Vids Of The Day

Courtesy of PACRONYM, a Dem SuperPac, here's a correction of demagogue and pathological liar Donald "Impeached Forever" Trump's deceitful ad during last night's Super Bowl:


(h/t to Crooks and Liars)

Last Friday, Bill Maher introduced the kind of ad Democrats should be running against Trump, who's fond of belittling his critics and rivals over their appearance, sanity, energy level, etc.:

Today's Tomorrow Cartoon: "To Do Impartial Justice"

(click to enlarge)

Expect corrupt Rethuglicans to trot these memes out in the months ahead, hoping that enough low information voters shrug and say "OK." In the meantime, watch a more careful Dear Leader work to undermine the 2020 elections by whatever means at his disposal, now that he's free to do so.

Greta Thunberg Nominated Again For Nobel Peace Prize

Congratulations to Greta Thunberg, a 17- year- old with more intelligence, guts and character than anyone in the Trump regime or rotted- out Republican Party:

Teen climate activist Greta Thunberg has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for a second year in a row.

According to The Associated Press, two lawmakers from Sweden, Jens Holm and Hakan Svenneling, announced they had nominated the teen on Monday, citing her climate activism.

The two lawmakers said the 17-year-old “has worked hard to make politicians open their eyes to the climate crisis,” adding that “action for reducing our emissions and complying with the Paris Agreement is therefore also an act of making peace,” the news agency reports. [snip]

If Thunberg succeeds in winning the high honor, she would be the first person to receive the award for efforts addressing climate change since former vice president and environmental activist Al Gore won in 2007.

She would also join Malala Yousafzai, who received a Nobel Prize at age 17, in becoming the youngest Nobel laureate, if chosen. (our emphasis)

We can't think of anyone more deserving of this honor.

Monday Reading

As always, please go to the links for the full articles/ op eds.

Congratulations to the Kansas City Chiefs and their deserving head coach Andy Reid on winning the Super Bowl last night 31-24.  Among the true football fans offering congratulations was this "jenius:"



The Chiefs, of course, represent Kansas City, in the great state of Missouri. The "jenius" has since deleted the tweet and replaced it with one referring to the correct state.  But not in time to avoid some shade:

He’s not wrong, dammit. pic.twitter.com/z2ZO07GZjy

— Charlie Sykes (@SykesCharlie) February 3, 2020

The looming acquittal of said "jenius" by Senate Republicans on Wednesday is the subject of several articles and op/ eds this morning.  Here's E.J. Dionne, Jr.'s take on the "Trump 51" who voted against hearing witnesses:

This was no ordinary roll call. It was a direct assault on American democracy and our core freedoms. Whatever the flaws of our system, we could once believe that a president who tried to bring down a political opponent by conspiring with a foreign government — and using American taxpayer dollars in the process — would be punished. The Trump 51 told us that such faith is for suckers.

The moral and intellectual bankruptcy of a party that once crusaded against slavery and led the fight to amend our Constitution to guarantee equal protection under the law was exposed by the tortured rationalizations offered for its capitulation to absolutism. [snip]

There is one thing we need not fear: that the Republican apostles of surrender to Trump (and to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, his coverup sidekick) have set a precedent for their future behavior. On the contrary, we know that they will do exactly the opposite if a Democrat is president.

The editorial board of the Washington Post takes direct aim at one of the most vile, treacherous members of the "Trump 51," Sen. Lindsey "Huckleberry" Graham:

Mr. Graham’s behavior has been particularly shabby as he has threatened to misuse his chairmanship of the Senate Judiciary Committee to investigate the former vice president. He has announced a formal probe and asked the State Department for documents. “We’re not going to live in a world where only Republicans get looked at,” he said in December, indulging in a toxic (and unwarranted) display of grievance and implying that Mr. Biden’s demonstrably benign activities in Ukraine are equivalent to Mr. Trump’s corruption.

But there is no moral equivalence. There is no reasonable case against Mr. Biden. The case against Mr. Trump, on the other hand, is just as definitive in the opposite direction. Mr. Trump had no good reason to press Ukraine to investigate Mr. Biden, an American citizen whom U.S. authorities were not themselves investigating. He did so anyway, to no conceivable benefit to the United States. That Mr. Graham would suggest that the two belong in the same universe shows that he is so poisoned by partisanship, he either does not understand or has lost all moral direction.

Mr. Trump’s corrupt scheme to persuade the president of Ukraine to slander a political rival did not succeed. It is pathetic that U.S. senators would do the job instead.

Everyone is in the loop (surprise!):

A midnight court filing on Friday night revealed that the White House is refusing to release at least two dozen emails directly related to Donald Trump’s withholding of military assistance from Ukraine. The filing, authored by an attorney from the Office of Management and Budget, described the until now hidden documents as communications by Trump or his immediate advisers “regarding Presidential decision-making about the scope, duration, and purpose of the hold on military assistance to Ukraine."

In other words, the idea that Trump withheld military assistance to Ukraine because of concerns over corruption, or the need for more “burden sharing” — as Trump’s defense team has stated throughout hearings in the House and the trial in the Senate — could be directly revealed by an examination of these documents. Which they will not share.

As CNN reports, the Department of Justice withheld the existence of these emails until just hours after the Senate had made it’s vote to not subpoena any further witnesses or documents in Trump’s impeachment trial. This appears to be another staggering example of how Trump has used the full power of the executive branch to paper over his actions, block access to key information, and simply prevent the release of the truth.(our emphasis)

Kerry Eleveld has a silver lining and a call to active engagement:

But here's the silver lining: During a time when Washington commanded the attention of most Americans and when polling consistently showed that voters overwhelmingly craved resolution, Senate Republicans exposed themselves a nothing short of tools of Trump's regime. They no longer serve the people, they serve him and him only.

Pundits across spectrum smelled trouble for Senate Republicans. "I think (McConnell) underestimates the backlash to this vote," conservative radio host Charlie Sykes told MSNBC. "I think people are going to be a lot more angry about this vote on the witnesses than folks in Washington really understand. And it really does put the Senate in play."

Former GOP operative Nicolle Wallace called the vote “political suicide,” adding, “I hope they take it." They did.

So as we enter the start of the Democratic nomination contest in earnest on Monday, bundle up all that rage and take it to the polls. Let it drive your engagement and participation throughout the rest of the year until Election Day.

Of course, tonight are the Iowa caucuses, which (for better or worse) may produce multiple "winners" and potentially end some campaigns for candidates deemed non- viable.  HuffPo has a "things to watch for tonight."  (November can't come soon enough.)

Finally, do yourself a favor and check out Infidel 753's link round- up for the most comprehensive selection of interesting finds across the internet.  It's so much more than just politics -- more like a digest of life happening around us.

Across The Universe, Cont. -- Barred Spiral

(click on image to enlarge)

From NASA/ ESA, January 27, 2020:  The galaxy depicted in this Picture of the Week is a barred spiral known as NGC 7541, seen here as viewed by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, in the constellation of Pisces (The Fishes). 

A barred spiral is a galaxy with whirling, pinwheeling, spiral arms, and a bright centre that is intersected by a bar of gas and stars. This bar cuts directly through the galaxy’s central region, and is thought to  invigorate the region somewhat, sparking activity and fuelling myriad processes that may otherwise have never occurred or have previously ground to a halt (star formation and active galactic nuclei being key examples). We think bars exist in up to two-thirds of all spiral galaxies, including our own home, the Milky Way.

NGC 7541 is actually observed to have a higher-than-usual star formation rate, adding weight to the theory that spiral bars act as stellar nurseries, corralling and funnelling inwards the material and fuel needed to create and nurture new baby stars. Along with its nearby companion NGC 7537, the galaxy makes up a pair of galaxies located about 110 million light-years away from us.

Credit:  ESA/Hubble & NASA, A. Riess et al.

Vid Of The Day: The Golf Course Manager

We're not siding with any Dem Presidential hopeful at this point (frankly, we'd crawl over hot coals to vote for the Dem nominee in November), but this is a nice quick hit on malignant narcissist and incompetent lard ass Donald "Impeached Forever" Trump:



Also, former Mayor Bloomberg will be running a 60 second ad during the Super Bowl (at $10 million a minute) aimed a Trump.

Today's Cartoons

(click on images to enlarge)


(Bob Englehart, caglecartoons.com)


(Lalo Alcaraz, LA Weekly)


(Dave Granlund, davegranlund.com)


(Jeff Stahler, gocomics.com)


(Adam Zyglis, The Buffalo News)


(Mike Smith, Las Vegas Sun)


(Michael Ramirez, Las Vegas Review-Journal)


(Jeff Darcy, Cleveland Plain Dealer)


(Clay Bennett, Chattanooga Times Free Press)


(Steve Breen, San Diego Union-Tribune)


(Clay Jones, claytoonz.com)
 
(Mike Luckovich, Atlanta Journal-Constitution)


(Jimmy Margulies, jimmymargulies.com)


(Ann Telnaes, Washington Post)

Sunday Reflection: Uncreated Conscience

"Welcome, O life! I go to encounter for the millionth time the reality of experience and to forge in the smithy of my soul the uncreated conscience of my race." -- the memorable closing sentence from author and poet James Joyce's "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man," spoken by Joyce's fictional alter ego protagonist Stephen Dedalus as he embarks on the life of an artist. The sentiment expressed captures the emotion that artists feel when they choose a life dedicated to their art: life affirming, exhilaration, hope.

"Portrait" was followed by the brilliant, norm-breaking "Ulysses" (published on this day in 1922) and the difficult to comprehend "Finnegans Wake." Joyce, who shares his birthday with "Ulysses," was one of the greatest writers of the 20th century, creating a style all his own and leading the modernist movement in literature.

SNL Looks At Senate's Trump "Trial" Farce

In case you missed it, last night's cold open for Saturday Night Live featured the whole menagerie of villains and characters from corrupt Sen. Moscow Mitch McConnell's rigged show in the Senate. Alec Baldwin did his Trump as Harvey Weinstein, Kate McKinnon did a swishy cornpone Sen. Lindsey "Huckleberry" Graham, and even Pete Davidson rolled in as Hunter Biden. Kenan Thompson played Judge Mathis in this made-for-media mockery of a trial, and got "Trump" to admit something:

"I cheat all the time at golf, taxes, wives, elections. I cut the funding to the CDC, so this Wang Chung virus is really going to be bad."

(It was nice that the "gag" involving Rep. Adam Schiff fell flat with the audience.)

Pic Of The Day

At first glance, it appears to be a field of sunflowers, but it's Indian security forces marching this week in New Delhi in their ceremonial headgear.

Coincidentally, yesterday violence flared up in the Jammu region of disputed Kashmir, when insurgents opened fire on police and were killed. The simmering conflict has gone on as far back as the 1947 partition of India and Pakistan, and shows no signs of improving.

(photo: Altaf Hussain / Reuters)

Today's Cartoons

(click on images to enlarge)


(Kevin Siers, Charlotte Observer)


(Steve Sack, Minneapolis Star Tribune)


(Nick Anderson, Washington Post Writers Group)


(Bill Bramhall, New York Daily News)


(Clay Bennett, Chattanooga Times Free Press)


Stuart Carlson, gocomics.com)


(Bill Day, caglecartoons.com)


(Matt Davies, Newsday)


(John Deering, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)


(Matt Wuerker, Politico)


(Rob Rogers, robrogers.com)


(Pat Bagley, The Salt Lake Tribune)


(Dave Whamond, caglecartoons.com)

Tweets Of The Day -- Remembering, Taking Action, And Taking Comfort

Signed off on his own trial.
Lovely. https://t.co/7jJEClQgtm

— Charles P. Pierce (@CharlesPPierce) February 1, 2020

Pin this to your wall. Look at it whenever you don’t feel like making one more call or writing one more postcard https://t.co/R0mLulPZvT

— Adam Parkhomenko (@AdamParkhomenko) February 1, 2020

Republican Senators know
— he did it
— it’s impeachable
— they’d have impeached Obama for it
— Trump will do it again
—  the republic is threatened

And don’t care.

— Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) January 31, 2020

Republicans have spent the last three weeks pretending to be mad that the former vice president's son cashed in on his family name, and many reporters pretended to believe them. https://t.co/peKtm1MeLA

— Brian Beutler (@brianbeutler) February 1, 2020

in summation—
Trump is a genius but you can't see his grades
Trump is healthy but you can't see his medical reports
Trump is rich but you can't see his tax returns
Trump is honest but you can't see the documents
Trump is innocent but you can't subpoena the witnesses

— Jeff Tiedrich (@itsJeffTiedrich) January 31, 2020

Keep the revelations coming. The Republican Senate just bought and paid for Dear Leader, and the bill is due in 2020.#VoteThemAllOut2020 https://t.co/oyLIVnyo5M

— Tengrain (@Tengrain) February 1, 2020

This is what the wrong side of history looks like. #ImpeachmentTrialSham pic.twitter.com/GAr9NFUeLD

— Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) January 31, 2020

America is changing.  The GOP's desperation and willingness to use any tactics at all to survive are based on their recognition that demography and an urbanizing, better educated America absolutely dooms them as a party.  It may take a while.  But there is some comfort in that.

— David Rothkopf (@djrothkopf) January 31, 2020

QOTD: The Imperative Of A United Dem Party

The impeccable thinking of Nobel Prize laureate Paul Krugman comes across once again, writing in the New York Times:

"At this point, the Democratic presidential nomination is very much up in the air. Not only is it unclear who will be the nominee; it’s unclear whether the nominee will be a centrist like Joe Biden or Amy Klobuchar, or a representative of the party’s left like Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren. Whoever wins, there will be much wailing and gnashing of teeth from the other side.

So I’d like to offer an opinion that will probably anger everyone: In terms of actual policy, it probably doesn’t matter much who the Democrats nominate — as long as he or she wins, and Democrats take the Senate too.  [snip]

One implication, if I’m right, is that electability should play a very important role in your current preferences. It matters hugely whether a Democrat wins, it matters much less which Democrat wins.

But my main point is that Democrats should unify, enthusiastically, behind whoever gets the nomination. Any moderate tempted to become a Never Bernie type should realize that even if you find Sanders too radical, his actual policies would be far more tempered. Any Sanders enthusiast tempted to become a Bernie or Bust type should realize that these days even centrist Dems are pretty progressive, and that there’s a huge gap between them and Trump’s G.O.P.

Oh, and all the Democrats believe in democracy and rule of law, which is kind of important these days."

There can't be the "party unity my ass" destructiveness that we saw in the 2008 primaries and general election, choosing a third party, or threatening to sit out the election. That will contribute to Trump's campaign and disastrous reelection. It will hasten the demise of our democratic institutions and the rule of law.

Republicans' "Cringing Shamelessness"

A sampling of opinion (excerpts) from newspapers this morning on Senate Republicans' dismantling of the Constitution and political norms, in the service of the most corrupt, authoritarian, unhinged president in our history. 

The Washington Post:

Americans who object to Mr. Trump’s relentless stonewalling and Republicans’ complicity can take some comfort in the prospect that most or all of the evidence the White House is hiding will eventually come out. A reminder of that came Friday in a New York Times report about Mr. Bolton’s unpublished book, which describes how Mr. Trump ordered him last May to tell Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to meet with his personal lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani. Mr. Giuliani said publicly at the time he wanted to induce Mr. Zelensky to investigate Mr. Biden because it would be “helpful to my client,” Mr. Trump.

That report underlined the cringing shamefulness of the Republican decision to block Mr. Bolton’s testimony — and there will surely be more reminders in the weeks and months ahead. We can hope only that voters who wanted that evidence to be heard in the trial will respond by showing incumbent senators they are a force to be reckoned with, as much as the bully in the White House.

The New York Times:

Senate Republicans’ indifference to the overwhelming public support for calling witnesses was of a piece with the party’s minority politics. Its president lost the popular vote by three million votes. Its Senate majority represents 15 million fewer Americans than the Democrats’ minority. In states like North Carolina, it rigs the maps to turn popular-vote losses into legislative majorities, then strips power from duly elected Democratic leaders.

And just in case Americans want to register their unhappiness with Republican leadership, the G.O.P. passes laws across the country to make voting harder and discourage turnout. “I don’t want everybody to vote,” Paul Weyrich, a leader of the modern conservative movement, said in 1980. “Our leverage in the elections, quite candidly, goes up as the voting populace goes down.”

That is becoming the rightful slogan of today’s G.O.P. leaders, who are in thrall to a would-be autocrat, fearful of their own constituents, desperate to lock in control of the courts and the nation's legal system before a diversifying nation can pry their political authority away. [snip]

Make no mistake: The Senate may acquit Mr. Trump, but it will not, it cannot, exonerate him. Mr. Trump is the most corrupt president in modern times, a reality Americans will continue to be reminded of — by continuing investigations by the House, which should immediately issue a subpoena to Mr. Bolton; by a trio of cases in the Supreme Court that seek to reveal Mr. Trump’s shady finances; and, of course, by the behavior of the man himself.

Minneapolis Star Tribune:

Trump got a jump on his end zone dance on Thursday, when he told a Des Moines rally that it was “a happy period because we call it ‘impeachment light.’ ”

Sadly, he’s right. What former President James Buchanan apocryphally called “the world’s greatest deliberative body” didn’t bring the bodies to deliberate. Instead, House managers had to rely on previous testimonies — that is from those not blocked or intimidated by the White House.

“The question then is not whether the president did it, but whether the United States Senate or the American people should decide what to do about what he did,” [Republican Sen. Lamar] Alexander wrote in his statement, adding: “Let the people decide.”

And so they will render a verdict, in November — on the president and his Senate defenders, who failed to live up to Buchanan’s lamentably outdated description of their institution.

We hope that verdict can be rendered in November, but the events of the past 24 hours make it clear it will be a fight to make sure the election is free from interference and that the results will be accepted.  Now more than ever, we can't afford to take anything for granted.

Giuliani Mixes Private Business With Conspiracy Spinning

While deranged Trump consigliere Rudy "Rudy Colludy" Giuliani rummages around Ukraine trying to get fellow corrupt officials to manufacture dirt on the Bidens, he's also been working private "deals" with various politicians there. As the Washington Post reports, Giuliani "suggested" to Ukrainian President Zelinski that a client of his, former boxing champ and Mayor of Kiev Vitaly Klitchko, be retained in a government post that he was about to be removed from. Klitschko stayed, and Giuliani earned his fee:

"Last summer, amid speculation about whether he would be fired, Klitschko flew to the United States.

Klitschko met with Giuliani in New York, posting a photo on Facebook of himself and the former New York mayor seated in Giuliani’s office. 

The meeting came just a week after Trump exhorted Zelensky in a July 25 phone call to coordinate with Giuliani on an investigation into former vice president Joe Biden and his son, who served on the board of the Ukrainian gas company Burisma while his father was in office. 

In an interview, [Lev] Parnas said he did not attend Giuliani’s meeting with Klitschko in New York, but was briefed on it afterward by both Giuliani and a lawyer for Klitschko.
Parnas said he was told by both men that, during the meeting, Klitschko complained to Giuliani that the Zelensky administration was trying to oust him — and appealed for help. 

'He basically cried to Rudy, saying they were going after him unfairly,' Parnas said."

Giuliani's clearly using his proximity to sociopath and con artist Donald "Impeached Forever" Trump for leverage on behalf of his private clients in dealing with the Ukrainian government. That kind of influence peddling has been a hallmark of corrupt politicians for generations. It's what Rethugs hypocritically refer to as "the swamp," despite being its most numerous denizens, with Rudy Colludy being one of its biggest predators.

More of "the truth will come out."

(photo: Jabin Botsford/Washington Post/Getty Images)