Rachel Maddow tells us of the referral to the DOJ for “Puffy” Chao that basically was canned by the “justice” department of the Gropenfuhrer; the segment also pointed out that, basically, Chao wanted U.S. Embassy personnel in China to host Chao’s family for work she was apparently trying to funnel to them, which of course is INCREDIBLY illegal (whenever you elect ANY Republican to high office...and why the hell would anybody even CONSIDER that after all this?...you’re going to end up with bottom-feeding characters like Mrs. McConnell...and she just LOVES to be called that, apparently...more here)...
...and speaking of hangers-on from 45's regime, this tells us more about Generalissimo Trump’s first doctor Ronny Jackson and stuff like being abusive to staff, drinking on the job, handing out pain meds all over the place, and more, all according to a Pentagon IG report (yep, looks like it all fits the proverbial profile)...
...and as long as we’re dwelling on Trumpian garbage, I think it’s important to present this from Brian Tyler Cohen, with President Biden pointing out how important it is to maintain COVID-related precautions (and as far as Biden’s “neanderthal” remark goes – which I think is completely apt – I give you this...maybe after those clowns Reeves and Abbott get their "fainting couches," they need to figure out how to help the residents of their respective states, including Reeves with cleaning up the water system for folks in the city of Jackson, as noted here)...
...but with all of the COVID-related stuff raging, legislation for relief trying to pass Congress as well as cleaning up our elections, along with wholesale calamities related to energy and the environment in not just Texas but Mississippi also as stated...with all of that going on, what is Fix Noise preoccupied with the most? Why, Dr. Seuss of course, as John and Jayar tell us here (and I guess you’d better not tell the Foxies about this)...
...and I think the prior clip is an appropriate lead-in to the latest installment of “This Day In Doomsy History” from 3/4/11, in which former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton claimed that the U.S. is pretty much losing the information war on the world stage...if that was true 10 years ago, God only knows the state of things now (and to put a bit of an exclamation point on the prior video and this one, I give you this and this)...
...and as noted here, 55 years ago today, John Lennon made what was thought to be an obscure reference to a British journalist that The Beatles were “bigger than Jesus” and that would be the end of it...well, not exactly; once that remark made it to our shores, people lost their minds (I thought in “All You Need Is Cash” with The Rutles, the “Fab Four” sendup of course, they did a parody of that that was hilarious...I guess this tune fits for the occasion).
Chris Hayes spoke with Dem U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse about the testimony of FBI Director Chris Wray, with Whitehouse saying that Wray was...how shall we say this...less than forthright in his dealings with Whitehouse and other U.S. Senate Dems (here)...
...and sticking with the Wray testimony, I’m sure we can “appreciate the concern” of those traitors Mike Lee and, especially, Josh Hawley also (here)...
..and while we're looking at “the world’s greatest deliberative body” (please), Ana and Francesca of TYT tell us about Joe Manchin flipping out when he was asked about the filibuster – at this point, I just want Manchin to lose when he runs for re-election, and I just about don’t care any more if that means it becomes an R seat...I know that’s the wrong attitude, but I’m already beyond fed up with Manchin and Sinema...Manchin is at least a hard-nosed pol who knows how to play the game, though the way he does so is infuriating, but Sinema is just a clueless neophyte...
Update 3/5/21: When Sinema's primary challenger is announced, I'd like to know as soon as possible so I can make a contribution (here - if Schumer were any kind of a leader of the Dem caucus, he would zero out her entire budget for this).
...and John of “The Damage Report” tells us that Merck and J&J are teaming up on the COVID vaccine; yeah, obviously, Trump is blameworthy for basically not doing squat on this for four years, and it kind of makes me wonder a bit too about what kind of behind-the-scenes deal was struck here with Biden, though I emphasize that that's just supposition on my part...maybe Viviana Vigil is being a bit alarmist, but I have a feeling she’s right too...
...and yeah, it looks like, fresh off that state’s energy-related calamity, it looks like Texas Gov. Greg Abbott just wants to kill more of the citizens of "the land of the yellow rose," as Farron Cousins tells us...
...and I was glad to see Philly music titans Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff get the NYT profile they richly deserved here - here is one of my favorite covers of one of Philly International's legendary tunes (from another Philly area notable & his former band).
Suffice it to say that the jury is still out, as it were, on President Biden (the fact that he’s not Our Treasonous Orange Pestilence earns him points for that alone), but I have to say that I can NEVER recall a president speaking out in favor of unions, which is pretty damn impressive; the last time I recall a chief executive saying anything about that was when The Sainted Ronnie R declared war on PATCO (Chris Hayes speaks with organizer Randy Hadley and Amazon employee Jennifer Bates - more here)...
...and this clip is a little behind the news cycle I know, but Cenk and Ana of TYT tell us about the Pentagon pulling the plug on the F-35, which, by the way, cost as much as student loan forgiveness (hmmm)...
...and Thom Hartmann brings us a truly scary history lesson about Hitler, the South pre-Civil War and the “big lie” about the 2020 election promoted at CPAC (and yes, there is a parallel to all of this stuff as far as I’m concerned, and I think, of the MANY under-reported or NOT reported aspects of the life of Generalissimo Trump, his legitimate infatuation with a certain Austrian postcard painter who went on to found The Third Reich is right up there with the catalog of insidious garbage accompanying out 45th *president)...
...and I’d like to offer this in solidarity with the Alabama Amazon workers (more apt for Labor Day I guess).
Cenk and Ana of TYT tell us about a recent medical study examining what being a conservative does to your brain and the tendency to support authoritarians...make no mistake, though; I don’t want to see ONE DIME of my taxpayer money spent on helping these life forms – they made that choice...let them live with it (besides, would they show a shred of decency and compassion for lefties? I think Farron Cousins also had a recent related commentary) - and yeah, it looks like the network that gives them their marching orders in this country was at it again as noted here...
...and speaking of authoritarians, Kyle K. tells us that Liz Cheney compared Americans opposing what appears to be our “permanent war” footing any more to Nazi appeasers (she really should be careful when criticizing the "America First" movement because, though there is merit in that position, group membership cut across ideological boundaries, and she's giving de facto support to the Democratic administration of FDR)...in a way, this is good, because I was actually starting to feel a little sympathetic towards her since she supported impeaching Our Treasonous Tiny Handed Russian Operative of a former *president, but no more (NSFW) – and by the way, I would call that “pot, meet kettle” based on this...
...and it looks like the cops have so much dough that they can deploy a “robot dog,” or at least the NYPD can, as David Doel tells us...yes, this definitely is more ammunition for “defund the police,” and again, that’s a terrible slogan, but worse than that, doing ANYTHING against the police is ABSOLUTELY TOXIC for Dem candidates running in the suburbs...we can scream about that all day long, but believe me when I tell you that elderly conservative voters ARE NOT GOING TO BE MOVED...
...and John I. talks with Dr. Rashad Richey about lawyers working to reunite separated immigrant kids with their families; good work so far, but much more needs to be done of course (I was surprised to hear that anecdote about The Sainted Ronnie R...more here)...
...and this “Now This” clip features Yale law professor William Eskridge speaking out against his former students Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley, both of whom voted against Merrick Garland by the way – actually, I think Hawley has voted no to ALL of Biden’s nominees (here)...
...and let’s “set the wayback, Sherman” (a dated boomer reference I know) to just about 50 years ago for this number – I know I included a tune from Chicago at Carnegie Hall a couple of weeks ago...here’s another one.
(And doesn't this figure? Also, for what it's worth, I think the Andrew Cuomo stuff should be independently investigated.)
Aida R., Cenk and Jayar tell us about the Repugs and their “golden calf” at CPAC (imagine what would happen, again, if Dems pulled something like this? They’d be pilloried in the media forever, and it would be totally deserved)...
...and Sam and Emma of TMR tell us about the girl at CPAC telling everyone to mask up and getting booed of course – fine...breathe on each other and drop dead; I honestly don’t care what happens to you idiots any more as long as it doesn’t affect me or anybody I know...
...but wait a minute – didn’t Bill Hemmer of Fix Noise say that the libs want to “cancel Bible characters” or something? Well, what does it tell you that, based on the first clip, the wingnuts apparently want to “cancel” the first of the Ten Commandments (David Pakman explains - also a good explanation of how "news" and "opinion" overlap all over the place on that channel)...
...fortunately, The Lincoln Project has an answer for all of this...Qdroxychloroquine...
...and I don’t feature Beau of the Fifth Column nearly as much as I should, but he reminds us here that the COVID relief bill just passed the U.S. House with 0 Republican votes – not surprising I know, but still utterly appalling...
...and John and Brett Erlich tell us about the U.S. Senate BS with the parliamentarian not allowing legislation about a $15 federal minimum wage into the COVID relief bill, though it’s true that apparently you can’t overrule this person if you don’t have 50 votes - to complain, click here and here...I honestly don’t recall Repugs caring a whit about this stuff when they called the shots...
...and even though he’s been president for barely a few weeks, it looks like Joe Biden is honoring another presidential tradition by bombing a Middle Eastern country, though, unlike our Former Orange Pestilence, I’m willing to trust 46’s judgment a little more here, though I know that doesn’t automatically absolve him (and I don’t like giving Mohammed Bone Saw a pass on Jamal Khashoggi either, but again, that didn’t happen on his watch)...Chris Hayes, though, is fundamentally right in saying that we need to end the AUMF and get the hell out of these places...
...and it looks like some California hipsters got together and made not too bad of a newer tune - hope you like it also.
Kudos to Dem U.S. House Rep Gerry Connolly for standing up to Repug House looney tunes Gym Jordan and “Democrat Party” Andy Biggs for STILL claiming that there was mail-related fraud from the Dems in last year’s elections (no reason to treat the “party of Lincoln” seriously in any way here)...
...and in a related clip, damn, I wish Stephen Lynch was MY congressman – and yeah, Biggs and Jordan’s same-party pal Jody Hice was on this list too...Brian Tyler Cohen explains how the post office did a great job of delivering electoral ballots IN SPITE OF Postmaster Louis DeJoy, not BECAUSE of him...and it looks like Biden can nominate 3 more commissioners who hopefully will can DeJoy at last (here)...
...and Rachel Maddow reminds us of the bad faith on display by others in the Trump Party in the matter of hearings for Biden’s cabinet nominees (yeah, how dare Interior’s Deb Haaland express concerns about drilling for oil on public lands...horrors!)...
...and it tells you how far the wingnuts have gone off the deep end when Liz Cheney is actually the voice of reason, pointing out that the Repugs attract white supremacists – uh, yep, but as Cousins says, they would basically have to disavow the last 50 or so years of their party’s history to clean up that slate, as it were, including a lot authored by Liz’s dad...
...and as long as we’re on the topic of nonsense by the “GOP,” David Pakman tells us of the recent comments by South Dakota U.S. Senator John Thune about how he was just so happy to earn $7 an hour about 40 or so years ago, and gosh darn it, why can’t those good-for-nothing complainers just suck it up and pull themselves up by their bootstraps or whatever and do the same thing (removing my tongue from my cheek)...
...and Ana and John of TYT tell us that a federal judge has allowed CA to enforce its own Net Neutrality law, which hopefully will be the beginning of other states being able to do the same thing...
...and yeah, I suppose Jimmy Dore is the absolute lowest of the low-hanging fruit, but I also guess that attention must be paid at times (bits and pieces of what he says is correct I know, but if he thinks he’s getting anything but played by the Swanson TV Dinner Heir, he’s the most naïve life form on the planet...as soon as that weaselly grin appeared on Carlson’s mug, I would have called him out and/or thrown off my mic and said, “I’m outta here”...actually, I probably would know not to even be there in the first place...I think Sam is way too kind to Dore here, but I guess that’s his call)...
...and between the Mars rover and this story, NASA has had a pretty good run lately (thanks to them for the pics in this video); nice to highlight some news that’s actually positive (aside from the CA Net Neutrality story also) – made me recall this tune.
I know there have been some issues with The Lincoln Project and the people running it lately, and if you choose to contribute to them, you’re on your own (not saying anything one way or the other on that), but I’m including this video because they’re doing good work yet again...
...and John I. and Aida Rodriguez of The Damage Report tells us about yesterday’s U.S. Senate hearings on the 1/6 insurrection (tied more to the above pic I know, and yes, insurrection really is the correct word for it, despite what Dinesh D'Felon sez here)...the sarcasm from John at the beginning about witnesses is completely called for IMHO...
...and with wingnut media idiocy in mind, I now give you the latest installment of “This Day In Doomsy History” (more or less) from 2/25/13, in which the late but not lamented Flush Limbore said he was, for the first time, “ashamed of this country” (here).
Was it because of the Iraq War? Nope.
Was it because of Hurricane Katrina? Try again.
Was it because of the 2008 “Great Recession.” Still no.
It was because the administration of Former President Obama was warning about cuts from the infamous “sequester” (which, to me, is one of those legitimate news topics that our corporate media avoids like the plague).
In response – yeah, I’ll just leave it at this (David Pakman tells us more)...
...and Chris Hayes takes on the “party of Lincoln” and their various hangers-on (like Uday Trump Jr.) and other ammo-sexuals over their gun fetish, with a little historical perspective...
...and speaking of guns, I should warn you that this short clip is genuinely disturbing, but it’s the sort of thing that makes me absolutely want to scream; I cannot imagine the mental illness of an individual who thinks that preying on a giraffe like this is anything but utterly barbaric...God almighty, is this woman sick (and I’m not sure what it says about her husband that he went along with this, but it certainly doesn’t say anything good)...
...and RIP Lawrence Ferlinghetti, reading “The world is a beautiful place” (which still can definitely be true despite it all)...
...and I guess I need a bit of levity, so here is this Newsmax host complaining that college age women don’t want to date conservatives, presumably men (break out the world’s tiniest violin – Brett Erlich and Ana K. give this “story” the treatment it deserves)...
...and happy belated 75th birthday to Rusty Young of Poco.
This Now This video tells us about a joke on SNL’s “Weekend Update” that apparently got some pro-Israel sympathizers upset in the matter of COVID vaccinations, or the lack thereof, distributed to Palestinians; boo-freaking-hoo (and of course Russia and China are jumping into the breach, as it were, while the Israelis – and by extension, us – dither in response)...
...and in this “Damage Report” clip, John and Francesca tell us about @CancunCruz trying to win back brownie points among the people he allegedly represents by loading a case of water into a passenger vehicle...meanwhile, that baaad Marxist Socialist AOC helped to raise $5 million for the “lone star state,” as noted here...
...and speaking of people in dire straits from energy failure in bad winter weather, David Doel gives us this story about the Fred Meyer supermarket in Portland, OR, with the food tossed in the dumpster (hey, anybody screaming about “big gumint”...THIS is the sort of task that can be performed by a properly functioning governmental agency, namely, to act as a go-between for a business and those seeking relief, in this case, proper nutrition...this isn’t a comment on any aspect of state and local government in Oregon since I’m not an expert in those areas)...
...and Chris Hayes speaks with Ari Berman about voting in Georgia – I know I had another Berman video recently, but I’m including this because, among the many good points raised (re, how hurting mail-in voting and early voting will likely hurt Republican voters also, even though officials in states trying to pass this garbage are willing to accept “collateral damage,” as Hayes puts it), Berman also tells us that, though Georgia election officials (namely Brad Raffensperger) criticized the Gropenfuhrer for yelling about alleged fraud in “the peach state,” Georgia is basically trying to play voting tricks that validate what Trump was caterwauling about...
...and I have to admit that I really don’t have a “dog” in the whole fight over Biden nominee Neera Tanden to head OMB (I know there is plenty of principled objection here), but Rachel Maddow points out how utterly ridiculous it is for people to oppose Tanden over some tweets that got people upset while also supporting the thoroughly odious Ric Grennell of the regime of Combover Caligula who was guilty of far worse on that score; if I were Biden and Tanden doesn’t get confirmed, just make her a recess appointment since 45 did that stuff all the time and say F.U. to Manchin and the Senate Republicans...
Update 2/24/21: Gee, this explains a lot, doesn it?
...and you probably won’t be able to read the lyrics to this video, but I still thought it was kind of a cool new tune – just something else for a bit of a change of pace, I guess.
By the way, in case somebody thinks that all I ever do here is go after Republicans and their acolytes, I want to start with this TYT video of Ana and Cenk telling us about a PA Republican blocking paid sick leave (Seth Grove, who is on paid sick leave from COVID...truly can’t make this stuff up...and oh yeah, Harrisburg is CONSTANTLY trying to pre-empt laws in Philly or Pittsburgh, whether it’s voting, health care, guns – you name it)...yes, Cenk goes after Grove and the Republicans, as he should, but he also goes after Manchin and Sinema for opposing a $15-an-hour federal minimum wage as well as any Dem who is even a little squishy on this issue...shouldn’t be anything to think about as far as I’m concerned...not sure what else we can do except fight the good fight, and it looks like supporting Nina Turner is a good option too...
...and I was a little hasty in saying that we blew off the “half-a-million-COVID-dead” milestone – Biden held a moment of silence (John and Francesca tell us more – and she’s right about a COVID commission also...the Farron Cousins video on Louis DeJoy yesterday was also incorrect - as much as we want to dispose of that cretin, we really can't at the moment and that includes Biden; I've since removed all mention of it...apologies)...
...and Jonathan Capehart, sitting in for Lawrence O’Donnell, talks with Ari Berman about the latest GA Republican vote suppression efforts, along with related garbage across the country...yep, when you can’t win based on your rotten ideas for governance, try to rig the game (more on the John Lewis VRA is here – Lewis would have been 81 yesterday - moved this from yesterday)...
...and what follows is an excerpt from Merrick Garland’s testimony today at his hearing for Attorney General (at about 4:20, he talks about going after those responsible for 1/6...God, how refreshing to actually hear well-qualified adults in federal government speaking out on the issues that matter)...
...and this Now This clip tells us about the deathbed confession from a man named Raymond Wood alleging that the FBI and NYPD conspired to kill Malcolm X (I haven’t really said or done anything for Black History Month because I think that’s a silly concept...everyone’s contributions regardless of their race, ethnicity or whatever should be recognized and celebrated year ‘round...but all the same, maybe you can consider this to be my acknowledgment)...
...and based on this story, why do I have a feeling that Disney Corp. doesn’t give a damn about “negative depiction of cultures” or whatever, but basically doesn’t want to be sued...besides, their founder made his name on being perhaps the worst anti-unionist this country has ever produced, so it’s hard for me to feel sorry for them from a potential litigation point of view, and coming after “Sesame Street” is even more ridiculous, as exemplified by this great tune that NEVER gets old.
Nicolle Wallace talks with journalist Laurie Garrett, who is someone I take seriously on COVID, since she’s basically been right all along in her reporting on this deadly plague, and I think we’re up to about 510K dead by now...and I’m glad that Garrett lays the blame for this at the feet of the Gropenfuhrer - ugh (I listen to Garrett along with Dr. Fauci, Dr. Peter Hotez and a select few others...God, this stuff on the variants is truly scary)...
...and turning to the misery in Texas, Ben Dixon tells us about Jerry Jones raking it in hand over fist while Texans face ridiculously overinflated energy charges (with Cenk and Helen Hong)...
...and sticking with the "lone star state," Brian Tyler Cohen refutes the typical lies from Repug Gov. Greg Abbott about renewables supposedly being the culprit, which is a preposterously untrue statement (and good for Jen Psaki on pushing back)...
...and Thom Hartmann reminds us that the whole “@CancunCruz” stuff is the latest de-evolution of a political party based on lies...and yes, he keeps tracing it all back to Reaganomics, but dammit, he’s right to do that...didn’t know about the Kroger supermarket stuff, which – yeah – is pretty infuriating for the reasons Hartmann notes...
...and this 11th Hour clip tells us about wingnuts media “going to the dogs,” as it were (with FDR defending his canine Fala, kind of like what Biden has to do now...I guess Williams’ criticism at the end is as far as he can go against some of these wingnut media cretins)...
...and Randy California (nee Wolfe) of the group Spirit would have been 70 yesterday; he died young apparently saving his son from drowning - I call that "going out like a boss."
David Pakman reminds us that the wingnuts will ALWAYS find a way to blame Dems regardless of the evidence, in this case in the matter of the energy disaster in Texas (if you’re not rich, why in God’s name would you EVER vote for a Republican? And why is it that this doesn't surprise me?)...
...and Kyle Kulinski brings us a Vice News report about people on our southwest border resorting to transporting drugs because of our crashed COVID economy (no, I most certainly DON’T think meth should be legalized – I disagree with Kyle on that – but he’s right in that there is A HELL OF A LOT MORE that we need to do to support the people in this country victimized by all of this...and yeah, at times like this, I think this country looks like a failed state too)...
...and part of the reason, I would argue, why people have to resort to the behavior such as that shown in the prior clip is because the federal minimum wage hasn’t been raised since 2009, and Ana and Nando Vila tells us that Joe Manchin, one of the roadblocks, is getting heat to do the right thing, which is a welcome development (and it looks like Manchin is giving @CancunCruz a run for his proverbial money as the most unpopular U.S. Senator based on this)...
...and the answer is no – I’m NEVER going to stop reminding 43 Republican senators that they utterly caved to Generalissimo Trump in the matter of the second impeachment over the 1/6 insurrection...
...and related to the prior clip, Ari Melber tells us about neo-Nazi infiltration of our police...I know there are people who don’t think much of Nancy Pelosi’s call for a 9/11-style commission to look into what happened on 1/6, but I personally think that’s a great idea, and the stuff Melber talks about is part of what should be investigated...
...and Chris Hayes tells us about the somewhat – how can you put it? – “checkered” history of the L. Brent Bozell clan, with the most recent one of the bunch involved in...yep, you guessed it...the catastrophic events of 1/6 (the sarcasm at the end is completely deserved)...
...and concerning what probably is the biggest story of the week (aside from this, which is truly great), John I. and Jayar give the late but not lamented Flush Limbore the sendoff he deserves...
...and I don’t know how many have noticed, but we’re over half a million COVID casualties...and call me crazy, but I would have thought that that would be trending on Twitter or something – that’s a frightening number, but the lack of a reaction that I can see is pretty damn unsettling too...here’s a tune by a guy who lost his own battle with the disease – words to live by always.
As somebody might say (not sure who), this might be the most Ted Cruz thing that Ted Cruz has ever done, namely, flying to Cancun while his home state of Texas endures catastrophic conditions due to a massive failure of that state’s energy grid from the recent snow storm (and as noted at the end here, he basically blamed his daughters and spring break for it...and he even requested a police escort for his return as noted here...just nuking any notions of shame here I realize)...
..and boy, this sure didn't take long, did it (heh)...
Update: Yeah, karma sure is a bitch, isn't it (here and here)?
...and remaining in the “land of the yellow rose,” Jeff Waldorf tells us about former Colorado City mayor Tim Boyd, who lost his job because of this whole “rugged individualism” rap of his in response to the dire predicament of the residents he was elected to serve – bit runs a little long, but Waldorf makes a lot of good points...
...and Chris Hayes refutes a lot of the typical wingnut BS over this pretty directly, to his credit (if your means allows you to assist people in the Lone Star State during this time, please click here)...
...though it's not like they weren't warned 10 years ago, as Rachel Maddow reminds us...
...and I guess FL Repug guv Ron DeathSantis was getting jealous with Texas receiving all of the wingnut attention, so he decided to distribute the COVID vaccine to his campaign contributors over everyone else in that state, as Farron Cousins tells us (more here)...
...and keeping with energy matters, John and Jayar tell us about an Indian girl punished for following the example of Greta Thunberg on the issue of climate; I know we don’t pay a lot of attention to that country, but maybe we should, because there’s some pretty damn un-democratic stuff going on under Modi...
...and I guess it’s in keeping with a bit of an international theme to note that today is the 88th birthday of Yoko Ono (I always had a bit of a soft spot for this tune, and it’s actually combined with a regional weather forecast...please be careful out there).
Like many of you I’m sure, I was taught not to speak ill of someone who has recently passed from this life, considering that to be part of a typical upbringing in my evolution to become a person of decency, kindness and compassion. And for what it’s worth, I believe I’ve stayed true to that (and I emphasize that I’m not looking for medals, since I don’t think anybody should be rewarded for doing the right thing – you’re just supposed to do it and get on with your life).
But I’m going to make an exception for this occasion. And I’m probably committing a sin, and I apologize in advance.
I wasn’t sure I would know how to react to the news that Rush Limbaugh is finally dead after all of these years. And I’m still not sure that I know how exactly.
Even now, it’s hard to gauge and calculate the utter ruin on our media and political landscape inflicted by this man. Prior to his rise, right-wing media was pretty much the home of kooks and addled academics with a grievance against some kind of slight that can more often than not be traced back to the Democratic Party (or also what used to be called Eisenhower Republicanism, where our 34th president campaigned partly on a platform of making sure everyone eligible for Social Security enrolled as well as encouraging union membership). I’m thinking of William F. Buckley, Clarence Manion, and conservative book publisher Henry Regnery (all of whom are discussed in this great book).
But Rush Limbaugh turned all of it into entertainment. He made it profitable. And he kicked open the door for legions of wannabes to follow him, many of whom still ply their dark art to this day (and who will be noted elsewhere in this post).
There is so much that is utterly vile and despicable about Rush Limbaugh that I’m not sure anybody can properly catalog it in a single post or a series of posts (Media Matters has done a better job of that than I ever could). I just want to communicate one anecdote, if you will.
And that has to do with Sandra Fluke, who (as noted here) was a Georgetown University Law student who gave a speech about nine years ago to House Democrats in support of mandating insurance coverage for contraceptives. And of course, Limbaugh attacked her, labeling her a “slut” and a “prostitute” (noted in the second clip).
Well, later that year, I was phone-banking in the Bristol, PA Democratic Party headquarters, and Fluke stopped by with Cecile Richards, then of Planned Parenthood. And I complimented Fluke on her courage for speaking out on women’s health care. She acted a little embarrassed, though she appreciated the praise. And I was struck by the fact that, physically, she was about 5’ 4” or 5’ 5” with kind of a slight build, though that didn’t reflect her courage in standing up to the pre-eminent media bully of our age (as is often the case, when you see somebody through an electronic viewing screen of some type, they loom larger than they are in real like, with notable exceptions of course).
As I spoke with Fluke, I thought to myself, what kind of a pathetic, hateful alleged “man” would go after someone like this lady, who was only practicing the free speech under the First Amendment to the Constitution that is guaranteed to everyone, including him?
I’m sure there will be people praising Limbaugh in the coming days. He will be remembered as a media giant and influencer who played a big part in the conservative revolution in this country. And that will be true.
However, I will look upon him now and forever as one of the vilest life forms who has ever walked upright on two legs. And as far as I’m concerned, that is all the mention he deserves. Part of the reason is noted in this TYT clip from October 2009, in which Detroit residents gathered for economic assistance in the wake of the recession in the prior year, and Limbaugh used it as an excuse for his typical race-baiting (with the “Democrat” Party reference thrown in at the end for good measure - more here, here and here)...
...and as if we wanted more reasons to utterly detest this character...well, here they are (yep, Limbaugh getting the Presidential Medal of Freedom was truly an obscenity that I probably didn't say much about at the time because of more pressing news affecting our country and the world)...
Update: Yeah, I think this is pretty spot-on also from Will Bunch.
Update 2/18/21: And this is pretty well said from Eric Boehlert.
Update 2/20/21: What a sorry-ass legacy (here)...and Frank Bruni doesn't get any points either; when Bruni apologizes for being George W. Bush's PR flunky in the '00 election (here), then I'll take him seriously.
...and turning to the garbage network that Limbaugh helped spawn with Roger Ailes (and I hope both of them are incinerating in Gehenna at this moment), Ana and Aida Rodriguez tell us more about right-wing media saying the Green New Deal is responsible for the energy misery in Texas (and Rodriguez is dead-on about the coast-to-coast influence of greed on all of this)...
...and Chris Hayes gives us more on this (some of this is a little repetitive, but it’s important)...
...and you can consider this clip to be a reminder that we should NEVER, EVER FORGET the individuals in the U.S. Senate who just voted to acquit the Gropenfuhrer for the 1/6 insurrection against this country...
Funny how executive orders were so damn wonderful under the Gropenfuhrer, but now they’re toxic under Number 46 as far as the usual suspects at Fix Noise are concerned (and this is pretty damn absurd for that network too, more germane to the "Damage Report" clip maybe; I guess people think Stuart Varney is more intelligent because he has an English accent, but he may be one of the stupidest of the bunch, and that’s saying something I know, though I do think Greg Gutfeld will remain the reigning champ in that category)...
...and the “Morning Joe” people talk about U.S. Senate Repugs facing reprisals back home for voting to impeach Mango Mussolini, including Richard Burr, Pat Toomey (again, shocked by that, though I’m sure it helps that he has nothing whatsoever to lose politically), Ben Sasse, and Susan Collins, who I’m sure is disheartened and disappointed, and Bill Cassidy also of course (more here)...
...and turning to those who continued to carry water for the twice-impeached Number 45, John I. and Ben Dixon of "The Damage Report" tell us about the response from Ted Cruz to the snowstorm and power outages plaguing his state...not so much crowing and bashing of California now, is there, Dan Patrick and Ken Paxton (still don’t understand why Paxton isn’t in jail...I hope everybody gets the help they need, but that should apply regardless of wherever you are in this country or the territories)...
...and I thought this was kind of a dreamy, escapist little number to help us deal with the winter doldrums (overdue again for a newer tune).
I guess, aside from death and taxes (and Democratic congressional capitulation – don’t worry; I won’t go all nutty all over again, since I just climbed down from that metaphorical ledge), something else that is constant is Fix Noise demonizing immigrants, even though, on balance, they commit less crime than naturalized Americans do, as far as that information is available, as noted here and here (David Pakman talks about that and more...I apologize for including waaaay too much of that damn lunatic Laura Ingraham)...
...meanwhile, for the reality point of view, John Iadarola and Ali Noorani talk about immigration and Social Security and trying to grow our economy in general (the fact that this country is, for all intents and purposes, a service economy means that we constantly need a fresh supply of labor to keep productive)...
...and David Doel highlights a CNN report on kids losing their parents to QAnon – a pretty deep dive into explaining why this group is a cult (and I’m not including this to be patronizing, but only to emphasize how important it is for people to get help...I hope things work out for these young women and their families) – Farron Cousins said earlier that we should take on that responsibility as a country, as in helping to deprogram people, but I’m sorry; we have a lot more pressing needs, so that’s a “no” from me...
...and speaking of Cousins, he tells us here that Louisiana Repug Sen. Bill Cassidy was censured for deciding to go forward with the 2nd impeachment...and he still voted to convict Trump in spite of that...kudos (of course, I’m sure Cassidy will now flip and do some truly nutso stuff to try and win back his beloved base)...
...and I now give you the latest installment of “This Day In Doomsy History” from 2/15/13; the following MoveOn ad shows a gun owner claiming that the NRA “doesn’t speak for me,” which I think is timely given that yesterday was the 3rd anniversary, believe it or not, of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, FL (and here is another related item)...
...and I know we usually commemorate Washington and Lincoln on President’s Day, but I’d like to include this tune for Number 37; anyone who thinks we’re still not living in Richard Nixon’s political shadow is dreaming or delusional as far as I’m concerned.
Charles Schumer is absolutely, without a doubt, the most useless “Democratic” politician I have ever seen in my life!
Who on the Dem side made the decision not to call witnesses in Trump’s second impeachment trial? Who handed Sen. Mr. Elaine Chao a gift-wrapped, ribbon-tied Valentine to prematurely end the proceedings and hasten Generalissimo Trump’s acquittal?
How could it have been anyone BUT Schumer??!!
I’m just one person and my personal situation doesn’t matter in the scheme of things I know, but do you want to know WHY I steadfastly refuse to donate to the DCCC, DNC, DSCC or similar organizations (despite the plague of phone calls, Emails and texts)? It’s because of Repug-accommodating bullshit just like this, that’s why!
Yes, we knew Trump would be acquitted because not enough Republican U.S. Senate cowards would do the right honorable thing and ensure that 45 NEVER blighted our presence again and would be forever denied any post-presidential perks (and again, I grudgingly have to do something I thought I would never do and that is to give Pat Toomey credit for showing some political courage for a change, since he was one of seven Republicans with an actual conscience on this).
BUT THERE WERE PEOPLE WHO COULD HAVE TESTIFIED! DOES ANYBODY SERIOUSLY THINK REPUBLICANS WOULD HAVE DONE SOMETHING LIKE THIS IN SIMILAR CIRCUMSTANCES? WHAT PLANET DOES SCHUMER LIVE ON????!!!!
I don’t normally put a lot of faith in Politico, but this is all I’ve been able to track down so far on this. And what I take from this account (again, unless some other information comes up that is verified by at least one source I would consider reliable) is that conserva-Dems Chris Coons and Joe Manchin (big surprises I know) put pressure on the House impeachment managers not to call witnesses (the alternative version is that House managers weren’t prepared to call witnesses, which, given their expert presentations to date, is a “take” that I find very difficult to believe).
And who is to blame for allowing Manchin and Coons to pull this garbage? As far as I’m concerned, it’s Schumer, for not keeping his caucus together on this (and don't think I'm giving this cretin a pass either).
Which makes this clip (in the matter of Trump’s first impeachment) laughably absurd and ridiculous...
(OK, to be fair, I think this is noteworthy. But given the prior clip, I think that makes the argument against witnesses even more of a joke. And I realize that could have opened the door to the Trump team calling everybody and their brother to drag this out and make it look like the Senate Dems can't get anything done, but as far as I'm concerned, you use every weapon at your disposal.)
Update 1: I have a bit of respect for Norman Ornstein, but sorry - no sale (here).
Update 2: Uh, yep...
...and probably what makes me angriest the most about the decision not to call witnesses is the fact that the call from House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to the Gropenfuhrer should have been entered into the record, but now it never will be (McCarthy should have been forced to testify, even if he had been a hostile witness – Cenk’s outrage is commendable and COMPLETELY called for IMHOUpdate 1 2/14/21: OK, I was wrong - the statement from Jamie Herrera Beutler described the McCarthy call to Trump (here), and that was read into the record - Cenk discussed the McCarthy call in this clip...
Update 2 2/14/21: I may have been wrong about McCarthy/Herrera, but it looks like I wasn't wrong about Coons (here).
Update 3 2/14/21: Here is another take on the Dems’s failure to call witnesses, and I’d like to respond as follows:
Think of how compelling it would have been for Officer Eugene Goodman or anyone else in the Capitol police to testify as to the strain the 1/6 attacks had inflicted on them personally and professionally. Or for anyone in the House or Senate (who likely would have been Dems of course) who were forced to literally run for their lives. Or fear for greater exposure to COVID from mask-less protestors. Or from anyone who had to clean up the mess and destruction from the thugs bent on murder and mayhem. THAT would have attached human faces to all of this carnage. And yes, I realize President Tiny-Handed Orange Pestilence would have likely been acquitted anyway, but it would have formed an indelible impression.
To compare this to another episode from the history books, what does everyone remember about the Watergate congressional investigation for example? It was the testimony from the real or accused co-conspirators, John Dean in particular.
As far as I’m concerned, the same standard applies here (and here is more ammunition in support of that argument).
Update 2 2/15/21: If this is true, then it should have been announced by Schumer or a House impeachment manager on Saturday, not an MSNBC TV host two days later.
...and returning to the just-concluded trial (ugh), this Now This clip tells us that Trump’s lawyers basically took their talking points from Fix Noise – big surprise, I know (and as far as the claim about John Sullivan is concerned, I give you this)...
...and speaking of The Roger Ailes BS Factory, don’t you love the way the “Fox-bots” like this John Roberts guy and that blonde hairdo get uncomfortable with Chris Wallace telling the truth and start mumbling over him near the end of the clip, as if to say, “yeah – you’re going off script, Chris, so we’re cutting you off”? Assholes (Brian Tyler Cohen tells us more)...
...and I realize this isn’t the end of investigations related to last November’s election; as David Doel tells us, it looks like Huckleberry Graham is still “in the barrel,” you might say, over potential election interference in Georgia...
...and oh yeah, it turns out that Our Treasonous Former Russian Operative of a *president was a lot sicker with COVID than we knew previously - lies upon lies upon lies of course...
As far as impeaching Our Treasonous Russian Operative of a former *president, the Dems need to go through this exercise of course; however, it truly would be a miracle if they were able to pull in enough Senate Republican cowards to convict...
...especially when so many of them are blowing off the proceedings, as John I. and Brett Erlich tell us; good points by Erlich about “jury tampering,” which the stuff with Graham, Lee and Cruz truly is – oh, and by the way, in case you think I intend to gang up only on the “party of Lincoln,” I give you this on wholly other matters...Kyrsten Sinema, weird hair and paisley dresses or whatever, has turned out to be as awful as I feared...
...and just so nobody can accuse me of stacking the metaphorical deck against former Generalissimo Trump, I’ll give you this ripe nugget from Michael van der Veen, one of 45's lawyers, allegedly in defense of the Gropenfuhrer (1:20 of this idiocy is about as much as I can tolerate, to be honest)...
...and why am I not surprised that Trump’s lawyers had access to the same security videos the impeachment managers showed, even though they claimed that they didn’t (a total lie of course, which would have probably been disqualifying all by itself and leading to an automatic acquittal if they hadn’t shared it)...
...and Chris Hayes gives us more on the threat to former VP Mike Pence, with Olivia Troye – and why am I also not in the least surprised that “dumb as a rock” Tommy Tuberville told Combover Caligula that Pence was in the Senate? And yeah, watch Cornyn try to “disappear” former VP Pence of his party – “oh him? Yeah, I heard he went back to Indiana”...truly, no honor among thieves; we know what Pence is, but just because he’s an intolerant, “pro life” bigot, that doesn’t mean that he deserves to be hung from a scaffold either...
...and Farron Cousins tells us that Former President Fergus Laing is so confident that he'll win his 2nd impeachment trial that he decided to go golfing; what's really depressing is that he's probably right (and speaking of the "karma" Cousins refers to, I give you this)...
...and David Pakman gives us a little more on the splintering of the “GOP,” though, to be sure, it’s waaay too early to forecast how much of that may actually help Democrats...
Gee, it looks like the red, white and blue longhorn lunatic, this Jacob Chansley life form (who apparently only wants to eat organic food in the “slam,” or something) felt “duped,” as 2nd impeachment manager and U.S. House Rep Diane DeGette tells us...aww, poor baby – have fun rotting in prison, you treasonous POS...
...and yeah, once more, I know what The Lincoln Project is, but this is yet another good ad...
...and David Doel presents new footage introduced at the trial showing how close politicians were to the rioters (Romney, Pence, Schumer – yeah, I agree with Doel’s Pence sentiment, but I’m willing to overlook that for now)...
...and in case you were wondering how The Roger Ailes BS Factory was treating the impeachment...well, John I. and Jason Carter tell us that they were covering the “kitten lawyer” instead (lather, rinse, repeat – sigh...to do more about this, click here)...
...and Sam and Emma tells us about Brian Kilmeade on Fix and Fiends advocating for ICE, who apparently are complaining about having to go after, y’know, actual criminals instead of comparatively innocent migrant moms and kids (important comment by Emma V. at the very end, which is completely bipartisan)...
...and speaking of driving under the influence in the prior clip, I hope The Boss gets the help he needs (here); easy trap to fall into...and no, I didn’t see the damn Jeep commercial in the Super Bowl, and I don’t care.
Update: What an utter bullshit bust by a cop apparently trying to make a name for himself by rousting somebody famous - if I were Springsteen, I'd sue.
This was part of yesterday’s opening presentation in former Generalissimo Trump’s second impeachment trial in the Senate from Dem U.S. House Rep Jamie Raskin – can’t imagine the courage of that man to carry on with this after the death of his son; we all owe him such a debt for this (here – very NSFW/H for a good reason...and I know I’m setting the bar pretty low here and he really has nothing to lose politically, but kudos to – ahem – Pat Toomey for actually doing the right thing for once as noted here)...
...and as for the trial, Brian Tyler Cohen tells us about Alan Dershowitz (who I hope was wearing underwear) and his remarks in support of Raskin, who apparently was a former student; Dershy said this on a Trump-friendly TV channel (and I’m not sure where the hell Bruce Castor was going, and I don’t think anyone else was either)...
...and Farron Cousins tells us about how Combover Caligula responded to his legal representation (heh), harking back to the prior clip a bit...
...and apparently, our corporate media is continuing to stack the deck in favor of the “party of Lincoln” by noting that a “slim majority” of 56 percent of those polled want the Gropenfuhrer to be impeached and convicted this time (as somebody said, yeah, lemme know the next time 56 percent is referred to as a “slim majority” about anything, as John and Francesca tell us)...
...and yeah, as noted here, Repugs suddenly care about the debt/deficit when Democrats are in charge again – how damn predictable...
...and I know my music choices have been stuck in the past a bit, but I didn’t want to ignore the passing of Jim Weatherly, who wrote this great ‘70s tune (forgot about how awesome the bass line is in this song).
I normally wouldn’t pay much attention to Brian (Iraqi Helicopter Ride – and yes, I know he apologized for concocting that story) Williams, but I thought this was a good discussion with author Jon Meacham about the Republican Party’s history of extremism and how Bill Buckley and Bush 41 dealt with the Birchers – I know there are fringe elements on both sides, but let me know if and when the Dems every try a violent overthrow of our government and I’ll condemn that too (and speaking of seditionists, please do not shed too many tears for this guy, who made the infamous list here – sorry he’s dead, but let’s not forget about context, OK?)...
...and oh yeah, a certain former 45th *president is getting impeached for the second time at this moment, as noted here...
...and speaking of insanity from the “party of Lincoln,” John I. talks with Thom Hartmann about the evolution of American oligarchy (we just observed Reagan’s birthday, and as far as I’m concerned, he’s more to blame than anyone else...Thom H. mentions something called the Tillman Act that passed under TR as well as the Buckley and Belotti SCOTUS decisions that pretty much legalized corporate bribery, as he notes)...
