A blog about societal, cultural, and civilizational collapse, and how to stave it off or survive it. Named after the legendary character "Crazy Eddie" in Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle's "The Mote in God's Eye." Expect news and views about culture, politics, economics, technology, and science fiction.
“Lyin’ Eyes” was written by Don Henley and Glenn Frey, released by California’s rock legends The Eagles in 1975. It was apparently inspired by their visions of many beautiful younger women with older husbands in Los Angeles, who they imagined leading double lives and lying and cheating. So it’s a story about moral reprobates, hypocrisy, double standards, and virtual self-prostitution, which made it perfect to adapt to address J.D. Vance’s latest foray into European politics.
Plenty of muck-stirrers had already sought to whip up anger and outrage in the wake of the tragic murder of Henry Nowak, and the horrendous footage and troubling backstory. These included Nigel Farage, Tommy Robinson, Rupert Lowe, and Elon Musk. But Vance – who had met several of the more disturbing UK ‘politicians’ last summer – in his inimitable style took things to a new level.
Vance showed wanton disregard for the grieving Nowak family’s own stated request: “We do not want his death to be used to create further division, hatred, or tension.” He shared footage of the eighteen-year-old’s ghastly final moments, let down by mistakes by British police officers under huge stress, and crassly linked it to fears about migration, civilisational collapse, hatred, invasion and anger. It was a sick message that has been amplified on Twitter/X and, at point of writing, has over 10m views.
We didn’t even have time to get into the hypocrisy of casting stones across the Atlantic by this administration or this chameleon. But the song’s intended to express that the behaviours, ideologies and values that Vance and his ilk embody, particularly in this tragic moment, are anathema to most in the UK, and we suspect most Europeans. They are like a cancerous cell in the tissue of what we understand being ‘civilised’ means, and they are threatening to metastasise.
The issue of Christian nationalism and claims to righteousness for US military action has surfaced in a few stories this week, so we decided to merge them together in one song. We had to pick something from the Pulp Fiction soundtrack (1994), because that’s the movie script that’s been in the media spotlight since being bizarrely parroted in a prayer service at the Pentagon led by the US Secretary of Defence, Pete Hegseth. Although we were sorely torn by “Son of a Preacher Man” (a better song), in the end we plumped for the iconic twist track that features the smooth moves of Uma Thurman and John Travolta in a café running a dance contest, and is titled “You Never Can Tell” (though often referred to as “C’est La Vie”). The track was written by Chuck Berry while he was in federal prison and finally released in 1964.
The verses gave us the chance to poke some fun at three circling stories: Pete Hegseth’s language and attempt to render a Samuel L. Jackson monologue, amidst his hawkish attitude and celebration of violence and vengeance in the Iran war; Donald Trump’s posting on his Truth Social account of a ridiculous picture of him in a Christ-like pose, before backtracking and claiming he thought he was a doctor; and the deepening chasm between the White House’s discourse and policies and the Christian ethos explained by the Pope.
That's a wrap for today's brief entertaining entry. Stay tuned for the next episode of my series on the News & Doc Emmy Awards with the nominees for Outstanding Nature Documentary on Wayback Wednesday, which falls on Earth Day.
John Oliver discusses J.D. Vance, what he really believes, who he is without Donald Trump, and – most importantly – what he looks like without a beard.
Vance's opportunism and misogyny shine right through this satirical biography. As for Hillbilly Elegy, it's one of the rare films that earned both Oscar and Razzie nominations. While I'm not sure about Glenn Close's Razzie nomination (fortunately, she didn't win), I am sure about Worst Screenplay, which earned Vanessa Taylor, but not Vance, a nomination. I think leaving Vance off the nomination was an oversight.
John Oliver certainly had something to say about Hillbilly Elegy, including Glenn Close's Razzie nomination; maybe she did deserve it, although I'm still glad she didn't win. As for Vance's opportunism, that shines through even brighter. On the other hand, different bigotries eclipse his misogyny, especially racism and anti-immigrant sentiment, never mind that Vance's wife Usha is the daughter of Indian immigrants.
Vance would be less erratic (mercurial would be a polite way of saying it) and not driven by Hoover Cleveland's obsessions with tariffs, grifts, and revenge, but he'd be more likely to implement the parts of Project 2025 that Hoover Cleveland hasn't yet. He'd also be more under the influence of Palantir founder Peter Thiel, his pet bad philosopher Curtis Yarvin, and Palantir CEO Alex Karp. They're the sources of what I called "cyberpunk villain ideas straight out of SnowCrash..." Vance can certainly learn new tricks, but I worry about the ones Thiel, Yarvin, and Karp could teach him. They might be worse.
As for Trump AKA Hoover Cleveland repeating the fiction of Haitian immigrants eating pets, it's another example of his vulnerability toconspiracy theories. He still hasn't learned that the voices he's listening to aren't reliable sources. This includes JD Vance.
That hasn't stopped Hoover Harding Cleveland from listening to them.
As for the meme with JD Vance making love to a couch, it reminds me that there is a game called Date Everything! Everything includes a couch named Koa, and there is already a meme of it/him with Vance.
A comedy sketch about Vance wouldn't be complete without a couch joke!
On September 15, Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show opening monologue included comments about the shooting of right-wing media figure Charlie Kirk, and how the "Maga gang" was "desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them.”
Soon after, Brendan Carr, the chair of the FCC and an appointee of President Donald Trump, appeared on a conservative podcast and threatened to act against ABC and its parent company, Disney, for Kimmel’s remarks. On September 17, ABC and Disney suspended “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
Kimmel’s suspension launched a national debate and protest around freedom of speech and satire. From celebrities like Wanda Sykes to Republicans like Sen. Ted Cruz, people from across the spectrum weighed in on the decision. The show returned days later on September 23, but the FCC’s actions left many questioning whether Kimmel’s First Amendment rights were violated.
This incident is just one of many instances of the gray areas of free speech making its way into the news cycle. In this video, we take a look at the origins of the “inalienable right” to free speech, how the Supreme Court has determined the boundaries of speech (including hate speech), and where free speech might be headed next with a six-justice majority of Republican appointees. As this issue continues to evolve, social media is one of the latest modes of communication adding new layers of complexity to this age-old debate.
So, Americans weren't just protesting government messing with their entertainment, they were protecting free speech. For once, I'm happy with our priorities.
We couldn't find any lobster costumes, and a whirling freestyle in the middle of a school week was not gonna happen. So - with some extra input from a few media sources to cover instrumental sections - this is our parody rendition of "Under the Sea", one of our old Disney favourites for its sheer joy and energy. It was composed by Alan Menken (with cracking lyrics by Howard Ashman) for the 1989 animated "The Little Mermaid" and won an Oscar. Of course, the calypso lobster's forlorn plea for an alternative path falls on deaf ears. Which brings us to free speech.
It's been a scary time in lots of ways in the US, with the temperature cranked up again by shocking murders and reckless responses, and sadly now the First Amendment (for decades a place of some bipartisan accord) seems to be creaking. As we were working on the arrangement, we learned that Jimmy Kimmel's show had been reinstated by Disney - which is great news, having loved meeting him in 2020 albeit under bizarre pandemic circumstances - though we gather that much is still unclear about how the matter is going to play out. Here's hoping that enough uproar is generated that Trump and co. think again about making their predictable/alarming move on limiting freedom of expression.
We're assuming folk will have enough pointers not to need links, but will keep an eye on comments and can fill in any details!
P.S. Please note: for anyone whose kids watch, Ben forget to put special characters in the swear word at the death of the song, so heads-up on that.
No Randy Rainbow? No problem. We have the Marsh Family!
President Trump is using the government shutdown to punish anyone who didn't vote for him, J.D. Vance loves memes so we made a special one just for him, and Stephen Colbert checks in on some well-known people who are dipping their toes in the artificial intelligence pool.
As for the meme with JD Vance making love to a couch, it reminds me that there is a game called Date Everything! Everything includes a couch named Koa, and there is already a meme of it/him with Vance.
Dude, you'd be better off with Betty the bed. She looks more comfortable.
Although the federal government has shut down, President Trump's deportations and troop deployments to American cities will proceed without pause. In Washington, Democratic leaders played Vice President Vance for laughs and told reporters they won't give in to Republican pressure to let healthcare subsidies expire.
The shutdown is revealing what Hoover Cleveland and his administration considers to be essential services. Priorities.
Follow over the jump for more from The Daily Show, Seth Meyers, and Jimmy Kimmel.
In the wake of the violent raid on Congress by pro-Trump rioters on Wednesday, there's speculation that Vice President Pence, along with heads of executive departments, will invoke Section 4 of the 25th Amendment to temporarily remove the president from power. Harold Hongju Koh, professor of international law at Yale Law School and co-author of a reader's guide to the 25th Amendment, explains how this unprecedented action might play out.
Demands mounted Thursday from lawmakers, business leaders and former government officials for the immediate removal of President Trump after a violent mob of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in an attack that left four people dead. Many have called for Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Trump. So what is the 25th Amendment? Here's a synopsis of the constitutional provision that allows for the president's removal under certain circumstances.
I found Margaret Brennan saying "a two-thirds majority of the House and Senate would have to be on board with doing so" ambiguous — two-thirds to sustain the President's objection or two-thirds to keep him out of office? Here's the text of Section 4 from the National Constitution Center.
Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.
Thereafter, when the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that no inability exists, he shall resume the powers and duties of his office unless the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive department or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit within four days to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. Thereupon Congress shall decide the issue, assembling within forty-eight hours for that purpose if not in session. If the Congress, within twenty-one days after receipt of the latter written declaration, or, if Congress is not in session, within twenty-one days after Congress is required to assemble, determines by two-thirds vote of both Houses that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall continue to discharge the same as Acting President; otherwise, the President shall resume the powers and duties of his office.
It would be two-thirds to keep him out. That's a high hurdle for this to succeed. I don't think Congress can jump that high right now. I don't even think Vice President Vance can get eight members of the current Cabinet on board. A President Vance could get more competent Cabinet secretaries than Donald "Hoover Cleveland" Trump was able to, at least during his second term. Also, should an attempt fail, Hoover Cleveland would replace anyone who voted for him to be removed. It's bad for their careers either way.
Besides, Vance invoking the 25th Amendment might result in a cure worse than the disease, as Katie Phang pointed out in Trump, Vance and the 25th Amendment.
78-year-old Donald Trump, who has survived two alleged assassination attempts in the past three months, would end his second term as the oldest person ever to serve as President of the United States. Katie Phang explains the reality of what could happen in the event of an emergency where Trump becomes incapacitated or dies and JD Vance could become president of the United States.
True, Vance would be less erratic (mercurial would be a polite way of saying it) and not driven by Hoover Cleveland's obsessions with tariffs, grifts, and revenge, but he'd be more likely to implement the parts of Project 2025 that Hoover Cleveland hasn't yet. He'd also be more under the influence of Palantir founder Peter Thiel, his pet bad philosopher Curtis Yarvin, and Palantir CEO Alex Karp. They're the sources of what I called "cyberpunk villain ideas straight out of SnowCrash..." Vance can certainly learn new tricks, but I worry about the ones Thiel, Yarvin, and Karp could teach him. They might be worse.
Birthrates are falling fast—and the impact could reshape the future of economies, families, and entire nations.
In this episode of Blind Spots, we explore the global fertility crisis, from Japan and South Korea to the United States. Why are fewer people having children? How do economic pressure, changing cultural norms, and government policy play a role? And what happens when aging populations outnumber the young?
Singles Pandemic breaks down one of the most urgent demographic trends of our time.
It was time to put the world back in World Population Day after concentrating on U.S. trends since 2020. Japan and especially South Korea have it worse than the U.S., while the French seem to have it better.
Speaking of focusing on the U.S., I'm looking at the other side of American population equation before examining birth rates with TODAY reporting U.S. life expectancy rose to 78.4 years in 2023 early this year.
U.S. life expectancy rose to 78.4 years in 2023, hitting its highest level since the beginning of the Covid pandemic, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Well, that's good news, although U.S. life expectancy still hasn't risen to its 2014 value of 78.9 years. It sank most of the years since, which I started blogging about in 2016, before collapsing during the pandemic and recovering afterwards. If U.S. life expectancy reaches 80 years, I might post Professor Farnsworth. That might be awhile.
Follow over the jump for videos about the situation in the U.S., including what, if anything, can be done about it, plus a video about National Mojito Day.
JD Vance, Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, and many other operatives in the Trump administration are all united in their belief in the ideological teachings known as Neo-Reactionism, popularized by fringe blogger-turned Silicon Valley darling Curtis Yarvin. His pseudo-intellectual ravings have been adopted by some of the most powerful people on the planet and could lead to the downfall of democracy in the United States.
By the way, Miller mentioning Nick Land moving into a Satanist's house got my attention. I suspected he moved into Aleister Crowley's old home; that's exactly what happened. Reality is stranger than fiction.
I expect to say more about Moldbug. In the meantime, stay tuned for the Sunday entertainment feature, which will be another post worth sharing in June.
Desi Lydic has the latest from the Vatican after the announcement of the first American pope, Leo XIV, including the world's reaction to a Chicago-style pope and Fox News immediately yelling at him to speak English. Plus, Michael Kosta celebrates America's conclave win.
The new Pope is an American from Chicago, and Melania Trump is M.I.A. so her husband has taken on tasks traditionally managed by the First Lady.
"Pope-S-A! Pope-S-A! Pope-S-A!" and "Daa prayers" — classic. On the other hand, Stephen repeating Desi Lydic's line about "English being good enough for Jesus" is enough to bring out my inner pedant to say "Well, actually, Jesus probably spoke Aramaic," complete with pushing up my glasses.
As for the First Lady being at the White House for a total of two weeks out of the first 100 days, I'm not surprised. I wrote Melania Trump prefers Trump Tower to the White House more than eight years ago. Some things haven't changed.
Seth takes a closer look at Donald Trump announcing a meaningless trade deal with the United Kingdom, which is the first deal he's reached after claiming he already had 200, and him getting upstaged by the new pope.
Donald "Hoover Cleveland" Trump deserved to be upstaged. I'm not so sure about UK Prime Minster Keir Starmer, who I mentioned here for the first time since his election, although he was boring. I hope he feels like his country got something out of the deal. Hoover Cleveland probably does; he might buy a Rolls-Royce because of it.
A new Pope was selected and he’s American, thousands of worshippers gathered in St. Peter’s Square to welcome the new holy father, right wing social media is losing its collective mind because the new Pope cares for the poor and the sick and the plight of immigrants, Trump announced his first trade deal today with the UK, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was not able to be at the White House but he did call in to kiss some ass, Trump blamed Pete Buttigieg for all of the issues at Newark Airport, several of Pete Hegseth’s personal passwords have been compromised by cyberattacks, Klan Mom Marjorie Taylor Greene put on a magnificent display of dumb-assery, Trump has an important Mother’s Day message, and Jimmy’s wife Molly gives a helpful hint for how to make this the best Mother’s Day ever.
Not only did the new Pope criticize Vance, he criticized Hoover Cleveland. I like him even more. Speaking of criticism, fake Starmer was a lot more entertaining than the real one. So was Representative Melanie Stansbury, who showed that Hoover Cleveland isn't the only politician who can be fooled by a doctored photo and then insist they weren't fooled. "Who you gonna believe, me or your own eyes?" was a lot funnier when Chico Marx said it.
Because of the criticism of VP Vance combined with the election of the Pope, today's retrospective covers last year's most read shares of blog posts on social media about the 2024 election I haven't already covered. Follow over the jump.
A group of teenagers (Mikey Madison, Sarah Sherman, Ego Nwodim) get added to a group chat with Secretary Pete Hegseth (Andrew Dismukes), Vice President JD Vance (Bowen Yang), Secretary Marco Rubio (Marcello Hernández) and Editor of the Atlantic Jeffrey Goldberg (Mikey Day).
Where's National Security Advisor Mike Waltz? Didn't he start the group chat? I guess he's not known, disliked, or funny enough to be parodied in the skit. On the other hand, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is all three, which is one of the reasons both this scandal and Hegseth are called Whiskeyleaks, a nickname alongside Kegseth. Hegseth deserves his own label on this blog and I think I'll use Kegseth.
Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week's biggest news, like Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem visiting a Salvadoran prison.
It's obvious that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's visit to El Salvador's brutal Cecot prison was part of the the Trump administration's effort to keep pumping out images of performative machismo in order to appeal to Trump's multi-ethnic, multi-generational coalition of male voters (a "badass" woman in skintight clothing is a familiar trope in male-coded popular culture)...The Trumpers know what boys like.
Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week's biggest news, like three girls trying to stab [their] mother after she turned off the Wi-Fi.
Will Smith's new album alone qualifies this entry as the Sunday entertainment feature, but so does Jost's rant about Paddington and to a lesser extent, Melania Trump's campaign against deepfake revengeporn plus more over the jump.
Joann (Ashley Padilla) stops by Weekend Update to discuss JOANN Fabric and Crafts announcing store closures.
I wish SNL gave all the casualties of theRetailApocalypse that much attention. Imagine the one of the teens from the cold open bemoaning the loss of Forever 21!
Follow over the jump for more highlights from last night's show plus the top posts from the 14th year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News featuring SNL.
Elon Musk (Mike Myers) interrupts a heated meeting with Donald Trump (James Austin Johnson), JD Vance (Bowen Yang), Marco Rubio (Marcello Hernández) and Ukraine President Zelensky (Mikey Day).
I'll let the top comment on the video speak for me: "This was less chaotic and embarrassing than the real thing." That's even with Mike Myers playing Elon Musk as an Austin Powers villain crashing the meeting.
Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week's biggest news, like a U.S. appeals court blocking a Biden-era student debt relief plan.
Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week's biggest news, like Dunkin' Donuts announcing they will stop charging more for plant-based milk.
The stories about the ceiling collapsing during a screening of Captain America: Brave New World and the CBS soap opera Beyond the Gates alone qualified this entry as the Sunday entertainment feature, but there was more movie content in The Movie Guy Shares His 2025 Oscars Predictions.
The Movie Guy (Marcello Hernández) stops by Weekend Update to discuss his predictions for the 2025 Oscars.
No, it's not going to be Wicked winning Best Picture tonight. Maybe next year.
Jane Wickline stops by Weekend Update to share some tips about wooing potential love interests.
On the one hand, I'm recycling what I wrote in 'SNL' spoofs the VP debate in its cold open, the first time I saw Wickline sing: "Now I'm wondering if this song is eligible for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics at next year's Emmy Awards. I'll have to wait until July to find out!" On the other, I don't think that's a good solution to the Trolley Problem if you want to favorably impress a potential romantic partner.
SNL was not done with making fun of the news, so I'm closing this entry with Mid-Day News 2.
Things go off the rails as anchors of a news channel (Shane Gillis, Kenan Thompson, Heidi Gardner, Ego Nwodim) cover the latest news.
Listening to all that reminded me of Science confirms my opinion of life in the country: "I've lived out in exurbia and semi-rural areas for more than a decade. In that time, I've witnessed more crime and depravity there than in all my time in the city." I'm with Kenan and Ego on this one.
That concludes today's comedy entry, where my readers and I laugh at the news because it hurts too much to cray. Stay tuned for WorldWildlifeDay.
Seth takes a closer look at an exhausted and despondent Donald Trump closing out his campaign with rambling speeches to dwindling crowds, threats of violence, baseless allegations of cheating, vaccine ban possibilities and complaints about Saturday Night Live.
A Prius with a bumper sticker that reads "Science Is Real"? I feel seen! Speaking of science being real, I wish RFK Jr. thought so.
A respected Iowa pollster predicts VP Kamala Harris will win big among that state's female voters, the Harris-Walz campaign promised a fresh start for the country if they win, and the former president had major trouble with a microphone at one of his rallies.
Jordan Klepper recaps the candidates' election closers: Kamala Harris's star-studded message of joy and Trump's "oral" presentation with his mic stand. Plus, Michael Kosta explains how Peanut the Squirrel's death could help Trump target niche undecided voters.
That's it for today. Stay tuned for election results beginning tomorrow. I hope election night doesn't turn into an election month, but I'm not optimistic.
CNN's Kaitlan Collins (Chloe Fineman) checks in with Kamala Harris (Maya Rudolph) and Donald Trump's (James Austin Johnson) campaigns on the eve of the 2024 election.
Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week's biggest news, like a comedian at Trump's Madison Square Garden rally calling Puerto Rico a "floating pile of garbage."
As I wrote yesterday, "all the garbage references...came out of Trump's rally at Madison Square Garden. That deserves a post of its own, but I don't know if I will have time before Tuesday." Thanks to Weekend Update, I don't think I have to write it.
Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week's biggest news, like Sean "Diddy" Combs facing a new lawsuit.
I take perverse pleasure in Michael Che just skipping over the Dodgers winning the World Series. I also enjoyed Colin Jost turning the tables on Che; usually Jost the butt of the joke.
The news about Disney and Diddy — never thought you'd see those together — qualified this post as the Sunday entertainment feature, but follow over the jump for more entertainment news.*
As for all the garbage references, those came out of Trump's rally at Madison Square Garden. That deserves a post of its own, but I don't know if I will have time before Tuesday. I'll dispense with it for now by remarking that the one in 1939 was enough.
Host Steve Harvey (Kenan Thompson) welcomes key players in the 2024 election, like Kamala Harris (Maya Rudolph), Doug Emhoff (Andy Samberg), Tim Walz (Jim Gaffigan) and Joe Biden (Dana Carvey), to face off against Donald Trump (James Austin Johnson), Donald Trump Jr. (Mikey Day) and JD Vance (Bowen Yang) in a game of Family Feud.
Also Chloe Fineman as Kaitlan Collins, Dana Carvey as Joe Biden, and no one as Melania Trump. Too bad, it could have been Heidi Gardner, but it was probably funnier that she didn't show. Here's to hoping that the election turns out like the game with the Democrats winning.
Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week's biggest news, like Trump confirming he wouldn't agree to a second debate against Kamala Harris.
On the one hand, congratulations to Kamala Harris and Tim Walz on raising one billion dollars. On the other, my wife and I are looking forward to no longer receiving fundraising texts and emails from the campaign.
Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week's biggest news, like the Supreme Court declining to hear R. Kelly's appeal in his sex crime case.
The R. Kelly and Diddy news is enough to qualify this as the Sunday entertainment feature, but there will be more over the jump.
I think I should start paying attention to Peter Thiel and Curtis "Mencius Moldbug" Yarvin, both of whom have cyberpunk villain ideas straight out of SnowCrash that are influencing Vance. They would be right on target for this blog.
Rachel Maddow shows JD Vance explaining his lack of faith that democracy can deliver on his conservative ideals, and shows the influences behind Vance's preference that the United States government be gutted and instead run by a dictator.
Rachel Maddow looks at the conservative history of attacking universities for exposing students to ideas that conservatives don't like, and highlights JD Vance in his own words discussing ideas for punishing universities and well as businesses that he sees as being on the wrong side of the culture war he is waging. This is part one of two clips cut from the Monday, September 30, 2024 Rachel Maddow Show. Find part two and other Maddow clips on YouTube at MSNBC.com/Rachel.
As Maddow points out, Vance is continuing a cause championed by cranky people pursuing a sometimes explicitly fascist agenda. I call that being on the wrong side of history. May Vance and Yarvin also be on the wrong side of the future.
Kamala Harris (Maya Rudolph) and Doug Emhoff (Andy Samberg) watch the vice presidential debate between JD Vance (Bowen Yang) and Tim Walz (Jim Gaffigan).
Also Dana Carvey as Joe Biden, who stole the skit, Heidi Gardner as Norah O'Donnell, and Chloe Fineman as Margaret Brennan. They gave the vice presidentialdebate exactly what it deserved, a good razzing. "Honey, we have the soundbite!" Yes, Tim Walz got JD Vance to give "a damning non-answer." Vance has bought the Big Lie.
Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week's biggest news, like it being released that Trump was scrolling Twitter during January 6, Elon Musk attending a Trump rally and Trump not wanting to release his medical records.
I can tell SNL's writers regret missing out on RFK Jr. this summer when his shenanagans were fresh and took this opportunity to make fun of him before it was way too late. His candidacy has already turned into a pumpkin just in time for Spooky Season, but will rot in November, just like all the other jack-o'-lanterns.
The news about Diddy and Daniel Day Lewis was enough to qualify this post as the Sunday entertainment feature, but I couldn't resist including Weekend Update: Jane Wickline to introduce a new cast member playing and singing about parties, just not the political ones.
Jane Wickline stops by Weekend Update to perform a song about Gen Z partying.
Now I'm wondering if this song is eligible for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics at next year's Emmy Awards. I'll have to wait until July to find out!
Follow over the jump for a classic skit and its sequel.
The 165 page filing by Special Counsel Jack Smith details the former president’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election and cites evidence, including conversations with Trump’s family members, that shows his actions were not covered by the Supreme Court’s ridiculous presidential immunity ruling.
I've been waiting for Jack Smith's response to the Supreme Court's immunity ruling as well as the opportunity to laugh at it for more than three months. I'm glad it came before the election. As for the prosecution itself, it's another example of what I repeated most recently in Meyers and Kimmel take closer looks at Sidney Powell pleading guilty and Jim Jordan's 'Groundhog Day' of losing votesETA — I repeated it more recently in Updates on three Trump trials: "'The wheels of justice are grinding slowly in this case, but I expect they will indeed grind exceedingly fine.' May they also grind exceedingly fine for Trump and his seditious supporters, if not as slowly." No thanks to the Supreme Court, the wheels are grinding slowly here, too.
We are now 33 days away from the election, Special Counsel Jack Smith’s damning new report was unsealed and it details a mountain of evidence against Donald Trump in relation to the January 6th case in DC, many of the names are redacted but it’s not difficult to figure out who is who, Trump pressured Pence relentlessly to break the law, more than 43 million Americans tuned in for the debate between JD Vance and Tim Walz, JD had many untruths but it was an otherwise civilized discussion, Orange Julius Caesar was said to be very pleased with JD’s performance, he appears to be running out of steam on the trail, we pull out the chalkboard to break down a crazy lemonade rant Donny went on, Forbes Magazine unveiled their list of the 400 richest people in America, and fellow luminaries wish Jimmy Carter a happy 100th birthday.
No, it's not difficult to figure who is behind the black spaces. I don't even have to go to Emptywheel to find out who is who. Also, Jimmy wasn't buying Vance saying that Trump saved Obamacare, either.
A new bill was signed into law this week by Governor Newsom that will allow marijuana dispensaries to serve food and non-alcoholic drinks, Trump hit Truth Social hard last night to complain about the 165 pages of incriminating evidence the judge released detailing every step of his attempt to overthrow the election, he visited Michigan to rave and rant about windmills before his teleprompter went out, Republicans who were very worked up about Joe Biden’s age don’t seem to have the same problem with Trump, the MAGA faithful are still showing up and buying merch, Melania came out to promote her book and to reveal that unlike her husband she is pro-choice, RFK Jr. has reportedly had affairs with at least three women over the past year, Americans are panic buying rolls of toilet paper in response to the port strike, Trump loves America a lot, and This Week in Unnecessary Censorship.
"Rignoramus" — snort! That reminds me of what I recall writing in a tweet four years ago in response to someone posting that the Republicans were going to steal the election. I wrote that they would try, but that they would fail. That came true, but the outcome was closer than I expected. I wasn't pessimistic enough!
That's a wrap for today. Stay tuned for something other than talk show hosts tomorrow.
Seth takes a closer look at Trump backing out of a 60 Minutes interview while JD Vance brazenly lied about everything from health care to abortion to January 6.
As I wrote yesterday, "Vance saying Trump saved Obamacare didn't pass the smell test. Really? Even if it were true, most people wouldn't believe it." Seth certainly didn't.
Tonight was the Vice Presidential debate between JD Vance and Tim Walz, Fox News is desperate to exploit any kind of oddness that they can conjure up about Tim Walz, the two candidates were pretty polite to each other, CBS opted to not fact check live but to have a QR code on the screen instead so we created our own – just go to MattDamonSucks.com, Trump did a play by play of the debate on Truth Social, he was in Wisconsin today where we was in full babble mode, and JD Vance (Haley Joel Osment) has released a new ad making his donut shopping a top priority.
Jimmy remarked about how polite the debaters were, but I'm reminding my readers that "the civility of the debate, the 'Midwestern nice,' masked two political movements at total odds with each other." Still are, as evidenced by convictedcriminalDonald Trump's (un)truths. Histrionic him couldn't help but make it all about himself.
The Vance-Walz debate was universally hailed as “normal,” the former president looked tired and confused at recent speeches, and Stephen’s favorite Alaskan forest animal has returned in time to defend his Fat Bear Week title.
Stephen didn't buy Vance saying Trump saved Obamacare, either.
Michael Kosta tackles last night's VP debate between JD Vance and Tim Walz and the cable news pundits who have been hard at work spinning who won. Plus, Troy Iwata is in the post-debate spin room with a definitive, scientific debate-scoring system.
I agree that Vance was slick. If he won, and the polling was a statistical dead heat, it was on style, not substance. He lied more smoothly than Walz told the truth. That's not a good thing.
Governor Whitmer talks about all the artists on the “True Gretch” playlist from her book, her friendship with Tim Walz, her response to tonight’s VP debate between Walz and JD Vance, being 30 minutes late to her first debate, being described as a “Happy Warrior,” her grandmother teaching her to look for the best in everyone, something nice she could say about Donald Trump, her parents being in a mixed marriage politically, and whether or not Americans will ever be able to find unity.
That was an insightful take on both Walz and debating. I'm glad I included it in today's post.
That's a wrap for today. Stay tuned to see what I blog about tomorrow.
Michael Kosta goes live after the first and only vice presidential debate between Tim Walz and JD Vance. The stakes are as low as possible: one of these men will lose and we’ll never hear from them again, and one will win, become vice president, and we'll never hear from them again.
The opening joke, which is in the video description, reminds me of the vice presidency being described by John Adams as “the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived” as I quoted in A History of the US Vice Presidency for Veep Day. Kosta returned to the next joke at the end, when he pointed out that the civility of the debate, the "Midwestern nice," masked two political movements at total odds with each other. The Trump supporters could have just said "yes, we are" to "we're not going back," but instead they were vulgar and misogynistic. Yuck.
