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Avoiding the Shutdown - for Fun and Laughs
Townhall.com ^ | January 19, 2019 | Michael Reagan

Posted on 01/19/2019 8:35:34 AM PST by Kaslin

No matter where you look, you can't escape it. "Government Shutdown - Day 27..."

"Government Shutdown - Day 28..."

The partial government shutdown - and who's to blame for it, who's being hurt most by it and who's going to blink first - is the top topic on television, cable, talk radio, the internet and in the papers.

It's so pervasive in all the news media it feels like you're watching a daily "Groundhog Day" movie about partisan politics and biased journalism.

Everyone who is interviewed about the shutdown on Fox, CNN, NBC and elsewhere says the same predictable things over and over.

If Republicans are asked who's to blame, it's Pelosi and Schumer. If a Democrat is asked, they blame the president and Republicans.

You already know by now nearly everything you're going to see or hear in the future about the shutdown. You don't have to listen to today's repeat questions because you already know the answers.

The same thing was true for those who watched this week's Senate hearings on Trump's Attorney General nominee William Barr.

It was the same bad TV movie starring politicians we've all seen in DC many times before. You knew every politician would go by the script, play to the cameras and pander to their party's base -- and they did.

You also knew how the media coverage would go down: You were going to love what Fox said and hate what CNN said, or vice versa.

So the big question is, why should you waste a minute of your time on the daily news coverage of the government shutdown? Why torture yourself? Why get frustrated and angry?

You know you can't do a thing about ending the government shutdown or brokering a compromise deal between the Democrats and the president.

Instead of getting so mad you feel like throwing your beer bottle or coffee cup at the TV set, why not find something more enjoyable to do with your time?

Maybe you should do what I do.

Turn off the TV and talk radio for a few days. Don't listen to the news. When you're in the car, tune in to Y2 Country, the Highway or the Bridge on Sirius XM.

Turn on sports radio. Binge on Netflix. Watch an NFL playoff game this weekend.

Better yet, try to find a good laugh or joke in everything you do or see in your political world, as I do as often as possible.

Sometimes my search for humor in the swamp of politics goes a bit too far, I admit.

For example, when I had a colonoscopy a while ago the doctors found a bit of colon cancer. They cut it out and I'm good, thanks. (By the way, everyone over 50 should get colonoscopy. It could save your life.)

When I told people about my medical procedure, my little joke was that, "The president was lying next to me in the recovery room and he had a colonoscopy too - and they found Fox News. They did one on Chuck Schumer too - and found CNN."

If I told that joke on TV, they'd never have me on the air again, but I still think it's an example of good, bipartisan political humor.

The sad truth is, in the Age of Trump, jokes and humor of any kind are getting harder to find - or tell.

Too many Americans have not only lost their sense of humor, they've lost their ability to take a joke.

Comedians like Seinfeld won't perform on college campuses because students are such over-protected snowflakes.

Meanwhile, people like me who grew up in the 1960s can't bear to watch "Saturday Night Live" or late-night television anymore.

The openly partisan hosts of those shows today are not only not very funny, they think their nightly job is to prove how much they hate the president and Republicans.

They don't want to send you to sleep with a smile on your face the way Johnny Carson, Jay Leno and even David Letterman did in their early days.

They want you to go to bed angry - especially at Trump.

The late-night hosts and their liberal soulmates in Hollywood have not just poisoned our pop culture with their political correctness and left-wing politics.

By making it harder and harder to find a good laugh when you need one to make our bad politics go away, they've taken a lot of the fun out of America.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial
KEYWORDS: demonrats; govshutdown; humor; republicans

1 posted on 01/19/2019 8:35:34 AM PST by Kaslin
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To: Kaslin

This was posted at ZeroHedge:

“To that end, Axios reports that in exchange for the $5.7 billion in wall money, Trump will offer the BRIDGE Act - which would extend protections for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, as well as legislation which would extend the legal status of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders. The deal is said to have been crafted by Jared Kushner and Vice President Mike Pence.”

I hope this is not true! I knew we couldn’t trust Kushner. Now I wonder about Pence. He’s still a Republican insider, even with the good things he says.


2 posted on 01/19/2019 8:43:21 AM PST by Pining_4_TX ("Every election is a sort of advance auction sale of stolen goods." ~ H.L. Mencken)
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To: Kaslin

Every day puts more pressure on the Dems - Pelosi has fled town and shows she’s afraid of how it will end...can’t wait for President Trump to toss out another gauntlet this afternoon.


3 posted on 01/19/2019 8:44:05 AM PST by trebb (Don't howl about illegal leeches while not donating to FR - it's hypocritical.)
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To: Kaslin
Day 27, ... day 28, ...

Keep waiting for day 30

RIFS BEGIN
4 posted on 01/19/2019 8:45:47 AM PST by budj (combat vet, 2nd of 3 generations)
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To: Kaslin

What’s going to happen on Monday - Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday? Essential government workers will have the day off. How will we survive?


5 posted on 01/19/2019 9:02:49 AM PST by HotKat (Politicians are like diapers; they need to be changed often and for the same reason. Mark Twain)
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To: Pining_4_TX

If Trump likes it - it’ll be fine. Why not wait until you see the deal before condemning it?

And this piece is straight out of democrat talking points...They don’t want their people discussing anything because they want them stupid.


6 posted on 01/19/2019 9:05:28 AM PST by GOPJ (Anyone remember MSNBC bimbos crying about out of work steel workers or coal miners or anyone?)
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To: Pining_4_TX
There are three "News" sites I take with a grain of salt.

Politico, The Hill, and Axios.

7 posted on 01/19/2019 9:09:03 AM PST by Kaslin
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To: Pining_4_TX

“I hope this is not true! I knew we couldn’t trust Kushner. Now I wonder about Pence. He’s still a Republican insider, even with the good things he says.”

It’s a good deal.


8 posted on 01/19/2019 9:54:46 AM PST by EQAndyBuzz ("We The People" have turned into "You, The Subjects.")
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To: EQAndyBuzz

I’d rather hear Trump say. “I won’t put you all in jail too long for treason to the American people in exchange for the wall.


9 posted on 01/19/2019 10:01:07 AM PST by oldasrocks
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To: oldasrocks

“I’d rather hear Trump say. “I won’t put you all in jail too long for treason to the American people in exchange for the wall.”

That will never happen. Trump will get the deal he wants and at the same time let Pelosi declare the Rats got a good deal. The media will say Trump caved, Trump haters on the left and right will say Trump caved, meanwhile 200 more miles of wall will be built.


10 posted on 01/19/2019 10:16:59 AM PST by EQAndyBuzz ("We The People" have turned into "You, The Subjects.")
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To: Kaslin

Only 3? ;-)


11 posted on 01/19/2019 8:13:54 PM PST by Pining_4_TX ("Every election is a sort of advance auction sale of stolen goods." ~ H.L. Mencken)
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To: Kaslin

The shut-down reeks of bribe money paid by cartels to prevent building the wall that would stop the flow of drugs into the US.


12 posted on 01/20/2019 4:56:37 AM PST by Rapscallion (Walls work anytime night or day, any weather)
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