Morning Joe: All Episodes Talk

[stafford]

I read a Huff Post article I believe was in the NYTs about some right wing "conservative" operative that set up the interviews with the two or three soldiers in his group that called him a deserter and a traitor. The NYTs article said the deaths of the eight soldiers were not directly attributable to searching for this guy. They then listed the brave soldiers that died and the circumstances of their tragic deaths.

I don't know why anyone is surprised that the right wing would use this tragic situation to further their narrative that President Obama should be impeached for war crimes. The continually use the death of the Ambassador and the four other Americans killed in Benghazi to suit their narrative. They really have no shame. Should someone remind them of their unilateral support for that cattle grazing nut job out west? Yup, lots of tweets erased and walking back their support.

If you get a chance check out The Daily Show's and John Stewart's take on the situation. I'm sorry I can't seem to link anything today. I'm doing this from a mobile device and I can't use the full editor.

[oakville]

Mika is still hyper today. Chuck Todd said that Obama wants to get rid of the gitmo prisoners.

[ShuFace88]

Joe has a lot of nerve sitting in judgement of Bergdahl's father.  Like Chuck said, this man's son was a prisoner for 5 years and he was doing anything in his power to help him get released.  Who knows what we would do in the same position.  Joe went on and on about what he would have told his 26 year-old son if he were in the same position.  Remind me Joe, when did your son enlist?  It's really easy to sit in judgement when your children will never ever have to confront the horrors of being in an actual war zone.  It doesn't matter if Bergdahl deserted or not, we don't leave troops behind.  If it is determined that he did desert, he will be court martialed but until that is determined Joe needs to back off!

[Dagny]

The panel was all over Obama and the administration for Bergdahl's release. First is was "negotiating with terrorists", now its the OPTICS!!!! Really. It's the optics. Not that we got an American soldier back and we're getting the hell out of Afghanistan. Optics. Next came the screen shot of 6 soldiers that were "killed looking for Bergdahl". Didn't the NY Times run a piece disproving that? 

[pivot]

Joe has lost his damn fool mind. When Chuck Todd is saying you've gone too far, you've gone too far.

 

And that story about Bergdahl being responsible for 6 soldiers' deaths isn't true. The military pushed back on it. This is another classic overreach by Republicans. It reminds me of the Terry Shiavo mess. Wasn't Joe still in Congress during that debacle?

[stormy]

Let's not forget that Bowe Bergdahl wouldn't have been in Afghanistan had Bush, Cheney, Condi and yes Colin Powell too, hadn't lied to go to war in the first place.

[suomi]

Joe has lost his damn fool mind. When Chuck Todd is saying you've gone too far, you've gone too far.

 

Mika nearly levitated at the beginning of the shriek fest which begins bubbling at 07:45 in the video. She was muttering asides like "(This is) not gonna help you." When she finally was able to get Joe calmed down, part of what she said was "I think when you start judging parents a lot of people are going to come at you and I'd rather not see that."

 

Todd: Don’t criticize Bergdahl parents here

http://www.msnbc.com/morning-joe

[stafford]

The entire panel found ways of saying that they agreed with Joe except for Chuck Todd. Willie tried a bit at the end to stick up for the parents but it was IMO wishy washy.

I agree totally with ShuFace88 that it's easy for Joe to say he'd tell his son to stay there and he'd get him help to get out of there. Really? Joe, mister I've lived everywhere, really? You think these parents have the necessary connections in Congress or the Pentegon that you a former Congressman would have? At most they would have had their Congressperson and possibly two Senators on their side. The kid had already walked away before this incident and was brought back but hey, one call from Joe and his son could have gotten out of there "honorably"? Bullshit. Joe maybe instead of claiming to live everywhere in the U.S. Maybe you ought to try living in the real world where you don't get to trade your celebrity for your kids honorable discharge.

Joe kept saying as a Father he would tell his son he was endangering the lives of his unit (which is such horseshit) because Joe can see into the future Conservatives talking points (forget the fact that those men died tragically but not because this guy walked away...but hey, never let the facts get in the way of your outright lies). Look this guy was obviously a mess but the Army didn't see fit to get him help. Hell, I imagine Joe would slap a solider with his white gloves if he dared to be suffering from battle shock in a ward with "true" heros. At least the majority of Americans were outraged over Patton's action and that got him booted from his command.

But as ShuFace88 said Joe's son would NEVER enlist to begin with so Joe can pretend to be a good American father and parrot all the conservative outrage. And Mika and Harold Ford (aka please let me keep this gig) agreeing with Joe in the end is such bullshit. My hat is off to Chuck Todd.

[wallybear]

Chuck Todd is making sense. The apocalypse is truly upon us.

[Eliot]

Joe was truly disgusting. And stupid. Seriously? "All his father had to do was call his commanding officer and tell him to send his son off to a military hospital." Sure, Joe. Like that is sooooo easy to do when everyone is IN COMBAT, FIGHTING THE ENEMY. The commander is going to stop and take a phone call from some lowly private's non-Congressman father? And then just pack the kid off to a military hospital because his father is worried about him? This isn't fucking summer camp!!

 

I personally do not believe the kid deserted, or meant to desert permanently. At most, I think he made a terrible mistake and spent five years in hell making up for that mistake. But even if I am wrong, that's not for me to decide. We cannot, as a nation, try our missing military personnel in absentia for crimes they may or may not have committed and use that as a basis for whether or not we do everything in our power to bring them home.

Edited June 6, 2014 by Eliot

[Landsnark]

https://tv.yahoo.com/news/msnbcs-chuck-todd-explodes-joe-scarborough-over-criticism-145700728.html

 

Well, I guess so begins the push for Joe Scarborough's children to volunteer to join the military as privates.   So he can prove to us all how RIGHT he is about everything in the world.

Why the fuck don't the show's panelists ask polite but pointed questions or make comments to prick his hot air balloon?

[Nidratime]

They had Chris Matthews on this morning to participate in the discussion about D-Day. I'd like to think it's because Matthews is some expert on D-Day -- which he's not -- but it's probably because he's been bashing Obama on Hardball the last few nights for making this trade for Bergdahl, giving up the five Taliban from Gitmo. Matthews has been portraying them as terrorists in the same vein as Osama bin Laden and that Bergdahl doesn't appear to be worth that trade. So, of course Joe was giving Matthews a big old tongue bath. Half the time, Joe wouldn't even show up if Matthews was there, but when Matthews is in Obama-bashing mode, Joe is all over him.

[renard]

Ghost of MJ Past: I was flipping channels either Wednesday or Thursday night and saw Crazy Uncle Pat on either Fox or Fox Business. I wonder if Joe would ever think he has enough juice to bring PB back on. So glad I missed CM this morning. What little I was able to tolerate this morning was such a joke: Joe and Mika all dressed up like grown-ups (What Mika, no pearls for the LBD? And ditch the giant Starbucks cup.)

[stafford]

Mike Meyer's was terrific on the show this morning. The story of his parents enlisting by lying about their age and then serving in the British military in 1940 was so interesting. After Mika tells him how cool he is and how she just loves him (yup she probably has Wayne's World saved on her DVR) she starts lecturing him on drinking poison (a coke). WTF? "You know that's pure sugar?" She couldn't be gracious for one second.

Ha, for the first time Joe couldn't compete with Mike's stories of his parents selfless dedication to quashing Facism. Joe had nothing...well except to mock Canadians (Mike was born in Canada) that recall the fact that they pushed further into France then any other force on D-Day (As Joe pointed out "they always say that"). Just be grateful Joe, that the Canadians were ther, okay?

[renard]

Mike Meyer's was terrific on the show this morning. The story of his parents enlisting by lying about their age and then serving in the British military in 1940 was so interesting. After Mika tells him how cool he is and how she just loves him (yup she probably has Wayne's World saved on her DVR) she starts lecturing him on drinking poison (a coke). WTF? "You know that's pure sugar?" She couldn't be gracious for one second.

 

I saw just a snippet of his segment. Really?!? I vow to you all, if I ever do anything that might allow me to go on their show, I will walk out with a Super Big Gulp (Pepsi, no Coke), a bag of chips, donuts and to top it all off, pull out a packet of sugar from my pocket and pour it directly on my tongue.

 

ETA: OMG!!! David Brooks wrote a NYT Op-Ed titled "President Obama Was Right" (about Bergdahl). PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE somebody put that in front of Joe on Monday!!!

Edited June 6, 2014 by renard

[oakville]

Mike Meyer's was terrific on the show this morning. The story of his parents enlisting by lying about their age and then serving in the British military in 1940 was so interesting. After Mika tells him how cool he is and how she just loves him (yup she probably has Wayne's World saved on her DVR) she starts lecturing him on drinking poison (a coke). WTF? "You know that's pure sugar?" She couldn't be gracious for one second.

Ha, for the first time Joe couldn't compete with Mike's stories of his parents selfless dedication to quashing Facism. Joe had nothing...well except to mock Canadians (Mike was born in Canada) that recall the fact that they pushed further into France then any other force on D-Day (As Joe pointed out "they always say that"). Just be grateful Joe, that the Canadians were ther, okay?

 

Ha, for the first time Joe couldn't compete with Mike's stories of his parents selfless dedication to quashing Facism. Joe had nothing...well except to mock Canadians (Mike was born in Canada) that recall the fact that they pushed further into France then any other force on D-Day (As Joe pointed out "they always say that"). Just be grateful Joe, that the Canadians were ther, okay?

 

 

[oakville]

My late father was a WW2 veteran & participated in the liberation of Greece in late 1944. He told me many war stories & it was not uncommon for soldiers to wander off the bases.

 

I think that Bergdahl was having problems adapting to the war in Afghanistan. If so, why didn't his commanders or fellow soldiers keep a closer eye on him?

 

It would be nice if someone on the panel asked Joe or Mika why their kids are not enlisting in the army?

 

I hope to restart regular recaps on Monday. .. It's nice to see some fellow TWOP's here!.

[Landsnark]

Soooo grateful for your return to recaps and health, Oakville.

 

I cannot even watch the show anymore.  I loathe Joe and Mika.

[suomi]

My late father was a WW2 veteran & participated in the liberation of Greece in late 1944. He told me many war stories & it was not uncommon for soldiers to wander off the bases.

 

Atta Boy! to your dad. Mine is still kickin' at 93, WWII vet, CBI (The Forgotten Theater: China - Burma - India). He's got some cool stories, like Merrill's Marauders at his base with dysentery so bad they went commando and also cut the seat out of their pants because ... well, it was the only way to keep their pants in fairly decent condition. He says it was no big deal to be off-base as long as you came back, and didn't cause any problems while you were gone.

 

http://www.ranger.org/page-594709

[oakville]

Soooo grateful for your return to recaps and health, Oakville.

 

I cannot even watch the show anymore.  I loathe Joe and Mika.

Me too! I was pretty scared when I had to go the hospital for signs of a stroke. Everything is back to normal now. Plenty of exercise & rest has helped. Work is back to normal as welI. I  could only watch the show sporadically. I found Mika to be silly when she was talking to Joe about Mike Myers while he as on the set. It was rude. It reminded me of when Russell Brand was on.

 

Why is Mika so anti Clinton? She likes Elizabeth Warren.?

[renard]

 

Why is Mika so anti Clinton? She likes Elizabeth Warren.?

 

Contrarian is the new Black/Republican Chic.

[EmeraldGirl]

Mika is so damned punchable these days that I'm actually HAPPY when it's just Joe there (and hi everyone - I used to be another precious stone)! Willie is not even phoning it in - when he is there I sometimes wonder if it's just a Willie mannequin.

I too want to get myself on the show and bring donuts and poptarts for everyone. And talk about shit like the Love Boat ... all the pop culture that Pussy missed out on.

[Nidratime]

Regarding Mika and her apparent support of Elizabeth Warren over Hillary, she always seems to trumpet Warren's more liberal leanings and support for the working class/middle class ... just like Mika, whose always been a big liberal and a champion of the little people. LOL! Mika is so-o-o Establishment, I have to roll my eyes at her Warren-love.

[sugarbaker design]

Thank goodness, this morning our little Miss Pussy Galore informed the television audience that she thrived this weekend.  That's right, thrived.

[Dagny]

Now Joe is an expert on horses. Panel mentioned that it took some people until 10 at night to get out of Belmont and Joe mentions that me made the correct choice not to take is dad to the races that day. He had done this in the past, of course, and it took them 5 hours to get out of there. "Anybody who follows horse racing". Yup, Joe knows...  His dad is also from Kentucky.  Have we figured out where he doesn't have a connection to?

 

I had no patience at all to follow their discussion on the prisoner exchange.

[Eliot]

I thought Joe's dad was dead.

 

I can't even with the prisoner exchange.

[oakville]

Morning Joe Recap. ( I am a bit rusty folks, but snark levels should be up to normal soon)

 

Mika had a great weekend! She was well rested. Maybe she got to drive around in her new ford pickup.:))

 

Ratner & Joe argued about horses.I think Joe or Ratner said all the horses should run three races. It's not fair that the triple crown winner has to run 3 races against a horse who did not participate in the two other races.

 

Mika & Joe were both well dressed today. Mika is even drinking Starbucks coffee evn though they were dropped as a sponsor.

 

Mika blasted the white house because someone said( Peggy Noonan)  that desertting the US military in Afghanistan is like taking a year off yale law school. 

 

Mika said they don't get it.

 

Mika piped in with "me too's" when ratner was speaking.

 

Ratner did not like the rose garden ceremony.

 

Joe said he knew the situation was messy just by looking at the bearded dad!.

 

Joe said he could find a number to call the generals on the field to let them know that the kids are misbehaving on the battlefield.

 

Joe said he would call the devil to make a deal for his first son to get him out of a POW camp.

 

Doesn't Joe have friends in the Tliban?

 

more later

 

 

[teddysmom]

I have to agree with Joe and Ratner on the Triple Crown deal.  Not the way California Chrome's owner acted, but it doesn't seem fair for some horses to run one race and others run them all. If this is the "Triple Crown", then you enter all three races.  JMO, others may vary. 

 

I saw a little of where Joe Klein was touting his article about Hillary being the nominee and Joe's head was exploding and he was screaming that Hillary won't be able to not say how she disagreed with the President on everything, and it will hurt her with Dems and help her with independents and conservatives.  A few seconds of Joe shrieking is more than I need on a Monday morning. 

 

Welcome back Oakville!!

[EmeraldGirl]

I thought Joe and Rattner did NOT agree with CC's owner? This is how racing has always gone, and you can't change the rules now. That' would be ridiculously unfair to every horse who just missed a triple crown.

I think we're missing something here between Mika and her disdain (to put it mildly) for the Clintons. Did Bill hit on her? Did she hit on Bill? Did Hilary sleep with Dr.Z? Did they turn down Mika's interviews or applications for WH jobs? When JOE tells you to stop beating a dead horse (about the Clintons no less), something here is personal. I agree though about how silly it sounded to complain about paying mortgageS when you know that ex presidents make a mint.

[sugarbaker design]

I thought Joe and Rattner did NOT agree with CC's owner?

 

 

You're right, they didn't agree.  That's always been the rules, if you don't like it, change the rules, then we'll have Triple Crown Winners every other year.

 

One would think CC's owner and HRC would have a PR machine telling them that whining, whether it's about losing the Triple Crown or being broke after leaving the White House,  is never a good thing.

[Dagny]

IIRC, CC's owners are still working their day jobs (making magnetic strips for credit cards and testing equipment) and own the horse on the side.  They would think that a PR person was for important people.

 

HRC - I give a pass, because I remember the 90s.

 

Hell definitely froze over - I agreed with Joe that Mika needed to let it go.

 

When did Joe want to bring the troops home?

[oakville]

Newsbusters is having a field day with Mika!. Mika is battling the "Clinton Machine"

 

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/mark-finkelstein/2014/06/10/mika-rips-dead-broke-hillary-defenders-youre-afraid

[Zalyn]

You guys are awesome - I've been buried in a project, so I don't have any spare headspace for the political outrage right now, especially with some of the ridiculous stuff being said about Bergdahl and his family.  It's much faster and more amusing to read your commentaries instead.  Maybe I'll rewatch them later with friends for a drinking game...

 

Anyway, keep it up!

[Jordan Baker]

 

Maybe I'll rewatch them later with friends for a drinking game...

 

Speaking of drinking games, I recall that we listed, over at TWOP, several phrases that could cause everyone to DRINK! . . . but I'm not sure I remember them all. Let's see . . .

 

• "When I was a congressman" or "When I was in Congress"
• <insert category of person, such as Republicans, White House staffers, etc.> "always come up to me and say"
• "Time and time again . . . "
• "Questions must be asked"

 

I'm drawing a blank on the others.

[Dagny]

I think a person would be plastered by the end of the first hour on the first and last one alone.

[EmeraldGirl]

Pussy: "Is it just me? What am I missing? I don't get it."

Harold: "Two things ..."

Barnicle: "People want JOBS not .. (Insert ANY current event topic)"

[Landsnark]

Re: the Triple Crown... there is no "Triple Crown."  It's a media thing bestowed upon a horse that wins the big three races.   That's all.  It's not a business.  It's not a single race.  It's not what horses train for.  It's not what owners and businesses look to to make their money or run their day to day.  

Also, the Belmont, the Preakness and Churchill Downs are non-affiliated businesses who stage the best horse races they are able.  They aren't in the business of pandering to this one horse's owner.  Each field of horses is its own field of horses for that race, to make that race the best race possible.  What if California Chrome lost at the Preakness?  Then the Belmont as a race has 0 interest in general.

Also these rules have applied since ever.

Only truly incredible horses have won all three races.

The reason it's a big deal is because it's nearly impossible.

 

And... People want jobs, not triple crown winners.  :p

[Eliot]

Pussy: "Is it just me? What am I missing? I don't get it."

Harold: "Two things ..."

Barnicle: "People want JOBS not .. (Insert ANY current event topic)"

 

 

Harold: "Yes, Joe, you're absolutely right."

Cackles: (unintelligible screeching)

Halperin: "Don't count Rick Perry out just yet!"

Edited June 11, 2014 by Eliot

[oakville]

Mini Recap June 10th edition. Sorry about the delay .

 

Mika was mad at @dreamy because he was the co host of the USA pageant.

 

Dreamy gave her a program from the pagent. Joe mumbled some lame joke about Ms Nevada wanting world peace.

 

Mika said Donald Trump knew how she felt about pagents.

 

It is baffling why Mika complains about pagents & women using their "looks" for competition, when she posed for Vanity Fair on a piano with her legs in the air.

 

Mika was upset about 5 more dead troops in Afghanistan & wondered why the USA was still there. She should ask her dad.

 

The main topic of the first segment was Hilary's "were dead broke" after they left the White House.

 

Mika was mad because it was obvious that the Clinton's would make a lot of money from speeches etc after they left the white house.

 

Mika said her family had to pack up the station wagon & go to Waskington when her dad became National Security advisor. Mika makes it sound like her family was very poor in 1977. It's not true, because DR Z was a pretty well known academic prior to 1977.

 

Mika said that her brothee is a poor ambassador to Sweden compared to those who get appointed ambassador because of political contributions

 

Mika is mad at everyone giving a pass to Hillary because she is likely to win the Presidency in 2016.

Halperin  moe or less agreed with Hillary.

 

Someone said Hillary was tone deaf about owning multiple houses.

 

Joe said Hillary is better connected to wall street than Rubio or Rand Paul.

 

Mika said Hillary's book is contrived. Halperin was upset that ilary didn't say what she would do as President.

 

Halperin or Mika said a GOP candidate that talked about being dead broke like Hillary would be eviscerated.

 

Eugene said only Hillary can stop herself from being President.

 

halperin wants to know how America meets its challenges.

 

Mika told the panel to stop being apologists for Hillary.

 

 

[Nidratime]

We get it, Mika, you hate Hillary for some unknown reason. Enjoy your life out in the wilderness for the next 6 or possibly 10 years.

[sugarbaker design]

Ford:  You got a point, Joe.

 

Pussy:  I don't know, I don't watch TV.

 

Joe:  People come up to me all the time...

[Eliot]

The world according to Joe:

 

When Martha Coakley misreads the electorate, tries to coast her way to a Senate seat, and gets defeated by Scott Brown, it's a cataclysmic event for the Democrats, a huge repudiation of President Obama, and a harbinger of huge changes to come. But when Eric Cantor misreads the electorate, tries to coast his way to re-election, and gets primaried by a Tea Partier, it's not indicative of anything other than Cantor's laziness.

 

Got it.

[Landsnark]

Thanks for throwing yourself on the grenades, Oakville.  Much appreciated.

You clearly use relaxation techniques to maintain your sanity and health as you watch this fascinatingly infuriating disaster of newsotainment.  What are those techniques so we can all be more patient?

[LuciaMia]

So, did the all-seeing, all-knowing Joe claim this morning that HE knew all along that Eric Cantor was gonna lose?

[Dagny]

Joe: "I've always been a big fan of [random sport or team]..."

 

Mika: "Humph, well... going onto the next topic"

[Ohwell]

One would think CC's owner and HRC would have a PR machine telling them that whining, whether it's about losing the Triple Crown or being broke after leaving the White House,  is never a good thing.

Didn't California Chrome get special permission to wear a nose patch?  I didn't hear the other owners bitching about that, so CC's owner's rantings about the Triple Crown makes him sound like even more of a whiner and a fool.

[EmeraldGirl]

Joe: "People inside the intel community tell me ...".

These dummies even invaded my dreams. I dreamed that the show was replaced by a CBS nightly news rerun, but WTE was still on. BUT - Mika fired Thomas and took the show for herself.

Edited June 12, 2014 by EmeraldGirl

[Nidratime]

I "loved" Joe screaming at the rest of the panel that the reason Bergdahl has yet to be brought back from Germany is because the White House lied. Not being brought back to domestic military hospital = the White House lied. (Whatever that equivalence means.) It has nothing to do with Bergdahl having mental issues after being held for five years by the Taliban or even nothing to do with possible harm or death threats by some of the whackjobs back in this country who've already threatened his parents and his home town.

 

I was reading this article in the Post about Bergdahl's mental state and the conclusion one can clearly draw is that Bergdahl shouldn't have been in the military in the first place.

 

Bergdahl’s writings reveal a fragile young man

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/bergdahls-writings-reveal-a-fragile-young-man/2014/06/11/fb9349fe-f165-11e3-bf76-447a5df6411f_story.html

[Dagny]

While I agree there are problems with the cost of college, tossing out the statistic that 68% of students don't finish their degree in 4 years is a little disingenuous.  I took 5 years, partially because when I first started, the engineering introduction people mentioned that is will take 5 years to finish the program.  I understand that it is slowly slipping to 6 years. Funny how the guys didn't mention how much the administration of the universities have been raking in the dough compared to historical averages.

 

Now that Iraq has devolved into a civil war between the Sunnis & Shiites in Iraq, I'm kinda surprised that no one, not even foreign correspondent boyfriend, mentioned if Iran was going to get in the fight. Yes, Malaki started it because he was backed by the Shiites (Iran) and didn't trust the Sunnis. Iran wouldn't like to have crazies on their border with weapons.  Think wacko Protestants rampaging in old Europe next to a Catholic country. Things go bad.

 

So, does the panel want us to invade Iraq again? These questions must be answered.

 

Joe was a reporter once in Connecticut?

 

I skipped around while watching the program. I couldn't help but notice the similarities between the radical forces in Iraq and their talking about the radical forces in the Republican party.

[Eliot]

While I agree there are problems with the cost of college, tossing out the statistic that 68% of students don't finish their degree in 4 years is a little disingenuous.  I took 5 years, partially because when I first started, the engineering introduction people mentioned that is will take 5 years to finish the program.  I understand that it is slowly slipping to 6 years. Funny how the guys didn't mention how much the administration of the universities have been raking in the dough compared to historical averages.

 

It's also disingenuous because the entire demographic makeup of today's college student population has changed radically than when Joe et al went to college. There are more non-traditional students, part-time students, foreign students, working students in the mix today. So it is going to naturally take them longer to finish a degree.