Friday Stuff

Jesse Dollemore tells us about Laura Ingraham propagandizing as per usual about a survey that found that the 10 worst states to live in are places won by Trump in ’24...and yeah, Ingraham truly is a dim bulb if she’s trying to persuade anyone that CBNC is run by a bunch of tree-hugging libs...and yep, it’s typically disingenuous for Ingraham to conflate two different categories in the same survey (best for business/worst for everyone else), but that’s par for the course with her...shocked to hear about Sarah Huckabilly Sanders signing that bill for breakfast in schools, which is commendable actually...oh, and “the land of the yellow rose” has the highest percentage of residents without health insurance at about 16 percent, which is a big reason why they get an overall failing grade when it comes to quality of life...tough luck for everyone moving there for a better job...



...and David Doel gives us an update on the Canadian wildfires, which are affecting the air quality in the northeast and across the U.S. – and by the way, I’m not including this to beat up our neighbors to the north since we in the “great 48” have pretty thoroughly dropped the ball as a nation when it comes to addressing climate issues (here)...as of now, Toronto has the worst air quality on the planet (Detroit is doing pretty badly too)...that train footage of the fires is genuinely scary, as well as the pics from Collins, Ontario; hope everyone ended up OK...I wouldn’t call Canada’s Doug Ford a Trumper, but he’s pretty awful in his own right, as evidenced by his cuts in climate emergency preparedness (and this report doesn’t put Mark Carney in a positive light either, and that goes for Pierre Poilievre also...we’ll see how funny Poilievre thinks it is when species start dying off due to the climate crisis, and for anybody to think humans won’t ultimately be affected is dunderheaded stoo-pidity worthy of MAGA, and if that isn’t an insult, I don’t know what is)...mildly NSFW/H...



...and I really wanted to ignore the latest ravings from Dementia J. Trump last night, but I suppose attention must be paid, and Brian Tyler Cohen analyzes the latest ridiculous nonsense from Our Ochre Abomination about how our elections were somehow weaponized against him (here); one response is here pertaining to former Senate Majority Leader Mitch (“Weekend at Bernie’s”) McConnell refusing to support election security legislation 10 years ago...and oh yeah, did you catch that speech from Our Treasonous Orange Pustule before his “great unwashed” followers and notice the guy with Trump’s name on his hat backwards? Somehow I don’t think MENSA is going to be beating a path to HIS door...and oh yeah, let’s pay tribute to that noted champion of democracy (snark) Huckleberry Graham and pass the SAVE (For Repugs) Act – lies upon lies upon lies upon more lies...mildly NSFW/H...



...and Logical Leftist Jeff Waldorf discuses a gay Republican running for congress in Wyoming (Reid Rasner) suing his party b/c they called him a pedo, leading to death threats...um, have you been paying attention, bucko? Oh, riiiight...Rasner apparently had NO PROBLEM WHATSOEVER with calling for the ultimate punishment for those his party didn’t like, but when the script was flipped on him, then NOW Rasner has to cry “oh, woe is me!”...apparently one of Rasner’s garbage beliefs (and again, typical for the “R” team) is that parents transitioning their kids should lose parental rights...this clip just adds to my belief that the Log Cabin Republicans are the most clueless bunch of political neophytes in existence...



...and Michael Kosta of The Daily Show gives us a rundown on the latest madness...and even #47’s teleprompter operator is in on the grift – typical for this regime of bottom feeders...and in a related item, it looks like Couch Boy is trying to puff himself up on Joe Rogan, which I guess isn’t surprising since those two are kind of like two flies inhabiting the same rancid garbage peel, if you will (and eating corn dogs is somehow a “kink” for Vance? Probably TMI on that one...and Mike Rowe isn’t any better)...and let’s not forget SecDef “Low T” Kegseth, as much as we’d like to, I know...mildly NSFW/H also...



...and earlier this week I noted one literary milestone, and I’d now like to point out another; yesterday marked the 75th anniversary of the publication of The Catcher In The Rye, which, as far as I’m concerned, is a bit of a cultural milestone having to do with a book that was definitely overinflated in terms of literary importance as far as yours truly is concerned...the main character is pretentious and full of himself IMO, not unlike the book’s author; I once watched a doc on J.D. Salinger which was a bit of an eye opener, and not in a good way...assorted hangers-on and at least one murderous nutjob have gravitated towards this book, and I know that’s not Salinger’s fault...here is a tune for the occasion.

Thursday Stuff

Rachel Maddow informs us that the Gropenfuhrer has scrapped about three dozen regulations pertaining to guns, because of course..he repealed the rule preventing selling firearms to the mentally ill when he got in the first time in 2017; that’s something he apparently has just restored – ahhh, smell the “free-dumb,” my fellow prisoners...one of the many levels of awfulness here is that it will apparently make it easier for mail-order gun sales without in-person verification of any type prior to purchasing a firearm...Maddow speaks with Mirianna Mitchem, former associate assistant director at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (from an era when our federal government actually operated efficiently on our behalf)...



...and Belle of the Ranch gives us the latest on “Trump accounts”...I wouldn’t trust anything with Our Ochre Abomination’s name on it, but as Belle says, talk to a financial advisor if you’re looking to set up some kind of a savings vehicle for your son/daughter and if you’re in the position to do that of course...Belle mentions 529 accounts, which may be a better option for saving for college...higher contribution limits are attractive, along with potentially rolling over the account into a Roth IRA (I’ve gone back and forth on Roth IRAs myself vs. a traditional IRA, but the up-front taxation feature for Roth could be attractive based on your needs/situation)...as Belle says, it’s projected that, with a Trump account, if you get $1K and do nothing with it, it will be worth $6K by the time the child reaches 18 which 1) Is a guess based on anticipated market performance, and 2) Represents a sum that is truly miniscule against the overall cost for a 2-to4-year college, depending on the major...



...and Kyle Kulinski brings us the tale of Dem congressman Ro Khanna visiting the West Bank and getting detained for about 90 minutes by IDF gangsters, in an experience which I’m sure was pretty damn scary (and once more, to prove Kyle’s point about Israel killing Americans, just Google “Rachel Corrie and the bulldozer” and prepare yourself for some horrific results of your search)...I give Khanna credit for going on Fix Noise – I wouldn’t bother with that trash network – so OF COURSE he gets attacked again on this by some soulless, AIPAC-shilling harpie who criticizes Khanna for saying that this Michael Leiter person (apparently our rep to Israel??) is lying, when in fact LEITER IS F*CKING LYING INDEED!!!!! All this Fix Noise news mannequin has to do is ROLL THE DAMN BODYCAM VIDEO LIKE KHANNA SAYS!!!...I agree that ”boomer slop” is probably a pretty spot-on description for this (and I definitely see parallels to the “People’s Temple” madness also)...if I ruled the world, I would have cut off military aid to Israel long ago not just for their carnage in Gaza, but as an act of protest against a country where hard line Jews routinely kick Christian priests and nuns to the curb, literally, and spit on them (and the congressman referred to by Kyle who was killed for investigating the Guyana/Jim Jones cult was Leo Ryan...also, Section 224 mentioned here is that garbage provision in the NDAA that the pro-Israel hawks in Congress are trying to enshrine into law)...NSFW/H...



Update 7/17/26: Is everybody else as tired of this garbage from the IDF as I am I wonder?

...and Steve Harness of Really American discusses #47 getting a new “participation trophy” for his Not-So-Excellent Adventure in Iran; it just appeared near the MLK exhibit on the mall in D.C...and yes, this is another production courtesy of Secret Handshake...I think encouraging other folks to drop off their trophies also is another spot-on level of absurdity...and oh yeah, what the hell is going on with those columns around the White House? And I think topping those columns with mushroom-type fixtures is probably pretty “on the nose,” you might say...NSFW/H also...



...and Seth Meyers catches up on about three weeks’ worth of madness in this “Closer Look” bit, including #47 telling Jake Tapper what questions he’s supposed to ask, and at this point, we really shouldn’t be surprised by behavior like that...and this is just a reminder that Bronzer Beelzebub made at least $2 billion as *preznit last year...oh, but Uday Jr. is managing all that apparently (as if he could manage anything without daddy), and Cantaloupe Capone supposedly has no involvement...all politicians lie, but some tell white lies with some slight truth shading and some tell lies that are so far beyond belief that the liar believes that you’re a damn idiot, and Our Ochre Abomination is definitely guilty of the latter...



...and today is the 45th anniversary of the loss of Harry Chapin.

Tuesday Stuff

Brittany Page presents Baby Goebbels producing what is basically a eugenics memo, trying to institutionalize people with disabilities (I’m going to get to a clip later about something giving us intestinal distress, but watching that disgusting guttural puke laugh about displacing health care workers is enough to give me dry heaves at a minimum...I’m sure it stirs what passes for Miller’s manhood)...I have to admit that I hadn’t heard of the “Olmstead Mandate” before now, which called for the advancement of people with disabilities and which also served as an impetus for disabled folks to find housing...Page would be the first to say that this country not doing whatever we can justly do to improve the lives of those less fortunate is a policy choice, and she’s right...and like with most odious garbage like this, you can count on The Cicero Institute to be right in the middle of it...



...oh, and it looks like ICE killed someone else, this time in Biddeford, Maine (here)...those from the Dem U.S. delegation (and those vying to run for the U.S. Senate) quite rightly spoke out, which is what they should do at a minimum, with “Disappointed” Susan Collins basically saying “I’ve been apprised of the situation and an investigation is ongoing,” which is the exact sort of bland, milquetoast BS you can expect from this utterly soulless cipher...if you’re not yelling for ICE to get the hell out and also calling for an independent investigation, then you’re not doing you f*cking job!...



Update: More here.

Update 7/17/26: And sadly, this isnn't surprising either.

...and David Shuster of Rebel HQ discusses an increase in explosive diarrhea thanks to Trump budget cuts...yep, the metaphors truly write themselves at times...the issue is a microscopic parasite (cyclosporiasis) that, apparently, the CDC isn’t even bothering to investigate, presumably because Bobby Brainworms is too obsessed with food dyes and swimming with his grandkids in creeks full of sludge...also, no specific grower has been linked to this outbreak so far, though apparently it has been traced to raspberries, lettuce and other produce (and concentrated in Michigan more than anywhere else)...looks like the regime of the Gropenfuhrer will only monitor two of the toxic pathogens that are out there, e coli and salmonella, and we’re on our own I guess for the others – heckuva job, all you numbskulls who made sure we’d be stuck with this in November ’24 (and I think any sentient life form knows what a lying weasel Scott Jennings is)...slightly NSFW/H...



...and in this segment of “Indisputable” with Dr. Rashad Richey, we learn about pastors Loran Livingston and Rob Fuquay (especially the latter going after “Christian” nationalism), speaking the truth about this country and its rather twisted notion of spirituality...I know I’ve dumped on alleged faith leaders plenty of times, so I’m definitely glad to present two individuals doing the right thing...



...and I’m glad to see Mr. Newberger getting to the heart of the controversy involving Sen. Mr. Elaine Chao – heh...



...and today is the 80th anniversary of the publication of “The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care” by Dr. Benjamin Spock (here), which revolutionized parenting in this country (essentially in a good way as far as yours truly is concerned)...here is a tune for the occasion.

Monday Stuff

So it now looks like we are engaged in the ritual courtesy of our political/media/industrial complex of redeeming a controversial individual (he was at least to me anyway) who has recently passed, and this time around, we’re talking about Huckleberry Graham, who has departed after a brief illness (here)...to begin, I’d like to ask if we can please dispense with the fiction that Graham was some kind of a military expert? Yes, he served in the JAG office, and that’s better than I did I admit, but then again, I never passed myself as an elite warmongering Beltway insider either...Graham never met a conflict he didn’t like, being continuously generous with the blood of other people’s kids...switching topics a bit, in this clip from TMR, Graham tried to get his own anti-abortion bill passed, which pretty much blew up in his face...interesting how quickly a “state’s rights” issue morphed into a “human rights” issue as far as Graham was concerned...as Sam Seder says, it was a typical lie from Graham to claim that 47 of 50 European nations ban abortion at 15 weeks...oh, and did you know that California and Oregon were adopting a “Chinese” abortion policy? Nothing like a little xenophobia from Graham on top of the sexism, is there (Graham segment ends at about 5:25, and then they go to Ronna Romney McDaniel, who’s just as bad, maybe worse)...”due date abortion” isn’t an actual thing, and neither is “gender selection abortion,” at least not in the U.S...and I know the Repugs will be screeching about “DEMS ARE SOFT ON CRIME!!!” heading into the fall, but they’re really going to end up twisting themselves into knots if they try to make this election about Trump’s wretched economy...



...and John and Aida Rodriguez of The Damage Report discuss the killing (in all likelihood) of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo by ICE...oh, this man was trying to use his vehicle to hurt an ICE thug (where have we heard this before? And with not a shred of evidence of course)...as we learn, Araujo had picked up some co-workers and was on his way to a job site when the shooting took place... John and Aida’s barely controlled rage and disgust is commendable; would that we all felt that way...more here...



...and as we learn in the following clip, these “Freedom Fuel” gas stations are apparently popping up in PA...the last guy interviewed is nuts IMO, but I thought the other two were pretty clear-headed...I definitely would like to know how the cheaper gas is subsidized also (maybe if, God and the voters willing, we have a Democratic House and/or Congress, then maybe they could investigate with subpoena power)...and the fact that this is happening a few months before the election should tell you just how much of a play for suckers this really is...



Update: More here.

...and Farron Cousins informs us that the “party of Lincoln” is collectively freaking out because they don’t have enough money for campaigning, supposedly (barring that sweet, sweet dark dough that always seems to arrive at the last minute courtesy of Hangin’ Judge JR and Citizens United)...however, they could seriously be looking at a money issue this election cycle, and it couldn’t happen to a more deserving bunch...those crocodile tears from this Repug strategist are unintentionally hilarious, I have to say (but the “D” team had still better be prepared for the inevitable wingnut BS of, “oh, the Dems are soft on crime and they want open borders and transgender for everyone...and oh yeah, high taxes also”...more here)...



...and Jordan Klepper of The Daily Show gives us an update on what AI is doing to our political campaign ads (I know I had that Sean Astin clip a few days ago, but this is of course a more humorous take)...boy, this Mark Coester sure sounds like a prize, running to replace great Dem U.S. House Rep Becca Balint in “Varmont”...the prize for the stoo-pidest AI slop, though, has to go to Repugs in “the land of the yellow rose” for that James Talarico/”Sound of Music” mess...also, that Julia Letlow flip flop ad, weird as it is, was apparently featured in a Repug primary contest for Letlow’s Louisiana seat in Congress...



...and this great newer number should help us all ease into the week, highlighted by the MLB All-Star Game in these parts tomorrow – wonder if a certain Ochre Abomination will make an appearance? Hopefully not, because that will automatically mean that the NL will lose...we’ll see.