I’m a city boy, so you may be surprised to see such a bucolic featured image. It’s an Edward Hopper painting only without all the lonely people. It’s likely a scene from the Hudson Valley, which was one of the places Hopper hung out. All I know is that it goes with this week’s theme song like cherries with duck. More about that anon: The theme song, not cherries and duck. Quack.

There was some good news about an immigration story in New Orleans. One could even call it Ice Melts In New Orleans, but no cake was involved. Where have I heard that before?

Mandonna Kashanian fled Iran in 1978. Her immigration status is gnarly, so ICE snatched her. Her family and neighbors launched a campaign to pressure their Congressman into helping. It worked: Steve Scalise was shamed into helping spring her. It shouldn’t have come to that, but it shows the power of public opinion. Keep those calls and letters coming, y’all. Sometimes they work.

This week’s theme song is the title track of a new album by the fine band with a dumb name AKA The Doobie Brothers. Walk This Road was written by Michael McDonald and John Shanks and features a guest star turn by the great Mavis Staples.

Now that we’ve walked this road, let’s go down it:

Now that we’re down the road, let’s resume our walk:

I’m fresh out of road jokes, so let’s move on to our second act. Saturday Odds & Sods is whatever I want to be, so I’m trying something different this week.

Quote Of The Week: It comes from the Insult Comedian’s breathtakingly stupid tariff letter to Brazilian President Lula. A reminder that tariffs are supposed to be about economics, not political vengeance. Check out this opening paragraph:

I knew and dealt with former President Jair Bolsonaro, and respected him greatly, as did most other Leaders of Countries. The way that Brazil has treated President Bolsonaro, a Highly Respected Leader throughout the world during his Term, including by the United States, is an international disgrace. This trial should not be taking place. It is a Witch Hunt that should end IMMEDIATELY!”

If you needed further proof that Trump is the stupidest POTUS ever, this letter provides it: from the eccentric capitalizations to the linking of a criminal trial to tariffs, this letter is bonkers. Raising tariffs 50% on Brazil because they’re being mean to this guy is nuts:

Maybe Trump has empathy after all. He just reserves it for other right-wing populist leaders who look like clowns. Bozo is in the dock for good reason and will stay there regardless of what President Pennywise thinks of it. Oy, just oy.

Yo Donald, it’s a clown hunt, not a witch hunt. Where’s the proof?

The last word of our second act goes to Paul Simon:

We begin our third act with our favorite stolen feature.

Separated At Birth Casting Edition: I still have Diego Rivera on my mind. Ruben Blades played him in Cradle Will Rock, which was partially about Rivera’s controversial Rockefeller Center mural commissioned then ordered destroyed by the future governor of the Empire State.

Nelson Rockefeller was rocked by the inclusion of Lenin in the mural. That’s what happens when a capitalist hires a communist: Trump-like chaos and confusion.

We’ll let the Divine Miss M sing us out of this segment:

Your Weekly Oscar: Let’s take a walk with OP.

Have I told you lately how much I love Oscar Peterson?

The Best Of Letterman: Another day, another Top Ten List. Hit it, Mick.

Classic Movie Trailer: We all need some comic relief right now. Midnight fits the bill. It’s a 1939 movie written by Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett. The cast is as good as the script: Claudette Colbert, Don Ameche, John Barrymore, and Mary Astor star in this comedy. It’s set in a Paris where everyone speaks fluent English including the Hungarian cab driver named Tibor.

Grading Time: I give Midnight 4 stars and an Adrastos Grade of A-.

Wilder and Brackett are not the only ones to write about a mythic Paris, so did 10cc’s Lol Creme and Kevin Godley.

Saturday GIF Horse: See Cary Grant ride on a running board in Bringing Up Baby. Ride, Cary, ride.

The Earworm Zone: It’s another song from the new album by the fine band with a dumb name. The Doobies haven’t had a hit single in ages but this Tom Johnston tune would have charted during their heyday. It’s as catchy as a cold:

Let’s close down this virtual honky tonk with some more music.

Saturday Closer: We close with an audio recording of a Steely Dan concert from 2009.

That’s all for this week. I devoted a segment to clown chatter, so Homey D. Clown of In Living Color fame gets the last word: