"It's All Normal"by Catherine Giordano
Things have gotten so wacky that wacky seems normal now. It’s Friday night, August 21, 2015, 10pm and Bill Maher is on Real Time with Bill Maher, episode 361, explaining the new normal to us.
Ashley Madison is
a website, for men who want to cheat on their wives, but are too lazy to do it
the normal way--a workplace affair or a pick-up at a bar. The website was
hacked and the clientele is revealed. Scuzzy Josh Duggar, the one who molested
his sisters, was cheating on his wife and also cheating on the woman with whom
he was cheating on his wife. What did Josh Duggar have to say for himself. “I’m
the biggest hypocrite ever.” Bill
quipped that Duggar then went on to say,”That’s why tonight I’m announcing my candidacy
for the Republican nomination for presidency. ”
Talking about the Republican nomination for president—Donald
Trump is still the “Great orange Hope” of the Republican Party. Trump announced
his plan for immigration. It is called “Cinqo Good-byo. He will repeal the 14
amendment, seize the wages of the illegals and then use that money to build a
wall and deport 11 million people. Upon hearing this, “the Fox News viewers got
their first erection in years.”
The interview was with Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO): (She is the author of a new book about her 30-year career in politics. The book is Plenty Ladylike: A Memoir) She was on the show to talk about the new normal in politics since the Supreme Court’s decision in the Citizen’s United case which said money is speech. Rather than repealing the 14th amendment, we may have to add a new amendment to get Big Money out of politics.
Black Lives Matter
McCaskill said
women in politics are “tough cookies.” No one has to be tougher than Hillary Clinton.
She gets attacked from the left and the right. Recently she had a conversation
with the leaders of the “Black Lives matter” movement. And as Bill Maher says, “It
is not all lives matter because that
would imply that all lives were equally at risk.”
Hillary told them “I don’t believe you change hearts. You
change laws and you change systems.” Panel
member Rep. Donna Edwards (D-MD) is
the first African-American woman to represent Maryland in Congress and is a candidate
for the Senate in 2016. She said that Hillary is saying, “We need more than
progressive rhetoric, we need progressive policy.”
Maher said that the movement would fade away without
accomplishing anything just like Occupy Wall Street. Edwards pointed out that
movements like these do accomplish something—they change the conversation and
they push to change the laws.
More Donald Trump
Trump is like that freeway accident that you just can’t look
away from. You know you will be horrified and repulsed, but you just have to
look. Maher said that Trumps plan is stupid and racist and lettuce would cost
$25 a head.  |
| CLICK HERE |
Panel member Marc
Maron is a comedian, host of the podcast “WTF with Marc Maron,"—he recently interviewed President Obama
on his podcast—and the star of star of “Maron” which recently aired its third season on IFC. He is the
author of several books. His most recent book—a humorous memoir-- is Attempting Normal. He called the Trump supporters "The Great American Assholes.
Broke, angry assholes.”
Political Attack Ads
Dorset Massachusetts has a six year old mayor—I assume it is
a ceremonial post. Many politicians act
like six year olds, but this one actually is six years old. Now his four year
old bother is running to be mayor. So Maher did a spoof attack commercial on
behalf of the older brother. It concludes, “Don’t let Jimmy do to our town what
he did to his diaper.”
Mid-Show Special
Guest
 |
| CLICK HERE |
He has studied several “blue zones” areas where there are
ten times more centenarians than usual. One of those blue zones is Loma Linda,
California. They are mostly 7th Day Adventists.
What’s the secret of the blue zones? You already know the
answer. A mostly vegetarian diet (eating
meat only 4-5 times a month) that includes a lot of nuts and beans. (A cup of
beans a day can add 4-5 years to your life.) Lots of physical activity (natural
movement like walking, not going to the gym), low stress, moderate alcohol consumption,
and having sexual relations about twice a week. The community respects the wisdom
and experience of its older people and they continue to have a meaningful
contribution to make throughout their lives. They have “the reason for which you
wake up in the morning.”
Buettner also said religious faith contributed to longevity.
(Perhaps because it lowers stress to feel that God is in his heaven and all is
right with the world.
New Rules—A Rant
about the Sharing Economy
Maher noted that interns who work for billion dollar
corporations are unpaid—some are suing to get at least minimum wage. He claimed
that what is called the sharing economy is actually closer to a barter economy.
AirBnB, Esty, and similar companies are actually taking advantage of their “business
partners.”
Maher said that even Jeb Bush said that it is harder to move
up in today’s economy. Maher said that Bush’s solution is to not raise the
minimum wage [Huh?]
Maher concluded, “When we say Jeb is smart, we mean smart
for a Bush.”
Normal? Define normal? I don't think we will ever see normal again.
You know who is normal and until recently looked like he would make it to age 100: Jimmy Carter. He's 90 years old and was recently diagnosed with cancer. He wasn't mentioned on the show, but I am mentioning him here because he is such a class act. He's written several books. A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety is his most recent one. He sums up a life well-lived.
 |
| CLICK HERE |
You know who is normal and until recently looked like he would make it to age 100: Jimmy Carter. He's 90 years old and was recently diagnosed with cancer. He wasn't mentioned on the show, but I am mentioning him here because he is such a class act. He's written several books. A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety is his most recent one. He sums up a life well-lived.
The interview
Senator Claire
McCaskill (D-MO): She is the author of a new book about her 30-year career
in politics. The book is Plenty Ladylike: A Memoir .
Mid-show special
guest
Dan Buettner: National
Geographic Fellow and author of The Blue Zones Solution: Eating and Living Like the World’s Healthiest People. He has outlined his research on
longevity in a 2010 Ted Talk, “How to Live to Be 100."
Panel
Rep. Donna Edwards
(D-MD): First African-American woman to represent Maryland in Congress and candidate
for the Senate in 2016
Marc Maron: Comedian,
host of the podcast WTF with Marc
Maron—he recently interviewed President Obama on his podcast—and the
star of Maron
which recently aired its third season on IFC. He is the author of several books.
His most recent book—a humorous memoir-- is Attempting Normal.
Charles Cooke: Writer
for the National Review, co-host of the Mad Dogs and Englishmen podcast (with his National Review colleague
Kevin Williamson) and author of The Conservatarian Manifesto: Libertarians, Conservatives, and the Fight for the Right's Future.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Do you agree? Do you have something to add? I'd love to hear your opinions, so please post a comment. Don't forget to click "Publish" just below the "Comment" window.