Saturday Stuff

Joy Reid speaks with Dr. Esther Choo and pundit Charlie Sykes on Repug Guv’s Abbott in Texas, #DeathSantis in FLA and Kristi Noem in South Dakota and their COVID respone, or lack thereof (and I’m not really criticizing Sykes, but boy, talk about setting a low bar for Noem...gee, how nice that she’s not going to get in the way of letting businesses do the right thing, but Sykes is correct to point out just how crazy #DeathSantis is in response)...



Update: And you can just lump these 3 characters in with the others noted here of course.

...and Chris Hayes tells us about cops pushing back against vaccine mandates (yeah, pretty much no excuse for that as far as I’m concerned...could do without the "listen up" comment, though)...



...and David Doel brings us a moment of clarity from James Carville on Biden and Afghanistan...and kudos to Biden for this...and by the way, the reason for the compressed timeframe on the evacuees is because Trump originally wanted everyone out by last Christmas, and then last May (here), but Biden pushed for August 31st, and also because Baby Goebbels spiked the visa application process for Afghan refugees so they couldn’t get out earlier – I think Doel’s analysis of the timeframe for the pullout is wrong...



...and I have to admit that I may have gone back and forth on this musical selection more than any other as long as I’ve been working on this dumb blog, for whatever that’s worth, but I’m going to include it even though I most definitely do not agree with the sentiment...here is a 19:00-or-so clip of Eric Clapton talking about his experience getting the two AstraZeneca COVID shots (AZ is approved in the UK) and his opposition to a vaccine mandate...I would say that (as Clapton admits in the recording) his diagnosis of both emphysema and peripheral neuropathy make him an exceptional case (here)...if Clapton has decided to make friends with anti-vaxxer Robin Monotti, that’s his choice, but it doesn’t give him the right to tell people to basically distrust all proven science in the face of a global pandemic – he should take a tour of a COVID ward or two to get an idea of the best way to look out for his kids and grand-kids...I believe he’s in earnest about that, but it doesn’t give him the right to take exactly the wrong lesson from all of this either.



Update 12/19/21: OK, Clapton has now officially lost me with this total dick move (and supporting Greg Abbott too? F-you, "slow hand!"...more here).

Friday Stuff

(And in case you think I'm making that up, I give you this.)

This video from Don Winslow tells us why we should hold Mango Mussolini’s metaphorical feet to the fire also when it comes to our withdrawal from Afghanistan - more great stuff from Winslow (and of course, that goes for Mike Pompeo also...and oh yeah, there's this too)...



Update: The day will come when we'll never have to worry about hearing any more mutterings from this demented fool. And as far as I'm concerned, that day can't come soon enough (here).

...and Beau gives us a lesson on 20/20 hindsight when it comes to our exit from our latest war (didn't know how treacherous that road apparently is from Kabul to Bagram, but it's not surprising in the least)...



...and Jackson White of Rebel HQ brings us this clip of a Trumpette somewhere making noise about committing wholesale violence to try and reinstall Dear Leader; the difference this time is that an active duty member of our military shares her thoughts also...



...and Brian Tyler Cohen tells us about Dem Illinois Guv J.B. Pritzker giving it back to a wingnut reporter on dealing with COVID, mask mandates, etc. (apparently, this is the latest dustup in a long-running battle between Pritzker and some midwestern wingnut media types, and this Amy Jacobson knucklehead in particular, as noted here, here and here)...



...and I’m sure this will come as a shock (snark), but states that ended extended unemployment benefits didn’t see job creation as a result (Farron Cousins explains)...



...and sticking with the theme of money matters, Robert Reich gives us a lesson on socialism for the rich...



...and the High Court of Hangin' Judge J.R. has been throwing its weight around lately, you might say, and for bad reasons of course (including "I Like Beer" Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Island Baby Barrett); Chris Hayes tells us about that ridiculous decision to try and force Biden to restart a typically awful Trump policy on immigration (more here)...



...and speaking of legal stuff, gee, maybe if the person behind this ridiculous lawsuit had kept quiet, nobody would know they they're the baby in the swimming pool, amirite?

Wednesday Stuff

Thom Hartmann tells us how the “party of Lincoln” is basically trying to “burn it all down,” including the economy, prior to next year’s mid-terms since they believe that is their key to retaking Congress and ultimately the White House in ’24 (explains their wretched, cowardly votes yesterday here and here)...



...and this More Perfect Union video tells us about nurses striking across the country given that their employers raked it in financially hand over first during the pandemic and basically didn’t do diddly squat for nurses facing equipment shortages, long hours, ever-expanding case loads and having to take on multiple duties, including housekeeping (this is apparently taking place in our beloved commonwealth also)...



...and Cenk and Ana tell us about the 75 Florida doctors who staged a walkout because of those life forms in their state who refuse to get vaccinated – good! (with a great big middle-finger-raise-on-high at Gov. #DeathSantis)...



...and believe me when I tell you that it’s damn hard to find humor these days, but I have to admit that I got a kick out of this Lincoln Project video...



...and I call this damn good news for sure; looks like those gutter snipes Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman had the metaphorical book thrown at them by the FCC (here), which, as Rachel Maddow explains, pretty much agrees on nothing these days, but they sure came together to wallop these two clowns (can’t think of a word for the crass, laughable racism in that ridiculous robocall)...



...and we quite rightly commemorated the passing of Charlie Watts yesterday, but here’s another milestone (a day late, actually) involving another drummer, and that’s the 70th birthday of Michael Derosier of Heart.

Tuesday Stuff

David Doel discusses Mehdi Hasan calling out our corporate media on our withdrawal from Afghanistan under President Biden, and this includes (by association) MSNBC, Hasan's own network...



...and Emma and Matt of The Majority Report tell us of Rob O’Neill’s comment about that country (“just give me 9 guys and let me kill everybody” – terrific)...



...and Brian Tyler Cohen tells us how Fix Noise fourth-estate-weasel-in-training Peter Doocy tried to con Jen Psaki into another bullshit right-wing talking point about Biden allegedly leaving Americans "stranded" in Afghanistan...



...and Farron Cousins tells us that, apparently, the Cyber Ninjas fraud audit in AZ is going to be held up because of a COVID outbreak...I realize there’s nothing funny about our ongoing plague, but if I were to wish it on anybody, it would be them (and good luck to Cousins with his recent carpal tunnel surgery)...



...and John and Francesca of The Damage Report tell us about AOC shutting down The Swanson TV Dinner Heir over the latter trying trivialize the Dem U.S. House Rep’s concerns about sexual violence (no bar too low for the life forms of The Roger Ailes BS Factory)...



...and Cenk and Ana tell us about conserva-Dems caving a bit on the $3.5 trillion infrastructure bill (of course, “Curtsy Kyrsten” is set to kill it in the Senate...and yes, this is pretty amazing stuff, but before we do handstands and rejoice, let’s look at this with a bit of a wary eye for a little while longer as Cenk and Ana, and David Dayen, quite rightly point out)...



Update: Yeah, I think this pretty much says it.

...and Thom Hartmann reminds us (in this 2011 recording) of The Powell Memo – we observed the 50th anniversary of this thoroughly scurrilous (IMO) document written by eventual Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell yesterday – so much to be said about this that it might take a month at least to post about all of it...



...and truly, a giant has left our midst - RIP Charlie Watts of The Rolling Stones.

Monday Stuff

Yeah, FL Guv Ron #DeathSantis sure doesn’t “want to hear a blip,” all right (about 'Rona and probably much of anything else)...



...and this Now This clip presents this Maine lunatic named Heidi Sampson comparing the COVID vaccine to the experiments of Josef Mengele in good ol’ Nazi Germany...and yes, I’m being tongue-in-cheek...



...meanwhile, for the sane point of view, David Shuster of Rebel HQ tells us about Tennessee dad Justin Kanew of Williamson County speaking in defense of his school-age daughter and masks and against idiots going off on critical race theory, which – wait for it! – isn’t even taught in that school district (kudos to Kanew for bringing much-needed sanity to this discussion on protection against COVID and TRYING TO GET US ALL FREAKING VACCINATED AND OVER THIS AT LONG LAST!!!)...



...and for more from the reality-based community, Ari Melber speaks with Dr. Rochelle Walensky (on COVID of course)...



...and Rachel Maddow tells us here that there are people taking a horse deworming medicine which supposedly will cure COVID – uh, no (and three guesses where THAT idea came from, and the first two don’t count; The Roger Ailes BS Factory should be sued into extinction at long last – more here and here...and speaking of Maddow, this is definitely welcome news)...



...and Emma and “Dan From The Internet” on TMR tell us more about the Gavin Newsom recall vote...so far, what’s frustrating to me about this is that I can’t figure out what bone, if you will, people have to pick with Newsom, unless it’s just the anti-mask and anti-vax idiots mad at Newsom for trying to govern in a sane manner during COVID (OK, there’s a little bit of info on that near 8:30-9:35 to be fair)...



...and good work here by Jim Acosta of CNN aimed at everyone supposedly concerned about the plight of Afghan refugees after pretty much ignoring that country for the better part of 20 years or so, most infamously Generalissimo Trump and his minions...



...and RIP Don Everly.