Between Trump publicly saying that not only did he talk to the Ukraine president about Joe Biden, but admitting now that they also discussed "corruption" (a subject that heretofore he had presumably always been in favor of.) And Trump saying that he deserves a Nobel Prize (though leaving out for what, but then he probably was just upset because Emmy Awards were the night before, and it reminded him how pissed off he is at never winning one of those). And Trump being compelled to go to the United Nations during their Climate Change event, after first staying he wouldn't attend and having to sit there for a whole 14 minutes while 16-year-old Greta Thunberg of Sweden gave an angry, rousing speech. And Trump speaking yesterday about religious freedom but for some reason going off-script to praise Franklin Graham, widely known for his intolerance of Muslims -- it was hard to know what to pick from. But sneaking in from the corner I think we have a pair of winners. Though separate, they touched on the very same subject, and both so gut-sickeningly offensively that it's as if they were of one mind, presuming the concept of having a mind fits in here. The first is the repellent Dinesh D'Souza who sent out a tweet on Sunday comparing the aforementioned 16-year-old Greta Thunberg to the blonde, pigtailed "Nordic" Nazi girls in their posters, including pigtailed photos of each. (I was going to explain all the many things profoundly wrong about D'Souza's sickening post, but realized that none are needed and they would only distract from his lack of respect for humanity. I'll only note that he is lucky to have been given a pardon for his crimes by a man who actually enables neo-Nazis as part of his base.) And then today on "Fox News," far-right-wing commentator Michael Knowles who spoke about the 16-year-old Ms. Thunberg who that day had addressed the United Nations by saying, "If it were about science it would be led by scientists, rather than by politicians and a mentally ill Swedish child who’s being exploited by her parents and by the international left.” The good news is that also on the "Fox News" panel at the time was Christopher Hahn who relentlessly went after Knowles, refusing to let up and eventually noted -- "Maybe on your podcast, you can get away with and say whatever you want because no one’s listening. You’re on national television. Be a grown-up when you’re talking about children. She’s trying to save the planet because your president doesn’t believe in Climate Change and kids need to take to the streets to worry about your future. You are despicable for talking about her like that, and you should apologize on national television right now.” Seriously, when you are fighting such a losing battle against a 16-year-old child trying to protect the planet that you believe your only option is to call her a "Nazi" and "mentally ill," you probably should figure it's time to give and wander off into the desert where you hope God won't think it's worth looking for you. So, I just figured that I could kill two birds with one stone and honor Greta Thunberg and revile Trump by embedding a photo from the viral video of her staring down Trump at the U.N. There were better, soul-shredding glares from her, but they didn't include Trump in the frame, so we'll have to go with this, which on its own is darn fine -- Honorable mention goes to the elected officials of the Republican Party who enable Trump, are silent about all of this and are complicit.
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The Mystery Guest on this episode of What's My Line? is one of the all-time greats in baseball history, which is no hyperbole -- Joe DiMaggio. It doesn't take them long to guess, but this is one of the few occasions when that's a good thing, since it leaves more time for host John Daly to talk with him, and there aren't many interview with the Hall of Famer. There's one whimsical moment here that's very quiet and could get lost. After DiMaggio sits down, panelist Arlene Francis notes the ovation and says, "Nobody's ever had a hand like that other than Eisenhower and Monroe" -- which gets a reaction from DiMaggio since he and Marilyn Monroe were married at the time, September, 1955. (Though just barely, since the would divorce the next month. This is the full broadcast. If you want to jump to the Mystery Guest segment directly, go to the 17:30 mark. I get annoyed at a lot of news stories. I don't get distressed by many.
I am distressed that far too many journalists are creating a false equivalence by repeating Trump's lies about Joe Biden. The original story is old and has been looked into and refuted. The new attempt to make it a story again is Page 1 out of the old Trump Playbook. We've seen it before. The journalists have seen it before. We all lived through the non-existent story of Hillary Clinton's email server "putting us all at risk" because she committed a crime and "Lock her up!" to the degree that FBI investigated and found that No Crime Was Committed, yet the cries of "Lock her up!" persist to this day, and is one of the reasons Trump is in office. We know this story. It is in our bones. And yet to seem "fair," too many journalists are putting a non-existent and disproven story about Joe Biden supposedly helping his son on the same level as the current president -- who has now admitted that he spoke to the president of Ukraine about Joe Biden, a political opponent -- blocking a whisteblower from speaking to Congress as required by law, presumably about Trump illegally pressuring Ukraine to investigate an American political opponent or the U.S. would withhold foreign aid -- or maybe something even worse. And yesterday, too many journalists have reported on Trump's ridiculing charge of disbelief that Biden never spoke to his son about his son's business, calling him a liar without putting that into any sort of perspective. After all, on this one, tiny point alone, consider -- The Washington Post has detailed that Trump has lied over 12,000 times since taking office. Trump has repeated insisted his son Don Jr. never told him about 2016 Trump Tower meeting with Russians. Trump has long-insisted that he and his children never discuss any ongoing business of the Trump Organization, so that there is no improper influence by him... In a magazine interview a couple months ago, Biden's son Hunter said that he and his father spoke about his business one time only. So, is that a "lie"? What Hunter Biden said that one conversation was is that his father said to him, "I hope you know what you're doing." And he replied, "I do." That does not qualify as talking about the details of the business -- that is a comment making clear you are going to avoid talking about the business. I am not going to repeat the Trump false charges (which have long-since been looked into and refuted) so as not to spread them. But if anyone wants to know the background of the story, Politico has a good article on it here. The very short version is – There was widespread condemnation in the U.S. and around the world that the Ukraine chief prosecutor was not going after corruption cases aggressively (including the company where Joe Biden's son was on the board of directors), and so Biden was sent to tell Ukraine to fire prosecutor, so that corruption investigations would proceed. While I am distressed that far too many journalists are reporting on Trump charges as a false equivalence, I have at least glad that "far too many" is not all or most. But for those journalists who are, who want to be fair and objective and honest, a good place to start would be fairly, objectively and honestly reporting on a U.S. president who has admitted talking to a foreign leader about a U.S. political appointment and who is blocking a whisteblower from coming forward with his or her story. Not reporting on a story that was long-since looked into and refuted. And every Democratic candidate to shout the same thing in defense of Biden, because they should know that if Trump succeeds in tarnishing Joe Biden in any way, no matter how big or small, then he will do the exact same against them. Fortunately, distressed as I get by the far too many journalists making a false equivalence, I know that ultimately this about Trump talking to the Ukraine president is a political issue, it will be handled politically, we will find out more about the political reality, and I believe the results will be bad for Trump politically. And -- I know that there will be another political and potentially criminal scandal by Trump and the Trump crime family coming along. On a regular basis.
The guest contestant on the 'Not My Job' segment of the NPR quiz show Wait, Wait...Don'[t Tell Me is WNBA basketball star Tina Charles, who was a #1 draft pick in the league, won the MVP award, and also has two Olympic gold medals. Her interview is so gracious and humble that one of her answers and explanation to support it pretty much bowls over host Peter Sagal, who later in the interview says, "You have been probably the nicest, most sort-of friendly and diplomatic person I have ever interviewed. And we have not been able to entice you to say a bad thing about anyone -- which I admire because we've tried very hard."
This could just as easily have been a "Capsule Review" of Between Two Ferns: the Movie, which I saw last night on Netflix. But since there's not all that much to say other than I found it very funny and I've already posted the trailer -- and since so much of the movie is the interviews, I don't want to give away any of the lines -- I figured I'd just instead post another episode of the original Internet show. In fairness I love the series it's based on, and if it's not to your taste, I doubt the movie will be. Though in equal fairness, given what the series is -- truly-horrible interviews with celebrities -- this is a movie that could have been awful. However, thin though the plot is (Zach and his team need to drive across the country to Los Angeles and must do 10 shows before getting there with a deadline of two weeks at 9 AM), they keep the story moving and overload the whole film with snippets of maybe a couple dozen truly-horrible interviews with celebrities, and it's fun to see who is going to pop-up next -- David Letterman, Benedict Cumberbatch, Matthew McConaughey (in a particularly hilarious sequence), Brie Larson, Jon Hamm, Rashida Jones, and on and on, including a recurring role by Will Ferrell who co-founded "Funny or Die" which produced the original Between Two Ferns shows and repeats his "Funny or Die" connection here. But instead, let's go back to Jon Hamm who was in one of very first episodes they did for the Internet. (Side Note: from the outtakes during the end credits, the sense I get is that although there is a screenplay to the movie, by Scott Aukerman who also directed, when the interviews specifically were done the celebrities had no idea what was going to be asked -- though I suspect were at least forewarned of the general area so that they could be somewhat prepared with answers.)
From the archives. This week's contestant is Rainer Klaus of Madison, Alabama. The hidden song is hidden with good humor, but it's eventually guessable. The composer style was one that I thought I came close to, but I was wrong, and probably should have gotten it.
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AuthorRobert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. Feedspot Badge of Honor
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