Friday Stuff (updates)

(The video referencing this pic appears below.)

No, I didn’t see the debate. I haven’t watched presidential candidates’ debates for years, probably ever since Poppy Bush got rid of the League of Women Voters. Besides, my opinion (for what it’s worth) has always been that, if you need a debate to make up your mind about a candidate, then that’s a big problem right there because it means you haven’t bothered to inform yourself on the person you claim to favor (what legislation they support or pass, what policy they want to see enacted, what their public statements are, who aligns with them, etc.).

That being said, what I’m reading is that Biden was factually correct in his answers, but he was slow and halting in his presentation most of the time, and now people on our side are losing their minds (the dumbest take I’ve seen so far has come from John Iadarola, which is actually shocking to me; he said on Xitter that, if Biden still runs, the SCOTUS balance will end up 7-2 or 8-1 or words to that effect, envisioning every single terrible scenario at once...anything is possible, but if that isn’t an example of the left eating itself, I don’t know what is). Some have even suggested that Biden needs to step aside for Kamala Harris. If that happens, then (God forbid) Trump just won the election.

Oh, and speaking of Mango Mussolini, he did what he always does, and that is to lie like crazy. The kids use the term “gish galloping,” which I believe means to throw any manner of falsehood out there and see if anything sticks, and #45 did that of course. That by itself is why I refuse to watch any debate in which he’s involved. This human misery has already been coddled way too much by people with power and influence despite ANYTHING that he has said or done, and that has a lot to do with leading us to our current sorry state.

Also, heckuva job, CNN, to allow Our Treasonous Orange Pustule to lie unchallenged in real time (and kudos to Mark Hamill for this - Update 6/29/24: I'm hearing that the "no fact checking" thing might have been a condition from either the Biden or Trump people, to be fair, so it's possible that that wasn't CNN's decision...if I find out more, I'll update this post.).

I saw a video by David Pakman on this last night that I thought was a pretty honest look at the debate, and this one by Beau seems to capture the situation well also...



Update 1: Yeah, I think this comment from Biden is spot-on.

Update 2: Howie Klein, to his great credit, takes the long view, as we all should (here).

Update 3: Words from a guy who knows something about winning presidential campaigns (here).

Update 4: I think he's dead wrong on Israel, but otherwise, kudos to John Fetterman (here).

...and ZOMG! Why, Ross Douthat, Ezra Klein, Michelle Cottle, Frank Bruni, “The Moustache of Understanding” and Nicholas Kristof all want Biden to drop out. Gosh, that settles it, doesn’t it?(here).

I wonder if Friedman is going to ask any French-African cab drivers what they think of the debate (here)?

Our corporate media helped to legitimize Former President Fergus Laing’s every lie, screwup, paranoid ranting and attack against a real or perceived adversary, so to say that they’ve lost credibility at this point is a cosmic understatement.

Update 5: Some more perspectives that I would say are sane are here and here.

Update 7/5/24: Of course, the Times has no problem giving precious column space to assclowns like this guy.

...and while we’re wringing our hands over the debate, I’d like for everyone to keep in mind this clip from More Perfect Union about how President Biden is taking on neoliberalism and reshaping our economy...”as long as share prices were going up and consumer prices were going down, there was no problem” about neoliberalism at first, and “The pie got bigger, but fewer people got a slice of it” indeed...pretty comprehensive look back at our economy going back to The Sainted Ronnie R...I also didn’t know about Jake Sullivan’s report on the decimated middle class in this country and how that was foundational to Biden’s economic policy...as the video tells us, it’s taken a long time for neoliberalism to play out, and it will take awhile for post-neoliberalism to play out also (but if, God forbid, Combover Caligula gets back in, all of that progress will stop dead in its tracks)...



...now, onto other stuff (referencing the pic at the top)...Steve Schmidt of The Warning talks with Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, running against Lex Luthor Scott in “the sunshine state”...I wish she’d been a little more forceful about the voters who were entrapped by Ron #DeathSantis, but kudos for bringing it up...the whole disgusting story of those tricked into thinking they could vote is here (and she’s right about legalizing recreational weed...I’ve been a little squishy on that issue to be honest, but I’m tired of reading about people’s lives being ruined over this)...not too comfortable with Schmidt’s “normal people” phrasing, I must say, and I don’t think he’s correct about Tim Ryan in Ohio – I read that Ryan turned away help from D.C. Democrats, though I will acknowledge Schmidt’s implied belief that the national “D” party establishment is largely incompetent, unfortunately (and by the way, I wish she’d bothered to work in some info from here on how Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act has benefitted, and will benefit, Florida...example 4,218 of Democrats screwing up on messaging again!)...



...and staying in that location pretty much, Farron Cousins tells us that Trumpster judge Aileen Cannon actually did something right; she rejected Trump’s legal team’s request that they throw out FBI evidence gathered at Mar-a-Lago, with said evidence being pretty damn central to the case (as Cousins says, though, we shouldn’t get our hopes up too high because, given Cannon’s track record, she’s likely to do some more awful stuff again)...



...and Biden Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg gives another master class in blowing up BS wingnut talking points, this time on EV vehicle sales, when confronted by PA’s useless Repug, subpoena-defying U.S. House Rep Scott Perry (any proof on "bribes"? Naah, didn't think so.)...between Perry, Dan Meuser, and Mike Kelly, it’s really hard to pick who’s the worst from "Pennsyltucky," but Perry is right there in the mix (Brian Tyler Cohen tells us about it; more on the Climate Corps is here...NSFW/H)...



...and in the matter of the veep pick for Our Ochre Abomination, Sam Seder of The Majority Report tells us that J.D. Vance of Ohio has apparently positioned himself pretty well (with Vance giving a totally nothing answer in response to a softball question on Fix Noise...more here and here)...



...and lest we forget, our friends across the pond will hold “snap” elections on 7/4, oddly enough, and with that in mind, Jonathan Pie gives us his take on Liz Truss and the Tories (NSFW/H also)...



...and I need a newer tune for a bit of escapism, to tell you the truth...I’m not sure how much I communicated my disgust above with voters who think that politics are a WWWF steel cage match as opposed to the careful crafting of legislation and policy in the hope of achieving a consensus to help the majority of this country, but yeah, it gets pretty infuriating and deflating to deal with individuals who care only about the train wreck as opposed to supporting the candidate who’s done the most good (with our corporate media cousins cheering on the freak show as opposed to doing their jobs of educating and informing their viewers)...at least the weekend is nearly here.

Thursday Stuff

Thom Hartmann does a little “wingnut decoding” here and presents the truth behind “post-Constitutionalism” and what these corporatist a-holes mean, which to me is a variation on this Article V crap about trying to tear up that foundational document and enshrine something for the benefit only of the corpocracy...interesting to look at 1900 and how far we’ve come and other important history including Social Security and the Wagner Act (more here)...



...and if it’s a day in June with a “y” in it, then that means it’s time for another SCOTUS garbage decision, and this time it apparently hinges on the difference between a “bribe” and a “gratuity” as far as our theocrats in robes are concerned, and kudos to Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson for cutting through all of this BS...Anthony Vincent Gallo of Occupy Democrats explains (more here)...



Update: And this tells us about today's horrific ruling.

...and David Shuster of Rebel HQ brings us the story of AZ Repug Shelby Busch of Maricopa County threatening to lynch an election officer named Stephen Richer, who is also a Repug (after Busch sez she wants to run “a good Christian foundation campaign”...yeah, tell me another one, lady...and check out all those elderly boomer f*cks booing when Richer quite rightly says that the 2020 election wasn’t stolen...and I can say that b/c I’m an elderly boomer f*ck too :-)...and Busch is tied to the equally loony Kari Lake and an “election integrity” group, because of course she is...also, another Trumpist nut job, some “pastor” named Jeff Durbin, said that women who’ve had abortions should be executed, echoing similar garbage in “the land of the yellow rose” (here)...I wonder how shocked people like Durbin would be to find out this?...and yeah, it looks like one of Dementia J. Trump’s ruinous progeny thinks Daddy’s criminal convictions will be an election asset, or something – yeah, you go with that if it helps you, Uday; we’ll see what happens...



...well, in direct opposition to that nonsense, Farron Cousins lets us know that the criminal convictions for Bronzer Beelzebub are driving away voters (something to keep in mind for tonight’s debate)...and it looks like Nikki Haley is STILL getting 15-20% of the Repug primary vote even though she’s long gone as a candidate...imagine the corporate media caterwauling if this were, say, Biden running as a challenger with Bernie Sanders having dropped out but still bringing in 15-20%...but since it’s Trump, naaah, we don’t want to report on anything to handicap him since that hurts the “horserace” narrative...



...and I now give you the latest installment of “This Day In Doomsy History” (more or less) from 6/25/19, with something else to keep in mind for the debate...remember when Our Treasonous Orange Nightmare tried to sneak that citizenship question onto the 2020 census form in an effort to drive down minority voter participation? Uh huh...it was basically a scheme to ty and keep about 4 million POC from voting...it was overseen by Trumper Wilbur Ross, who was in charge of the census bureau and who lied in his testimony before Congress about it, and gerrymandering expert Thomas Hofeller had a hand in the question also...Trumpers John Gore and Mark Neuman were involved as well (more here)...the citizenship question was ultimately not included on the census form, but I’m sure it’s only because the scheme was found out (I’d sure like to see Mango Mussolini get called out for that tonight, but I won’t hold my breath)...



...and on this day in 1966, the Mothers of Invention (with Frank Zappa of course) released their debut album “Freak Out” including this tune...just trying to mix things up a bit here.

Wednesday Stuff

I neglected to point out the recent 2nd anniversary of the hellacious Dobbs decision from our theocrats in robes on the SCOTUS, but Rachel Maddow did so here with a report on how anti-choice efforts are getting punished at the polls...good! (Maddow speaks with Dem U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar)...



...and as long as we’re talking about The Supremes, I should give you this from Mike Figueredo in which we learn that this bunch has decided to take up the matter of banning gender affirming care for trans youth...sounds like this hinges on whether or not banning such care is tantamount to sex discrimination, which it plainly is IMO, and if so, it would trigger heightened protections...and yes, it needs to be mentioned once again that KIDS AREN’T GETTING FREAKING BOTTOM SURGERY!, and they’re only getting it at 18 after a lot of counseling (more here)...



...and related to another big story, you might say, David Doel provides commentary on the loss of Jamaal Bowman’s NY-16 U.S. House race to George Latimer yesterday...yes, this is deflating to be sure, but unfortunately it was pretty much expected (I thought this was a good take on what was going on, and the redistricting was a big factor also)...I’m going to go out on a very short limb here and predict that, if Latimer wins in the general, he won’t serve more than a single term; such will be the case of "buyer's remorse" (mildly NSFW/H)...



Update 6/27/24: More great stuff from kos here...and I can’t think of a word to describe how pathetic it is that Senate Dems allowed Josh “Running Man” Hawley to steal their thunder on the bill to cap credit card interest rates at 18% (which is still too damn high IMO...another “triumph” for Senate Democratic “Leader” Chuck Schumer)...I predict that, if Hawley wins re-election, he’ll sabotage his own legislation and kill this bill.

...and Robert Reich takes a pretty deep dive into why Our Treasonous Orange 34-Count-Convicted Felon-Awaiting-Sentencing is partnering with Christian Nationalists (maybe because #45 thinks they’re gullible saps, which they are...??)...



...and timed a bit for tomorrow night’s debate, Jesse Dollemore informs us that the Biden campaign has come up with a clip on the times when Our Ochre Abomination forgot what he was doing (a fitting response to those carping about “No Malarkey Joe” being some kind of a doddering old man...if I make it to 81, I hope I’ve got it going on like “Dark Brandon”) – yep, it’s always about projection with the wingnuts all right...I may have included this clip already, but I’ll do it again here, and I may do it again later...we’ll see (slightly NSFW/H)...



...and here's a seasonal selection to help us mellow out a bit, hopefully.

Tuesday Stuff

Retired Army Major Richard Ojeda brings us the news that a recent Fix Noise poll had President Biden up nationally vs. Our Treasonous Orange Pestilence, believe it or not, with #45 losing what’s left of his mind over it...good news before the upcoming debate...



...and Farron Cousins tells us that Truth Septic has lost about $2 billion of its value, with more losses to come, and it appears the only thing that will save this utter dog of an investment vehicle would be the disastrous circumstance of Our Ochre Abomination getting elected this fall...all the more reason to do all we can to prevent that...

...and just as a reminder, life forms such as the owner of this vehicle are some of the people we’re up against...



...and Combover Caligula recently announced that he wants to get rid of the income tax and put tariffs on EVERYTHING, apparently...when you have even Larry Summers coming out against you, then you know it’s time to “dial it back” a bit...Lawrence O’Donnell tells us about this in a spot where we also learn about Reed Smoot of Utah, voted by a state legislature to the U.S. Senate in 1902...also, Willis Hawley of Oregon in the House – these two knuckleheads (yes, both Republicans) got together on the Smoot-Hawley bill in 1930 to increase tariffs and plunge this country deeper into the Great Depression (a feat that, apparently, Bronzer Beelzebub wants to replicate)...



...and Emma of The Majority Report tells us about a report from Lester Holt of NBC News concerning a Michigan County jail which made some kind of a deal with a telecommunication company for video visits to make bank, apparently, and banning in-person visits, which is cruel and inhumane in and of itself, and apparently this monstrous practice is going on nation-wide (and of course, it doesn’t help one bit that the woman prisoner profiled apparently was trying to defend herself against an abusive partner, but ended up in the slam for it)...



...and Eric Gardner of More Perfect Union brings us the tale of a revolt brewing against ultra-wealthy sports team owners looking for tax breaks...I honestly didn’t know how bad of an owner John Fisher of the Athletics was – pretty eye-opening stuff about him not spending the dough to keep the club running...it sounds like the goal is to keep the club in Oakland, but for Fisher to not have any role whatsoever...and it appears that the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals are looking to move from Missouri to Kansas as noted here; no idea if there’s pushback on this from the existing fan base, but it wouldn’t surprise me...



...and it looks like Mike Campbell of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers is back with a new band and a great new tune...hope you enjoy.

Update: By the way, I know there are people out there celebrating the freedom of this guy. You can definitely leave me out of that group.

As far as I’m concerned, Julian Assange posed a threat to our military and intelligence assets, quite probably leading to the deaths of some in the latter group (here). He served the aims of Vlad the Butcher in contributing to destabilizing the U.S. and other governments, and, at the risk of rehashing the failures of the Hillary Clinton for President campaign in 2016, did his best to help install Combover Caligula to do Daddy Vlad’s bidding (and oh yeah, get 3 SCOTUS justices installed who killed Roe and have inflicted additional horrors and still-untold ones, to stay nothing of helping to saddle this country with a *president who utterly botched our response to a global pandemic).

Yes, Assange revealed abuses by our government and others as noted here. But he did so in the service of one of our country’s greatest threats, who continues to wage a bloody war in Ukraine with no end in sight.

(Oh, and OF COOOUURRRSE Assange's freedom is cheered on by Marjorie Traitor Greene.)

So let him slink off to Australia to spend the rest of his days on Fitzroy Island exploring the Giant Clam Farm, or something. Good riddance!

Monday Stuff

Farron Cousins informs us that a Texas megachurch pastor aligned with the Gropenfuhrer was forced to resign after charges came out that he molested a 12-year-old girl...some guttural POS named Robert Morris...kudos to Cousins for pointing out that Morris is NOT a drag queen or an LGBTQ individual...and again, imagine the wingnut and corporate media outcry if this Morris guy was actually affiliated with a Democrat, but since it’s #45...ho hum, boor-ing! (more here)...

via GIPHY

...and this local news report from Flori-DUUH! tells us that Governor Ron #DeathSantis just vetoed $32 million in arts funding, threatening about 7,000 jobs...no explanation why of course...what an utter pinhead (here)...



...and Jesse talks about Louisiana rep Lauren Ventrella having a meltdown over being asked some simple questions from Boris Sanchez of CNN, who does more good work as he did previously with that numbskull Tom Tiffany...I realize this dim harpie refuses to acknowledge that there’s a larger issue involved, namely with the FREAKING ESTABLISHEMENT CLAUSE OF THE FIRST AMENDMENT OF THE FREAKING CONSTITUTION THAT YOU WINGNUTS PROFESS TO FREAKING CARE ABOUT SO DAMN MUCH!!! (and yes, this has to do with the law to post the 10 Commandments in all state classrooms)...



...and David Doel tells us that climate activists recently threw orange power on Stonehenge (and apparently they were also busy at a golf match as noted here)...it looks like they raised the $$ they were looking for, it should be noted...”The issue isn’t public support, the issue is political will” indeed...and I think it’s perfectly reasonable to compare the atrocities of “Bibi” in Gaza and the UK’s two-child benefit cap to an attack of orange cornstarch...



...and Ben Gleib and Cenk of TYT inform us of the alleged SCANDAL!!! that Dem U.S. Senator Jon Tester of Montana ACTUALLY DRIVES A PRIUS!!! OMIGOD!!! And the person doing the screeching of course is Repug Tim Sheehy, running against Tester for the Dem’s Montana U.S. Senate seat (as noted here, though, Sheehy definitely has his own issues)...



...and happy belated 80th birthday to Ray Davies of The Kinks.