Scary? Hell yeah. An excuse not to participate in this election or (certainly) not to vote for HRC? NO FREAKING WAY…
…and not that I expect a numbskull like Billo The Clown to get this, but if he knew anything whatsoever about Elvis Presley, he would know that Presley was extremely respectful of African Americans and their musical heritage, so you can’t assume that he automatically would’ve opposed BLM (wasting too much energy trying to bring logic to Bill Orally’s idiocy, I’ll admit)…
…and John Oliver gave Paul LePage the treatment he deserved here, in light of this (NSFW)…
…and Kyle tells us that Baby Trump blames stagnant wages on Syrian refugees…seriously? (NSFW once more)...
…and as long as Kyle K. mentioned “Fergus Laing” a bit in that prior segment, I should also include this from Chris Hayes about Julia Ioffe, a target of “alt-right,” which, to me, is waay too polite of a term to describe what these vermin truly are…
…and yet another key member of the legendary 2008 Phillies world championship roster recently departed (here), perhaps the most underrated player of the whole team…“Chooch” was a gem, though I would put him slightly behind Bob Boone and slightly ahead of Darren Daulton among all-time catching greats in Phils’ history…here is a tune in his honor (Foo Fighters twice in one week, for what it's worth).
Don't hold back, Charles - tell us what you REALLY think...
...and “what the hell do you have to lose?” (here) – an awful lot, as it turns out (here - and yes, I think it says a lot that his supporters believe this crap in such large numbers)…
…and yeah, boy, the Clintons sure gave Mylan Pharmaceuticals unprecedented “access” for its donation to the Clinton Foundation, didn’t they? Maybe that’s why HRC is quite rightly blasting them over their price gouging on the EpiPen (and when you got “pharma bro” defending you, you’ve got a problem)…
…and RIP Rudy Van Gelder, jazz engineer extraordinaire – here is one of his signature masterpieces.
Wow, absolutely awesome stuff here from Paul Begala on the alleged “Clinton News Network” (what a joke) here (and speaking of jokes, let’s find a dictionary to look up the meaning of the phrase “conflict of interest”)…
…and Kyle K. tells us that the Feds are going to phase out private prisons, which never should have been a "thing" in the first place (NSFW)…
…and yesterday marked the 50th anniversary of the first picture of Earth from the moon taken by Lunar Orbiter 1 (the crescent of our planet was photographed when the spacecraft was on its sixteenth orbit and about to pass behind the moon, which I’ll admit is a barely plausible excuse to put up this cool video).
...and David Pakman reports that African American voters end up waiting twice as long in lines to vote as whites (no duuh! - important stuff though)...
...and Rev. Al tells us here that Flint isn’t the only city in this country dealing with lead contamination (speaking with Indiana State Senator Lonnie Randolph…and based on this, there are issues in lots of other cities including Philly - ugh)…
…and kudos to Krist Novoselic of The Foo Fighters for this.
…and oh yes, if it’s a day of the week with a “y” in it (especially if it's summer), then it’s time for some wingnut somewhere to pillory Martha’s Vineyard, a place they’ll never visit and never truly understand either – more to the point, though, Joy Reid (who has been kicking butt and taking names lately) conducts what I thought was a great interview with Howard Dean about the “Trumpster Fire” appearance is flood-ravaged Louisiana recently…
…and here is more first-class reporting from Rachel Maddow (good to see her return to form) on the truly batshit wingnuttery that is the actual, honest-to-goodness basis for the political campaign of “Fergus Laing,” in particular the stuff involving longtime anti-immigrant nutjob John Tanton…
…and this trivializes all of the political crap, I know (trivial as it is to begin with) – all the best to Gord Downie of The Tragically Hip including all prayers and good wishes.
…and a happy belated 80th to movie icon and environmentalist extraordinaire Robert Redford…
...and not only is this incredibly NSFW clip from John Oliver laugh-out-loud funny, but it also makes fun of true cretins who desperately need to be made fun of, namely the API (I couldn’t stand that coffee shop ad, just to let you know)…
…and I give Joy Reid credit for holding this Trump campaign nematode to account here, even though this person did manage to sneak in a few uncontested BS right-wing talking points, particularly about Number 44 and Iran (here) – Steve Cortes can try doing all the verbal back flips that he wants, but what he’s really saying is that “Fergus Laing” is running what I believe is the highest-profile right-wing nationalist presidential campaign this country has ever seen…
…and it looks like the UK, to its credit, is leaving this country behind when it comes to green jobs, as Thom Hartmann explains…
…and I’m not commenting on the merits of trying to blow ISIS to smithereens, as they say, but I would only point out that, when we do stuff like that, there are often unintended consequences…wouldn’t it have been nice if our media had actually tried to cover that, to say nothing of a sane opposition major political party articulating reasonable concerns?...
I think we need to recall the clip from here, particularly since this Steve Bannon person from the Dead Breitbart site is in charge now of the "Donald Drumpf" campaign (I don’t recall who the guy was with Jimmy Dore, but it was nice to see a Dem who actually served give it back to this deceased coward, which Breitbart ultimately was as far as I’m concerned – NSFW)…
…and I thought this was an interesting segment on what started the tradition of presidential candidates receiving intelligence briefings (didn’t see the follow-up segment) – I would tell Trump just about nothing, but if I did say anything, I’d make sure it was bogus so, when he tweets it (and you KNOW he will), it won’t do any damage (maybe it should go kinda like this)…
…and by the way, just because Bernie Sanders isn’t the Democratic Party standard bearer doesn’t mean he still doesn’t have a role to play, and this tells us how he plans to re-introduce the public option in response to the latest bullshit from AETNA (NSFW also - more here)…
…and go grab a fistful of valium and lay down somewhere, Rudy, for God’s sake (and get a load of this as an excuse)…
…and reliable sources tell me that U.S. House Rep Mr.-Puppy-Dog-Eyes-With-The-Shiv is coming to PA-08 in an effort to prop up “Mikey Part 2” this fall; I think the best we can do in response is click here to help Steve however we can (and yes, I need to point out for the eleventy bazillionith time that background checks weren't enacted even though they should have been, and Steve worked like hell on that)…
…and I’m winding down with the summer tunes – can’t forget this also (and James gets a little rude, so please don't be shocked).
Food for thought...the next time you hear people bitch about how awful Philly sports fans are (they booed Santa Claus!!! And yeah, we’ve had our moments – so what?), show them this clip – Chase Utley, now of the Dodgers (don’t get me started on “the slide”), returned to Citizens Bank Park last night, hit two home runs against the Phils (the second a grand slam – a “four bagger” was also Utley’s first major league hit against CO in ’03, by the way)…and he got not one but two “curtain calls” from the fans in response – you win in this town and they’ll love you forever…
…and returning to stuff more in my line, it looks like "The Donald" did it again on race in a recent speech in Milwaukee, and fortunately, Van Jones stood up and responded here (and, for the record, I should point out that I will never give a crap about anything Ana Navarro has to say ever again)...
...and Rev. Al talks to Georgetown Law Center Professor (and former Federal prosecutor) Paul Butler about President Obama’s efforts to help combat policing abuses of African Americans in this country (and yes, I think that’s an appropriate description of what’s going on)…
…and I seriously hope that this clip isn’t the reason why Larry Wilmore was cancelled (here) – would be pretty damn pathetic if that were true…
…and I honestly think that more people than we realize go into politics to try and change things for the better (of course, how that turns out is often another story), and I think, if nothing else, this gives us a glimpse of the path that the Democratic Party’s nominee for president has taken to get to this point (and yeah, I pretty much believe all of this – if somehow any of this ends up proven wrong, I’ll make note of that)…
…and kudos to Natalie Maines for reminding us here of the double standard of those cheering for “Fergus Laing,” many of whom once agreed with the “shut up and sing” sentiment noted in this song.
By the way, Rachel, PA is a “commonwealth” (once again, I hark back to the “Big Dog” intervening in the 2012 Democratic primary for AG on behalf of Kane and against Patrick Murphy for the latter’s decision to support Obama for president; not going to hold this against Hillary now, though, because, IMHO, Bill Maher – can I drop MORE names? – is right when he says that you can’t run on “boutique” issues in an Armageddon election)…
…and speak of the devil, the Big Orange Cheetoh can answer the questions on his tax returns all right - will he (here)? We'll see (and it’s pretty sad when Former Gov. “Hike The Appalachian Trail” looks like a paragon of virtue here - and talk about sordid birds of a feather here)...
...and with the prior clip in mind, Cenk gets into all of the Ukraine/Paul Manafort stuff as reported by “the old gray lady”…
Update 8/19/16: If you can’t take the heat, might as well get out of Trump’s kitchen, comrade (here).
…and I know I touched on this last week when I said something about MSNBC’s coverage, but I’m glad Brian Stelter of CNN decided to take a bit harder of a look at the latest nonsense from Sean Inanity and his odious fellow travelers about alleged health issues plaguing HRC here (and I think this is one hell of a response)…
…and good job by Planned Parenthood here, giving “No Corporate Tax” Pat Toomey exactly what he deserves (more here, and to help Katie McGinty, click here)…
…and here’s a tune that, sadly, is topical once more (more here - to help if you can, please click here).
Update 8/17/16: I don't know the first thing about her music, but kudos anyway for this.
This is the crap you get when you vote for Repugs, my fellow prisoners – and in case you hadn’t guessed yet, I should point out that Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner is a thoroughly unconscionable liar (here)…
...and Cenk helps lift the veil and explain more seedy goings-on at Fix Noise (here)...
…and kudos to Jimmy Dore for unearthing this foul nugget from Sen. Mr. Elaine Chao; I have a little more faith in HRC than Jimmy does, but we’ll see of course…
…and happy belated 75th birthday to David Crosby; I know there are dustups going on right now with Nash and Young but I’m staying out of that – just appreciating his music, that’s all.
I couldn’t let the week come to a close without noting the passage of Captain Noah, a beloved kids' show host in these parts from too long ago of a time – he was one of a group that included Pixanne, Gene London, Sally Starr, Chief Halftown, and a bunch of others; there was once a time when they held court on weekday and Saturday mornings, and they basically were surrogate parents to an entire generation of baby boomers, and when I say surrogate parents, I mean that as a compliment…can’t put a number on how much all of that stuff means before someone else quite correctly pointed out that “it takes a village”…RIP…
…and returning to the present day, Rev. Al recently spoke with Cheryl Lankford, a Gold Star widow whose husband was killed in Iraq and who is currently suing “The Donald” (others have joined her suit) in response to the Repug presidential candidate’s “Trump University” scam…
...and yeah, here we go with The Big Orange Cheetoh again, but I can’t resist the opportunity to feature both David Cay Johnston and Charlie Pierce at the same time, all including Lawrence O'Donnell making good points as usual…
...and such classy supporters, of course...
...and when it comes to "Fergus Laing," I give you another lesson in “the art of the deal” – give me a break (didn’t see the follow-up clip)…
…and maybe this is how true change starts to happen (and don’t laugh when I tell you that the Dems actually tried to clean up the student loan mess – well, somewhat – at least when it comes to subsidized student loans, as noted here)…
…and this may be the most important 6:24 you’ve seen and/or heard in a long time, and it comes to us courtesy of Thom Hartmann, which really isn’t surprising (and to illustrate his point, I should note that Chris Hayes had a really good interview last night with an economist about what Hillary Clinton is proposing - you think there's a snowball's chance that that video can be found on MSNBC's still-utterly-wretched web site? No way in hell...but ample time was devoted on "All In" tonight to the supposedly burning issue of whether or not Hillary Clinton is trying to hide a stroke, purported by Sean Hannity and Alex Jones of course; for the latter, reality itself is a "false flag")...
…and this is just a reminder to folk in PA-08 that Steve still needs our help (and yes, for the umpteenth time, background checks on private gun sales weren’t enacted, but not because Steve didn’t fight like hell for them) – to do what you can, click here (and I thought this was interesting)..
…and happy belated 62nd (!) birthday to Joe Jackson.
Yep, all it takes is one all right (I think Cenk from yesterday is absolutely right; the Big Orange Cheetoh is pretty much desperate at this point and looking for an escape hatch, for the right price of course)…
…and I gotta tell ya’ that I saw this item about Joe Scar telling Mika not to bother her pretty little head, you wimpy little Democrat you, while daddy here tells her all about how the Repug Party will be “serious,” and what put me off wasn’t even his attempt at “mansplaining” (bad as that was), but the notion that, somehow, the “party of Lincoln” belongs to Scarborough, a charter member of our thoroughly-bought-and-paid-for Beltway corporate media; the sense of self-entitlement from “Morning Jo(ke)” on display here is almost nauseating.
I hate to break the news to Scarborough, but this is truly the face (ahem…) of Not Your Father’s Republican Party (h/t Wonkette).
And I think this pic is a perfect complement to Kyle’s related NSFW commentary here (the ACORN stuff is truly hilarious)…
…and in case “Governor Bully” thinks the Bridge stuff is going to go away – heh heh (here - NSFW)…
…and I hope you’re in the mood to rock out in the middle of a thunderstorm (at least around here for the moment).
Kudos to Cenk for bringing the outrage against the “Trumpster fire,” and kudos for focusing on his single-digit-IQ’d followers also ("red shirt guy" would decry what Trump said later)…
…and I would say that the rules of logic and common sense never have applied to the “Donald Drumpf” campaign, and I would also say that this proves it (Rachel was quite rightly laughing a few days ago, but I don't think anyone is laughing now)…
…and I know I recently featured a “Special Comment” from Keith Olbermann last week as part of “This Day In Doomsy History,” but here is another one from 8/10/09 featuring Caribou Barbie and her “death panel” lie about health care reform, which was working its way through Congress at that time of course; another high-profile Repug inflicting stupidity on our discourse, not unlike “Fergus Laing” and his recent language (some reality on the Affordable Care Law is here)…
I agree with Seth Meyers in that everybody should stand back from the “Trumpster fire,” though I'd say Hillary thus far is doing a good job of using this stuff to keep The Big Orange Cheetoh off-balance (here) - and Meyers is definitely right about people being more interested in the sideshow than the show…I would take it a bit further and tell people to wake the #$@! up, but if he did, I’m sure his audience would disappear)...
...and by the way, the Repug presidential hopeful is getting trounced when it comes to the millennial vote (I'm more concerned about the Stein/Johnson numbers, actually - I think expecting a high-profile Repug to endorse Gary Johnson is "pie in the sky" at this point, but stranger things have happened)..
...also, I'm not sure that I agree with Kyle here that prostitution should be legal, but I think that, otherwise, he makes some good points in this commentary on China's typical repression of dissent…
…and whaddaya say we enjoy the last few weeks of the season we have left, OK?
This is genius stuff by John Oliver on newspapers (and funny too, by the way - NSFW), even if it is depressing in its utterly real depiction of what’s going on with “the fourth estate.”
I know he’s right about supporting local news organizations, but let me just tell you my little tale on this for what it’s worth, OK?
Currently, we subscribe to the Bucks County Courier Times in these parts; I say “currently” because that is always subject to household budgeting decisions (and by the way, the fact that we subscribe to a newspaper doesn’t make us special, I hasten to add). It is also subject to my ever-shrinking tolerance for putting up with the never-ending and utter bilious conservative garbage that composes the vast majority of the Op-Ed page of that newspaper.
When was the last time the Courier Times published Gene Lyons? David Sirota? Joe Conason? Connie Schultz? Froma Harrop? Cynthia Tucker? Not a clue – couldn’t tell you.
George Will? Charles Krauthammer? Cal Thomas (and assorted other whack jobs)? That’s easy – too many times to mention.
And by the way, I know the paper is going to publish conservative content. As much as I detest these people because what they say bears absolutely no resemblance to my day-to-day reality (and because they are SO UTTERLY WRONG on the issues that matter most to my family), I still realize that their voices deserve to be heard also. However, the notion of editorial balance in that paper is a choice between “glibertarian,” right wing and ultra right wing (with Eugene Robinson thrown in once and awhile, along with “liberal” Richard Cohen).
Bottom line: I can see myself one day cancelling our subscription. And yes, that will hurt the efforts of the paper’s beat reporters, who do genuinely good work. And I’m sorry about that.
However, the Courier Times (among many other news organizations) has made the calculated decision to cater its editorial content to elderly white conservatives first and foremost. And in that regard, they are hastening their own extinction (there ARE other audiences, by the way).
And for that reason, I do not understand why I should feel any responsibility for what will likely be their demise one day…
…and yeah, I would say that Bill Maher is spot-on here (NSFW also)…
…and speaking of The Big Orange Cheetoh, kudos to Stephen Colbert and particularly that guy in drag (here – what a creep; “The Donald” I mean of course)…
…and these guys are coming to the TLA in these parts in early October – should be a rockin’ good time.
I guess “Donald Drumpf” would consider a boot across someone’s throat to be “safe” too (here)…
…and apparently we need to update this ad based on this…
…and by the way, I’m not kidding (and the stuff about Nixon is truly chilling)…
…and I wonder if we should start calling him “Donald Trumpovich” (here - more here)…
…and I know some of this stuff on "Fergus Laing" has been done to death already, but I liked the comment from Seth Meyers in particular about Twitter here…
…and it shouldn’t be necessary to run this ad since women should be on a par with men when it comes to equal pay, among other measures, but it is (to help, click here – I’m going to miss Barbara Mikulski)…
…and this is just a reminder to PA-08 folk that we can’t forget to help Steve Santarsiero in his fight to prevent “Mikey Part 2” this fall – to help, click here (and yes, it's true background checks weren't enacted, but not because Steve didn't give it a hell of an effort)…
…and I guess, given the earlier videos in particular, you can call this a theme for a “Trumpocalypse” that we have to make sure never happens.
…a question that should be posed to this fraud from our own beloved commonwealth also (to do something about "No Corporate Tax" Toomey, click here...and let's not forget this too)…
…and I am sooo glad someone brought back this clip about how "Donald Drumpf" VP candidate Mike Pence once compared Iraq to an Indiana open market, or something (here, and I got a kick out of this too)...
Update 1 8/14/16: I would say that this fits the sorry "Pence profile" also.
To me, this clip proves that all of the stuff with “Fergus Laing” is waay too far inside the proverbial looking glass to just write it off as partisan politics…
…and dare I hope that this is the beginning of the end of voter ID laws?...
…and as long as we’re talking about legal stuff, I should note that this may be the best commentary on holding hearings for the nomination of (and eventually confirming) Judge Merrick Garland to the U.S. Supreme Court that I've heard yet…
…and a belated happy 90th birthday to Tony Bennett.
Note to HRC – this particularly abysmal Gallup number for Trump is golden, but there’s a long way to go in this election; it still has to be won…
…and yet another funny commentary on the most recent election stuff from Samantha Bee has an appropriately hard edge at the very end (here)…
…and I’m not sure exactly how Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley got out of his most recent infidelity scandal, but I guess he did somehow…and who knows, he might get out of this too…
…and yeah, I think it’s time to dial up some sweet jammin’ blues – enjoy.
