Friday Stuff

I know Lindsey Graham was “showing a little bit of leg” yesterday during the Brett Kavanaugh hearings, basically losing what’s left of his mind in his quest to get this thoroughly-unqualified nominee confirmed, but I have just a few responses to the clip below from earlier yesterday (here).

1) If he’s so concerned about the damn investigation into Kavanaugh, then turn everything over to the FBI, 2) If he’s also concerned about what he views as any procedural irregularities, then all I can say in response is MERRICK GARLAND, MERRICK GARLAND, MERRICK GARLAND, MERRICK GARLAND, MERRICK GARLAND, MERRICK GARLAND, and MERRICK GARLAND!!

Oh, and as far as his threats are concerned about any nominees from the Democrats (who he won’t vote for anyway), my response is as follows: bring it, you partisan hack!

(Note: May have to press on pic above to isolate view on a mobile device - hat tip to Whitney Cummings on Twitter.)

...and Cenk and Ana tell us about Kavanaugh's response yesterday afternoon (and I don’t give a shit about Kavanaugh’s tears or anger...and blaming the Clintons was hilarious – and I know I'm repeating myself, but all he has to do is let the FBI investigate, and he never will…also, during what decade will we FINALLY hear from this Mark Judge character? Also, Sam Seder was on “All In” last night and said that we won’t have to wait months to hear about more Kavanaugh crap, but weeks…after he may very well be confirmed of course…and I think that’s absolutely right…once again, this is white privilege on display; there are definitely people in this country in other demographics that, if they had engaged in activity like this Renata stuff or trying to pin a then-young woman to a bed, would have been imprisoned...I guess I need to say this; imagine if Kavanaugh were African American - to try and derail this, click here...and I'm not saying much about Dr. Blasey Ford because I believe her, and in a sane and just political landscape, her testimony alone would have sunk this cretin)…



Update: There may be hope after all.

…and Farron Cousins tells us that Trumpster Kirstjen Nielsen is typically lying about signing off on her regime’s typically cruel and stupid border separation policy…



…and with the prior clip in mind, I give you a preview of one of the latest offerings from Brave New Films…



…and I thought this was a pretty well-informed segment on the effects of tariffs from David Pakman…

...and to support Scott Wallace in the PA-01 U.S. House contest against Brian Fitzpatrick, click here...



…and I know this is ostensibly a humorous “New Rule” from Bill Maher (NSFW), but I also think it’s scary as hell, and we shouldn’t be laughing too hard (and again, the response is not to curl up in a ball in fear, but to DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!)…



…and speaking of our Treasonous, Tiny-Handed Orange Dictator Wannabe, I put up this song on the day of his inauguration…I know it has to do with a girl in a wheelchair who is angry because she wants to be in love like other women, which shouldn’t be too much to ask I know, but I thought it was an apt metaphor for our ruling regime, namely, wanting to be legitimate in a way they never can be (the month reference also being appropriate of course), and I think it also fits in a way for the whole Kavanaugh circus (something that ALSO will never be legitimate as far as I’m concerned).

(By the way, please understand that I’m not trying to compare a disabled person to anyone associated with Trump or to His Fraudulency 2.0 himself. In Morrissey’s song, the girl is a victim of cruel circumstance I know, but the actions of anyone associated with Number 45 are choices. All I’m saying is that rage is the common thread.)

Thursday Stuff

Farron Cousins of Ring of Fire tells us about Tomi Lahren trying to be relevant with some supposedly clever tweet about Michelle Obama, someone who has more stature and accomplishment than Lahren will ever have as a momentary right wing pundit du jour (Cousins quite correctly notes that Lahren’s shelf life, you might say, is winding down, and I’m sure she’ll end up in the same scrap heap as this Kennedy person, S.E. Cupp, etc.)…



…and given the parade of rich, right-wing male privilege currently taking place on Capitol Hill disguised as the Brett Kavanaugh hearing, I thought this was a timely segment from Ari Melber with Helaine Olen of The Washington Post and Liz Plank about Kavanaugh’s treatment of Bill Clinton 20 years ago, and how karma truly is a bitch (and let’s not forget Ken Starr’s own related baggage, as noted here…Kavanaugh should be asked about a cigar and his genitals, but I’m sure he won’t be)…



…and Sam Bee gives us a nauseating look at the non-Lahren right-wing idiocy on this (not criticizing her on this of course, just her subjects – and I must have missed the bit behind the “full Carrie” fire graphic)…



…and Kyle K. discusses Michael Moore talking to Bill Maher about “Fahrenheit 11/9” recently on “Real Time” (and again, Maher has a lot of moments of clear-headed commentary, but he’s an entertainer first and foremost, and I’m tired of listening to him act like he’s supposedly the gatekeeper of sane discourse when, in fact, while he’s definitely not as anti-immigrant as Generalissimo Trump, he’s definitely anti-Muslim in his way, which is pretty repugnant too – I can’t argue with Moore because he was on the ground talking to people, and he makes a GREAT point about more people voting in the Dem MI primary than the general election, for the reasons that he points out)…



…and on a wholly other note, Paul Newman died 10 years ago yesterday, believe it or not; not sure it’s possible to calculate the philanthropic benefits owing from his “Newman’s Own” line of products (here is one of his most memorable movie scenes)…



…and I think this is another notable recent milestone, which is monumental courage which we should all acknowledge and appreciate (the current loathsome regime in that country...and ours...being completely unworthy by comparison of course) – makes me recall this tune.

Wednesday Stuff

Our country fought and won World War II (with a lot of help of course, but it took our leadership). We created the interstate highway system as part of an infrastructure network that was once the envy of the world. We also took the lead in instituting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (the 70th anniversary of its ratification is this December 10th, by the way). We also put a man on the moon, multiple times as it turned out.

Now in 2018, however, our “president” addresses the United Nations, and he is laughed at. And he (and by extension, we as a nation) completely deserve it (and let's keep this in mind too)…



…and Seth Meyers comments on the latest Trump idiocy at the UN, as well as Bill Cosby’s sentence, among other items…



…and I don’t think an entire family has taken out an ad against its brother in a political campaign, but that what Paul Gosar’s siblings did in Arizona as noted here (and the predictable response is here)…



…and Farron Cousins tells us about a laughably bad Photoshopped pic of the Gropenfuhrer supposedly rescuing a victim of the flooding from Hurricane Harvey (more here)…



…and don’t worry, there’s nothing to see here, just a third woman making a charge against Brett Kavanaugh (more here and here – interesting polling analysis by Cenk)…



...and happy 70th birthday to Olivia Newton-John – best wishes for good health (here).

Tuesday Stuff

(And by the way, today is #NationalVoterRegistrationDay - more here).

Trevor Noah brings us the latest on Brett Kavanaugh (and is there a THIRD accuser now? NSFW at the very end – and I know we’ve covered some of this stuff, including the part about that five-woman Republican focus group as noted here)…



…also, Farron Cousins tells us about this hedge fund gazillionaire named Seth Klarman who is apparently going to support Democrats now (and I think Cousins’s take on this is exactly right…besides, if – God willing and if WE get out and make it happen – the Democrats return to power, the people Cousins mentions, like Scarborough, Steve Schmidt, Nicolle Wallace, etc., will likely turn on a dime and start supporting the Repugs again)…



…and Kyle K. tells us about the threat by Jordan Peterson to sue someone who criticized him (typical…Kyle is right, and I’m glad he mentioned Bill Maher, who gave a platform to Peterson, Bari Weiss, and other “glibertarian” goofballs, who otherwise would probably have remained obscure…well, Peterson anyway – and I wasn’t aware of “The Streisand Effect”…NSFW also)…



…and Robert Reich tells us about another tax scam for the rich proposed by the Trumpsters, which would be trying to basically lower the capital gains tax rate by making any taxable increase due to inflation non-taxable instead – no end to their deceit and chicanery…

…and to help Scott Wallace, running against Brian Fitzpatrick for the PA-01 U.S. House seat, click here.



…and I hope you’re in the mood for a little escapism, because I sure as hell am.

Monday Stuff

Cenk Uygur of TYT tells us about the latest Brett Kavanaugh accuser, and that would be Deborah Ramirez, who apparently was reluctant to come forward at first for the reasons Cenk tells us – that’s understandable as far as I’m concerned; as important as it is that the truth comes out, the person saying these things will have her life turned upside down as a result…do I even have to ask where we would be in this story if the Democrats tried something like this (and yeah, as a YouTube commenter noted, Cenk is referring to “Mark” Judge, not Mike)...



…and Michael Brooks of The Majority Report tells us about this idiot Repug congressman from South Carolina named Ralph Norman, who apparently made a “joke” about Ruth Bader Ginsburg being groped by Abraham Lincoln (where is Major Bowes’ hook when you need it, I’m tempted to ask…more Norman garbage is here)…



…and I would say that Farron Cousins brings the appropriate level of outrage here (and concerning that allegedly objective CNN panel being questioned, I give you this)…



…and with all of this going on, I couldn’t help but think of this song (wouldn’t be a bit surprised if women in this country staged something like their own version of “Lysistrata” as a result).