Saturday Stuff

Lawrence O’Donnell “goes there” on the “Trumpster” Syrian attack, with David Corn, Rick Wilson, and Indira Lakshmanan (Trump has “the attention span of a gnat on meth”…good one by Wilson…and by the way)…



Update: And...

…and it looks like the tourism biz is down BIGLY! under the “Gropenfuhrer” (color me shocked – not)…



…and it also looks like the thin-skinned attitude of President Tiny-Handed Egomaniac has transferred to at least one of his governmental agencies also (and kudos to Twitter for standing up the way they did)…



…and despite everything, let’s not forget that this is the weekend, after all.

Friday Stuff

I think it’s time for some hand-wringing over all of the stuff with the “Gropenfuhrer” and the Syria missile strike.

As much as it pains me to do this (and it truly does), I’m going to give President Big Orange Cheetoh a bit – but just a bit – of leeway on this. Yes, I’m extending something to him that NEVER would have been extended from Republicans to Hillary Clinton (they probably would have formed about half a dozen “oversight”-related committees in response to shamelessly politicize look into it), but at a time like this, I think we’re supposed to support the president (or, as perhaps their leading icon exalted by them to almost god-like status once put it, “trust but verify”).

But we should never forget what Trump is. Nor should we forget how he got there. And the fact that he SHOULDN'T EVEN BE THERE STILL.

And it’s EASY to blow stuff up. The REAL test will comes when Assad inevitably responds (he’s one of the worst butchers of our age, but he’s not stupid either), and we’ll see what Fergus Laing and his minions do THEN.

And we should also never forget this (and this, and this, and this...and oh yeah, this now too)…



Update: So much for the leeway (here).

…and yeah, I guess this is about par for the course, as they say, for Brian “Iraqi Helicopter” Williams (more here, and I honestly thought Fareed Zakaria knew better…more fool me, I guess)…

Turns out all it took for Trump to win back the love of the mainstream media is launch a couple tomahawk missiles pic.twitter.com/i4wKAIJuyh

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) April 7, 2017

…and while I think Generalissimo Trump most definitely has corporate media enablers, Bill Maher recently commented pretty expertly IMHO on the miscreants who populate the cabinet of Number 45 and “fluff” him pretty regularly (and did anyone besides me notice, by the way, that the title of every one of Maher’s “New Rules” was a takeoff on a Beatles’ song? And NSFW - here)…



…and speaking of the “Trumpsters,” I thought this was pretty clever…

Sean Spicer treats the WH press corps like a bunch of kindergarteners pic.twitter.com/skjUKe4lJK

— Mдтт Иegяiи (@MattNegrin) April 5, 2017

...and speaking of kids, I thought Ahh-nold found the proverbial nut here...

'That's not how you make America great, by taking $1.2 billion away from the children.' – Arnold has had enough of Trump's budget cuts pic.twitter.com/Sz8lBvtHnu

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) April 7, 2017

…and you’d better believe that this issue affects kids too (oh, and by the way, about that supposedly adorable guy in the red sweater – here)…

Climate change is among the greatest dangers the world faces. How long did ABC, CBS, NBC, & Fox spend covering it in 2016?

50 minutes. pic.twitter.com/HGqNHQSX1h

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) April 6, 2017

…and kudos to Seth Meyers for his treatment of Fix Noise here, including Billo and his “best bud” in An Oval Office (speaking of corporate media sycophants, alluding to Brian Williams earlier…more here and a "golden oldie" is here)…



…and when it comes to “Donald Drumpf” and the Syria stuff, I couldn’t help but think of this song (context may be off a bit, but close enough for me).

Thursday Stuff

Yeah, I think this says it – once more (I guess for nostalgia at this point), I give you Tweety (here...kudos to the Dems, though, for putting up the fight over this that they were supposed to - not much else you can do when the majority of the voters of this country, in their disastrous, mind-numbing stupidity, decide to give all of the reins of power to movement conservative Republicans)…



…and speaking of mind-numbing stupidity, this tells us about the “extreme vetting” for those visiting this country and returning from overseas travel proposed by the regime of Generalissimo Trump…



…and K.O. gives us a bit of a history lesson on John Dean’s Watergate past and compares it to the antics of registered foreign lobbyist and former NSA member Michael Flynn trying to get immunity; I would buy into what Olbermann is telling us here if the Repug congressional “leadership” were smart enough to figure out that they don’t need immunity for Flynn to get Fergus Laing out of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, but I don’t think they know enough to grasp that – I’m wondering if they know enough to find their own metaphorical rear ends with both hands (love to be wrong)…



...and yeah, that stinky Obama sure wasted a lot of time playing golf, didn't he?...



...and boy, there sure are some snowflakes in Minnesota aren't there, and I'm not talking about the weather (but state house Repug Rep Rob Dettmer in particular, along with Greg Davids, noted here)...

White men were playing cards when women of color were speaking on the House floor – then this woman called them out. pic.twitter.com/QA7vOgSvOL

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) April 6, 2017

…and it looks like Alabama Repug Gov. Robert Bentley is going DOOOWWWWNNNN, which is quite a feat given that Repugs run the whole damn state (“the devil fools with the best-laid plans,” as the song reminds us)…



…and somehow, I have a feeling that this is one way that Don Rickles would want to be remembered (I could use a laugh after the Gorsuch garbage)…



...and speaking of passings, RIP to Rosie Hamlin.

Wednesday Stuff

Rachel Maddow tells us how the “Gropenfuhrer” is going to stage these utterly ridiculous photo-ops and carry forward with his REAL agenda behind closed doors, which should shock absolutely no one paying attention to this stuff (including escalating our military involvement in Syria, by the way…kudos to all of you idiots who helped get Big Orange Cheetoh elected, who will do nothing about the gas attacks in that country from the criminal regime in charge and thus make us more at risk for terrorism from the people who actually survive this stuff)…



…and K.O. is back with the next-to-latest in his “Resistance” series; I never thought too much of the “meta data” angle to all of this – and what kind of money was at stake, to say nothing of political influence – but fortunately, Olbermann did…



…and Chris Hayes talks to Dem U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan from New Hampshire about the latest idiocy from our Tiny-Handed Egomaniac-In-Chief on drug addiction, trying to gut treatment funding from the ACA (and I couldn’t track down the beginning of this clip that tells us that Soon-To-Be-Gone-At-Long-Last Governor Bully of NJ was given some kind of a title signifying responsibility in this matter, though of course I’m sure all he’ll do is go fetch fast food for himself and Generalissimo Trump)…



…and speaking of drugs, John Oliver brings us a fairly comprehensive report on the state of pot in this country (NSFW)…



…and as they are with just about everything else, California is blazing a trail on this issue…

Here's how California is protecting its legal weed from the Trump administration pic.twitter.com/72bcxRA3Zh

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) April 4, 2017

...and RIP Lonnie Brooks (tune ends at about 4:20).

Tuesday Stuff

(Definitely not a ‘Nats fan, but nice work here I must say – from Jason Charter on Twitter…)

Chris Hayes talks with Richard Painter, ethics lawyer under Dubya, about all the ways that Number 45 and his regime are breaking the law (and here is more on that “left-wing blog” Pro Publica)…



…and Kyle K. tells us the latest about those cretins at the “Center for Medical Progress” (NSFW)…



...and yeah, I would also say that satirists have figured out how to treat the "Gropenfuhrer" (here – it’s funny, but the reason why the “Trumpsters” are pulling this garbage definitely isn’t of course…NSFW also)…

Satirists know how to cover genuine bullshit. The news media, by and large, doesn't. pic.twitter.com/OmwowfPHaq

— Ezra Klein (@ezraklein) April 3, 2017

…including Tina Fey – the fact that 44 percent of college-educated women actually voted for Fergus Laing is, to me, partly a comment on the unbelievable ineptitude of the Hillary Clinton campaign; of course, it’s also a testimony to all of the Russia hacking, social media garbage and FBI criminality too IMHO…

Dear white women, Tina Fey has a message for you pic.twitter.com/PCVi8QxnXB

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) April 3, 2017

…and wow, is Oklahoma Repug U.S. House Rep Markwayne Mullin a snowflake for this, or what – all kerfuffled over a red card (and I find it appalling too, but for a completely different reason)...

This woman was kicked out of a town hall with her Congressman for holding up a piece of paper pic.twitter.com/yp5UnbQVjs

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) April 3, 2017

Update 4/13/17: You're in a metaphorical hole, but keep digging anyway (here)...

…and there are certain songs I play on certain dates for a reason, and this is one of them.

Monday Stuff

(The screen shot is a nod to this latest garbage from Sen. Mr. Elaine Chao, by the way.)

Rachel Maddow talks with Clinton Watts, former FBI special agent, on campaign coordination between the Big Orange Cheetoh and his minions with Russian propaganda in the 2016 election (more here)…



..and Sen. Al Franken proposes some great legislation here to fight the drug company bastards – doesn’t stand the proverbial snowball’s chance in hell without a Democratic congress, though…

Al Franken taking on Big Pharma = 🔥 🔥 🔥 pic.twitter.com/qRHfvem4Nv

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) April 1, 2017

…and speaking of hell (from a heat perspective anyway), apparently this passes for a scientific congressional gathering in the era of Generalissimo Trump…

This scientist has had enough with climate change denial bullsh*t pic.twitter.com/pzMqrS8mhy

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) March 30, 2017

…and kudos to the city of Seattle and Mayor Ed Murray for this; the whole “sanctuary cities” conservative talking point is bullshit and should be called out for what it is as forcefully as possible – it’s another non-issue from a right-wing think tank meant to scare white people and intimidate non-white people (here - more here)…



…and this is how change starts to happen, with people such as Heather calling into Thom Hartmann and saying she’s going to be a precinct committee person in Maricopa County, AZ…



…and happy 68th birthday to RT (definitely not the Putin Propaganda Network – and this is the only version of this song that you will ever hear at this blog, from “1000 Years Of Popular Music”).

Friday Stuff

"A presidency-ending development" - we can only hope at this point...



"...if you're seeking immunity, you're probably guilty of something..." - gee, ya' think (with Chris Hayes talks to Jeff Merkley about "Trumpster" Michael Flynn rolling over)...an update is here...



...and this tells us about Generalissimo Trump and the other members of his party trying to overturn "Obamacare" - "Democrat" support, huh? F-you, you big orange turd...

Here's why the failure of Trumpcare was a win for Americans pic.twitter.com/N7W6RhaPkn

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) March 30, 2017

…and Sen. Elizabeth Warren talks about the Repugs and their typically wretched attacks on women’s health care, Title X in particular (more here)...



…and I thought this was a pretty good summation from Seth Meyers on the “Gropenfuhrer” and that toady meat sack Devin Nunes and the destruction of the U.S. Russia/Trump investigation (I think the "underwear" thing was tied to yesterday's Mike Capuano clip on this issue)…



…and alluding to the Meyers clip, this tells us how much congressional Repugs got paid to sell our browsing history, including "No Corporate Tax" Pat Toomey…

Here's how much these Republicans got paid to sell your private browsing history pic.twitter.com/YxVBfgKSpo

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) March 30, 2017

…and I’m sure this constitutes a circular firing squad on our part, something I typically don’t want to encourage, but I really have to give Sam Seder credit for giving Jimmy Dore the treatment he deserves for Dore’s bashing of Keith Ellison, though I probably would have taken it further than that – as far as I’m concerned, Dore is on his way to becoming the lefty equivalent of Alex Jones…what a clown (and yep, NSFW)…



…and today marks what would have been the 90th birthday of legendary labor leader Cesar Chavez, who, along with Dolores Huerta, was probably more responsible than anyone else for the founding of the United Farm Workers Union (here); this is a song about the tragedy that, arguably, led to the activism that formed the union.

Thursday Stuff

Rachel Maddow tells us how blowing up the House investigation into Russia and Generalissimo Trump continues to serve the global ends of our ol’ buddy Vlad Putin…



…and kudos to Adam McElhaney for this (as well as Dem Rep. Mike Capuano)…



…and I give you the latest installment of “This Day In Doomsy History” (more or less) from 3/28/12; this clip has to do with the Verizon broadband spectrum "deal" that was bad at the time (here) - some history to keep in mind considering that Congress just got rid of our internet privacy, as noted in the prior Capuano clip and here - the bill awaits signoff from President Tiny-Handed Egomaniac...



…and with all due respect to Sen. Blumenthal, I’m sure the Repugs in the U.S. Senate have been told to STFU on the dark money funders who want to see Neil “Liberals Are Addicted To The Courtroom” Gorsuch (here) appointed to the High Court of Hangin’ Judge JR…

A wave of dark money has come in for Neil Gorsuch – and Democrats have had enough pic.twitter.com/aagqQl3FJg

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) March 30, 2017

Update 4/3/17: More sordid goings-on with Gorsuch here...

…and I give K.O. credit for keeping up these reports on “Donald Drumpf,” though I have to admit that they’re getting more depressing every day – as I asked once before, will it take this lunatic lobbing an ICBM or two into the Middle East before we FINALLY do something?...



…and I don’t think keeping a secret, especially about this, will be helpful whatsoever.

Wednesday Stuff

By the way, when I refer to him as Generalissimo Trump, I’m not kidding…



…and I wonder if the "Gropenfuhrer" would actually pay attention to climate change if we tried to turn the whole thing into a “reality” TV show produced by President Tiny-Handed Egomaniac – naaah…

Antarctic ice is melting 10 times more intensely than 600 years ago pic.twitter.com/5zs7oR2kK1

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) March 29, 2017

…and here is Bill Maher’s “New Rule” for Trump voters (NSFW)...



...and K.O. is out with #51 (NSFW – the fact that 18 states in this country are presently trying to criminalize protest truly IS scary)...



…and in light of the latest dustup between Bill Orally and Dem U.S. House Rep Maxine Waters (started by the former of course), I thought Cenk here in particular did a good job of tracing the fevered, idiotic ranting of Billo, Alex Jones and other media clowns to their idiot followers (and I have a feeling that, if JB were still alive, he’d be waiting in the Fix Noise parking lot for the instigator of this nonsense, with evil intent…papa don’t take no mess)…



…and speaking of music, happy 50th birthday to John Popper of Blues Traveler (of Princeton, NJ - I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore).

Tuesday Stuff

(And by the way, concerning this graphic, this guy voted yes, for all you PA-08 folk - and don't believe the "splash page" BS.)

I hope all of you who did anything whatsoever to help get Generalissimo Trump elected continue to be proud of yourselves…

A young girl describes what it was like to watch her father dragged away by ICE agents pic.twitter.com/RjnCoEAAFP

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) March 28, 2017

…and Kyle K. tells us that civilian deaths from U.S. airstrikes are on the rise under Number 45 (not saying Obama was totally innocent either, but let’s be straight, OK? And NSFW of course)…



…and as much as I respect Kyle K., I think he’s dead wrong to say the Dems shouldn’t be holding Fergus Laing’s feet to the metaphorical fire on Russia – of course, thanks to that gutless lackey Devin Nunes, I’m sure there will be NO House oversight on all of this anyway…



…and K.O. brings up the “T” word, though it is pretty much widely echoed by now…



…and yes, we indeed have no choice but to keep fighting (here and here)…

Planned Parenthood and its supports are planning a nationwide #PinkOut to continue to fight for women's health care pic.twitter.com/uVM2mIIJ00

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) March 28, 2017

…and here’s a cool tune to hear while we rearrange the deck chairs as the iceberg approaches.

Monday Stuff

How many ways is Neil Gorsuch a terrible Supreme Court nominee? Well…

OP-ED: Here's what America has to lose by nominating Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court pic.twitter.com/o94BbE5SLh

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) March 27, 2017

…and Lawrence O’Donnell talks with Dem U.S. House Rep Jim Himes about the open hearing on Russia that was cancelled by Repug Chairman Devin Nunes, which really isn’t surprising given Nunes’s proclivity to help Generalissimo Trump instead of the constituents that Nunes allegedly represents, to say nothing of the rest of the country…



…and Samantha Bee gives us more grim details here on the budget from “Donald Drumpf” as only she can (all those downward numbers sound like the stock ticker - NSFW)…



…and I’ll plan to get to at least one more clip from Bill Maher later, but for now I think this is good stuff from Dr. Timothy Snyder…



…and don’t look now, but “Donald Drumpf” and his pals want to sell our browsing history to the highest bidder – yet another casualty of last year’s utterly wretched election results (I think that’s a hilarious statistic about the Repugs and porn…commendable outrage by Thom, by the way)…



…and happy belated 75th birthday to Aretha Franklin.

Saturday Stuff

Yesterday mattered the most to people like the courageous lady in this clip, who spoke at a town hall for NJ’s waste-of-space U.S. House Rep Leonard Lance – yes, Lance knew the political calculation here in siding with Generalissimo Trump, but I grudgingly have to give him credit for opposing the “Trumpcare” scam that also has Paul Ryan’s fingerprints all over it…

Today's defeat of the AHCA is a victory for everyday people like this pic.twitter.com/xU2ALrdbxI

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) March 25, 2017

...and by the way, once more (this)...

via GIPHY

…and hat tip also to actor Mark Ruffalo on Twitter for this; during all of the intrigues with Trump and Russia, Dem Congressman Adam Schiff truly has stood tall…

The American people demand – and deserve – the truth. Congress must create an independent commission to #FollowTheFacts on Russia. pic.twitter.com/aa3SmJ7pRI

— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) March 25, 2017

…and here’s a great “Now This” videos that I meant to get to earlier in the week; warning: it goes right to the gut, for good reason – I'd like anyone yelling about taking in Syrian refugees to watch this video and then try to explain to me how you could still have a soul (and I’m also wondering how many of the traumatized children of today will be the thoroughly radicalized jihadists of tomorrow)...

3 million Syrian children know nothing but war pic.twitter.com/htGaPQA5im

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) March 19, 2017

…though, in a more hopeful vein, Cecile Richards reminds us that, though yesterday was a great victory, we all need to keep up the fight…

President Trump's failed health care bill proves activism works, says Planned Parenthood president pic.twitter.com/W0Nh2FfAf0

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) March 25, 2017

……and what do you say to an encore of two more great Chuck Berry tunes (I think “Memphis” is performed below with Elephant’s Memory…also, the legendary contribution of pianist Johnnie Johnson deserves to be remembered as well on those awesome ‘50s tunes).

Friday Stuff

via GIPHY

So much winning (here)...

…and yeah, “not yet” (and good advice here)…



...and as David Corn so aptly put it, I'm winded too from all of the "success"...

President Trump: I never said repealing and replacing Obamacare would be easy.

Really? Let's check the tape: pic.twitter.com/3Pk675UAqn

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) March 24, 2017

…and in a related story, as they say, kudos to Dem U.S. House Rep Alcee Hastings for this (great stuff - would that our "faith leaders" in the Catholic Church in this archdiocese would have the same attitude; well, to be fair, I guess some of them do)...

“I don’t have to be nice to nobody when you’re being nasty to poor people” pic.twitter.com/Rcf24P1bTY

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) March 24, 2017

…all of which is applicable to the latest commentary from K.O. here; maybe’s he’s a little harsh to someone who’s a private citizen, but I’m about at the point where I don’t care anymore; if you were dumb enough to help get Generalissimo Trump elected, you deserve all the ridicule you get…



...and yeah, we know what Sarah Palin is, but I still had to note this (re, Kyle commenting on Caribou Barbie's attack on Colin Kaepernick for donating to Meals on Wheels - NSFW)...



…and by the way, like idiot father, like idiot son (re, the recent terror attack in the UK)…

Donald Trump Jr. tried to attack the mayor of London after the attacks. It didn't go well for him. pic.twitter.com/pumRVBpPVl

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) March 23, 2017

…and I’d like to close this week’s tribute to Chuck Berry with yet another hit…



…as well as his signature tune.

Thursday Stuff

So how many ways exactly is Neil Gorsuch, Generalissimo Trump’s nominee for the Supreme Court, a total disaster (and putting aside for a second the fact that, as Rachel Maddow among others has pointed out, why exactly are we considering ANYONE or ANYTHING from a White House that is under a confirmed FBI investigation)? Well, for starters…

This Senator just grilled Trump's Supreme Court pick over dark money pic.twitter.com/hNgxMbB9ak

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) March 21, 2017

…and this tells us about Gorsuch and Alphonse Maddin, a truck driver for TransAm Trucking who was apparently going into shock and acted to save himself but was fired anyway, a decision Gorsuch supported in his ruling…

If you want to understand the real-life impact of Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch, watch this. pic.twitter.com/F8fuYt4poN

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) March 21, 2017

…and yeah, I would say that the parallels are more than a little disturbing too (so many problems with Gorsuch, chief among those being that he won’t give a straight answer)…

Neil Gorsuch dodged giving a real answer on Roe v. Wade — just like Justice Scalia did 30 years ago pic.twitter.com/UPGkKJeguX

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) March 22, 2017

…and kudos to Sen. Charles Schumer, who thus far has maintained a spine during the ruinous reign of Number 45, for this…

Chuck Schumer just exposed Republicans' hypocrisy over the Supreme Court pic.twitter.com/Ekfqwvk90O

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) March 22, 2017

...and it sounds like Tweety "found the nut" again on Gorsuch here - good job...



…and Seth Meyers tells us about other jobs Gorsuch has had (and a zinger with the last one - nice work)...



…and returning to Chuck Berry, he had a bit of a resurgence years ago owed in part to this movie…



…and you’d better believe The Fab Four (Lennon in particular of course) credited Berry as an early influence.

More Wednesday Stuff

I’m sure Devin Nunes will have a job waiting for him in the administration of President Tiny-Handed Egomaniac, assuming Nunes is voted out of office as he should be and also assuming President Big Orange Cheetoh isn’t in jail by then (and when the Trumpsters are losing Fix Noise...yeah, that sucks for them, huh?)…



…and I’ll put up some videos about the stuff going on with the Supreme Court nominee of “Donald Drumpf” shortly, but in the meantime, I’ll let Kyle tell us the following (NSFW…though MSNBC has pissed me off plenty of times, and I’m sure they will again as long as Steve Kornacki continues to exist on TV, I definitely wouldn’t consider that network to be the voice of the Democratic Party – Kyle makes a GREAT point about HHS Secretary Tom Price, though, and the importance of civics also)…



…and RIP Chuck Barris – I don’t think it’s a bad thing to celebrate a little absurdity in the midst on the almost-unending stories of intrigue and likely wrongdoing criminality…

…and I’m going to take a break from my Chuck Berry remembrance to put up this tune in solidarity with the UK in light of today’s awful attack, which took place pretty much where we visited not quite a year ago.

Wednesday Stuff

I’ve got a lot of stuff on Neil Gorsuch that I’ll try to get to shortly, but I think I’d better focus on the Repugs and their typically sick, twisted attempt to try and repeal the Affordable Care Law since, as noted here, Sen. Mr. Elaine Chao may schedule a vote tomorrow (and credit where it’s due to “Bri-Fi” in PA-08 who said he would oppose the so-called “American Health Care Act”)…



…and while Trevor Noah compares #45 to a bus, K.O. takes a less ambiguous path and just calls Trump an idiot, which is about right unfortunately…

..and Cenk tells us here about the lady who didn't think Generalissimo Trump would cut her "Meals on Wheels" (more here...and isn't this typical for Mr.-Puppy-Dog-Eyes-With-The-Shiv?)...



…oh, and did you know that “the blahs” and “inner-city men” in general are lazy, and they’re responsible for poverty, as opposed to the corporatist greed-head monsters currently in charge of the “party of Lincoln”? At least, that’s according to Ryan, as noted here in a clip from 3/19/14…yep, it’s another installment of "This Day In Doomsy History," albeit a day or so late…



…and turning once more to Chuck Berry, there are almost too many good covers of his great tunes to catalog, but, as far as I’m concerned, these two should make that list (sorry the JT video is goofed up).

Tuesday Stuff

“Odd connections” indeed (concerning yesterday's U.S. House FBI hearing, of course)…

Things Trump will attack: Politicians both left and right, U.S. allies, the cast of 'Hamilton'

Things Trump won't attack: Russia pic.twitter.com/A8J6Cga0Ot

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) March 21, 2017

…and Congressman Adam Schiff provided what I thought was a pretty concise summation here (somebody is going to write a really good book about all of this one day, and I plan to read it)…

This is the one video you need to watch to understand the full extent of Trump's tangled web with Russia pic.twitter.com/SJFd16KhUi

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) March 21, 2017

..and Rachel Maddow talks with Schiff some more about yesterday’s hearing; by the way, the news item she referred to was the story about Secretary of State Rex Tillerson blowing off the two-day meeting with NATO to go to Russia instead, and Schiff said the only reason Tillerson should be going to Moscow at this point is to return that friendship medal Putin gave to him, and I wholeheartedly agree…



...and K.O. actually gives the "Gropenfuhrer" some good advice here I believe, and that is to "get out of Dodge," as it were...



…turning to Chuck Berry, a certain John Winston Lennon did a great cover of this tune on his mid-70’s album “Rock N’ Roll,” which was a serviceable bunch of covers that Lennon recorded to satisfy a contractual obligation...



...and the title of this tune ended up as the title also of a great book about Berry.

Monday Stuff

The journey of a million miles begins with a single step, as they say...and kudos to Jake Tapper for this (more here...HAHAHAHA!!!)…



…and yeah, it’s pretty funny to me, albeit in a darkly humorous way, how circumspect FBI Director James Comey is here about Russian interference in our election, when he showed absolutely no such impulse in weeks prior to the election last year against HRC (here)…



…and Kyle tells us about a great ad for "Justice Democrats" (though I could do without Jimmy Dore, who, as far as I’m concerned, did a hell of a lot to help elect President Tiny-Handed Egomaniac with his constant caterwauling about HRC…yes, she was a “Corpora-dem,” and that certainly isn’t good, but LOOK WHAT WE’RE STUCK WITH NOW., YOU IDIOT!! - NSFW...and yeah, we have to talk about "Russia, Russia, Russia" because we don't have a choice, though Kyle is right about the "Corporate Dems" having to make their case also...GREAT point about FDR in the last 2 minutes)…



…and I think that’s a good lead-in to Thom Hartmann and Sen. Jeff Merkley on how the "Gropenfuhrer" is a liar yet again on "Buy American" - Number 45 can return the "Buy American Act" from FDR to its original intent by ending these stupid waivers started under The Sainted Ronnie R...



…oh, and by the way, I’m not going to argue that Chuck Berry was necessarily a paragon of moral virtue. However, I will say that his career was very nearly derailed completely due to a violation of the Mann Act in December 1959, as stupid and racist of a piece of legislation as ever existed.

Saturday Stuff

RIP Charles Edward Anderson Berry, truly a founding father of rock n’ roll…hard to overstate his importance, through the exquisite integration of his musicianship with lyrics that completely defined what was, at that time, the emerging youth culture in this country…



…and I liked this interview from a few years back with Berry and President Carter…



...I plan to feature his timeless music all week, including this lesser-known tune...



…along with this from his tribute film (and here is another passing of note – read many of his columns for years in the Evening Bulletin in these parts).



Update 3/19/17: And yet another great of the Fourth Estate departs.

Friday Stuff

I don’t think there’s that sophisticated of an explanation as to why Generalissimo Trump is such a clueless, arrogant, egotistical liar…and as K.O. points out, we’ve had plenty of warnings about this sort of thing from popular culture, TV and movies in particular (NSFW)…



…and Nomiki Konst comments on a Fix Noise poll where Bernie comes out on top – big surprise, though it IS surprising that he came out ahead of the “Gropenfuhrer” (though, with respect, I don’t think Bernie Sanders would have had as easy a time in the general election as Cenk & co. are alleging – took awhile to hear from Michael Tracey, but when he said something it certainly was worth it)…



…and yeah, I’m sure most of those “faith leaders” and evangelical sheep (including this guy apparently) are going to fall right in line for this monstrous fraud on health care perpetrated by the “party of Lincoln”…

Ezra Klein explains why the GOP’s American Health Care Act is one of the most "singularly devastating documents" in American politics: pic.twitter.com/spk5KyzaLy

— Vox (@voxdotcom) March 15, 2017

...and it looks like "bathroom bill" McCrory is having a hard time finding a job...awwww - maybe he can apply in Texas...

The former Governor of North Carolina is having trouble finding work because he's a transphobe pic.twitter.com/33dn49DjIp

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) March 15, 2017

…and let’s not forget that President Tiny-Handed Egomaniac is going to try and cram another one of his “deplorables” onto The Supreme Court…



…and speaking of Fergus Laing’s cronies, apparently AG Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III thinks pot is as bad as heroin – seriously…

Jeff Sessions thinks weed is almost as bad as heroin (he's wrong) pic.twitter.com/YXybTKSAR9

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) March 16, 2017

...and boy, does Sam Bee ever ask a great question here...



…and happy St. Patrick’s Day, everybody (I’m suddenly in the mood to watch “The Departed”).