Like many of you I’m sure, I wanted to read up a bit on Iran’s attack on Israel with drones and missiles, which was widely anticipated after Israel blew up part of Iran’s embassy in Syria. And yes, Israel has the right to defend itself (and as I’ve said before, the murdering Hamas cowards should release all 10/7 captives immediately and turn themselves over for prosecution on criminal charges by an international court), and no, I don’t approve of ANYONE getting killed in a hostile action (and Israel should have declared a cease fire months ago IMO, but of course that would have interfered with their goal of exterminating the Palestinians). But only a total idiot – or “Bibi” Netanyahu, which are just about the same category as far as I’m concerned – would NOT have expected Iran to strike back in the manner in which they just did (an update is here).
So, with that admittedly long-winded explanation out of the way, I went to CNN’s website to read about the latest updates to the story. And I poked around on the site a bit reading some linked content, and I found myself wondering why I didn’t go to their site more often.
And then I saw this...
With all of the stories out there about internet revenue collapsing and online influencers having to scramble for a buck, to say nothing of legacy media consolidation and layoffs (haven’t heard of any recently, and I hope that means we’re done with that, but I’m afraid that will change as we progress through the year...love to be wrong)...with all of that going on, there’s never a “rainy day” for corporate media punditry, or so it seems.
I don’t know if Smerky is the biggest offender out there when it comes to “balance” at any cost, “access” opining to keep his audience jaded and (I would argue) uninformed to the desired level possible to gin up views and clicks, but he’s definitely in the upper (lower?) echelon in that category to my taste. He’s perfected his act of naysaying in the face of common sense and verifiable reality as perceived by anyone with greater than a double-digit IQ, in both print media in the Philadelphia Inquirer and also on AM talk radio (as stated, being “contrary” in the service of right-wing talking points is indeed a growth industry). So I suppose I feel a bit of guilt since the locale in which I reside is pretty much responsible for allowing Smerky to perfect his wretched act before he hit the big time. And I am quite sure that Smerky, ensconced on his corporate media perch, won’t have to worry about his next paycheck as long as he continues with his contrarian schtick in response to the biggest stories of the day, especially if it involves Dear Leader Trump as noted or anything having to do with the “R” party.
(And oh yeah, when it comes to Smerky, let’s not forget this, this and this.)
(And by the way, to the point of the headline - "F" Our Treasonous Orange Pestilence! If Smerky doesn't think #45 will get a fair trial in NYC, fine. Ship Bronzer Beelzebub off to GITMO, then.)
Now to the videos...Beau of the Fifth Column informs us that Biden is still trying to get a vote in the House for an aid package to Ukraine, and it sounds like, if that happens and Marjorie Trailer Park Greene gets her vacate motion on the calendar, then the Dems will support Johnson...a bit of a Faustian bargain I would say...and the “laundry” stuff has to do with this, and not, it isn’t a headline form The Onion...as Beau says, the pending legislation would mean our appliances would be LESS energy efficient and we would end up paying more in our utility bills...I think this is as close as Beau gets to being genuinely disgusted - once again, the T-shirt tells the story...
Update 4/16/24: Looks like attacking energy efficiency and raising our utility rates is off the table for now (here).
...and John and Sharon Reed of The Damage Report tells us about John Fredrickson, a Nebraska state senator who gave an impassioned speech against an anti-trans bill and managed to move some wingnut hearts and minds, apparently...and I knew there were a lot of garbage statewide bills to suppress the trans community, but 540??!! Jumpin’ Judas H. Priest on a pogo stick!! (I don’t think Reed brings a hell of a lot to the table in these discussions, but maybe that’s just me)...
...and Mike Papantonio and Farron Cousins tell us that the company operating the vessel that hit the Key bridge in Maryland apparently has a long history of safety violations (one of the reasons I’m selective about these videos with Papantonio is because his default position is to hate on anything having to do with our government, when I believe going to the Coast Guard first about a problem like the one discussed makes sense since an employer is much more likely to sweep a potential problem under the proverbial rug such as the series of issues really that led to the boat accident that took out the bridge; also, Maersk is an absolutely huge international shipping company, and I think that a voice on behalf of our government is more likely to make an impact on them than a single whistle blower) ...
...and The Lincoln Project comes after RFK Jr. pretty hard in this clip, which I think is definitely deserved, though I’m not sure that it was necessary to mention that Jr. is a recovering heroin addict...
...and I now give you the latest installment of This Day In Doomsy History from 4/15/11...given that today is tax day, I think it’s apropos to focus on money matters, and with that in mind, Rachel Maddow gives us a clip of President Obama presenting some instructive math on how the “party of Lincoln” will NEVER stop trying to balance the budget on the backs of those who can least afford it and manage to feather the collective nest of the “pay no price, bear no burden” bunch, as they last did in December 2017 as mentioned here (and the actual number from the video is about $198K, but $200K is close enough)...
...and we managed to do OK for the feds and for PA, and I hope everything worked out for you when you filed also.
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