Monday Stuff

So what about that Paula Deen anyway? John Fugelsang gives us his commentary…



Update 6/25/13: Gosh, it looks like the apple doesn't fall far from the high-fructose, calorie-laden, deep-fried tree, does it (here)?

…and Clarence Thomas of the Supremes continues to labor under the apparently unbearable yoke of a Yale law degree – please…

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…and if our corporate media weren’t thoroughly compromised, “Fluffyhead” wouldn’t be able to show his mug at the D.C. party circuit for this (here’s the lesson – don’t try and cram your ridiculous “treasonous liberal” narrative down Glenn Greenwald’s throat, or he’ll hand you your lunch as he does here)…



…and I’m definitely not giving Number 44 a pass here – just because I supported him and continue to do so doesn’t mean this is OK under any stretch of the imagination (and imagining how it would be under, God help us, Romney/Ryan is small comfort, but not much)…



…though I have to give Obama credit for this, even if it may be a feint to try and deflect the NSA stuff…



Update 1 6/25/13: Oh, and by the way...

Update 2 6/25/13: And tell me again how "liberal" MSNBC supposedly is, during daytime hours anyway (here).

…and RIP Bobby “Blue” Bland.

Saturday Stuff

Ed Schultz makes sure that the antics of the sorry 2010 class of Repug governors, including Rick Snyder, don’t escape scrutiny…

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…and here’s a “second day of summer” tune (awww).

Friday Stuff

(I also posted here.)

Yep, I’m on board with Matt Taibbi here; forget about nationalizing the damn banks – nationalize the damn ratings agencies instead…



…and speaking of “a big fat failure,” I’m not always a fan of Steny Hoyer, but kudos to him for this (and this is why common-sense immigration reform will never pass the House – one day…and I don’t wish him ill…Eric Cantor will surely evaporate into dust before our eyes when he sheds his mortal coil)…



…and I’m also not a fan of supposed Second Amendment gun rights or whatever, but I give Joe Manchin credit for this…



…and it looks like the old geezers are going to have another go at it tonight at the “big joint”; kudos to the teenaged one for this suggestion.

Thursday Stuff

I thought this was a nice tribute to actor James Gandolfini - among his myriad accomplishments, let’s not forget this too…



…and today is the eighth anniversary of “Big Time” and his “last throes” remark (here); the fact that this man has yet to stand in a docket facing a war crimes tribunal is a timeless obscenity…



…and this is why we will never see an immigration bill passed (one with a path to citizenship or any sense of fairness whatsoever)…people like Fischer rev up the Teahadists with this nonsense, they have their rallies and yell at the politicians who claim to represent them (including Mikey the Beloved), and that’s that (here)…



…and it’s hard to go wrong with Papa Roach – here’s the latest.

Wednesday Stuff

(I also posted here.)

RIP Michael Hastings – I definitely wanted to get to this last night, but there just wasn’t enough time…to say his type of fearless reporting is still desperately needed is a huge understatement, especially with all of the corporate media shills out there – deepest sympathies to family and friends, with Cenk Uygur and “The Young Turks” crew still visibly shaken – just awful…



…and from the tragic to the absurd, Rachel Maddow tells us about the latest idiocy with the Repugs and their “jobs” agenda in the U.S. House, this time with Michael “Fetal Masturbation” Burgess (what country am I living in again?)…

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…and Martin Bashir quite rightly takes another shot at Darrell Issa, who is desperately trying to generate an Obama “scandal” (and real brave to pick on PR flak Jay Carney)…

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…and here’s a little hump day funk.

Tuesday Stuff

(I also posted here.)

I really love the way that Dem Congressman Peter Welch pretty much blows off the commentary by Michael “I Was Completely Wrong On Iraq But I Still Get Taken Seriously By The Corporate Media Punditocracy” O’Hanlon here on OMIGOSHWEJUSTBETERSTARTANOTHERWARINSYRIA (and oh yeah, in your face, Sen. John W. McBush)…

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…and I definitely think John Oliver is onto something here…



…and why on earth would our beloved commonwealth actually invest in “dumb” stuff like, y’know, schools, when there are more prisons to build (here – I think Chris Hayes’s upsetment with Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter for not latching onto the talking points is palpable here, but Nutter is trying to play a really crappy hand the best he can)…

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…and I’m going to stick with Hayes here for this, telling us yet another way the Repugs are screwing over millions (good to see the outrage – more like this)…

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…and this is a great tribute to Sir Paul on his birthday (and let’s not forget the “Concert For New York” after 9/11)…



…and speaking of rock gray beards, those old geezers are rockin’ the “big joint” tonight, as Pierre Robert calls the Whatever Bank Owns It Now Center (Wells Fargo, I guess) – hope a splendid time was guaranteed for all, as the song goes.

Monday Stuff

John Fugelsang introduces us to some more wingnut vocabulary, even if it doesn’t actually exist; he explains…



…and why the hell anyone would be dumb enough to vote for a Repug governor after watching this (unless you’re part of the one percent, of course) is something I will never understand…

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…and I can’t think of a word to describe how pathetic it is that we are still arguing about whether or not we should close Guantanamo; Rachel Maddow gives us the latest here (with more than a bit of well-deserved disgust over the whole situation)…

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…and I realized a little earlier today that I really didn’t do anything to commemorate eight years of posting (more or less) at this dippy little blog; the first post of sorts was written on June 4th in 2005 – let this be a tune for the occasion, and I have to make sure I put up this tune again at the end of the year…goes out to anyone who has spent any time here whatsoever, even to cast a disparaging word (NSFW).

Sunday Stuff

I don’t know why Falafel Bill is mad at Tweety, and I really don’t care, but I thought this was a nice Father’s Day segment with that Murphy guy (hope it’s a good one for all you dads out there…the teenaged one had his MMR booster a few years ago, so he’s covered)…

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...and here's a "fathers and sons" song, maybe the granddaddy of them all.



Update 6/17/13: And I would say that this is some food for thought on this subject.

Friday Stuff

I saw something about this that more or less floated by like typical wingnut flotsam, but kudos to Stephen Colbert for giving Dorothy Rabinowitz what she deserves for it – the last minute or so of this is priceless; and by the way, Stephen, to be serious for a minute, our condolences…



…and here is the latest on the Repug “rebranding” effort (too funny)…

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…and as far as I’m concerned, this is the story of the week – kudos to this young man; I basically could care less about the NBA Finals, but after watching this, I now hope San Antonio wins…



…and here’s a late entry that caught my ear, if you will – enjoy.

Wednesday Stuff

And our tut-tutting corporate media is shocked, shocked I tell you, that Edward Snowden apparently believes that he’ll never receive a fair trial in this country – see Bradley Manning and Deric Lostutter, as John Fugelsang notes in this clip…



…and so many of the usual Beltway suspects are mad at Snowden that somehow you have a feeling that he did the right thing (which, I’m sure, will be history’s ultimate judgment, if I were inclined to take a guess at that right now – good point by Dana Milbank that Clapper knew that question from Wyden in advance; no excuse for supposedly being caught off guard, unless of course he really does have something to hide…hmmmmm)…

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…and Rachel Maddow reminds us about some important history; I noted a little while ago that there are going to be a bunch of milestones this year, and this is another one…

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…and either this day or June 2nd would have been the 61st birthday of Pete Farndon of The Pretenders – not getting completely consistent info on that in the blogosphere, but here’s a good tune anyway.

Tuesday Stuff

I thought Rachel Maddow asked some good questions here about how someone like Edward Snowden could end up with access to such sensitive data, ably aided here by Barton Gellman of the WaPo…

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…and I swear it’s nothing but a drug for our corporate media, the whole “Bush Bounce” story line which is coming one of these days, one of these days (here)…forgetting totally that Number 43 really did end up with the highest disapproval rating in Gallup Poll history (and you really aren’t going to try and make me look that up, are you?).

Well, here is a reminder as to how truly wretched this guy was (NSFW - and speaking of immigration, it looks like Ted "Crash And Burn" Cruz didn't do a very good job of listening to the last White House occupant of his party here)…



Update 6/13/13: As I said, it's like a drug (here); I thought this guy knew better.

...and speaking of Texas mistakes (that "not guilty" verdict turns my stomach - and by the way, about 30 municipalities are about to run out of water, at a minimum; but climate change is "junk science")...



…and it was such a lovely evening that I decided to give “mellow” the rest of the day off again.

Monday Stuff

This story is based on one accomplishment by President John F. Kennedy 50 years ago (more here – and oh yeah, speaking of the economy)…

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…and this tells us about the other development from our 35th president on this day 50 years ago (a hell of a pair of milestones, if I may say so)…



…and this is the actual speech at American University…



…and this comes to mind when thinking of an appropriate song from that era.

Sunday Stuff

I have to admit that I’d fallen into the whole “well, if The Sainted Ronnie R were with us today, he’d be a Repug Party outcast” mindset a bit also – fortunately, Bill Maher provided a bit of shock therapy on that subject here (a lot more related stuff is here)...



…and I thought this was a highly informative exchange between Chris Hayes and Jeremy Scahill on the recent secrecy stuff involving Number 44…

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…and as you watch this, keep in mind that some nitwit wrote a column that the Bucks County Courier Times printed today claiming that the climate crisis must be a hoax because Al Gore bought an $8.9 million ocean-front villa (about par for the course with that rag)…



…and while this remains a good song, I have to admit that I’m getting awfully tired of presenting it with stories like this.



Update 6/10/13: Oh, peachy.

Friday Stuff

(I also posted here.)

Rachel Maddow talks with Sen. Jeff Merkley here about the latest Obama Administration revelations on surveillance (kind of ranted a bit about this last night already)…

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…and John Fugelsang has a good interview with Sister Simone Campbell on immigration reform here…



…and the Rev. Al tells us about more two-faced Repug antics on the health care law…

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…and I don’t know about you, but I’m in the mood for a touch of escapism.

Thursday Stuff

Well, this is interesting, but I want to hear more details – besides, this is coming from the same guy responsible for the clip below; let me know if Mikey the Beloved is still playing this same tune a month or two before next year’s election…



…and isn’t this lovely from President Hopey Changey (and why do I have a feeling that the “career intelligence officer” cited in the story could become the next Bradley Manning...an update is here)…

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Update 6/7/13: Oh, and by the way, Democrats, maybe we wouldn't be in this situation if you hadn't caved as you did here.

…and RIP Esther Williams, someone who was apparently an accidental star, but what a life of notoriety…

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…and here’s a song for the occasion while I try to un-grit my teeth.

Wednesday Stuff

Right now, we’re smack in the middle of the period of time between the shooting of former New York Senator (and one-time presidential candidate) Robert F. Kennedy and his death 45 years ago (and if we had the ER technology and patient care methods back then that we have now, it’s possible that he would have lived despite his wounds)…



…returning to the present day, Jim McDermott gives us a lesson in how a member of the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party is supposed to act (here)…



…and Martin Bashir connects the dots big time on the supposed IRS “scandal,” when in fact the real travesty is the usual wingnut demagoguery at work (including this)…

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…and man, this guy is so gonna score for this (but what an awful thing to do to a mix tape : -).

Tuesday Stuff

I got a kick out of this – Joel McHale is pretty funny IMHO on “The Soup”…



…and really, Governor Bully? A primary in August??? When most of the world is on vacation???

If I were a New Jersey taxpayer, I’d be hopping mad over having to shell out about $20 mil for both a primary and special election. That being said, this is a cunning move – God knows I’ll never be a Christie fan, but on the one hand, he makes it easier for Cory Booker to run for Lautenberg’s seat by letting voters focus on that election by itself, and it also puts the screws to Barbara Buono running against Christie even more because she won’t get the benefit of Booker’s “coat tails,” assuming he would have them with Booker at the top of a ticket instead of Buono.

And oh yeah, it also helps to preserve Christie’s top Repug “dog” status in NJ as the guv gets ready to run for prez in 2016 (and you KNOW that’s coming), assuming Booker wins (more here)…



…and Ed Schultz helps us all to “keep our eye on the ball” (good point by E.J. Dionne on health care – it’s a net plus big time, even with a story like this)…

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…and I realize that, when it comes to badly-needed immigration reform, what you’ll usually hear from our corporate media is the “horse race” stuff, such as “Will Marco Rubio, Rand Paul and ‘Calgary’ Cruz Support It?” Well, here is a taste of reality on this issue (Update 6/5/13: Hat tip to Atrios for this...)…



…and John Fugelsang gives us an interesting report on Repug U.S. House Rep (and consummate hypocrite) Stephen Fincher…



…and best wishes for a speedy recovery to this guy (probably the lifestyle catching up with him a bit).

Monday Stuff

Yes, I know, we have yet another “Oh goodness gracious, whatever shall the Republican Party do?” discussion including “daughter of Breitbart” S.E. Cupp, but the takeaway for me would be the themes the millennials hit on here, which, basically, are a total refutation of the Teahadists and the “one percent” who call the shots in that party, and always will…

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…oh, and by the way, they’ll never have any interest in actual governance either, as shown here…

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…and RIP Sen. Frank Lautenberg – while a lot of folks quite rightly now pay tribute to him for his many accomplishments (including me), let’s not forget that he was also one of the very few politicians who stood tall of the issue of G-U-N-S…



…and except for the “ain’t no Democrat” part, I think of Lautenberg and I think of this tune also (and I can hardly wait to see which Republican “Governor Bully” chooses to take Lautenberg’s seat - Christie also called for an election early also...and oh yeah, I guess Lautenberg was a bit of a "capitalist" too).

Sunday Stuff

RIP Jean Stapleton (don’t know what’s up with the train at the end)…



…and I give you Republican U.S. Senate candidate Gabriel Gomez of Massachusetts, caught in a bit of a memory lapse here at the very least and an ethical morass at the very worst, on the issue of his client list while he worked for a private equity firm (hey, at least he didn’t say he had “binders full of women”)…



…though, with a move like this, he might as well have…



…and last Friday marked what would have been the 65th birthday of drummer extraordinaire John “Bonzo” Bonham of Led Zeppelin.

Friday Stuff

Somehow I have a feeling this isn’t the “welcome” to the FBI that James Comey anticipated…

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…and I’m sure this won’t quell the wingnut outrage over the Teahadist/IRS stuff that marks the beginning of ’Scandal’ Summer, but high marks go to Lawrence O’Donnell for trying…

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...and I think this is important to remember in light of this...



…and I don’t know if this is a put-on or not, but it looks like May (for another couple of hours on the “left” coast at least) is National Masturbation Month (seriously?), so here is a tune for the occasion (definitely don’t miss the ‘80s, for the most part anyway).

Thursday Stuff

(I also posted here.)

And as long as she’s departing, why not give “Moon Unit” Bachmann a chance to tell her story, OK…

Bachmann Retires - watch more funny videos

…and paging MSNBC – given this, do you really think you can afford to keep blowing off this guy (I mean, nothing against Chris Hayes, but c’mon! And yes, I know the Freedom Tower has risen, to the credit of all of the workers who have worked so diligently to turn this awful page - I bring this back partly because of this)…



…and I haven’t had anything to say about guns for a little while, but fortunately, Lawrence O’Donnell did so here, bringing the outrage big time against Glock’s Paul Jannuzzo, in a quiet, understated way that’s all the more powerful…

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…and I’m not as big a fan of the second recording from this band as I am of their debut, which knocked me out – I still like this tune, though.

Wednesday Stuff

On the one hand, I’m tired of all the “Oh my gosh, whatever will the Republican Party do?” stuff out there (let it sink is my answer), but despite that, I think this clip from Rachel Maddow on Bob Dole’s recent remarks is instructive (and Steve Schmidt, a bright guy, isn’t dumb enough to call out Rand Paul, Mike Lee, and “Calgary” Cruz by name – I found myself agreeing with about 85-90 percent of what Schmidt said)…

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…and to sign the petition in opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline, please click here…



…and I thought this was a nice little video on the health care law…

…and I can’t imagine national politics in this country without “Moon Unit” Bachmann (a lot more sane, I hope - more here)…



Update 5/30/13: And here is more of the "Queen of the Crazy Train" in action.

…and considering Bachmann, what other tune could I offer but this one?

Tuesday Stuff

I’m glad everyone made it home safe and sound after the Memorial Day holiday; Ed Schultz tells us why here (and speaking of the “party of Lincoln,” they may never have money for the necessities, but they also never have a problem trying to pass their stinking tax cuts)…



…and speaking of money, kudos to Martin Bashir for “getting the back” of Professor Krugman (I don’t care if Kent Conrad is a Dem – the man is a walking turd)…

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…and John Fugelsang tells us about the latest dustup between His Holiness and The Vatican (how dare Francis actually tell the truth like that! And Current's videos still don't "frame" properly)…



…and I was tempted to note the recent birthday of a certain R. Zimmerman, but I knew the 50th anniversary of “The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan” was coming up; here is a memorable tune from the recording for the occasion (trying not to make an obvious choice).

Monday Stuff

Happy Memorial Day...



...and yes, even though pictures are allowed now of our fallen heroes returning to Dover, I think this song is still timely as long as we’re at war, which, sadly, we still are.



Update: Oh, and by the way, here is something Mikey the Beloved and his pals should try to remedy with all speed (basically, get rid of the damn sequester once and for all for everyone), instead of puffing up themselves over more symbolic gestures like this.