chavez-DeRemer)...shocking that one of Rupert’s minions is going off-script, but I guess Varney has hit his limit, though I’m sure he’ll be a loyal suck-up again shortly...and losing 8K jobs is “holding steady”?? And “tens of trillions” reinvested in this country? Lady, you’re on f*cking crack! And I’m glad to hear Kyle mention once more the CHIPS Act from Biden, which Trump killed of course (NSFW/H...and yes, this is the clip I moved from Friday to make room for the Chris Hayes video about the "No Kings" marches)...
...and Seth Meyers gives us “A Closer Look”...apparently, the Gropenfuhrer wasn’t received too well at the Kennedy Center – c’est dommage...”and with a strong contingent of drag queens” is kind of the chaser after the shot, if you will...among the MANY problems with this morally bankrupt administration, perhaps one of the biggest ones is letting Baby Goebbels run wild to the point where we need to put up a safe zone around a high school graduation...
...and I’m planning to feature Beach Boys tunes for the remainder of the week in honor of Brian Wilson...also, to be honest with you, I may be completely done with this band after the tribute is over; I have no opinion of Al Jardine one way or the other, but Mike Love is a total POS.
What follows is a PBS report on yesterday’s “No Kings” protests, including Taco-A-Lago (heh), Atlanta, Boston, Philly...John Yang interviews Lisa Gilbert, co-president of the group Public Citizen (more here)...
...here is the protest from Chicago...
...and also from Michigan (including Detroit and Ann Arbor)...and Bill Huizenga really is that big of an a-hole...
...and downtown Orlando in the "sunshine state" (Tampa Bay also - "I draw the line at crazy" too)...
...Houston, TX (including a brief interview with Dem U.S. House Rep Al Green)...
...Dallas (Dallas, people)...
...Arizona...
...Northern Virginia...
...Maryland (with Dem U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen - if any Dem politician didn't show up for these protests, they should have a damn good excuse)...
...Idaho...
...Oregon and Washington (and no, I don’t trust one word coming out of the mouth of spokes-liar Karoline Leavitt)...
...Hawaii...
...heading back to the mainland, here are the protests in Rhode Island and Massachusetts (and of course this Joe Powers guy chooses not to address the issues the protestors are marching about; if he were to do that, I’m sure he would be sent back to “the factory” and taught to obey Dear Leader extra hard next time)...
...crossing the country again, this is what took place in northern California
...and 60K in San Diego? Outstanding!...
...San Francisco also...
...and finally, to Los Angeles...
...where Brian Tyler Cohen killed it with this speech...
...and by the way, to effect political change (or try to, anyway), click here to make sure you’re registered to vote (and yes, I know the Democrats, as a party, have issues, but they’re the best shot we have).
And I agree with about 97 percent or so of this great tune from "Little Steven."
Update 1: Not surprised, fortunately, but still great news (here).
Update 2: And here comes a truly ridiculous overreaction from an idiot Repug governor, this one in Missouri (here).
Update 3: Offered without further comment...
Update 1 6/16/25: Once more, I don't see violence from our side, but as far as the wingnuts are concerned, I give you this.
Update 2 6/16/25: And Heaven forbid that we do anything to interfere with the Men’s College World Series, amirite? (here)
Update 6/17/25: If you're on Bluesky, I would ask that you check this out.
Update 6/18/25: Here is another potentially murderous whack job who, thank God, was thwarted, and from this locality also (here).
