All Episodes Talk: TRMS 2018 Season

[ScoobieDoobs]

Oh man, Rach, you were on freakin' fire tonite!  Rachel's rant on Pruitt was awesome & an absolute must see!  I am incredulous & furious over Pruitt's blatant corruption & what he is doing to the EPA & why he is still in this job.  Clearly, so is Rach.  Thank you so much for everything you said about him tonite, Rach.  Wow, the connection Rachel made between Pruitt & Carl Icahn was fascinating.  Bet nobody else in media has gone there.  Well done, Rach!

And btw, Jeez, that wall behind Rachel is getting enormous.  Guess she was getting it ready to add Pruitt there.  Not yet, Rach, but hopefully soon, eh?

Edited April 6, 2018 by ScoobieDoobs

[jjj]

Came here to say the same thing -- I listened to the opening block twice, and felt like I heard three times as many details the second time.  And I just like Nicolle Wallace, who has been inside a problematic White House.   (Of course, her George W. Bush administration now looks like a founding father administration in comparison.) 

I was fascinated by the Joyce Vance interview, where she explained that the Feds do not need a search warrant to confiscate electronics and other evidence at Customs.  They must have staff in Mueller's office that are just tracking travel plans and flight arrival times.  We have heard about several prominent airport searches and interviews, and there must be more that are not in the news yet. 

Also loved the levels of breaking news, one in the first half hour, then "more breaking news, but this is *new* breaking news, not the original breaking news."

Edited April 6, 2018 by jjj

[Sharpie66]

TRMS was the highest-rated show in cable news in March! She beat out Hannity for the first time. MSNBC’s ratings were up 30% over 1Q 2017, while both Fox and CNN declined.

https://crooksandliars.com/2018/04/rachel-maddow-overtakes-hannity-most

[attica]

10 hours ago, jjj said:

We have heard about several prominent airport searches and interviews,

It must have been on Chris's show where Barbara McQuade talked about why airports are catnip for prosecutors: Passengers have only one exit from the plane (and not very many through an airport), making it easy to pull them over. Prosecutors have notice when planes are landing, so they're not sitting in a stakeout, wondering. There are good odds that the passenger will be surprised, and unable to dump anything incriminating they might be carrying. There are excellent odds that the passenger won't be armed. Plus all the less stringent search-and-seizure rules in effect in airports. Since TSA already has 'interrogation' rooms, they don't have to sit out in the lounges to talk. All in all, quite optimal.

[ScoobieDoobs]

Oh Rach, why-oh-why do you have to play the same Trump clips all the other MSNBC & CNN hosts have already played endlessly?  It doesn't prove any points.  It's just headache & nausea inducing & I expect more of you, Rach -- cut it out, will ya? 

It's odd cuz Rachel is the one standout who doesn't do this & yet she played such a long Trump clip tonite, I was induced to switch over (momentarily) to AC.  I beg you, Rach, please don't do that again.  Making me listen & watch him is absolute torture.  Rachel, you don't really want to torture your viewers & fans, do you?

Edited April 10, 2018 by ScoobieDoobs

[TexasGal]

Something about the way Rachel said “end quote” after reading Cohen’s rant against the Daily Beast sent me into a giggle fest. 

[Hanahope]

Poor Rachel has to shelve her planned episodes so many times due to 'breaking news' of the day.  Its really routine with this administration.  She did give some interesting information about Cohen, but yeah, I could use without repeating the clips everyone has.

[ScoobieDoobs]

More peeps to add to Rachel's resigned/fired list.  I'm picturing Rach eventually taking her forever ballooning list out in Central Park.

[jjj]

Oh, man, another Rachel Maddow "A" block that I will have to rewatch and take notes to understand.  She knots together more intertwined information into 25 minutes than a crocheted edition of the New York Times.  The historical David Dennison was "a raving maniac" (yes, I have seen this term used in other newspaper coverage from 100 years ago).   Dana Boente's meteoric (up *and* down) employment history in the contemporary Prez. Dennison years ("There's a story to tell, and someday we will tell it"). 

10 hours ago, Hanahope said:

Poor Rachel has to shelve her planned episodes so many times due to 'breaking news' of the day.  Its really routine with this administration.  She did give some interesting information about Cohen, but yeah, I could use without repeating the clips everyone has.

Some days you write the news, and some days the news writes itself.

Edited April 11, 2018 by jjj

[meowmommy]

Mark Zuckerberg testifying before Congress, "sitting on a booster seat."  Warn me when you're going to make me LOL, Rachel, because my bones are old and can't handle the stress!

[Hanahope]

10 hours ago, meowmommy said:

Mark Zuckerberg testifying before Congress, "sitting on a booster seat."  Warn me when you're going to make me LOL, Rachel, because my bones are old and can't handle the stress!

This alone is evidence of why people need to vote in younger congressional representatives.  as Rachel reported, some of the questions posed to Z were just 'shaking my head.'  They haven't a clue and this is why Z is able to get away with everything.

[attica]

Mark Zuckerberg's dad was my dentist. I remember middle-school Mark coming into the office while I was  mid-crown installment. That crown sucked. I feel like MZ owes me. :)

[thewhiteowl]

That was some great stuff last night. Boente(?) Notes echoing so clearly Comey' testimony. Really interesting.

[Galloway Cave]

26 minutes ago, thewhiteowl said:

Notes echoing so clearly Comey' testimony.

People like Comey, Mueller and Boente don't get to the top and have so much respect unless they were excellent investigators during their career. I knew there would be copious notes. I taught Investigations and Report Writing at my agency and it all starts with notes and accuracy. I was squeeing on my couch during that segment. And now I am wondering how Rachel got her hands on all that paperwork...

[jjj]

40 minutes ago, thewhiteowl said:

That was some great stuff last night. Boente(?) Notes echoing so clearly Comey' testimony. Really interesting.

I thought I missed hearing how she got those notes, so was going to listen on the replay, but then had a power outage.  I'll catch the podcast, but thanks for confirming she did not say how they got those documents.  It was amazing to see those handwritten notes. 

11 minutes ago, Galloway Cave said:

People like Comey, Mueller and Boente don't get to the top and have so much respect unless they were excellent investigators during their career. I knew there would be copious notes. I taught Investigations and Report Writing at my agency and it all starts with notes and accuracy. I was squeeing on my couch during that segment. And now I am wondering how Rachel got her hands on all that paperwork...

[ktwo]

31 minutes ago, Galloway Cave said:

People like Comey, Mueller and Boente don't get to the top and have so much respect unless they were excellent investigators during their career. I knew there would be copious notes. I taught Investigations and Report Writing at my agency and it all starts with notes and accuracy. I was squeeing on my couch during that segment. And now I am wondering how Rachel got her hands on all that paperwork...

Of course she’s not going to reveal her source, but how would it be possible for the source NOT to be Boente himself?

[thewhiteowl]

I don't think she said exactly how the note were obtained just that they were not in any way classified documents. As I'm sure you know, she doesn't have to reveal her source.

[Hanahope]

39 minutes ago, thewhiteowl said:

I don't think she said exactly how the note were obtained just that they were not in any way classified documents. As I'm sure you know, she doesn't have to reveal her source.

Rachel reported that the notes were not top secret or classified.  So I think they are technically available by a FOIA request.  But yeah, probably Boente provided them personally, or someone close to him.

[Galloway Cave]

50 minutes ago, thewhiteowl said:

As I'm sure you know, she doesn't have to reveal her source.

I'm thinking Boente did what Comey did, gave them to a trusted friend who gave them to Rachel. I wasn't expecting her to reveal her source, just doing a little pondering on the chain of disclosure! ;)

[ahisma]

10 hours ago, Galloway Cave said:

And now I am wondering how Rachel got her hands on all that paperwork...

I'm not at all surprised at the notes surfacing on the eve of Comey's book coming out. He's going to be doing a full book promotion tour. Information coming out that backs his story—it could come from a friend, it could come from a colleague. (Not that it's a bad thing at all; an alternate source that backs up a prior story is good information. And I don't begrudge him the indirect book promo.)

[jjj]

What was that vague, very unsettling set of comments that Rachel made at the very end of the "A" block?  "Drink lots of water, eat your Wheaties, get a lots of sleep, check in with your neighbors," because when government is not going well, "it is TIME TO PAY ATTENTION".  This after going through selections from the Comey book and the chilling Fox News gallery of clips (too much to stomach in 60 seconds).  I feel like she was giving a deep and meaningful subtext, and am not sure what major threat she felt suddenly has become more imminent. 

Of course Rachel got the Comey book.  I've seen it waved around all day, and would have been surprised if she did *not* have a copy! 

I really like the recent conversations (including tonight's) between Rachel and Nicolle Wallace.  And Nicolle was very informative, in an apparently factual manner, about how they handled the Scooter Libby charges in the Bush/Cheney White House. 

Edited April 13, 2018 by jjj

[kassygreene]

Rachel claimed it was the book was captured in the wild.

In reality considering how widely distributed these copies seem to be, I sense a targeted advance copy release.

[ScoobieDoobs]

I love ya, Rach, but you skeered me tonite -- momentarily.  Sorry, Rach, but I refuse to watch Fox batshittery, so that went on mute.  And I'm not going into panic mode until I have reason to -- not because of crazy shit being babbled by the lunatics on Fox.

[jjj]

23 minutes ago, ScoobieDoobs said:

I love ya, Rach, but you skeered me tonite -- momentarily.  

Even more skeery on the rewatch:  "check in with your friends, your kids, and your parents -- make a plan. Stay sober, stay calm" 

Yikes, I don't like being told to stay calm.  What was that? 

[Xena]

Someone smarter than me needs to put that clip of Maddow reading excerpts from Comey's book up on YouTube, with twinkly lullaby music in the background, and title it 'Auntie Rachael's Bedtime Story Hour'.  

[Hanahope]

I don't get all the slobbering over Comey and his book.  So he refused loyalty to trump, firing Comey for his bad handling of the Hillary emails was about the only thing I agreed with trump on (though the 'bad handling' probably has different reasons).  

I appreciated the background information on Scooter Libby and agree that its trump looking to float how the pardon power works for someone who lied to the FBI and obstructed justice.

[BuckeyeLou]

11 hours ago, jjj said:

Even more skeery on the rewatch:  "check in with your friends, your kids, and your parents -- make a plan. Stay sober, stay calm" 

Yikes, I don't like being told to stay calm.  What was that? 

Yes, when Rachel said THAT, I was like What the Heck?  What was she suggesting?  That statement Freaked me out.  Does she think Trump is taking us to War?   A war in Syria would divert attention away from the Mueller probe & Comey's book.  It will be interesting to see Rachel interview Mr. Comey...he's making the rounds of all the shows. 

[jjj]

At least we got to see Rachel before the speech.  If Rachel had not been on the show tonight, I would have assumed she had initiated her own version of The Plan in the woods of Maine with her dogs and her parents and her Susan.  But Rachel's remarks after the speech -- about how the military strikes by a chaotic presidency might be perceived as a distraction -- those were very disturbing remarks.  Rachel really is upset.  And on top of last night's comments (above), I wonder what she is expecting.  She is talking to us in code, but seems to think she needs to be warning us. 

Edited April 14, 2018 by jjj

[TexasGal]

Ugh, ok I realize I’m just being grumpy and that MSNBC has to cover the strikes - but given how Rachel led with the wag the dog scenario I hate that they are know doing exactly what he wants.  I don’t want to hear endless speculation about the air strikes.  I want to hear more about Cohen lying about Budapest.  Even if that is also just endless speculation lol.

[jjj]

13 minutes ago, TexasGal said:

Ugh, ok I realize I’m just being grumpy and that MSNBC has to cover the strikes - but given how Rachel led with the wag the dog scenario I hate that they are know doing exactly what he wants.  I don’t want to hear endless speculation about the air strikes.  I want to hear more about Cohen lying about Budapest.  Even if that is also just endless speculation lol.

Completely agree, especially as they rerun the Friday news shows on Saturday afternoon/evening.  I was hoping to see Rachel, and hear her take on all these Cohen-related events today. 

(I think Cohen is lying about Prague, not Budapest. But who knows, maybe next week...)

Edited April 14, 2018 by jjj

[TexasGal]

Yes, of course, Prague.  See how much I need to hear more?!  (I’m sure my Friday wine had no part in that either)

[Quilt Fairy]

3 hours ago, jjj said:

And on top of last night's comments (above), I wonder what she is expecting

I took it as "Be prepared to fight to keep our democracy".

Edited April 14, 2018 by Quilt Fairy
ETA: I'd say more but I don't want to violate the "No politics" rule.

[jjj]

2 minutes ago, Quilt Fairy said:

I took as "Be prepared to fight to keep our democracy".

Thanks -- at least she did not dump all that on us last night then take a long weekend!  I see her show is not being rerun because they are staying live.  I'll go watch a podcast from earlier in the week. 

[jjj]

Rachel reading out loud the transcript of the Cohen court hearing today was satisfying and hilarious.  But what I really want to see (would go behind a paywall to see) is Rachel reading it out loud *for the first time*, because you know it had to be an amazing set of reactions.  "WHAT?  There's another lawyer popping up? For the news organizations, for *us*?"  And then describing the reaction when Hannity's name was said out loud.  I also would pay to see footage of the Rachel team reacting to that.  I mean, *Hannity*, her competitor in the time slot!!!  (Maybe not much longer?)  This show's podcast is getting saved on several devices.

[ScoobieDoobs]

Oh Rach, you really, really, really seemed to be enjoying the reveal of Hannity as Cohen's client!  Heh, heh, heh -- and I so enjoyed watching you enjoy it, Rach.

Eh, by now I am so damn sick of Comey & his aw-gee-shucks-I-got-no-regrets-and-I-made-no-mistakes crap.  He'll be everywhere by the time Rach gets to him -- even with the yentas on the View.  Don't be soft with him, Rach, like you were with Smellyanne Conway!  Stephanopoulos was kinda tough on him about Hillary.  I expect Rachel to magnify that at least a dozen times over.  Seriously, I will be very upset with Rachel if she's soft with him.

[irisheyes]

I would pay good money to see Rachel and her staff’s reaction when they found out who Cohen’s mysterious third client was. I bet the office went nuts. 

[jjj]

Who would have thought that the secret Cohen client would be so much more juicy than the (alleged) secret Dennison love child?  Just watched Rachel read the transcript again, and it was even more hilarious the second time. 

I like Monday's exhilarated Rachel much more than Friday's fox-hole-digging Rachel.

[ScoobieDoobs]

So did Cohen charge Hannity billable hours for that Fox on air convo between 'em?  Oh Rach, ya kill me sometimes!  Rachel's hand movements were making me LMAO.  I'm wondering if Rach is particularly enjoying this cuz he's her direct competition.  Ah, it's just all delish, no matter how ya cut it.  Hopefully, there's more to this, as Stormy's lawyer seems so sure of.  I really luv seeing Rach so happily stomp all over Hannity.  Much more fun than hearing her tell us to stay calm, like she did last week.  Hated that shit.

[izabella]

1 hour ago, ScoobieDoobs said:

Hopefully, there's more to this, as Stormy's lawyer seems so sure of.

It seems like there has to be more to it.  If there were only some conversations, there wouldn't be any files in the FBI's hands to claim attorney-client privilege.  Whatever it is, it has to be shady because Cohen only does shady things for shady people involving payoffs.

[Yokosmom]

Quote

I would pay good money to see Rachel and her staff’s reaction when they found out who Cohen’s mysterious third client was. I bet the office went nuts. 

Me too.  I bet that they broke out the champagne and confetti!

[absolutelyido]

8 hours ago, izabella said:

It seems like there has to be more to it.  If there were only some conversations, there wouldn't be any files in the FBI's hands to claim attorney-client privilege.  Whatever it is, it has to be shady because Cohen only does shady things for shady people involving payoffs.

Cohen is said to have taped phone calls, so there may be tapes of calls with Hannity that he is trying to protect.

Edited April 17, 2018 by absolutelyido

[ScoobieDoobs]

Whelp, guess we can forget about Rach tonite.  It'll be endless Barbara Bush coverage -- for what?  The next 2 weeks?  Hate when they do this shit.  There's way too much going on to focus endlessly on one story.  Hope they don't preempt Rachel's Comey interview tomorrow nite.

[izabella]

And what is the "story" anyway?  A former First Lady and mother of a POTUS dies at 92 surrounded by her enormous family.  I don't think that warrants endless coverage.

[irisheyes]

Chris Hayes is moving on, so I’m confident Rach will too. The A block will be Barbara Bush, but the rest of the show can still be current news.  Especially since we just found out Pompeo chatted with Kim Jong.  Really??? ?

And there’s no way she’s giving up Comey.  She’s been crossing the days off since it was scheduled. 

Edited April 18, 2018 by irisheyes

[ScoobieDoobs]

2 minutes ago, izabella said:

And what is the "story" anyway?  A former First Lady and mother of a POTUS dies at 92 surrounded by her enormous family.  I don't think that warrants endless coverage.

You know, I just don't get this shtick.  Is this important to discuss?  Absolutely.  But to throw aside discussion of ANYTHING ELSE?  And for how long?  It's just plain irresponsible.  And particularly now, when Rachel is pretty much saying every nite what a crazy/busy news nite it always seems to be.  Hopefully, this bullshit routine just goes on for tonite -- but it could last for days.  

I wonder if their ratings drop cuz I know I'm out.  I really don't give a shit about knowing every facet of Barbara Bush's life.  I wanna see discusion of today's Trump bullshit.  If they're not gonna provide that, then I'm out.

[izabella]

I'm binge-watching old Jewel in the Crown.  I have no patience or interest in all things Barbara Bush.

[suomi]

11 minutes ago, izabella said:

I have no patience or interest in all things Barbara Bush.

I agree, altho I would happily burn one with Laura Bush. 

[Calvada]

I think Rachel will be brief on Barbara Bush - most likely using her death to compare/contrast the GOP then and now.  

Rachel seemed a bit ticked off that the Comey book leaked a full week before her interview, but I think that's a good thing.  Get it out there, get past the "shocking" revelations, and get down to the nitty gritty.  I too hope Rachel doesn't let Comey get away with the aw shucks type of persona he is presenting and asks some hard questions about his actions during the 2016 campaign, stuff about McCabe, and the rest of it.  

[chessiegal]

And she was about 30 seconds on Barbara before moving on. Bravo Rachel.

[ScoobieDoobs]

Looks like they're  forcing her to spend 2nd half hour on Barbara Bush.  Well, at least she was able to get in what she's saying is the Repub setup for a bunch of new Trump firings.  Get your giganto list/chart ready, Rach!