The Nightly Show: Season One Talk

[ganesh]

That was good. However, I don't think the Iran Deal is the right topic for this show. He doesn't know enough about the issue. 

Ray Rice didn't pay jack for nothing. The only reason why he's not on a roster is because he's old and can't play. Give me a break its a societal problem. You can literally drive drunk and kill someone and still play in the league. Or run a multi state crime ring. Give me a break.

 

This was a dumb topic for the show and no one had barely a superficial knowledge of anything. While I have no doubt Brady had a hand in cheating, the league does not follow due process for any of its punishments. 

Edited September 11, 2015 by ganesh

[wknt3]

That was good. However, I don't think the Iran Deal is the right topic for this show. He doesn't know enough about the issue.

 

It was good. I hope they manage to stay at this level in covering general news stories since you have to be able to cover a range of topics to avoid becoming stale. Especially good was the way that they presented the joke while keeping Larry's voice and viewpoint in the forefront. It's hard to tell how much knowledge or understanding they have about the topic since they were going out of there way to underplay the deal in order to show just how stupid Cheney's comments were.

 

 

Ray Rice didn't pay jack for nothing. The only reason why he's not on a roster is because he's old and can't play. Give me a break its a societal problem. You can literally drive drunk and kill someone and still play in the league. Or run a multi state crime ring. Give me a break.

 This was a dumb topic for the show and no one had barely a superficial knowledge of anything. While I have no doubt Brady had a hand in cheating, the league does not follow due process for any of its punishments.

 

Agree on Ray Rice, but I think the NFL player had a good knowledge of what playing in the NFL entails. And it was a fun panel, entertaining with lots of give and take.

[ganesh]

The show isn't at its best when they cover general news stories. Black Fathers is probably the best show so far, with the trans show a close second. I mean, I'm a nobody. Surely, there's someone on the production staff that has said this. "Hey, Larry, we should do more shows likes this." Yeah, do more shows like that.

[Paws]

Did Larry happen to cover the Matt Damon whitemansplaining moment on Project Greenlight last night? If not, he definitely needs to.

[ganesh]

No, it was another Trump show. The republican field are generally horrible people. It's not much of a story to me when one horrible person insults another. 

[marceline]

From here on out, I'm going to start calling the Oath Keepers the Alabaster Mountaincats.

[lovinbob]

Have I been mispronouncing persona my whole life? PerSOHna, no? Not perSAHna?

[Muffyn]

According to this, they were using the British pronunciation:   http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/pronunciation/english/persona

It sounded wrong to me too.

[marceline]

Have I been mispronouncing persona my whole life? PerSOHna, no? Not perSAHna?

 

I just chalked it up to another thing Donald Trump gets wrong.

[trow125]

Salman Rushdie is such a great panel guest. I love him on "Real Time with Bill Maher." Hope he comes back to TNS even when he doesn't have a new book to plug!

[khyber]

I was impressed that Rushdie actually said that he thought religious people were not as smart. It takes guts to say that when you know what the blow back can be.

[ganesh]

I like Rushdie, but I wish Larry gave him more time to qualify that. "Religious" people like we see in the news, are hardly religious, and yeah, they're largely stupid. I think those are the kind of people he's talking about. There's plenty of highly respected scientists who believe in god. They're hardly stupid. Then again one may argue that believing in god isn't necessarily religious. He's certainly correct that how people use the bible to make decisions is massively outdated.

 

The woman brought up a good point too that "religious" people seem to not understand. Jesus came along with the new testament to clean up all the stuff from the old. 

 

I've said a million times, these religious people across the board are largely ignorant of the religion they claim to practice. I think that's what SR meant. 

[monakane]

I was impressed that Rushdie actually said that he thought religious people were not as smart. It takes guts to say that when you know what the blow back can be.

 

I love when Rushdie is on a talk show.  He has interesting, thoughtful things to say which is why I was annoyed that the female comedian kept interrupting him.

[Arcadiasw]

Was the comedian Ricky Valez(sp) serious about the kid that was arrested over bringing a home made clock to school or was he trying to be funny but doing a poor job of it?

[possibilities]

He's the same person who said that people should be allowed to water their lawns despite severe drought conditions. He ought to be kidding, but if he is, I can't tell at all.

[Hanahope]

I was not terribly impressed with Ice-T buying a 'fake' clock/bomb as a gag/toy/conversation piece(?) and then fleeing from the cops in Colorado.  Given that it was after 9-11, how did he get on a plane without his ID?  I guess its another example of if you're famous/rich, you can get away with anything and nobody gives a shit.

 

The only thing I thought was a bit hinky about the homemade digital clock and perhaps explained Valez' opinion is that it was built inside a briefcase.  I mean come on, 90% of all hidden clock-bombs on TV are in briefcases.  Show a little common sense.  I'm sure it was just a clock, but it did appear to have a 'I'm going to get attention' bit with the whole scenario.

[solotrek]

The only thing I thought was a bit hinky about the homemade digital clock and perhaps explained Valez' opinion is that it was built inside a briefcase

 

It was built inside a pencil case. Not a briefcase. I though someone should have covered that this explains why STEM education in the US has fallen behind other countries. When the first reaction to a circuit board with wires is "oh maybe bomb", that's a problem. But if the claim was "maybe bomb" and bomb squad isn't called, that's another issue. But whatever.

[ganesh]

Ice-T could have used his passport to get on the plane. I carry both on me.

 

Was the comedian Ricky Valez(sp) serious about the kid that was arrested over bringing a home made clock to school or was he trying to be funny but doing a poor job of it?

 

I was glad Ice called BS on him because if he was trying to be funny he fell flat and if he was serious, then he was an idiot because he got his facts wrong. He came off like a dbag. "Oh, you're going to open the case to see what time it is." Hey, guy whose claim to the show is how much weed you smoke, some kids just like tinkering around with stuff, actually. It's not that it's a clock ffs. It's the coding, electric work, wiring to create something. Those are the skills that made the robots *that we sent to literally another planet and who are sending valuable data back to us.* It's called engineering, jerkwad. 

 

They shouldn't have had Yard do the prior segment and put him on the panel instead. He tends to get to the bottom line more clearly.

 

I mean come on, 90% of all hidden clock-bombs on TV are in briefcases.

 

Aside from the fact that it wasn't in the briefcase, if cops basing their law enforcement actions on what happens on tv, then I question whether they really deserve the badge. 

 

The whole thing wouldn't have been a story if they just didn't arrest the kid. 

 

Not for nothing, where's the situational awareness here? No one was like, "Let's play this cool because he's a muslim in Texas?" "Well he may have brought a bomb to school though." "Ok, let's put him in a room, take the case, check with the teacher, and call the bomb expert. Do *not* put him in cuffs." "Ok, sorry, kid. Didn't mean to be a jerk, but there's been so many school violence stuff that we're all a little on edge."

 

Is that really so difficult?

Edited September 18, 2015 by ganesh

[ChelseaNH]

From what I can tell, the police at least (not sure about the English teacher) didn't think it was a bomb.  They thought it was a fake bomb -- made for the purpose of scaring people.  Because it was inconceivable to them that someone would build a clock simply for the experience of building a clock.  Ergo, there was some other reason, and since Ahmed wouldn't tell them that other reason, it must be nefarious; ergo, arrest him.

 

Which is not to say that Ahmed's name and origins weren't factors in the decision.  I've no doubt they tilted the default setting to "nefarious."

 

Ricky should have been more specific:  If he's saying there was reason to investigate, okay.  He did say that he didn't agree with the handcuffs, but I'm not sure if that meant he was against the arrest, or just the handcuffs.

Edited September 18, 2015 by ChelseaNH

[ganesh]

No, Ricky said the kid shouldn't have been cuffed, that was it. 

 

Another panel about Trump. Come on, guys, cover other stuff.

[possibilities]

RE: they didn't really think it was a bomb: I was trying to figure out why the teacher and the bomb squad cops couldn't tell the difference between a clock and a bomb, and how pathetic that was. And then I was trying to figure out how they could come up with "faking a bomb to scare people even though he keeps saying it's not a bomb"

 

I guess this is how: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/09/17/1422329/--They-didn-t-think-he-had-a-bomb?detail=emailclassic#

 

It makes you wonder what they would do if there was an actual bomb. Do they have a plan?

 

I hope the show invites Ahmed the way they invited the kid whose graduation speech was banned. They can have him demonstrate how to build a clock. Though maybe after being invited to the White House, he wouldn't be all that excited to show up on TNS. But still-- he'd be a better panelist than Ricky V. And I think I'd enjoy it if they did a regular bit where they invite inspiring teens as guests.

Edited September 20, 2015 by possibilities

[attica]

I think candidates are very smart not to eat when they are interviewed over food. There's no upside to that, even if you're peckish. Wait till all the cameras are off! And Larry, I love you, but I don't love talking with your mouth full. The chicken looked delicious without your mastications.

 

Thinking about correcting the town-hall nitwits that claim Bam is Muslim. I wonder if McCain would have corrected a male questioner. I think maybe not, maybe he would have glided past the question like Trump did.

[solotrek]

I think candidates are very smart not to eat when they are interviewed over food. There's no upside to that, even if you're peckish. Wait till all the cameras are off! And Larry, I love you, but I don't love talking with your mouth full. The chicken looked delicious without your mastications.

 

Thinking about correcting the town-hall nitwits that claim Bam is Muslim. I wonder if McCain would have corrected a male questioner. I think maybe not, maybe he would have glided past the question like Trump did.

McCain handled it better than Trump. Though I don't know about implying that Arab's aren't decent family men, but still. He was not dealing with that crap. (female questioner)

 

He also did not stand for Obama bashing at times (male questioner). (same town hall)

Edited September 22, 2015 by solotrek

[ganesh]

It was nice to see Sanders just genuinely laugh at Larry being a goofball. Everything must be so planned and measured for them, I think they probably don't really mind 5 minutes to relax. Plus, Sanders is really playing with house money. He's got nothing to lose. I figure they eat after the segment anyway.

 

I don't think McCain deliberately was implying Arab's aren't decent family men. He just wanted to shut that down fast. 

 

Trump isn't stupid. He doesn't have to shut the guy down. He knows there's tons of primary voters who think the same way. This isn't the general election anyway. In the primaries you're going to track more right than you would in the general. His response was just a non response. "We're going to look into that." Uh, ok. And then you'll find that there's nothing there and move on. For all the piling on Trump, at this stage of the primaries, voters don't care about policy proposals. 

[ganesh]

Leave it to Huckabee to spout the typical vile homophobic garbage. It's schtick at this point. 

 

The bearded guy on the panel was irrelevant. I didn't even know what his 100 question was about. They needed a lot more from the two veterans, who were really funny and engaging.

Edited September 23, 2015 by ganesh

[Hanahope]

Aside from the fact that it wasn't in the briefcase, if cops basing their law enforcement actions on what happens on tv, then I question whether they really deserve the badge.

 

All I can say is that the photo that everyone keeps showing, depicts the clock in the brief case.  I haven't seen any photos that show the clock in just the pencil case.  So to the extent that other people are hearing this news and   seeing 'electronics in a brief case' I can understand where people are criticizing the kid about what appears to be a clock built into a brief case, which is how tv bombs appear many times.  Now, is it being deliberately protrayed/photographed that way to get that reaction?  Maybe so. And that could very well be the fault of the person taking the photo or the entity that released only that photo.  Maybe someone needs to edit that photo or draw a bright pink arrow showing only the pencil case that housed the clock, if they want to be more realistic as to exactly what the kid did.

[ganesh]

It doesn't really matter that it looked like a tv bomb. An actual adult at the school should have looked at it and said, 'oh, it's a clock, ok.' So, either someone did, and no one listened to them, or no one bothered, which is stupid, or no one knows what a microcontroller is used for, which is worse.  

[bluepiano]

Given that the Bernie interview segment was so short, I really wish that Larry had spent less time interrupting (and chewing) and allowed Bernie to give fuller answers to the questions. But Bernie is always such a good sport. In a way, that's part of his appeal. He comes across as just a regular guy, with no pretensions. I can't imagine Larry joking around with Hillary in that way. Or any of the Republican candidates. (Except maybe Trump, who will go along with jokes about himself, at least to a point).

 

I loved the comparison Mike Yard once made of Bernie Sanders to the cool teacher you had in high school who loaned you his James Brown albums. (Whereas Hillary is the stern principal).

 

Regarding the panels, for me it's always been the weakest part of the show. With an occasional exception (like Salman Rushdie), the panelists are usually stand-up comedians who know little or nothing about the issue being discussed. They struggle to make jokes, just for the sake of saying something, and then the other panelists laugh as if every comment was hilarious. (Because they want the others to laugh in turn at their unfunny lines).

 

I do like Mike Yard, I think his humor is sharp and his comments generally on the money. But I would happy to never see Ricky Velez again. Dude seems to have an enormous ego, as he relates everything back to himself. I guess that's his schtick, but I just don't think he's funny. Even if, like me (and Trump) he's from Queens.

[ganesh]

The panel has gotten away from always having a comedian on it though. And the recurring ones they have on actually can contribute to the discussion and be funny. I forget her name, but the woman with the giant hair is always good. This is directly due imo to keeping the panel at three. Last night's would have been fine if the bearded guy wasn't there. And on the Monday show, The Game was actually funny and engaging. 

 

Out of the staff regulars, Yard is clearly the best on the panel and in the street interviews. Velez isn't bad, but last time he was just terrible. Albanese is ok, but just not that engaging for me. 

 

This isn't really hard to do. When they have on the professor paired with a couple of other people, it's a good panel. Same thing with the CNN reporter. I guess that people aren't clamoring to get on the show, but having to fill the panel with the staff isn't that great an option either. I wish they'd work on cultivating panelists better. 

[possibilities]

It doesn't really matter that it looked like a tv bomb. An actual adult at the school should have looked at it and said, 'oh, it's a clock, ok.' So, either someone did, and no one listened to them, or no one bothered, which is stupid, or no one knows what a microcontroller is used for, which is worse.

They've admitted they knew it wasn't a bomb.They even admit he never said it was a bomb.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/09/18/1422554/-Irvine-Police-Chief-Admits-Cops-Knew-Ahmed-Mohamed-Didn-t-Have-a-Bomb

Remember when the show did a skit about unprovoked arrests? Time to do another one, I think! It can be a regular feature: How low can they go? Adults on the street, college students, now teens. Will they ever start arresting nursery school aged "terrorists"? Can we have "teething while brown" for the newest offense? How about a move from "driving while black" to "engineering while brown" and can we predict the next activity that is now forbidden?

 

The panels could be replaced with something scripted and less prone to random noise, and instead have The Nightly Show Theater, Featuring Skits Replicating The News.

 

Otherwise, it gets easier and easier to just turn the show off 10 minutes early and get more sleep.

[attica]

Holy cats, that interview with Ahmed was A.Freaking.Dorable. A Blerdgasm!

[ganesh]

I wasn't impressed with the pope piece. I thought it was a good chance for Larry to call some bs on the pope for minorities and women. I find it kind of ridiculous that people are losing their hats over the pope saying we need to address climate change. How about saying, contraception is ok, because overpopulation is actually contributing to climate change? He canonized a super controversial figure yesterday too. Although they touched on it on the panel. 

 

Good panel. Three people just works so much better, and having one 'expert'. That woman was actually on, is on, the pope advisory panel. She was on PBS news in a good piece. They could have let her talk a little more though.

[possibilities]

I know "dung of the devil" sounds kind of flowery (bizarrely enough), but that's just the translation effect. "This is some satanic shit" would work just as well, wouldn't it? If Francis was speaking in the vernacular....

[ganesh]

Why was the panel talking about selfies? Was there not anything at all to talk about in the world?