I don’t think either one of these “money guys” from the Murdoch Street Journal are necessarily political; I think they’re just sticking to their fields of expertise here when it comes to forecasting what we could be looking at economically in 2016 – I still thought this was an interesting segment…
…and sticking with the economy, I thought this was a good segment on how the GOP presidential candidates pretend to care about poverty; this is actually an abbreviation of a longer clip at MSNBC’s wretched web site…
…and RIP David Bowie – still in utter shock like just about everyone else I guess; in keeping with the example of George Harrison, Warren Zevon and probably more than a few others, he managed to complete his final recording before he left us; so much great music to choose from, but I liked this tune in particular, which actually is a cover originally performed by Johnny Mathis, believe it or not (David Live at the Tower Theater is a landmark performance, and “Serious Moonlight,” IMHO, is one of the greatest concert recordings of all time - I personally preferred the "thin white duke" phase as opposed to Ziggy Stardust)…
...though that doesn't mean he didn't make great music during the whole glam-rock thing too, like this.
Gabby Giffords was shot five years ago today, and Federal Judge John Roll and Christina-Taylor Green were murdered, along with 4 others, as noted here, among many other victims.
And as noted here, it's not as if the wingnuts hadn't been mad at Giffords prior to all of this horror unfolding (and yet again, with all due respect to Giffords - I don't care about Chuck Toddler and his corporate media mannequin - where is the Democratic equivalent to this?)...
...and I think it’s appropriate to revisit a typically fine Special Comment from K.O. on the subject…
…and I think Lip TV asks a good question here; namely, are armed white men more of a threat than terrorists, particularly given the stuff going on in Oregon (I hope Steve Moore is right at the end – we’ll see)…
...and this is a recap of the gun control measures proposed by Number 44 (opposed by all Republicans as far as I know, including this asshat)...
...and this tells us about the gun violence restraining order legislation enacted in California, stemming from the truly scary case of Elliot Rodger (easy to dismiss Rodger as a spoiled brat without looking below the surface, I realize – and as far as I’m concerned, Sam Paredes and his ilk can go right to hell; always throwing cold water on ANYTHING to keep guns out of the hands of lunatics)…
...and Thom Hartmann tells us about Missouri relaxing its gun control laws, and the inevitable follows (and yes, you guessed it - there's a theme to these videos)...
...and good for Trevor Noah here in a recap of Obama's actions on guns this week - terrific and totally justified smackdown at the end (sorry I couldn't fix the autoplay issue)...
...meanwhile, Wayne LaPierre of the NRA argues here for universal background checks - oh, by the way, he did so in 1999, as opposed to now...
...and of course, leave it to philly.com conservative quota hire columnist Christine Flowers to make it sound like the alleged legitimacy of Obama's tears is actually a "thing"...
…and sorry to disappoint, but I’m actually not going to conclude this with an anti-gun song, but instead will only note the recent passing of famed music producer Robert Stigwood; he will quite rightly be remembered as the guy who helped the Bee Gees resurrect their careers and rocket to proverbial super-stardom, but as far as I’m concerned, he’s the guy who hastened the breakup of Cream by making them tour almost to the point of exhaustion (though he did produce Clapton later...go figure) – this is the final tune from their final album.
Just because that supposedly liberal MSNBC network rescheduled Rev. Al to ratings no man’s land on Sunday morning, that doesn’t mean that he no longer has anything worthwhile to say – far from it…
…and I’ll be honest; I know humor is highly subjective, but I never thought Jerry Lewis was particularly funny, and I NEVER got the whole French thing about how they thought he was some kind of a comic god or something – yes, absolutely give him props for all of the dough he raised to fight Muscular Dystrophy, but as far as I’m concerned, that’s it…
…and I give you John Oliver, someone who to my mind is legitimately funny, with a word or two on New Year’s resolutions…
I think Rachel Maddow brings us an interesting report here on some of the campaign tactics shared by “The Donald” and George Wallace, but let’s not forget how well she starts this with the clip about LBJ and guns (the interview was with historian Michael Beschloss, by the way)…
…and this is a shocking bit of sanity from Falafel Man on the issue of guns, though why he chooses to close his remarks by saying “think about it, Mr. President” is something I cannot possibly imagine – oh, riiiight…Billo has to find a way to blame that Kenyan Muslim socialist somehow…
…and oh yeah, speaking of Bill Orally, Cenk tells us “a tale of two BLMs” (NSFW)…
...and today marks the 20th anniversary of the so-called "Blizzard of '96," which dumped about 2 1/2 to 3 feet of snow in these parts - here is a tune for the occasion.
I don’t know if this will turn out to be Number 44’s finest hour or not, but I have to tell you that it’s right up there (h/t Balloon Juice; more here – and of course, here is the predictable wingnut response; a voice of sanity on this is here, a person who has a perspective on this that I hope no one else is ever forced to acquire)…
...and Thom Hartmann gives us a history lesson on The Sainted Ronnie R and the beginnings of “austerity” (and actually, going back even further than that to Tricky Dick)…
...and John and Cenk tell us about Trump supporters and "Trump shame" (I'd be embarrassed too...have the guts to be honest, OK? This is actually kind of scary - this election concerns me a bit like the '00 election did - love to be wrong of course)...
…and for the occasion of President Obama’s announcement today, I tried to find an anti-gun song that I haven’t used already…at least, I don’t think I’ve used this before (Jeff “Skunk” Baxter plays the dobro I believe).
If 100 Muslims banded together in a group with an open disdain for government, protested against the government and openly professed their willingness to kill federal officials and/or die if need be in opposition to the United States government – would they not be considered terrorists? What's the difference between a terrorist believing it's acceptable to kill Americans and right-wing militia members believing the exact same thing? Because when these militia idiots say they're willing to use force, they are quite literally saying they're prepared to kill Americans.
I've never quite understood how it's "patriotic" or "American" to believe you have the right to "rise up against" the government that was created by the United States Constitution. A government that's elected by the people.
Oh, and let's not forget this too (however, I should note that I don't agree with this assessment - MOVE was a very different circumstance that had gone on for years, and puh-leeze spare me Ramona Africa and her sob story)...
...also, I don’t totally buy Philip Howard’s assessment when It comes to what he would call “excessive” environmental review (and I think an interesting counterpoint is here), but he does make a good point I believe when it comes to what it would take for the “party of Lincoln” to actually cooperate with Democrats on the vital issue of repairing and rebuilding our infrastructure…
...and this doesn’t have anything to do with politics as far as I know, but I’m sorry – I have to add it anyway (actually, I’m not sorry; love the line at the end)…
...and why do I have a feeling that, if the Black Keys and Little Feat somehow combined, they would sound like this?
Thanks to John Amato at Crooks and Liars for this clip (here); to say that Rod Serling had a unique perspective on what you might call “the human condition” is an understatement…
…and on the subject of Trump and demagoguery, I think Bernie Sanders hit the right note, as Thom Hartmann tells us (more here)…
…and there are times when I think we’ll finally come around on the issue of guns, but after watching those anti-Obama Roseburg protestors, I’m not sure that this country will ever learn (here)…
…and RIP Natalie Cole, who I’m sure is with her dad again at long last.
Yeah, the “party of Lincoln” sure learned from that “autopsy” after Willard Mitt Romney lost in 2012, didn’t they – uh huh…
…and isn’t it great to see how our ol’ buddy Vlad Putin is supposedly helping us in Syria – for my money, he’s a bigger butcher than Assad…
…and hey, don’t look now, but the Iraqi Army did something right; the real culprits though, as far as I’m concerned, are the uncharged criminals in this country behind Iraq War II who created the whole damn mess in the first place; now all the Iraqis have to do is hold the ground…good luck…
…and I give you Media Matters’ choices for the worst Islamophobia of 2015 here (and if you guessed that most of it has to do with Fix Noise, then you win a free autographed copy of Billo’s book on The Sainted Ronnie R – and yes, that’s a joke, such as it is)…
…and I think this describes the consequences pretty well (nice work by “The Donald” and his pals on this) – nah, those awful words and sentiments don’t have an impact; not much…U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!...
…and here are the final tunes for the year – the way Scott Weiland left us was tragic, of course, but to me, that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t hear from him one more time…
…and this song kind of embodies my hope starting at about 12:01 AM EST…
…and in keeping with recognizing the birthday of Patti Smith, I want to play this tune once more to end the year…never, EVER forget every word of it; best wishes for a happy and healthy (and Democratic!) 2016.
Fortunately, karoli wrote a great commentary here to this woman, because otherwise people like her are totally beneath my contempt and don’t deserve a response.
You want to know why our planet continues to melt, our infrastructure continues to crumble, our economy cannot rev up and create jobs the way it’s supposed to, we can't get anywhere on common-sense gun control measures or immigration reform, and our government is basically incapable of doing anything anymore except creating and perpetuating the freak show that enables Republican politicians and presidential candidates and doesn’t do much of anything else?
It’s exactly because of people like this woman. Low-information idiot voters who watch Fix Noise, listen to right-wing radio and either don’t bother to vote or, if they do, dutifully elect Republicans who do absolutely nothing but steal from them. And unfortunately, these people comprise just enough of the population to block the rest of us from accomplishing anything constructive.
Take your bigotry and go parade it somewhere else…
...and I think it’s unintentionally hilarious that the life forms who want a federal database of Muslims recoil in horror when the same thing is proposed for guns, which would actually help (hate to say this, but we’d better get used to the very real possibility that Trump will actually win the Republican nomination, which is appalling but not surprising considering the rest of that utterly sorry field in his party)…
…and given the continued warmth we’ve been having in these parts (as well as the wild weather elsewhere), comparatively speaking, I think it’s time to revisit “This Day In Doomsy History” from 12/29/10 – Reese Halter talks to Sam Seder on “Countdown” about climate change (love the map - a few ads in the beginning…and by the way, there’s a bit of a “Star Wars” goof by Rachel Maddow at the very end if you watch the whole thing)…
…and yes, this is an awful story, but I think Karamo Brown is right to claim that there’s no simple way to analyze it without looking at a lot of other factors (under-staffing, working long hours, patients with no insurance, etc.)…
...and to me, the TPP isn't worth a hill of proverbial beans, but this is progress anyway...
...and I would say that this is a timely question.
Yeah, this is pretty awful all right - if nothing else (and this is a poor substitute for charges, I'll admit, which should have been filed against the two officers - more here), this should force all of those damn Airsoft guns off the market once and for all...
RIP Meadowlark Lemon; maybe a bit too much "minstrelsy," if you will, but you know what? He was talented and he made people laugh - not much else to think about as far as I'm concerned...
...and this story is about a human tragedy first and foremost, and all efforts should be made to help those affected by the hellacious weather in the South (here). However, I believe this is a factor also…
…and in a somewhat related vein, apparently USA Today has a series on what is happening to our global groundwater (here) – important stuff…
…and here’s a neat little tune I stumbled upon while I was busy doing my holiday music thing.
Kudos to Thom Hartmann for giving it to Apple CEO Tim Cook and his pathetic whining about how antiquated the U.S. tax code is and that’s the supposed reason why he continues to stash money offshore (more here)…
…and kudos also to the U.S. Council of Muslim Organizations for this (and again, don’t expect our corporate media to care)…
…and while I was doing my seasonal music thing, a lady named Holly Woodlawn passed away (here), who was the inspiration for this song…
…and I guess this rings down the proverbial curtain on the seasonal stuff – see you next year, I think.
...and here, the father of the British Muslim family that wasn't allowed to fly to Disneyworld tells us the story (what’s amazing to me is that this man still wants to bring his family here after we treated them like garbage, to our shame)…
…and yeah, those Syrians trying to come to this country sure are scary, aren’t they?...
…and just in time for the day before the big day, I give you Tim the Toy Man…
...and we're just about out of the seasonal selections, but here are some more (we lost this guy this year, by the way).
I submit to you that, during this holiday season, we should remember the courage of a young man named Zaevion Dobson, who left us way too soon (here)…
...and it looks like, according to daughter Patti, “Saint Reagan” would not approve of the GOP field (goes immediately to another video I chose not to watch, so I can't really say anything about it)…
…and I don’t have a clue as to whether or not “Breaking the Silence” is being funded by actual terrorist groups or not (kind of like the way I don’t know how our political candidates in this country are funded), but it’s been my experience (such as it is) that charges like those thrown against this group usually turn out to be baseless long after the news cycle has expired - of course, “Bibi” and his people could have an actual dialogue with this group to look more closely at the evidence (yeah, I know…if I ruled the world, every day would be the first day of spring)…
...and I would say that this is an idea whose time has come...
...and now, time for the seasonal stuff - always liked the quiet, contemplative mood of this one...when people think of great voices in song, it's easy to overlook this guy, but that would be a mistake...
...and I hope the estates of the respective singers in The Drifters get a cut of the royalties for this one...
...and I know the Cosby stuff has lost a bit of luster, but here it is anyway...
...and I just can't get enough of this band, at Christmas time and always.
Get a load of this, if you will – our neighbor to the north welcomed some Syrian refugees and nobody ran around with their heads cut off crying OMIGODSCARYMUSLIM! OMIGODSCARYMUSLIM! OMIGODSCARYMUSLIM! OMIGODSCARYMUSLIM! OMIGODSCARYMUSLIM!...
…and I have to admit that I’m having a bit of a hard time keeping up with all of the garbage related to Donald Trump (and it truly is that), but I think we need to dwell on this a little more, as TYT minus Ana and Jimmy Dore explain (and I totally agree with Ben – also, Cenk totally nails it at the end, sadly)…
...well, let's home these seasonal selections cheer us up a bit.
Rachel Maddow performs a great service here IMHO in her special report on the antics in Michigan under Repug Rick Snyder and how his awful judgment ended up ruining the water in the now-accursed city of Flint - her outrage is totally justified…
…and yes, there’s too much wiggle room here, if you will, on the question of a potential agreement with the butcher Assad in Syria, but as a certain former Prime Minister of Great Britain once said, “jar-jar is better than war-war” (and I don’t know why the hell the decision was made to try in sneak in a plug for Trump with Joe Scar, but kudos to former Russian Ambassador Michael McFaul for putting the whole Trump/Putin thing in the right context – sure, Putin hasn’t been convicted of killing a journalist, kind of like the way Chris Christie hasn’t been convicted of creating a traffic disaster on a certain bridge and lying about it and covering up).
(Oh, and one more thing – I really don’t have much to say about the whole “data breach” thing with the Bernie Sanders campaign, except to wonder why DNC chair Debbie Wasserman-Schultz could not have found a way to get both camps to sit down and try to work something out behind closed doors instead of trying to cut off the Sanders campaign and make a public show, but then end up more or less retreating when the Sanders campaign quite rightly IMHO fought back on the right to access their own donor list…D W-S strikes me as generally being tone deaf on this stuff, and this to me is just another example...opposing points of view on this and everything generally are certainly welcome because I'm hardly an expert on this issue.)...
More seasonal stuff for today – good luck finalizing your holiday party plans, last-minute shopping and other mania for this time of year…hope you enjoy this
Thom Hartmann gives us economic and green news for the week (number of signatories on the climate deal as noted here is 190, for those keeping score at home)...
…and I give you a brief trip for “This Day In Doomsy History” going back about a year to 12/12/14; definitely a loss for us all when FAIR TV went down (though the site is here), and there’s no question that Rolling Stone didn’t follow best practices under any stretch of the imagination in the UVA story, but of course this gives the wingnuts the excuse to blow off the volumes of great work by that magazine, notably Matt Taibbi, Tim Dickinson, and the late Michael Hastings (and as noted previously, speaking of Rich Lowry)…
...and good for Judge Carolyn Walker-Diallo here (NSFW because of the wingnuts)...
...and anyone out there who wonders whether or not this country is slowly turning into a third-world autocracy should watch this video...
...turning to the seasonal stuff, I give you a bit of culture from Eugene Ormandy & The Philadelphia Orchestra ("O Come O Come Emmanuel" - works for Easter too)...
...and nothing like a little Friday soul...
...along with a jazzy take on another seasonal standard...
It’s still beyond shocking to me that one of these life forms could potentially be elected president next year - we would be just as big a laughingstock on the world stage as we were during Dubya’s sorry reign, or maybe worse (and of course our ol’ buddy Vlad Putin would like to see this too – kudos to Rachel Maddow for speaking truth to stoo-pid…I’m also shocked that Hugh Hewitt asked such a good question, so I reluctantly have to give him kudos also…Trump’s answer should scare the hell out of everybody)…
…and this is the stuff of nightmares also…
…and this is difficult stuff as well; this video may be a bit upsetting; a Reuters report on mothers who take opioids and the effect it has on their offspring, and some of the penalties these mothers are facing as a result – yes, provide the proverbial stick when we have to, but provide carrots as well (I’d totally forgotten about our former Congressman Jim Greenwood, but it’s nice to see him as an advocate here – this is a step in the right direction, but not much more than that without any federal dollars for treatment of both mothers and their babies…where’s the “family values” crowd when you need them?)…
…fortunately, I can add something here that is a bit more upbeat; the latest in the fight against AIDS w/Bono (I pretty much completely hated Jesse Helms and felt only slightly less hostile to Dubya, and I never liked the way Bushco administered - for lack of a better word - PEPFAR, but again credit where it's due)…
…and now time for the seasonal stuff - I guess Harry is ready for his closeup…
…and I still think Pearl Bailey is on the right track here…
…and good for Dino for reminding us of more seasonal weather…
…and it’s not Christmas without this number, speaking only for myself of course.
Want to know why I didn’t waste my time with that farce in Las Vegas last night? I think the Young Turks crew minus Ana sums it up pretty well (again, Jimmy Dore makes this NSFW, but he’s right)…
…and leave it to John Oliver to offer seasonal re-gifting tips as only he can (here)…
…and this can be a great time of year, but it can also be a stressful one – I think James Pennebaker has some great ideas here…
…and Seth Meyers had a good segment here IMHO on the recent climate deal (typical for the Foxies and Not Your Father’s Republican Party to be utterly wrong, of course)…
…and turning to the seasonal stuff, I give you the sacred…
…and the secular…
…and what would Christmas be without the funniest math professor of all time?...
…and I don’t know of any other seasonal tune that quite captures the time of year like this one.
I applaud Newtown, Connecticut Police Chief Michael Kehoe here on trying to be smarter about guns, but unless cops take the lead on this issue, we’re never going to get anywhere (yes, we need a lot more players involved too, I admit)…
…and Thom Hartmann gives us economic and labor news for the week…
…and I don’t know what is going on in that Las Vegas mess tonight, but I think Cenk Uygur is typically spot-on to call out Les Moonves of CBS on his fawning support for “The Donald”…
…who turns out to be comic fodder for Jon Stewart once more here (bit runs a little long, though)...
…and time to return to the “teen idol” era for tonight’s seasonal selection…
…though leave it to Louis to ask the question that really matters…
…and it looks like Bing went all the way to our 50th state to get his damn figgy pudding…
…and it’s hard to believe that this version of this tune is 50 years old – sigh.
Kudos to Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Dem U.S. House Rep (and wounded vet) Tammy Duckworth for this - this video needs a lot more than 182 views, by the way...
...and do you want to know how an American should treat a Muslim (or anyone else regardless of their faith, or lack thereof)? Sen. Bernie Sanders shows us how...
…and of all of the utterly pointless anti-Obama obstruction going on on Capitol Hill, this may be the most pointless of all (God, I wish Number 44 himself would highlight stuff like this every week – I realize he has far better things to do, but shaming these idiots, at a minimum, is all they understand...and yes, Sen. Sherrod Brown's new grandson truly is adorable)…
...and speaking of stupid - this would actually be funny if these clowns weren’t so serious; sorry if you end up needing Pepto-Bismol after watching this (one response is here – “Savage hordes,” huh? Overdose on your angry pills, Dana? And “abandoning immigration law”? Really? “Where is the honest discussion” indeed? - click on Dana's angrily contorted mug to start and stop)…
...and boy, do I need some holiday videos after that one - first the guys who have left the treadmills far behind...
...and I keep forgetting to add this every time at Christmas, but I remembered for a change (goes immediately to the next tune)...
…and in the past I’ve featured Silver Bells from this guy, but this year I thought I’d change this up a bit here too..
...and I think these snowmen were watching Dana also.
I think this report from Rachel Maddow speaks volumes about the disconnect between our Beltway courtier media and the Republican "base," frothing over every utterance from "The Donald," no matter how preposterous...
...and it looks like the Foxies want to blow up everything that they can, and the hell with whoever they manage to take with them (here), something believed by this life form also apparently...
…and happy 90th birthday to the one and only Dick Van Dyke (I’ll go fall over an ottoman in his honor)…
...and turning to the seasonal stuff, I always liked the fact that this guy managed to come up with an original Christmas song before he left us...
...and particularly with the warmer weather in these parts, I guess we could even head to the beach for some sun n' surf too - cool, but a little weird too.
God Bless the United States of Fedex, Exxon-Mobil, Koch, etc (sigh)...
To begin, kudos to Chris Hayes for blasting the typical right-wing political suspects and their media sycophants in the case of Saadiq Long (more here)…
…and I’m a little behind on my Rachel Maddow videos; here she is interviewing Dem U.S. House Rep Adam Schiff on why those utter wastes of space on Capitol Hill haven’t even taken up debate, let alone a vote, on the war with ISIS (Schiff comes perilously close to favoring ground troops here, though, which concerns me a great deal)…
…and I give the Rev. Rob Schenck credit for breaking from the “party of Lincoln” on guns (here), even though he and his fellow evangelicals were utterly played…he won’t admit that, though Schenck is being more honest here than the rest of that bunch (I’m glad this video includes that disgustingly smug commercial from The Sainted Ronnie R as well as Caribou Barbie’s equally repulsive remark about waterboarding)…
…and I gotta tell ya’ that this is one smart bird (the symbolism writes itself)…
…time for the holiday stuff – really like this number from John Legend in particular….
…and yeah, I still have to put up the Doomsy tree – hope all the lights work…
…and leave it to The King to hit just the right note on this, as they say…
…and if you have to fall down drunk somewhere, please do so responsibly and give the keys to somebody else – hugs.
Update: Somewhere, William Paley, Edward R. Murrow, Don Hewitt, Mike Wallace and others I'm sure are doing somersaults in their graves (here).
...also, Shep Smith opines on Trump here along with John Bussey of the Murdoch Street Journal; on the one hand, I'm happy to see Trump do his best to ensure that the Repugs utterly crash and burn, but on the other hand, to be honest, this really is't a good development for our democratic form of government...
…and I don’t know what’s more shocking; Bushco covering up one of these items for seven years, or the fact that The Daily Tucker actually broke a legitimate news story (though Number 44’s DoD has something to answer for on stuff like this also – I guess I’d take the pants-wetting admiral over the self-pleasuring VA guy, though)…
Ever heard of the so-called “Dickey Amendment” (here)? That’s the congressional mess that prevents the CDC from researching gun violence – yep, every bit as stoo-pid as it sounds (Thom Hartmann explains in an interview with Dr. Alice Chen)…
...and I thought this report was full of good advice from someone who escaped these ISIS crazies and gives us, I think, a better plan for defeating these lunatics than the one we have now (of course, it involves "soft power" and hard, difficult work that doesn't generate any headlines, which is why it probably won't be followed)...
…and like it or not, it’s time for another installment of “This Day In Doomsy History” in which we go back about eight years to 12/5/07; this video provides a cautionary tale of how we were lied into war with Iraq and very nearly into the same thing with Iran – basically, I don’t know of any credible network with initials for names (even though Robert Greenwald and Brave New Films quite rightly take aim at Fix Noise here) that we can trust given this sorry track record when it comes to issues of war and peace, something to consider in light of their opining on ISIS and also in light of this…
..and kudos to Catholic Charities for this (and a pox on Mike Pence and Greg Abbott each – the vetting process to emigrate into this country takes TWO YEARS, unless you’re talking about the VISA Waiver Program; if you’re going to put restrictions into place anywhere, do it there first)…
..and turning to seasonal selections, I give you a bit of a bebop Christmas carol...
...as well as something that I'm sure we can all relate to - right? :-)
I thought I’d change things up a bit and lead off with a holiday selection…
...and sorry to immediately bring things down, but here’s today’s science lesson on the coming global catastrophe, assuming we don’t manage to do something about in the meantime…
...also, I thought this was an interesting interview Alex Witt conducted with Steven Lee Myers of the New York Times on how ISIS is funded…
…and a hat tip to TCM’s Ben Mankiewicz for pointing out that today would have been the 100th birthday of legendary Hollywood screenwriter Ernest Lehman, who gave us a bunch of great movies; here is an excerpt from one in particular…
...and if it seems like I'm preoccupied with this topic, it's because I am (click on video to start and stop)...
...in no small part because of today's remembrance.
We may just finally have the debate on drones that we should have had all along; tragic that it took the sacrifices of these young men to make that possible, though (something to consider in light of this utterly revolting development)...
...and it looks like somebody spiked Tweety's Geritol again - kudos (though Trump isn't a "mixed bag" as far as I'm concerned - he offers NOTHING to indicate that he gives a damn about me or people like me; also, Obama really isn't a progressive, which shouldn't be a news flash to anyone...more here)...
...and yeah, I often can't believe it either (here)...
...and of course, since we're talking about Fix Noise, the network responsible for this, you can count on this hairdo named Angela whatever interrupting Joe Lestingi, who happens to be making a well-reasoned, legitimate point...oh yeah, liberals are responsible for crime...screw you, bitch...
…and I try to work in some new selections for this time of year, and here’s one – I probably shouldn’t like this little number, but I do; I think it’s a nice tune…
…and this will put a little spring in your step, I'm sure (a bit NSFW at end).
Looks like Trevor Noah gave "Calgary" Cruz the treatment he deserves (well, a bit) here...
...and MSNBC’s Tamron Hall interviews Spike Lee about his new film “Chi-raq,” which I would say is a bit more timely given the recent gun atrocities in this country (would have been nice if Hall had mentioned that the movie is inspired by this – also a song by Todd and Utopia)…
…and on this day 70 years ago, the U.S. Senate approved U.S. participation in the United Nations, a body of countries that is hardly perfect, though vastly preferable to the alternative, which is no such structure with even more chaos than we have now (here)…
...and as long as we're looking at history, we should probably watch this from Thom Hartmann about our 32nd president (made even more timely in light of this depressing but predictable development - and by the way, to support Bernie Sanders, click here)...
Despite the horrors in San Bernardino, there was actually some good news; Former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship was found guilty of conspiracy (here – Cenk explains why this matters)…
…and those nitwits in “the world’s greatest deliberative body” also passed a bill to repeal the Affordable Care Law and (wait for it…) defund Planned Parenthood (here and here)…if it costs about $50 million to schedule repeal votes in the House, imagine what it costs to do that in the U.S. Senate (and this is a dangerous development from these fools and frauds also – this may be even worse)...
...and it looks like Larry Wilmore went after Fix Noise and the usual political suspects on the Planned Parenthood shootings (here - not even going to try and unpackage the crazy from the other side on this)...
…and returning to the San Bernardino carnage, it looks like Shep Smith went off-script again; not taking sides, which would be expected, but well done all the same (here)…
…and I’m having a hard time getting into the holiday spirit with the song selections, but I will soon – for now, this is the only seasonal tune I want to hear.
This report from Al Jazeera America tells us about China's efforts to combat smog (not that we have bragging rights either of course, but if nothing else, this report shows the trade-offs that have to be made while pursuing the goal of "going green")...
...and in keeping with world stuff, I should note that I haven't checked in with Vice News for a little while, but it looks like our ol' buddy Vlad Putin is causing some people to be a bit on edge in Russia's area of the world, Estonia in particular...
…and Lawrence O’Donnell tells us about the latest success of the KIND (Kids In Need of Desks) fund in Malawi in Africa, which is sponsored by his show (kudos)…
…the latter being a joyful story for a change that puts me in the mood to hear this in particular.
I call this some terrific "connecting of the dots" by Cenk Uygur on the issue of terrorism (this should knock The Sainted Ronnie R off his bleeping pedestal once and for all, but I'm sure it won't)...
...and apologies for being a bit behind on the latest economic and labor news from Thom Hartmann...
...and "Unsafe At Any Speed" hit bookstores 50 years ago today (here)...there are those who have made the somewhat plausible argument that Ralph Nader rigged his tests to show that the Chevy Corvair would "roll" with the wheels locked in a turning motion more easily than other vehicles, but to me, the bottom line is that the book sponsored the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act the next year, which made seat belt usage mandatory in 49 states, among other reforms - of course, as of about 15 years ago, Nader will be remembered much more infamously for his role in the presidential election that foisted Dubya into the White House...
...and I know Nader was once a crusader against cars, but I don't recall that he ever had anything to say about a sleigh.
Alex Witt talks to Dawn Laguens of Planned Parenthood in the wake of the cowardly, murderous attack in Colorado Springs (I know there’s a lot that still needs to be sorted out concerning the latest homicidal lunatic with a gun in this country, which kind of pushed this from the headlines…so many crazies, so little time…but I would call this pretty damn incriminating)…
Update 11/30/15: And while we're on this subject, I think it's important to keep this in mind (which more or less dovetails with this).
…and sorry, but no seasonal stuff tonight – I had this tune in mind for obvious reasons, also in consideration of this.
I admit that I should start paying a little more attention to the budget crisis in our beloved commonwealth, so in an attempt to do that, I’m going to focus on “Helicopter Scott” Wagner (here and here), a Teahadist State Senator who has gone on record as saying that he supports no tax increases whatsoever and, as noted in the clip, thinks that convenience store workers should start out at the “generous” wage of about $9 an hour and be “fast-tracked” to about $10 an hour (oh, and I have no idea of what Wendell Young’s compensation is, and I don’t care because the topic is irrelevant – apparently more important for Wagner to lecture workers than to do something that is even remotely fair…how much did Wagner make in waste disposal before he was elected to Harrisburg, I wonder?).
If you want to blame Governor Wolf for the budget crisis, fine. But as far as I’m concerned, you’re “shooting dirty pool” if you don’t also blame characters like Wagner, as well as the people who vote for him (oh, and how nice of him to “appreciate” the other side)…
...and silly Lawrence O'Donnell, trying to do the right thing and get our corporate media to do their jobs (good luck trying to get right-wing BS out of what passes for our political discourse - commendable attempt by Lawrence, though, here)...
…and the Bucks County Courier Times actually published a “Vent” this morning (for the uninitiated, these are rants than are slightly longer than a Twitter post) from a nitwit who used the phrase “Black Friday Lives Matter” – I offer this in response (more here and here)…
…and just as a reminder (particularly with the Al Jazeera America clip in mind), I thought I’d present this video from about five years ago as a reminder of how we have arrived at a state as sorry as this…
…and in the spirit of what most people will be doing this day, I offer a hosanna to crass commercialism…
...because, as we know, that time of year is upon us again - oy!
I got a kick out of this (courtesy of Pixdaus and Daily Kos)...
...and here's another holiday fave, with an intro by Seth MacFarlane as Stewie Griffin (and again, the captions make this hilarious as far as I'm concerned)...
...and here's more holiday fun...
...and I kind of liked this also (hat tip for this to Daily Kos)...
...and here's a Thanksgiving message for those wonderful folks at the TSA.
Update 1: And here is another late addition.
Update 2: Might as well add this too.
Update 3: Imagine all the people that can be fed for $35 grand (here, getting serious for a minute).
Update 4: And since I add to this list every year, I might as well include this too (hasta la vista, baby!).
This story is infuriating, maddening and totally predictable (and I’m sure it makes this life form even more pleased with himself than he already is)…
…and I think this is a terrific idea from Media Matters, though I must confess that I’ll be with people tomorrow who, just about entirely, DO NOT share my political inclination, so I’ll try to hold my fire (if challenged, though, then I’ll use some of this material)…
…and I predict that “The Donald” will say something xenophobic, demagogic and/or just plain wrong…oh, at any moment now (here)…
…and here is something I’m definitely thankful for, and that’s great new music from Jeff Lynne.
Once again, if you’re looking for hard-hitting, insightful commentary on a news story being reported on all over the place, turn to a comedian (here...he sneaks in a real dig at about 4:10, which is true, unfortunately)…
...and Chris Hayes & Jim Rich of the New York Daily News call out Wayne LaPierre on the latter's opposition to a bill to keep guns out of the hands of terrorists (background is here – I thought the last minute and a half of this was particularly important, and scary too)…
...and as long as you-know-who is getting mentioned again (NSFW of course)...
…and it looks like the “one percent” is crying poor mouth again; spare me this “one hand tied behind our back” garbage…the generics are cutting into your profit margins, not U.S. taxes, you weasel…
…and once more, it’s time for another installment of “This Day In Doomsy History” from 11/26/10, with something we all should keep in mind as shoppers overall and particularly for later this week…
…and I know Jackson Browne wrote this in the ‘80s in response to an entirely different group of refugees, but somehow I think there are at least some parallels to those trying to enter our country now too.
Lawrence O’Donnell was cut off here a bit at the end, but I thought he made a good point about some of the word games of the cable news networks in the wake of the Paris attacks…
…and I’m not sure what Harry Smith is doing on MSNBC, but I thought this was a good interview with George Takei about the current anti-Syrian hysteria and how this harks back to the Japanese-American internment camps of World War II – the latter story is told in the play “Allegiance” currently on Broadway…
…and MSNBC’s Chris Jansing interviews Dallas, TX Mayor Mike Rawlings on the question of settling Syrian refugees in this country; Rawlings believes whites are more of a threat, and I agree with him (see?)…
…and I guess all the stuff about Syria, as well as O'Donnell's report (as well as this) has put me in the mood to hear this tune.
…and kudos to Laura Pitter of Human Rights Watch for this…
I got a kick out of this (courtesy of Pixdaus and Daily Kos)...