Friday Stuff

Yeah, I know what The Lincoln Project is, but damn, they make good ads (may be going through Trump meme withdrawal, but I’m happy to do it)....



...but just as a reminder that we still have a bunch of lowlifes to deal with, Chris Hayes speaks with HuffPo’s Matt Fuller about “Dr.” Andy Harris trying to bring a gun into the U.S. House chamber (yep, I agree with Hayes; there are QUITE A LOT OF PLACES where you shouldn’t be allowed to enter with a gun, and that’s one of them)...



...and RIP baseball legend Hank Aaron, a total class act who was one of many great players to feast on Phillies pitching from back in the day (this is his most iconic accomplishment of course...yes, Barry Bonds would break the record later, but this was truly a magic moment...and this is another reason to admire Aaron)...



...and somehow I missed Penguin Awareness Day last Wednesday – how about if I try to make amends with a little Friday funk?

Thursday Stuff

(Silly me for thinking I was actually done with the Trump memes, but I guess I’ll have to leave them behind at some point.)

Farron Cousins tells us that the incoming Biden folks just found out that the Trumpsters never came up with a plan for COVID vaccine distribution – heckuva job, as another Repug preznit once said in a wholly other context...



...but returning to the new regime, if you will, this tells us about the “Day 1” actions of Number 46...



...and because we need to hold the 1/6 betrayers accountable, I present the following...



...and today would have been the 80th birthday of folk rock (back when that was a thing) legend Richie Havens.

Wednesday Stuff

I would say the kid from Scranton made the most of his opportunity today.

There has to be a word that embodies the resilience, dedication and intelligence of Joe Biden. Have I always agreed with him? Definitely not (here is a rather ignominious example in the past from yours truly – mea maxima culpa).

But you’d have to go a looong way to find someone of his accomplishments. Yes, there are plenty of doddering old heads in our government (on both sides of the aisle), but Biden has found a way to outlast the vast majority of them and ascend to the very pinnacle of political power in this country, if not the world. I still remember that he once appeared as a panelist on “Real Time With Bill Maher” I think from the ’08 campaign and he basically held court and took over the show, not in a grating or obnoxious manner, but by the depth and breadth of experience exemplified in everything he said.

I thought his speech hit all of the right notes (yeah, it would have been hard not to like it, I realize). It was skillful (and completely necessary) to weave in the catastrophic events of two weeks ago into a message of hope and purpose. And the truth. And unity.

The harder work will come later, but this was a great start (like many of you I realize, I’d forgotten what actual presidential leadership sounded like and looked like...no, I also haven’t forgotten about his support for the awful bankruptcy bill, and the Iraq war which was worse, but we have to find a way to move forward)...



...and it sounds like at least a portion of the world, if not the majority, was pleased by what happened today also...



...and while I was digging around, I found this clip of Biden speaking about the importance of what would become the ACA from about 12 years ago, and I thought it was typical of the straightforward manner he demonstrated again today...



...and John and Francesca tell us about some stuff Biden can do pretty quickly, like reversing some of the ruinous policies of the Gropenfuhrer...



...and speaking of 45, as much as I wish we were rid of him and his cohort of grifters and criminals including much of his family, yeah, he’ll be back in the public eye, unfortunately, at some point; Rachel Maddow gave him the shove out the metaphorical door he deserved (but believe it or not, he apparently leaves office with a 79 percent approval rating from Republicans, as noted here – and THAT is the problem, dear reader!)...



...and by rights, I shouldn’t have anything to do with this guy since he’s been an anti-social distancing jackass, but I can think of no more appropriate tune for today than this one.

Tuesday Stuff

John Iadarola and Aida Rodriguez tell us that, apparently, Generalissimo Trump had to be stopped from going to the Capitol while impeachment was going on in the House (would have been still more of a ridiculous spectacle if they’d allowed it of course, which probably would have generated good ratings for cable news if nothing else)...



...and MSNBC’s Alicia Menendez speaks with Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Attorney General Dana Nessel about the threat of still more domestic violence for the upcoming inauguration (“This has been going on for 10 months and we’re asking people to take this seriously”...uh. yep...and I’m a little disgusted that they gave so much time to this knuckle dragger Michael Lackomar, who apparently has what passes for a political opinion that’s a mile wide but a quarter of an inch deep, but I guess it was necessary)...



...and sticking with Michigan, Rachel Maddow reports on the Flint water disaster and related recent indictments (good that she recalls that horrible Michigan “emergency manager” law that those disgusting Repugs in the state house passed...apparently, though, Snyder will be charged with a misdemeanor that is only punishable by a max of a year in prison...so naaah, he won’t see any jail time...love to be wrong)...



...and Thom Hartmann tells us about the right-wing nutzoids blaming Nancy Pelosi for 1/6/21 – gets to news at about 3:40 after some housekeeping stuff (”This is the result of coddling right-wing terrorists for 30 years.” indeed)...



...and Chris Hayes speaks with Christina Greer of Fordham University about the so-called “1776 Report,” which, given that this is pretty much the last gasp of Trumpsterism from the White House, is about as odious as you can expect (more here)...



...and speaking of conservatives having a hissy fit, it looks like they’re clutching their pearls, as it were, over the fact that Bernie Sanders is going to be the incoming chair of the Senate Budget Committee; David Doel tells us more (and I know people are pissed at Schumer for that power-sharing arrangement he’s concocted with Sen. Mr. Elaine Chao, but though Schumer definitely isn’t my favorite person by any means, I’m going to “keep my powder dry” on this one since I don’t think it’s worth the fight for now)...



...and yes, I know he was found guilty of second-degree murder in the killing of Lana Clarkson, and he was genuinely a whacked-out individual in a lot of ways, but there’s no denying the influence of Phil Spector on American music, particularly what I guess you could call pop music, rock and rhythm and blues, and I wouldn’t wish a COVID death on anybody – this tune is emblematic of his legacy...



...and in fewer words, here's a message for our 45th *president.

Monday Stuff

This footage from The New Yorker takes us inside the 1/6 insurrection - more here (NSFW/H...I realize this isn’t remotely funny in any way whatsoever, but I’m sorry – I couldn’t help but chuckle when that one meat sack in particular, after invading the Senate chamber, yelled, “Where the f*ck is Nancy?” – shattering the stoo-pid meter for sure...”I think Cruz would want us to do this. I think we’re good,” huh? Probably right...and "we can't lose the 'I/O' war? We're better than that?" Dream on, you treasonous nut job.)...



...and speaking of vandalism, David Doel tells us about the Trump gang making off with whatever they can from the White House...God, look at the looting from the white “overclass”...maybe we could reach out to faith leaders of the white “overclass” to make them change their ways and learn how to work for a living (a variation of what I and millions of others heard after Katrina when the metaphorical shoe was on the other racial foot)...



...and Rachel Maddow tells us that, apparently, the “secondary reserve” of COVID-19 vaccines doesn’t exist, but fortunately the incoming Biden Administration, which is actually made up of mature, intelligent adults, has come up with a plan to get as many people vaccinated as quickly as possible...



...and Chris Hayes gives an incredibly heart felt commentary aimed at the “professional class” of Republican operatives – I sure would like to be optimistic about this, but I can’t, because it’s all about the numbers in that survey, which represents a truly scary level of denial...



...and every once in awhile on MLK day, I put up this speech from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at Barratt Middle School in Philadelphia on October 26. 1967, with the them of “What Is Your Life’s Blueprint?,” and I thought the time was right to do it again...



...and I thought it appropriate to bring this back for the holiday also.