ChrisWeigant.com

Welcome To Our Annual Holiday Pledge Drive!

[ Posted Monday, December 4th, 2017 – 20:02 UTC ]

It's been a tough year all around, but it is finally almost over. That's about the best thing you can say about 2017, really. So for this year's ChrisWeigant.com holiday pledge drive, we're going to inundate you with an absolute blizzard of kittens, in our annual subliminal plea to break out the wallets and give generously to keep the site going throughout next year.

From the very start, 2017 has been an endless parade of shiny, shiny objects which only prove repeatedly how easily distracted the media gets, which is why we are rededicating ourselves to ignoring the fluff and concentrating on what's really going on.

The shiny, shiny objects are so distracting!

 

Doing so, of course, involves slogging down a very tough path. At times, it can even feel like things are piling up so fast that we'll soon be in over our heads. But you've got to dig in and push through it all in the end so the situation doesn't become totally overwhelming.

Ever get that sinking feeling? Push through it!

 

When reality gets you down, however, it's important to keep dreaming of a better day. No matter how outlandish, dreams help us all keep hope alive for the future.

I'll show that tree who's the boss!

 

If even that doesn't work, then try some silliness and humor instead! Or just get dressed up and go out on the town....

What? Too much?

 

Yes, 2017 was tough to get through, and 2018 will probably be just as bad. But, as I explained in my Thanksgiving message, I am committed to doing so together with the CW.com community, because we're really all in this together.

To do so, however, requires paying the bills. So let's get back to the original intent of all these kittens, which is to overwhelm you with cuteness. After all, who can resist a photo like this?

The most adorable stocking-stuffer of them all!

 

Because, in the end, we've all got to believe that love can indeed conquer hate, right?

Can I put this one on the tree?

 

Or, if that doesn't work, perhaps a little hypnotism might work?

Look deep into my eyes, and dig deep into your wallet....

 

We make no judgments here, of course. We leave it up to Santa to sort all of that out. So it really doesn't matter to us whether you've been naughty...

I don't care if Santa is watching, I just can't help myself!

 

... or nice last year -- it's all the same to us!

I'll just pat it gently -- that's allowed, right?

 

From what we've heard, Santa's actually pretty forgiving, especially when it comes to kittens.

We've been ever so good this year, Santa!

 

Seriously, though, ChrisWeigant.com has been ad-free for years, and we certainly want to keep it that way next year. Donations have allowed us to break even for the past few years and your generosity has allowed us to keep the lights on. Next year we may face higher ISP costs, as our database has grown to rather large proportions. Our archives now contain more than 2,800 columns and well over 100,000 comments, which are always available to read on the site. But we're bumping up against both a size boundary as well as a traffic boundary (the site is so popular that we may have to pay more because of all the traffic the ISP's server has to handle, in other words). So next year may be even more challenging when it comes to covering our costs.

As always, our Holiday Pledge Drive logo will top every page here for the next month, complete with a thermometer at the bottom showing how close we are to reaching our donation goal for the year. Clicking on this image will take you to our 2017 Holiday Pledge Drive page, which has full instructions on how to make donations -- via Pay Pal, with credit card, or even through snail mail. There is also a Donate button on the top right side of every page here, which looks like this:

 

 

Clicking on this takes you directly to the PayPal donations page we have set up. Donations are accepted from either your own PayPal account, or from all major credit cards (you do not need to set up a PayPal account to donate by credit card this way, I should mention). Another technical note: you do not have to be registered as a CW.com site user to donate via PayPal in this fashion either.

So whether you can afford to give a little or a lot this year, we certainly will be grateful for anything you can spare to support the site.

Considering doubling your donation!

 

Ask yourself what the reality-based commentary you read here is worth over the course of a year. The price of a cup of coffee every week, maybe? Still not convinced? Well, we've got one last kitten to convince you, so here goes:

If I can wear these ridiculous antlers, you can surely manage a small donation, right?

 

We thank everyone in advance for your support. If your personal economics aren't good enough to donate this year, we completely understand. If you do have a little to give, though, we would certainly appreciate it. One way or another, though, we hope that all your holiday wishes come true this year and that everyone has a very happy holiday season.

 

-- Chris Weigant

 

Follow Chris on Twitter: @ChrisWeigant

 

60 Comments on “Welcome To Our Annual Holiday Pledge Drive!”

  1. [1] 
    Chris Weigant wrote:

    OK, I am truly astonished, because I had to update the thermometer so quickly. From zero it's already moved up to 3/8ths of the total goal!

    Wow!

    I'd just like to thank the early donors, and I thought the most appropriate way to do that was to update the graphic. Personal thank-you emails will go out soon as well, I promise.

    :-)

    -CW

  2. [2] 
    Michale wrote:

    As per tradition, the count begins.. :D

    While business has been good for me (THANK YOU PRESIDENT TRUMP!!!) we have taken some pretty big financial hits during this year, so I will have to lower my per comment donation from 50 cents to 25 cents per comment...

    Since we're well into the season, I will start the count at 100 comments...

    And AAWWWAAAYYYYYYYYYY we go.... :D

    100

  3. [3] 
    Michale wrote:

    It was noted throughout the year from those who have created lame Safe Spaces that they would emerge from hiding in said lame Safe Space and assist during the fundraiser...

    I guess we'll see if they have ANY shred of honor and will actually follow thru with their promise..

    101

  4. [4] 
    neilm wrote:

    Michale:

    Take this advice on January 1st however, CW needs you to be you this month:

    You flood the board with right wing partisan cut/paste nonsense that spoils the discourse. Every time you feel like reposting some third party article in bold, desist. And every time it takes you more than two screen pages before you see any comments apart from your own, don't add any more.

  5. [5] 
    Michale wrote:

    You flood the board with right wing partisan cut/paste nonsense that spoils the discourse. Every time you feel like reposting some third party article in bold, desist. And every time it takes you more than two screen pages before you see any comments apart from your own, don't add any more.

    I understand that the facts are disconcerting to you...

    But here's the thing.. I play the game by the rules that YA'ALL have set.. If ya'all hadn't been so fraking hysterical in your PTDS, then I would not have to respond in kind..

    You want me to reign it in??

    You first.. :p

  6. [6] 
    Michale wrote:

    150 structures destroyed, 27,000 people evacuated in raging Ventura wildfire
    http://beta.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-school-fire-20171204-story.html

    If I remember my California geography right, yer safe Neil and CW... Right???

    The reason I ask is that I plan on raking California thru the coals (er.. no pun intended) for their incompetence and it would be bad form to do so if ya'all are threatened by the fires...

    :D

    108

  7. [7] 
    neilm wrote:

    I understand that the facts are disconcerting to you...

    I love facts - I just don't like the 1:10 fact to partisan opinion ratio in your posts. And while I presume you don't deliberately lie like the current President does, your naivety when it comes to other people's lies that make you feel good is sad for you, but your need to plaster them all over the board is bad of everybody else.

    Why don't you just average what you donate to CW over the last few years and send that in as a single lump sum at the start of the pledge drive? Or whatever you can?

  8. [8] 
    Michale wrote:

    I love facts - I just don't like the 1:10 fact to partisan opinion ratio in your posts.

    That's because it's a 10:1 ratio... :D

    And while I presume you don't deliberately lie like the current President does,

    AND the former President did.. You see, that's EXACTLY ya'all's problem.. You complain about things that Trump and the GOP does and IGNORE the *FACT* that Odumbo and the Dumbocrats are guilty of the EXACT same things..

    Why don't you just average what you donate to CW over the last few years and send that in as a single lump sum at the start of the pledge drive? Or whatever you can?

    Why don't ya'all stop with the hysterical PTDS and stick to PROVABLE facts???

    If ya'all did that, you would see 2/3rds less comments from me.. :D

    110

  9. [9] 
    TheStig wrote:

    I am pleased to announce that CW.com has once again been awarded a MacStigster "Ingenious Grant." Grants are awarded throughout the year to individuals or organizations that: 1) find a hole and 2) plug it. Awards are issued on a pseudorandom schedule throughout the year.

    2017 winners include:

    WYSO (locally produced programing featuring well curated music playlists, local news and in depth interviews of worthies passing through my sordid little burg. Strong signal with lots of repeaters, and a warm analog sound...except for their on-line clone of course. Slowly taking over the world, in an inclusive and nonjudgmental way.

    PBS (the only broadcast TV worth watching, best content, video and sound quality period. How do they do it?!

    NewYorker Mag (came for the Adams Family in 1965, stayed for the literary pie). Introduced my mother to the word "Belgium" in literature.

    Flyboy Deli (rotating craft beers and friendly beeritas...ie. they put up with me and about 50 of my closest friends on most Saturdays).

    YMCA. High quality, well maintained treadmills, warm showers and just 3 minutes from my house. The staff adjusts the fans for me. How great is that???!!!

    Vanity Fair. Great writers, photographers and gorgeously glossy paper. (Warning - paper cuts). Could they make their page numbers a wee bit bigger...my arm is only so long.

    The NYT. The Gray Lady isn't what she used to be, but than again, neither am I.

    WAPO. Strong showing this year, they know their turf.

    Amazon Prime. Great selection, free 2 day shipping and Fire TV. The later hosts and produces some great original material...most notably Man In The High Castle. They allow me to fix what Microsoft breaks with their updates....notably the Excel incident blue screen last Sunday. When are your packages coming by quad copter?....and could you pay your peons a wee bit more?

    Wikipedia. The Hitch Hikers guide to the Galaxy made into a real prototype. "The Guide is definitive. Reality is frequently inaccurate."

    Dr. O, podiatrist. Crafts the Mercedes Benz of orthotics, best waiting room in the Tri State Area.

    Dr. P, chiropractor. Healed my tendon...not all chiros are quacks, but choose wisely.

    Dr. L. Has kept my extended family healthy for 30 years...and he chuckles like Dr. Hibbert! Spills liquid nitrogen of the carpet for the kids. I have commuted by air to use this doctor!

    Seasons greatings to all (heh, heh).

  10. [10] 
    Michale wrote:

    You flood the board with right wing partisan cut/paste nonsense that spoils the discourse.

    But, of course when Paula floods the board with left wing partisan cut/paste nonsense that spoils the discourse, you don't have a problem with that??

    Why is that???

    111

  11. [11] 
    TheStig wrote:

    9- beeritas should have rendered beeristas. TheStig regrets the error. I will put a few more quarters in their jar to atone.

    Actually, the idea of a beerita sounds pretty good. Beer + cheese in a wrapper. I know a talented, created chef.... That could be a McStigster finalist in 2018.

  12. [12] 
    TheStig wrote:

    Neilm-4 and 7

    The descriptive term you could be seeking is "bullshitter in a china shop" :)

  13. [13] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    The descriptive term you could be seeking is "bullshitter in a china shop" :)

    That certainly works for the current president.

    But, my favourite remains "the erratic megalomaniac with pronounced know-nothing, neo-fascist tendencies" ...

  14. [14] 
    Michale wrote:

    That certainly works for the current president.

    But, my favourite remains "the erratic megalomaniac with pronounced know-nothing, neo-fascist tendencies" ...

    And here I thought you were above childish name-calling.. :^/

    112

  15. [15] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    That's not name-calling, Michale. That's an accurate description of President Trump.

    It's based on his actions and words over the course of his run for the presidency, and, earlier than that in some instances.

  16. [16] 
    Michale wrote:

    That's not name-calling, Michale. That's an accurate description of President Trump.

    OK, so when I call "Odumbo is a moron, incompetent fool and Muslim sleeper agent" that's not name calling but just an accurate assessment based on his presidency...

    Got it.. :^/

    I guess you were just kidding when you said you wanted to elevate the level of maturity in the discourse here...

    Silly me... :D

    113

  17. [17] 
    TheStig wrote:

    Liz-13

    I prefer the descriptive "salad spinner" for the President. I think he has serious memory deficits, and more and more people are starting to notice and speak out. Trump didn't have problems thinking in paragraphs 20 years ago. Now he can barely manage complete sentences, unless he is reading them. At least one ghost writer, his lawyer, has owned up to writing one of his more cogent tweets. History is full of mad emperors. That is one rationale behind the 25th Amendment.

  18. [18] 
    Michale wrote:

    TOAST!!!

    Rep. John Conyers announces retirement, endorses son to run for seat
    https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rep-john-conyers-son-john-conyers-iii-to-run-for-congress-seat/

  19. [19] 
    TheStig wrote:

    The Trump-idency plays like a serialized, multi media re-make of Morgan Spurlock's movie "Super Size Me."

    The brain, the belly and the ass don't lie. The President doesn't look, walk or talk like a well man...or well man-child. I don't care what his gastroenterologist writes in an op-ed.

  20. [20] 
    TheStig wrote:

    The scandalous part of the Tump-idency is that the Republicans in the Houshe and Senate are perfectly happy with a crazy man from the Donor Class in the White House.

  21. [21] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    OK, so when I call "Odumbo is a moron, incompetent fool and Muslim sleeper agent" that's not name calling but just an accurate assessment based on his presidency...

    Michale, you have to actually be accurate in your description before you rise above name-calling.

    It'll come to you on the bus home. :)

  22. [22] 
    Michale wrote:

    Michale, you have to actually be accurate in your description before you rise above name-calling.

    I am as accurate as your name-calling of Trump is accurate..

    That's the fact that just can't see because your ideological slavery won't allow you to see it..

    You are acting EXACTLY like the Republicans you castigated during the Odumbo years....

  23. [23] 
    neilm wrote:

    But, of course when Paula floods the board

    Paula has been silent for a while - Paula - are you out there?

  24. [24] 
    Michale wrote:

    Trump Reportedly Informs Abbas, Jordan's Abdullah He Intends to Move U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem
    Abbas warns Trump that the highly contentious move will have 'dangerous consequences' and holds an emergency meeting as Trump speaks with Netanyahu and Jordan's King Abdullah

    https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.826990

    YES!!!!!!!

  25. [25] 
    neilm wrote:

    Mueller wants Deutsche Bank records on 45 and his minions - DB has been in a lot of trouble for money laundering. Lots of fun to come.

  26. [26] 
    Michale wrote:

    Lots of fun to come.

    Yep.. Next up, Al FrakIt is kicked out of Congress!!! :D

    Yer right.. LOTS of fun to come!!!

    Paula has been silent for a while - Paula - are you out there?

    But the point is still valid.. She flooded the board with Left Wing crap and you didn't complain at all..

    Ergo, the ONLY logical conclusion is that you don't really care that the board gets flooded..

    You just don't like it flooded with FACTS that prove how frak'ed up the Dumbocrat Party is...

  27. [27] 
    Michale wrote:

    I am out of practice..

    118

  28. [28] 
    TheStig wrote:

    neilm-26

    Ties in nicely with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which I understand is relatively easy to prosecute.

    There is also good old tax evasion. It took down Al Capone and Charles Kushner, it can likely take down Trump. Paper trails are a bitch. There is no statute of limitations on filing false or fraudulent returns.

    None of Trump's lawyers seem to be offering him good advice....or perhaps Trump is disregarding good legal advice and acting as his own lawyer...which would make him a fool.

  29. [29] 
    TheStig wrote:

    By the way, Trump hates the Foreign Corrupt Practices act and has publicly railed against it.

    https://www.npr.org/2017/11/08/561059555/trump-used-to-disparage-an-anti-bribery-law-will-he-enforce-it-now

  30. [30] 
    John M wrote:

    [17] Michale

    "OK, so when I call "Odumbo is a moron, incompetent fool and Muslim sleeper agent" that's not name calling but just an accurate assessment based on his presidency...

    Got it.. :^/"

    No, you don't "Got it" Michale. While moron, and incompetent fool could be accurate, Odumbo is purely name calling, and "Muslim sleeper agent" is downright libel and definitely bordering on racist to boot.

  31. [31] 
    Michale wrote:

    No, you don't "Got it" Michale. While moron, and incompetent fool could be accurate, Odumbo is purely name calling, and "Muslim sleeper agent" is downright libel and definitely bordering on racist to boot.

    Of course it is.. But ONLY because Odumbo has a -D after his name...

  32. [32] 
    neilm wrote:

    None of Trump's lawyers seem to be offering him good advice.

    I read an article a while ago (I can't find it, so no source, sorry) where a lawyer stated that 45 was the worst type of client - one that chooses his lawyers on their ability to tell him what he wants to hear, not the reality of the situation.

    45 has usually brought a howitzer to a pea shooter battle in his legal past - where small guys who can't afford a high powered legal team capitulate to bullying via the court room and just accept a deal.

    The shoe is on the other foot with Mueller (cue Michale telling us that Mueller is incompetent) and his team, even if 45 and his fanboys can't accept it.

    Patience, and popcorn, are the most important aspects of this.

    45's best hope is that the Senate or House figure out a way to get rid of Mueller, and I'll not put it past them if it starts getting too hot for them.

  33. [33] 
    Michale wrote:

    I read an article a while ago (I can't find it, so no source, sorry) where a lawyer stated that 45 was the worst type of client - one that chooses his lawyers on their ability to tell him what he wants to hear, not the reality of the situation.

    Sure ya did.. :D

    Patience, and popcorn, are the most important aspects of this.

    Yea, ya'all have been saying "patience" for almost 2 years now..

    You said Manafort would provide the smoking gun.. He didn't....

    You THEN said Flynn would provide the smoking gun... He didn't...

    Face reality.. You ain't got bupkis...

    The ONLY way you will get Trump out of office is on 20 Jan 2024....

    Deal with it... :D

    128

  34. [34] 
    neilm wrote:

    Michale:

    Your excuse for cut/paste of a lot of right wing propaganda is that somebody else does it who hasn't commented here for a while.

    If Paula jumped off a cliff, would you follow her?

    i.e. do you not remember from your parents that "she did, so I can too" is the level of argument an under 5-year-old is taught not to make.

    Also, why don't you provide a link to the first comment in a long series of cut/paste articles that Paula has posted, because you know, facts.

    For example, here is a link to a series of cut/paste posts from this weekend:

    http://www.chrisweigant.com/2017/12/01/ftp463/#comment-111299

  35. [35] 
    Michale wrote:

    Your excuse for cut/paste of a lot of right wing propaganda is that somebody else does it who hasn't commented here for a while.

    I don't *NEED* an excuse for anything I do here...

    That's the point yer missing. :D

    The point is, you don't mind CUT/PASTE articles when they are ideologically acceptable to you...

    So, why should I listen to someone who is a hypocrite about it??

    If you had slapped down Paula in her past CutNPasting as you tried to on me, then you would have a rational argument..

    But, when you are selective about it, it's nothing but hypocrisy and you lose all moral standing...

    Get it?? :D

  36. [36] 
    Chris Weigant wrote:

    TheStig [9] -

    Don't have time to answer the rest of these yet, but had to comment on the august company CW.com is in.

    I've broadcast from WYSO (why so?). A friend had the worst timeslot of the entire week (Sunday midnight through 6:00 AM Monday), and I'd stay up and help him out on occasion. At the time, I believe it was only 100 watts, which made it about ten miles in any direction (not a lot of hills in YS, OH).

    Fond memories...

    :-)

    I'll get to the rest later, promise!

    -CW

  37. [37] 
    Balthasar wrote:

    It's a good day when Paula posts, just as it's a good day when anyone else posts. Lay off of Paula. She doesn't cut n' paste any more than anyone else, and a lot less than Michale does.

    And I happen to agree with Paula most of the time. That actually limits conversations between us, since often all I can think of to reply with is "Yep", which should be read as a page full of paragraphs agreeing with and approving of her argument.

    But I don't mind Michale's posts as much as others seem to. He's actually a model of the intransigent insurgency that's taken over much the GOP and all of the news cycles for the last two years. Worth some study, anyway.

    "I had an opportunity to observe your counterparts here quite closely. They were brutal, savage, unprincipled, uncivilized, treacherous - in every way splendid examples of homo sapiens, the very flower of humanity. I found them quite refreshing."
    - Spock, Mirror, Mirror (1967)

  38. [38] 
    Michale wrote:

    It's a good day when Paula posts, just as it's a good day when anyone else posts. Lay off of Paula.

    Don't worry about Paula. She has her snowflake Safe Space to protect her from FACTS and REALITY..

    And I happen to agree with Paula most of the time.

    Try ALL the time.. You are both enslaved by Party dogma so of course ya'all agree all the time.. It's called living in the bubble...

    Scott Adams wrote about that extensively...

    He's actually a model of the intransigent insurgency that's taken over much the GOP and all of the news cycles for the last two years.

    No, that's just how you convinced yourself I am. It makes it easier to delude yourself.. :D

    But anyone who can put in a Trek Quote?? Can't be ALL bad... :D

  39. [39] 
    Michale wrote:

    If Moore is successful in his Senate campaign, which is likely, it will ALL be because of the Dumbocrat Party's insistence that rapists, pedophiles and sexual assaulters are ALL perfectly acceptable..

    As long as they have a -D after their names..

  40. [40] 
    Michale wrote:

    Hay Neil,

    White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Tuesday disputed reports that special counsel Robert Mueller has subpoenaed President Trump’s bank records.

    “We confirmed that the news reports [that] the special counsel had subpoenaed financial records related to the president are completely false,” Sanders said during the daily press briefing.

    “No subpoena has been issued or received. We have confirmed this with the bank and other sources. I think this is another example of the media going too far and too fast and we don't see it going in that direction," she said.

    Citing an anonymous and unidentified official, Reuters reported earlier Tuesday that Mueller’s team had subpoenaed records from Deutsche Bank, where Trump is believed to have a line of credit and to have conducted tens of millions of dollars in transactions.

    But Sanders said those reports are false and were another example of the news media getting something wrong in the frenzy to report on the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

    http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/363383-white-house-mueller-has-not-subpoenaed-trumps-bank-records

    Looks like ya'all fell for Fake News once again.. :D

  41. [41] 
    Balthasar wrote:

    If Moore is successful in his Senate campaign, which is likely, it will ALL be because of the Dumbocrat Party's insistence that rapists, pedophiles and sexual assaulters are ALL perfectly acceptable..

    See that? Perfect example of mirror universe logic. Fascinating.

  42. [42] 
    Michale wrote:

    See that? Perfect example of mirror universe logic. Fascinating.

    Can you refute it??

  43. [43] 
    Michale wrote:

    We’re told the time of judgment is upon Bill Clinton at last. In the wake of the Weinstein-Halperin-Moore revelations that have shaken the foundations of the country’s cultural and political elites, liberals are acknowledging Clinton’s conduct toward women was unconscionable.

    MSNBC’s Chris Hayes got the ball rolling when he tweeted: “Democrats and the center left are overdue for a real reckoning with the allegations against him.” This week, the New York Times published an op-ed called “I Believe Juanita” — thus accepting the single most incendiary charge ever leveled at the former president.

    This one was not about Clinton propositioning women, as he did with Paula Jones in 1991. Or having had affairs with them, as with Gennifer Flowers in the 1980s. Or making advances on them in the Oval Office, as was the case with Kathleen Willey in 1993. Or having sought out an underling for sex, as was the case with Monica Lewinsky in 1995 and 1996.

    No, the Times’ Michelle Goldberg said she believed Juanita Broaddrick, who says Clinton violently raped her in 1978 when he was Arkansas attorney general.

    If you want to know how Roy Moore of Alabama might survive these charges against him and win the Senate race in December, look no farther than Hillary Clinton’s words. Again, replace “right-wing” with “left-wing” (or “GOP establishment”) and you have the entirety of Moore’s defense.

    The Clinton play in the wake of the Lewinsky revelation was to signal to their supporters and the entire Democratic liberal left that any crack in their defense of him would allow a Puritanical right-wing flood to engulf the country.

    And anyway, even if you believed he’d done it, what had he done? It was a peccadillo, really nothing more than the sainted JFK had done in his tragically shortened time in the Oval.

    Moore is saying exactly the same thing to conservatives: Allow yourselves to believe in the truth of these claims and you are going to surrender this country to godlessness and transgenderism.

    And anyway, what did Moore do that was really so terrible? After all, Joseph was an older man and Mary was a younger woman, right?

    Clinton won the argument in 1998. And if you want to see his monument, look around. His wife became a popular Democratic politician in the wake of her 1998 crucible. And then, in the last cycle, she ran the worst presidential campaign in US history and lost the race to a man she couldn’t plausibly or effectively criticize for his conduct toward women.

    https://nypost.com/2017/11/14/thank-liberals-if-roy-moore-survives-the-charges-against-him/

    Can you refute the logic of this??

  44. [44] 
    neilm wrote:
  45. [45] 
    Michale wrote:

    'They all knew': Media elites roared in laughter at obscene 2008 'roast' sending up Matt Lauer's office sexcapades

    Embattled NBC executives have been falling over themselves insisting they had no idea about Matt Lauer’s pervy past. But if anyone doubts that New York’s media elite was aware of Lauer’s reputation, they should look no further than a top secret “roast” of Lauer that took place in October 2008.

    The notorious event -- now legendary in New York media circles -- pushed the outer limits of sexist, racist, homophobic and obscene jokes -- and left little doubt that Lauer’s colleagues knew NBC’s biggest star had a troubled marriage and a wandering eye.

    Last week, NBC’s own Joe Scarborough, who attended the roast but said he left early, feeling uncomfortable, brought it up on “Morning Joe.” Lauer’s peccadillos, he said, were not just known about. At the roast, they were celebrated.

    “The whole theme was that he does the show and then he has sex with people, with employees,” Scarborough said. “So was this whispered behind closed doors? No. It was shouted from the mountaintops and everybody laughed about it.”
    http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2017/12/05/media-elite-laughed-at-2008-roast-sending-matt-lauer-s-pervy-behavior.html

    THIS is the media ya'all celebrate..

    And ya'all have the unmitigated gall to point fingers at the GOP!???

    How is this not hypocritical???

    151

  46. [46] 
    nypoet22 wrote:

    @cw,

    all kittens and no puppies? nor any other cute baby animals of the non-feline variety. this is racism i tell ya'

    JL

  47. [47] 
    TheStig wrote:

    CW-37

    "At the time, I believe it was only 100 watts, which made it about ten miles in any direction."

    If you were there before 1972 WYSO was broadcasting at at 10 watts. I lived 15 miles away as the crow flies and could pick it up on a good night, if I rotated the roof antenna just right, but sound quality was usually poor. Programing emphasized country music, bluegrass music having not yet been invented, plus a lot of local programing. The station went to 3000 watts (possibly in stages) when it became part of NPR and gradually professionalized in the process. This trend has continued, with ongoing protest from the Yellow Springs community. WYSO (still part of Antioch College) is now a mighty 36 KW powerhouse. It has a an outstanding music director (Nikki Dakota) who routinely spots talent about 3 years ahead of the the pack. Rev Cool, the reggae D.J. has been doing his thing for about 30 years and is also a favorite of mine.

    It is not widely known, even among the locals, that Dayton is a hot bed of high quality music. On any given night, there are several small venues playing outstanding live music. Musicians know this and breeze thru all the time. Nikki interviews them when they come to town. Dayton also produces good local beers! This about where I run out of superlatives about my home town.

  48. [48] 
    neilm wrote:

    Everyone keeps reminding me this is a Democratic blog.

    Between you, CRS and Michale, how on earth do you draw that conclusion ;)

  49. [49] 
    TheStig wrote:

    "Mueller is moving fast by historical standards"

    Like Watergate with a turbo charger...or maybe an afterburner.

  50. [50] 
    Balthasar wrote:

    Stig [49]

    I lived in Dayton for awhile in the late '80's, so I'm familiar with the area, but either fit into the 'unaware of the scene' category, or the music scene has picked up there in recent decades.

  51. [51] 
    Balthasar wrote:

    Michael [44]: You can't just say that any sort of obscene behavior is acceptable just because you can accuse Democrats of doing the same thing.

    At some point you have to have an affirmative defense: "Roy Moore is not, and never was, the pervy guy at the mall."

    Because people are going to decide soon whether or not to elect this guy to help write laws that will affect us all.

    If the GOP voters of Alabama deliberately choose to overlook the highly credible charges made against him and actually elect him, other Republicans will have to answer for that when folks vote again next November and in special elections throughout 2018.

    So go ahead, rally 'round the perv. It'll make a great group selfie.

  52. [52] 
    Chris Weigant wrote:

    Woo hoo! Our first 24 hours of the pledge drive has been more successful than any previous such effort, and we're almost at 50% of our goal already!

    :-)

    Just updated the thermometer to reflect this fact, and will be working on my thank-you notes tonight... for now, a big generic thanks to everyone who has helped in our record-breaking effort this year. At this rate, we'll be done before the budget can gets kicked down the road (later this week)... heh...

    -CW

  53. [53] 
    Chris Weigant wrote:

    nypoet22 [487] -

    The word you're looking for (I think) is "speciesism."

    Heh.

    Guilty as charged.

    :-)

    -CW

  54. [54] 
    Chris Weigant wrote:

    TheStig [49] -

    [OK, you're going to have to imagine me doing a "spit take" with a cup of water at my desk, here, for the proper effect].

    Did you say 36 KW?!? [Thbbbppppt! -- all over the keyboard...] 36 freakin' kilowatts!?!

    Heh. No lie? NPR? Reaches Dayton, and not just a tiny slice of I-70? Wow....

    WYSO's been doing a lot better than the college, that's for sure...

    If you listened in about '84 or '85, real late on Sunday nights, you might have heard me (or my buddy). He called his show "The Ludovico Technique" (look it up if it doesn't ring a bell...). Heh.

    Does Dave Chappelle ever stop by the station? Just curious...

    :-)

    -CW

  55. [55] 
    Chris Weigant wrote:

    OK, I finally have some late-night time to deal with some of these comments (the non-WYSO ones, I mean...).

    So here goes... buckle up...

    Michale [2] -

    Love him or hate him ("Love him? Anyone? Bueller???"... heh...), you've got to admit, Michale does pay his way here. I have yet to meet another persistent troll on any similar site who does the same, so as always, I begrudgingly give him that.

    You support the people you torment, Sir, which is rare indeed. So have a happy holiday, you grumpy curmudgeon... some people actually missed you during your hiatus, even if they won't admit it publicly (for obvious reasons).

    Heh.

    [I missed the movie quotes and the sci-fi references, but I won't admit to one tiny bit more than that, personally...]

    :-)

    Michale [6] -

    Yep, that's hundreds of miles south of both of us. But thanks for the concern. I feel the same way about FL folks during hurricane season...

    This fire was whipped up by 50+ mph winds, which is a truly deadly combintation. Napa is going to take many years to recover, too, which is closer to our neck of the woods.

    So as for baiting me here in CA (no pun intended, of course): flame on!

    nailm [7] -

    Good lord, you just complimented Michale! Although "you don't deliberately lie like Trump does" is a pretty low bar for anyone to hit....

    If he wants to count comments, I'm perfectly OK with that. Whatever lights his candle -- the donations come in from him as lump sums towards the end, so it's not like he's sending me a quarter for each comment or anything....

    Michale [8] -

    OK, are you just misspelling it, or is there some acronym explanation for "PTDS"? I've actually heard recently that PTSD is now known as just Post-Traumatic Stress (no "Disorder," I guess that part was too negative or something?), but I really don't know if that's what you're implying or whether you're just hitting the wrong keys on the keyboard? Please explain...

    TheStig [9] -

    OK, WYSO aside, I really wanted to respond to this one.

    Ahem.

    "I accept this 'Ingenious Grant' in the spirit in which it was given. I'd like to thank my agent... oh, wait, I still don't have one... and my publicist... oh, I fired her years ago, sorry... and um... my wife! Yeah, my wife! She's stood by me through it all, for which I am eternally grateful.

    "I note in the other grants awarded this year some organizations I also support. We will miss Gwen Ifill, but PBS is still the most awesome news source on the small screen. As for Charles Addams, we personally have a New Yorker cartoon collection of the Addams Family, published long before the TV show existed, so we have to say we share a love for the originals too! And in these dark ages, we are ever thankful for the NYT and the WashPost. Without them, we would be much much further in the dark, which is exactly what we don't need right now.

    "But we really had to compliment the accolade given to Wikipedia, as we had never before considered it to be the prototype of "The Hitchiker's Guide To The Galaxy," but now that you point it out, it does indeed seem pretty obvious!

    "And to all a good night. Heh."

    :-)

    -CW

    PS. OK, more later. I'll keep chipping away at these comments, promise!

  56. [56] 
    Michale wrote:

    CW,

    OK, are you just misspelling it, or is there some acronym explanation for "PTDS"? I've actually heard recently that PTSD is now known as just Post-Traumatic Stress (no "Disorder," I guess that part was too negative or something?), but I really don't know if that's what you're implying or whether you're just hitting the wrong keys on the keyboard? Please explain...

    President
    Trump
    Derangement
    Syndrome

    PTDS :D

    152

  57. [57] 
    Michale wrote:

    Balthy,

    Michael [44]: You can't just say that any sort of obscene behavior is acceptable just because you can accuse Democrats of doing the same thing.

    Yes I can.. Because the FACTS clearly show it to be true.

    You actually DEFENDED Franken...

    If Franken had an -R after his name, you would have demonized him to hell...

    Get it?? Demonize.. To hell.. Get it?? :D

    Wow.. Tough Room..

    At some point you have to have an affirmative defense: "Roy Moore is not, and never was, the pervy guy at the mall."

    There are no facts that prove Roy Moore is guilty of anything...

    The woman bringing the accusation has an axe to grind with Moore...

    You don't acknowledge these facts because they totally blow away ya'all's argument..

    o go ahead, rally 'round the perv. It'll make a great group selfie.

    Thank you for proving my point..

    When a person has a -R after their names, they are GUILTY just by virtue of being accused...

    When a person has a -D after their name, they are INNOCENT, even if they confess to the crime...

  58. [58] 
    Michale wrote:

    If the GOP voters of Alabama deliberately choose to overlook the highly credible charges made against him and actually elect him,

    It will be because DEMOCRATS has made rape and sexual assault fully and completely acceptable...

  59. [59] 
    John M wrote:

    [40] Michale

    "If Moore is successful in his Senate campaign, which is likely, it will ALL be because of the Dumbocrat Party's insistence that rapists, pedophiles and sexual assaulters are ALL perfectly acceptable..

    As long as they have a -D after their names.."

    [60] Michale

    "If the GOP voters of Alabama deliberately choose to overlook the highly credible charges made against him and actually elect him,

    It will be because DEMOCRATS has made rape and sexual assault fully and completely acceptable..."

    That's so funny. Since John Conyers has resigned and Al Franken will hold a press conference Thursday where it is widely speculated that he too will resign.

    Democrats acknowledge and take responsibility for their actions.

    What is it with Republicans??? Apparently they can only issue denials and blame the victims while evading and avoiding responsibility.

    YOU, Michale, have not moral authority to criticize.

    Not until You call for Roy Moore to withdraw and Donald Trump to resign as well. CASE CLOSED.

    Oh, and by the way, NOTHING was ever proven against Franken or Conyers, or even Bill Clinton, no court of law ever issued a verdict. They were ALL JUST accusations also.

    I only point that out NOT to defend them, but to point out your OWN hypocrisy in characterizing the charges against both Moore and Trump as accusations ONLY also.

  60. [60] 
    Chris Weigant wrote:

    Update:

    I'm happy to report the pledge drive has moved past the halfway point to our yearly goal. Woo hoo!

    Thank-you emails will be forthcoming soon, for those who haven't gotten them yet.

    :-)

    -CW

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