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The...quality...of "right" guests has really gotten much worse in this last season or so. I think this is the first time a panelist had to go as far as getting out of the blasted chair to get a word in. If Maher is having such a hard time finding "established people on the right" to come on, just dial them down period until they can simmer down a tad and bring on fringe characters of different stripes in their place---people that can at least avoid the interruption barrage of this Moore guy so much of the ep isn't just a cacophony of yelling from all sides.
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Jan 22, 2011 16:22
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I can't believe it turned out to be that same Tea Party woman on the panel again, she was bad enough the first time. The Catholic Church commercial spot was the highlight of the episode to me, all that laughter helping to quell some of the rage inducing nonsense...
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Mar 12, 2011 23:54
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My only consolation for this episode is that the next new one, the week after next, is probably going to be much worse for having Breitbart on yet again... I got a laugh at the audience flipping out on Steele's classic "we don't know" bit on those enchanted vouchers for Medicare running out of steam early in a given year though!
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Apr 16, 2011 13:32
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My only hope is that Breitbart is somewhat falling on account of him looking like some sort of disheveled hobo last night---the ep was even worse than I'd have thought. Dyson should bring things back around next week indeed.
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Apr 30, 2011 13:38
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This was a weird episode in that there wasn't really any "hook" per se---I'll be amazed if I really remember this one a week or so from now given how there was seemingly just no real energy to it. Ratigan was really focused on his one point he had to make constantly though, jeez.
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May 21, 2011 15:13
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If nothing else, it is certainly equal parts funny/sad that Maher's little read-in was actually the only way to get the actual "news" of the Weiner "news" on TV. Seriously, the news gets to act extra super-aghast at something it can't even accurately articulate on air? So very ridiculous. Our bit in the annals might as well be "Quote such and such: *Beep*" at this rate.
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Jun 12, 2011 01:23
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I got a good laugh at the Ann Cooter bit in Overtime that seemingly went right over her head....her constantly laughing head... This week was a mixed bag overall---one of these days Bill needs to put a hidden cam in the Green Room before he hangs the show up just to show the world exactly how some of these folk play it off camera.
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Jul 9, 2011 14:27
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Savage's anger was expected, his Thundercat'ish "Santorum within Santorum" swipe was not. Though, it IS Savage afterall... Gillespie was one of the worst I've seen on the show---you could see it on Maher's face that he was just dumbstruck wanting to smack him upside the head on his mini-rant about "C'mon Bill, shut down your show, give up all your (IIRC electric?) cars, for Carbon~" The swipe at the mayor was pretty low as well, in a better world they would've taken that up in the parking lot after the show. Really thought that guy would've gotten into the conversation more as I think he was vocal the last time he came on, but Gillespie pretty much ate up the time.
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Jul 23, 2011 14:07
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This was one of the most painful panels, especially coming off of Leather Libertarian last week. Both the Tea Party guy and the lady were utterly insufferable blowhards. I would have preferred the whistleblower guy just to swoop in from the rafters mid-panel and generally just slam them on anything economic or finance related that they kept going on about.
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Jul 30, 2011 14:49
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Definitely a solid end to the season, here's hoping for a better slate of guests in September. I didn't notice any particularly new names in the mini guest scroll right at the end, though if he makes the panel I suppose it'll be interesting to see Moore generally flip out as he was Super Hopeful on Obama for a good while---either that or he'll have some sort of new project coming out for election year.
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Aug 6, 2011 14:17
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Hey progress! The key thing with PJ, this time, was him being the late addition guest instead of completely bombing out the entire show save the first few minutes like he did the last time around as a full on panel member. He was still utterly terrible, but this way he at least had less time to do so. Given that he seems to get on about a time per season, better to have him out of the lineup early on. I pray to whoever does booking on Maher's show that Kibbe NEVER comes back though---he's still in the burning running along with that leather jacket guy as the worst kind of guest. Coulter is infinitely more palatable and entertaining than the pair of them put together. A shame the episode and overtime itself were so uneventful otherwise, this week will hopefully be better.
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Oct 10, 2011 23:13
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It would have been a FAR better episode if the panel had been Hartmann, Jeffress, and Penn---surely Bill could've found some excuse to have the other 2 on for the interview slots, though I'd really sooner not have them on the show period. Hell, just do the 3 person panel after the opening monologue if there are not awesome fodder for the interviews that are down for the week in question! Overtime was better than last week at the very least.
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Oct 15, 2011 14:27
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The panel and Overtime were at least relatively solid this time around, lacking the crazed idiocy of the past few weeks. Next week though---I'm worried! Unless Kucinich is on the panel and Norquist is the first interview guest, preferably via satellite, arrrgh. I want some crazy panels blast it, Bill needs to just go all out from time to time. Gimme a Taibbi/Sharlet/Ellsberg or a Kucinich/Sanders/Gravel and I'd be positive some kinda crazed, yet informative, discussion would emerge.
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Oct 22, 2011 14:13
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drat it, what happened to Kucinich? I suspect he would've had fun on the panel in that one lady's slot that was utterly dwarfed by Ware and West---to say nothing of the creepy segway you just know would've happened after Grover brought up his ventriloquism. Ware has been an...animated...guest in the past, but good lord he was on fire tonight. West should have went over the table on that fool Christie, though I was also a bit perplexed that he was putting forth SUCH effort in defense of Smith given he probably spent more time on him than even the OWS state of affairs. I'm glad Grover was the first guest to get him out of the way until Overtime, but this was the first and I hope the last time I ever see this Christie guy on there or anywhere on TV. Dude was utterly ridiculous and drat near sunk the entire episode if it were not for the combined efforts of Ware, West, and Maher to tear him a new one time and again.
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Oct 29, 2011 15:08
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Yeah, this was a powerfully weak episode, though I did approve of the flashback segment that I guess will be a regular thing for this "season" as well as the nod to Hitchens passing. It started off so poorly that I was vocally hoping for Rob freaking Reiner to save the panel...but ultimately it just came down to Pelosi---and even she seemed to slip a bit on Overtime in some odd "Hey now, what're you doing attacking Democrats (Obama) now in the latter half versus the Republicans in the first?" Next week should be much better though, with Bernie Sanders in the mix somehow and I want to think a few other solid folks whose names escape me at the moment---more of a "Left" crowd versus the..er...mix that was this week. I'd presume next week will actually address SOPA/PIPA and whatnot though I'd have thought it would've at least gotten brought up last night.
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Jan 14, 2012 15:18
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If there was ever a time for Michael Moore to just casually walk onstage just because he can, it would've been for the Religulous/SOPA part of things---he almost certainly could've spun Maher around on it considering. Agreed on Sanders/Tyson, even if they didn't speak and could just give folks the death-stare when they are saying stupid things the effect would be better episodes. I'd have rather had Moyers on the panel in that Palin book guy's spot at the very least.
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Jan 22, 2012 15:20
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Only briefly in the sense that it was held up one time and the guy had to desperately jump in to clarify that there are 2 books out there on it---a joke book and his "serious" one, as if that is something to be proud of. I guess his sort is always better than a Kibbe or Gilespie debacle again, but surely Bill can do better. It makes no sense to continue to feed this odd quota notion of "tea party/republican'ish inclusion" or worse still the episodes when they are allowed to utterly dominate in volume and...er...volume---bring back the real eccentrics and people generally out of this loop like Gravel and such to actually spur some discussion versus the now trite and predictable talking points. Roemer/Sanders did OK in this line of things, hence the episode actually HAD some damned energy for a change when they were able to get into it somewhat. Also: Leave the bubble gag be, it was a cringer last season and surely something better/new can be thought up!
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Jan 22, 2012 23:57
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....Painful...so painful an episode. I hope Bashir at least got some after the show, providing a way to shut her up for a bit manifested therein. Sadly, I get the feeling that Kennedy will return as she was on the old PI show, though I suppose I was far too young to remember how she acted back then on it, but I REALLY hope the loudmouthed Californian guy is banned forever like I hope Kibbe and Gilespie are. Even Overtime couldn't salvage this, it was just as bad for the same reasons as the regular portion of the show. Batali, Bashir, Foley---much better, eclectic mix of a panel.
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Jan 28, 2012 14:34
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This week was kind of weird...Orman stuck exclusively to topics on a narrow focus, middle guy was Optimism, and Lazio was just kinda there. Things only ever seemed to get any engagement with either of the interview folks---but compared to last week this was kind of a refreshing palate cleanser even if not a feast.
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Feb 4, 2012 14:40
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Yeah, while he was far less cringing than the others, it was still a pretty tame episodes without anything memorable to it really. Mo Rocca at least tried to stay interjected in the discussion to follow instead of turning all quiet like so many of the final guests after their little intro back and forth with Bill.
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Feb 12, 2012 15:33
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Freaking Overtime segment didn't want to play the last minute or so correctly either...where in the world did Dr. Drew get get to? Given the inherent terribleness of Moore, he'd have been far and away preferable to drown him out on OT. At least we're finally getting DeGrasse Tyson on after they get back from break next week! Bill better not punk out and just have him as an interview either, the man needs a panel seat for the duration.
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Feb 18, 2012 14:36
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A nicely solid ep, minus the GM guy in general. I was expecting a Breitbart clip on the starter mildly along the lines of Hitchens or some such instead of that random, sad Nader one. Just once, I'd like to see them drag on the first interview guest to the panel just for kicks---let them drag that chair over there or some such and just wing it.
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Mar 3, 2012 14:51
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She sort of did this the last time she was on as a guest, that I caught, an odd sideline comment along the lines of "BOTH BOTH BOTH" prior to either video. I was expecting her to, you know, neighborhood crawl in general comparable to rural excursion from before. I can get the "my backyard" angle, but that's not really congruent with what she'd established in the first video. Otherwise, it was a meh episode to me---Ratigan seemed to be the only person lively aside from Holmes seemingly jumping at every chance to play mild contrarian. I want to think she used to be a more engaging panel member. Overtime was pretty worthless given they only asked like 2-3 questions then claimed to be out---really guys, I mean come on!
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Mar 17, 2012 13:45
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Yeah, would've much rather had Tavis on the panel again, or Cornel West swoop down from the rafters after the book plug for it, than that incredibly smug guy that added nothing to it but smug. To his credit, such that it can be, he at least didn't go on a loud interrupting spree. Besides, PJ lost his mantle to that rear end Gillespie in his smug jacket back in last season.
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Apr 14, 2012 23:33
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Yeah, this was the first episode in years that I actually fell asleep against somewhere past the halfway mark---had to DVR a rerun this morning just so I could get caught up with the thread and OT. There was just no spark to it---and these utterly lost Pelosi clips are just baffling to me compared to when Taibbi was the real time real reporter. However, to my horror, for some damned reason S.E. Cupp is coming back to the show next week---though I'm not sure if to poo poo up the panel again or just an interview.
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Apr 22, 2012 13:26
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IRQ posted:Maybe if we're super lucky Mos Deff will be the last panel member! Horror panel: Cupp, Gillespie, and I guess PJ(Or insert another here save for Smug Guy unless it has been awhile!) under some worthless fig leaf about "balance" due to the mysterious phenomenon of one idiot on the panel either drowning the rest or getting dogpiled.
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Apr 23, 2012 00:30
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Ah yes Kennedy---I had repressed that apparently! The sad thing is that even if we're just taking it off the top I suspect there's a real chance that we could actually see a panel like this somewhere in the remainder of 2012. Awesome panel would be what, Tyson/West/Booker nowadays?
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Apr 23, 2012 14:38
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Murray was the weakest link in the episode---for all the nonsense he was spouting he's fit right in with the Dominionist nutjobs and I think I'll go ahead an imagine a wondrous parallel universe where he spouted this crap on a panel where Sharlet happened to be sitting next to him to come down on like a ton of bricks... Cupp was also a cringer, but not so much this time due to the presence of Sorkin and Bill not raising topics that gave her gigantic excuses to trot out the loudest and proudest nonsense. I know Bill likes to have women on, particularly along "conservative" lines as it is ripe for moments of showcase for speaking/acting against rational self-interest---but I think the Libertarian'ish field is about tapped out at this junction as far as they go and I'd rather see takes on current events from other parts of the broad spectrum entirely. Imagine, hmm, a McKinney/Kennedy panel---or some other delightful contrast almost guaranteed to end in a literal brawl, perhaps with Michael Ware on the sides fully tanked up on alcohol just to close the circle.
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Apr 30, 2012 00:00
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I like that the very first sentence or so out of the lady last night pretty much set her up as the one to ignore the entire program outside of maybe softball questions. Arsenio was good, Wilkerson a solid change of pace---even Schultz was less hammy than usual. I even liked the late comer as I somehow felt like I remembered him from stuff waaay on back but couldn't place it for the life of me. Shame all this devolves to Grover Norquist coming back next week as opposed to getting a streak of good going---god I hope he's just the first book interview...
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May 5, 2012 13:55
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Well, I was born in '84 so.... Speaking of Arsenio, is it just due to it shifting the news cycle at least temporarily and thus now muddled, or was I the only one expecting a segway into the Trayvon Martin case that never ended up happening in terms of riots and the like?
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May 5, 2012 23:52
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Bah, must focus better on words! Though it would be an interesting bit of a surreal moment if suddenly Bill and Arsenio busted out Segways partway through the interview and then just rode around the stage conducting the rest via chase cam... Grover worries me as I seem to have a vague sense that he was on before, and not all that long ago that same way it troubles me that we get more right wing repeats than anybody else nowadays, and contributed significantly to the stink of the episode. In every conceivable way, the "right" idiot parade has shown that they can mess up an episode of Real Time---either being loud, interrupting constantly, saying the dumbest things every time, making every question they answer into a long and pointless rant, and worst of all, the times where Bill's or the OT's questions lean in their pet direction as opposed to broader events of the day.
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May 6, 2012 13:12
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Painful episode with Grover's constant interruptions, even when generally shut down by others, it was like rewinding the crank on a windup chatterbox. Too bad Richard Clarke didn't do the panel, the lady in the middle said among the least of any of the panel members from a given show I can remember and what little there was amounted to FoxNews B-grade fluff. Norquist knows full well what he's doing----just doesn't care about anything and anyone that doesn't fit neatly into his pet notions he allegedly figured out back in like, his elementary or middle school timeframe IIRC.
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May 12, 2012 13:44
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Pretty please Bill, make much larger bets with that CNBC lady that you can win such that she can no longer afford the air or cab fare to return on the program again----ugh! As usual, being constantly demonstrated wrong/ignorant is one things, but the smug factor might as well be smog floating around the studio. A real twist of irony next week would be Krugman bringing a portable bathtub with him and at least drown the drat chart in effigy. I still maintain a Scahill/Sharlet/Taibbi panel would be ever so delightful, even if it felt like Scahill didn't get to speak up as much as usual even if he was point man on shutting down CNBC.
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May 19, 2012 13:36
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Maher also missed the bit where massive astroturfing essentially co-opted the "original" tea party, IIRC, which then has gone on to "co-opt" the GOP---it is almost like some sort of odd money laundering/recycle really that dooms us all. There's no "Soros" figure backing OWS versus the Koch bros and the like so it isn't much of a contest, nor do they really have a major news network going to bat for them to a substantial degree. Occupy has an inherently harder thing to do even discounting all of that---much harder to get poison out of a well than to poison it in the first place. Still, a nice episode lacking any idiot parade unlike oh so many this season.
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Jun 10, 2012 16:34
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On the flip(?) side though, the next ep features the return of Gillespie... I'd probably prefer more subdued ones to that, but maybe this time somebody will lose it on his sorry self.
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Jun 17, 2012 23:17
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Somehow, I was able to pretty well understand all of Kirk Douglas---but really was there absolutely no way they could've sprang for a live show bit of subtitles in Close Captioning form? Hell, if I'd have known I'd have tried watching the show with CC on the TV outright just for that segment. I figured Maddow/Gillespie wouldn't end well---and it certainly didn't. Dude behaved about as well as last time in the sense that I think he technically got booed by the audience just a tad less this time around. Maddow's answer to the Romneycare bit was par for the course since his initial line of attack never actually stopped, he just took a short siesta of running his mouth otherwise then got back to trying to single her out as his target for the show. He's just playing into his Smug Self-Assured Libertarian Victory crowd when he goes on the show, not even trying to engage meaningfully or in good faith. The lineup before summer break next week didn't strike me offhand as an especially contentious mix like this week, but I only caught it briefly scrolling on by.
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Jun 23, 2012 13:40
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I dunno....most debates if you get caught bullshitting to the degree the like of Gillespie is fond of, you get shut down pretty hard by moderation. I never watch Maddow's show, but she was generally passive/on defense the entire time(which had her a fairly boring showing really, and this was all oddly deja vu'ish considering what the Real Time Real Moment or whatever classic clip just so happened to be at the top of the show...) whereas Gillespie was the acerbic one by far---it is meant to be a general discussion on current events show, not a platform latching on to panelists for just about the entire lot of it plus OT to make some sort of "point". Had Maddow reacted in any way other than how she did or turning aggressive as hell on the dude, the entire show would've just been Gillespie running his mouth loudly while getting exhausting rebukes from Bill and maybe Ruffalo straight coming over the table at him over his hilarious conceited views on fracking in terms of "Well, I GUESS if a major Aquifer got contaminated(but who could trust that EPA!), then it might be worth starting paying some attention to~"
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Jun 23, 2012 23:09
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Why in the world Maher booked freaking Reihan to start this season off with I can't fathom---agreed that Handler did a good job smacking him down a peg or so. Just a loud panel wasting time decoding and trying to get to actual points from his talking points....even Overtime lacked any real shine.
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Aug 18, 2012 14:36
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Honestly, if the "conservatives" are such precious little shrinking violets as to come on the show without carte blanche to be insufferable fools----bring on the proper anarchists, futurists, communists, more socialists, etc on into infinity. Let the audience and panel actually be confronted by and interact with the whole lot in this setting versus the vested media interests against all but R, D, and Libertarians as a sideshow.
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Aug 19, 2012 16:21
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Romney's advisor stooge bombed out especially bad in OT, though even on the show proper he was just terrible, even if not in the ultra-loud derailing way many others are. Agreed that OT had more pep to it than the normal broadcast---which is weird really.
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Aug 26, 2012 01:28
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