Brittany Page, sitting in for David Pakman, tells us that Bronzer Beelzebub thinks he’d win California in an election if Jesus counted the votes, or something, in an interview with Dr. Phil that was so soft he should have brought a couple of pillows for the occasion (as Page says, even when Our Ochre Abomination is handed the talking points, he still fumbles them...and the CA stuff is yet another self-inflicted mess #45 will be able to just skate past with the help of our corporate media)...I’m not familiar with that quote from Anne Lamott, but it makes sense...
...and Thom Hartmann asks about the miraculously-healing wound in the right ear of the Gropenfuhrer from the Butler, PA shooting...interesting that we apparently haven’t seen any medical records related to the attack from the hospital where #45 was treated – I guess we’re supposed to take it on faith that it happened exactly the way Combover Caligula said it did...well, color me suspicious (and Thom alludes to the ongoing story of the incident at Arlington with Our Treasonous Orange Pustule and his minions...more on that is here...and I think Thom is referring to Evander Holyfield, not Mike Tyson)...
...and Miss Beau offers commentary on the Arlington mess...yep, there was a time when this garbage by itself would have been enough to sink a presidential campaign, but then again, how many damn times have we said that in the past about #45 and his myriad other f*ckups?...
...and OF COUURRRSE, we have this from the demented sociopath running for his old job...
...and Major General (Retired) Paul Eaton discusses the impact of Project 2025 on our military, as well as our country overall really – if you watch no other video in this post, please watch this one...
...and oh look...Cantaloupe Capone posted some particularly nutty memes on Truth Septic in response to Jack Smith refiling charges against him...and of course, what would a Trumpist rant be without at least one misspelling...double check Marc Elias, dude (NSFW/H)...
...and Farron Cousins tells us about another recording that has just come out demonstrating that alleged couch-f*cker J.D. Vance is truly one of the most sanctimonious assh*les on the planet, uttering more garbage about being uncomfortable around adults who don’t have biological children...imagine the response if a Democrat actually spouted hateful crap like this...
...and today would have been the 80th birthday of The Eternal Molly Ivins; to say we could use her incisive wit and observations now is an enormous understatement (and I'm pretty sure they were discussing this)...
...and in accordance with my annual tradition heading into the Labor Day weekend, I give you a little “Friday with Frank”; I have a couple of more summer tunes to get to before the official end of the season.
Rachel Maddow brings us the story on how the “party of Lincoln” is turning into nothing but a Trumpist cult, turning her (and our) attention to the states...for example, in Michigan, someone in that state’s Repug party was escorted out of a state convention by police (and before anyone has a desire to feel sorry for Pete Hoekstra, allow me to point out his incredibly racist campaign ad some years ago)...and it looks like Flori-DUUH! went through something like that also with Christian Ziegler...and you KNEW Kari Lake in Arizona would show up in this mess somewhere too...and of course Ronna Romney McDaniel was forced out by Mary Trump...and oh yeah, let’s not forget Colorado also (chaos is indeed their brand, people)...
...and Robert Reich reminds us that it’s all about the stinking tax cuts for those “one percent” bastards out there who are willing to help crater our democracy to protect their privilege (and that sure as hell means supporting Combover Caligula)...
...additionally, Lawrence O’Donnell tells us that the DJIA and NASDAQ are apparently reacting favorably to the ascent of Kamala Harris in the polls, and the descent of the Gropenfuhrer (and Jack Smith refiled charges against Our Treasonous Orange Pestilence)...also, O’Donnell brings us Harris’s ad to encourage home ownership, which hits yet another important issue (and draws a contrast with Cantaloupe Capone and his predatory real estate practices)...and boy, is O’Donnell right about the electoral college (slightly NSFW/H at the very end)...
...and Ben Gleib tries to find some semblance of sanity from the leader of “Cult 45”...yeeaahh, it’s not going to happen...
...and this clip from More Perfect Union brings us the awful story of Antonio Gaston, a Stellantis assembly line worker who died on the job; you could make the case that he never should have had to relocate to the plant where he lost his life, but he was forced to go there after a plant closure in Belvidere, Illinois, which Biden, Shawn Fain, and the rest of the UAW are (commendably) fighting...
...and I thought this was a bit of a life-affirming newer tune...advice for us all.
Chris Hayes makes the case that the Dems need to win convincingly this fall, mainly because of that relic called the electoral college that gives an advantage to the south and Midwest in this country that works in favor of Repugs, as well as the garbage taking place on election boards across this nation in which they’re preparing not to certify a (hopefully) Harris-Walz win...I would say that the “compare and contrast” clips between Kamala Harris and Cantaloupe Capone speak volumes...
...and Miss Beau gets a bit POed (commendably) about Our Ochre Abomination’s claim about what was left behind from our Afghanistan withdrawal, as well as #45’s nonsense about no troops being shot at in 18 months, or some such idiocy – once more, I give you this in response...
...and concerning the VP nominee on the Repug ticket, I just want to revisit the DNC briefly to focus on the speech from John Russell of More Perfect Union (an MPU clip follows later), with Russell being an actual Appalachian, as opposed to the alleged couch f*cker (with Jordan Uhl, Sharon Reed and Yasmin Khan) ....um, I’m sure Sharon Reed wasn’t trying to be complimentary by calling Vance the “master of the pivot”; Vance isn’t a “master” of anything...and boy, that was some long-winded instruction from the “old gray lady” on how to cover Vance; wonder if they’d consider issuing instructions like that for a Dem? You know, like “when pronouncing the Dem presidential nominee’s first name, emphasize the first syllable,” and, “She didn’t actually allow MS-13 gang members into the country, despite Trump’s ads to the contrary”...somehow I think I already know the answer to that one...
...and despite what David Pakman is inferring here, I honestly don’t think that Vance will get dumped for RFK Jr (the latter just suspended his campaign)....good job by Pakman to lead in with the snarky stuff against the “brain worm” guy...I know I shouldn’t feel a shred of pity for Jr., but the stuff he’s talking about is so bonkers and not connected to anything remotely resembling politics in this country that I can’t help but feel a bit of sorrow, mainly for the fact that Jr. has so effectively driven a wedge into his storied family...in another context, his discussion about puberty rates could be useful, but not in any way when it comes to running for the White House (I’ve read that there are chemicals in our water that are a factor on that, but again, not useful stuff when running for the most important job in the country, if not the world)...
...and John Russell is back with this More Perfect Union clip on Elliott County, Kentucky – I mean no disrespect to the man who says quite rightly that Andy Beshear earned his vote, but quite wrongly adds that Joe Biden didn’t (another Dem screwup on messaging IMO), but those two opinions don’t make logical sense to me, especially considering this (Elliott County is on that list)...and I give Beshear credit for going back to the “FDR playbook,” which is what Dems should be doing EVERYWHERE as far as I’m concerned...
...and I now give you today's regional weather forecast.
David Shuster brings us the sorry tale of the Gropenfuhrer’s latest mess, this time at Arlington National Cemetery, posing for a photo-op in the company of our honored dead, which is pretty despicable and violates guidelines for visitors (here)...I would argue that he wouldn’t give a damn about the wreath-laying ceremony unless he could find a way to try and blame Biden/Harris for our withdrawal from Afghanistan (one response is here)...and Trump is such a military genius (snark) that he freed 5,000 of the Taliban as noted here...and concerning our service people, I’m still waiting for #45 to get the treatment he deserves for this...
Update 8/29/24: So now it appears that "MAGA Mike" Johnson ran interference to get you-know-who into Arlington (here)? I hesitate to say that this is "weird"...but it kind of is.
...and Jesse Dollemore (who actually DID serve) tells us that it sounds like the leader of “Cult 45” is getting ready to bail on the ABC debate with Kamala Harris...and of course there are a whole bunch of misspellings in that ridiculous tweet, including Donna Brazile...and that was a really cool video in support of Harris at the DNC IMO, including questioning “I Like Beer” Brett K. (mildly NSFW/H)...
...and David Doel brings us the results of a recent CNN panel of undecided voters, with two-thirds of those polled saying they would vote for VP Harris...and indeed, getting people off the couch to vote, as Doel puts it, is ALWAYS an issue...and yeah, I think the real estate guy only cares about his wallet and that’s about it (Project 2025 not so much)...mildly NSFW/H also...
Update 8/28/24: Apparently the real estate guy was a Trump plant...figures (here).
...and I know I alluded a bit to J.D. Vance (speaking of "getting off the couch" - heh) and the doughnut shop nonsense yesterday, but Sam, Emma and the crew from The Majority Report have more to say on that here...let’s see, Vance could have asked “Do you work other jobs besides this one?,” “Are any of you in high school or college?,” “Do you support family members?”...yeah, this is about what you would expect from someone trying to maintain a semblance of humanity amidst all of his obvious fakery...simple human decency is obviously a bridge too far for Senator “Hillbilly Elegy”...
...and this “TYT Investigates” clip lets us know about the efforts of Tim Walz to pass the STOCK Act, which is a ban on insider trading, signed into law by former President Obama here; Walz commendably moved this forward with the help of late U.S. House Reps Louise Slaughter (Dem) and Walter Jones (Repug)...I think there should also be a ban on stock trading, period, for federal government officials, but I’m not hopeful about that to be honest...
...and it’s hard for me to believe that it’s been 34 years today since we lost SRV – I think the occasion calls for this tune among his truly memorable body of work.
Mike Figueredo of The Humanist Report informs us that even some conservatives were grossed out by the attacks on Tim Walz’s son Gus at the Democratic National Convention (I thought kids were supposed to be “off limits,” which is why I’ve never said anything about Barron Trump, for example)...and as we see, Coulter and her lizard-brained, simpatico online nut cases said stuff typically cruel and stoo-pid...and by the way, I give Matt Walsh ZERO points here because his biggest problem with the attacks on Gus Walz is that they reflect an inability to “think strategically”...that’s about what you’d expect from a guttural lowlife like Walsh whose hateful vitriol ends up encouraging bomb threats against a children’s hospital...and I reluctantly have to go along with Figueredo here on the response to the Palestinian protests near the end; yeah, I get it that the Dems need AIPAC, but that doesn’t mean that they can pretend Palestinians don’t exist either...and kudos to former First Lady Michelle Obama for this (NSFW/H)...
...and David Shuster informs us that Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg gave it back recently to somebody named Lawrence Jones of Fix Noise over a smorgasbord of wingnut BS (Biden’s too old and incompetent, inflation, gun crime, the border, blah blah...and speaking of The Roger Ailes BS Factory and the Dem convention, I give you this...and in a related item, I give you this)...
...and Emma of The Majority Report presents a brief clip of Bernie Sanders’s speech attacking big $$ in politics (a bit of a veiled reference to AIPAC IMO for dark money spent to unseat Cori Bush and Jamaal Bowman in their primaries, though I also think those two had other issues besides the Israel lobby)...
...and sticking with the Dem convention somewhat (that’s where John and Brett Erlich were in this clip), we learn about an ad from Mango Mussolini attacking Harris on the border (God, this is boring!)...using images from Trump’s ruinous term and one from Morocco...womp womp! (this is a bit of a follow-up to the Tennessee Brando clip on Friday)...
...and Kyle Kulinski lets us know about J.D. Vance dodging the question about raising the minimum wage...good point by Kyle about mentioning the PRO Act and the fact that the couch f*cker (allegedly!) didn’t show up for the Senate vote on expanding the child tax credit...oh, and there’s this too (NSFW/H also)....
Tennessee Brando brings us a clip of Repug politicians refusing to carry water for Dementia J. Trump on the border any more, including James Lankford, “The Mittster” and Dan Crenshaw...absolutely shocking to hear common sense on this from Chip Roy also, but yeah, this is where we’re at...and I think we’ve truly entered The Twilight Zone when Dubya criticizes nativism and Smoot-Hawley, and #43 is absolutely right; of course, it would be nice if Commander Codpiece would actually criticize The Gropenfuhrer by name, but yeah, that will happen when everything turns into sunshine, lollipops and rainbows I know...and none of this will stop the "OMIGOD KAMALA HARRIS LET MS-13 GANG MEMBERS OVER OUR BORDER AND THEY DID CRIMING!!!" garbage ads...
...and Robert Reich tells us why the rents are so high, and I know it’s not exactly a revelation to find out that it’s because of price gouging, which is the theme of the next set of clips...and yeah, stock buybacks continue to be the insidious “gift that keeps on giving,” brought to us by The Sainted Ronnie R...looks like these private equity bastards are using a company called Real Page that allows them to collude on pricing...more on the meat companies follows in the next clip...
...and this from More Perfect Union tells us about some outfit called Agri Stats (alluded to in the Reich video) which apparently gathers consumer data shared by the meat packing industry (Tyson and Cargill in particular) in an effort to regulate prices (following the example of Real Page as noted above), which (and cut me a little slack on this, OK?) is quite likely ILLEGAL AS FREAKING HELL...not surprised to see Keith Ellison doing the right thing here, and I’m also not surprised to hear that overpricing at Walmart has driven price gouging...The Sherman Act may be the most important piece of antitrust legislation we’ve ever signed into law, and yeah, it needs updating for sure as stated in the clip...
...and Sam and Emma of The Majority Report bring us the news that a body of work is emerging showing that it’s pretty much price gouging that’s responsible for corporate inflation...nice work by The Groundwork Collaborative (and as soon as I saw Stephen Moore’s mug, I knew that we were in for a load of “bullpucky” about “oh, we can’t have an anti-price gouging law on the federal level because it will kill ‘mom and pop’ businesses,” putting aside the fact that many states already have such laws, as noted in the clip..and GREAT POINT about keeping Lina Khan on the job)...
...and as far as I’m concerned, you can always count on Thom Hartmann for an important history lesson on how we’ve come to this point where the “one percent” have managed to enact policies and write laws (and spout their media propaganda) that afflict the afflicted and comfort the comfortable, you might say...in the late 70s, what you would call movement conservatism was flat on its metaphorical back, but “The Gipper” brought it back to life and supercharged it...
...well, now that I’ve totally bummed everybody out, allow me to present a newer upbeat tune to kick off our weekend.
Brian Tyler Cohen brings us this clip of Cantaloupe Capone whining about how poorly he thinks he was treated by the Obamas at the DNC, which is hilarious when you consider that the leader of “Cult 45” rose to prominence of a sort by questioning the patriotism of our 44th president over and over...I honestly didn’t think Former President Hopey Changey was trying to get personal, but I could be wrong; I just thought he was mimicking the “accordion hands” bit from Our Ochre Abomination...but yeah, it sure would be funny if he DID mean to be personal, huh?...
...and Anthony Vincent Gallo of Occupy Democrats discusses the contrast between the affection shown to Dem VP nominee Tim Walz by former students/football players and the disdain for the Gropenfuhrer, and kudos to Neil Young for allowing the use of one of his many great tunes (and I know we’re all quite rightly remembering this great moment also)...
...and as a bit of a compare-and-contrast exercise, I give you this from The Lincoln Project on who would likely be holding cabinet positions in an utterly dystopian second term for Combover Caligula...
...and as the head of the “party of Lincoln,” Bronzer Beelzebub is more guilty than anyone else of depriving women of health care as a result of repealing Roe, but there are plenty of other culprits in his party who share blame as well...John Iadarola and Danielle Moodle remind us of that as they bring us this AP study informing us that over 100 pregnant women in medical emergencies were turned away from hospital ERs...GREAT point that we have the training and technology in this country to provide the medical care that pregnancy deserves, but wingnut ideology is the obstacle here as we know...
...and normally I would pay more attention to a stink bug or dung beetle than I would to a contemptible guttersnipe like Charlie Kirk, but I think that we need a reminder every once in a while of what a loathsome POS he truly is, as Sam Seder and Emma Vigeland of The Majority Report tell us (NSFW/H)...
...and I’m continuing to work my way down my list of summer tunes with this number.
Jesse Dollemore brings us the tale of the WaPo “fact checker,” making excuses for Our Ochre Abomination...yep, it’s another example of powerful people and institutions CONTINUING to cover up for #45...”you don’t have to carry water for a fascist” indeed...”democracy dies in both-siderist stoo-pidity” for sure (more here)...
...and I have to admit that I’m paying attention to the Dem convention in Chicago in dribs and drabs, you might say, but what I’m seeing is bangin’, especially the roll call (I heard someone say that there should be a play list of all the tunes from the states and territories, which is a great idea)...I’ve bitched about Dem messaging plenty of times, but kudos to them for getting it right here, especially on the positioning of AOC as Miss Beau says here...
...and as a bit of a compare-and-contrast exercise, I give you Our Treasonous Orange Pestilence and his hetero-sectional (heh) sidekick on their attempts to distance themselves from Project 2025...and no, I’m not going to stop mentioning that...as Yasmin Khan reminds us, those bastards at The Heritage Foundation (along with like-minded wingnut orgs) have been trying to basically undo our democracy for at least the last 40 years or so...and to do something about Lex Luthor Scott, click here...
...and Marc Elias and Sophie Feldman of Democracy Docket tell us about 9 more states run by the “party of Lincoln” that have sued President Biden over his attempt to expand voting...love the Star Wars bar scene reference...yep, “Trump sycophants” pretty much says it, especially when Elias talks about PA Republicans...more on this nonsensical, but dangerous, Independent State Legislature Theory is here...
...and RIP longtime Dem U.S. House Rep Bill Pascrell, Jr. of New Jersey...here, he does what he did best, and that was to call out GOP nonsense (and he did a good job being pretty active on Xitter also)...
...and I need a minute to set this up, so please bear with me...as noted here, today is the 50th anniversary of the Equal Educational Opportunities Act; I’m sure we’re all familiar with the Brown v. Board SCOTUS ruling in 1954 which ruled that school segregation was unconstitutional; well, I for one didn’t know about the so-called “massive resistance” to Brown, on display in Fairfax County, Virginia among other places...the Civil Rights Act of 1964 put some teeth, you might say, into the effort to ban racial discrimination in schools and public places that began with Brown (going up against the massive resistance movement), and the EEOA built on the Civil Rights Act to ensure schools accommodated students regardless of nationality and provided adequate resources for students who did not speak English...maybe TMI, but anyway, that gives me an excuse for a tune about education (well, a bit anyway).
Kyle Kulinski tells us about the latest Trumpian stoo-pidity, this time over saying the Presidential Medal of Freedom is somehow “better” than the Congressional Medal of Honor for our military, which the leader of Cult 45 blabbered about when introducing Miriam Adelson, widow of Sheldon, who donated gobs of dough on behalf of "Bibi" and his hateful regime (and who received a Presidential Medal of Freedom previously for it); Kyle gives a pretty good rundown of all of the ways the Gropenfuhrer bent over backwards for “the chosen people,” along with a terrific response from a vet on the medal BS...and seriously, are you surprised by this? (NSFW/H)...
...and Jesse Dollemore tells us about Cantaloupe Capone peddling more BS about tariffs before an audience of lemmings in Wilkes-Barre, PA (and as noted here, Our Ochre Abomination basically had to bribe our farmers at unsustainable levels to offset the impact of his dunderheaded economic policy, including the tariffs he supposedly loves)...
...and Miss Beau informs us that the idiot caucus in the U.S. House issued its impeachment report on Biden...still sounds like a nothing burger, which shouldn’t be surprising, timed to try and deflect from the Dem Convention in Chicago of course...and yeah, yet another shut down is looming because these GOP assclowns STILL can’t pass a budget on time...
...and Mike Figueredo of The Humanist Report brings us the news that, apparently, a focus group of Repug voters REALLY HATES J.D. Vance...c’est dommage! – clip also includes an extensive interview with Russell Vought, who makes it pretty damn clear that the Repug presidential and VP nominees are up to their eyeballs in Project 2025, which of course turned off at least one voter profiled in the Frank Luntz segment (NSFW/H)...
Update: Just keep f*cking that couch, J.D. - you're doing great (here and here).
...and this video from More Perfect Union tells us about the ongoing crisis in “the Sunshine State” with homeowners insurance; 1.2 million residents are insured publicly since private insurance is priced out of sight for most homeowners...didn’t know about the “trickle down” negative effects of losing homeowner’s insurance, but it makes sense unfortunately...and why am I not surprised that former Dem governor Charlie Crist apparently tried to make sure that Citizens Property Insurance was the insurer of last resort, but “Meatball Ron” blew that all up of course...and even the name “Slide Insurance” fills me with zero confidence...and the company was founded by an Enron lawyer, huh? What could go wrong, I wonder?...also didn’t know that State Farm was a member of ALEC, but it doesn’t surprise me in the least (and that quote from #DeathSantis at the end about “left-wing things” is a doozy all right...more garbage from the Flori-DUUH! guv is here)...
...and I don't know about you, but I'm in the mood for an upbeat summer tune while the season is still upon us.
Here is your occasional reminder (courtesy of The Lincoln Project) that Our Ochre Abomination wants to blow up our democracy, all for the sake of keeping his sorry orange butt out of the slam “(The SCOTUS) has given (Trump) a license for dictatorship” indeed...
...and David Pakman tells us about #45 making still more ridiculous claims, this time that energy prices would come down 50% under another godawful Trump term...and oh yeah, no one will be able to price gouge if you drill for more oil (my brain is hurting already)....and I have to admit that I haven’t seen a bullet wound up close fortunately, but that ear of his appears to have healed miraculously from the Butler, PA shooting (but at least he remembered the name of the guy who was killed, so that’s something I guess)...
...and Miss Beau tells us about the latest dustup concerning the Medal of Honor and some of the lowlifes who received it from Our Treasonous Orange Pestilence..GREAT story about Mary Walker from the Civil War era and her skill and bravery, and yes, she was a civilian who was awarded the Medal of Honor, which was rescinded for some dumb reason but was re-awarded (and I’m sure Miss Beau means President Andrew Johnson)...
Update: By the way (and I'm sorry I'm a little late with this), I didn't know that this video was a response to some typically insane remark from Bronzer Beelzebub about the Congressional Medal of Honor (watch this space for more on that).
...and Brian Tyler Cohen (with Marc Elias) inform us that a Georgia board of elections member who apparently has said he won’t certify the election result unless Trump wins (some assclown named Rick Jeffares) has now lobbied for a job in the Trump admin in the godawful event of Combover Caligula actually winning this fall (another GREAT point about the “safe harbor” date for the slate of electors, as well as January 6th of course, and Elias mentioning again that the point of the 1/6 insurrection was to prevent election certification so #45 wouldn’t have to leave office...and speaking of Brad Raffensperger...)...
...and RIP Phil Donahue – Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! interviewed him here (from about nine years ago) on the decision by MSNBC to boot Donahue off the air for his opposition to Dubya’s Not-So-Excellent Adventure in Iraq (echoed by Keith Olbermann at the time, among others...and actually, the invasion of Iraq was March 2003...”This is a nation of law unless we’re scared”...Nail. Hammer. Head.)...
...and this newer tune kind of helps ease us into the new week before it gets revved up near the end...I like the harmonies too – hope it works for a Monday.
I thought this was a great ad for Dem Lucas Kunce in the Missouri U.S. Senate race from John Goodman...so many reasons to oppose “Running Man” Josh Hawley, many of which are mentioned (more is here, and to help Kunce, click here)...
...and Jordan Uhl and Cenk Uygur of The Young Turks discuss a ballot initiative in support of abortion in AZ with 577K signatures, the highest total of signatures for a ballot initiative in that state’s history, and it looks like an abortion rights measure is gaining ground in Missouri also; a discussion follows about Josh Hawley and Lucas Kunce in that state...and I’m glad to hear an acknowledgement of Maryland from Jordan Uhl, since that is a dicey race indeed (some updated polling on Arizona appears a little later...as I’ve said, I try to be careful with TYT videos, but I think this is a good one to be fair)...
...and Leeja Miller takes another deep dive into the question of whether or not you should leave the US based on the possibility of Dementia J. Trump actually winning in November (yes, that possibility is looking less likely, but it will be a fight to the end, people)...I’m not going to kid you; this has been a topic of discussion within Le Manse Doomsy, but to say there are monumental implications of something like that is as big an understatement as you can imagine...”it is so hard to have any perspective when you’re in a burning building” and “When progressive perfection and martyrdom become the only acceptable way to participate in the fight for progressive change, most people are going to tap out” for sure...I think this is a pretty balanced look at the question, and props to Miller for actually going abroad and getting the “expat” perspective here (NSFW/H)...
...so what is Our Ochre Abomination railing about exactly since he and his fake hillbilly sidekick apparently are losing ground all over the place? Why, that would be the crowd size at the Harris/Walz rallies, with Our Treasonous Tiny Handed former *preznit yelling that the Dem pics are AI-generated, or something, as David Doel tells us (and Doel effectively debunks this nonsense, as if we expected #45 to actually tell the truth, which we don’t of course)...
...and Jesse Dollemore gives us an example of “moron math” practiced by the Repug presidential nominee...meanwhile, in the world of reality, inflation is at about 3 percent, which is about normal, so the Inflation Reduction Act from President Biden worked – and here is a fact check on the typical preposterous nonsense from our demented lying narcissistic sociopath about immigrants supposedly taking all of the jobs created under #46...more here (NSFW/H)...
...and this clip from More Perfect Union tells us about the heat obstacles faced by migrant workers who pick the fruit/produce that ends up in our markets and our dinner tables...I know it’s a broken record to keep saying this, but it bears repeating; you may have some chance with Dems on human rights issues like this (e.g., water breaks for workers in extreme heat), but you have no chance with the “party of Lincoln”...as I’ve said before, I’m old enough to remember when our corporate news media would make documentaries and air them in prime time, including this one related to this issue...and only 5 states have heat safety standards? I guess this is emblematic of a late-stage capitalist economy, unfortunately (and I’d pay money to see this Flori-DUUUH! asshat Thad Altman have to pick grapes, tomatoes, etc. in 100-plus-degree heat)...and as I watched this and realized that it would be up to OSHA to make sure farms did what they were supposed to, I can see agribusinesses running to the courts and citing the utterly ruinous SCOTUS ruling that kneecapped federal agency enforcement as a defense (here)...
...and I can’t let the week wind down without acknowledging that last Sunday marked the 10th anniversary, believe it or not, of the death of Robin Williams...good luck trying to pick just one clip of his best moments; I settled on this one from Johnny Carson – I could start filling up posts with clips from all over the place, and I probably still wouldn’t do him justice...as we know, he won his Oscar for “Good Will Hunting” in 1997, which was richly deserved; "Awakenings" was well done also - Williams was good, but Robert De Niro REALLY nailed his role...
...and as long as we’re discussing milestones, yesterday was the 55th anniversary of the beginning of the Woodstock Music and Art Fair in upstate New York – so many memorable performances IMO, including this one.
Texas Paul of the Meidas Touch Network calls out the neo-Nazi acting like a total nut at a Seattle airport...I’d heard a little about Heinz Guderian, but I admit I didn’t know much about him, except that he was referred to in a great song by Al Stewart...kind of disturbing to hear T.P. saying this Seattle goofball may very well end up killing people, but he’s probably right, though I’d love to be wrong of course...and here is more on what The Sainted Ronnie R did to this country's mental health (NSFW/H)...
...and color me shocked, but apparently, 29 of 36 people interviewed from these Project 2025 videos actually labored for Mango Mussolini during his prior ruinous term in office, including some public affairs dude who looks to me like Rasputin (you can Google the link yourself, people)...Desi Lydic of The Daily Show tells us about it (and more totally unsurprising stuff on this is here)...
...and boy, somebody is going to get sent back to the indoctrination factory for this one – John Iadarola and Sharon Reed (not them) of The Damage Report let us know that Newsmax apparently stumbled and reported the actual truth about Bronzer Beelzebub – the leader of Cult 45 referred to immigrants as “animals” and it was reported that way, and the wingnut audience for that channel lost their collective sh*t over it...so OF COOUURRSSE Newsmax caved...and I know you’ll be SHOCKED to hear about Fix Noise editing the clip to get rid of Biden acknowledging the trans day of visibility...not!...
...and man, if Cantaloupe Capone loses enough of his evangelical base, than that REALLY is going to go a long way for Harris/Walz...but again, this will be a fight to the end (retired Army Major Richard Ojeda tells us more...liked the parody Bible verse he cites in this clip about crowd size)...
...and this video from More Perfect Union tells us about Kamala Harris receiving support from the UAW...I really like the fact that those union members interviewed expressed interest and support of the Harris/Walz ticket concerning a variety of issues, even Israel’s latest incursion into Gaza (and God almighty, that started last October with hostages seized by Hamas...is anyone even talking about them anymore?)...and as far as Harris supporting a cease fire is concerned, I give you this...
...and RIP Greg Kihn, who wrote some bangin’ tunes back in the day, including this number...kind of shocked a bit by this one; August seems to have stuff like this in bunches as far as yours truly is concerned for some reason.
Miss Beau brings us the news that some polling is indicating that VP Kamala Harris is winning over independents on the economy, but as Miss Beau says, we would need more data trending in the Harris direction to definitively make that claim...but if Harris can manage to put distance between herself and the leader of “Cult 45” on the economy (and barring any downturns in the fall of course), that will go pretty far in her direction to wrapping up this whole thing (and with Tim Walz of course)...a long ways from settling this, though, and it will be a fight to the very end...
Update: I thought this was a good post on Harris and our scurrilous, bought-and-paid-for Beltway media, and I thought this was a really good column on Tim Walz.
...and Thom Hartmann brings us some polling echoing the sentiment that Harris would be better on the economy, though again, that may ebb and flow a bit, particularly since Harris hasn’t had a chance to oversee any economic policy (though we already know what Our Ochre Abomination has done on that score)...also, we see more lunacy with Roseanne Barr – “drinking baby blood”? “Fetus burgers”?? WHAAAA??....and of course, Marjorie Trailer Park Greene thinks that’s funny (to do something about this mistake from GA-14, click here)...
...and turning to the head of Greene’s party, Jon Stewart dissects the latest meanderings from Combover Caligula...long, but worth it for the helicopter stuff, which is hilarious...and apparently that mystery alleged bullet wound in #45's ear healed pretty well based on that pic at about 14:48...
...and Tennessee Brando gives us his take on the drag pic from J.D. Vance, as well as Vance changing his name, which is a lesser matter in the scheme of things I’ll admit...T.B. mentions Project 2025 again; more on that is here, and more on Vance is here...
Update 8/15/24: I don’t know about you, but it’s becoming more and more obvious to me why Uday and Qusay recommended Vance to their old man before he wrapped up the nomination (here).
...and I know I’m about a week late on this next item; Mike Figueredo informs us that Cori Bush was voted out of the U.S. Dem primary for her seat in Missouri...as putrid as AIPAC is, their influence only matters if the candidate their funding AGAINST has negatives where that stinking Israel lobby group believes they can make a difference...Figueredo mentions Summer Lee in PA, which is a valid comparison – Lee has had enough of a favorability rating that AIPAC didn’t think their funding of her opponent would matter; however, Bush apparently had enough of an unfavorable rating to begin with to the point where AIPAC believe their spending could turn the tide...I’m not an expert on Bush’s district so I don’t have any proof of that, but I have a feeling that that was the case...and I agree with Figueredo’s assessment...as I’ve said before, movement wingnut conservatism was flat on its metaphorical back in 1964 after the Barry Goldwater presidential loss, and it took them 16 years to reorganize and seize power, but that’s what they did...there will be wins and losses, folks...
Update: And speaking of "the squad," congrats to Ilhan Omar (here).
...and happy belated 75th birthday to Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits.
John Fugelsang gives us a dose of reality on Trump’s supposed “anti-war” record – that seems to be one of the few talking points out there for Bronzer Beelzebub, and of course it’s inaccurate...and RFK Jr. apparently apologized to his sexual assault victim even though he supposedly didn’t remember what happened...suuuurrrre...
...and Miss Beau gives her take on the latest developments in the Russian “special military operation” in Ukraine, including the forces under Zelenskyy taking the fight to Vlad The Butcher (the “insertion scenario” of Ukraine troops into Russian forces is an interesting possibility...we’ll see)...
...and as long as we’re discussing military matters, I should note that Army Lieutenant William Calley passed away a few months ago, and apologies for being delinquent in pointing that out...the following clip explains why Calley is truly notorious, specifically concerning the “My Lai Massacre”...
...and turning to the High Court of Hangin’ Judge JR, Dem U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse goes after the SCOTUS and Almost Silent Clarence Thomas, as well as the Federalist Society and Leonard Leo, the Judicial Crisis Network, and the Heritage Foundation of course, mainly for not having a binding code of ethics (the Roberts bunch that is), including a GREAT idea from Justice Kagan about lower court review of the antics from our Philistines in robes...
...and I know I included that recent clip from Leeja Miller in which she got into all the shady characters behind J.D. Vance including Peter Thiel, but here is more from the PayPal billionaire courtesy of The Majority Report...and I don’t care how rich Thiel is; as far as I’m concerned, he’s a blithering idiot...but yeah, as nearly as I can pick apart what he’s saying, it sounds like he wants a lot more of this “prosperity gospel” BS to be part of what I guess you could call this country’s religious identity, or some want it anyway, as opposed to all the “love thy neighbor” stuff...booor-ing! (removing my tongue from my cheek)...
...and I try to include this as one of my summer selections because I think it’s an appropriately upbeat number; hopefully we’ll all be able to get some down time over the next few weeks if we haven’t had that already.
Farron Cousins tells us about all of the Repugs lining up to support Kamala Harris in her run for president (Jim Greenwood isn’t a surprise here in PA, but he should get credit for doing the right thing)...and yes, getting all of that Democratic support onboard isn’t automatic either, so credit for that also...
...and Jesse Dollemore tells us about the response from Larwrence O’Donnell of MSNBC to that beyond ridiculous press briefing that Our Treasonous Orange Pestilence gave last week, with O’Donnell commendably going off when #45 refused to answer a question about banning mifepristone and the press didn’t call him on it...
...and I would say that the "brain glitches" from Cantaloupe Capone are becoming more frequent, as John and Francesca of The Damage Report tell us..
...and speaking of Combover Caligula going off-script, it looks like he also did that on the subject of taking an imaginary helicopter ride with former San Francisco mayor Willie Brown – again, if Biden had said that, the New York Times would run about 20 “political analysis” fluff pieces over a week or two at least...
...and Brian Tyler Cohen and Glenn Kirschner bring us another “Legal Breakdown” segment about a RARE loss for #45...it sounds like the goofball AG in Missouri tried to sue New York to delay the sentencing of Our Ochre Abomination, which was a bridge too far even for our Philistines in robes (though this Andrew Bailey cretin in MI must’ve known that, because of “original jurisdiction,” a state vs. state action would automatically go to the SCOTUS...and I KNOW the two corrupted fiends on the High Court who would have allowed this suit have last names rhyming with rhombus and failito...and yes, I know that isn’t actually a word)...
...and this is a great newer tune, but damn, I think the guy needs a roofie or something...not that I encourage that, I hasten to add.
