Courtesy of the AV Club:
With the chaos at the Trump White House mounting every single day to what seems like an inevitable flashpoint involving a constitutional crisis, impeachment, indictment, diversionary declaration of war, or simply a White House staffed with no one but Trump relatives and their wedding planners, it’s tempting to look ahead to the theoretically more stable prospect of President Mike Pence. But, as John Oliver lays out in the main story of Sunday’s Last Week Tonight, be very fucking careful what you wish for.
Oliver, calling Pence “the opposite of whatever a silver fox is” (settling on “ashen weasel”), takes a hard, typically incisive and hilariously pissed off look at exactly how extreme the positions of the (current) Vice President are. From his vocal opposition to women in the military, his prayer-based non-response to an HIV outbreak in Indiana when he was governor, to his ongoing abetting and excusing of literally every ignorant, hateful, or outright lunatic and untrue thing that dribbles out of his boss’ mouth, Oliver presents a portrait of a man whose outward appearance of un-Trump-ian sanity barely conceals the frothing, right wing loon within. Especially when it comes to the LGBTQ community, where Pence’s long history of bigotry includes overt, verifiable support of one James Dobson and the organization Focus on the Family, your go-to zealots for “shock ‘em ‘til they’re not gay anymore” “conversion therapy.”
Of course the point Oliver is trying to make is that Mike Pence is a fucking three car pile up, which we all seem completely oblivious to because he is always standing next to the human train wreck.
Look I want Trump out of office at least as much as the next guy, probably more actually, but if we take him out and leave Pence in place we may simply find ourselves exchanging one walking nightmare for another.
Update: So apparently John Oliver's bunny book is outselling Mike Pence's bunny book.
Courtesy of The Daily Beast:
On Sunday night John Oliver announced on HBO’s Last Week Tonight that A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo, a children’s book about a gay bunny, named after a pet rabbit owned by the family of Vice President Mike Pence, would be available immediately. That meant it beat a rival children’s book, Marlon Bundo’s Day in the Life of the Vice President, written by Pence’s daughter, Charlotte, and illustrated by his wife, Karen, by mere hours to the digital shelves.
As of Monday afternoon, Last Week Tonight’s book—which was written by Jill Twiss and illustrated by E.G. Keller, an artist from Pence’s home state of Indiana—was the No. 1 seller on Amazon, with the Pences’ book lagging noticeably behind at No. 6. With over 1,200 user reviews by that time, the Last Week Tonight book earned a rare five-star rating. The Pences’ effort had less than 50 reviews, and a woeful one-and-a-half-star rating.
I swear John Oliver is a national treasure.
Showing posts with label John Oliver. Show all posts
Showing posts with label John Oliver. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 20, 2018
Monday, October 09, 2017
John Oliver takes on Confederate statues and it is epic.
It has been a while since I watched an episode of Last Week Tonight, but this one is definitely blog worthy.
Not only does Oliver do a great job of undermining the argument for preserving these statues, but the segment also features references to Ben Affleck, Anderson Cooper, Larry David, and Stephen Colbert. (Though to be honest I am not sure that Affleck will appreciate how he is portrayed in the program.)
That is just some damn good cable television right there.
Not only does Oliver do a great job of undermining the argument for preserving these statues, but the segment also features references to Ben Affleck, Anderson Cooper, Larry David, and Stephen Colbert. (Though to be honest I am not sure that Affleck will appreciate how he is portrayed in the program.)
That is just some damn good cable television right there.
Monday, July 31, 2017
John Oliver reveals that Alex Jones is not only selling batshit crazy conspiracy theories, he's selling batshit crazy merchandise to go with them.
Courtesy of the LA Times:
On Sunday’s “Last Week Tonight,” John Oliver noted that Jones’ status as a Sandy Hook "truther" qualified him for an Easy Pass to “hell’s version of the champagne room.” But he spent most of his time on a relatively overlooked aspect of Jones’ conspiracy empire -- the wide range of products that he sells in order to fund it.
According to Oliver, Jones spends nearly a quarter of his airtime plugging InfoWars-branded merchandise, including Wake Up America Patriot coffee to Combat One Tactical Bath Wipes and a powder called Caveman True Paleo (made from “chocolate and domesticated bird corpses,” Oliver joked).
As the comedian pointed out, it just so happens that many of the products Jones sells, often at a significant markup, purport to address the conspiracy theories with equally wild-eyed zeal. Think: water filters to remove chemicals that supposedly turn frogs gay or vitamins to boost your immunity and ward off germs from allegedly disease-ridden refugees.
Jones even has his own in-house “expert,” Dr. Edward Group, with dubious qualifications (and equally questionable hair) to back up his various outlandish claims.
InfoWars is essentially a “QVC for conspiracy,” Oliver argued.
My favorite line: "Current Russian Ambassador to the United States Donald Trump."
That almost made me blow chardonnay out of my nose.
On Sunday’s “Last Week Tonight,” John Oliver noted that Jones’ status as a Sandy Hook "truther" qualified him for an Easy Pass to “hell’s version of the champagne room.” But he spent most of his time on a relatively overlooked aspect of Jones’ conspiracy empire -- the wide range of products that he sells in order to fund it.
According to Oliver, Jones spends nearly a quarter of his airtime plugging InfoWars-branded merchandise, including Wake Up America Patriot coffee to Combat One Tactical Bath Wipes and a powder called Caveman True Paleo (made from “chocolate and domesticated bird corpses,” Oliver joked).
As the comedian pointed out, it just so happens that many of the products Jones sells, often at a significant markup, purport to address the conspiracy theories with equally wild-eyed zeal. Think: water filters to remove chemicals that supposedly turn frogs gay or vitamins to boost your immunity and ward off germs from allegedly disease-ridden refugees.
Jones even has his own in-house “expert,” Dr. Edward Group, with dubious qualifications (and equally questionable hair) to back up his various outlandish claims.
InfoWars is essentially a “QVC for conspiracy,” Oliver argued.
My favorite line: "Current Russian Ambassador to the United States Donald Trump."
That almost made me blow chardonnay out of my nose.
Tuesday, July 18, 2017
Donald Trump's propaganda network is now firmly in place.
You might remember that John Oliver warned us about this earlier this month.Boris Epshteyn's pro-Trump segments on Sinclair "come as close to classic propaganda" as @DavidZurawik has ever seen https://t.co/SpobdbN4hj— Reliable Sources (@ReliableSources) July 17, 2017
This is really nothing new for the Republicans, as George W. Bush did something similar when he was president.
That of course ultimately failed, but not before the Iraq War was sold to the American people and we found ourselves with No Child Left Behind which damn near destroyed our public education system.
Hopefully this time our journalists are more prepared to fight back on this, and get the ACTUAL truth out to the American people.
Friday, July 07, 2017
"Coal King" admits that the idea of clean coal is a sham.
While President Donald Trump continues to tout “clean” coal, coal baron Robert Murray says it’s just a fantasy.
“Carbon capture and sequestration does not work. It’s a pseudonym for ‘no coal,’” the CEO of Murray Energy, the country’s largest privately held coal-mining company, told E&E News.
Carbon capture and sequestration (CCS), also called carbon capture and storage, is the process of trapping carbon dioxide from a power plant (during or after burning a hydrocarbon like coal) and then storing it permanently, usually underground.
......
“It is neither practical nor economic, carbon capture and sequestration,” he said last week. “It is just cover for the politicians, both Republicans and Democrats that say, ‘Look what I did for coal,’ knowing all the time that it doesn’t help coal at all.”
And this is from a guy who is a member of the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity — which has spent tens of millions of dollars trying to persuade the public that clean coal is the solution to global warming.
If, as Murray says, CCS is “neither practical nor economic,” then coal clearly has no future.
Which, by the way, is exactly what Hillary Clinton said during the 2016 campaign that got her vilified by the Republicans.
And now we have this guy saying essentially the same thing.
If this guy's name sounds familiar to you it is because he is the same guy suing John Oliver for "character assassination."
Tuesday, July 04, 2017
John Oliver warns about the conservative take over of local TV news.
Courtesy of The Guardian:
John Oliver took a look at the Sinclair group on Sunday night, examining the conservative-leaning station’s ownership of many local news networks.
“Our main story tonight concerns the potential problems in corporate consolidation of local news,” Oliver began. “National cable news gets a lot of attention with their big budgets and their fancy graphics packages. Meanwhile, local news often has to do a lot more with a lot less.”
He went on to show clips of broadcaster Mark Hyman railing against “political correctness and multiculturalism”.
“Hyman is a commentator and former executive at Sinclair Broadcast Group, and Sinclair may be the most influential media company you’ve never heard of,” Oliver explained. “Not only are they the largest owner of local TV stations in the country, they could soon get even bigger,” referring to the company’s proposed $4bn acquisition of all Tribune Media stations.
Once again John Oliver has exposed an incredibly troubling problem that many of us did not even realize existed.
Like I said this is even more troubling than Fox News or Right Wing radio.
At least with those you can have the expectation that the news you are hearing is slanted and possibly even exaggerated for effect.
But your local news is supposed to be tailored to the needs of its viewers, not shaped by the odeology of its conservative overlords.
John Oliver took a look at the Sinclair group on Sunday night, examining the conservative-leaning station’s ownership of many local news networks.
“Our main story tonight concerns the potential problems in corporate consolidation of local news,” Oliver began. “National cable news gets a lot of attention with their big budgets and their fancy graphics packages. Meanwhile, local news often has to do a lot more with a lot less.”
He went on to show clips of broadcaster Mark Hyman railing against “political correctness and multiculturalism”.
“Hyman is a commentator and former executive at Sinclair Broadcast Group, and Sinclair may be the most influential media company you’ve never heard of,” Oliver explained. “Not only are they the largest owner of local TV stations in the country, they could soon get even bigger,” referring to the company’s proposed $4bn acquisition of all Tribune Media stations.
Once again John Oliver has exposed an incredibly troubling problem that many of us did not even realize existed.
Like I said this is even more troubling than Fox News or Right Wing radio.
At least with those you can have the expectation that the news you are hearing is slanted and possibly even exaggerated for effect.
But your local news is supposed to be tailored to the needs of its viewers, not shaped by the odeology of its conservative overlords.
Thursday, June 22, 2017
John Oliver being sued by "coal king" over segment which included threats of just such a lawsuit.
Part of that show also featured references to "Coal King" Bob Murray, a close friend of Donald Trump's, who threatened to sue Oliver if he included him in the segment.
Of course Oliver did just that, and even mocked a story told about Murray that suggests he once had a conversation with a talking squirrel.
Well for some reason Mr. Murray did indeed take offense, and now he is actually suing John Oliver and HBO:"Welcome, welcome, welcome to Last Week To-nut, I'm Mr. Nutterbutter. Just time for a quick recap of the week..." pic.twitter.com/Gsveb3PUfb— Last Week Tonight (@LastWeekTonight) June 19, 2017
A Republican coal baron is suing John Oliver, HBO, Time Warner, and the writers for Oliver’s show over the most recent episode of Last Week Tonight.
The suit, filed on June 21 in the circuit court of Marshall County, West Virginia, holds that Oliver and his team “executed a meticulously planned attempt to assassinate the character of and reputation of Mr. Robert E. Murray and his companies” by airing an episode that ripped into him. Murray runs the country’s largest privately owned coal company, Murray Energy Corporation.
“They did this to a man who needs a lung transplant, a man who does not expect to live to see the end of this case,” reads the complaint, which also lists Murray’s companies as plaintiffs.
The lawsuit isn’t a surprise to Oliver. In fact, the British comic said on the episode of his show that aired on June 18 that he expected it, noting that Murray has sued several other media outlets in the past (including, in May, the New York Times). In the episode, Oliver criticized Murray’s business practices, saying he doesn’t do enough to protect his miners’ safety. Oliver also noted that his team contacted Murray’s company before the episode aired, and that the company sent a cease-and-desist letter––the first time that had ever happened to his show.
Parts of the complaint read like it had been written by President Donald Trump. One paragraph says Murray “has built a strong reputation as one of the as one of the staunchest defenders and most ardent champions of the United States coal industry and America itself.” The complaint also claims that “[d]efendants’ broadcasts have vigorously supported and advanced Mrs. Clinton’s agenda.”
God this is going to be good!
Personally I hope that the HBO lawyers put the giant squirrel on the stand to testify.
Speaking of lawyers HBO once hired 160 of them in preparation for the lawsuits they expected from Scientologists for broadcasting the documentary, "Going Clear."
Even the Scientologists were not crazy enough to go through with any lawsuits. But then again I don't think they talk to squirrels.
By the way if you have not seen the segment which inspired this hullabaloo you really owe it to yourself to do so. It is actually very good. I anxiously await this upcoming episode, because you KNOW that much of it will focus on this lawsuit.
Tuesday, June 20, 2017
John Oliver challenges Donald Trump's ability to keep his promise to bring back coal jobs and it is glorious.
Courtesy of the LA Times:
Setting aside the "fact that [coal] is environmentally catastrophic," Oliver argued that Trump is less concerned with helping coal miners than in bolstering the coal industry -- two groups whose interests do not always align. With assistance from a giant talking squirrel, naturally, he focused on "the divide that can exist between a coal company’s interests and those of its workers."
Oliver conceded that while coal jobs declined under President Obama, it was merely the continuation of a decades-long decline caused by a number of factors, including declining use and mechanization.
These jobs have been disappearing "at roughly the same rate as careers in the zeppelin industry and babies named Adolf."
Oliver has done some amazing segments on The Last Word, but I have to say that this was one of his very best.
Made even more so by the fact that he was threatened with a lawsuit by coal mining CEP Bob Murray telling him not to air it.
Once again Oliver delivers solid journalism interwoven with genuinely funny jokes a to tell a complicated story in an interesting and entertaining manner.
Excellent job and I cannot recommend it enough.
Setting aside the "fact that [coal] is environmentally catastrophic," Oliver argued that Trump is less concerned with helping coal miners than in bolstering the coal industry -- two groups whose interests do not always align. With assistance from a giant talking squirrel, naturally, he focused on "the divide that can exist between a coal company’s interests and those of its workers."
Oliver conceded that while coal jobs declined under President Obama, it was merely the continuation of a decades-long decline caused by a number of factors, including declining use and mechanization.
These jobs have been disappearing "at roughly the same rate as careers in the zeppelin industry and babies named Adolf."
Oliver has done some amazing segments on The Last Word, but I have to say that this was one of his very best.
Made even more so by the fact that he was threatened with a lawsuit by coal mining CEP Bob Murray telling him not to air it.
Once again Oliver delivers solid journalism interwoven with genuinely funny jokes a to tell a complicated story in an interesting and entertaining manner.
Excellent job and I cannot recommend it enough.
Monday, June 05, 2017
John Oliver's take on Trump pulling out of the Paris Climate accords is something you should not miss.
Courtesy of The Guardian:
Trump’s decision was “hardly surprising”, said Oliver. “As a title, [Paris accords] is so off-brand for him it might as well have been called ‘the globalist cock surrender’ or a light jog.
“But pulling out of this is a huge deal,” he continued, firing back at Trump’s claim that the deal made the US a laughingstock to other countries. “They were happy because they secured a landmark victory for the future of the planet, you fucking egomaniac. The whole world is not secretly conspiring against the United States.”
Oliver then addressed the president’s belief that the deal harmed American businesses, 25 of which, including Microsoft and Intel, bought an advertisement in the New York Times in a last-ditch attempt to persuade Trump to remain a part of the agreement.
“Well, come on. He was clearly never going to be convinced by an ad in the New York Times,” Oliver joked. “How was he going to see it? If those companies really wanted to get his attention, they needed to talk KFC into putting out a full-bucket ad which he could read on the toilet while eating chicken, because that, at his core, is who our president is.”
Oliver of course goes on to suggest that Trump may have actually done the climate change movement a favor by providing a symbol for them to rally against.
The large gassy orb that is Donald Trump.
Trump’s decision was “hardly surprising”, said Oliver. “As a title, [Paris accords] is so off-brand for him it might as well have been called ‘the globalist cock surrender’ or a light jog.
“But pulling out of this is a huge deal,” he continued, firing back at Trump’s claim that the deal made the US a laughingstock to other countries. “They were happy because they secured a landmark victory for the future of the planet, you fucking egomaniac. The whole world is not secretly conspiring against the United States.”
Oliver then addressed the president’s belief that the deal harmed American businesses, 25 of which, including Microsoft and Intel, bought an advertisement in the New York Times in a last-ditch attempt to persuade Trump to remain a part of the agreement.
“Well, come on. He was clearly never going to be convinced by an ad in the New York Times,” Oliver joked. “How was he going to see it? If those companies really wanted to get his attention, they needed to talk KFC into putting out a full-bucket ad which he could read on the toilet while eating chicken, because that, at his core, is who our president is.”
Oliver of course goes on to suggest that Trump may have actually done the climate change movement a favor by providing a symbol for them to rally against.
The large gassy orb that is Donald Trump.
Wednesday, May 17, 2017
John Oliver hysterically responds to criticism over his attempt to shame the FCC into protecting Net Neutrality.
Courtesy of Raw Story:
John Oliver wasn’t about to let it go when Fox Business News hosts attacked his net neutrality campaign. In previous episodes, Oliver has worked to explain the complicated topic and began a campaign to encourage people to express a plethora of public comments about the opposition to the Federal Election Commission removing independence from internet service providers.
In a web exclusive, Oliver explained that over 1.6 million comments have been made on both sides of the issue, but Fox took issue with the fact that some were from people saying that their names were “Donald Trump” or “John Oliver.” Other comments were insulting or racist, and Oliver told those commenters to “cut it out.”
Oliver is doing very important work in a very humorous manner, and he deserves nothing but support.
Everybody, and I really mean EVERYBODY, should be helping to protect access to the internet.
Because if you don't think these internet providers would eagerly slow down or interfere with your access to sites like IM, you are sadly mistaken.
I'm pretty sure we are on a list somewhere.
John Oliver wasn’t about to let it go when Fox Business News hosts attacked his net neutrality campaign. In previous episodes, Oliver has worked to explain the complicated topic and began a campaign to encourage people to express a plethora of public comments about the opposition to the Federal Election Commission removing independence from internet service providers.
In a web exclusive, Oliver explained that over 1.6 million comments have been made on both sides of the issue, but Fox took issue with the fact that some were from people saying that their names were “Donald Trump” or “John Oliver.” Other comments were insulting or racist, and Oliver told those commenters to “cut it out.”
Oliver is doing very important work in a very humorous manner, and he deserves nothing but support.
Everybody, and I really mean EVERYBODY, should be helping to protect access to the internet.
Because if you don't think these internet providers would eagerly slow down or interfere with your access to sites like IM, you are sadly mistaken.
I'm pretty sure we are on a list somewhere.
Tuesday, May 09, 2017
John Oliver helping us all to protect Net Neutrality.
Courtesy of Raw Story:
One of the first John Oliver segments to gain national attention came in 2014, when he called for viewers to flood the FCC's website with comments opposing net neutrality restrictions. The next day, that site crashed due to “technical difficulties with our comment system.” It was the first of many instances in which Oliver would spur grassroots activism among his viewers, whether it be through pushing a hashtag or flat-out soliciting donations to worthwhile organizations. On Sunday night, Oliver ran back his initial call to action by once again encouraging viewers to visit the FCC's website and make their voices heard. This is because, once again, net neutrality is in trouble.
Two years after Oliver shut down the FCC's website, the U.S. Court of Appeals upheld new net neutrality rules supported by President Barack Obama. "Today’s ruling is a victory for the open, fair, and free Internet as we know it today—one that remains open to innovation and economic growth, without service providers serving as paid gatekeepers," the Obama administration said in a statement.
Now that Donald Trump is in office, however, that "open, fair and free internet" is in jeopardy. His administration in April announced plans to roll back Obama-era net neutrality protections.
Here is the link that Oliver is providing to help the American people protect their access to the internet.
And as he says this really is something that should unite ALL of us.
One of the first John Oliver segments to gain national attention came in 2014, when he called for viewers to flood the FCC's website with comments opposing net neutrality restrictions. The next day, that site crashed due to “technical difficulties with our comment system.” It was the first of many instances in which Oliver would spur grassroots activism among his viewers, whether it be through pushing a hashtag or flat-out soliciting donations to worthwhile organizations. On Sunday night, Oliver ran back his initial call to action by once again encouraging viewers to visit the FCC's website and make their voices heard. This is because, once again, net neutrality is in trouble.
Two years after Oliver shut down the FCC's website, the U.S. Court of Appeals upheld new net neutrality rules supported by President Barack Obama. "Today’s ruling is a victory for the open, fair, and free Internet as we know it today—one that remains open to innovation and economic growth, without service providers serving as paid gatekeepers," the Obama administration said in a statement.
Now that Donald Trump is in office, however, that "open, fair and free internet" is in jeopardy. His administration in April announced plans to roll back Obama-era net neutrality protections.
Here is the link that Oliver is providing to help the American people protect their access to the internet.
And as he says this really is something that should unite ALL of us.
Tuesday, April 25, 2017
Apparently Ivanka Trump has inspired a cult of Chinese admirers. Update!
 |
| Goddess Ivanka with her very first worshiper. |
Her father's brand may be struggling for popularity in the US, but Ivanka Trump is cultivating a cult following in China.
An online fan club on the website Weibo, which is similar to Twitter, even refers to the president's daughter as 'Goddess Ivanka'.
NBC News reports the page with the same title has about 12,000 followers, many of whom are effusive in their praise for the 35-year-old.
Hu Xingdou, a Beijing professor, told the network much of Ivanka Trump's popularity comes from people thinking she is supportive of China.
'Most people in China love Ivanka because of her friendly gestures towards the Chinese people,' Xingdou said.
'Ivanka is an important bridge during this period of uncertainties in China-US relations.'
Seriously?
I swear that Trump has people so freaked out that they will cling to any possibility that somebody can rein him in.
However as John Oliver pointed out over the weekend, it is unlikely that Ivanka is that person.
Yeah let's face it the only thing that can rein Donald Trump in is a conviction for treason and some much needed prison time.
Hopefully that is what looms in his future.
Update: Apparently the Germans are not quite as gullible as the Chinese.
This is what happened when Ivanka attempted to defend her father during a W20 conference in Germany.
Ivanka gets booed and hissed by audience when she says her father is a"tremendous champion of supporting families."— Annie Karni (@anniekarni) April 25, 2017
Well that seems like a more rational response to Trump's little apologist.The crowd audibly rumbled, booed when Ivanka mentioned her father's support of women.— Emily Jane Fox (@emilyjanefox) April 25, 2017
Monday, April 10, 2017
Vox points out the important role that comedians play in helping us deal with Donald Trump.
Courtesy of Vox:
The first few months of the Trump administration have been a goldmine for late-night comedians and political satirists. Shows like Full Frontal With Samantha Bee, Saturday Night Live, and Late Night With Seth Meyers have enjoyed ratings boosts thanks to their regular lampooning of the Trump White House.
But beyond the jokes and sight gags, political satirists have done an excellent job of seriously covering the Trump administration — sometimes even better than major TV news networks. And that’s because while traditional journalists feel compelled to take President Trump’s often absurd statements and conspiracy theories seriously, political satirists have demonstrated an extremely low tolerance for bullshit.
I'm actually a little bit late in sharing this article.
I missed it when it first came out, but when I saw it on You Tube I knew it was worth sharing.
As I pointed out last night, it is getting harder and harder to find the humor in the Trump presidency.
However it is important to our mental health that we continue to do so.
Let's face it, most of us currently feel as is if our emotions are constantly under attack, and the only way to help alleviate the depression that accompanies such a feeling is to be able to mock and ridicule the individual responsible.
Donald Trump IS a giant joke, and being reminded of that, and that his presidency will likely be seen as illegitimate, is perhaps the best survival tool that we possess.
Personally I still wish that Jon Stewart had remained at the Daily Show, but Trevor Noah, Stephen Colbert, Samantha Bee, Seth Meyers, and John Oliver are doing a great job of taking up the slack.
The first few months of the Trump administration have been a goldmine for late-night comedians and political satirists. Shows like Full Frontal With Samantha Bee, Saturday Night Live, and Late Night With Seth Meyers have enjoyed ratings boosts thanks to their regular lampooning of the Trump White House.
But beyond the jokes and sight gags, political satirists have done an excellent job of seriously covering the Trump administration — sometimes even better than major TV news networks. And that’s because while traditional journalists feel compelled to take President Trump’s often absurd statements and conspiracy theories seriously, political satirists have demonstrated an extremely low tolerance for bullshit.
I'm actually a little bit late in sharing this article.
I missed it when it first came out, but when I saw it on You Tube I knew it was worth sharing.
As I pointed out last night, it is getting harder and harder to find the humor in the Trump presidency.
However it is important to our mental health that we continue to do so.
Let's face it, most of us currently feel as is if our emotions are constantly under attack, and the only way to help alleviate the depression that accompanies such a feeling is to be able to mock and ridicule the individual responsible.
Donald Trump IS a giant joke, and being reminded of that, and that his presidency will likely be seen as illegitimate, is perhaps the best survival tool that we possess.
Personally I still wish that Jon Stewart had remained at the Daily Show, but Trevor Noah, Stephen Colbert, Samantha Bee, Seth Meyers, and John Oliver are doing a great job of taking up the slack.
Tuesday, March 14, 2017
John Oliver explains the new GOP health care plan as only John Oliver can. Update: The CBO weighs in.
Courtesy of Slate:
On Sunday night’s Last Week Tonight, John Oliver broke down some of the major issues with AHCA—the “Ted Cruz of healthcare legislation.” One of the biggest is that the proposed system of flat-tax credits could really harm lower-income Americans while benefitting insurance companies and the wealthy. And while Paul Ryan may be excited about “defederalizing,” “block-granting,” and “capping,” pushing up to $370 billion worth of Medicaid costs onto the states over the next ten years doesn’t quite get Oliver’s engines revving in quite the same way, because Ryan’s plan could mean millions of the country’s poorest citizens will lose their coverage.
In fact, many of the people who will be hurt the most by the AHCA are lower-income Americans, older Americans and those living in rural areas, people who broadly fall into the category of Trump’s America. “Which is pretty frustrating,” noted Oliver. “It’s like if the people of Pompeii voted for the volcano.”
Actually you know a conservative health care bill is dead in the water, when both Rand Paul and Sarah Palin say it is dead in the water.
Which is a good thing, since the creators of this plan are essentially the very definition of a "death panel."
Update: I wrote this yesterday before the CBO had released its report. Now that it has things appear even worse that John Oliver reported.
Here is how Vox's Ezra Klein explained it:
The AHCA would increase the uninsured population by about 24 million people — which is more people than live in New York state. But the raw numbers obscure the cruelty of the choices. The policy is particularly bad for the old, the sick, and the poor. It is particularly good for the rich, the young, and the healthy.
Here, in short, is what the AHCA does. The bill guts Medicaid, halves the value of Obamacare’s insurance subsidies, and allows insurers to charge older Americans 500 percent more than they charge young Americans.
Then it takes the subsidies that are left and reworks them to be worth less to the poor and the old, takes the insurers that are left and lets them change their plans to cover fewer medical expenses for the sick, and rewrites the tax code to offer hundreds of billions of dollars in tax cuts to the rich. As Dylan Matthews writes, it is an act of class warfare by the rich against the poor.
The result isn’t just 24 million fewer people with insurance: Of those who remain insured, the pool is tilted toward younger, healthier people who need help less, because many of the older, poorer people who need the most help can no longer afford insurance. As German Lopez notes, a 64-year-old making $26,500 would see his premiums rise by 750 percent. 750 percent! And with that 64-year-old gone, premiums are a little bit lower, because the pool is a little bit younger.
Grim isn't it?
Currently the White House is trying to discredit this CBO report, but as it turns out their own internal analysis was even worse:
A White House analysis of the GOP plan to repeal and replace Obamacare shows even steeper coverage losses than the projections by the Congressional Budget Office, according to a document viewed by POLITICO on Monday.
The executive branch analysis forecast that 26 million people would lose coverage over the next decade, versus the 24 million CBO estimates.
Donald Trump promised that nobody would lose coverage and that more people would be insured.
Of course only an idiot would have believed he was telling the truth.
On Sunday night’s Last Week Tonight, John Oliver broke down some of the major issues with AHCA—the “Ted Cruz of healthcare legislation.” One of the biggest is that the proposed system of flat-tax credits could really harm lower-income Americans while benefitting insurance companies and the wealthy. And while Paul Ryan may be excited about “defederalizing,” “block-granting,” and “capping,” pushing up to $370 billion worth of Medicaid costs onto the states over the next ten years doesn’t quite get Oliver’s engines revving in quite the same way, because Ryan’s plan could mean millions of the country’s poorest citizens will lose their coverage.
In fact, many of the people who will be hurt the most by the AHCA are lower-income Americans, older Americans and those living in rural areas, people who broadly fall into the category of Trump’s America. “Which is pretty frustrating,” noted Oliver. “It’s like if the people of Pompeii voted for the volcano.”
Actually you know a conservative health care bill is dead in the water, when both Rand Paul and Sarah Palin say it is dead in the water.
Which is a good thing, since the creators of this plan are essentially the very definition of a "death panel."
Update: I wrote this yesterday before the CBO had released its report. Now that it has things appear even worse that John Oliver reported.
Here is how Vox's Ezra Klein explained it:
The AHCA would increase the uninsured population by about 24 million people — which is more people than live in New York state. But the raw numbers obscure the cruelty of the choices. The policy is particularly bad for the old, the sick, and the poor. It is particularly good for the rich, the young, and the healthy.
Here, in short, is what the AHCA does. The bill guts Medicaid, halves the value of Obamacare’s insurance subsidies, and allows insurers to charge older Americans 500 percent more than they charge young Americans.
Then it takes the subsidies that are left and reworks them to be worth less to the poor and the old, takes the insurers that are left and lets them change their plans to cover fewer medical expenses for the sick, and rewrites the tax code to offer hundreds of billions of dollars in tax cuts to the rich. As Dylan Matthews writes, it is an act of class warfare by the rich against the poor.
The result isn’t just 24 million fewer people with insurance: Of those who remain insured, the pool is tilted toward younger, healthier people who need help less, because many of the older, poorer people who need the most help can no longer afford insurance. As German Lopez notes, a 64-year-old making $26,500 would see his premiums rise by 750 percent. 750 percent! And with that 64-year-old gone, premiums are a little bit lower, because the pool is a little bit younger.
Grim isn't it?
Currently the White House is trying to discredit this CBO report, but as it turns out their own internal analysis was even worse:
A White House analysis of the GOP plan to repeal and replace Obamacare shows even steeper coverage losses than the projections by the Congressional Budget Office, according to a document viewed by POLITICO on Monday.
The executive branch analysis forecast that 26 million people would lose coverage over the next decade, versus the 24 million CBO estimates.
Donald Trump promised that nobody would lose coverage and that more people would be insured.
Of course only an idiot would have believed he was telling the truth.
Wednesday, March 01, 2017
John Oliver mocks the Republican's lack of a plan to replace Obamacare.
Courtesy of Quartz:
Oliver took aim at the fragments of a plan that Republicans have released, dismissing each suggested fix as covering Americans’ health costs “the way a thong covers your dad’s ass. It doesn’t, and there’s something fundamentally wrong about that.”
The best sense one can get of what the Republicans will present, as Oliver points out, is from House Speaker Paul Ryan’s vague policy paper (pdf) on repealing Obamacare issued earlier this month. Oliver delved into the four bullet points Ryan offered about the Republican solution: “refundable tax credits,” “high risk pools,” “block grants,” and “health savings accounts.” None of these ideas will actually work, Oliver argues, breaking them down in financial terms—they all share the same “thong problem.”
Compounding the problem for Republicans, Oliver says, is Trump’s promise that “everybody is going to be covered,” and that he will “take care of everybody… much better than they’re being taken care of now.”
“Insurance companies are deciding right now whether to even offer Obamacare plans next year,” Oliver notes. So, he tells Republicans, “Tick tock, motherfuckers.”
Once again Oliver, and this team, break down a complicated issue into its basic parts, squeeze out the bullshit, and add enough humor to make it more palatable to television audiences.
Shows like This Week, Full Frontal, the Daily Show, and now The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, do the country a great service by making these issues entertaining and understandable to a population that is now hooked on short sound bites, CGI, and flashy explosions.
Oliver took aim at the fragments of a plan that Republicans have released, dismissing each suggested fix as covering Americans’ health costs “the way a thong covers your dad’s ass. It doesn’t, and there’s something fundamentally wrong about that.”
The best sense one can get of what the Republicans will present, as Oliver points out, is from House Speaker Paul Ryan’s vague policy paper (pdf) on repealing Obamacare issued earlier this month. Oliver delved into the four bullet points Ryan offered about the Republican solution: “refundable tax credits,” “high risk pools,” “block grants,” and “health savings accounts.” None of these ideas will actually work, Oliver argues, breaking them down in financial terms—they all share the same “thong problem.”
Compounding the problem for Republicans, Oliver says, is Trump’s promise that “everybody is going to be covered,” and that he will “take care of everybody… much better than they’re being taken care of now.”
“Insurance companies are deciding right now whether to even offer Obamacare plans next year,” Oliver notes. So, he tells Republicans, “Tick tock, motherfuckers.”
Once again Oliver, and this team, break down a complicated issue into its basic parts, squeeze out the bullshit, and add enough humor to make it more palatable to television audiences.
Shows like This Week, Full Frontal, the Daily Show, and now The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, do the country a great service by making these issues entertaining and understandable to a population that is now hooked on short sound bites, CGI, and flashy explosions.
Monday, February 20, 2017
John Oliver tries to make sense of Donald Trump's relationship with Russia.
I like that song at the end. Catchy beat.
However all kidding aside this piece brings up quite a number of troubling points.
Which now hopefully even those who are not political junkies are trying to absorb.
And on that topic there is also this report that Russia is compiling a dossier to help them understand exactly who they helped to get elected:
A dossier on Donald Trump's psychological makeup is being prepared for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Among its preliminary conclusions is that the new American leader is a risk-taker who can be naïve, according to a senior Kremlin adviser.
Talk about an understatement.
Apparently there is also some concern that Trump is even more unhinged than the Kremlin previously believed.
Putin's government is growing increasingly concerned about Trump's battles in Washington, according to Fedorov and former lawmaker Sergei Markov, who remains well-connected at the Kremlin.
It is worried the president will not have the political power to improve relations with Russia, as he has indicated he might try to do, and even, perhaps, lift some U.S. sanctions.
And seriously this is really ALL ABOUT removing those sanctions.
Everything else is just background noise.
The pretense for the dossier is that Putin wishes to better understand Trump before their first official meeting face to face. (Though we have to imagine they have already privately met a number of times.) However it will also strengthen Putin's ability to continue pulling Trump's strings and getting him to do what they got him elected to do.
However all kidding aside this piece brings up quite a number of troubling points.
Which now hopefully even those who are not political junkies are trying to absorb.
And on that topic there is also this report that Russia is compiling a dossier to help them understand exactly who they helped to get elected:
A dossier on Donald Trump's psychological makeup is being prepared for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Among its preliminary conclusions is that the new American leader is a risk-taker who can be naïve, according to a senior Kremlin adviser.
Talk about an understatement.
Apparently there is also some concern that Trump is even more unhinged than the Kremlin previously believed.
Putin's government is growing increasingly concerned about Trump's battles in Washington, according to Fedorov and former lawmaker Sergei Markov, who remains well-connected at the Kremlin.
It is worried the president will not have the political power to improve relations with Russia, as he has indicated he might try to do, and even, perhaps, lift some U.S. sanctions.
And seriously this is really ALL ABOUT removing those sanctions.
Everything else is just background noise.
The pretense for the dossier is that Putin wishes to better understand Trump before their first official meeting face to face. (Though we have to imagine they have already privately met a number of times.) However it will also strengthen Putin's ability to continue pulling Trump's strings and getting him to do what they got him elected to do.
Monday, February 13, 2017
John Oliver comes up with perfect way to troll, and educate, Donald Trump.
Courtesy of NBC News:
Comedian John Oliver's politically-charged HBO series "Last Week Tonight" returned to the airwaves for the first time this year on Sunday night — and the show seems to have discovered a creative new way to troll President Donald Trump.
On the show, Oliver highlighted just how much the president appears to absorb and parrot information he gets from early morning cable news broadcasts, and other, even less reliable sources.
So Oliver and his staff came up with a potential way to capture the president's attention (since, the host conceded, Trump doesn't watch "Last Week Tonight," which has been on hiatus since the Sunday after the election).
They bought ads, in the style and tone of medical catheter commercials which frequently air on networks like Fox News, meant to "educate" the president on crucial issues like the nuclear triad.
"And that little fellow there is what we call the clitoris."
Damn did I miss this show!
And this idea of the ads is perfect, because not only do we KNOW for a fact that Trump will see them, but he might actually learn something which might help to keep us all safe.
Comedian John Oliver's politically-charged HBO series "Last Week Tonight" returned to the airwaves for the first time this year on Sunday night — and the show seems to have discovered a creative new way to troll President Donald Trump.
On the show, Oliver highlighted just how much the president appears to absorb and parrot information he gets from early morning cable news broadcasts, and other, even less reliable sources.
So Oliver and his staff came up with a potential way to capture the president's attention (since, the host conceded, Trump doesn't watch "Last Week Tonight," which has been on hiatus since the Sunday after the election).
They bought ads, in the style and tone of medical catheter commercials which frequently air on networks like Fox News, meant to "educate" the president on crucial issues like the nuclear triad.
"And that little fellow there is what we call the clitoris."
Damn did I miss this show!
And this idea of the ads is perfect, because not only do we KNOW for a fact that Trump will see them, but he might actually learn something which might help to keep us all safe.
Monday, November 14, 2016
John Oliver dedicates his entire show to the election of Donald Trump. And you should watch it.
Courtesy of Raw Story:
As a nation, Oliver said, “We are faced with the same questions as a guy that woke up the day after a Vegas bachelor party deep in the desert, naked, tied to a cactus and a dead clown — namely, ‘How the fuck did we get here and what the fuck do we do now?”
He went on to marvel at exactly what’s happened to the U.S., saying, “A Klan-backed, misogynist internet troll is going to be giving the next State of the Union address.”
To figure out what happened, exactly, he said, “We’re going to be examining this for years, but tonight, let’s just focus on one narrow element that may have helped bring us here, because it will be important going forward. That is our media, specifically how a system that is supposed to catch a serial liar failed.”
I found this very cathartic.
I think we are really going to need John Oliver and Samantha Bee to help us get through these next four years with our sanity intact.
Fortunately I think they are up to the task.
As a nation, Oliver said, “We are faced with the same questions as a guy that woke up the day after a Vegas bachelor party deep in the desert, naked, tied to a cactus and a dead clown — namely, ‘How the fuck did we get here and what the fuck do we do now?”
He went on to marvel at exactly what’s happened to the U.S., saying, “A Klan-backed, misogynist internet troll is going to be giving the next State of the Union address.”
To figure out what happened, exactly, he said, “We’re going to be examining this for years, but tonight, let’s just focus on one narrow element that may have helped bring us here, because it will be important going forward. That is our media, specifically how a system that is supposed to catch a serial liar failed.”
I found this very cathartic.
I think we are really going to need John Oliver and Samantha Bee to help us get through these next four years with our sanity intact.
Fortunately I think they are up to the task.
Monday, October 31, 2016
New polls taken after Friday show that James Comey's letter has had little effect on the voters.
 |
| And look at that, I'm still standing. |
Hillary Clinton has a slim three-point lead over Donald Trump one week before Election Day, according to a new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll conducted entirely after FBI Director James Comey announced the discovery of new emails that might pertain to the former secretary of state's private server.
Clinton leads Trump 46 percent to 43 percent in a two-way race, and 42 percent to 39 percent in a four-way race, with Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson at 7 percent and the Green Party’s Jill Stein at 5 percent.
The poll was conducted using an online panel of 1,772 likely voters on Saturday and Sunday, beginning one day after Comey's announcement. The poll carries a margin or error of 2 percentage points.
In a separate poll conducted before Comey's disclosure, Clinton was leading by three points in the four-way race, and five points in the two-way race. Put simply, there is not yet evidence that the revelations have drastically altered the contours of the election.
I heard this same information on MSNBC today and am glad to see it confirmed.
Also read on another online news site that for most of the voters their decision was made long ago and that all of the news which has come out recently, concerning both candidates, really has not moved the needle much at all.
And don't forget that 22 million people have already voted, so any new "scandals" between now and November 8th will have absolutely NO impact on those votes.
As of this post Nate Silver suggests that Hillary still has a 75.4% of winning and Trump has a 24.6 % chance, so very little change there.
However if you are like me you are probably feeling more than a little nauseous after riding his roller coaster for almost a year now.
I think that our friend John Oliver summed all of this up best.
"We have burrowed through, not just rock bottom, but through the core of the earth. And we've come bursting out the other side, startling kangaroos, and we're currently hurtling toward outer space where there is no up, down, light, or darkness, just an endless void in which death comes as sweet, sweet relief. Please let this thing be over soon."
Wednesday, October 19, 2016
John Oliver eviscerates the third party candidates competing in this election cycle, with some very uncomfortable facts.
Well I've been earning about third party candidates for several months now, and also pointing out their various flaws, but leave to John Oliver to take it to a new level while also making it laugh out loud funny.
Just the sound of Jill Stein singing alone is enough for me to dismiss her out of hand.
Can she not hear herself?
However I might give that Joe Exotic a second look just because I am impressed with a partially crippled southern gay man who stands fearlessly in a cage with lions and tigers as if they are simply over sized house cats.
That seems like the kind of guy that might scare the shit out of Vladimir Putin.
Just the sound of Jill Stein singing alone is enough for me to dismiss her out of hand.
Can she not hear herself?
However I might give that Joe Exotic a second look just because I am impressed with a partially crippled southern gay man who stands fearlessly in a cage with lions and tigers as if they are simply over sized house cats.
That seems like the kind of guy that might scare the shit out of Vladimir Putin.
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