1. How old are you and what state do you live in?
I am 47 and reside in Connecticut. I am from Wisconsin.
2. When did you become a member of TYT?
I think it was 2006. Dave Koller told me I was member number 219. 219!! I joined immediately after the Al Franken show went off the air. I thought I would never find a replacement that was both truth-telling and funny. I fell in love with Cenk, Ben, and Jill immediately.
3. How do you consume the show?
I sign in at the tytnetwork.com website and then go to archive and download hour one, hour two, and the postgame show to my smartphone every night sometime between 9pm and midnight. I then watch as much of the show as possible on the MetroNorth train from Pawling, NY to Grand Central (about 100 minutes) every day of the week. The remainder I watch on the return trip. I never miss a minute of H1, H2 and Postgame.
4. What field do you work in?
I am a software engineer, computer systems analyst, development manager, projects manager and all-around leader in my field (which is specifically anything to do with computer systems employing the computer language, database, and user environment which is called MAPPER).
5. How would you describe TYT in 5 words or less?
Honest and beholden to none.
6. Do you have a favorite TYT moment?
That is a difficult question. I do love the moment when Cenk lost it with Michael over the USA Today. It was cringe-worthy, unprofessional, unfair to Michael, and I would not recommend a repeat, but Cenk spoke with a voice that was needed at the time. It was cathartic. I hope that Michael understands, lol. However, I did not even see that until after the fact. My favorite moments are when the gang does an analysis that is superior to what I could have come up with myself. I like when I am given a prediction or a way of seeing through the bullshit that I missed or would have missed. This does not happen often, because BS detection is a specialty of my own, but it never happens elsewhere.
7. Who is your favorite co-host? Why?
That is not even a fair question. I love the team. My honest assessment on individual members is roughly:
Cenk is unstoppable and incorrigible. Brilliant.
Ana is classy, witty, sexy, and strong.
John: Needs to show who he is a bit more. He seems a bit restrained. He needs to let the audience know when he disagrees with any other host and why. He is very smart and just needs to be stronger.
Ben: I think I am probably alone in thinking that Ben is the single funniest member of the team. He is really funny. When he says, “getting it all in one trip is overrated,” I fall out of my chair laughing even before he tells the story about how he dropped and smashed everything on the way from the car to the house. I love what he brings to the table, especially in opposition to Cenk. Even when wrong. BTW, tell Ben that I have a Hotmail email address. I am not happy about the name “Hotmail” myself, but that comment about how he hates people with a Hotmail address came out of the blue and stung a little. :)
Michael: Like everybody else, I think, I hated Michael the first several times he filled in (I never told anyone at TYT this). Then Cenk told us all (the haters) to knock it off and give him a chance and how smart Michael is. From that moment forward, I saw what Cenk was talking about. I love Michael now. I would like for him to share a bit more of his personal life. He and John both play it too close to the vest or perhaps they assume that no one would care. They need to tell more personal stories and outrageous opinions.
Wes: Everybody loves and fears Wes. My favorite Wes moments include when he said he would shoot anyone who came to his house uninvited (perhaps that is not a fair characterization), and also recently when he dissed all Russians everywhere during the story about the Slavic lawyer who photo-shopped her way into legal trouble. “What ‘bout Natalie Portman? She wear mask. She not dance and win Oscar.” Or something like that. Very funny stuff.
Honorable mentions: Love Steve Oh, the Audio Guy J (always thoughtful and sometimes brilliant occasional commentary, and good insight into Cenk as well); I do not like Fleschman, sorry; I love Dave in spite of himself; I love Jimmy Dore. The jury is still out (for me) on Dave Rubin.
8. What motivated you to take the extra step of becoming a paying member?
I was always a paying member. That was not even optional the way I saw it. I wanted the whole show from the very beginning. And I wanted to give TYT some money!! They needed it.
9. Are [you] surprised that the The Young Turks has grown into a multiplatform network of multiple channels?
Actually no. But I am proud to be an early member. I watch only the main show due to time constraints; however, I have seen a sample of a few other shows and they are all fine. Sports would be the next one I would watch and then perhaps pop trigger. I do not think I would watch TYT University. I cannot name any others! Sorry.
10. Cenk often talks about the TYT brand as “truth telling.” What does this mean to you as a member?
Well, Cenk is right-on with that. That is exactly what it is. TYT/Cenk is not always right, of course, but there is a real effort to try to be right as well as an ability and clear-sightedness that makes TYT/Cenk right most of the time. The truth is the only game in town for viewers like us. That is why it is important not to be beholden to big supporters or anyone who would want to dilute that truth – even unknowingly.
11. Which TYT host would you get coffee with? Which one would you go to the bar with? Who would you have dinner with?
Cenk would be my first choice. Cenk and I are very similar in our ways of going about things. I am more science and history than he is, but he has taught me shitloads about how to consume news and how politics actually works. I would love to tell him over Jacks and Cokes and in person why he is so wrong about the Kennedy Assassination and I would love to discuss the mechanisms of biological evolution or how Mediterranean cultures influenced one-another throughout history. But to answer your question, I would like to hang out with any of the TYT gang as I probably showed above. My wife would enjoy it too. I hate coffee.
12. If you were a co-host on the show, which story would you cover? Why?
I know Dave hates it, but I enjoy covering the stories where Republicans show their true colors with hypocrisy and scandal. However, I now enjoy the same stories when the Democrats are the target. I have come to believe more than I ever thought possible that it makes little difference which party you fight against. It is the very fact that both parties are in the tank for the campaign cash that WOLF-PAC.COM is so needed. I watched as Cenk formulated a solution even as he was figuring out that the Democrats were no solution. I came to the same conclusion along with him, with his help, of course.
13. Have you ever communicated with other TYT fans? If so, how?
No. I have very little time or social life. I have a 2.5 hour commute to work each day. 5 hours a day commuting! I have a wife whom I adore and four kids. Hopefully I will improve my situation so that my wife and I have more time in the future but right now I am slammed with work and home commitments. Its not the way I should live, but its just the way it is right now.
14. Has the show convinced you to change your position on a particular issue?
Yes. Many times. If you cannot change your mind, you will hardly ever be right. TYT has the advantage on me. They get the information that I do not have time to cull.
15. Have you ever referred membership to anyone? If so, what did you say?
Yes. Not very successfully. TYT is doing a far better job at getting new members than I am. Wait. That is not true: I have gotten several: my wife and all four of my kids love the show. And that is 100% my doing! J
Allow me to make a few additional points: I love Ana’s expression, “Heee don’ like that.” However, every time she says, “Do you, Boo,” I cringe. I hate it. The first time she said it, I laughed. It was quite funny. It may just be me, but that expression is not one of those that ages on the ears well. I really despise it.
I loved it back in the old days when JR could be a DJ between segments and play any song he liked. He is very knowledgeable about the topic (music), just as Cenk is about politics and I think TYT should pay the music royalties and let JR do that. It was an education just like the rest of the show. I would love to hear him spin “Say, Say, Say” at least one more time before I die. JR is an under-used resource and maybe that is just where he should stay to keep us wanting more, but I want JR to know how I feel. He has a great voice and a unique one on many issues and I really appreciate him.
One more thing about Ana… Ana was thrust into a very difficult situation. She was not ready to co-host when she came on. And I really missed crazy Jill. I know I speak for many of the old-time listeners. But wow, has she grown into the role. She is tremendous. She has a great head on her shoulders and is as grounded as anybody in the world. She has a great future and her attitude will take her anywhere she wants to go. And hopefully we at TYT can continue to see it all happen. Looking back at how I felt when she replaced Jill, it is exactly like when Don Majikowski was replaced by Brett. I hope she reads this and then someone who knows sports explains the analogy; it is intended as the highest praise.
One thing I should mention that will surprise you: I stopped watching TYT for two solid years. I had to step away. TYT was not doing anything wrong. It was the politics. I just had to get away. It was in the summer of 2012 when I left. I kept sending the money to TYT because I never waivered in my support for the mission. However, I got sick of the campaign politics when Obama/Biden was taking on Romney/Ryan. Of course I was going to vote for Obama, but I was sick of him. Same as Cenk felt: great politician, but no accomplishment to match the rhetoric. I was sickened by the weakness and then when he got strong during the campaign and the full realization hit me that even the best looking Democrats are in the tank for the corporate donors. The stark reality that I had resisted for a long time finally gelled in my mind and it hurt. I felt hopeless about the future and it was largely Cenk’s doing. He came up with WOLF-PAC.COM, but it seemed a long shot. The horserace, which had been the most exciting part of politics for me, now made me sick. I could not watch it. My advice is this: when it comes to the horserace and most other coverage of politics, all I really want now is for it to be ridiculed. Within the scope of mere rhetoric, I believe that ridicule is the best way to combat the broken system. And it is the most entertaining. That is the best way to defeat both a dangerous religion and a broken political system.
PS I love Rock and Roll Jesus too!! He is the George Harrison of the team. Quiet and inscrutable, but full of goodness and he tells it like it is.
*****
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