heart2hearttime

Regarding Sara's take on Hur being fair in his congressional appearance because both sides were angry with him, how naive can one be? One side was attacking him for lying, the other for not lying enough! That's what is wrong with the "both sides" journalism. The truth is no longer important.

I was so disappointed to see the maskless audience members today. Until today, my daily dose of the View audience gave me hope that there are still good people out there who care about the safety of others. The pandemic is not over. Those smiles that Whoopi was so happy to see can be spreading Covid to those around them. I cannot help but wonder if social pressure prevented some from following their consciences.

I love Holiday Baking shows. This is the first one I am deleting from my DVR. The judges do not gel. The benches they sit on make it look like they are just observers in a park. Raven is not a good fit. But all that is insignificant compared to the quality of the bakers. Their skills belong more in a kitchen at home than on a televised competition. How Shinmin can go from being so critical with the elite cake decorators and sugar experts from Halloween Wars into this amateur group and pretend their creations are worthwhile is mind boggling.

Bill allowed Crenshaw to spit out well rehearsed Republican talking points with no pushback. It was not a debate, just a platform for Crenshaw to defend trump. I thought Bill prided himself in his debating prowess. He was ill prepared. I never realized how much he needs his guests to counter conservatives with facts.

Today will be Sara's "Jimmy Fallon hair tousling moment". Willingly naive enough to overlook the impending loss of human rights, because of her inexplicable swooning over an obviously staged appearance with the family of the nominated SC judge, who will protect trump from investigation/indictment and dismantle women's rights, healthcare, minority rights, LGBT rights, voting rights, worker's rights and environmental protections. She used to attempt to be informed. Lately she just attempts to appease MM and her ilk. Thankfully, Joy brought up the glaring immorality of the subject of an investigation appointing judges who may ultimately rule on his case.

Regarding the Aziz discussion, this is a murky case because it is part of the "Me Too" conversation, but that does not mean it is sexual assault. It more so demonstrates the damage our cultural gender expectations inflict on women AND men. Contrary to Whoopi's advice to just say "Stop or I'm gonna knock you in the nuts", our culture socializes girls to be cooperative and not to hurt others' feelings. This leads many to rely on "non-verbal cues" rather than to risk hurting the guy's feelings. Whoopi does not usually seem to care about how what she says is received by others, which is helpful in situations such as unwanted sexual advances, but, on the other hand, often annoying and tone deaf when she is moderator of a talk show. Aiziz also suffers from a culture that encourages males to keep pushing until the female is receptive (or says "no") to fulfill the ingrained role of masculinity. But an absence of a "no" does not mean "yes". Only "yes" means "yes"! To focus on this woman's reliance on non-verbal cues instead of her not saying no, should be changed to asking why Aziz (and other men) do not rely on verbal cues themselves, like asking if the woman is interested in doing whatever he has in mind. He assumed it was consensual. All he had to do was ask the other participant. We must do better with our daughters and sons in the future. Girls must receive the message of bodily autonomy and not taught that their worth is tied up in pleasing others. Boys must be taught to view their partners as sentient beings who must be included in sexual decisions, and that the goal is an enthusiastic "yes", not a lack of a "no". Both are victims of our culture roles, but unless she and others come out, only the woman will shoulder the consequences.

I began turning Chris Hayes off when he had his town halls, whether they were with Bernie, gun violence in Chicago, or yet another dive into what motivates the Trump voters. He never seems to confront participants with facts. I find these town halls to be him just listening and nodding. Where I think Chris excels is his segments featuring feminist contributors. I also have begun turning the channel whenever Lack's conservative idols Hewitt or Noonan appear onscreen to insult our intelligence. To hire them and then not have money to pay Joan Walsh is a travesty. Brian Williams show is so much more watchable when there is a substitute host, Nicole, Joy, Ari or Ari. Brian can easily be replaced.

I I have been noticing this lately, too. Sara has gradually grown more comfortable in respectfully expressing her well thought out views....until recently. She seems to have assumed it is her role to "soften" Joy's and occasionally Sunny's remarks by rewording them to lessen MM's offense. This is yet another example of the panelists walking on eggshells around MM. One can only wonder what hand Whoopi plays in Sara's new role. Whoopi uncharacteristically sits quietly, while Sara protects the feelings of the "tough chick".

I have been fast fowarding through Whoopi"s long winded, fact free tutorials for years. I shut off the show when Monday's "View Deal" segments begin. I now have begun to fast forward though MM's entitled, condescending, "poor me" lectures. With today's continual interruptions throughout the show, interrupting serious topics to sell more stuff, I am going to have to stop recording the show. There will be nothing left to watch. If I want to shop from home, there is the Home Shopping Channel.

I remember MM before her Fox employment and she seemed like a reasonable young conservative who could both agree and disagree with stances of the republican party. That ability must have been squelched in her stint at Fox where there is no room for different points of view. She is nothing like I remember her, just a parrot of Fox and sadly WH talking points. She strictly divides the world by party affiliation. As she said today "I'm just trying to explain my side of the aisle". Instead of being part of a discussion, she comes across as being there to educate the liberals. "I'm trying to give you guys insight because I actually know Paul Manafort". She has no respect for the experience (Joy), qualifications (lawyer Sunny), or for facts that anyone else has to present. I wanted to hear Sunny explain the indictments. Instead I got numerous inane distractions about Clinton and Obama. She has to realize she is no longer in the Fox bubble. There are other points of view. She is one of five. She deserves to speak 20% of the time, not to monopolize every political discussion. Loved Sunny having none of MM's distractions. It would have helped if Whoopi would have acted as a moderator and redirected the time to Sunny and indictments but for some reason MM is the only panelist Whoopi will not interrupt.

Fast forwarded through most of Friday's show, but I did catch the discussion concerning Trump's remarks about the First Lady of France. What is wrong with these women? It was utterly disrespectful to her and her position. Their only thoughts were that they appreciate when people compliment their looks? Do they not understand that there is a difference between family or friends saying you're in "great shape" and a stranger ( serial sexual harrasser no less) in a formal meeting? Every woman at the table, with the exception of an exasperated Sunny, giddily condoned Trump's objectification of a woman. The lack of awareness was appalling. I can almost understand Jenner's focus on appearance since that is the hallmark of the Kardashians,, but you would hope the others would strive to be noticed for their accomplishments rather than being valued for how much they visually please a man.

I have a suspicion, the hosts were cautioned not to press Jenner on her narcissistic, fact-free opinions. Sunny backed off every time Jenner spouted views emanating from years of wealthy, white privilege. She is disappointed in Trump's actions toward the LGBTQ community, but what is that when compared to lower tax bills for the Jenner/Kardashian clan? I applaud Joy for taking a mental health day to avoid her head exploding by "making nice" with this hypocrite.

I used to watch both The View and The Talk. I stopped watching The Talk during the campaign because I found it so bland and Hollywood oriented. It seemed to treat viewers as snarky little teenagers. I really appreciate the political talk on The View. Joy, Sunny and even Whoopi keep me sane, however, I do try to fast forward through Jed's rapid fire Fox talking points.

Our house is an avid MSNBC household most evenings, Chris Hayes, Rachel, Lawrence, with some Chris Matthews depending on his guests. When Brian Williams comes on, we change the channel. He is too pompous and unattached for our taste, with more boring and/or conservative guests. It is bad enough that Andy Lack tried to push the conservative agenda by giving a daily show to Gretta who is incapable of posing tough questions to any conservative politician, but now reportedly he is talking to the "never-trumper" turned Trump toady Hugh Hewitt for a show! This is a real slap in the face to loyal viewers. Joy Reid who regularly beats Gretta in ratings deserves a daily show. Stop trying to turn this into a CNN/Fox clone.

About the healthcare discussion, I was exasperated when Jeb sputtered about the poor 20ish male, who was struggling to get along, having to pay for maternity care. A few did respond with the viagra argument, but not one of them rebutted with concern about the poor 20ish female, who was struggling to get along, having to pay for maternity care, or suffer the dire consequences of not having coverage for an unintended pregnancy (which would have greatly increased if Trumpcare had ever passed resulting in defunding Planned Parenthood along with removing birth control coverage mandate). I am utterly amazed when conservative women continue to put males' needs ahead of their own gender.