Friday Stuff

(The pic has to do with this, by the way - also, probably no posting next week.)

I think this latest ad from The Lincoln Project pretty much says what needs to be said (and Chris Hayes's show is pretty good, but his tweets are fire, like this one)…



…and “This has run off with us” indeed – the animation at the end of this Rachel Maddow segment says it all (with some of the predictable lunacy in response here and here)…



…and John and Ana of TYT tell us about Mango Mussolini telling FEMA to seize hospital supplies presumably so more can be sent to states who grovel at the Gropenfuhrer’s beck and call…



…and Farron Cousins tells us about Kayleigh McEnany, the latest liar to front for our ruling regime of criminals – yep, about as repellent a human being as you can expect…



…and speaking of frauds, Kyle K. tells us about nutball preacher Kenneth Copeland’s alleged effort to combat COVID-19 (yeah, something sure “blows” all right...don't completely agree with Kyle's take on religion in general, but I agree with the rest of this)…



…and I hope he’s doing OK – maybe this is the song we need right now.

Wednesday Stuff

Cenk and Ana tell us about Thomas Modly, the assclown who “resigned” after criticizing Capt. Brett Crozier of the U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt over the latter’s commendable actions to help those under his command who were exposed to COVID-19, as was Crozier himself who came down with it unfortunately…all the best…good point by Cenk about Crozier having gone through channels first, meeting the predictable roadblocks under this lawless regime…



Update: And on this subject (and when it comes to "Death Wish" Republicans), I give you this...

Kansas @GOP legislators votes to spread death.

They revoked Gov. Kelly’s order limiting church gathering size, a scientifically sound way to save lives by blunting spread of the virus.#idiots #PureEvilhttps://t.co/RP0zw2IfPK

— David Cay Johnston (@DavidCayJ) April 9, 2020

...and...

What’s Trump planning to run on in 2020? No wall. Stock market lower than when he took office. No accomplishments. Oh wait - 100,000-200,000 Americans dying is very good he says. https://t.co/m0LoXsjnlY

— Amy Siskind 🏳️‍🌈 (@Amy_Siskind) April 9, 2020

…and Bernie officially drops out...more here – I’m sure that idiot Whoopi Goldberg will be happy now; Bernie was the “good soldier” in 2016 for HRC, and he’s pledged to be that for Biden now, and I have no reason whatsoever to doubt him on that (good point to keep pushing for platform changes – the struggle goes on)…



…and David Pakman presents us with an example of a religious leader acting commendably in response to ramblings from Laura Ingraham…I’m not even sure what the hell her question was, but the elitism oozed out of every word – so the “working class” needs religion more than she does? We’re all going to be judged one day, and you’d better believe that that applies to her too (and Pakman is absolutely right about Father Murray...and I love the way Fix Noise always seems to have at least one nodding head along with one of their idiot hosts to try and drum home their narratives to "the rabble" - a related item is here)…



…and since I don’t have the other Pakman clip of religiosity gone bad, I present this from Kyle K. (about a dozen states exempt religious gatherings from “shelter in place” restrictions, stupidly enough…I like to think that I’m at least a hallway-decent practicing Catholic, and I have to tell you that the woman interviewed in the car is nuts)…



…and Robert Reich tells us about CEOs claiming to be heroes – yeah, right…



…and in my quest to find some news that is actually good, I came across this item concerning a high school teacher in Union, NJ connecting virtually with his students (and parents also – kudos)…



...and no, I never intend to let Our Treasonous, Tiny-Handed Orange Dictator Wannabe forget about this (more here)...



...and with all of this insanity raging, I have to admit that certain tunes have been running around in my head more than usual, including this one.

Tuesday Stuff

So many reasons to totally disregard a single syllable oozing from the mouth of this foul, venomous, lying orange meat sack, as Brian Tyler Cohen tells us, this time pertaining to the utter rout of anything approximating Democracy the “party of Lincoln” is waging in Wisconsin (more here)…



…and Ana and Cenk tell us about the blowup between Trump flunky Peter Navarro and Dr. Anthony Fauci over the alleged COVID-19 miracle drug (and in a related story, this of course isn’t surprising at all)…



…and Farron Cousins tells us about businesses trying to figure out how to get their 2020 “stim”…looking like individuals won’t get anything until the fall also (and yeah, that’s about what we can expect when Steve Mnuchin…”half” of small businesses in this country? Dear God)…



...and goddammit, I thought he was going to make it (here).

Monday Stuff (updates)

One blessed day, when we’ve emerged from the utter misery of all of this as best as we can and provided as much care and support as we could, and the moment comes to look back at how this catastrophe happened, this clip from Rachel Maddow should be preserved for all eternity as a chronicle of infamy, you might say (oh, and there's this too)…



Update 4/7/20: 45 should be arrested right f*cking now for this.

…and by extension, this also applies to the Gropenfuhrer’s acolytes, with Wilbur Ross basically saying that coronavirus would be “good for bidness” – and yeah, Kayleigh McEnany is truly that much of a foul, disgusting harpie…



Update 4/7/20: As Cenk would say (about McEnany), "OF COUUURRRSE!" (here).

…though of course, there’s always reason to destroy more environmental regulations and get more horrible judges confirmed, as noted here (John I. and Brett Erlich of "The Damage Report" tell us more…yep, “The Black Swan moment” all right)……



...and speaking of legal garbage...

Merrick fucking Garland https://t.co/QZGlmlwd21

— Will Bunch Sign Up For My Newsletter (@Will_Bunch) April 6, 2020

Update: These are the five life forms responsible for this travesty from the U.S. Supreme Court:

Now, repeat the following after me:

I just want to make sure that's clearly understood.

Update 4/7/20: Though obviously fraught with danger, this may be the best way to say "F.U." to these lunatics.

Update 4/21/20: No, this is not hyperbole, people (here).

…and Brian Tyler Cohen points out what a good job CA Governor Gavin Newsom is doing in response to the outbreak, and also what an utter tool Devin Nunes truly is…



…and no, I never intend to let that orange sack of shit forget about this (more here)…



...and this probably isn't a good "social distancing" tune, but I like it anyway.

Sunday Stuff (update)

There are time when I just can’t even…

The mainstream media is helping Trump kill us. pic.twitter.com/G3MccVt9ez

— Oliver Willis (@owillis) April 5, 2020

I have to admit, though, that this genuinely makes me wonder how our current corporate media would have reported on various stories throughout history given their current tendency to normalize what, for my money, is insane. And I wonder if it would have gone something like this:

In 1553, Mary Tudor ascended to the throne as Queen of England. In an attempt to reunite her country with Rome and Catholicism (having broken with Rome under her father Henry VIII, who formed the protestant Church of England), she declared the marriage of her parents valid (Henry’s marriage to Mary’s mother Katharine of Aragon was declared invalid, initiating the break from the Catholic Church). Mary’s husband Philip of Spain (also Catholic) persuaded the British Parliament to repeal Henry's religious laws, thus returning the English church to Roman jurisdiction.

Reaching an agreement to reinstitute the Catholic Church in England with Rome took many months and Mary and Pope Julius III had to make a major concession: the British monastery lands confiscated under Henry were not returned to the church. However, by the end of 1554, an agreement with Rome was finalized, and, adopting a new tone, Mary revived the Heresy Acts, in which numerous Protestants were executed, including Thomas Cranmer, the imprisoned archbishop of Canterbury under Henry.

The absence of a strong national government in 1932 Germany prompted two influential politicians, Franz von Papen and Alfred Hugenberg, along with several other industrialists and businessmen, to write a letter to German president Paul von Hindenburg. The signers urged Hindenburg to appoint Adolf Hitler as leader of a government "independent from parliamentary parties," which could turn into a movement that would "enrapture millions of people." Hitler ran against Hindenburg in that year’s presidential elections, and though Hitler lost, he emerged as chancellor after two further parliamentary elections—in July and November 1932—had not resulted in the formation of a majority government.

On 27 February 1933, the Reichstag building (home of the German parliament) was set on fire, possibly by members of Hitler’s National Socialist (or Nazi) Party. Adopting a new tone, at Hitler's urging, Hindenburg responded with the Reichstag Fire Decree of 28 February, which suspended basic rights and allowed detention without trial. The decree was permitted under Article 48 of the Weimar Constitution, which gave the president the power to take emergency measures to protect public safety and order. Activities of the German Communist Party (KPD) were suppressed, and some 4,000 KPD members were arrested (and yes, somehow I think we remember what happened in the years that followed, right?)

After the end of World War II, the U.S. continued their military assistance to Chinese nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek and his Kuomintang (or KMT) government forces against the People's Liberation Army (PLA) led by Mao Zedong during the civil war. Likewise, the Soviet Union gave quasi-covert support to Mao by their occupation of north east China, which allowed the PLA to move in en masse and take large supplies of arms left by the Japanese's Kwantung Army. To enhance the Red Army's military operations, Mao, as the Chairman of the Communist Party of China, named his close associate General Zhu De to be its Commander-in-Chief.

Adopting a new tone in 1948, under direct orders from Mao, the People's Liberation Army starved out the Kuomintang forces occupying the city of Changchun. At least 160,000 civilians are believed to have perished during the siege, which lasted from June until October. PLA lieutenant colonel Zhang Zhenglu, who documented the siege in his book “White Snow, Red Blood,” compared it to Hiroshima: "The casualties were about the same. Hiroshima took nine seconds; Changchun took five months." On January 21, 1949, Kuomintang forces suffered great losses in decisive battles against Mao's forces. In the early morning of December 10, 1949, PLA troops laid siege to Chongqing and Chengdu on mainland China, and Chiang Kai-shek fled from the mainland to Formosa (Taiwan).

With all of this in mind, I thought I’d present this as a Sunday meditation, seeing as how we’re not able to attend services (or at least, we shouldn’t be anyway, until we’re over this COVID-19 thing).



Update 7/21/19: This, in response to another nutso, alleged "press briefing" by Our Traitorous Orange Pustule today...

THE NOTE: The president is displaying a new tone and a new level of engagement, after aides and allies have pleaded with him to recognize the gravity of the moment, @rickklein writes. https://t.co/8giw8IfiE3

— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) July 21, 2020

1) called it a China virus 2) wished an accused sex trafficker well 3) will not commit to more money for testing. So, New Tone!

— Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) July 21, 2020

No questions about the reports of the Russian bounties on our troops in Afghanistan (here).

Currently, we're at about 140,000 dead from COVID-19, the world's worst site of the pandemic (here).

And 22 million jobs were eliminated during the pandemic with some coming back I know, though at this moment, that's threatened by more Repug stalling from #midnightmoscowmitch about additional help for those who need it (here).

Our utterly useless corporate media really never will learn.