Cenk and Ana of TYT tell us about how the supposed “stimulus” should help an estimated 22 million people out of work in this country, yet their former employers got bailout $$ to buy shares of their own stock or pay dividends to investors (and in a related story, I think this is pretty rank too)…
…and this “Morning Joe” clip is kind of a corporate-media-sanitized version of the prior video, but Stephanie Ruhle makes some great points about the big bidness malefactors taking the $$ they shouldn’t be entitled to – sounds like crappy legislation railroaded through Congress without proper oversight…more of a reason for us to vote out Repugs and hold more Dems’ feet to the proverbial fire, as Cenk alluded to earlier (and speaking of South Dakota, I give you this)…
…and in keeping with the overall theme here, Thom Hartmann tells us who Our Pumpkin Pestilence is lining up to take the fall for what happens next when he tries to reopen America (though the governors will really be doing that of course, as it should be)…
…and happy belated 75th birthday to Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple.
This Now This clip tells us about idiot MI demonstrators vs. the Dem Governor Gretchen Whitmer acting up against her shelter-in-place order, which led to a traffic jam that kept health care workers from their jobs (bankrolled by the DeVos family, who are no doubt laughing their despicable asses off over it – somehow I’m sure the Mackinac Center is involved also, but I can’t find anything on that at the moment)…
…and Brian Tyler Cohen tells us about Mango Mussolini threatening to dissolve Congress, or something, in the typical manner of a banana republic strongman (spoiler alert: no, the Gropenfuhrer can’t do that for the reasons BTC explains)…
…and I know I need to catch up on this item from “The Majority Report” about the progressive judge winning in Wisconsin over the one favored by the “party of Lincoln,” and despite the best efforts of the High Court of Hangin’ Judge JR to tilt the scales in favor of the Repugs…pretty clear-eyed analysis by Sam I’d say…
...and since this is another day of the week with a "y" in it, it looks like it's time for this clip again (my response to this)...
…and RIP acclaimed character actor Brian Dennehy; IMHO, this is one of his best roles from a great movie based on a terrific book…
…and I’m definitely in the mood for something that’s more than a little trippy, so here it is.
Leave it to the Gropenfuhrer to air a video promoting himself during a news conference about a deadly pandemic, as Brian Tyler Cohen tells us…
…and John I. and Jordan Uhl of The Damage Report give us their take on Mango Mussolini’s most recent fit of madness (and great point about the spikes when South Korea and China re-opened)…
“We did a job that nobody ever thought was possible” all right. Yeah, because I guess we were SPOILED by COMPETENCE from PRESIDENTS WHO, FOR THE MOST PART, ACTED LIKE ADULTS!!
And “You have to pay attention. You have to be alert” indeed…
…meanwhile, for the reality point of view, I give you Rachel Maddow talking with New York Times reporter Eric Lipton, the lead writer of this piece that was published last Sunday…
(Note: I may be able to sneak in a post or two after all this week.)
This tells us about New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern, who, as nearly as I can tell, has done a great job for real with her country’s COVID-19 crisis (here)…
…and this BBC segment gives us more of a picture of the human toll of this misery (more here)…
…and I have to admit that, while I applaud the spirit of the venture capitalist who comes out in favor of UBI (and basically tells the people running the hedge funds to pound sand), I’m just not sure that “burning it all down” is the answer, even though I admit that I don’t have a better idea…I got a kick out of the host who acted like he didn’t want “main street” to go belly up but was actually providing cover for the VC crowd, as does that entire network as far as I’m concerned…keeping this post international I know since David Doel is Canadian…
…and from this country, I should note that Lowell George would have been 75 today.
(The pic has to do with this, by the way - also, probably no posting next week.)
I think this latest ad from The Lincoln Project pretty much says what needs to be said (and Chris Hayes's show is pretty good, but his tweets are fire, like this one)…
…and “This has run off with us” indeed – the animation at the end of this Rachel Maddow segment says it all (with some of the predictable lunacy in response here and here)…
…and John and Ana of TYT tell us about Mango Mussolini telling FEMA to seize hospital supplies presumably so more can be sent to states who grovel at the Gropenfuhrer’s beck and call…
…and Farron Cousins tells us about Kayleigh McEnany, the latest liar to front for our ruling regime of criminals – yep, about as repellent a human being as you can expect…
…and speaking of frauds, Kyle K. tells us about nutball preacher Kenneth Copeland’s alleged effort to combat COVID-19 (yeah, something sure “blows” all right...don't completely agree with Kyle's take on religion in general, but I agree with the rest of this)…
…and I hope he’s doing OK – maybe this is the song we need right now.
Cenk and Ana tell us about Thomas Modly, the assclown who “resigned” after criticizing Capt. Brett Crozier of the U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt over the latter’s commendable actions to help those under his command who were exposed to COVID-19, as was Crozier himself who came down with it unfortunately…all the best…good point by Cenk about Crozier having gone through channels first, meeting the predictable roadblocks under this lawless regime…
Update: And on this subject (and when it comes to "Death Wish" Republicans), I give you this...
They revoked Gov. Kelly’s order limiting church gathering size, a scientifically sound way to save lives by blunting spread of the virus.#idiots#PureEvilhttps://t.co/RP0zw2IfPK
What’s Trump planning to run on in 2020? No wall. Stock market lower than when he took office. No accomplishments. Oh wait - 100,000-200,000 Americans dying is very good he says. https://t.co/m0LoXsjnlY
…and Bernie officially drops out...more here – I’m sure that idiot Whoopi Goldberg will be happy now; Bernie was the “good soldier” in 2016 for HRC, and he’s pledged to be that for Biden now, and I have no reason whatsoever to doubt him on that (good point to keep pushing for platform changes – the struggle goes on)…
…and David Pakman presents us with an example of a religious leader acting commendably in response to ramblings from Laura Ingraham…I’m not even sure what the hell her question was, but the elitism oozed out of every word – so the “working class” needs religion more than she does? We’re all going to be judged one day, and you’d better believe that that applies to her too (and Pakman is absolutely right about Father Murray...and I love the way Fix Noise always seems to have at least one nodding head along with one of their idiot hosts to try and drum home their narratives to "the rabble" - a related item is here)…
…and since I don’t have the other Pakman clip of religiosity gone bad, I present this from Kyle K. (about a dozen states exempt religious gatherings from “shelter in place” restrictions, stupidly enough…I like to think that I’m at least a hallway-decent practicing Catholic, and I have to tell you that the woman interviewed in the car is nuts)…
…and Robert Reich tells us about CEOs claiming to be heroes – yeah, right…
…and in my quest to find some news that is actually good, I came across this item concerning a high school teacher in Union, NJ connecting virtually with his students (and parents also – kudos)…
...and no, I never intend to let Our Treasonous, Tiny-Handed Orange Dictator Wannabe forget about this (more here)...
...and with all of this insanity raging, I have to admit that certain tunes have been running around in my head more than usual, including this one.
So many reasons to totally disregard a single syllable oozing from the mouth of this foul, venomous, lying orange meat sack, as Brian Tyler Cohen tells us, this time pertaining to the utter rout of anything approximating Democracy the “party of Lincoln” is waging in Wisconsin (more here)…
…and Ana and Cenk tell us about the blowup between Trump flunky Peter Navarro and Dr. Anthony Fauci over the alleged COVID-19 miracle drug (and in a related story, this of course isn’t surprising at all)…
…and Farron Cousins tells us about businesses trying to figure out how to get their 2020 “stim”…looking like individuals won’t get anything until the fall also (and yeah, that’s about what we can expect when Steve Mnuchin…”half” of small businesses in this country? Dear God)…
...and goddammit, I thought he was going to make it (here).
One blessed day, when we’ve emerged from the utter misery of all of this as best as we can and provided as much care and support as we could, and the moment comes to look back at how this catastrophe happened, this clip from Rachel Maddow should be preserved for all eternity as a chronicle of infamy, you might say (oh, and there's this too)…
Update 4/7/20: 45 should be arrested right f*cking now for this.
…and by extension, this also applies to the Gropenfuhrer’s acolytes, with Wilbur Ross basically saying that coronavirus would be “good for bidness” – and yeah, Kayleigh McEnany is truly that much of a foul, disgusting harpie…
Update 4/7/20: As Cenk would say (about McEnany), "OF COUUURRRSE!" (here).
…though of course, there’s always reason to destroy more environmental regulations and get more horrible judges confirmed, as noted here (John I. and Brett Erlich of "The Damage Report" tell us more…yep, “The Black Swan moment” all right)……
— Will Bunch Sign Up For My Newsletter (@Will_Bunch) April 6, 2020
Update: These are the five life forms responsible for this travesty from the U.S. Supreme Court:
Now, repeat the following after me:
I just want to make sure that's clearly understood.
Update 4/7/20: Though obviously fraught with danger, this may be the best way to say "F.U." to these lunatics.
Update 4/21/20: No, this is not hyperbole, people (here).
…and Brian Tyler Cohen points out what a good job CA Governor Gavin Newsom is doing in response to the outbreak, and also what an utter tool Devin Nunes truly is…
…and no, I never intend to let that orange sack of shit forget about this (more here)…
...and this probably isn't a good "social distancing" tune, but I like it anyway.
I have to admit, though, that this genuinely makes me wonder how our current corporate media would have reported on various stories throughout history given their current tendency to normalize what, for my money, is insane. And I wonder if it would have gone something like this:
In 1553, Mary Tudor ascended to the throne as Queen of England. In an attempt to reunite her country with Rome and Catholicism (having broken with Rome under her father Henry VIII, who formed the protestant Church of England), she declared the marriage of her parents valid (Henry’s marriage to Mary’s mother Katharine of Aragon was declared invalid, initiating the break from the Catholic Church). Mary’s husband Philip of Spain (also Catholic) persuaded the British Parliament to repeal Henry's religious laws, thus returning the English church to Roman jurisdiction.
Reaching an agreement to reinstitute the Catholic Church in England with Rome took many months and Mary and Pope Julius III had to make a major concession: the British monastery lands confiscated under Henry were not returned to the church. However, by the end of 1554, an agreement with Rome was finalized, and, adopting a new tone, Mary revived the Heresy Acts, in which numerous Protestants were executed, including Thomas Cranmer, the imprisoned archbishop of Canterbury under Henry.
The absence of a strong national government in 1932 Germany prompted two influential politicians, Franz von Papen and Alfred Hugenberg, along with several other industrialists and businessmen, to write a letter to German president Paul von Hindenburg. The signers urged Hindenburg to appoint Adolf Hitler as leader of a government "independent from parliamentary parties," which could turn into a movement that would "enrapture millions of people." Hitler ran against Hindenburg in that year’s presidential elections, and though Hitler lost, he emerged as chancellor after two further parliamentary elections—in July and November 1932—had not resulted in the formation of a majority government.
On 27 February 1933, the Reichstag building (home of the German parliament) was set on fire, possibly by members of Hitler’s National Socialist (or Nazi) Party. Adopting a new tone, at Hitler's urging, Hindenburg responded with the Reichstag Fire Decree of 28 February, which suspended basic rights and allowed detention without trial. The decree was permitted under Article 48 of the Weimar Constitution, which gave the president the power to take emergency measures to protect public safety and order. Activities of the German Communist Party (KPD) were suppressed, and some 4,000 KPD members were arrested (and yes, somehow I think we remember what happened in the years that followed, right?)
After the end of World War II, the U.S. continued their military assistance to Chinese nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek and his Kuomintang (or KMT) government forces against the People's Liberation Army (PLA) led by Mao Zedong during the civil war. Likewise, the Soviet Union gave quasi-covert support to Mao by their occupation of north east China, which allowed the PLA to move in en masse and take large supplies of arms left by the Japanese's Kwantung Army. To enhance the Red Army's military operations, Mao, as the Chairman of the Communist Party of China, named his close associate General Zhu De to be its Commander-in-Chief.
Adopting a new tone in 1948, under direct orders from Mao, the People's Liberation Army starved out the Kuomintang forces occupying the city of Changchun. At least 160,000 civilians are believed to have perished during the siege, which lasted from June until October. PLA lieutenant colonel Zhang Zhenglu, who documented the siege in his book “White Snow, Red Blood,” compared it to Hiroshima: "The casualties were about the same. Hiroshima took nine seconds; Changchun took five months." On January 21, 1949, Kuomintang forces suffered great losses in decisive battles against Mao's forces. In the early morning of December 10, 1949, PLA troops laid siege to Chongqing and Chengdu on mainland China, and Chiang Kai-shek fled from the mainland to Formosa (Taiwan).
With all of this in mind, I thought I’d present this as a Sunday meditation, seeing as how we’re not able to attend services (or at least, we shouldn’t be anyway, until we’re over this COVID-19 thing).
Update 7/21/19: This, in response to another nutso, alleged "press briefing" by Our Traitorous Orange Pustule today...
THE NOTE: The president is displaying a new tone and a new level of engagement, after aides and allies have pleaded with him to recognize the gravity of the moment, @rickklein writes. https://t.co/8giw8IfiE3
No questions about the reports of the Russian bounties on our troops in Afghanistan (here).
Currently, we're at about 140,000 dead from COVID-19, the world's worst site of the pandemic (here).
And 22 million jobs were eliminated during the pandemic with some coming back I know, though at this moment, that's threatened by more Repug stalling from #midnightmoscowmitch about additional help for those who need it (here).
Our utterly useless corporate media really never will learn.
I should note that we often check Facebook, though there are times when the pro-Trump BS, even with our latest calamity, gets too ridiculous and we have to shut it off. Well, something we learned is that apparently there are a lot of people wearing surgical latex gloves to pump gas, for example (not a bad idea), and then are discarding the gloves on the ground instead of throwing them in the trash when finished. If you know anyone doing this, please tell them to dispose of the gloves properly in the trash – kind of unbelievable that that needs to be pointed out, I know.
To begin, Cenk and Ana of TYT tell us about Jared Kushner blaming governors for supposedly not knowing how to manage their own PPE and ventilators (cruel and ridiculous for all of the reasons noted – oh, and also, there is this)…
…and the “Morning Joe” crew tell us about that criminal Brian Kemp, who stole his GA gubernatorial election, telling us he didn’t know that asymptomatic people could pass COVID-19…how big an assclown is this guy anyway? And DeSantis in Florida is barely any better – THIS IS EXACTLY WHY YOU NEED A STRONG, COHERENT FEDERAL RESPONSE! And yeah, Willie Geist pretty much made me want to vomit with his praise of the Gropenfuhrer – not the biggest fan of Jim Vandehei either, but he’s exactly right)…
Update: God, is Kemp an idiot (here) - a related post is here.
…and Kyle of Secular Talk tells us of recent reporting by Ken Klippenstein that the military was warned of the Coronavirus pandemic in 2017 (I’m not going to totally absolve Obama on the Covidian thing – maybe they could have kept the bigger company from swallowing the smaller ventilator company…maybe yes, maybe no…but it DEFINITELY isn’t the same thing as “Bin Laden Determined To Strike In The U.S.”)…
…and Dr. Dara Kass is another one of my new heroes for this...
…as is Captain Brett Crozier of the U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt, as Farron Cousins tells us (here)…
…and kudos once more to Seth Meyers for trying to find humor amidst all of this (and about the My Pillow guy, I give you this - nothing but a sop to the evangelicals)…
...and no, I never intend to let "Adolf Twitler" forget about this (more here)...
Update: I’m sure it doesn’t need to be said, but I’ll say it anyway. For the foreseeable future, however long that is, we need to do all we can to keep as many people well as possible as well as caring for the sick from this pandemic, and attending to those who have died and will die. But one blessed day (maybe far in the future), we will have flattened the curve and start working towards the day when we will have overcome this monster.
And when that day arrives, it will be time to take a long, hard look at exactly how this happened. And I believe that, beyond merely voting people out of office, some people need to go to prison. And stuff like this and this are some of the reasons why.
…and here’s a relatively newer tune with a positive message that I think we all need.
I don’t know if Pittsburgh “pastor” Jonathan Shuttlesworth will provide the Kool Aid for his planned “Woodstock-like” service in response to PA’s stay-at-home order b/c of COVID-19, but he may not have to, since the next effect of his incredible stupidity will no doubt be the same (more here)…
…and yeah, let’s not forget the role these culprits have played in this calamity (more here)…
...including this segment with news mannequin Martha MacCallum and Dr. Rishi Desai (more here)...
…and John and Ana tell us that Mango Mussolini is STILL working to shut down enrollment in Obamacare, to say nothing of trying to kill it altogether (and with all due respect to Ana, don’t get me started on ANYONE on “The View” during this epidemic)…
…and this tells us about the nurse who quit her job because she couldn’t get an N95 mask to protect herself (and oh yeah, America – there goes that baaad Bernie Sanders caring about American workers again – gee, when’s he gonna drop out of the presidential race anyway?...another indirect reference to those cackling hens on "The View"...more here)…
…and this tells us what Spain’s health care workers are dealing with – some of this no doubt is our future, and maybe our present too…
...and since it's another day of the week with a "y" in it, it looks like it's time once more for this (more here)...
This clip from Brian Tyler Cohen tells us about Mango Mussolini ranting about the Dems trying to make it easier to vote in the pandemic bill (admitting Repugs wouldn’t win if it was easier for Dems to vote…and as usual, Repugs accuse the Dems of the garbage they’re actually practicing themselves, such as noted here (notarized?) and here about putting restrictions on absentee balloting…oh, but at least 45 was number one on Facebook, as noted here, and no, that's not an April Fool's joke – yep, that iceberg is getting bigger by the minute as we rearrange the deck chairs)…
...and since it's another day of the week with a "y" in it, it looks like it's time once more for this (more here)...
...and sticking with the first crime family, Ana and Cenk of TYT tell us that the Kushners aren't going to let some pesky little item like a plague that could potentially kill thousands get in the way of gouging their tenants, being the slumlords that they are...
...and yeah, when all else fails, just "blame the Jews," huh, as "Pastor" Rick Wiles does (Kyle K. tells us all about it, and apparently Wiles has a history of this garbage)...
…and Rachel Maddow interviews New York Times reporter Donald McNeil critiquing the supply chain, or what passes for it, that we have for this crisis (good idea to get the Pentagon in on this - I have issues with Maryland Repug Gov. Larry Hogan, but kudos to him for this)…
…and it’s been so long since we’ve heard words from a responsible adult leader in this country in response to a crisis that I thought I’d present this from “across the pond” (all the best to His Highness, and yes, he wasn’t elected, but that doesn’t mean that he can’t be a leader, which he is as far as I’m concerned)…
Yes, as David Pakman tells us here, Our Pumpkin Pestilence STILL doesn’t get it when it comes to COVID-19 (and Pakman kind of teases a video at the end about how unprepared we were, and I can just about guarantee you that it has to do with this)…
…and even for Orange Satan in An Oval Office, accusing medical personnel of stealing masks is a disgusting new low even for this piece of shit of a “president,” as Sam Seder tells us…
…of course, if the Gropenfuhrer somehow could muster a particle of humanity or compassion, he’d understand what medical personnel are actually going through, including this ICU nurse…God bless her and everyone who provides the care we need…
…and speaking of someone who’s been though a war, and no doubt is continuing to endure it, I give you this clip of Dr. David Price of Cornell Medical Center…this video is about 57 minutes long, but if you can block out the time to watch it, I definitely recommend it (more important than the other videos in this post)…he tells us how COVID-19 is transmitted and the common-sense steps we can take to protect ourselves and those around us…apparently that numbskull Jesse Watters of Fix Noise featured an abbreviated clip of it, which is positive I guess…
…and The Rational National reminds us that, because of the accompanying recession kick-started by the abject failure of the executive branch of our government, potentially about 3.3 million people in this country now no longer have employer-based health insurance (oh, but just keep pressuring Bernie Sanders to find out when he’s going to drop out and don’t seriously consider Medicare For All, right?).
(“I never think about health care until I need it, and then I get it.” When M4A is reality one blessed day, that should be inscribed everywhere in this country.)
(And as I've said before, movement conservatism in this country was flat on its metaphorical back in 1964, but they organized around a strategy and became dominant. It took them 16 years and the awful election of The Sainted Ronnie R, but they found a way. And it will take that kind of intelligence and determination on our side too.)...
…and because we need a bit of comic relief, I give you this TYT clip of John and Ana talking about the Italian mayors giving it to their countrymen for not practicing social distancing (why the hell are they bleeping in Italian when most of us don't know the language?)…
…and this item is also worth a chuckle...Farron Cousins tells us that, apparently, Judge Jeanine Pirro was hammered in a recent segment…oh, but it was really the teleprompter…riiiiight…
...and happy 75th birthday to the one and only Eric Clapton.
Brian Tyler Cohen tells us about the Swanson TV Dinner Heir dragging Brit Hume out of his crypt to say that, yes, Hume is apparently prepared to die also in order to revive our economy...and Cohen points out why that is a thoroughly disingenuous argument…
…and Kyle K. gives us an example of just how great our health care system is, namely, that nurses have to wear trash bags to protect themselves (U-S-A! U-S-A!)…
...and John and Brett Erlich of The Damage Report tell us about AOC calling out U.S. Senate Republicans for their sickening greed, thoroughly beholden to the CEOs who pull their puppet strings, in response to the COVID-19 stimulus bill...
…and since Our Treasonous, Tiny-Handed Orange Dictator in An Oval Office apparently hates this ad so much (here), it looks like it’s time to repeat it…
…and I know I should, at a minimum, say nothing about someone who has died if I can’t say anything good, but I’m going to make an exception in the case of former Oklahoma Repug U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, as noted here (called “Dr. No” for a reason, I should point out).
I’ve been complaining (especially now) about people who profess to hate the federal government being elected to jobs WORKING FOR the federal government, and Coburn might just be Exhibit A in that argument. He NEVER encountered a piece of legislation or some kind of amendment that he couldn’t find fault with, allegedly because he believed it cost too much money. If his objections weren’t financial, then they were ideological, frequently for reasons that were FACTUALLY WRONG as noted in the following clip, having to do with Generalissimo Trump withdrawing this country from the Paris Climate Accord (and as Cenk mentioned, Dubya did the same thing with the Kyoto Protocols). There are lots of other appropriate Coburn anecdotes that you can read from this link (more also from the last bullet here).
There are various reasons to thoroughly despise Tom Coburn. You could argue that, as a medical doctor, he should have had at least a rudimentary understanding of and respect for issues pertaining to science. I mean, you would think that, wouldn’t you?
Here are more reasons to look upon Coburn with nothing but contempt…
He attempted to block a suicide prevention act for our veterans (here).
Coburn also targeted veterans’ disability payments (here).
Coburn also pushed for a so-called “Article V” U.S. Constitutional convention to basically rewrite that document the way he and the one percent have always wanted and throw our government into chaos (the wet dream of Charles Koch and similarly well-heeled scumbags - here).
He also demanded spending cuts at about the same time as his home state was hit by a tornado (here).
He also attempted to shut down the FAA over bike safety funding (or other usages by states of federal funds in a manner Coburn apparently didn't agree with) here.
Coburn also praised Mango Mussolini for his ability to manipulate the press (here).
There is nothing memorable, noteworthy or praiseworthy in the record of alleged accomplishments by Tom Coburn. The only thing to do is to dispose of his earthly remains, and at any future mention of his name, spit in disgust or curse as appropriate, and then move on…
…and I thought this was a peppy little number to listen to as we dance our way to the potential apocalypse.
(I saw this message when I was taking my constitutional nearby Le Manse Doomsy, and I thought it bore repeating, particularly in our current context.)
Rachel Maddow interviewed NYU med student Gabrielle Mayer, who, of her class, offered to graduate early in order to help with the COVID-19 pandemic…much gratitude to her and her fellow students who are following her commendable course of action…
…and going from one altruistic extreme completely to the other, John and Ana of TYT tell us about Orange Satan trying to basically reopen the economy by Easter…a typically disgusting and cynical pitch aimed at the “Fundies,” who will no doubt dutifully lap it all up en masse…
…and this Now This clip tells us about our ridiculous sanctions against Iran during COVID-19 making that country’s crisis worse…and I’m sure it’s no surprise that, given that he works for a regime of liars, Pompeo is lying himself in this clip – naive, pin-headed liberal that I am, I cannot help but think to myself that this crisis, calamitous as it is, presents the whole world with an opportunity to work together in some fashion to each other’s benefit to help recover somehow from it and ensure that it never happens again – yes, I know…sunshine, lollipops and rainbows every day…
…and this clip presents Repug U.S. House Rep Thomas Massie in his thoroughly dunderheaded idiocy, questioning former U.S. Senator and Secretary of State John Kerry on the issue of climate change (I’m not saying Kerry shouldn’t be questioned, but only do it like an actual adult) – I know this is history, but given this (Massie trying to hold up the COVID-19 relief bill), it’s safe to say that Massie is giving Louie Gohmert, Steve King, Matt Gaetz and a few others runs for their money as the stupidest individual on Capitol Hill, so say nothing of being the most craven and corrupt (and for sure, Massie made this list - more here)…
…and kudos to Brianna Keilar of CNN for not letting Trumpster Peter Navarro off the hook over the provisioning, or lack thereof, in response to the outbreak, as Brian Tyler Cohen tells us (yeah, blame China and Obama - what a disgusting cabal of frauds and idiots!)…
…and David Doel has quite rightly laid into our thoroughly bought-and-paid-for corporate media over their reporting on the Dem presidential primary, and he’s right, and he can barely contain his disgust again here (Bernie giving it to the U.S. Senate Repugs on Coronavirus relief…yeah, Bernie had better hurry up and drop out, huh…removing my tongue from my cheek)…
...and since it's a day of the week with a "y" in it, it looks like it's time for this video once more (more here)...
...and happy 70th birthday to Tony Banks of Genesis.
(I should note that, sometime probably over the next week or so, I’m going to be scaling back with posting on this site. For now, though, I am able to do what I can, but we’ll see.)
I saw the card that I captured in the pic above in our mail yesterday, and at first, I thought The Onion was trying to solicit for a subscription.
What’s next? “President Trump’s guidelines on nuclear disarmament”? “His guidelines on international diplomacy”?
Looks like it’s time once more, then, for this video (more here)…
…and Thom Hartmann tells us what other countries are doing in response to the outbreak (and speaking of Mnuchin, I give you this - this crowd is more repellent by the day hour, including this wretched excuse for a human being)…
…and I now give you the latest installment of “This Day In Doomsy History” (more or less, from 3/19/10 – kind of off by a bit I know)…with all of the COVID-19 stuff raging, my apologies for neglecting to point out the recent 10th anniversary of the signing of the Affordable Care Act into law (here)…this clip is intended mainly to present the utterly bogus arguments against health care reform, made particularly more odious now given our current calamity (I think the ACA turned out to be better than Arianna Huffington’s pronouncement here, speaking with K.O., but I agree with her point that we need to build on it and expand it, not try to tear it down…and kudos to Rachel Maddow for showing Dick Armey to be what he truly is, and that goes for The Sainted Ronnie R also)…
…and sticking with Maddow, she points out the true insanity of what Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves has done in his state (as noted here, they are dead last when it comes to health care ratings among all 50 states)…
…and Kyle K. tells us about the fight related to the virus in Lake Worth Beach City, FL…and boy, do I get what Kyle is saying about “the wall”…nice work by Omari Hardy to stand up for residents losing their power during a pandemic (more here...what country am I living in again?)…
…and I’m in the mood for kind of a trippy, current video – I hope this will suffice.
Cenk and Ana of TYT tells us about the back-and-forth over the COVID-19 bill coming from the Democratic U.S. House and “the world’s greatest deliberative body” under the thumb of Sen. Mr. Elaine Chao (an update is here – a bill featuring something actually closer to sanity passed)…
Update 1: Apparently I spoke too soon - yeah, and there are people who will actually blame Democrats for this.
Update 2: I’m going to relax my rule about profanity on this site for a minute and say that Lindsey Graham is a steaming pile of dog shit for this – to do something about him AT LONG LAST, please click here.
Update 3: Hey, philly.com and the AP! Where is your REPUBLICANS BLOCK CORONAVIRUS AID PACKAGE screaming headline?
You know - kind of like this...
Update 4: Oh, suuure, give the "party of Lincoln" the fluffing it deserves, right? What a joke...
Update 5: What I said about Graham goes for Tom Golisano too (here).
Update 6: And by the way, like you I’m sure, I’m already starting to see the outrage over the Dems potentially caving in the Senate on this bill and its likely giveaway to our corporate “betters” (here). And no, I don't like it one bit either.
But Democrats aren’t in charge of the U.S. Senate, people. Look what happened when voters put Democrats in charge of the U.S. House. They passed about 400 bills that #MIdnightMoscowMitch lit up for kindling (here). And many of them were bipartisan.
You want change for real? Stop whining and bitching and work/donate/speak out to elect Democrats.EVERYWHERE! You can start by clicking here.
…and one day, when we eventually get a handle on the catastrophic medical impact from this virus and are able to provide for everyone infected as much as our means allows, I want it to be recorded for posterity forever that ONE POLITICAL PARTY AND THEIR MEDIA ACOLYTES IN THIS COUNTRY WERE PERFECTLY FINE WITH ALLOWING PEOPLE TO DIE FOR THE SAKE OF PRESERVING THEIR WAY OF LIFE AND THEIR DISGUSTING IDEOLOGY.
And somehow, it will just be expected of us to make peace with these monsters. When in reality, they have made it utterly clear to the entire world that ONCE MORE, THEY ARE PERFECTLY FINE WITH ALLOWING PEOPLE TO DIE IN THE NAME OF MAINTAINING THEIR CAPITALIST CULTURE THAT BENEFITS THEM AT THE EXPENSE OF NEARLY EVERYONE ELSE.
I remember how vilified Dem former U.S. House Rep Alan Grayson was for saying the GOP wanted you to die quickly, when in reality, he was more correct than he ever could have imagined…
...and more garbage from The Roger Ailes BS Factory is noted here (comparing this to Obama's response to Ebola)...
...and I'm not necessarily including this as an automatic endorsement of "Malarkey Joe" (though he has my endorsement by default of course if he ends up getting the nod), but this definitely needs to be pointed out for the record vs. Our Pumpkin Pestillence...
Update 7: So I guess, given this, I should put up this video every day for awhile - maybe I will.
...and Rachel Maddow speaks with Dr. Esther Choo about what's taking place on the front lines with health care providers - Choo is based in Seattle (this report aired on 3/20, so I hope any update would be positive, but given that we're talking about the regime of the Gropenfuhrer, I definitely don't expect that)...
I realize that the phrase “insane press conference” having to do with Generalissimo Trump long since became redundant, but apparently he was particularly crazed yesterday, basically telling everybody to get the hell back to work and hurry up and die to keep the markets from plummeting still further (as if doing that would calm the stock market...Cenk Uygur gives us the gory details, with more to come later today...more here).
Republicans are trying to kill us. Literally.How many more goddamn ways do we still need to point that out?...
Update 3/25/20: Yeah, I would call this an appropriate response.
…and the Rational National tells us about Texas (of course) Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick trying to sacrifice the lives of potentially thousands of people, even millions, to preserve capitalism “for the children”…every time I think these cretins can’t find a new bottom…
…and David Pakman tells us about the crowd selling snake oil, you might say, trying to enhance their wretched profiles from COVID-19 (what a collection of bottom-feeders)…
…and Kyle has more on the Gropenfuhrer getting rid of the pandemic preparedness experts (oh, riiight – they were just standing around doing nothing, so Mango Mussolini gave them their pink slips – uh huh, suuuure)…
…and this clip from Brian Tyler Cohen tells us about a woman at a Dollar Tree store in Florida who bought up all of the paper products (not sure why the store didn’t put a per-customer limit in place and enforce it, but what do I know?)…
Update: To try and do something constructive in the face of this insanity, please click here (and yeah, it's pretty sad when we have to count on "No Corporate Tax" Pat Toomey to do the right thing, but unfortunately, this is where we are).
…and happy belated 90th birthday to Stephen Sondheim – this selection is almost too easy I know.
Rachel Maddow, to her credit, “goes there” on the Gropenfuhrer and the “L” word…he utterly shredded any notion of credibility long ago, as she correctly points out…
…and Brian Tyler Cohen tells us that it’s not only Our Pumpkin Pestilence who has acted like a dangerous fool on this issue in particular, but others in his party also (the Mika and Joe Scar clip comparing Paris vs. Clearwater probably led to this, though DeSantis made the move too late)…
...and this Now This clip features Dr. Peter Hotez testifying about the delays in developing a vaccine for COVID-19...as this clip points out and as NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo, among others, has also noted, our health care system in this country is market-based, attuned to meet current demand...well, normally that's fine, but it doesn't allow for catastrophic situations such as the one we're currently dealing with...and no, I don't have a magical answer to solve that either short of Medicare for All, single payer, and nationalizing our health care system (and I'm not even sure how good of an idea that is), but I'm just pointing out the problem...
…and Farron Cousins tells us here that, according to yet another poll, only 30% of Repugs will pay attention to doctors and others over their warnings on COVID-19 (figures, unfortunately)...mildly NSFW…
Update 3/23/20: You quite literally have to get to Paragraph 20 in this story accompanying this thoroughly misleading graphic to find out the following:
Democrats are particularly fighting for constraints on the largely Republican-led effort to provide $500 billion for corporations. Democrats call that a “slush fund.”
Democrats won a concession — to provide four months of expanded unemployment benefits, rather than just three as proposed, according to an official granted anonymity to discuss the private talks. The jobless pay also would extend to self-employed and so-called gig workers.
But Republicans complained Democrats were holding out for more labor protections for workers, wanting assurances that corporations taking federal aid will commit to retaining their employees.
Another moment in "journamalism," as Atrios calls it, courtesy of philly.com (where, last I noticed, Christine Flowers still is awarded a paycheck).
Update 3/24/20: Gee, maybe our corporate media should have taken her a little more seriously (here - and yes, I know there was a misstep or two along the way in her campaign, but imagine Warren as the standard-bearer now instead of "Malarkey Joe"...oh, sorry - I forgot that the U.S. Presidency, thus far, is a patriarchy).
