Tuesday Stuff

This is an update to the “Daisy” ad from LBJ way back when, which only ran once, though its impact on the ’64 presidential election was for sure undeniable; the difference this time around is that, sadly, it’s based on a literal quote from our *preznit (I think you could argue that Barry Goldwater, the subject of the original ad, though he was a big-time wingnut, knew where to draw the line partly because he served our country, something Cantaloupe Capone ridicules of course)...



...and Logical Leftist Jeff Waldorf informs us that it looks like ICE is deporting the father-in-law of the son of Paul LePage, former awful governor of Maine and now a congressional candidate (oh, but DHS says a work permit doesn’t give legal status, huh? Gee, karma sure is a bee-yaa-tch, isn’t it?)...LePage has called for the Maine cops to work with the ICE Gestapo to get rid of all of those baaad criminal illegals, no matter which innocent folks get swept up in the mayhem...I’d forgotten that “little Marco” Rubio voted against his own immigration bill, and of course they also scuttled the Murphy-Lankford bill that would have addressed the issues they’ve been caterwauling about, but the “party of Lincoln” doesn’t actually want to solve any issues, as we know - I realize this clip/story is a little old, but I didn't want to ignore it...



...and this report from Status Coup tells us about the protest in NYC against Palantir’s push into health care, overseeing Mt. Sinai and their CEO Dr. Brendan Carr...it should definitely set off all kinds of alarms to realize that AI will likely be used to make health care-related recommendations, to say nothing of potentially deciding to deny coverage... more on Palantir supporting the Israeli military and the ongoing Gaza carnage is here, along with Palantir supporting ICE and their ongoing thuggery (here)...



...and David Shuster of Rebel HQ lets us know about Professor Paul Krugman calling out Trumpist Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (definitely miss Krugman’s columns in the NYT, but I also understand why he walked away from writing them)...interest rates and borrowing costs (including the 30-year treasury yield) are increasing according to Steven Rattner and some other folks who actually know what they’re talking about on this stuff, reaching their highest levels in 24 years...oh, and #47’s policies are “non-inflationary,” huh? I don’t think so (here)...



...and Mr. Newberger gives us another pithy little sendup of Cheetoh Hitler based on today’s headlines...



...and the first “Bridge” school benefit concert was held by Neil Young on 10/13/86 for the institution he played a major role in founding and developing (here) – his involvement stemmed partly from the fact that Young’s sons were born with cerebral palsy, with one profoundly affected (here)...hard to find the words of appreciation for the courage of everyone involved with trying to overcome an obstacle like that.

Monday Stuff

Lawrence O’Donnell tells us here that there are 3 reasons why Generalissimo Trump spouts off his crazy nonsense: 1) Pathological lying, 2) Stupidity, or 3) Dementia, or some combination of the three...more evidence to support this is presented in an interview #47 gave with Time Magazine...I realize our *preznit is allergic to actual facts and data and I know it’s tiresome to mention that anything he doesn’t like is automatically branded as “fake,” but alas, it does need to be pointed out...I also get it that there’s not much new stuff here, but I believe the case needs to be made periodically that Combover Caligula is a demented lunatic...O’Donnell tells us about some of the “enemies of ours” who have been paid back for the Gropenfuhrer’s illegal (and utterly ruinous) tariffs, including Walmart, Apple, Target, and Amazon; of course, by association, since we’ve paid those stinking tariffs as O’Donnell points out, that “enemies of ours” line by default also applies to everyone else in this country...



...and Jesse Dollemore lets us know that ICE thugs recently shot a man named Oscar Belgal during an attempted arrest on the border of Manhattan and the Bronx; Belgal survived with a neck wound, while his 5-year-old son in the vehicle was uninjured – oh, and this ICE lunatic was apparently masquerading as a construction worker...NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani stood tall IMO with his response, as opposed to professional dipsh*t Markwayne Mullin (as Jesse correctly puts it IMO) and those soulless humanoids flanking Mullin (mildly NSFW/H)...



...and I know I haven’t had anything from The Lincoln Project for a little while, and I also realize that they’re mainly yesterday’s (and probably tomorrow’s) Republicans, but when they do good work, I think they need to get props for it (clip is very slightly NSFW/H...and when it comes to Repugs supporting Dementia J. Trump, let’s not forget about Bri-Fi, and to do something about him, click here)...

...and Brian Tyler Cohen tells us more on Roger Marshall in Kansas going after his patients for unpaid medical debt, and for some truly piddling amounts in some cases (like $100), with Marshall charging 18 percent interest, which is higher than some credit card APRs (also, it looks like Marshall FINALLY got around to comping that family baker who made cookies for Marshall)...glad to see Dem Adam Hamilton making an issue out of all of this (definitely NSFW/H)...



...and Jonathan Pie tells us about the live streaming of the execution of Fort Hood mass shooter Nidal Hasan, as announced by SecDef Kegseth (here)...didn’t know the latest nonsense about Zuckerberg, Bezos, Peter Thiel and King Elon I getting access to military intel, but yeah, what could go wrong with THAT I wonder...NSFW/H also...



...and I thought this was a bit of “goth” animation for this newer tune which is apropos for this month I suppose.

Friday Stuff

This is your periodic reminder that our PA-01 U.S. House Rep Brian Fitzpatrick still refuses to stick his head out of his shell and debate his Dem challenger Bob Harvie; I realize at this point that isn’t likely to change, but I also believe it’s important to keep reminding everyone about that.

David Shuster of Rebel HQ lets us know about another Trump voter (Ronald from West Virginia) apologizing on CSPAN, and it looks like a three-time Trump voter in MA, of all places (points for being contrarian I guess) also now has regrets...but oh, Spray Tan Satan is planning to give seniors 90 WHOLE DOLLARS to help with health insurance premium costs? What a guy! I guess that promise is about as reliable as his claim to give everybody $5K if the Repugs hang onto power next month (more here)...

...and I now give you the latest installment of “This Day In Doomsy History” (more or less) from 10/10/18, with John Iadarola and Jayar Jackson talking about the FBI report on “I Like Beer” Brett Kavanaugh and how the “investigation” was rigged to not ask questions that would put the then-SCOTUS nominee in a negative light, as well as not bothering to investigate claims from Deborah Ramirez, one of the women who accused Kavanaugh of s*xual abuse (looks like “Disappointed” Collins got a nice payday for playing along as noted here, and to do something about her, click here)...



...and David Pakman informs us that the “party of Lincoln” collectively had a nightmare evening with recent candidate debates, including Susan Collins and Troy Jackson in Maine (yeah, as far as I know, a reduction in the cost of road salt won’t do a damn thing to help with health insurance coverage or the cost of groceries)...also, Dem Governor Wes Moore of Maryland apparently had a good night against his Repug opponent Dan Cox, specifically on the question of the SNAP error rate, as in incarcerated folks getting SNAP who should be disqualified (Moore is kind of a mixed bag for yours truly I’ll admit, but credit where it’s due)...additionally, we go to the Michigan governor’s race between Dem Jocelyn Benson and Repug John James...finally, we get Georgia Republican Rick (“Gas Stores”) Jackson flailing around in his gubernatorial debate versus Dem Keisha Lance Bottoms (and Jackson is a healthcare company CEO, by the way)...



...and Thom Hartmann speaks with Alex Lawson, Executive Director of Social Security Works, about the increasing popularity of Medicare for All (I may look into that book by Nancy Altman)...I would tend to agree with Lawson’s claim that the neoliberal experiment, if you will, has failed, and extracting whatever profit out of people for the sake of a few oligarchs is indeed the driver behind unaffordability...a study from Yale University tells us that M4A will save 100K lives (and $1 trillion) a year – works for me...I also agree with Thom about St. Jude Hospital as well as these stories about people starting Go Fund Me pages to pay for medical treatment – yes, those are heart-warming tales, but THE POINT IS THAT IT SHOULDN’T BE NECESSARY TO DO THAT!!!...health care in this country is indeed a “rich care” system...



...and Chris Hayes discusses Bronzer Beelzebub’s taxpayer funded PSAs – yeah, right (am I the only one who can whiff out yet another scam from Cantaloupe Capone? Somehow I don’t think so)...and these ads cost $10 million, huh? Figures (and again, the whole thing with the background noise forcing reporters to shout questions was a trick perfected by The Sainted Ronnie R)...Hayes speaks with Dem U.S. House Rep Jamie Raskin about the illegality of #47 coordinating with his Super PAC; I’ll grant you that our campaign finance law in this country is a joke, but at least there are SOME restraints at the moment, which Don The Con doesn’t care about of course...I’m glad to hear what Raskin is saying about red states including Flori-DUUH, but I definitely won’t count our chickens before they hatch, you might say...



...and since I try to keep the content as timely and relevant as possible here, I think it’s apropos to give us the latest from Lewis Black – don’t quite share his apparent desire to transcend to the afterlife, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t have a laugh over our mortality either...



...and I know I just included a tune from Jackson Browne, but since today is his birthday, I’ll add this as well...hope it’s a good one...



...and The Eternal John Lennon would have been 86 today.

Wednesday Stuff

Tennessee Brando points out here that Dementia J. Trump just spoke publicly about bombing Los Angeles and San Diego – I totally agree with Brando that that means that Cantaloupe Capone needs to be carted out of the White House and put in a cell a la CECOT or something comparable RIGHT FREAKING NOW (and I don’t know where the hell he uttered those vile words, but it looks like the “MAGA faithful” just pretended it was another day with a ‘y’ in it based on their reaction)...”a depraved bunch of lunatics being led by a lunatic” indeed (referring to those attending that Bund rally of course...and I think it’s also correct to say we’re being “governed” by an unhinged maniac and his death cult - NSFW/H)...



...and Robert Reich tells us How To Eat Healthy in Trump era, and apparently the answer is to barely eat anything at all since the FDA under our ruling cabal has been derelict in ensuring the safety of our food and medicines, with Bobby Brainworm deciding not to monitor cyclospora (explosive diarrhea) and other pathogens...and this Dr. Heidi Overton who has been nominated to run the agency looks like she’ll be another cipher for her boss – terrific...didn’t know that the Gropenfuhrer got $2 mil from Taylor Farms after delaying implementation of a traceability requirement that could have proactively taken care of the diarrhea outbreak before it struck (slightly NSFW/H)...



...and Brittany Page informs us of a Christian Nationalist audience cheering “Running Man” Josh Hawley’s call to restrict access to the mifepristone abortion pill...important to note the comparative safety of abortion pills versus other medications like Viagra as well as carrying a pregnancy to the full term (as I and others have said, if men got pregnant, there would be abortion rooms at every Lowe’s and Home Depot right next to the aisle selling power tools)...IMO, the “D” team is at fault on this issue for its failure to overturn the utterly wretched 1873 Comstock Act that provides the flimsiest of excuses to try and ban the distribution of abortion pills (which Hawley and his other anti-choice zealots are using as a rationale for their cruel position against women’s bodily autonomy)...and Tony Perkins is indeed a cretinous right-wing hack on the abortion issue as well as LGBTQ rights...Page also gives us more on Heidi Overton, who apparently thinks an IUD is used for abortions (Overton I mean of course...can’t think of a word to describe how pathetic it is that that belief is out there in this day and age, and by an alleged medical professional also)...NSFW/H also...



...and I’d like to mention a couple of milestones...first, today is the 20th anniversary of the murder of acclaimed Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, who was one of the people from way back warning us of just how bad Vlad The Butcher truly was...I realize not many folks besides yours truly may think it’s worth it to keep reminding everyone about this, but I do because I believe it still matters...three people were convicted in 2014 for her murder, though the person who ordered the killing has to date not been identified (though I’m sure you can imagine what kind of speculation has been ongoing given this awful crime, considering what has happened also to Alexei Navalny and others opposing the Russian warmonger)...



...also, today is truly a date that could live in infamy, you might say, because it’s also the 30th anniversary of Fix Noise going on the air (here)...Carlos Maza discusses the impact of that accursed network...I could probably fill up this post with about a hundred examples at least of The Roger Ailes BS Factory choosing to manufacture a “scandal” that gets picked up by our beyond useless corporate media, but one example is how the Obama Administration and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton supposedly played a role in the deaths of four Americans in Benghazi, Libya (including Ambassador Christopher Stevens) while choosing to completely ignore this...and oh yeah, we’re also reminded about the outrage over Dem U.S. House Rep Ilhan Omar’s remark related to 9/11, saying “some people did something” as if Omar was trying to trivialize the attacks (she wasn’t of course)...NSFW/H as well...



...and I suppose this newer number is apropos given the prior clip in particular...hope you agree.

Tuesday Stuff

Ali Velshi of MS NOW takes a look at the impact of the Big Beautiful Clusterf*ck on Arizona’s 6th U.S. congressional district, where the Dem candidate (and U.S. Marine vet) Joanne Mendoza is trying to unseat Trumper Juan Ciscomani...apparently the district is more than a quarter Latino in terms of population; looks like, based on the Repug and Dem candidate votes, it’s a pretty “purple” district (R for U.S. House and prez and D for U.S. Senate)...Ciscomani’s vote for that legislative atrocity is getting called out by Mendoza (interviewed by Velshi), which is as it should be, since the SNAP cuts are particularly ruinous in this district apparently...and I realize wingnuts like Ciscomani will be blaming Former President Biden for whatever they can for at least the next couple of years and maybe longer (and I'll have something related to SecDef Kegseth shortly)



...also, it seems that s*xual predator (and former Repug U.S. House Speaker) Dennis Hastert recently died...this TYT segment from awhile back includes a discussion of what likely were payments from Hastert to at least one victim...I get the point here that investigating what were likely hush money payments sounds a bit illogical, though I don't think those payments should have escaped scrutiny either (clip also includes John Iadarola, Ben Mankiewicz, and the beyond ridiculous Jimmy Dore...NSFW/H)...



...and Sam Seder of The Majority Report talks about a local news station in Iowa calmly taking apart the typical propaganda from the Gropenfuhrer on a proposed $10 billion steel plant in that state...”they’ve already started building” – maybe in the fever dreams of Dementia Donnie, but not so much in the real world...no permits issued, no plans for surrounding infrastructure that would be needed, etc....I also hadn’t realized that Janet Mills in Maine has not endorsed Troy Jackson in the latter’s U.S. Senate contest against “Disappointed” Susan Collins; kind of wondering why the hell not...also, speaking of Maine, I keep waiting for charges to be filed against Graham Platner for those allegedly awful actions that forced him to leave the race; if that happens, I’ll acknowledge it of course...



...oh, and speaking of SecDef Kegseth, it seems that he’s trying to institute an Office of Religious Affairs at the Pentagon, something else that has not a damn thing to do with helping our military escape the Iran quagmire created by this awful regime (Mr. Newberger gives that the treatment it deserves IMO here)...



...for another take on matters tied to spirituality a bit, however, I give you this from Rachel Maddow on why protest matters...Maddow discusses the cumulative impact from a mass movement even when those protesting may be impacted to varying degrees, and I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that ties into a faith tradition since that also has to do with belief and a lack of empirical evidence...I have to admit that I’m not familiar with the latest protests in Ireland, so I can’t comment on that...also didn’t know about the protest march against ICE in California; props to them for that, nor did I know about the upcoming anti-ICE march in Seattle led by Japanese Americans and their descendants who were victimized during World War II, as well as a similar protest outside Tucson, Arizona against opening another ICE concentration camp...additionally, there was an anti-ICE protest in Williston, Vermont led by clergy trying to shut down an ICE surveillance center...anti-ICE protests are ongoing in Alexandria, Louisiana also as we learn...props also to the Interfaith Alliance, trying to register people to vote on moral grounds...there is also resistance to the Trumpist jackbooted tactics in Utah, where Repug Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson is getting pressured to turn over voting data to our criminal ruling cabal...there will be additional reminders here about the next “No Kings” protest on October 17th also FWIW...



...additionally, I should point out that yesterday marked the 40th anniversary of the beginning of the Iran-Contra scandal, with Eugene Hasenfus getting shot down in a plane carrying military supplies for the Contras fighting an insurrection against the Nicaraguan government under the Sandinistas, which was in violation of U.S. law (doing my best here to make sure that that appalling episode under The Sainted Ronnie R doesn’t get the “memory hole” treatment)...makes me recall this tune.

Monday Stuff

Here is another reminder that our PA-01 U.S. House Rep Bri-Fi still refuses to come out of hiding and debate his Dem challenger Bob Harvie, which fits the profile for the incumbent who still refuses to hold in-person town halls...



...also, last Friday marked the 20th anniversary of the Nickel Mines schoolhouse shooting in Lancaster Country, which killed 5 Amish girls (the gunman took his own life)...I can still remember how that crime pretty much shocked the conscience of our entire area as well as elsewhere in this country and the world...this is an unfortunate recent update (for the city of Lancaster, that is)...



...and Rachel Maddow, Symone Sanders Townsend and Eugene Daniels inform us that “Team D” needs to let everybody know what they plan to do if (crossing fingers and toes) they’re returned to power this fall (and saying nothing of the fact that we need to keep up our efforts to make that happen as much as possible)...I don’t think saying we’re going to need a “second Reconstruction” is hyperbole, but again, we need leaders on the blue side willing to meet that moment...also, I’m definitely OK with referring to what’s described here as a “spiritual” movement, since the notion of spirituality can be defined all kinds of ways IMO...



...and Tennessee Brando gives us his take on the awful Cornell story...I definitely give Brando credit for taking the time to process this tragic crime before saying anything; I generally try to hold back also until I opine on something as well, FWIW...I also totally believe his anecdote about listening to women’s horror stories in bars, which is disgusting and repugnant of course; no excuse for that kind of treatment from alleged men (and OF COURSE MAGA “influencers” are trying to find a way to justify this monstrosity)...NSFW/H...



...and usually I get a laugh or two out of these clips from Mr. Newberger, but that’s definitely not the case here, and for a good reason I believe (sorry to be such a downer with these clips)...



...and RIP Peter Byrne of the band Naked Eyes.

Saturday Stuff

OK, I’m going to try and get this thing going again, though that may happen in fits and starts, you might say...to begin, I give you this ad from Bob Harvie, running against Bri-Fi for the incumbent’s PA-01 U.S. House seat of course...



...and when it comes to the completely unnecessary economic battle waged by Bronzer Beelzebub against our longtime trade partners, Elliott Morgan of Rebel HQ discusses Canada’s tariffs strategically targeting U.S. industries in battleground states in the upcoming elections...pretty damn smart move IMO in response to this “51st state” and ”Governor Carney” garbage also...I’d honestly forgotten about this getting replayed from the stinking tariff nonsense in 2018 from the first ruinous Trump term...and leave it to Dementia Donnie to find a way to make Canadian Premier of Ontario Doug Ford actually look smart...and it was so nice not to have to endure another somnambulant and idiotic “sir” story from Our Treasonous Orange Pustule for the last few days...can’t think of a word for the stoo-pidity of the 11 percent of those polled who apparently think they’re going to get a $5K check if they reward the grifters and frauds who have brought all of this ruin upon us...I’m also down with Morgan’s snark about #47 at the end, BTW...



...and Chris Hayes talks about #47's attempt to ban media outlets from the White House, including MS NOW, CNN and Politico (I know I’m late on this story in particular, but I didn’t want it to slip by)...there are times when I’ll admit that I don’t have a tear to shed for our corporate media cousins, but I also acknowledge that there’s a larger principle involved here, namely the First Amendment of the Constitution...and yes, I realize that 29 percent approval rating for Our Ochre Abomination could indeed be an outlier, but given everything going on, are you really surprised?...oh, and apparently, Natalie Harp was the bearer of the bad news that recent sent Our Demented Toddler of a *preznit over the edge...I’m loathe to give Fix Noise credit for anything, and admittedly the bar is set pretty low, but props to them for taking a stand in solidarity with the other boycotted news orgs, along with everyone else in the press pool who pushed back over this latest nonsense (an update is here)...



...and while we escaped to our blue state paradise (with solar panels everywhere in sight, perfectly complimenting the breathtaking natural scenery), it appears that cases of measles in our beloved commonwealth spiked up again, and Our Treasonous Orange Pustule and his HHS lackey Bobby Brainworm are having a harder time trying to deny the outbreak on their watch...oh, and for the record, 4 people in PA who were fully vaxxed managed to come down with measles out of 1,000 total cases...also, David Pakman tells us that about 300K kindergartners are now susceptible to measles; once you get a conspiracy theory going, it is indeed hard to suddenly shut it off as Pakman notes...also, I heard about the botched execution of the woman in Tennessee (here) – I don’t have a particularly brilliant “hot take” on that; from what I read, what she did was particularly monstrous and horrible on the one hand, but on the other hand, I realize that doesn’t automatically justify capital punishment either...typical hand-wringing lib I know...



...and Seth Meyers gives us “A Closer Look” on the latest political nonsense (looks like Ken Paxton in “the land of the yellow rose” is telling Cheetoh Hitler “thanks but no thanks” on campaign advertising...I don’t give Paxton credit for anything, but I don’t totally blame him on this either)...and oh, NOW Repug U.S. Senate candidates Mike Rogers and Ashley Hinson want the Iran war to end, since it’s hurting them politically? Maybe you should have actually DEFIED you Orange Overlord on this in the first place (yes, I can dream, can’t I?)...and oh yeah, that “liquified natural gas pipeline” in Alaska that’s due to be completed in three years sure is going to be a game changer for the elections, amirite?...also, when it comes to who actually watched that midterm convention mess from about a month ago, I give you this...and oh yeah, Cantaloupe Capone is running an ad promoting “the spirit of the country,” so it MUST be legal? Looks like that last lonely synapse in his noggin is flickering on and off again...



...and I thought this was a pretty cool newer tune with a big-time weekend party vibe – I’ll probably return to “moldy oldies” shortly after this one :-).