Friday Stuff

Pope John Paul II died 10 years ago yesterday – yes, he definitely took a hard right turn near the end under Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who would later become Pope Benny, but there is no denying the fact that the former Karol Wojtyła was a towering figure in his day…definitely did his part to ensure the fall of communism – it was absolutely electric in these parts when he came to Philly in 1979…



…and this clip starts out kind of funny, but gets very dark in a hurry – some things happen that are so awful that it’s really not appropriate to try and make political hay out of them, and this qualifies; so stunning to yours truly that I think it’s appropriate just to present it and leave it at that (Larry Stutts, to me, is an almost unspeakably terrible life form)…



...and I know I’m the proverbial broken record on this issue, but that’s because I need to be – paging Mikey the Beloved and his pals in the U.S. House…



…and I’m not going to advocate for this issue one way or the other, but I still think this was an interesting report from Vice News (doing the type of journalism that you should find every night on the news programs brought to us by the companies with initials for names)…



...and I thought this was a pretty good analysis from Cenk Uygur of The Young Turks on the Iran nuke deal...



…and I was going to go with a much more contemporary selection than this one, but I’m sorry – I’ve got to put this up instead in light of both this and this (they had a chance to do something about Brownback last year, as well as Pat Roberts, but whiffed on both counts).



Update 4/4/15: Somehow I don't seriously think anyone on assistance is planning to visit the Caribbean anytime soon - what stupidity (here).

Thursday Stuff

Ari Melber (sitting in for Chris Hayes) tells us a really important story about potential vulnerability on our end (having to do with the “I” word once more)…



...and Rev. Al gives us the latest on the GOP budget passed in the House last week (later, rinse, repeat - cut off a bit at the end)…



…and RIP Gary Dahl (“invented” the inspiration for #4 on this list)…



…and I’m sorry Joni Mitchell has been dealing with this – not sure she’s still “as humble as Mussolini” as David Crosby once said; hope she gets well soon (of all her great recordings, “Court and Spark” remains my personal favorite).

Wednesday Stuff

Terri Schiavo died 10 years ago yesterday - I don't think this fine report needs any further amplification or editorializing from yours truly…



...and yeah, looks like some of our states scored with their dealers to shoot up – their prisoners on death row, that is, with the help of “compounding” pharmacies...



...and c’mon now – you can tell me that you took the pledge too (NSFW)…



…and here is a tune to mark this day.

Tuesday Stuff

Nice to see that K.O. can still bring it when he has to (here – and kudos to Dan Malloy for this and Jay Inslee for this in response)…



...and I know it may seem hard to believe, but Repug Indiana Governor Mike Pence actually did something right last week...well, a bit (though only allowing the needle exchange for 30 days really isn't much - pretty much political ass-covering and not much more)...



…and as I read this item about Sen. Elizabeth Warren, I cannot help but recall the following clip about what another Democrat from another time said in response to a similar circumstance (video lagged a bit)...



...and I really like this new tune; don't know anything about these guys - hope to find out more.

Monday Stuff

I know one year I named Harry Reid as Dregs of the Year on this site mainly because of the fact that the public option on health care reform (remember that one?) died in the Senate while he was Majority Leader, but that, comparatively, was a bump in the road representing a fine career of public service – I thought this was a good report from Rachel Maddow; I hope his health improves from that accident…



…and why does all of this sound like it comes straight from “Life of Brian”? Cenk and Ana explain…



…and I give you the latest world news report from Vice News…



...and happy 70th birthday to Eric Clapton.