S05.E27: State Attorneys General

[Athena]

John with be back October 28, 2018. 

Quote

Other segments: 2018 United States mail bombing attempts, killing of Jamal Khashoggi, WWE Crown Jewel

 

[khyber]

God what a day to be back. The shootings, the bombings and Brazil.

[Annber03]

My thoughts exactly. I'm looking forward to the show tonight, though-if Oliver's as angry as I am, which I've no doubt he is, it could be quite cathartic.

[The Solution]

When did this show become so unfunny?

[ahisma]

Hmmm. Now I feel I need to know where all the candidates land on the pen/penis question in regard to the show-steal continuum...

The AG position is a good perennial topic that pairs well with John's recent local DA topic. But it does seem that this year it would have been more timely to look at that other state office that doesn't get a lot of notice, Secretaries of State. 1) There are massive abuses of the voter rolls going on right now, particularly in states where current SoSs are running for governor. 2) We are coming up on the 2020 census, which will impact elections for the next 10 years. 

(I really thought John would pull off Rachel Ray as his end-of-show guest.)

[link417]

1 hour ago, ahisma said:

Hmmm. Now I feel I need to know where all the candidates land on the pen/penis question in regard to the show-steal continuum...

The AG position is a good perennial topic that pairs well with John's recent local DA topic. But it does seem that this year it would have been more timely to look at that other state office that doesn't get a lot of notice, Secretaries of State. 1) There are massive abuses of the voter rolls going on right now, particularly in states where current SoSs are running for governor. 2) We are coming up on the 2020 census, which will impact elections for the next 10 years. 

(I really thought John would pull off Rachel Ray as his end-of-show guest.)

Fan from Georgia here, I strongly agree re: #1!

His “dismembering” joke was surprisingly funny yet ... too soon.

I, too, thought Rachael Ray would pop up at the end. 

[TVcritic]

I pitied the musicians. While playing, their instruments had been insulted. ;-)

On a more serious note: Can someone tell me what is not political nowadays in the US?

[Lantern7]

I’m surprised the Brazil electoral run-off wasn’t covered. Attorneys general, slagging the WWE, and the false hope of Rachael Ray coming out? Still makes for a good episode.

[ottoDbusdriver]

I'm all ready for more adventures of RAGA and DAGA -- I smell another book opportunity.

[The Solution]

1 hour ago, ottoDbusdriver said:

I'm all ready for more adventures of RAGA and DAGA -- I smell another book opportunity.

That was the point when I had to turn it off. Given the events of the weekend, I felt that the show was just inappropriate, tone-deaf and unfunny. Maybe it's not exactly funny, but he had an opportunity to make an important statement and chose to make tired jokes instead. What kind of show would he have put out on 9/12 if that had been the scheduled date for his weekly show?

 

I really used to enjoy this show, but recently it's just been missing the mark for me. Last night was the last straw.

Edited October 29, 2018 by The Solution
Punctuation matters.

[Robert Lynch]

I must admit, I was laughing at the WWE ads with the demonic voice announcer. Sue me. I thought that was funny.

[ganesh]

9 hours ago, ahisma said:

But it does seem that this year it would have been more timely to look at that other state office that doesn't get a lot of notice, Secretaries of State. 1) There are massive abuses of the voter rolls going on right now, particularly in states where current SoSs are running for governor. 2) We are coming up on the 2020 census, which will impact elections for the next 10 years. 

(I really thought John would pull off Rachel Ray as his end-of-show guest.)

When is the census coming up? I would think he'd hold out to make the topic a little more relevant. 

I honestly thought Rachel Ray was coming out at the end. 

I knew my state had an AG race. We actually have an important issue too! 

[Annber03]

9 hours ago, ahisma said:

Hmmm. Now I feel I need to know where all the candidates land on the pen/penis question in regard to the show-steal continuum...

The AG position is a good perennial topic that pairs well with John's recent local DA topic. But it does seem that this year it would have been more timely to look at that other state office that doesn't get a lot of notice, Secretaries of State. 1) There are massive abuses of the voter rolls going on right now, particularly in states where current SoSs are running for governor. 2) We are coming up on the 2020 census, which will impact elections for the next 10 years. 

(I really thought John would pull off Rachel Ray as his end-of-show guest.)

Add me to the list of those who was expecting Rachel Ray to appear :D.

Regarding the whole "pen" thing and Paxton, it didn't even remotely surprise me when Oliver mentioned he was currently under investigation. When I see somebody like Paxton railing against LGBT people the way he did, or other things of that sort, I'm just pretty much waiting for whatever scandal they're involved in to drop, 'cause you know it's coming. 

I too would've liked to hear more about the Secretary of State stuff, yeah. I know our current SoS here in Iowa recently tried to pass this voter ID law that a lot of people have taken issue with, and which the lady running against him has vowed to fight (she's got a lot of great ideas regarding how to encourage and increase voter registration, especially among young people, so I really hope she wins). I believe the voter ID law is currently being held up and reviewed through our state courts, but still...it's another example of the GOP's shady moves, and proof that the GOP doesn't have to go as extreme as what's happening in Georgia in order to still try and disenfranchise people. 

Thankfully, in terms of attorney generals, mine doesn't seem to have any dark, shady stuff in their past...or weird videos of them trying to sing :p. He seems to have built up a pretty respectable career. I already did the early voting last week, so I'm good to go on that front. Now all that's left is the incredibly nervous waiting. 

As for other topics, on the one hand, I would've liked Oliver to spend a little more time touching on the horrific events of this past week, but on the other hand, given I was about ready to throw my remote at my TV when he showed clips of the insane "These bombs were clearly a false flag operation" bullshit, maybe it's better Oliver focused on some other stories. I truly cannot fathom just how incredibly stupid you have to be to actually believe that stuff. 

And the worst part about Geraldo pushing that "false flag" crap is that I don't think he actually believes that. But he knows that by saying it, it'll put that thought in the minds of people who are dumb enough to fall for that nonsense and will keep them in this twisted little worldview they've cultivated. And that's just as despicable, considering it's the promotion of those kinds of views that can embolden these assholes to commit these kinds of crimes. I loved Oliver mocking the whole "outsmarting" BS, and Fox News "getting stuff wrong". 

Edited October 29, 2018 by Annber03

[Corgi-ears]

I'm not sure how I'll be able to resist saying to one of my students, the next time I'm holding a paper conference with them, "that's certainly an argument."

[ganesh]

30 minutes ago, Corgi-ears said:

I'm not sure how I'll be able to resist saying to one of my students, the next time I'm holding a paper conference with them, "that's certainly an argument."

You should not resist in any way.

[ChicksDigScars]

Good lord. The Elvis impersonating AG? I about choked with laughter, and not because of his singing voice. 

[Annber03]

2 minutes ago, ChicksDigScars said:

Good lord. The Elvis impersonating AG? I about choked with laughter, and not because of his singing voice. 

"I don't know if you noticed, but I don't really look like Elvis." Thank you, Captain Obvious. 

[Machiabelly]

On 2018-10-29 at 12:39 PM, Annber03 said:

And the worst part about Geraldo pushing that "false flag" crap is that I don't think he actually believes that. But he knows that by saying it, it'll put that thought in the minds of people who are dumb enough to fall for that nonsense and will keep them in this twisted little worldview they've cultivated. And that's just as despicable, considering it's the promotion of those kinds of views that can embolden these assholes to commit these kinds of crimes. I loved Oliver mocking the whole "outsmarting" BS, and Fox News "getting stuff wrong". 

Oh it is much more despicable to know you are lying just to rile people up.

Simply believing nonsense is ignorance. Knowingly promoting it is malicious. 

[ganesh]

17 minutes ago, Machiabelly said:

Simply believing nonsense is ignorance. Knowingly promoting it is malicious. 

That's the directive for their whole network though. 

[helpmerhonda]

On 10/29/2018 at 3:23 PM, ChicksDigScars said:

Good lord. The Elvis impersonating AG? I about choked with laughter, and not because of his singing voice. 

As a Hoosier, allow me to say, "You're welcome." LOL

[TVcritic]

On 29.10.2018 at 2:05 PM, ottoDbusdriver said:

I'm all ready for more adventures of RAGA and DAGA -- I smell another book opportunity.

Let's make them action heroes: RAGA and DAGA fighting MAGA. ;-)

[OneWhoLurks]

Quote

 

Stenehjem, who is seeking re-election as North Dakota's longest-serving attorney general, took Oliver's comments in stride, saying he's "used to having fun poked at me."

"My son thought it was hilarious," Stenehjem said. "He recorded it and left me a note in the morning that said be sure to watch this."

Stenehjem also said events, such as the RAGA retreat, accomplish business: "It was a meeting like this where I put together the coalition of attorneys general that successfully challenged the very unpopular Waters of the U.S. rule."

 

'Last Week Tonight' takes jab at North Dakota attorney general
 

Quote

 

The site saw its traffic explode roughly 20 times more than average for a Sunday evening, clocking in its single biggest hour of traffic for the year with 47,383 pageviews between 12 a.m. and 1 a.m. That’s a 2,000 percent uptick.

“We knew that ‘Last Week Tonight with John Oliver’ was planning to mention VOTE411.org as a great resource to find information about candidates, but we had no idea they would do so in such a creative way that would drive so much traffic to our website,” said Sarah Courtney, senior director of communications and digital strategy for the League of Women Voters of the United States, which runs the site.

“Even before Sunday night, traffic to VOTE411.org has run ahead of the 2016 election which is really a great reflection of the enthusiasm for midterms and shows that voters are seeking out information before Election Day,” Courtney told TheWrap. “We are so grateful to John Oliver and his talented writers for finding a funny way to help voters engage on the issues and research their candidates.”

 

John Oliver’s Plug for Vote411 Sparks Huge 2000 Percent Spike for Voter Information Site

Edited November 2, 2018 by OneWhoLurks

[attica]

Dana Nessel has won the MI AG race. She's the one with the 'who's not showing a penis at work?' ad that John had some fun with.