Friday Stuff

This BBC report discusses our “is it or isn’t it really a war” we’re currently waging...yep, Generalissimo Trump cited an “imminent threat” from Iran, with no specifics of course...oh, and #47 said the war isn’t about “regime change,” but Defense Secretary Kegseth said that the Iranian regime “did change”...I’m old enough to remember Repugs actually getting the messaging straight when they decided to wage illegal wars of choice...and as I know I’ve said before, how dumb do you have to be to take The Tangerine Toddler at his word on ANYTHING, especially this (when it comes to his claim that Iran would attack first)...”wars can be fought forever, and very successfully,” says Cadet Bone Spurs; I hope everyone who supported this demented lunatic in ’24 continues to feel proud of themselves – I’m sure they do (and Couch Boy is another lying fraud of course)...



...and Mehdi Hasan provides some well-thought-out commentary IMO on this story...Hasan draws 3 parallels between what Vlad The Butcher has done in Ukraine and what Bronzer Beelzebub is doing in Iran, including bombing schools and hospitals...we’re treated again to Markwayne Mullin and Anna Paulina Luna-tic and their “oh we’re bombing the crap out of this country but it’s not a war” spiels; also, saying Iran had declared war on us (prior to our attack on them) is A FLAT-OUT STINKING LIE!!!...stop “Putin-izing” indeed...



...and turning to domestic matters, Robert Reich brings us some reality on who’s mainly collecting supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP) benefits (children, the elderly, and people with disabilities)...also, many folks collecting SNAP benefits DO work, but their wages are so low that they have to rely on SNAP just to eat (and we also have a clip of Sen. Grasshole of Iowa spouting off about how the lazy “poors” supposedly won’t work, which HE apparently thinks is the problem)...also, it doesn’t surprise yours truly to learn that every dollar spent on SNAP generates $1.50 in economic activity...and why am I not shocked in any way to hear that “Christian” fraud MAGA Mike Johnson say they’re not cutting SNAP when 4 million people have lost that benefit?...and oh yeah, let’s also not forget that the “pay no price, bear no burden” bunch have managed to evade $160 billion in taxes every year, which could easily pay for SNAP with money to spare...



...and Brittany Page lets us know about Trumpist Surgeon General nominee Casey Means wanting to ban birth control, which is straight out of Project 2025 and The Heritage Foundation as Page points out...is it too much to ask that the Surgeon General be an actual doctor who has matriculated through a course of study?? Apparently for our Trumpist overlords, it is...and Means is yet another charlatan criticizing the “medical establishment” while also trying to profit from “wellness” products...and I realize that I don’t have the right to comment on Means’s bodily autonomy (despite what Means wants to do to other women in this country), but if she birthed her first child in her late ‘30s, she likely had the kind of medical care that might not be necessary for younger women since pregnancy gets more and more problematic the older women get (I can say that much anyway)...and God, “Tuckums” looks just so thoughtful and intelligent, doesn’t he, as he listens to Means discuss female biology...and yeah, what Means says is a pretty damn similar flavor as to what this Doug Wilson troglodyte spouts about the role of women, or whatever...and oh yeah, this Means person basically tries to call out Dem U.S. Senator Patty Murray who asks a pretty-much-common-sense question about birth control, but being a good little Trumpette, Means has to cop an attitude instead of trying to answer...credit to Page for telling her story, which takes guts...



...and Jonathan Pie offers his take on our war with Iran...interesting to consider that British PM Keir Starmer could be getting heat for not being servile enough to Our Great Orange Warlord; I’m definitely not an expert in UK politics which are pretty “rough and tumble,” I should note...glad to hear Pie conflate the religious extremists in Iran with those in this country because, as far as I’m concerned, they’re both cut from the same awful cloth, though I’ll grant that nutjobs in this country have killed fewer people than those in Iran (NSFW/H)...



...and happy 80th birthday to David Gilmour of Pink Floyd.

Thursday Stuff

Kyle Kulinski brings us a segment of Ayman Mohyeldin of MS NOW calling out Repug MAGA U.S. House Rep Anna Paulina Luna-tic over “Operation Epstein Fury” (works for me) and her accusation that Iran’s state-sponsored terrorism has killed “thousands and thousands” of Americans, all without proof of course...and I don’t want to hear one goddamn word about the Beirut Bombing which happened under The Sainted Ronnie R OVER FORTY YEARS AGO!!! (and by the way, Reagan responded to that by invading Grenada...WHAAAA????)...also, for background purposes, it should be noted that Iran’s population is primarily Shia Muslim (as opposed to the more nutty Sunnis as Kyle says)...and I’m glad Kyle mentions that Obama unfroze Iranian assets to get the anti-nuke deal with that country THAT DEMENTIA DONNIE WALKED AWAY FROM!!! (NSFW/H)...



...and Sam and Emma and the Majority Report crew tells us that, apparently, Kaitlan Collins of CNN showed up another warmongering Repug a-hole on our war of choice in Iran, and that would be Tim Sheehy, the Repug Senator from Montana (and oh yeah, idiot voters in that state elected this guy in ’24 and got rid of Dem Jon Tester)...and ZOMG! Elizabeth Warren’s former campaign manager chanted “Death to America”?? The person Sheehy is referencing is Calla Walsh, who hasn’t been involved in electoral politics for four years...and Sam is right about how the Repugs didn’t even bother to do their propaganda right on this one, as opposed to Dubya’s Not-So-Excellent Adventure in Iraq...”the reason you’re hearing varied reasons (for the war) is because of the varied threats this regime presents” is right up there with the STOO-PIDEST explanation for this mess that I’ve ever heard...oh, but Sheehy said in June of last year that “regime change can only come from the people of Iran,” which, shockingly enough, was correct then and remains so (and Sheehy definitely didn’t cover himself in glory here either...NSFW/H also)...



...and I know it doesn’t need to be pointed out to anyone with a brain what a delusional narcissist #47 is, but in the statement in this clip, the first thing he mentions is the compliments he believes he’s received over bombing Iran, but he doesn’t have much to say about what this will do to gas prices through Iran likely closing the Strait of Hormuz, or the inconvenience of paying more at the pump (which probably will be small potatoes when it comes to negative effects of this, if you want to know the truth)...and as David Pakman says, the negative ripple effect of rising gas prices is indeed substantial (food, clothing, utilities, and on and on)...and by the way, let’s have no damn illusions of what will fill the leadership vacuum in Iran, OK? Anybody who thinks that country will magically become an ally now must also believe in candy cotton ponies and sugar plumb fairies...



...oh, and Cheetoh Hitler just fired Kristi (“Dog Killer”) Noem without telling her apparently...and is she really going to be replaced by Markwayne Mullin? If I were wearing a suit jacket, I’d rip it off furiously and toss it across the room in his honor...hard for me to have so much as a speck of sympathy for Noem, but it is truly gutless for Bronzer Beelzebub to not so much as fire her to her face...and by the way, this doesn’t mean Noem will be gone, since this “Shield of the Americas” is in the picture, which sounds like an excuse for more pointless, cruel, deadly and ultimately ridiculous intervention elsewhere in our hemisphere (another NSFW/H clip)...



...and Seth Meyers gives us “A Closer Look” on Repugs calling/not calling the Iran War an actual war...and man, Secretary of War Pete Kegseth is sure layin’ down some beats, yo (please)...and leave it to new DHS secretary Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma to clarify the whole matter of whether or not this is a war (I guess for our ruling Trumpist overlords, Mullin is the best spokesperson they could get, which is another level of awfulness to be honest)...



...and I find myself asking the question posed by this newer tune more and more every day.

Wednesday Stuff

Rachel Maddow informs us of what Crazy Eyes Kash Patel is doing in response to heightened threats against this country given that we’re in a brand spanking new Mideast war brought to us by another Repug *preznit...I’m sure you’ll see how I’m DEFINITELY NOT CONVINCED that he knows what he's doing given that Crazy Kash just fired a dozen members of an elite counter espionage unit that specialized in Iran, with potentially more firings according to reporting from Carol Leonnig, losing “centuries” worth of intel and expertise to protect us, as Leonnig says (and I believe her), which, as far as I’m concerned, is an impeachable offense for Kash's boss all by itself...

...and Chris Hayes brings as much commendable outrage as he’s allowed to convey I'm sure about Our Bright Shiny New Mideast War...”glibness” indeed from Our Treasonous Orange Pustule on this (“yeah, we’re blowing up this country which has been a dreaded enemy and killing hundreds of people...BUT LOOK AT OUR GOLD DRAPES!”)...and yeah, it sure tracks that a wingnut podcaster overheard talk about the war before Congress...also, I don’t know if I’ve ever heard an explanation before like the one from Little Marco about “well, Israel was going to attack Iran, but even though we weren’t going to be part of that, we figured Iran would attack us anyway, so we decided to join in”...so THAT is the rationale for blowing the Middle East apart, again???!!!...and oh boy, Whiskey Pete Kegseth sure talks brave now that he’s no longer in harm’s way, doesn’t he?...and great work from Hayes to call this disgusting escapade what it is, and that’s an excuse to try and placate “Bibi” and his bloodlust...



...and Jesse Dollemore lets us know about the insidious, alleged forces of spirituality underpinning our administration of grifters and frauds...why am I not in the least bit surprised to see white “Christian” nationalism rear its ugly head in the Gropenfuhrer’s shiny new Mideast debacle?...journalist Jonathan Larsen informs us that our troops are being told that “this is a religious war” (every time I actually think this can’t get worse, it does)..and 110 similar complaints about this nonsense? Yeah, I would call that a trend all right...oh, and this alleged pastor that SecDef Kegseth supports thinks we should repeal the 19th Amendment? Yeah, let’s just get rid of women’s suffrage as long as we’re burning down the rest of our government (somewhat NSFW/H)...



...and I’ve been meaning to get to this clip for the last few days, but with the world going to hell I’ve been putting it off, but no longer...this BBC report from Katty Kay lets us know that the U.S. is running out of teenagers...wow, just smack my butt and call me a pointy headed lib, but are you surprised when we make it as economically difficult as possible to birth and raise kids and do everything we can to limit their economic opportunity (as opposed to, y’know, stinking tax cuts for people who don’t need them)? Ya’ think?...looks like we started having fewer kids around the ’08 financial crisis, which makes sense...half a million fewer 18-year-olds by 2040, huh? Hmmm...interview with Professor Nathan Grawe of Carleton College...parents sending their kids to college in this “brave new world” will indeed have to weight the best offer, including tuition w/student loans and/or scholarships factored in, against what a particular school has to offer – should result in cost savings, though it could hurt quality of education also...



...and Michael Kosta of The Daily Show gives us an update on our regularly scheduled carnage...and apparently, MAGA is splitting off into factions facing off against each other as a result of our brand new Iranian hellscape (here)...and as Kosta says, it definitely doesn’t follow the plot of a Schwarzenegger action movie to tell stranded Americans to take a tour bus to escape – what, are you planning to drop them off at the commissary?...and nice job to give a bit of a shout out to Vlad The Butcher to draw the parallel with the messaging from all of those Trumpist lickspittles (mildly NSFW/H)...



...and today is the 60th anniversary, believe it or not, of John Lennon’s interview with British journalist Maureen Cleave in which Lennon said that The Beatles were “more popular than Jesus” (here)...as he explained later, Lennon was talking about kids in Britain who were Beatles’ fans...as we know, though, word got out to this country that Lennon said that and people went nuts, smashing and burning Beatle records, which was a hysterical overreaction to put it mildly...I think this tune from Lennon’s solo catalog is probably apt for this occasion.

Tuesday Stuff

Brian Tyler Cohen gives us yet another reason from Mango Mussolini for his war with Iran...so, the Gropenfuhrer goes on Truth Septic to say that Iran allegedly tried to interfere with the ’20 and ’24 elections; I realize we’re never going to get proof of such a charge from our cabal of bottom feeders...I’d also forgotten to note that Cheetoh Hitler didn’t mention ICE a single time during that interminable SOTU (unrelated directly to the war I realize)...it also wouldn’t surprise me in any way whatsoever to see #47 try to use some war powers BS to try and seize control of the midterm elections; he’s a despotic demagogue bent on wrecking this country every way possible, and anyone who doesn’t see that at this point is a goddamn idiot as far as yours truly is concerned (with Marc Elias, who informs us that our Mad King wants to use a statute to pretty much impose martial law THAT DEMENTIA DONNIE CAN’T EVEN USE FOR TARIFFS ACCORDING TO THE SCOTUS!!!)...also, I definitely share Elias’s concerns about our legacy media, especially since now just about all of it (except maybe MS NOW) is run by rich conservatives...



Update: And about the war, I give you more here...and just for good measure, #sendbarron #sendbarron #sendbarron #sendbarron #sendbarron #sendbarron.

...oh, and speaking of ICE, I’d like to apologize for interrupting our regularly scheduled war to present this clip from NBC News of 911 calls from our concentration camp in Dilley, TX about severely sick kids (and of course, it would be nice if our corporate media would ask a little louder why we have KIDS in these places, let alone ANYBODY, but I guess that would be impolite)...



...and sticking with domestic matters, Farron Cousins informs us that Bronzer Beelzebub recently threatened to deport people who don’t have jobs, and yes, Our Sweaty Orange Goofball means people born in this country also...what a shame there are apparently no longer any adults in the “party of Lincoln” who can step in and say, “You know what? Enough is enough with this guy” and put an adult with a speck of common sense in the position of *preznit...oh, and this happened on “angel family” day, and the whole “angel family” thing is some Trumpist concoction to honor families who lost loved ones allegedly killed by people here illegally, which requires me to note YET AGAIN that, overwhelmingly, people immigrating to this country with or without proper documentation commit crime AT A SUBSTANTIALLY LOWER RATE than people who were born here, and yes, I know the wingnut response is LAKEN RILEY LAKEN RILEY LAKEN RILEY LAKEN RILEY LAKEN RILEY LAKEN RILEY (and yes, her death was awful, and indeed ANY death from someone here illegally or otherwise is awful, but all I’m asking for is some perspective here)...



...and Kyle Kulinski reminds us that US tourism is utterly collapsing as everyone despises us now (down about 11 million by one estimate), and that was BEFORE launching the attack on Iran (and down 28 percent in January from Canada – ugh)...and oh yeah, the “brain drain” thanks to #47 and Apartheid Clyde is something this country may NEVER recover from...and I guess Las Vegas has officially given up on trying to attract anyone except the “one percent,” and maybe even a fraction of that (NSFW/H)...



...and Stephen Colbert tries to make sense of the ongoing carnage in the Middle East, this time with Iran (and if we’ve tragically lost 6 of our brave service people so far, I would suggest that those are only the ones we know about)...and no disrespect to Stephen, but I could care less about what Brett McGurk has to say; he helped pave the way for this mess as far as I’m concerned by giving “Bibi” everything he wanted to slaughter the Palestinians, with Biden’s domestic support cratering partly for that reason...



...and maybe like you, I find that I need something kid of mellow for a wintry mix Tuesday, and I think this will provide that nicely.

Monday Stuff

Belle of the Ranch gives us more reactions to the Iran attack from Cheetoh Benito and “Bibi”...I suppose #47 will get a bit of a “sugar high” in polling when it comes to His Brand New Shiny Middle East War, but we know from recent history what is likely to happen next...I continue to be utterly shocked by how much sense Marjorie Taylor Greene is making, this time on the Iran attack...oh, and leave it to that knucklehead Tim Burchett to compare killing the leader of a despised country to targeted bombing by other presidents, including the destruction of an aspirin factory...and yeah, “Operation Epstein Fury” is pretty “on the nose” for this...as usual, well-off politicians set up other people’s kids for further harm at the hands of a despotic regime...



...and turning to domestic matters, David Shuster of Rebel HQ informs us of the $1.2 trillion trade gap ($70.3 billion for December ’25) from Cantaloupe Capone’s ruinous fiscal mismanagement...I would tend to believe Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz and his definitely-not-rosy prognostications...soooo, the promised manufacturing jobs from reconstituting our supply chains in this country haven’t materialized, and we’re paying more on top of that – are you tired of the winning yet? Yep, we’re indeed looking at the “affordability crisis”...the one area where jobs are increasing is indeed health care because people will always be sick and the population of this country overall is getting older to the point where more care is needed...also, paying more and more interest on our debt continues to economically cripple every non-rich person in this country, particularly because WE are the ones who pay interest on the debt bonds held by foreigners...and a $32 trillion debt overall? Anybody who voted for this ruinous bunch from the “R” Party should be made to wear a dunce cap in public (and no disrespect to Shuster, but I couldn’t give a damn about Tim Pool, one of these YouTubers/podcasters funded by Vlad The Butcher)...



...and Tennessee Brando discusses Hillary Clinton giving a deposition into the Jeffrey Epstein criminality on “pedo island,” but Howard Lutnick and the Tangerine Toddler get to skate pretty much of course...I agree with Brando about 150 percent that this is YET ANOTHER story where we should have gotten together to do the right thing for the people impacted the most, and in this case, that means the victims and survivors of the Epstein horror show, including the family and friends of Virginia Giuffre, and I don’t mind the proverbial book getting thrown at the worst offenders also, whoever they are...I know Brando is despairing a bit in the end, but unfortunately I think he’s right; I’m just a guy and no big deal in the scheme of things, but I cannot tell you how much effort I’ve put into trying to make Repugs see reality on this and maybe about a hundred other issues, and the response I usually get is “la la la I’m covering my ears and can’t hear you” (NSFW/H)...



...and Sam Seder of The Majority Report brings us Iowa Repug U.S. House Rep Mariannette Miller-Meeks, telling us that we should work without health care until they die, and just rely on health savings accounts...and by the way, you pretty much can’t use a HSA to pay a health insurance premium...and isn’t it just too con-vee-nient of a coincidence that this line from her about adopting a healthier lifestyle and having lower health care expenses has also been parroted by “Bobby Brainworms”; sooo, if somebody goes out and runs, say, a mile every day and consumes a low fixed amount of calories and stays away from alcohol and cigarettes but they still get pancreatic cancer, is she saying that person should be blamed anyway?...great point by Sam that, when it comes to health care, the cost containment has to come from the provider side, not the consumer side...



...and once more, Mr. Newberger gives us a spot-on take concerning the malfeasance (at a minimum) of Combover Caligula...



...and RIP Neil Sedaka.

Saturday Stuff

Ari Melber of MS NOW provides coverage of our war with Iran, including (according to Dear Orange Leader) the killing of Iran’s supreme ruler Ayatollah Ali Khamenei...what some people won’t do to try and distract from plummeting domestic support and the ongoing scandal of the Epstein files...retired General Barry McCaffrey and Ambassador Dennis Ross offer commentary...I guess I’m just a pointy-headed lib for wondering how many times we have to learn that PRE-EMPTIVE FREAKING WAR DOESN’T GODDAMN WORK!!! (to say nothing of the fact that it’s illegal as hell)...still way too many goddamn questions about this at this point...



...also, the German news service DW gives us their report on retaliatory strikes launched by Iran against U.S. military bases in the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Jordan and Kuwait...report with journalist Anjana Sankar...



...and Jesse Dollemore gives us his insights, you could say, on the Gropenfuhrer “getting his war on” against Iran and putting hundreds of our military at risk in the region...oh, and apparently either we or Israel bombed a school, and the casualty count is at least 80 and projected to go much higher...gee, I wonder if Cantaloupe Capone’s “board of peace” is going to give him a special prize for that?...kudos to Jesse for going over Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution, which our brain-addled chief executive took an oath to preserve, protect and defend a little over a year ago (though, as some keen-eyed folks besides yours truly noted, Pumpkin Pol Pot didn’t lay his hand across “the good book” as he was sworn in again)...and gee, “Tokyo Rose” Gabbard sure covered herself in glory at that Bund rally during the election, didn’t she?...and I’m just going to keep repeating the fact that Our Orange Clod walked away from a nuclear deal we struck with Iran under President Obama, with the significant efforts of Secretary of State John Kerry (NSFW/H)...



...and I offer the following without any further commentary.

Friday Stuff

(The pic is President Lyndon Johnson handing the pen to Martin Luther King Jr. after Johnson used it to sign the Voting Rights Act into law on August 6, 1965.)

Brian Tyler Cohen and Marc Elias inform us that it looks like our theocrats in robes are getting ready to totally extinguish the Voting Rights Act, Section 2 in particular...this stems from the Callais case out of Louisiana, in which that state redrew maps from the 2020 census and created 2 instead of 1 black opportunity districts, and a group of white voters said it was a map that discriminated against white people (since whites are so blatantly discriminated against in this country - #joke)...I didn’t realize that overturning Section 2 of the VRA, effectively neutering it (if that’s what comes from the SCOTUS ruling in Callais) could endanger potentially 30 Democratic seats in the U.S. House and (as Elias says) make it extremely difficult for Dems to take control in that chamber, but that does seem to be the endgame here...sounds like the original case had to do with the voting map in Louisiana but it was expanded to go after Section 2; the expanded ruling thing is what happened with Citizens United (and this smells like Alito’s dirty handiwork to be honest)...Elias is absolutely right about figuring out a new way to move forward if indeed the worst does happen concerning the VRA...I’m glad Elias mentioned the John Lewis For The People Act, though, as Elias says, we actually need something beyond that to anticipate more Stupid Voting Tricks from the “R” party...



...and Emma Vigeland, Brandon Sutton, Matt Binder and Matt Lech of The Majority Report discuss the nutjobs in the U.S. House (notably MAGA Mike Johnson, cheered on by Dementia J. Trump) passing the SAVE Act to make it harder for married women to vote, among the myriad other problems with this rotten bill, though it looks like Repug Senate Majority Leader John Thune doesn’t have the votes to pass it fortunately...Mehdi Hasan cuts to the chase in his analysis, including the fact that this codifies that damn “voter ID” nonsense, which, yet again, is a “solution” in search of an actual problem (when we register at our polling locations, we have to provide proof that we legally reside there already, so there’s no need to do it again when we vote, and to be honest, actual irregularities when voting happen at such a microscopic level that it’s basically insignificant, and such irregularities are caught by poll workers anyway)...I didn’t know either that this wretched bill doesn’t say anything about marriage licenses for married women and leaves that question up to the states...what a damn mess!...also a good point to note that, in addition to the cost of getting an updated passport, there’s the fact that it will take longer to get one now because of the general defunding of public services from this wretched group in charge of the federal government...not surprised that there’s somewhat of a link here to Peter Thiel, Jeffrey Epstein, etc...



...and Jesse Dollemore tells us of the recent testimony before Congress by former ICE employee Ryan Schwank, stating how he was told to teach these ICE life forms how to break the law and pretty much thumb their noses at the Constitution...truly a courageous act by Schwank to come forward this way and voice not just his concerns but those of ICE instructors who’ve had their class curricula for training new agents cut by more than half, so those recruits who DO emerge won’t know (and likely won’t care) about following the law...this is one reason why we’ll need a permanent truth and reconciliation committee when this nightmare is eventually over with subpoena power, and I don’t care if it’s composed only of Dems since I wouldn’t expect ANY Republican to stand up and do the right thing at this point...



...and Thom Hartmann makes a pretty convincing case IMO that prior Repug presidential administrations ended up pocketing about $38 trillion before #47 (between both Bushes and The Sainted Ronnie R)...I’d forgotten the history of Jude Wanniski and the “two Santa Claus” theory, but that’s indeed important for this topic...Thom goes down the whole list of stuff we could fund instead of shoveling the dough out the door for those stinking tax cuts for the rich...gee, let’s see, there’s universal pre-K, debt free college, restoring funds for Medicare/Medicaid and the ACA credits (or just sh*tcanning our wretched for-profit health care system and moving towards Medicare for All), upgrading our crumbling infrastructure including investing in renewable energy, weaning ourselves off fossil fuels as much as possible, building new housing, and on and on and on...and I honestly don’t recall if Cheetoh Hitler mentioned the national debt at the SOTU – there was so much other verbal flatulence from that spectacle that I couldn’t keep track...



...and Stephen Colbert gives us more on that mind-numbingly awful SOTU, including an 11 percent drop in ratings from last year, though Colbert’s is UP 7 percent over the same period (so much winning!)...and wow, artificially enhancing camels in an Oman “beauty” contest? I’m not sure a punchline is even necessary for that one...and a “toe up”? Yeah, I caught that one...and oh yeah, it looks like Our Treasonous Orange Pustule wants to attack Iran also – madness on so many levels that it’s hard to list all of them...also, is it necessary to point out again that we actually had a nuke deal with Iran under Obama, but Pumpkin Pol Pot walked away from it as soon as he first parked his bulbous butt in An Oval Office?...and oh yeah, we recently had another ridiculous confirmation hearing for another idiotic Trump nominee, and that would be Casey Means for surgeon general, some other damn “social media influencer” who’s grossly unqualified...



...and I don’t know if this newer tune is anthemic of anything or not, but I thought I’d present it anyway as we begin what hopefully will be a snow-free weekend.

Thursday Stuff

Jesse Dollemore discusses the SOTU address the other night from “Dementia Donnie,” including Dem U.S. House Rep Al Green and his thoroughly appropriate “Black people aren’t apes” sign...I’m surprised Markwayne Mullin didn’t rip his jacket off first before he tried to grab Green’s sign, since that seems to be Mullin’s go-to move in typical WWE fashion, and Steve Scalise and Troy “I’m Leaving To Give Up My House Seat To My Brother” Nehls were no better of course...and yeah, we have had a “turnaround for the ages,” but definitely NOT in a way that does any good...I also agree with Jesse that Green should have had some company from the “D” team when he exited from that chamber, but this is what we can expect from Hakeem Jeffries, sadly...at least Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib knew what to do, to their credit...

...also, every time Cantaloupe Capone loses a court battle in his effort to illegally arrest and transport US citizens to God knows where, remind me to chant “U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!” (and one more thing: all of that yammering by our traitorous orange meat sack about “open borders” and “sanctuary cities” are lies that should have been effectively pushed back against decades ago)...



...and Elliott Morgan of Rebel HQ gives us more bad economic news from our regime of frauds and bottom feeders...I know it’s old stuff a bit to see data on just how badly those stinking tariffs from Don The Con are polling, but I think that needs to be emphasized against his other myriad policy disasters...and listening to that nonsense from Mike Lawler on that CNN panel is about what you can expect from the “party of Lincoln”; NOBODY honestly believes that Pumpkin Pol Pot is going to sit down and negotiate or whatever about ANYTHING, including those stinking tariffs...and oh yeah, three guesses who was once caught on tape saying the economy does better under Dems than the Repugs, and the first two guesses don’t count...

...and Farron Cousins informs us of Repug U.S. Senator John Neely Kennedy appearing on Fix Noise to make fun of AOC, though he ended up dumping on working Americans in general; yeah, well, at least nobody I know has to come up with some BS folksy, down-home act to hide the fact that they were educated at Oxford (and God almighty, why the $#@! can’t the goddamn Dems as a party be as good at social media as AOC is??!!)...



...and this New York Times clip brings us the tale of how Vermont made childcare affordable...the fact that 44 percent of those polled said having a family cost too much in this country shouldn’t be surprising since we’ve spent decades showering tax cuts on the rich at the expense of working families...something is SERIOUSLY wrong when ANYONE has to dip into their 401(k) to pay for child care...I can’t imagine what kind of an expense it is for that business in Smuggler’s Notch to offer free child care, but kudos to the guy running it for doing the right thing...nice work by Ally Richards also; everyone’s efforts led to the passage of Act 76, which meant a comparatively meager sales tax increase to provide millions in child care funding...



...and Desi Lydic of The Daily Show gives us more lowlights from that perverse spectacle of a speech the other night...it seems that Gramps is watching too many “mad slasher” horror movies on his TV in the White House while he snacks on his Big Macs and fries, because a whole of bunch of demented carnage from his addled noggin somehow made its way into that interminable speech (with Troy Iwata – sorry I didn’t get the “Heated Rivalry” joke, but I have a feeling I know what the punchline was)...



...and I don’t see any tour dates in this area for her, but I’ll keep an eye out (really like this newer tune, and why do I have a feeling that this is spot-on for the Tangerine Toddler?).

Wednesday Stuff

John and Jayar of The Damage Report tell us about Trumpist judge Aileen Cannon blocking the release of the final report from Jack Smith that looked into the Trump Administration’s alleged mishandling of sensitive government documents and obstruction of the federal probe into same...as I’ve said before, I’m definitely not a “legal eagle” so I may lose track of the fine points on Cannon’s supposed logic here, but it sounds like she never wanted Smith to proceed with this investigation at any point, presumably because this violated some mythical standard of presidential impunity...and by the way, I’m not a fan of “No Malarkey Joe” holding onto classified docs either, but the last I checked, when he was told he needed to turn over those docs, HE PRETTY MUCH FREAKING COMPLIED IMMEDIATELY, UNLIKE #47!...and I think John is spot-on to point out how Cannon is angling for a SCOTUS seat, what with Thomas and/or possibly Alito too deciding to step down during this awful term; this indeed is the driver of all of this legal favoritism on behalf of Cheetoh Hitler (more here)...



...and I realize attention must be paid to that utter train wreck of a speech from our orange lunatic last night, and with that in mind, I give you the following from Rachel Maddow and the MS NOW panel...props to Maddow for rebutting the deluge of lies from Our Treasonous Orange Yam, who is growing ever more detached from reality by the day...and wow, it does indeed sound like “violence porn” from Pumpkin Pol Pot towards the end of that dirge...I agree with Nicolle Wallace’s take that the only ones who think this country is “hot” right now are the people standing in the omelet line at Mar-a-Lago; that sentiment is DEFINITELY NOT shared by at least 66 percent of this country (and yeah, Bri-Fi – taking into consideration what Jen Psaki said, do you really think this utter mess of a speech helps you run for re-election this fall?)...



...well, turning away from the dark, demented fantasies of Mango Mussolini and focusing on the world of reality, Robert Reich asks what the typical worker pay rate would be in this country if it had grown at the same rate as CEO pay over the last 50 years? Good question...the typical worker wage back in 1968 was $25.14 an hour, with earnings jumping to the astronomical level (snark) of $36.49 an hour in 2024...actually, if worker pay had risen at the same rate as CEO pay, it would be $432 an hour by now...we’re reminded once more of how much corporate compensation has gone into stock buybacks, which used to be illegal until it was made OK by (everybody all at once now) The Sainted Ronnie R...and actually, when it comes to labor unions, I give you this, and when it comes to antitrust enforcement, I give you this...



...and John Oliver had a typically well-done segment here IMO on what Apartheid Clyde has done to “the bird app,” turning it from a fairly reputable news source where credible people would keep us informed into a right-wing cesspool propagating all manner of hateful garbage...I have to admit that I really didn’t connect the dots on how that wretched Nick Shirley business on the supposed rampant fraud at Somali-run day care centers morphed into ICE terrorizing the city of Minneapolis (an update is here), and with all of the right-wing madness in this country, I hadn’t really paid attention to what King Elon I was doing “across the pond,” but that definitely is telling also; I would agree with the assessment that Xitter has become a breeding ground for all kinds of wingnut propaganda eventually leading to violence...watching Musk utterly glitch out over the question of why a “collective consciousness” is important to him is weirdly amusing, I have to admit...seriously, though, Musk and everyone in our ruinous administration need to be held to account for the mass starvation and death they are responsible for from gutting US AID (probably should be standing in a docket at the Hague, but I won’t hold my breath waiting for that to happen)...by the way, Peter Attia has left CBS News since this segment was filmed (briefly NSFW/H)...



...and Mr. Newberger gives Crazy Eyes Kash Patel the treatment he deserves here; also, maybe I’m being a little too harsh on the U.S. men’s gold-medal-winning hockey team, but as far as I’m concerned, by attending that speech last night where our *preznit spouted off all of his “greatest hits” of bilious, hateful garbage, they have forever stained their accomplishment on behalf of this country (here)...



...and today marks what would have been the 83rd birthday of George Harrison (backgrounder on this tune is here).

Tuesday Stuff

Tennessee Brando brings us the news of Crazy Eyes Kash Patel partying and getting drunk with the U.S. men’s Olympic hockey team, which won the gold medal on Sunday (and congratulations to them)...1) Yeah, doing this on the taxpayer dime sure is galling all right, and 2) Patel didn’t do a damn thing to help with this great achievement, but leave it to the Trump regime to jump on the bandwagon as fast as they can...to be honest, I had a feeling something like this would happen if the U.S. won, which is why I was secretly rooting for Canada if you want to know the truth...and yeah, I haven’t heard anything about this Tyler Robinson guy either, the accused killer of Charlie Kirk, and I don’t expect to hear much about the guy who invaded Mar-a-Lago either...and sure, let Patel ground the plane for Chris Wray while he acts like a drunken fool whenever he wants (NSFW/H)...



...and as long as we’re noting Olympic athletes from this country, I give you also this clip from Brian Tyler Cohen about the Gropenfuhrer getting snubbed by the U.S. women’s hockey team... looks like Cantaloupe Capone said he would have to invite the women’s team to the White House or he’d be impeached, which is about what you would expect from this guttural orange meat sack; kudos to the women’s team for bailing, whether the official excuse can be taken at face value or not (fine with me if you choose not to)...and by the way, I definitely don’t plan to view that lie-fest tonight from #47; I’ll just wait for others to debunk his insanity later (NSFW/H)...



...oh, and did you hear that Combover Caligula sent over a hospital ship to Greenland, since he must believe that the kingdom of Denmark has no way to treat its residents when they fall ill? At least Greenland’s Prime Minister put Dementia Donnie in his place...I agree with Farron Cousins’s take on this, with #47 pretending to show compassion towards that country, though the best thing our *preznit could do is to shut his blabbering orange yam mouth and focus on stuff in THIS COUNTRY instead, such as his ICE Gestapo running amok, our collapsing economy and crumbling infrastructure (and I would add focusing on renewable energy, which he SHOULD ALSO DO, but yeah, fat chance I know)...



...and speaking of that booming industry (definitely in China and elsewhere – not so much here because of the Tangerine Toddler), this CBC report tells us about Our Treasonous Orange Pustule’s “war on wind”...Dem U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island (where a massive wind project is teetering on the brink because of our ruling cabal) is interviewed, quite rightly noting Canada’s opportunity in that energy sector, specifically their “Wind West” project off Nova Scotia, with energy from that project potentially exported to this country since we’re apparently now incapable of producing it ourselves...”litigation is Trump’s love language” indeed...not sure how they managed to find some clueless boomer-looking Trumper in Rhode Island opposing their wind project; how about interviewing younger residents also to see what THEY think?...also, this is a well-done report IMO, but there are a couple of usages of “Democrat” as an adjective, which it isn’t, instead of a noun, which it is, which is kind of grating to be honest...



...and as long as we’re more or less focusing on foreign matters, I thought I would include this clip of Jonathan Pie discussing the latest concerning Andrew Mountbatten Windsor...didn’t occur to yours truly that the royal family may have paid off at least one underage girl who seems to have had relations with “randy Andy,” and Pie is right to observe the absurdity, to say nothing of illegality, when it comes to Don The Con apparently skating over the Epstein stuff even though his name is all over the place in the apparently-never-to-be-seen files (definitely NSFW/H)...



...and RIP Billy Steinberg, co-composer of this tune, as well as other hits.

Monday Stuff

Leeja Miller discusses how protestors are the next target for Cheetoh Hitler, and BTW, Mush Mouth Tom Homan says ICE will leave Minneapolis; yeah, I don’t believe him for a second...also, it looks like Our Ruling Regime will have to define “antifa” in a Texas court – pass the popcorn...and I completely believe Miller when she says that our Trumpist cabal will come after dissenters next, even more than they are already, including using facial recognition software...I’m old enough to remember wingnuts losing what’s left of their minds when the idea was proposed of a federal database of gun owners, but lookee how they’re planning to do that with people whose opinions they don’t agree with (and OF COURSE Palantir is involved)...also, revoking a TSA preclearance is one typically lowdown tactic from our cabal of bottom feeders...there’s never an excuse for violence regardless of how you come down on this stuff, but I’m still waiting for someone to prove a lefty-Dem link to the accused killer of Charlie Kirk, and I expect to keep waiting...important history on how our federal cabal is weaponizing a lot of statutes that had already existed, in particular after 9/11, though NSPM-7 is wholly owned by the Gropenfuhrer and his sorry crew...good advice to wear a mask when protesting; give these ICE bastards a taste of their own medicine (and more on Resist and Unsubscribe is here)...(NSFW/H)...



...also, there was an incident in Quakertown in our beloved commonwealth where high school students protested ICE but matters got out of control...a news report is here, but this clip makes it plain that the violence was escalated by Police Chief Scott McElree (also NSFW/H)...

Arrest Quakertown, Pennsylvania police chief Scott McElree. This child assaulting MAGA Nazi needs to be fired IMMEDIATELY. 😡😡😡👇 pic.twitter.com/FPZ8kxbFxr

— Bill Madden (@maddenifico) February 22, 2026

...and Jen Psaki makes it pretty clear how Dementia J. Trump uses his damn tariffs in mob boss fashion..it looks like Don The Con was able to strongarm Vietnam with a 46% tariff threat into approving some typically disgusting real estate venture for about $1.5 billion to house 35K residents and with a golf course, naturally (as I hear about yet another obscenity from our regime of grifters and lowlifes, I’m recalling every damn time I heard a Repug carry on about the “Biden crime family”)...#47 also pulled the same nonsense with Switzerland because the president of that country “rubbed him the wrong way,” so that country gives Our Sweaty Orange Boy gifts for the “presidential library” with a resulting tariff cut from 39 to15%......I’d also forgotten about the 50% tariff on Brazil to help #47’s pal Bolsonaro, with Brazil telling Mango Mussolini what he could do, and TACO Trump dropped the tariff anyway...oh, and those damn tariffs cost U.S. households an average of 1K last year; I want to see a stinking refund!...



...and John and Sharon Reed of The Damage Report discuss Anderson Cooper deciding not to hang around CBS any more to witness Bari Weiss turn that once proud news division into EVEN MORE of a train wreck...and I get the whole “spending more time with the kids” thing, but I’m sorry; I think there’s more going on here (more on Weiss’s sorry stewardship is here)...



...oh, and when it comes to that story that our ruling regime wants us to forget about, I’d like to present the following from Mr. Newberger...



...and like many other folks, we got creamed with the white stuff...please be careful if you’re shoveling or trying to fend off the cold.

Friday Stuff

Mike Figueredo brings us an update on Trump voters getting screwed the most by his policies...don’t have a good word for anyone who thinks that Combover Caligula is “awesome” after only a year (seems like 5 at least) of this utter madness...and in a weird way I’ll admit, I have to laugh at anyone who thinks NOW that Biden did a better job as *preznit; I guess you needed to get hit over the head metaphorically to FINALLY realize that (and Ana Kasparian definitely doesn’t have an excuse for misreading #47; for someone as ubiquitous on social media as she is, she’s supposed to be right on stuff like this)...didn’t know that far-right people overseas are turning on Pumpkin Pol Pot also, but that isn’t too surprising either...one of Figueredo’s great points is that, especially now, we have to recognize our collective humanity because our fascist ruling regime will come for EVERYONE eventually unless we keep pushing back...I know I had that clip of the CSPAN caller earlier; I have to give that man credit for his honesty, though it’s utterly tragic that it took getting to this point for him to realize how wrong he was...also, I’d like to tell Ken Griffin what he can do, but I have to watch my language here I know (NSFW/H)...



...but the big story on Action News, you might say, is Mango Mussolini getting shot down by the SCOTUS on his tariff madness...looks like Our Sweaty Orange Boy can’t inflict his stinking trade misery (at least in its present form), with our corporate SCOTUS slapping him down by a 6-3 ruling (here and here)...nice job by Belle to bring back the clip from last November as a refresher...also, It looks like the so-called “major questions doctrine” from this Court that bit former President Biden in the butt reared its ugly head again here, which is poetic justice IMO...and OF COURSE “I Like Beer” Kavanaugh, Almost Silent Clarence Thomas and Strip Search Sammy Alito dissented...I’d like to think this will be the end of those stinking tariffs, but sadly I know better, and I think you do also; he’ll find a way to try to reapply them under another statute (and Belle points out how Canada and the EU aren’t taking a victory lap on this either)...



...and Amy Goodman and Nermeen Shaikh of Democracy Now! tell us more about The Prince Formerly Known As Andrew arrested for involvement in the Jeffrey Epstein case (the actual charge is “misconduct in public office,” with Andrew alleged to have forwarded confidential information to Epstein, similarly to what Peter Mandelson is charged with, and God only knows where that info from anyone associated with Epstein ended up...probably sold to the highest bidder of despotic regimes) – in the U.K., powerful people actually face accountability for the Epstein stuff, unlike here...writer Michael Walker is interviewed...



...and I know we’ve kind of dispensed with the Stephen Colbert/James Talarico stuff, but I definitely wanted to get to Lawrence O’Donnell’s takedown of the CBS lawyers, who were wrong about the application of the equal time requirement for broadcast television – entertainment shows like Colbert’s are exempt from that rule...ABC’s lawyers are no better, as O’Donnell points out (kind of a clumsy edit at the end which is typical for MS NOW clips for some reason, cutting off Talarico almost in mid-sentence)...



...and as long as we’re discussing late night talk show hosts, I think it’s called for to give this recent commentary from Jimmy Kimmel, about Cantaloupe Capone’s immunity fantasy in the aforementioned Epstein stuff, a façade that is indeed cracking...yep, we need to be showing what it looks like when “a democracy treats a power grab as a crime rather than a brand” for sure...Kimmel gives the examples of South Korea and Brazil, two countries that held their leaders to account the way WE should have...”make immunity feel normal” from Our Treasonous Orange Pustule indeed, and yeah, Don The Con sure does treat scrutiny as persecution, doesn’t he...and with all the myriad scandals from our wretched regime, I’d actually forgotten about the DHS luxury jet controversy from Kristi (“Unsafe At Any Speed”) Noem...”government exists to reward the insiders” could definitely be a motto for the Trumpsters...



Update 2/23/26: Looks like Kimmel and ABC took down the video - oh well.

...and on the one hand, I suppose this is an example of U2 trying to remain relevant somehow, but on the other hand, props to them for adding their voice against our despotic ruling regime (and by the way, this tidy little number rocks also).

Thursday Stuff

Kyle Kulinski tells us about China running circles around us on infrastructure, with their success powered by renewable energy, which we’re stoo-pidly retreating from...the clip of China using the mountain range for renewable technology is pretty damn stunning IMO, along with that map of high-speed rail from 2008 to 2020...I hate to say this, but it’s true; as a nation, there is MUCH MORE that they can do at scale that we can’t, and China is proving it... even Australia is now outpacing us when it comes to renewable energy and infrastructure (no disrespect to that country...NSFW/H)...



...and Corrine Straight of Really American lets us know that it looks like our neighbors to the north (on the “22 Minutes” program) are having fun lampooning the ego of Our Treasonous Orange Pustule...and Peter Baker is a notorious “both sides” corporate media hack, so he gets no kudos from me (wow, so ONLY NOW Baker is discovering #47’s relentless and completely ridiculous cult of personality BS? Gee dude, you’re a regular rocket scientist, aren’t you?)...also, I’d heard about Don the Con and the “John Miller” stuff before, FWIW (also NSFW/H)...



...and Farron Cousins brings us the story of another Repug congressman quitting, and that would be Neal Dunn of Flori-DUUUH! – Dunn apparently can’t even be bothered to serve the remainder of his term and is going to bolt from the U.S. House right now...I’m sure MAGA Mike Johnson is going to get another Repug into Dunn’s seat double quick, and if Dunn is having lingering issues from COVD, I hope he gets the help he needs, but this demonstrates just how razor thin the Repug House majority truly is...



Update 2/27/26: I honestly didn't know about this - as noted, I hope Dunn is able to get the care he needs, and I'm genuinely sorry he's in this circumstance.

...and Tennessee Brando tells us about Dem U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff of Georgia killing it in speeches against the Gropenfuhrer...a “spiritually broken, false prophet” indeed; I’m glad to hear Ossoff use the language of scripture to make his point...personally, I think there’s a point where the world of faith ends and the world of the “here and now” begins, and I wouldn’t conflate faith with politics since I think every politician is a charlatan to one degree or another, but I wouldn’t put down someone’s deeply held faith either, as long as it isn’t used as an excuse to avoid rational decision-making... “We (should) make sure the car never goes in the ditch again” indeed, as well as forgetting about these damn lefty “purity tests” as Brando says (NSFW/H as well)...



...and this item from Mr. Newberger informs us of DHS Secretary Kristi “Dog Killer” Noem having a meltdown recently over losing her “binky” (here), with her boy toy Corey Lewandowski coming to her rescue...



Update 2/26/26: Curiouser and curiouser (funnier too)...

...and I don’t see this guy coming to our area anytime soon, but I’ll keep a lookout and provide updates if necessary.

Wednesday Stuff

Usually I have clips from comedians or Mr. Newberger at the end, but this time I’m leading off with Stephen Colbert addressing the dustup in the matter of the James Talarico non-interview because of the latest edict from FCC chair Brendan Carr (I know the Talarico clip is online, including at YouTube, and I’m sure by now the clip has surpassed 2 million views on that platform...oh, but wingnut talk radio is exempt from Carr’s “equal time” edict – how con-vee-nient)...



...and I know I’m a little behind on this, but I wanted to include it anyway...Chris Hayes discusses Pam “Blondi” and the whole “Mexican cartel drones that were really balloons” thing, leading to halting air traffic out of El Paso for 10 days due to “national security reasons”...yep, looks like CBP got ahold of a laser and started firing it off without telling anyone, and again, at party balloons they thought were drones...in the immortal words of baseball manager Casey Stengel, “can anybody here play this game?”...



...and Rachel Maddow discusses the botched announcement of the ICE concentration camp in Merrimack, New Hampshire, with the Trump regime trying to sell construction of this facility as a “major economic investment”...yeah, and there will be positive ripple effects supposedly for the “Oklahoma” economy, as well as more dough from state sales and income taxes, neither of which are charged in New Hampshire (just say “oops” and get out)...I don’t suppose it should be surprising that NH Repug guv Kelly Ayotte is smack dab in the middle of this mess, having pled ignorance on the building of this prison camp in her state even though one of the fascists from DHS testified before Congress that, yeah, Ayotte knew, and even Dem governor Maura Healey across the Connecticut River in MA is coming out against this...Maddow speaks with NH rep Wendy Thomas of Merrimack; I guess it isn’t surprising that the Merrimack warehouse owner is a big Ayotte donor...and OF COURSE the facility is also in an area contaminated by PFAS chemicals, so there’s that also...



...and sticking with ICE, Robert Reich tells us about the corporations supporting our outlaw agency...much of the dough from the Big Beautiful Custerf*ck (as Reich points out) is going to companies in the form of government contracts for facial recognition software, bed linens at concentration camps, and on and on...I used to respect Dell for the quality of their PCs, but no more...Reich reminds us of the pressure that put Jimmy Kimmel back on the air, as well as getting Avelo Airlines to stop their deportation flights...of course, in addition to protesting as our means allows, we also need to make damn sure we vote against anyone who supports ICE this fall (basically, support the “D” team, folks)...



...and Thom Hartmann talks about how the elections this fall are a vote for democracy vs. tyranny – the political party labels don’t really tell the story...I would say that there are not 5, but 6 corrupt Repugs on the SCOTUS, but I’ll grant Thom his argument for now...I know a lot of Thom’s history of how we got to this point has been echoed here and elsewhere for awhile now, but I believe repeating that is important...Thom traces the path from democracy to oligarchy to tyranny, and yeah, it’s definitely the stuff of nightmares to contemplate where we are on that front right now (and Thom references the absurdly-named SAVE Act to restrict married women from voting, among other groups, at about 7:30)...commentary ends at about 12:30, but I LOVE the tune that follows...



...and I have to tell you that I had a NSFW/H reaction to this item (this too)...with everything going on in this country, the “party of Lincoln” is STILL preoccupied with bathroom bills, and a pox on everyone in Kansas who supports this...this tune came to mind just about immediately.