Jordan Uhl of Rebel HQ tells us about this Michigan nut job running for state rep named Jacky Eubanks, as well as an equally crazed YouTuber interviewing her...and to me, there’s a pretty straight line from Eubanks to Doug Mastriano here in our beloved commonwealth - to help Josh Shapiro running against Mastriano, click here...
...and apparently Montana GOP guv Greg Gianforte pulled a “Cancun Cruz” and high-tailed it with his wife to Tuscany while the state he allegedly governs suffers with “once in every 500 years” type of flooding, according to this Meidas Touch clip (and to be fair, Gianforte did apologize for attacking the reporter, which was the least he could do)...
...and I think I also linked to this a day or so ago, but Rachel Maddow speaks with Dem U.S. House Rep Mikie Sherrill, who says that there were tours given by more Repug U.S. House reps besides that one by Barry Loudermilk of Georgia (here)...
...and this Channel 4 news report brings us more on Russia’s attack on Ukraine and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy meeting with Olaf Scholz of Germany, Italy’s Mario Draghi and Emmanuel Macron of France, as well as Ukrainian refugees fleeing – Lesia Vasylenko of Ukraine’s parliament is interviewed (“abnormal has become the new normal” indeed...and for the theater of the absurd on this story, I give you this)...
...and Thom Hartmann speaks with Greg Palast on New Mexico’s refusal to certify their primary election results and why we should care (and good for Thom to bring up John C. Calhoun from 1836 and the "nullification crisis"...all of this election-related garbage and more stems ultimately from that)...
...and by the way, happy 80th birthday to Sir Paul.
David Pakman has the scoop on Ginni Thomas’s involvement with the 1/6 insurrection, which has come out courtesy of the U.S. House commission headed by Dem Bennie Thompson (some of this has already been reported of course, particularly with the Arizona electors, but the stuff with John Eastman is fairly new based on reporting in the WaPo)...
...and Trae Crowder gives us his take on some of the reporting of the insurrection involving Trump VP Mike Pence, who is not be trusted or commended as far as I’m concerned for DOING THE VERY THING HE SHOULD HAVE DONE AS AN ELECTED OFFICIAL AND THAT IS TO PRESERVE DEMOCRACY (though I have to admit that, in a related vein, this is unsettling - nothing against Bob Cesca...NSFW/H)...
...and Lawrence O’Donnell interviews historian Michael Beschloss (who also says not to give Pence too much credit) and Supreme Court expert (and I think that’s truly a deserved statement in her case) Dahlia Lithwick on the threat exposed by the 1/6 commission hearings (and yeah...keep piling onto "Almost Silent" Clarence Thomas - if the national Democratic Party actually had a freaking spine, they would be DEMANDING that Thomas either recuse himself from any cases related to 1/6 or resign from the SCOTUS bench)...
...and Ana and Cenk of TYT tell us that it looks like Herschel Walker has more kids than we knew about and is actually a deadbeat dad, despite his protestations to the contrary... yep, do as I say, not as I do all right (to help Dem incumbent Senator Raphael Warnock, click here)...
...and David Shuster of Rebel HQ tells us about 73-year-old Peter Jackson getting beaten up by Republicans at a “meet and greet” in Arizona for wearing a “Black Lives Matter” T-shirt and a “Jail Trump” hat, with Repug U.S. Senate candidate Blake Masters joining in of course...yeah, in addition to acting like intolerant brown shirts, these idiot Republicans likely bought themselves one sweet lawsuit, which they completely deserve (to help Dem incumbent Senator Mark Kelly, click here)...
...and happy 35th birthday to rapper Kendrick Lamar (very NSFW/H).
Rachel Maddow tells us about Repug Georgia U.S. House Rep Barry Loudermilk and the little tour inside the Capitol that he gave to at least one insurrectionist who sharpened a flagpole that I’m totally sure that he was NOT going to use to impale Dem U.S. House Rep Jerry Nadler (yes, I’m being sarcastic, since I’m sure that’s EXACTLY what that lunatic wanted to do...and apparently, based on this, Loudermilk had company...and yeah, one of Maddow’s good points in this clip is WHY THE HELL DID THE CAPITOL POLICE APPARENTLY ACT LIKE THIS THREAT WASN’T A BIG DEAL??!!)...
...and Victor Blackwell of CNN speaks with media critic Bill Carter on Fix Noise’s belated decision to air the 1/6 hearings after all...
...and speaking of cable news stations, this TYT report with Cenk, John and David Shuster in particular explains how those stations are the biggest benefactors of campaign dollars (via ads) and the biggest opponents of campaign finance reform...I’m not unsympathetic to the argument about preserving jobs in the newsroom, but I personally don’t think that outweighs the screaming need to get all of the damn dirty money from people paying for these ads out of our political campaigns...
...and Farron Cousins brings us survey results telling us that, yeah, those polled want the Dems and President Biden to go after these price-gouging criminals trying to “make bank” at our expense and using inflation as an excuse (bless those people in Wisconsin and Arizona...and I definitely think this is food for thought on that score)...
...and Robert Reich tells us about 3 executive orders Biden could sign right now to support the U.S. workforce, and unions in particular...
...and happy 80th birthday to Eddie Levert of The O’Jays...I had this tune in mind for the TYT clip in particular (and those price-gouging energy criminals I linked to with the Cousins clip).
Farron Cousins tells us that that disgusting Republican harpy in the U.S. House from Colorado recently wished for President Biden’s days to “be few”; I give Cousins credit for reporting on this pretty objectively, but I’m not willing to cut Lauren Boebert an inch of slack on this one...I’m more inclined to think she was talking about this (as noted here)...
And of course, it’s absolutely laughable for Boebert to fancy herself as anyone who has any right whatsoever to talk about spiritual matters (especially in light of this).
Anyway, here is the Cousins clip...
Update: I have to admit that I'm not surprised by this. However, I am repulsed by it.
Update 1 6/15/22: Yeah, I probably should have realized that that story was fake (here), but given what Boebert routinely says about our side, I'm not going to sweat it too much.
Update 2 6/15/22: And a lot of my ambivalence has to do with nonsense exactly like this.
...and speaking of treasonous U.S. House Republicans, this clip from TYT Investigates tells us about Andy Biggs from Arizona, who, in an effort to deflect from asking for a pardon from President Fergus Laing, is now complaining about the size of tortillas...just say “oops” and get out...and I mean that literally in Biggs’ case (oh, but “Curtsy Kyrsten” LOVES Biggs, doesn’t she? And when it comes to the claim about Hangin’ Judge JR and Trump’s second impeachment, I give you this.).
Indeed, every accusation is a confession...
...and it looks like the 1/6 Commission pretty much laid bare the totally unrestrained grift of the administration of Cult 45, to the tune of a quarter mil, as noted in this Lincoln Project clip...
...and Sam and Emma of The Majority Report give us their take on the recent alleged gun deal that the Senate is hinting at passing (with Dem Chris Murphy of Connecticut talking about it on “Morning Jo(ke)”...again, not blaming Murphy since he’s doing his best, but given the stakes here, this is really weak sauce)...
Update 3 6/15/22: I purposely didn't say much about Chris Jacobs in the prior clip because I was saving it for this.
...and I admit that I’m a bit behind on this item, but I wanted to mention it anyway, as it has to do with the Dave Weigel/Felicia Sonmez dustup at the WaPo over Weigel forwarding what was definitely a bad joke via Twitter, though I think Weigel made amends for it every way he could – I usually try to avoid online media stuff like this, but I honestly thought this story was instructive for the reasons pointed out primarily by Ana and Cenk, and also David Shuster, who did indeed make his name with Whitewater many years ago – God, Sonmez MADE IT by getting a big media job with the WaPo, and she basically burned it all down, and for what?...
Update 6/19/22: I swear to God, Maher is nothing but a troll at this point (here). He should just do us all a favor and retire.
...and this day has some sentimental importance for yours truly, so I think it’s apropos to include this tune.
Beau gives us his take on inflation and gas prices...yeah, I know the inflation news over the summer hasn’t been good, driven by the price of fuel...I’m old enough to remember gas rationing in the ‘70s, and hopefully we won’t see that again of course...and I thought Beau did a good job of tying high gas prices back to food costs from the drought in CA, to say nothing of the war in Ukraine...and I knew Beau would also tie this back to Biden’s really good job creation numbers, which I think is an important consideration also – of course, the usual suspects are piling on as only they can (here – and Art Laffer is to economics what Mehmet Oz is to medicine)...
...and Trevor Noah and Roy Wood, Jr. of “The Daily Show” bring us some fairly recent headlines focusing on the latest gun idiocy, gas prices also, “lonely white dudes,” etc (very mildly NSFW/H)...
...and speaking of guns, it looks like “the world’s greatest deliberative body” may have some really weak compromise of a deal coming up...but first, they have to play this Beltway/media/political kabuki BS of “well, maybe we have a framework that Repugs will accept...but oh no, one of the 10 who are supposedly on board may not accept it, to say nothing of Manchinema of course” and then this whole alleged compromise deal could go up in flames...just talk to me when you’ve actually signed off on something, OK (more here...and David Doel give us more in the next clip).
Sooo, now that this half-assed gun bill looks like it may pass the Senate, I’m sure Sen. Mr. Elaine Chao is going to “turn it up to 11” when it comes to bitching about a bill to protect “I Like Beer” Kavanaugh and the other SCOTUS justices.
Well, here is what I also want to see in the bill for the Senate Minority Leader:
A ban on guns brought into any chamber of governance on the federal, state and local level, as well as any court or judicial office. Anyone caught in violation would receive an automatic 20-year federal prison sentence. Also, anyone bringing such a weapon into a range of 1,000 feet from said official would be subject to the same penalty (such as in an open public forum including a supermarket or a street corner).
The same automatic sentence for anyone issuing any kind of a terroristic threat against a judge or official of government on the federal, state and local level, or anyone using a firearm for that purpose against a judge or a public official (aimed primarily at those troglodytes who tried to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and others in her administration).
The same automatic sentence for anyone constructing any kind of means to communicate a terroristic threat or using social media or any other kinds of methods of communication to issue such a threat (this goes out to those brainless wonders who constructed a scaffold on 1/6 at the same time as the chant of “hang Mike Pence” was proclaimed inside the U.S. Capitol).
The seizure of any kind of mass communication equipment and the impounding of all records including financial transactions originating from such a group as noted above (destruction of any records pursuant to such an investigation would also be punishable with the same 20-year federal sentence).
The automatic sentencing of anyone associated with such a group to the same 20-year term (even if they aren’t members) who are found to be acting in concert with them to achieve a terroristic threat against a public official (an excuse to put Steve Bannon in irons and dumped into a cell at long last...and hey, if we manage to nab The Swanson TV Dinner Heir too, I’d call that a win-win).
So with that pretext out of the way, here is the Doel clip...
Update 6/17/22: Yep, this is about what I figured (God, how tiresome this script is!).
..and turning to the 1/6 Committee hearings (and the second one is apparently taking place now), Ari Melber talks about committee chair Bennie Thompson reminding us that the military, members of Congress and the president have sworn an oath to uphold the Constitution against enemies “foreign and domestic,” which arose in the aftermath of the Civil War (Melber discusses this with Michael Beschloss and Chai Komanduri...and GREAT POINT by Komanduri to mention Iran-Contra...and “I hope people are listening” too, but if 20 million saw the first hearing, that fortunately is a good sign)...
...and related to the 1/6 Committee and Liz Cheney’s claim that members of Congress sought a pardon from Combover Caligula...yeah, AOC's right...the only question a Republican lawmaker in Congress should be asked is if they sought a pardon from the Gropenfuhrer for their activities related to 1/6...and actually, their answer should be admissible as evidence in the hearings (Brian Tyler Cohen tells us more)...
...and continuing with the theme of trying to undo the will of the majority of the voters in 2020, Adrienne Lawrence of TYT Overruled talks about Ginni Thomas’s communication with Mark Meadows and the 27 Arizona lawmakers in an effort to get the 2020 election overturned (more here)...
...and John and Jessica Burbank of The Damage Report bring us the news of the Tampa Bay Rays trying to put pride logos on their unis (for Pride Month) with 5 Rays players who didn’t want to go along with it...I think those 5 were wrong, but I’m not going to go crazy over it (and I thought the logos looked cool also)...
...and here's an upbeat little seasonal number to help get us through a case of "the Mondays."
(Next week might be a little dicey for posting...I don’t completely know yet.)
I realize The Lincoln Project probably can’t come right out and tell people to vote for Democrats because that might have certain implications for their fundraising, but I wish they would...this NSFW/H clip reminds us of what led up to the completely treasonous exercise on January 6th, 2021 (and after these hearings from the 1/6 commission are finished, #45 and Ginni Thomas, among others, should be arrested and “perp walked” in front of the Capitol building for everyone to see...and others smarter than your humble narrator have pointed out how tragic and disgusting it would be if the voters of this country returned these cretins to power because they were irritated over a shortage of baby formula or having to pay a few cents extra for a gallon of gas, with legislation to combat both of these issues fought tooth-and-nail by Republicans...I think this is a related cautionary message...this is hopefuly anyway)...
And by the way, I disagree with Liz Cheney easily about 96-97 percent of the time, but she's really "on the beam" here (and, as noted previously, will likely be voted out of office for it, though I'd love to be wrong)...
...and Trae Crowder, the “Liberal Redneck,” tells us that the people who REALLY need to watch the hearings are the one who likely will choose to ingest more propaganda from The Roger Ailes BS Factory instead (also NSFW/H...and yeah, I think “chimpanzees” is about right...and yeah, isn't this just too precious?)...
...and yes, going after “I Like Beer” Kavanaugh and his family is bad for all of the reasons Cenk points out here (and call me crazy, but based on the description, this character doesn’t sound like a “lib” to me), but it speaks volumes of course that that death eater Sen. Mr. Elaine Chao jumped to it to help Kavanaugh but of course won’t do a damn thing in the matter of gun carnage affecting the non-elites...
...and sticking with guns, David Doel does a little “compare and contrast” with U.S. House Democrats and Republicans (mildly NSFW/H...Raskin v. Gohmert, Porter v. Scalise, and AOC v. MTG...and yeah, that Texas numbskull gave up his seat to run for attorney general of that state and lost, so he’ll be completely out of politics as far as I know in a few months...womp womp...I know the Katie Porter clip is a bit of a repeat, but that definitely works for me)...
...and kudos to 13-yearold Naiara Tamminga for giving it here to a Grand Rapids, MI city commission board over the extra-judicial killing of Patrick Lyoya, who emigrated to the U.S. from the Republic of Congo to escape violence in that country (according to Lyoya’s father)...the irony here is disgusting beyond belief of course (more here)...
...and I just need something to help me decompress heading into the weekend – hope you're able to enjoy some time off also.
Chris Hayes gives us a bit of an overview of tonight’s prime time January 6th Committee hearings in the U.S. House, along with reminding us why Fix Noise doesn’t want to go anywhere near these hearings with the proverbial 10-foot pole, in no small part because their prime time personalities were involved in correspondence with the Trump White House while the insurrection took place...intersting historical context with the Watergate and Army-McCarthy hearings...
...and John of The Damage Report speaks with Jason Stanley, author of How Fascism Works, linking the “great replacement” BS from Fix Noise with the gun carnage from Anders Breivik and Christchurch in New Zealand (unfortunately, with the epidemic of gun violence, it isn't hard to forget what happned in Buffalo, though we shouldn't of course, and I include myself when I say that)...
...and when it comes to justifying the existence of AR-15 assault rifles for civilian use, the latest excuse from South Dakota Republican U.S. Senator John Thune is particularly ridiculous (Thune said they should be used for hunting prairie dogs...sorry if this sounds mean, but if it’s a choice between a prairie dog and a child, the prairie dog loses)...
...and Brian Tyler Cohen brings us another clip of Katie Porter giving it to some deserving flak for another corrupt industry, this one being the gun manufacturers of course, in the matter of the total lack of liability protection when comparing guns to just about any other product that could hurt or kill us...
...and David Doel tells us about the ads from John Fetterman pretty much introducing himself to us for the general election for the U.S. Senate seat from our beloved commonwealth, taking some veiled shots at Mehmet (“CALL ME DOCTOR, DAMMIT!”) Oz, who apparently is trying to vote in both NJ and PA as noted here, from the party that screeches the loudest about “voter fraud” (mildly NSFW/H...and yeah, I can relate about raising a young child...all the best)...
...and happy belated 80th birthday to Chuck Negron of Three Dog Night; this tune goes out to everyone who opposes the 1/6 Commission and still claims to love this country.
Brian Tyler Cohen talks about the recent White House speech by actor (and Uvalde, TX resident) Matthew McConaughey about trying to get “the world’s greatest deliberative body” to pull its goddamn thumb out and FREAKING DO SOMETHING! about guns...and yes, I’m blaming Not Your Father’s Republican Party for all the reasons Cohen points out (and apparently some Newsmax idiot asked if it was a stunt, as noted here...typical for those guttersnipes)...
Update 1: Call me crazy, but I didn't have "wingnuts blame smartphones for mass gun slaughter of children" on my bingo card (here).
Update 2: After reading this, I have to admit that I’m pretty goddamn furious at Jon Tester.
So Tester doesn’t think that now is the right time to talk about raising the age to buy a military-grade assault rifle, though (about a sentence or two after his makes that idiotic claim), he also says, “The problem is not going to go away.”
No shit, Sherlock!
Tester (along with former Montana Gov. Steve Bullock) are reliably some of the first people to whine about “the Dems writing off rural voters.” Yes, the Dems do indeed have some work to do on that score (and for the zillionth time, paging @harrisonjaime), but what is INFINITELY more destructive to Dem turnout is people like Tester utterly caving on issues where there is a broad consensus of support (to get an idea of the work that Tester’s state needs to do on this urgent issue, please click here). Of course, Tester and Bullock will be the first to blame “the squad” when there’s a whiff of a negative opinion in our media against Democrats, when those two have done more than their part to completely turn off Democratic voters.
And Tester is hardly a first offender when it comes to bailing on issues that the Dems could use to build a broad consensus of support. As noted here, Tester was one of the turncoats who shot down the $15-an-hour federal minimum wage.
I agree with “Curtsy Kyrsten” on virtually nothing, but she once said that there were Democrats hiding behind her skirt, or words to that effect, when it comes to torpedoing popular bills in the Senate. I think, in the manner of a stopped clock being right twice a day, Sinema was correct. She was talking about Coons and Carper for sure, and maybe even Maggie Hassan. But I KNOW she was talking about Tester too.
...and speaking of media idiots (in the prior clip), Sam and Emma point out that we recently observed the 19th anniversary of “Suck On This” day from The Moustache of Understanding (here), tying back to Tom Friedman’s latest whining about Biden’s alleged bloated spending or whatever, which is even more ridiculous given what happened to BBB...yeah, I have a feeling that that will be the corporate media narrative heading into the fall, cheered on by treasonous Republican insurrectionists, that we’re dealing with inflation because that commie socialist Sleepy Joe Biden gave way too much money to “the poors” as part of COVID relief, with our fourth estate frauds betting that people (including allegedly oh-so-august-in-their-imaginations independent voters) will completely forget that THE CHOICE AT THE TIME WAS TO STAY HOME AND TAKE CARE OF YOUR KIDS OR GO TO A JOB WHERE YOU WOULD LIKELY DIE FROM COVID B/C WE WERE FULLY IN THE MIDDLE OF A WAVE OF CONTAGION!
Will that be a winning bet? God, I hope not, but we’ll see (and kudos to Sam for giving Friedman a dose of his own medicine, as it were)...
...and Thom Hartmann reminds us of the total scam that, in fact, is Medicare Advantage (sooo, apparently based on the report Thom discusses, M.A. will deny 1/4 of the recommended procedures, therapies, etc. from your health care provider...what a bunch of f*cking criminals, and I’m definitely not talking about the provider...and good job by Thom to remind us that M.A. was spawned under Former President Highest Disapproval Rating In Gallup Poll History)...
...and Farron Cousins tells us about this Blake Masters idiot in Arizona (here), who basically said the quiet part out loud and straight up blamed African Americans for gun violence; Masters might as well be wearing a white hood (and I just want to say THANK YOU to Cousins for somebody FINALLY refuting that utter BS wingnut talking point that Chicago is somehow the epicenter of all gun violence in this country...yeah, that city has issues, but primarily from guns brought in from Indiana, which, last I checked, had a Republican governor)...
...and this More Perfect Union clip tells us about Starbucks workers facing reprisals for their union-related activities (yep, Howard Schultz is just another corporatist tool as noted here, but we knew that of course)...
...and RIP James Seals – I might have included this tune regardless of the season since it’s probably more closely identified with Seals and Crofts than any other.
This CBS News report features Uvalde, TX mom Angeli Gomez speaking with reporter Lilia Luciano; Gomez showed incredible bravery running into the school to save her two kids, despite the very WORST efforts of the beyond-useless Uvalde, TX cops (and threatened with a probation violation as noted here - Judas H. Priest)...
...and speaking of Cops Behaving Very Badly, John and Francesca of The Damage Report tell us about two Arizona officers who (allegedly) watched a man drown and did nothing in response...yeah, I think “glorified bouncers for society” is a spot-on take (more here)...
...and sticking with the theme of law enforcement, Farron Cousins tells us that Fix Noise news mannequin Rachel Campos-Duffy encouraged a friend of hers to illegally cross the southern U.S. border (again, “allegedly,” and of course it was to try and make President Biden look bad, as indeed is the goal of EVERYTHING from that trash network)...
...and Jayar, Cenk and Amy Vilela of TYT tell us about the wingnuts flipping out at Pizza Hut for encouraging reading LGBTQ-pride-themed books – still never an excuse to buy franchise pizza as far as I’m concerned, but I’d definitely make Pizza Hut an exception for this (interesting take by Cenk on the projection going on here too; I definitely tend to believe that)...
...and I apologize for finding out about this video a little late...I was wondering if ANYBODY was going to hold our world leaders to account for sucking up to Our Former Ol’ Buddy Vlad Putin, and this New York Times clip from about a couple of weeks ago does exactly that...hard to properly describe the unbelievable failure of world leadership on this score...there were plenty of warnings that were completely ignored...
Update 10/7/22: And I apologize for neglecting this heroic journalist who was murdered on Putin's birthday (wink, wink)...I know 5 were convicted in her killing as noted here, and 2 of the 5 ended up receiving life sentences.
...and this tune was No. 1 on the hit parade for WXYZ in Detroit 56 years ago yesterday as noted here.
Ana and Cenk of TYT bring us a survey indicating that 51 percent favor arming teachers while 37 percent oppose...I’d like to know more about the sampling of this poll and how the questions were worded, though sadly this may be legit...God, I hope not (and this poll once more confirms my belief that, overwhelmingly, independent voters are goddamn idiots, and yes, I agree with the assessment that more – how can I put this? – strident Dem messaging is missing as usual, and that indeed is feeding a perception of “Screw it, let’s do something” regardless of how dumb it may be...however, I think it’s pretty crappy for Cenk to take shots, if you will, at Chris Murphy...HE DOESN’T HAVE ANY GODDAMN LEVERAGE! WHAT THE HELL ELSE DO YOU EXPECT HIM TO DO??!!)...
...and yeah, as far as the “party of Lincoln” is concerned, let’s just let our teachers and kids be sacrificial lambs, if you will, to the altar of “GUNS, GUNS, GUNS” (and how apropos to end the clip with that death eater Sen. Mr. Elaine Chao)...
...and Mehdi Hasan gives us a follow-up on the Uvalde gun slaughter, telling us (among other things) that that Arredondo dude (or whatever his name is) who I guess was the police chief apparently wasn’t even carrying a police radio while the massacre in that school was taking place (Hasan also mentions Chris Murphy trying to get a bill passed in the Senate; yeah, good luck there –Hasan interviews Manuel Oliver of Change The Ref...condolences to Oliver for his tragic loss)...
...and oh look, it’s “Dr. New Jersey” trying to skate into the U.S. Senate, running a similar grifting scam as the head of his party (and this stuff about not giving up his Turkish citizenship unless he's elected, as noted here and in the video, is complete horseshit) – to help John Fetterman, click here...
...and I now give you the latest installment of “This Day In Doomsy History” (more or less) from 6/5/14, in which a whole bunch of “I’m Not A Scientist” Repugs say that climate change doesn’t exist, including Rand “Fake Ophthalmologist” Paul and “No Corporate Tax” Pat Toomey...their complete and utter failure to act on this most urgent of all urgent issues is important to remember when you consider this...
I knew it was only a matter of time until mass gun slaughter came to my ‘burb, if you will, and it did last night with a mass shooting that took place on South Street in Philadelphia, leaving 3 dead and 14 wounded, at last count (this is indeed a developing story)...
Update: It may get to the point where this dumb little blog will only have time to post about gun violence, though I hope not of course (here - and wasn't Chattanooga already hit with an attack?).
Update 6/6/22: I may never leave the house again without a flak jacket (here).
Update 9/29/22: And by the way, the next time you hear Repugs braying about more $$ for mental health, remember this (Bri-Fi was the only Repug who supported it, but he also supports gun reciprocity, so meh).
...and this report tells us that the rest of the world thinks we’ve lost our damn minds on this issue (in the wake of the Uvalde slaughter...I know we already knew that, but it bears repeating)...
...and this related video is aimed right at Sen. Mr. Elaine Chao, you might say (NSFW/H, but for a good reason - and this sure fits their wretched profile, doesn't it? And of course I'm referring to the "party of Lincoln.")...
Farron Cousins tells us about teachers protesting Cancun Cruz’s response to the Uvalde slaughter (and yeah, this sure fits Cruz’s utterly wretched profile also, doesn’t it?)...
...meanwhile, in the other chamber of the U.S. Congress, Eric Swalwell took it right to Repug lawmakers including Gym Jordan by blowing up their ridiculous talking points in favor of inaction on gun control (and by the way, for the benefit of any wingnut out there who could be reading this – doubtful, I know, but still – I know that the “AR” in the name of the AR-15 weapon of mass murder represents the name of the gun manufacturer...and GREAT JOB in particular by Swalwell to point out about $350 million in police funding in the COVID relief bill passed last year that was completely opposed by Republicans including Bri-Fi)...
...and Ayman Mohyeldin, sitting in for Rachel Maddow, speaks with Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson about the Repug party poll disruptions planned for the fall across multiple states under the guise of “election integrity,” including Michigan of course (with Cleta Mitchell using Fairfax County, VA as a model for disruption...Mitchell of course is “best buds” with Ginni Thomas, which, as we know, ties back to the 1/6 insurrection as noted here...all of this, in addition to likely being illegal as hell, looks like a good argument for mail-in voting)...
...and Thom Hartmann asks if this country will survive a “fourth turning” based on this book...and boy, I hope he’s right about a new progressive era arising from our current misery, but it looks like we’ll all have to wait and see of course (and do our best to try and bring that about)...
...and this DW report tells us about the ongoing destruction in the Donbas region, specifically in Sievierodonetsk, with the U.S. and Germany apparently sending some more heavy weapons to that besieged country of Ukraine, with reports by correspondents Rebecca Ritters, Frank Ledwidge (I like the line about treating the saber-rattling from Sergey Lavrov with “mild contempt”), Mathias Bolinger and Barbara Wesel, hosted by Gerhard Elfers...
...and returning to this country, this More Perfect Union clip tells us about Amazon workers in North Carolina trying to unionize (motivated by the triumph for union rights at the Amazon Staten Island facility)...
...and when it comes to the economy, I think we should definitely pay attention to Robert Reich’s 5 ways to fight back against corporate price gouging (using inflation as an excuse, of course...and I’d forgotten that The Sainted Ronnie R legalized stock buy backs in ’82, but I guess I shouldn’t be surprised)...
...and I neglected to mention the passing earlier this week of drummer extraordinaire Alan White, famous for his time with Yes as well as sitting in on “All Things Must Pass” by George Harrison of course as well as The Plastic Ono Band...here is one of his signature performances.
Chris Hayes brings us the story of the parents of the Uvalde, TX mass murder victims decorating the tiny caskets for their kids (there are just no words at a certain point)...Hayes also commendably takes apart the right-wing BS excuse about a teacher allegedly leaving a door open that the mass murderer used to gain entry (I don’t know how the cops and politicians in that locality find a way to sleep at night, but somehow I guess they do)...
...and Trevor Noah makes similar points with humor, though it is a bit of a fine line I’ll admit when it comes to calling out life forms like Repug U.S. Senator RoJo of Wisconsin (and to help Mandela Barnes, click here...mildly NSFW/H)...
...and Brian Tyler Cohen tells us about the idiot Repug U.S. House Rep Billy Long of Missouri, who blames...wait for it!...ABORTION ABORTION ABORTION ABORTION ABORTION ABORTION ABORTION ABORTION ABORTION and ABORTION for gun violence; I have to say that that’s a neat little way to tie together the biggest pet peeves of the wingnuts, though of course it has nothing to do with verifiable truth and reality (and apparently this Long clown is running for the U.S. Senate...NSFW/H also)...
...and John and Francesca of The Damage Report discuss Biden claiming that there are “rational Republicans” on the gun issue in the wake of the Uvalde massacre (and I hate to admit it, but Francesca is right that the Repugs “do stuff” once they get power...of course, they use it to screw over everybody of course...I think Francesca is right to blame the Dems since they supposedly hold power in “the world’s greatest deliberative body,” but the U.S. Senate remains a deeply broken institution, mainly, but not exclusively, because of Republicans...and I know what the Sunday morning shows are, but they’re basically pabulum on behalf of the political/media/industrial complex where authority can pretty much get its way without much push back...in fewer words, Biden and his people blew it by not seizing the opportunity as noted here)...
...and speaking of those ridiculous Sunday programs, I don’t believe we’ve heard so much as a peep out of “Governor Bully” in the wake of the Uvalde massacre; Christie has made a career out of vilifying teachers every way possible, so you’d think he’d be “in his glory” now...
Update 6/5/22: Yeah, I guess he was bound to say something utterly stoo-pid at some point, so I suppose this was inevitable.
..and Sam and Emma of The Majority Report discuss this terrific opening campaign ad from Charles Booker running against Rand (“Fake Ophthalmologist”) Paul in the Kentucky U.S. Senate race...GREAT points about creating an actual infrastructure to run a campaign as opposed to trying to drown your opponent in negative campaign ads, which, for a Dem, works approximately never (to help Booker, click here)...
...and this tune doubles as our regional weather forecast and I guess what you could call the opening of my summer selections – hope you enjoy.
I don’t know who Texas Paul is – the last clip I posted from him included a lot of righteous outrage IMO – but this one is pretty thoughtful and deliberate about why Our Lord would be closer to a Democrat than a Republican...hard to argue as far as I’m concerned...
...and Max Burns of Rebel HQ tells us about a Texas teacher (speaking of “the land of the yellow rose”) named Taylor Mora who made a Tik Tok video explaining what she has to do to try and keep herself and her students safe in the event of an active shooter...I saw a tweet recently saying that, if you’re mad at Biden and the Dems and decide to stay home on election day this year, then congratulations...you’ve ceded power to these goddamn lunatics like Lauren Boebert, MTG, Gaetz (is he EVER going to be locked up for alleged sex with a minor?), Biggs, Gosar, and the rest of that sorry lot...not saying you can’t complain about Biden and the Dems when it’s warranted, but just know what the stakes are, OK?...
Update: This murderous insanity truly is never going to end, is it (here)?
...and Ana and Cenk of TYT tell us about a 20-year study by New York University and the American University of Beirut demonstrating how neoliberalism affects our acceptance of income inequality (more here)...
...and oh, don’t look now, but 5 Republicans were kicked off the primary ballot for committing election fraud according to the state board of canvassers in Michigan; once more, the party screaming about “voter fraud” needs to take a look in the mirror (Farron Cousins explains)...
...and let’s not forget that, when it comes to the U.S. Senate race in Ohio, Repug nominee J.D. Vance truly thinks that you’re stoo-pid...yep, grifting con man passing himself off as some “down home” guy or whatever – typical for today’s “Trumpster fire” version of the Repug Party (here and here – to help Vance’s opponent, Dem Tim Ryan, click here)...
...and there’s a brief bad word in this tune, but otherwise I think it’s a pretty cool and mellow summer selection (will adjust the playlist accordingly now for the time of year), so here it is.
David Doel tells us that departing Repug U.S. House Rep Adam Kinzinger wants the legal age for gun purchases to be raised to 21 as well as making AR-15s off limits (especially open carry for that type of weapon of death...and I have to admit that I didn’t know about the competition between the NRA and Gun Owners of America...and I think the phrase “grifting scam” is apropos...by the way, Kinzinger and Liz Cheney have stood tall for the committee looking into the 1/6 insurrection, but because the Repugs are now the wholly-owned Trump party, both will lose their political careers over it...Kinzinger has already said he’s out partly because of redistricting, and last I checked, Cheney was losing to her Trump-supported primary opponent in Wyoming by 30 points as noted here)...
...and Beau echoes some of Kinzinger’s points here...I like his ideas about regulating gun ownership, getting at the root issues, including trying to change the culture of misogyny and glorifying video game violence (though I think that becomes a “straw man” argument at a certain point...if someone gets stabbed in a sword fight, does that mean they can blame the estate of William Shakespeare?), Medicare for All so we can stop talking about mental health and DO SOMETHING about it, as well as raising the age of gun ownership, AR-15s in particular, to 21...
...and when it comes to the carnage inflicted by mass gun-related slaughter, Brian Tyler Cohen tells us that Greg Abbott was booed recently when he showed up for a memorial at Uvalde, TX for the victims of the attack in that city...yeah, I can see that the Repug strategy will be what they always pull, and that is more lies and avoidance, then people’s outrage gets spent and before you know it it’s time to move onto the next disaster...lather, rinse, repeat...
Update 2: And apparently the Uvalde school may be bulldozed (here), which is a typical move by a despotic regime trying to cover up a crime.
Update 6/1/22: Definitely food for thought (here).
...and David Pakman tells us that an anti-vaccine, anti-gay street preacher allegedly killed his wife because God told him to – huh? And I think this awful story shows a bit that you can’t just say “oh. mental illness caused this” without evaluating all the factors at hand, such as comparing this to the alleged Buffalo shooter as Pakman does...glad to see Pakman doing his best to make sure the connection between the Buffalo lunatic and the "great replacement" garbage from The Swanson TV Dinner Heir doesn't get the "memory hole" treatment...
...and RIP Ronnie Hawkins; I’m sure you can pretty much regard him as a “founding father” for many artists, including The Band of course...
...and happy belated 55th birthday to Sven Pipien of The Black Crowes.
This latest clip from Second Thought talks about Generalissimo Trump trying to steal the next election and how democracy could be perverted by ANY demagogic politician, though one party in particular has definitely shown more of an impulse for that as we know (and apparently Our Treasonous Orange Pustule of a former “president” was acting like a sociopath again here)...
...and when it comes to the Uvalde, TX massacre, Ali Velshi tells us about the student walkouts across the country over our complete inaction on the issue of school gun violence (and oh yeah, there are some “adults” saying the students shouldn’t be allowed to protest, which of course totally ignores our tradition of protest in this country and shows how stoo-pid some of these people are)...
..and speaking of stoo-pid people, I think that’s a pretty good lead-in to this segment with Ron Johnson, the Repug U.S. Senatorial mistake from Wisconsin, who of course blames CRT, video games, and the lack of Sunday picnics (or something) for the Uvalde slaughter...there’s so much utter BS in what Johnson is saying that it’s hard to unpack all of it, but if he seriously thinks the federal government can’t solve problems, WHY THE HELL IS HE WORKING FOR IT??!!
At least RoJo doesn’t have to worry about being the biggest idiot in the U.S. Senate, as long as Tommy Tuberville continues to take up space in “the world’s greatest deliberative body” (and to do something about Johnson, click here and here)...also, when it comes to gun solutions that actually worked (until 2004 that is), let’s not forget this (as David Shuster pointed out, discussing with Jayar Jackson)...
...and Farron Cousins tells us that TX Governor Greg Abbott attended a fundraiser right after the Uvalde massacre, which, as far as I’m concerned, is spitting in the metaphorical eye of the dead kids, their parents, families, classmates, and other school personnel who will now be forever traumatized by this latest episode of mass murder in this country...
...and I thought this was a well-done Lincoln Project video with today’s holiday in mind...
...and yes, I know this video is pretty much UK-centric when it comes to the military profiled here, but I think it’s appropriate for this day all the same, and also because this song was written about a Canadian service member who died in Afghanistan, and for the first time since forever, we don’t have an official military presence in that country, though God only knows if civilian contractors are over there...this goes out to everyone who has paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom, as well as their families and friends.
Chris Jansing of MSNBC speaks with investigative correspondent Tom Winter about what is being called the “Greatest Failure in Modern American Law Enforcement History” (as pertains to an active shooter) as Winter puts it (quoting Steve McCraw), referring to the Uvalde, TX cops (and I’m sure this means that we’ll now be deluged on social media with a whole bunch of “back the blue” memes to basically tell anybody protesting over this to SHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUP...Frank Figliuzzi is also included, though the clip ends before he can add anything...more here)...
Update 2 5/29/22: I don't suppose this insanity is ever going to end, is it (here)?
...and this Now This clip features an interview with 10-year-old Jayden Perez, who thankfully survived the Uvalde massacre, though I think it’s safe to say that he’ll probably never feel completely safe in a classroom again (heckuva job, Greg Abbott, Dan Patrick, Ken Paxton, Ted Cruz, etc.)...
...and Sam and Emma of TMR tell us about what appears to be the Repug talking points in response to the Uvalde slaughter (“one door, mental health, blah blah blah”...are you f*cking kidding me?)...
...and Brian Tyler Cohen tells us about the thoroughly incomprehensible, word salad response from Repug U.S. Senate candidate Herschel Walker when he was questioned about the Uvalde carnage (to help Dem U.S. Senate candidate and incumbent Raphael Warnock, click here)...
Update 6/13/22: It's probably only a matter of time until #LyingHerschel starts trending on Twitter (here).
...and I don’t know who “Texas Paul” is, but I have to admit that this is a pretty righteous rant (video is from Meidas Touch – they tried to bleep him but an “F” bomb snuck through, so clip is NSFW/H)...
...and RIP Andy Fletcher of Depeche Mode; I’d like to dedicate the title of this tune to the Uvalde cops.
