Pretty Boy and The Scarecrow!!!

 There are some real shitbags in the "Greatest Deliberative Body on Earth". Usually in the past, it was a group of statesmen with a few dopes who weren't all the smart but had a streak of decorum they adhered to. Then came Bill Clinton and the right wing went fucking nuts. First the House went under the spell of eye rolling nuts out there and a few IQ challenged nitwits entered the House and began throwing their feces at the wall. Here in "Ne 02" after years of moderate Republicans and some moderate Democrats representing us, the electorate went crazy under the influence of newly formed right-wing media and elected John Christensen, voted the dumbest member of Congress year after year. We wised up after two terms of this cretin and elected a Republican whose greatest achievement was outlawing cruising on the main drag of Omaha (yeah we ARE the worlds biggest hick town) but at least he wasnt nuts. 

Anyhoo, The US Senate has caught up with the morons running the House by accepting dipshit voters electing dipshit after dipshit to the Senate. It has also caught up by accepting downright evil people elected by other evil people. 

For once Ted Cruz, perhaps the most evil man to have ever been elected to the Senate, is not the focus of what I am about to write. Oh Cruz probably agrees with them but he's too busy being an Islamophobic bigot right now to win re-election.

Nope I'm talking about the Senator from Virginia   Arkansas and the other Senator from Virginia Missouri. Senator Tom " If I Only Had a Brain" Cotton and Senator Josh "Run Away" Hawley. These two jackboots are really upset with students at Columbia sitting around listening to loudmouths with bullhorns (non-students of course) scream about Gaza and genocide. These two guys, who would both look cool in Waffen SS gear, are so upset with peaceful protesters they just cannot hold in their inner Nazi. 

Cotton, who wanted to call in the 82nd Airborne to squash BLM protesters back in 2020 drawing no quarter (this means killing everybody in your way arms up or not) now wants Joe Biden to call in the National Guard to go bust heads up at Columbia which shouldn't be tough since the protesters just sit on the grass and listen to crazy people. Cotton has such a yearnin to kill his fellow Americans he just can't stand the reluctance by reasonable people to let the protests yell themselves out. In other words, Cotton cannot wait for another Kent State.

Now Hawley, a "Missourian" whose only tie to the state is his sisters Ozark fun house, has joined Cotton to wish for a massacre of them dirty hippies. Hawley has equated the deployment of the Guard in 1957 to protect black children from mobs of white racists and thugs to Columbia's really loud screeching into a bullhorn lamebrains with an agenda of antisemitic nonsense.

Hawley and Cotton are the herpes simplex of the Senate. They won't go away as long as their constituents keep enabling them. Cotton bamboozled Arkansas voters in 2022 into sending his scarecrow looking ass back to DC. Hawley is running this year in a state that has become exactly what America thinks it is. Jed Clampett, Lil Abner and Daisy Mae. So, he'll be sent back to try and further his 2028 presidential ambitions.

But the fact these two misanthropic blood lusters pretend to be so concerned about Jewish students they want to turn the campus into Gaza itself with death and destruction is concerning. If they get away with the bullying bloodlust without consequences (which of course they will), it will only encourage them in the future, and if somehow Trump wins perhaps those Waffen SS unis will be ok to wear in the Senate.

The Trial Of The Century??!!

 The trial has begun. The trial of the century ( JFC stop already). Florida Phony and bad human Donald Trump has actually gone on trial in a New York courtroom for fraud. Why fraud? Well in his payments to Stormy Daniels, Karen McDougall and some doorman who knows all about his love child with a Trump Tower maid, Donald Trump, stable genius and shitty businessman wrote off the $300K plus as "legal expenses". Sorry Donnie but that's misdemeanor illegal on its surface BUT if it's done to further a subsequent crime well then its a felony. Welcome to Felony World!

Trump has gone into court two straight days. Falling asleep, rolling his eyes and being the nightmare client his lawyers know him to be. Trump has been gagged by the judge in the case because Donnie can't stop bragging, insulting and putting jurors and courtroom family members in danger from the actions of Trumps more mentally ill fans. He's been gagged and he does not stop. He puts the Judges daughter out there to be harassed, he rails against the judge's wife and the judge himself on his worthless Truth Social. He has a young lady he has hired (get the cash up front sweetheart) just to peruse the internet for positive stories about him, print them out, and hand them to him as he leaves court so he can have a stack of unnecessary papers to wave around claiming they are all from "legal scholars" who have exonerated him. He violates the gag order literally minutes after being ordered not to. He rants about his martyrdom, his unfair prosecution and exactly what he's been ordered to not discuss. Yet he gets away with it. 

He belongs at Rikers Island yesterday.

Sleepy Donnie!

Sleepy Donald went to trial this week in New York for paying hush money to Stormy Daniels to shut her up two weeks before the 2016 election. Oh, it is much more than that, it's an "accounting error" where Trump took the $130K payment as a write off for "legal expenses" also. But what it really is is the same thing The Defendant keeps typing in CAPS over on his plunging to hell Truth Social. ELECTION INTERFERENCE! Sleepy Don tried to cover up his payment to the porn star for sautéing his mushroom-like toadstool. He also paid money (thru a third party named Pecker) to one Karen McDougall to shut up about their affair while Melania was knocked up with the future gigantic. Barron Trump. 

So, what we have here is a trial about good old fashioned cover up of a sexual affair. Would it have mattered in 2016 had the public known of this creeps philandering? Of course not, but Tired Trump probably thought so or the payoffs wouldn't have occurred. He survived the pussy grab tape, he survived the making fun of the disabled guy tape, he survived all of it because of his cult members total devotion and their inability to tell truth from fiction. This has only gotten worse among the faithful and even a trial isn't going to change their screechy fandom of this sleepwalking scumbag. Racism and homophobia are powerful motivators among the assholes who crawled out from the Under World they'd been existing in since 1968 when they loved George Wallace.

Now comes the jury selection part of this trial. As the Defendant sits in a courtroom falling asleep because he cant have his 12 Diet Cokes a day, jurors are screened. Their social media is screened, their lives are upended, their employers are revealed and the right-wing media publishes it all. Guys like the despicable Jesse Watters, who claims the jurors are all left-wing plants, and the deplorable talking puppets on Newsmax and OAN will all point the jurors out to the goons of MAGA, this information dump results in harassment and death threats from the Trump thugs. So, if Trump, who apparently thought he could challenge all 1.6 million residents of Manhattan called for jury duty with strikes, cant strike enough jurors, his surrogates can with threats of violence to their families and employers. Its the tactics of a mob boss, which of course Drifting Donald is.

This trial has already gone off the rails. And it hasn't even started yet.

Much like the 2016 election did.

Pretty Woman!

 I must confess. I remember watching the movie Pretty Woman in 1990 with a friend and sitting there listening to people def jam laughing and wondering what the hell is so funny? I also can't stand the ballady guitar solo heavy music of Bryan Adams. Thus, I put it out there before I tell you what I thought of the Broadway tour version of the musical Pretty Woman that hit Omaha last night for a weeklong run.

The story everybody knows and quite frankly who cares? It's My Fair Lady, its Pygmalion, its every love story ever made. Two misfits hate each other, they like each other, then they fall in love. In this case it's a hedge fund manager and a street hooker. He wants no strings attached companionship; she needs money. Oh, how romantic. A greedy scumbag who destroys lives and a prostitute who walks the streets of Hollywood, remains beautiful with no addictions or diseases and who wouldn't want those two crazy kids to get together? The story is ridiculous. Vivian and Edward. Pass.

In cases like that, where I don't care about the main characters at all, I look to the minor characters to care about. And in the case of Pretty Woman there's plenty of minor characters who are actually major characters.

Adam Du Plessis is Happy Man, the hotel manager, a street guru, a piano player, a store manager and a crazy opera conductor. This guy dominates. He is immensely talented in comic acting, singing and sincere empathy. The guy does it all. He makes you wish the two main characters would get off the stage so he can reappear. 

Connor Kabat as Guilio, the bellman. He has the moves of a contortionist. He is a joy to watch. He's funny and he isn't onstage enough. His scenes with Du Plessis as the hotel manager are absolutely the best part of this musical especially the ballroom dancing scenes. Hilarious.

Rae Davenport as the hooker roommate of Vivian, Kit DeLuca. She isn't in a whole lot of scenes but when she is, holy schnikes. Her voice is powerful. It's like going to church in a play about hookers and scumbags. Her scenes with the Happy Man towards the end were a delight.

Finally, Sara Wang isn't up there a whole lot, But the opera scene and subsequent scenes showcase her operatic chops. She's impossible to not want more of. 

Finally, the main characters. Yeah, they're fine. Ellie Baker as Vivian does her best Julia Roberts snort and laugh. But to be honest, when she and Chase Wolfe as Edward are onstage there's really no chemistry. It was tolerable but for Maxs Mom and I, we both wished them to finish so we could see more of the Happy Man, Kit, Guilio and the ensemble.

Should you see it. Sure, why not? It's two hours of fun. It means nothing, it's not Les Mis or Hamilton, hell it's not even Mamma Mia. but there's enough up there to make it enjoyable despite the grumpy old guy next to me who never applauded once and seemed like he'd rather be at Monday Night Raw. 

PS--the applause at the curtain call was heavy for the same characters I just mentioned and not so much for the main characters Edward and Vivian. Maybe the rest of the crowd agreed with us. And the booing of the greedy lawyer was spot on. Chefs kiss!

Nebraska It's Not For Everyone!!

 The Nebraska Legislature. Oh, last year was bad what with the filibusters and the anti-gay and anti-trans garbage that rolled thru like shit through a unisex bathroom. Last year was a total clown show. I know cuz I was there when they passed the anti-transgender anti-abortion anti LGBTQ hybrid bill that turned this state into an embarrassment. Watching a tiny little man (School Board member Kirk Penner) walk around packing a gun on his hip to keep us "leftists" in hand was truly the most ridiculous thing I may have ever seen.

Then came 2024. How could it be worse? Well, it can be argued it really is. The Nebraska Unicameral is unique in its makeup. There are 49 state senators, period. There is no House, no Senate, it's a one house body. 49 people. Elected from cites like Omaha and Lincoln. Also elected from counties with dozens of people and its these people, along with the West Omaha Republicans that run the place. There are no parties, per se', but it's one of the most partisan things you will ever see.

This year has seen very little happen in comparison to last year. But the things that have happened are horrific at best and criminal at worst. The standard bill, written by outside interests of course since most rural Senators couldn't write their names, was to ban "porn" from the school libraries. What's "porn"? Anything that doesn't fit the Christian nationalist definition. Keep the kids dumb, keep them on the farm, and avoid all talk about reality. The bill caused quite a ruckus. Senator Steve Halloran, a tiny little man with a Napoleon complex, read from Alice Seybold's  Lucky, a book that features a graphic description of her own rape. Halloran read from the book, then inserted a female Senators name into the reading (give me a blow job Senator Cavanaugh). Female senators and a few male senators called for the little prick to resign. But because the majority of men and a few women have an MAGA agenda absolutely nothing was done. He was "reprimanded" which is nothing. Halloran remains unrepentant.

This event has caused a tension that hangs over the entire session. 

And then came the last 7 days. Charlie Kirk, a balloon headed 30 something talk show host who likes to hang around college kids and try and convince them old white Republican men are the future, learned about a bill in the legislature regarding changing Nebraska's electoral vote from district to winner take all. Nobody gave a shit about this bill until Kirk and his goons found out about it. And then came Trump. Trump also ordered the bill to pass and all the MAGA morons, from the Governor on down to a lowlife like Halloran, all fell into line to fast track this bill to satisfy their Orange god. The marching orders had come in from MAGA HQ. Kill Nebraska's electoral district vote and do it now to give Trump the electoral vote.

Senator Julie Slama, who had earlier demanded Halloran to resign, fell back into line and brought the bill up as an amendment to a different bill. It failed badly. But it's not over because Kirk is bringing his traveling bullshit show to Omaha (the state capitol is in Lincoln you dumb fuck). It is being held at a church (tax exempt status anyone?) next Tuesday. Oh, there's still time for these sneaky bastards to get this bill back to the forefront. As of now, it doesn't have the votes, but death threats and bullying tends to work here. So, its not dead enough. 

Meanwhile a state senator named Mike McDonnell, a first responder union boss from Omaha, changed parties from Democrat to Republican causing mass erections from out of state interests who know nothing about this state. Its nonpartisan you idiots. McDonnell, a real rat bastard, votes with the conservatives all the time anyway so it matters not. He's a professional Catholic that cares about abortion and only about abortion. The Nebraska Democratic Party, which is a real shitshow, had "censured" McDonnell for some reason. And again, though it doesn't matter, McDonnell changed parties. Yeah, big fucking deal. 

Today it's the standard bathroom bill. Senator Kathleen Kauth, a real sourpuss, has taken her win from last year and doubled down. No men in women's sports, use the bathroom of your birth certificate gender, and cause mass panic on an issue that truly doesn't exist in Nebraska (there a grand total of ZERO trans athletes in Nebraska schools). 

So here we go. Turn Nebraska into Alabama, Do Trumps bidding. Discriminate even further against LGBTQ folks.

Nebraska used to have the worst fucking slogan for tourism ever "Nebraska...It's Not For Everyone."

No shit. Other than white males and their female co-conspirators, who the hell would come here? Get out Kids. Keep the brain drain going. Or stay here and try and stop these bigots that run the place. I choose #2.

Update---the anti trans bill died a grisly death today as there weren't enough votes to stop a filibuster.

The Winner Take All Bill apparently also is dead as only 4 days remain in the session and there's no time to rig the 2024 Nebraska election. 

So Stay Home Charlie Kirk

Frampton Comes Alive!!

It was 1976 and Frampton Comes Alive was issued to every white kid west of 60th Street and we all loved it. The moppy haired 25 year old Frampton, already a guitar legend to those of us enamored with Humble Pie and Framptons Camel, was a freakin golden god. His live album was the rage, new fans came to be, and he was milking it for all it was worth. His tour included the Civic Auditorium in Omaha, a giant cement 1950s arena with terrible sound (I swear you could still hear sound from the Buddy Holly tour bouncing around if you listened closely). August 1976. I secured two tickets by standing in line at the box office (remember those "good" old days?) and my buddy and I couldn't wait. Anyway, Frampton was phenomenal, running around stage and gawking at the love he was getting. When he sang Show Me The Way and the line "I cant believe this is happening to me" you could tell he meant it. He was glorious.

The 73 year old version came to Omaha last night and dammit his voice sounds 25, his guitar sounds 25 and his songs are timeless. He has the disease Inclusion-Body Myositis , a muscle disease that affects his hands and he at one time claimed he was done playing. Well thru physical therapy and pure will, Frampton hobbled out with a cane, sat in a chair and played and sang like he was the healthiest man on Earth. He's still glorious.

The setlist ranged from Humble Pie (Shine On) to Frampton's Camel (Lines on My Face featuring a pictorial retrospective of Peters life) to Winds of Change (All I Wanna Be Is by Your Side) To Frampton Comes Alive (Show Me The Way). The man is one talented musician.

People may love the hits like Baby I Love Your Way and Show Me the Way which he did. But the last song of the set, Do You Feel Like We Do, brought the crowd to its feet. All of us Frampton fans know that song is HIS masterpiece. From the opening notes, to the lyrics sung by the crowd, to the middle jam session, to the talk box which amazed us in 1976, to the ending this was the ultimate experience. It was a fantastic concert and I hope his health gets better so we can hear him for years to come.

Now the crowd. Some people go beyond the cheering, the woo hoos, and the applause. When Frampton picked a "random" seat to give away a signed vinyl, the "winner" ran to the front of the stage and made it all about herself (which I guess it was) hopping up and down and screeching until she was basically forced back to her seat. Then he gave away another signed vinyl to a fellow IBM sufferer, a lady in a wheelchair and that was moving. A woman behind us kept screaming whenever the roadie brought out a new guitar and it was red would screech "Reds my favorite color!!!" The third time she did this virtually everyone in front of her (Like me) turned around and hollered "Yeah we know". We didn't hear from her again. 

Anyway, Peter Frampton is a good as ever, from the opener Golden Goose to the closer Do You Feel Like We Do. Go see him if you get a chance. He's still coming alive!

The Lion King!

 I am not by any means a Disney fan. In fact, until Ron DeSantis picked a stupid fight with them, I thought Disney was a cult. Well, it is, but they also are harmless, unless taking your money and holding you hostage pisses one off. 

The Lion King is in Omaha for one more week after opening a month ago. I've never seen it; Max's Mom and Max have so it was my turn. I expected nothing other than typical Disney over the top entertainment I was ready to hate it. Oops. I loved it.

The familiar story of the King Mufasa, the evil Scar, the young Simba and Nala, the grown-up Simba and Nala, the comic relief of the parrot Zazu, the wise cracking warthog Pumbaa and the even wiser cracking cat Timon, along with the crazy hyenas. The story is murder, a power grab, a flight to safety, and the return to claim a rightful crown. Thats it.

The spectacle of the set, the costumes, the animals, the puppeteers, it is really mind boggling. From the opening of the familiar chant from the storyteller Rifiki, and the parade of characters down the aisle, I was hooked. Enchanted maybe. I watched in wonder, and I really have no wonder any longer. There were fewer songs than I thought. But the music was constant, including drummers in the Lincoln seats right in front of us, including a brief appearance by Zazu. It's a freakin must see.

The performances were great. Peter Hargrave as the evil Scar has a deep and powerful voice. Gerald Ramsey as Mufasa has a sense of power onstage during his Act One only scenes. But the unsung heroes of this massive production are Mukelisiwe Goba as Rafiki and 10-year-old Mase Lawson as the young Simba. Goba's chanting and singing, and narration is something you cannot get enough of. And this kid, Mase, is a phenom in his powerful voice and is even better acting. You will be hearing from him. Christ, he's only 10?

There's only 4 days left to see this. As a professional Disney cynic, they finally beat me. Beat me like a drum.

Oscar Night!

 Its Oscar night. At least it starts early, huh? I've seen all 10 of the Best Picture nominees all of which were a pleasant experience and though I enjoyed some more than others, at least I come from experience in rating them. So, let's go.

Oppenheimer is brilliant as is virtually all movies made by Chriostopher Nolan. The story of Robert Oppenheimer, the man who pushed America to develop the atomic bomb before the Nazis, ya know bac when America hated Nazis. It covers it all, his youth, his relationship with Einstein, his personal life, his black listing and his regrets. It truly is a masterful work.

Poor Things features acting chops from Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo and Willem Dafoe. Unfortunately, I found the actual story to be lacking like every other film made by weirdo director Yorgos Lanthimos. The story of a highly sexualized sort of Frankenstein's monster becomes a story of yeah yeah I get it. And yes, a guy gets turned into a goat. But Emma Stone is fantastic in it.

Barbie was a pleasant surprise. The Greta Gerwig directed story of a doll was so much more. Featuring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, it's a real feminist screed. Much like Taylor Swift, young girls loved this movie and for that I'm fine with. Girls need role models like Barbie, Caitlin Clark and Taylor Swift. What they don't need is Katie Britt.

Zone of Interest is a Holocaust movie without the Holocaust. No violence takes place onscreen. The story of the camp commandant and his family simply going thru life as millions die within yards of their house. The indifference and the utter disdain for Jews (the house maids are ignored as if they didn't exist). It's all in German and after a while you realize how important that is. And it features a black lab in virtually every scene. The dog deserves a Canine Oscar.

Anatomy of a Fall is the story of a dead husband, a wife suspected of his murder, a marriage in deep trouble and the resulting effects on a deaf child. Did she kill him, did she not? You have to decide. And yet another dog stealing scenes. Doggie Oscar 2.

American Fiction is the story of an unsuccessful black writer who on a lark writes a script with every black stereotype imaginable. It becomes a hit much to his chagrin. The white condescension is really the point as the white liberals kiss his ass. The point is basically hammered home. Jeffrey Wright is wonderful as aways. 

The Holdovers is Alexander Payne's best film. Story of a bitter private school professor stuck looking after the holdovers during Christmas break. The holdovers being the kids with no hime to go back to, much like him. Paul Giamatti should get a lifetime achievement Oscar as well as an apology for not being nominated more often. The guy is fucking great in anything he does. But Da'Vine Joy Randolph as the grieving mother of a dead kid killed in 'Nam who comes to bond with them all is a godsend.

Killers of the Flower Moon is important to see as its a little-known history of white men breaking promises to the Native Americans of Oklahoma. Put em on the dead ass unfarmable land and when oil is discovered move in, kill them and steal the oil. The story of America. Lili Gladstone as the wife of Leonardo DiCaprio and her obvious pain is brilliant. Does he love her or is she simply there to murder her and take her money? She's Oscar bound.

Maestro isn't nearly as important as it thinks it is. Yes, it's a good story of the conflicted Leonard Bernstein, but it's also self-important and over the top. Bradley Cooper has made a good movie here, but not a great one.

Past Lives is one of those human stories that everybody can love. The story of a Korean immigrant who left her childhood friend behind and moves on with her life. Marrying a man and living a new life. But her childhood buddy can't let her go. When he finds her online, they begin the relationship in a new light, and he decides to visit her. What results is jealousy, heartbreak, self-doubt and finality. The ending is heartbreaking. This movie was my favorite of the ten.

Ok that's it. But what were my Top Ten of 2023? Presented without comment.

10) Dumb Money

9) You Hurt My Feelings

8) Killers of the Flower Moon

7) American Fiction

6) Anatomy of a Fall

5) The Holdovers

4) Oppenheimer

3) Zone of Interest

2) Past Lives

1) Godzilla Minus One

Yes, Godzilla was a masterpiece that I enjoyed more than any of them. Past Lives I've watched 3 times. It's this year's Moonlight. 

Honorable Mention.

Quiz Lady, Somewhere in Queens, Taylor Swift the Eras Tour, Rustin, Yogi, Freedoms Path, The Starling Girl , The Blackening, Reality, and The Beekeeper. 

Google em and watch.

Onward to tonight.

Killer Joe!

 Sleepy Joe became the Scranton Slugger last night. Dodging and countering, handling the Republican hecklers like a professional standup comedian, speaking for 68 minutes without a breath. Senile my ass. Cognitively impaired my ass. Joe is sharp and determined and ready to take on the Florida Fraud in a phone booth if necessary.

In fact he was so on target, the Republicans were taken aback. Thus, the talking point became instead of Dementia Joe, he became Drug Addict Joe. What's he on? Did he let Hunter coke him up? In fact, down at Bed Bug A Lago, the Defendant said in full caps as usual, "THE DRUGS ARE WEARING OFF!" Now I have no idea if the Mar A Lago Moron meant he needed more Adderall, was shouting out to Captain Doctor Ronny Jackson to refill his prescription, or simply had a senior moment.

Joe Biden won the night right at the beginning. No not because he joked he should leave, but walking down the aisle shaking hands he suddenly came upon the sight of a red hatted clown named Marge. Marge was dressed like a carnival barker running a con on the rubes. Red MAGA hat, Say Her Name button, red jacket over a white t shirt, Marge tried for attention so hard that Biden looked at her and reacted like he just saw a clown which of course he did. A whoaaaaa look, and she turned back into a loudmouth pumpkin knowing she lost that one. It was over. Disarming the screeching baboon from NW Georgia aint easy for much younger people since she just keeps screaming, but Old Joe took her ammo away and shoved it up her ass.

Fightin Joe took on the GOP and without naming him once, Trump (which I'm sure really triggered the old rapey bastard). Ukraine, drug prices, tax cuts for billionaires, the border bill the House GOP killed, democracy, NATO, Putin, MAGA, Jan 6th, Israel, Gaza, and abortion. Looking straight the Supreme Court Trump hacks, he addressed presidential immunity and Roe V Wade. The Republicans screeched he "threatened" the Court. Oh, my stars, he's senile, no he's a thug, no he's on drugs, no no no. GOP heads exploded.

Scrappy Joe ended the speech with an age joke that even cracked up Lindsey Graham (and I saw you grin, Mike Lee). 

Now the hecklers. Wisconsin House drunk and teenager harasser, Derrik Van Orden screamed "lies". Ok not real clever, but classy as always. Then came Marge, who hollered "Say Her Name", in reference to Laken Riley, an unfortunate young woman murdered by some guy who was here illegally in Georgia. Comic Joe said her name, offered his condolences, and offered to speak with the family. Large Marge was put in the corner with a dunce cap replacing her red MAGA hat. Some maniac in the gallery screeched about Afghanistan. And Lame Duck Lauren Boebert was surprisingly silent much to everybody's relief.

It was a great speech. It disarmed the old sleepy Joe crowd. They got nuthin. 

Then came the GOP response. Some Senator from Alabama named Katie Britt, live from her kitchen back in Bama. Looking like a middle school chick running for class president, smiling a lot, pretending to get emotional. losing her breath, real Tracey Flick shit. Britt was atrocious with her audition for the lead in the GOP musical. Over the top. Bad actor. I was hollering like a theater director watching some kid trying too hard, thank you, we'll be in touch and rolling my eyes. But she kept going. Get the fucking hook for chrissakes. Britt was the worst responder since Marco Rubio about drowned himself. But she's purty and looks about 18 and Republicans think that wins arguments. Sorry folks, she's a dunce. But at least she truly can claim to be the smartest Senator from Alabama since Tuberville exists. The whole kitchen thing was also appropriate since that's where MAGA thinks all women should stay.

Way to go, Killer Joe. You kicked MAGA, the House GOP, and SCOTUS right in the nuts. They may never recover.

And oh yeah Mike Johnson. We all saw you applauding underneath your desk at times. We all saw you attempt to keep that smug look on your face for 68 minutes. It's all an act. We know that you probably wont survive the Speakership long. But for chrissakes, show some guts once in a while. Don't go down a wimpy lil homophobic Christian Nationalist. Go down fighting. Like Joe showed you.

Super Duper Tuesday!

 It was Super Duper Tuesday yesterday and the "liberal" news media couldn't have had a bigger stiffy pantingly reporting that Trump destroyed Haley and that Joe Biden lost Samoa by a total of 50-41. Not percentage, that's the total number of votes but wow they'll tell you how that is a fatal blow to Biden cuz he's old and feeble and lost Samoa, the 54th state or whatever.  

Now back here on Earth, Biden won everything and so did Trump and that is going to be your matchup in November despite the dreamers who see Michelle Obama and Nikki Haley facing off cuz Trump will be in prison and Biden will be at deaths door. Nikki Haley won a primary again. She took Vermont but who cares cuz all that live there are tree hugging commies. Haley is through, officially. But as of yet hasn't returned to cowardly form and endorsed the Defendant (oh she will at some point if for no other reason than to stop death threats from the culty goons). So, it's all over, despite the crushing death blow that Joe Biden suffered in American Samoa by losing to (check notes) Jason Palmer? It's gonna be a long 8 months.

In other states.

California decided to nominate Adam Schiff and human stud Steve Garvey to be on the ballot for the US Senate to replace Diane Feinstein, who passed away I think in about 2017 or so. Now Katie Porter dropped the whiteboard by underperforming so badly she finished 3rd by a lot. Porter blamed Schiff for pumping up Garvey in ads cuz he seemed easier to beat than her. Yeah ok. Hell, if Garvey's children got together and voted in a bloc, he'd win easily but I'm sure there's a few out there who have no idea who Daddy Steve is. Thus, congratulations to Senator Adam Schiff.

Meanwhile, in North Carolina, Republican voters nominated a goddamned loony bird as their party candidate for Governor. It's like GOP voters walk into a voting booth and say, who's the worst human being on the ballot that will hurt me, but it'll make the libs so mad I will have joy for a minute or two. Mark Robinson is that man. A jumbo-sized yeller of crazy shit, he appeals directly to assholes who also support the other jumbo-sized yeller. Robinson calls gays "filth" wants trans genders arrested, calls Michelle Obama a man, baby, quotes Hitler on social media, thinks the rainbow flag is a "spit in the face of God", called Stoneham mass shooting survivors "spoiled little bastards", and admits to his poor suffering wife had an abortion but nobody else should be allowed to do the same. In other words, he's a typical MAGA goon. And oh yeah, he's an anti Semite which makes it sweet because Democrats nominated the state's attorney general, Josh Stein, to be his opponent. So yeah North Carolina rednecks, you have the choice between a black bootlicker and a Jewish guy. Congrats on the progress you never intended. Also, congrats to Governor Josh Stein.

In Texas, Colin Allred was nominated to take on Ted Cruz. I have very little hope that Texas will actually send Cruz packing to Cancun whenever he wants, but Colin Allred, an ex-NFL player, and current congressman, has a shot. But, like Beto O'Rourke, there may just be too many Latinos unwilling to vote and rural whites beating down the door to vote. So I believe Cruz loses when I see it. And I hate Ted Cruz and want him to lose so bad I'd become a Cowboys fan if it meant he loses.

So now we face 8 months of insanity and Democratic fingernail chewing. My advice to counter the authoritarianism I always knew a certain portion of America truly wanted is to attack attack attack! Fuck that Michelle Obama go high bullshit. Its rolling in the gutter time fellow democracy lovers. Abort the GOP in November by screeching abortion right in their faces.

Courage!

Squealing for Elvis Trump!!

 It was unanimous. In true reality show tradition, once one person said overturn Colorado, the rest of the cowards jumped onboard to tell Colorado you are evicted. In a surprise to absolutely nobody, The United States Supreme Court voted 9-0 to tell Colorado to put The Defendant back on the ballot so the cult members could mark their X and show all the libs they will burn down the building just to make you mad. 

Thus, the 14th Amendment is basically meaningless. I would expect the ghost of Jefferson Davis to file for ballot access where he would get 100% of the MAGA vote. Like the true fraidy cats they are, SCOTUS said that whoaaaa there Colorado, we don't really have anything against you throwing an insurrectionist off the ballot, but NOT this insurrectionist cuz Congress needs to blah blah blah. So Trump goes on the ballot in Colorado no matter what because states have no power to enforce Section 3 of that pesky 14th Amendment. They can only act in regard to State offices. So if Trump decides to move to Colorado and run for something, yes you can tell him to go take a long trip on a short ski jump, but not if he runs for a federal office. Yep makes sense. In what world Im not sure.

The Trumpster took to the TV to gloat. Showing his normal restrained humility, Trump went off on "Deranged " Jack Smith, tried to figure out how to pronounce Fani, yapped about ISIS, called out Obama for killing an American citizen, mentioned ISIS again, border talk, and threw his hands around a lot. In other words, absolutely nothing to do with what had happened. He just rambled on making his cult happy with non sequiturs and craziness.

Meanwhile, today was the day that the Defendant was supposed to go on trial in DC before Judge Chutkan on his insurrection charges but of course he whined to the Supremes that he had immunity and for some reason the court of bought and paid for whores said yeah sure we will hear it on April 22 and then make a ruling whenever we feel like it because we are here for life, suckers.

This court gives not one fuck what you think any longer because they have no ethics rules (well they do but it's strictly voluntary). They don't care what you think if a justice fails to recuse himself when his nutter wife helped plan to send Democrats to Gitmo and cried on her I'mCrazy phone to Mark Meadows to stop the certification at any cost.  They don't care if you disapprove of their trips to Alaska with billionaires on private planes because they never bother to report it so therefore, it didn't happen. In fact, go suck the tail pipe of a giant RV if you got a problem with gifts from well-known Nazi memorabilia collectors that also happen to be billionaires. In fact, if on April 22 a gigantic dump truck full of money shows up at the back door for distribution, you can just fucking wait until its divvied up.

Suck it, peasants. We live here until WE say we don't.  

Life Begins At Conception!! No Wait!!

The Alabama Supreme Court, with law degrees from the Dukes of Hazzard School of Law, has thrown the Republicans into a scrambled egg bowl with the ruling that embryos are human beings every bit as much as the 20 some kids murdered in Uvalde. For 50 years the GOP was screeching about "life begins at conception" and introducing bills in every red state to ban abortion with draconian measures knowing full well these bills wouldn't pass and if they did, no court would find it constitutional thus freeing the GOP up to never having to pay a price. 

Then came the US Supreme Court and its new justices appointed by a rapist fraud deciding to overturn Roe V Wade and throw the abortion issue back to the states. Red states started banning abortion, banning leaving the state to have an abortion where its legal, forcing women with fetuses that will not live to give "birth" cuz ya know there's them there "miracles" that the Guy in the Sky performs. 

Alabama, whose Chief Justice is actually named Colonel  Tom Parker, wrote an opinion that since embryos have the "face of God" that they are people with rights. I assume also a frozen embryo can now legally carry a gun around the lab. 

What this has done given the GOP a real problem. The whacko fetus lovers, the base of the Republican Party, has a real problem. The Alabama decision has caused IVF clinics to suspend operations because when IVF occurs, some of the lil eggs are disposed of which in Alabama is now first-degree murder. Hey, Tommy Boy said its so. 

Republicans have caught the car and now have no idea what to do with it. The GOP blastocyst believers already have pissed off women all over with the support for Dobbs, and NOW its IVF that's in deep shit. IVF is how a lot of children, including some children of Republicans, are hatched. Thus, the scramble to spin this by the GOP is hilarious to watch. There are 136 GOP sponsors of a life begins at conception bill in the House with no exceptions for IVF. The race to be more MAGA than anybody has backfired even if phonies like Nancy Mace (Harpy-SC) and Elise Stefanik (Soulless-NY) express support for IVF which is clearly untrue. The Defendant, who caused this shitstorm with his appointments to the Supremes of fully owned subsidiaries of Harlan Crow and the Kochs, shuffled about expressing his support for IVF because hey, while the wifey is knocked up anything goes. 

This is a major problem for the Party of Life. Once again, the bullshitters who make up most of MAGA, have let unforeseen circumstances bite them in the ass. Women shall let them know in November how much it hurts.

You broke the eggs, now you own them.

Bye Jack McCoy!

 So long to one of TV's best characters. Jack McCoy left Law & Order because he had the sense to know at age 83 it was time to go. Hold on I mean Sam Waterston, who IS Jack McCoy. 

I love Law & Order and I make no apologies for it. It's an old school procedural in which 99% of the time, by the end of the 60 minutes, it's all wrapped up. For some of us, that's just fine. I never really needed to know if Jack was screwing ADA Claire Kincaid (Jill Hennesey) or Defense Attorney Danielle Melnick (Tovah Feldshuh) though he at least bent the law to save them both at one point. 

Jack McCoy could be infuriating to old school liberals like me as he refused often to see that what he was doing to convict someone was not justice but stubbornness. But Jack could also stand up to the weird casting of Fred Thompson as the conservative cynical DA Arthur Branch , who seemed to just be an extension of Thompson himself and there to argue conservative politics.

Law & Order has gone on for 30 some years and once the morally superior Ben Stone (Michael Moriarty) left for personal reasons, McCoy jumped right in. With Jack's comradery with Adam Schiff (Steven Hill) who played the DA with such reality (Make this go away Jack) and his fellow DA's , the doomed Claire Kincaid (why just why did they kill her?), the professional Texan, Abby Carmichael (Angie Harmon), the crusader Connie Rubirosa (Alana De La Garza)and the voice of reason, Serena Southerlyn (Elizabeth Rohm, wow what an exit!) Jack got along with all. 

405 episodes as one character is unheard of. Waterston pulled it off week after week. The great S Epatha Merkerson pulled off 391 episodes as Lt Anita Van Buren (dont ask me her character's name in Chicago Med cuz she's just Lt Van Buren to me forever) and of course, the legend himself, Lenny Briscoe played by the consummate New Yorker, Jerry Orbach.

I can and do watch the L&O reruns religiously because I can't remember what happened 80% of the time and it's all new to me. Actors who are now famous both in film, TV and Broadway all appeared on this show (remember the great Tony Awards bit where they showed all the L&O actors, some in more than one episode) .

Farewell Jack McCoy, you Irish bastard. But you'll never leave me alone, not with reruns on 24/7 somewhere.

Cash & Chicago!!!

 A couple of events this past week need to be commented on. No politics, no rants, nuthin...except praise for The Johnny Cash Concert Experience and Brass Transit.

First, Johnny Cash. Now I dont care who you are, and I'm a rocker, but Johnny Cash was the man. He was cooler than 99% of his fellow artists, he had something to say, and he was a champion of the downtrodden. I never had the pleasure of seeing Johnny Cash live, I thought about it once when he and his band were at some high school in Council Bluffs but I had no idea where that high school was so I missed my opportunities. 

The Johnny Cash Concert Experience features a live band of great musicians, including the "only woman who ever played lead guitar for Johnny Cash", Debbie Horton. What you get is the live band and a giant video of Johnny singing songs from his TV show. So, you get it all, Ring of Fire, Walk the Line, Boy Named Sue, Folsom Prison Blues. all from the horse's mouth. The band takes over on some songs that no video exists for and it's still great. The thump thump train like guitar is there, the solos are there and also video of Johnny's son, John Carter Cash, telling stories of his father and mother. 

If you love Johnny Cash as much as I do, it's well worth the money and effort to see.

Now Brass Transit, a Chicago tribute band. They consist of 3 horn players, a bassist and a guitar and a lead singer who sounds exactly like Peter Cetera. Now Terry Kath cannot possibly be replaced, and his songs are sung by a guy doing the best he can and it's still great.

Being a believer that Chicago from 1968-1978 is one of the greatest runs any band had in the 1970's and after that was pure unadulterated crap from a classic band going all Air Supply in an attempt to appeal to whom exactly, I worried that post 1978 Chicago and its lousy "hits" would dominate. But it did not. It was heavily concentrated on the early greatness. Oh yeah a couple of the wimpy stinkeroos got in there, but the concert was spot on musically. The horns were a carbon copy, the guitar solos were Kath-like and the vocals from Ian Jutsun, were Cetera-like. Though they left out my favorite Chicago tune, Dialogue Parts 1 and 2 (the contrast of Kath and Cetera's voices is unreal), the rest of the early hits were all there. It ended with a rocking 25 or 6 to 4 that had gray haired old ladies up and dancing like the teenaged dancing queens they were back in 1972.

Brass Transit is younger than the current version of Chicago, who I've seen twice in the last 5 years, and I hate to say but they are just as good. It's a good time if you get a chance to see them. 

Is a symphony orchestra necessary to play with this band? Absolutely not. In fact, the symphony often got in the way. But it was a small price to pay. The opening notes of I'm a Man and Make Me Smile made me forget there actually was a symphony orchestra also playing (don't get me wrong, I love the Omaha Symphony when it stays in its own lane).

If you love Chicago, you'll love Brass Transit.

Spare Change?

Anybody have an extra $400 or so million laying around? On Friday afternoon Judge Arthur Engoron slapped The Defendant with a $364 million judgement for being a fraud and a liar about his business, a business with so many unpaid creditors it could fill Yankee Stadium. The MAGA crowd of yes men and just plain dumb screeched how there was no "victim" here from The Donald lying about his worth, lying about his real estate, his apartment size, his cash on hand and mushroom size to get banks to lend him more money than they would have had they known the truth about the phony billionaires actual worth. 

Not only the massive fine but the 3 years suspension forbidding this real estate mob boss from conducting business in New York. Not only that but also forbids his sons, Zeppo and Shemp, from conducting business for 2 years. This is so sweet. 

The reaction from the 3 miscreants was predictable as hell. Eric Shemp called the judge "cruel" because he dragged poor Eric thru the mud just to get his crooked father, in effect saying no no HE did it not me.Junior was upset he had to pay $4 million in fines and dip into his coke money. Trump came out front of Moldy a Lago and ranted about everything. The standard rally speech. Witch hunt, Bidens old, America is done, racist AG, corrupt judge, blah blah blah..

This guy is getting his ass kicked by so many women you'd think he'd just stop. E Jean Carroll, Letitia James, Fani Willis, Stormy Daniels have all beat him in court. Perhaps one of them will lend him some dough?

Meanwhile over in the GOP paradise, Russia, Tucker Carlson, Russian useful idiot (heavy on the idiot) found a Moscow grocery store where prices are lower than in America thus Tuckums has become even more pro-Russia and is "radicalized" against the American government. He left out that the average Russian spends 50-65% of their income on groceries because he's a rich prick with a trust fund who lies regularly about everything. He interviews Putin, throwing softball questions and letting Putin throw around "history" lessons that really impress airheads who watch Fox and Newsmax. 

Putin the war criminal had his opponent murdered Friday. Alexei Navalny, braver than any GOP addict ever thought of being, took a walk and dropped dead. Well at least he wasnt near a window. Or playing with a live grenade on a plane. Putin is a butcher, a murderer and the darling of the Republicans who not so secretly wish for a Putin type (gee I wonder who) to really own the libs with mass arrests, camps for brown folks, and sharks with freakin laser beams in the Rio Grande. We already have Putin apologists in this country comparing Navalny's murder with Trump being charged with doing crimes like rape, fraud, subversion, stealing elections, and inciting an insurrection. The devotion to thugs is something that needs to be explained with hast by a psychiatric experts. I think we all know the answer. Mommy and daddy issues, misogyny, radical Christianity, racism, and owning the libs because they make fun of how goddamned dumb they are. Not that the libs aren't correct but still, stop pointing it out you elitist Ivory Tower smart people. 

In the meantime, explain this. Proof of MAGA denseness.

Merrick Garland!

 Ok I've hung around long enough. As others I know have been sour on this guy for years, I hung with Merrick Garland, figuring he was patient and knew what he was doing. Yeah, he waited and waited to do anything about the thug Trump and wasted years letting the guy get away with whatever he wanted. It emboldened the cult leader from Florida. It emboldened his whackadoodle MAGAts and here we are. Meanwhile, there are numerous Congresspeople running around screeching and throwing shit at the walls knowing they may never be charged for helping the Jan 6 scum rip the Capitol apart. Why? 

Well, its Attorney General Merrick Garland and his DOJ that are slow tracking this threat to democracy. I don't get it any longer. Patient? No, it's just an unwillingness to do anything at all. Pass the buck to Jack Smith two years too late. Pass the buck to Robert Hur instead of having the guts to just dismiss the whole classified docs in a garage bullshit.

Garland is bending over backwards to appear fair. This is the Democratic Party playbook. Try and please the very people who hate you and would gladly hang you from the nearest tree if given the word from Bedbug A Lago. Same as the mainstream media, bending over to appear fair while the other side just lies and lies and keeps Gramps in a constant tizzy. Just fucking stop. Say what you will about the previous regime, but Bill Barr got out front of the Mueller Report and castrated Mueller on behalf of the Defendant. Garland just lets a hack like Robert Hur say that no charges are warranted, BUT Biden is an old man with a shitty memory and needs to be sent to a home to eat pudding. Barr would never have allowed an irrelevancy like that come out publicly had it called out Trump for being a lazy asshole who cared only about hearing his name on TV and eating fast food and Diet Coke and throwing ketchup against the wall. Never. But Garland either didn't read the report or read it and bent over yet again to let the bullshit fly. It makes me wonder what kind of Supreme Court Justice he'd have been had Mitch McConnell not made up a new "rule" and killed the nomination.

I have had it. Allowing Hur to not only declare Bidens innocence and then spend hundreds of pages catering to the GOP shit throwing monkeys and the Mar A Moldo Don in his hammering Biden's mental capacity and thus "normalizing" more talking points is unforgivable. At some point this quest for "fairness" by the Democrats will bite the entire country in the ass. The other side doesn't give a damn about "fairness". Why should old school boomers like Garland? When they go low, we go lower. Thats my advice.

Thanks for your service, Merrick Garland. Don't let the door cause you any trouble as you limbo out of the DOJ. Get lost.

Ballots and Biden!

 The total semantics that permeated the Supreme Court yesterday in the case of keeping Trump off the Colorado ballot because he's a fucking insurrectionist was unlistenable. It was like the high school debate class where a guy who knows he drew the short straw and has to argue that the Holocaust never happened. Trumps lawyers were playing that game of "officer under the United States" as opposed to "office of the United States" and if the 14th Amendment applies to the President or Vice President because it doesn't actually say those words. Well Holocaust is such a vague word and perhaps it's more of a genocide so therefore the Holocaust really didn't happen. Look, the 14th Amendment was meant to keep the slavery enthusiasts and defeated Confederates from holding office because the voters would probably put them into office because of northern aggression or some such shit. Is Trump a defeated Confederate? Of course he is. No different than Jeff Davis.

But to be honest here, I don't give a damn if that Florida scumbucket is n the ballot or not. I would actually prefer he is on the ballot in Colorado because if he isn't then Nebraska and South Dakota and Iowa and every other red state with gerrymandered legislatures will move to ban Biden from the ballot for being old or something. Hell, they may do that anyway because Republicans have thrown the rule book in the dumpster long ago. The Supreme Court will overturn Colorado 9-0 because they don't want the death threats and Swatting and the Trump goons gathering outside their houses. Probably just as well. 

Now to the 388 page special report on NOT charging Joe Biden for keeping classified documents in his garage and then turning them over to the Archives and the FBI. 388 pages that BEGIN with "we conclude that no criminal charges are warranted in this matter". Yet 387 pages then go into irrelevant Comey like sabotage of a presidential campaign. Special Counsel Robert Hur, a Trump hack, decided to say no jury in the country would convict Biden of anything since he turned over all documents when asked and had his lawyers scrounge around to find even more. As opposed to Mar A Dumpo where we had special rooms full of documents, destruction of evidence by the Defendant, refusal to turn over said documents when asked, and a bathroom used as a doc dump room, not to mention Saint Reagan did the exact same thing Biden did and was never prosecuted. So, no charges. The End.

But nooooooooooo, it's not the end because Robert Hur cannot possibly serve his Orange God without talking about Joe Biden being a doddering old man, nice guy, but with a failing memory and would probably offer a mint or two to the jury and talk about an onion on his belt. Hur goes on and on about how Joe forgot when he was Veep and when his son croaked from burn pit cancer and how he had a mental state not fit for conviction. Well, well, Robert Hur can go fuck himself. This report is more for the Fox News crazies and the shit flinging baboons in the Congress who of course, jumped on the memory stuff like flies on shit. Did Robert Hur get pats on the head? Oh yeah. Who's a good boy? You are that's who! 

Joe Biden has no more memory lapses than the guy from Bedbug A Lago who told Robert Mueller he couldn't remember more than 30 times and that was 5 years ago. No more memory lapses than the cro- magnon Rep from Northwest Georgia, cross fit nitwit MTG,  who said she "couldn't recall" over and over on her questioning on her 14th amendment hearing. No more memory lapses than Jesse Waters, the sexually harassing Bill O'Reilly bitch, who thinks Kristi Noem is Governor of South Carolina. No more memory lapses than closet case, Mike Johnson, who confused Iran with Israel. And certainly, no more memory lapses than Senator Marsha "Bag O Hair' Blackburn who has no idea where she is due to her brain being rotted out by excess Aqua Net fumes.

Joe Biden is old. Yeah, big whoop. Is he my favorite candidate? Nope. But he is the candidate, and I will vote for him to save democracy from that rabble of Trump trash that thinks the 2020 election was "stollen" cuz of Italian spy satellites and dead Venezuelans changing votes. Mental illness is far worse than being old. Give me the "doddering old man' over the "syphilis brained maniac" who scares the entire Senate, House and Supreme Court into kowtowing to his insanity because they don't want death threats and ridiculously obscene voice mails from the Trump BrainTrust.

Meanwhile, Joe took to a news conference to show us how fucking old he is. And like the bad ass he is, the Scranton Scrapper murdered Fox News Peter Doocy.

Boom!

Border Bill!

Republican Senator James Lankford (R-Ok) apparently is naive enough to think his party actually wants to fic the border, which of course is 180 degrees from the truth. After Lankford wasted his time negotiating with "Democraps" about finding a compromise on the border, the powers that be, and by that it means The Indicted One in Chief put a big machete in the bills back. Why? Make America Great Again? Because with the news the economy is kicking ass, the stock market has hit record highs, unemployment is at an all-time low, inflation has subsided, and Harriet Tubman is still not on the $20 bill, the GOP has nuthin. Nothing but the border. Misleading tape of hordes of furriners walking around in various countries scares the white people more so than if the mayo has expired. It's all they have.

The border bill sucks. It sucks for the exact opposite reasons the water carriers for Orange Mussolini say it does. It virtually gives the GOP what they wanted. Well, most everything except their desire to station machine gun nests on the border and holding a lottery to let white supremacist gun humpers shoot all them furriners as they cross the river. The bill contains another $60 billion to aid Ukraine in repelling the Russian butchers, actual invaders of a sovereign nation. But since the GOP is loyal only to two people, The Defendant and his boss Vlad the Impaler Putin, thats gonna be dead also. 

The Republicans NEED this issue to not go away. It's an issue that the GOP has used ever since the black Kenyan guy took the oath of office on the Book of Satan or something. Furriners are bad. Especially the ones of a darker shade of pale. The GOP Senate held a meeting where an aide to Senator Mike Lee, an absolute kook, began screaming about "betrayal" and stormed out of the room to much laughter. And then, Mitch McConnell got scared by something, a giant Florida parasite perhaps, and withdrew his support of the bill he helped negotiate.

This is course madness, not only because of the bending of the knee to the 91 times charged felon and his death threatening base of goons, but because they fucking negotiated it. Yeah yeah, in the House where the brain rotted nutters live, the Coward of the House, Mikey Johnson, has dropped to his knees and declared the bill DOA. Why? Because the lunatics will string him up from the gallery if he even allows a vote and takes away Der Fuhrer's lies about the border. Johnson is a nutter himself, but because he was elected Speaker, I assume there's some sort of sense of duty there but guess not. There is no honor or duty among vandals and shit throwers. 

What Joe Biden needs to do is address the nation and spell it out. I'd sign this shitty border bill in a second, but you GOP clowns won't let me. Americans, contact your Senators and House people and demand this issue be solved. It aint my fault, its them and the future felon to blame for this. period. The bill is right fucking there, and that fucking sick fuck is ordering the GOP around like an undocumented worker at Bedbug A Lago.

Return the volley, Joe. Ignoring it and thinking Americans understand is dangerous. It's insane. Americans are getting dumber by the minute, thinking the Orange Rapist had a secure border just because he says so and Fox News backs him up. Attack Joe!

Or it may be Hasta La Vista.

Jesus Christ Superstar!

 I've seen Jesus Christ Superstar at least 8 times, from community theaters to Broadway touring shows , the movie from 1973 and even that horrid version they showed live on NBC years ago. I will never miss it if its close because it is my favorite musical of all time, and I don't apologize for it. The first time I heard the album I was fascinated as it challenged the years and years of Catholic propaganda that I found not only boring but also reeked of bullshit. I often say I learned more about the New Testament in 90 minutes listening to that album than all the years of antisemitic Catholic dogma blaming the "Jews" for killing Christ. 

I've seen the legendary Ted Neeley as Jesus many times and the late OG Carl Anderson as Judas. I've seen In Living Color lead singer Corey Glover as Judas. I've seen understudies, community theater actors and singers all of whom knock it out of the park. Last night at the Lied Center in Lincoln, a non-union touring company began a 4-night run. No idea what to expect. On one hand the non-union cast is hungry and scrappy to get a SAG card, yet they are basically still amateurs. What to expect?

Greatness is what we got. A minimal stage taking no attention away from the music. A band onstage in the rafters. Dancers onstage making moves I didn't think possible. And a cast with a classic musical in their hands. They did not disappoint.

I won't go over the plot as everyone knows it. The last few violent days of Jesus' life. You may think of Jesus as the Messiah, the Lord, your savior, good for you. To me he's one of the most radical political figures of all time. A man of the people taking on the establishment for the common good. And of course, they killed him for it.

The musical shows Jesus' doubts, his struggle with being human, his willingness to stare the oppressors in the grill and not back down. As Caiphas says "one thing I'll say for him Jesus is cool". The coolest.

The cast is brilliant. Jack Hopewell as Jesus has a voice range that has to be seen to be believed. He's a mini Neeley. Elvie Ellis as Judas has that same range and the emotional chops to make his rage believable. Jaden Dominique as Mary Magdalene can also do her thing and crushes I Don't Know How To Love Him to wild applause. Alex Stone as Pilate, Alec Diehm as the flamboyant Herod, Sherrod Brown as Simon the Zealot all shine in their moments to solo. But the 4 priests, led by Grant Hodges as Caiaphas and Mekhi Holloway as Annas, are phenomenal. When they march down the ramp onto the stage you know something special is about to happen. And it does.

Go see this if you can. The violence of the 39 lashes, the actual crucifixion and the betrayal of Jesus by Judas and Peter are hard to watch. But watch you must. 

These kids are fantastic. It's as good as it can possibly be.

Just give them their SAG cards.

Beetlejuice!!

 I've never seen the movie Beetlejuice. I just know nobody who likes it. So when the Broadway musical Beetlejuice was on the bill in the season, I really didn't expect much. In fact, I debated not going. Man am I glad I went.

Beetlejuice isn't for kids though there were quite a few in attendance in a packed house at the sound challenged Orpheum Theater here in Omaha. It's a play about death. Beetlejuice says that right from the get-go. It's also a bit PG-13 even at times R with the language and the sexual innuendo. Beetlejuice asked a kid in the audience how old are you? When the kid said 10, the character looks shocked and says, "you are about to learn a lot of stuff".

The play is about Lydia. Lydia has lost her mother and is grieving while her dad continues on with a new house, a new girlfriend, a plot to make money on the house and a seeming indifference to his daughters' sadness. Enter Beetlejuice, a bitter and lonely demon looking for chaos in the human world. The Maitlands, Barbara and Adam, used to own the house, died in the house and want it back from Lydia's father. In cahoots with Lydia, who can see the invisible ghosts due to her gloominess and desire to die, Beetlejuice and the Maitlands haunt the house. And hilarity ensues. Lydia just wants to see her dead mom again and takes huge chances to do so before realizing she really doesn't want that. She wants her dad to acknowledge the death of her mom and his wife. Eventually we get closure. Beetlejuice is foiled and happiness is achieved.  

The musical has lots of catchy tunes, none of which I'd heard other than Day-O of course. Stand outs included Dead Mom, Home and really fun Creepy Old Guy.

The cast is flawless. Justin Collette has a blast being the creepy lecherous lead character, Beetlejuice, interacting with the audience, making side cracks about other plays (Fuck Brigadoon yeah I said it) and politics (I feel as powerless as a gay Republican!). He is an energetic force of nature. Then there's Isabell Esler as Lydia, She's 18 and has the powerful voice of a pro. She belts out Home with a power 18-year-old kids aren't supposed to have developed yet. Megham McGinnis as Barbara Maitland, a mousy timid dead woman and Will Burton as Adam, a mousy timid dead man are wonderful in their transition from scaredy cats to Beetlejuice hunting tigers. Jesse Sharpe as Lydia's dad, Charles, has a great voice and a great stage presence. The rest of the cast knocks it into the balcony also. Abe Goldfarb as a fraudulent guru, Otho, has a small role but damn you know he's up there cuz he's impossible to ignore.

Sometimes you attend an event expecting nothing and you end up with something. Something great in fact. Beetlejuice is one of those things. It's not going to win any Tonys, but its fun fun fun. I won't remember this in a month or maybe 2 days (JC Superstar comin up), but the 2 1/2 hours we spent in the theater was well worth it and enjoyable. 

It's the best show of the Omaha Broadway season so far. Yeah, go see it.

Taylor And Travis!!

 A year ago I was somebody who was pissed as Travis Kelce went all WWE after beating the Eagles in Super Bowl XXXXXXLLLLLXXXX or whatever. What a clown. And Taylor Swift? She was still a talentless goofball in my eyes.

Oh, what a difference a year makes. I went to see the Taylor Swift Eras Tour movie to see what the hype was all about and realized that this woman is a fucking national treasure. She works her ass off, has a lot of tunes you can't get out of your head and lyrics that are meaningful and true to life. Unlike my demo, which involves great music but insipid lyrics like "Lick It Up, its only Right Now" and "She told Me to Come, but I was already there."

Then came Travis Kelce, doing ads for the jab, with a twinkle in his eye, an attitude of fuck you if you don't like it and a famous feud with the " smartest guy in the room" a true living example of the Dunning Krueger Effect, Aaron Rodgers. 

Then came the merger of Swift and Kelce. Rumored to be a publicity stunt that became an obvious real relationship. The NFL and the TV networks couldn't stop showing Tay Tay in the suite cheering on her newfound love. It annoyed the shit out of the Alpha Male Girl Hating Club but secretly thrilled them as they had the opportunity to express their woman hatred with a legitimate subject.

We got to see such garbage as:

"To Those who might say the right needs its own Taylor Swift to look up to. I answer we already have that . Her name is Lauren Boebert.

The conspiracy theorists crawled out. The incels that dominate social media anytime a woman gets the spotlight. The NFL is rigged. The Chiefs will win and then Kelce and Taylor will publicly endorse Joe Biden. And then comes the former presidential candidate for the GQP and current Trump ass kisser, Vivek Ramaswamy, who never met a dumbass idea he didn't like. 

"I wonder who's going to win the Super Bowl. And I wonder if there's a major presidential endorsement coming from an artificially culturally propped-up couple this fall.   

Look, I don't like the Chiefs at all. Mahomes is a crybaby, their fans are drunken racist hillbillies, and every time I've been there rooting on my team, you dont want to lose. Their fans are even meaner and fight inclined when they win. A certain event in which Chiefs fans attacked two women in the opposing team's jerseys comes to mind and we left the game early to get away from them. 

But come Super Bowl Sunday, I will be rooting for the Niners. But if the Chiefs pull it out, I won't be pissed like last year. I'll be happy as hell that the misogynists and MAGA lunkheads will be madder than hell and I'll be happy for those crazy kids, Travis and Taylor. 

Who knew that an obvious love story would piss off the entire miserable incel MAGA misogynist community?

Everyone.

Mess With Texas!!

 What the hell is wrong with Texas? They keep electing this guy as Governor for some reason and he just continues to defy the federal gubmint in some sort of weird way to impress Tex out in Lubbock. Abbott is perfectly fine with drowned women, men and children washing up on the shore of the Rio Grande. As long as they're brown that is. Despite being ordered to stand down and remove razor wire in the water Abbott has decided to go all Orval Faubus and Ross Barnett and George Wallace in, what year is this, 2024. The Confederacy is alive and well as Republican governors like Jim Pillen (Child Starver-Ne), Kristi Noem (Eye Batter-SD) Kim Reynolds (Screecher-Ia) Mark Gordon (Who?-Wy) and others from Deep South Confederate states like North Dakota, Idaho and Montana jump on the Confederate bandwagon. Hell, maybe next Pillen and Noem can stand in the schoolhouse door to keep the transgenders and gays out. 

As long as Abbott refuses to allow the Border Patrol to do their job and mobilized the Texas National Guard to keep the Border Patrol out, he's breaking the law. Oh, I know that there's a certain number of wingnuts who think the 10th Amendment gives states the right to defy federal law, but those people are not serious people. 

What should happen? Joe Biden needs to nationalize the Texas Guard as  Eisenhower did in 1957 and JFK did back in 1963 and make them stop breaking the law. There's no doubt that MAGA has infiltrated police forces, the Border Patrol and the various Guards and they may not take kindly to defying their orange hero but if they refuse arrest their asses, including Wheels Abbott, a truly loathsome individual.

Do it Joe. This is your time.

Nikki Haley!

 

She isn't quitting, Donnie. At least not yet. Nikki Haley is going to drive Donald F Trump crazy, at least for another week or so. She is a thorn in his flabby side. She is going to call him old, a has been, the past, and he is going to attack her because how dare you challenge the alpha male with the orange bronzer and the ill-fitting suits.

Look, Haley isn't going to win, or even get close. Independents and Democrats fueled her 43% of the vote. But as long as she refuses to quit, she is going to drive Trump nuts. A woman named Nimrata is the worst nightmare for Trump, who stated he "gets even" and threatened to weaponize the DOJ against her if he wins in November. He claimed there were "5 things" she didn't want to talk about and then in typical Trump fashion, he just dropped it. He has no idea what those 5 things are, but like Joe McCarthy, he just spews diarrhea out of his tiny mouth and the cultists cheer. 

I have no love for Nikki Haley. She's just as terrible as the rest of them. Ever since she went too far for MAGA when she took down the Confederate flag from the statehouse in response to a white supremacist murdering 9 black church goers in South Carolina, Nikki Haley has been shifting to knuckle dragging conservative. She said she would sign a national abortion ban, probably support government shutdowns, doesn't care for the LGBTQ folks, and is terrible on immigration. But at least she believes in democracy, I think. Haley is more of the traditional Republican, a believer in tax cuts for the wealthy, trickle down nonsense and a strong national defense as opposed to these MAGA America First nuts. 

Haley is going to stay in, despite the South Carolina rats like Tim Scott and Lindsey Graham supporting Trump. Every second she stays in will take its toll on The Election Denier. He hates opposition but what really hates is women standing up to his bullying ways. Trump gave his "victory speech" with a venom unlike any other "winner". He called former tabs keeper, press secretary and liar Kayleigh McEnaney a RINO which has become a term for anybody calling out Trump. He is supposedly upset with Arkansas hillbilly and Governor Sarah Sanders for dragging her feet on endorsing him. He hates women unless they are letting him grab their pussy.

As long as Nikki Haley denies reality and continues her doomed quest for the Republican nomination, I'm right there. Watching Trump take a win and turn it into a screed filled bitter rant makes me very happy.

But as they say in the South. Bless her heart.

DeSantis!

The Never Back Down guy backed down yesterday and like Ted Cruz before him, Ron DeSantis dropped to his knees to kiss the boots of The Defendant. The guy who couldn't finish a sentence without the word "woke" fell asleep in the campaign. The tough guy Governor of Florida, the "Free State of Florida", the guy who banned books, took on the Mouse, sent vulnerable migrants to Martha's Vineyard,  got into bum fights with the press, arrested black voters, licked his lips constantly, smiled like early onset A.I., let Casey take over any speech he felt uncomfortable doing, and on a national basis was even less popular than Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush, pussed out and quit. Like most bullies he got punched by an even bigger bully and crawled away, hat in hand, and expressed his admiration for the other bully. A Profile in Courage.

Ron DeSantis, if nothing else, proved that outside of Florida, the Villages, and Alabama South, he is just another asshole. He bacame even less likable as he went along. From beating Trump in some polls early on, he fell way behind as people got to know him. He's awkward. not nice, and a misanthrope. His attempts to talk with average Iowans were cringy. He basically hates people and unless he can stand-in front of gang of press, with sycophants standing behind him, and bait one into asking him a tough question so he can appeal to his fellow assholes by throwing a tantrum and denying reality, Ron DeSantis is a bad national candidate. Trump's an asshole too, a misanthrope who hates people, but he has a charisma I cannot explain. He gets crowds to not realize he's in utter contempt of them and makes people laugh for some reason. The old punch down comedy so many dickheads like. DeSantis isn't funny in the least, he hates people outwardly, and he has a disdain for his voters that he doesn't even attempt to hide. 

Thus, Iowa said hey fuck off. We prefer the evil we know. At least he's entertaining. You're just a stiff. New Hampshire was about to say fuck off as was South Carolina and the guy and his minions in Never Back Down who spent $150,000,000 fucked off. In his concession speech he quoted Winston Churchill with the famous words Churchill never said, "Success is not final, failure is not fatal, it is the courage to continue that counts." I don't know if he saw that quote on a towel at Cracker Barrel or if he figured MAGA would never google it much less google Churchill, but DeSantis, like his conqueror, just cannot tell the truth.

Remember back when people were saying DeSantis is just like Trump, but smarter.

Wrong!

Toddler Trump!

 The "trial" of convicted sexual assaulter and defamer, Donald F Trump, has been going on all week. The Defendant has chosen to appear in the courtroom to roll his eyes, thump the table, heckle the judge, and make an attempt to persuade a New York jury that he should not pay E Jean Carroll half his fucking worth. Or is he?

Trump continues to play helpless victim, claiming he's being pursued by Joe Biden and the Democrats in numerous jurisdictions, but what Fulton County Inmate P01135809 is really doing is pandering to his base of lunatics, mentally ill MAGAts, violent insurrectionists and white supremacists. He does not have to be in the courtroom despite what his eye candy alleged lawyer says. But there he is claiming how grief stricken he is over his mother in laws death though odds are 11,780 to one he could even remember her name. 

As this "trial" goes on, and Alina Habba Esquire continuously fucks up his defense by openly sparring with a Judge who has no fucks left to give, Trump is there for one reason. He wants to be barred from the courtroom so he can go outside and whine to the complicit media how he isn't allowed to defend himself, how he's the victim of a witch hunt, and how its election interference. Meanwhile his rube base will plant in their diseased minds the upcoming 2024 "rigged" election where Trump will lose by 11 million votes and plots accordingly to launch Jan 6, The Sequel. 

Yesterday when the 80-year-old Carroll took the stand, the Toddler in Chief went full tantrum. Any other defendant would be sitting in a jail cell overnight to think about his juvenile behavior. The convicted defamer sat at the table saying just loud enough for the jury to hear, "false statements" "con job", shaking his head, and hitting the table with his sore laden fist. Judge Kaplan, a patient man indeed, threatened to exclude Florida Fats from attending the trial to which Mobby Bossy Trump exclaimed "I would love it" while shaking his hands in the air like a middle school jazz dancer. Judge Kaplan said, "I know you would because you cant control yourself...."

Look, Judge Kaplan, throw this petulant kindergartener in the cooler, even if for only an hour.  That's what you'd do to 99% of any other Defendants who acted like Dennis the Menace in front of you.

Next thing you know, between posting even more defamations of E Jean Carroll on his failing Truth Social, Trump will claim it's just his deep grief and desire to attend his mother in laws funeral that has fueled his rage. 

Then he will run off to New Hampshire for more talking about "debanking" and "rifle bullets".