Note: The first episode shown during the Fourth Quarter 2018 was a rerun of
#802 on September 17, 2018.
Episode #808: Exhausted With This Administration
First Broadcast: 9/24/18
Specifically, we discuss how much of a struggle it's been to keep up with all the news about Trump's latest Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh (and that doesn't even include the latest bombshells--EESH!). Have we learned anything since Anita Hill testified at Clarence Thomas's hearing? (Maybe not.) After that, we briefly mention how BlacKkKlansman and Crazy Rich Asians were two of the highlights of this year's summer movies, and isn't it notable how the two movies this year that show non-white people enjoying themselves the most--Crazy Rich Asians and Black Panther--both specifically take place outside the United States? Plenty to think about!
Episode #809: Enervating
First Broadcast: 10/01/18
This week, we taped our episode the night before Dr. Christine Blasey Ford testified to the Senate Judiciary Committee about her recollections of being abused by Brett Kavanaugh, followed by his subsequent crying meltdown in front of the same Committee when it was his turn to respond. We could only speculate on which allegations would be addressed, and how the Committee would vote, although we didn't anticipate the Senator Jeff Flake's last-minute request to delay the final Senate vote until after an additional FBI investigation is complete--a request that may have been prompted by the outrage voiced by Maria Gallagher, a woman from Queens who confronted Senator Flake in an elevator while he was on his way to the Committee vote. That small reprieve may have provided all the time needed to further prove why a man who lied several times under oath should never be confirmed to the Supreme Court. Then again, who knows how many Republican Senators are willing to ditch all their purported principles of decency just so they can stack the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade? I hope the answers we get are good ones.
Episode #810: Mélange
First Broadcast: 10/15/18
Repeated: 2/4/19
After I spend a few moments trying to remember why "Camille Was No Lady," we delve into the aftermath of Hurricane Michael, the strongest hurricane to ever make landfall on the Florida panhandle, and, by one measurement, the third-strongest hurricane to hit the United States ever. Is this the latest sign that anthropogenic climate change is making conditions more favorable for stronger hurricanes, and more of them? Is this what we have to look forward to when the climate becomes irreversibly changed 12 years from now, if the latest U.N. forecasts are accurate? Will I eventually become a climate refugee within my own state? Will Trump or the Republicans do anything to prevent this catastrophe? Can the Democrats flip the House and the Senate this November so that they can finally put a stop to at least some of Trump's egregious behavior? "It's a possibility!"
Episode #811: Like Clockwork
First Broadcast: 10/22/18
Is Trump's Presidency the ultimate culmination of the "Southern Strategy" the Republicans have been perpetrating since the 1960's? Are the Republicans interested in anything other than undoing all the progress of the past century, and power for the sake of remaining in power? Will Trump do anything to punish Saudi Arabia for murdering Jamal Khashoggi? Will the removal of Roseanne Barr from the sitcom now known as "The Conners" help debunk the myth that "economic anxiety" was the main reason why many people supported Trump? I'm sure the answers are out there somewhere...
Episode #812: Please Vote On Tuesday
First Broadcast: 11/5/18
President Trump wants to eliminate birthright citizenship with an executive order, even though it is GUARANTEED by the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, and even though his own proposal would have prevented most of HIS OWN CHILDREN from being citizens. He has also said he might send up to 15,000 troops to the Mexican border to stop a "caravan" of Central Americans from seeking asylum in the United States, even though the law prevents those troops from doing anything that could be considered law enforcement on U.S. soil. Is it any wonder that early voting totals this year are up over 85% from the early voting totals of the last mid-term election in 2014, even though the total U.S. population has only increased by less than 3% in the same amount of time? Has the 2018 election become a referendum on the constant stream of hate and lies from Trump and the Republicans who enable him? With all this in mind, doesn't it make sense to vote for Democrats this year so that we can at least have a chance at putting the brakes on some of the worst of Trump's policies for the next two years? WILL YOU VOTE ON TUESDAY, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD???
Episode #813: Mad House
First Broadcast: 11/12/18
Repeated: 11/26/18
Despite some notable disappointments on this year's election night--Beto O'Rourke losing to Ted Cruz, Democrats not gaining control of the Senate, and the outcome of the Florida and Georgia gubernatorial races still being in doubt--there were still plenty of bright spots. Such as:
Episode #814: A Coyote Within City Limits
First Broadcast: 11/19/18
Repeated: 12/10/18
Amazon, the company that reported $5.6 billion worth of profits in 2017 without paying any federal income tax (and even got $789 million of tax refunds thanks to Trump's new tax law, despite Trump's complaints about all the taxes Amazon doesn't pay), has decided to establish new "headquarters" in two locations on the East coast: Arlington, Virginia, and Long Island City in Queens, New York. In return, New York City and New York State are planning to give Amazon around $2 billion worth of tax breaks--because it makes total sense to give that much money to one of the richest companies in America run by the richest person on Earth as incentive to be in... New York City? As you can imagine, more than a few New Yorkers are upset about this, and think Amazon should be taxed instead of not taxed. Not only that, but if New York can afford to give that much money to Amazon, couldn't that amount be better used to forgive student loans instead? Now, if you'll excuse me, since the brick and mortar stores keep shrinking, I have some online shopping to do...
Episode #815: Just No
First Broadcast: 12/3/18
Repeated: 1/21/19
If you needed more proof that the President of the United States has no idea what the hell is going on, then read his latest interview with The Washington Post and see if you can make heads or tails out of gems like this one:
We’re in the process of doing some — you know, as you know, we are talking about peace over there with the Taliban, with the group of people that have a lot to do with it. They would like to see it after all these years, and we’ll see what happens. A little bit too early to say what’s going to happen. But we are talking about things. But it’s a very sad situation when I look — we have incredible people, incredible fighters. But we’re going to see what happens. We’re going to see what happens.
Or maybe ponder the mystery of this take on climate change:
One of the problems that a lot of people like myself — we have very high levels of intelligence, but we’re not necessarily such believers. You look at our air and our water, and it’s right now at a record clean. But when you look at China and you look at parts of Asia and when you look at South America, and when you look at many other places in this world, including Russia, including — just many other places — the air is incredibly dirty. And when you’re talking about an atmosphere, oceans are very small. And it blows over and it sails over. I mean, we take thousands of tons of garbage off our beaches all the time that comes over from Asia. It just flows right down the Pacific, it flows, and we say where does this come from. And it takes many people to start off with.
I spent 28 minutes trying to figure this shit out, and then I remembered that there's still 2 years left in this fakakta administration, and this will be mostly forgotten when the next big crisis arrives. Can it be January already?