Aggressive Progressives: September 21, 2017

In Aggressive Progressives - On Demand, Membership by Gigi Manukyan182 Comments

On this week’s Aggressive Progressives, Jimmy Dore is joined by his wife, Stef Zamorano to talk Jordan Chariton’s new book, Chris Haze’s review of HRC’s book, Bill Maher’s neo-liberal helmet and his hatred for Jill Stein, and the increase of military spending.

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  1. “On this week’s Aggressive Progressives, Jimmy Dore is joined by his wife, Stef Zamorano, to talk with Jordan Chariton about his new book, Chris Hayes’s review of HRC’s book, Bill Maher’s Neoliberal helmet and his hatred for Jill Stein, and the increase of military spending.”

    *FTFY

  2. Stef Zamorano is his ACTUAL WIFE!!!!! I could NEVER tell if i was quizzed on Jimmy’s personal history!?

  3. Thanks for sharing that.

    You know, it would be a simple thing for TYT to post that very information right on the AP page, where members can actually find it…just a blurb under the expected show date. It would quell a lot of the angst over missed shows.

  5. > There are also other limits. I’m convinced that there was internal dissent against TYT gorging itself on 20 million of venture capitalist money, and that this dissent was quashed.

    Any evidence even suggesting/hinting this actually may have happened internally?

    1. That there was dissent against the deal is a given. You’ve suggested yourself that internal disagreement is the normal state of affairs.

      The deal went through, which implies that someone put their foot down.

      How much dissent was there, and how was it put down? That’s what I’m trying to find out.

      I’m also researching 3L, Greycroft, e.ventures and Jeffrey Katzenberg’s WndrCo firms, separately and each in their own right. I will be publishing my findings here, because members (if they can indeed be called that) deserve to know the full truth of exactly who/what has a stake in TYT, and exactly what all these venture capitalist firms have been up to in the near and distant past.

      It’s definitely not impossible that they also had/have a stake in the DAPL pipeline, or similar projects. And I think you’ll agree with me that this would be quite ironic and hilarious (in a sad way).

  6. > Jimmy speaking up against that would just get him fired from TYT. Permanently blacklisted from appearing on its shows.

    No it wouldnt. TYT allows disagreements. Youre an idiot robertjordan.

    1. Of course there are plenty of fierce disagreements within TYT, always have been. But, equally obviously, there is always a limit, a point which cannot be crossed.

      I’m simply saying that, if Jimmy were to talk about Cenk in the same manner as he talks about Bill Maher in this video (as suggested by the poster Eval1979) then Jimmy would find that limit.

      There are also other limits. I’m convinced that there was internal dissent against TYT gorging itself on 20 million of venture capitalist money, and that this dissent was quashed.

  7. Jimmy, you need to do the Bill Maher segment on your regular Jimmy Dore Show so it has more public exposure. I too used to be a fan of Bill Maher up until the 2016 primary when it became apparent that he’d become a neoliberal.

    1. you need to do the Bill Maher segment on your regular Jimmy Dore Show so it has more public exposure

      I agree! Truth to tell, James has in fact ridiculed and satirized Maher on his own show on many different occasions, but not yet by devoting a whole segment to it.

    1. no episode from last week, I don’t care if there was none, But not knowing is much worst. I want to cancel you guys treat members awful at times. Different hosts would be better than nothing.

  9. I love aggressive progressive but I’d love to know what happened to the show for the 28th?

    It’s not even in the archives what happened there was no announcement that there was not going to be an aggressive progressive.

    There’s obviously none posted as of this Saturday so what gives guys?

    I don’t mind paying my $25 a month just because I love watching the aggressive progressive alone. So can you give a old gal a answer!?

  10. LOVE LOVE LOVE Jimmy and Stef!
    Hey– where is the Sept 28 Aggressive Progressive?? Or was there not one this week?oll/

  11. Bill maher does more damage to the left than even republicans. it’s embarrassing to admit I believed his bullshit all through my 20s! That the democrats are just too proper and polite to fight back to republicans, I believed that shit!!!!
    But how does jimmy not know that Cenk does the same shit Maher does?

    1. > But how does jimmy not know that Cenk does the same shit Maher does?

      Jimmy speaking up against that would just get him fired from TYT. Permanently blacklisted from appearing on its shows.

  12. Anyone else surprised that Steph and Jimmy are married? Also feels like TYT kinda outed them here if they were trying to keep that a secret.

    All this time Ive been thinking, “wow Jimmy and Steph must have really good relationships with their significant others to be traveling all over the world with one another (as beautiful as Steph is — love you girl!!), come to find out yawl are married! WHAT! I love it! You make a great team and I’m a fan of you both (and a premium member of your show).

    Keep it coming, make it plain and stay grounded.

    Celan

  13. I totally disagree with using Stef on the show rather than Steve. I love watching Steve and Jimmy because they balance each other out and Steve is an old school favorite of mine in the tyt family. I don’t find Stef interesting or all that funny. She agrees with Jimmy a lot, but it’s not at all the same.

    1. I agree. Even if she is great it is clearly nepotism. I find none of them make good thought out points just get mad at people and events.

  15. I just cancelled my membership here and got a premium membership at Jimmy Dore Comedy. I’ve had enough! First they took off Murder with Friends (I LOVED that show!) and now AP is so unpredictable that it’s not worth the money anymore. I’ll come back when they get it together and stop moving ever so slowly to the right.

    1. > got a premium membership at Jimmy Dore Comedy

      That’s the spirit! A job well done, sir or madam. Let us all send a clear signal to James as to where the winds are blowing (hint: they’re blowing into his sails; sails which are pirate-like and all sorts of offensive to Corporate Democrats and other neoliberals).
      http://jimmydorecomedy.com

    2. I wanna cancel my membership too, jimmy is the only reason I’m here. I can’t stand TYT! It’s lik watching bill maher.

    3. Its sad how little you understand about TYT and shows like Murder with Friends, tbh… your comment comes off as childish, empty and about as much thought as a sad fake account troll … if that’s all you can come up with, Im glad you’re not a member anymore, you make all of the TYT army weaker.

  17. Thank you robertjordan18. I am stuck with the LG vs880 for another 6 months at least and will probably continue to just download the audio of various shows as I drive cross-country delivering fifth wheel and bumper pull travel trailers. I find this one way to keep my sanity, as the radio stations are filled with multiple broadcasts of religious con artists, right-wing nutjobs, and Rush Limbaugh (AKA RU$H LIMBAUGHT) I should copywrite that spelling……AHHHHHHHH!

  18. Where is the show for September 28??? Did they do a show? Why no information whatsoever? TYT, this show is the only reason I still subscribe. PLEASE be more professional and respectful of the people who have paid money to access content. This show is important and deserves to be posted immediately.

    1. From what I can tell, there was no AP show on the 28th (yesterday). No announcement on the live show either (I watched for an hour last night).

      1. I also noticed no show… was hoping they would post it by the end of the weekend, but no joy – SAD!
        Last time someone had the decency to write “There will be no Aggressive Progressives this week” at the top of the page which links all the AP shows. At least that was somewhat helpful – although still disheartening hahaha!

  20. I love watching the show on Friday mornings… but yet again, yall are slacking. Is it a plot to get AP less views?

  21. And yet again, the new episode isn’t up despite many hours passing by –– the show ends at 7:30pm PT, and it’s 1am PT now. Fuck you, I’m canceling my membership!

    1. TYT needs to up their professionalism. If there isn’t going to be a show, post something. If it’s going to be late, post something. If they can’t do that, they’re going to lose members. Although given the $20mm that they just raised, not sure that it’s a big concern for them.

      All of this silent treatment makes me think that there’s something wrong behind the scenes. Hope that Jimmy is OK, and that the show is going to continue.

        2. It wasn’t coming on the live stream today, I think it might have been canceled though there was no mention of it on the main show. I dunno.

  23. This is in reply to robertjordan18, I hope I did this right. Thanks for the enlightenment on the governor Buddy Roemer stuff and the new 20 million dollar drop for TYT. Quite an eye-opener to say the least. Let’s hope that TYT does not fall into the category from an old Who song, Won’t Get Fooled Again. ” Meet the new boss, same as the old boss(?).” *My (?). One can only hope not. There still is a hell of a lot of heart and soul at TYT. (IMHO) I subscribed as a $10 a month person and now have to consider should I move that money next year to Jimmy Dore. I don’t make much money every year but squeezed this out when they did the Dakota pipeline request for money to hire investigative reporters. Wow do I still have a naivety too just how much my $10 a month made a difference… but if they have over 3 million subscribers and if they could get them to pay $10 a month did they really need the 20 million? Or am I still being naive.

    1. You said it, Bill. I myself donated 40 bucks to the DAPL drive, and while I still applaud the stated goal (hiring those journalists, who are fine journalists), it seems ridiculous and silly now in retrospect for TYT to have gone begging for small donations from ordinary people while TYT was probably already fishing for the big Wall Street investors (these deals don’t materialize overnight, it takes a long time to negotiate them).

      There really is a powerful and unresolvable tension between being funded by members (who are more than just “paying subscribers”, they are more people who believe in TYT) and being funded by Wall Street venture capitalists.

      > Wow do I still have a naivety too just how much my $10 a month made a difference…

      It may have made a difference before, and especially in the earliest days of TYT. Now, however, it just seems redundant and wrong.

      > but if they have over 3 million subscribers and if they could get them to pay $10 a month did they really need the 20 million?

      You’re referring to the 3 million people who subscribe to the main Youtube channel. They just subscribe in the Youtube sense, without paying any fees. The only people who pay a monthly fee are the Members. TYT hasn’t published any membership data in a while but I would guess that there are about 30,000 members now. This means TYT gets at least $1 million from the Membership every month.

      In any case: I would argue, as I have below, that since TYT already got this far without turning to the major venture capitalist firms (with only the relatively minor exception of Buddy Roemer’s firm), there is no reason for us to assume that they can’t just continue to grow from here, by themselves, in the same manner as they were growing before. In other words: you’re right in that they don’t need the 20 million.

      1. I question your motives for encouraging other members to stop supporting TYT. That seems like an awfully strange thing to do on a progressive forum that represents the prime progressive news force in media today.

        Based upon your own statements and replies from others, TYT gets nearly 12 million per year from members. The latest venture capital infusion then represents less than two years’ worth of income from memberships.

        Without its members, TYT would collapse. Is that your goal? To cripple or destroy the best political newscast out there? Why?

        1. Don’t be silly. Your so-called “prime progressive news” is now running on the rarefied fumes of venture capitalist firms 3L Capital, Greycroft, E.ventures, and WndrCo, the latter of which is led by the business executive and Democratic Party kingmaker Jeffrey Katzenberg . Contradictions abound in there and there is nothing “progressive” about that. It would all be hilarious if it weren’t so sad.

          “Progressive”? Come of it. They were never very progressive to begin with (and look around, most of the people on this board fully agree with me on this): the main shows’ progressive rhetoric has always tended to lapse into a painfully centrist or establishmentarian quagmire of viewpoints, and then stay there.

          Which is the entire reason why Aggresssive Progressives exists: it is because Steve Oh realized that TYT is not capable of holding on to all the progressives who joined during Bernie’s run (and because of Bernie’s run). In a futile attempt to slow down their exodus from TYT, Steve added this show but it is nothing more than an afterthought to TYT’s main business plan (as we know now).

          > Without its members, TYT would collapse.

          Of course not. TYT gets most of its its revenue from advertising on Youtube and all the other digital platforms. ..and secondly, TYT is now sitting on $20 million from Wall Street backers, and it can always hit up those backers for more.

          More importantly, TYT doesn’t deserve to have any “members”. It’s ridiculous to even call them “members” because TYT treats them as nothing more than paid subscribers. In reality, pretty words aside, they get zero input and zero transparancy from TYT. TYT exploits these people with deceptive rhetoric.

          1. “Steve Oh realized that TYT is not capable of holding on to all the progressives who joined during Bernie’s run (and because of Bernie’s run). In a futile attempt to slow down their exodus from TYT, Steve added this show but it is nothing more than an afterthought to TYT’s main business plan (as we know now).”

            If dues-paying members are immaterial to the success of TYT, why is Oh trying to retain Sanders supporters (per your claim) by creating this Aggressive Progressives show that can only be seen by dues-paying members? Your statements seem internally inconsistent.

            Presumably, you want to peel off Sanders supporters who joined up during the campaign, and you intend to do so by convincing them their interests are not being taken seriously when Cenk accepts venture capital. You conjure up this false equivalency right here on Jimmy’s lynchpin show that caters directly to Sanders supporters, to try and paint TYT as hypocritical by Sanders’ own small donor standards, and you persist with it even as you ignore your own advice to Sanders supporters that they should quit the membership.

            I have a simple question for you. If TYT is so completely hypocritical, why is Jimmy still here? Are you now going to smear Jimmy as a hypocrite also, since you are out of places to run with this rant?

            “There really is a powerful and unresolvable tension between being funded by members…and being funded by Wall Street venture capitalists.”

            Personally, I prefer a TYT that is successfully capitalist, rather than a TYT that sacrificed itself on the altar of stubborn socialistic extremism to satisfy someone whose arguments seem disingenuous and specious.

            “TYT is now sitting on $20 million from Wall Street backers, and it can always hit up those backers for more.”

            Will venture capitalists be falling all over each other to invest in TYT even if your efforts to drive away members succeed? It seems unlikely to me. Perhaps that is the point…

            Should TYT take venture capital, or not? You have endorsed both courses.

            “TYT gets most of its its revenue from advertising on Youtube and all the other digital platforms”

            Per your own claims, venture capital is a smaller portion of TYT income than advertising revenue, even smaller than its paltry and dispensable membership revenue, yet not only is this miniscule infusion of venture capital suddenly calling all the shots, but it is also so yuuuuge that TYT can survive without its membership dues now?

            Let’s leave the looking glass world and try reality on for a minute.

            TYT launched a fundraising drive that proved to prospective investors that TYT members were strongly behind the expansion of the business, while also getting the upgrade of the reporting teams kickstarted to prove that TYT executives are serious about this expansion too. It worked, spectacularly, because capitalists are more comfortable investing in a strong business than a weak business.

            I have to admit I was skeptical they could keep the momentum going, but the membership pulled through and the venture capitalists signed on. Now you are pissed off about it, and the only legitimate reason for your anger is if you mean harm to TYT and its members, because aside from your rant, this new round of funding is a good thing all around for everyone involved. The show of faith by the members and the investors in this breakthrough progressive network matters, as does their money.

            Your comments seem intent on fostering confusion between the concept of advisory board and governing board in order to smear TYT. Per your own statements, you follow the business of TYT closely, so presumably you are well aware of the difference yet still willing to confuse the issue.

            False equivalency is a rhetorical tactic commonly employed by propagandists who are not debating in good faith because the facts are not on their side and there is no other way they can sway opinion in their favor except to deceive. If you are going to put on an Ann Coulter schtick here, be prepared to get Cenked.

            “It’s ridiculous to even call them “members” because TYT treats them as nothing more than paid subscribers. In reality, pretty words aside, they get zero input and zero transparancy from TYT”

            Now you are just hurling rhetorical bricks like a vandal. Allow me to enlighten you about my personal experience with being ‘nothing more than paid subscriber’.

            1) TYT has acted on email feedback that I have given as a NON-paying subscriber, regarding their use of certain commonly used language that could be taken as offensive to a particular minority. For the most part, they have been consistent in this, but old habits die hard and this particular language is non-obvious, so there are occasional slip-ups at TYT and other places as well. It still matters that they are trying their best to be consistent.

            2) TYT has acted on the comments I left in this PAID subscription forum, asking them to fix the gain staging of the audio so that the distortion goes away. I had to yell in all caps with lots of exclamation points to get them to finally do it, but they did it immediately after I escalated like that, proving that they do in fact read these comments and take action on them to improve the service and keep members happy.

            3) After I complained loud and long in these same comments about Jordan Chariton’s unscientific test of precipitated water heater sludge for lead contamination, it seemed that no action was taken. That was a disappointment, but I did note that Jordan did not pursue the matter after publishing a brief final video with his test result, so maybe they did back down from that too in light of the evidence I presented that such test reveals nothing about the quality of the water going into the house because the degree of concentration in the water heater sediment is an uncontrolled factor. I would have preferred that he issue a retraction and that TYT hire a science advisor to vet stories, but it really is not that big of a deal compared to the steady stream of scientific goofs and outright bias that go completely under the radar elsewhere in the popular media, so I can forgive this oversight.

            4) I am still trying to get them to cut the bass on the microphones to correct the proximity effect. Maybe some day it will actually be important enough for them to do it. I am sure that their primary market is millennials who watch the news on their cellphones, so exaggerated bass is not going to make much difference when played back on the speaker of such a device. Maybe it actually helps some.

            If you made some constructive suggestions instead of hurling rhetorical bricks, someone might take action on your feedback too, but if all you want is to take members away and cripple the business well no one is going to listen to you except maybe a handful of malcontents that might drop out at your encouragement even as you linger on… and on… and on…

            ” it seems ridiculous and silly now in retrospect for TYT to have gone begging for small donations from ordinary people while TYT was probably already fishing for the big Wall Street investors”

            The part of these comments that seems ridiculous and silly is a member who is paying to whine while simultaneously ignoring his own advice to others that they should quit if they are unhappy with the way things are being managed.

            1. Nobody reads a ridiculously long essay that is buried this deep into a subthread, Cheryl.

              But rest assured that I will continue to make my case to the other members, at every opportunity for discussion.

            2. CherylJosie, I really enjoyed reading your thoughtful elaborate reply. This whining regarding the (big money investors) verses paid membership from this robertjordan18 person are not worth wasting brain cells to read. I wouldn’t have even bothered to read your reply, but…I had to check in with the tribe tonight (my tragic A.P. addiction has gotten so bad that; even knowing there was no A.P. scheduled, I signed on to watch a rerun) and got sidetracked reading comments…anyway, yours was EXCELLENT! With regard to all the TYT changes: “GROWTH IS MESSY” as my metaphysical buddies like to say. I am thoroughly enjoying watching the ascendancy of the TYT network, warts and all.

            3. CherylJosie, I really enjoyed reading your thoughtful elaborate reply. This whining regarding the (big money investors) verses paid membership from this robertjordan18 person are not worth wasting brain cells to read. I wouldn’t have even bothered to read your reply, but…I had to check in with the tribe tonight (my tragic A.P. addiction has gotten so bad that; even knowing there was no A.P. scheduled, I signed on to watch a rerun) and got sidetracked reading comments…anyway, yours was EXCELLENT! With regard to all the TYT changes: “GROWTH IS MESSY” as my metaphysical buddies like to say. I am thoroughly enjoying watching the ascendancy of the TYT network, warts and all.

              1. In fairness to the real members who might become confused and disillusioned by the propagandist and his sock puppets, I had to address it. These things can take on a life of their own. I would hate anyone to miss out.

                1. LOL…when some of these “little scamps” get their shorts in a twist, it important to shine a little disinfectant light on the situation:)

        2. By the way, if you’re wondering how I know a little of the financing side? It is simply because I have read articles (and listened to podcasts) in which Steve Oh is being interviewed by outsiders (by business journals and the like).

          Steve has always said that membership fees are not TYT’s main source of income (quite possibly, they never have been). Like Cenk, he likes to emphasize TYT’s accomplishments with online advertising, delving into this aspect more deeply than into the member fees.

  24. I’m in the living room connected Wireless to my router trying to watch on my phone and the screen just stays black when I press play…??? If I download the episode(s), it(they) play(s) fine.

    1. This is a common issue, my friend. The basic reality is that the video streaming software, implemented the way it is on this site, just crashes easily and for many different reasons: it can be a certain web browser configuration, it can be that one of your browser plugins is out of date, and so on.

      So the easiest solution is to try streaming the content on many different web browsers (Firefox, Opera, Chrome etc.) and usually at least one of them will play the content.

  26. Thank you Jimmy! I just wanna say I used to be a fan of Bill Maher’s show and as last years election played out I found myself watching your show more and more and his show less and less. Keep speaking the truth brother!

    1. Jimmy, if you ever start making a lot of money, PLEASE do not sacrifice your ideals and your right thinking. Don’t sell your soul like the rest of the neoliberals– no matter what!

  28. OMG, the show is SO MUCH BETTER with Jimmy and Steph. Let’s keep it like this. No need for Steve-Oh-Shit-I-Have-No-Business-Being-On-This-Show.

    1. Yea steve, while im sure he does good work behind the scenes he doesnt make much of a host, he just repeats what jimmy says. He should hire flavor flav, he needs a hypeman!”yea jimmy, yea! Yea!” “Yo jimmy, you takin em’ DOWNTOWN mothafucka!” That would be hilarious!

      1. Now guys, c’mon, be fair to Steve: his interactions with Jimmy aren’t that different from the interactions of Stef, Ron Placone, and all the other people who appear both on this show and on The Jimmy Show. The reactions of the latter are often funnier ( and this is because guys like Ron are professional comedians) but they’re not radically different. Seriously.

        …having said that, and independently of that commentary, I now do have a massive disagreement and criticism of Steve, because Steve is the company’s Chief Business Officier and he signed off on the Wall Street deal whereby TYT stuffs itself with 20 million of Wall Street, venture capitalist dough.

        > im sure he does good work behind the scenes

        I am now forced to state that Steve doesn’t, and no, that you should be not “sure”.

        By the way: Jimmy is also diminished and tainted by the Wall Street deal. Don’t think that I’m not aware of that. By his association with TYT as an employed host, and because The Jimmy Dore Show is part of the TYT Network, Jimmy’s reputation now suffers too. It just doesn’t suffer as badly as the reputation of TYT itself suffers (because The Jimmy Dore Show is only loosely affiliated with TYT Network).

    2. Love Aggressive Progressives! Jimmy you better keep that fire even after you’re rich! Bill Maher is a dam fool for sure.

  31. Jimmy,

    Thank you for calling out the dem’s who say they will get single payer for their states….they cannot do it!The incredible thing is that I haven’t heard anybody tell the truth about why it would be next to impossible for a state to raise it’s income tax enough to pay for it: Because they are paying the federal government more in taxes than they get in return, a common situation for Blue States.

    Ask your congressman to get a change in the federal tax code allowing people to deduct any and all monies they pay in the increased state taxes needed to attain universal medical coverage in their state. Have you ever heard anybody talking about that? Seems kind of obvious, no?

  32. Aggressive Progressives, I applaud your activism and agree with 98% of your political philosophy. You’re absolutely correct about Obama, Clinton and corp dem’s in general. However, I voted for HCR because I couldn’t imagine Trump as president…I hope we survive it. I would only vote for a third party candidate if I lived in a state where I could count on either the Dem winning, or on the third party winning it all. I know you think that position is weak and in some manner it is, but I’m a senior and can’t wait for the perfect candidate.

    Just one suggestion: Stop saying you would squeal like the little piggy, Chris Haze, if someone offered you enough money. If you’re serious, then I feel sorry for you. But I don’t think you are – so stop it. It doesn’t do a thing for your image. Do you know that Haze wrote for the Nation mag? What a piece of shit.

    Phil Donahue for President!!

    Peace and Healthcare for all!!!

    Elect an atheist, they know this is the only chance we get!!!

    I don’t know Donahue’s theological leanings so sorry if I got it wrong.

  33. I miss Steve Oh….Not that I don’t love Jimmy and Stef, I am one of their Patrons :) but I do miss Steve…

  34. Glad this was the day before Bill Maher and Barney Frank ranted together against Bernie’s medicare-for-all plan talking about how we couldn’t possibly in the richest country in the world blah blah blah. Looks like we know what he’ll have to do for next week’s episode by including more segments of establishment tools from the establishment

    1. In a situation whereby someone is watching an MSNBC show or otherwise mainstream and corporate show, the answer would be “yes”. Because they’re exactly as bad with the sound off. :)

  37. RE: HRC

    Robert A. Caro in The Years of Lyndon Johnson: The Path to Power (1982) quoted Lyndon Johnson as saying something like:

    If you do everything that you can do in an election, you will win.

    The implication of the “Johnson Rule” is the candidate takes the blame for losing, not the voters. Apparently, HRC does not believe in the “Johnson Rule.”

    That’s O.K. I don’t believe in her.

    1. I’m pretty sure that if someone were to tell her “you didn’t follow the Johnson Rule”, her only response would be: “Jeez, that sounds even more sexist towards me than all the sexist things Bernie was saying about me on his campaign trail.” :)

  38. If Barack Obama is so proud of being viewed as a moderate Republican then why didn’t he run his campaign as a moderate Republican? He ran as a Progressive lion, as the next FDR. He lied to all of us

  39. Just when I think you’ve summited the Mt. Everest of humor and progressivism, Aggressive Progressives finds a taller mountain from which to view the hypocrisy of Corporate Media. I too was once a big Chris Hayes fan, but the Bernie candidacy pretty much ripped the mask off MSNBC … Sometimes, Jimmy, money is less important than a job well done. Congratulations, victory is yours !!! Great Show !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    1. Oh, man, you guys are good! BTW, I’m so happy to see you and Stef are married … not sure why, exactly, but happy for you both!

  40. AP spends so much time calling out the MSNBC and Bill Maher it is off putting. As I said before, holding them accountable is one thing but you are almost like a jilted lover. Have you or anyone at TYT tried to get an interview with any of them? Also, Jordans comment about Russia-gate seems to nothing. Really?

    1. > Have you or anyone at TYT tried to get an interview with any of them?

      First of all, that request would in practice be met by the company with the curt reply “go fuck yourselves, you little fake-news, anti-establishment, internet-only upstarts . We are the Real News and we will not be seen talking to the likes of you”.

      Secondly, if somehow they did get the interview, then that interview would be with filled nothing but the tired talking points which the company is paying those celebrities to repeat ad nauseam whenever they can. That also goes without saying. So what would be the point of having the interview?

      As Jimmy has said in his most forthright and sincere moments, mainstream institutions like MSNBC are fatally and irrevocably corrupt. Our best hope therefore is to destroy and/or replace that institution, and whether some of its employees are well-meaning victims of the system is irrelevant in this regard, actually.

      The best thing that could happen is not just yet another meaningless interview in which nobody tells the truth, but rather something like Wikileaks hacking MSNBC’s intra-company emails and revealing to us (The Public and The Citizenry) the truth of how MSNBC’s employees really, genuinely feel and think. At that point it would be revealed that some of its employees are in reality pissed off at having been reduced to Thought Slaves by the company’s rightwing owners, while others (probably Reid) would stand revealed as being as completely, genuinely immoral and unethical as smart observers have already concluded that she must be.

  41. Jimmy, I think you are too hard on Hayes, Maddow, Reid and some of the others. They do good work. Your point is taken about the corruption in the media but calling them liars and comparing them to Fox personalities is bullshit. I like how you call them out and expect more from them but damn let a brother or sister get up before you kick them again.

    1. I agree in part to your comment regarding Hayes and Maddow. In general I think they are great, Maddow especially because she has a great way of presenting the news and it is usually compelling.
      Reid however, Jimmy can’t go hard enough. She is part of the “anyone but Bernie” crowd. It is as if Bernie crapped on her at some point, and we know Bernie doesn’t do that…. she is vile.

      1. Maddow sold her soul a loooong time ago.

        I use to watch her during the Obama era. I loved the stories she did on Benton Harbor, MI and the “Emergency Managers” that our Michigan Gov.Snyder puts in place of elected officials, for the sake of his Cronies & Corporations. I live in MI and NO ONE here was talking about that story the way Rachel did.
        I didn’t notice that she never talked about Obama’s abandoning of unions, war expansion, or his back-peddling on almost every campaign promise.

        Then Bernie came along and she lost her fucking mind.

        She dropped those compelling stories of people suffering at the hands of power. You would think she would have been a naturally fit with Bernie, based on her show history. WRONG.
        She deserves EVERY once of anger.
        She’s had many chances to reverse herself.
        There are older people who would love to have her back as a progressive voice, I’m one of them.
        She’s not blind to the internet. She knows how she is perceived now, and she doesn’t care.
        So I don’t believe anyone is being too hard on her.
        She’s earned every ounce of vitriol.

        Chris Hayes is just a squirrely kid. He thinks because he’s sitting at the rich kids table that everyone else likes him now and he has some kind of power.
        No, Chris, you are just sad. Baby. Loser.

  42. thank you for confirming what I already knew in 2008, that Obama wasn’t good enough for our country. I’m glad that I threw my vote away on the country I want and the likes of Dennis Kucinich, Jill Stien, Bernie Sanders instead of voting for the neoliberals. I rather throw my vote away then vote for “a piece of shighte”

    1. OMG! This rant on Secular Talk is amazing. I looked up Secular Talk on the web and the following is what it states on Wikepdia:

      “…..On Secular Talk, Kulinski discusses politics, religion, and culture. A slogan for his show is “Loyal to the Facts. Principles over Politicians.”[2]
      Secular Talk is produced out-of-house by the TYT Network. It is editorially independent from The Young Turks.”

      Who knew, thank you for the link.

      1. Yeah, TYT Network is actually very big, containing lots of shows (like the Jimmy Dore Show and Secular Talk) which are only very loosely associated/affiliated with TYT. Which is why the in-house shows never really advertise them or promote them.

        And perhaps the high degree of independence enjoyed by these show is a good thing, especially now that TYT has taken the big Wall Street money.

        Another awesome, ruthlessly progressive and very similar show on the TYT Network is The Humanist Report with Mike Figueredo. https://www.youtube.com/user/MikeAnthonyTV

  46. ‘Chris Haze’? What the…?

    Maher –

    A reasonable rule to follow, is to be suspicious about the political views of individuals who had private unrecorded convos with the potus of their time. Stewart, Maher, Bono. Similarly for talk show hosts who condone the Drug War, but get bailed out by his Party, when he’s caught with oxycontin.

    Maher had his heyday, and earned some respect for some acts of courage. But he’s a lost soul now, like many who have fallen prey to the irresistible pull of Establishment bucks.

    (By the way, Jimmy, Bill did have Chomsky on his program).

    How come Stef keeps taking an Incredible Hulk stance? Not that I’m complainin, just askin.

    Just sent my donation, thanks for making it possible, Jimmy. I’m glad you have alternatives to Patreon.

  48. Bill Maher has been on Wrong side of EVERYTHING!!!! He was NEVER a REAL Liberal!!! his hosted a Lady who lied about his African Background. calling her Freedom Fighter when her words help legitimize Terrorists…..

  49. Churlish: rude, barbaric, mean-spirited often with a connotation of being unintelligent. You’re good Jimmy – you picked up on it.

  50. Jimmy Dore dusted off his Chris Hayes kicking boots for this one !! whooohooo! IDK why, but I just love when Jimmy kicks Chris Hayes in the ass. lol.

    It is possible that that’s Chris Hayes cut-an-paste review for all books. He said the same thing about his daughter’s English essay.

  51. Had to stop watching after the Bill Maher rant, to express my gratitude. I was an HBO subscriber just to watch REAL TIME. After his gaslight rants, that followed Clintons nomination, coupled with his fall-on-sword interview with Bernie…I was done. Now, I catch the occasional free episode on youtube (as I did this past week). Afterwords, I was so enraged and disappointed, in what that whiny little elitist ass-hole was spewing, I thought for sure, the main TYT show would cover it…but no, it never came up. But, I did discover that apparently the ALT-right is pissed at some actress named Lawerence and coincidentally a newsman named Lawerence was caught being a human. Thanks Jimmy and Steph, you made my day!

  52. Ok, I need to rant a bit here. First, I really like Jimmy and agree with him on most things. But, am I the only one that is getting fucking tired of hearing him say (five times during the first half of the show) how eager he is to get paid to sell out. Dude, you sit there and rant against Bill Maher and Chris Hayes selling out and being out of touch (which I agree with), but you end up sounding like a hypocritical jealous person. You yell at them and in the same breath you tell us how you can’t wait to get rich and sell out. I’ve heard you say these things every single week and a few times on your You tube channel as well. Sorry dude, but it makes you sound like someone who is just waiting for someone to buy your integrity. It’s getting really tiresome, and frankly, I had to turn the show off before the first hour was up. Both Myself, and my Mother were both commenting on it every time you said it again. I don’t really want to listen to someone who only has integrity because no one will buy it from him. You sound like you’re jealous of these people. I will continue to listen to your You tube show, but I just can’t pay for this content anymore. My money needs to go to bulldog progressives that would be offended by the thought of ever selling out for any amount of money. I have to say, I am disappointed. I’m also disappointed that I’m the only one bringing it up. ( someone else did last week though) Anyway, the rest of you on this thread need to realize how hypocritical it is for someone to rant against corruption and sellouts, and then in the same breath tell you they would do the same thing if they were paid that money. If you’re not bothered by it, you may be a hypocrite too.

    1. I can see how it gets frustrating to hear him say, but generally I see it as a joke. It’s a joke he makes with a straight face and makes a lot – but a joke nonetheless. If he was someone who actually wanted to get bought out, he wouldn’t talk the way he does, but he would try to behave in a way that would get him bought out. It’s just a joke he uses – not an honest offer to take more money. Maybe not the best joke, and one that I think some people are certainly tired of hearing, but a joke nonetheless.

      1. That is correct!
        I have been watching and listening to Jimmy for many years, and he has been making that joke the entire time.
        I think in his mind he thinks it brings levity to the mood especially immediately following an Amped-Up Rant where he seems like he may be be losing it. I agree that it sometimes appears like he means it, but to me that just proves we all need to be less Knee-Jerk and really pay attention to Context and Nuance.

        That is my take on it:-) Peace!

    2. It’s a joke, one that is premised on the safe assumption that he will never be a millionaire.

      It’s also self-deprecation, i.e. a way of saying that he is fallible, vulnerable, and with many character flaws. Jimmy Dore is neither a hero nor a saint, and that’s fine. Because too many of our public figures are addicted to projecting a false image of perfection, invulnerability, and uncorruptibilty, all of it based on make-believe. Jimmy apparently feels compelled to go against this whole cultural trend, in a big way, through his humor.

    3. Reading your comment made me thank god I was born with a sense of humor and a sophisticated enough IQ to be able to process the basic concept of irony.

      My condolences to you and your mom.

    4. Dude you may be taking Jimmy too seriously. I am not a huge fan of Jimmy talk that way either but I am not about to cancel my membership because a joke doesn’t land with me. If you have a better progressive to support then by all means but I have yet to find anyone I like more than Jimmy Dore.

    5. @justjulie45 Don’t worry about Jimmy selling out, justjulie45.
      He says that as a rhetorical device to show that NO ONE is immune to the influence of money & power.
      I learned that when I was a kid. From the WWF no less. The World Wrestling Federation.

      There was a guy called “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase who was a wealthy wrestler.
      Because of his wealth, he spent more time using his money to get ahead than his skill.
      Instead of competing for a championship belt, he spent money to make his OWN belt, the Million Dollar Belt.
      And one of the most memorable things he used to do was to make random audience members (they were plants, don’t worry about it) do stupid stunts for his amusement to be rewarded with some of his money.
      Barking like a dog, kissing his feet among many other things & in the end he’d find a way to either rip them off or take the money in the most humiliating way possible (like stuffing a dollar bill in somebody’s mouth).

      All of this was to prove that EVERYBODY HAS A PRICE FOR THE MILLION DOLLAR MAN.
      Nyahahahahahahahahaha!
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H65xYc23cxM

      ALL of us are compromised from day one on this Earth because of the money system.
      You are fed & sheltered based on the money system.
      And the MOMENT you use money to buy something whether a kid or an adult you are locked inside of that money cage. You have become part of the problem just by using it.
      It is no longer you being an innocent victim who was born into a system which was bad enough already.
      NOW you are an active participant in the system.
      Because you value it, it gains its power. It’s that simple.

      So NOBODY can claim higher ground & NOBODY is immune to the power money has over us.
      ANYBODY can lose integrity because you were compromised from the day you were CONCEIVED much less born.
      And as soon as you use money yourself, you are DOUBLY compromised.
      It’s impossible to live in the American Culture without being an accomplice to the money system & the evils it can bring.

      The only way you can put this thing in check is stay conscious of this reality & do your best to atone for it.
      When Jimmy tells you that he can be just as compromised as any of these other talking heads, he’s doing it for his OWN sake as well as the audience’s.
      It’s easier to remain true to yourself the less tethered you are to the money system.
      He speaks out against the corruption to atone for his participation in the money system.
      And he warns himself not to become one of these people by reminding himself & the audience the corrupting nature wealth brings.

      If Jimmy wanted to sell out, he’s already had plenty of opportunities to do so.
      Remember, before he joined The Young Turks, Jimmy was a rising star with his own comedy specials on Comedy Central.
      That’s Viacom, by the way. One of the few giant media controllers in America.
      Jimmy was white-hot already & by now he would have LONG had a show on cable or broadcast even.
      Might have had his own sitcom for sure. Something would have popped up.

      But Jimmy had an inkling to tell the truth unrestricted which is how he got hooked up with Cenk Uygur & The Young Turks in the first place.
      He joined them BECAUSE they spoke out against the corruption.
      Former producer Tom Hanc brought Jimmy Dore to TYT’s attention.
      Jimmy & Stef had a podcast called Comedy And Everything Else where they brought fellow comedians (like Norm MacDonald) on the show talking about subjects.
      Jimmy already had a track on getting mainstream establishment exposure.
      But he dismissed that in order to join TYT so that he could help them tell the truth about this society.

      TYT in 2010 & 2011 was still rinky-dink.
      A powerful rinky-dink, sure, but still rinky-dink.
      Go back & look at those 2010 clips. They got HD video but they look almost ancient compared to now.
      TYT got that new set in late 2010 which you saw for most of 2011 before the Current TV deal.
      A step above that old gray panel set but still a small outfit nowhere NEAR a mainstream high-production outlet.

      Jimmy joins THIS era of TYT. 2010/2011.
      He leaves the “mainstream” behind to put his efforts behind this little engine that could.
      He believed in TYT’s mission & helped them grow into what they have become today.
      Which is why the YouTube TownSquare channel hosting various content including The Point, The Jimmy Dore Show, & more saw The Jimmy Dore Show rise to the greatest prominence forcing them to build an entirely new channel around his show.
      Which is why that channel, TYT Comedy, once shared by both Lee Camp & Jimmy Dore is now exclusively Jimmy’s channel.
      And which is why Jimmy was one of the most in-demand hosts on many of TYT Network’s channels (you even see him on a 2014 episode of The Rubin Report) as well as that excellent 2016 Election Coverage.

      Today’s TYT is FAR beyond 2010/2011’s TYT.
      They’re knocking on CNN’s door when it comes to influence right now even though TYT is VASTLY outspent in resources.
      Jimmy has written books & is DEFINITELY a force in Progressive commentary.
      He has just as much as access to the big established networks as he ever did before joining TYT if not more.
      So it won’t be nothing but a thing if he wanted to take the big money.
      Ana Kasparian herself mentions how many bigtime offers went her way over the years & how she turned each of them down to stay with TYT.

      Jimmy prefers to speak his mind & tell the truth EVEN about himself.
      He would lose his power IF he sold out. His voice would lose resonance much like Stephen Colbert’s has.
      He’s telling you about the truest corrupting influence of money when he makes that saying.
      It’s a warning. He’s telling you how THEY lost their way & how he could end up just like them despite his best efforts. And that’s why he goes at them so hard like he does.
      It’s because he knows that they got weak.

      And YOU can get weak just as much.
      NOBODY is immune from this & you have to fight it with fiber of your being.
      That’s why Jimmy’s such a great comedian & is being compared to folks like George Carlin more & more.
      The best jokes have truth embedded inside of them. Those jokes have the most weight.
      You can’t tell if Jimmy’s being serious or joking because it’s that real.

      But look at his actions. Despite all the opportunities to be on established big media, Jimmy slugs it out in the rising independent media because he’s doing what’s right.
      When we pay for independent media, we are really investing in our own future.
      Bills have to be paid. We’re forced into the machinations of the money system one way or another.
      By funding independent truth-tellers, we give both them AND us an escape from this tyranny.
      We clean this dirty money with that atonement. We free them AND us from the chains of exchange.
      That’s why Jimmy says “Independent media is more important than ever”.

      Jimmy’s fighting for the truth not for the dollar.
      But he’s not a fool & recognizes the weakness in himself.
      Because of that, he won’t sell out.
      He’s aware. He’s awake. He’s WOKE.

      John Lucas

      1. > Jimmy’s fighting for the truth not for the dollar.
        But he’s not a fool & recognizes the weakness in himself.
        Because of that, he won’t sell out.
        He’s aware. He’s awake. He’s WOKE.

        I like that, it’s a differently phrased but substantially identical point as my own point. Well said.

    1. @csibaldwin Hayes not Hays* not Haze*
      Hahaha.

      The “Chris Haze” thing may have been intentional to represent the corporate neoliberal fog Chris embeds himself in due to his paycheck.
      I saw that spelling & I was like “wait a minute, that ain’t right! hahaha!”
      But then I thought about how there’s not many typos on this site & figured out that Gigi & crew MEANT to spell it like that.
      That makes it even cooler! Perfect description for that jackass.

      John Lucas

    1. I would suggest you might go to Jimmy Dore’s page on YouTube and watch his interview. Frank also did a 6-part interview on the Real News YouTube channel recently as well.

      I think Frank isn’t as aggressive as Jimmy about progressive issues. Watch the interviews and see what you think. Honestly, I was slightly disappointed, but, again, judge it yourself.

  57. I don’t know what churlish mean, but if it comes with money I take it! Great show!!!!! Jimmy had me almost freaking out, thank you Stef for a steady pulse. Much love

  59. I love you Jimmy, proud Patreon supporter here, just wanted to say that if you didn’t repeat yourself so often on the show you’d probably have time to get to most of the stories you prepared. Just trying to offer some helpful criticism. The Obama stuff could have been a lot shorter, you reiterated the same stuff over and over again.

    To the positives about tonight’s episode, the Jordan Chariton interview was tops! Jimmy looking knowledgeable as ever. Stef, I love hearing from you, would like to hear you say more, but I get the feeling she wanted Jimmy to move on too because of how much time he spent on just two subjects and he had already covered all the points, not much more for her to say about them.

    1. Lol this is so true. Good lord, Jimmy! I’m 100% with ya on 99.7% of your points, but shit, man…It gets exhausting.
      TYT should start bookmarking the different topics so we can easily skip ahead. I can’t believe I didn’t think of that earlier. That would be amazing and only take a minute or so each video. You already chop it up for YouTube.
      GIGI!! Please do this for us. Thanks.

    1. Really? Seriously? I said that it was “unkept.” If you disagree, either you’re lying to yourself, the exception to the majority of people in that you aren’t affected by presentation, or you need glasses. Whether you agree that it should or shouldn’t, appearance matters. She can’t help her physical looks too much, but she can help her presentation.

      1. I think Stef is pretty. I’m a hairstylist, and as a professional, her hair didn’t look as good as it usually does, but we all have bad hair days. I saw her on Jimmy’s other program yesterday and she looked fantastic!

        BUT! I didn’t watch this program for fashion and whatnot. I’m here for their perspectives and insights. TYT is what it is today because it isn’t over-produced, because it feels genuine and honest. If or when it does get too overly polished or if/when Cenk starts doing the Brian Williams poses, then I’ll need to move on.

  61. I really like Stef, and I know that she and Jimmy struggle with cash flow, but, man, she’s being broadcast across the world; she can’t afford to get her hair done? It’s so unkempt that it’s off-putting! What does her appearance have to do with her ideas and her passion? Well, what does wearing a suit and tie to an interview have to do with being able to do a job?

    1. @marcusonline71 Stef’s hair is just fine.
      I love her jet black hair & the way she wears it.
      It’s like her trademark.

      John Lucas

      1. hope that you don’t call yourself a progressive, because you remarks are from another time and place, an epoch where women were constantly challenged about their appearance at the expense of their talent.

        1. @Purcell Are you replying to me or marcusonline71?
          I’m thinking you’re replying to marcusonline71, right?

          John Lucas

  62. So I take a leave of absence and I come back to find the announcement that TYT has taken $20 million from venture capital firms firms 3L Capital, Greycroft, E.ventures, and WndrCo.

    Oy vey.

    I am aware, of course, that TYT has taken this type of money in the past – but that was a far smaller amount and it was a few years ago (in 2014, TYT received a $4 million investment from Roemer, Robinson, Melville & Co., LLC, which is a private equity firm led by former Louisiana Governor Buddy Roemer.)

    I for one was fervently hoping that the the whole idea and the longterm plan was to get away from venture capitalists, if not immediately then at least gradually and as circumstances permit. This was suggested especially when TYT turned to crowdfunding and large-scale donations, as in the context of Standing Rock and the whole drive to hire more journalists.

    So how to defend this departure into the opposite direction? Allow me to analyse some of Cenk’s defense of the move, as quoted in the press:

    “Getting money into your company is a completely different concept [than getting money out of politcs] — it has nothing to do with money in politics,” Uygur said.

    Maybe once upon a time, this was at least partially true. This dividing line between “business” and “politics” which Cenk is presupposing may have once existed (sort of) but this line has definitely faded now, with the few firewalls between the two having been erased in daily practice.

    Cenk should know that, precisely, this is one of the major elements of how “corruption” works: it’s about businesses having decisive influence over politics – and simultaneously having influence over the media which plays such a vital role in the shaping of our politics. If you’re taking these quantities of money from guys like Jeffrey Katzenberg – the same Katzenberg who is also pouring money into politics and who is a major factor in the ongoing corruption of the Democratic Party – then you’ve officially lost the right to argue that “business is just business, and politics is politics”. Because this financial and very direct link between the two of you puts the lie to your entire critique of political corruption, Cenk. Because you have now deliberately erased the dividing line that once existed between TYT and Katzenberg&Co who are actively and continuously pouring money into politics.

    By definition, every venture capitalist wants a return on their investment. So it’s more than fair to ask: what is TYT’s return to these firms going to be, exactly? If the returns fail to satisfy them, what does TYT have to offer them other than greater control and more influence? (i.e. a bigger say over TYT and its mission).

    ”How could anyone ever build a company if they didn’t have investments?” said Uygur.

    There are other resources to grow a company from. During the past two years, these are all the ways in which TYT’s resources have grown:

    1) viewing figures are up

    2) advertising revenue is up

    3) sales of merchandise are up

    4) MEMBERSHIP is way, way up

    5) DONATIONS are way, way up (I’m referring to the drive to raise money for hiring investigative journalists)

    Now, granted, all of the above put together certainly isn’t enough to “double the company’s staff” instantly and from one moment to the next (which is what the venture capital is reportedly to be used for). But surely it is enough to keep growing the company gradually, slowly, and organically.

    Seriously…if all the key figures are up, why can’t you just keep growing from there, without involving these venture capitalists at all? Clearly the model/concept was already working before, with the size of the workforce TYT already had. The growth in viewing figures was there, the enthusiasm of the members was there…why isn’t all of that enough for you to work with? Cenk has always given us the firm impression that he is in this game for the long haul, but if that’s the case then what is so wrong with not settling for continued slow but steady growth, uncompromised by these Wall Street cash grabs? It should be easier to keep members loyally hanging around with the slow and principled approach, as opposed to choosing to lunge for the quick cash put up by venture capitalist firms, with the constant, never-absent dangers of corruption.

    It should be noted, also, that TYT will almost certainly never be able to free itself from these firms and their stake. In order to pay them back their money (so without even considering the “returns” part), even if TYT were (somehow) to devote most of the membership fees to paying them back, it would take roughly a decade.

    It’s puzzling how members of modest means are supposed to justify in moral terms pumping their small change into a project that is now also a project of aggressive venture capitalists. This is the equivalent (in fictional terms) of someone voluntarily mailing dollar bills to be added to Scrooge McDuck’s swimming pool. Katzenberg is already worth $900 million, he sure as hell doesn’t need donations from ordinary people, and he has already devoted far too much of his fortunes to corrupting the democratic system, as it is.

    Speaking for myself, I became a TYT member because I believed in TYT’s core mission to provide independent, non-corporate news. That core mission now appears to be crucially compromised.

    In the service of that core mission, I have spent countless hours defending TYT from the attacks of conservatives, trolls, and Hillary supporters who were so eager to excuse or justify her Wall Street ties. But from now on, whenever they put to me that “how can TYT be against money in politics, when they take so much money from the very people who are pouring money into politics? TYT is against Wall Street corruption but taking money from Wall Street simultaneously?”…I’m sorry to say that now there is no longer a convincing rhetorical counterpoint to this. It can’t be done, and that’s a real shame. Cenk doesn’t have a real counter, and the defense which he does put up just cannot be taken seriously by anyone.

    1. I hear ya cluckin’ big chicken! The moment Cenk announced that funding, I said that TYT doesn’t need anymore money from me then. I’m constantly broke, but I gave out of my tax return for a fully year of membership and to the hiring drive, enough for 2 of the special shirts they were giving away for those that gave over a certain amount. I did that because I wanted a network that needed my money, so that I felt that I had a say, that I knew couldn’t be corrupted by the same people corrupting politics. Now they don’t need me.

      If they want to pay these rich assholes back, do it with ads, and don’t ask for membership fees anymore, and become just like TV. I think that’s Cenk’s goal anyway, he wants to run a whole network full of a variety of different programming, not just focused on progressive politics and the news. Steve just announced the other day that they’re working on enough programming to fill every day. Thankfully Jimmy Dore has his Patreon, so if I stop being a member I’ll just move my money over to him and get mostly the same content, but with more jokes! Jordan already puts his stuff up for free, his book is free (or donate what you want), and he has a Patreon too.

      1. > I did that because I wanted a network that needed my money, so that I felt that I had a say, that I knew couldn’t be corrupted by the same people corrupting politics.

        That’s right. And they are still making that claim, needless to say, saying that they will never be corrupted by this money either.

        I have watched the Post Game where Steve Oh attempted to justify the move to the members for 20 minutes. But, try as he might (and he pulled out all the stops), the argument just can’t be made to stick. The whole argument is just too detached from the general rules of how the media industry operates, from the politico-economic context, from any Chomskian analysis of media and media ownership, etc.

        > I think that’s Cenk’s goal anyway, he wants to run a whole network full of a variety of different programming, not just focused on progressive politics and the news.

        I’m certainly not against diversifying the programming, but like you, I didn’t sign up for a focus that endlessly drifts away from progressive politics, further and further.

        1. I agree with you. This is something you clearly feel is a wrong direction. There are other sites to support. Nothing stays the same. You should remain steadfast in your concerns and move on. I support you 100%. I could never follow, let alone support, an organization that had betrayed it’s most basic belief just to add to its coffer.

          1. Well said.

            It’s safe to say that the majority of the people who work for TYT (like say, Jimmy Dore) had no say whatsoever in this decision. And that some of them now have to bite their tongue and move along with it.

            I feel bad for all those employees, while also feeling bad for all those members who would not have contributed, if they had known that their contributions were building up to something like this.

            I’m already paid up until March (on a yearly subscription here), so the question of whether to contribute more money is deferred until then at least. That gives me plenty of time to keep airing my concerns with fellow members, if I choose to do so.

            Whatever happens, I will continue to act as a Jimmy Dore Show patron. The JD Show is only loosely affiliated with TYT and in any case it will not be receiving a single penny from this $20 million.

            1. I’m going to blow my good collateral with this statement. I am a staunch socialist, which has been developing slowly since 2000, that was when I was disabled so had more free time and energy to think about such things. Work made that impossible. I believe in the vision of what could be called a socialist-capitalist utopia as espoused by people like Richard Wolff. My father is a Modern Russian Historian, so it is not surprising that I’d eventually go in this direction. I believe in what TYT is trying to do. Im a huge fan of Jimmy Dore, and George Carlin before him. However, as a trained observer of the human condition and development (I was an archaeologist in my undergraduate degree as well as PhD program) I have come to a view, very much in opposition to my generally positive one in my youth, that all of this will never come to pass until this system implodes. Basically, in response to a blog post on what we dream of our society becoming, I wrote this:

              “I want that too. To live in a world where all people are seen as equals, where those without and disabled or aged are cared for without complaint, where the richest of us gladly pay their fair share thankful for the use of this country and all of its resources; where money is a necessity, not a goal for acceptance, and where religious and non-religious people can happily live, and work together respecting each others views. I dream of that. But I do not believe, and have yet to be convinced by solid data, that people, human beings, can get past their tribalisms and insecurities, greed and hatred. Humans are all of that by their genetic development. Those who have over come these traits can fight for a better world, but to think that those who harbor, indeed embrace these vile traits will give up to live in a utopian world where their needs and wants don’t come first, is delusional.”

              I am open, as always to changing my mind based on solid data and replicable experimentation. I just don’t see it. Faith is not in my lexicon. I have my beliefs but in most things, I am a scientist, social scientist to be sure, but with a hard edged scientific paradigm that drove my fellow grad students nuts. What can I say, Im really irritating. :) Anyway this was all in aid of saying Ill not drop TYT because I really like and admire Cenk, Ben, Michael, and all of the co-hosts and guests. I like what they are trying to do. If they fall into the money pit, I’ll mourn them. The cynic in me simply doesn’t think it is a serious issue. I may not like it, but having worked with family in big business ventures, it is unavoidable. This is why I don’t think it can be overcome. The entire system is corrupt and run by those who like it that way. My age is showing. I’m still reeling from the realization that the 60s and 70s were the most equitable economic period for modern Americans. I knew I hated Reagan for a reason. Too bad I couldn’t do anything to shift the direction our country was heading. Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. Or some shit. Love you all! That I do mean sincerely.

              1. My own political philosophy is similar in many ways to yours. Preaching to the choir here. :)

                But I would have to say that whether I “like” the hosts and guests is not very relevant to these concerns IMO. How I feel about them as people, as commentators and as entertainers is something that exists on the personal level, the fandom level and the consumption-of-news level.

                There is another, more structural level that should be seen as totally independent from the previous ones, and that is the level of ownership, management and institutional direction.

                It does matter to me – and it should matter enormously to all Members – which direction TYT is evolving into as an institution and as an organization. I thought that I had a pretty good idea of where they wanted to go, longterm, but those ideas have been thrown into total confusion and frustration now by TYT’s actions.

      1. Again, sincere apologies (as I said in the other thread). Figured that some things need to be said to a large audience, but it won’t happen again after today (unless TYT does another Wall Street funding round – ;) – but that’s highly unlikely and in any case I wouldn’t be around for that.)

        1. Brevity is the essence of clarity, or is it: Brevity is the soul of wit? Whatever! As Deb-N-Cal said, this is just rude! I’am chalking this up to: daddy’s pissed, cause momma smoked the last bowl, and leave it at that. Now, if you try this shit again…;-)

            1. Well, my friend, life is an adventure and I am just trying not to be an ass-hole…this time around…but, sense you asked. TYT was started up by a lawyer ( Cenk ) and a few like minded close friends. Steve Oh (Cenk’s childhood friend) is also an attorney. Now, if you think those two guys spent all these years creating a platform only to get ass-fucked by investors: we clearly have NOT been watching the same network. But, that’s cool if you do leave (as someone further up the thread suggested), but, I hope you stay, just to piss everybody off!

              1. We don’t know where TYT goes from here, but allow me to give you an instructive example from history.

                The Google company was started by two friends called Larry Page and Sergey Brin. They built a search engine from scratch, in their spare time, while they were working for the university. They were also supported in their research projects by a grant from the government (through the a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship). So far, so good IMO.

                But I think you already know where the story goes from here, and it’s not good. They went public, meaning they accepted venture capital from capital firms like Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Sequoia Capital, and from many other firms.

                Google is now a massive corporation that hides hundreds of billions of dollars in offshore tax haves, while having a near-monopoly in several industries, while gathering private data from nearly every citizen on the planet, and while having entirely too much influence over most elected governments in the world.

                The point is that beginnings guarantee nothing.

                1. That, like, just your opinion man. I’ll may stop watching if Cenk ever leaves. Like CNN turned to shit after Ted left. But, in the mean time, I enjoy the informative commentary. I watch Democracy Now for the New and I watch TYT for the untarnished vulgarity ridden rants (that I more often than not agree with), but, that’s just like my opinion man:)

    3. Cenk has totally jumped down the rabbit hole re: Russia hysteria, anyway, so he might as well go all the way and get the big MSM money. :-/

      The longer Cenk persists in propagating this by now obvious establishment psy-op, the less inclined I am to continue sponsoring TYT. The only reason I have not taken the leap yet is that I want to sponsor Aggressive Progressives to help Jimmy out.

      I am seriously pissed at this point that not only Cenk is mocking the thought that further aggravating the Russia hysteria may lead to unintended consequences (i.e. an armed confrontation down the line), but that he now declares that anyone still doubts Russian interference is blinded by partisanship, when that is the EXACT thing he is exhibiting himself.

      That Cenk is not allowing any panel members onto his shows anymore which disagree with him, unless the story run-down don’t include Russia stories is another sign how he is shutting himself off from any critical examination of his assumptions.

        1. It’s no problem. At the start there was still some doubt that the whole thing could have really happened somehow. But at this point, there is no excuse anymore to still keep up the narrative without acknowledging the mountain of evidence countering the whole Russia storyline.

          I used to think “Cenk will snap out of it soon, there is too much evidence piling up to counter the whole Russia! argument”. But, nope. He just does not acknowledge the existance of the VIPS memo, can’t enumerate how Russia actually was supposed to have influenced the election, is limited to making nebulous claims that there was a financial deal, refuses to acknowledge how the whole Russia hysteria thing has worsened relations between the U.S. and Russia to its worst point in decades and where that may lead in a worst case scenario and so on and so on. He has swallowed the cool-aid.

    1. Laughed my ass off when Jimmy made that joke about not knowing what churlish meant. I like that he’s down to earth and plain-spoken and can joke about himself. A polished network host would have looked the word up to make himself seem smart and pretended he knew it all along. I had to look the word up, and that made me feel better when he joked about not knowing it. He probably looked it up too, but being able to joke about not knowing what it meant makes those of us who had to as well laugh along with him.

    1. Bill Maher has been one of my favorites but since 2016, I no longer follow him or his show. He proves that money, while a vile necessity, is a corrupting influence. We used to know this back when I was growing up. “Money is the root to all evil.” etc. “Love of money is the worship of Mammon’ even the Christians have forgotten this and place Mammon on the dais with Jesus.

  65. Last time West was on the show Bill pretty much called him a fraud for supporting Jill Stein and used police shootings of blacks as his reasoning. As if Hillary would have done something about it. Yes out of touch is right on.

  66. If you think Bill Maher’s tweets are bad, check out his last show. His panel of two neo-democrat elitists shat all over Bernie and said he was a narcissist that should go away. Also mocked him as being a weirdo for leaving New York for Vermont. And Bill was in solid agreement.

      1. “Vermont is gorgeous, I’d never want to live in NYC.”

        With ya, on that. There are some drives in Vermont, that have an unmistakable misty, spiritual air to them.

    2. My admiration for F. Lebovitz instantly disintegrated with her…”he went to Vermont, he couldn’t make it here he had to go there”…while they ALL laughed! Jesus, did they import that audience from the Hampton! DISGRACEFUL!

      1. Sorry for the delay in response, I rarely check the email I signed up here with lol…. I never miss an episode of Real Time, or the Jimmy Dore Show, they’re 2 of my favorite political commentators, but while I agree with them both on many issues, neither is infallible. It’s worth mentioning, even after that argument, Mr West considers Bill a “dear brother.” I’m just not about punching Left.

  74. When does Jimmy get a blue check… wtf.

    I was talking to an actual stage actress self described centrist. She was an enthusiastic Hilary supporter. On one hand she was telling me how she was super happy with the scraps that a for-profit high school employs her. However she doesn’t have health insurance. Then on the other hand she was telling me that it’s not realistic to have things that American’s need. I made the final remark that we have to go left because this is unsustainable.

    I really wish I could send this hilary/obama segment to her.

      1. They need to add more time to this show. In fact, I think this show should be the main 2 hours a day show. Cenk, Anna, Bret and the others could rotate as co-hosts every day. Amiright?!

        1. I applaud your spirit but must disagree on the details. If AP were “the main show” there would no longer be any “news” just Jimmy rants, which I love, but where would I get my news? (OK, from Democracy Now, like I get my news every day… but you get the point). And most of the main show hosts are too Centrist to qualify for a seat on AP.

          1. Your comment about the hosts being too Centrist is exactly why I would prefer a more Progressive main host, but I completely see your point. I think Steve Oh brings the calm to Jimmy’s storms and with a two hour show every day there would be less rants…….I mean, not even Dore can rant two hours a day, every day…….At least I don’t think he can. =P I know that if Jimmy Dore broke off from TYT and started his own daily news show, I would follow him in a heartbeat and if I found I couldn’t afford a membership with both of them, I would (sadly) drop TYT first.

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