Saturday Stuff

Even though I support Bernie Sanders, I gotta tell ya’ that I LOVE the comeback to “The Donald” from HRC here (click on link if you want to see the truly stupid Trump ad that started the dustup)…



…and speaking of the all-but-named Repug presidential nominee, John and Cenk respond to the latest threats from “Fergus Laing” at a potentially brokered convention – yeah, he sure knows how to blow those dog whistles, all right (I know the answer before I ask, but where the hell is all this concern for disenfranchisement towards “the blahs” as opposed to elderly white conservatives?)…



…and Thom Hartmann brings us economic and labor news for the week (this first story is so utterly appalling that I feel personally ashamed, though I’m not sure what I could do that I haven’t already done about that – it should be yelled about from every conceivable location in this country, especially our houses of worship for a change…other stuff out there besides abortion, war, and trying to put the bite on us for more money)…

…and today marks the 13th anniversary of Dubya’s disastrously failed war in Iraq (here) – I give you a tune for the occasion.

Friday Stuff

Yeah, we sure get the picture all right, CNN hairdo lady (Ashleigh Banfield?) – how about covering all of what a Democratic political figure actually says in a speech next time, OK? (here)…



...and Chris Hayes talks to NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio; I thought de Blasio’s summary of why younger voters are “feeling the Bern” is pretty spot-on (and nothing to be proud of, by the way)…



…and Lawrence O’Donnell interviews Kim Foxx, who recently defeated Anita Alvarez in the Democratic primary for Cook County, IL prosecutor - more here (kind of a quick cut at the end there)…



...and RIP Philly doo-wop (you can Google it) legend Lee Andrews.

Thursday Stuff

I’m sure Merrick Garland is an eminently qualified jurist and may very well end up to be a reasonable selection for the U.S. Supreme Court. However, as we know, there are no reasonable political actors in the “party of Lincoln” these days, and I think Thom Hartmann’s analysis is correct (as is this, and this is interesting also).

Even as his time grows short, Number 44 seeks to burnish his creds as a moderate – he has never been a progressive, and he never will be…hard to consider all of this to be anything but another example of President Hopey Changey pissing on his base once again…



...and Chris Hayes interviews Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who talks about how the U.S. Senate has gone "the extremist route" and how that ties into Trump (Nail. Hammer. Head.)...



...and RIP Frank Sinatra Jr.; I always gave him credit for trying to establish his own identity while trying to crawl out from under the shadow of one of the most prominent figures of the 20th century (and a little sense of humor can go a long way too)…



...and happy St. Patrick's Day, everybody (was tempted to go with Dropkick Murphys, but I changed my selection at the last minute).

Wednesday Stuff

Bye Marco – go spend some time gargling with your family, or something…NSFW…



…and kudos to Chris Hayes for setting the record straight on what led to the violence in Chicago recently at another bund rally Donald Trump campaign event...

Update: Great catch here, by the way...



…and it isn’t my intention to spend so much time on “Fergus Laing,” but I think I need to; this clip is about a week old I believe, and I’m presenting this despite the laughably inappropriate background music for about the first 2:30 mainly because I respect the hell out of NY Attorney General Eric Schneiderman…



…and it’s time to get a little more current again with the tunes…definitely a fan of hers from way back, and it’s good to see Bonnie Raitt just keep cranking out good music.

Tuesday Stuff

(I also posted here.)

Yep, this is what “The Donald” thinks of women all right…



…and do you wonder how our neighbors to the north see all the political stuff going on in this country? I think this give us more than a hint…



…and Thom Hartmann brings us science and green news from last week (don’t mess with the bees, people, or we’re done as a species – the wolf stuff was interesting too IMHO)…



…and here is another one of those once-a-year songs.

Monday Stuff

Kudos to one of Minnesota’s Dem U.S. Senators for this – “the world’s greatest deliberative body” is still waaay too chummy of a club for my tastes, but good for Al Franken for coming within a pinprick of popping that proverbial balloon (here)…



...and Rachel Maddow provided what I thought was a good summary of how we got to the point where that situation occurred in Chicago recently; more (here)...



…and John and Wes Clark, Jr. bring us their analysis of the most recent Democratic presidential candidates town hall session (yet again, Jimmy Dore automatically makes this NSFW)…



…and here is a public service announcement; if you haven’t made the adjustments you need to make for daylight savings time, you’re a little late.

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.