Friday Stuff

Sorry, I couldn’t resist based on this (h/t Atrios – NSFW of course)…



...and how much do you want to lay odds that one of the books the kids WON’T be getting is “Fast Food Nation”? Still though, the “Golden Arches” does something right for a change…



…and this brings me up to speed on the Economic and Labor News from Thom Hartmann…



…and I’m going to sneak in an extra special installment of “This Day In Doomsy History” here from five years ago; see, tomorrow is the 105th birthday of The Sainted Ronnie R, and with that in mind, I give you the following video featuring one of the very few times when he was properly called to account by a politician, Walter Mondale in this case, though Reagan of course ended up cruising to re-election that year (more here)…

...and yeah, Cenk provides the proof in the following video that they all lied, every stinkin' one of them - they should all be in orange jump suits with ball peen hammers pounding away at a concrete slab...



...and RIP Maurice White of Earth, Wind and Fire.

Thursday Stuff

I give you the Thought For The Day (and yes, I'm guilty of this too).

By the way, good for Dem U.S. House Rep Elijah Cummings concerning the horror show in Flint – under the circumstances, that’s exactly how a Dem is supposed to act (could probably have conducted this interview for a little while longer, but it’s good for what it is)…



...and this story is so appalling that it's hard to find the words to truly communicate my disgust...



…and kudos to Sabah Muktar for this – all the best…



...and here's a neat little tune I've had much on my mind lately.

Wednesday Stuff

Sacrilegious? Maybe, but I call it turnabout fair play given the motley field in the GOP clown car (here)…



…that being said, I have to tell you that I’m concerned about this; NO EXCUSE for an “enthusiasm gap” on our side, if that’s what’s going on…

…and we learn here that Former four-star Gen. David Petraeus is basically going to skate for his “kiss and tell” antics with biographer and former shagging companion Paula Broadwell (more here)…



...and like it or not, it’s time once more for another installment of “This Day In Doomsy History” from 2/2/11 (close enough), in which now-retiring Dem U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski of Maryland calls out the Repugs trying to repeal the Affordable Care Law (timely in light of the latest idiocy form the “party of Lincoln” here…definitely will miss Mikulski)…



…and yeah, I guess there is something in it this time of year, isn’t there?

Tuesday Stuff

(Not to suck up or anything, but so far, I would say this is the post of the year.)

Turning once more to the Flint disaster, I thought Ed Schultz had a really good interview with Dem U.S. House Rep Dan Kildee of Michigan about the entirely-made-by-Rick-Snyder water crisis, including the fact that Snyder is turning to “dark money” to fund a PR campaign in response (typical Repug reaction to think that branding and marketing can fix everything – and let’s not forget this)…



...and in a related story, the next time you hear anybody bitch about how rotten unions supposedly are, remember this...



...and I think it's appropriate to revisit this item in light of this (yeah, I know that field is generally awful, but "Calgary" Cruz? Really?? And with that utterly lame "Princess Bride" shtick too? And kudos to Mandy Patinkin - leave it to Cruz to take first place in an Iowa three-way...heh)...



…and do you want to know why Bernie Sanders made such a strong showing in Iowa? Maybe this has something to do with it (and this)…



...and happy 50th birthday to Robert DeLeo of Stone Temple Pilots, with the Teletubbies tripping on acid (or something)...



…and Gene Kelly died 20 years ago today (among other things, a truly great Democrat from an era full of those kinds of folks).

Monday Stuff

If Bill Maher wants to blame the Internet for the decline in our political discourse, I guess he has the right to do that; I would also blame right-wing talk radio, cable news, etc., along with “reporters” who think “access” is more important than telling the truth (I would also blame Maher for allowing the wingnuts to spew their garbage on his show, which he is prone to do on occasion...NSFW)...



…and this answers a question I’ve wondered about for a little while – so we can blame that darn peanut farmer for the outsized importance of Iowa (joke…actually, some pretty savvy moves by Carter here if I do say so myself)…



...and after this, I should be just about caught up on Thom Hartmann videos...



...and yesterday marked what would have been the 70th birthday of legendary singer/guitarist Terry Kath of Chicago – he experienced a terrific rise but an awful fall made worse by health problems and drug abuse before he succumbed to an accidental gunshot wound; here is his vocal of a tune appearing on his final album with the band.