ChicagoCita

On a totally different subject -- did anyone get the "secret word of the day" for Thursday? That part of the show was preempted for the Al Franken Very Sad Thing. Thank you in advance.

The exact exchange was: Joy: May I just say that Al Franken is the only one who spoke out against Jeff Sessions, and then all of a sudden these allegations came up, right after that. So I'm a little bit suspicious of what's going on right now. Meghan: (talking over Joy) So do you think Leeann Tweeden, who came on, wasn't really being candid? Joy: (talking over Meghan) I am not accusing her. Don't put words in my mouth. I am not accusing Leeann of anything. All I'm saying is, it's interesting. That's all. Perhaps a more open-ended question, if Meghan wanted to follow this line of questioning, would have been, "So what do you think happened behind the scenes?" rather than going for one yes-or-no question that was phrased like a GOTCHA moment.

Joy's beautiful blue blouse looks great in front of the blue holiday set.

It just dawned on me that maybe Meghan is signed up for the show as a short-termer and that's why Whoopi is being kind and protective. No real reason to alienate her if she's only going to be there for six months or so, and she will be a "get" in the future, due to further developments with the current presidency or the death of Sen. McCain. I'm a baseball fan (duh) and I'm thinking she may be similar to a free-agent pitcher who gets signed by a pennant contender in July and everyone knows it's just for that season's pennant drive and that the pitcher will be gone and signed with another team after the post-season ends. That's the only explanation I can come up with for the fuzzy kid-glove treatment that Meghan is getting. It's so much better a show when, like today, Meghan relaxes and remembers she doesn't have to be only The Republican or The Educator. I don't miss much about Jedidiah, but I fondly recall that she could talk about her life and not only about her politics.

One thing I adored about Joy's last talk show (on Current TV) is that she brought in people who disagreed with her on panels, for lively conversation. She's an agnostic, but she had her "God Squad" of a rabbi, a female Protestant minister, and a Catholic priest. She had a recurring current events panel that featured -- among others -- the execrable Boris Epshteyn. And she wasn't hesitant to disagree, but she was also quite cordial. She sought out as recurring guests people who disagreed with her political and social stances, and there was never a moment of tension or hurt feelings. That is how adults discuss differences. It's one of the things I admire about Joy. As one grows up, one realizes that disagreement is not an attack. I hope Meghan gets to that point someday. I find myself fascinated with watching her turn bright red (particularly on her upper chest) as she grows more frustrated because she's just not connecting and converting. She is wound tightly... she takes policy disagreements as personal insults. And that colors her emotional and over-the-top bitchy (yeah, I said it) responses. Girlfriend needs to learn to let things roll off her back.

I do see it as fluff, but fluff I choose to watch. I enjoy their political discussions, but I don't take them seriously. When Whoopi flogs her sweaters ("only" $89 at Zappo's), or they talk about Kardashian stalkers, or bring out cute adoptable animals, I'm fully there, but it's not exactly on a level with Face The Nation. I watch because I like to be entertained - and Meghan is not entertaining or even enjoyable as she furrows her brow and berates the audience and sighs dramatically about how tortuous this prison sentence is for her. Unlike what Astronaut-slash-Only Patriot At The Table Meghan seems to believe, I am not watching to learn the Republican POV and learn why it's better for me. (Raised by Republicans, got it, rejected it already, but thanks, Meg.)

She did mention, single out, and thank the ONE PERSON who applauded for her last week. But she scolds and harangues the audience for cheering wildly when it's for something she doesn't agree with. She is so very mistaken when she believes her job is to educate the poor ignorant masses who don't get the Republican party line, and they would, they really would, if only it were properly explained to them. Chick, no matter what you think, your job is not to emulate a door-to-door missionary and explain the path to political salvation to The View's audience. You are here to entertain while we have morning coffee. It's clearly why she feels so frustrated. She doesn't understand that she's the token conservative on a fluff morning talk show. She is frustrated because she's not making any converts to the True and Only Real Truth. Never have I seen anyone on television be as openly unhappy with their job.

If there is any consolation for him turning out to be such an awful person, it's that his good looks have not only faded, but disappeared (as was evident on Graham's show). I was surprised on the few occasions he spoke to hear such a strong American accent. Although he is American by birth, there used to be a lot of Aussie in his accent. I remember seeing him in Tim and Gallipoli, and I see no resemblance at all between that young man and the man who sat on Graham's couch. Lots of mileage on him.

Yay to Ana co-hosting. I wonder when Sarah goes to maternity leave. I had hoped they would reschedule Sen. Schumer. Maybe they will. I'm sure he has a lot to say about the new tax bill.

I was really dreading seeing Mel Gibson, but I agree, thanks to whoever did the editing to make him as minimal as possible. (I feel particularly let down by what an awful person he turned out to be because I started following him yonks ago when he was still making Aussie movies that played in art-house theaters here. I took such joy in watching him turn into a superstar. And then, King of the Jerks. So devastating.) The British dancing lady was eccentrically delightful. John Lithgow was charming.

The category was "In Their League" or something like that. So Alex needed to hear "National League."

What did they bleep from Sarah (of all people)? She was saying this Flynn development wasn't a gleeful moment, it was a serious moment, and it looks like she got bleeped for "It's _____________ serious."

I'm sure that Joy held the same opinions she has now long before CNN even existed. She follows no "party line." In fact, she disagreed with Michelle Obama's "When they go low, we go high" mantra when she was on Andy Cohen's show. I can't think of a single connection between Joy and CNN, nor with Whoopi, nor with Sarah. True, Sunny worked there at one time as a legal analyst, but then jumped to ABC. If you want to look at the past work history of the hosts, ABC and Good Morning America funneled Sara, Meghan, and Sunny to The View. If you're going to judge by liberal news outlets, believe it or not, Meghan holds the lead, having worked for The Daily Beast, Saturday Night Live, MSNBC, and Newsweek. On a shallow note, Meghan's stylist was on top of things today. Meghan looked lovely and comfortable.

It should be a point of national pride when dishonest politicians and their cronies are exposed. Draining the swamp shouldn't be red v. blue, it should be red, white, and blue. It's very Elisabeth-esque to see things only stamped with "Democrat" or "Republican" and let that guide your moral compass.

I really hope that Ana is being considered for Sarah's spot while she's out on maternity leave. She's a wildly independent Republican who hates Trump, and is well-spoken and quick-witted. She won't be a Sarah clone, but Ana is enjoyable. I don't mind listening to people who don't share my politics as long as they're entertaining, informed, and kind. In my fantasy world, Ana would take Sarah's place at the table, and when Sarah comes back, Ana would stay and Meghan would leave. I can dream! Meghan sure seems to have both a superiority complex and a stick up her butt. I don't know if she's being coached to be that way or if she's changed drastically since previous appearances. Every now and then the person behind the Ice Princess pokes her head out to say hi, but for the most part, she looks like she's being forced to sit in traffic school with people who smell bad. She's Diane Chambers without the sense of humor. For a tough chick, she sure has delicate feelings. Maybe she should reconsider her self-given epithet.

That was bleeped here. I did see Sarah nearly pee herself laughing and wondered what I'd missed. Thank you!

Company manners. On other shows, she's the lady who visits and sits in the front parlor. On The View, she's "home" - so she sits around in her jim-jams, talks with her mouth full of food, and farts.

I said "radical fringe" - I knew fringe for bangs due to an embarrassing misunderstanding in American/British English in a trip to Boots The Chemist. Interesting link above - thanks, Mondrianyone!

Wait, Meghan was outraged on behalf of her "grandchildren" today? Homegirl's been married two weeks and she's already indignant about political effects on her grandchildren? She is absurd. First she appropriates all the military - no one else can have any opinion but hers because she shares DNA with soldiers - and now she's appropriated anger on behalf of generations that may never exist? Pfffftt. Girl, please.

I'm looking forward to Sen. Schumer with Joy as moderator.

I'm doing some DVR binge-watching over the holiday weekend and I'm finally getting to the rest of this series (The Knockadoo was so freaking strange that it discouraged me from watching weekly when the show was airing). I'm underwhelmed by the series as a whole; I find I actually like endings to my vignettes. But this one, this one I liked. Maybe it's because I'm not particularly a science fiction or fantasy fan, and this was a non-paranormal episode. I thought the characters were pretty realistic, except for the repair guy not knowing about the Hitler/time machine thing. I enjoyed the actors, the pacing. No one was an overt hero or villain. It may be naive, but I'd like to see more people just sit down together and enjoy the a/c during turbulent times.

I'm pretty sure all it has to be is in the form of a question, regardless of whether it makes sense. I believe "How were Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band?" would be as correct as "What is...."

If memory serves..... There was an answer (or question) that referenced Kit Carson, and Alex asked the contestant to be more specific when she just answered "Carson." She could not come up with "Kit" and was ruled wrong. This was such a ridiculous decision, given the wide leeway the show gives in other instances, so now any ridiculous ruling MUST be responded to here with some derivation of "Kit" or "Carson."

Did we KNOW CCB was vegan? It's usually takes vegans 3.5 seconds to mention it, so I'm surprised this wasn't mentioned (or if it was, that I don't recall).

The winner (Eric?) reminded me of Peter Brady. Nice looking guy. Ber-WYN?