Please read Rebecca's "the oklahoma trash behind 'i've had it' podcast" and, for the record, those two bitches can kiss my Black ass. I've had it with I've Had It -- that podcast by a couple of Karens. Thank you to Rebecca for rightly calling them out.
Now American Dreamer. The film came out in 2022. You can stream it for free on Amazon Prime. It has a great cast including Danny Glover, Matt Dillon and Kimberly Quinn. The film stars Shirley MacLaine and Peter Dinklage.
Peter's having issues and he's a professor trying to write a novel. He gets a chance at unconventional home ownership which leads him to living with the home owner Shirley MacLaine. It's a great film, it's funny and it has the sort of light touch that Wes Anderson's early films had.
My wife and I loved it. It's a great film. But, pay attention, when the credits start don't turn it off. The film isn't over until a scene with a parking sticker. You think it is, but it's not and you'll want to see the ending.
Here's C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"
Friday, January 3, 2025. Hypocrisy, liars, political closet cases, we're covering so much today.
Let's start with the idiot James Zogby.
He wants to be vice chair of the DNC. Could he be? If the DNC has a suicide wish.
There are so many reasons that this disgusting man -- being backed by people at THE NATION magazine currently -- should not hold that position. It goes beyond his crap in depressing turnout in the 2024 election. It even goes beyond his lies about Hillary Clinton. She was not attacking "ethnics" -- as he lied -- when she referred to Trump's "basket of deplorables." That was an attack on hate merchants and specifically the White supremacists. As she explained in her sentence after "basket of deplorables" pay attention, "They're racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic – you name it. "
Is that clear enough?
I'm not in the mood in 2025. A lie is used to slur and attack someone, I'm not supporting the liar that did that. Nor am I supporting the outlet if, they attack someone with a lie and refuse to correct it. Brooke Anderson wrote this and THE NEW ARAB posted this December 9th:
"Some people in the Obama coalition look down on ethnics, including Europeans. Hillary Clinton called them deplorables," Zoby said, referring to the 2016 Democratic candidate's infamous "basket of deplorables" remark, which many saw as a key factor in her defeat by Trump.
That's James Zogby lying like he always does. He's always been two-faced and he's always hidden who he really is politically.
Hillary was not speaking of 'ethnics.' He's just a liar and he needs to go away.
I'm tired of the hypocrisy. DiFi was too old to serve. And those of us in California made that point in 2018. And our reward for that was national outlets platforming the idiot Amy Siskind. I don't know, maybe she used her rolodex from back when she was supporting John McCain in 2008? But what I do know is that ____ lives in New York. Not in my state. What I do know is that we don't do the elections the way other states do. Amy lied that we were weakening DiFi and that a Republican would end up in the Senate as a result. Because the idiot ____ thought the race would be -- in the general election -- between a Dem and a Republican. Bitch, we're California and get your damn nose out of our election. There's not an automatic Republican slot for US senator on our general election ballot. The way we roll in CA is the top two vote getters end up on the general ballot.
And that's why the 2018 general election for US senator in California had DiFi (a Democrat) on the ballot and Kevin De Leon (also a Democrat) on the ballot.
Idiots like Amy had to stick their nose in our business. And they didn't know what they were talking about and they started this whole 'poor Dianne!' movement. Reality, she was a lousy senator. And I'm not the only one Ted Kennedy told he wanted to "throttle her" in the Alito confirmation hearings as she repeatedly interrupted him (interrupted Ted). And like Ted, I don't think Alito would have been confirmed without DiFi's dithering during the hearing. And that was 2007.
In 2018, DiFi was even worse and she was also 85 years old.
And yet we had Amy Siskind and other idiots -- who don't even live in the state so they can't even vote in the election -- defending DiFi. She would go on to die in office and the only surprise there was that she didn't die of drowning in one of the many pools of urine she regularly left in chairs.
Supposedly, we want new blood.
Supposedly.
And I say "supposedly" because I'm not part of your lie and deceit campaign.
I'm specifically referring to Democratic Socialists of America.
I will gladly say AOC should have been named Ranking Member. But I don't end there because I'm not a damn hypocrite.
That's why I have so many problems with the DSA. They're supporting Zogby. Just like they stayed silent this year when Bernie Sanders ran for another Senate term -- he's 83 years old.
You need to pay attention because the DSA is one of the biggest scammers on the left.
They try to pretend to have ethics but they really don't.
AOC is one of their own so they'll defend her and attack Gerry Connolly and claim it's about age.
I defended AOC on that committee ranking member issue for a number of reasons. Mainly, the Democratic Party does need to be putting fresh people into leadership. I also know Gerry's illness has not made him weaker, he's always been weak sauce.
But DSA will call out on that and use age to beat someone over the head -- someone who is not part of their DSA world. But when Socialist Bernie Sanders -- the do-nothing senator from Vermont -- is running for re-election in 2024 at the age of 83, please note that DSA will -- and did -- call out Joe Biden for being too old to run (he's 82) while ignoring Bernie who is actually one year older.
They could be honest but instead they want to be tricksters.
They're now backing James Zogby for DNC vice chair. They just whined -- and that includes Kyle Kulinski -- about the need for fresh blood (AOC) but now they're backing James Zogby -- while chanting "One of us. One of us." In fact, we've got footage of Kyle and Krystal doing their chant.
"One of us! One of us!"
They want you to chant with them and they hope the chant's loud enough that you won't bother to check out facts. Actual fact: James Zogby is 80 years old.
I'm mad and not in the mood. I will note that not all DSA-ers are liars or hide in political closets. But far too many do.
Kamala Harris was a highly skilled and accomplished politician. She was also a Democrat.
Amy Goodman couldn't use DEMOCRACY NOW! to re-elect Donald Trump the way she did by bringing on Democrats to talk about Kamala. No, she needed to convince her audience that Kamala was awful, that you don't make time in your busy day to go and vote for Kamala. The way Amy did that -- deliberately depressed turnout -- was to bring on leftists who attacked Kamala over and over. And Democratic voters around the country were told over and over that Kamala wasn't worth voting for.
What they weren't told? That these voices attacking Kamala were Socialists.
A Socialist is never going to be pleased with a Democrat. The two are not the same. There may be areas of overlap but the two groups are not the same -- if they were, there wouldn't be a need for two terms. Go read "2024: The Year of Betrayal From Inside The Left." I've noted in that every segment that Amy did on Kamala in August, September and October. She never identifies the people trashing Kamala as Socialists. If she had, her argument would have been far less successful.
And if you're not getting it, when Amy's attacking Kamala on abortion rights and on allegedly not doing enough to rebuke the lie that "they're eating cats and dogs," you deserve the crap ass media that lies to your face and disrespects you by trying to trick you.
The last two days have resulted in e-mails asking why Amy would do that?
Because she's not a Democrat and because she's one of those who wants to burn down the entire system.
Susan Sarandon was very clear in 2016 that she supported Jill Stein for president not because she thought Jill would win (Susan knew Jill wouldn't win) but because she thought a Trump presidency would hasten the demise of our current system.
I think that's stupid, to be clear. I think it's stupid and have had many arguments over the years with friends who are Socialists because I have never shared their belief that a utopian world would arise from the ashes. I think we would see a system far less fair.
But I can respect Susan's opinion. I can disagree with it and I can still respect it.
And on 2016?
Trump was a wild card. Many of us knew he was a liar. But most of us didn't know what a criminal he was. Or how he would become even more criminal -- culminating with his attempt to overthrow the US government in January of 2021.
And there are people who didn't learn how bad he was by November 2020. That's fine too.
But if you were still on board with Trump after January 7, 2021, you had serious problems.
And by the time the 2024 election rolled around, if you were willing to see Donald win the election, you had more than serious problems. If you were rooting for him and helping to elect him -- as Amy was and as Rashida Tlaib was -- then you were a threat to democracy.
I'm not going to put up with it and Democrats shouldn't put up with it.
We were betrayed on the left. And we should not put up with it.
I'll big tent. I'll gladly big tent. That's with Socialists of every stripe. But not if you're a trickster. If I can't trust you, I don't want you in my tent. Politics shouldn't be a con job. And our left media especially shouldn't be lying to us. But those like Amy Goodman -- who doesn't care if she bankrupts PACIFICA, let's remember -- who think they can lie to us need to be rebuked.
I'm not threatened by Socialists. I have many friends who are Socialists. We've highlighted many Socialists here over the years. But I do not like tricksters.
And those of you Socialists in political closets? Shame on you.
If you can't be honest about what you are, do you really think you'll ever win?
People don't like being lied to.
If you're a Socialist, say you are. Don't go on your programs or in your writings pretending you're not. How do you expect to ever popularize Socialism?
Joe Biden was right, WILL & GRACE helped change the way many saw gay men and lesbians.
So those of you in political closets, how are you popularizing Socialism by pretending you're run of the mill Democrats?
You're not. You're attaching a stigma to the label.
And I'm not a Socialist but we've always quoted and cited them here because they're often ahead of the curve on many movements and issues.
They can drag the country to a better place.
But that's not ever going to happen when you repeatedly use trickery. All that does is harm Socialism in the minds of Americans because deceit doesn't win friends.
Years ago, when Bernie was first elected to the Senate (after doing nothing in the House for years), Laura Flanders said she didn't want to read in the paper or hear on TV "independent" Bernie Sanders, she wanted to hear Socialist. And she was right. Too bad, she can't apply it to herself. Because you can't be or truly become something without knowing what's out there.
DSA arose from the ashes of another group. That group never had great impact on the US and we won't even bother to mention them now. But the point is that trickery accomplishes nothing.
And it's no way to grow a base.
Donald Chump used trickery to fool voters and now they're turning on him.
I would hope Socialists could do better than Chump.
So now we have Chump headed back to the White House and the country -- and the world -- is worse off for it.
The year kicked off with POLITICO's Irie Sentner reporting:
Pro-Palestinian groups in the U.S. are staring down a new challenge: Donald Trump and Republicans.
The movement has tended to focus its efforts on who controls the White House and Democrats, whom its leaders view as more persuadable to soften support for Israel. But 15 months into the war in the Middle East, as the GOP trifecta prepares to control the White House and Congress, leaders in the movement find themselves with far less leverage — and much more to lose.
“The Palestinian rights movement is very clear eyed in understanding that it is very likely that this Trump administration will mean that things get much worse for Palestinians,” said Beth Miller, the political director for Jewish Voice for Peace Action, a left-wing advocacy organization.
“This administration will likely be coming very quickly to try to take down the Palestinian rights movement,” she added.
Support for Israel is largely bipartisan, but Republicans have led the charge in criticizing the broader pro-Palestinian movement. A Republican-led House panel has sunk three Ivy League presidents over allegations of antisemitism around pro-Palestinian protests on their campuses. And last month, the House passed a bill that jeopardizes the tax-exempt status of any group the Treasury secretary deems a “terrorist supporting organization,” which movement leaders fear will chill pro-Palestinian speech.
Yes, there was a world of difference between the two candidates.
And the liars who pretended otherwise owe the country an apology. Actually they owe us all so much more than that.
This wasn't 2016. Trump was a known insurrectionist.
We knew what him getting back into the White House meant.
Rashida screwed over Palestinians. She wouldn't back or campaign for Kamala because she was okay with Chump going back to the White House -- a man she'd twice voted to impeach. Looks like the Socialist overplayed her tiny hand. Don't expect her to own her mistake or to own up to it.
Yesterday, the White House issued the following:
WASHINGTON – Today, President Biden named twenty recipients of the Presidential Citizens Medal.
The Presidential Citizens Medal is awarded to citizens of the United States of America who have performed exemplary deeds of service for their country or their fellow citizens. President Biden believes these Americans are bonded by their common decency and commitment to serving others. The country is better because of their dedication and sacrifice.
The awards will be presented at the White House on January 2, 2025. The following individuals will be awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal:
Mary L. Bonauto
Attorney and activist Mary Bonauto first fought to legalize same-sex marriage in Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Maine before arguing before the Supreme Court in Obergefell v. Hodges, which established marriage equality as the law of the land. Her efforts made millions of families whole and forged a more perfect Union.
Bill Bradley
Raised in small-town Missouri, Bill Bradley showed a dedication to basketball that would define his courage, discipline, and selflessness. A two-time NBA Champion and Hall-of-Fame New York Knick, he served three terms as a United States Senator from New Jersey and was a candidate for president, advancing tax reform, water rights, civil rights, and more, while still today seeking to deepen our common humanity with humility and heart.
Frank K. Butler, Jr.
As a pioneering innovator, Navy Seal, and leader in dive medicine, Dr. Frank Butler introduced Tactical Combat Casualty Care to the medical world that set new standards for tourniquet use not only for injuries in war, but injuries across daily civilian life. He has transformed battlefield trauma care for the United States military and saved countless lives.
Elizabeth L. Cheney
Throughout two decades in public service, including as a Congresswoman for Wyoming and Vice Chair of the Committee on the January 6 attack, Liz Cheney has raised her voice—and reached across the aisle—to defend our Nation and the ideals we stand for: Freedom. Dignity. And decency. Her integrity and intrepidness remind us all what is possible if we work together.
Christopher J. Dodd
Chris Dodd has served our Nation with distinction for more than 50 years as a United States Congressman, Senator, respected lawyer, and diplomat. From advancing childcare, to reforming our financial markets, to fostering partnerships across the Western Hemisphere—he has stood watch over America as a beacon to the world.
Diane Carlson Evans
After serving as an Army nurse during the Vietnam War, Diane Carlson Evans founded the Vietnam Women’s Memorial Foundation to ensure female service members received the recognition they deserve—one of our Nation’s most sacred obligations. Her duty and devotion embody the very best of who we are as Americans.
Joseph L. Galloway (posthumous)
From Vietnam to the Persian Gulf, Joe Galloway spent decades sharing first-hand accounts of horror, humanity, and heroism in battle. Known as the soldier’s reporter and the soldier’s friend, he embedded with American troops, rescued wounded soldiers under fire, and became the only civilian awarded a Bronze Star for combat valor by the United States Army as one of the most respected war correspondents of his era.
Nancy Landon Kassebaum
The first woman to represent Kansas, Nancy Kassebaum was a force in the United States Senate. From supporting a woman’s right to choose to reforming health care, she stood up for what she believed in even if it meant standing alone, and she reached across the aisle to do what she believed was right.
Ted Kaufman
For decades, including as a United States Senator from Delaware, Ted Kaufman has served the Nation with honesty and integrity. A master of the Senate who championed everyday Americans and public servants, he’s been at the forefront of consequential debates about the courts, the financial system, and more.
Carolyn McCarthy
As a nurse, Carolyn McCarthy had an instinct to heal and serve. When her husband and son were shot on a local commuter train, she became an advocate so persuasive that she was recruited to run for Congress. She served 18 years, championing gun safety measures including improved background checks, as a citizen legislator devoted to protecting our Nation’s welfare.
Louis Lorenzo Redding (posthumous)
A groundbreaking civil rights advocate, Louis was the first Black attorney admitted to the bar in Delaware, where he argued against segregation in the seminal cases of Bulah v. Gebhart and Belton v. Gebhart—laying the legal framework for Brown v. Board of Education. A towering figure and a generous mentor, he opened doors of equity and opportunity for all Americans.
Bobby Sager
A Boston native, Bobby Sager travels the world as a photographer and philanthropist grounded in family and empathy, wielding his camera and influence to connect with people in war-torn countries, capture their hope and humanity, and inspire others to take action and see a fuller portrait of the planet we all share.
Collins J. Seitz (posthumous)
As a state judge in Delaware, Judge Seitz became the first judge in America to integrate a white public school, dismantling the doctrine of “separate but equal” with exacting detail and reverence for the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment of our Constitution. His brave ruling tore down walls of separation to help us see each other as fellow Americans.
Eleanor Smeal
From leading massive protests and galvanizing women’s votes in the 1970s to steering progress for equal pay and helping the Violence Against Women Act become law, Ellie Smeal forced the Nation to not only include women in political discourse but to value them as power brokers and equals. Her strategic vision over more than 40 years embodies the American pursuit to create a fairer, more just world.
Bennie G. Thompson
Born and raised in a segregated Mississippi, as a college student inspired by the Civil Rights movement, Bennie Thompson volunteered on campaigns and registered southern Black voters. That call to serve eventually led him to Congress, where he chaired the House January 6th Committee—at the forefront of defending the rule of law with unwavering integrity and a steadfast commitment to truth.
Mitsuye Endo Tsutsumi (posthumous)
In a shameful chapter in our Nation’s history, Mitsuye Endo was incarcerated alongside more than 120,000 Japanese Americans. Undaunted, she challenged the injustice and reached the Supreme Court. Her resolve allowed thousands of Japanese Americans to return home and rebuild their lives, reminding us that we are a Nation that stands for freedom for all.
Thomas J. Vallely
A United States Marine during the Vietnam War, Thomas Vallely has never given up on peace. Over the course of five decades, he has brought Vietnam and the United States together—establishing Fulbright University Vietnam, fostering greater economic and cultural exchange, and overcoming the perils of the past to seize the promise of the future. His service remains a symbol of American leadership in the world.
Frances M. Visco
As president of the National Breast Cancer Coalition, Fran Visco has fought tirelessly and fearlessly to increase Federal funding for breast cancer research, early detection education, and access to women’s healthcare. As a breast cancer survivor, she turned pain into purpose, changed the landscape of breast cancer advocacy, and has become a powerful symbol of hope for the Nation.
Paula S. Wallace
A lifelong educator and trailblazer of the arts, Paula Wallace dreamt of a school that would transform how we think about professional education. By establishing the esteemed Savannah College of Art and Design and serving as its president, she has guided thousands of students into creative industries.
Evan Wolfson
By leading the marriage equality movement, Evan Wolfson helped millions of people in all 50 states win the fundamental right to love, marry, and be themselves. For 32 years, starting with a visionary law school thesis, Evan Wolfson worked with singular focus and untiring optimism to change not just the law, but society—pioneering a political playbook for change and sharing its lessons, even now, with countless causes worldwide.
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BLUESKY. I blocked a number of people over the last 24 hours. I didn't follow them, they didn't follow me. But I never need to see them again or their idiotic writings.
Joe chose 20 people to honor. Do I approve of everyone on the list? Hell no. I wonder if most people understand how ____ hurts them to this day every time they buy a soda or a water out of a vending machine? But it's 20 people.
The ones I'm blocking?
These are the ones attacking Liz Cheney. They're attacking and whining that Joe didn't put Rashida on the list instead.
Why the hell would he put Rashida on the list?
More to the point, Liz Cheney stood up to Chump. "Oh, she voted with him in Congress and blah blah and blah."
STFU. I don't need your purity argument. I would have never voted for Liz Cheney if I'd lived in her home state. I've called out her father for years -- and flipped in the finger at him when he had the nerve to show up in San Francisco.
But this is 2024 and when people caved and ran and lied, Liz stood up against Chump. And the weekend after the election she didn't join Mika and Joe in the rush to Florida to kiss Donald's ass.
She was attacked for calling him out and he and others in MAGA are still making threats against her.
She's not a Democrat. We don't agree on most policies and never will.
But she did a brave thing -- as well as what she did on the January 6th committee. And she did her part in 2024 to try save democracy. That's no small thing. And she tried to save democracy while Rashida waived back into the White House the man responsible for the insurrection, someone Rashida had twice voted to impeach. But suddenly none of that mattered to Rashida.
And if you can't grasp that Liz Cheney did a good thing, you have serious cognitive issues.
"This is why Kamala lost!" That's what they say -- they being the Socialists on BLUESKY (the ones I've blocked in the last 24 hours) They really got ticked off by Liz. The DSA was claiming credit for Tim Walz. They got him on the ticket!!! They made that claim publicly and repeatedly.
Tim Walz's pathetic debate performance harmed the campaign. You didn't hear about that because your Socialists at THE PROGRESSIVE and on YOUTUBE were liars. And they lied to pretend that Tim Walz didn't look like a crazy man in that debate. Duh-duh-duh. What an idiot. Flop sweat doesn't being to describe it. But he was their fellow so they lied and they continue to lie to this day.
Lie.
Like when Tim Walz became a huge embarrassment because he kept getting caught in one lie after another. But, again, silence from his Socialist protectors.
But they got him on the ticket!!!! However, in the end even that wasn't enough for them. Remember Norman Solomon announcing he wouldn't be voting for Kamala. Then, a week later, when he found out just how much money that statement would cost him, he reversed positions.
I don't like liars. That's why John Nichols doesn't get noted here. It's why I don't note Katha Pollitt's idiotic writings. For those who don't remember Journo-List, Katha was blown away by Sarah Palin's acceptance speech and saw her as a serious threat to the Democrats in the 2008 election.
You know that because you read it in one of her columns for THE NATION?
No, she slammed her in THE NATION. But while she was writing that column, she shared to her cronies -- and it got published when Journo-List got exposed -- that Sarah came off likeable and relatable. Katha was seriously worried.
That was her opinion. But despite being an opinion columnist supposedly paid to share an opinion, Katha lied in her column.
I'm not Amy Siskind. I didn't vote for John McCain. Doesn't mean I embraced Katha's lying. I don't like tricksters.
Related:
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Some people are bothered that the press release went up here New Year's Eve.
Not sorry. We've noted all but one that they've e-mailed over the years -- for at least 15 years, I believe. The one? Promoting Jill Stein this election cycle.
I don't dislike the Green Party. I have friends with it -- which was how we were able to tell you when the closet case Socialists were lying (hey, Katie Halper, looking at you but not just you) about Cornel West becoming the Green Party's presidential nominee. (No, that never happened, he was never the Green Party nominee, despite the lies from Katie, Chris Hedges and others.)
I am adamantly opposed to Jill Stein who is nothing but a liar and a grifter and anti-vaxer and whose 2016 run left the party in debt and who can still not explain what happened to the millions she raised for that 2016 recount (hint, none of it went to charity).
I don't have a problem with the Green Party. I don't have a problem with people who think the answer is to build a new left party. I'm not threatened by ideas.
But I hate fakes asses and tricksters. Again, Katha and John will not be quoted here favorably. Ever. They're liars and tricksters. As is Norman Solomon. You have to have standards.
The following sites updated:
