Rachel Maddow on the Pitfalls of NOT Nominating a SCOTUS Justice

If conservative Republicans win the PR battle, and manage to stall the Supreme Court nomination process, they have a chance to have a conservative seated. But only if a Republican wins the presidential election. Even with that (for liberal Democrats) unfortunate outcome, the Republicans manage to potentially lose a lot along the way. A number of potential 5-4 decisions, some of which would certainly have gone the conservatives' way, would end in a tie. Meaning they'd lose. So in each scenario where it was that tight, liberals effectively win. This is a huge dice roll for the GOP.

One of Rachel Maddow's biggest strengths is her ability to supply context and history to subjects like this, and tease out the many and sundry implications. One of her best monologues was on this subject on Monday night. Take a look.

Seth Meyers on SCOTUS Nomination Flap

Seth Meyers has hit upon the real opposing forces in the Supreme Court nominating fight that is starting to take the country by storm. It is less between right and left, or Senate vs. Obama. It's really between obstructionist Republicans vs. a strict constructionist view of the Constitution. In effect, it's a battle between the GOP Senate and Antonin Scalia's professed ideology. Isn't it ironic? Don'tcha think?

[Excerpt]

Seth Meyers Blasts Republican Leadership Over Justice Scalia Replacement

The untimely death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia this past weekend immediately morphed into a pitched political war, a war that Late Night host Seth Meyers points out is largely between Republicans and the U.S. Constitution that Justice Scalia so famously wanted to be interpreted as originally written. . .

Read more at: Mediaite

SNL: Hillary Sings "I Can't Make You Love Me"

Hillary Clinton's biggest obstacle is that 25 years in politics creates a lot of baggage. And all along,  whether with her husband, or individually,  the media has been complicit in making everything about potential scandal, or "how x hurts Clinton." Its reason #397 why I find the notion of "liberal media bias" so laughable. But it has fostered a feeling many have toward Hillary: they're suspicious of her, even if they don't know why. Saturday Night Live has put this odd factoid to song, with Hillary singing it.

Over Time with Bill Maher, February 12, 2016

Bill Maher and his guests, Richard Engel, Michael "Killer Mike" Render, Ana Navarro, Josh Green and Margaret Cho, answer viewer questions after the show.

Who Scares Stephen King? Ted Cruz.

Image from source, The Daily Beast

Stephen King is our generation's premiere horror fiction writer, whatever you personally think of his style. He's a favorite of mine, and has the rare ability to actually give me the lasting willies sometimes, with his terrifying creations. But who terrifies the horror master? Who could possibly scare Stephen King? Ted Cruz, that's who.

I'm with you buddy. --Constant Reader, Editor James Greenlee

[Excerpt]

Stephen King Talks JFK, Oscars Diversity, and ‘Bulletproof’ Donald Trump

. . .He’s very scary. I actually think Trump, in the end, would be more electable than Cruz because Cruz is a fundamentalist Christian and it would almost be like electing the analog of an Imam—someone whose first guiding principle would be the scripture rather than the Constitution. But I don’t think he could get elected. And, even if he was able to govern without blowing up the world, could we look at a guy who resembles a cable game show host for four years? He has that awful plastered-down hair and everything. . .

Read more at: The Daily Beast

Breaking: Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia Dead at 79

Image from Wikipedia

Wow. I have this short list--very short list--of people for whom my compassion runs so low, that mustering even a modicum of sympathy for their passing, timely or otherwise, is very difficult. You could throw a couple of Cheneys in there, maybe a Schlafly and a couple of televangelists. But Antonin Scalia, long-serving Supreme Court Justice is on that list. I'm reminded that he was very good friends with fellow justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, so I'll keep that in mind, and remember that he's got a family, and they might have had warmer feelings for him than I do. Maybe. So, I'll give them all my sympathy But I'm going to have difficulty working up a tear.

FOX "News" was in such a hurry to get this story out,
that they only managed a sentence, and a faulty headline.
Scalia was not "Chief Justice."

Now, all eyes will turn to the nominating process, and whether or not the US Senate will try to run out the clock so that President Obama doesn't get a third justice on the bench. I think it would be tremendously bad form, for there is absolutely no reason they should stall other than playing politics.  But the stakes for the presidential election just shot through the roof. And the delicacy of the language that the candidates, pundits and other politicians use around the situation could prove daunting. I say, wait for Donald Trump to say something crass before saying anything but the most boilerplate statements. Then, carefully guide the issue to one of fairness, justice, the American way. Don't play politics, the Senate must do its duty, etc., etc. Force the Senate to do their jobs.

We'll see.

[Excerpt]

Antonin Scalia, Supreme Court justice, dies at 79

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia has died at the age of 79, a government source and a family friend told CNN on Saturday.Scalia died in his sleep during a visit to Texas. . .

Read more at: CNN

In Case You Missed It: Johnny Depp as Donald Trump in The Art of the Deal

This has been buzzing around the internet for several days, I know, but I just got around to checking it out. I was surprised to see how much they committed to it. This isn't your standard two or three minute sketch. I think they really nailed it. Your mileage may vary.

Funny Or Die Presents Donald Trump's The Art Of The Deal: The Movie from Funny Or Die

GOP Clown Car Update: Who Dropped Out Today?

Well, one more down. Today, Jim Gilmore decided. . .oh who cares? Here's the updated graphic!

Is Donald Trump Related to Pharma Douche Martin Shkreli?

I'm not sayin'. . .I'm just sayin'! Know what I'm sayin'?

The resemblance is uncanny. pic.twitter.com/HVtx4i0EnE

— Anyone But Trump (@AnyoneButDTrump) February 11, 2016

Help Kickstart The Randi Rhodes Show

Radio Goddess Randi Rhodes retired a couple of years ago, breaking the heart of this daily listener. As much as I love The Stephanie Miller Show (even sans Chris Lavoie), Randi was always my girl. And now she's attempting a comeback. I'm presently on a bit of a financial diet while The Other Half and I pursue career changes, but then I thought. . .hey, I've got this here blog thingy! If nothing else, I can promote her. So, please, if you ever were a fan, check out this video, head on over to the site (bounce your boobies if you feel like it), and consider helping crowd fund this needed voice.

Randi Rhodes Air Force

David Ippolito's Tom Cruise Scares Me Updated for 2016

I haven't checked in with David Ippolito, "That Guitar Man from Central Park" in a while, but I hoped he had a new version of Tom Cruise Scares Me up for the 2016 election. He didn't disappoint. Well, not much. Ippolito is a Bernie Sanders supporter (not that there's anything wrong with that), and his update takes a shot at Hillary Clinton. But let me reiterate, that though Clinton is my preferred candidate, I'll happily support Bernie if he winds the nomination, and that all of the candidates on both sides "scare me" to one degree or another. But Bernie or Hillary much less so than anyone running on the Republican side.

New Hampshire Takeaways

I'm a bit puzzled by the media reactions to New Hampshire, and frankly, over the whole presidential campaign. Even voices I like and respect seem to have blind spots, and odd analysis. Here are my short takes.

Hillary Clinton: Hillary lost New Hampshire by somewhere around what she was predicted to by polls and speculation. There were no particular surprises that I could see. And she gave a decent speech, congratulating Bernie Sanders on his win, and rousing her supporters. I have no idea what all of the hand-wringing was about, from pundits and journalists. Should she lose South Carolina? New story.

Bernie Sanders: The only thing surprising about Bernie's performance was that he finally got some decent coverage. I think the astonished reactions may have had something to do with the press largely ignoring him and his events, and then being forced to witness that he has support akin to Trump's. But, of course, with far more substance, and with followers who are considerably more informed, and demanding politically. That's not to say I don't have significant issues with the "Bernie Bros."

John Kasich: That my Ohio Governor Milquetoast came in second is the absolute flip-side of front-runner Trump, showing that there are more nutbars in Vermont than we thought, but that they're are people who respond to what by contrast seems normal, sensible. He's not. But he's eminently preferable.

Marco Rubio and Jeb! Bush: Both continue to be plagued by saying or doing the "wrong" thing in the eyes of the press. Bush continues to be barely a footnote, and Marco, after a strong finish in Iowa, has been assailed as a talking-point regurgitating robot. Anything and everything considered a mistake or error for these guys wouldn't even register if Trump did or said it. I'd take either of these guys over Trump or Cruz. But I wouldn't be happy about it.

Ben Carson, Carly Fiorina, Chris Christie: The field is being culled, and only Ben of these three remains standing. I'll be shocked if he isn't the next to go. Chris Christie I'll be sorry to lose. Bully that he is, I think I liked him best of the worst.

Ted Cruz: Cruz is far and away the candidate I'd have the hardest time dealing with if he won the general. He's a disingenuous Dominionist, bent on eliminating the wall between church and state. He's unctuous, creepy, and just plain awful. Fortunately, he won the Iowa caucus, and that is usually the kiss of death. I'm hoping so.

And finally. . .

Donald Trump: The media is going into convulsions (likely only rivaling those of Reince Preibus and the rest of the GOP establishment), self-flagellating over having treated Trump as a clown and a sideshow. Newsflash, news people: He is still a clown and a sideshow. Oh, he may continue to do very well. He may very well win the nomination. And--to my increasing horror--the voters of the United States may have hit peak Idiocracy centuries ahead of schedule, and lead to his eventual election. I hope not.

While the media continues to mea culpa all over itself over the wrong thing, what they should be doing is actually turning their syntax parsing onto him. His speeches--regularly played in their entirety on cable news, regardless of their newslessness--are filled with repetition that makes Rubio's current drubbing completely unjustified. They aren't even speeches at all. They're ad libbing, and bad ad libbing at that. They're akin to Sarah Palin word salad, but half as entertaining. [Story continues below]



Trump's "victory speech" in New Hampshire, if you subtract his thanks to dead and living relatives and his skeevy staff, was more of this empty, crass, 5th-grade level blather. No other candidate in the entire race (or any other) would survive this horrible speech. At best, anyone but Trump would suffer a days-long dissection of its awfulness, to speculation of his dropping out, or dire warnings that he must course-correct. Not Trump. They don't even mention it.

But here, don't take my word for it. Read a few verbatim quotes from the "speech." Tell me this is presidential. Tell me this wouldn't disqualify anyone else. Try to parse any of it for coherency. It's terrible.

Read it here: Haaretz

GOP Clown Car Continues to Empty Out: Carly Fiorina & Chris Christie

Chris Christie and Carly Fiorina have bailed  out of the 2016 GOP Clown Car. We can only hope she landed on him, and not the other way around.

Carly was far too icy and prickly to ever gather any steam, as far as I'm concerned. For all of the "unlovableness" people try to heap on Hillary, Carly made her look like your favorite pie-baking, cuddly grandma. And Carly was the mean, brittle other grandma you'd cry when you'd have to visit, and you couldn't enter that one room, or sit on the furniture unless it was covered with plastic. Like her face (ha!).

Christie was probably in my short (very short) list of GOP candidates who wouldn't have freaked me out if he'd won. He's a bully. And probably corrupt. But he'd also get things done without pulling Jesus into everything. and without embarrassing the living crap out of America for the next four years. I'm a bit sorry to see him go.

SNL: Bernie Sanders and Larry David as Bernie Sanders

Good stuff, good episode, actually. I might have enjoyed it more, if I'd ever watched Curb our Enthusiasm, I suppose.

SNL: Nobody LIkes Ted Cruz (Except Iowa)

Saturday Night Live continues with the (entirely on-target) meme that Ted Cruz is unlikable, both visually and on every other level, despite winning in Iowa. And Taran Killam is still entirely too attractive to be playing Cruz.

Dr. Ben Carson Causes Pile-up, Confusion at GOP Debate

Hilarious.

Over Time with Bill Maher, February 5, 2016

Open Letter to Arianna Huffington: "Queer Voices" Has Got to Go

Ms. Huffington:

In recent days, The Huffington Post has unceremoniously re-branded its LGBT news section, "Queer Voices." Its previous name, Gay Voices was deemed to be too exclusionary, as not everyone under the sexual minorities umbrella considers themselves to be gay.

Yes, ma'am, I'm talking to you.

The problem is, "Queer" as a word carries a lot of baggage, most of it quite negative. To many--and I'm one of them--it's plainly offensive, particularly if used by others to define me. If a person wants to identify as "queer?" Knock themselves out. Don't assign it to me. If a gay organization or publication wants to use the word or a "Q" or a variant (such as Queerty)? It doesn't bother me. It's from the community, for the community. There is no hint of malice. But when it's a section of what is essentially an online mainstream newspaper? No. No.

I understand the impulse to change the name, and it is doubtless true that you've probably received criticism from trans people, bisexual people and anyone else who doesn't identify primarily as "gay." I also understand that coming up with a short, succinct heading is quite difficult, because by its nature, a short name has a difficult job being inclusionary. Somebody is bound to be left out of a lot of the options out there.

My own gay section doesn't try to solve the riddle, since it's
just little old me here. I'm not LGBT, I'm just "G."

This is borne out by the history of the most common identifier of LGBT. We've gone from "Gay" to "Gay & Lesbian," to "Gay, Lesbian & Bisexual," to "GLBT," (which is pronounceable as glibbit, and includes trans-, whether transsexual or transvestite), to LGBT (ladies first, but unpronounceable). That pretty much stuck, but it started to gather barnacles of other letters and symbols, because it still didn't include everybody. And though that seems only natural, it also starts getting unwieldy, and begging your pardon, quite ridiculous.

The entire point of an abbreviation is that it be shorter, and succinct. LGBTTQQF*GPBDS? doesn't do that. And, invariably, it's still going to leave somebody out. So, I can appreciate HuffPo's dilemma. "Gay" doesn't cut it, what are the succinct alternatives?

- LGBT Voices, probably nixed for the reasons listed above
- Pride Voices, reasonable, inoffensive, probably in use somewhere else
- Lambda Voices, probably too obscure
- Rainbow Voices, probably too vague
- Alternative Lifestyles, nearly as bad as Queer Voices for a lot of reasons

So, again, I understand your dilemma. I happen to think you blew it, royally. You'd have done better by inventing a word, and sub-titling it with a description. You could've done something plain like, "Huffington Post Pride Page," or something more vague like, "Our World: Huffington Post's LGBTetc. Pride Page." Ultimately, it's not up to me. That's why you, Ms. Huffington make the big bucks. But changing "Gay" to "Queer" to be more inclusive and less divisive utterly misses the mark.

I wrote this as an open letter for the simple reason that this little dark corner of the internet was inspired by The Huffington Post, though my sights weren't nearly as lofty (thank goodness). Along with John Aravosis' AmericaBlog, I decided to start my own blog because of HuffPo some nine years ago. I've continued to read it daily, and have used it many times as a source for articles and links. I haven't loved everything, and am utterly lost as to why your entertainment writers are seemingly obsessed with the Kardashians to the point of absurdity. But I've always felt included in the Gay Voices section. Queer Voices doesn't feel remotely as welcoming.

Sincerely,

James L. Greenlee, Editor
Greenlee Gazette

GOP Clown Car Gets Less Crowded (Dem Side Down to Two)

It was bound to happen. It's still too full. But the 2016 GOP Presidential Clown Car is finally shaking loose some of its more useless passengers. It's difficult to tell if the crazy level has dropped on average. I mean, Rand Paul is out of there, but he's always been half reasonable/half cuckoo. Mike Huckabee somehow got his fat behind out of that little trunk, but he wasn't ever so much crazy as oily and evil.  Rick Santorum was a frothy mix of very sincere (but awful) religious principles, and desperation. . .with maybe a little crazy in with the lube and unfortunate fecal matter.

But they're leaving behind the primary drivers, Donald J. Trump and Rafael "Ted" Cruz, who between them encompass at least a dozen overlapping negative qualities to different degrees, including batshit crazy. It's a VENN diagram I don't even want to contemplate. Still stuffed in the back seat are Ben "Dr. Stabby" Carson, Jim "Who?" Gilmore, Carly "Bring me those puppies!" Fiorina, (poor, sad) Jeb! Bush and John "Dishwater" Kasich. Marco Rubio is climbing furiously over the center console to try to get a front seat, and I'm guessing Chris Christie is on the roof rack, or tied to the fender or something. But it has to be a little more comfortable with three losers dumped out at the curb.

Likewise, the much smaller batch of Democrats can now focus a little better, being pared down to two after the departure of the dull but dreamy Martin O'Malley. Thursday night's debate, co-moderated by Rachel Maddow, will be the first one-on-one debate of the whole dang 2016 season. No kid's table, no extraneous candidates.

Buckle up kids, we're finally getting the whole thing in actual gear after sputtering around for over a year!

The Most Photo-Shoppable Donald Trump Photo Ever

Ohhhhh, sometimes my talents as a graphic artist, and my sense of inappropriate humor collide. So far, I have not succumbed. . .but it's. . .hard. . .

Image from AOL