Friday Stuff

I thought this was a helpful video for students who are contemplating walking out of class today to protest the epidemic of gun violence in this country (more here)…

Planning to walk out of class today? Here's what students need to know about their rights pic.twitter.com/1UcgpWR77W

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) April 20, 2018

…and it’s taken me a few days to get around to this great video from The Guardian about the fight to keep energy interests from fouling the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the soil in which we grow our crops (I thought the Paul Douglas stuff was particularly noteworthy - I also agree with Dr. Charlotte Keys who believes climate change is caused by sin and greed…uh, yep...and I probably don’t have much common intellectual ground with Debbie Dooley, but she’s spot-on when it comes to the environment)…



…and in keeping with the environment, I think this is the most damning list of allegations I’ve seen yet against Scott Pruitt; as far as I’m concerned, he shouldn’t just be fired – he should be incarcerated also…

Scott Pruitt is hurting the environment and living in luxury on taxpayer dime — it’s time for him to go pic.twitter.com/HBhExJsy5x

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) April 19, 2018

…and Farron Cousins tells us that the Repug party is going broke during this election cycle, and they're blaming the Gropenfuhrer – heh (I’d love to think this will be the case in the fall, but I’m sure the typical flood of dark money will arise at the last minute, sadly – very happy to be wrong on that)…



…and timed for 4/20 day, Dem U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer is trying to make pot legal on the federal level (I think Cenk in particular is being a little cynical here, though it's hard for me to argue with him I’ll admit – hopefully the Dems will stick with this because it’s not only the right thing to do, but it’s politically popular)…



…and again, given the date, I could opt for a pretty easy musical choice here, but instead I’m going to pass and note that today is the 70th birthday of keyboardist Craig Frost of Grand Funk Railroad – here is a selection for the occasion.

Thursday Stuff

Farron Cousins of Ring of Fire tells us that Michael Cohen, mouthpiece/fixer for Generalissimo Trump, might just flip on his boss, and there is some speculation out there that Cohen may have been wearing a wire, as it were, for Special Counsel Robert Mueller (oh, but HILLZ EMAILS!!! BENGHAZI!!!!)…



…and yeah, this is low-hanging fruit to be sure, you might say, but when it comes to Sean Inanity, I’d say this is at least part of the payback he deserves, courtesy of Sam Bee (NSFW)…



…and Chris Hayes tells us about the West Virginia Senate race and the Repugs running in their primary – one is a convicted criminal (Don Blankenship) and the other is a typical Trumpster who wants to “blow up Washington” (some idiot named Patrick Morrisey…yeah, time for more eliminationist rhetoric when all else fails, which it usually does with these life forms)…



…and I know I already posted on the Philadelphia Starbucks story, but I thought this was a good segment by Trevor Noah (liked the comedy bit at the end – an update is here; kudos to the retail chain for trying to do the right thing)…



…and the last time I saw Dem U.S. House Rep Sean Maloney of NY, he was going up against Mrs. Mitch McConnell (Puffy Chao just LOVES to be called that!), but this time, he’s going up against someone authoring a bill to make it harder for the poors to get food stamps...

‘The silence answers my question.’ — Rep. Maloney grilled his Republican colleagues for putting new restrictions on food aid for the poor pic.twitter.com/gzFvkT8p2U

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) April 19, 2018

…and I know I pushed the envelope, you might say, in my musical selection last night, but I think I’ll return to something a little more true to form here.

Wednesday Stuff

Rachel Maddow speaks with WaPo reporter Carol Leonnig about Generalissimo Trump’s decision to roll back the Russia sanctions – as I’ve said before, if it walks like a duckski, talks like a duckski and quacks like a duckski…



…and once again, when you’re trying to get to the no-BS heart of a story, then forget our corporate media, because you need a comedian (re, Trevor Noah and a $250 mil “message” to Syria)…



…and Kyle K. tells us about a lawmaker who cited a satirical site when criticizing pot – I think this has happened at least one other time recently, inadvertently citing a satirical site I mean (NSFW)…



…and I think that’s actually a pretty good segue into the latest chapter of “This Day In Doomsy History” (more or less) from 4/17/08, in which America’s Finest News Source tells us the importance of bullshit in our elections (NSFW yet again – I’ll chastise myself later)…



…and God bless the brave people of Puerto Rico – if I were them, I’d say the hell with the United States and accept an offer from any other country willing to help; of all of the atrocities of the Gropenfuhrer’s ruinous reign, it’s not hard to lose sight of this, but we never should, to our shame – hey, you 62 million idiots and “Bernie or Bust” fools directly responsible for the rule of our Treasonous, Tiny Handed Orange Dictator, how does it feel to know that you’re largely responsible for this?...

BREAKING: All of Puerto Rico is currently without power pic.twitter.com/ZOF6xzaZG3

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) April 18, 2018

…and congratulations to rapper Kendrick Lamar for this; yeah, I’m trying to break through another musical wall here, you might say – very definitely NSFW also.

Tuesday Stuff

I think Kurt Eichenwald addressed the whole thing with Sean Inanity pretty well here, so I’m not sure what else can be gained by belaboring the obvious…



…and gosh, whaddaya know? PA’s own Charlie Dent is the latest life form to bail the sinking Repug congressional ship, as it were (here) – makes me recall this clip…



…and Sam Seder and co. at TMR give James Comey the treatment he deserves IMHO – I’m not questioning Comey’s integrity as former FBI director, but yeah, like just about everyone else in the Beltway, he’s a political animal to be sure, and if the Gropenfuhrer had given Comey what he wanted, well then, I don’t think we’d be hearing anything at all against Number 45…



…and isn’t it nice of KY governor Matt Bevin to sort-of-well-maybe-not-really apologize for saying that kids were home getting raped because KY teachers were protesting to be paid a livable wage; I honestly can’t imagine the mindset behind people who continually vote for cretins like Bevin who do nothing but try to screw them over every way possible (as noted on YouTube, though, the teachers are striking to make sure their pensions are fully funded by law, not for higher wages, though they probably have a right to strike for that too)...



…and with today’s tax filing deadline in mind, I thought this was a highly timely commentary from John Oliver (Tim Cook is a worthy inheritor of the legacy of Steve Jobs in that Cook is a corporatist weasel also...NSFW)…



…and we didn’t do quite as well as in years past when we filed, but it can always be worse I know.

Monday Stuff

Bill Maher makes a serious point with humor here – yep, I don’t see how you can trust even your local news stations any more to give you anything that approximates “news” for real that impacts what you could call your everyday life…



…and Dem CT U.S. House Rep John Larson is my hero of the day for this (with this in mind – yep, Mr.-Puppy-Dog-Eyes-With-The-Shiv will NEVER stop trying to screw us over)…

‘How about we increase the benefits for the people of this country who need it?!’ — Watch Rep. John B. Larson go off on the GOP for calling basic health care an 'entitlement' pic.twitter.com/gFockPqFr6

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) April 16, 2018

…and I don’t think anyone should read too much into this item from Farron Cousins, but I guess it is interesting; on this issue, though I of course don’t condone the behavior, I’m inclined not to cast that first stone, you might say…



…and yeah, it looks like Larry Kudlow is learning that his boss doesn’t care if his underlings end up looking clueless, as Chris Hayes points out here…



…and given the recent Starbucks episode in Philadelphia, I thought it was appropriate to bring you the following video from Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross (it sounds to me like the manager at the Starbucks had, at best, shaky legal ground to call the police – I’m sure more will be coming out on this...more here and here)…



…oh, and what transpired put me in the mood to hear this song.