Lindsey Graham!

 Lindsey Graham, ya know, the guy who said nominating Trump would destroy the Republican Party in 2016, passed on to the great closet in the sky from cardiac arrest (?) last evening. I don't want anyone to die (wink) because of how it affects the people who might actually love the person. That's not fun at all. So, Rest in Peace to Lindsey Graham the man. 

Now the rest of the story. Lindsey Graham was a moderate voice in the Senate until about 2021. remember Jan 6? Graham stood in the Senate and said "I am done" with Trump. Ok. A definite plus. The influence of John McCain was still intact. McCain was Graham's mentor. A great patriot and a great man. But McCain passed in 2018. Graham was still in the McCain camp in 2021 after J6. But then, like Kevin "Who the fuck do you think you're talking to" McCarthy. Graham was met with gawd knows what. Blackmail? Extortion? Death threats? Yeah, probably all 3. That's Trumps M.O. Diss the Prez and he unleashes his goons on you. Goons who work for him or goons who worship him. Doesn't matter. The thugs come out and send their message of violence. Now most are losers who live in storage facilities and don't have the gumption to get a job much less actually do anything, but it only takes one dedicated cult member with a gun. And Graham had secrets. We all know what it was. The closeted Graham didn't have the courage to come out for some reason. Many 71-year-old gay men tend to be less than honest with themselves and everyone else. But that secret isn't anything any longer. Who gives a shit if Lindsey Graham had a Grindr account? Now South Carolina isn't exactly a friendly Gayborhood but there are certainly enough South Carolinian conservatives who have pulled their heads out of their ass and don't care. Right? RIGHT?

Graham went nuts in the last few years of his life. He wanted to bomb everybody. Warmongering became his go to speech. He was a lapdog to Trump, who uses everyone until he doesn't. No prediction on when Trump would have dumped Graham but his death puts an end to that. Right? RIGHT? Trump made Graham's demise all about Trump. "It hurts the SAVE act". One less bootlicker to try and save Trump from impeachment, jail, and justice. That's Trumps take. Me hurt. 

I'd say for Graham to be welcomed to the great beyond by his friend John McCain, who would probably slap him for what he became. But as far that goes, they are probably in two different fictional places.

Soccer and Graham Cracker!!

 While Trump was desecrating the United States on its 250th birthday by speaking in front of Mount Rushmore calling people commies and sticking to the same old garbage speech, I was getting heat stroke at a Kansas City Royals game. Not fun. Neither for that matter was fun. Trump made the heads on Mount Rushmore sick, and the heat made me sick. Happy 250th America. It was fun.

The World Cup has been, as usual, a thrilling event. I love the World Cup. It's the once every two-year World War 3 in which nobody dies, Americans suddenly become soccer "experts" and the corruption of FIFA is front and center. This year's Cup is in North America, of course, and the invasion of black and brown people must drive the Racist in Chief crazy. The Cup has had some upsets, and the Americans moved to the round of 16 which of course made the casual soccer fan all excited because oh I don't know, because we never make it that far cuz quite frankly, we are fair to middlin at the worlds sport. And the team proved it once again by getting blown out by Belgium, ending the fever dream. It's fine, but the Soccer Expert in Chief decided to get into the middle of a red card controversy by calling FIFAs Thief in Chief and demanding the red card be revoked so American citizen and anchor baby Falorin Balogun (born in Brooklyn to non-citizens). FIFA, the corrupt clan that gave Trump the FIFA peace prize (LOL), did what he wanted. The precedent was dangerous that a politician got into the middle of a sports decision. But as stated, the Belgians waffled the USA by destroying them. And as predicted by anyone with a working mind, the MAGATS immediately began to call for the denaturalization of Balogun soon after the game because he didn't score 5 goals by himself or perhaps because MAGATS are racists. Oh well, America, it's not our sport. Our team is Nebraska football. Beats up inferior competition, then when faced with a rated team loses 62-3 (the soccer equivalent of 4-1). We dont suck, we're just fair to middlin.

Graham Platner. This guy is a piece of work. Nominated by Maine Democrats to run against the feckless Susan Collins, Platner was always sketchy on a personal basis. The oyster farmer has a checkered past. There were allegations of domestic violence, alleged sexual assaults, a Nazi tattoo he got in the military, and a stint working for Blackwater in Iraq where some of his Reddit posts were sus. He bragged about killing civilians, used slurs, and whether true or not is certainly troubling. So, at best he's a progressive who likes to brag about shit he didn't do and is an abuser and at worst he's a fucking rapist and war criminal. Neither is acceptable by the way. He needs to go NOW.

That being said the Republican reaction is laughable. As they clutch their pearls and faint onto JD Vance's couch (ewww) expressing their outrage they really are clueless cowards. The fact they support a guy who also may be a rapist and is certainly a war criminal (200 dead Iranian children say so). Yet we have the typical Republican blowhards, Brandion Gill the gay Superman , Peter Ricketts the trust fund baby, Foghorn Kennedy the blowhard, expressing shock and faux outrage that Maine Democrats would nominate this guy. Oh fuck off. He will be gotten rid of by Maine Democrats soon enough and a new candidate can fuck everything up for the clueless Democrats. Gotten rid of by Democrats.

Good thing Platner is a Democrat cuz he will be dealt with and never see the inside of political office. 

If he was a Republican woman beater, alleged rapist and war criminal they'd nominate him for President.

The Constitution Cannot Be Undone With A Signature!

 Those 3 chucklefucks. Gorsuch, the folksy fascist, Thomas, the owning the libs and taking bribes guy, and Alito, the professional Catholic with the whacko spouse all think that if Donald Trump puts his EKG signature on an Executive Order outlawing a Constitutional amendment, hey its ok with us. THREE of nine and probably a 4th in the drunken frat boy Kavanaugh if pushed think a signature of a President (or most likely one particular President) on an EO can do away with the constitution. Think of that type of insanity. These three would have been great on the German high court in 1936. The total lack of loyalty to the country by these three hacks for fascism is upsetting. It's also downright dangerous. 

Alito for all practical purposes is a religious fascist first and an American justice second if not out of the Top Ten. Thomas has spent 35 years on the bench wreaking havoc upon the nation because he is a petty little man pissed at his sexual harassing being made pubic public back in 92. Thomas owns the libs. That's his entire mission. Oh, that AND making himself rich thanks to Harlan Crowe, the Nazi memorabilia collector. Gorsuch is a bit of a contradiction in terms. He's right he's wrong he's wrong again. He has a soft spot for indigenous people's rights but not one iota of a soft spot for those same people and everybody else's rights. He's the guy at the party who charms with his down-to-earth stories that mask his real self. The folksy fascist. 

These 3 are WRONG constantly. And I should know having my law degree from Hudson University in New York City. The fucking Constitution cannot be voided by a thug like Trump. Unless you ask those three twats.

Weird Al!!

 About 35 minutes into the Weird Al Bigger and Weirder Concert a commotion broke out on the floor and people ran away. Was it part of the show? Well, no because as Eat It continued uninterrupted, I saw fists flying and then a couple of burly security guards were dragging, and I mean dragging a guy out of the arena when his pants fell down. They stopped to pull his pants up and if a grown ass man doesn't want to cooperate in pulling his pants up its gonna take a bit of time. Jesus this was more entertaining than the show. Eventually they dragged the guy the rest of the way followed by his shamed kids. Anyway, the point is I did NOT have a brawl at a Weird Al Yankovic show on the old bingo card.

Weird Al is a national treasure and if that makes me a weirdo or a nerd well so be it. The funny thing is I really have no idea about his music. I only know him for the last 40 years going on talk shows and holding his own with anyone. He's a funny, shameless comedian and I love that about him. 

His tour came to town last night and the boy and I went. Both of us, cynical eye rolling types, got into it even as the opener, Puddles Pity Party. Puddles is a giant clown with a baritone voice singing all sorts of tunes and seeking "help" from the crowd and has a Kevin Costner fetish. It was a cool 30 minutes.

Then came Weird Al Yankovic. All the hits were there's complete with frequent costume changes and all sorts of different music. His band is killer. The Nirvana parody, complete with the sweater, the janitor and the cheerleaders, sounded so much like Nirvana I wondered, uhhhh could you tour as a Nirvana tribute band?

In between songs were "interviews" Weird Al had with celebrities galore. It's been done thousands of times but Weird Al asking Madonna what the hell was she looking at as she constantly rolled her eyes. Trust me, it was funny, Paul McCartney told him no to Al staying at his house. It was as funny as the show itself.

Weird Al is a guilty pleasure. But even more so after actually witnessing great parodies, great music, funny skits, fake interviews and a brawl in the expensive seats. What more can a rational human being ask for? 

Oh, I don't know maybe a car crashing into a traffic light box just as people were exiting the arena. I mean how much more fun can I have?

Thoughts!

Look, on the shores of The Grift Pond, there are people putting their hands into the scummy green water and being arrested by "undercover" thugs for vandalism. Yeah, there's not a jury on earth that would convict people of "vandalism" (except maybe in Texas) but Jeanine Pirro, the failure of a wine box DA, will certainly try to please her master, who sits in his room thinking up conspiracies to keep him from King status. It's pathetic. Nobody is vandalizing that stinkin pond except the incompetent cronies that Trump hires to do "projects" as payment for past bribes  contributions to Trump's favorite charity. Himself. 

The SAVE Act, a truly hideous bill that's only purpose is to suppress the vote of women, minorities, immigrants and Democrats to save the Orange King's crooked ass. Voter ID, ok fine you win. Even though we prove our identity when we register to vote, showing a driver's license or whatever at the polls is unnecessary but is not a hill to die on. Enough right? Ohhhhh nooooo, not to Trump and his liars in the Senate. Liars like Mike Lee and Pete Ricketts and Joni Ernst continually crow about "rigged" elections (didnt they all win?). They all know it's bullshit but party over country of course. This SAVE act also forces you to provide a birth certificate on top of the ID. I mean come on. Where the fuck is YOUR birth certificate? Do you know? And what about women born Jane Smith and now are Jane Johnson? Sorry maam, this doesn't match your ID. Go away. Kill that 19th Amendment, kill that naturalized citizen right and only let white men vote. Mail in voting? Oh, the thing Trump himself does? It's banned. That's the goal and we all know it. Suppressed voting in blue states. But not only that, the SAVE act, for some reason, contains anti-transgender parts. No men in women's sports (there are none) and no transgender treatment for minors (there isnt any). What in the UFC fuck is that all about? What does that have to do with voting? Fuck this administration with a fork.

Trump doesn't have the votes for the SAVE act, thus he ran off with his pet bat, Stephen Miller, to meet with Senate Republicans, as cowardly a group as exists. Allegedly it turned into a clusterfuck of yelling and screaming and threats. But afterwards, the Felon in Chief, still didn't have the votes to pass his only white people vote bill. I'm sure the vampire bat is coming up with schemes to fuck the country as we speak.

The peace deal with Iran. In other words, the surrender of America to the mullahs. Trump is a terrible deal maker. Despite his bullshit book with I admit is a great title, The Art of the Steal Deal, Trump couldn't negotiate the end of a one-man parade. He's too lazy. He has no attention span. Plus, he's stupid. Iran gets everything it wants plus an ungodly amount of money to "rebuild" what Trump destroyed with his war he started. Gas prices are out of control, and the midterms are coming up. Trump is so dumb he started this war which blew up in his orange face and now faces blowback not only from the world but by Americans. 30% approval. Jesus H Christ, only the insane back this guy now (my theory has always been 25% of people are insane and can never be brought onboard). The only people who back this scumbag now are paid to do so, are deathly afraid of him and his goons, racists who yearn for an all-white country, or just plain stupid. See, 30%. 

Finally, Mamdani, the Mayor of New York. A Democratic socialist endorsed 8 progressives for various offices in New York. They all won their primaries. 8 for 8. Trump is so envious. Thus, he went right to the "Communist" card thus proving he and his 30% don't know shit about anything. Democratic socialism is just that. It's like democracy and socialism, ya know, like fixing roads and having cops and fire fighters and Social Security and Medicare and a safety net for the growing poor and their kids. We already have that but the real problem is a good curve ball. They don't like the "democracy" part. in fact, the countries these economic illiterates always put forward, Cuba, Venezuela, and the like are actually just what the Trumpers want. Authoritarianism in the name of freedom. They don't want Denmark or Sweden or Germany because of that whole "democracy" thing. They want thugs like Orban and Trump to rule with an iron fist, moving tax money to their buddies and themselves. Mamdani not only faces rants from Trump but from so called "moderate" Democrats who have no real interest in doing anything that jeopardizes their power. Power is a helluva drug, and mainstream Democrats want to keep it. Mamdani, that young whippersnapper, is upsetting the power brokers. Good!

Look the bottom line is any government that contains octogenarians and mental octogenarians is a dying government. But they aren't going to give it up until the voters decide to neuter these ancients. The boomers won't do it. Their own fading dominance is at stake. Gen X won't do it. They are in their money-making years and nothing comes between them and their careers. So, it is up to millennials and Gen Z. Vote you lazy clowns. you HAVE the power to change it all. Getting rid of anyone over 70 is up to you. If you stay home this boomer bunch of jokers will stay in power and nothing changes. You will still owe thousands in loans, never buy a house, never have kids cuz you can't afford them and stagnate in a society run by your senile grandparents. You like that? Christ, I'm a boomer and I hate them politically. Get rid of them, kiddos.

Wicked!

 Wicked began its new tour in Omaha, of all places, and if you've seen it before it is a whole new experience. This was my third time seeing it. The first time I was enthralled, found it fascinating and loved every second. However, the second time I saw it, I was soured. Act 1 was great buy Act 2 seemed to be a walk through, phoning it in so to speak, thus it kind of lost its appeal to me. Then came the movies, which were good, again Act 1 great, Act 2 not so great. I wasn't sure about this third time.

You knew it was gonna be a lot of acrobatics and high flying when before it started, you saw stagehands climbing a ladder to the top of the stage to do their thing. And then it starts with a bubble coming down that contains Ga-Linda, the self-centered egomaniac of the show. She is there to tell the story of how this happened and away we go.

Claudia Bennett makes her national debut as Glinda. A recent grad of USC, she takes her cue from Kristin Chenowith and Ariana Grande in her narcissism. She's got a great voice and a presence that made you believe she was a grizzled vet of theater touring. She plays the role perfectly as she moves from total self-absorption to opposition to The Wizard, a total fascist by the way.

When Elphaba, played by a big voiced Aline Mayagotia, appears onstage for the first time, the crowd reacts with applause and enthusiasm. And then, Ephaba takes control of the play. She is green, she is outspoken, she is tough and she has taken her being bullied into a rage against authority. When she arrives at Shiz University, she is there to watch out for her wheelchair bound sister, Nessarose. When Elphaba and Glinda are assigned as roommates the transformation begins. Doctor Dillamond is a professor, a goat, who is eventually taken away as the Wizard starts a animals should be seen and not heard campaign. The Doc says if animals are put in cages and forbidden to speak, they forget how to talk. Elphaba is pissed and becomes the opposition to the Wizard. Glinda is a coward, refusing to back her friend's activism. 

Ok Ok this play is a metaphor for fascism. Written way before Trump came along, it is a warning to anyone who sees it that authoritarians earn power thru indifference by the residents. Glinda is the epitome' of this unwillingness to speak out, protect her own power while allowing others to be oppressed. Animals and green witches first then Glinda herself.

The Wizard of Oz story is flipped on its head here. What you saw every year on TV was a lie. The Wizard was the villain; Glinda was the chickenshit. The Tin Man was created as a punishment for Boq, a munchkin who had the audacity to fall for Glinda. The Scarecrow was created as punishment for Fiyero, who had the audacity to support Elphaba's resistance. The Lion was an animal staying under the radar and speaking freely. And the Wicked Witch of the West was the revolutionary fighting for freedom. Wow, what a new way to look at it.

The songs are great. Of course, you get Popular and the end of Act 1, the showstopping Defying Gravity. But this particular cast keeps the energy alive. Act 2 was just as captivating as Act 1. The songs were wonderful, the acting was incredible and it works. Maybe it's simply a new cast, a new energy and a new vibe that makes it work. Perhaps the last time I saw it the cast was tired and done. Hey it happens. How can it not?

Anyway, this musical continues thru July 5th here in Omaha. It's worth a see. 

Savannah Bananas!

Normally Memorial Stadium in Lincoln is fill of red clad crazies watching the Nebraska Cornhuskers lose a game they should have won, but last night there was a baseball field there and the barnstorming Savannah Bananas came into town and sold the place out. 85,000 people showed up to watch the crazy brand of baseball played by these talented athletes. No bunting, no walks without a throw around, if a fan catches a foul ball the batter is out (it happened twice) and the fans get to challenge a play once during the game. Theres a guy on stilts who batted and whiffed. They have catches behind the back, back flips amid the fielding of grounders and fly balls, lots and lots of current music I had no idea what it was, an attention deficit reaction that results in an overwhelming sense of overload, and a left field fence 197 feet (Polo Grounds like) from home. Lots of home runs were hit into the leftfield stands including the walk off homer by the Washington Generals of Banana Ball, the Firefighters to win the game.

Look, being a fanatical baseball fan like me can trigger emotions when somebody plays this kind of baseball. But it's fun. For about an hour. After that initial hour, it became tedious. The trick plays became routine, the whole walk thing with all 9 players having to touch the ball leaving the runner able to go as far as he wants. That rule is not exciting because nobody ever gets past first base. The special guests were Eric Crouch, Heisman winner, and Tom Osborne, the HOF coach, who got a huge reaction and Go Big Red chants. It's based on baseball, but it is definitely not baseball. It's a state fair midway of child pleasing activity that quite frankly probably bores adults. Now if you have a kid and you take them, enjoy watching them have fun. They sing along to the music us olds have no clue to. They screech, they holler, they eat horrible stuff and they seem more aware than adults. It's fun for them thus it's fun for their parents. We went with our kid, who is in his 20's, so he's an adult and thus, he became bored also. 

I'm not saying I didn't have fun, I did. That it's a baseball Harlem Globetrotters is not a bad thing. But it's for children and introducing them to the sport is a good thing. I had a similar experience as a kid watching a clown show called the 1964 Chicago Cubs. It hooked me on the sport, the stadiums, the green grass, the strategy and the home runs at Wrigley. Kidding of course. The Bananas do what they do and it's entertaining. Would I go again? Not a chance. 

I will leave the hard-to-get tickets to somebody with young children.

The Firefighters won 3-2. If that matters.

A real game is much more entertaining. To me anyway.

60 Minutes & Pride Month!!

 60 Minutes has been gutted once and for all as Bari Weiss and this Nick Bilton guy fall all over themselves to please the authoritarian asshole. Just in the last few weeks, Weiss and Bilton have 86'd Celia Vega, Sharon Alfonsi and two 60 Minutes staffers for doing their jobs. Reporting on scandals and wars and power grabs and frauds, in other words Trump, Weiss has probably gotten a list of "miscreants" directly from the White House to deep six. Alfonsi was the reporter whose Cecot prison story was delayed because Weiss felt that the story about an El Salvadoran shithole prison, where Trump's goons were sending so called "illegals", including Americans of good standing, gay hairdressers and fathers of children needed some bullshit both sides response from the White House. Alfonsi resisted, publicly, and was then sent packing. At the same time, Vega was let go a year short of her contract expiration and two staffers were also let go. Now that is bad enough.

Scott Pelley, veteran 60 Minutes correspondent, a man with no fucks left to give and a lot of fuck you money, let the 60 Minutes killers have it. Pelley stood up for Alfonsi, Vega and the rest. Pelley, again a veteran reporter and 60 Minutes legend, wouldn't take the let's meet in private later bullshit from typical middle managers to take the pressure off themselves. Pelley continued, refused to accept the corporate horseshit, and pressed on. Weiss and Bilton ran away, plotted, and fired Pelley the next day "for cause". Good luck on that lawsuit you fucking Maga lumps. CBS is now Fox Lite. The Tiffany network of Murrow, Cronkite, Rather, Paley and other greats is dead. It's now just another suck up bottom-line oriented parrot of one Donald Trump. Your turn, Bill Whittaker, Leslie Stahl, and Jon Werthheim. Stay or tell them to fuck off. You all have fuck you money. Use it, it's the American dream to tell your boss to GFY cuz you have enough money to survive without them. 

This is Tennessee twat, Andy Ogles, with his Pride Month "wisdom". This seems to be the trend in Hillbilly America, aka red states, of declaring June to be Happy Nuclear Family and Have More White Babies Month instead of Pride Month. We here in Hillbillyaska, aka Nebraska, have a philandering drunken Governor who does anything he's told by former Governor and current Senator Pete Ricketts (Trust Fund Baby-Ne) and declared here in Nebraska to be Happy We Hate Homos Month.

Pillen is a disaster here. He turned a budget surplus into a $600 million deficit. He gave a no bid contract to a female "acquaintance" he "travels" with for $2.5 million. He accepted Trumps order to open "Cornhusker Clink" by closing down a work release minimum security prison and installing a facility to be used for the undocumented. He's often in public in what appears to be an altered state. I personally witnessed him slurring and stumbling over a swearing in ceremony for Nebraska National Guard recruits. Not sure it even was legal with his stumblebum oath.

But Pillen, like most "Christian" fanatics, hates the gays, wants Nebraskans to pray for rain, signs all sorts of anti-trans bills, tries hard and fails to eliminate our Blue Dot, and is obsessed with bathrooms and who uses them. Pillen is running for re-election and will be pushed by Democrat Lynn Walz. However, I am not confident this human lush will lose. The rural voters of our infamous Third District, a vast open wasteland of cows, dying towns and professional Republicans, always just marks in the person with the R next to their name cuz grandpappy voted R and Daddy voted R and by gawd I vote R, it's a family must. Vote against your interests cuz the libtards might say "woke" or something.

It's Pride Month, and all your political denial of that is irrelevant. Enjoy haters, and just hope nobody checks y9our hard drives.

Lucy Darling!

 Trump Trump Trump 24/7 who doesn't need a break? Carisa Hendrix brought her character Lucy Darling to the Orpheum Theater last night and she killed all Trump vibes in the sold-out crowd's minds for a good hour and 40 minutes of hilarity, magic and the greatest crowd work I may have ever seen.

Lucy is the character, a kind of drag queen magician naughty girl who can gut a front row attendee with some of the best insults the person doesn't even know just happened. Lucy began with her story. Australia, Covid, Tik Tok, and the accidental discovery of crowd work when she had no material. Lucy will kill you with a velvet hammer and most people welcome the killing.

She began the show with a short monologue, a slam on the new Omaha skyscraper that looks like a well ya know. We do seem to have a phallic fascination in this state with the State Capitol and this new Mutual of Omaha shaft. Lucy hammered her previous stop in Des Moines by insulting Des Moines (and tonite in KC she will hammer Omaha Im sure). She began her crowd work with a couple who'd only met a month ago yet looked like a couple married for 20 years. She then bantered with a young male music teacher who showed up alone. Poor "Wheel" as he became the theme of the night. She moved on to a young lady with multicolored hair and then realizing the comedy gold in this young guy's play along sweetness she went back to "Wheel" the middle school music teacher. And she never let it go. I think this young man had the time of his life while at the same time dreaded being her muse for the night. Like I said her crowd work is unparalleled. So quick and so spontaneous. It really was phenomenal to watch.

The magic was very good, yet there wasn't much of it. Somewhere during the first act, Lucy mentioned to her piano player, The Hebrew Hammer as he called himself. that the crowd work had gone so well that they were running over the time limit. This may have limited the magic because the crowd howled and screamed and applauded and obviously loved the interaction. But the whiskey bottle magic act was pretty pretty pretty good.

The crowd was energetic, young, gay, and hip. Some of the jokes went over this old straight white man's head but considering Max's Mom and I may have been the oldest people in the theater that's to be expected. A pineapple joke that drew a serious gasping reaction, I looked up in the car going home and THEN I laughed.

Lucy Darling is such a pleasant surprise. You probably never heard of this act. But please see it if you get a chance. She is a treasure.

As she said at one time during the show, "the gay people laughed at that, then the straight people thought hey they're laughing I guess I should too". That's it folks. Funny is funny.

Slush Funds and Mass Murder!

 

Wrongly prosecuted. Victims of government oppression. Poorly treated in prison. Just a bunch of patriots, tourists and great guys angry over a "stollen" election. Uhhhhh Bullshit. Every one of these violent white trash traitors belongs in prison in El Salvador.

This septic tank of an administration is putting all its rotten eggs into a slush fund of $1.776 (how "clever") to pay these pieces of shit for their "troubles". I am not going to rewrite history here and argue because these people are lunkheads and traitors, period. Their Dear Leader sent them to kill Mike Pence, Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer and every other person who wronged Kim Jong Moron.

These people were convicted by juries of regular people, indicted by grand juries of regular people, pleaded guilty to crimes, were sent to prison by Trump appointed judges and went through the legal system that has worked for 250 years. But now? Thes criminals are "patriots", the violent are "tourists", Trump is a god, and the 2020 election was not legit (even though Republican senators were all reelected and Republican House members-maintained control).

Iran Contra, Watergate, Teapot Dome, Boss Tweed and the Iran War were all scandals that pale in comparison to THIS blatant corruption. Ya know, political crooks USED to do their dirt in secret. These political crooks do it right out in the open and the other two branches of government take a powder as it happens. If this blatant payoff of tax money to a bunch of birdbrains without the self-control to act normally when their orange deity tells them to riot and stop the certification of the election goes forward, it's time for action.  The normal Americans need to stop it. Never ever let up on the resistance to this graft. Why give these convicts money? They'll just spend the cash on meth, trucks and new merch like Trump flags to put up in front of their trashy property. Until their demigod orders another touristy invasion of the very existence of America. Fuck all of this and because a building burned in Minneapolis doesn't justify this. Unless they want to include those vandals in the settlement too.

Yesterday in yet another sketchy mass murder, a mosque in San Diego was attacked by a couple of teens with guns who killed 3 people, including a security guard who may have fought them off and kept these two Columbine type freaks from killing children. Not only did they attack the mosque, kill three adults trying to stop them, they fled and decided to shoot at landscapers as they drove. Then fortunately for all of us on Earth, they killed themselves making the world a better place.

Not much is known about these two incels, other than it has been called a "hate crime" by the police. Reports say there were hate messages written on the guns, The mother of one had called police saying her son was "suicidal", had stolen her car and was armed probably with a friend. Yep, that about sums it up. Attack a mosque, kill kids, and kill selves. Why not reverse that timeline? 

Meanwhile, Republicans from coast to coast are silent. Waiting for the Demon in Chief to speak on how they should feel, he said it was "terrible", and to them it's silence. The goons might get mad and death threat them again. Sorry Andy Ogles (Bigot-TN) no Islamic children were killed. 

I hate to get into guns again since that's a losing battle, so I won't. Go buy all the guns you want America. I don't care any longer. You paranoid freaks go ahead and keep killing your own kids, wives and innocents who knock on your door. But when you gun enthusiasts stick up for a 17- and 18-year-olds "right" to own weapons of mass murder it's really a bad look. You are justifying a couple of losers with broken brains because no girls want anything to do with them raiding mosques and synagogues and schools with intent to kill. It's a disgusting attitude.

What next? Financial compensation for murderous scum because they were treated badly in prison?

The real question here is this. How much of the $1.776 billion will the Despot in Chief skim off the top? Oh, I know the "settlement" states that the Tyrant in Chief and his crime family get no money, but since when has the Swindler in Chief ever paid attention to the fine print?

So just another day in the Racketeer in Chief's America. Graft, slush funds, paying off criminals and dead people in a mass shooting. 

Since WHEN is this fucking normal?

Mrs.Doubtfire!

 The touring musical of Mrs. Doubtfire blew into town last night and anyone who didn't know it sure as hell did after the LOUDNESS of this stage production hit the stage. This thing is LOUD. 

I never saw the 1993 film starring Robin Williams and Sally Field. Williams was a genius, but his comedic roles exhausted me. His dramatic roles were his true talent, not the cocaine fueled manic nonstop talking. But Robin was an original and making a musical about one of his roles may not have been a good idea.

The story is concerning the Hillard family. Daniel Hillard is a man child father of three. Nothing this guy does is normal. He screams, he makes bad jokes, he screams some more, screams yet again and quite frankly I hated his guts within 5 minutes. When his wife, Miranda, asks for a divorce within 15 minutes, I about screamed myself, 'WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG?". She's no prize either, an uptight "career girl" complete with 1993 stereotypes. Their three kids are upset. The oldest, Lydia, is sick of Dad's constant inability to act his age, Christopher is the middle kid, and he just loves his dad. Natalie is the youngest and she also just wants normalcy.

Daniel Hillard loses custody, gets help from his gay brother and his husband, and becomes Mrs. Doubtfire, a nanny who is hired by Miranda to look after the kids. He acts much like his real self, lies and lies, and is also loved by the kids of course cuz Mrs. Doubtfire is dear old Dad. The kids figure it out; cover up the true identity of Mrs. Doubtfire and chaos occurs. Daniel is juggling chainsaws here between the court, the job seeking and his attempts to be a good Dad in drag. Yeah, it fails.

Look I have no problem with the performers. They are all quite good. Craig Allen Smith is a wonderful slapstick performer as Daniel and Mrs. Doubtfire. His quick changes onstage are quite remarkable. Melissa Campbell is fine as the long-suffering wife, Miranda. She has a great voice and kind of gets buried in the craziness. Then we have the characters I wanted more of. Brian Kalinowski as Frank Hillard, Daniel's brother and his husband Devon Buchanan, Andre. Their few scenes were a highlight. The children, Lydia, played by Alanis Sophia, has a wonderful voice for a kid. Christopher, played by Chance Challen, was the glue who always loves his Dad. Natalie, played by Vivian Atencio, can sure sing for a 10-year-old. 

I didn't despise this as much as Max's Mom and Max himself. They would have left at intermission if I'd have agreed. I was hoping for a better Act 2. I got that. Act 2 shines at times. The Dancing Mrs.Doubtfires with vacuum cleaners was a cool scene. The Marx Brothers like restaurant scene where Daniel juggling chainsaws come crashing down is also good. But the musical as a whole? No. The music is not memorable, the LOUDNESS of the screeching is annoying, the story itself is interesting, but they can't pull it off. The entire experience is kind of exhausting and could have been a one act musical.

The sound problem at the Orpheum is back. It may have because they YELL so much you can't understand the lyrics. Not that it matters, I guess. This is hardly Les Miz or Hamilton.

Anyway, the crowd seemed to agree with me. Awkward laughs in Act One, and much more involvement in Act 2. You like the movie? I guess you'll like this then. Though why will be beyond me.

Theres a reason this lasted only 83 performances on Broadway before it was shut down and turned into a touring madhouse. New Yorkers know what's good and what's not. They were right.

Cosmic Ball!

 Baseball is baseball. It's either your life or it's not. It is mine. But I am old, grew up when the box scores were the gospel, and going to a game live was the most relaxing 2-3 hours of my life. It still is. But baseball has a demographic problem. The young really aint into it. It's too slow, it's too boring, and they have endless other forms of entertainment that aren't. 

Baseball has always survived in various forms. There were barnstorming teams like the House of David and the Indianapolis Clowns. There was Max Patkin. There were the Negro Leagues and Bill Veeck. Baseball survives racism and free spirits. But as much as the billionaires and hedge fund creeps wanna squeeze every cent out of the sport and screw over average people by charging ridiculous amounts for a single freakin ballgame. Add on overpriced concessions and parking and a family is screwed. The days of me sitting in the bleachers at Turnpike Stadium for $4 and watching the shitty Texas Rangers every night is over. I once paid $10 for a season pass, yes, a season pass, for Omaha Royals games. It was a glorious childhood.

Cosmic Baseball came to town last night. The place was full of kids in glow in the dark t shirts and jerseys and enormous energy. What's Cosmic baseball you ask? Well, the two pictures above sum it up. One hour of crazy baseball in the light, an intermission, and then even crazier baseball in the dark with everybody in neon, including the bat and ball. It was the best I've seen a baseball in play maybe ever. They run the bases backwards, they have a 45 second Home Run Derby between innings, and they have an armed cop pitching. But it's still baseball and the purists be damned. It's fun. Yeah, baseball can be fun.

What goes on off the field is the true appeal. The players are interactive with fans, tossing hundreds of baseballs to the crowd, coming into the stands to sign autographs and interact, they juggle with fluorescent bowling pins , they play catch with the crowd with a football, they send a cow into "space"

and they play 3 minutes of "chaos baseball" where 3rd base becomes first base and any foul balls into the stands are still in play and loud ass music plays the entire game. 

Now as Max said, it's so intense its almost sensory overload. It really is. There's so much going on it is hard to know what to concentrate on. The baseballs constantly being tossed into the stands can take attention away from the 22-12 game going on because who wants to get hit on the noggin with a yellow baseball? The little girl in front of us got a ball and after that what else is left. The family took off. Mission Accomplished!

Cosmic baseball is fun. It's the Savannah Bananas for people who like glow in the dark stuff like me. Next month we will experience the Banana Ball. If that's half as fun as this was, it will be a success. But in the meantime, I will suffer through the 2026 San Francisco Giants.

Suffs!

 

 Suffs made its Nebraska debut last night at Lincoln's Lied Center. The Broadway musical from 2024 that won Tonys tells the story of the last stages of the women's suffrage movement that resulted in the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote. Well white women anyway.

This is a story of persistence with the same problems that we have now. Older activists say patience while the young have no patience. When the "old fogie" Carrie Chapman Catt tells the young Alice Paul to have patience Paul blurts out "it's been 60 years" Touche'. Paul organizes other young suffragists to start the ball rolling. They are firebrands. Inez Millholland, Doris Stevens, Lucy Burns, Reza Wenclawska. and Paul come together to march, pressure President Woodrow Wilson, and get beaten and arrested for sedition for opposing America's entry into World War I. Eventually progress always wins (until recently) and the 19th Amendment passes.

This musical has a number of catchy relevant tunes. Let Mother Vote. If We Were Married, Great American Bitch and the rousing closer Keep Marching. Standing ovations were earned.

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The performances were epic. Maya Keleher as Alice Paul keeps the play together like a good point guard. Monica Tulia Ramirez as Inez Millholland is the suffragist whose picture on a horse becomes the movements sign. She was tremendous. Marya Grandy as Carrie Chapman Catt is perfect as the old guard. Abigail Aziz was an understudy playing Ida B Welles, the black woman who tries for equality for black women. She was a force. Marissa Hecker as the Polish socialist, Ruza Wenclawska, was also hard to ignore. The entire cast is solid including a sort of song and dance portrayal of Wilson complete with top hat and cane. Jenny Ashman fills the role with gusto and you kind of wish there was more of her up there.

This musical will be at the Lied in Lincoln thru next Sunday. The opening night was about half full which surprised me. Maybe it's too "woke" for Nebraskans or maybe it was a Tuesday night, and people have to work the next day I don't know. 

We saw Suffs on Broadway a couple of years back and this touring company is comparable. Go see it as you might learn something much like Hamilton and Come From Away. The music is sort of a combo of both of those classics. Bravo Ladies.

Michael!

 It's a phenomenon. Who would have thought that a biopic of the biggest pop artist perhaps of all time would be a hit? Well, if you are a thinking person anybody would. 

You want a biopic warts and all? This isn't for you. This movie is the story of an abusive father, a codependent mother, and 5 sons (and LaToya no Janet) who dear old Dad pressures into becoming a big musical act. He works them like slaves, beats on them (the scene of him beating young Michael with a belt is kind of disturbing) but it worked. The Jackson 5 took the world by storm. Young Michael became the face of the group, and it was inevitable he would become a solo artist. Led by a manager played by Miles Teller, Michael fires Dad, works on his first solo album, obsesses over lyrics and album song placement and slays the world. But Michael is a disturbed man. Haunted by the abuse, he becomes a friendless man child with a monkey, a snake, a giraffe and a Driving Miss Daisy bodyguard who could be counted as his only friend. It's kind of a tragedy even before the actual tragedy occurred.

Is Michael a great movie? No. Is it a good movie? Absolutely. The music is addicting, the concert footage seems real, and the story is never ever boring. Michael is played by Jaffar Jackson, Michael's actual nephew (Jermaine's kid) and if you didn't know better, you'd swear it was actually Michael Jackson. He looks like him, he sounds like him and he sings like him. He's fantastic. He could tour right now as Michael Jackson and you wouldn't know any better. He's that good.

Colman Domingo as Joe Jackson is his usual solid self. Played with a sense of cruelty and tremendous pride, Domingo nails Joe. He both wants his sons to be successful AND he wants to dominate them forever. Nia Long is Katherine Jackson who plays her as the silent wife who witnesses the abuse until she wakes up and says no more.

You want a child molester movie, this aint for you. You want a solid story with a bit of bad but a whole lot of good this is for you.

It surprised me. Go see it in a theater for the full effect of the music. We saw it in Imax. Man was it loud. Bring your ear buds.

Seashells!

 For the love of gawd its exhausting to not be a normal country. Instead, we get to live in a backwater nation of pettiness and a mad king bent on revenge and not on governing.

Yesterday the Department of Justice, led by a guy with his head up the mad king's ass, indicting a former FBI director for seashells. They had already tried once, failed miserably to indict James Comey for what was already a shady scummy reason. But now? Seashells. Fucking seashells. Comey had posted a picture of seashells that the mad king didn't like and as usual, MAGAts went straight into faux outrage s they tend to do. He was calling for the death of the mad king they wailed. Seashells. So yesterday they indicted Comey for calling for the death of Trump. WTF? We had the spectacle of Todd Blanche, Kash Patel, and the rest of the Shady Bunch speak with a straight face how concerned they were. It was laughable. But here we go. A gang of Grand Jury lamebrains fell for this bullshit. Now yes, the old ham sandwich can be indicted comes up here but come on people. This is real banana republic shit here. Seashells???

The security breach the other night at the White House Correspondents Dinner. Some whacko got loose, running into the venue with the speed of Usain Bolt and promptly all hell broke loose, Did the nutjob get off any shots? I doubt it. Did the Secret Service get any shots off? Well yeah, especially one guy firing like a madman so badly he may have hit one of his own guys (may have? yeah he did). The madman, Cole Allen not Trump, went down hard. Shirtless and cuffed, he was arrested not for seashells but a legit reason. He was after Trump and his putrid cabinet of clowns and thieves. Uhh buddy, ya cant do that. 

So as I refuse to call it what the hand wringers and pearl clutchers want you to call it, an assassination attempt, and call it what it was. A security breach. Somehow this guy got a room at a $3k a night hotel, brought guns and knives, wrote out a list of grievances right up to the time he sprung into non action and caused utter chaos. The Secret Service rushed Vance out of the room first (weird) then took Trump out, who fell on his face, then RFK Jr was rushed out (why) by 4 agents who ignored Cheryl Hines, HIS WIFE, who struggled to keep up all alone and in high heels. Pathetic. The vampire Steve Miller was rushed out (again why) with his wife in tow. JFC whoda thunk Miller would be the thoughtful one of the bunch?

Meanwhile, the DC elite, the reporters, the politicians, the entertainment agents and the hangers on all went into survival mode. They stole wine bottles, some of whom checked out the vintage before pilfering it. They wandered around and as elitist creeps do, they ripped off $29K worth of booze thinking they'd done nothing wrong. I can hear them calling for an end to food stamps and welfare as we speak. Horrible people. But typical of this kind of fandom of a mad king. Kudos to the guy who sat there eating his salad. Nothing is gonna keep him from his Ceasar salad, dammit.

Was it fake? Nahhhh. But it IS fun to pretend it was a set up to get his goddamned ballroom paid for by you, the taxpayers. It's fun because as absurd as it is to think this was all staged, it's still more fun to hit the Ballroom Bangers with this, giving them a taste of their own medicine and them not being smart enough to know it. The $400 million ballroom was to be paid with "private donations". Ha! That's the staged thing here. It was NEVER going to be built with anything but your money. For anyone to believe it wouldn't involve tax money, how naive can you be? Has ANYTHING this regime of thieves said that's true? Chrissakes, any "donations" that have come in, and we know it was nowhere close to $400 million, can now be quietly dispersed among the usual suspects. It's called bribery and it's the official policy of this administration. 

Hey there's so much more this kind of crazy makes one forget about. An illegal war with Iran, the Epstein files with Trump's name all over them, voter suppression, the rush to accept junk science as normal, anti-vaccine nuts, and a million other things. Distraction. 

They want you to believe that Trump has been attacked by would be assassins three times in a year. Nah, it was once. The other two were no more than the 15 attempts on Obama's life that were averted beforehand by the Secret Service, the FBI and the other law enforcement agencies all over the nation. Ya know, back when law enforcement was somewhat normal. As opposed to now, when we have an FBI bent on advancing fascism, ICE roughing up Americans and killing some, and Secret Service led by Trump cronies. What once was nipped in the bud by competence are now let go by incompetence. 

We are so fucked.

One Down Three To Go!

 One down and three to go. Viktor Orban, the 16-year leader of Hungary and CPAC hero, has gone down hard in Hungarian elections. The Hungarian people had enough of his fascist shit, racism, tax cuts for wealthy Hungarians, and general douchebaggery and not only sent him on his way but have the opposition a super majority in the Hungarian Parliament to undo all the garbage he's done like control of the media, universities and repression of protest. Sound familiar? The Hungarians have said no more. Will Americans do the same and cut Trump's nuts off in November? 

Eric Swalwell. Congressman from California and candidate for Governor of California.....oh wait, not anymore. Swalwell was on his way to being the Democratic nominee and probable successor to Gavin Newsom when all of a sudden, out of the blue, he was accused of all sorts of crimes against women. Sexual harassment, rape and sending dick pics. Jesus H Christ, the timing is weird and right out of the Roger Stone playbook but as they say, where's there's smoke there's fire, unless of course you are a Maga Republican then they make you President. But this isn't about what about Tony Gonzales (R-Tx), Cory Mills (R-Fl) and Matt Gaetz (R-Fl) allegedly did. It's about Swalwell. If these charges are true, get rid of him. He's already dropped his bid for Governor and if ex stripper Rep Anna Luna or Meyerhoffer or whatever her name is has her way, they'll thrown him out of Congress. If he did this shit, by all means get rid of him. And also Mills and Gonzales. I'm not holding my breath on those two.

 

JD Vance is such a kiss of death. He "killed" Pope Francis, he failed to keep the thumb breaker Orban in power and totally shit the bed on the Iranian "negotiations. Thus, we have a new Pope, same as the last Pope, a brand-new EU to deal with and a blockaded Strait Of Hormuz causing market turmoil and oil companies rolling in dough. This guy is a human natural disaster. Like his master, everything he touches dies. Vance should go to Israel in October and take Netanyahu out also. In fact, send him to my state of Nebraska to take out Governor Jimbo Pillen, Senator Pete Ricketts and dullard congressional candidate from Nebraska 02, Brinker Harding, Send J D everyplace and assure Hungary happens here and a super majority passes acts to blow up the ballroom and that stupid Arc D Trump not to mention taking his filthy name off the Kennedy Center and the Peace Council. 

Finally, Jesus Christ posted on Truth Social (which is neither by the way) ....wait what, it was Trump who portrayed himself as Jesus healing a guy who looks like George W Bush or perhaps Epstein. Who knows with this whacko? Trump deleted it after questions were asked and he claimed to be a RedCross doctor......Excuse me while I guffaw loudly.

Pope Leo V Donald Trump!

 I grew up Catholic. I did my time. But sometime after reaching the age of reason, I put in my retirement papers. I grew up with Popes like Paul VI, John Paul II, Benedict the Hitler youth and that first John Paul the first, who God only knows what happened to him when after smiling too much and saying the word "reform" suddenly died of a heart attack after a month in office. But then came Francis the educated Jesuit and I was thrilled that a real Catholic was in charge. Now we have Leo, the Chicago native and Sox fan, who seems to be a common-sense tough Chicago guy.

The Midwest, rural America, has a different kind of Catholic. A conservative Catholic with an excuse to be anti-poor, pro-life, anti-woman, pro death penalty, pro wealth and generally a person who'd have hollered that Jesus was a libtard. These types drove me out, and with Popes who seemed to be more about protecting pedophiles and maintaining the church's wealth, I was even more out. Some of the best people I've known have been priests, and also some of the worst people I've known have been priests. I admire them, I really do. But in protecting the bad apples, like cops do, the organization was kind of a racketeering wet dream. Christ there were times when I wanted the church indicted under RICO statutes. 

But now there's Pope Leo. And Pope Leo is in a bum fight with the worst bum America has ever seen, Donald Trump. Trump, thru his crusader Sec of Defense, Pete Hegseth, and his so-called diplomatic corps, a band of bullies intent on world domination, allegedly called in the Vatican diplomats, told them to get onboard with the Iran War or there was military action they could take. Ya know the old "It'd be a shame if anything happened to your business' threat. The Avignon Papacy was mentioned, a 14th century event that included the French monarchy taking control of the Vatican because they didn't like what they were saying. Just another veiled threat from Trump's goons.

Pope Leo turned down the invitation to attend the USA's 250th birthday due to foreign policy disagreements and the fact Trump is a terrible human being. The Pope, again from Chicago, isn't afraid of Trump and his thugs. In fact, Leo could take Trump down in about 5 seconds (but then who couldn't), Leo instead will hang out with African refugees on July 4th. Cuz he's the Pope and not some charlatan like Paula White or Franklin Graham equating Trump to Jesus.

The Pentagon and other Trump sycophants deny the Mafia type threats to the Pope and the Vatican. Of course they do, but who believes them since this putrid regime hasn't told the truth like ever. Now they've threatened to send J D Vance into battle, like the Pope likes that guy. Unconfirmed reports say the Pope has no problem excommunicating the phony Vance (which would really screw up his upcoming book about converting). Vance is one of those convert Catholics who think because they took a class, know more than the Pope. These types are the worst. Converts are generally unhappy Protestants who think the Protestants acceptance of gays and trans and other liberal issues is a deal killer and want to join an organization rooted in the past. They want order and the way it was 500 years ago. No broads, no minorities, just wealthy white men dominating society like "Gawd" intended.

So go ahead JD. Talk your talk. Walk your walk. Take time out from endorsing Hungarian thumb breakers and take on the Pope. You will lose. 

I have thought of returning to the church because of Francis and Leo. But being in the Midwest where the Catholics are still awful, that's not happening. Cultural Catholic yes. Church attending Catholic absolutely not.

Go Pope Go! And I'm sorry to use that antiquated Cubs chant but in this case it's justified. This fight is lopsided both intellectually and morally. Trump and his kiss asses are psychotics, the Pope is the Pope. I'd rather hang with African refugees on July 4th than a gang of jingoistic jag offs like Trump too.

In the words of Father Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

"In the end, only the truth will survive"

Goddam right

Sleepy Don!

Just let Gramps sleep. He cannot fuck up the world when the Adderall wears off and he falls asleep.

Donnie went to the Supreme Court yesterday to listen to arguments about birthright citizenship. Donnie doesn't like birthright citizenship because even though 4 of his 5 children (that we know of) are birthright citizens, he doesn't like blacks or browns or Asians coming here and fucking up his white supremacist views on what a country should look like. White. But after about 90 minutes of Trump sitting in the front row listening to oral arguments, which must have bored the shit out of him since there were no pictures, he got up and left. Probably much to the relief of the rest of the room smelling filthy diapers. Trump left not only because of his attention deficit disorder and the fact people saw his eyes close numerous times, but because the conservative judges were ripping his arguments apart. I'm surprised John Roberts didn't bang his gavel and say Get the Fuck Out with That Shit.

Pam Bondi is gone. Trump fired her today because she wasn't corrupt enough for him. She did everything he told her to do, got into Mean Girls fights with Congress, famously screamed that the Dow being over "50,000 dollars" and that excuses anything she did. Covering up the Epstein Files, going from they're all on my desk to saying they were all released to we are not releasing any more, Bondi was self-destructing by the day. She reportedly refused to indict California Congressman Eric Swalwell on charges that were debunked years ago by a Republican Congress about an alleged Chinese spy and sleeping together. We know Trump doesn't care about making his legal appointees look foolish with his stupid vendettas and bogus indictments. So, Bondi is history. Good riddance.

That Trump speech last night. Holy shit but what the fuck was that? Trump rambled on about everything and bragging about things that anybody not blind and stupid would laugh at. No inflation, no unemployment, low gas prices, record stock markets, grocery prices way down, you know all the greatest hits. Things couldn't be more 180 than what this delusional dunce thinks. But Trump continues to say it. He also threatened to bomb Iran back to the Stone Age, which has been a dumb thing to say by tough guys for 100 years. I know they show Trump a condensed view of the Iran War where they entertain him daily with ,shots of shit blowing up. He, like a child, thinks its cool because he's dumb.

Finally, Pete Hegseth, a truly stupid drunk. With his frat boy exuberance, his twisting of religion into a sadistic cult, his tough guy talk, his racism and his inability to grow the fuck up, Hegseth is everything the world hates about Americans. An Obnoxious blowhard with a drinking problem and a tendency to treat women like his personal "comfort woman". Hegseth is a true scumbag of a human.

Jesus H Christ were so fucked. 

Ballroom Blitz!

 Theres so much going on on a daily basis it is exhausting to keep up. But let's try.

The War on Iran. Killing schoolgirls, killing innocents, blowing shit up to the delight of Secretary of Bro Pete Hegseth and our toddler President. Killing 14 Americans so far with hundreds in the infirmary fighting for their lives, an aircraft carrier worth billions of your dollars being disabled for 2 years because of dryer lint (yeah sure), a President who so easily gets distracted when asked about the war he starts babbling about a fucking ballroom. A President who seems willing to lose a war he started just to get his ballroom. The "war" is just that. A fucking WAR where a Christian tatted toxic scumbag like Hegseth gets off on showing people dying with a big explosion. Woo Hoo he blowed that shit up Woo hoo!

The Donald J Trump Presidential Lyebaree will be in Miami. Of course, Trump will never live to see the groundbreaking, but he wants it to be less books and more hotel rooms where he can further grift off of the Maga dunces. Hey, why not a casino and a strip club as long as you are going there. It's well-known Trump's interest in books is even less than his interest in dismantling the Constitution so this libarry will be a joke. A giant gold statue of the man himself for Magas to kneel in front of. The Trump equivalent of the wailing wall. This grifter will never stop.

Today the soothing RFK like voice of John Sauer is arguing in front of SCOTUS regarding the birthright citizenship clause of the 14th amendment. He doesn't like that. Rather, his mob boss doesn't like it. To attempt to intimidate his appointed justices, Trump has gone to the court to sit there like Michael Corleone with Frank Pentangeli's brother. But the only hope there is a zero percent change Trump stays awake cuz there's no pictures shown the entire hearing. The justices, so far, seem to be not a fan of this case but with this bunch who knows. Anything short of a 9-0 GTFO decision would be problematic.

Finally, in memory of Cricket, we can all say to Kristi Noem, watch Too Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar! This will explain your husband, that you never ever knew was dressing up as a woman, The fact that the hacked emails of Dancing Kash Patel were part of the reason we found this out would suggest that Noems partner's lifestyle was an inside joke among Trump appointees all along. It would suggest that Noem was fired because this was about to come out so to speak. I don't care if Bryon Noem likes fetishes and employs sex workers online (including the undocumented sex worker who blew this open) but up until now, MAGAts hate that shit. Now all of a sudden, it's just a tactic to destroy Noem, who has already done that on her own. The hypocrisy is flaming here. Perhaps Cricket saw this happening and Noem took him and the goat out to the gravel pit to keep em quiet.

For Cricket and the Goat, karma bitch.

Oscar Time!

 It's Oscar time again. Movies Movies Movies. The awards will be given out to people who will blather on about shit nobody cares about, to people like the guy or gal who snipped the film together and a whole new category copying the SAG awards where the entire cast of said movie gets one. Now I see lots of movies every year either in theaters or on the streaming services, but this year for the first time I will be short in seeing all 10 nominees. The Secret Agent has eluded me but here are my favorite 10 for 2025.

10) Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale

It was a fitting goodbye to the tremendous series about a family of rich eccentrics living in a castle in England. It was like saying bye bye to family.

9) A House of Dynamite

Kathryn Bigelow is a master of directing white knuckle thrillers like Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty. This thriller involves a rogue nuke heading for Chicago and how various characters in government react to stop it or deal with 10 million deaths. Please dont wait 7 more years for another movie, Kathryn.

8) The Life of Chuck

A story told in reverse. The world is ending and we back up to learn why. A guy named Chuck has the whole world's fate in his hands and when he dies so do we. It sounds depressing but it is not. The story gets more positive as it goes backwards. This isn't for everybody but it was for me.

7) Frankenstein

Guillermo Del Toro is one weird dude. But so am I. His movies are bizarre, thought provoking and great storytelling. This interpretation of Frankenstein is unique and fascinating. It is basically a story of fathers and sons.

6) Train Dreams

The story of a man's life in the early to mid 1900's. It's about a kind of loner who busts his ass through working the railroad and the lumber industry. The man finds happiness with a wife and family and then it goes wrong. The movie is heartbreaking yet inspiring. It shows hope keeps us alive.

5) Hamnet

This movie about Shakespeare and how he came up with Hamlet probably made me feel emotions more than any movie of the year. Jessie Buckley will win the award in maybe the only slam dunk of the night. Her portrayal of a grieving mother is top notch. Hamnet is an exercise in emotions.

4) Weapons

An entire classroom of kids has disappeared. Director Zach Cregger made the fantastic Barbarian, a very unique horror picture. Weapons is even better. Led by Josh Brolin as a father bent on finding out what happened to his son, Julia Garner as the teacher everyone blames for the disappearance and the Oscar worthy Amy Madigan as the creepy Aunt Gladys. I won't spoil it, but the last 5 minutes of this movie are the best 5 minutes of any movie this year. Funny AND horrifying.

3) Sentimental Value

The story of a neglectful father and his two estranged daughters. Stellan Skarsgard as the famous director Gustav, Renate Reinsve as daughter Nora, and Inga Lilleas as Agnes, the less pissed off daughter. When Gustav wants to make a swan song film about his mother who was tortured by the Nazis. Nora is an actress and refuses to do the movie out of spite. Bring in Elle Fanning as an American actress willing to do the movie. She's not right for it and leaves leaving Nora as the only possibility. This flick has an Oscar nomination for every actor in this. I found it moving and yet a joy.

2) Sinners

Michael B Jordan and Ryan Coogler have teamed up before. Fruitvale Station is a must see, But Sinners is a whole new level. Jordan plays twins, Smoke and Stack. They are opening a juke joint in 1932 Mississippi after being Al Capone mobsters for years in Chicago. The joint is hoppin. They will make lots of cash. But then, along comes a vampire and all hell breaks loose. The movie is about black entrepreneurs for an hour, black joy in 1932, and then the last hour is pure horror when the blood suckers show up (the fact the main vampire is white and exploitive is not lost on the audience). This film is one unique experience.

1) One Battle After Another

It can be argued that Paul Thomas Anderson is the best director out there. From Boogie Nights to There Will Be Blood to One Battle this guy produces quality regularly. Leonardo Di Caprio is a washed-up revolutionary named Bob. Hiding out for years, being pursued by Sean Penn as Col Lockjaw, who needs to know if Bob's daughter is actually his so he can then kill her to keep his secret romance with Teyana Taylor (Bobs wife) from disturbing his entrance into a white supremacist exclusive club. This thing is all over the board with side stories about freeing immigrants from detention centers, robbing banks and Lockjaw's obsession with finding Willa, his mixed-race child (maybe). Chase Infiniti as Willa stands out in an acting debut. Benicio Del Toro shines for the 10 minutes he is in it and Teyona Taylor as the angry black revolutionary also shines. Meanwhile, Leonardo Di Caprio, like a great point guard, is the glue. This is the best movie I saw in 2025.

Other flicks I liked include

Nonnas is the Vince Vaughn Love letter to grandmothers and their cooking

All The Empty Rooms is a documentary about school shooting victims

Nuremberg is a warning about what should never happen again yet does

My Mom Jayne is Mariska Hargitay's attempt to understand her mother, Jayne Mansfield  

Good Boy is a horror flick from a dog's perspective. Trust me it works. The dog Indy deserves an Oscar

Alto Knights, Thunderbolts, Sovereign, The Tank and Blue Moon also were great experiences.

Now the worst movies of 2025

Love Hurts may be the worst movie EVER with two Oscar winners. It is terrible.

 Megyn 2.0 is trash much like Exorcist 2. A terrible sequel to a good movie.

Final Destination Bloodlines sucks your life out of you more so than the story itself.

Honey Don't is horrible. The attempt to be a Coen Bros movie fails miserably.

And finally, a praised movie that I hated.

If I Had Legs I'd Kick You had good performances, but the goddamned story was boring and pointless. It couldn't end fast enough.

That's it. Onward to the awards.

The Iran War!

 Holy shit, this is bad. Under the orders of Trump's handlers, Bibi Netanyahu, Mike Huckabee, Pete Hegseth and the rest of the nuts who advise him, the attack on Iran, aka Operation Epstein Files, was launched. Now the vast majority of these warmongering Christian Nationalists, all trying to bring about Jack and the Beanstalk, no I mean the Rapture or Armageddon are all in on death and destruction. Jebus, please come back. This insanity is what troubles the United States since about 1783 when the first "Christian" decided killing all the folks already here was a spiffy idea by jove! Since those dark days it's only gotten worse since about 1981 when the "amiable dunce" Ronnie Reagan embraced the likes of Jerry Falwell and the rest of the "Christian" right. The anti-Jesus crowd. The ones who think Jesus was a white man with blue eyes who wanted white supremacy and fuck the poor as policy. Insanity spreads quickly as we have all found out.

Trump, fresh off Epstein videos allegedly showing him with minors, listened to the neo cons who convinced him that Iran was going to kill him and to get them first. Now the neo cons knew damn well this was bullshit but appealing to the Narcissist In Chief about it being about HIM allowed them to get their way. Much as the previous Dimwit in Chief kowtowed to the Cheney Bot and attacked Iraq the neo cons knew who to manipulate. Boom Boom!! How cool to middle aged adolescents like Pete Hegseth and the Bros. Hegseth, who seems like he's about to bust a nut every time he talks about war and booms and death from above, is about as bad a cabinet member as has ever existed. The weekend third banana with the Crusader tats is a danger to humanity. He may actually believe that Rapture shit. But to be fair, he's usually drunk.

The war seems like it's going great per our current state run TV that decries the MSM even mentioning American deaths as "making Trump look bad'. Well excuse me, dead Americans may be inconvenient to the "all is fine" crap, but it's reality. But we know, reality doesn't exist in this rogue regime. Reality is the opposite of reality. Alternative facts. Nah, it's just lies.

Whoops! The Americans bombed a school, a girl's school in Tehran to be precise, and killed 170 plus. Now it may have been an error, but the "error" was made worse when 40 minutes later, with first responders and parents present looking for their children, Hegseth sent in the old double tap. Another missile hit the school, killing more. Then came the propaganda. It was Iran, it was Israel, it was Martians not us. We the good guys, fellas! Israel immediately threw Trump under the tank saying hey not us dude. Yeah we know. We have the typical right-wing crazies out there. John Bolton sez hey its the kids fault for going to a school next to a military base. The very handsy closet case, Matt Schlapp, actually suggested the girls were better off dead rather than wearing a burka. Well shit Matt, I think you'd be better off not grabbing other men's junk. These people are insufferable.

Sinking an Iranian ship? Participating with India in some sort of ceremony that included the United States. In India. Then sailing back to Iran, an American sub sank it. It was unarmed. Ok that's not cool. The sub followed protocol and rescued as many sailors as they could, right? Oh hell no. They took off and let them drown. Christ, that's two war crimes at once. Why did we do that? Per the Maniac in Chief, it was more "fun" to sink it than capture it. Himmler got nuthin on this guy.

So that's what we have. War crimes, burning oil fields, raining oil, environmental disasters, bombing freshwater facilities, dead Americans, stranded Americans, dead Iranian children, dead Iranian sailors, a raging Sec of Defense, a dimbulb President, a soulless Sec of State, a Joint Chiefs head with a penchant for just following orders, double taps, and an oil crisis costing Americans a fortune. Sounds great. This what you voted for? Yeah of course it is because you voted for this criminal pedo because you didn't like a black woman's laugh (or just the black part). 

What's it all mean? It means after this horrid regime is gone, the Hague awaits. And it waits for anyone participating in this monstrosity. Iranian mullahs or POTUSES. You are all on notice. You cannot avoid what's coming. 

What it also means is this. The Epstein files aren't going away. Trump is not only a pedo, but he's also a war criminal. And that's fine by MAGA, who worship at the feet of this scumbag.

Sorry, but the rapture and Armageddon are fantasy. It's as real as The Eye of Sauron, which is Israel and us. 

Mr. Frodo, save us.

Cricket's Revenge!!

Cricket's revenge is 75% complete. Kristi Noem, who took Cricket, at 14 months, to a gravel pit and shot him in the face and then shot a goat in the face, has been on thin ice as DHS commandant for a long time is gone. The Fuehrer had enough of her grandstanding, cosplay, her funneling of money into her friend's bank accounts along with her own and screwing an underling. That's HIS fucking job. Don't take attention away from Fat Nixon. 

Noem has been a disaster from Day One. Her unleashing of untrained thugs into cities to beat up and even kill Americans who dared question their lack of skills was bad enough but the constant ads to promote her own ego was the straw. There's only one ego that matters here, Icarus Noem. 

Noem bought airplanes with bedrooms, claimed the planes were for deportations, spent $220 million on herself in ads with huge cowboy hats, flak jackets, camel riding, horse riding on the beach, plumbers' overalls, Top Gun outfits, and hair extensions. She also lived on a military base free of charge, in a general's house after he was thrown out, and was allegedly canoodling with a pardoned convict named Corey Lewandowski, a married pardoned felon. Noem is married also (it was nice for the House and Senate committees to provide Mr. Noem with a cuck chair). 

Noem brought this on herself with her absolute lack of self-awareness. She thought she WAS the DHS, After a mediocre stint as Governor of South Dakota, that R after her name ya know, Noem was considered a real Veep candidate because Der Fuehrer only hires the worst people. But then Noem wrote a book and actually thought shooting Cricket and the goat was worthy of telling because she thought that made her "tough". No Guv Extensions, that makes you a psycho puppy killer in 90% of Americans minds. The one thing about Magats everyone can like is they like dogs too. That's about it.

So, Kristi not only blew up her Veep chances (she lost out to a dullard named J D Vance) but she's now blown up her DHS reign of error because she can't stop lying under oath and taking attention away from the Orange Mussolini. Good luck with that Shield of American Bullshit or whatever she's going to be doing in between indictments.

Her successor? One Markwayne Mullin, a Senator from Oklahoma (What the fuck Okies?). Mullin is a tough guy wannabe. He has cauliflower ears from rolling around in a ring with other guys and sold a plumbing business for millions freeing up his time to con the people of Oklahoma into electing him to the House and then the Senate. Mulin was famously hiding from his constituents on Jan 6, and on one occasion threatened to fight a witness at a committee hearing. His appointment does not include any kind of hope for the better. Mullin was always in contention for Dumbest Man in the US Senate with Tommy Tuberville. Tuberville always won but it was close. Mullin moves on to run ICE. 

Wonderful, now ICE will be MMAing American citizens in a cosplay to be Greg Bovino. Mullin is just another short man being pissed at his Creator for making him that way and by gawd he's going to exact his revenge. The only good thing about Mullin is at least, as far as we know, never shot a puppy.

"Only the best people" is still funny as hell.