Friday Stuff

This clip from Meidas Touch kind of goes over what we already know I’ll admit when it comes to the "party of Lincoln" and how they just love Vlad The Butcher, but it definitely bears repeating as far as I’m concerned...



...and this report from the German news service DW tells us that, among other things, Vlad The Butcher is redeploying his troops to the east of Ukraine to the Donbas region in an effort to gain a foothold of sorts in that country, having failed to take Kyiv...and yeah, that appointment of Alexander Dvornikov as head of Russian forces doesn’t bode well for mitigation of the slaughter anytime soon...



...and Rachel Maddow (who apparently is back for a limited time) tells us about brave Russians speaking out against the war, partly through food labels in supermarkets...



...and Ana tells us about privately owned but publicly funded charter schools (and how the hell is that even legal?), in this case Hillsdale College expanding into charters and laying on the conservative propaganda pretty thick of course (starting In Tennessee – yeah, that figures...and yeah, more than anything else, the charter school movement is anti-union big time...the last minute or so of this clip about fighting back is pretty important)...



...and Jayar Jackson and David Doel of Rebel HQ discuss Greg Abbott’s ridiculous bus stunt with the immigrants (and yeah, it’s nice that Abbott is indirectly helping these people on the Texas taxpayer dime, but of course Abbott, as you might expect, will do nothing but utterly lie about that)...



...and I haven't checked in with John Oliver in a loooong time (nothing against him, I wish to emphasize), but his latest report on data brokers is pretty interesting, and the payoff at the end is terrific (pretty sure this is NSFW/H)...



...and I now give you the latest installment of “This Day In Doomsy History” (more or less) from 4/10/12, in which our corporate media politely called out Former President Nutball (43 that is) here over his stupendously awful tax cuts and what they did to the debt...



...and speaking of money, I just wanted everyone to know that the tax filing deadline was extended to Monday April 18th; hope you end up OK...we did fine, fortunately.

Wednesday Stuff

Farron Cousins tells us that, based on a recent Gallup poll, 53 percent of those polled support development of renewable energy to fight the climate crisis (and yeah, as Cousins says, implying that investment in renewable energy actually ISN’T a stimulus for the economy is pretty much a lie)...



...and Trae Crowder discusses Herschel Walker, running as a Repug for the Georgia U.S. Senate seat against Raphael Warnock...I mean, after Tommy Tuberville won in Alabama (to say nothing of Greene, Boebert, Cawthorn and other low lights from that party), I assume that the methane dispensers supporting these assclowns will vote for ANYBODY with a pulse who has an “R” after their name...not only is Walker not a serious candidate IMO – and yeah, I know he can win anyway – but I think the man is in cognitive decline, and I’m not saying that to make fun of him, but only to point out that he needs professional help and shouldn’t be ANYWHERE NEAR a political campaign for public office (mildly NSFW/H)...



...and Brian Tyler Cohen tells us about that utterly nuts “interview” Maria Bartiromo (of course) conducted with Walker (NSFW/H)...



...and just for the hell of it, here’s more on now-SCOTUS-Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson from Trevor Noah (the Dulcé Sloan bit was OK I guess)...



...and as long as we’re discussing Walker and the High Court of Hangin’ Judge JR, I thought this was a cautionary reminder from Lawrence O’Donnell that Almost Silent Clarence Thomas should, at a minimum, be forced to recuse himself from any cases involving Mango Mussolini and the 1/6 insurrection; at the most, he should be removed from the Court altogether (hey, if Abe Fortas was forced to step down for an alleged financial impropriety of about $15K, along with $20K a year for unspecified advice to a Wall Street financier as noted here, then Thomas should face the same fate for this)...



...and on the one hand, I guess this is a tune about renewal, but on the other hand, the lyric about being “drunk on borrowed time” definitely harks back to the first video in this post as far as I’m concerned.

Tuesday Stuff

Thom Hartmann tells us about the Republican hate and fear strategy to serve the rich (yep, an anti-LGBTQ agenda, and demonizing minorities of course...and it should probably come as no surprise that FLA guv Ron #DeathSantis is lying yet again about a girl getting some kind of conversion treatment without the knowledge of her parents..and nothing against Thom of course, but what does it tell you about how insane the other side is that HE HAS TO EXPLAIN WHAT THE HELL EMPATHY IS??!! And yeah, this also provides an important lesson in corporations not wanting to pay for a goddamn thing and instead concocting non-issues to distract voters as usual...



...and Farron Cousins tells us about some Trumpist wingnut named Robert Shapiro, who is apparently running in NJ to primary Repug U.S. House Rep Chris Smith (tells you how nutty the “party of Lincoln” is to do that to someone as conservative as Smith...Shapiro wants “Let’s Go Brandon FJB” to appear next to his name on the ballot...and you know what? I agree with Cousins – let the guy do it and prove to the entire world that he’s a total idiot)...



...and David Shuster of Rebel HQ brings us the story of Russian soldiers who apparently brought radioactive material form Chernobyl home with them; I would laugh at their stupidity if it weren’t for the fact that this will likely put innocent people at a grave health risk...



...and Tiffany Cross of MSNBC speaks with Evan Milligan, executive director of the voting rights organization Alabama Forward, and Latosha Brown of Black Voters Matter on a case before the High Court of Hangin’ Judge JR having to do with Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (trying to get a voting districting map instituted in AL that doesn’t do still more to deny representation to people of color, which Alabama would surely do if they could)...



..and Ana of TYT discusses Wonder Boy Jared Kushner’s startup company getting $2 billion from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bone Saw, which could very well indeed by a tit-for-tat for not holding the Saudis to account over the murder of U.S. citizen Jamal Khashoggi...oh, but please tell me about Hunter Biden’s laptop again, OK?...a particularly disgusting update is here...and in terms of our awful relationship with our “good friends” the Saudis, well, a long time ago I read the book “Veil” by Bob Woodward about the secret wars of the CIA under The Sainted Ronnie R, and any time that regime wanted to bankroll anything that actually wasn’t an illegal arms sale, they went right to the Saudis...



...and if I do say so myself, I think this tune is an apt selection given the prior video.

Monday Stuff

(Thanks to @AdamKinzinger on Twitter for the pic.)

This CBC report tells us about the condemnation following the train station bombing in the Kramatorsk region of Ukraine by Vlad The Butcher (reporter is speaking from Lviv...and yeah, targeting schools and orphanages too...again, a pox on any world leader who turned their eye to Putin up until this madness boiled over...more here...



...and one more time, I want to take note of the recent vote to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson as the next SCOTUS justice; every U.S. Senate Repug walked out except for Mitt Romney while the Dems applauded, with Huckleberry Graham and Fake Ophthalmologist Paul holding up the vote...also, that Fix Noise guttersnipe Jesse Watters tells us that Dems blocked Janice Rogers Brown for the SCOTUS...she was never nominated to begin with...



...and with the prior clip in mind, Chris Hayes talks about how he thinks Dems can avoid getting painted into a corner, as it were, on crime (with idiots like Tom Cotton trying to confront KBJ on something she wouldn't know about unless you were talking about particular cases or statutes...I don’t think there’s a particularly clear approach that Hayes comes up with here, though he does outline the issue very well...I know some have held up Camden, N.J. as a model when it comes to de-escalating the role of the police, but what I’ve read is kind of a mixed bag, though IMO the emphasis on community policing is the right way to go (here)...there quite simply is no “quick fix” on this issue like so many others, but it will take a mix of “carrots” and “sticks” to address it properly...not the sort of thing you can turn into a slogan that fits on a bumper sticker, and that’s why a lot of so-called “moderate” independent voters will tune it out and instead just side with the Repug who yells “THEY WANT TO DEFUND THE POLICE” the loudest, and I’m honestly not 100% sure of what you can do about that except to stick to the courage of your convictions...and by the way, I’m hot and cold on Philly DA Larry Krasner; I think his advocacy has been a good thing in a lot of ways, though he has had a misstep or two as noted here...and by the way, Hayes knows a thing or two on this subject, as noted here...and playing offense for a change is a good thing too)...



...and David Doel speaks with Alex Kotch again, this time on nonprofits funding climate science denial and more or less “laundering” funds for this awful cause through mega-money managers like Fidelity and Vanguard (oh, great – have to remember the term “greenwashing”)...



...and the latest from Second Thought tells us why means testing is a bad idea, partly because it pointlessly increases the cost of affected legislation (and yeah, that $5 billion set aside by states for welfare is indeed an eye-popping number...”means testing costs the same or sometimes more than the service you’re trying to provide universally” – yep, I can believe that...and it figures that Bri-Fi, that idiot Gottheimer and #MaseratiManchin would come down on the wrong side of this issue...when discussing the OPM report, the number of people lost in 2000 due to poverty, lack of education and other factors in the Columbia study is gob-smacking)...



...and Will Bunch of inquirer.com recently noted that Our Treasonous Orange Pestilence held another one of his hate fests over the weekend (how the hell is he actually NOT in jail yet? And I don’t mean Bunch of course.) and a Johnny Cash tune was played in the background (here), and it was correctly pointed out that, were the “man in black” still with us, he would’ve been one of the first people to call out #45...well, commenter Brian Cummings on Twitter linked to this great Cash tune from back in the day, and I thought it was too apropos of a selection to not include here.

Saturday Stuff

Nice work by Jimmy Kimmel here to give Slimy Sean Inanity the treatment he completely deserves (and I realize this isn’t funny, but to see how the Fix Noise propagandist lied to his audience about ‘Rona and no doubt had a bit of a hand in getting some of them killed with his propaganda, click here)...



...and Ana and Cenk of TYT tell us about the latest wingnut idiocy from Texas guv Greg Abbott, this time on supposedly busing/flying illegal immigrants to Washington, D.C. – but gee, it looks like taxpayers in “the land of the yellow rose” would have to pay for that, wouldn’t they? Just say “oops” and get out...and to do something about Abbott, click here...



...and Ari Melber speaks with Prof. Paul Krugman about the importance of unions in our economy, in light of the unionization of Amazon’s Staten Island warehouse (and I’m convinced that, if Sen. Mr. Elaine Chao actually told the truth about something, he would turn into a pillar of salt...he indeed has "sold his soul for a tax cut")...



...and I keep waiting for the Democrats to crank out “quick response” ads like this one, this time with Dem U.S. Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii quite rightly giving it to that treasonous POS Josh Hawley, but fortunately The Lincoln Project took care of that...



...and Jayar Jackson and Adrienne Lawrence bring us this clip of Tulsa, OK police taunting and arresting a 70-year-old woman in the bathroom of a Habitat for Humanity Re-store who was having some kind of a mental breakdown (here)...hard to imagine how this could have been handled worse; all the people who act like police budgets in this country are sacrosanct should try explaining that in good faith after watching this...



...and that clip definitely put me in the mood to hear this tune.

Friday Stuff

And we're supposed to act like the "party of Lincoln" actually ISN'T racist (though, to be fair, Mitt Romney did stay and applaud apparently)...

Here’s the video pic.twitter.com/HbHBEUWFdE

— Kom Bomb Phenomenon (@fcu_ker) April 7, 2022

...and Robert Reich tells us why the KBJ confirmation matters so much, namely because the SCOTUS and its “shadow docket” poses all kinds of ways to potentially make our lives worse, as Reich explains...



...with the culprits on the High Court being confirmed under Republican presidents, from the party that apparently wants to “leave democracy,” as Beau explains (also noting that those wretched CPAC mongrels want to have their next gathering in Viktor Orban’s Hungary, given their love of right-wing authoritarians)...



...and as a bit of a companion piece to Beau’s commentary, Jessica Burbank of Rebel HQ points out how our wingnut media is committed to fascism, with Burbank reminding us that, basically, it’s the “center left” against the wingnuts who want to drive the metaphorical bus of democracy over a cliff (more on the U.S. House Repugs opposing the NATO resolution is here)...



...and I know I’m pretty late with this installment of “This Day In Doomsy History” from 4/4/16, which has to do with a video for the film “The Brainwashing of My Dad” by Jen Senko (concerning the insidious effect of right-wing media), but the main reason why I’m presenting it now is because Senko will be interviewed about it this Sunday 4/10 on KSQD community radio (5 PM PST – can be livestreamed...more here)...



...and this video from More Perfect Union has to do with the efforts of Capitol Hill congressional staffers to unionize, led by Dems Andy Levin in the House and Sherrod Brown in the Senate (I’m sure this is an issue where you REALLY CAN say it’s “both sides”)...



...and a few of the clips in this post have to do with the pernicious effects of right-wing media in our lives, and I can think of few other people who fought that more valiantly than Eric Boehlert...there’s no way I could bring this week to a close without including this segment (unless I post tomorrow – not sure yet)...I think Chris Hayes spoke eloquently for millions here in tribute to Boehlert (he definitely did for me)...



Update 4/10/22: Indeed.

...and I had a few tunes in my head that I thought were appropriate for this occasion, but I settled on this one (yes, we can’t help but be mournful, but we also should reflect on how fortunate we were to have Boehlert and his courageous work for a time and try to pick up his mantle, if you will, as best we can).

Wednesday Stuff

Beau of the Fifth Column discusses what comes next for the “party of Lincoln” in the wake of three Republican U.S. Senators (Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins and Mitt Romney) saying they will vote to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court; this is kind of a “glass half empty” perspective I’ll admit, but it tells you how much the proverbial deck is stacked against us that we have to fight so hard for an incredibly qualified person to be confirmed while “I Like Beer” Kavanaugh, Gorsuch and Amy Coney Island Baby Barrett basically skated onto the High Court (some blow back against a particular Republican U.S. Senator is noted a litle later...and speaking of nutty Republicans, I also give you this...and to be honest, this isn't surprising to anybody out there paying attention)...



...and I haven’t checked in with Brian Tyler Cohen in a little while, not for any particular reason I should emphasize; here, he tells us of Maria Bartiromo being forced to admit a great recent jobs report from the Biden Administration...and no, I don’t think anyone at Fix Noise gives a damn about whether or not the job that’s created is “low paying” or not (mildly NSFW/H...clip ends at about 7:24)...



...and Sam and Emma talk about “Tokyo Rose” Gabbard and her infatuation with wingnuttery and our kids (a particularly good analysis here of this fraud IMO...of course, Gabbard provides NO SPECIFICS anywhere, such as actual citations of poor student performance from reputable sources – yes, I’m sure that’s a “thing,” but when you’re making the charges she makes, she should have some actual, y’know, DATA to support her argument)...



...and the latest from Second Thought tells us about the secret history of drugs and capitalism (no real big “gotchas” here, but a lot of important historical context on how the U.S. has crafted its drug policy to achieve maximum economic impact against less prosperous countries, to say nothing of pointlessly incarcerating certain demographics of the population versus providing common sense treatments for drug dependency, including needle exchanges)...



...and John I. and Dan Evans of The Damage Report tell us about Repug U.S. Senator Charles Grasshole really getting it from a voter in a town hall over the way the Senate Repugs acted during the KBJ circus (I’m starting to get REALLY fed up with the dreaded “CW” from EVERYBODY that the “party of Lincoln” is going to “run the table” in the midterms later this year...yes, I have a pretty good idea that there is reason to believe that, but we need to keep fighting as much as we can regardless...I don’t think it’s hyperbole at all to say that democracy itself is at stake)...



Update 4/8/22: Well said.

...and somewhat with the prior clip in mind, David Pakman tells us that it looks like COVID may have killed more Repug voters than Dems...it’s awful when ANYONE dies from COVID or any other reason, I hasten to add...



...and speaking of those who have departed, I have to tell you that it takes an awful lot to make me stop dead in my tracks over something, but that’s how I feel about the news of the passing of Eric Boehlert; I can’t freaking believe it, to be honest...my deepest sympathies to all concerned...ugh (here he is recently doing what he did so well, and that is to hold our utterly bought-and-paid-for corporate media to account, in the matter of the recent Ginni Thomas revelations)...



...and as long as I’m on the melancholy subject of people who have died, RIP Philly music legend Bobby Rydell (here).

Tuesday Stuff

Hey Democrats...while you’re busy bugging the living crap out of me for $$ by phoning me and texting me nonstop, why don’t you try showing a freaking spine to save our democracy by coming up with ads like this, calling out The Swanson TV Dinner Heir, Bannon and Combover Caligula (yes, I know The Lincoln Project is basically a bunch of grifting Republicans from an earlier era, but they’re doing good work yet again)...



...and on the subject of wingnut propaganda, Chris Wallace confirms once more why he left The Roger Ailes BS Factory (John and Francesca tell us more)...



...and in keeping with the theme of media idiocy, I guess you can consider this video to be a “clearing house” of sorts when it comes to the latest totally fake wingnut “scandals” (including AT&T bailing on OAN – sounds like a rare bit of corporate sanity prevailed for a change...you truly can’t be considered to be part of conservative media unless you nursing a grievance or peddling some kind of fake “outrage”...Caroline Johnson tells us more)...



...and speaking of Dems who are often too damn feckless for their own good (referencing the first clip), Sam and Emma tell us how the “D” party should HAMMER the Repugs over their apparent universal opposition (on the Judiciary Committee anyway) to Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson (including Huckleberry Graham, who does indeed "give away the game" a bit here...and yeah, I don’t give a crap about this alleged cordiality between the Dems and the “party of Lincoln,” even though it sounds like Murkowski, the Mittster and “disappointed” Collins may actually do the right thing...but I’m not holding my breath)...



...and sticking with the life forms on Capitol Hill, this Meidas Touch video tells us about 193 U.S. House Republicans who voted against capping the price of insulin (I know I alluded to this a bit yesterday, including this insufferable POS from Florida, but I think it bears repeating)...Bri-Fi voted Yes to be fair, but he also voted against the Dems’ bill on pot decriminalization...



...and in response to alleged wingnut umbrage over “woke” Disney (anything to avoid dealing with issues of actual substance such as our planet melting from climate change, taking care of families and kids, common sense gun laws, staying out of women’s healthcare, etc.), Stephen Colbert gives us this (and I thought this was a good comeback from "the city that never sleeps"...high time for Mayor Eric Adams to actually do something right)...



...and I’d like to more or less end this post with some good news, and with that in mind, David Doel tells us about the “opt out” app available on Apple and coming to the Google Play store on Android...Alex Kotch tells us more...



...and happy 80th birthday to Allan Clarke of The Hollies.

Monday Stuff

Chris Hayes brings us the latest on Ginni Thomas and her possible role in the hiring and firing of the grifters and various other hangers-on in the Trump admin, as well as the “running with one leg” quote from her husband Almost Silent Clarence Thomas, shedding some light on her influence – interesting differentiation between “Goldwater Republicans” and the Birchers...I realize that difference was once a “thing,” but it is no longer...the report also provides some background on “Lifespring” and how they manipulated people, including Thomas apparently, though she seemed to break free from it but turned from following one wrong-headed ideology blindly to doing the same for another one that was just as bad, if not worse...



...and since it’s another day with a “y” in it, it’s time to report on yet another mass shooting in this country, this time in Sacramento, where 6 have been killed and 10 injured – more here (community activist Barry Accius is interviewed)...



Update 4/5/22: And sticking with "crime blotter" stuff, I have to say that I wasn't surprised to hear this.

...and this DW report includes Craig Crowther reporting on Ukrainians fleeing the besieged city of Mariupol, along with a first-person account with resident Mariia Sirychenko and correspondent Amien Essif...



(And by the way, I know we basically don’t do self-reflection very well when it comes to coddling some of the worst regimes on earth, but for obvious reasons, we shouldn’t let Our Treasonous, Tiny-Handed Former “President” off the hook when it comes to dealing with Putin (given the horrors revealed here and here). And by the way, don’t think for a minute that I’m absolving Former President Highest Disapproval Rating In Gallup Poll History either, and that goes for President Hopey Changey too.)

...and returning to this country, Joy Reid brings us more on Repug U.S. House Rep Madison Cawthorn’s claim about D.C. coke orgies, or whatever that mess was (but yeah, unfortunately, this report quite rightly takes Merrick Garland’s DOJ to task...and I admit I didn’t have a clue as to what a “key bump” of cocaine was...and yeah, I know I'm a little late with this)...



...and Farron Couisns brings us the truly great news of Florida judge Mark Walker ruling that that state’s voting law was racist, and for that reason Walker re-enjoined Florida to the preclearance provisions of the Voting Rights Act (more here)...yeah, I’m sure there will be more to this as the “party of Lincoln” continues fighting this ruling in the courts...if this gets to the SCOTUS, which is a real possibility, it will be darkly humorous watching the High Court tying itself into legal knots imposing federal will on behalf of the “party of states rights” considering that this is the same court who basically vacated the federal role in its horrendous Bush v. Gore ruling...



...and this TYT clip tells us about the pot decriminalization bill that recently passed the U.S. House (with Bri-Fi voting No of course...more important to keep anyone inclined not to vote for the Repugs cycling in and out of our corrections system I guess as far as he’s concerned...John, Francesca and Adrienne Lawrence tell us about it...and by the way, when it comes to drugs, it should be noted that all 3 sorry U.S. House Republicans included in the clip – Buddy Carter of GA, Gym Jordan, and the incredibly-inaptly-named Bob Good – all voted against capping the cost of insulin at $35 as noted here)...



Update: In response to this, I just wish that Matt Gaetz would shut his pie hole and only comment on stuff he actually knows about, such as underage sex trafficking (allegedly of course).

Update 4/5/22: I think this is an apt response to this garbage human being from Florida (and if Gaetz ever saw combat for real, outsaide of the cushy confines of Capitol Hill, he's soil himself).

...and I know I linked to this earlier, but once more, here is David Doel bringing us the great news of the successful vote to unionize the Amazon Staten Island warehouse (and yeah, if Jim Cramer is crying over it, you know it’s a good thing)...



...and today is the 54th anniversary of the assassination of MLK, which immediately brings this tune to mind.

Friday Stuff

Ana of TYT (with Farron Cousins) tells us about the 5 remains of fetuses found at the home of D.C. anti-abortion activist Lauren Handy (and boy, is Ana ever right about abortion, the evangelicals and The Sainted Ronnie R – in fact, I’ll go back even further than that and lump in the Catholic Church right after Roe v. Wade in ’73, which – again – is likely to be blown to bits by the High Court of Hangin’ Judge JR this June...discussion ends by pointing out once more that the evangelicals and right-wing politicians, as Ana says, don’t give a damn about you unless you’re rich, and that especially counts for kids)...



...and sticking with domestic matters, Trae Crowder reminds us about Mango Mussolini and the 7 ½ hour gap in the White House phone records during the 1/6 insurrection, along with the burner phone stuff (NSFW/H)...



...(oh, and like you I’m sure, I’ve heard an awful lot about the potential tragedy of Republicans taking over the House this fall; if somehow that miserable event comes to pass, do you think there’s a snowball’s chance that legislation like trying to cap the price of insulin would even be introduced, let alone pass...and Bri-Fi voted for it because, though he’s a thoroughly compromised right-wing shill, he’s also not a total idiot...more here and here...oh, and the 1/6 commission would be dissolved also, probably just for kicks as far as Kevin McCarthy and his pals are concerned)...

...and sticking with health care, David Doel brings us yet another great Katie Porter moment, this time using her whiteboard to demonstrate during a meeting with a health insurance industry executive how much they charge for advertising and other admin expenses versus traditional Medicare, which charges virtually nothing, rightly using that as an argument for Medicare for All (Medicare doesn't need to because the plan coverages are more reliable, to say nothing of costing less versus a private insurer)...



...and David Pakman sounds the alarm a bit also, quite correctly pointing out that democracy is in peril if Repugs take the House, with Pakman also noting the apparent total inaction of Merrick Garland to show any urgency at all at prosecuting the 1/6 criminals along with the Dems’ usual inability to engage their base on policy and messaging ...



...and Sam and Emma of The Majority Report bring us the story of this idiot Republican Missouri state senator Elaine Gannon, telling us how Gannon basically harangued a 14-year-old trans kid; that speech by the kid’s mother Debi Jackson is one of the most courageous statements I’ve ever seen (yesterday was the International Trans Day of Visibility – sorry I’m a little late on that)...



...and I need kind of a cool newer tune to help me decompress as we head into the weekend - hopefully this will suffice for you also.

Thursday Stuff

At this point, I honestly don’t know why anybody out there is pretending that Combover Caligula is anything but a dupe of Vlad The Butcher (and that goes for the “party of Lincoln” too), as The Lincoln Project reminds us (and about 45, the article linked to this post is one of the saddest stories I’ve read in a long time, but believe me when I tell you I can relate)...



...and as usual, I think Beau puts everything in perspective here with Trump, Vlad The Butcher and Zelenskyy...



...and this report from the German news service DW discusses both side using drones in the Ukraine war; interview is with Russian military analyst Samuel Bendett at the Center for New American Security...



...and returning to this country, this clip from More Perfect Union discusses the NYPD on Staten Island – which I know is bedrock conservative, to their utter, stoo-pid folly – helping Amazon by arresting workers bringing food to picketers trying to unionize the facility...sorry I couldn’t put up this clip until after the union vote, but hopefully this can also aid in organizing elsewhere...



Update 4/1/22: Outstanding news! (and definitely not an April Fools' joke).

...and Mehdi Hasan speaks with MA Dem Sen. Ed Markey on ending dependence on fossil fuels (“catalyst for conflict” vs. “pathway to peace”...well said by Markey...good for Hasan for asking the tough questions, and I give Markey credit for trying to answer as best he can, but I realize there are no good answers when it comes to discussing #MaseratiManchin)...



...and happy belated 74th birthday to keyboardist John Evan of Jethro Tull - every time I contemplate Our Orange Pestilence, this is one of the songs that comes to mind.

Wednesday Stuff

Thom Hartmann interviews Judd Legum of popular.info who tells us about 6 corporations (including AT&T, CVS, Merck and Comcast) funding attacks on women’s reproductive rights...it’s true that the Dems and Biden have to get their messaging act together for the fall elections, and yes, this is a recording, sadly (and some actual, y’know, policy like student debt forgiveness or Biden trying to extend the child tax credit on his own since Manchinema will block him on that of course would be good too), but if the SCOTUS of Ginni Thomas’s husband, “I Like Beer” Kavanaugh, “Strip Search Sammy” Alito and Amy Coney Island Baby Barrett totally eviscerate Roe, as is expected probably this June...well, that will indeed cause an electoral earthquake, and I’m not sure anyone is prepared for that (hopefully the “D” party is, but yeah, I’ll believe it when I see it)...



...and as a follow-up to the prior clip, Robert Reich points out that abortion bans are pro-poverty, not pro-life (one of the reasons why this issue disgusts me so thoroughly – aside from the fact that women are treated like chattel who shouldn’t have agency over their own bodies – is because, when “balls and strikes” Roberts had his confirmation hearing, he along with other conservatives at their hearings professed a respect for “settled law,” which Roe most definitely is, and now we know how they really feel about that, being the liars that they are)...



...and Jayar Jackson of The Damage Report tells us about that assclown Charlie Kirk trying to scare his single-digit-IQ’d base over Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson and some assumed privilege Kirk thinks that the judge conveyed at her recent SCOTUS confirmation hearings; Jayar in response tells us about Franklin Barrett Sechriest who (allegedly) set a synagogue on fire and committed armed robbery against black and Hispanic students at Texas State University, having been indoctrinated by wingnuts like Kirk and his foul ilk...



...and Farron Cousins tells us that it looks like some of the folks in the “trucker convoy” had some brief moments of clarity, you might say, when it comes to whatever it was they thought they were protesting...



...and Lawrence O’Donnell speaks with Harvard law professor Laurence Tribe on the business of Clarence Thomas failing to recuse himself in cases where his nutball wife and the regime of the Gropenfuhrer are involved...considering how far the “Dixiecrats” went to drive Abe Fortas off the SCOTUS so Tricky Dick could appoint 2 justices (Thom Hartmann once more brings the real story here), Dems could definitely raise the same ruckus over Thomas, but yeah, that will happen when the proverbial pigs fly (and let’s not forget this too)...



...and this CBC report tells us about the Russians taking a military beating of sorts in Ukraine, though that doesn’t mean they still aren’t a lethal force, according to military analyst Konrad Muzyka (and I suppose whether or not Ukraine can actually "win" depends on how you define what victory is - I would guess that a stalemate with Russia would count for that...I don't see Ukraine being able to completely drive out Russia, despite their heroic efforts so far, but we'll see of course)...



...and to include some positive news, I give you this from The Lincoln Project...



...and as part of my tribute to artists protesting Spotify over the Joe Rogan anti-vax and anti-mask garbage, I give you another Joni Mitchell tune...winding this down and I have a couple of more selections to go.

Tuesday Stuff

Robert Costa reports on the CBS Morning News about the approximately-7 1/2-hour gap in the White House phone logs on January 6th, 2021...as others have already pointed out, Rose Mary Woods covered up (allegedly of course) about 18 minutes for Tricky Dick way back when, so what does that say about the degree of probable criminality among disgraced presidents between then and now?...



Update: And speaking of the "third eye" network, I sadly give you this, this, this (and I think Aaron Rupar means "Mick"), and this.

...and this Now This clip tells us about the recent display of body bags on the mall in D.C. to spell out “thoughts and prayers” to commemorate the 4-year anniversary of the March For Our Lives against gun violence...great report, and kudos to Manuel Oliver for his bravery in the face of such awful trauma that we all hope and pray to never experience; to do something on this issue, click here...



...and John and Francesca of The Damage Report tell us about Trump-supporting goons going door to door in Colorado to intimidate people of color to try and stop them from voting...and actually, the Dems DID have a plan in the Senate – the For The People Voting Act or whatever that was – but it was killed by #CurtsyKyrsten and #MaseratiManchin...this is why AG Merrick Garland – remember him? – should have already appointed a special prosecutor to investigate this garbage across the country and refer charges to a grand jury if they turn out to be warranted, and I have a feeling Doug Jones would do a great job of heading up something like that...



...and some right wing nut case named Jarrin Jackson, running for the Oklahoma – of course! – state senate, invokes communists while discussing shooting people in the face and brandishing a knife too while he does so...charming (oh, but let's not forget that he worships Jesus Christ also, who, as we know, readily condoned murdering the Pharisees when they disagreed with him - uh huh...Emma Vigeland, Cenk and Jessica Burbank tell us more)...



...and Ali Velshi, reporting from Poland, tells us that the countries backsliding in a non-democratic direction outnumber the ones going in a democratic direction according to a report by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance - terrific...



...and happy belated 60th birthday to bassist Ged Grimes, currently of Simple Minds and previously with the band Danny Wilson – this was the latter’s big hit.

Monday Stuff

Beau of the Fifth Column leads off with the latest report on warming at the Arctic and Antarctic poles; gee, maybe we ought to do something about this climate change thing, huh? And with all due respect to Beau, climate is different from weather...



...and this Rebel HQ clip with Jessica Burbank lets us know that, yes, Rand Paul is a total dope, Part The Infinity as Charlie Pierce might say, and of course he runs kicking and screaming to Fix Noise where he can bloviate and the news mannequins on that network won’t give him any push back at all, and this time of course the subject is COVID-19 (and oh yeah, I’ve got a few G’s just collecting dust in my pocket, so I’ll just go get some monoclonal antibodies if I get ‘Rona as opposed to getting vaxxed and boosted and wearing a piece of cloth on my face, OK?)...



...and John and Francesca of The Damage Report compare the Ketanji Brown Jackson SCOTUS hearings with the process of screening and holding hearings for “I Like Beer” Kavanaugh (the double standard is enough to make you throw up in your mouth IMO)...



...and Joy Reid interviews Dem U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, who “brings the receipts” on Leonard Leo, The Federalist Society and the three SCOTUS justices who they promoted, timed for the Ketanji Brown Jackson hearings of course (actually, all 6 conservative justices either belong to The Federalist Society or did at one time...I hope Whitehouse serves in the Senate for many more years because I don’t know anybody else who has “cracked the code” on this issue like he has)...



...and with the mercury taking a dive big time in these parts (recalling the Beau clip somewhat), I had this comedy bit from “back in the day” very much in mind...



...and speaking of Saturday Night Live, RIP drummer Taylor Hawkins of The Foo Fighters (and nobody was slapped during this performance, I should note – and then Smith was rewarded with an Oscar and a standing “O” later...GMAFB! And somewhere, a wingnut is screeching, "See, I told you about black-on-black crime!").



Update: For real.

Saturday Stuff (updates)

(Thanks to @JamesTate121 on Twitter for the pic.)

David Doel tells us all about the reporting (I hesitate to use the word “bombshell,” but in this case I think it applies) on Ginni Thomas texting Mark Meadows to overturn the election and potentially imprison Joe Biden off GITMO (which is turning the cray-cray meter up to 11 as far as yours truly is concerned)...as a result, congressional Dems should look at EVERY RULING affecting the Trump White House in which Almost Silent Clarence Thomas was involved and, if there’s enough of a body of evidence in which Thomas sided with the Gropenfuhrer, call for Thomas’s impeachment on grounds of conflict of interest (and yeah, I know what the realistic probability is of that actually happening...and once more, Ilhan Omar shows some guts on a vitally important issue)...



Update 3/28/22: Another GREAT history lesson from Thom Hartmann very much related to this matter (here)...

Update 3/29/22: If Abe Fortas could be driven from the High Court over an alleged financial impropriety in the amount of $15K, then Thomas should get the same treatment for this.

...and John and Adrienne Lawrence discuss AOC calling out #MaseratiManchin and the Dems and others who coddle him (good luck not flying into the air and landing on your back after you try kicking the football but miss because it’s yanked away from you, John...and I'm not going to trust Manchin to vote Yes on confirming Ketanji Brown Jackson to the SCOTUS either until Manchin actually does it)...



...and Ana of TYT wonders (along with a hell of a lot of other people) why Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg dropped charges against Former President Fergus Laing, who is guilty of multiple felonies according to a Manhattan prosecutor under Bragg who resigned (Ana killing it going solo again)...



...and longtime climate activist Bill McKibben tells us what’s really going on with higher gas prices (really interesting stuff about the smarmy relationship between Putin and international dirty energy industry executives; these people are irredeemable scum IMO, particularly for their ridiculous stock buybacks and refusal to lower gas prices and drill on leases that have already been approved, but I wouldn’t go so far as McKibben seems to do here and blame these criminals for the war in UIkraine...that’s on Vlad the Butcher and nobody else)...



...and the latest Second Thought video tells us how fascists are taking advantage of climate change...among the many great points in this clip is the discussion of the intersection of eco-fascism by people like Marine Le Pen (“yeah, I’m ‘green’ all right, but that means that I want to keep out the scary ‘other’ to maintain my imaginary environmental ‘cred’”) and eco-nationalism (“Build That Wall”) – the last 4 minutes or so of this about the failure of neoliberalism to respond to the climate crisis should be viewed by everyone and used as an excuse to try and effect meaningful political change, as admittedly hard as that is...



...and happy belated 75th birthday to Reginald Kenneth Dwight – hope it was a good one ("Rocketman" was a terrific biopic, by the way).

Friday Stuff (update)

It looks like Cancun Cruz hit a new level of rock bottom this week at the hearings for Ketanji Brown Jackson to be (hopefully) confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court, looking up himself on Google apparently to see how many hits he got for his typically idiotic escapade against the most worthy nominee to appear before “the world’s greatest deliberative body” in quite a while (David Doel explains... and I would have more respect for Ben Sasse if he hadn’t voted against aid for Ukraine)...

Update 3/27/22: And apparently sales of this book are through the roof after Cruz's antics - nice (kid is adorable too).

...and this Don Winslow video reminds us what a gutless worm Cruz truly is – If someone told me that my family and I had to up and relocate to Texas, I would seriously have to look at emigrating to Canada (though I’m sure Austin is pretty nice)...definitely don’t want any parts of a state that thinks people like Cruz, Cornyn, Greg Abbott and Ken Paxton are the type of people who should serve in public office...



...and Trae Crowder gives us his NSFW/H commentary on the U.S. Senate Repugs (including Cancun Ted) trying to derail Ketanji Brown Jackson from being confirmed to the Supreme Court...



...and turning to Vlad The Butcher and the carnage he has inflicted in Ukraine, Francesca and David Shuster tell us, among other things, that President Biden has said that the U.S. will accept 100K refugees...and yeah, I’m sure we could do better (along with a discussion about sanctions and potential future developments in the ongoing tragedy inflicted by Russia – among the many galling failures by our utterly bought-and-paid-for corporate media is their almost complete and utter refusal to hold those 8 Republican U.S. senators to account who travelled to Moscow on July 4th, 2018)...



...and Jayar Jackson and Michael Shure of Rebel HQ tell us that Repug senatorial idiot Mike Braun in Indiana recently talked about making mixed marriage illegal (re, the Loving ruling), and basically Griswold on privacy also...yep, saying the quiet part out loud for sure (what century is this again? And yeah, when you hear a wingnut say anything along the lines of “letting the states decide,” rest assured that that’s code language for “make it illegal”...interesting to mention Joe Donnelly by Shure and what can happen when you primary a Dem; of course, I don’t know anybody who opposed economic populism, and I also don’t know how much Donnelly embraced that or not...kind of academic at this point I know, sadly...more here)...



...and Sam and Emma of The Majority Report give us that great video from Kentucky senator Karen Berg giving it to the white men in charge of state government who think they have the right to pass anti-abortion bans (15 weeks pertaining to women’s health care...pretty bleeping barbaric all right)...



...and on the subject of powerful, important women (still a few days left in March), RIP Madeleine Albright, the first woman Secretary of State (a tribute from Mrs. Greenspan follows)...



...and here’s a tune to kick-start what I hope is a good weekend for us all; apparently the thermometer is going to take a bit of a dive in these parts.

Wednesday Stuff

Sam and Emma of The Majority Report talk about Dem U.S. Senator Dick Durbin giving Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson a chance to respond to that beyond ridiculous tweet thread from Josh Hawley that he vomited out alleging the Repug evergreen charge that the judge is somehow “soft on crime”...GREAT point to contrast the way Judge Jackson is being treated with the antics of “I Like Beer” Kavanaugh...and here is my reminder that this DEFINITELY WOULD NOT EVEN BE HAPPENING if it weren’t for the people of Georgia who voted out their Republican senators, which of course is why the “party of Lincoln” is working soooo hard to take away the franchise from voters who would use it to make a difference, in a good way I mean...



..and Chris Hayes speaks with Elie Mystal and Melissa Murray on the nonsensical GOP line of questioning/attacks on Judge Brown Jackson (including Cancun Cruz and that kids’s pop-up book, or whatever that idiocy was)...



Update 3/31/22: Yeah, you go for it on Judge Brown Jackson, wingnuts - the country is united behind you in opposition...suuuure (here).

...and isn’t it funny how the “party of Lincoln” is so up in arms when they think kids are getting indoctrinated into an ideology the wingnuts don’t like, but are so willing to do it to further their own agenda (yeah I know – water wet, sky blue...)...



...and on the subject of the ongoing Russian war in Ukraine, Mehdi Hasan calls out media bias here in favor of MOOAAARRR WAAAARRRR...this is a little tricky because, though I think there is a pro-war bias on “the cables,” I’m not sure that there are good peaceful options with Vlad The Butcher, though believe me when I tell you that I want to be wrong (good job by David Doel to bring up the Phil Donahue MSNBC garbage while Bushco was ramping up for Iraq War II in ’03...that network hated liberals/progressives until they started making $$$ off K.O., Rachel Maddow, etc.)...



...and in a related vein, David Pakman discusses the recent beyond-bonkers Lara Logan interview spouting pro-Putin apologia basically (wacky for all of the reasons Pakman notes here...yes, I think Logan needs help and what happened to her was awful, but that doesn’t excuse such through-the-looking-glass commentary)...



...and Farron Cousins tells us that Repugs have filed about 240 anti-LGBTQ bills so far in under 3 months (and 670 since 2018...as usual, it’s “jobs, jobs, jobs” for Not Your Father’s Republican Party...and yes, this is nothing but a ploy to drive 2022 turnout later this year as Cousins says, and if a few trans kids get harmed in the process later...well, that’s just a big “meh” as far the “R” party is concerned...more here)...



...and some Daily Wire idiot calls out Greta Thunberg on Tucker’s Fox Nation show in this clip, blaming Thunberg’s Asperger’s condition for her climate activism (with Ana and Cenk...awesome for Ana to “follow the money”...yeah, such big strong “men” to attack a teenage girl...what LARPing soy sad sack clowns Tuckums and this other numbskull both are)...



...and speaking of the water and the environment, yesterday was World Water Day (hat tip to our awesome PA state rep Perry Warren for that piece of info...made me recall this tune).

Tuesday Stuff

Jayar Jackson and David Shuster of Rebel HQ tell us all about Sen. Mr. Elaine Chao and the “lonely voices” supporting Vlad The Butcher and his incursion on Ukraine (and the pic in this post includes 31 other “lonely voices” in the GOP/Russia “quisling caucus”)...



...and speaking of Vlad The Butcher and his war in Ukraine, this CBC report tells us about the attack on the shopping mall in Mariupol and how Poland is handling an influx of refugees (and kudos to the brave people of Ukraine for telling Putin what he can do with his ultimatum against that besieged city)...



...and I thought this was a pretty good synopsis from Beau on the war so far (particularly what Russia has to do if they think they’re going to actually win this, assuming that’s even possible – and hopefully not)...



...and to be fair to the “other side,” David Doel tells us about Russians victimized by “cancel culture” for real including Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space who (last I checked) had ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO with Vlad The Butcher’s horrible Ukraine incursion...



...and it appears that the despicable antics of the “party of Lincoln” in the U.S. Senate are proceeding apace in the SCOTUS confirmation hearing of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson (with Tail Gunner Ted, #MoscowMarsha, etc.), and the sickening tone for that was set by the thoroughly execrable (and treasonous) Josh Hawley with his awful tweet thread (more here)...Ana and Aida Rodriguez of TYT tell us about it...



...and I’m continuing my salute to artists who’ve said no to Spotify over the Joe Rogan anti-vax business (well, for a little while longer anyway) with this number from Neil Young, for all of the Door Dash, Grub Hub and Uber Eats drivers out there.