Saturday Stuff

I would call it a double standard at a minimum to allow “I Like Beer” Brett Kavanaugh to write the majority opinion in a case that overturns precedent once again, this time having to do with immature youthful behavior and its effect on potential lifetime incarceration, as Rachel Maddow explains (more here and here)...



...and Chris Hayes is absolutely right to basically consider it a travesty that, to date, there hasn’t been a public accounting of the treasonous events of 1/6, but that’s what happens when the voters of this country elect a dangerously delusional sociopath as president, to say nothing of being manifestly unqualified for the job; we do indeed need the equivalent of a 9/11 commission (and I would argue with subpoena power), but when the other side is going to be completely unserious, as House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is for claiming to include BLM and Antifa in such an investigation (and it should be noted that neither law enforcement or any kind of impartial journalistic or investigatory body of any kind HAS IDENTIFIED EITHER GROUP AS HAVING ANY INVOLVEMENT IN THE EVENTS OF 1/6)...well, let’s just say I’m not holding out much hope (and Hayes’s frustration at the end is completely called for IMO)...



...and I know I went after Dubya on Thursday over that dopey interview of his, but I thought this was a pretty good take on the comment from number 43 about lies online or whatever that mess was (though Kyle has to also rain on his own parade by acting like the stuff with Trump and Putin was just nbd as he always does, which is actually pretty damn infuriating)...



Update 4/25/21: And speaking of Dubya...

...and I have to admit that it’s been a looong time since I’ve done anything close to recreational biking (good exercise overall, but I have to listen to what my middle-aged body is telling me about that), but I have never in my life heard of a license requirement for a bike (though I also don’t plan to visit Perth Amboy any time soon, I hasten to add – hey, why not give these kids credit for getting some exercise outside as opposed to being shackled inside to a gaming controller all day?)...



...and this TYT clip from Adrienne Lawrence tells us about Colorado Judge Natalie Chase, who has stepped down basically for being racist AF (appointed to the bench by former Governor and now U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper - not sure why the segment leads off with that old clip of Cenk and Ana)...



...and speaking of racism, don’t look now, but here comes Brit Hume to tell us how it doesn’t exist any more (and Emma V. is exactly right – if Fix Noise existed in the ‘60s, Hume would be saying “Oh, there’s no such thing as systemic racism, it’s just a few bad apples...BUT LOOK OVER THERE AT THE NEW BLACK PANTHER PARTY THUGS IN PHILLY! THEY’RE THREATENING THAT ELDERLY WOMAN AT THE POLLING PLACE BY HOLDING THE DOOR OPEN FOR HER!”)...



...and I have to admit that this clip from Thom Hartmann is a little atypical, but I still thought it was important – I honestly believe that there are situations where self-medication under a doctor’s supervision of course is definitely called for, but I also think it’s good to discuss any possible way to effect lifestyle changes that could head off the need for medication depending on the circumstance – definitely not saying to toss all your meds right here and now, but certainly when it comes to learning particularly for kids, maybe we can pursue other strategies (kind of an open-ended comment I know)...



...and this is a cool combo I must say of Sir Mick Jagger and Dave Grohl performing a pretty kick-ass lockdown song – nice tune for a weekend too (and I wonder if someone will have the guts to tell Jagger that he doesn't have to worry about playing the guitar).

Friday Stuff

I love it when the Repugs gang up on each other; let them tear themselves to pieces – fine with me (and once more, The Lincoln Project keeps cranking out these great ads)...



...and I can’t think of a word to communicate my disgust with the anti-maskers for trying to harass kids, and I can’t say “oh, it’s a southern thing” since this is from CA...we shouldn’t do a damn thing for these lunatics if they end up in a COVID ward (and isn’t it ridiculous that there’s no anti-protest law against this, as opposed to that garbage anti-protest law that just passed in FLA?)...



...and the prior David Pakman clip mentioned overseas actors, if you will, using social media to influence opinion in this country against COVID immunization (bastards), and I thought that was an appropriate transition to this interesting clip from the BBC about how China is responding to COVID-19 with its own brand of propaganda; yeah, some of this is to be expected by a totalitarian regime, but some of it was egged on by our prior ruling cabal of grifters and lowlifes too...



...and back to dollars-and-cents stuff...David Doel is exactly right on how Bernie and the Dems started out on a lowball number on negotiating for the $15-an-hour minimum wage (and by the way, $15 an hour is hardly extravagant...that’s basically a below-poverty wage and doesn’t even remotely keep pace with productivity gains for comparable work over, say, the last 40 years – not slamming Bernie because he’s trying to do good, but the Dem U.S. Senate “leadership” instead...just assume the "party of Lincoln" will NEVER have a good idea and go on without them because that is probably EXACTLY how events will play out regardless of whatever bill you're talking about)...



...and echoing that, I give you this clip from Farron Cousins with Biden basically telling the other side to “put up or shut up” on funding the infrastructure bill...



...and Number 46 is featured prominently in this Ari Melber report on the 1994 crime bill; I’m glad Melber mentioned that it’s a sign of wisdom to understand that sometimes you need to change course since that’s 100 percent true, and I believe Biden understands that – and yes, there’s a lot we can take issue with in retrospect about “The Big Dog” and the whole “centrist Democrat” thing, but I also think we need to recall that Clinton found a way to win the White House for “Team D” after a 12-year absence, and in politics that is absolutely an eternity...as far as I’m concerned, we had a good run under Clinton, and yeah, there were some missteps, but there were a hell of a lot of gains too...



...and sticking with The Comcast Network, I give “Doc” Maddow a lot of credit for this segment on the Chevron oil company trying to protect its oil field in Myanmar and propping up a military junta at the same time (making our planet safe to manufacture panty hose, apparently – got it)...



...and I know I make some “U-turns” from time to time here with my musical selections, and here comes another one...today is the 60th anniversary of the Carnegie Hall performance by Judy Garland, a show which was truly stunning, including this timeless number.

Thursday Stuff

Yeah, count me as somebody who’s pretty damn fed up with attempting to somehow normalize George W. Bush, for the reasons Ana and Francesca point out...and this POS is actually going to talk about “nativism”? What the hell do you call all of this “you’re either with us or against us” crap in the wake of 9/11? What do you call turning one of the most awful days this country has even seen into Republican hate porn like you, Cheney and your pals did for 8 miserable years? What do you call those garbage “purple heart band aids” your lizard-brained followers wore to ridicule John Kerry’s military service at that Hate Fest convention in 2004?

I’ll admit that there are some slight threads of decency in Dubya that are utterly buried beneath a mountain of hubris and arrogance, but he only looks reasonable to a tiny degree because 45 was an utter sociopath (and boy, does Francesca in particular nail it)...



...well, given the prior clip, I think we need to bring back this little number from the awful Bush/Cheney era (slightly NSFW/H)...



...and I know this clip from Chris Hayes is a few days old, but this is one of the best takedowns of right-wing garbage media and the COVID pandemic that I’ve seen in a while, and kudos to Hayes for laying this right at the feet of Lachlan Murdoch, who apparently is now the caretaker for The Roger Ailes BS Factory (and oh yeah, memo to The Swanson TV Dinner Heir...the point of masking after immunization is to MINIMIZE THE IMPACT OF THE F*CKING VARIANTS!!!!)...



...and I also know I touched on this recently with a clip from “The Majority Report,” but Rachel Maddow (speaking with Florida State Senator Shevrin Jones) gives us more detail on the completely disgusting 81 anti-protest bills sponsored by Republicans (and yeah, protecting the monuments to Confederate traitors is another “FU” in all of this)...



Update 4/23/21: And Oklahoma now joins the stupidity parade also (here).

...and I honestly wasn’t going to pay attention to that Missouri scumbag Josh Hawley, but I changed my mind after this most recent foul episode from this disgusting life form...



...and when asked, Dr. Fauci said “How can you say that gun violence isn’t a public health issue?” – Nail. Hammer. Head...



...and David Pakman tells us about a law passed in the House allowing banks to transact with pot dispensaries...not sold on federal legalization, but if states want to allow pot, then there should be no problem with dispensaries operating like a regular business, and of course it should be federally decriminalized...



...and by the way, Happy Earth Day.

Wednesday Stuff

Rachel Maddow tells us about the official police statement after George Floyd’s killing, which made no reference to what actually happened; if it weren’t for people taking cell phone footage including the one brave young lady in particular who testified at the trial, there might not even have been a trial at all, let alone a guilty verdict handed down to Derek Chauvin (oh, and yesterday also brought us this cringeworthy moment)...



...and in response, I have a feeling we can look forward (tongue in cheek) to a whole lot of garbage just like this, with this wingnut Florida sheriff trying to re-define and criminalize protest (...”but don’t register to vote and vote the way they did up north, or you’ll get what they got”...REALLY???!!! And “A gathering of three or more people can be labeled a riot”...terrific! – the land of Mickey Mouse indeed, all while Governor #DeathSantis looks on with approval)...



Update 4/22/21: Some related information is here.

...and with the prior clip in mind, I now give you the latest installment of “This Day In Doomsy History” from 4/21/14, reminding us that crazy Repug governors are a feature, not a bug – Jeb Bush and Bobby (“Don’t Call Me Piyush”) Jindal are discussed, creating the template for the insanity of #DeathSantis (the late, great Ed Schultz speaks with Pap and David Cay Johnston...yeah, the “vulture chart” pretty much says it, and this was 7 years ago – can only imagine what that’s like now)...



...and gosh, what a shame...it looks like the “New KKK Caucus” of Paul Gosar and Marjorie Taylor Greene in the U.S. House may not be a thing after all – I’m sure the Swanson TV Dinner Heir, among others, is crest fallen over it, as Ana and Francesca discuss (interesting note from Brett Erlich about our legal system traced to Islamic law)...



...and Brian Tyler Cohen tells us about Stacey Abrams giving it right back to Huckleberry Graham over his attempt at “gotcha” questions over Georgia’s BS new voting laws (and as usual, talking over and interrupting – I’d seriously like for someone to ask Graham how the hell he feels that he has the right to interfere in anything having to do with Georgia since he allegedly represents South Carolina)...



...and RIP Jim Steinman – yeah, we know what “Pig Loaf” would turn into, but “Bat Out of Hell” was still a great recording (including this tune), partly made so by the contribution of Todd Rundgren.

Tuesday Stuff (updates)

Thom Hartmann makes what I think is a convincing argument, sadly, that this country has turned into a fortress as opposed to a “shining city on a hill” based on this (and our insatiable lust for guns is a big part of that of course...many good points here, including blowing up all that “Oh yeah? Chicago has strict gun laws and look what’s going on.” BS)...



...and Cenk and Ana of TYT talk about Louisville, KY cops beating up a protestor – can you guess the skin color? And yeah, it’s a typical cop trick to yell “Stop resisting!” as they do it – the only “resisting” this guy is doing is breathing. The clip also discusses a FLA law basically making it legal to run down protestors (and Cenk is absolutely right when it comes to reporters and the first amendment, re, the protests, asking #DeathSantis if he supports it or not – if the fourth estate wasn’t preoccupied with “access,” then yeah, maybe they’d grow a spine and do what they should on this)...

via GIPHY

...and oh look! It’s time for more utter performative nonsense from that U.S. senatorial mistake, Democrat Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, showing off her “F-off” ring (what a pitiable joke this woman is – John and Francesca provide commentary)...



...and once more (and for probably the 100th time I know), I know what The Lincoln Project is, but they keep cranking out good videos like this one, so here it is (though I'm not sure that America is the only country founded on an idea, but yeah, I guess that could be true)...



...and RIP former Minnesota U.S. Senator and VP (under Jimmy Carter) Walter Mondale; I’m sure others will come out with obits that will do much better justice to Mondale’s accomplishments in public life than I could do here, but I thought I’d present this one clip in his 1984 debate against The Sainted Ronnie R where Mondale wiped that big, dumb smile right off The Gipper’s face; yes, I realize that Mondale got creamed in that election, but fighting the good fight still counts, as well as naming Geraldine Ferraro as your running mate (trying to break the glass ceiling Kamala Harris shattered)...



...and I’m not encouraging that anybody “toke up” today, but if you do, please be careful and don’t operate any heavy machinery, including a car of course.

Update 1: THANK GOD! I honestly was wondering for a little while about this.

I have no clue as to whether or not this will be the beginning of the end of the cops and “open season” on African Americans, but now we know that there’s a line to be drawn SOMEWHERE.

They’d better send Chauvin to a “club Fed” for the rest of his life (which, again, is still a better deal than George Floyd got). If Chauvin ends up in a general prison population, he’ll be dead in 20 minutes.

Update 2: Aaaand we're back to what is apparently the sickening normality of American law enforcement (here) - I can only imagine how some of these pigs are going to respond to the Chauvin verdict (and an extra "FU" by the cops is here).

Monday Stuff

Joe Scar of “Morning Jo(ke)” shows his true wretched colors here with Dem U.S. House Rep Sean Maloney, with the MSNBC host parroting Repug talking points and having a hissy fit when Maloney calls him on it (I think the attack lines Scar mentioned caught the Dems off guard, but not because the attack lines weren’t absolutely ridiculous in the first place...AOC said the Dems need to do a MUCH BETTER job on social media to blunt this garbage, and she’s absolutely right – we need to replace their crappy messaging with our GOOD messaging, and as David Doel says, incumbent progressives won re-election in the House last year, though I realize the picture is complicated by other factors too)...



...and sticking with the subject of wingnut temper tantrums, there are all kinds of reasons why I rate Repug lunatic U.S. House Rep Gym Jordan as a lower life form than a garden slug (a shame you can’t pour a beer on Jordan and watch him disintegrate into a mass of sodium goo on a sidewalk), but for now I decided to punish myself (and, by extension, you dear viewer) and air this clip of his interaction with Dr. Fauci...to listen to this craven demagogue rant at someone who has more intellect in his little finger than Jordan does in his entire wretched self was just about too much to take, particularly when this asshole from Ohio talks about going to church (yep, performative garbage, as Brian Tyler Cohen correctly describes it)...



...and in a sane world, a life form like Jordan would inflict this treatment on the “Karen” who coughed on the woman who had brain cancer instead of Dr. Fauci, as Farron Cousins tells us (I swear, I may never visit Florida again after this...mildly NSFW)...



...of course, maybe all of the anti-maskers out there could try this product instead (hey, we have to find humor somehow)...



...and John, Cenk and Bridget Todd tell us about cops donating to a fund to help (accused, let’s not forget) Kenosha, WI shooter Kyle Rittenhouse – I know I said a couple of days ago that the Adam Toledo shooting (a kid all of 13...just a reminder) was more of a gray area because it was a dark alley and Ofc. Eric Stillman had less time to respond, which is true, but it’s still an undeniable fact that Toledo had his empty hands up and was shot fatally in the chest anyway...I can’t recall all of the clip at the moment, but I remember recently seeing the head of the Chicago police union I believe acting pretty indignant over the fact that Stillman is being questioned at all, and I thought, sure a-hole, go ahead and fan the flames, as it were...



...and damn, I’m pretty sure it was just a few weeks ago when I wished Rusty Young a happy birthday – RIP.