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.

The New York Times 'Stressed Election' visits Michigan to ask 'What's the Problem With Vote-by-Mail?'

I called John Oliver tells his viewers to expect an election month not just an election night "a good summary of all of my concerns about the election that is already in progress." One of those concerns involved voting by mail along with Trump opposing it and trying to sabotage the US Postal Service. The New York Times, in its "Stressed Election" series of video reports, focused on my adopted home state of Michigan when it asked What's the Problem With Vote-by-Mail?

The second episode of our four-part series, Stressed Election, focuses on vote-by-mail, which has become one of the most contentious issues of the 2020 election. In Michigan, a state decided by fewer than 11,000 votes in 2016, a group of bipartisan election officials worry they won’t have the time or resources to ensure results on election night.

This report hearkens back to one of the first entries of mine to focus on the effect the pandemic had on this year's election, Michigan to mail ballots and $400 million for elections in coronavirus stimulus bill update the election news and views for the ninth year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News. There, I wrote "That Michigan will be voting by mail in the May election is good news. Let's hope that, if the pandemic persists, the same will happen for the August and November elections as well." The New York Times showed what happened in August and what is being done to make November's general election run more smoothly. I hope it works.

This video is part of a four-part series. Two other parts about voting rights and election security are already out with one more installment about disinformation still to come. I plan on posting about all of them. Stay tuned.

John Oliver tells his viewers to expect an election month not just an election night

It's been more than three weeks since I posted John Oliver examines the Supreme Court after 'Last Week Tonight' wins four Emmy Awards, so it's time to check in with my favorite talk show host. Watch Last Week Tonight with John Oliver's Election 2020.

Weeks out from the 2020 presidential election, John Oliver takes a look at various efforts to destabilize the vote, how to ensure your ballot is properly counted, and why we may need to prepare not just for an election night, but for an election month.

This is a good summary of all of my concerns about the election that is already in progress, a shortage of poll workers, long voting lines, and voting by mail along with Trump opposing it and trying to sabotage the US Postal Service. One of those concerns is to expect an election month, not an election night, as all those mail-in ballots are counted, which Trump is likely to use as an excuse not to concede. I'm glad Oliver wrapped it all up in a funny if ha-ha only serious manner.

Now to prepare my ballot, which I plan on dropping off later this week or early next week. Off to research down-ballot races!

Seth Meyers returns to the studio to take a closer look at Trump's reaction to reports he insulted fallen soldiers

I wrote "I'm glad to hear that Seth is heading back to the studio next week. It's a sign that things are returning to the pre-pandemic normal in New York, even though the pandemic is still raging elsewhere in the country" in Seth Meyers takes closer looks at the assault on the USPS. Last night, he broadcast his first episode from the studio, which featured Trump Lashes Out Over Report that He Insulted Fallen Soldiers: A Closer Look.

Seth takes a closer look at Trump ignoring the coronavirus pandemic and pretending he’s anti-war in response to the news that he insulted veterans.

This segment was about a lot more than The Atlantic's report of his calling American servicemen and women "losers" and "suckers" and Trump's response, including the Republican National Convention, but I'll stick to the former. Trump may have believed what he says about the military brass before he ran for President, but I think he's basically repeating what Steve Bannon distilled from Trump's remarks into what passes for a coherent ideological position about military involvement and U.S. foreign policy. Bannon may be long gone but his influence remains.

Speaking of Bannon, the real last closer look Seth produced from home was Ex-Trump Adviser Steve Bannon Arrested and Charged with Fraud: A Closer Look.

Seth takes a closer look at one of Trump’s closest confidantes, former campaign manager and former chief strategist Steve Bannon getting arrested for a wild scam that captures so much of what’s rotten about Trumpism.

Ha, ha, ha! Not only was he arrested in a scam about the border wall, USPS Postal Inspectors arrested him. I find the poetic justice delicious.

By the way, the show Amy Schumer wanted to promote is "Amy Schumer Learns to Cook: Lunch Break and Pasta Night," which earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program. Stay tuned, as a post on nominees in that category is next.

Trevor Noah recounts 'The Great USPS War'

The most read entry last month was WOOD-TV finds dismantled mail sorting machines in Michigan and Governor Whitmer and Senator Peters react on MSNBC, which earned 1215 page views. That means the best way I can celebrate Throwback Thursday is to blog about the Post Office. Fortunately, "The Daily Show with Trevor Noah" uploaded the perfect video on Tuesday for today's post, The Great USPS War, "A brief history of The Great USPS War, from the beginning."


The only angle that Trevor Noah and his writers underplayed was privatizing the mail service, which Seth Meyers examined in his closer looks at the assault on the USPS. I recommend my readers who haven't yet read that entry and watched the videos do so to get that part of the story. Otherwise, this clip serves as a good example of why "The Daily Show with Trevor Noah" earned five Emmy nominations — Outstanding Variety Talk Series, Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series, Outstanding Directing for a Variety Series, Outstanding Picture Editing for Variety Programming, and Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Variety Series or Special — six counting "Between the Scenes" for Outstanding Short Form Nonfiction or Reality Series. Just as a reminder, here are all the nominations in one image.


Finally, this clip is a fundraiser for Common Cause, one of Coffee Party USA's partners, who has filed suit to protect the USPS. Since this clip was posted, it has raised $16,295 for the organization. Hmm. The Coffee Party has a YouTube channel; maybe we should make our videos into fundraisers. I'm a director of the organization; I think I'll suggest this to my fellow directors.

Seth Meyers takes closer looks at the assault on the USPS

I just wrote WOOD-TV finds dismantled mail sorting machines in Michigan and Governor Whitmer and Senator Peters react on MSNBC yesterday, but I couldn't resist another examination of the Post Office. Since I traditionally alternate between serious and silly treatments of an issue, it's time for some comedy. I just happen to have two clips from Late Night with Seth Meyers on the subject. I begin with USPS Trump’s Plan to Sabotage the Post Office Before the Election: A Closer Look from August 11, 2020.

Seth takes a closer look at the president trying to undermine the integrity of the election by sabotaging the post office because he knows he can’t win in November with a majority of votes.

Hey, look, a clip from Business Insider on the rise and fall of the USPS that explains what happened to the Post Office plus a photo showing Senator Susan Collins at the signing of the bill that is causing the Post Office's financial troubles. That alone is a reason to vote her out.

The Business Insider video makes another appearance in Trump and the GOP Are Trying to Destroy the Post Office: A Closer Look from earlier this week, along with the latest news about mail sorting machines being taken out of service.

Seth takes a closer look at President Trump and the Republican Party’s plan to dismantle the US Postal Service that is both an assault on democracy and the culmination of a decades-long movement to privatize one of the country’s most cherished public institutions.

As Seth points out, the assault on the Post Office has been building for decades. In Trump, the plan finally found someone who is willing to carry it out.

As an aside, I'm glad to hear that Seth is heading back to the studio next week. It's a sign that things are returning to the pre-pandemic normal in New York, even though the pandemic is still raging elsewhere in the country.

Finally, I'm in the middle of grading final exams, which means I should be posting shorter entries with less thought required. In less stressful times, I might type that I'm mailing it in, but the way things are going with the Postal Service, I don't know if that will work for much longer.

WOOD-TV finds dismantled mail sorting machines in Michigan and Governor Whitmer and Senator Peters react on MSNBC

Since I last looked at the plight of the Postal Service through a comedic lens in Stephen Colbert is 'ha, ha, only serious' about President Trump and Postmaster DeJoy messing with the Post Office to suppress the mail-in vote, it's time for a serious take on the issue. WOOD-TV provided just the opportunity yesterday when they reported Some USPS machines dismantled in Kent Co., including one Wednesday.

The day after the postmaster general said he would hit pause on massive changes within the U.S. Postal Service, News 8 learned a sorting machine was being dismantled in the downtown Grand Rapids post office. (Aug. 19, 2020)

I watched this story blow up on Twitter yesterday, which the WOOD-TV anchor noted. In particular, he mentioned both Michigan's Attorney General and one of Michigan's U.S. Senators retweeting the story. Both elected officials play a part in the next two videos, one off-camera and the other on-camera, from MSNBC. Follow over the jump for the reactions.

Stephen Colbert is 'ha, ha, only serious' about President Trump and Postmaster DeJoy messing with the Post Office to suppress the mail-in vote

While I've mentioned voting by mail in my marching music for a primary election series, I haven't focused specifically on the problems of the Post Office since I wrote Business Insider on the rise and fall of the USPS two months ago. Since I usually alternate between serious and silly takes on a subject, it's time to examine the issue through comedy. Fortunately, Stephen Colbert examined the topic in two segments last night, beginning with his monologue, Michael Cohen Teases A Bombshell Book While Trump Admits He's Slowing USPS To Tilt The Election.

Former Trump fixer Michael Cohen dropped details of a new tell-all book today, which he promises will be full of things the President doesn't want you to read. That same President today openly talked about his effort to interfere with the USPS and swing the election in his favor.

In addition to Stephen showing two clips of Trump stating his opposition to funding the USPS to support mail-in voting, he mentioned Postmaster Louis DeJoy's investments in USPS competitors. USA Today examined a claim about DeJoy's investments being a conflict of interest and rated it as "Missing Context," but did confirm the investments.

Louis DeJoy and his wife Aldona Wos reported between at least $30 million to just over $75 million in assets from XPO Logistics, J.B. Hunt and UPS. All are competitors with U.S. Postal Service operations. While government records confirm their ownership of the assets, the exact value of the holdings is not clear from the records.

Only the best people.

Colbert and his bandleader Jon Batiste continued the discussion of the USPS to open the next segment, Quarantinewhile... The Space Force Tweet That Inspires And Confuses.

Quarantinewhile... The newest branch of the U.S. military is on a mission to inspire Americans to aim high.

I think the fictional F. Tony Scarapiducci from "Space Force" would have written a better tweet and he's a walking joke.

Voting by mail even made a cameo at the end of the next segment, "The Circus" Hosts Ask: Will Donald Trump Gain Voters In 2020?

Mark McKinnon and Alex Wagner, who are living on the campaign trail until Election Day, share some insights about the loyalty of President Trump's base in advance of the Season 5 premiere of their show "The Circus" on Showtime.

I hope Alex Wagner is right about Democratic turnout.

By the way, these clips demonstrate why "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" earned three Emmy nominations for Outstanding Variety Talk Series, Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series, and Outstanding Directing for a Variety Series. I don't think it will win any of those, but the show certainly deserved its nominations.

I conclude this post with a meme.