Jump to content

Type keyword(s) to search

jjj

Member
  • Posts

    3.5k
  • Joined

Everything posted by jjj

  1. The relief of Rachel's show, such as today, is that there are not long segments where I have to mute because I have already heard the recording in question earlier in the day (and repeated in every other show on MSNBC). I hated seeing the list of departed FBI colleagues of Comey, but at least it was necessary to see, and had not already been on the air all day. What an image, Meowmommy! (Both ideas!)
  2. I did note that Rachel near the end of the show said she was bolted to her seat -- I guess assuring us that there is no vacation this week?
  3. Two lists from Monday's show: Chilling: the list of fired, or "resigned under fire" contemporaneous FBI-colleague witnesses of Comey's recounting of the discussion with Trump. I was not overly concerned, because they have not been poisoned, but I suppose the point is that some consider them to be less reliable because they were fired. But that was an amazing list. Hilarious yet horrifying: the list of "Perspective Rolls" of the bank CEO's administrative wishes. I was so dazzled by "perspective" that I did not even see "rolls" at first. And Rachel, where he said "prospers" on the first page, I think he meant "sponsors". Hey, no one said you had to be able to spell to get into this administration. And I suspect this person will not be managing his bank much longer, if that $11 million loan is not repaid. (Or as Rachel said, his "teeeeny, tiny bank".) Oh yes, I was admitting I pegged him wrong when I first saw him on Rachel's show last week! I might not have bene focused enough to appreciate him on Rachel's show, but that was me, clearly, not him. And I saw the light today! Oh, cool, Lawrence O'Donnell is pointing out that Rachel did not devote a segment to "Unhinged." I had to stop watching the channel today because it seemed non-stop. Thank goodness Rachel took the time to note the end of the prosecution case in the Manafort trial.
  4. I was disappointed that Rachel said (Thursday?) that it was Barbara McQuade's last day in that courtroom -- I assume she has either a vacation or needs to get back to campus. And the trial was supposed to begin a week earlier, so she might have thought it would be over by now. But I really appreciate her perspective and matter-of-fact presentation (along with Joyce Vance and Chuck Rosenberg and Clint Watts!). Trump did MSNBC (if not the nation) a favor when he fired the U.S. Attorneys (well, McQuade; Vance resigned before he could fire her) and they became available for commentary work (I realize Chuck! came from a different agency). This is an interesting interview with McQuade, telling how she initially got invited to be on TRMS, and how it works when they ask her to provide commentary -- interviewer is the son of a judge for whom she had clerked: http://tannerfriedman.com/blog/prosecutor-pundit-one-contributor-got-courtroom-cable-news/
  5. I think you are referring to Gene Rossi -- I had not been overly impressed with his appearance on TRMS (maybe he was nervous, which is understandable!). But he was on the Katy Tur hour this morning, and was much more animated while still focused on the legal issues. So, I hope Rachel has him back, because anyone who has been in this judge's courtroom is worth hearing from.
  6. Did she say she was watching her show on vacation? I missed that.
  7. And now the judge has partially, kind of apologized for one of his outbursts -- but this also backs up what Barbara McQuade was saying about prejudicing the jury against the prosecution (under the section "Judge Apologizes" [for a "blistering outburst" at the prosecution] -- and the section below that on the jury developing camaraderie is very interesting). https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/local/wp/2018/08/09/paul-manafort-trial-day-8-live-coverage/?utm_term=.8b04cc0cca66#ellis
  8. Wow, Rachel covered the election story I thought the network should have been covering last night; but I have several different angles on the story than she presented. I could not figure out why they were spending so many hours on that Ohio special election, when anyone paying attention in Washington State knew that the No. 4 member of Congress, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, was likely to be in a very close race with a very strong Democratic state legislator. And that is what happened. Rachel mentioned this at the beginning of her story, but it is a very big deal for Congress, much more than newcomers in a special election. (I get why they covered the Ohio race, but this other one was just as newsworthy. Big difference? The WA returns did not come in until 11:00 PM ET. So, less newsworthy in the East Coast market. But still reflecting the shift to Blue, for a long-time incumbent.) But I have a different take on Rachel's analysis of the Nunes comments, and I know people staffing that campaign. It was a fundraiser. They brought in Nunes because McMorris Rodgers was in such deep trouble, and those comments of Nunes were intended to open up the checkbooks for more donations -- yes, we need to pay attention to the ongoing push to impeach Rosenstein ("rosenSTEEN" said one of the audience members, and I groaned). But the Senate has made it clear they are not interested, and most of the House is also not interested -- and it is not because the Supreme Court confirmation has to come first. But this is the story they have to tell when they fundraise, because saying "this ain't gonna happen" is not going to get the donations. Rachel should have brought in someone to comment on the significance of remarks made in a fundraiser, and whether there is a secret impeachment push in the wings from members beyond the Nunes fringe. All that said, it was very interesting to hear the audio clips! ETA: Oh, cool, Lawrence O'Donnell just agreed with me about the fundraiser intent! "They just lie about what they are doing when they are at fundraisers."
  9. That was a great interview with the ProPublica reporter, Isaac Arnsdorf, of the piece on the shadow triumvirate that is running the VA. The full article is even more remarkable, and as Chris said, is old-fashioned shoe-leather reporting, getting documents and putting it all together. Article here: https://www.propublica.org/article/ike-perlmutter-bruce-moskowitz-marc-sherman-shadow-rulers-of-the-va
  10. Oh, I completely agree! I know it is not her choice, but she is the one left holding the bag on the air (trout-filled bag?) and dealing with Barbara McQuade's courtroom full of fans and Lawrence's pleas from fans. And I totally believe that both of them got greetings for Rachel. Trout on high alert, hee!
  11. Dear Rachel, fans were not freaked out because you took a vacation. You deserve several great vacations. Fans did freak out because you disappeared at the end of one week, were gone the next week, and gone the start of the third week, and NO ONE would say anything about when you would be back until the last day. Just tell viewers you will be taking a week or two off, and everyone will calm down. It's like that stream of videos of people holding a blanket in front of their dog then disappearing. Some dogs are indifferent; some dogs immediately go bonkers. You cultivate a fan base that likes information and can handle the truth. (Yes, we CAN handle the truth!)
  12. That was ridiculous for her to say, and a false version of history. She was supposed to be in the anchor chair for the first week of the trial, which got delayed a week. We are not that gullible. And she has been hyping this for months.
  13. jjj

    MSNBC

    So, after Brian Williams finished his extended two-hour show about the Ohio election results, MSNBC basically handed the network over to Steve Kornacki -- at least two hours on his own instead of repeats, and I would have preferred the repeats. He was still holding forth at midnight Pacific Time, and when I woke up at 5:00 AM Steve was on Morning Joe -- they said he had not slept. It baffles me that they give him so much air time, hours of "it's too early to tell what will happen."
  14. Oh, right! I heard that topic, missed the specifics. Planned to listen more closely on the repeat. (grrrrrr, but now the whole show is on the app, so I'll pretend it is 9:00 again)
  15. It must be, for the tackle; I actually thought it was a kayak, but that does not make sense for fishing. I was grumbling because instead of repeating Rachel's show, they extended Brian Williams for another hour to cover this one little Ohio special election. But it could have been worse -- now they have unleashed Steve Kornacki live for a hour instead of the repeat of Lawrence O'Donnell's show. This is really overkill. I have to go find the Rachel podcast to catch a few things I missed or see if this is on the full-show app yet. What was the Army reference? I missed that!
  16. The Six Degrees of Rachel Separation (also known as Rachel Separation Anxiety) was hard at work tonight. Barbara McQuade telling Rachel that "all her fans in the courtroom" said to say hello, and Lawrence O'Donnell similarly telling Rachel that he was asked to tell Rachel "no more vacations". But I would have been dazzled to meet Barbara McQuade all on her own -- and I was so amused that Barbara herself was star-struck by being in an elevator with Brandon Van Grack, the renowned counter-espionage prosecutor (now on the Mueller team). (How cool would it have been it he asked her to say hello to Rachel?) It was alarming to hear this. And I am still glad this is not being televised, but wow, this judge is must-see TV. Yup, Rachel is a league of her own.
  17. How much clout does Rachel have? Chris Hayes starts with Kornacki, and Lawrence O'Donnell starts with Kornacki -- both hearing for fifteen minutes that "it's early, it's too close to call". On Rachel's show? "Let's slot Steve in the middle of the show for a quick four-minute update and thank him for his work." And it was so.
  18. Steve is warming up for Rachel's show on "All In with Chris Hayes" -- the big, big arm flailing, the big, big color-coordinated board, all for the teeny, teeny, tiny little initial county results. Even Steve is saying "Don't be fooled by these results, because the apparent Democratic lead will disappear when the other counties come in. But let me tell you about this snapshot in time that no one will remember a day from now." (Okay, I added the last sentence. But why spend time on results that mean nothing in the larger context?) You'd think he would wear himself out with all that energy, like a puppy that finally will collapse exhausted. But these are just the stretching exercises leading up to the sprint on Rachel's show.
  19. I believe he will be front and center, because the returns will be coming in during her show. But sheesh, they are saying if the Democrat loses by only five points, it is a victory, so although I understand the implications of this race, I also will be royally peeved if they spend the evening on an Ohio primary for a House seat. Analyze it when you know the result, not while every tattered low-voting district results come in.
  20. Rachel was also off the Friday before her week off, so it was the end of one week, full week off, and start of this week. Not two full weeks but a week and a half.
  21. And falls. (Not minimizing that falls to the elderly are very serious-- just know that everyone I know who watches these channels is far away from needing all these products.)
  22. Ha, at least Nicolle has a good sense of humor! She told Lawrence O'Donnell that she will get a tee-shirt saying "I Survived the 2018 Rachel Maddow Vacation" -- Nicolle, I am here to tell you there is a MARKET for those! And that she will be in sweats watching the Tuesday show with Rachel back in the chair, with election returns.
  23. "Rachel will be back tomorrow" (Tuesday). I knew she would not be there tonight, or Ari would have said that on Friday. My nightmare was that it might be Steve Kornacki, who I saw on a show earlier today, and I realized it is Kornacki season again, so he is in the building and available. But instead, he filled in for Chris Matthews. (I skipped it, but I usually do.) I like Nicolle -- this is fine, as long as we know Rachel is coming back. Honestly, I'd tolerate a few more days without Rachel, if they just would tell us ahead of time. Hope she got a real break.
  24. jjj

    MSNBC

    Yes, he subbed for Nicolle on Thursday; she was subbing for Brian Williams, so maybe two shows were too much? But he did one thing that makes me crazy, and I think did the same to Jill Wine-Banks. Heilemann had an opening powerhouse panel of major attorneys Barbara McQuade, Joyce Vance, and Jill Wine-Banks -- they hardly ever appear together. They were articulate and precise about the trial events of that day, and it was fascinating. Then, at the end of the segment, Heilemann said "I'm going to have to let these wonderful women go." Why not say "attorneys" or "lawyers"? I can't stand it when an expert is doing a great job, and then is recognized by her gender if it is a woman. "What a wonderful woman!" Ugh. Jill Wine-Banks's smile froze. I think even Heilemann heard what he had done, because then he compounded it with "the amazing Joyce Vance, the wonderful Barbara McQuade, and the remarkable Jill Wine-Banks." Gushing, just not the professional tone they had provided to him.
×
×
  • Create New...