Friday Stuff

Yeah, I would say Number 44 "crushed it" here too - didn't he once give a speech where he said there was no "red" America or "blue" America?...



…and like it or not, it is indeed time once more for “This Day In Doomsy History” from the actual exact day, which would be 3/11/09 – K.O. brings us another episode of “Factor Fiction” with Billo and Bernard ("Fired From CBS For Lying About A Story") Goldberg (timely in light of this and this)…

…and this story just thoroughly saddens me; great reporting by CBS News (update is here)…



…even though this has been known for a little while, as the New York Times reported here, including this excerpt…

“I look at companies like Starbucks — that’s the model,” (former CEO Steven) Nardizzi said. “You’re looking at companies that are getting it right, treating their employees right, delivering great services and great products, then are growing the brand to support all of that.”

If I hear one more of these CEO assh*les talk about providing a public service as if they were running a corporation, I’m going to vomit. Your goal is to provide the best possible care for our veterans, not make a cup of goddamn coffee!!

...and Robert Greenwald is back with another great new movie, as noted here (in light of yet another gun tragedy, as noted here)...



…and it looks like we have another new, unwanted growth industry in this country…



...and Thom Hartmann brings us economic and labor news for the week...



…and RIP Keith Emerson (featured at the very end, of course) – definitely not the way I wanted to end the week...



…though I think this is a better example of Emerson’s virtuosity, so here it is.



Update: Offered without further comment (ugh)...

Thursday Stuff

Once more, Sen. Elizabeth Warren stands tall on the Senate Repugs not doing their jobs on holding a hearing for an Obama Supreme Court nominee, among many other matters, here (of all of her great moments, this may be her finest, and bonus points for harking back to November 2000)...



...and Bernie Sanders tells Fix Noise that health care is a basic human right - pathetic that that needs to be said, but it does (NSFW)...



...and yes, this video makes some great points about some of our ridiculous foreign policy expenditures versus the relative pittance to feed those most in need in our country, and that's the real takeaway, but I think that bit about what we supposedly spend in Ukraine on democracy building was a bit of a cheap shot from "the Vlad Putin Network"...



...and I actually missed out on National Get Over It Day yesterday (no, really) - allow me to make amends with this tune (tough year for that band, by the way, also considering this).

Wednesday Stuff

I know I’m a little late with this great report from Chris Hayes on David Duke from last Friday, but it definitely bears repeating…



…and speaking of Duke’s candidate (whether “The Donald” admits it or not)…I’m sure he knows the “best words” all right; well, we know some too, such as WE’RE GOING TO DO EVERYTHING WE LEGALLY CAN TO MAKE SURE YOU NEVER BECOME PRESIDENT, YOU ASSCLOWN…



…and I never had the first clue about the problem we have in this country with “special districts” and their unbelievable lack of oversight, but kudos to John Oliver for telling us all about it (kids are cute at the end too)…



…and RIP Sir George Martin; I probably could have selected any one from a whole gamut of tunes from the Fab Four, but I always thought that this one was a particular technical marvel that was a testament to his utter genius as a producer.

Tuesday Stuff

Kudos to Rachel Maddow for some honest-to-goodness investigative journalism, this time on the utterly failed state of Michigan under the abysmally awful Rick Snyder...the next time you hear about how supposedly terrible those state workers are, remember the story about the veterans home – after watching this, I wonder how many other similar issues are going on with other states under the “governance” model of the “party of Lincoln” (trying to keep up a theme here for International Women's Day, by the way)…



…and if you want to argue that there could be an “enthusiasm gap” among Democrats, I guess you could unfortunately, but let’s not forget that this is the first presidential election since the High Court of Hangin’ Judge JR gutted the Voting Rights Act, and I think that is having an impact as well – of course, the data on all of this will come out by the merciful end of the election, which God willing will have the right result (we have to work to make that happen)…



...and nothing against Trevor Noah, but it's looking more and more like Samantha Bee should have gotten that job instead (here - NSFW)...



…and yesterday marked the birthday of the telephone, created by Alexander Graham Bell of course (he received a patent for it 140 years ago on March 7th, as noted here); here is a tune to commemorate this event.

Monday Stuff

For the occasion, I’ll overlook all the “Queen Nancy”/consult with the astrologer/Madame Defarge sans the knitting needles stuff and remember her instead as a tireless advocate for stem cell research, as noted in the video…



…and it looks like humor is intersecting with political reality again (here)…



…and Bill Maher reminds us, basically, that there’s no expiration date on that great poem on the Statue of Liberty from Emma Lazarus (here)…



…and happy 70th birthday to Matthew Fisher of Procal Harum.

Saturday Stuff

For the record, as noted here, Teahadist assh*le Mike Lee doesn’t think the kids in this video need any help from the federal government (fortunately, as shown in the clip, Rachel Maddow hosted that great town hall on the Flint water disaster – and oh yeah, little Luke Russert appears to be an utter Beltway courtier media tool and little else)…



…and I wanted to highlight this video from last year to feature Lee’s fellow traveler Scott Wagner and note updates to this post…



...and have you heard of The Empowerment Plan? Well, this tells you all about it...

…and this happened 50 years ago yesterday; he made the comment to a writer for a British magazine, and it was printed there and no one thought much of it at the time - the whole thing blew up when this country heard about it, of course…makes me recall this NSFW tune.

Friday Stuff

I thought this was a great report from Rachel Maddow on what happens when a political party chooses its nominee during a convention and basically ignores the primary voting (yeah, this isn’t 1968 and hopefully won’t become that, but…)…



…and I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge this week the occasion of Formerly Silent Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas asking a question from the bench for the first time in 10 years; as noted here, though, it had to do with whether or not those guilty of domestic abuse should be allowed to own guns which, for most people who are otherwise sane, should be a resounding NO…of course, leave it to Thomas to rely on that horrible Heller ruling to frame his question to an attorney…made me recall this moment from October 2011 (remember this little dustup, Your Honor? And K.O. said Scalia by mistake, but he meant Thomas)…



…and kudos to Brent Brown, someone who is honest enough to admit that he was wrong about what will end up as the signature achievement of the Obama Administration – best wishes for continued good health…



…and Thom Hartmann brings us economic and labor news for the week (please take away the first item if you take away nothing else)…



…and I know I touched on the stuff with Melissa Harris-Perry a bit earlier, but I thought this was some great analysis by Cenk and Ana about that situation and the state of MSNBC overall; like much of our media in general, the Comcast Network is hastening its own extinction…



…and happy belated 72nd birthday to Roger Daltrey of The Who.

Thursday Stuff

Kudos to Chris Hayes for cutting to the proverbial chase here on the all-but-named Repug presidential nominee and the bottom-feeders that associate themselves with him...



...and with that in mind, when it comes to "The Donald," you sure reap what you sow, don't you (here and here)...



...and what was it somebody once said - elections have consequences, or campaigns anyway? (here)...



...and I know I'm late with this info on the Progressive Summit from 2/23, but it definitely isn't too late to make a difference...



...and Thom Hartmann brings us science and green news...



…and I don’t know if this guy is going to be visiting in these parts any time soon (I think he was in NYC in January), or maybe he was here already; anyway, here is another cool new tune (trying to keep things current here musically).

Wednesday Stuff

Lord Almighty, is Samantha Bee ever spot-on with her remarks about the 2010 elections (here)...



...and I thought this was a good commentary by Seth Meyers on Trump, David Duke and the First Amendment (as usual, when you want some truly objective reporting on an important news story, turn to a comedian – and Governor Bully looks more pathetic by the minute, and on that subject, I think this is absolutely hilarious)…



…and I must confess that I’m a little unsure of what exactly to make of this from yesterday’s Super Tuesday coverage on MSNBC, with Steve Kornacki breathlessly reporting on the percentage of Democratic primary voters across the country who consider themselves to be liberal – probably news to the Comcast Network and our corporate media overall, but not to too many other folks I would imagine (and God forbid there would be any actual analysis behind the numbers)…



…and every once in a while, I just need to hear something a bit life-affirming; with that in mind, I give you the following.

Tuesday Stuff

Just because we’re involved in the presidential primary season that will never end, that doesn’t mean that stories like this aren’t still going on, unfortunately; once more, Kathleen Kane has her issues, but good for her for still trying to do her job vigorously, which she should do anyway of course…



...and returning once more to the carnival (oh yeah, they're having elections today aren't they?), I give you this editorial takedown, which of course can come from a comedian and no one else anymore apparently (here - NSFW)...



...and speaking of the presumptive Repug presidential nominee, kudos to Ann Kirkpatrick for making John McCain pay a price for his Trump support here (they gave us "Fergus Laing" as a weapon - might as well use it)...



...and this is one of those songs I've been meaning to get to for a little while for no particular reason, so here it is.

Monday Stuff

I guess if I'm going to say anything about Black History Month, I'd better hurry up since it ends tomorrow; I give you the following from the network that also brought us this...



...though actually, if you want to witness something that I believe truly represents racial tolerance and understanding, I would ask that you revisit this 2/26/15 video from Dallas, TX sportscaster Dale Hansen - yes, it's time once more for "This Day In Doomsy History" (a comparatively short trip around the block this time)...




...and I'll be honest - even though I overwhelmingly shared her politics in many ways, there were times when a little of Melissa Harris-Perry went a long way, but that definitely doesn't merit the treatment she received from the Comcast Network - kudos to Brian Stelter for this commentary (sync is off a bit starting at about 1:10)...



...and on a wholly other note, I really like this new tune by Ray LaMontagne, so here it is.

Friday Stuff

Yeah, this is about all of this hot mess that I can tolerate…



…and part of this video makes me laugh, and part of it makes me cringe (after reading about this, I think Trump and Rubio ought to take a good, long, hard look in the mirror before they say anything about who is "poorley educated")...



…and it looks like the “banksters” are ramping up a bit when it comes to mortgages, though, if B of A can be trusted (a big “if”), it sounds like they may do it right this time; another insightful report from Al Jazeera America, which is going to shut down soon – truly a loss for us all because of their fine work...



...and within the context of the Democratic presidential primary, I thought this was an informative look back at the Clinton years with Chris Hayes, Joy Reid, and Former Clinton Labor Secretary Robert Reich...



…and Thom Hartmann brings us economic and labor news for the week (oh, great – the “one percent” is going to outlive us, on top of everything else, and dropping language classes is pretty damn stupid in this day and age)…



…and I thought this was a great story from earlier in the week honoring women computing pioneers (6 in particular) timed for the 70th anniversary of the building of the ENIAC Computer, which took place at the U of P – backgrounder appears in the video…



...and with Tinseltown ready to host its annual soiree this Sunday, Lawrence O'Donnell's brought us what I thought was a great "Rewrite" segment on Wednesday (I'm sure Chris Rock will address the whole "diversity" thing somehow...after watching this, I included "Beasts Of No Nation" on our Netflix queue)...



…and with that in mind, here is a song about movies from this list; I started the week with Steely Dan, so I might as well end with them too.

Thursday Stuff

(I also posted here.)

Maybe we’re not quite “feeling the Bern” as we once were in this seemingly endless primary campaign, but Bernie Sanders is still pretty damn formidable, and moments like this have a lot to do with it (to help, click here)…



…and again, I have to ask what the supposed threat is of putting those accused of plotting against our country in a “super max” prison; I would expect the fearmongering noted in the story from the politicians, but those in law enforcement really should know better; besides, as the attorney points out, if these individuals are tried and acquitted, then they shouldn’t even have been incarcerated in the first place (and no, I don’t think it’s hypocritical to point that out because I don’t live in any of the states mentioned in the story)…



…and here come Chucky and Davey Koch again…such champions of alternative energy – NOT!...



…and after that last item, I feel like hearing a song about a car.

Wednesday Stuff

(I also ranted a bit here.)

Umm, my answer to the question posed here is, ohhh, they’ve pretty much been off the rails since the election of The Sainted Ronnie R and the utterly ruinous movement conservative ascendancy.

(By the way, I've read a lot of well-meaning, intelligent people I admire bemoan the current state of one of our two major political parties, wondering what to do. Here's what I say; do to them what they'd do to us. By that I mean if they're drowning, don't toss them a life preserver. Toss them an anvil instead.)...



...and speaking of Number 40, here's a new ad from MoveOn.org telling those in "the world's greatest deliberative body" to do their damn jobs ...



...and do you want to get back at U.S. Senate Repugs (including this guy) who oppose a hearing on Obama's Supreme Court nominee? Well then, support the people running against them (including this guy - don't quite understand the push-back from the city council president, or whoever that guy was)...



…and a hat tip to Gregg Whiteside of WRTI in these parts for this; Peer Gynt was first performed 140 years ago today – time for a bit of culture.

Tuesday Stuff

If money were no object (a big “if,” I’ll admit), I don’t think this would be a bad place to live regardless of who was president (more here)…



...and I'm glad Chris Hayes noticed too (here)...



...also, Michael Brooks of “The Majority Report” takes a justly deserved parting shot (I'm sure it will be that) at Dr. Ben Carson before Carson drops out of the Repug presidential primary and, no doubt, takes a good, long nap…



…and John Oliver does it again, this time on abortion and so-called TRAP laws (not terribly funny since the subject isn’t supposed to be, but enlightening, and the sloths are cute too)…



...and I am sooo glad to see somebody call out that supposedly "moderate" John Kasich, and what a great job Samantha Bee does with that here (and again, I have to ask the question; imagine the outcry if a Democrat had said this? And nice comeback on the latest Kasich idiocy here)...



Update 2/25/16: Just add this to the pile.

...and happy 70th birthday to Rusty Young of Poco (perilously close to country music, but that's OK).

Monday Stuff

Bye, “Jebya” (here – and again, what’s really sad is that, as somebody said, for a Bush, he’s actually somewhat competent…for a Bush)…



…and Seth Meyers weighs in on the whole “Apple vs. the government” privacy debate…I’m not going to kid you; I’m still on the fence a bit with this, but I just have one question…if this were September 12th, 2001, would we seriously be having this discussion? Wouldn’t Jeb’s awful brother (Number 43, I mean) and his acolytes be HOWLING about how “you’re either with us, or you’re with the terrists”?...



Update 2/26/16: I have to admit, though, that this column makes good points in response.

…and he would probably laugh in my face if I ever said this to him, but as far as I’m concerned, Jerry Mitchell is a great American…



...also, did you know that "No Corporate Tax" Pat Toomey is standing in the way of Number 44 trying to get a Supreme Court candidate confirmed? Well, he is (more here - to do something about it, click here)...



…and it looks like we had more senseless gun carnage recently, as noted here; just another day in these United States (and a typical performance by our corporate media is noted here).



Update 2/26/16: Nothing to see here, move along...

Friday Stuff

RIP Harper Lee - you know the movie (and more importantly, the book it's based on)…



…and kudos to Media Matters and Brian Stelter of CNN for busting the Foxies on still more propaganda, this time on the Black Lives Matter movement (here)…



...and God, did I miss John Oliver (LOVE the Wisconsin poem I can't repeat, and this Joel Kleefisch nematode and Debbie Riddle can cry me a goddamn river…and believe it or not, this wasn’t even the best segment; check out the bit at the end with New Zealand and MP Stephen Joyce – have to see it to believe it)...



...and Sen. Mr. Elaine Chao is talking out of both sides of his mushy face again, as usual, on Obama and Supreme Court nominations here (as stated many, MANY times before, we can thank idiot Southern voters for continuing to send this clown back to Washington every six years...in the clip, though, McConnell is actually correct for the last ten seconds, but not in the way he thinks)...



…and I give you the latest installment of “This Day In Doomsy History” (again, more or less) from 2/18/09, in which Mike Papantonio discusses the lack of GOP leadership, which of course would be filled by the Teahadists – still, though, I think this clip is timely in light of this (sooo, their “leader” now is this guy, Trump I mean? And isn't THIS just precious, by the way? Leave it to a "Catholic" like Bill Donahue to "give to Caesar what is Caesar's" at it were, and I'm not talking about a pizza - I think Donahue is the only one who is "confused" here, or pretending to be that)…



…and Cenk and John of The Young Turks tell us about that Repug presidential candidates’ debate, such as it was, on Wednesday night (here – Anderson Cooper should be utterly ashamed...NSFW)…



…and Thom Hartmann brings us Economic and Labor News for the week (the way the U.S. House Repugs treated Obama’s final budget was scandalous even for them)…



...and here's kind of an apropos Friday tune.

Thursday Stuff

OMFG, IT'S ZOMBIE REAGAN!!! And do you want to know what's scariest of all? HE REALLY IS A DEMOCRAT!!! (here)...



...and Jimmy Kimmel redid Dubya's ad for his "little brother" in S.C. here (heh)...



...and turning to something serious with a bit more substance, I'd like to think that we'd do the same thing as the Aussies profiled in this AJAM story, but Number 44 has been a bit of a disappointment lately when it comes to immigration enforcement (again, without a law crafted by those numbskulls on Capitol Hill), and don't even get me started on what the standard bearer for the Repugs would do (here..."it's hard to square that circle" indeed)...



...and hey, did you hear the one about Iraq admitting that it lost radioactive material, probably to ISIS? Unfortunately, it's no joke - terrific...



..and cash-only pot dispensaries are creating a problem for banks, and subsequently, the IRS; we need to get serious about this stuff and treat it like we treat any other business enterprise (convert $$ to other security types)...



...and "Good Vibrations" by Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys (and The Wrecking Crew, let's not forget) was recorded 50 years ago yesterday (the instrumental of the first version of the song...don't read a connection into this tune and the prior item, by the way).

Wednesday Stuff

RIP Vanity – “Action Jackson” is definitely a guilty pleasure movie for yours truly, full of tongue-in-cheek moments kind of like the one in the clip…NSFW (on somewhat of a similar note, I recently saw “Deadpool” with Ryan Reynolds, which is full of that sort of thing – I give it a thumbs up, as it were, though it’s definitely rated R for a reason)…



…and Rachel Maddow and Dahlia Lithwick talk about the impact on Supreme Court cases now with Scalia gone; they acted like it was kind of funny/strange, but both of them are too smart to NOT know that we're in what could be dangerous legal waters here...



…and speaking of the latest Supreme Court vacancy, I give you more great stuff from Samantha Bee here (again NSFW)…



...and this is one of the best Motown homage tunes that I've ever heard.

Tuesday Stuff

I thought this was a good report by Rachel Maddow on South Carolina politics in general (what a bunch of rubes) and Ted Cruz's wacko endorsements in particular (including clips about Dubya doubling down with typical arrogance about his Bob Jones University speech in '00), but along with all the nutsiness in this video, Maddow was too polite to point out that Dubya won the South Carolina primary mainly because of this...



…and this is a little late but still worthy of mention – it looks like Governor Bully haz a sad over dropping out of the Repug presidential primary (awwwwww)…



…and normally I get fed up with Bill Maher over his “liberals should do this, liberals should do that” act, but on this subject he’s absolutely right, and way to light up with Killer Mike and Margaret Cho to make a point (here)…



…and congrats to Linda Ronstadt for winning a lifetime achievement award at the Grammys last night.