Today's Fine White Whine comes from Bill O'Reilly's lawyer.

It's amazing how the people who would have been supporters rather than targets of Tailgunner Joe in the 1950s are becoming fond of throwing around charges of McCARTHYISM! now whenever they find themselves under attack. The current right-wing occupant of the White House famously misused that label against the former occupant of the White House last month over fake wiretapping charges, and now the lawyer for another infamous right-wing sexual harasser, Bill O'Reilly, is pulling out the charge again in this legal whine:

"Bill O'Reilly has been subjected to a brutal campaign of character assassination that is unprecedented in post-McCarthyist America. This law firm has uncovered evidence that the smear campaign is being orchestrated by far-left organizations bent on destroying O’Reilly for political and financial reasons.

“That evidence will be put forth shortly and it is irrefutable."

Wah. Wah. Wah.

In addition to playing the victim, it's also amazing how people on the right are always looking for financial motivations among those on the left. The current White House occupant is always asking about who is paying the millions who are demonstrating against him; I think it's actually hard for him to believe that so many people would act without monetary compensation, just as it might be hard for Bill O'Reilly to believe that many feel it's simply a public service to speak out against primetime television hosts who bully guests, sexually harass and demean women, and spread untruths that have played a role in lifting an unqualified kleptocrat into the White House.

Video Update on Trump's Progress in "Draining The Swamp"

With the appointment of the third Goldman Sachs executive to his inner circle today, Donald Trump's #DrainTheSwamp campaign is going about as well as expected.

Happy 90th Birthday to Miles Davis

The following video from 1959 speaks for itself:


If we're going to have a national conversation about what "Makes America Great" in this surrealistic political year, then let's put the two guys who celebrated birthdays this week, Bob Dylan and Miles Davis, at the center of that conversation.

Happy 86th Birthday to Jasper Johns

This 1999 print was made by Robert Rauschenberg from a 1955 photo of his partner Jasper Johns (nicknamed Jap) with an iconic painting in its studio.


Robert Rauschenberg, Jap (Ruminations series, 1999)

Climate Change circa 1958

Maybe if President Trump or President Cruz succeed in taking the nation back to their dream decade of the 1950s, we can rediscover this film about human-induced global warming produced by Frank Capra for "The Bell Telephone Hour" in 1958:

February 21 is "International Peace Symbol Day"

A piece on Truthout this morning entitled "The Peace Symbol Celebrates Its 57th Birthday, But Still No Peace" begins with this paragraph:

"In honor of the 57th anniversary of the Peace Symbol, I, Bill Berkowitz, fully understanding that I have no official standing, do not possess any super powers, and do not know anyone who will make it thus, hereby suggest that February 21, 2015 be designated as: 'International Peace Symbol Day'."

Well, I also have neither official standing nor super powers, but I have a little blog that attracts actual handfuls of viewers each day, so I'm doing my bit to direct you to Bill Berkowitz's history of the famous symbol and proclaim that it will definitely be International Peace Symbol Day for me on Saturday, and for every other February 21st to come.

Jonas Salk, M.D., and a fiftieth anniversary well worth celebrating

Here's a golden anniversary worth celebrating. I was born in 1955, so I don't remember a fear of swimming pools and urban crowds. I don't remember polio as anything but as the disease that crippled FDR, all because of the discovery that was announced by Jonas Salk on April 12, 1955:

"He further endeared himself to the public by refusing to patent the vaccine. He had no desire to profit personally from the discovery, but merely wished to see the vaccine disseminated as widely as possible."

Exactly like all those selfless capitalist drug companies today.

-TBL