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"The Colbert Report": Week of 11/3/14

trow125

By trow125
in The Colbert Report [V]

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trow125

trow125

11/3/14 CHUCK TODD - NBC Nightly News
11/4/14 *Live Election Show* - ANDREW SULLIVAN - The Dish
11/5/14 SEN. KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND - Author, “Off the Sidelines: Raise Your Voice, Change the World”
11/6/14 STEVEN JOHNSON - Author, “How We Got to Now: Six Innovations That Made the Modern World”

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ruby24

ruby24

(edited)

Chuck Todd is usually annoying to me, but tonight I have to admit he made sense. By not defending Obama's record and cowardly running away from him, Democrats have ensured low enthusiasm by their own base and stupidly endorsed the Republican message that Obama hasn't done a good job with the economy, despite unemployment being under 6%, and that he's to blame for the gridlock, which is an absolutely galling accusation for the republicans of all people, to make.

 

Such an obvious mistake, why are Democrats so weak and cowardly? They and Obama actually have a good record to run on if they would only defend it.

Edited by ruby24
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Captanne

Captanne

As a friend of mine once said during the Clinton administration when I was complaining, "What's wrong with peace and prosperity?"  I'm a life long Democrat and will never change, but my party is so exasperating.

 

Long ago, I stopped watching all 24/7 news casts and now only read the Washington Post, NYT and listen to BBC radio.  I'm in my happy place -- don't judge.  Oh, and  watch Colbert and Stewart, religiously, to ease the despair and righteous indignation.  They put it in perspective.

 

So, it will be interesting for me to see Chuck Todd (I watch a day late on CC.)

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peeayebee

peeayebee

It seems like the Democrats are better at offense than defense. It's frustrating.

 

Some bits I loved:

 

- I like my coffee how I like my women: without Hitler.

- Idi Amint Chip

- prostate-tute

 

I also was wondering why masturbation wouldn't have the same benefits if the point was frequent ejaculation.

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Fremde Frau

Fremde Frau

(edited)

The Chuck Todd interview was far more entertaining than I anticipated, and Todd sadly made a great point about Democrats. I think the last time I felt inspired to vote for them instead of against the Republicans was back when Obama was running the first time. Now, they're running on not being as bad as the other guy, whether that other guy is Obama or the GOP. Ugh. Still, I'm ready for the runoff in Georgia! (Why do I feel like quoting Papa Bear? Fuck it! We'll do it live!)

 

Stephen's Ebola joke at the end of the interview was the best moment of all.

Edited by Fremde Frau
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Latverian Diplomat

Latverian Diplomat

(edited)

Wouldn't masturbation also be a great way to reduce the risk of prostate cancer? That is, if you're a lonely single guy. I wasn't really paying attention, My mind was on that oh so delicious poutine Montreal is well known for.

 

I also was wondering why masturbation wouldn't have the same benefits if the point was frequent ejaculation.

The study in question found a correlational link with number of partners in a man's lifetime (>20 partners was correlated with reduced risk). 

 

They didn't directly look at ejaculation frequency. The idea that ejaculation frequency is the real explanation of the study result is very reasonable, and fits the results of other, previous studies, but it wasn't a factor that was measured directly by this study.

 

http://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/sex-with-21-women-lowers-risk-for-prostate-cancer-study

 

It seems like this study is only getting more play than those previous studies simply because "Guys should sleep around more " makes a "better" headline than "Guys should jerk off more".

Edited by Latverian Diplomat
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brgjoe

brgjoe

This week has so made me feel bad when "Stephen" goes away.  Just fantastic stuff lately.

 

And I sit here actually agreeing with Chuck Todd.  The Dem's did cowardly run away from Obama.  By most *every* measure, the country is in better shape than when he took over in 2009.  But did the Democrats run on this? NOOOO, of course not.  I'd be touting that record day and night and also asking if you would want to go back to Republican rule where we had unending wars and financial ruin.  But the Democrats just don't seem to have the stomach for that sort of fight.  Very similar to the Obamacare stuff -- they ran from it instead of supporting it.   They deserve what they got, IMHO.

 

Before Stephen moves on, I hope they do another "Formidable Opponent" segment.  Hey, maybe his Formidable Opponent can have a show of *his* own too!  :)

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ruby24

ruby24

This week has so made me feel bad when "Stephen" goes away.  Just fantastic stuff lately.

 

And I sit here actually agreeing with Chuck Todd.  The Dem's did cowardly run away from Obama.  By most *every* measure, the country is in better shape than when he took over in 2009.  But did the Democrats run on this? NOOOO, of course not.  I'd be touting that record day and night and also asking if you would want to go back to Republican rule where we had unending wars and financial ruin.  But the Democrats just don't seem to have the stomach for that sort of fight.  Very similar to the Obamacare stuff -- they ran from it instead of supporting it.   They deserve what they got, IMHO.

 

Before Stephen moves on, I hope they do another "Formidable Opponent" segment.  Hey, maybe his Formidable Opponent can have a show of *his* own too!  :)

THIS. A thousand times this. How is that not a winning message? Are there people out there who actually think that's not the case? I don't even know how that's possible.

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Apathy

Apathy

This week has so made me feel bad when "Stephen" goes away.  Just fantastic stuff lately.

 

And I sit here actually agreeing with Chuck Todd.  The Dem's did cowardly run away from Obama.  By most *every* measure, the country is in better shape than when he took over in 2009.  But did the Democrats run on this? NOOOO, of course not.  I'd be touting that record day and night and also asking if you would want to go back to Republican rule where we had unending wars and financial ruin.  But the Democrats just don't seem to have the stomach for that sort of fight.  Very similar to the Obamacare stuff -- they ran from it instead of supporting it.   They deserve what they got, IMHO.

 

Before Stephen moves on, I hope they do another "Formidable Opponent" segment.  Hey, maybe his Formidable Opponent can have a show of *his* own too!  :)

 

THIS. A thousand times this. How is that not a winning message? Are there people out there who actually think that's not the case? I don't even know how that's possible.

 

Seriously, these midterms should have been so easy for the Democrats to win. They had ONE job, and they blew it! Of course, low voter turnout doesn't help either.

 

It sucks The Colbert Report is ending soon...we can really use Stephen's humor in these next couple of years.

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ruby24

ruby24

(edited)

I know that traditionally the president's party always loses seats in mid-terms, but for them to lose this badly when the economy is improved, millions more people have healthcare, marriage equality is sweeping the nation, gas prices are down, and we are undoubtedly better off than when he took office...it just depresses me that people can't see all that when it's so clear to me, and I'm not even looking that hard. It just doesn't make any sense- I mean, this is what Democrats voted for. What is it that people want to be happening instead? For the Republicans to crash the economy and take all those things away?

Edited by ruby24
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shok

shok

I know that traditionally the president's party always loses seats in mid-terms, but for them to lose this badly when the economy is improved, millions more people have healthcare, marriage equality is sweeping the nation, gas prices are down, and we are undoubtedly better off than when he took office...it just depresses me that people can't see all that when it's so clear to me, and I'm not even looking that hard.

 

It depresses me too but I'm not actually surprised. From the day that President Obama was inaugurated the Republicans have obstructed and maligned and lied about him and his policies. Hell, even before inauguration, during the campaign they were chasing his birth certificate and telling people he was a foreigner and a terrorist and it just got worse from there. The Republicans have slimed him and blamed everything on him - even when it was shit they did themselves!

 

Government shutdown? Obama's fault. Economy not growing fast enough? All Obama's fault. Gridlock? Obama's fault. ISIS? Obama's fault. Ebola? Obama's fault. And what's been even more disgusting is how almost from the beginning, the press and the media fell right in with the Republicans and the American people have been inundated with Foxian bullshit night and day 24-7 on virtually every media outlet and on the internet, backed by billions of dollars of dark money and the most right wing Supreme Court in history.

 

What makes me most sad is how many Democrats themselves fell for the lies and talk about Obama's weak record when in fact, he will go down in history as one of the most accomplished presidents ever. That's not to say that the Democrats haven't contributed to their own troubles with their woeful messaging (or lack of), but they were up against a huge juggernaut of bias and bullshit. It all makes me quite sick.

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Fremde Frau

Fremde Frau

I keep hoping, with things like advancements in human rights for LGBT individuals, that we are headed towards a more progressive era, but I think it's much more likely that we're headed towards a reactionary, fundamentalist era that will only continue to set us back until we have another wave of enlightenment to strongly counter this current culture of fear-mongering. The Republicans are completely controlling the dialogue about politics in this country; that's what I think the Democrats' biggest failure was. Since 2009, they've let year after year go by where they allow bullshit to go unchallenged and instead try each of them to defend themselves against association with that bs. So, the bigger narrative snowballs into this alternate reality where everyone from the politicians to the media are invested in a demonstrably false narrative instead of the reality of successes and progress.

 

In any case, some people think these two shows are stale now, but moments like these make me particularly grateful for Stephen and Jon slogging away at the GOP machine. The Democrats and the mainstream media certainly aren't challenging that machine in any concentrated, purposeful fashion. Leave it to two comedians.

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shok

shok

The problem with the Democrats is that they can't lie as glibly as the Republicans. Even when confronted with their lies, the Republicans will look you right in the eye and say no, that's not what they said and did. It's pretty hard for most rational people to deal with their kind of blatant mistruths and then they'll repeat those same lies over and over and over again until it becomes some kind of irrational conventional wisdom.

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Fremde Frau

Fremde Frau

I agree. (It makes me think of Jon interviewing David Barton, who just created lie after lie on the spot. Or anyone debating intelligent design and climate science deniers.) The only way to win might be to deny the battle. Specifically: to deny that false debate. I hope Jon doesn't invite Barton back on, and I wish scientists would just shut off any public indulgence of science deniers. For the same reason, I wish that the Democrats would just focus on reality and, if the Republicans won't meet them there, then let the Republicans spiral off into their absurd cult of fear. But that would take the joint, honest effort of the media in holding political debates to actual issues rather than indulging fantasies. Instead, we have a country where Sarah Palin is seen and treated in the mainstream as a viable vice presidential candidate.

 

So, we're fucked.

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alexvillage

alexvillage

To begin with:

FUCK FLORIDA

This place reelected Voldemort for governor, knowing that the man is a hater. 

 

I am with the ones who voted against Republicans instead of for Democrats. They are all a bunch of assholes that pander to the same corporate giants and big money. It sucks because at least there are a few things that they do "protect", for a lack of a better term and the disfunction will get worse, since we still have a black President.

But I also blame the media. The NY Times has been subtly and not so subtly hitting on Obama since the beginning of this year, maybe longer. The media who is more liberal (not "liberal media" because I see a difference) wants Hillary to run and win, so they have been making a point of distancing herself (and she has made this point to) from Obama. Well, other politicians want to win too, they don't really care about the work, they care about their jobs. They don't care about working on policies that benefit the majority, they care about their jobs, as in benefits and pay checks, plus the adoration of lobbyists that make life a lot easier for them.

I read something about how the media talks about the "plummeting" job approval numbers for Obama, when they have been steady for ten months, and when his low numbers are higher than the low numbers of any other president since JFK. Then they talk about how Obama is in "deep trouble" because of what happened in (insert another country here). Not to mention that the journalists who write these pieces are not very good at writing.

 

I am disgusted by everything.

Can one ask for asylum in another State? 

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alexvillage

alexvillage

 

We'd be happy to take you here in Iowa, but then, Joni Ernst was just elected to Senate (she of the 'castrating hogs/cutting pork' fame).

I think I will pass then 

I want to go back to MA, but I dream of Vermont. They have the one of two respectable people in the whole Congress, Bernie Sanders. The other one is Elizabeth Warren. The rest could just vanish and would not be missed

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attica

attica

The survival of Rick Scott, Scott Walker and whatshisname LePage make me weep.

 

Well, now that the new Red Senate will start drilling in Old Faithful (I'm making that up, universe! Please don't make it come true!), maybe a climate-change related storm will wash DC into the sea.

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cattykit

cattykit

(edited)

 

I loved that they got Andrew Sullivan saying "Bullshit!" twice on live television.

I record this show and watch it the next day so it really didn't feel live even though Stephen said it about eight times (that and I have the attention span of a gnat), so when I heard the profanity, I immediately wondered how it didn't get bleeped. 

Edited by cattykit
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taanja

taanja

 

Can one ask for asylum in another State?

 

 Well Minnesota is cold but our governor, Dayton, was just re-elected. He inherited a 6 billion deficit and turned it into a 1.3 billion dollar surplus. We love education and investing in education. We love our citizens to have health care. Every state has it's issues but at least we stayed true blue!

 

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alexvillage

alexvillage

Minnesota is looking good! What do I do? 

But seriously, people in Florida are so ignorant. The economy that they say is better is because of Obama's policies. Florida did not expand medicaid, and too many people are still unhealthy and uninsured. The ones who are finally insured, got hit with a almost 40% premium increase for the next year. There are homeless everywhere and in the big cities we cannot feed them, it is a felony. Minorities are much worse, disabled people are going to get hit again by Skeletor Governor, schools are a disgrace, kids don't learn anything anymore.

But hey! everyone is happy because there are new golf courses for the retired and the snow birds to play all day!

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Fremde Frau

Fremde Frau

Is it this way everywhere, that politicians can't or won't just explicitly call bullshit on others? From what I've seen of the UK, it seems as though politicians there have to face direct, public criticism on any number of false claims and disingenuous behavior. Compared to that, it bugs the hell out of me that Gillibrand can't or won't just slap the GOP in the face with their own bullshit, instead of this routine of "Oh, I hope they mean it because we should be able to agree on issues XYZ." That's just additional fake talk building on original fake talk, which is now so normalized that it's the standard political dialogue in government and in the media. It's such a thing now that Obama calling BS on O'Reilly to his face is viewed as pettiness. Is this a result of (to paraphrase Jon) our politicians being primarily fund-raisers who only govern part-time?

 

I loved Barbara Lee's answers about terrorism.

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peeayebee

peeayebee

BKAD was outstanding. Barbara Lee was just perfect. She was serious when appropriate, but she joined in the silly fun too. I just couldn't stop laughing when they kept doing the wave. Loved them hula-hooping and silly-stringing each other.

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WhatDoYouKnow

WhatDoYouKnow

 

so when I heard the profanity, I immediately wondered how it didn't get bleeped.

It's live, but probably on an 8-second delay (or something). Jon said a word ("fuck," I think, but I can't remember) that definitely got bleeped on TDS right before it. "Bullshit" is one of those things that's becoming "more okay" for them to say a certain number of times an episode if they want, so I wasn't really surprised by it.

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taanja

taanja

 

But seriously, people in Florida are so ignorant.

 

We do have a lot of crazy red here as well. Take Michelle Bachman (please!)

 

Oh and many of the republicans become snow birds --- they spend just enough time in Florida  (no income taxes) to be able to vote there. But of course they want to come to Minnesota when the weather is nice and stay at their lake cabins and enjoy all the amenities we have to offer without paying for them. (they pay no income taxes here)

 

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Victor the Crab

Victor the Crab

Fort Lauderdale and its mayor deserve a savage punch in the mouth for arresting a 90 year old man who feeds the homeless. If the mayor says he's a Christian, then he should go to Hell for that.

 

Great. Republican senator and certified piece of shit James Inhofe will be the new chair of the Senate Environmental Committee. The world is fucked!

 

I need to be plastered.

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peeayebee

peeayebee

Sometimes I FF thru the opening credits, sometimes I don't. I didn't with this ep, and as Stephen descended thru the graphics, one line was "Stop fast-forwarding DVR now." Made me giggle.

 

I also liked when Stephen looked at the trout with the breasts and said, "Gun to my head, sure." Then later when going to commercial, there was a shot of a trout mounted on Stephen's wall. Hee.

 

I noticed that when they showed the text of the report about reversing aging in mice, it was spelled "ageing." Apparently that's an accepted alternate spelling, which is news to me. And I don't like it or understand why it's acceptable.

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attica

attica

Fort Lauderdale and its mayor deserve a savage punch in the mouth for arresting a 90 year old man who feeds the homeless.

 

I'd seen the headlines for this story a few days ago, and I remember thinking to myself that there was probably something more to it than just 'heartless law!' I was thinking maybe it was owing to food prep rules, or health & safety of the public, or something arcane and regulatory. But it turns out, no! Dicks don't think homeless people should be fed. ::shakes head, despairs::

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Sharpie66

Sharpie66

Dicks don't think homeless people should be fed.

 

Don't forget what Mitt Romney said in his 47% video:

 

...there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it.

 

 

So, yeah, that attitude is endemic to the conservative base.

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trow125

trow125

  • Author

Finally catching up with this week's shows -- with the Report ending next month, I (like nowandlater) was pleasantly surprised that MY district, and my awesome representative Barbara Lee, were finally "better known"! I had no idea that Wham-O! was located in the Fightin' 13th.

 

One thing I noticed: when Babs (ha) and Stephen were doing "the wave," it looked like they were in a large meeting room. Stephen said at the beginning "I sat down with Rep. Lee in her Washington office." It actually appears that they do the interview in a separate room and then green-screen in shots so it looks like they're sitting in an office. (I spotted an A's cap so it must have been footage from her actual office -- surely no one but an Oakland representative would have any A's paraphernalia on display!) Anyway, I'm delighted that California's 13th is finally up on the big board.

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alexvillage

alexvillage

 

Republicans seem to be okay with the concept of access to food, but making it an actuality seems to be a step too far.

Scary it that the mayor is a democrat, in the most liberal county of Florida. I used to live in the area and while there are some great things, like alternative people, the ones who are privileged fit the stereotype of shallow, too concerned with appearances and not too concerned with social justice

Yes, Florida sucks this much

 

Don't feed the homeless because we don't want to see them. But ask what is being done to help the homeless. Nothing. The privileged people want to believe homeless people love being homeless, like an adventure. Sickening. 

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Sharpie66

Sharpie66

I thought that last night's guest, Steven Johnson, was just delightful. I've been loving his PBS series (very James Burke in his approach!), and the little anecdotal tidbits he pulls together (like Ronald Reagan owing his election to the air conditioner) is just the way I love to see history presented.

 

I bought his book The Invention of Air after seeing him on TCR (highly recommended!), so I was really looking forward to his guest shot this week.

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ABay

ABay

James Burke is exactly who I thought of when I heard the premise of How We Got to Now, and I don't know how I missed it being on. Oh, wait, my PBS station sucks. Right.

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Sharpie66

Sharpie66

(I just bought the box set of the original Connections--it should be waiting for me to get home tonight! I've got The Day The Universe Changed on my Amazon Wish List, but since it is still $90, I'm not getting it for myself at this time. It used to be on YouTube, but TPTB managed to get most of the eps wiped off the site. I actually talked with James Burke once, when he was on a local radio show. I completely fangirled all over him, but then managed to introduce him to a really good book he hadn't heard of before that I really love.It theorized that a big reason for the difference in the approaches the West had to technology vs. the East was due to their writing styles--it's called The Alphabet Effect.)

 

How We Got to Now should be up on the PBS.org site for at least a little while--they had the Roosevelts series there for a few weeks after it was broadcast.

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