All Episodes Discussion: 2017 Season

[Calvada]

RACHEL IS BACK!  RACHEL IS BACK! RACHEL IS BACK!

I feel I should pull out my Sports Night DVDs, since I seem to be channeling Dana:  "My show is on!  My show is on!"

At last, our long nightmare is over.  Well, Ari & Joy weren't really a nightmare (that would have been Greta as a substitute), but instead they were like the babysitter and I'm the little kid who just heard Mom's car pull into the garage.  

[jjj]

Yippee, I'd even take Rachel at 50% rather than 90% -- but mostly I want her to be well.

Nice tribute to Lawrence O'Donnell at the end -- several news reports credit her support of O'Donnell as leading to his successful negotiation.  I'm not a huge fan of his, but anyone who is good for Rachel is fine with me.  "We will be the last two planes off the island."  Great to have a generous colleague like that. 

[Moose135]

2 hours ago, Calvada said:

I feel I should pull out my Sports Night DVDs, since I seem to be channeling Dana:  "My show is on!  My show is on!"

It's always good to see a random Sports Night reference pop up unexpectedly!

[ScoobieDoobs]

10 hours ago, jjj said:

That is such good news -- the way Joyce continued to hedge that "Rachel will be back...soon" made me think at least another week.  She clearly was sick that day she came back to break the Jared story and on the phone on Friday.

But if she had missed the Comey hearing coverage on Thursday, I would have been seriously concerned!

Her name is Joy -- not Joyce.  Let's get that straight please cuz I love her.  And LOD tweeted she was #1 in cable last nite replacing Rach, so YAY for Joy! 

The signoff convo with LOD was so super sweet.

I love ya, Rach, but that stuff about Vinnie the Chin went on way, way, way too long & I had no idea why the fuck you were spending what felt like 600 years on shit I care nothing about.  OK, you finally got to why you were talking about him.  Whew, finally, after what felt like an eternity.  Well, good point & admittedly great to know, that the attorney who prosecuted Vinnie the Chin (a slippery, slippery reprehensible mobster) decades ago is now working with Mueller.

Great to have you back, Rach!  Now if only Bette Midler would sing "Hello Rachel" set to "Hello Dolly", I'd be a real happy camper.

Edited June 7, 2017 by ScoobieDoobs

[jjj]

35 minutes ago, ScoobieDoobs said:

Her name is Joy -- not Joyce.  Let's get that straight please cuz I love her.  And LOD tweeted she was #1 in cable last nite replacing Rach, so YAY for Joy! 

The signoff convo with LOD was so super sweet.

I realized this evening that I had written "Joyce," and thought, I have to find where I wrote that and change it to Joy Ann!  I even follow her Twitter account, which is JoyAnnReid, so arggh to me.  Thanks for catching this, and I also think she is terrific. 

[ButterQueen]

So happy Rachel is back!

[ButterQueen]

I really enjoyed the mob information, and loved her point that a very successful crime prosecutor has joined Mueller in the Russia investigation.

[clb1016]

3 hours ago, ButterQueen said:

I really enjoyed the mob information, and loved her point that a very successful crime prosecutor has joined Mueller in the Russia investigation.

I wish I could be that sanguine about the situation, but the truth is that as long as the Reps control both houses of Congress, Trump could do his "shoot someone on Fifth Avenue" thing without any penalty.

An hour earlier, on Chris Hayes's show, Chris made the point that the major Republicans in Congress are all standing firmly with Team Trump, despite the fact that they have no idea what kind of misfeasance or malfeasance any of these investigations will reveal.  They have long since passed the point of party over country. 

[JakeyJokes]

I loved the mob stuff, but I'm a big nerd about true crime. I would love to watch Rachel host a show in that genre if she ever tires of politics (which I highly doubt!). Wasn't Sammy "The Bull" Gravano's daughter Karen one of the key players on Mob Wives? (I loved that show. RIP Big Ang)

[jenrising]

[Wings]

10 hours ago, clb1016 said:

I wish I could be that sanguine about the situation, but the truth is that as long as the Reps control both houses of Congress, Trump could do his "shoot someone on Fifth Avenue" thing without any penalty.

An hour earlier, on Chris Hayes's show, Chris made the point that the major Republicans in Congress are all standing firmly with Team Trump, despite the fact that they have no idea what kind of misfeasance or malfeasance any of these investigations will reveal.  They have long since passed the point of party over country. 

Yes, they are getting richer and getting things passed to make them even more so.  

[attica]

I giggled when Rachel sotto voced a wonder if there would even be a movie industry after this year. If there is, well, they can read this thread for castling suggestions! (What do we think about Julia Sweeney for Sarah Huckabee Sanders? Too old?)

I love that a return from sick leave is boffo ratings. A real window into the public mood.

[jjj]

"I'm not that kind of doctor, but I'm issuing a doctor's note to all of you so you can stay home and watch the Comey hearing tomorrow!"

I wish she would prescribe a cocktail for us all, also. 

[Wings]

44 minutes ago, jjj said:

"I'm not that kind of doctor, but I'm issuing a doctor's note to all of you so you can stay home and watch the Comey hearing tomorrow!"

I wish she would prescribe a cocktail for us all, also. 

I can do that for you!  Make yourself anything you choose and double it.  

[jjj]

Rachel seemed much closer to 100% tonight (Wednesday).  I think the Senate hearing endorphins are boosting her immune system. 

[netlyon2]

*giggles and rubs her hands together with glee*

Rachel Maddow’s Return Crushed Fox News In The Ratings

[Wings]

Is there a thread for the Senate hearing today?  I am riveted.  

[AmandaPanda]

Discussion of the Comey hearing and how Rachel should handle it is not the purpose of this thread. Discussion of how Rachel does handle it is. 

[stormy]

I was happy that someone, and that was Rachel, that said yes, Director Comey said three times, trump was not under investigation.  Not for now.

Rachel sounded less congested tonight.

[ahisma]

I love the opening graphic so much, the photo of Comey swearing in with "Lordy!" I hope there are tapes, too!

Rachel did great pulling out the Sessions news, pointing out the president's lies, clearly outlining the obstruction, and eviscerating Trump's new-old lawyer. But she didn't tease out the one thing the senators also didn't pursue—Comey said under oath that Pence definitely knew Flynn was trouble long before it came out. (Yeah, I want Pence to go down, too.)

I am more confused than ever about the NYT story. I wish that the senators had asked Comey if he believed that the subsequent Post, Guardian, etc., stories were also incorrect. Maybe there was some one thing in the NYT story that threw him off? IDK

[Galloway Cave]

1 hour ago, ahisma said:

I am more confused than ever about the NYT story.

It's possible Comey may be pulling a typical law enforcement tactic (one I have done many times on the stand). When part of the story or question is false or wrong, give a blanket "no" to the whole question. A defense attorney would ask me a question that would be 95% true but 5% false and I would answer no, because that would force him to ask me what was wrong about the question or what was the real answer. If I had answered "well kinda yes" then he would have ended the questioning and I would not have been able to correct the 5% falsehood, unless the prosecutor picked up on what I was doing. The senators didn't ask past his "no" answer ("was there ANY part of the NYT story that was true? Was there a part that you can discuss in a closed hearing?"). Comey wasn't throwing them any hints on what direction to go, that was sure.

Although I really enjoyed last night's episode, I am REALLY looking forward to tonight, now that Rach and Co. have had a day to digest and graph out the whole shebang.
 

[car54]

Wow, Rachel is really doing great against the other prime time shows.

[ScoobieDoobs]

9 hours ago, Galloway Cave said:

It's possible Comey may be pulling a typical law enforcement tactic (one I have done many times on the stand). When part of the story or question is false or wrong, give a blanket "no" to the whole question. A defense attorney would ask me a question that would be 95% true but 5% false and I would answer no, because that would force him to ask me what was wrong about the question or what was the real answer. If I had answered "well kinda yes" then he would have ended the questioning and I would not have been able to correct the 5% falsehood, unless the prosecutor picked up on what I was doing. The senators didn't ask past his "no" answer ("was there ANY part of the NYT story that was true? Was there a part that you can discuss in a closed hearing?"). Comey wasn't throwing them any hints on what direction to go, that was sure.

Although I really enjoyed last night's episode, I am REALLY looking forward to tonight, now that Rach and Co. have had a day to digest and graph out the whole shebang.
 

I thought Rach did great last nite.  She did EXACTLY what I "hoped" (no ordering from me, Rach, just truly hoping) she'd do.  She had on the reporter of that NY Times piece Comey said was false & she made a point of bringing it up first & highlighting that many, many other very reliable & notable sources such as WaPo, HuffPost & CNN, among others, also reported on this story on their own.  Glad she did that & she had to do it straight off because it directly affects her own credibilty, since she discussed it at length.

I was extremely confused when Comey insisted the piece was false, but the Times reporter stood by his story, which as Rach said has mostly been shown to be true & was reported on by so many others.  The Times reporter said there was likely something inconsequential which Comey believed was not true (as suggested above), but he had no idea what it was.  Whew, thanks for clearing that up, Rach.

Edited June 10, 2017 by ScoobieDoobs

[stormy]

I can't remember if it was Rachel or Chris Hayes last night (turning into one big blur) but whichever showed the Senate hearing with Claire McCaskill going after the other side...holy cow. What a hot mess. I hope she isn't the only one pissed off.

[jjj]

4 hours ago, stormy said:

I can't remember if it was Rachel or Chris Hayes last night (turning into one big blur) but whichever showed the Senate hearing with Claire McCaskill going after the other side...holy cow. What a hot mess. I hope she isn't the only one pissed off.

I agree it was a blur, but think that was Chris Hayes' show.  BUT, this is relevant because Rachel has mentioned that the Senate is writing its version of the health care bill behind closed doors, while everyone is focused on Comey and other public testimony.  Apparently they plan to bring it forward for a vote with 24 hours notice.  And that is why Senator McGaskill blew a gasket in the footage we saw on the show last night.  No input from Democrats, and their votes won't count.  I'll bet Rachel gets to the McGaskill  blowup next week. 

[ScoobieDoobs]

OK, senators on the committee Sessions is to testify before tomorrow, Rach made it very, very easy for you.  She signed off her show lining up exactly the questions you should be asking.  Now let's see if at least the Dem senators were watching Rach & will ask the great questions she set up for them to ask.  She pretty much did their homework for them.  

Btw, I am so adoring the chatter between Rach's signoff & LOD's startup.

[attica]

Maybe it was just a stammer, but I thought I heard Rachel refer to PBS's Judy Woodruff as 'Judge' Judy Woodruff. Which is awesome. JW needs a gavel!

[ScoobieDoobs]

Oh Rach, you're ONLY discussing the shootings & NOTHING else?  Ugh, I hate when CNN & MSNBC does a story to death & won't take a break from it.  So freakin' exploitative.  Guess Rach is following orders from her bosses on what to cover.  

Sorry Rach, but I'm taking a break from you until you can move on to other topics.  Going over now to Real Housewives, but I promise to get back to you, Rach, when you've moved on.

[Medicine Crow]

45 minutes ago, ScoobieDoobs said:

Oh Rach, you're ONLY discussing the shootings & NOTHING else?  Ugh, I hate when CNN & MSNBC does a story to death & won't take a break from it.  So freakin' exploitative.  Guess Rach is following orders from her bosses on what to cover.  

Sorry Rach, but I'm taking a break from you until you can move on to other topics.  Going over now to Real Housewives, but I promise to get back to you, Rach, when you've moved on.

Yes, you & me both.  I'm at home all day & it's been wall-to-wall coverage.  I was looking forward to Rachel gleefully telling us about CaptainChaos getting charged with .....

[ahisma]

45 minutes ago, Medicine Crow said:

I was looking forward to Rachel gleefully telling us about CaptainChaos getting charged with .....

Same! At least she did get to do ~15 minutes altogether on the Trump investigation, and a couple of minutes on the Flint charges. (Excellent multi-tasking on her part to grab the MI congressman to squeeze in the latter! Tricksy Rachel. :D) It just seems weird that the baseball game shooting is still MSNBC's (nearly) non-stop story. It was the big story in the news this morning, but so was the London housing block fire. And then there was the UPS workplace shooting in SF. I know people get myopic around DC, but wow. 

[M. Darcy]

It was weird - I'm pretty sure that the 12 am repeat was just an old show devoted to the Russian investigation. She kept saying "today "the NYT released details about Russia and that happened a while ago and the shooting wasn't mentioned.  Plus, when I listened to the podcast, it was different.  Unless I was just really tired but I'm pretty sure. 

Edited June 15, 2017 by M. Darcy

[BennyB]

Quote

It was weird

Yes.  I watched the first broadcast (and recorded it)  Mr. BB sat down to watch the 2nd broadcast and it was, as you mentioned, an old show of when the Russian Foreign Minister and Ambassador visited the Oval Office (and #45* "showed" them intelligence).  We switched back to the recording (we live on West Coast so shows are at 6 & 9 pm).  It was odd, to say the least.

[rallymantis]

17 hours ago, ahisma said:

It just seems weird that the baseball game shooting is still MSNBC's (nearly) non-stop story. It was the big story in the news this morning, but so was the London housing block fire. And then there was the UPS workplace shooting in SF. I know people get myopic around DC, but wow. 

It seemed to me to be a sensible amount of coverage for a politically motivated act of violence, and I tip my rally cap to the network for it.

[DownTheShore]

I'm a fan of Rachel's show but I don't quite understand what the posting parameters are in this forum regarding discussing the content of her shows in connection with what's going on in the greater political sphere, so I'll remain a lurker to avoid any problems.

Carry on. ?

[suomi]

4 hours ago, DownTheShore said:

I'm a fan of Rachel's show but I don't quite understand what the posting parameters are in this forum regarding discussing the content of her shows in connection with what's going on in the greater political sphere, so I'll remain a lurker to avoid any problems.

Carry on. ?

Join in! The mods usually don't bite too hard and they hand out Neosporin and Band-Aids if they break the skin. I've had a post or three or four disappear and I lived to tell the tale.

[chessiegal]

I've been out of MSNBC coverage since June 7, and while enjoying my travels, considering what's going on in DC, I do miss watching Rachel. I've been keeping up with Twitter, but Rachel is not much of a tweeter (Joy Reid and Chris Hayes - yes). Any info on what she's discussing on her shows would be most appreciated. Things seem to be moving at quite a pace. And can I tell you that Europe is very interested in all things Trump admin/scandals. TIA and feel free to PM me.

[jjj]

1 hour ago, chessiegal said:

I've been out of MSNBC coverage since June 7, and while enjoying my travels, considering what's going on in DC, I do miss watching Rachel. I've been keeping up with Twitter, but Rachel is not much of a tweeter (Joy Reid and Chris Hayes - yes). Any info on what she's discussing on her shows would be most appreciated. Things seem to be moving at quite a pace. And can I tell you that Europe is very interested in all things Trump admin/scandals. TIA and feel free to PM me.

The podcasts of Rachel's show are free and a good way to stay updated.  Only audio for the full show, but the first segment has a separate video podcast.  Worth the time! 

Edited June 16, 2017 by jjj

[skittl3862]

Does Rachel's hair look like it's been highlighted to anyone else or is it my TV? Every time she turned her head last night, it looked like she has frosted tips or grey or something. Super shiny hair reflection from the lights?

I should mention I watch the livestream 99% of the time and rarely see the show in HD on the big TV screen so maybe this is normal.

[Medicine Crow]

I think she just got a trim.  That's all I got!!!

[jjj]

The Power of Rachel:  she asked TPTB "can you drop the banner?" of "BREAKING NEWS" when she was trying to describe the ships pictured in the collision off Japan today.  *And they dropped the banner immediately.* Ironically, this actually was Breaking News, unlike the other 95% of the time when they display that banner. 

[kassygreene]

4 hours ago, chessiegal said:

I've been out of MSNBC coverage since June 7, and while enjoying my travels, considering what's going on in DC, I do miss watching Rachel. I've been keeping up with Twitter, but Rachel is not much of a tweeter (Joy Reid and Chris Hayes - yes). Any info on what she's discussing on her shows would be most appreciated. Things seem to be moving at quite a pace. And can I tell you that Europe is very interested in all things Trump admin/scandals. TIA and feel free to PM me.

MSNBC will show you full episodes online (minus commercials) if you are a subscriber to one of the ISPs they list, and I think also in the U.S.  They only hang on to episodes for two days.

[ahisma]

On 6/14/2017 at 8:13 PM, ahisma said:

At least she did get to do ~15 minutes altogether on the Trump investigation, and a couple of minutes on the Flint charges. (Excellent multi-tasking on her part to grab the MI congressman to squeeze in the latter! Tricksy Rachel. :D)

Okay, she had to sneak the Flint story into MSNBC's non-stop shooting coverage, but tonight she was able to flat-out say to Amy Klobuchar, "I have three big stories you're connected to (Castile shooting verdict, Cuba embargo, obstruction of justice investigation), so you're on!" Nice when Rachel gets to cover a lot of bases.

Edited June 17, 2017 by ahisma
autocorrect hates names

[Calvada]

14 hours ago, jjj said:

The Power of Rachel:  she asked TPTB "can you drop the banner?" of "BREAKING NEWS" when she was trying to describe the ships pictured in the collision off Japan today.  *And they dropped the banner immediately.* Ironically, this actually was Breaking News, unlike the other 95% of the time when they display that banner. 

I wish she would ask to drop the banner more often.  This is my biggest pet peeve, and I'm sure I've posted about it before, but not everything is breaking news.  Especially when it happened hours before.  And even if it is happening as the show is airing, not everything deserves the "Breaking News" banner.  But I'm old, and I remember when networks breaking into regular programming for a special bulletin would cause everyone to hush and wait with bated breath to find out what had happened.  It usually was not good news, but it was always huge news - an earthquake, an assassination attempt, or something on that level.  Nothing like "President Tweets."  

Speaking of breaking news, I was appalled that in the immediate aftermath of the shooting of Rep. Scalise, most outlets were reporting quite quickly, based on statements from people at the scene and a tweet from Trump, that Scalise would be fine, he was shot "only" in the hip.  At the time, I thought, yes, but with a fucking rifle!  It's not like he got plugged by a .22.  Rifle bullets tend to travel further into or through a human body, and can cause great damage.  Then suddenly they are all shocked by how serious it is, when the doctor's statement about broken bones, organ damage, and loss of blood comes out.  It's a good lesson for all these reporters/networks, that sometime you have to wait for the whole story.  

I am  enjoying the discussions that Rachel and Lawrence have been having as one show transitions into another.  I'd really like to have a drink with the two of them.  It's on my bucket list, in the category of "will never happen, but keeping hope alive!"

I am surprised Sen. Klobuchar is not on with Rachel more often.  Rachel is getting huge ratings lately, and Klobuchar gets mentioned a lot as a potential candidate in 2020.  Adam Schiff is getting talked up as a possible candidate too and I think his many, many appearances with Rachel have contributed to that.  

[Keepitmoving]

Oh no, Rachel put a bullseye on the CIA director's Mike Pompeo's back. I died laughing,because once your name comes out of Rachel's mouth, it's just a matter of time. It is strange that he's not on the list. Does he have a protective shield? Maybe he's already spoken to Muller and has been forbidden to talk to congress so as not screw up Muller's investigation. Maybe Feinstein knows this. Finally, LOD is right, if you're a TRMS viewer you are ahead of the news cycle. It happens all the time for me, checking out some of these other shows and thinking, this isn't news to me because Rachel covered this like, um, weeks ago.

[attica]

5 hours ago, Keepitmoving said:

Maybe he's already spoken to Muller and has been forbidden to talk to congress so as not screw up Muller's investigation.

This was my suspicion, too. Them spy-daddies are sneaky that way...

[Hanahope]

Interesting stories behind Trump's new lawyer, Dowd.  Never forget that McCain isn't that great of a guy, he's had his scandals too.  Maverick my ass. 

[M. Darcy]

I find Steve K so annoying that I almost stopped watching the show last night when he turned up.  Then made through most of the show but I just couldn't take the news anymore and stopped watching at 9:45. 

[jjj]

6 hours ago, M. Darcy said:

I find Steve K so annoying that I almost stopped watching the show last night when he turned up.  Then made through most of the show but I just couldn't take the news anymore and stopped watching at 9:45. 

Interesting -- I only got to see the "second" show (9:00 PM PT), and I don't think he was on -- but I did not see every minute.  In fact, near the end, I was appreciating that they had only Rachel on to report on the special elections and not a panel -- and NOT Steve K (again, maybe I missed him).  (I think her second show was new, after the results were in?  It was after the Brian Williams hour, because he handed off to Rachel)

[ahisma]

Steve wasn't really on that much, but he is their go-to guy for returns maps. I like him, because he's so enthusiastic nerding out over elections. A few years ago he subbed a lot for Rachel when the Chris Christie/Bridgegate stuff was going on, which he has a lot of background in. I don't know how well I'd like him covering something that's not one of his main interests, but I think he's great at what he does.

I am glad Rachel got to cover other things besides just the returns, because boy howdy! The Trump real estate/Russian mob ties are sizzling. 

[ScoobieDoobs]

Tip jar for Pence's legal defense at the Trump fundraiser?  You kill me sometimes, Rach.  Glad to see you're not buying into this crap about how those elections mean anything all that much for Dems.