Saturday Stuff

Thom Hartmann tells us that Flori-DUUUH! Repug Guv Ron #DeathSantis recently announced that a grand jury with subpoena power will look into the vaccines produced by Big Pharma since apparently #DeathSantis (along with his flunky of a surgeon general Joseph Ladapo) doesn’t trust them (the vaccines I mean), and as Hartmann notes, Ladapo (in addition to being a fraud for other reasons as noted here) is also a vaccine skeptic...what could go wrong, I wonder? - I led off with Greg Abbott in Texas yesterday; both Abbott and #DeathSantis were up for re-election this year, and both were returned to office by sizeable margins, so with all due respect to the hardworking Dems fighting lonely battles in Texas and “The Sunshine State,” voters in both of those locations can go “f” themselves...



...and Jesse Dollemore tells us about a book coming out in January by author Chris Whipple about a potential domestic terror threat in this country from inside the Secret Service, to the point where Biden didn’t trust his own S.S. detail (isn’t this the stuff that happens in banana republics, and I don’t mean the clothing retailer of course?)...



...and with the January 6th Committee winding down, Don Winslow tells us about everybody who did NOT get criminal referrals to the DOJ (I guess they’re leaving this all up to Special Prosecutor Jack Smith...we’ll see)...



...and I have to admit that I fell down a bit earlier this year by not acknowledging the passing of author and activist Barbara Ehrenreich; Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez of Democracy Now! Interview Alissa Quart as a remembrance...



...and I now give you the last installment of “This Day In Doomsy History” for the year; this clip originally aired prior to the 2010 midterm elections, but I put it up again on 12/31/10 as a reminder of what Democrats were able to accomplish when they were in charge of the entire federal government (and for less than 2 years at that) during President Obama’s first term (with historian Michael Beschloss...a comparable record under Biden and a Dem congress can be read about from here... I would ask that you keep this in mind while the “clown car caucus” takes over the U.S. House in a few days and wastes its time with doing virtually nothing that you could reasonably call “the people’s business,” unfortunately)...



...and with the conclusion of the 117th Congress, that means that we can bid farewell to Louie Gohmert (who, in the following clip with John I., Cenk and Michael Shure, basically complained that you can’t lie to the FBI...uh, yeah, you dimwit! - and they're referencing Trumper Peter Navarro, by the way; also, as a bit of a bonus, Ana presents a clip of Gohmert asking if you can change the rotation of the moon...yep, Louie's elevator doesn't run all the way to the top, if you get my drift)...

...and speaking of elevators, we’re FINALLY, MERCIFULLY DONE AT LAST! with “No Corporate Tax” Pat Toomey (more here and here)...



...and as I approach my 19th year of doing this mess, believe it or not, I want to take a minute (as is my custom) and thank everyone who has spent any time at this site over the last year...there were victories to celebrate and losses to mourn, but I honestly think we can build on our successes into the new year, so to me, that’s a reason for hope. Also, given what kind of a “seat of the pants” operation this site is, I don’t know for certain how long I’ll be able to keep it going in its present form, but I’ll do the best I can. As I’ve said before, I’d like to do longer content pieces with links, but the videos with some commentary is the best I can do to keep the issues that matter to me (and to you I’m sure) front and center. Also, I haven’t really figured out how to monetize this thing (or to devote the time to that more importantly), but if I do, I’ll have to be a lot more careful about content excerpts and the graphics that I attach to these posts, but we’ll just have to wait and see about that. I’ll do my best to keep you posted.

But for now, let’s sign off for 2022 with my usual anthem, with best wishes for all good things in the new year (timed for the belated 76th birthday of Patti Smith).

Friday Stuff

Don Winslow reminds us that “all hat, no cattle” Texas Repug Gov Greg Abbott is nothing but a sadist for transporting migrants crossing our border all over the country in freezing winter weather, to a cost of Texas taxpayers of about $12 million as noted here (and if you have to ask the question “Is this what a Christian would do?”, then you probably already know the answer)...



...and if it’s another day with a “y” in it, then that means that it’s time for more lies from this George Santos character elected as a U.S. House Republican from New York; Ana and Cenk of TYT tell us more (and the stuff about his mom allegedly dying on 9/11 is particularly grotesque...if Santos were a Dem, he would have resigned by now)...



...and ever true to their utterly disgusting form, this Fix Noise harpy (don’t know who she is, and I don’t care) tries to blame Biden Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg for the utter cluster that Southwest Airlines has become, and just in time for the holiday season, as David Pakman tells us (more here)...



...and the “Leftist Mafia” asks what happened to Matt Taibbi (good question; interesting answer IMO from Matt Binder...Taibbi was responsible for some groundbreaking reporting in Rolling Stone on Goldman Sachs and the housing bubble that brought on the Great Recession, but those days are long gone sadly – NSFW/H)...



...and Rachel Maddow interviews David Donnelly, who helped to organize progressive groups across the country with a $32 million campaign fighting the “Stop The Steal” nonsense in Maricopa County, AZ and elsewhere...clip is a couple of weeks old, but it’s important stuff, so I’m putting it up here (I've said before that, if the Dems get serious about their own version of ALEC or Americans For Prosperity, then they can count on me for a recurring donation to such a group - maybe what Donnelly has done is the answer)...



...and Adrienne Lawrence, Esq. of Rebel HQ tells us that J.P. Morgan Chase may be liable for the criminal sex trafficking of Jeffrey Epstein, in what could be a precedent-setting case...about freaking time to put billionaires on notice at long last...



...and as part of our year-end wrapup, "TCM Remembers" brings us all of those in the movie biz who left us in 2022...



...and after all of the recent holiday insanity, I’m in the mood for a mellow newer tune, so here it is.

Wednesday Stuff

Hey everybody, what happened to the RED TSUNAMI! RED TSUNAMI! RED TSUNAMI! RED TSUNAMI! RED TSUNAMI! RED TSUNAMI! RED TSUNAMI! RED TSUNAMI!?? Chris Hayes asks the question in this clip and points out more typical wingnut stupidity...yes, the Dems lost the House which isn’t good, but the last election definitely bucked historical trends in favor of "Team D"...



...and it looks like Baby Newton Leroy actually found the proverbial nut when it comes to his party and their idiotic “stop the steal” nonsense, attacking early voting, etc., though I don’t seriously expect for them to actually listen to him at this point, as Farron Cousins tells us...



...and speaking of idiot Republicans, Emma and the crew from The Majority Report tell us about Walter Hudson, an incoming state rep in Minnesota, equating vaccine mandates with slavery (NSFW/H)...and I could care less whether or not this guy is black; he’s still a goddamn idiot...I would expect this in a red state, but sadly, this garbage is apparently nationwide (more here)...



...and Ana and Cenk of TYT discuss schools forcing kids into ROTC according to the New York Times (I definitely think Cenk’s remark about the “mythical creature” is out of line in this context; I think it’s “apples and oranges” to compare the Pentagon trying to lure in kids to teaching the faith, whatever it may be...if kids don’t want to believe it, then fine...Cenk is absolutely right at the end, though, in his point about why the wingnuts don’t want free college, mainly because they don’t want kids who aren’t “to the manor born” to have the same advantages)...



...and I present the following tune in remembrance of Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac...



...and this one for James Seals of Seals and Crofts.

Tuesday Stuff

Jesse Dollemore tells us about yet another cruel anti-immigrant stunt from Texas’s utterly heartless Republican monster of a governor, Greg Abbott, and that is to drop off 3 buses of immigrants in DC in single-digit temperatures, with the apparent destination of NYC according to Dollemore (and doing so with no advance notice of course...and not to split hairs, but Christmas is actually the second-most important day of the Christian liturgical year, for ACTUAL Christians, as opposed to the frauds Abbott allegedly represents...Easter is #1...from what I’ve read about this, these people were legally processed, but of course Abbott cares more about making headlines than treating people humanely – to me, though, the people who are much more at fault here are Republicans voting for Abbott, Cruz, etc. who care more about their privilege than acting like the Christians they mistakenly claim to be...



...and Ana of TYT tells us about Chick-fil-A in North Carolina getting fined for violating child labor laws and (apparently) paying workers with food instead of $$ (I think she goes off the rails a bit comparing this to the 1/6 Committee referral to the DOJ on Trump, however)...



...and based on what David Doel tells us here, it looks like the gamble from “Curtsy Kyrsten” to become an independent isn’t working out, though, as it turns out, she could pull more votes from Dems than Repugs as the polling indicates if she runs in '24, unfortunately (mildly NSFW/H)...



...and maybe this video represents just another day with a Y in it for that nematode Jesse Watters, but I still believe his misogyny needs to be called out (David Shuster tells us more)...



...and as opposed to the alleged Christians Greg Abbott seeks to lead as Texas governor, this clip from Now This tells us about 5 everyday ACTUAL heroes who made a difference over the prior year...



...and at this time of the year, I like to revisit some milestones as well as acknowledge any I may have missed, and in the latter category, I bring you this tune for the 80th birthday of Johnny Rivers in November.

Monday Stuff

Farron Cousins and Jeff Waldorf bring us more evidence for the argument that King Elon I is the dumbest billionaire of all time...and yeah, Matt Taibbi has fallen big time for sure...and to be honest, I’m seeing a lot more wingnuts in my Twitter feed also...



...and More Perfect Union with J.T. Chapman of Second Thought tell us how the billionaire couple of Stewart and Lynda Resnick (of the Orwellian-named “Wonderful Company”) stole California’s water...can’t think of a hell hot enough for life forms like these individuals (and this video presents yet another reason why DiFi needs to retire)...



...and Mike Figueredo of The Humanist Report tells us of a mother forced to flee her state because she has a “trans” son or daughter – not entirely clear on which one, along with Arizona parents somewhat relieved since Dems primarily won and Texas parents dreading the fact that Greg Abbott was returned as governor to persecute all those who don’t give him campaign contributions – it’s been a long time since I saw a video that churned my guts like this one did...and if anybody thinks the “party of Lincoln” is going to stop their demonizing with non-cis individuals, then you truly aren’t paying attention...NSFW/H..



...and Rayy Vana and Cenk of TYT discuss the Patmos, MI library board hearing where a librarian basically stood up and said enough of this BS about alleged sexualizing and “grooming” of kids...some LBGTQ-themed books got the wingnuts in a lather, OF COOOUURRRSSSE!, as Cenk would say (more here)...



...and RIP Thom Bell, producer for Philly International, who brought us this hit among many others...



...and with this tune, I officially bring down the curtain on the holiday selections until next year (sniff :-).

Merry Christmas 2022

I know I included this video last year from The Lincoln Project, but I thought it was so good that I should put it up here again...



...and once more, I give you the holiday light show that I first included here on 12/23/10...



...and in an effort to keep things a little upbeat, I’m letting you know about the pup Van Gogh who ended up getting adopted due to his artistic skills; what a clever, creative move to get him to show his artistry with peanut butter (Ana and John of TYT tell us about it...and now I’m curious to see the paintings from THEIR dogs too :-)...



...and Stephanie Ruhle and Lester Holt of NBC brings us some truly inspirational stories for the season...



...and all the best of the season from me, Nat and the gang.

Saturday Stuff

(The pic with this post is offered as a seasonal meditation.)

Cenk, Ana and Rayy Vana of TYT talk about more lies from this George Santos individual who was just elected to the U.S. House from New York, including Santos allegedly being gay to pose as some kind of centrist Republican, as if life forms like that actually still exist...and by the way, if you want to blame the media for not catching up on this guy, that's fine, but where the hell are the alleged political geniuses at the DCCC and that idiot Sean Patrick Maloney in all of this? Would it have been so damn difficult to actually uncover some of this stuff during the election with some oppo research?...

via GIPHY

...and David Doel tells us about a leaked memo that made its way to The Daily Beast concerning an alleged 37-page (!) document listing the dos and don’ts of working as a staffer for “Curtsy Kyrsten”...so I guess you can call her Kyrsten as long as you’re speaking directly to her during one of her three-minute constituent meetings and if it doesn’t interrupt her weekly hour-long massage or her scheduled dinner between 5:00 and 6:30 PM (presumably that’s EST)...beyond belief...



...and Farron Cousins tells us that, according to the Federal Reserve, we’re experiencing a worker shortage in this country of about 3 ½ million people because of Repug anti-immigrant garbage, including all of the nonsense from the Gropenfuhrer during his ruinous reign...once more, this points to our need for serious immigration reform including a path to citizenship for people who do the dirty jobs that apparently not too many people in this country want to do...



...and as long as we’re blaming Our Ochre Abomination, let’s not forget this contrast between #45 and President Biden on Ukraine and the matter of providing assistance to President Zelenskyy (from The Lincoln Project...and once more, I know what they are, but they continue to do good work)...



...and we're nearing the end of the seasonal selections, but I think these deserve to be included also (and this is timely once more for the first number).

Friday Stuff

Mike Figueredo of The Humanist Report tells us of a Catholic priest in Louisiana named Travis Clark who was caught having sex on the altar with dominatrices (I think that’s the correct spelling)...let us prey – and maybe Clark didn’t do anything legally actionable since everything was consensual, but to say this was a betrayal of his vows is a huge understatement... and yeah, PA has its own issues as the video notes with priests and abuse – as far as I’m concerned, if you do the crime, then you do the time, and if somebody shivs you in prison for it, well, that’s unfortunate, but what can you expect? (more here – NSFW/H)...



...and Thom Hartmann draws a pretty clear line from the Repugs screaming OPENBORDER OPENBORDEROPENBORDEROPENBORDEROPENBORDER!!!! to immigrants in Mexico and central America deciding to make the trek north because they’re getting this nonsense on their cell phones and social media feeds (yes, they have the same technology the rest of us do...have to check on Neeva....and it’s great that Martha Raddatz did what she did with that total swine Greg Abbott, but she should be THE RULE, not THE EXCEPTION!)...



...and David Pakman tells us that even the Murdoch Street Journal has figured out that the incoming clown-car caucus in the U.S. House is too stoo-pid to wield power...of course, that rag could have said this during the election when it actually mattered, which I guess is waaay too much to ask...



...and speaking of information gatekeepers, if you will, this clip from Second Thought discusses Why the U.S. Media is Becoming More Right Wing (and one of the many great points here has to do with how CNN is indeed “mainstreaming” the far right even more...”It’s not simply the case that media outlets frame stories the way they do, with the kind of villainization we’ve seen with the (rail) strike. It’s that they decide what counts for a story in the first place.”...uh, yep...video does a great job of explaining how the wingnuts manage to tilt the media landscape in their direction)...



...and I'm winding down with the seasonal selections as we near the big day, but I have to incldue these also.

Thursday Stuff

(Just a reminder that the whole "Fox News Christmas Tree Attacked By Homeless Guy" thing was last year, in case that needed to be pointed out.)

Retired U.S. Army Maj. Richard Ojeda of Rebel HQ tells us about that nematode Jesse Watters doing something he’s good at, and that’s demonizing people far less fortunate than he is...as Ojeda points out, the programs attacked by Watters will be extremely limited in scope (and gee, call me crazy, but aren’t we currently in the season where we’re supposed to, y’know, ACTUALLY BE CHARITABLE TO THOSE IN NEED??!! AS OPPOSED TO THE REST OF THE YEAR, WHERE WE SHOULD BE THAT WAY TOO??!!)...



...and Farron Cousins discusses the fact that, as it turned out, CRT as an alleged issue flopped big time in the just-concluded electoral cycle (according to research from the NEA)...yeah, parents care about education, to the extent that they want their kids to be protected from flu, RSV, COVID, etc. as well as not being slaughtered by some lunatic with a gun, but when it comes to made-up issues like CRT and alleged “grooming” or indoctrination...well, the wingnuts overplayed their hand as usual...



...and I now give you the latest installment of “This Day In Doomsy History” from 12/22/15, and I know I’m doing this less frequently than I have in the past because, to be honest, I think this concept is getting a little old by now, but we’ll see...with all of the news about Combover Caligula and his tax returns turned over to congressional Democrats (here) as well as the previously mentioned 4 criminal referrals against him (here), I think it’s appropriate to point out once more how the leader of Cult 45 professed his bromance for Vlad The Butcher long before the Ukraine carnage...and yeah, it’s pretty pathetic to see Joe Scar handing Our Gelatinous Orange Pustule a lifeline with that question about Putin killing journalists and political opponents – I’m bringing this back because I have a feeling our corporate media will try to “memory hole” this stuff to hype some GOP presidential primary battle between #45 and #DeathSantis (with John, Cenk, and Ben M. - not sure who the other guy is)...



...and speaking of the war, this report from the German news service DW tells us that it’s been 300 days since Putin’s illegal incursion in Ukraine began; this segment also talks about Vlad The Butcher’s illegal annexation of the Donetsk, Kherson, and Luhansk regions while battle rages in Bakhmut, and it looks like Moldova could be involved next...and 700 strikes on Ukraine’s health care facilities since February – God almighty...with Katherine Lawlor (though there was an attempt at a holiday celebration for the kids...and this is typically disgusting behavior from the usual Republican cretins during President Zelenskyy’s speech last night)...



Update: And speaking of Zelenskyy's speech, here is a brief excerpt (including the presentation of the flags)...



...and RIP Terry Hall of The Specials...



...and here are more seasonal selections (working my way down the list).

Wednesday Stuff

Ana, Cenk and Rayy Vana tell us about a pastor who took $8.5 million of PPP dough to buy a $3.7 million mansion at Disneyworld...yeah, the corruption is pretty damn brazen all right, but to me, the big issue here is the lax oversight behind the original distribution of PPP funds from wannabe Bond villain and former Trump Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin (pictured...see also the PPP $$ that Tampa Bay quarterback Tom Brady managed to get that he used to buy a yacht as noted here, and let's not forget this too)...



...and Max Burns of Rebel HQ tells us about cops breaking into a couple’s home without showing a warrant (and of course, as luck would have it, the couple have a baby...not sure where this took place), followed by a clip of David Shuster letting us know about cops confronting someone handing out leaflets in front of a Smithfield Foods plant in Utah (the guy handing out leaflets is on a public sidewalk, but that’s not good enough for the cops of course)...



...and Farron Cousins tells us that Roger Stone (another aspiring comic book villain) recently said that he has seen a “demonic portal” above the White House – I think someone is hitting the MD 2020 a little too hard...



...and Thom Hartmann tells us about the U.S. House passing the PRESS Act to protect journalists by unanimous consent (and how often does THAT happen?), but of course Sen. “Militarize Our Cities” in “the world’s greatest deliberative body” decided to oppose it without a reason – I guess he’d rather be able to use journalists as scapegoats than ensure that the people of this country have a right to be informed on the issues...



...and I now give you more seasonal selections (and with regard to the first video, it looks like Pearl Bailey has her own type of financial transaction in mind :-).

Tuesday Stuff

Brian Tyler Cohen tells us about the 1/6 Committee making 4 criminal referrals to the Justice Department against Our Ochre Abomination and his pals...at long last! (Jamie Raskin more than anyone else on that panel is a freaking hero...the 4 members referred to the House Ethics Committee for ignoring subpoenas are Kevin McCarthy, Scott Perry, Jim Jordan and Andy Biggs...good point by Cohen about Trump declaring his presidential run early so that, now, he can do what he always does and complain that he’s being persecuted...what a whining, treasonous, delusional narcissist he truly is)...



...and David Doel tells us that King Elon I will now have to give up the bird app if he truly acts in accordance with the results of his own online poll...good point by Doel about a possible back story here with Wonder Boy Jared Kushner and our dear friends the Saudis, along with the possibility that this will force Musk to focus on Tesla instead...



...and Beau tells us that “the land of the yellow rose” wants to remove teens from social media – yeah, good luck with that (“this would be devastating to what passes for education in Texas” indeed...and good point about creating a surveillance apparatus, which is all Greg Abbott and his buddies care about anyway)...



...and Chris Hayes interviews journalist Annie Vainshtein of the San Francisco Chronicle, who was in the courtroom for the recent hearing against the individual accused in the Paul Pelosi attack...footage shown at the trial puts the lie to more BS from #45, “Tuckums,” Watters, etc. about the violence that occurred...



...and here are more seasonal selections.

Monday Stuff

Mike Figueredo of The Humanist Report discusses the testimony before Congress of some of the Club Q shooting survivors, providing some truly harrowing testimony calling out the scumbags responsible for targeting these people (I have to admit that I hadn’t paid much attention to Matt Walsh until recently, but he is truly pond scum)...yeah, tragically, hearings like these will go away soon when the clown car caucus takes over the House...heckuva job, Sean Patrick Maloney and Andrew Cuomo, as well as #DeathSantis along with all of his lizard-brained followers who cast ballots for him in Flori-DUUUH!; the U.S. House Repug majority is 7 seats, and you can literally trace that back to the antics in the Empire State and the Sunshine State...



...and concerning the fallout from King Elon’s Twitter hissy fit, Ali Velshi speaks with author Roger McNamee, who is completely correct about standing up to oppose this garbage (and apparently Musk has now suspended journalist Taylor Lorenz, who, conveniently, is also a favorite target of the wingnuts...and I would call this an interesting appearance of a conflict of interest at a minimum)...



...and Chris Hayes (in a clip that’s a few days old now) tells us that the 1/6 Committee will be making criminal referrals any day now apparently...and it looks like Germany and Peru are responding to their coup attempts more vigorously than we are (I didn’t see the Adam Schiff interview...and yeah, blame Our Treasonous Orange Pustule, but be sure to save a heaping share of blame once more for every voter in a McMansion bedroom community or a rural area of this country who sees no threat to our government whatsoever and insists on voting for the “R” party to protect their privilege)...



...and “Jonathan Pie” gives us his take on a British rail strike (more here)...boy, does this sound familiar (when it comes to blaming rank-and-file workers as opposed to the moneyed vested interests who want no share of blame whatsoever...NSFW/H)...



...and here are more seasonal selections.

Sunday Stuff

John and Jayar of The Damage Report tell us that the NOAA has updated its “Arctic Report Card” to reflect our worsening climate, and as John says, sea rise and temperature change won’t just affect our coastlines, but inland areas also, to say nothing of the effects of populations forced to move away from water and the strain on locations facing an influx of people...what a shame that this country can’t manufacture a crisis of sorts by saying that climate change is caused by middle eastern terrorists, because then we’d never have to worry about funding for remediation again...



...and David Shuster gives us the latest on “Apartheid Clyde,” as K.O. calls King Elon I, and the tale of all of the journalists who were suspended from Twitter, and apparently all were reinstated even though there’s some question about Olbermann (a summary is here – apparently, all of this had to do with someone on the bird app who tweeted about Musk’s airline travel, and in response, Musk freaked out and suspended his account and all other accounts who linked to the travel guy, even though the travel information was a matter of public record)...



...and Farron Cousins tells us that departing Repug U.S. House Rep Adam Kinzinger blasted his party on his way out the door recently...let’s be real, though; as Cousins notes, Kinzinger voted with his party about 90-something percent of the time...and by the way, when it comes to not using fear or whatever and Poppy Bush, let’s not “memory hole” the Lee Atwater/Willie Horton stuff, OK?...



...and kudos to the funniest math professor of all time for this...



...and here are more seasonal selections (including a tune for everyone celebrating the festival of lights, which began today).

Saturday Stuff

Emma V. of The Majority Report, along with the rest of the crew sans Sam, tell us that Judge Winebox apparently sure loves “Curtsy Kyrsten” Sinema for allegedly being some kind of a “centrist” - good point about how Senate Dems SHOULD support Ruben Gallego if he runs in a Dem U.S. Senate primary in AZ, but given the corporatist impulses of the utterly useless Chuck Schumer, some may line up for “Curtsy Kyrsten” anyway...NSFW/H at end...



...and Bob Funk, who is apparently the secretary and treasurer of Labor Lab (not sure what that is), tells us that President Biden can bring back an Obama-era rule that requires union busters to disclose their activities; the rule was killed by Our Ochre Overlord (big surprise, huh?)...



...and sadly, I have a couple of passings to note when it comes to pop and “prog” rock – first, RIP Kim Simmonds of Savoy Brown...



...and Dino Danelli of The Rascals...



...and here are more seasonal selections.

Friday Stuff

I know it’s hard to believe, but inflation actually is coming down along with gas prices, as David Pakman points out; yeah, when it comes to inflation we’re still in the middle globally, and a little bit of inflation is actually good for the reasons Pakman notes, but we seem to be going in the right direction (putting the lie to nonsense like this, for example...the point is that you really can’t blame any president for this stuff...and yes, the market has slumped, but that's partly because of the Fed playing with interest rates to cool down the economy and the war in Ukraine; the market always slows in the 4th quarter anyway)...



...and I haven’t checked in with Brian Tyler Cohen for a little while now I’ll admit, but I give Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg a lot of credit here for how he responded to the whole “Vicky Hartzler U.S. House meltdown” thing – Mayor Pete has a talent for this stuff and generally does well with the media I have to admit, which should position him pretty well for bigger political prospects down the line (there was a time when I sold Buttigieg short, and I had my reasons, but I definitely think he's grown in his role in the Biden Administration...and Dem U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin is spot-on also)...



...and it looks like nuclear fusion could be a brand new energy source, though it’s far from being scaled up to be considered an alternative source of power, by about 40, 50 or 60 years or so I guess (John and River Butcher of The Damage Report tell us about it)...



...and this recent video from Second Thought tells us Why It’s So Hard To Imagine Life After Capitalism (I think I’m falling behind on his videos again...my bad...”The existence of greed is not reason enough to build an economy that rewards it.”...he kind of goes “over the river and through the woods” here a bit as far as I’m concerned, but that doesn’t mean that the information he presents isn’t important...the big takeaway for me comes at the end where the case is made that we can create an economy that serves us instead of oppresses us...and starting the video with "The Usual Suspects" hooks me in right away, I have to admit)...



...and here are more seasonal selections.

Thursday Stuff

Yesterday marked the 10th anniversary of the Sandy Hook, CT gun slaughter (here); Ayman Mohyeldin speaks with Nicole Hockley, founder of Sandy Hook Promise who, tragically, lost her son Dylan on the day of the massacre (and yeah, this is something to remember also...there are so many goddamn reasons why I utterly despise Republicans and alleged Democrats like Joe Manchin, but their complete and total failure to respond in light of this soul-crushing disaster might just be at the top of the list...and it had nothing to do with the fact that the victims were well off from a nice suburb - it was because they were, for the most part, fucking children!)...



...and a big part of that to me is the complete and total lack of empathy on the part of way too many damn people in this country, which Trae Crowder says something about here (mildly NSFW/H)...



...and don’t worry, there’s nothing to see here, just SCOTUS Justice “I Like Beer” Kavanaugh hanging out with insurrectionists and white supremacists (more here, here, and here – if you’re able to pitch some coin to C&L and Daily Kos, that will help...Lawrence O'Donnell commendably calls out "Kegger Brett" and Almost Silent Clarence Thomas, but let's not forget "Strip Search Sammy" Alito also as noted here)...



...and Farron Cousins tells us that Our Ochre Abomination is railing against Jewish leaders who actually dared to criticize him for hanging out with “Ye” and Nick Fuentes at that Thanksgiving week dinner...as Cousins reminds us, Our Treasonous Orange Pustule is utterly incapable of saying the words “I’m sorry”...



...and I now give you more seasonal selections.

Wednesday Stuff

David Doel tells us about the Keystone Pipeline leaking for 23rd time in 16 years (and it’s hard to find a more clueless take on this than the one from The Mouse Network, I’ll admit...”what does this mean for gas prices?” And yes, it looks like Biden will continue to get attacked forrr-evah! over cancelling Keystone XL, even though that posed a grave a risk to our environment...and in terms of jobs lost, the overwhelming majority would be temporary anyway; as noted here, the project would have created 50 permanent jobs at most...very mildly NSFW/H)...



...and Jayar and Jessica Burbank of Rebel HQ tell us about incoming House Speaker Kevin McCarthy yammering “THEY LEFT AN AMERICAN BEHIND!” in response to the story of Brittney Griner’s release, and saying that on Fix Noise of course (meaning Paul Whelan got “left behind” in case there was any doubt) and oh yeah, “Tuckums” and “Blow ‘Em Up” Bolton both chime in also, predictably and wrongly of course, and we also get the reality perspective from Paul Whelan’s brother (and yeah, I get it that Jayar is being totally “tongue in cheek” here towards Burbank...good point about Griner going to Russia to make money because WNBA players are underpaid relative to their male counterparts)...



...and speaking of useless U.S. House Republicans, Jesse Dollemore tells us about an article on Talking Points Memo saying that 34 congresspeople plotted with Trump to overturn the '20 election (and of course, if it involves wingnut bad behavior, that has to include misspelling also, with the focus on goofball U.S. House rep Ralph Norman of South Carolina, along with Brian Babin, Andrew Clyde and of course Jim Jordan...and what would any of this be without “Goober” Gohmert)...



...and related to the recent Q nightclub shooting, Joy Reid tells us that 306 bills have been passed in state legislatures targeting trans people...gee, more than anything to do with our infrastructure, women’s health care, the environment/climate crisis, economic equality, fair voting, common sense gun laws...attacking “teh gay” was more important than all of that, huh? (with D.J. ‘Shangela’ Pierce and Bob The Drag Queen)...



...and here are more seasonal selections.

Tuesday Stuff

Retired U.S. Army Maj. Richard Ojeda of Rebel HQ tells us about the congressional testimony of Robert Schenck, an evangelical clergyman who tells us all the ways that the wretched SCOTUS of Hangin’ Judge JR (primarily in the person of Strip Search Sammy Alito) has managed to leak decisions to Schenck and his pals in advance, referring to the Dobbs ruling in particular...between that and the financial conflicts of interest of this bunch (mainly with Almost Silent Clarence Thomas, Amy Coney Island Baby Barrett and the paid-off debts of “I Like Beer” Kavanaugh), all of this absolutely screams for legislation concerning reform of the High Court, including expansion to 13 seats, but anything resembling that is going to come screeching to a halt when the inmates of the U.S. House take over the asylum in a few weeks, sadly (more here and here)...



...and former Marine Jesse Dollemore gives us his take on the wingnut umbrage over Paul Whelan not yet getting released in Russia, as opposed to Brittney Griner (ANY American getting released should be something celebrated, but of course Griner checks all of the wingnut boxes for having a hissy fit...black, LGBTQ, a woman, etc.)...and as far as Biden working to get a Marine released from captivity (as opposed to Our Treasonous Orange Pustule, who had two years to get Whelan released, but didn’t think it was worth it to try and confront his Russian “daddy” over it), I give you this...



...and as long as I’m posting on matters related to the military, allow me to give you this Meidas Touch clip of Navy vet Ken Harbaugh going off on Big Hair Blackburn in the U.S. Senate over the latter’s idiocy regarding the COVID vaccine mandate for our services...



...and this More Perfect Union clip tells us about workers forming a union at a Starbucks/Amazon shop in NYC (mildly NSFW/H)...



...and I now give you more seasonal selections.

Monday Stuff

John and Brett Erlich discuss the “OMIGOD HUNTER BIDEN’S LAPTOP!” nonsense, and referencing once more how Matt Taibbi has stoked all of this, with somebody on Tucker Carlson’s White Power Hour basically admitting that the whole damn thing is a nothing burger, which sane people knew anyway (along with the Shukri Abdirahman “Only Bullets Now” madness on the bird app)...



...and speaking of wingnut violence, Mike Figueredo tells us about Nazi thugs showing up to shut down LGBTQ events across the U.S., because, as we know, the non-cisgender community is behind mass shootings and pose a threat to public safety (in the minds of the twisted lunatics behind these stunts I mean, when in fact they should take a good, long look in the mirror to find out who’s responsible for insurrectionist violence in this country...if those goofballs with their AK-looking guns talking to the cop in the light blue vest had been African American, it would have been a VERY DIFFERENT interaction I’m sure...mildly NSFW/H)...



...and Farron Cousins tells us about finding more secret documents in Trumpworld; yeah, the list of people who should be looking at jail time just keeps getting longer (would be funny if it weren’t so pathetic and dangerous)...



...ands RIP Jim Stewart, legendary producer and co-founder of Stax Records (here)...



...and here are more seasonal selections.

Saturday Stuff

I noted both of these topics yesterday, but I think they need some more context; first, Mike Figueredo tells us more on the SCOTUS hearing related to the utterly ridiculous and dangerous “independent state legislative theory” BS from Moore v. Harper, which has its origins in the eternally wretched Bush v. Gore ruling (which I thought was supposed to be a one-off, but I guess the joke is on us on that one)...best to kill this bogus nonsense outright, but even if it is eventually decided to apply to North Carolina only (which would still make me greatly uncomfortable), that would be a bit of a pyrrhic victory (and you can rely on “Strip Search Sammy” Alito to push for as broad an application as possible to utterly screw over the most people)...



...and Thom Hartmann gives us more on “Curtsy Kyrsten” and her decision to file as an independent (GREAT point about how Sinema can forget about Dem support...it’s possible that she could siphon enough votes in ’24 from likely Dem challenger Ruben Gallego which would help that loon Kari Lake, who likely will be the Repug nominee, but we’ll see – and that would be awful for the Dems of course if Lake or one of her same-party pals were to actually win – but I think the wildcard is how deeply unpopular Sinema is...it make’s Gallego’s job tougher, but not insurmountable IMO)...



...and here are a couple of more seasonal selections.

Friday Stuff (updates)

via GIPHY

So it appears that “Curtsy Kyrsten” has registered as an independent, even though she said she’ll caucus with Democrats (here).

I think it’s pretty damn obvious by now what kind of a thoroughly selfish political opportunist Sinema truly is, but she’s also figured out that she will get primaried for sure (probably from Ruben Gallego, but we’ll see) and she has no chance of winning. So, in a twisted way, I can see the logic to this (and yes, the Dems will still have their Senate majority). So yeah, this move makes things a little more interesting, but Sinema is completely toxic and running in a purple state. If I were to bet, I definitely wouldn’t want the odds of her getting another term because they’re pretty bad.

Now onto other stuff...Chris Hayes tells us in this clip that the SCOTUS heard arguments in a case this week from a Colorado web designer who doesn’t want to make web sites for “teh gay,” even though NO LGBTQ PERSON HAS ASKED HER TO DO THAT!!! (yep, High Council of Fox News Viewers sums it up, unfortunately...and yeah, I can sure as hell see how this case was “created in a lab” to find its way to the High Court of Hangin’ Judge JR...with Melissa Murray and Elie Mystal...interesting point by Mystal about “content-based” vs. ”status-based” discrimination...and yeah, that “reeducation camps” line from Gorsuch does indeed give away the game – oh, but we’re supposed to be happy that, apparently, the Supremes are leaning against this “independent legislative theory” BS as noted here...how pathetic a circumstance is it that, because of Republicans, we’re at the point where we have to hope and pray that the SCOTUS doesn’t take away our hard-earned rights)...



...and Cenk and Ana tell us about the conservative freakout in response to the news that WNBA star Brittney Griner will be coming home from her imprisonment in Russia (for possessing a jar of cannabis oil, to emphasize how ridiculous her capture was once again) in exchange for a Russian arms dealer, with Marine Paul Whelan’s case still up in the air...I realize we’re talking about right-wing bottom feeders like Steven Crowder and others, but the racism and sexism still takes your breath away as far as I’m concerned (unbelievable story about that bitch Karyn Turk at the end...and I don’t recall a word of criticism aimed at Our Treasonous Orange Pustule for doing exactly nothing to help Whelan...and oh yeah, Kari Lake would agree to be imprisoned at exactly half past freaking never!)...



Update 1 12/10/22: And for the reality-based perspective, I give you this.

...and David Doel tells us about Repug Vicky Hartzler losing it on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives as she spoke out against a bill codifying marriage equality...Doel brings us the back story of Hartzler’s gay nephew, and given that, you’d think she’d be supportive, but (and I'm absolutely shocked that @RepBrianFitz voted Yea as noted here - do NOT count me as a supporter of this guy, but to be fair, he's cast a string of good votes recently)...



Update 2 12/10/22: Another country heard from, you might say (here).

...and this Daily Show clip with Desi Lydic is ostensibly humorous I realize, but it plays up a serious issue that, unfortunately, isn’t going to go away now that our most recent elections are FINALLY OVER!!, and of course that has to do with harassment and threats aimed at election officials (and I’m glad this included an extended clip of Al Schmidt...and nice job on the Philly “wuh-ter” thing, I have to say...very mildly NSFW/H)...



...and here are more seasonal selections (and the first one if a bit of a back-handed tribute in light of this).