Friday, January 10, 2020
Truth in Comedy
Emmy winning comedians Ricky Gervais, hosting The 77th Golden Globe Awards on NBC [Sunday, January 5, 2020], and Dave Chappelle, recently awarded the 2020 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, recently delivered funny and observant performances. I think they are worth sharing for the weekend’s blog topic. And their videos appear below.
Saturday, January 4, 2020
‘US escalates war on Iran and Iraq — LIVE with Rania Khalek, Max Blumenthal, Ben Norton, Aaron Mate’
The Graystone held a livestream on the evening of Friday, January 3, 2020.
The discussion is about U.S. president Donald Trump’s airstrike assassination of Iran general Qasem Soleimani and PMF commander Abu Mahdi al–Muhandis.
It is about more than that.
The video of the two-hour livestream was published to YouTube, with the following description: “We discuss the US escalation of war on Iran and Iraq — Aaron Maté is joined by Rania Khalek, Max Blumenthal, and Ben Norton.”
This is too important to have waited until Monday [January 6, 2020] for publication.
(I intend to leave this blog topic running until next Thursday, January 9, 2020. So, unless something else comes up, I will continue with the usual scheduling of no more than two blog topics posted within a week. So, the next blog topic would publish on Friday, January 10, 2020.)
Wednesday, January 1, 2020
Happy New Year 2020!
A new year.
A new decade.
I wish all readers of Progressives Chat a… Happy New Year 2020!
(In December 2019, I scheduled blog topics on Sundays and Thursdays. Beginning next week, the twice-a-week schedule will return to Mondays and Fridays.)
Sunday, December 29, 2019
The Best of 2019
Since this blog began in 2017, I have presented a blog topic on the best of the year with regard for the videos which really made an astute observation on anything of politics. (This is influenced by a period I had of reading year-end, best-of lists, particularly in entertainment, timed near the end of every December.)
When it comes to citing particular following videos, I tend to list just one from a given program.
Here are four short form videos (typically well under an hour), as well as a long form bonus video (an “Honorable Mention” with a running time well past one hour) which stood out in 2019:
1. “NYTimes Journo Melts Down On Joe Rogan’s Show”
(The Jimmy Dore Show; 02.04.2019)
Jimmy Dore—and kudos as well to the term smugnorant by fellow comedian Paul Gilmartin—beautifully summed up the arrogance of “received opinion” New York Times columnist Bari Weiss. She embarrassed herself—and with no sense of shame—as a guest on Joe Rogan Experience when the two discussed 2020 Democratic presidential candidates. Weiss, who was challenged by Rogan, focused on smearing Hawaii U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, could not back up her claims because Weiss did not understand one specific term she used against Gabbard.
2. “High Powered Hollywood Agencies Push Tulsi Smear Campaign”
(The Political Vigilante; 09.12.2019)
Graham Elwood lets us know, in part, why many of our most famous celebrities are empty. (Reason: They are connected with the Deep State.) Elwood reads Robbie Jaeger’s report (“Tulsi Gabbard Has Enemies In High Places”) on CAA and UTA celebrity clients and how CAA and UTA operate behind the scenes. It is fascinating. And revealing. It helps to get me to better understand why the performing arts—and who are our celebrities—are generally unimpressive.
3. “Saagar Enjeti: A Dire Warning for the American Right”
(The Hill’s The Rising; 10.30.2019)
As co-host of The Hill’s The Rising, Saager Enjeti, who is a conservative, addresses and confronts the assumptions of self-identified conservatives and Republicans who assume—as if we are still living in the 1980s with then-U.S. president Ronald Reagan—that voters could and would never go for socialism (or anything remotely close).
4. “Mitch McConnell Played Democrats Like A Fiddle on Supreme Court Picks”
(Secular Talk; 05.31.2019)
Kyle Kulinski published a terrific video that all Proud Democrats should have seen regarding what motivates U.S. Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell (R–Kentucky). While self-identified Democrats—particularly those embracing of the corporate Democrats who like to talk about how the Old Classic Republican Party no longer exists (meaning, the Party of Abe, Teddy, and Ike)—they are delusional. And, from the Republican Party, and for their backers, McConnell delivers.
“Joe Rogan Experience #1368—Edward Snowden”
(Joe Rogan Experience; 10.23.2019)
The above picks belong in a separate category—they are, in part, critiques. This one is an interview. And what an interview! Host Joe Rogan welcomed whistleblower Edward Snowden, timed with his book release Permanent Record, for a discussion on how the Deep State has violated our trust.
When it comes to citing particular following videos, I tend to list just one from a given program.
Here are four short form videos (typically well under an hour), as well as a long form bonus video (an “Honorable Mention” with a running time well past one hour) which stood out in 2019:
1. “NYTimes Journo Melts Down On Joe Rogan’s Show”
(The Jimmy Dore Show; 02.04.2019)
Jimmy Dore—and kudos as well to the term smugnorant by fellow comedian Paul Gilmartin—beautifully summed up the arrogance of “received opinion” New York Times columnist Bari Weiss. She embarrassed herself—and with no sense of shame—as a guest on Joe Rogan Experience when the two discussed 2020 Democratic presidential candidates. Weiss, who was challenged by Rogan, focused on smearing Hawaii U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, could not back up her claims because Weiss did not understand one specific term she used against Gabbard.
2. “High Powered Hollywood Agencies Push Tulsi Smear Campaign”
(The Political Vigilante; 09.12.2019)
Graham Elwood lets us know, in part, why many of our most famous celebrities are empty. (Reason: They are connected with the Deep State.) Elwood reads Robbie Jaeger’s report (“Tulsi Gabbard Has Enemies In High Places”) on CAA and UTA celebrity clients and how CAA and UTA operate behind the scenes. It is fascinating. And revealing. It helps to get me to better understand why the performing arts—and who are our celebrities—are generally unimpressive.
3. “Saagar Enjeti: A Dire Warning for the American Right”
(The Hill’s The Rising; 10.30.2019)
As co-host of The Hill’s The Rising, Saager Enjeti, who is a conservative, addresses and confronts the assumptions of self-identified conservatives and Republicans who assume—as if we are still living in the 1980s with then-U.S. president Ronald Reagan—that voters could and would never go for socialism (or anything remotely close).
4. “Mitch McConnell Played Democrats Like A Fiddle on Supreme Court Picks”
(Secular Talk; 05.31.2019)
Kyle Kulinski published a terrific video that all Proud Democrats should have seen regarding what motivates U.S. Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell (R–Kentucky). While self-identified Democrats—particularly those embracing of the corporate Democrats who like to talk about how the Old Classic Republican Party no longer exists (meaning, the Party of Abe, Teddy, and Ike)—they are delusional. And, from the Republican Party, and for their backers, McConnell delivers.
✩✩✩ HONORABLE MENTION ✩✩✩
“Joe Rogan Experience #1368—Edward Snowden”
(Joe Rogan Experience; 10.23.2019)
The above picks belong in a separate category—they are, in part, critiques. This one is an interview. And what an interview! Host Joe Rogan welcomed whistleblower Edward Snowden, timed with his book release Permanent Record, for a discussion on how the Deep State has violated our trust.
(Next blog topic will be published just as the clock strikes midnight, Eastern Time, on Wednesday, January 1, 2020. Yes, it is a holiday thread.)
Sunday, December 22, 2019
Merry Christmas 2019!
I wish readers of Progressives Chat…a Merry Christmas!
Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, here in 2019, are on Tuesday and Wednesday. It’s the calendar.
I recognize all people do not observe the holiday. So, I mean no disrespect. And, in such case, I wish well for people with and during the holidays.
This is a time of the year in with I like to take a little break with respect for scheduling twice-a-week blog topic entries. And it may be wise given some readers may be busy. So, this will be the only posted topic for the current week.
(Next blog topic will be Sunday, December 29, 2019, at 12:00 a.m. ET.)
I will leave this with the following Christmas-related videos (each less than a half-hour): Frosty the Snowman, the classic which was originally broadcast by CBS on December 7, 1969; A Garfield Christmas, originally broadcast by CBS on December 21, 1987; and, published to YouTube on December 21, 2019, TheBitBlock’s Josh Thomas, a video gamer, invites friends to a funny contest in “Cube Crushers—A Super Mario Christmas Game.”
Thursday, December 19, 2019
Democratic U.S. House Impeaches Trump
This does not mean the same thing as removal.
The Democratic-controlled U.S. House voted for impeachment on Wednesday [December 18, 2019].
Next up: The Republican-controlled U.S. Senate. It is likely the 45th U.S. president will receive the support from there to remain in office.
I have nothing good to say about this. It has been a waste of time. The Democratic Party Establishment, entrenched in their corrupt corporatism, and doing their best to either prevent or destroy (they want to do both) a progressive uprising, have pissed away the last three years. With the 2020 primaries coming up—and with the Democratic Party Establishment wanting to have their cake and eat it too (meaning, prevent Bernie Sanders and Tulsi Gabbard, who abstained from voting for whether to impeach Trump, from the 2020 Democratic nomination and shove through Any Corporatist Blue Will Do)—this feels like a setup for re-electing Trump. (The Democrats know damn well Trump isn’t going to get removed from office.)
I have written this around midnight on Thursday, December 19, 2019, and I will include below a video by Jamarl Thomas. (He agrees with me.) If there are many more related videos, I know readers of Progressives Chat will not shy from including them in the comments. (Thank you in advance!)
(Next blog topic will be posted on Sunday, December 22, 2019, as expected, but it will be good for the entire week. In observance of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day—which fall on Tuesday and Wednesday—I will take a break from including a second topic. So, next week, there will be just one.)
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