Saturday Stuff (update)

Farron Cousins tells us that Mango Mussolini’s attacks on Joe Biden’s mental health aren’t working – yeah, the former VP has slipped a bit for sure, but he’s still got enough on the ball to do the job as far ar as I’m concerned, and he isn’t a narcissistic sociopath like the current occupant of An Oval Office…



…and I suppose the best way I can pay tribute to the late, great Michael Brooks is by continuing to shine light on the causes for which he advocated, and one of them was genuine democratic reform in Brazil…as I’ve said, I’m definitely not an expert in Brazilian politics, but I DO know, like a lot of others I realize, that our government has been interfering in Latin America on behalf of U.S. business conglomerates for decades, and only a fool would argue otherwise, going back to John Foster Dulles and Allen Dulles staging a coup in Guatemala on behalf of the United Fruit company in 1954 (here) – not hard to connect the dots from the present until now, and as Brooks alluded to, such interference really is a bipartisan political offense…



…and I came across another homemade video about the so-called TRUST Act from Willard Mitt Romney, the latest ridiculously named effort to gut Social Security…yes, it’s bipartisan – Joe Manchin is going along with it because of course he is, and wish Doug Jones wouldn’t, but he’s truly in a political dogfight and he’s got to head off Tuberville and the Repugs every way he can…the mystery to me, though, is Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, who, as far as I’m concerned, may be the biggest Dem congressional disappointment of them all...to view a list of the contested U.S. Senate races, please click here…



…and this summer tune is actually 50 years old today – wicked sideburns, dude!



Update 7/26/20: And for no reason in particular, I give you this (very NSFW/H, but for a good reason).

Wow!!! I love George Carlin. This from the grave may be his most important and timeless rant ever.

Whatever you do don’t make it go viral! #AmericaWakeUp pic.twitter.com/dmYTqJ1I5V

— Fred Guttenberg (@fred_guttenberg) July 26, 2020

Friday Stuff

I totally get it that, at times, we get exhausted with what I guess you could call “scandal fatigue” concerning Our Pumpkin Pestilence, but even by his guttural standards (for lack of a better word), I think leaning on the Brits to get a major golf tournament at one of his resorts is pretty despicable, to say nothing of cartoonish, as Rachel Maddow explains (hmmm…wasn’t he impeached by the U.S. House for trying to do the same thing with Ukraine? Hard to keep track with the cesspool of grift and incompetence)…



..and I know there are people, including this bunch, having fun with that five-word test that Mango Mussolini is bragging about (which is used to test dementia…and this orange pustule has the nuclear codes…), but I thought this was a much more spot-on ad, sadly…



…and as I watch this, I have a feeling that I should brush up on the last days of the Weimar Republic (apropos use of The Sainted Ronne R. also, I must say)…



…and this Meidas Touch video is probably a bit repetitive, but still very important IMHO (I’m including it partly because it mentions the Ghislaine Maxwell comment, which some, including Ana Kasparian and Dana Bash, have called a signal to Maxwell meaning that Trump will take care of her if she keeps her mouth shut, which I think is correct given the fact that 45 is basically a mobster anyway and that’s how they seem to operate...I'd like to see comparable ads from the Dems, by the way, saying what they would do if they were returned to power, an outcome we all have to work for this November)…



…and Farron Cousins tells us how our utterly useless corporate media is suddenly in love with the “new tone” of the Gropenfuhrer (pardon me while I retch)…



…and Thom Hartmann tells us about Sen. Mr. Elaine Chao playing games with people’s lives again, among other notes about the monstrous dereliction of legislative duty from the “party of Lincoln,” to say nothing of the insanity in Repug-run states (yep, more reasons for M4A...and to do something about the Senate Majority Leader, click here)…



…and I think it’s safe to say that, at the moment, Dem U.S. House Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is pretty much owning the news cycle for her takedown of Repug U.S. House Rep Ted Yoho and his ridiculous attempt at an apology for his contemptible words and actions – all of this is definitely overdue against Yoho and those of his ilk…Charlie Pierce said on Twitter that this reminded him a bit of Michael Jordan at UNC perfecting his game before he got to the pros, and I thought that was a pretty damn spot-on analogy…whether or not Nancy Pelosi likes it, AOC is becoming the face of the congressional Democratic Party, and maybe the party overall eventually, and if Pelosi had any brains, she would just let it happen and get out of the way…the Dem U.S. House Speaker, by the way, should continue to feel like an utter fool for that “glass of water” remark she made about AOC awhile back…clip is briefly NSFW/H, but for a very good reason…somehow I think it’s going to be a loooong time before Yoho or any of his other Repug playmates engage in an action like this ever again, because they know exactly what will happen if they do…



…and since it’s a summer Friday, I think it’s time for a brainless but fun little tune.

Wednesday Stuff

This video is a couple of weeks old, but I think it's still timely, especially with the upcoming deadline for the latest round of COVID-related support...in it, Robert Reich lays out pretty clearly why another round of properly targeted economic stimulus is needed, including the HEROES Act…



…and John I. and Adrienne Lawrence of The Damage Report tell us about those insulting remarks from Repug FL U.S. House Rep Ted Yoho directed at AOC (as note here, Yoho, by the way, voted against the Emmett Till anti-lynching bill)…also, Yoho’s same-party playmate, U.S. House Rep Roger Williams of Texas, was apparently in on the “fun” also – Yoho’s seat looks pretty safe, unfortunately…I couldn’t find anyone running against him (what the hell is wrong with the people in FLA who support this clown?), and I don’t know about Williams either, but he has an opponent in this year’s election named Julie Oliver – to help her, click here…



Update: So Yoho “apologizes” if some people misunderstood him, or whatever (here)? God, what a WATB! Man up and apologize the RIGHT way, you scumbag!

…and the only very minor criticism I have of this clip is that it doesn’t show Navy veteran Christopher David giving the finger to the jackbooted thugs who attacked him in Portland, which he had every right to do as far as I’m concerned…



…and yep, we definitely know how this ends, if we don’t do something about it of course (and, for the time being, I’ll put aside the fact that a lot of the characters in this group worked on behalf of Repugs like Reagan and Dubya who led us down this sorry path, since they’re doing good for now)…



…and I heard about the 15-year-old in Michigan referred to as “Grace” who has been incarcerated since May, and like many other people I suppose, I felt absolutely enraged…yes, she did wrong with the two prior assaults, but keeping her locked up all this time, especially when she has expressed remorse, is an abomination – I read somewhere that there’s some kind of ADHD going on with her, though I’m definitely not a clinician and I can’t speak to that with authority…and I have a question for this lunatic judge; OK, if she’s not in jail for missing a homework assignment (considered to be a parole violation) and she’s said she misses her mom and she’s learned what her mistakes were apparently, WHY THE HELL IS SHE BEING DETAINED??!! (I should note that we had the “Kids for Cash” scandal in our beloved commonwealth previously, and though that apparently isn’t going on here, I recall a video about how traumatic it was for kids of this age to be essentially behind bars – I honestly don’t know how much of this is racial versus this judge simply being out of her mind)…



…and I hope you’re in the mood for an uplifting new tune, because I definitely am (proceeds for purchase of the song go to Civil Rights Advocacy and Color of Change).

Tuesday Stuff

(Uh huh, there indeed really is always a tweet, people.)

Emma Vigeland and Cenk Uygur talk about Repug Governor Larry Hogan of Maryland and his criticism of the Gropenfuhrer over the bungling of the federal gov't response to the COVID-19 pandemic – yeah, I’ve had issues with Hogan in the past, and maybe there’s a bit of political opportunism going on, but for now, Hogan is doing the right thing…



Update 7/27/20: Note to self - no more giving credit to Larry Hogan (here)...

…and David Pakman tells us about the Rachel Maddow/Mary Trump interview over the latter’s book…at this point, I have to laugh over the feigned shock over Number 45 acting inappropriately – HOW MUCH MORE FREAKING PROOF DO YOU NEED THAT THE GUY IS A STONE RACIST, AMONG OTHER THINGS??!! And I agree with Pakman’s take that the book, by itself, really isn’t going to change anything ideologically one way or the other (though apparently it’s selling like nuts – wish she’d written it BEFORE the election, but we are where we are)…



…and Thom Hartmann tells us the latest on the Portland stuff, along with Adolf Twitler’s jackbooted army possibly coming to a city near you (sync is a little off again…some of his nightmare scenarios here particularly about November are scary, but not beyond the realm of possibility unfortunately)…



…and Lawrence O’Donnell speaks with a descendant of Edmund Pettus, Caroline Randall Williams, who calls for the bridge where civil rights workers marched to be renamed for John Lewis, and also for passage of the updated Voting Rights Act, to fix what was wrecked by The High Court of Hangin’ Judge JR (and of course, the fix is stuck on the desk of Sen. Mr. Elaine Chao – to do something about that, click here…lip synch is off again, like with the Hartmann video)…



…and the tributes to Michael Brooks have quite rightly been pouring in, you might say, and I thought this one by Kyle Kulinski was pretty heartfelt and spot-on, to say nothing of concise – I know they all passed for different reasons, but God, we’ve lost Terry Jones, John Prine and now Brooks this year (I think the common denominator between the three is that they all were passionate and incisive in their commentary and observations about the world, and with a touch of humor too of course… why do I have a feeling that the first person to greet Brooks in the afterlife was John Lewis? Also, I know there's a pic out there of Brooks with Lula of Brazil, and some took the opportunity to criticize the former leader of that country, and here is my response; yes, I'm definitely not an expert in Brazilian politics, but given that they're now dealing with Bolsonaro, you cannot possibly be serious)...



…and, regrettably, I forgot to note that last Sunday was National Ice Cream Day, so here is a belated tune for the occasion.

Monday Stuff

Michael Brooks, Jamie Peck and Matt Lech of “The Majority Report” tell us about the jackbooted Trumpian insanity going on in Portland at the moment (updates are here and here)…

Update: At first, I thought this was a really horrible bad joke, but it definitely isn’t a joke even though it’s still horrible. I’m just too damn numb to say much of anything that makes sense, expect to say that I wish to extend my deepest sympathies to his family and friends. Aside from personal considerations which are paramount of course, the loss to the side of progressive commentary is enormous. This utter hellscape of a year trudges on.

…and Brian Tyler Cohen tells us about Chris Wallace calling out the Gropenfuhrer for his latest lie about Biden wanting to defund the police (and yeah, keep using “Democrat” as a adjective instead of the noun which it is to try and stoke your beloved base, Mango Mussolini…well, unless Biden dribbles all over himself in the debates, you’re toast with independents and have no clear path to re-election short of fraud, you sociopathic meat sack)…



…and this scurrilous move by Repug Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (namely, trying to prevent Dem Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms from implementing and enforcing a mask ordinance) is quite literally going to get people killed – and yeah, it has everything to do with that visit from Our Traitorous Orange Pustule…



…and related to COVID-19, John Iadarola and Francesca Fiorentini tell us about all of the wingnut fetishism in response to President Fergus Laing deciding to wear a mask at long last…



…and I’m glad to see Jayar Jackson and Cenk call out that Trumpian goon Mike Pompeo for his recent speech attacking the New York Times and their “1619 Project”; Pompeo might as well have a Koch Industries logo tattooed on his ample forehead (more here)…



…and yeah, on the one hand, the Lincoln Project is full of people who carried water, you might say, for the individuals who represented the intolerance John Lewis protested against (The Sainted Ronnie R, Dubya, etc.), but on the other hand, this ad is really well done, and credit where it’s due…



…and I now give you the latest installment of “This Day In Doomsy History” (more or less), and this time we’re taking a short trip back to 7/19/19…we quite rightly are honoring the passing of John Lewis, but as noted here, another recently departed African American congressman (and another giant in our midst) was somewhat clumsily invoked recently, and with that in mind, I give you Elijah Cummings facing off with Kevin McAleenan, the former acting Homeland Security secretary, over conditions at our detention facilities on the southwest border (more here…McAleenan was succeeded by John P. Sanders)…



...and I now give you today's regional forecast (an update related to the video is here).