Saturday Stuff

As I said already, this won’t create jobs, and good luck trying to clean up a tar sands spill…



…and it looks like, if the House votes again to repeal Obamacare, Markwayne Mullin will be Number #41, as noted here (based on this and this)…



Update 8/12/13: Yep, I'd say Mullin has #41 locked up based on this.

…and here is the latest on the Repugs and their “jobs, jobs, jobs” agenda, to say nothing of outreach to women voters (more here)…

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…and here is a bit of a summer song – only a few weeks left (sigh).

Friday Stuff

Remember news stories like this?...

Juneau, Alaska - An Alaska scientist whose observations of drowned polar bears helped galvanize the global warming movement has been reprimanded for improper release of government documents.

An Interior Department official said emails released by Charles Monnett were cited by a federal appeals court in decisions to vacate approval by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management of an oil and gas company's Arctic exploration plan.

The official, Walter Cruickshank, deputy director of BOEM, said in a memo that an inspector general's investigation contained findings that Monnett had improperly disclosed internal government documents, which he said were later used against the agency in court. He also said the investigation made other findings in regards to Monnett's conduct, but he wasn't taking action on those. He would not specify those findings.

Cruickshank called Monnett's "misconduct very serious," and said any future misconduct may lead to more severe discipline, including removal from federal service.

Well, even though I’ll admit that it’s important to maintain custody of “internal government documents,” I would say that the message was lost a bit here. And we recently received the following reminder…

Want to refresh our memories as to how we got to this point? I give you the following from here (and kudos to those protesters noted here)…



…and I’m sure Americans for Prosperity and a whole bunch of other “astroturf” groups are going to be loud and obnoxious at town halls that I’m sure will be forthcoming over the congressional break, but here is the flip side (a dose of reality on this subject - more here)…



…and I posted about this over here also, but kudos to Martin Bashir for this commentary…

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…and as much as I wanted to ignore Former Senator Man-On-Dog for this, I’m sorry, I just couldn’t; here is something of a musical response.

Wednesday Stuff

“You want fries with that?” (and yes, I labored there once many moons ago, and hopefully not ever again – here)…



…and leave it to the Teahadists to claim that they’re being repressed from speaking out by the IRS, or something, loud enough to be heard on every cable channel in this country…



…and this was a neat little tidbit unearthed by The Rachel Maddow Show – more bad news for Sen. Mr. Elaine Chao (takes a minute or two to get there, but it’s worth it)…

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…and I think this is a song about where the Teahadists actually live.

Tuesday Stuff

Normally I wouldn’t waste anyone’s time with the latest Billo nonsense, but if putting up this video keeps so much as two kids from making a big mistake with their lives, then it will be worth it (and once again, f*ck the Keystone XL – it won’t create jobs, and good luck trying to clean up a tar sands spill)…

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…and I don’t know if the Voting Rights Act can be saved after John Roberts and The Supremes eviscerated it, but at the very least, this is an important remembrance…

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…and I know this is familiar territory, but John Fugelsang connects the dots right back to ALEC, which needs to happen a lot more…



…and RIP George Duke.

Monday Stuff

Here’s a bit of a history lesson – the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty was signed 50 years ago today…



...and good for John F. for sticking up for Al Jazeera, which reports on stories of everyday people impacted by our corpocracy that our news organizations with initials for names apparently don’t care about anymore…



…also, Martin Bashir begins his segment on the work that Congress, in particular our pitiful U.S. House, has left undone (even though “Man Tan” Boehner and that sleazy weasel Eric Cantor have no trouble raising funds as opposed to performing actual governance; the former is apparently in town somewhere near here raising dough for Mikey the Beloved)…

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…and speaking of Republican cretins in the U.S. House, Melissa Harris-Perry reminds us of another one here (and shove Keystone XL where the sun don't shine while you're at it!)…

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…oh, and do you want another demonstration of why man-made climate change matters? Take a look…



…and this doesn’t look like too bad of a commute.

Saturday Stuff

You want to do something about what Bill Maher talks about in this “New Rules” segment here? Click here for starters…



Update 8/5/13: Here is another link.

…and happy 50th birthday to James Hetfield of Mettalica.

Friday Stuff

(I also posted here.)

Gee, wouldn’t it have been nice if Michael Steele had said this stuff when it actually would have mattered, y’know, when he was RNC chairman?

But in the end, talking about this now really doesn’t mean much, unless you also do it in the runup to voting in November 2014…

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…and I think there’s a bit of self-loathing going on here with John F., but as usual, he makes good points…



…and I thought John Oliver hit a home run here, as it were, going after Fix Noise and its latest assault on those good-for-nothing, shiftless minimum wage workers (tongue in cheek)…



…and 50 years ago tomorrow, The Tymes, a street-corner doo-wop group (you can Google it) from Philadelphia scored a #1 hit on the Billboard Chart (you can Google that too – sigh) with this little number, definitely a summer tune for all you crazy youngsters out there (whatever your age).

Thursday Stuff

In case you were wondering if North Carolina Repugs felt any sense of shame for their disgraceful legislative conduct in the state house - well, wonder no more (here, via CNN)...



…and I have to admit that this video is so good that I shared it with my harem…and then I woke up (seriously, John Fugelsang seems to be wrapping up his Current gig with a bang; can’t he get this time slot for the fall too, and beyond?)…



…and while I respect Martin Bashir and Gene Robinson a lot, I must point out that I am amused by the antics of the Repugs in the U.S. House in no way, shape or form (and kudos to MSNBC for pointing out how delusional “Man Tan” Boehner really is, but it would have been nice if they’d noted this about Sen. Mr. Elaine Chao also - and this is pretty repugnant also, but sadly typical)…

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Update 8/2/13: They've utterly lost what's left of their minds between both the House and the Senate (here).

…and happy 60th birthday (!) to Robert Cray.

Wednesday Stuff

Leave it to Stephen Colbert to lend the right amount of absurdity to the whole wingnut screeching over “Obamacare” here (I posted about the ridiculous repeal votes here)…



…and in a similar vein, I give you this from John Fugelsang (great stuff, especially the kicker at the end)…



…and I did a bit of a double-take at first when I heard this, that is, before I realized what was going on; good stuff by Chris Hayes…



…and I don’t know if this is a message song or not, but I like the beat, so here it is.

Tuesday Stuff

I totally get it that Barbara Buono is facing huge electoral odds in favor of Governor Bully, but I can’t just sit here and do nothing while that egomaniac skates into a second term (here – to do what you can to help, click here)…



…and I thought this was an interesting discussion with Jane Hamsher about the Bradley Manning verdict today – I hope someone asks Eric Holder why he thought he could get an espionage conviction, when in fact that argument always looked pretty weak; it was pretty obvious that Manning would be convicted of something, though…this will be a pretty interesting “penalty phase”; I hope he gets some credit for time served and is allowed to have a life again at some point, especially considering the garbage he has already endured…

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…and I liked this video from Counterpoint PA about marriage equality in our beloved commonwealth; I have to say, though, that even though I’m a huge prog rock fan (as Mrs. Doomsy will confirm with the obligatory eye-roll), I think “The Barbarian” by ELP as an "intro" and "outro" is a bit extreme…maybe free-form jazz or something?...



…and here’s a cool new tune from The Living Elvis and The Roots.

Monday Stuff

Live Worse. Go On The Dole. Get Sucky Health Care. Wal-Mart…



…and could it be that one Steven Arnold King has FINALLY gone too far with his recent “cantaloupes” remark? We’ll see if he gets sent back to Washington next year (should make an interesting Senate race if he declares – tee hee)…

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…and speaking of King’s party, Ezra Klein tells us here just how far they will go to oppose health care reform – their ideology on this along with most issues is like a cast-iron millstone that will drag them down electorally to the irrelevancy they deserve…

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…and happy 60th birthday to Geddy Lee.

Friday Stuff

Let it be known that The Korean War ended 60 years ago tomorrow (yet another milestone)…



…and good for Chris Hayes for doing a number on Larry Summers here – richly deserved (are you listening, President Hopey Changey?)…

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…and Boehner, Cantor and those other idiots in the House are up to 40 repeal votes now? Oh, but it’s all about “jobs, jobs, jobs,” isn’t it (still mulling over any further response to this)…



…and I’m a little behind of my seasonal music, so let’s “set the way back” one more time.

Thursday Stuff

I noted the segment on “All In” pertaining to income inequality with the owner of the record store, the KFC employee struggling to get by in New York City with her husband, and the third guy from Columbia University, but I didn’t note these typically spot-on remarks from Sen. Bernie Sanders (here)…



…and as long as we’re all goo-goo over the royal baby, Martin Bashir reminds us that it might be a good idea to pay attention to our own kids also…

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…and still have any doubts as to whether or not we live in a corpocracy? Watch this…



…and this might be one of the 150 bands Jack White is involved in, but I still think this is catchy (trying to keep the tunes current for a little while longer).

Wednesday Stuff

(I also posted here.)

I’m sure Cory Booker would make a fine U.S. Senator, but somehow I think this guy would also (and he’s already in Washington – just a matter of moving from one end of the Capitol to the other)…



…and from the politically sublime to the utterly ridiculous, I give you the stupidest life form in the entire universe (here – I realize that Louie Gohmert is probably the lowest of the low-hanging fruit, but I feel like I have to respond in my way when he compares African Americans and minorities to “the snail darter, various lizards, the lesser prairie chicken, the greater sage grouts and so many other insects”)…



…returning the content to an adult level, I think this was a pretty good discussion on raising the minimum wage on “All In” (and you know the business owner is cool because he sells vinyl – awright! )…

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…and in a bit of a similar vein, I think this is a nifty little number for “retro Wednesday.”

Tuesday Stuff

If I were going to boycott a state, Florida would probably be my first choice, but I think Virginia would be my second (a shame – beautiful country there), and Lawrence O’Donnell tells us why…

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…and speaking of bad-off southern states, John Fugelsang tells us about another one…



…and I’m not sure whether or not we’re seeing the end of the public life of Sen. Mr. Elaine Chao, but God I sure do hope so (here)…



…and here’s a video from this decade.

Monday Stuff

RIP Dennis Farina – God, I loved “Crime Story” (could never figure out if I liked the Chicago season more than the Las Vegas season)…



…and do you want to know why Sen. Elizabeth Warren matters? Watch this video and click here…



…and Florida is responsible for a lot of idiocy related to politics and news stuff overall including crime stuff, of course, as of late, but in addition to voting out Allen West, another smart thing they did was to return Alan Grayson to Congress, as Chris Hayes tells us here…

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…and congrats go out to those zany royals for adding to the surplus population, as somebody once wrote (sort of) – kind of puts me in the mind for this song (going out to “Wills” in particular).

Sunday Stuff

Nothing like attacking more Koch-Brothers-funded BS with a dose of reality…



…and “Orange Man” continues to be utterly pathetic (here – and his rant was in response to this, let’s not forget)…



Update 7/22/13: Uh, yep (and for this too).

…and RIP Helen Thomas (and by the way, could it possibly be that she was actually right about Israel and the Palestinians?)…



…and here’s a nice, mellow little number.

Friday Stuff

I thought this was a truly courageous moment by President Obama – you can tell it was good because the wingnuts totally lost their bloody minds (can hardly wait to see how that hack J.D. Mullane in the Bucks County Courier Times tries to spin this so he can accuse Obama of racism...I like that slogan we can try to use against the Repugs - "shut up and learn," assuming that's even possible)…

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…and I’m not really presenting this for laughs, but only to make the obvious point that there was a time in this country when we invested in manufacturing, as well as schools, infrastructure, and working-class families – stop doing that and decide to give tax cuts to millionaires instead, and this happens…



…and I couldn’t let the week end without this clip from Lewis Black here in response to “Goodhair” Perry – NSFW (damn, this is awesome!)…



…and here is our regional weather forecast; we might get a break in the heat in these parts tomorrow.

Thursday Stuff

Ever wonder how exactly the infamous “Stand Your Ground” law in Florida wasn’t repudiated as it should have been by Lex Luthor Scott after Trayvon Martin’s murder? Rachel Maddow explains ("Support The Troops" indeed)…

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…and speaking of bad Republican governors, CREW brings us a pretty sorry list here (though there are two Dems on board, Andrew Cuomo and Steve Beshear)…



…and I call this a great idea from U.S. House Dems Mark Pocan and Keith Ellison, but good luck trying to get those knuckleheads on Capitol Hill to do the right thing for a change…

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...and legendary jazz drummer Philly Joe Jones would have been 90 on July 15th – here is a tribute.

Wednesday Stuff

(I also posted here.)

This is just a reminder of what time of year it is, assuming we haven’t already figured that out from the 90-degree temps around here (and "Sims" making out - eeewwwwww)…



…and I give you the following bit of candor from Rob Gleason of PA’s Republican Party, admitting what we pretty much already knew here…



…and I also give you Improv Night at “Viewpoint,” with John Fugelsang and Frank Conniff – I’m not sure if Edward Snowden is going to stay in Russia, but whether he does or not, the sun will still rise in the East and set in the West regardless (da!)…



Update 7/18/13: The "Viewpoint" skit makes fun of this story, which deserves to be made fun of as far as I'm concerned (as Atrios might say, I'm so old that I can remember a Democratic president who was widely ridiculed for not allowing U.S. athletes to compete in the 1980 Olympic Games in the then-Soviet Union).

…and kudos to Bruce Springsteen for this – doesn’t look like the drum beat in opposition to the Trayvon Martin tragedy is letting up, nor should it (and speaking of Rolling Stone, I'm still mulling over this).