Closer looks at 'Congressional Fight Club' from Colbert, Meyers, and 'The Daily Show'

Wild things have been going on while I've been busy celebrating holidays. Stephen Colbert talked about some of them in Congressional Fight Club | Biden and Xi Play It Cool | Dems Hand Mike Johnson a Victory.

GOP infighting has turned the halls of Congress into a fight club, the U.S. and China set low expectations for the Biden-Xi meeting, and the new House Speaker took heat from his own party after passing a government spending bill with help from Democrats.

"He said, Xi said" — that joke wrote itself. That's O.K., it's still funny. Less funny but even more ridiculous is what Republicans in Congress are doing to each other, which was the subject of GOP Senator Challenges Teamsters Head to Fight, McCarthy Accused of Sucker Punch: A Closer Look.

Seth takes a closer look at Republicans turning the U.S. Capitol into the UFC Octagon after former House speaker Kevin McCarthy allegedly assaulted a congressman and a senator challenged a witness to a physical fight during a hearing.

Seth and his writers echoed my sentiments about the confrontation between Markwayne Mullin and Teamsters president Sean O'Brien, which I expressed in a comment on LONG BEFORE TRUMP, WE SHOULD NEVER HAVE NORMALIZED FOX NEWS at No More Mister Nice Blog.

My wife used to work for the Teamsters and we live three miles away from the last place Jimmy Hoffa was seen alive, so we know anyone asking to fight that union's president is asking for trouble. I wonder if Senator Mullin has a clue about that.

Based on the way we bragged about it on right-wing televison outlets, I'd say Mullin either doesn't know or doesn't care. I'm glad he's not my senator!

Leslie Jones and Desi Lydic tackled "Congressional Fight Club" and more in Congress Erupts in Fights & San Francisco "Cleans Up” for the President of China | The Daily Show.

Leslie Jones covers San Francisco's problematic cleaning spree,...USPS's [$]6.5 billion loss, and Desi Lydic weighs in on the many fights erupting in Congress.

I'm glad California Governor Gavin Newsom is owning what's going on, even if it doesn't make him look good outside of San Francisco. Inside the city, it probably make him look great. I just wish it didn't take a meeting of heads of state to get it to happen. And, yes, it would be cheaper to house the homeless instead of leaving them on the streets. Too bad our screwed-up priorities don't allow that.

I'm sorry to read about the problems the USPS is having. It is still a government agency, even if it operates a lot like a government-owned corporation such as Amtrak, though it lost its status as a cabinet-level department more than 50 years ago.

While I'm looking forward to Mike Johnson losing his Speakership because of doing the wrong thing, I'm relieved that he hasn't lost it for doing the right thing, as Kevin McCarthy was. Speaking of whom, he's living down to my nickname for him as he got back into the news.

Finally, I'm not as sure as Jones that Lydic would lose to Cruz, punch line or not — pun intended.

I'm wondering what to write about tomorrow, as it's the real date of Life Day, which falls on November 17th and was originally a stand-in for Thanksgiving, but over the years, it has turned into Star Wars Christmas, so many fans celebrate it then. Stay tuned.

Meyers and Kimmel take closer looks at Sidney Powell pleading guilty and Jim Jordan's 'Groundhog Day' of losing votes

I told my readers "Stay tuned" at the end of Rite Aid declares bankruptcy, a tale of the Retail Apocalypse and opioid crisis because "I plan on returning to Jim Jordan running for Speaker, which is turning into another Groundhog Day." I'm still doing that, but another story has bumped it down to second place. Watch Seth Meyers explain in Sidney Powell Flips on Trump, Pleads Guilty and Cooperates with Prosecutors: A Closer Look.

Seth takes a closer look at Trump's former election lawyer Sidney Powell pleading guilty to election interference while Jim Jordan still lacks the votes to become House speaker.

LOL, the Kraken kracked under pressure. This reminds me of what I wrote about Powell in Trump's lawyers face sanctions in Michigan over conduct during election lawsuits.

Powell shows that Trump's delusion is not just dangerous but contagious and when its believers said the suits were "releasing the Kraken," they were really releasing the Krak(pot)en(ing). I liked the Kraken better in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies.

Just as a reminder, Federal judge in Michigan sanctioned Powell and other Trump lawyers for abusing the legal process to undermine democracy.

This is exactly the outcome I was hoping for and that I thought the Kraken-shot lawyers deserved. May the ruling for sanctions deter other lawyers from doing what Sidney Powell, Lin Wood, and others did in this case. It also satisfied the sentiment I repeated in Seth Meyers updates late-night talk show hosts on the 2020 election and its aftermath for Throwback Thursday on April Fools Day.

As I have written repeatedly about the criminal prosecutions of public officials for their roles in the Flint Water Crisis, "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.

I think the sanctions and referrals for discipline look like being ground exceedingly fine, don't you?

Two years later, Powell's guilty plea shows that the wheels of justice continue to grind slowly, but they are indeed grinding exceedingly fine, pun intended.

Jimmy Kimmel reversed the order of stories in his monologue from last night, Chaos in Congress, Trump Lawyer Pleads Guilty in Election Fraud Case & Romney/Cruz Unity Ticket?

The fire department stopped by after the show to respond to smoke pouring out of our edit bays, Congress has now gone 16 days without a Speaker, Jim Jordan still claims to be in it after losing twice, Republicans are infighting, Fox News is trying to bully the holdouts into voting for Jim Jordan, Mitt Romney talks about trying to form a unity ticket with Ted Cruz in 2016 in his new book, Donald Trump’s former lawyer Sidney Powell pled guilty to six charges in Georgia, Joe Biden’s campaign now has more followers on Truth Social than the Trump campaign, we check in with the “Bachelor in Paradise” contestant who is the new face of American constipation Sam Jeffries, and This Week in Unnecessary Censorship.

On the one hand, "'Coach Gym' Jordan as Speaker...[a]s I've written before, things can always get worse." On the other, it looks like that won't happen. Jordan keeps losing votes, both the ballots and the number of Republicans voting for him. Instead, as I predicted in Closer looks at Steve Scalise running for Speaker and George Santos indicted again from Colbert, Meyers, and Kimmel, "If I were betting, I'd put my money on Hakeem Jeffries to have the most votes on the first ballot, although he's not going to be Speaker - this time." That's happened twice already.

So who would I pick next? Well, I already have a label for Elise Stefanik, so I'm prepared for her as I was for Kevin "Pickled Tongue" McCarthy to become Speaker. It would make it easier for me. Also, it's not an entirely original idea. Just as this situation began to unfold, Pablo Manríquez of The New Republic asked Could We Really Be Headed Toward—Gulp—Speaker Stefanik? Earlier this week, Chris Churchill wondered in The Albany Times-Union Elise Stefanik, a candidate of compromise in House mess? Neither of them think this is actually a good idea, but Stefanik makes a certain amount of sense. She's a policy moderate who supports Trump, she's already in leadership, and her main competition after Jordan, who she nominated for Speaker, while mentioning his wrestling past, is Majority Whip Tom Emmer. He's not an effective whip and is so bland I've never heard of him before. That might make him an acceptable compromise candidate to Republicans after they give up on Jordan, but I'm not sure the House GOP is ready for compromise. Besides, I think he would make for boring blogging. Stefanik would be more interesting. Too bad she doesn't appear interested in being Speaker. Here's to hoping appearances are deceiving.

I close with a song dedicated to Powell, The Kraken.


Enough crime and politics. Stay tuned for Sweetest Day.

Seth Meyers takes a closer look at Trump's gag order and Jim Jordan running for Speaker

Last Thursday, Steve Scalise was the GOP Speaker nominee. That blew up that night, badly enough that I was thinking of writing "Friday the 13th was an unlucky day for Steve Scalise." I wasn't feeling it, so instead I wrote WCNC asks 'Why is Friday the 13th so scary?' The situation went from bad to worse, as Seth Meyers described in Trump Hit with Gag Order in Jan. 6 Case; Jim Jordan Vies to Be Next Speaker: A Closer Look.

Seth takes a closer look at Republicans nominating Congressman Jim Jordan, a key player in the January 6 coup attempt, for House speaker and Trump getting hit with his second gag order.

"Coach Gym" Jordan as Speaker. As I've written before, things can always get worse. Speaking of which, good luck getting the former guy to comply with the two gag orders he's under. The man has the right to be silent, but not the ability.

Finally, I haven't mentioned the UAW strike since Meyers' and Colbert's guests on strikes and labor issues. I plan on posting a driving update tomorrow, so it will be the perfect opportunity to do so. After all, both are about cars.

Closer looks at Steve Scalise running for Speaker and George Santos indicted again from Colbert, Meyers, and Kimmel

I'm returning to the fallout from Kevin "Pickled Tongue" McCarthy being ousted as Speaker of the House, which I haven't covered since Friday's Colbert, Meyers, and Kimmel turn their attention to Matt Gaetz. The House needed a break and so did I. I begin with Stephen Colbert's monologue, Scalise Nabs House Speaker Nom | George Santos Scammed His Own Donors | Bigfoot Found!

Rep. Steve Scalise is the GOP’s nominee for Speaker of the House, Rep. George Santos faces new federal charges for defrauding campaign donors, and Stephen has incredible news about a new Sasquatch sighting.

I have my doubts that Scalise will be elected on the first ballot, or even any ballot today. So do the writers for The Late Show, which is one of the reasons they created Now You Can Bet on the House Speaker Race for last night's cold open. The other is that it's funny.



Get in on the action at DraftKandidates!
If I were betting, I'd put my money on Hakeem Jeffries to have the most votes on the first ballot, although he's not going to be Speaker - this time.

Stephen name-checked Jimmy Kimmel, who I will get to later, but I'm sharing Santos Charged with More Crimes, Mace Mocked for Scarlet Letter Shirt: A Closer Look from Seth Meyers, who reversed the order of stories, first.

Seth takes a closer look at Republicans choosing Congressman Steve Scalise as nominee for Speaker of the House and whether or not he actually has enough votes to become Speaker.

I haven't blogged about George Santos since May, when I posted George Santos evades expulsion, for now and Trump found liable for sexual abuse and defamation and Santos reported criminally charged. I concluded the latter by whining "It's unfortunate that the writers strike has canceled the late-night talk shows. The jokes about these two stories would have been priceless." The shows are back and the jokes are indeed priceless, although Santos makes them easy to write.

Jimmy Kimmel had more to say about these stories in Congressman George Santos Dodges Reporters After Being Charged with CONSPIRACY, FRAUD & MORE.

Republicans took a fake break from fake-impeaching Joe Biden to nominate Steve Scalise of Louisiana to be their next Speaker, the first U.S. state to allow sales of medical marijuana at regular pharmacies will be Georgia, Google announced that effective immediately entering a password will no longer be their default way to sign in, crazy things are happening in Florida and Michigan, Jimmy has been washing his jeans the wrong way, Sarah Huckabee Sanders has been accused of spending more than $19,000 on a lectern and cooking the books to cover it up, and we track down soon to be former Congressman George Santos (Nelson Franklin) to talk about him being indicted on charges of conspiracy, wire fraud and falsifying records.

Once again, my prediction that, as long as George Santos remains in the news, he will be an inspiration for comedy continues to come true.

Finally, the joke Kimmel told about Scalise learning the wrong lesson from being shot is the one that always comes to mind when I think about him. I gave up on Scalise ever coming around on guns after that. He's a lost cause, pun intended.

Colbert, Meyers, and Kimmel turn their attention to Matt Gaetz

I'm shifting my focus from Kevin "Pickled Tongue" McCarthy being ousted as Speaker of the House to the person most responsible for removing him from the position, Matt Gaetz. I begin with Stephen Colbert's monologue, Sleazy Matt Gaetz Shared X-Rated Videos on House Floor | Trump For Speaker? | Rudy’s Booze Problem.

Everyone who works with Rep. Matt Gaetz thinks he’s a sleaze, the former president says he’ll go to Capitol Hill to help select the next House Speaker, and Rudy Giuliani’s alleged drinking problem is under the microscope.

My readers will see a lot of that CNN interview of Senator Markwayne Mullin as Trump "Open" to Being Speaker, Will Visit D.C. as Republicans Near Fistfights: A Closer Look, which Seth Meyers and his writers turn into a running joke.

Seth takes a closer look at Republicans going at each other's throats after a small group of hardliners ousted former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Donald Trump considering a trip to pitch himself as a candidate.

To repeat my reaction from yesterday, "The former guy as Speaker? Never say it can't get worse. It always can."

I close with Jimmy Kimmel Live's Gaetz Faces Explosive Allegations, Trump Spills Top Secret Info & Lindell’s Got Money Trouble, which I would have put first because of the preview image except that the first half is a promotion for "The Golden Batchelor" disguised as a comedy routine. I didn't want to open with that.

It’s been unseasonably hot here in Hollywood this week, our very own Aunt Chippy made an appearance on “The Golden Bachelor,” ABC has already given the green light to another Bachelor spinoff, Matt Gaetz is the least popular guy in Congress right now and several GOP lawmakers want to get rid of him, Trump is being floated as a possible Speaker, Donny reportedly shared classified information with a guy at Mar-a-Lago, and we talk to MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell (James Adomian) who claims the IRS is trying to shut down his call centers.

Both McCarthy and Gaetz may think their misfortunes are examples of "no good deed goes unpunished," McCarthy for depending on Democratic votes to avoid a shutdown and Gaetz for leading the ouster of McCarthy, but I'll let history be the judge of whether either, both, or neither of them would be correct. In the meantime, I still find it amusing to see Rudy Giuliani and Mike Lindell together in one of my posts to create a Razzie reunion, even if they're not in the same clip. Thank you to not only Kimmel's writers for thinking up this segment, but ABC's standards and practices department for allowing this segment to air. It was hilarious, strategic blurring and all.

Stay tuned, as I still plan on posting this week's best guests.

Seth Meyers takes closer looks at Kevin McCarthy ousted as Speaker and what happened during the WGA strike

I'm still covering the ouster of Kevin "Pickled Tongue" McCarthy as Speaker of the House through comedy with Republicans Float Trump for House Speaker After McCarthy Is Ousted in Chaos: A Closer Look.

Seth takes a closer look at House Republicans descending into chaos after ousting former Speaker Kevin McCarthy and floating the possibility of Donald Trump replacing him.

The former guy as Speaker? Never say it can't get worse. It always can.

Speaking of which, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert opened with Wanted: New Speaker of the House.

Will Republicans find anyone willing to take the world’s worst job?

It must not be that bad a job if TFG is floating the idea of taking it.

Now to make good on my promise to share Seth Meyers' first closer look after returning from the writers strike, A Closer Look to the Max: Trump Fraud Trial, Biden Impeachment, House GOP Chaos.

Seth takes a closer look at Trump appearing in court for his civil fraud trial, the GOP's sham impeachment inquiry for Biden, Rudy Giuliani being sued by his ex-lawyer and more in an extended A Closer Look.

I begin my reaction by recycling from 'Stephen Colbert Recaps A Crazy Summer' as he returns from the writers strike.

Myself and others have suspected that Trump isn't worth as much as he says he is for years. After this trial, our suspicions will be confirmed, if for no other reason than he will lose a lot of his assets. Maybe he won't be a billionaire after all, if he even is one now or ever really had been!

I didn't have to wait long to see his loss of worth become public, as CNN uploaded Trump gets kicked off Forbes 400 list of richest Americans this morning. I'm outsourcing my reaction to Nelson Muntz.


Told you so.

Finally, look, Rudy Giuliani, his zipper, and Mike Lindell, a Razzie reunion, as if the past five months couldn't get any more absurd.

Stay tuned to see which of this week's guests I feature in the future.

Colbert, Kimmel, and Hayes on McCarthy's ouster as Speaker

Change of plans today. Instead of featuring Seth Meyers's return, I'm covering the ouster of Kevin "Pickled Tongue" McCarthy as Speaker of the House through comedy. I begin with Stephen Colbert's monologue, McCarthy Removed As House Speaker | Trump Slams “Talentless, Low Rated CREEPS” of Late Night.

Matt Gaetz was successful in his bid to remove Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House, and former president Trump posted a glowing review after watching The Late Show last night.

Oh, darn, McCarthy stopped being Speaker before my nickname for him caught on — not that I was trying very hard, as the last time I mentioned him was on June 1st, when I wrote "Play up the victory while you can, Pickled Tongue. This isn't the great win you think it is." Neither was avoiding a government shutdown, although it should have been.

Jimmy Kimmel reversed the topics in Trump Attacks “CREEPS of Late Night Television” & McCarthy Ousted as Speaker of the House.

It’s our second day back to work after 150 days on strike and our #1 fan Donald Trump took to the internet at 1:05am to voice his displeasure, Eric Trump spent his night desperately trying to win Daddy’s love on Hannity, today was day two of Donald’s big money fraud trial in New York, Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy was voted out in an effort led by Florida Congressvomit Matt Gaetz, Jimmy shares one of the great police pursuits of all-time on our local ABC7 news, NBA star Jimmy Butler debuted a new hairdo, and Forbes just released their annual list of the wealthiest Americans so we asked kids to give us their thoughts on this thing we call “money.”

Colbert and Kimmel and their writers all thought the former guy's rant made for a great promotion. Chalk that up to the talk show hosts thinking TFG is the right enemy.


I conclude with a guest on Seth Meyers' show, Chris Hayes Dissects Matt Gaetz's Resolution to Remove Kevin McCarthy as House Speaker.

Chris Hayes talks about Trump appearing in court for his civil fraud trial, the GOP's anger for Matt Gaetz over his resolution to remove Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House and why there is no challenger to Donald Trump.

Gaetz punished McCarthy for doing the right thing, averting a government shutdown. I don't like people who do that. I have a feeling a lot of other people don't, either.

I still plan on sharing Seth Meyers' first closer look after returning from the writers strike, followed by some of the other guests that were on this week. Stay tuned.

House votes to approve debt ceiling deal, on to the Senate

I concluded No Labels could field third-party candidate next year by telling my readers to "Stay tuned for June, when I plan on writing about the debt ceiling tomorrow, after the House of Representatives votes on the measure. That should be interesting." That happened last night, as WUSA9 reported US House approves debt ceiling package to avoid default.

With the House vote of 314-117, the bill now heads to the Senate with passage expected by week's end.

That's a good summary of the results. Reuters presented the highlights of the debate leading up to the vote in House passes debt ceiling bill with broad support. Don't worry about the lack of a preview image; the video will play. Besides, it would most likely have shown Kevin "Pickled Tongue" McCarthy and Elise Stefanik and I'd rather they not get the attention.

The bill to suspend the $31.4 trillion debt limit made it through the House of Representatives. The legislation now goes to the Senate, which must enact it and get it to President Joe Biden's desk by June 5 to avoid a crippling US default.

Play up the victory while you can, Pickled Tongue. This isn't the great win you think it is.

The Guardian had more on the vote and Democratic objections to the bill in US House passes bill to suspend debt ceiling just days before default.

The final House vote was 314 to 117, with 149 Republicans and 165 Democrats supporting the measure. In a potentially worrisome sign for the House Republican speaker, Kevin McCarthy, 71 members of his conference opposed the deal that he brokered with President Joe Biden.
...
However, the concessions that McCarthy won fell far short for members of the freedom caucus, who had pushed for steeper spending cuts and much stricter work requirements for benefits programs. They belittled the debt ceiling compromise as a paltry effort to tackle the nation’s debt, which stands at more than $31tn.
...
House freedom caucus members staged one last attempt to block the debt ceiling bill from advancing on Wednesday afternoon, when they opposed a procedural motion prior to the final vote. With 29 Republicans voting against the motion, McCarthy had to rely on Democratic assistance to advance the debt ceiling proposal. In the end, 52 Democrats voted for the motion, setting up the final vote and virtually ensuring the bill’s passage.

Both the support and the opposition were bipartisan, although more Democrats supported the compromise than Republicans. Just the same, the Democrats held their noses to vote yes.

Despite his sharp criticism of McCarthy and his Republican colleagues, Jeffries and the majority of the House Democratic caucus supported the debt ceiling bill. Although they lamented the spending cuts included in the bill, those Democrats argued the crucial importance of avoiding a default outweighed their personal concerns about the legislation.

“Our constitution makes perfectly clear the validity of the public debt of the United States shall not be questioned,” said California representative Nancy Pelosi, the former Democratic House speaker. “While I find this legislation objectionable, it will avert an unprecedented default, which would bring devastation to America’s families.”

But dozens of progressive lawmakers opposed the bill, attacking the spending cuts and new work requirements procured by McCarthy as an affront to the voters who elected them.

“Republicans never cared about reducing the deficit, only about forcing through their anti-working family policy priorities under the threat of a catastrophic default,” said Pramila Jayapal, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. “The deal they passed tonight proves that point, and I could not be part of their extortion scheme.”

Progressives in the Senate, including Senator Bernie Sanders, have echoed that criticism and indicated they plan to oppose the debt ceiling proposal, but the bill still appears likely to become law. The Senate Democratic majority leader, Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, has pledged to act swiftly to take up the bill once it has passed the House. The Senate Republican minority leader, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, has already indicated he plans to support the proposal as well.

One of those senators who oppose at least one provision of the bill is Tim Kaine of Virginia, who Alex Wagner interviewed on MSNBC while the House voted. He exclaimed 'Gimme a break!': Sen. Kaine vows to strip pipeline from debt ceiling deal.

Senator Tim Kaine talks with Alex Wagner about his objection to the inclusion of Mountain Valley Pipeline in the debt ceiling deal and his intention to remove that portion of the bill with an amendment when it comes to the Senate for consideration. While that piece of the deal is seen as a political concession to Joe Manchin, Kaine expresses particular frustration at not being consulted despite the pipeline affecting portions of his state, Virginia.

I don't like the pipeline, either, but I don't think Kaine's attempt to remove it from the bill will succeed. Every Republican plus Joe Manchin will vote against his amendment. If one more Senator joins them, it will fail. If they don't, I expect Vice President Kamala Harris will vote against it, breaking the tie, and it will still fail. After that happens, I also expect Kaine to vote yes on it, and it will go to President Biden to be signed. Crisis averted!

That written, I think this is the 2023 version of 2011's Satan Sandwich. I know it's necessary, but I don't have to like it.

Trump found liable for sexual abuse and defamation and Santos reported criminally charged

Stephanie Ruhle hosted a panel about yesterday's legal news on MSNBC in Breaking down Trump sexual abuse verdict, George Santos federal charges.

The jury in E. Jean Carroll’s civil suit against the former president rejected the rape allegation. Meanwhile, Republican Congressman George Santos has reportedly been charged with federal offenses. Tim O’Brien, Cynthia Alksne and Charles Coleman break down the day’s legal bombshells.

Allow me this rant about the Republicans as "the party of law and order" — that's branding for being the party of using the law to maintain the social order. If the law doesn't maintain the social order, the party's not for it. It's right up there with "pro-life" for anti-abortion, "fiscal responsibility" for not spending money and people and causes the party disapproves of, regardless of whether it makes economic sense, and "pro-family" for discriminating against people who don't fit in the Twentieth Century nuclear family — all branding for gaining power to enforce the social order. Don't believe those slogans as anything else. Once that's clear, all the lawlessness by GOP members and politicians makes perfect sense.

PBS NewsHour went into more detail about yesterday's verdict in Breaking down the verdict as jury finds Trump liable for sexual assault and defamation, where it was the top story as well.

A New York jury found former President Trump liable for sexually abusing columnist E. Jean Carroll in the mid-90s and later defaming her. The nine jurors deliberated for a few hours before delivering their verdict and awarding Carroll $5 million. Trump called the verdict "a disgrace" and his lawyers said they will appeal. Amna Nawaz discussed the case with Andrea Bernstein and Laura Beth Nielsen.

Vox didn't list this case among The Trump investigations you should actually care about, but those were about criminal cases, this is a civil suit, but it turned out to be the first decided against Donald Trump since that video. It won't send him to jail — not that I think that will happen; as I wrote when TFG was indicted, "I expect he'll be sentenced to house arrest in Trump Tower with the Secret Service as his guards, at least for this set of crimes. He might get a more severe punishment if he's indicted and convicted for crimes in Georgia and Washington, D.C." — but it's a finding that he engaged in criminal behavior, even if he's not convicted of criminal charges. The judgment will hang over the rest of his re-election campaign. Too bad the lawlessness of the GOP primary voters is likely to allow him to be re-nominated.

On the other hand, George Santos is facing criminal charges, as MSNBC reported George Santos criminally charged by DOJ, calls for McCarthy to remove him from Congress on All In with Chris Hayes last night.

Congressman Dan Goldman (D-NY): “For George Santos to have a vote that counts as much as my vote is a travesty and I think that hopefully the Speaker will come around and recognize that that’s the right thing to do.”

Goldman's right. Kevin "Pickled Tongue" McCarthy and Elise Stefanik aren't going to ask for Santos to resign. They care about his vote more than the dignity and integrity of the House of Representatives. We're stuck with Santos until he either loses re-election or resigns upon conviction (this includes a plea deal, which wouldn't surprise me in the least). Sigh.

It's unfortunate that the writers strike has canceled the late-night talk shows. The jokes about these two stories would have been priceless.

Randy Rainbow sings 'Life's a (bleep)ing Fantasy for Santos' on Flashback Friday

Happy Flashback Friday! For the first retrospective of the twelfth year of this blog's top posts, I'm examining the most read entries examining George Santos and featuring the song and dance of Randy Rainbow with his latest, Life's a F***ing Fantasy for Santos - A Randy Rainbow Parody.

Parodies: "Jolly Holiday" from Mary Poppins (Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman)
"Georgy Girl" by The Seekers (Tom Springfield)

Parody lyrics: Randy Rainbow

Vocals: Randy Rainbow

Song Produced, Orchestrated, Mixed, Mastered by: Michael J Moritz Jr

Arrangement/Vocal Arrangement - Joel Waggoner

Piano/Orchestral - Michael J Moritz Jr
Guitar/Engineer - Jakob Reinhardt
Bass/Drums - Ryan Saranich

I'm recycling my reaction from Weekend Update on 'SNL' reports on Tucker Carlson, rats carrying COVID, and the Oscars: "My prediction that, as long as George Santos remains in the news, he will be an inspiration for comedy continues to come true." I can think of few people better equipped to mock him than Randy Rainbow.

Follow over the jump for the stories of how the top posts about George Santos and those featuring Randy Rainbow got their page views.

Colbert and Meyers take closer looks at Tucker Carlson and Fox News

While I was busy celebrating Purim, Holi, and International Women's Day, the late-night talk show hosts were busy with the Fox News-Dominion lawsuit and especially Tucker Carlson. I begin with Stephen Colbert's monologue from last night, Tucker Carlson Is The Biggest Hypocrite At Fox News | Oklahoma Loves Marijuana.

The Dominion lawsuit against Fox News has revealed that Tucker Carlson publicly supported the former president while privately despising him. Elsewhere, Oklahomans rejected an effort to legalize recreational use of marijuana.

Not a bad parody of "Oklahoma," although that's not why I'm sharing this video. I'm here to share the mocking of Carlson's selective editing of the January 6th footage and his hypocrisy over "The Big Lie," which Seth Meyers also examined in Tucker Carlson Said He Hates Trump "Passionately" in Bombshell Court Filing: A Closer Look.

Seth takes a closer look at new bombshell text messages that reveal what Fox News hosts like Tucker Carlson really say about Trump in private.

Both Colbert and Meyers pointed out Carlson's hypocrisy. They also reinforced a point I've been making since 2012, when I posted Projection is the Right's favorite defense mechanism. Fox News is and was doing exactly what it accused its competition of being and doing, a major media company lying to its viewers.

I returning to Colbert for the previous night's monologue, Tucker’s Transparent Jan 6th Propaganda | Feds Nab Spider-Nazi | Kari Lake May Be T****’s VP Pick.

Tucker Carlson used the Jan 6th footage he got from House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to cherry-pick innocuous clips in an attempt to rewrite what we all saw happen with our own eyes that day. Elsewhere, federal authorities arrested their 1000th insurrectionist, and failed Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake may be the former president’s running mate in 2024.

I must not leave out Kevin "Pickled Tongue" McCarthy's role in making Carlson's whitewashing of January 6th possible, which even Mitch McConnell objected to. He's certainly living down to my nickname for him.

These videos remind me of my response to my friend Nebris's comment to Jon Stewart examines the problem with Fox News.

BTW, your comment reminds me that I should post John Oliver's video about [Carlson]. Also, did you know that his dad was head of the Voice of America during the closing years of the Cold War? Broadcasting propaganda runs in the family.

That's on my to-do list. In the meantime, stay tuned for anniversaries of the pandemic arriving in Michigan, the Fukushima triple disaster, Daylight Saving Time beginning, the Razzies winners, and highlights of this week's "Saturday Night Live" episode. Busy, busy, busy.

'The Daily Show,' Seth Meyers, and James Corden take more closer looks at the State of the Union and Twitter hearings

I'm not done taking closer looks at the State of the Union Address from Seth Meyers and others. For a change of pace, I'm beginning with MTG Screams "Liar!" as Biden Delivers State of the Union Address | The Daily Show with Chelsea Handler as guest host.

President Biden delivers the State of the Union address and gets heckled by Republicans. Plus, Mitt Romney has a heated exchange with George Santos, and the Twitter hearings address Chrissy Teigen's insults directed at Donald Trump.

I miss Samantha Bee, but Handler's breezy style makes for a good short-term substitute for Bee and her unique perspective.

For a more investigative approach, I return to Seth Meyers for Greene and Boebert Unravel at Twitter Hearing While Biden Gloats About SOTU: A Closer Look.

Seth takes a closer look at President Biden making a point of focusing on kitchen table issues during his State of the Union address while House Republicans like Marjorie Taylor Greene focused on things like why Twitter censored Hunter Biden's Nudes.

Seeing Greene together with Lauren Boebert reminds me of this meme that my friend Nonnie9999 made for me.


Given what both of them sounded like at the hearing and what Greene sounded and looked like at the State of the Union, that cartoon strikes me as about right.

I close with "The Late, Late Show" declaring that The State of Our Union Is Pretty Weird.

Gordon Ramsay is on the show tonight and that always puts us in a great mood. But that good mood becomes testy when James and his producers squabble over some calendar math. In the news, LeBron and President Joe Biden broke records. And James gives a State of the Union recap, including Mitt Romney's exchange with George Santos, Kyrsten Sinema's bowtie pasta look and lots of booing.

On the one hand, this clip shows the lack of focus that discourages me from using Corden's clips. On the other hand, what he and his writers planned reinforced the points made in the clip from "The Daily Show": more people cared about LeBron James beating Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's record than the State of the Union, Mitt Romney dissed George Santos, who deserved it, whatever Romney said, and Kyrsten Sinema dressed to draw attention to herself. On balance, it was worth embedding.

I've had enough of the State of the Union. Let's see if I can blog about something else tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Randy Rainbow's songs from his Grammy-nominated comedy album

I ended Randy Rainbow sings 'Speaker of the House' for Kevin McCarthy with a note to myself.

By the way, Randy Rainbow included this news item in the video description: "Hey! I'm a 2023 Grammy Nominee for Best Comedy Album! Check out my debut album A LITTLE BRAINS, A LITTLE TALENT wherever music is sold or streamed." That reminds me that I haven't written about the Grammy nominees until today. It's now on my to-do list.

The Grammy Awards are tomorrow, which means this idea will turn into a pumpkin then. Since I'm planning on blogging about "Saturday Night Live" tomorrow, I've written a short post about Randy Rainbow's nomination today by sharing the YouTube videos of songs from A Little Brains, A Little Talent beginning with the most popular, the bonus track IF DONALD GOT FIRED - Randy Rainbow Parody (featuring Patti LuPone!).


Hahahaha! Tell us what you really think! Good thing we voters did fire The Former Guy!

The second most viewed song from the album on YouTube is MR. BIDEN (Bring My Vaccine) - A Randy Rainbow Song Parody, another bonus track.


We got vaccines, which are helping to turn COVID-19 pandemic into a more manageable endemic disease. I was hoping for elimination, but as The Rolling Stones sing, you can't always get what you want. Still, we got what we needed.

Counting up, Clang, Clang, Clang Went Josh Hawley! - A Randy Rainbow Song Parody had the third most views on YouTube.


Listening to Senator Hawley list of motivations for his critics reminds me that Projection is the Right's favorite defense mechanism, as I wrote more than a decade ago. Also, I knew I would eventually hear Randy Rainbow sing a parody of a Judy Garland song.

The fourth most viewed song from the album is TED and LINDSEY! - A Randy Rainbow Song Parody.


Ted Cruz and Lindsey Graham make for a deserving pair of targets for ridicule.

I conclude the videos with Randy singing about his trademark PINK GLASSES (A YouTube Exclusive).


That was both fun and sweet and concluded with the cover of his Grammy-nominated album. Good luck, Randy!

Now for Randy Rainbow's competition.

Best Comedy Album

The Closer – Dave Chappelle
Comedy Monster – Jim Gaffigan
A Little Brains, A Little Talent – Randy Rainbow
Sorry – Louis C.K.
We All Scream – Patton Oswalt

That's a very tough field of established comedians. Dave Chappelle and Louis C.K. have won this category three times each with Louis C.K. last year's winner, Patton Oswalt has won it once, and Jim Gaffigan has been nominated seven times. This is Randy Rainbow's first Grammy nomination and he should feel flattered to be in their company. If he doesn't win, which is a distinct possibility, he can at least take comfort that he's the host of the pre-show. He'll be on stage no matter what!

Randy Rainbow sings 'Speaker of the House' for Kevin McCarthy

I've mentioned Randy Rainbow's Emmy nominations here, even writing "I have a soft spot for 'The Randy Rainbow Show,' which has been nominated for this category and its predecessor Outstanding Short Form Variety Series the past three years. I would like an independent YouTube creator winning against a field of network and streaming shows and spinoffs." However, I don't recall ever embedding one of his videos here. Now that he has created one for Kevin "Pickled Tongue" McCarthy in (dis)honor of McCarthy becoming Speaker after 15 ballots, it's about time I did. Take it away, Speaker of the House - Randy Rainbow Song Parody!

Parody of “Master of the House” from Les Misérables by Claude-Michel Schönberg, Alain Boublil, Jean-Marc Natel and Herbert Kretzmer...

In addition to mocking McCarthy, Randy Rainbow took shots at the Republican House majority, including George Santos. Easy targets, but well-aimed none-the-less.

By the way, Randy Rainbow included this news item in the video description: "Hey! I'm a 2023 Grammy Nominee for Best Comedy Album! Check out my debut album A LITTLE BRAINS, A LITTLE TALENT wherever music is sold or streamed." That reminds me that I haven't written about the Grammy nominees until today. It's now on my to-do list.

Meyers, Colbert, and Kimmel take closer looks at George Santos

I opened yesterday's Jon Stewart on the problem with George Santos with "I have another example of George Santos living up to my prediction that he'll be a great inspiration for comedy as long as he stays in the news, which might be much longer than he stays in the House." That continues to be true, as Seth Meyers, Stephen Colbert, and Jimmy Kimmel all made Santos, if that's actually his legal name, the subject of segments last night. I begin with GOP in Chaos as George Santos Scandal Gets Crazier, Greene and Boebert Fight: A Closer Look from "Late Night with Seth Meyers."

Seth takes a closer look at the rolling GOP meltdown that began with the party’s humiliating speaker vote, including Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene fighting in a bathroom, serial liar George Santos facing calls to resign and Donald Trump getting ready to rejoin Facebook and Twitter.

Seth may have started out with Kevin "Pickled Tongue" McCarthy, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Lauren Boebert, but the meat of his routine was Santos. He's proving to be a big soft target for satire.

Speaking of which, Stephen Colbert interviewed "George Santos" (played by Saturn Award nominee Harvey Guillén) in George Santos Joins Stephen Colbert To Clear His Name(s).

After being exposed for telling numerous lies about his identity and resumé, Rep. George Santos joins Stephen Colbert live on The Late Show to truthfully answer the question everyone is asking: who is George Santos? Special thanks to our friend Harvey Guillén!

I'm being a good environmentalist by recycling my reaction from 'SNL' returns after winning an Emmy Award: "It's hard for satire to be more ridiculous than reality these days, but this segment managed to do so."

Jimmy Kimmel also interviewed "George Santos" (this time played by Nelson Franklin) during the final minutes of George Santos FINALLY Answers for His Lies, Trump Points Finger at Biden & MyPillow Mike is Broke!

Joe Biden was in California surveying the damage from the recent floods, Trump lashed out on Truth Social about being treated unfairly in regards to his classified documents, his new goal is to make it seem like the golf mausoleum he lives in is some kind of Fort Knox, Fox News is trying hard to sell that Biden’s docs are worse by connecting it all to Hunter, Donny is looking to get back on Facebook, MyPillow Man Mike Lindell is almost out of stuffing and is crying poor, Jimmy extends an invite to our show so long as he does it from the inside of a Dave and Busters claw machine, and since exposed fraud/Congressman George Santos of New York won’t speak with the reporters in Congress, we thought we would go straight to the source and talk to him (Nelson Franklin) personally.

If the real George Santos, as much as any of his public persona is real, won't answer questions, we may as well talk to a fake George Santos. We might actually get answers, some of which might accidentally turn out to be true!

I conclude by returning to Colbert for last night's cold open, which asked Did Lassie Get Revenge On George Santos?



Don’t mess with the dogs!
Ha ha! That would be fitting!

I have a a fun if busy weekend for blogging lined up, with part 2 of Angela Bassett wins Best Supporting Actress at the Golden Globes and Critics' Choice Awards, part 1 of diversity in awards show winners for MLK Day about "Everything Everywhere All at Once," Lunar New Year, and the return of "Saturday Night Live" for both new years planned. Stay tuned.

Meyers, Colbert, and Kimmel take closer looks at Biden documents, gas stoves, Trump investigations, and George Santos

While yesterday was MLK Day, it was not a night off for the late-night talk show hosts. Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers, and Jimmy Kimmel all had shows last night and all of them mentioned Joe Biden's classified documents. Sigh. Fortunately, Seth Meyers already provided some context in last week's How Biden and Trump Classified Docs Cases Differ; Fox's Gas Stove Freakout: A Closer Look.

Seth takes a closer look at Attorney General Merrick Garland appointing a special counsel to look into the classified documents that were found at Biden's home and office from his time as vice president.

Seth explained the controversy over gas stoves I mentioned in Meyers and Colbert take closer looks at the Republican House majority much better than Colbert did. While a case exists for no longer supporting gas cooking, a federal ban on gas stoves won't happen any time soon.

Seth returned to the documents as well as examining Kevin "Pickled Tongue" McCarthy's overconfidence in the results of the 2022 election in Trump Freaks Out over Criminal Probes, Calls Special Counsel "a Terrorist": A Closer Look.

Seth takes a closer look at Donald Trump freaking out over his many criminal probes and Republicans salivating over the discovery of a small number of classified documents in Joe Biden's home and private office.

I would think attacking the special prosecutor is a counterproductive action, but as I wrote in Friday the 13th was an unlucky day for the Trump Organization as it was fined $1.6 million, for Trump "every day is Blame Someone Else Day, just like every day is Festivus."

Follow over the jump for Colbert's and Kimmel's monologues from last night.

Meyers and Colbert take closer looks at the Republican House majority

Now that Kevin "Pickled Tongue" McCarthy won the Speaker's gavel after fifteen ballots, it's time to examine how he and his slim majority plan to govern. Seth Meyers examined how that's going so far in Unhinged House GOP Wants to Impeach Biden, Claims Left Is Canceling Cowboys: A Closer Look.

Seth takes a closer look at the slim new Republican majority in the House trying to move on after last week's unprecedented meltdown with incredibly weak Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who has openly admitted he is indebted to Trump for his position.

Despite the lack of "high crimes and misdemeanors," I'm afraid that the far right of the GOP will find some grounds for impeachment, no matter how shaky. However, that would make Kamala Harris the President. I think they would like her even less. Maybe their plan is that the House would refuse to confirm the Vice President she would nominate, clearing the way for McCarthy to assume the Presidency when Harris is impeached and convicted. Fortunately, that won't happen with a Democratic majority in the Senate, so they're just putting on a show.

As for now-Representative Ryan Zinke, I haven't mentioned him on this blog since 2018 as an example of the irony of the slogan "drain the swamp." He's a fine one to talk about corruption.

Stephen Colbert also examined the House Republican majority in House GOP Shows Off Diversity | The Many Aliases of George Santos | Will Gas Stoves Be Banned?

Members of the House GOP went on Fox News last night to boast about the diversity of the party, Rep. George Santos refuses to resign despite being outed as a serial liar, and Stephen is not interested in switching to an electric stove.

Yes, the House Republicans are more diverse now than any time since Reconstruction, but they are still much less diverse than the Democrats. As for George Santos, he'll be a great inspiration for comedy as long as he stays in the news, which might be much longer than he stays in the House. Will he last longer than a head of lettuce? Ask Liz Truss.


Stay tuned.

Colbert and Meyers take closer looks at Kevin McCarthy becoming Speaker after 15 ballots

Kevin "Pickled Tongue" McCarthy finally won the Speaker's gavel after fifteen ballots in the early hours of Saturday, so it took until last night for the late-night talk show hosts to tell jokes about it.* Too bad "Saturday Night Live" hasn't resumed new shows yet; they'd have had first crack instead the last word.

I begin with Stephen Colbert's monologue, McCarthy Wins Late Night Vote With Help From T**** | Deja Coup: Bannon Advised Bolsonaro Allies.

The former president appeared to help Kevin McCarthy win the Speaker’s gavel on the 15th round of voting, and former presidential advisor Steve Bannon is suspected of involvement in Sunday’s coup attempt in Brazil.

I think Colbert made fun of two deja coups, the soft one in the House chamber and the failed one in Brazil. That reminds me that I should give equal time to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva after devoting a post to Jair Bolsonaro. Vox has a video about him, too.

Seth Meyers found a lot of the same things funny about last weekend's vote in Chaos and a Near-Brawl as McCarthy Humiliates Himself to Win Speaker Vote: A Closer Look.

Seth takes a closer look at Republicans in the House finally electing Kevin McCarthy as speaker after McCarthy acquiesced to the demands of extreme members in a stunning and humiliating turn of events that nearly led to a physical brawl on the House floor.

Seth, like Stephen, even invoked the Founding Fathers to laugh at the Republicans' spin on the proceedings.

I return to "The Late Show" for last night's cold open, DJ Khaled On Kevin McCarthy’s Bid To Become Speaker.



No one can summarize it better than DJ Khaled.
Congratulations, Pickled Tongue, you just played yourself.

*I changed my mind about posting the second half of 'Abbott Elementary' leads Golden Globes TV nominees with five nominations since yesterday. I decided it would take more time than I had today, since I returned to work this week. I'll look at the winners on MLK Day. Stay tuned.

CNN takes 'A look at the aftermath of the Jan 6 insurrection two years later'

I'm not done with the second anniversary of 2021's attempted self-coup.* Watch A look at the aftermath of the Jan 6 insurrection two years later from CNN.

CNN’s Randi Kaye gives a look at the events after the January 6th attack, and the most critical moments from the investigation in the two years since.

This retrospective deals as much with the progress and findings of the January 6th Committee hearings as the insurrection itself. I will be writing about those in the spring, as the four posts I linked to are currently among the most read during the twelfth year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News. In the meantime, I hope we learn from them and do something about the circumstances that led to the insurrection, although given Kevin "Pickled Tongue" McCarthy finally winning the Speakership after fifteen ballots, I doubt it will be because of federal legislation during the next two years. Sigh.

*I know I wrote "I'm going to take a break from this drama for an entertainment update on Saturday" at the end of Meyers and Colbert take closer looks at McCarthy's continuing 'Groundhog Day' of losing votes for Speaker, but I decided it would take more time than I wanted to spend today. Instead, I'm postponing that for Norther on Sunday. Stay tuned.

Meyers and Colbert take closer looks at McCarthy's continuing 'Groundhog Day' of losing votes for Speaker

After leading off with Stephen Colbert for two nights of Kevin "Pickled Tongue" McCarthy losing vote after vote for Speaker of the House, I'm switching things up tonight by beginning with Seth Meyers' Boebert and Hannity Clash, Republicans Turn On Trump Amid GOP Speaker Chaos: A Closer Look.

Seth takes a closer look at the humiliating Republican meltdown in the House leaving one of two chambers of Congress in total paralysis as Republicans and Fox News hosts bicker with each other, stab each other in the backs and call each other names.

After not mentioning Lauren Boebert for months, I've featured her three days in a row. She's not going to do what Sean Hannity suggested and back down; she seems to enjoy the attention and she even took control of the interview from him. She'll keep doing that as long as she can.

Stephen updated Seth's total in Why Does Kevin McCarthy Keep Going? | GOP Spins House Chaos As A Good Thing. As of the recording of the monologue, McCarthy lost ten votes. He ended up losing an eleventh ballot before the house adjourned.

Stephen offers a theory about why Kevin McCarthy continues to subject himself to losing floor votes in his fight to become Speaker, and the Republican party wants you to think all this chaos is actually refreshing.

That AI portrait is literally uncanny. Wow! At least it doesn't make McCarthy look like a woodchuck.

I've been missing something the past two nights, a cold open on the subject of the monologue. I finally found last night's, which showed Here’s How Far Kevin McCarthy Will Go To Get Speaker Votes.

Kevin McCarthy has to put it all on the table after finishing second in every single vote.

A Komodo dragon! Don't do it!

I'm going to take a break from this drama for an entertainment update on Saturday followed by Norther on Sunday. Stay tuned.