Friday Stuff

As actor Bradley Whitford said, then as now, when it comes to the Repugs, tax cuts are their Jesus, and we continue to live with the result (and for “The Big Dog” a bit too, but some of the opportunism shown here is just the way politics is generally, though – by the way, the gas tax bankrolls the federal highway trust fund, which is about to run out of money)…



…and speaking of faux religiosity, Rachel Maddow tells us the latest on the “right to life” Repugs and the High Court of Hangin’ Judge JR (the fact this this verdict was unanimous turns my stomach)…



…and turning from disgust to humor (only slightly, I realize), I give you Jon Stewart (here)…

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...and who can say no to this "Friday with Frank" summer tune?

Wednesday Stuff

I find this to be utterly depressing…

Attention, Mississippi Democrats – do you really think Thad Cochran is going to give a crap about you now that you’ve basically helped to ensure that he’ll have another term in the U.S. Senate?

As much as I can’t stand Republicans, I have to admit that their mindset is that the campaign never ends, and that’s the mindset we should have had last night. Meaning that it would have made a hell of a lot more sense for Dem nominee Travis Childers to face Teahadist nut job Chris McDaniel than Cochran.

Cochran was sinking, but we tossed him a metaphorical life preserver. We should have tossed him an anvil instead (doing to him what his party gladly would do to us - Update: And yes, Joy Reid, I understand that MI is only about 36 percent Democratic, but gosh, don't you think a Childers/McDaniel matchup would have splintered off at least SOME Republicans to make the contest closer?)…



…and since only Walter Jones among U.S. House Republicans opposed this, that means Mikey the Beloved voted Yes on a bill to gut financial reform - the following clip points out why this still matters a lot...



...and in a related story, it looks like Blackstone CEO Steve Schwarzman really is this big of an a-hole (NSFW)...



…and OMIGOD, The High Court of Hangin’ Judge JR actually did something right (call me a skeptic, though; I think this will get rolled back in a heartbeat if it conflicts with corporate interests in a future High Court case – love to be wrong)...



...and RIP legendary character actor Eli Wallach...



...and happy birthday to Mike Kroeger of Nickelback.

Tuesday Stuff

(I also posted here.)

God, this is delicious indeed – pass the popcorn…



…and silly me, I thought the stoning scene in “Life of Brian” was comedy; apparently, Scott Esk of Oklahoma (natch) thought it was a documentary…



…and Rachel Maddow tells us about Dems quite probably trying to play “choose the wingnut” in the Repug Colorado governor’s race (my favorite Tom Tancredo moment, though there are many to choose from, might be this…by the way, Lawrence O’Donnell returned last night from a nasty auto accident; when O’Donnell is on, he’s really on as far as I’m concerned, but when he’s off, he’s off by a mile – glad he’s back, though, but he might want to lose the beard)…



…and five years ago today, former South Carolina Gov. Mark “Take a Hike on the Appalachian Trail” Sanford came clean (here) – here is a tune for the occasion.

Monday Stuff

Billo and the rest of his foul ilk need to be held accountable at every opportunity, including this one (“I’ll talk slowly so you understand it”…what a pig)…



…and by the way, millennials and everybody else, vote for Democrats as if your life depends on it, because it probably does (and boy, are those numbers sad – just means we have to work harder as opposed to giving up)…



...and I give you some truly inspired stuff from John Oliver on Dr. Oz and dietary supplements here (and shame on Tom Harkin, something I don't think I've ever said before and hopefully will never say again - par for the course for Orrin Hatch, though; wonder how many hokey "I Love America" hymns he's written lately?)...



...and like it or not, I guess it's time for a summer tune.

Saturday Stuff

I give you the 7 percent non-solution here, as it were (Ari Melber had a clip on the Rachel Maddow show site that showed Repug obstruction also, but it also showed way too much of Mr.-Puppy-Dog-Eyes-With-The-Shiv going after John Koskinen of the IRS)...



..and I admire both Paul Rieckhoff and Glenn Greenwald, but in this exchange, I have to give it to Glenzilla – what balls...


rieckhoff by tommyxtopher

...and I liked Maher's metaphor here about this country and Iraq...



..and here's a bit of summer fun.

Friday Stuff

Five years ago today, Neda Soltan was killed in Tehran during election protests; her death helped to motivate a movement which, sadly, has not won the day yet, but it will (and without our meddling, I should emphasize; I believe this clip is about a year old)…



…and I don’t care if this is a bad strategy or not – Thad Cochran in Mississippi must be in truly bad shape in his runoff primary election with Teahadist Chris McDaniel if he’s encouraging Democrats to vote for him, which, given that Mississippi has an open primary, is apparently legal…let the true ugliness of the GOP’s “southern strategy” bloom to full flower, as it were, with a McDaniel victory; that will make it a little easier for Dems to win control once and for all afterwards…



…and just remember, as you laugh at another pithy Jon Stewart commentary on a vital issue, that there are methane dispensing bipeds out there who actually vote for people like John Boozman, Jefferson Beauregard Sessions and James Mountain Inhofe…

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…and RIP Gerry Goffin – so many hits to choose from, but I settled on this one.

Thursday Stuff

Meet the replacement for that sleazy weasel Eric Cantor (here)…



…and I’m sure that, if nothing else, this will deflect attention away from Governor Bully and a certain bridge in New Jersey (well, maybe not)…



…and yeah, when it comes to this country and its relationship with Mesopotamia, as well as much of the rest of that region, I guess this about says it…



...and I sincerely hope she gets her act together based on this - maybe a long vacation will do the trick.

Wednesday Stuff

I'm glad to see Rachel Maddow point out how the supposed geniuses behind Former President Numbskull's Not-So-Excellent Adventure in Iraq should be roundly ridiculed – actually, they should be prosecuted, but I guess this is the best we can do for now...



...and when “Diaper Dave” Vitter makes noises as if he would support “Obamacare,” I can't help but think that that's a “Nixon Goes To China” moment (just words at this point, however)...



...and I suppose this makes Ted “Calgary” Cruz a real pendejo, or something...

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...and RIP Horace Silver (tough week for jazz).

Tuesday Stuff

I give you Jon Stewart on all of the most recent Iraq BS here...

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...and yeah, take a bow, all you Florida wingnuts who actually voted for Lex Luthor Scott - at least now you have a chance to erase that mistake (here)...



...and Chris Hayes tells us about that recent judicial travesty in California concerning teacher tenure (and actually applauded by Arne Duncan; I think somebody needs to find a clue)...



…and I thought this was an appropriate tune to commemorate the 20th anniversary of this still-utterly-surreal event.

Monday Stuff

Gosh, it looks like that political genius Reince Priebus of the GOP has settled on a sure-fire strategy to defeat Hillary Clinton in 2016 (here – maybe he ought to take a look at this…just sad, Priebus I mean; way to remind voters that we’re talking about the Bush/Cheney party, by the way...nicely done - and I thought this was an even nicer comeback)…



…and it looks like Shep Smith went “rogue” again on Fix Noise over the Iraq stuff (here) – kudos…



…and even though I think that sleazy weasel Eric Cantor lost because he was so stinking unpopular and not so much because of immigration, I still liked this segment from John Oliver (NSFW - here)…



...and RIP Little Jimmy Scott.

Sunday Stuff

Happy Father's Day...

Friday Stuff

(Gonna try to rev this up again a bit - I also posted over here.)

Yeah, that foreign policy “genius” Gramps McCain is shouting “get off my lawn” again (here – just sad at this point)…



…and I guess Stephen Colbert’s commentary is “What Is And What Should Never Be” (here - yeah I know, it’s old)…

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…and RIP Ruby Dee…



…and as long as we’re talking about Spirit (re: the Colbert piece), I should note that they wrote some eco-friendly songs including this one, but as far as I’m concerned, the line “the world’s a can for your fresh garbage” fits McCain to a “T” (returning to the "hippy, dippy" '60s here).

Wednesday Stuff

Downtime will probably take place starting tomorrow for real – not sure how long yet.

In the meantime, I give Rachel Maddow credit for overturning the dreaded corporate media conventional narrative on that sleazy weasel Eric Cantor’s primary loss last night – maybe the voters out there aren’t as enamored with congressional Repugs overall as the news organizations with initials for names keep telling us…



…and here is Part One of Jon Stewart’s take down of Fix Noise in particular over the Bowe Bergdahl stuff (more here)…

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…and here is Part Two…

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…and we experienced a very positive life event with the teenaged one tonight; congrats to him and all grads in his class – I’ve had this song in mind all day concerning his now-happily-departed educational institution.

Tuesday Stuff

(I got a bit of a reprieve, so here are some more videos.)

And what a stroke of luck, because I can put up this video in response to this - HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!



...and yes, the silly season is truly upon us (and let’s not forget this about most of the people complaining – and it sounds like Alex Wagner is trying to stir the pot over the latest faux scandal also…please)…



Update 6/12/14: And let's not forget that this was going on while Number 42 inhabited An Oval Office - the legal costs would have been enough to drown, so to speak, most people once and for all.

...meanwhile, for a story that actually matters, I give you this...



…and I gotta tell ya’ that I really like the sound of this band.

Monday Stuff

This took place 60 years ago today – let’s never forget how important a moment this truly was…



…and former Reaganite Bruce Bartlett is my hero for this, and I love his matter-of-fact delivery (and that “I” word is so, SOOO important – of course, the Repugs are only talking about it now because most of them are running for re-election – if you mention it to them this time next year, you’ll only hear the sound of crickets)…



…and even though this is definitely NSFW (though the naughty words are bleeped), I still think this is genius stuff from John Oliver; almost busted a gut during the last two minutes (and he must have been successful – somehow I missed this until yesterday)…



…and happy belated 70th birthday to Boz Scaggs.



(Shutting down for a bit due to technical upgrades…)

Saturday Stuff

Here’s a fun little game – instead of Number 44, imagine that we’re talking about Former President Numbskull, and instead of John McCain and Saxby Chambliss (a man who once linked multiple Vietnam war amputee Max Cleland to bin Laden, let’s not forget), let’s imagine that we’re talking about Dick Durbin and John Kerry.

Now tell me the universe in which something like this would actually take place with the latter combination...



...and once again, when it’s time for spot-on analysis of a news issue, it’s time for a comedian (one of the most apt gun commentaries I’ve ever heard)...



...and Bill Maher made his point with humor, but Chris Hayes makes his point with serious reporting and commentary (and I sincerely hope neither Jim Howell nor his family or friends will fall victim to gun violence in his state, but if that happens, he will have only himself to blame - and before we "blue staters" get too smug on the whole GOP "preemption" thing when it comes to guns in particular, keep in mind that that's what our beloved commonwealth of PA practices concerning the city of Philadelphia)...



...and yeah, they sure are.

Friday Stuff

(I also posted here.)

Once again, when it's time for hard-hitting commentary on a current news issue of great import, then it's time for Jon Stewart (here)...



...and how anyone can actually vote for any of the life forms in this video in light of these utterly ridiculous remarks (including Jeb Bush, the supposed "adult" in the room blaming liberal arrogance, or something, for the deterioration of this planet) is something I will NEVER know...



…and I give you the following remembrance in light of today’s 70th anniversary of the D-Day invasion during World War II…



...and here's a tune from that era (time for a bit of a change of pace).

Wednesday Stuff (update)

Yeah, I think the Bowe Bergdahl stuff is the last bloody straw for yours truly, for the reasons Rachel Maddow points out here (and leave it to corporate media harlot Diane Sawyer to criticize Pfc. Jessica Lynch for telling the truth and basically giving away the foul, fetid Bushco game)…



Update 6/10/14: And I would call this an interesting history lesson (Conservative Forgetting 101 indeed).

…and since I just featured a video with Coulter, I am legally required to put up the following NSFW clip with Henry Rollins…



…and yes, this needs to be repeated as long as the other side keeps braying loudly, and wrongly, in consideration of the latest proposed EPA regulations…



…and I know I’m a little late with this, but better than never I guess…



…and “there’s no such thing as a dissident (in China), only law breakers,” huh?

As far as I’m concerned, it is an eternal shame that the United States, in its greed and dunderheaded stupidity, rewarded a regime responsible for the Tiananmen Square massacre by basically offshoring much of its computer hardware industry to that location (to say nothing of screwing over workers in this country and adding to the deficit, of course)…



…and I’ve had the following tune in my head all day in response to the above-noted story – have to dig deep into the archives for this one.

Tuesday Stuff

I'll be buying my Harvey Milk stamps the first chance I get (and isn't this precious? Typical, though - audio in clip sounds freaky, computer-generated I guess)...



...and "start spreading the news," if you will, about the new EPA regs - Rachel Maddow explains...



...and I know she lobbed a softball or two here to William Reilly of Poppy Bush's EPA, and Reilly downplayes his own party's nutsiness, but I still thought this was a good interview...



...and happy 75th birthday (yikes!) to Ian Hunter.

Monday Stuff

First, a word from our sponsor - posting will gradually become more sporadic in June and July...consider yourself warned.

And now, time for "This Week In Utter Barbarism," courtesy of Not Your Father's Republican Party...



...and I give you the state of North Carolina trying to outlaw “imminent disturbance” here (wouldn't be a bit surprised to see this one end up in the High Court of Hangin' Judge JR, where anything can happen I realize)...



…and here is my response to the latest idiocy from columnist Jack (Iraq War “All But Won” in February ’05) Kelly here...and by the way…



…and congrats to Melissa Etheridge and partner Linda Wallem here – all the best.