Oh, my goodness! The spring holiday season is fully upon us. May Day, when we dance with wild abandon around maypoles that signify either the axis mundi or oversized penises, hit us three days ago. International Mayonnaise Appreciation Day will spread itself out tomorrow (Cinco de Mayo). Memorial Day is coming at the end of the month. I’m sure there are other holidays I’ve overlooked.
However, today is celebrated around the world, as we pause and take a moment to remember Luke blowing up the Deathstar a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. It is a time to rejoice in a lucky shot that saved the universe from the nasty fascists. As we know from all the sequels, prequels, books and other collateral records, fascists are awfully persistent.
Even today’s celebrations are under siege from the unrepentant minions of Darth Former Guy and Not So Supreme Council of Morans. Stormtrumpers are out and about, flaunting their entitled whiteness and forceful embrace of the Dark Side.
It’s like the old Lay’s Potato chip ad — when it comes to republicans, I bet you can’t loathe just one.
The committed republican base has traded competence for rabid tribalism; rational thought for blind obedience; and their moral/ethical cores for braindead cult membership.
Their leadership appears to be a bunch of clown car rejects who share one feeble brain between the entire sorry lot of them. They are more interested in stoking fear in their base than in actually protecting those peoples lives. The constant cycle of stupid from Gohmert to Jordan to Greene to Gaetz to Cruz to Hawley to Carlson to Hannity to Giuliani to Junior to Junior’s Dominatrix Mistress (and coke dealer) to Paxton to Abbott to McNinny to DeSatan to Noem to Reynolds to Graham to McConnell and to all the rest of the usual suspects is a national embarrassment. Hell — it’s an international embarrassment. It’s a universal embarrassment. Most of these disappointments shouldn’t be allowed out in public, let alone given positions of responsibility.
In honor of the day: May the farce be as far away from you as possible. Let’s keep kicking the republican bottom feeders into obscurity and onto the political ashheap (assheap?) of history. Onward! As long as any of them retain power, we have work to do.
Up the Resistance!
John Oliver took a deep dive into Covid vaccine hesitancy. He gives Tucker Carlson a richly deserved beatdown for the crap the “scrunch-faced fear baboon” spews as a public face of Antiva. [24:27]
And now, it’s time to look at the news.
There’s Trouble in Crazytown
By Hill standards, this is a long article. I’ve excerpted what I think is the ‘money’ quote. The rest of it details the internecine warfare that exists between the semi-rational republicans and the fully delusional republicans. It ain’t pretty. I hope they keep it up. Maybe when they succeed in cutting off the limb Cheney is sitting on, the rest of the tree will fall down.
The Hill: GOP frustration with Liz Cheney 'at a boiling point'
Cheney allies, few as they may be now, are praising the 54-year-old mother of five, saying that she’s one of the few voices in the party willing to call out Trump and hold him accountable for lying to his supporters that the 2020 presidential election was rigged and stolen.
“If a prerequisite for leading our conference is continuing to lie to our voters, then Liz is not the best fit,” Rep. Anthony Gonzalez (R-Ohio), who also voted to impeach Trump, said in a phone interview Friday.
“Liz isn't going to lie to people. Liz is going to say what she believes. She’s going to stand on principle. And if that's going to be distracting for folks, she's not the best fit. I wish that weren’t the case.”
If her foes force another vote, Gonzalez said he will support Cheney again
The Noose Got a Little Tighter
So far three of the Former Guy’s personal lawyers have had their electronic devices seized and their offices raided. Some lazy googling tells me no other president has had any of their personal lawyers raided. This proves he really is good at something — getting lawyers on the fast train to disbarment. (He’s not a particularly good liar, just insanely persistent.)
Poliltico: Giuliani’s Legal Trouble Is Trump’s Too
You don’t need to be a lawyer to know that when federal agents knock on your door with a search warrant and seize your electronic devices, you’re in big trouble. Ever since that happened to former Donald Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani on Wednesday, he has tried to downplay the peril he is in, saying whatever evidence is on his phones proves that “the president and I…are innocent.”
But it sure looks like he has a long legal battle ahead of him, and his best defense will likely put him at odds with his former boss. If Trump doesn’t voluntarily protect his one-time counsel, Giuliani may have no choice but to point the finger at his former client. (Their relationship was tested in January when Trump reportedly refused to pay Giuliani for his unsuccessful work trying to overturn the November election results.)
The saga of one-time Trump legal fixer Michael Cohen, who turned on his boss after he pleaded guilty for election finance violations and fraud, is instructive here. Despite Cohen’s assertion that Trump knew of the violations, the president was protected from prosecution while he was in office under Department of Justice guidelines. Now that Trump is a civilian, those guidelines do not protect him, and he has to be concerned about his own liability going forward.
Another Voice in the Republican Wilderness
I remember how upset I was when the Former Guy got the split decision over Hillary. It was depressing and reeked of corruption. But, I didn’t try to overthrow the government. I got involved and worked very hard to make sure the corruption didn’t steal another 4 years. Voices of reason, like McCain’s, are far too scarce.
Mother Jones: Cindy McCain to Republicans: “The Election Is Over”
Cindy McCain wants Republicans to get over Donald Trump’s 2020 loss. When asked on Sunday about an ongoing Republican-backed election audit in Arizona, the wife of late Republican Sen. John McCain called the ordeal “ludicrous.” “The election is over. Biden won,” she told CNN’s Jake Tapper on State of the Union. “I know many of them don’t like the outcome. But, you know, elections have consequences.”
McCain’s distaste for Trump is no secret. She endorsed Biden in 2020—the first time she’s ever voted for a Democrat—saying she had “had enough” of Trump’s insults, specifically citing reports that he had called injured and fallen soldiers “losers” and “suckers.” The former president also repeatedly attacked her husband before and after his death.
Not Only Does He Cheat at Golf, He Cheats at Golf Courses Too
In one of the most predictable stories I’ve seen this year, as the Former Guy lounges around in his personal swamp the water is coming up to a boil. Prediction: He will be asked to return the money he scammed and he will not be able to do so. Hello default and bye bye money laundering Scottish golf courses.
Huffington Post: Trump’s Scottish Golf Resorts Took $800,000 In Taxpayer Funds To Save Jobs, But Cut Workers
Donald Trump’s two Scottish golf resorts collected up to $800,000 in subsidies from the British government to protect jobs during COVID-19 but fired “scores” of workers, a top union complained Sunday.
Union officials called the money grab a “scandal” and are calling for a government investigation.
Trump’s SLC Turnberry Ltd received as much as $700,000 in taxpayer funds, while his resort in Balmedie, Aberdeenshire, was paid up to $100,000 in just two months, according to government documents, reported the Scottish Sun. (The amounts are reported in ranges.)
Some other golf resorts collected as much or even more. But the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers complained to The Scotsman that the Trump Organization “hoovering up” public money while cutting staff made a “mockery” of a program specifically designed to save jobs.
But Wait, There’s More
Don’t you just love the pitter-patter of all those shoes that just keep on dropping.
Raw Story: Americans mortified to learn there may be compromising Trump sex tapes: 'Please. No. Yuck'
The former MI6 spy Christopher Steele produced a second dossier for the FBI on Donald Trump while he was in the White House, sources told The Telegraph. Mr Steele filed a series of intelligence reports to US authorities during the Trump presidency, including information concerning alleged sexual exploits," the British newspaper reported Monday evening.
"Mr Steele's continued involvement supplying intelligence to the FBI appears to give credibility to his original dossier, which sparked a Special Counsel investigation by prosecutor Robert Mueller into Russian interference into the 2016 US presidential elections," the newspaper noted. "The second dossier contains raw intelligence that makes further claims of Russian meddling in the US election and also references claims regarding the existence of further sex tapes. The second dossier is reliant on separate sources to those who supplied information for the first reports."
"The fact the FBI continued to receive intelligence from Mr Steele, who ran MI6's Russia desk from 2006 to 2009 before setting up Orbis, is potentially significant because it shows his work was apparently still being taken seriously after Mr Trump took hold of the reins of power," the newspaper explained. "The suggestion it includes further details of Mr Trump's sexual exploits will infuriate the former president. On Twitter he has called the allegations a 'pile of garbage.'"
Some More Positive Insurrection News to Tide You Over
All those yahoos who descended on DC to try to topple the government had been working to disrupt their states as well. The forces of justice are cracking down on them back at home too.
Wonkette: GOP Oregon State Rep Charged With Letting Rioters Into State Capitol, Like It’s Some Kind Of Crime
On December 21, just a few weeks before the MAGA mob stormed the US Capitol, another group of miscreants breached the Oregon statehouse during a legislative session. They weren't Antifa, either. These specific dummies had gathered to protest Governor Kate Brown's COVID-19 restrictions, and Republican state Rep. Mike Nearman kindly let them inside. They were unmasked, angry, and ready to rumble.
Surveillance video clearly showed Nearman opening doors in a stairwell and letting in representatives from the mob. They didn't even have an appointment. State Police had to push them back out again, but they couldn't keep the door shut because so many creeps were trying to force their way inside. Nearman had wandered off by this point. Presumably, his work was done.
Chillingly, at least three of the far-right demonstrators in Salem would travel to the US Capitol for the January 6 siege. Disaster was narrowly averted in Oregon, but that doesn't absolve Nearman of his recklessness. Marion County District Attorney Paige E. Clarkson announced Friday that Nearman has been charged with misdemeanor counts of first-degree official misconduct and second-degree criminal trespass.
A Little Bit of Andy
As the former guy becomes more and more irrelevant every day, Andy has found new things to poke fun at.
New Yorker: Satire from the Borowitz Report: Thousands of Presidential Fact Checkers Laid Off in Biden’s First Hundred Days
WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—In an employment trend that industry leaders are calling “dire,” thousands of Presidential fact checkers have been laid off during Joe Biden’s first hundred days in office.
Harland Dorrinson, the executive director of the American Society of Presidential Fact Checkers, said that Biden has single-handedly destroyed the employment picture for many of the group’s members.
Eat the Rich Plastic
A trash munching boat has hit the waves. Hooray! It’s great that we have one and sad that we need it. I’m hoping they come up with something to take care of the excessive trash located at Merde-a-Lie-Go and in the Senate republican cloakroom.
GoodNewsNetwork: ‘Manta’ Sailing Yacht Designed to Feed on Plastic Waste for Power–While Cleaning Oceans
A professional yacht racer, annoyed by the constant sightings of floating mats of plastic garbage in the seawater, has created an ocean cleaning sailboat that is powered by the waste it collects.
The 56-meter (184 feet) Manta is the first offering from racer Yves Bourgnon’s SeaCleaners Project, and would be one of the largest waste-collecting vessels on the seas, according to Reuters.
At the end of the film Back to the Future, Dr. Emmet Brown has famously managed to replace his plutonium-powered generator with one which uses ordinary garbage. Like the DeLorean in the movie, the Manta uses garbage to power an electric motor that works in conjunction with the sails to propel the large catamaran.
Let’s Make Them Regret Not Getting Pricked
Since we are mostly all vaccinated now, let’s run out and get some free stuff so we can show Antiva what they are missing. I’ve excerpted out the entries for the breakfast they lust after over there in MAGAt land.
CNN: Got vaccinated? Here's all the free stuff you can get
Budweiser
Now through May 16, or while supplies last, Budweiser is giving a free beer to anyone 21 years old and up -- who provide their proof of vaccination on ABeerOnBud.com. Bud fans first have to first register at the company's
mycooler.com website.
Krispy Kreme
You can get one
free glazed doughnut every day if you take your vaccination card to any Krispy Kreme location in the US, the company said in a press release. The card must show one or two shots of any Covid-19 vaccine to qualify, and the offer must be redeemed in store. And no, you don't need to purchase anything to get your daily free doughnut.
Musical Interlude (Extended)
Music makes the world go round and Playing for Change takes the music around the world. This first entry is built on top of one of Dr. John’s last know recordings.
I think I used this before, but I don’t really care, do you?
WineRev’s History Lesson
Our resident history professor’s always interesting history lesson will appear here as soon as I notice he’s posted it in the comment section. Until then look for it in the comment section.
Take it away WineRev!
>>>>>Well the Lincoln Project teased that yesterday would be another bombshell day of Bad News for Turmpers (akin to the search warrant on Rudi and pals from last Wednesday.) Unless I’m too befuddled this morning (or too giddy from the MN Wild’s 6-5 win last night from a 2 goal deficit) I didn’t see it. Mind you, that NEW Christopher Steele story might get legs (as in the “Steele Dossier” that DJT was at pains to suppress, derail, deride and otherwise stop.) We will see as the days go on….
>>>>>The History Corner has grown to include a daily birthday introduction to a composer----some famous, some not so much. One of our regular musical commenters tossed off the line yesterday that I “tee up the entry and [they] hit it down the fairway.” Brought back fond memories of my golfing days (I haven’t played in years, but I always liked it until money for greens fees got tight and my weight got out of hand…..but now the diet is working and spring is here…..). Just a hint: 2 music related entries today and one of them is playing off the ladies’ tees……
May 4ths that have been Good, Goofy and Galactic for years, for centuries, for eons, reaching back to days of Force-ful heroism in the face of long odds, yet “its still the same old story/ a fight for love and glory/ a case of do or die…...the fundamental things apply, as time goes by” for your Good and Goofy day.
1626 Manhattan Island, New Amsterdam Harbor (now New York) Dutch explorer Peter Minuit, also director-general of New Netherlands (not a lot to direct just now; they really only need a director-corporal), on this day had an involved transaction with Chief Seyseys. They struck a bargain: 60 Dutch guilders worth of cloth and buttons for the whole Island. (60 Dutch guilders= about $24 in 1839 when the story picked up circulation, and about $1100 in 2018.) Minuit walked away happy, figuring he got a bargain for some good farm land (which continued in the city limits until the 1850s) and a good port. Seyseys went away happy too: not only had he picked up some excellent goods, he and his tribe of Canarsees (there are New York place names to recall this tribe) didn’t actually control or own the Island. It was mostly run by the tribe of the Weckquaesgeeks (which nobody has tried to spell or name anyplace after, and it’s too long a name for a gang identifier. But it does end in ‘geeks’, so…..) Showing a) Native peoples were willing to throw chaff at other tribes, and b) shady real estate deals on Manhattan Island go WAY back.) The site of the deal was later marked by Peter Minuit Plaza at South Street and Whitehall Street.
1655 Padua, Italy Birth of Bartolomeo Cristofori, instrument maker. His early life is a blank, but at 33 he is hired by Frederico d’Medici (the 17th Century 1%! Frederico was wealthy; some of his family had been Popes.) Medici was a lover of both music and clocks. He hired Cristofori to maintain and tune Medici’s collection of instruments (which provided background and entertainment at receptions and dinners, both public and private.) Cristofori was a craftsman and beyond tuning and maintaining the house, he also also built instruments: harpsichords, a spinettone, an oval spinet, a clavicytherium. In 1700 he invents what he calls the “Arpicembalo” literally “harp-harpsichord” with two sets of strings that, depending on pressure from a clockwork-like set of keys, allowed the instrument to be both soft and loud in volume, in Italian both piano and forte. It had a wood frame borrowed from the harpsichord, but the strings were struck, (not plucked) and the volume was proportionate to the striking, both distinct, non-harpsichord features. So Cristofori is credited being the inventor of the piano. So if you tickle or plunk the 88 ivories, today you might wish Cristofori a little Buon Compleanno!
1744 Vienna Birth of Marianna Martines, singer, composer. Her family descended from a Spanish soldier stationed in Naples. Her father became a major-domo (chief of staff) for the papal nuncio (ambassador) to Vienna. She was a native speaker of Italian and German, and fluent in French with good English to boot. Marianna was born into a mid-level life, literally: in a multi-story house, a wealthy, titled widow lived on the first floor, a respected singing teacher on the 2nd. The Martines (Germanic version of “Martinez”) were on the third floor and rented a bedroom to an Italian poet, Metastasio. The “starving artist in the attic” was a struggling musician, Joseph Haydn (!). Marianna benefitted from all of these: the singing teacher gave her singing lessons while Haydn (12 years her senior) earned a few coins playing harpsichord during her lessons (and working on librettos with Metastasio.) In Marianna’s teens, the wealthy widow on the first floor introduced her at court where she performed regularly for the Empress of Austria, both voice and at the (Cristofori!) keyboard. When Metastasio died (1782), he left his estate to her and she used part of it for weekly musical gatherings at the house (musicians having fun): Haydn, Salieri, that new kid from Bonn: Ludwig Beethoven, et. al. Mozart (12 years her junior) attended frequently, and he composed 4-handed piano pieces for he and Marianna to play together at these. Martines composed a fair body of sacred music, including 4 Masses and 6 motets. She also composed several oratorios, sacred and secular cantatas, 3 keyboard sonatas and a symphony. (Once again for me, a remarkable life of someone I had never heard of before these History Corner items.)
1776 Providence, Rhode Island Rhode Island is going to lead this parade! They have already backed up their neighbors to the north around Boston by sending 2 regiments of Rhode Islanders, fully equipped, led by the rising star Nathaniel Greene. But they are also going to lead politically. On this day this colony declared Independence from England. It would take another 2 months for that Congress meeting in Philadelphia to do the same for everybody else (although they did put out a great Declaration; that Virginia man Jefferson can turn a phrase!)
1864 Washington DC Since the Civil War began 3 years ago, President Lincoln had been trying to get his generals to agree with his own observation: “We have more men, but they can move theirs faster to places of weakness. We must make our advantage overmatch theirs.” He finally gets an overall commander of the Union military who thinks the way he does. After months of preparations in every single regiment in Blue, regardless of where stationed, on this day Commanding General US Grant orders all Union forces on the Continent to advance and engage the Confederates. While there are several side operations, the two major operations would be, in the words of General William Sherman, “I would go for (Joe) Johnston, and Grant would go for Lee.” Grant rides with General Meade across the Rapidan to bring Lee to battle and, hopefully, to bay. Civilians in Washington and 100 miles south in Richmond all hold their breath at the impending clash. Grant promised Lincoln “I propose to fight it out on this line if it takes all summer” and that there would be no retreat (except tactical maneuvers.) This day a reporter asked Grant how long he thought it would take him to reach Richmond. “Four days,” Grant replied. In stunned amazement the reporter echoed, “Four days?” Grant took the cigar out of his mouth. “If General Lee is party to the agreement.” (Actually took 11 months; General Lee was emphatically NOT party to the agreement.)
1932 Atlanta, Georgia After years of pulling strings, buying off officials, judges, lawmen, knocking off rivals, lots of legal stonewalling, outrageous public statements, high-handed arrogance, corruption, various state, local and federal violations, on this day Donald Trump mobster Al Capone, convicted of income-tax evasion, enters a federal penitentiary in Atlanta. (Capone was later transferred to Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay.) We all here fervently hope history this time doesn’t just rhyme, but truly repeats right down to the key turning in the cell door……
1942 Near New Guinea, South Pacific On this day the Battle of the Coral Sea began between Japanese and US naval forces. While it ended inconclusively in something of a draw, it was notable being the first naval clash fought entirely with carrier aircraft. Neither navy had any of its ships spot an enemy vessel and then call for ramming speed in the galleys of the trireme, hang out shields before throwing spears, coming to port or starboard and opening gunports for a broadside, or even raising 13-inch guns in their pivoting turrets. The first ever naval battle where the ships themselves did not engage with each other.
1998 Washington DC The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this day gives final approval for the first commercial surgical glue for medical use, “Tisseel” (a coinage of ‘tissue’ and ‘seal’.) Wider use has led to fewer sutures and less surgical sewing, less fatigued surgeons, and smoother healing wounds and incisions. (23 years of surgical glue guns!)
May all your News be Good, comforting and inspiring…..and May the 4th be with you!
Shalom.
On the Lighter Side
Quote(s) of the Day
The whole religious complexion of the modern world is due to the absence from Jerusalem of a lunatic asylum. — Thomas Paine
It's been my policy to view the Internet not as an 'information highway,' but as an electronic asylum filled with babbling loonies. — Mike Royko
Extremists think 'communication' means agreeing with them. — Leo Rosten
You can't lead the people if you don't love the people. You can't save the people if you don't serve the people. — Cornel West
You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. Please remember that your difficulties do not define you. They simply strengthen your ability to overcome. — Maya Angelou
Required Pet Photo
Pressley’s Picks
Now that he has me doing this every time he sits down to write a GNR, I don’t understand why he complains about politics so much. There’s all kind of great doggy content out there to share. If you humans would just stop biting at each other’s tails, you’d see how easy it is to be happy and amused.
I don’t know why I can’t do this with my ears. I’m going barking mad trying to do make it happen.
We were settled down for some serious ear skritching while watching the TV box on Sunday and this showed up. I want one. As you are all aware, NNNE is not responsive enough to my needs. I’ve been nipping at him about it and he has ordered some of the recordable buttons. I guess that means I’ve got him fairly well trained already.
My buddy Major (I’d recognize his butt anywhere) has been getting chewed up by the press. They’ve been trying to cancel him for biting anything that smells of the Former Guy. Now they’re acting like he’d be mean to a cat. Hey, he watches cats on the internet just like the rest of us.
CNN: Major Biden receives special training to prepare for new White House cat
To prepare for a new cat at the White House, Major received special training to see how he would do with a new resident at the White House.
“He’s back,” first lady Jill Biden said of Major in an interview with NBC News that aired Friday.
“We were going to bring him in to see you,” President Joe Biden said, as the NBC reporter joked that that may not be a prudent idea.
Closing Notes
Thanks for slogging on through to the end of another Roundup. Remember to stay active and involved, while also looking out for your health. Your country needs you!
hpg keeps on keeping on. Last night’s Evening Shade: PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN---DAY103---Evening Shade-Monday
As a group, The Dead only played this live 4 times (all in 1991). This is the final performance. The song first appeared on the Jerry Garcia Band album Cats Under the Stars in 1978.
Rueben Rueben tell me truly true,I feel afraid and I don’t know why I do
Disclaimer: Whether you call him Rudy Colludy or Ghouliani the Braindead, he’s still one of the biggest idiots in the republican universe.