An amusing monologue by Jimmy Kimmel

Last night he covered several topics that have been in the news these past few days.

At the 4:45 mark, he mentions anti-mask zealot Fox News’s Tucker Carlson’s calls to people to report the parents of children who wear masks to the police or Child Protection Services for child abuse. I think we have to conclude that at this point Carlson has deliberately chosen to become a parody of himself so that he can gain attention by generating ridicule for the things he says. (Having scorn rain down on you and being seen as an idiot is, for some inexplicable reason, viewed as some kind of victory by right-wingers and is known by them as ‘owning the libs’.)

I cannot believe that even his loyal audience will follow his advice. If some do, I would love to listen to their conversations with the police and CPS dispatchers as they try to convince them of what abuse the children are being subjected to by wearing masks.

Another review of the lead up to the insurrection

I linked earlier to the Frontline documentary American Insurrection by ProPublica reporter A. C. Thompson who followed the trail of hate groups starting in Charlottesville to the insurrection on January 6th. Thompson had been following the evolution of many hate groups and he was able to piece together all that footage to tell a compelling story.

The Daily Show‘s Jordan Klepper does a similar exercise in a comedic vein except for some serious moments. He had been attending Trump rallies during his time in office and he now has a retrospective leading up to January 6th, mixing footage that I had seen before with new ones. I was particularly interested in a section that began at the 11:30 mark where he tells us what goes on behind the scenes with his producers and camera crew. He addresses questions that he is frequently asked, such as: Are the people he interviews real? Is what they say scripted? Do they agree to be interviewed? Was he ever close to getting his ass kicked? The answers are: yes, no, sometimes, and definitely.

Bankruptcy

For many ordinary people, declaring bankruptcy is a way to escape from crushing debt often caused by circumstances beyond their control, like health care bills, and start a new life, though it is never an easy out. In addition, they are made to feel ashamed for doing so. In 2005, the credit card companies lobbied for a new law that made made it much harder for individuals to declare bankruptcy. As a then senator, Joe Biden fought in favor of the new law, no doubt because his home state of Delaware is home to many credit card companies.

In yesterday’s episode of Last Week Tonight, John Oliver describes how the current bankruptcy laws are confusing and hard to maneuver and of a new proposal to simplify it. Of course Republicans will filibuster it.

The Muppets ranked and Rita Moreno

People have strong feelings about which Muppet is the best. I am one of them. The people at Pop Culture Happy Hour asked their listeners to vote for their favorite and they got more than 18,000 responses with over 150 Muppets receiving votes. Some extremely tough questions had to be addressed, such as what Muppets qualified. (The answer: “Any Muppet from any property or era was eligible, including The Muppet Show, Muppet Babies, Fraggle Rock, Sesame Street, Labyrinth, etc.”) Then before tabulating the results, there were other issues such as should Statler and Waldorf, Bert and Ernie, or Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker be considered as individuals or as pairs. Only Statler and Waldorf were considered as a pair, which I agree with.
[Read more…]

Are Christian nationalists killing Christianity in the US?

A recent Gallup poll shows that the number of people who belong to a church, mosque or synagogue is dropping rapidly and that this may be due to a reaction to aggressive Christian nationalist politics. (Thanks to reader Jeff for then link.)

Just 47% of the US population are members of a church, mosque or synagogue, according to a survey by Gallup, down from 70% two decades ago – in part a result of millennials turning away from religion but also, experts say, a reaction to the swirling mix of rightwing politics and Christianity pursued by the Republican party.

The evidence comes as Republicans in some states have pursued extreme “Christian nationalist” policies, attempting to force their version of Christianity on an increasingly uninterested public.
[Read more…]