Maybe that's why J. Cole is so successful.
Newspapers are functioning on an old paradigm. Wherein PR people pitch stories and what ends up appearing in the arts section is hype. There's no news there. It's all in the other sections, National, Business and Sports. If I want the facts, I can go to the internet. I'm looking for the spin, someone to ferret through the detritus and come up with the jewels.
But racing through today's NYT Arts section quickly so Felice could do the puzzle, her weekend addiction, I got hooked on a story about J. Cole. Which is hype for his HBO special.
I read it because I know Cole's success more than his music, I thought there might be some nuggets there.
And there were. How he retreated from fame to North Carolina, tried to become the opposite of the character so many desire, with wine, women, song and automobiles.
And they talk about him playing hoops uninterrupted.
But the cops raided his abode. Cole posits looking for drugs. He believes a neighbor tipped them. Even though essentially nothing was found.
That's when Cole wrote the six songs.
All of Cole's albums have gone platinum, maybe this is why.
Art is best when based upon inspiration. Talk to anybody who creates. It's when the heavens open, the lightning bolt comes down and you're zapped, you've got something to say.
But that's not the way it's been for oh-so-long. All the music today is massaged. That's what made music a hotter medium that movies or TV, it's why Warner Records built HBO, never mind the Warner cable system. Because when done right music captures the zeitgeist.
Keith Richards conjured the riff to "Satisfaction" in a dream.
Some of the greatest songs in history were written in fifteen minutes.
And the people can tell, listeners know, there's some indescribable nugget encased that they just can't resist, that they must get closer to.
Which the digital/internet age should foster. Not only are the means of production cheap, they're at your fingertips 24/7, as is distribution. There are no hurdles, it's only our minds that our restricting us.
So get out and live, raise your antenna. When you least expect it, when you think you're just going about your business, you will be inspired.
And it's a solo event. Kinda like the Beatles, most of their songs were not joint affairs, McCartney or Lennon just tweaked what their partner came up with.
And there's nothing wrong with tweaks, just don't smooth the rough edges, don't eliminate what hooks people to begin with.
And we are just people. We're in search of humanity. When you channel truth we resonate and feel connected in a lonely world. That's why we love our musical stars, their ability to do this.
Do it.
"That lack of representation, Mr. Cole said, can lead to potentially catastrophic misunderstandings. In March of last year, police raided the Sheltuh; Mr. Cole believes a neighbor was fearful it was a drug den. Security footage that captures the raid is used in the HBO special, showing dozens of heavily armed men forcibly entering the building only to find, well, nothing. (A ticket was issued for a small amount of marijuana found on the premises, he said.)
'I wrote six songs that weekend,' Mr. Cole noted wryly - they included the powerful "Neighbors," from the new album.'
"J. Cole, the Platinum Rap Dissident, Steps Back From the Spotlight": http://nyti.ms/2oyq7jy
P.S. This article is hype, but it's so much more. Proving that I'm still looking, wading through the junk looking for the essence. People are still looking to be touched by greatness, inspiration, we never give up hope, we never stop turning the corner, we're waiting for you to deliver for us.
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Saturday 15 April 2017
Friday 14 April 2017
MOAB & North Korea
Am I the only one freaked out about this?
I lived through the Cuban Missile Crisis. I was only nine years old, but I was plenty scared. I remember visiting my grandparents in Peabody, Mass., lying on the sloping porch of their three story abode, asking my mother what was gonna happen.
She said if they dropped the bomb we'd all die, and not to worry about it.
Is that the genesis of all my problems right there? Because this only made me more afraid.
And I haven't been so afraid this century. Haven't been afraid for decades. Yes, 9/11 happened, but that was in New York, first stop for Europeans, a bit more of a hop, skip and a jump from the Middle East, but the centralized city, Manhattan, makes a perfect target.
But if they're lobbing bombs from North Korea, L.A.'s the place.
Don't tell me to be unafraid. It doesn't work. Just like in the instance of my mom above.
I laugh when I hear people in the heartland give up their rights in the name of protection from terrorism, the assailants are gonna go there last. They're gonna start in the big cities, where they have the most impact.
So I'm driving on the freeway this morning and they're going on about the Mother Of All Bombs. ISIS is comprised of bad guys, I get it. But aren't we pissing them off by doing this, the ones who survive? Aren't we imploring them to commit acts of terrorism, poison our water, kill our children? That's the first thing that went through my mind, revenge. Some of these people have been pissed for centuries, they can hold a grudge. And the truth is no one can keep America safe, it just can't be done.
And now comes this brinksmanship with North Korea. Just six months ago they were debating whether Trump should be trusted with the button and it seemed a distant question, we've had Glasnost, ABM treaties, no one's gonna drop a bomb. But then Putin acted with impunity, annexing Crimea after an Olympics only one step away from Hitler's 1936 edition, and then Trump fires Tomahawk missiles into Syria and all I can think of is Naomi Klein and "The Shock Doctrine." When there's war, the character of the country changes, the administration enacts restrictions, rams through an agenda they would not be able to do in peacetime. This is what the U.S. does around the world, Democrats and Republicans, it's just that most Americans are so busy celebrating their belief they live in the greatest country in the world that they've got no idea what is happening outside our borders, what heinous acts are being committed.
And then there's the involvement of Russia in our elections, and irrelevant of whether Trump's election is valid or not, it makes you wonder who is in control.
As for Trump's supporters, the Republican voters, I'm coming to believe the rank and file's defense of him has little to do with policy and everything to do with hatred of Hillary. Give the right wing credit, they've spent decades denigrating Clinton and the "New York Times" and the end result is both have been neutralized, they're hold the losing end of the stick. And I don't care whether you're a lefty or a righty, but the issue isn't fake news, but the fact that we can't agree on the facts, whatever they might be. We've all got different news sources, that's the story of the election, which also taught us not to trust the techies, who got it all wrong, their statistical modeling told us Hillary would win and she didn't. So it's every man for himself in America these days, and that's positively scary.
For years I avoided television news. For years I skimmed through the international section of the newspaper. Now it's like a wreck on the highway, I can't peel my eyes away. And I wonder if the attention is warranted. And I wonder what impact I can have. Are we in a national crisis and it's all hands on deck, fighting the administration's takeover? Or is it worse than that, and we're skewing towards military rule? After all, Trump defers to his Generals.
And don't get your knickers in a twist, don't make this us versus them, right versus left, we're all people and we've got more in common than that which separates us. We all want opportunity and community, we all want the pursuit of happiness. But we've been so busy looking for points of difference that we are divided and no longer communicating while a Washington, D.C. that was out of touch to begin with is now circling the wagons and taking over.
Or is it?
My grandfather came from Russia. He escaped the czar. Some of his brothers and sisters went to Palestine, one left behind ended up in the Russian army.
He got a job in a tannery. He joined the Workmen's Circle, because he believed in the power of the laborer, the power of the people, he believed the average working Joe should be heard and understood.
And with the money he saved he purchased two three story apartment buildings that his son ultimately labeled slums. But he and his wife continued to live there. They put a son and a daughter through college. Another son O.D.'ed after getting hurt in the factory and never recovering from back pain, he overmedicated himself.
And my father's father lost a hand in a railroad accident. And one of my dad's brothers got run over in the driveway, a sister committed suicide. And the truth is we've all got potholes in our stories, twists and turns that we'd rather forget but bond us. We're imperfect people with checkered histories. All we want is to be able to survive and live in peace.
But suddenly that's challenged. Suddenly the Chinese say they find Kim Jong-un uncontrollable. We pushed Saddam Hussein, who refused to back down even though he had no nukes. These are not rational people, they're power-hungry overlords, who are more worried about their image than safety. That's what we're up against.
We're privileged, we've grown up in the relative safety of the United States.
But now opportunity has faded here too. Desperation is rampant. You may not experience it, but if you open your eyes you can see it. We thought we were above the fray, that we were a better people with answers, living behind an invisible curtain of impenetrability. But the last few months have shown we're no better and no different from everybody else. The pedestal has been torn down. Our leader is just as unpredictable as theirs. We too are driven by religion.
But even more we're driven by ignorance and power.
And that's just positively scary.
I know, I know, I should relax. Just dial up Netflix. Zone out.
But I can't.
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I lived through the Cuban Missile Crisis. I was only nine years old, but I was plenty scared. I remember visiting my grandparents in Peabody, Mass., lying on the sloping porch of their three story abode, asking my mother what was gonna happen.
She said if they dropped the bomb we'd all die, and not to worry about it.
Is that the genesis of all my problems right there? Because this only made me more afraid.
And I haven't been so afraid this century. Haven't been afraid for decades. Yes, 9/11 happened, but that was in New York, first stop for Europeans, a bit more of a hop, skip and a jump from the Middle East, but the centralized city, Manhattan, makes a perfect target.
But if they're lobbing bombs from North Korea, L.A.'s the place.
Don't tell me to be unafraid. It doesn't work. Just like in the instance of my mom above.
I laugh when I hear people in the heartland give up their rights in the name of protection from terrorism, the assailants are gonna go there last. They're gonna start in the big cities, where they have the most impact.
So I'm driving on the freeway this morning and they're going on about the Mother Of All Bombs. ISIS is comprised of bad guys, I get it. But aren't we pissing them off by doing this, the ones who survive? Aren't we imploring them to commit acts of terrorism, poison our water, kill our children? That's the first thing that went through my mind, revenge. Some of these people have been pissed for centuries, they can hold a grudge. And the truth is no one can keep America safe, it just can't be done.
And now comes this brinksmanship with North Korea. Just six months ago they were debating whether Trump should be trusted with the button and it seemed a distant question, we've had Glasnost, ABM treaties, no one's gonna drop a bomb. But then Putin acted with impunity, annexing Crimea after an Olympics only one step away from Hitler's 1936 edition, and then Trump fires Tomahawk missiles into Syria and all I can think of is Naomi Klein and "The Shock Doctrine." When there's war, the character of the country changes, the administration enacts restrictions, rams through an agenda they would not be able to do in peacetime. This is what the U.S. does around the world, Democrats and Republicans, it's just that most Americans are so busy celebrating their belief they live in the greatest country in the world that they've got no idea what is happening outside our borders, what heinous acts are being committed.
And then there's the involvement of Russia in our elections, and irrelevant of whether Trump's election is valid or not, it makes you wonder who is in control.
As for Trump's supporters, the Republican voters, I'm coming to believe the rank and file's defense of him has little to do with policy and everything to do with hatred of Hillary. Give the right wing credit, they've spent decades denigrating Clinton and the "New York Times" and the end result is both have been neutralized, they're hold the losing end of the stick. And I don't care whether you're a lefty or a righty, but the issue isn't fake news, but the fact that we can't agree on the facts, whatever they might be. We've all got different news sources, that's the story of the election, which also taught us not to trust the techies, who got it all wrong, their statistical modeling told us Hillary would win and she didn't. So it's every man for himself in America these days, and that's positively scary.
For years I avoided television news. For years I skimmed through the international section of the newspaper. Now it's like a wreck on the highway, I can't peel my eyes away. And I wonder if the attention is warranted. And I wonder what impact I can have. Are we in a national crisis and it's all hands on deck, fighting the administration's takeover? Or is it worse than that, and we're skewing towards military rule? After all, Trump defers to his Generals.
And don't get your knickers in a twist, don't make this us versus them, right versus left, we're all people and we've got more in common than that which separates us. We all want opportunity and community, we all want the pursuit of happiness. But we've been so busy looking for points of difference that we are divided and no longer communicating while a Washington, D.C. that was out of touch to begin with is now circling the wagons and taking over.
Or is it?
My grandfather came from Russia. He escaped the czar. Some of his brothers and sisters went to Palestine, one left behind ended up in the Russian army.
He got a job in a tannery. He joined the Workmen's Circle, because he believed in the power of the laborer, the power of the people, he believed the average working Joe should be heard and understood.
And with the money he saved he purchased two three story apartment buildings that his son ultimately labeled slums. But he and his wife continued to live there. They put a son and a daughter through college. Another son O.D.'ed after getting hurt in the factory and never recovering from back pain, he overmedicated himself.
And my father's father lost a hand in a railroad accident. And one of my dad's brothers got run over in the driveway, a sister committed suicide. And the truth is we've all got potholes in our stories, twists and turns that we'd rather forget but bond us. We're imperfect people with checkered histories. All we want is to be able to survive and live in peace.
But suddenly that's challenged. Suddenly the Chinese say they find Kim Jong-un uncontrollable. We pushed Saddam Hussein, who refused to back down even though he had no nukes. These are not rational people, they're power-hungry overlords, who are more worried about their image than safety. That's what we're up against.
We're privileged, we've grown up in the relative safety of the United States.
But now opportunity has faded here too. Desperation is rampant. You may not experience it, but if you open your eyes you can see it. We thought we were above the fray, that we were a better people with answers, living behind an invisible curtain of impenetrability. But the last few months have shown we're no better and no different from everybody else. The pedestal has been torn down. Our leader is just as unpredictable as theirs. We too are driven by religion.
But even more we're driven by ignorance and power.
And that's just positively scary.
I know, I know, I should relax. Just dial up Netflix. Zone out.
But I can't.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/?utm_source=phplist5812&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=MOAB+%26+North+Korea
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S-Town
https://stownpodcast.org?utm_source=phplist5811&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=S-Town
Have you listened to this?
I'm worried about the national consciousness. We listen to different music, watch different TV shows, many people don't even go to the movies and we all get our news from different sources...how are we supposed to have a discussion?
It's like we're all speaking a different language. And even on topics we have in common, we quote different "facts." There's no cohesiveness, no glue. As a result, there's no unifying factor.
The top five tracks on Spotify are by Kendrick Lamar, Future, Lil Uzi Vert, Drake and Ed Sheeran. Forget having heard them, have you even HEARD OF THEM?
We used to be unified by our art. Now we're all siloed. And told we're incompetent and out of it by acolytes of that which we are uninformed about. But we just shrug off our ignorance, we're too busy in our own niches. You can criticize someone all you want for their choices, but no one cares. Used to be you were either an AM or FM person. Imagine, just two choices! You either were hip or you were not. Now you're uninformed or you're not. But it's a full time job trying to keep up, and still there's so much you don't know.
And in case you don't know, "S-Town" is the new podcast from the producers of "Serial" and "This American Life." Traditional media has been hyping its success, but no one has mentioned it to me and whenever I bring it up I get blank stares. This is unlike the original iteration of "Serial," wherein we were all addicted. But is that just the new paradigm, we care when it's new, when you repeat the formula we tune out and move on? That's what purveyors don't understand, that it's nearly impossible to keep our attention. And every time you fail the greater the chance people won't even bother the next time. Which is why you should strive for greatness, especially if you put out product infrequently. Kinda like the new Lindsey Buckingham/Christine McVie track. It starts so slowly, the verse is blah, but then the chorus is a home run. Couldn't anybody sit down with Lindsey and tell him the new rules? That you've got to grab us immediately, changes are key, we don't have time to listen ten times, our lives are fast-paced, didn't he read the Max Martin interview? I mean old farts can rarely recapture the magic, but listening to "In My World" you discover there's still something there, if you haven't clicked on to something new before you get to the sauce.
Kinda like the second season of "Serial," the one about Bowe Bergdahl. How many episodes did you listen to before you moved on? Me, only two. But the reviews of "S-Town" were so good.
It's not that good. And while you're listening, you start to realize, like in a French film, there's going to be no payoff, there's going to be no a-ha moment, there's going to be no resolution.
There, I ruined it for you. But you probably weren't going to listen anyway. Or you're not quite through the entire seven episodes, which were released all at once, which I give kudos to the producers for, we live in an on demand culture and there it all is.
And it's not like it starts off strong and hooks you. It's not boring, but your eyes don't bug out, like with the first "Serial."
But you want to know what happens.
We all want to know what happens.
America is hooked on story.
Meanwhile, we keep being fed ever-smaller bite-sized content, with a media falsely telling us we have a short attention span and this is what we desire.
No, we desire humanity. That's what's missing from the movies and so much music, there are no PEOPLE there. Especially in flicks, where it's literally superheroes and zombies. And in music, it's all about boasting or platitudes, nothing that soothes the soul. But in TV... There are long arcs where images are secondary to plot. We live for plot. Hell, too many film directors are into image, we live for story.
Then again, Instagram is king, can you explain that to me? Looking at pictures of people essentially bragging, what is the hook here?
I'll tell you what it is, a desire to belong, to feel part of the club, to feel connected in a world where disconnection is king.
And when you stop listening for the smoking gun, when you stop waiting to find out what happened to the gold and focus on the characters in "S-Town" you do get rewarded. But it's not what they're selling in the hype.
John B. McLemore is a self-educated genius who cannot get along. Living in a backward town he wants to leave but just cannot. His is a life of failed relationships, even though he has so many admirers. But he's his own worst enemy, he alienates those closest to him. And he gets jealous if he's not your number one.
People are complicated.
But not online. You're either a Democrat or a Republican. The lines are clearly drawn. But there are people who believe in abortion and not a welfare state and vice versa. Where do the chiaroscuro citizens play?
So, if you're interested in character study, "S-Town" is genius.
And now they're debating Mr. McLemore online.
But only if you look for it. Otherwise, you're clueless.
So do we have an overhyped mediocrity or evidence that our national soul is hurting and we cling to anything with a shred of humanity?
I'll tell you this, I couldn't turn "S-Town" off, I got hooked, because in a world of obligations, where you're made to feel inadequate every damn day, it was great to retreat to a world where people were not trying to get ahead so much as living. Where personality and upbringing had consequences. Listen to "S-Town" and see if you don't find yourself in there somewhere.
We're all looking to find ourselves reflected to us. We're all lonely. We put on a brave face and try to belong but the truth is we're looking for soul sustenance and it's rarely evident. Don't show any weakness, fight to get ahead in our coarse society, he who is not your friend is your enemy.
The purveyors have blinked. No one tries to make art for everyone. No one tries to unite the public consciousness. I'm not sure any one artist with any one song could grab everybody's ears. But I do think if all the artists aligned they could. That's what it would take, a "We Are The World" with better music and better lyrics. Because today we all are not members of the club, but we're yearning to be. But you get no eyeballs unless you achieve greatness.
And "S-Town" is not great.
But podcasts are winning because they're everything terrestrial radio is not. They're not fake, playing to a theoretical audience that does not exist. They're not brief. They're not disconnected. When done right, podcasts are the heart and soul of America. Just talk to anybody who listens, they'll testify! No one is wishy-washy about podcasts. There's something happening here. A tapping into the desire of America to dig down deep and belong.
Have you listened to this?
I'm worried about the national consciousness. We listen to different music, watch different TV shows, many people don't even go to the movies and we all get our news from different sources...how are we supposed to have a discussion?
It's like we're all speaking a different language. And even on topics we have in common, we quote different "facts." There's no cohesiveness, no glue. As a result, there's no unifying factor.
The top five tracks on Spotify are by Kendrick Lamar, Future, Lil Uzi Vert, Drake and Ed Sheeran. Forget having heard them, have you even HEARD OF THEM?
We used to be unified by our art. Now we're all siloed. And told we're incompetent and out of it by acolytes of that which we are uninformed about. But we just shrug off our ignorance, we're too busy in our own niches. You can criticize someone all you want for their choices, but no one cares. Used to be you were either an AM or FM person. Imagine, just two choices! You either were hip or you were not. Now you're uninformed or you're not. But it's a full time job trying to keep up, and still there's so much you don't know.
And in case you don't know, "S-Town" is the new podcast from the producers of "Serial" and "This American Life." Traditional media has been hyping its success, but no one has mentioned it to me and whenever I bring it up I get blank stares. This is unlike the original iteration of "Serial," wherein we were all addicted. But is that just the new paradigm, we care when it's new, when you repeat the formula we tune out and move on? That's what purveyors don't understand, that it's nearly impossible to keep our attention. And every time you fail the greater the chance people won't even bother the next time. Which is why you should strive for greatness, especially if you put out product infrequently. Kinda like the new Lindsey Buckingham/Christine McVie track. It starts so slowly, the verse is blah, but then the chorus is a home run. Couldn't anybody sit down with Lindsey and tell him the new rules? That you've got to grab us immediately, changes are key, we don't have time to listen ten times, our lives are fast-paced, didn't he read the Max Martin interview? I mean old farts can rarely recapture the magic, but listening to "In My World" you discover there's still something there, if you haven't clicked on to something new before you get to the sauce.
Kinda like the second season of "Serial," the one about Bowe Bergdahl. How many episodes did you listen to before you moved on? Me, only two. But the reviews of "S-Town" were so good.
It's not that good. And while you're listening, you start to realize, like in a French film, there's going to be no payoff, there's going to be no a-ha moment, there's going to be no resolution.
There, I ruined it for you. But you probably weren't going to listen anyway. Or you're not quite through the entire seven episodes, which were released all at once, which I give kudos to the producers for, we live in an on demand culture and there it all is.
And it's not like it starts off strong and hooks you. It's not boring, but your eyes don't bug out, like with the first "Serial."
But you want to know what happens.
We all want to know what happens.
America is hooked on story.
Meanwhile, we keep being fed ever-smaller bite-sized content, with a media falsely telling us we have a short attention span and this is what we desire.
No, we desire humanity. That's what's missing from the movies and so much music, there are no PEOPLE there. Especially in flicks, where it's literally superheroes and zombies. And in music, it's all about boasting or platitudes, nothing that soothes the soul. But in TV... There are long arcs where images are secondary to plot. We live for plot. Hell, too many film directors are into image, we live for story.
Then again, Instagram is king, can you explain that to me? Looking at pictures of people essentially bragging, what is the hook here?
I'll tell you what it is, a desire to belong, to feel part of the club, to feel connected in a world where disconnection is king.
And when you stop listening for the smoking gun, when you stop waiting to find out what happened to the gold and focus on the characters in "S-Town" you do get rewarded. But it's not what they're selling in the hype.
John B. McLemore is a self-educated genius who cannot get along. Living in a backward town he wants to leave but just cannot. His is a life of failed relationships, even though he has so many admirers. But he's his own worst enemy, he alienates those closest to him. And he gets jealous if he's not your number one.
People are complicated.
But not online. You're either a Democrat or a Republican. The lines are clearly drawn. But there are people who believe in abortion and not a welfare state and vice versa. Where do the chiaroscuro citizens play?
So, if you're interested in character study, "S-Town" is genius.
And now they're debating Mr. McLemore online.
But only if you look for it. Otherwise, you're clueless.
So do we have an overhyped mediocrity or evidence that our national soul is hurting and we cling to anything with a shred of humanity?
I'll tell you this, I couldn't turn "S-Town" off, I got hooked, because in a world of obligations, where you're made to feel inadequate every damn day, it was great to retreat to a world where people were not trying to get ahead so much as living. Where personality and upbringing had consequences. Listen to "S-Town" and see if you don't find yourself in there somewhere.
We're all looking to find ourselves reflected to us. We're all lonely. We put on a brave face and try to belong but the truth is we're looking for soul sustenance and it's rarely evident. Don't show any weakness, fight to get ahead in our coarse society, he who is not your friend is your enemy.
The purveyors have blinked. No one tries to make art for everyone. No one tries to unite the public consciousness. I'm not sure any one artist with any one song could grab everybody's ears. But I do think if all the artists aligned they could. That's what it would take, a "We Are The World" with better music and better lyrics. Because today we all are not members of the club, but we're yearning to be. But you get no eyeballs unless you achieve greatness.
And "S-Town" is not great.
But podcasts are winning because they're everything terrestrial radio is not. They're not fake, playing to a theoretical audience that does not exist. They're not brief. They're not disconnected. When done right, podcasts are the heart and soul of America. Just talk to anybody who listens, they'll testify! No one is wishy-washy about podcasts. There's something happening here. A tapping into the desire of America to dig down deep and belong.
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Re-Rachel Maddow
From: Rachel Maddow
To: Fred Goldring
Subject: RE: Rachel Maddow
thanks, fred -- much appreciated. this is very, very humbling. quite amazing.
RM
Bob,
Great piece on Rachel. She first came on my radar screen when she was one of our up-and-coming stars on Air America Radio (of which I was chairman briefly in the mid 2000s).
You remember Air America Radio, right? The Velvet Underground of progressive media. I guess Rachel was our Lou Reed (and Senator Al Franken was our multi-instrumentalist John Cale). Marc Maron? I guess he was our Flavor-Flav...
Anyway Rachel was clearly brilliant, driven, and deeply intellectually curious. I credit Danny Goldberg for being the first person to figure this out (yes that Danny Goldberg).
Rachel is one of the people who will help us get out of the present mess. But it won't be easy, it never is.
Rob Glaser
David Letterman once said that the two smartest people he had on his show were Bill Clinton and Rachel Maddow.
Jim Kweskin
She certainly doesn't hold me like putty in her hands, she a complete idiot.
Matt Gaines
I'm glad you wrote this, Bob. I DVR Rachael's show every night. She has a really interesting style and, in her "A" block, I always feel like I'm getting a civics lesson.
Jordan Berliant
Addicted to the news too. Then I realize it, turn the TV off and turn the music on.
Thank you,
Thomas Meyer
Yeah - my girl!
Felice Mancini
Best hour on tv! I sometimes watch it 2 or 3 times a night, 9pm, midnight and occasionally at ?4am (I don't sleep well).
A woman from MSNBC, who I didn't know, contacted me out of the blue about buying good tickets for one of my clients. I helped her out. A few months later at the show we got to talking and she invited me to sit on the set during Rachel's show. It was like I hit the lottery!!!
Larry Webman
He sucks!
Clarence Jey
but wouldn't mind seeing her in the occasional floral print Spring frock.
Dennis Braun
I have dinner with Rachel every night.
Inese Brunins
Thank you for giving Maddox the nod. She deserves it. She is a true journalist, rounding up the facts and inconvenient truths, displaying them in plain sight and making us wash it all down with a little humble pie and castor oil. And does it with no malice or prejudice. Just the facts ma'am with a little smile and look up to the sky. You fill in the blanks.
Kenny Lee Lewis
Thank you for your piece on Rachel Maddow!!!! America needs more principled news analysis like hers. She IS addicting in a healthy for your mind way!
Tom Seufert
Please pass along for the cord cutters out there, Maddow's show is available as a FREE video podcast (first segment) and an audio podcast (entire show). There's NO excuse to not be watching her excellent show.
Jake Foust
She is the Queen Of Context!
She first hit my radar as Token Lib for the unctuous Tucker Carlson, while also being on Air America ( maybe they'll make a comeback).
You totally nailed what makes her unique....she's our incredibly bright FRIEND, who also crafts a fine cocktail!
Don Crouch
I haven't missed a single TRMS episode since the election. Traded in The Daily Show for her.
And lately I've been listening on Sirius too!
My friends and I started an Indivisible group after I saw her show about it a couple months ago.
We are coalescing. I can feel it. Even all the way from my bubble in Venice Beach.
Trying to get the country back on the right track.
She is indeed a beacon.
P.S. Here is our little political action Indivisible group, we have people of many religious, economic, social, gender, ethnic, etc backgrounds. Everyone is welcome! (Except trollz!)
https://m.facebook.com/DiverseUnitedLA/?utm_source=phplist5810&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=Re-Rachel+Maddow
Cheers,
Chesne
This one gave me a lot to think about. Thanks, RJ Spangler, Detroit
I like her too!
Alan Oreman
Before the gift of Rachel I was not at all interested in political history, and my knowledge was basically what I had learned in school. Now, I look forward to my free nightly history and civics lessons. If only my expensive profs had been as interesting and entertaining.
Susie Stockholm
Rachel's convincing no thinking person. She is beholden to corporate overlords & advertising revenue.
Not the progressive reporter we need at this time in history. $30K a day. Really?
Beating Bill in the ratings is not the gold standard. Start watching The Young Turks or almost anything other than MSNBC.
Watch these and reconsider:
https://youtu.be/CZ7Dmg_FpgI?utm_source=phplist5810&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=Re-Rachel+Maddow
https://youtu.be/BqPc7pqhk3I?utm_source=phplist5810&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=Re-Rachel+Maddow
Peace & Love. PEACE AND LOVE. (Ringo)
Keep Hitting 'em with the Hein.
Bob Mori
As a Canadian, I'll take the great political brainiac women anchors (and fucking gorgeous, I might add) on CNN ANY DAY of the week (which I do, daily). Bob you gotta check them out, really, they're ADDICTIVE. And of course Jake, Anderson, Wolf, Van and Lemon are all SOLID!
Olie Kornelsen
Rachel MADCOWLIBTARD. FEMINAZI.
Aristedes aka Mr. Melody
Merely your opinion. Still a nice stroke from one of her fanboys.
Maybe your numbers can help her. I see that you're all trying to hang onto something comforting in the face of your own oblivion. Gearing up for 2018, are you?
And are you also on board with that special election in Kansas as a win? The spin seems to be dizzying. Do you practice her snarky smirk in the mirror as well?
Richard Barnes
Agree, she's been phenomenal.
Joel Amsterdam
I'm a big fan of history. I love watching documentaries and seeing how all the pieces fit together. It's much easier from the distance of 100 years to see the machinations and where they lead. Watching Rachel put the pieces together daily has been addicting. For this reason alone I adore Rachel Maddow. I feel like I'm watching a daily documentary in real time.
I wish I could get the knuckle-draggers in my family to watch her.
Bobbo
John Oliver's Last week Tonight show has been educating America on HBO every Sunday in a in-depth manner.
Last Sunday his main topic was Gerrymandering. How's that for heavy civics. Talk about ratings chutzpah.
An outsider and a comedian no less from England taking Americans to task on topics we should care about.
Sort of like a modern day Alexis del Tocqueville taking it to the streets.
Kids might pay attention and learn something if they taught history with a little wit and humor.
The Circus on Showtime is another show that's well produced. Mark Halperin and John Heilemann are like D.C. insiders.
Also a shout out to Travis Smiley, Democracy Now, BBC, NHK and Charlie Rose. Though Charlie's seems to have gone downhill ever since he took on the morning gig at CBS.
Cheers,
G.Robey
good one, Bob.
Rusty Fretz
Yes, and yes, and yes. Good one.
Josh Nelson
LOL! Rachel Maddow is less of an explainer, much more a left wing echo chamber! Seriously Bob? She's beyond snarky and a talking head that never, ever debates a truly opposing view. Have you ever seen a guest on her show that basically doesn't whole heartedly agree with her view point?
She will go out of her way to bash conservatives or Republicans, while completely ignoring similar infractions from those of her own party and ideology! Also, beating O'Reilly in the ratings..... well even a broken clock is right twice a day!
Thanks but NO thanks!
Sincerely,
JIm Ryan
Right on!!!
Elizabeth Brant
Rachel Maddow is preaching to the choir, your part of the choir that's why you like her, me not so much!!
Doug Gillis
Great piece Bob..
Jimi LaLumia
I continued to receive your emails but stopped reading them months ago because ....well, too much politics not enough distraction from the onslaught. You had me at "Rachel Maddow" ..and as I opened this email I hoped to find another sane human who understood the phenomenal gift this woman is to our country - the best friend we all need and hope for - she's the student teacher among the classmates helping us graduate from the jaws of a chaotic environment and go out into the world feeling empowered again - if not simply clear headed!
Gigi
Tropic Heat Studios
But Brian Williams is hilarious! What I miss is is the Brian Williams who would appear on late night TV with dry comments and a straight face that would leave me falling on the floor laughing… The Brian Williams who would give a heartfelt and smart tribute to Tim Russert at his memorial service but had just enough humor to make it unforgettable. His blunders or horrible, but he's way more than a pretty face. I forgive him, I want the old Brian is back. It's time to forgive and move on!!
Gregory McLoughlin
Bob, open your eyes, your missing all the good stuff in the news and the "real" story!
Www.drudge.com. How does Drudge have more viewers than CNN, Fox and MSNBC combined?
He's the grassroots underground rockstar of the news world! He's the guy someone like you should be watching and covering!!
I'm not pushing "conspiracy" sites, just truth!
Watch the rise of the real news rockstars, your in the dark ages still if those "mainstream" channels are all your eating!
William Eric Paul
Agreed. Respect, humor, break it down, by the numbers' and no yelling.
Her piece on Spicer and his lack of communication abilities was "simply" a masterful (not a term used lightly) use of video and audio to dissect and explain Spicer's remarkable lack of same. A beautifully made teaching lesson for us all, as is much of her work.
Yours was a nice piece too, tim
Morton H. "Tim" Fry, attorney
I agree with everything except - "People are not dumb, they're smart".
People are dumb, Ray. People are most definitely dumb. Dumb enough to be brain washed by Fox. Dumb enough to fall for Trump's propaganda. Remember what Goebbels said; "the secret of propaganda is to simplify complex und complicated zings".
You're talking to the coasts - not the soft white underbelly. Those people click past Maddow the same way we click past Hannity - a hideous freak spewing garbage.
Cheers,
Tom Quinn
Amazing!!!!!! Out of the country. Out of the loup. Blessed. Yes, you nailed it!!!! I cannot wait til I read your observations on Fame. It's pretty poisonous, isn't it
KATHY ROWE
pbs newshour free on youtube
noticed you didn't mention it above
it is a disservice to you and your audience to discuss these other shitty commercial entertainment news sources and not the one place people can find quality unfiltered information
more important than ever and probably on its way out unless people like yourself start including it in their vocabulary
there's no shitty ads for pepsi and its a little less 'fun' so its probably no accident no one ever talks about it
who wants to hear a cogent, respectful conversation between two experts where you can't just yell along w the TV anyway?
rachel maddow is smart but its barely news - its entertainment and biased in the extreme
John Bartleson
Maddow makes $20,000 a day.
She and everyone else at MSNBC were complicit in kneecapping the Sanders campaign, crowning HRC months before the election, being as fucking wrong about the state of the nation as possible, and then continuing to browbeat actual progressives months later.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqPc7pqhk3I&utm_source=phplist5810&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=Re-Rachel+Maddow
She somehow gets a hold of two pages - TWO - of tax returns from 2005, a year where everything would have needed to be by the book because Melania was up for citizenship, a year that actually makes trump LOOK GOOD, and goes on an hour long self aggrandizing rant about it. Like the Clinton campaign, it wasn't about us, it was about HER.
Screw Maddow and all the corporate centrists pretending to represent the left; the revolution will decidedly not be televised, because all these clowns would never see it coming.
Chris Schetter
Rachel can pontificate all she wants however she is well aware the left lost.
c.chapin
For a Canadian, it's hard to comment or conceptualize what an American patriot is…but inasmuch as I understand it, she is a patriot. Ph.d in politics, a good entertainer, breaks stories, tries to fight her ideology when she can, attempts to be balanced but is transparent about her politics, calls bullshit, sometimes hyperbolic but only when it's something she's really passionate or scared of. She is the best America has on TV, you're lucky to have her and if shit got real, the true measure, end of days, who would you trust? Maddow.
Len Ottesen
Bob: please... I love your posts... read them religiously. Rachel Maddow is a hack. Granted, she is a very smart and sometimes approachable hack, but a hack nonetheless. If not 100% biases, she is 99.99% biased to a left wing agenda. Bill O'Reilly is everything you say, but he always provides opposing views, often agreeing with them. Even if his sometimes agreement is made up and part of his shtick to claim he is "unbiased," he does provide intelligent counterpoints. Rachel does none of that. She is lin all the way. I watch her only to better understand how the smart left think, but it is left nonetheless. Disappointed she gives you such a "shiver up your leg." --Ted Decker
Maddow is ok, but it takes her forever to make her point. Sometimes it's just excruciating. Surprised, but happy to hear she's beating O'Reilly. Sponsors leaving him in droves. Sexual predator past now catching up with him. He just took an unscheduled "vacation' in mid-week April. Maybe he will gracefully "retire" soon.
Willie Perkins
Bob,
I sleep very well at night, knowing that Pres. Trump is our leader, thank you.
Cathy Hancock ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
Been loving Rachel for years.... and you too Bob.
Dan Goldich
If you really want to know what's going on in the world your gonna have to dig a lot deeper brother. Every first year communications major knows the news delivered by CNN,FOX etc. is pre - digested pablum. Racheal Maddow is a joke,merely the left wing equivalent of Shawn Hannity and no I am not equivocating. As a VERY left leaning person I find her embarrassing. Like you, I too am too busy to keep up on world events but at least I know I am uninformed.
The naivete that serves you so well when you write about your personal connection to music is a liability when it comes to writing about politics. If you want to be informed you have a lot of work to do. Here is a good place to start if you're interested. https://www.amazon.com/Manufacturing-Consent-Political-Economy-Media/dp/0375714?utm_source=phplist5810&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=Re-Rachel+Maddow
Much Love,
Reeve Downes
I travel the world non stop and yes people around the world think we are bananas....Half laughing half terrified.
Your right about the music and no message to unite us.....Where is Buffy Saints-Marie when we need her....
Stevie Salas
So glad you featured Maddow. She has become the one news show I don't want to miss. In spite of the fact I'm more or less confined to home with endless time to follow news of the world she always tells me details I did not know. They should give her more time and a bigger research staff. She is one of a kind.
Mary Rand
MSNBC Morning Joe is all you need to watch.
Rachel is totally biased. Everyone knows this. Even you.
Don Coddington
Rachel Maddow? Really? Isn't this the same woman (?) who melted down on election night? Guess the left is getting crazier and crazier.....
Marc Ellis
Rachel Maddow is the great explainer, the only one who not only figures out the complicated stories but explains them to us in language we all understand. She is the best we have on the crazy news front.
I wish she would run for office. At least we could all grok the world situations that seem so complicated til she explains them.
Susan Nadler
"That's right, there's everything from Fox to CNN, MSNBC to Bloomberg, NPR and the BBC. I want to know what's going on."
You think those outlets help you to know what's going on?!?! C'mon bob, don't get caught up in a circle jerk. Unless ya wanna get jerked
Jeremy Backofen
Thanks for educating us in your own way.
M. Spencer
Watching MSNBC since beginning. Love Rachel and also Mika Brezinski plus the channel's bevy of serious women reporters... but miss Don Imus. -Bob Stevens, Toronto
Mad fucking cow is not to the left of anything. Just another fucking hilbot. And no clinton is left of anything either. It's all surfaces and images.
Talk about music Bob, put an end to the never ending primary season.
David Reilly
You mean this Rachel Maddow?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ut0TaegQ-kw&sns=fb&utm_source=phplist5810&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=Re-Rachel+Maddow
This is not news. This is not reporting facts. This is pure partisan bias at its best.
Every night.
Ooh Wow, I love you Rachel Maddow:
http://bit.ly/LoveYouRachelMaddow?utm_source=phplist5810&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=Re-Rachel+Maddow
Cheers…
Marc Black
Agree 100%! She is awesome.
Best to you,
Alayna Alderman
She's the queen of tedious buildups. Nightly she stretches 15 minutes of content over 60 minutes. I like her a lot but often switch channels mid-buildup; it drives me nuts.
Reuteman
Bob... Rachel was the first to break the Christie bridge-gate scandal.. months before anyone else. She must have an amazing team digging through the dirt. Thanks for your missives! Lauren Ellis
You ever watch Philip DeFranco?:
https://youtu.be/XHyOTEpUHIU?utm_source=phplist5810&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=Re-Rachel+Maddow
I think he's like the YouTube Rachel Maddow for millenials (based on your piece. I don't watch TV).
Edgar Cepeda
Rachel Maddow is a full of shit provocateur. Avoid at all costs. DO YOU KNOW HER KIND IS WHAT"S WRONG WITH THIS COUNTRY!!!
John Barone in Hollywood
Couldn't agree more... and there's a strange sense of satisfaction when I read that we're on the same page.
I've grown to saying 'Hi Rachel!' when she comes on the screen every night. I believe she's a major player on the team that will save us all.
Cheers,
Daniel James
Rachel Maddow is a joke !! She's just terrible. You have been drinking this cool aide for so long your brain is calcified in bias liberal hatred and bull shit. You've lived in California too long. I know because I did. Shame on you. You're in your 60's grow up and really see and learn what is going on. Idiot !!!
John Rose / Songwriter
Thank you
Deirdre Hill
Hi Bob, good column. Rachel is great but I doubt if any of the almost 63 million people that voted for Trump ever watch her show. Hannity, Limbaugh, Levin and the rest of the radical right media hate talkers have a much bigger audience than Rachel and their demonizing of liberals and defense of Trump is 24/7. best, alan segal san diego,
I am tired of the politics Bob . Unsubscribe me.
Eric Godtland
You nailed this, Bob. With Rachel Maddow, the face she presents each weeknight on television is exactly who she is.
In the nascent days of Air America as she was emerging, along with Maron, as a star (I'll leave Al Franken out of the discussion since he had been on American television for twenty-five years and was thus a star long before I hired him), no one ever had the impression that Rachel was anything but smart, self-aware, and hard-working. No ego flare ups, no demands, no mishigoss. All Rachel has ever wanted to do on radio or television is be an honest explainer; a gold-standard storyteller driven by facts, not innuendo.
BTW, the other piece of this is the generational transition from music to politics. Also nailed. We've watched our small progressive media effort grow such that since the election our audience on Progressive Voices has doubled to one million. This is the opposite of normal post-election ratings cycle for news-talk-political commentary wherein audience declines due to lack of interest after the polls close. We are all unsettled by this man-child in the White House and everyone is suddenly very interested.
Jon Sinton
Bob, for the first time I disagree with you. I grew up in the same circles as Ms. Maddow and without getting into much detail she's what you would call "fake white liberal elitist".
Justin Long
The wife and I have been long time watchers of Rachel. We both thought the Trump tax return tease was wack but beyond that she connects the dots. Her program is not for the stupid you do have to follow along as she takes you on a journey to get to the facts. I love her show.
Kenneth H. Williams
So I assume, I may disrupt a talk that MS. Maddow gives at a university simply because I disagree with her? Mr. Lefsetz, you have set me free. Thank you.
What about the people in her audience that came to hear her thoughts and couldn't because of my actions? But then again it's all about me isn't it?
John Gibson
Rachel Maddow is to cute by half. Entitlements will not get better until the last Boomer is DEAD!
Jeffrey Farrell
Haha wtf, She's the left wing propagandist
Merv Pilgrim
MMG
Bob, I agree that you're "getting a ton of it from Rachel Maddow," but what you're getting has a distinctive odor which you fail to recognize. She's not "... laying it all out for us to make our own judgements," as you claimed. What's she's giving you is her opinions, her spin on what passes for news these days.
Just because her opinions agree with your own is no proof of their validity. They may have nothing in common with reality, and you're merely reinforcing your closely-held delusions. Lullaby, baby.
If you want intellectual stimulation, listen to those whose opinions differ from yours. You will strengthen your argument, and you might even learn something.
--Tyco Tom
I like her too Bob…but when it come to political knowledge sustenance, she is a candy bar. To draw from those music analogies you like so much: Watching Rachel Maddow is like top 40 AM decades ago, when those who really know music have switched to FM and have a couple of thousand LPs.
Kindly,
LAVON PAGAN
4-13-17
Rachel is a national treasure.
I've been listening to, then viewing her, since Air America and when Kieth Olberman first ushered her on to MSNBC.
She provides context for her reasoning, and includes a history lesson in the process.
The Trump tax thing was likely a promotional opportunity no one could've refused.
Jus sayin I agree, she's addictive.
Ted Currier
Hi Bob. I took an 8 year holiday from American politics. Did the same with baseball from '94 until the Jays starting winning again. Now I'm re-addicted to both. I have Sonos/SiriusXM scheduled to come on at 9 pm every night so I don't forget to catch Rachel. Matthews…I don't like how he can't stop himself from interrupting his guests and like you said, O'Donnell seems to have a dog in the fight, but Rachel is a story teller and I like that. The Intercept did a not so flattering story on her this week, her preoccupation with Russia. https://theintercept.com/2017/04/12/msnbcs-rachel-maddow-sees-a-russia-connection-lurking-around-every-corner/?utm_source=phplist5810&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=Re-Rachel+Maddow
As a Canadian on the sidelines, hot damn, I'm amused beyond the beyond with what's going on down there. Except it's not funny. No one has a handle on what's right, what's really going on, but Rachel makes her case each night.
Steven Ehrlick
Dear Lefsetz,
Thank you for your consistent and compelling writing.
I wasn't aware of Rachel Maddow. I will definitely look into what she has to say.
Pablo
Bob...agree abut Rachel..never miss her....
Jay Weston
She's a good broadcaster, but she's a bit of a shill too. You are well read...you should read The Intercept instead of watching MSNBC.
https://theintercept.com/2017/04/12/msnbcs-rachel-maddow-sees-a-russia-connection-lurking-around-every-corner/?utm_source=phplist5810&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=Re-Rachel+Maddow
s
James Di Fiore
Good article But your quote America used to be the leader, now we're not quite a pawn in their game, but other countries are suddenly no longer taking us that seriously, Can you really believe that? We've got countries quaking in their boots...thats not Obamas work bub. Thats all Trump. Like him or not...we are actually being taken seriously for the first time in a long time. Were no longer a door mat...were actually leading...what a concept
best,
Tres Sasser
Bob, You amaze me. If you think all Rachel Maddow does is report the news, you are deluding yourself.
America wants to learn? Maddow is CLEARLY liberal, and all she pushes is left leaning slants. I have one son graduating High School (accepted at all 8 schools he applied to) and one son a Junior in college. They both speak of the bias pushed in all the curriculum, postulates and examples, in high school and college. Your trouble is you think you're finding truth but all you do ultimately, is welcome what you hear that supports your already formed opinions. It's hilarious.
The only reason Maddow may beat O'Reilly (if she is) is the new paradigm that wins if you bash Trump, as in Colbert. If you also don't see the manufactured war against a President that beat a fatally flawed candidate you're deluding yourself. He's certainly imperfect but that doesn't retrieve her character. She lost! Get over it.
The Dems have attacked him because that loudmouth has addressed so many issues they've ignored for ages, and if he gets anywhere with those issues they'll not get back in office for a long time..
Merky1208
Yup!!
Margie Paris
Bob,
I'm afraid that you couldn't be more wrong. I find her to be belittling and threatening to honest thought and fairness. She is so far to the Left, that your endorsement, albeit subtle, is insulting to those looking for an independent view. Can we find an independent view in this country? Why does everyone in the press have a side to promote?
Your endorsement outs you as a Lefty as well. You couldn't promote her any other way. As someone that did not vote for Donald, I desperately seek an honest, fair assessment. Rachel is clearly not that! I listen to her angst and propaganda and cringe. I want facts and truth, not bluster and one-sided opinions. For you to portray her as an honest mouthpiece is insulting to your audience. We're not stupid.
Greg Badger
My 79 year old conservative ex-Marine (actually - once a Marine, always a Marine) very Republican (except Trump) father loves Rachel. I do, too. Rigorous journalism.
Adam Dohrenwend
Stopped reading, listening, watching or anything the news about 5 years ago. News outside of your geographic area is really meaningless as there is not a single thing you can do about it, except freak out, and that's a waste of time. Don't worry be happy
Alan Fenton
A couple of my friends swear by Rachel, so I checked her out. Like me, these friends are about as politically left as one can get. But I like to get my news balanced and unbiased. I found Rachel extremely biased and slanted toward the left. I don't have time to watch Fox, CNN, MSNBC, et al. So, for me, it's the PBS News Hour and, for radio, NPR. If I'm not mistaken you have spoken of everyone living in their own bubble; listening to news sources that will tell them what they already believe. News is not supposed to be opinion, it's supposed to be fact, so I'll stick to Judy Woodruff and that plethora of nameless, faceless, and excellent NPR reporters.
All the best,
Ted Myers
Great article on Rachel Maddow, our most valuable newscaster. I have followed her sage news analysis since the days of Air America on radio, and proudly watched her transition to television. But I must comment on how totally incredible her research staff is. Without them, she would not have the ear-and-brain worthy material that keeps us tuning in for more Monday through Friday. Strong research is the key. Perhaps record labels could learn from this example of successful research.
Keep up the great reporting work.
Richard "Ric" Fazekas
Rachel Maddow? You serious? Fake facts and propaganda to create mass hysteria; how come they've stop talking about the "wiretapping" claim for which Trump had no evidence? Maybe cause it's been proven and it's a
scandal 10 times bigger than Watergate?
There is no self-criticism in the left, they think they're the supreme race and have the moral authority to tell every country in the world how they should live. But wasn't Trump the authoritarian? Yes, of course, like any other
person that becomes president of the US, it comes with the job... And yes, he banned those 7 countries, yet Obama bombed them 3 times an hour in 2016 alone.
The big news isn't that Clinton is and old lady and can't handle a private and a public email server; the big news is what those emails revealed; the outerr-ring of a network of corporations, war contractors and morally
questionable "freedom fighters" working together towards a shared vision. You say Rachel Maddow, I say Julian Assange, the representative of freedom of speech in the digital wars.
Cheers.
A. Falcon.
PS: And Trump is starting to put on the same mask.
Hello Bob,
So much truth in this last entry. I've got the answers if you care to keep readin' How about we have a government that can no longer pick winners and losers, and no longer cares if it's fair or not? How about we have a goal of a government that protects the rights of those who sign contracts? How about a government who's only goal is to protect the lives, the freedoms and the properties of everyone? If government got out of the way & we all had our wealth back in our pocketbooks, we couldn't complain that someone else had a government supported advantage over us. Isn't that a lot of what the arguing is all about? No one would have government favors. No people, no corporations....... Nope, just a level playing field with the same government protections for everyone. And speaking about corporations, if they're hated as you say, isn't it because today they pay politicians to slant the playing field their way. Yes, I hate that, but it's not the companies' fault we've set up this system of giant government that hands out the favors. Well, if that government was neutered there'd be no more favors. Don't we voluntarily hand our money over to companies & people who offer us value for our dollar? If we don't hand over our cash, the company goes bankrupt. That's Capitalism. Too big to fail is horseshit government b.s. Problem is, you, and Maddow as examples, believe Collectivism, with it's gigantic government footprint into everything is the way to go. My God, California wants to subsidize 'safe places' for heroin addicts to shoot up. Well, if you look around at all that arguing, isn't it really about those who produce, fighting to keep what they produce vs those who believe they have a right to take that production away using the gigantic government force machine to do it? It's the Collectivists' love of government power that causes it all. Take that away and you better bring value to society or you won't be a happy camper in life..Take that power away, and do you think the farmer in Nebraska will go and attack the farmer in a Moscow suburb? No, it's governments, always. Take away the gigantic government power structure and you have local communities taking care of their own. You have people getting to know their neighbors. You'd have voluntary associations playing a big part in our world. You have companies innovating to offer more choices of everything, including healthcare and healthcare insurance. Who knows what the Spontaneous Order of Capitalism will conger up tomorrow? Probably something awesome.
Richard Case
Wow Bob and good morning.
Let me open by saying I consider myself politically independent, albeit socially hard left on abortion and guns. And I'm afraid of having a hard right SC which given the age demos and political leanings of the now 9 could well turn into 7 (righty) - 2 from 5-4 (albeit as a reminder Roberts was the swing thumbs up
vote on ObamaCare). The risk of a hard right SC and general fear of bloviator, 100% unqualified DJT was my key motivator in supporting HRC; I also made calls for her.
However, DJT won or, more accurately, HRC lost running a miserable campaign. He's not in 100 days and, yes, I'm goin to give him and the GOP a chance. They've earned it by winning.
But foremost I would like to see the 2 sides try to find some common ground. This absurd partisanship is not what govt was meant for and not getting the country anywhere.
As to your statement that "seemingly no one is happy" with Trump (that's at least implied), it's simply inaccurate. DJT's hard core say 35% of the country, they still almost uniformly believe in him and are happy he's there. They have lost no faith - none.
As to Rachel, showing DJT's tax return was wrong and, in fact, made him look good given the tax $ paid and tax rate % that year (05 I believe).
Rachel is as one way over board as Hannity, albeit presenting smarter. She's the crux of the horribly polarized, refuse to work together partisan world. Her bias is, simply, absurd. Old saying which I think has plenty of merit here, I'll paraphrase, you can always find something nice to say about someone else or something they've done or may look to do. However, her mind is closed to saying anything nice/positive about Trump or any person/anything GOP.
I'll also put in a somewhat unrelated plug for the Fox-owned WSJ. Say what you want about the editorials/opinions; however, they publish news in what I consider an incredibly unbiased fashion. Journalism integrity in story reporting is stellar. That's a beginning in this world.
Rachel is anything but.
Thanks for your incredible emails/blogs, but pls - on politics foremost - open your mind and that of others to find some middle ground so the country / world can move forward and give DJT and the GOP-controlled Congress a chance. I'm sure if you look back at your writings when you were a teenager or even in your early 20s you would find they were not up to snuff. DJT is like a teenager - sad but true. But give him a chance.
Thank you.
Howard Rosencran
hey Bob
been reading your blog for a bunch of years now. my daughter turned me on to it, because she works for the canadian
division of big loud records.
you were saying that you watch all the news outlets, like CNN, MSNBC, etc.
if you only watch the left slanted outlets, are you getting all the news ?
just asking. maybe doesn't matter as much to us, being canadians, but recently we started watching both sides
we watch mainstream outlets (have been for years) and we watch fox also. not bill o'reilly per say, but the regular news (like fox & friends)
it's interesting to hear both sides.
and is it really news anymore ? or just the advancement of one's agenda ?
Ken Deslippe
Enjoyed your piece on Rachel Maddow.
Rachel Maddow is a good detective, or good at playing one on TV. She got right on the Trump- Russia connection and stayed on it until Trump played a good hand and trumped the media and the rest of us into believing we had to bomb Syria and had to send naval ships to North Korea. All in effort to divert attention from his real problem-- his ties to Russia.
I like Rachel Maddow because she gets at the meat, and as you said, she explains, much like a litigator explains in the courtroom. And Maddow is just as dramatic as any litigator. That's how she gets viewers. She drives me crazy sometimes because everything is so dramatic but at the same time who else are we going to get serious info from? Maddow is paying attention. Which other news anchor can you say that about who doesn't take themselves so seriously? Bill O'Reilly--you were spot on about him and also about Brian Williams. But I'll take Williams over O'Reilly any day and I felt that way long before all the allegations against B.O. Maybe because Williams looks better.
Rachel Maddow will get back to uncovering the snakes in the grass. I trust her. Isn't that how we felt about past news anchors who actually investigated and reported news?
Martine Ehrenclou
Bob!
You are so right!! My wife and I are now addicted to Rachel's show. She is simple the BEST at the back story, bringing you up to what's going on - so you actually GET it.
We're also addicted to our phone news feeds, and the various late night shows - especially the intro and early segments - but nobody explains it quite like Rachel. She's pure genius at it.
Thanks for writing so articulately as you usually do - and pointing this out to so many. Much needed.
Best,
Frank Blumer
A light went on when I read this. I really wasn't a fan of Rachel's mannerisms or TV persona. I know that she is very well educated and I generally watch MSNBC so I've watched her show more recently.I agree with you that she can make complicated global issues more understandable; I have also gotten hooked on cable news to the point of waking to Morning Joe @ 6am.
I'm going to pay more attention to Rachel in the future by concentrating more on what she is teaching us & less on delivery & personality.
Love your stuff! Follower for a little less than a year.
Jim Hill
I have been a fan of Rachel since she came on MSNBC, and if I only had a
nickel for every person I have told, left or right, that she REALLY is fair
and balanced, but more importantly, without anyone in the rear view mirror,
she IS the smartest person on television. Period. Full stop.
And this may sour this whole response, but say what you will. Yes, he is the
worlds biggest buffoon behind the scenes, can't hold a job because he is
impossible to work with/for. But if MSNBC or the parents company suits had
any sense, the time is really right to bring back Keith Olbermann. His video
rants on his Twitter feed are like the Keith of old. People need to put
aside his arrogance and all they hate about him on the periphery and listen.
https://twitter.com/KeithOlbermann?utm_source=phplist5810&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=Re-Rachel+Maddow
Perry/Chicago
Long time reader, first time writer.
Thank you for writing what i have been unable to articulate about why I am obsessed with Rachel Maddow and have been for years.
I learn something every night she is on, she doesnt waste my time with paid pundits and she talks about issues that matter, not just the
most recent cray coming out of the white house.
She is the exact role model i would like for my daughter, who at 11, in this current climate, is growing up with very few models of what a fully formed woman should look like.
Smart, Poised, Funny, Intelligent, Curious…. the list could go on ad infinitum
Thank you again for your piece on Rachel Maddow
Jill
You had me at Rachel Maddow... I just threw up in my mouth. Good
grief man stop with your political perspective and rants.
-macrant (just a nobody subscriber that is a click away from unsubscribing)
To: Fred Goldring
Subject: RE: Rachel Maddow
thanks, fred -- much appreciated. this is very, very humbling. quite amazing.
RM
Bob,
Great piece on Rachel. She first came on my radar screen when she was one of our up-and-coming stars on Air America Radio (of which I was chairman briefly in the mid 2000s).
You remember Air America Radio, right? The Velvet Underground of progressive media. I guess Rachel was our Lou Reed (and Senator Al Franken was our multi-instrumentalist John Cale). Marc Maron? I guess he was our Flavor-Flav...
Anyway Rachel was clearly brilliant, driven, and deeply intellectually curious. I credit Danny Goldberg for being the first person to figure this out (yes that Danny Goldberg).
Rachel is one of the people who will help us get out of the present mess. But it won't be easy, it never is.
Rob Glaser
David Letterman once said that the two smartest people he had on his show were Bill Clinton and Rachel Maddow.
Jim Kweskin
She certainly doesn't hold me like putty in her hands, she a complete idiot.
Matt Gaines
I'm glad you wrote this, Bob. I DVR Rachael's show every night. She has a really interesting style and, in her "A" block, I always feel like I'm getting a civics lesson.
Jordan Berliant
Addicted to the news too. Then I realize it, turn the TV off and turn the music on.
Thank you,
Thomas Meyer
Yeah - my girl!
Felice Mancini
Best hour on tv! I sometimes watch it 2 or 3 times a night, 9pm, midnight and occasionally at ?4am (I don't sleep well).
A woman from MSNBC, who I didn't know, contacted me out of the blue about buying good tickets for one of my clients. I helped her out. A few months later at the show we got to talking and she invited me to sit on the set during Rachel's show. It was like I hit the lottery!!!
Larry Webman
He sucks!
Clarence Jey
but wouldn't mind seeing her in the occasional floral print Spring frock.
Dennis Braun
I have dinner with Rachel every night.
Inese Brunins
Thank you for giving Maddox the nod. She deserves it. She is a true journalist, rounding up the facts and inconvenient truths, displaying them in plain sight and making us wash it all down with a little humble pie and castor oil. And does it with no malice or prejudice. Just the facts ma'am with a little smile and look up to the sky. You fill in the blanks.
Kenny Lee Lewis
Thank you for your piece on Rachel Maddow!!!! America needs more principled news analysis like hers. She IS addicting in a healthy for your mind way!
Tom Seufert
Please pass along for the cord cutters out there, Maddow's show is available as a FREE video podcast (first segment) and an audio podcast (entire show). There's NO excuse to not be watching her excellent show.
Jake Foust
She is the Queen Of Context!
She first hit my radar as Token Lib for the unctuous Tucker Carlson, while also being on Air America ( maybe they'll make a comeback).
You totally nailed what makes her unique....she's our incredibly bright FRIEND, who also crafts a fine cocktail!
Don Crouch
I haven't missed a single TRMS episode since the election. Traded in The Daily Show for her.
And lately I've been listening on Sirius too!
My friends and I started an Indivisible group after I saw her show about it a couple months ago.
We are coalescing. I can feel it. Even all the way from my bubble in Venice Beach.
Trying to get the country back on the right track.
She is indeed a beacon.
P.S. Here is our little political action Indivisible group, we have people of many religious, economic, social, gender, ethnic, etc backgrounds. Everyone is welcome! (Except trollz!)
https://m.facebook.com/DiverseUnitedLA/?utm_source=phplist5810&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=Re-Rachel+Maddow
Cheers,
Chesne
This one gave me a lot to think about. Thanks, RJ Spangler, Detroit
I like her too!
Alan Oreman
Before the gift of Rachel I was not at all interested in political history, and my knowledge was basically what I had learned in school. Now, I look forward to my free nightly history and civics lessons. If only my expensive profs had been as interesting and entertaining.
Susie Stockholm
Rachel's convincing no thinking person. She is beholden to corporate overlords & advertising revenue.
Not the progressive reporter we need at this time in history. $30K a day. Really?
Beating Bill in the ratings is not the gold standard. Start watching The Young Turks or almost anything other than MSNBC.
Watch these and reconsider:
https://youtu.be/CZ7Dmg_FpgI?utm_source=phplist5810&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=Re-Rachel+Maddow
https://youtu.be/BqPc7pqhk3I?utm_source=phplist5810&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=Re-Rachel+Maddow
Peace & Love. PEACE AND LOVE. (Ringo)
Keep Hitting 'em with the Hein.
Bob Mori
As a Canadian, I'll take the great political brainiac women anchors (and fucking gorgeous, I might add) on CNN ANY DAY of the week (which I do, daily). Bob you gotta check them out, really, they're ADDICTIVE. And of course Jake, Anderson, Wolf, Van and Lemon are all SOLID!
Olie Kornelsen
Rachel MADCOWLIBTARD. FEMINAZI.
Aristedes aka Mr. Melody
Merely your opinion. Still a nice stroke from one of her fanboys.
Maybe your numbers can help her. I see that you're all trying to hang onto something comforting in the face of your own oblivion. Gearing up for 2018, are you?
And are you also on board with that special election in Kansas as a win? The spin seems to be dizzying. Do you practice her snarky smirk in the mirror as well?
Richard Barnes
Agree, she's been phenomenal.
Joel Amsterdam
I'm a big fan of history. I love watching documentaries and seeing how all the pieces fit together. It's much easier from the distance of 100 years to see the machinations and where they lead. Watching Rachel put the pieces together daily has been addicting. For this reason alone I adore Rachel Maddow. I feel like I'm watching a daily documentary in real time.
I wish I could get the knuckle-draggers in my family to watch her.
Bobbo
John Oliver's Last week Tonight show has been educating America on HBO every Sunday in a in-depth manner.
Last Sunday his main topic was Gerrymandering. How's that for heavy civics. Talk about ratings chutzpah.
An outsider and a comedian no less from England taking Americans to task on topics we should care about.
Sort of like a modern day Alexis del Tocqueville taking it to the streets.
Kids might pay attention and learn something if they taught history with a little wit and humor.
The Circus on Showtime is another show that's well produced. Mark Halperin and John Heilemann are like D.C. insiders.
Also a shout out to Travis Smiley, Democracy Now, BBC, NHK and Charlie Rose. Though Charlie's seems to have gone downhill ever since he took on the morning gig at CBS.
Cheers,
G.Robey
good one, Bob.
Rusty Fretz
Yes, and yes, and yes. Good one.
Josh Nelson
LOL! Rachel Maddow is less of an explainer, much more a left wing echo chamber! Seriously Bob? She's beyond snarky and a talking head that never, ever debates a truly opposing view. Have you ever seen a guest on her show that basically doesn't whole heartedly agree with her view point?
She will go out of her way to bash conservatives or Republicans, while completely ignoring similar infractions from those of her own party and ideology! Also, beating O'Reilly in the ratings..... well even a broken clock is right twice a day!
Thanks but NO thanks!
Sincerely,
JIm Ryan
Right on!!!
Elizabeth Brant
Rachel Maddow is preaching to the choir, your part of the choir that's why you like her, me not so much!!
Doug Gillis
Great piece Bob..
Jimi LaLumia
I continued to receive your emails but stopped reading them months ago because ....well, too much politics not enough distraction from the onslaught. You had me at "Rachel Maddow" ..and as I opened this email I hoped to find another sane human who understood the phenomenal gift this woman is to our country - the best friend we all need and hope for - she's the student teacher among the classmates helping us graduate from the jaws of a chaotic environment and go out into the world feeling empowered again - if not simply clear headed!
Gigi
Tropic Heat Studios
But Brian Williams is hilarious! What I miss is is the Brian Williams who would appear on late night TV with dry comments and a straight face that would leave me falling on the floor laughing… The Brian Williams who would give a heartfelt and smart tribute to Tim Russert at his memorial service but had just enough humor to make it unforgettable. His blunders or horrible, but he's way more than a pretty face. I forgive him, I want the old Brian is back. It's time to forgive and move on!!
Gregory McLoughlin
Bob, open your eyes, your missing all the good stuff in the news and the "real" story!
Www.drudge.com. How does Drudge have more viewers than CNN, Fox and MSNBC combined?
He's the grassroots underground rockstar of the news world! He's the guy someone like you should be watching and covering!!
I'm not pushing "conspiracy" sites, just truth!
Watch the rise of the real news rockstars, your in the dark ages still if those "mainstream" channels are all your eating!
William Eric Paul
Agreed. Respect, humor, break it down, by the numbers' and no yelling.
Her piece on Spicer and his lack of communication abilities was "simply" a masterful (not a term used lightly) use of video and audio to dissect and explain Spicer's remarkable lack of same. A beautifully made teaching lesson for us all, as is much of her work.
Yours was a nice piece too, tim
Morton H. "Tim" Fry, attorney
I agree with everything except - "People are not dumb, they're smart".
People are dumb, Ray. People are most definitely dumb. Dumb enough to be brain washed by Fox. Dumb enough to fall for Trump's propaganda. Remember what Goebbels said; "the secret of propaganda is to simplify complex und complicated zings".
You're talking to the coasts - not the soft white underbelly. Those people click past Maddow the same way we click past Hannity - a hideous freak spewing garbage.
Cheers,
Tom Quinn
Amazing!!!!!! Out of the country. Out of the loup. Blessed. Yes, you nailed it!!!! I cannot wait til I read your observations on Fame. It's pretty poisonous, isn't it
KATHY ROWE
pbs newshour free on youtube
noticed you didn't mention it above
it is a disservice to you and your audience to discuss these other shitty commercial entertainment news sources and not the one place people can find quality unfiltered information
more important than ever and probably on its way out unless people like yourself start including it in their vocabulary
there's no shitty ads for pepsi and its a little less 'fun' so its probably no accident no one ever talks about it
who wants to hear a cogent, respectful conversation between two experts where you can't just yell along w the TV anyway?
rachel maddow is smart but its barely news - its entertainment and biased in the extreme
John Bartleson
Maddow makes $20,000 a day.
She and everyone else at MSNBC were complicit in kneecapping the Sanders campaign, crowning HRC months before the election, being as fucking wrong about the state of the nation as possible, and then continuing to browbeat actual progressives months later.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqPc7pqhk3I&utm_source=phplist5810&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=Re-Rachel+Maddow
She somehow gets a hold of two pages - TWO - of tax returns from 2005, a year where everything would have needed to be by the book because Melania was up for citizenship, a year that actually makes trump LOOK GOOD, and goes on an hour long self aggrandizing rant about it. Like the Clinton campaign, it wasn't about us, it was about HER.
Screw Maddow and all the corporate centrists pretending to represent the left; the revolution will decidedly not be televised, because all these clowns would never see it coming.
Chris Schetter
Rachel can pontificate all she wants however she is well aware the left lost.
c.chapin
For a Canadian, it's hard to comment or conceptualize what an American patriot is…but inasmuch as I understand it, she is a patriot. Ph.d in politics, a good entertainer, breaks stories, tries to fight her ideology when she can, attempts to be balanced but is transparent about her politics, calls bullshit, sometimes hyperbolic but only when it's something she's really passionate or scared of. She is the best America has on TV, you're lucky to have her and if shit got real, the true measure, end of days, who would you trust? Maddow.
Len Ottesen
Bob: please... I love your posts... read them religiously. Rachel Maddow is a hack. Granted, she is a very smart and sometimes approachable hack, but a hack nonetheless. If not 100% biases, she is 99.99% biased to a left wing agenda. Bill O'Reilly is everything you say, but he always provides opposing views, often agreeing with them. Even if his sometimes agreement is made up and part of his shtick to claim he is "unbiased," he does provide intelligent counterpoints. Rachel does none of that. She is lin all the way. I watch her only to better understand how the smart left think, but it is left nonetheless. Disappointed she gives you such a "shiver up your leg." --Ted Decker
Maddow is ok, but it takes her forever to make her point. Sometimes it's just excruciating. Surprised, but happy to hear she's beating O'Reilly. Sponsors leaving him in droves. Sexual predator past now catching up with him. He just took an unscheduled "vacation' in mid-week April. Maybe he will gracefully "retire" soon.
Willie Perkins
Bob,
I sleep very well at night, knowing that Pres. Trump is our leader, thank you.
Cathy Hancock ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
Been loving Rachel for years.... and you too Bob.
Dan Goldich
If you really want to know what's going on in the world your gonna have to dig a lot deeper brother. Every first year communications major knows the news delivered by CNN,FOX etc. is pre - digested pablum. Racheal Maddow is a joke,merely the left wing equivalent of Shawn Hannity and no I am not equivocating. As a VERY left leaning person I find her embarrassing. Like you, I too am too busy to keep up on world events but at least I know I am uninformed.
The naivete that serves you so well when you write about your personal connection to music is a liability when it comes to writing about politics. If you want to be informed you have a lot of work to do. Here is a good place to start if you're interested. https://www.amazon.com/Manufacturing-Consent-Political-Economy-Media/dp/0375714?utm_source=phplist5810&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=Re-Rachel+Maddow
Much Love,
Reeve Downes
I travel the world non stop and yes people around the world think we are bananas....Half laughing half terrified.
Your right about the music and no message to unite us.....Where is Buffy Saints-Marie when we need her....
Stevie Salas
So glad you featured Maddow. She has become the one news show I don't want to miss. In spite of the fact I'm more or less confined to home with endless time to follow news of the world she always tells me details I did not know. They should give her more time and a bigger research staff. She is one of a kind.
Mary Rand
MSNBC Morning Joe is all you need to watch.
Rachel is totally biased. Everyone knows this. Even you.
Don Coddington
Rachel Maddow? Really? Isn't this the same woman (?) who melted down on election night? Guess the left is getting crazier and crazier.....
Marc Ellis
Rachel Maddow is the great explainer, the only one who not only figures out the complicated stories but explains them to us in language we all understand. She is the best we have on the crazy news front.
I wish she would run for office. At least we could all grok the world situations that seem so complicated til she explains them.
Susan Nadler
"That's right, there's everything from Fox to CNN, MSNBC to Bloomberg, NPR and the BBC. I want to know what's going on."
You think those outlets help you to know what's going on?!?! C'mon bob, don't get caught up in a circle jerk. Unless ya wanna get jerked
Jeremy Backofen
Thanks for educating us in your own way.
M. Spencer
Watching MSNBC since beginning. Love Rachel and also Mika Brezinski plus the channel's bevy of serious women reporters... but miss Don Imus. -Bob Stevens, Toronto
Mad fucking cow is not to the left of anything. Just another fucking hilbot. And no clinton is left of anything either. It's all surfaces and images.
Talk about music Bob, put an end to the never ending primary season.
David Reilly
You mean this Rachel Maddow?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ut0TaegQ-kw&sns=fb&utm_source=phplist5810&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=Re-Rachel+Maddow
This is not news. This is not reporting facts. This is pure partisan bias at its best.
Every night.
Ooh Wow, I love you Rachel Maddow:
http://bit.ly/LoveYouRachelMaddow?utm_source=phplist5810&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=Re-Rachel+Maddow
Cheers…
Marc Black
Agree 100%! She is awesome.
Best to you,
Alayna Alderman
She's the queen of tedious buildups. Nightly she stretches 15 minutes of content over 60 minutes. I like her a lot but often switch channels mid-buildup; it drives me nuts.
Reuteman
Bob... Rachel was the first to break the Christie bridge-gate scandal.. months before anyone else. She must have an amazing team digging through the dirt. Thanks for your missives! Lauren Ellis
You ever watch Philip DeFranco?:
https://youtu.be/XHyOTEpUHIU?utm_source=phplist5810&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=Re-Rachel+Maddow
I think he's like the YouTube Rachel Maddow for millenials (based on your piece. I don't watch TV).
Edgar Cepeda
Rachel Maddow is a full of shit provocateur. Avoid at all costs. DO YOU KNOW HER KIND IS WHAT"S WRONG WITH THIS COUNTRY!!!
John Barone in Hollywood
Couldn't agree more... and there's a strange sense of satisfaction when I read that we're on the same page.
I've grown to saying 'Hi Rachel!' when she comes on the screen every night. I believe she's a major player on the team that will save us all.
Cheers,
Daniel James
Rachel Maddow is a joke !! She's just terrible. You have been drinking this cool aide for so long your brain is calcified in bias liberal hatred and bull shit. You've lived in California too long. I know because I did. Shame on you. You're in your 60's grow up and really see and learn what is going on. Idiot !!!
John Rose / Songwriter
Thank you
Deirdre Hill
Hi Bob, good column. Rachel is great but I doubt if any of the almost 63 million people that voted for Trump ever watch her show. Hannity, Limbaugh, Levin and the rest of the radical right media hate talkers have a much bigger audience than Rachel and their demonizing of liberals and defense of Trump is 24/7. best, alan segal san diego,
I am tired of the politics Bob . Unsubscribe me.
Eric Godtland
You nailed this, Bob. With Rachel Maddow, the face she presents each weeknight on television is exactly who she is.
In the nascent days of Air America as she was emerging, along with Maron, as a star (I'll leave Al Franken out of the discussion since he had been on American television for twenty-five years and was thus a star long before I hired him), no one ever had the impression that Rachel was anything but smart, self-aware, and hard-working. No ego flare ups, no demands, no mishigoss. All Rachel has ever wanted to do on radio or television is be an honest explainer; a gold-standard storyteller driven by facts, not innuendo.
BTW, the other piece of this is the generational transition from music to politics. Also nailed. We've watched our small progressive media effort grow such that since the election our audience on Progressive Voices has doubled to one million. This is the opposite of normal post-election ratings cycle for news-talk-political commentary wherein audience declines due to lack of interest after the polls close. We are all unsettled by this man-child in the White House and everyone is suddenly very interested.
Jon Sinton
Bob, for the first time I disagree with you. I grew up in the same circles as Ms. Maddow and without getting into much detail she's what you would call "fake white liberal elitist".
Justin Long
The wife and I have been long time watchers of Rachel. We both thought the Trump tax return tease was wack but beyond that she connects the dots. Her program is not for the stupid you do have to follow along as she takes you on a journey to get to the facts. I love her show.
Kenneth H. Williams
So I assume, I may disrupt a talk that MS. Maddow gives at a university simply because I disagree with her? Mr. Lefsetz, you have set me free. Thank you.
What about the people in her audience that came to hear her thoughts and couldn't because of my actions? But then again it's all about me isn't it?
John Gibson
Rachel Maddow is to cute by half. Entitlements will not get better until the last Boomer is DEAD!
Jeffrey Farrell
Haha wtf, She's the left wing propagandist
Merv Pilgrim
MMG
Bob, I agree that you're "getting a ton of it from Rachel Maddow," but what you're getting has a distinctive odor which you fail to recognize. She's not "... laying it all out for us to make our own judgements," as you claimed. What's she's giving you is her opinions, her spin on what passes for news these days.
Just because her opinions agree with your own is no proof of their validity. They may have nothing in common with reality, and you're merely reinforcing your closely-held delusions. Lullaby, baby.
If you want intellectual stimulation, listen to those whose opinions differ from yours. You will strengthen your argument, and you might even learn something.
--Tyco Tom
I like her too Bob…but when it come to political knowledge sustenance, she is a candy bar. To draw from those music analogies you like so much: Watching Rachel Maddow is like top 40 AM decades ago, when those who really know music have switched to FM and have a couple of thousand LPs.
Kindly,
LAVON PAGAN
4-13-17
Rachel is a national treasure.
I've been listening to, then viewing her, since Air America and when Kieth Olberman first ushered her on to MSNBC.
She provides context for her reasoning, and includes a history lesson in the process.
The Trump tax thing was likely a promotional opportunity no one could've refused.
Jus sayin I agree, she's addictive.
Ted Currier
Hi Bob. I took an 8 year holiday from American politics. Did the same with baseball from '94 until the Jays starting winning again. Now I'm re-addicted to both. I have Sonos/SiriusXM scheduled to come on at 9 pm every night so I don't forget to catch Rachel. Matthews…I don't like how he can't stop himself from interrupting his guests and like you said, O'Donnell seems to have a dog in the fight, but Rachel is a story teller and I like that. The Intercept did a not so flattering story on her this week, her preoccupation with Russia. https://theintercept.com/2017/04/12/msnbcs-rachel-maddow-sees-a-russia-connection-lurking-around-every-corner/?utm_source=phplist5810&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=Re-Rachel+Maddow
As a Canadian on the sidelines, hot damn, I'm amused beyond the beyond with what's going on down there. Except it's not funny. No one has a handle on what's right, what's really going on, but Rachel makes her case each night.
Steven Ehrlick
Dear Lefsetz,
Thank you for your consistent and compelling writing.
I wasn't aware of Rachel Maddow. I will definitely look into what she has to say.
Pablo
Bob...agree abut Rachel..never miss her....
Jay Weston
She's a good broadcaster, but she's a bit of a shill too. You are well read...you should read The Intercept instead of watching MSNBC.
https://theintercept.com/2017/04/12/msnbcs-rachel-maddow-sees-a-russia-connection-lurking-around-every-corner/?utm_source=phplist5810&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=Re-Rachel+Maddow
s
James Di Fiore
Good article But your quote America used to be the leader, now we're not quite a pawn in their game, but other countries are suddenly no longer taking us that seriously, Can you really believe that? We've got countries quaking in their boots...thats not Obamas work bub. Thats all Trump. Like him or not...we are actually being taken seriously for the first time in a long time. Were no longer a door mat...were actually leading...what a concept
best,
Tres Sasser
Bob, You amaze me. If you think all Rachel Maddow does is report the news, you are deluding yourself.
America wants to learn? Maddow is CLEARLY liberal, and all she pushes is left leaning slants. I have one son graduating High School (accepted at all 8 schools he applied to) and one son a Junior in college. They both speak of the bias pushed in all the curriculum, postulates and examples, in high school and college. Your trouble is you think you're finding truth but all you do ultimately, is welcome what you hear that supports your already formed opinions. It's hilarious.
The only reason Maddow may beat O'Reilly (if she is) is the new paradigm that wins if you bash Trump, as in Colbert. If you also don't see the manufactured war against a President that beat a fatally flawed candidate you're deluding yourself. He's certainly imperfect but that doesn't retrieve her character. She lost! Get over it.
The Dems have attacked him because that loudmouth has addressed so many issues they've ignored for ages, and if he gets anywhere with those issues they'll not get back in office for a long time..
Merky1208
Yup!!
Margie Paris
Bob,
I'm afraid that you couldn't be more wrong. I find her to be belittling and threatening to honest thought and fairness. She is so far to the Left, that your endorsement, albeit subtle, is insulting to those looking for an independent view. Can we find an independent view in this country? Why does everyone in the press have a side to promote?
Your endorsement outs you as a Lefty as well. You couldn't promote her any other way. As someone that did not vote for Donald, I desperately seek an honest, fair assessment. Rachel is clearly not that! I listen to her angst and propaganda and cringe. I want facts and truth, not bluster and one-sided opinions. For you to portray her as an honest mouthpiece is insulting to your audience. We're not stupid.
Greg Badger
My 79 year old conservative ex-Marine (actually - once a Marine, always a Marine) very Republican (except Trump) father loves Rachel. I do, too. Rigorous journalism.
Adam Dohrenwend
Stopped reading, listening, watching or anything the news about 5 years ago. News outside of your geographic area is really meaningless as there is not a single thing you can do about it, except freak out, and that's a waste of time. Don't worry be happy
Alan Fenton
A couple of my friends swear by Rachel, so I checked her out. Like me, these friends are about as politically left as one can get. But I like to get my news balanced and unbiased. I found Rachel extremely biased and slanted toward the left. I don't have time to watch Fox, CNN, MSNBC, et al. So, for me, it's the PBS News Hour and, for radio, NPR. If I'm not mistaken you have spoken of everyone living in their own bubble; listening to news sources that will tell them what they already believe. News is not supposed to be opinion, it's supposed to be fact, so I'll stick to Judy Woodruff and that plethora of nameless, faceless, and excellent NPR reporters.
All the best,
Ted Myers
Great article on Rachel Maddow, our most valuable newscaster. I have followed her sage news analysis since the days of Air America on radio, and proudly watched her transition to television. But I must comment on how totally incredible her research staff is. Without them, she would not have the ear-and-brain worthy material that keeps us tuning in for more Monday through Friday. Strong research is the key. Perhaps record labels could learn from this example of successful research.
Keep up the great reporting work.
Richard "Ric" Fazekas
Rachel Maddow? You serious? Fake facts and propaganda to create mass hysteria; how come they've stop talking about the "wiretapping" claim for which Trump had no evidence? Maybe cause it's been proven and it's a
scandal 10 times bigger than Watergate?
There is no self-criticism in the left, they think they're the supreme race and have the moral authority to tell every country in the world how they should live. But wasn't Trump the authoritarian? Yes, of course, like any other
person that becomes president of the US, it comes with the job... And yes, he banned those 7 countries, yet Obama bombed them 3 times an hour in 2016 alone.
The big news isn't that Clinton is and old lady and can't handle a private and a public email server; the big news is what those emails revealed; the outerr-ring of a network of corporations, war contractors and morally
questionable "freedom fighters" working together towards a shared vision. You say Rachel Maddow, I say Julian Assange, the representative of freedom of speech in the digital wars.
Cheers.
A. Falcon.
PS: And Trump is starting to put on the same mask.
Hello Bob,
So much truth in this last entry. I've got the answers if you care to keep readin' How about we have a government that can no longer pick winners and losers, and no longer cares if it's fair or not? How about we have a goal of a government that protects the rights of those who sign contracts? How about a government who's only goal is to protect the lives, the freedoms and the properties of everyone? If government got out of the way & we all had our wealth back in our pocketbooks, we couldn't complain that someone else had a government supported advantage over us. Isn't that a lot of what the arguing is all about? No one would have government favors. No people, no corporations....... Nope, just a level playing field with the same government protections for everyone. And speaking about corporations, if they're hated as you say, isn't it because today they pay politicians to slant the playing field their way. Yes, I hate that, but it's not the companies' fault we've set up this system of giant government that hands out the favors. Well, if that government was neutered there'd be no more favors. Don't we voluntarily hand our money over to companies & people who offer us value for our dollar? If we don't hand over our cash, the company goes bankrupt. That's Capitalism. Too big to fail is horseshit government b.s. Problem is, you, and Maddow as examples, believe Collectivism, with it's gigantic government footprint into everything is the way to go. My God, California wants to subsidize 'safe places' for heroin addicts to shoot up. Well, if you look around at all that arguing, isn't it really about those who produce, fighting to keep what they produce vs those who believe they have a right to take that production away using the gigantic government force machine to do it? It's the Collectivists' love of government power that causes it all. Take that away and you better bring value to society or you won't be a happy camper in life..Take that power away, and do you think the farmer in Nebraska will go and attack the farmer in a Moscow suburb? No, it's governments, always. Take away the gigantic government power structure and you have local communities taking care of their own. You have people getting to know their neighbors. You'd have voluntary associations playing a big part in our world. You have companies innovating to offer more choices of everything, including healthcare and healthcare insurance. Who knows what the Spontaneous Order of Capitalism will conger up tomorrow? Probably something awesome.
Richard Case
Wow Bob and good morning.
Let me open by saying I consider myself politically independent, albeit socially hard left on abortion and guns. And I'm afraid of having a hard right SC which given the age demos and political leanings of the now 9 could well turn into 7 (righty) - 2 from 5-4 (albeit as a reminder Roberts was the swing thumbs up
vote on ObamaCare). The risk of a hard right SC and general fear of bloviator, 100% unqualified DJT was my key motivator in supporting HRC; I also made calls for her.
However, DJT won or, more accurately, HRC lost running a miserable campaign. He's not in 100 days and, yes, I'm goin to give him and the GOP a chance. They've earned it by winning.
But foremost I would like to see the 2 sides try to find some common ground. This absurd partisanship is not what govt was meant for and not getting the country anywhere.
As to your statement that "seemingly no one is happy" with Trump (that's at least implied), it's simply inaccurate. DJT's hard core say 35% of the country, they still almost uniformly believe in him and are happy he's there. They have lost no faith - none.
As to Rachel, showing DJT's tax return was wrong and, in fact, made him look good given the tax $ paid and tax rate % that year (05 I believe).
Rachel is as one way over board as Hannity, albeit presenting smarter. She's the crux of the horribly polarized, refuse to work together partisan world. Her bias is, simply, absurd. Old saying which I think has plenty of merit here, I'll paraphrase, you can always find something nice to say about someone else or something they've done or may look to do. However, her mind is closed to saying anything nice/positive about Trump or any person/anything GOP.
I'll also put in a somewhat unrelated plug for the Fox-owned WSJ. Say what you want about the editorials/opinions; however, they publish news in what I consider an incredibly unbiased fashion. Journalism integrity in story reporting is stellar. That's a beginning in this world.
Rachel is anything but.
Thanks for your incredible emails/blogs, but pls - on politics foremost - open your mind and that of others to find some middle ground so the country / world can move forward and give DJT and the GOP-controlled Congress a chance. I'm sure if you look back at your writings when you were a teenager or even in your early 20s you would find they were not up to snuff. DJT is like a teenager - sad but true. But give him a chance.
Thank you.
Howard Rosencran
hey Bob
been reading your blog for a bunch of years now. my daughter turned me on to it, because she works for the canadian
division of big loud records.
you were saying that you watch all the news outlets, like CNN, MSNBC, etc.
if you only watch the left slanted outlets, are you getting all the news ?
just asking. maybe doesn't matter as much to us, being canadians, but recently we started watching both sides
we watch mainstream outlets (have been for years) and we watch fox also. not bill o'reilly per say, but the regular news (like fox & friends)
it's interesting to hear both sides.
and is it really news anymore ? or just the advancement of one's agenda ?
Ken Deslippe
Enjoyed your piece on Rachel Maddow.
Rachel Maddow is a good detective, or good at playing one on TV. She got right on the Trump- Russia connection and stayed on it until Trump played a good hand and trumped the media and the rest of us into believing we had to bomb Syria and had to send naval ships to North Korea. All in effort to divert attention from his real problem-- his ties to Russia.
I like Rachel Maddow because she gets at the meat, and as you said, she explains, much like a litigator explains in the courtroom. And Maddow is just as dramatic as any litigator. That's how she gets viewers. She drives me crazy sometimes because everything is so dramatic but at the same time who else are we going to get serious info from? Maddow is paying attention. Which other news anchor can you say that about who doesn't take themselves so seriously? Bill O'Reilly--you were spot on about him and also about Brian Williams. But I'll take Williams over O'Reilly any day and I felt that way long before all the allegations against B.O. Maybe because Williams looks better.
Rachel Maddow will get back to uncovering the snakes in the grass. I trust her. Isn't that how we felt about past news anchors who actually investigated and reported news?
Martine Ehrenclou
Bob!
You are so right!! My wife and I are now addicted to Rachel's show. She is simple the BEST at the back story, bringing you up to what's going on - so you actually GET it.
We're also addicted to our phone news feeds, and the various late night shows - especially the intro and early segments - but nobody explains it quite like Rachel. She's pure genius at it.
Thanks for writing so articulately as you usually do - and pointing this out to so many. Much needed.
Best,
Frank Blumer
A light went on when I read this. I really wasn't a fan of Rachel's mannerisms or TV persona. I know that she is very well educated and I generally watch MSNBC so I've watched her show more recently.I agree with you that she can make complicated global issues more understandable; I have also gotten hooked on cable news to the point of waking to Morning Joe @ 6am.
I'm going to pay more attention to Rachel in the future by concentrating more on what she is teaching us & less on delivery & personality.
Love your stuff! Follower for a little less than a year.
Jim Hill
I have been a fan of Rachel since she came on MSNBC, and if I only had a
nickel for every person I have told, left or right, that she REALLY is fair
and balanced, but more importantly, without anyone in the rear view mirror,
she IS the smartest person on television. Period. Full stop.
And this may sour this whole response, but say what you will. Yes, he is the
worlds biggest buffoon behind the scenes, can't hold a job because he is
impossible to work with/for. But if MSNBC or the parents company suits had
any sense, the time is really right to bring back Keith Olbermann. His video
rants on his Twitter feed are like the Keith of old. People need to put
aside his arrogance and all they hate about him on the periphery and listen.
https://twitter.com/KeithOlbermann?utm_source=phplist5810&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=Re-Rachel+Maddow
Perry/Chicago
Long time reader, first time writer.
Thank you for writing what i have been unable to articulate about why I am obsessed with Rachel Maddow and have been for years.
I learn something every night she is on, she doesnt waste my time with paid pundits and she talks about issues that matter, not just the
most recent cray coming out of the white house.
She is the exact role model i would like for my daughter, who at 11, in this current climate, is growing up with very few models of what a fully formed woman should look like.
Smart, Poised, Funny, Intelligent, Curious…. the list could go on ad infinitum
Thank you again for your piece on Rachel Maddow
Jill
You had me at Rachel Maddow... I just threw up in my mouth. Good
grief man stop with your political perspective and rants.
-macrant (just a nobody subscriber that is a click away from unsubscribing)
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Thursday 13 April 2017
The Periodontist
"I don't want to be the bearer of bad news."
Huh?
I thought the hygienist cleaned and the dentist evaluated.
But not at this joint.
My old dentist had a love affair with Alaska. For three months every summer he took his boat up north and regaled me with incredible tales thereafter. The only problem was if you had a crisis during those three months.
I did.
So I went to see his old associate, the one who bailed when the seaman wouldn't cough up his practice as promised. This young man said the tooth in question was unsavable and would have to be extracted and replaced with an implant.
But then I called Irving. Medical consigliere to the stars.
Irving had been imploring me to see his guy for years. And Irving's track record is impeccable. He always hooks me up with the top guys, with an appointment right away, oftentimes outside scheduled business hours, with no wait. And if you don't think that's important, if you don't think that's an asset...
You just haven't been broke down and busted on the side of the road, with no direction home, wondering how you're going to escape this pain.
So I got an appointment.
But just before I went, Irving said he'd forgotten to tell me this was the most expensive dentist in the world.
And he is. He's 50% more expensive than any dentist I've ever seen. Assuming you need serious work. Cleanings? Routine stuff? That's all reasonable. But if you need a crown...
You're gonna pay $1500 more than anywhere else, but this dentist has his own lab and there's no waiting, from drilling to replacement it's two, maybe three days.
And he saved the tooth.
So, ultimately I saved money. Instead of paying for an implant, for half the price I continued to use my own tooth, which is always preferable.
The next time the crack was below the gum line. I had to go for an emergency root canal, on my birthday no less. The endodontist, another Beverly Hills bigwig, told me there was no way the dentist could save the tooth, that an implant would be necessary. But this guy, my guy, Irving's guy, said "I'm gonna work my magic." And he did, he put on a crown.
And it's been an endless series of crowns. Is it my age? My affinity for trail mix stirred up in Dannon coffee yogurt? I don't know, but I've given up the trail mix, it's just too expensive and aggravating in the long run.
And last spring the dentist replaced a crown. But in October, I started to get pain. December too. And then January. There'd be pressure when I bit down, and I'd barely be able to eat for a couple of days, and then it would fade away. And at the beginning of February the dentist adjusted the crown, you know, with the carbon paper, even though his work is always perfect, I've never had to go back for a tweak. And then, the pain went away.
Voila! Victory!
Now I'm a pessimist. Mix that up with some OCD and anxiety and I can anticipate disaster at every turn. But I'm trying to change, I asked myself why I was so concerned with Wednesday morning's cleaning, after all, it was routine, I'd been pain free for months.
But then the hygienist uttered the above words.
There was a pocket. An infection. The dentist would render an opinion.
And he came in and did. Asked me if I had a periodontist.
I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT A PERIODONTIST IS!
My old girlfriend got substandard care from one back in the seventies, in a location far distant from the big city, she had some kind of gum graft, that's all I knew, it had something to do with gums.
And I'm flummoxed and speechless and this dentist says he'll call down the hall and get the periodontist to come over and grant an opinion.
Now the service is unbelievable, and I believe I'm undeserving of the attention. Hell, when I complained at an earlier visit, he said he'd have the endodontist stop by for an evaluation, which I declined, silly me. I mean what kind of operation is it where the service people come to YOU? I haven't had a house call since the fifties!
But the word comes in that the periodontist is unavailable. Which aggravates me, because I'm out of town next week and I've got no time but then word came that he was going to appear.
And he did. In scrubs. With his nurse. It was like "M.A.S.H.," I was getting undivided attention in the encampment.
And the first thing this periodontist asked was if I'd ever had a bad experience with dentists.
Huh?
Don't they usually drill with impunity?
But when you pay through the nose, they give you their time. This dentist, in the penthouse, in the Golden Triangle, has all the time in the world for me, he never punches the clock. And this periodontist, who I did not know and wasn't paying, was the same way.
There was a problem...
He wanted a full set of x-rays, and I should come in tomorrow, i.e. today, they'd squeeze me in no matter what.
So I show up today, and this periodontist engages me in conversation. Time is money, but we're talking about his home country, his education, his father, we're becoming old buddies.
But then he says we're best off meeting for coffee and he calls in the nurse and we get down to business.
The nurse who attended when he did the first hip to jaw transplant. Thirty five years ago. When he was head of surgery at USC.
So he thinks it's a failed root canal. I'd gone where everybody does, to that place in downtown Santa Monica, not thinking twice, not calling Irving for advice, two decades back. And now my decision is coming back to haunt me. The root could be broken. If so, I need an extraction and an implant, which had me horrified when I contemplated it last night, but in the hands of this genius I was oh-so-calm.
Whereupon they marshaled the troops for an immediate 3-D scan, which is definitive.
So I got in my car, and drove down south, to an office where the proprietor told me she jumped through hoops for this guy, he needed it right away. I felt like royalty.
Although I knew I was gonna pay for this experience.
That's another thing. I was wearing ratty jeans and a Polo shirt. Not Beverly Hills appropriate. Kinda like the visit with the dermatologist the day before, who treats plenty of stars but is more impressed by education. I had to tell him I turned down Columbia, that sure, I'd gone to law school, but only practiced a couple of years. I was trying to impress him, to show him I was worthy, which felt creepy, but the truth is they judge you on your image, and your ability to pay.
Actually, the dermatologist is not charging me at all, one of the perks of my mini-fame. Yup, the higher up the food chain you go, the less you pay. But if you do have to open your wallet, it's significant. And know that they're judging you on the tip.
So I end up getting into it with the proprietor, who also shoots the pictures. She was an "Alpha Female," self-described. She'd been married four times, but she didn't need the men to raise her children.
And this is what I love about life. You can connect online, but when you're up close and personal people will tell you anything and everything, assuming you ask and you're interested, and I do and I am, because the only thing that counts is people and their stories.
And since we had bonded... She said she thought it was a fair exchange, suggested I refrain from paying, since I'd given her my time and my advice, but like a schmo I said no. But when I got the bill, I was wondering if I should have said yes.
And while I was waiting for my card to be run, she told me she could see what the periodontist was worried about, that the root had caved and there was bone loss and if I told anybody she'd told me she'd deny it, that was for the radiologist to say, but I was glad she did, so I wasn't on pins and needles for twenty four hours.
Yup, you hope for the best but when the professionals are concerned expect the worst.
And this is gonna be an ordeal, and it's gonna be expensive, but when you put yourself in the hands of geniuses, your odds of success are so much greater. I believe in the big doctor, who oftentimes is no more expensive than the nobody.
So you too can go to Beverly Hills.
Or you can say no to the expense. Or choose to spend your money elsewhere.
Or maybe you're a rube like the looky-loos in the van taking pictures blocking my way on Rodeo Drive. I wouldn't think of doing that, the same way you don't interrupt a star at dinner, these are things you learn in Los Angeles, you respect the famous people's space.
And the truth is, they respect yours, because in the City of Angels, with Beverly Hills at its heart, you never really know who someone might be. They might be dressed like a homeless person and be a zillionaire. So you get deference, not always, but oftentimes.
But I still don't think I deserve it.
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Huh?
I thought the hygienist cleaned and the dentist evaluated.
But not at this joint.
My old dentist had a love affair with Alaska. For three months every summer he took his boat up north and regaled me with incredible tales thereafter. The only problem was if you had a crisis during those three months.
I did.
So I went to see his old associate, the one who bailed when the seaman wouldn't cough up his practice as promised. This young man said the tooth in question was unsavable and would have to be extracted and replaced with an implant.
But then I called Irving. Medical consigliere to the stars.
Irving had been imploring me to see his guy for years. And Irving's track record is impeccable. He always hooks me up with the top guys, with an appointment right away, oftentimes outside scheduled business hours, with no wait. And if you don't think that's important, if you don't think that's an asset...
You just haven't been broke down and busted on the side of the road, with no direction home, wondering how you're going to escape this pain.
So I got an appointment.
But just before I went, Irving said he'd forgotten to tell me this was the most expensive dentist in the world.
And he is. He's 50% more expensive than any dentist I've ever seen. Assuming you need serious work. Cleanings? Routine stuff? That's all reasonable. But if you need a crown...
You're gonna pay $1500 more than anywhere else, but this dentist has his own lab and there's no waiting, from drilling to replacement it's two, maybe three days.
And he saved the tooth.
So, ultimately I saved money. Instead of paying for an implant, for half the price I continued to use my own tooth, which is always preferable.
The next time the crack was below the gum line. I had to go for an emergency root canal, on my birthday no less. The endodontist, another Beverly Hills bigwig, told me there was no way the dentist could save the tooth, that an implant would be necessary. But this guy, my guy, Irving's guy, said "I'm gonna work my magic." And he did, he put on a crown.
And it's been an endless series of crowns. Is it my age? My affinity for trail mix stirred up in Dannon coffee yogurt? I don't know, but I've given up the trail mix, it's just too expensive and aggravating in the long run.
And last spring the dentist replaced a crown. But in October, I started to get pain. December too. And then January. There'd be pressure when I bit down, and I'd barely be able to eat for a couple of days, and then it would fade away. And at the beginning of February the dentist adjusted the crown, you know, with the carbon paper, even though his work is always perfect, I've never had to go back for a tweak. And then, the pain went away.
Voila! Victory!
Now I'm a pessimist. Mix that up with some OCD and anxiety and I can anticipate disaster at every turn. But I'm trying to change, I asked myself why I was so concerned with Wednesday morning's cleaning, after all, it was routine, I'd been pain free for months.
But then the hygienist uttered the above words.
There was a pocket. An infection. The dentist would render an opinion.
And he came in and did. Asked me if I had a periodontist.
I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT A PERIODONTIST IS!
My old girlfriend got substandard care from one back in the seventies, in a location far distant from the big city, she had some kind of gum graft, that's all I knew, it had something to do with gums.
And I'm flummoxed and speechless and this dentist says he'll call down the hall and get the periodontist to come over and grant an opinion.
Now the service is unbelievable, and I believe I'm undeserving of the attention. Hell, when I complained at an earlier visit, he said he'd have the endodontist stop by for an evaluation, which I declined, silly me. I mean what kind of operation is it where the service people come to YOU? I haven't had a house call since the fifties!
But the word comes in that the periodontist is unavailable. Which aggravates me, because I'm out of town next week and I've got no time but then word came that he was going to appear.
And he did. In scrubs. With his nurse. It was like "M.A.S.H.," I was getting undivided attention in the encampment.
And the first thing this periodontist asked was if I'd ever had a bad experience with dentists.
Huh?
Don't they usually drill with impunity?
But when you pay through the nose, they give you their time. This dentist, in the penthouse, in the Golden Triangle, has all the time in the world for me, he never punches the clock. And this periodontist, who I did not know and wasn't paying, was the same way.
There was a problem...
He wanted a full set of x-rays, and I should come in tomorrow, i.e. today, they'd squeeze me in no matter what.
So I show up today, and this periodontist engages me in conversation. Time is money, but we're talking about his home country, his education, his father, we're becoming old buddies.
But then he says we're best off meeting for coffee and he calls in the nurse and we get down to business.
The nurse who attended when he did the first hip to jaw transplant. Thirty five years ago. When he was head of surgery at USC.
So he thinks it's a failed root canal. I'd gone where everybody does, to that place in downtown Santa Monica, not thinking twice, not calling Irving for advice, two decades back. And now my decision is coming back to haunt me. The root could be broken. If so, I need an extraction and an implant, which had me horrified when I contemplated it last night, but in the hands of this genius I was oh-so-calm.
Whereupon they marshaled the troops for an immediate 3-D scan, which is definitive.
So I got in my car, and drove down south, to an office where the proprietor told me she jumped through hoops for this guy, he needed it right away. I felt like royalty.
Although I knew I was gonna pay for this experience.
That's another thing. I was wearing ratty jeans and a Polo shirt. Not Beverly Hills appropriate. Kinda like the visit with the dermatologist the day before, who treats plenty of stars but is more impressed by education. I had to tell him I turned down Columbia, that sure, I'd gone to law school, but only practiced a couple of years. I was trying to impress him, to show him I was worthy, which felt creepy, but the truth is they judge you on your image, and your ability to pay.
Actually, the dermatologist is not charging me at all, one of the perks of my mini-fame. Yup, the higher up the food chain you go, the less you pay. But if you do have to open your wallet, it's significant. And know that they're judging you on the tip.
So I end up getting into it with the proprietor, who also shoots the pictures. She was an "Alpha Female," self-described. She'd been married four times, but she didn't need the men to raise her children.
And this is what I love about life. You can connect online, but when you're up close and personal people will tell you anything and everything, assuming you ask and you're interested, and I do and I am, because the only thing that counts is people and their stories.
And since we had bonded... She said she thought it was a fair exchange, suggested I refrain from paying, since I'd given her my time and my advice, but like a schmo I said no. But when I got the bill, I was wondering if I should have said yes.
And while I was waiting for my card to be run, she told me she could see what the periodontist was worried about, that the root had caved and there was bone loss and if I told anybody she'd told me she'd deny it, that was for the radiologist to say, but I was glad she did, so I wasn't on pins and needles for twenty four hours.
Yup, you hope for the best but when the professionals are concerned expect the worst.
And this is gonna be an ordeal, and it's gonna be expensive, but when you put yourself in the hands of geniuses, your odds of success are so much greater. I believe in the big doctor, who oftentimes is no more expensive than the nobody.
So you too can go to Beverly Hills.
Or you can say no to the expense. Or choose to spend your money elsewhere.
Or maybe you're a rube like the looky-loos in the van taking pictures blocking my way on Rodeo Drive. I wouldn't think of doing that, the same way you don't interrupt a star at dinner, these are things you learn in Los Angeles, you respect the famous people's space.
And the truth is, they respect yours, because in the City of Angels, with Beverly Hills at its heart, you never really know who someone might be. They might be dressed like a homeless person and be a zillionaire. So you get deference, not always, but oftentimes.
But I still don't think I deserve it.
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Relationships & Power
Smarts are overrated.
I'm not saying it's a disadvantage to have a high IQ, be book smart, be educated, just that it won't get you that far. The elites are all about jumping through hoops, getting good grades to get into a good school so they have insurance for the future. And too many squander this opportunity. By playing it safe, going to work for the bank.
But you want to be the tail that wags the dog, you want to be the one who calls your lawyer as opposed to the attorney codifying the deal.
How do you get there?
Some are born with it. Or have parents who teach them the ways of the world.
Most do not.
How can you learn?
You can buy a self-help book, but never forget, those are not individualized to you, and rah-rah motivation, endless cheerleading with a positive attitude really doesn't go far. Sure, you don't want to come across as depressed, you want to be motivated, but you've got to examine your flaws and learn new ways of thinking.
I'm a big fan of psychotherapy, which gets a bad rap these days. If you even admit you've got a problem you get a pill, or a short term of counseling. But if you've got the bucks you can see an analyst who will examine your issues and teach you new ways of thinking. As for those who believe they can do it on their own... That's why men commit suicide, have trouble getting over relationships, while women circle the wagons, support each other and move on. Men soldier on, blindly. And if you're not aware and looking all the time you're gonna lose.
And then there's observation, seeing how the great ones do it.
Forget their books, they're self-promotional hogwash. Jack Welch cooked the books. Employed financial shenanigans. It was left to Jeff Immelt to pick up the trash and crawl GE from the wreckage, to sell assets that were bringing the company down and move the headquarters to Boston, a tech center.
Enjoy your business biographies, but they're worth almost nothing.
But you can learn from business books. The creme de la creme, like Connie Bruck's "The Predators' Ball" and James B. Stewart's "Den of Thieves" and "Storming The Magic Kingdom," by John Taylor. Those are all out of date, but in their era they evidenced a cornucopia of insight, more beneficial than a business school course, because business school teaches you how to rape and pillage, but it does not teach you how to be build, how to get along with those outside the walls of the citadel, hell read the new book by Duff McDonald entitled "The Golden Passport" if you want to know about that, not that I've read it yet, and in many cases the reviews themselves are enough. And they're minting new analytical tomes every day, hell, even read Bethany McLean in "Vanity Fair."
Yes, you must be a student of the game. The players know the landscape, the other players, the history, where the bombs are buried. Information is the currency of business.
But once you have that...
You must have relationships, and who they're with is very important.
When you're starting out the people at the top don't want to know your name, so you're limited to those like you, at the bottom. Don't waste time with people who are not going anywhere, who are fun to hang with but don't push the ball forward. Yes, in business you're either moving up the food chain or you're falling behind, just ask all those baby boomers who can no longer work in the music business while their elite brethren are running it.
It takes time to ferret out who is a winner and who is a loser.
Attach yourself to the winners, they'll carry you through.
But you must offer something of value, you cannot be replaceable.
And after more victories you'll be exposed to higher-ups, who will not only show how the game is played, but may deign to help you.
And it becomes complicated, do you settle for less and break a relationship when a better one comes along or sit on the sidelines biding your time...
I DON'T KNOW! I'm still trying to figure it out, it's a learning process.
And don't be afraid of standing up for yourself, alienating people. If you can't draw a line in the sand, if you can't bite back, you won't be respected. Many people will test you, if you cave, if you accede to their wishes and behavior, they'll plow right over you.
And at the top of the pyramid you'll find relative calmness. All the noise is underneath. Those at the top have not only survived, they know all their compatriots personally and have traded favors to the point where they're owed something. You're looking for someone who can get their call picked up instantly by anybody. They exist.
And if you've got none of the above skills, you must recognize this and attach yourself to those who do, it's the only way out of the morass, especially today, when the world is comprised of winners and losers.
And if you're a fan of kumbaya, if you want to love everybody and just get along, that's fine, BUT DON'T BITCH WHEN YOU DON'T RISE ABOVE!
If you're a band playing clubs making a living and happy, that's cool with me. But if you can't move on to arenas, which is ever more difficult to do, especially without radio play, you need someone with power and relationships. Who may not be interested because they don't think you've got the chops.
This is the way of the world.
It's all about power. Getting it, keeping it and wielding it.
And you cannot achieve that power in a vacuum, you gain it via relationships.
It's both simple and complicated. Kinda like Monopoly. You can understand the game, but can you win?
And just like in Monopoly you're a victim of chance. But never be afraid to roll the dice. And know you get to roll them again, it's you who take yourself out of the game. Don't do that.
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I'm not saying it's a disadvantage to have a high IQ, be book smart, be educated, just that it won't get you that far. The elites are all about jumping through hoops, getting good grades to get into a good school so they have insurance for the future. And too many squander this opportunity. By playing it safe, going to work for the bank.
But you want to be the tail that wags the dog, you want to be the one who calls your lawyer as opposed to the attorney codifying the deal.
How do you get there?
Some are born with it. Or have parents who teach them the ways of the world.
Most do not.
How can you learn?
You can buy a self-help book, but never forget, those are not individualized to you, and rah-rah motivation, endless cheerleading with a positive attitude really doesn't go far. Sure, you don't want to come across as depressed, you want to be motivated, but you've got to examine your flaws and learn new ways of thinking.
I'm a big fan of psychotherapy, which gets a bad rap these days. If you even admit you've got a problem you get a pill, or a short term of counseling. But if you've got the bucks you can see an analyst who will examine your issues and teach you new ways of thinking. As for those who believe they can do it on their own... That's why men commit suicide, have trouble getting over relationships, while women circle the wagons, support each other and move on. Men soldier on, blindly. And if you're not aware and looking all the time you're gonna lose.
And then there's observation, seeing how the great ones do it.
Forget their books, they're self-promotional hogwash. Jack Welch cooked the books. Employed financial shenanigans. It was left to Jeff Immelt to pick up the trash and crawl GE from the wreckage, to sell assets that were bringing the company down and move the headquarters to Boston, a tech center.
Enjoy your business biographies, but they're worth almost nothing.
But you can learn from business books. The creme de la creme, like Connie Bruck's "The Predators' Ball" and James B. Stewart's "Den of Thieves" and "Storming The Magic Kingdom," by John Taylor. Those are all out of date, but in their era they evidenced a cornucopia of insight, more beneficial than a business school course, because business school teaches you how to rape and pillage, but it does not teach you how to be build, how to get along with those outside the walls of the citadel, hell read the new book by Duff McDonald entitled "The Golden Passport" if you want to know about that, not that I've read it yet, and in many cases the reviews themselves are enough. And they're minting new analytical tomes every day, hell, even read Bethany McLean in "Vanity Fair."
Yes, you must be a student of the game. The players know the landscape, the other players, the history, where the bombs are buried. Information is the currency of business.
But once you have that...
You must have relationships, and who they're with is very important.
When you're starting out the people at the top don't want to know your name, so you're limited to those like you, at the bottom. Don't waste time with people who are not going anywhere, who are fun to hang with but don't push the ball forward. Yes, in business you're either moving up the food chain or you're falling behind, just ask all those baby boomers who can no longer work in the music business while their elite brethren are running it.
It takes time to ferret out who is a winner and who is a loser.
Attach yourself to the winners, they'll carry you through.
But you must offer something of value, you cannot be replaceable.
And after more victories you'll be exposed to higher-ups, who will not only show how the game is played, but may deign to help you.
And it becomes complicated, do you settle for less and break a relationship when a better one comes along or sit on the sidelines biding your time...
I DON'T KNOW! I'm still trying to figure it out, it's a learning process.
And don't be afraid of standing up for yourself, alienating people. If you can't draw a line in the sand, if you can't bite back, you won't be respected. Many people will test you, if you cave, if you accede to their wishes and behavior, they'll plow right over you.
And at the top of the pyramid you'll find relative calmness. All the noise is underneath. Those at the top have not only survived, they know all their compatriots personally and have traded favors to the point where they're owed something. You're looking for someone who can get their call picked up instantly by anybody. They exist.
And if you've got none of the above skills, you must recognize this and attach yourself to those who do, it's the only way out of the morass, especially today, when the world is comprised of winners and losers.
And if you're a fan of kumbaya, if you want to love everybody and just get along, that's fine, BUT DON'T BITCH WHEN YOU DON'T RISE ABOVE!
If you're a band playing clubs making a living and happy, that's cool with me. But if you can't move on to arenas, which is ever more difficult to do, especially without radio play, you need someone with power and relationships. Who may not be interested because they don't think you've got the chops.
This is the way of the world.
It's all about power. Getting it, keeping it and wielding it.
And you cannot achieve that power in a vacuum, you gain it via relationships.
It's both simple and complicated. Kinda like Monopoly. You can understand the game, but can you win?
And just like in Monopoly you're a victim of chance. But never be afraid to roll the dice. And know you get to roll them again, it's you who take yourself out of the game. Don't do that.
--
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Wednesday 12 April 2017
Rachel Maddow
She's the left wing explainer.
I've become addicted to the news. Not only the papers, which arrive every day, whose apps I'm constantly checking on my phone, but TV, which I mostly catch on the satellite, Sirius XM.
That's right, there's everything from Fox to CNN, MSNBC to Bloomberg, NPR and the BBC. I want to know what's going on.
And so does everybody else.
As George Drakoulias famously said, he used to fight over bands, now we fight over politics.
I did not see this coming. The long national primary season, which seemed to start immediately after Obama's last electoral victory, resulted in two candidates who fought hard with Trump emerging victorious and now seemingly no one is happy.
And it's hard to say it doesn't matter.
Want an abortion? Want corporations out of politics? Then Gorsuch in the Supreme Court will keep you awake at night.
Want to get rid of Obamacare? Want to get rid of the welfare state? Well, that turns out to be much harder to do, turns out talk is cheap, and that wall ain't gonna be erected anytime soon.
So what we've got is a lot of people yelling. On TV and in person. Figuring if they just shout loud enough, they'll win. Not realizing no one who disagrees with them is tuning in anyway.
And then we've got Ms. Maddow, who takes a different tack.
Yes, yes, she was excoriated over her tedious buildup to the tax return reveal, but the truth is the media builds you up and then destroys you and if you believe it all you've got enough whiplash to end up in physical therapy.
And it's weird playing the home game. With a President who constantly contradicts himself. Not only in statement, but policy.
But the whole world is watching.
America used to be the leader, now we're not quite a pawn in their game, but other countries are suddenly no longer taking us that seriously, their quality of life is better, as is upward mobility, we've taken ourselves down a wrong path just like MTV with its endless reality shows, to the point where the channel died.
And then comes the curious case of Paramount Pictures. Which just named a usual suspect to run its operation. Jim Gianopulos has a long history of running studios, is this the disrupter you want in charge in the twenty first century?
Of course not. But those with the money play it safe and those who understand computers rule the world.
And they tell us the left wing is caught up in gender politics, too busy being a safe big tent, but then we end up listening to an educated lesbian who did not train for the job who holds us like putty in her hand, all the while imploring us to think for ourselves.
Everybody's running for something in America. President, king of the internet, come on, what do you think all of those followers and likes are all about. But Maddow doesn't seem to be running for anything. Unlike her compatriot Brian Williams who should be banished for his bluster, just because you look good that does not mean you're entitled to read the news.
But the point here is America wants to learn. We keep hearing how stupid we are, set in our own ways. But every day Rachel respects us and tells us about that which we do not know but should. So when we go to cocktail parties (does anybody really do that anymore actually?), we can talk educatedly. Is that even a word? It does not matter. The point is politics is bringing us together, it's the only thing we all pay attention to and can weigh in on. Not music, not movies, not TV, we're all listening to and watching something different. Isn't it interesting how everybody is suddenly concerned with society and its well-being?
Which is why the artists are out of touch. Batting us over the head to pay attention, their wares no different from the latest offering from Ronco, which just filed to go public, need a Pocket Fisherman? If you want to make it today...
You've got to treat your opponent, your customer, as an equal.
Yes, it's respect, but it's more than that.
The customer is not always right, but you should try to engage them on a level playing field, without subterfuge, unlike Wells Fargo.
And if money is the only thing you care about it's suddenly gonna backfire on you, like United.
Yes, we love some brands, but we hate most corporations.
And we hate so many of the talking heads on TV.
Bill O'Reilly goes for the jugular, he's holier-than-thou. If you're a believer, fine, if you're not, eegads, and that's even before the sexual harassment. Bill thinks he's better than you, and then they point to his old writings and his present contradictions and all you can have is contempt for this blowhard.
Or the bimbos on Fox and the other channels, especially the morning shows, laughing up a storm as if we're all buddies, having a fine time.
BUT WE'RE NOT!
The downtrodden white males switched parties and voted for Trump and the educated elites have been freaking out ever since and who is gonna take both of us seriously?
Everybody wants to know more. And although cable TV and the internet anesthetize, they also educate. We live in an information society and we all want more.
And in a world where there is no tech help, no one you can rely on, ask for an interpretation, in walks Rachel Maddow.
She's not like Lawrence O'Donnell, constantly playing GOTCHA!
She's not strident.
She's just laying it all out for us to make our own judgments, come to our own conclusions, her program is addictive, if you ran into her on the street you wouldn't ask for an autograph or a selfie, but posit a question about the legislative agenda, hoping to engender a conversation.
And she's not dour, she can laugh.
And if she came to your house you could get into it over a few drinks and still remain friends, even if you were a right winger.
But the longer you listen to her, the more she makes sense, she's convincing people.
And now Rachel is beating Bill in the ratings.
Because it's a long hard race and when there's endless noise we're looking for a safe haven where we can quietly engage.
This is a big deal, akin to Colbert beating Fallon.
Everything you know is wrong. People are not dumb, they're smart. They want more, they want to engage. Ignore those trying to work the refs and pay attention to those trying to explain.
And listen to your neighbor, and when he or she gets on their high horse and tells you how it is...
Ignore them.
And then maybe after being ostracized they'll calm down and engage.
That's what's gonna bring our nation together, heal us as a people, engagement.
And we're getting none of this from D.C., and we're getting none of this from the entertainers.
But we're getting a ton of it from Rachel Maddow.
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I've become addicted to the news. Not only the papers, which arrive every day, whose apps I'm constantly checking on my phone, but TV, which I mostly catch on the satellite, Sirius XM.
That's right, there's everything from Fox to CNN, MSNBC to Bloomberg, NPR and the BBC. I want to know what's going on.
And so does everybody else.
As George Drakoulias famously said, he used to fight over bands, now we fight over politics.
I did not see this coming. The long national primary season, which seemed to start immediately after Obama's last electoral victory, resulted in two candidates who fought hard with Trump emerging victorious and now seemingly no one is happy.
And it's hard to say it doesn't matter.
Want an abortion? Want corporations out of politics? Then Gorsuch in the Supreme Court will keep you awake at night.
Want to get rid of Obamacare? Want to get rid of the welfare state? Well, that turns out to be much harder to do, turns out talk is cheap, and that wall ain't gonna be erected anytime soon.
So what we've got is a lot of people yelling. On TV and in person. Figuring if they just shout loud enough, they'll win. Not realizing no one who disagrees with them is tuning in anyway.
And then we've got Ms. Maddow, who takes a different tack.
Yes, yes, she was excoriated over her tedious buildup to the tax return reveal, but the truth is the media builds you up and then destroys you and if you believe it all you've got enough whiplash to end up in physical therapy.
And it's weird playing the home game. With a President who constantly contradicts himself. Not only in statement, but policy.
But the whole world is watching.
America used to be the leader, now we're not quite a pawn in their game, but other countries are suddenly no longer taking us that seriously, their quality of life is better, as is upward mobility, we've taken ourselves down a wrong path just like MTV with its endless reality shows, to the point where the channel died.
And then comes the curious case of Paramount Pictures. Which just named a usual suspect to run its operation. Jim Gianopulos has a long history of running studios, is this the disrupter you want in charge in the twenty first century?
Of course not. But those with the money play it safe and those who understand computers rule the world.
And they tell us the left wing is caught up in gender politics, too busy being a safe big tent, but then we end up listening to an educated lesbian who did not train for the job who holds us like putty in her hand, all the while imploring us to think for ourselves.
Everybody's running for something in America. President, king of the internet, come on, what do you think all of those followers and likes are all about. But Maddow doesn't seem to be running for anything. Unlike her compatriot Brian Williams who should be banished for his bluster, just because you look good that does not mean you're entitled to read the news.
But the point here is America wants to learn. We keep hearing how stupid we are, set in our own ways. But every day Rachel respects us and tells us about that which we do not know but should. So when we go to cocktail parties (does anybody really do that anymore actually?), we can talk educatedly. Is that even a word? It does not matter. The point is politics is bringing us together, it's the only thing we all pay attention to and can weigh in on. Not music, not movies, not TV, we're all listening to and watching something different. Isn't it interesting how everybody is suddenly concerned with society and its well-being?
Which is why the artists are out of touch. Batting us over the head to pay attention, their wares no different from the latest offering from Ronco, which just filed to go public, need a Pocket Fisherman? If you want to make it today...
You've got to treat your opponent, your customer, as an equal.
Yes, it's respect, but it's more than that.
The customer is not always right, but you should try to engage them on a level playing field, without subterfuge, unlike Wells Fargo.
And if money is the only thing you care about it's suddenly gonna backfire on you, like United.
Yes, we love some brands, but we hate most corporations.
And we hate so many of the talking heads on TV.
Bill O'Reilly goes for the jugular, he's holier-than-thou. If you're a believer, fine, if you're not, eegads, and that's even before the sexual harassment. Bill thinks he's better than you, and then they point to his old writings and his present contradictions and all you can have is contempt for this blowhard.
Or the bimbos on Fox and the other channels, especially the morning shows, laughing up a storm as if we're all buddies, having a fine time.
BUT WE'RE NOT!
The downtrodden white males switched parties and voted for Trump and the educated elites have been freaking out ever since and who is gonna take both of us seriously?
Everybody wants to know more. And although cable TV and the internet anesthetize, they also educate. We live in an information society and we all want more.
And in a world where there is no tech help, no one you can rely on, ask for an interpretation, in walks Rachel Maddow.
She's not like Lawrence O'Donnell, constantly playing GOTCHA!
She's not strident.
She's just laying it all out for us to make our own judgments, come to our own conclusions, her program is addictive, if you ran into her on the street you wouldn't ask for an autograph or a selfie, but posit a question about the legislative agenda, hoping to engender a conversation.
And she's not dour, she can laugh.
And if she came to your house you could get into it over a few drinks and still remain friends, even if you were a right winger.
But the longer you listen to her, the more she makes sense, she's convincing people.
And now Rachel is beating Bill in the ratings.
Because it's a long hard race and when there's endless noise we're looking for a safe haven where we can quietly engage.
This is a big deal, akin to Colbert beating Fallon.
Everything you know is wrong. People are not dumb, they're smart. They want more, they want to engage. Ignore those trying to work the refs and pay attention to those trying to explain.
And listen to your neighbor, and when he or she gets on their high horse and tells you how it is...
Ignore them.
And then maybe after being ostracized they'll calm down and engage.
That's what's gonna bring our nation together, heal us as a people, engagement.
And we're getting none of this from D.C., and we're getting none of this from the entertainers.
But we're getting a ton of it from Rachel Maddow.
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