Season Three and Beyond: FFwSB

[peeayebee]

I just opened the app and tried to register. I didn't want to sign in with Facebook, but after I type in my email and hit Continue, nothing happens. :(

Nevermind. It's just realllllly slow.

Edited September 13, 2018 by peeayebee

[SuburbanHangSuite]

11 hours ago, biakbiak said:

Way, way too much to the game.

Yes!  And I was a little disturbed by the mixed message she gave about gerrymandering.  So she spends all this time insisting that we get out and vote (I don't disagree with that!) but in the next breath, she talks about how GOP strategists have rigged the districts to get them the Red results they desire.  If anyone ever questioned whether their one vote makes a difference, that segment would leave me with more questions than answers.  Does my vote really count?

Also, my mom lives in a ward that closed her polling station of 50 years for the same B.S. reason they tried in Georgia--supposedly the polling station wasn't compliant with handicap access.  But they were never given the option to vote on the change---the station was changed and the neighborhood did NOT recieve adequate notice of the new location.  The voter supression tactics are disgusting.

[Victor the Crab]

The show's opening and new set were alright. I could have lived with the previous ones no problem.

I live outside the United States and don't own a smartphone. So I have no interest in playing Samantha's game.

56 minutes ago, SuburbanHangSuite said:

I was a little disturbed by the mixed message she gave about gerrymandering.  So she spends all this time insisting that we get out and vote (I don't disagree with that!) but in the next breath, she talks about how GOP strategists have rigged the districts to get them the Red results they desire.  If anyone ever questioned whether their one vote makes a difference, that segment would leave me with more questions than answers.  Does my vote really count?

I believe Samantha's point was to show everyone what liberal minded American voters are up against this November. That this so called Blue Wave™ everyone is saying will occur won't necessarily happen because of the reasons she brought up (as well as others she didn't mention like polling stations that don't use paper ballots and Russian interference). And that if they expect this Blue Wave™ to happen, then they better get a shitload of people registered and going out to vote two months from now. It's certainly a far better act of motivating people than what that fucking idiot Michael Moore did two years ago.

[ganesh]

I take the point, but I wish the show didn't center it around making a phone app. 

[ChelseaNH]

On 9/13/2018 at 4:52 PM, SuburbanHangSuite said:

Does my vote really count?

I believe she mentioned that Democrats will need well over 50% of the vote to capture at least 50% of the House.  So since your vote doesn't count as much, it's actually more important for you to vote.

[attica]

It's been a long time since I played Gin Rummy. Chuck Jones could, undoubtedly, kick my ass. Hee! That was a great piece, and not just because Chuck's voice might've been stolen from the late great character actor James Gammon.

I would very much like to be able to complain about waiting for a hip replacement instead of complaining about waiting to have enough money to cover the fucking co-pay/co-insurance/deductible.

[ganesh]

Instead of the joke about no footage of Graham asking how to pay for space force, the more apt comparison to his 'printing press' joke would be that he somehow found the money for increased defense spending again this year, so maybe use some of that?

[scrb]

I liked Sam mocking Kennedy, the former MTV VJ.

I guess no more quirky looks for her, if she wants to be on Fox News.

She sounds like another FN drone.  She never hid the fact that she was a Republican.

[meowmommy]

8 hours ago, attica said:

It's been a long time since I played Gin Rummy. Chuck Jones could, undoubtedly, kick my ass.

I hope Sam updates us in November to let us know how Chuck does in his election.

2 hours ago, scrb said:

I liked Sam mocking Kennedy, the former MTV VJ.

I kind of hate myself that I'm too old for MTV but when I saw that clip, I thought, isn't that Kennedy?  It's like when you know the question to a Jeopardy answer but haven't a fucking clue why you knew that.

8 hours ago, attica said:

I would very much like to be able to complain about waiting for a hip replacement instead of complaining about waiting to have enough money to cover the fucking co-pay/co-insurance/deductible.

And very few hip replacements need to be done yesterday.  And maybe the wait for hip replacements in Canada is more due to the fact that there are 4.5 orthopedic surgeons per 100,000 population,  compared to 9.2 in the US. 

Edited September 20, 2018 by meowmommy

[Hooper]

Quote

I would very much like to be able to complain about waiting for a hip replacement instead of complaining about waiting to have enough money to cover the fucking co-pay/co-insurance/deductible.

I wish Sam or one of her 99 writers would have dug up some comparisons of wait times for non-emergency procedures in Canada vs the US.  I know people who have waited months for hip replacements and back surgery in the US of A, so it's not like shorter wait times are necessarily the up side of our non-affordable health care.  Shoot - a few years ago I broke my leg, was seen by a physician's assistant at the urgent care, and then had to wait 11 days before I was deemed worthy to be seen by someone who had actually graduated from medical school to schedule surgery a couple days later. So, a 13 day wait for treatment for a broken leg.  In a decent sized US city with a very large medical community.    In my experience it's not a choice of wait a long time for non-emergency procedures in Canada vs wait a long time to be able to afford medical attention in the US.  It's a choice of wait a long time to be able to afford medical attention if you aren't lucky enough to have decent health insurance and then still wait a long time even for emergency-ish procedures in the US.

[Lantern7]

Yeah, Kennedy should be roasted more often. I inflicted her on myself back when she was hosting a recap show on Fox Reality. Nice to see she can be considered living in an alternative nation. If your parents are Generation X, that can explain that joke.

I liked Chuck Jones (wait, he not the cartoon guy?) and how folks in the same demographic are realizing they were sold a bill of goods.

I forgot about that Ted Cruz clip. Why isn't it shown more often?

Edited September 21, 2018 by Lantern7

[attica]

11 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

I liked Chuck Jones (wait, he not the cartoon guy?)

The cartoon guy was indeed named Chuck Jones! He died in 2002, though, so different guy.  One of the cartoonists behind the WB stable: Bugs, Road Runner, Daffy, alla them.  Side note: if you want to read a fun memoir, Cartoon Chuck's Chuck Amuck is a hoot.

[ganesh]

13 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

Nice to see she can be considered living in an alternative nation.

Well played.

[iMonrey]

"I can't believe I actually have to say this, but it's never OK to rape. Not even in high school!" Good grief. It's not even the naked partisanship of the GOP, it's the galling attitude that "boys will be boys" means aggressive sexual behavior from males is unavoidable and women should just shut up and take it. 

[ShutUpLutz]

On 9/20/2018 at 3:24 PM, scrb said:

I liked Sam mocking Kennedy, the former MTV VJ.

She sounds like another FN drone.  She never hid the fact that she was a Republican.

Ahhh, Kennedy. Here's something to try and wrap your brain around. The Goo Goo Dolls song Name is about Kennedy. I'm a little surprised no one has mentioned her infamous clown show of an interview with Martin Landau before one of the MTV Awards shows. It was the year Ed Wood came which Landau won an Oscar for and Kennedy asked him about that but she had ZERO clue that he had been in Mission Impossible or Space 1999. 

Which okay, maybe she was a BIT too young to have watched those shows even in reruns, but she was working at a TV network that was about NOTHING BUT popular culture and it wouldn't have taken her more than 10 minutes of research to find out about Landau's other big roles.

Needless to say, Landau was NOT pleased and he went OFF on her, left then came back and berated her some more. Then she started bleating and shrieking how her willful ignorance wasn't her fault at ll, but everyone's else's.

As for the show itself, I have a couple of problems. It may have been last season, the show went to C-PAC and made a bunch of Republicans and conservatives look like assjacks, which, fine. Except the original airing had a quick shot of some dreamily handsome dude wearing what is known as the Nazi style haircut. But when the repeat was shown, the dude is gone. Turns out the dude was A: gay B:Republican. But apparently that didn't fit with the narrative of either the piece or the show, which seems to be that NO gays can be conservative or Republican. 

Which is bullshit.

Then during season three they did a segment spoofing Antiques Roadshow, where they brought out various items like square dancing and the theme music for the Good Humor ice cream truck and "proved" that they were racist. For the ice cream thing, the theme music is Turkey In The Straw, which some racist took and changed the lyrics to, well, just do a google search. but the implication from the piece is that Good Humor took the racist song instead of Turkey In The Straw, which, seriously? 

No, really, seriously?

Lost a lot of respect for Bee over those two, also over her continuing silence over Louis CK's being allowed to resume his standup career

[Hooper]

Quote

As for the show itself, I have a couple of problems. It may have been last season, the show went to C-PAC and made a bunch of Republicans and conservatives look like assjacks, which, fine. Except the original airing had a quick shot of some dreamily handsome dude wearing what is known as the Nazi style haircut. But when the repeat was shown, the dude is gone. Turns out the dude was A: gay B:Republican. But apparently that didn't fit with the narrative of either the piece or the show, which seems to be that NO gays can be conservative or Republican. 

Which is bullshit.

Well it would be bullshit if it were true.  According to this site, among others the actual reason that the "dude" was removed from the reruns was because his haircut was the result of him having undergone chemo for cancer treatment, rather than because he was adopting a Nazi hair style. So Sam apologized and removed the segment mocking him from further airing. 

Which is decent.

[biakbiak]

Sam was on ?!

[attica]

Man, the number of times in the past month when I so dearly wished to be able to set things on fire with my mind is now numbering in the millions. Sam speaks for me.

[ganesh]

"The main news was a royal closing a car door by herself." Kind of like when the main news was the tan suit or dijon on a burger. 

I can get that you wouldn't want players and cheerleaders fraternizing, but this was ridiculous. 

Edited September 27, 2018 by ganesh

[Victor the Crab]

Love righteous indignant Samantha. And she was full court press on the entire Kavanaugh hearing and all the scuzzy players involved. Sadly, it will be for not if the polls Samantha showed about young people being half as enthusiastic about voting than seniors come to fruition on election night. It means this so-called Blue Wave™ will be nothing more than a little piddle. by the toes.

[attica]

20 hours ago, ganesh said:

I can get that you wouldn't want players and cheerleaders fraternizing,

I don't. Why not? They certainly, famously, to the point that bowl-game proposals are a trope now, fraternize in high school and college, when they're not even all the way legal adults. 

[ganesh]

I suppose I see it the same as dating a coworker. I wouldn't expect, for example, the team doctor, to be allowed to date the assistant trainer or something. So I don't mean just players and cheerleaders, I meant employees of the organization. 

It's over the top that if a cheerleader is out with her friends on a Friday and a player shows up that she has to leave immediately, or even that they can't hang out. I go out to eat or just drinks with colleagues all the time. I don't see that as a problem. 

[iMonrey]

Did they say which team that cheerleader cheered for? I find it hard to believe that a major league pro football cheerleader would only make $7 an hour.

For the record, technically Carrie did not start fires with her mind powers. She had telekinesis. She turned on the fire hose, and the fire hose shorted out the microphone, which electrocuted the principal, which started the fire. [/geekalert]

[ganesh]

45 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

Did they say which team that cheerleader cheered for? I find it hard to believe that a major league pro football cheerleader would only make $7 an hour.

I think they said the Saints. It's true though; and expose came out on the Raiders cheerleaders earlier this year iirc and had a similar wage. 

[biakbiak]

8 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Did they say which team that cheerleader cheered for? I find it hard to believe that a major league pro football cheerleader would only make $7 an hour.

It’s true they usually just make minimum wage which in New Orleans is $7.25 but actually they make much less than even that because of how they calculate what is considered “work time”.

Edited September 29, 2018 by biakbiak

[snowwhyte]

I'm not even American but the Kavanaugh situation makes me want sit in my robe and eat cake.

I studied American Studies and International Politics at University. I did my final year dissertation on the Supreme Court and whether it leads or is lead by public opinion. If I was doing my dissertation now it would be on the effect of partisan politics on the Supreme Court. 

After 20 years following US politics I am now just exhausted by it all. I keep thinking things can't get worse and yet they always do. It is easy to understand the temptation some people have to disengage from politics altogether because it feels like they don't matter and the system is broken. I feel like I'm in a bad relationship with politics. I know it makes me unhappy but I just can't seem to make the break. Eating large amounts of cake just isn't enough.

[Lantern7]

In case you didn't know, no new episode this week. Wild Card game instead.

[iMonrey]

Quote

It’s true they usually just make minimum wage which in New Orleans is $7.25 but actually they make much less than even that because of how they calculate what is considered “work time”.

Holy crap, they surely can't live on that, they only work a few hours per game! I guess they all have second jobs. 

[Lantern7]

Here's a bit from Last Week Tonight from 2014 on NFL cheerleaders. I'm thinking maybe teams don't need cheerleaders. Even if they are well-compensated and not subjected to humiliation and injury (split tests? for real?!?) by their own employers, the original core concept (leading cheers) seems outmoded.

Also: it's tough trying to word that without feeling like a dick. I can see Sam staring at me, making crybaby motions before rolling her eyes. And I wouldn't blame her.

Edited October 4, 2018 by Lantern7

[ganesh]

They probably aren't paid year round either because the season is only 17 weeks. What's more egregious is if that they aren't full time they still can't market themselves for other jobs either. 

[attica]

Part of the pay-inequity is the problem of promotional time. Sure, they're paid for appearing at games. But I don't think they're paid for practice, and they aren't paid for getting costumed up and going to the local high-end electronics store to pose for photos with customers. You know, for "promotion". And they aren't allowed to opt out of those, either. And can't complain if Henry Headphone Buyer gets grabby.

[ganesh]

1 hour ago, attica said:

But I don't think they're paid for practice, and they aren't paid for getting costumed up and going to the local high-end electronics store to pose for photos with customers.

I bet they aren't paid for practice. If they're paid for appearances, I wouldn't be surprised if they only get some flat appearance fee. Like, no overtime, since it's really not related to cheering.

[snowwhyte]

The voter suppression issue is so depressing. Everyone is being encouraged to vote in the midterms but they are going to need massive Democratic voter turnout to counter the GOPs vote rigging efforts. The cornerstone of democracy is free and fair elections. If you don't even have that anymore how do you maintain any hope for your country?

[attica]

The sportsball contest took over my dvr timeslot for FFwSB. Is it on-demand soon?

[snowwhyte]

I watch it on Youtube since  it's not shown in my country. 

[ganesh]

Can they hammer that narrative or what? How many different tv people said "mob"?

I know they're obviously setting up the field piece, but I'm surprised so many people at the football game not only just weren't voting (like why say so in the first place?) but just not informed about anything. 

That woman with the pony tail was awful too. 

Edited October 18, 2018 by ganesh

[snowwhyte]

Obviously they are going to show the worst people because that’s more interesting viewing but between the awful woman who thought Dr Ford was paid and possibly sponsored by Coca Cola and the guy who hadn’t heard of #Metoo you really have to despair at people. 

If you’re engaged in politics and follow the news you can still miss stories because so much seems to be happening all the time. Some people actively choose blissful ignorance but with the way things are going that is not an option anymore. If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem. Follow the news, understand the issues and most importantly get out and vote. 

[ganesh]

4 hours ago, snowwhyte said:

If you’re engaged in politics and follow the news you can still miss stories because so much seems to be happening all the time.

Still though. Wow that guy. 

I don't get the motivation in Coke sponsoring Ford though. 

[Lantern7]

I didn't even know there was a new episode. I figured there wasn't because TBS was airing baseball. Couldn't FF have been moved to another night? Or shuttled off to TNT for one night?

[possibilities]

2 hours ago, ganesh said:

I don't get the motivation in Coke sponsoring Ford though. 

That's because they didn't. Because it makes no sense.

[possibilities]

They re-air it on the weekend. I think it's available on the TBS website, also. I didn't check, but it usually is. I set my DVR last night to record extra to cover the sports overrun.

[theredhead77]

20 hours ago, attica said:

The sportsball contest took over my dvr timeslot for FFwSB. Is it on-demand soon?

I watched it on XFINITY On Demand last night and it should be on the TBS website too. Curse you, sportsball!

17 hours ago, snowwhyte said:

Obviously they are going to show the worst people because that’s more interesting viewing but between the awful woman who thought Dr Ford was paid and possibly sponsored by Coca Cola and the guy who hadn’t heard of #Metoo you really have to despair at people. 

That was insane! I'm glad that woman is not voting. I'm disappointed those men aren't voting and I was pleasantly surprised at the people who were voting and why.

22 hours ago, snowwhyte said:

The voter suppression issue is so depressing. Everyone is being encouraged to vote in the midterms but they are going to need massive Democratic voter turnout to counter the GOPs vote rigging efforts. The cornerstone of democracy is free and fair elections. If you don't even have that anymore how do you maintain any hope for your country?

I currently live in hell (Georgia) and ask myself daily "how is this [Secretary of State running an election he is running in] legal???".

I have no faith we're going to have a fair Gubernatorial  election but I'll be voting. I may go vote today. Lines are 3+ hours long at the single early voting location in Cobb County. Thankfully more will be opening up soon.

[peeayebee]

12 hours ago, possibilities said:

They re-air it on the weekend. I think it's available on the TBS website, also. I didn't check, but it usually is. I set my DVR last night to record extra to cover the sports overrun.

When I saw that it followed a baseball game, I also set my DVR to end later. I set it for 30 minutes, which wasn't enuf to even start the show. I caught most of the ep on YouTube. I may go to the TBS site to watch it all.

[possibilities]

It really was a very long over-run.

I don't understand people who have strong political opinions but don't vote. How is it that they think decisions get made or things get changed?

[Victor the Crab]

I'm sure I've said this before, but we get FFwSB here in Canada on the Comedy Network, free of any sportsball. So, Neener-neener-NEEEEE-nerrrr! :P

I don't know about all of you, but I felt the latest episode was underwhelming. After all the shit from the Kavanaugh hearing, I was hoping Samantha would be all fire and fury.

[wknt3]

On 10/19/2018 at 12:55 PM, peeayebee said:

Do When I saw that it followed a baseball game, I also set my DVR to end later. I set it for 30 minutes, which wasn't enuf to even start the show. I caught most of the ep on YouTube. I may go to the TBS site to watch it all.

I will never understand how TBS schedules this show. Do they think that they're going to get a lot of sampling from baseball viewers? Are they trying to drive the show's audience to the internet? I know it's election season, but it still is now that their portion of the baseball playoffs are over, so wouldn't they have better off spending the week taping field pieces and maybe having one less random week off later on?
 

On 10/19/2018 at 6:34 PM, Victor the Crab said:

I'm sure I've said this before, but we get FFwSB here in Canada on the Comedy Network, free of any sportsball. So, Neener-neener-NEEEEE-nerrrr! :P

Yeah yeah and you have Justin Trudeau and healthcare as they've mentioned on the show. We get it! ;p

[attica]

I love Ashley Nicole, and I covet her cape. As a person who has spent some non-vacation time in VT, however, I'm reaaaaally unsurprised they lack broadband. For all of the Ben & Jerry lefty types that live there, there are tons of the 'don't  you dare spend my tax money on things that will improve the commonweal' types.

[peeayebee]

Hilarious Freudian slip that Fox tweeted "white power" instead of "white powder."

The news is so depressing and upsetting and maddening. If I let myself think too much about it all, I really despair and start to sink into a real depression. But then there was Ashley's Vermont piece. It's nice to see some civility in the political world. That buoyed me up a bit.

[ganesh]

They can really hammer that narrative in lock-step though. 'Conquering. Invading. They're might be IS there we don't know.' It's amazing if they actually used their powers for good. 

It's also amazing how they've made democrats into this all purpose villain. They're either too inept to govern, but criminal masterminds to plant gang members into and fund a 1000 person caravan for 10000 miles. 

Edited October 25, 2018 by ganesh

[possibilities]

Lack of broadband is a problem in rural parts of western Massachusetts (where I live), also. It's very expensive to wire less densely populated areas, and the mountainous terrain makes wireless service impractical. None of the corporate entities who supply service will do it (we don't have cable tv, either, in most places-- there is just no fiber anywhere). People rely on dial up (!!!) or satellite service (if they can get it, which also depends on things like terrain, and which is slow, unreliable, and very expensive). It's absolutely a problem and the number 1 issue in a lot of places. Basically, it needs to be done by a non-profit/government funded entity, and that is a bureaucratic nightmare even when people are willing to raise taxes and bond for it, because there are actually regulatory obstacles to doing it even when it's funded. I have no trouble believing that practicality and desperation overcome prejudices when it comes to putting broadband up against any other concern.

Ashley's story was fun, and if  you live out here, it's totally credible.