“If I don’t go to the hospital for a whole year, where is my money? Why don’t you give me the money back?” No one likes paying for insurance, but this has to be the dumbest thing she's said ever. She doesn't understand how the insurance scheme works does she? Amazingly ignorant, and there is some group of people who listen to her and will follow her advice.
Well, since she gets refunds on her homeowners policy, auto policy, and business policy because she didn't file a claim, it's only natural to expect a refund on the health insurance.
It's funny, my private insurance here in Germany works like that, if I don't submit any doctors bills I get part of my premiums back (up to 50% of the total). Similarly if you don't cause any crashes your car insurance gets less expensive over time, also of course since you're aging out of the age bracket that causes the most accidents.
Before Obamacare I believe there used to be catastrophic insurance in the US where you basically paid for everything except "catastrophes" like cancer etc.. Those plans had to be phased out in favour of plans that cover a lot more stuff which are more expensive, the people who don't use a lot of medical services or none at all subsidizing those that use a lot. What are the odds that Goldberg is for a system that prioritizes personal responsibility and not subsidizing other people, some of whom might make poor health choices? Also, who was paying for her Munjaro prescription?
Health insurance is pretty weird inasmuch as it is not just insurance for rare events but also a scheme to indirectly pay for healthcare.
Is it possible that Whoopi Goldberg could be so ignorant? How about- you go to the hospital and the insurance company refunds your premium and tells you you’re on your own?
To be fair how often do people get a huge bill despite having insurance? I can totally get not wanting to pay for insurance that doesn't pay out claims.
I cannot unread the quote from Morgan Freeman. Is it possible to forget but not forgive? He is 87 years old, after all. Perhaps he is just "a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man". Freeman is (was?) one of my favorite actors. Guess he's gone the way of Robert De Niro. Too bad there is not a vaccine for this mind virus that has apparently infected the entertainment industry. In the words of the great Michael Jordan "Republicans buy sneakers too".
I had the same reaction-couldn’t believe Morgan Freeman would say such a thing. Click on the link, it appears this Morgan J Freeman is a middle aged white guy.
My God, thank you, HeyJude. The only way I can describe my mistake is a quote from a golfer (Roberto De Vincenzo) who signed a scorecard containing his wrong score on a hole at the 1968 Masters. This error caused him to miss his chance for the championship. His quote "What a stupid I am" fits me to a T.
Whenever I have the notion that Rachel Maddow or Joy Reid are the biggest progressive nutjobs out there, Keith Olberman reminds me there's always a bigger, nuttier nut job. Well Done Keith!!
Usually, I comment on a few of these Left-aligned rantings individually, but today I want to point out what's common to them: the lack of a tether between the statements and rationality.
Olbermann saying the New York Times is MAGA.
Joe Rogan only invites pro-Russian guests.
Joy Reid saying there's a meaningful connection between Donald Trump and Joseph Stalin because they both share being named Time's Person of the Year.
Rep. Ramirez saying she would feel unsafe at the Trump inauguration because she is a brown woman.
Dem strategist Jacobus affirming that MAGA women are happy to have no power.
Whether any of them believe what they're saying is less significant than that they are offering them into the public discourse. Because now we can assess them and conclude that these statements are steeped in irrationality and yet are being presented by people who want you to align with Democratic party and Left/progressive causes.
We’ve just been through an election where the guy who was the target of this limited relationship to reality won both the electoral college AND the popular vote. So you would hope the result would precipitate a reorientation of the Democratic party and its allies toward being a bit more open-minded over attitudes and value systems that it has taken for granted as obvious.
And while there's been SOME of that, you still have high-profile people uttering bizarro-world nonsense for public consumption.
People of an elite class frantically pointing to a space and yelling "Threat!"
There is no metaphorical switch to flip for them. No light to turn on and say, "See, it's just the chair and hat rack that made it look like a monster."
At a time when Dem and Left elites are insisting that disinformation by bad actors is leading the populace to make terrible choices -- choices that just so happen to undermine their level of social influence and control those elites wish to have -- they are being advoated for by elites like Olbermann, Reid, Piper, and Jacobus, who are some combination of incurious and unserious, and operate within a self-aggrandizing class that rewards them for staying that way.
“The scariest words you’ll hear from a voter: ‘I do my own research.’”
Jimmy Dore has a great bit about this. Doing your own research used to mean "reading". The problem with demanding blind trust is that people might choose whom they blindly trust...
“Personally, I think [Kamala] should run for president again if she believes she has the energy to do it.”
She already failed miserably not even managing Iowa even though she was among the best funded democratic candidates at the time. I think she really should run again, just to make the Democrats look like worse hypocrites when they soundly reject her in the primaries again.
I needed that laugh. Thank you, Brad. Just quoting people can highlight so much of the current dysfunction in your post.
I regularly have to do a double take when I see your notes, as I can't initially believe what I am reading, and then I am brought back to reality and realize, no, some people really are that dumb. I need your reminders, clearly. Much obliged!
'“What media are you talking about that’s ‘anti-Trump’”? — Democratic strategist Julie Roginsky, who posed the question to Scott Jennings during a CNN panel'
Robert Flaherty laid it out plainly. Legacy media is in the greasy back pocket of the Democratic Party machine. They offer nothing. Especially not ratings.
Brad I don’t see the value of quoting people like Joy Reid anymore as almost no one watches her show anymore & come next year, she won’t have anymore audience. Goodbye legacy media. We won’t miss you at all.
The vast majority of the quotes I pull, an endeavor that requires a lot more time and effort than you probably realize and subscriptions to basically every mainstream media rag out there and a willingness to swan dive into the dark spiritual anesthesia of social media, are those that I think people will find insightful/illuminating/humorous, or that highlight absurd/crazy/hateful/delusional/dishonest takes from left-wing figures rarely subjected to the same kind of scrutiny that their ideological counterparts are, and who benefit from the fact that the world today moves as fast as it ever has and ordinary folks struggle to keep up with a 24/7 news cycle during an era in which attention is ruthlessly monetized and overstimulation is the norm.
I very rarely include quotes from random left-wingers and instead focus on individuals with real influence and power - people with large followings and platforms, people who control significant portions of the institutions we need to make our society function, people capable of contributing to the leftward shift of the Overton window by collectively defining and enforcing in cultural and moral terms what counts as truth and lies, acceptable and unacceptable positions.
Yeah, Joy Reid is a racist moron with a bathwater IQ, and her ratings are tanking. But she's still a top 3 host at MSNBC, a mainstream network that a truly frightening number of Americans continue to rely on to make sense of the world, and she has a shit ton of followers across TikTok, Facebook, X, Instagram, and Bluesky. She's not some marginal figure with zero institutional presence or cachet. Her idiocy is often legitimized. And I think people should be aware of this.
I´m a free subscriber to a bunch of different Substacks that don´t add much value to my life. These Friday quotes though, oh boy, always illuminating, always good for a laugh or an eye roll or a knee slap, a great setup for the weekend. Thanks so much!
Brad, your observation about the attention economy proves why we need to hear what influential people like Joy Reid are saying. Because if she's suggesting some meaningful connection between Trump and Stalin being on the covers of the same magazine, there's a good chance the stupidity didn't start with her, and it isn't going to end with her either.
Her moronic followers will repeat it, others will agree with it, and the contagion of destructive discourse can perpetuate the need for more dumb takes that feed their acclimatization to rage, smug superiority, victimhood. A good journalist shares what people of influence are saying. Each Quotes and Links is an exercise in good journalism.
I would add that it's not really about the mass-appeal of corporate media, it's that important people think that what corporate media and academia have to say is important. A ton of Boomer (and Silent Generation) politicians still only see cable news and NYT and other papers as the only valid information sources and these people hold immense power.
It's not so much about how many are still listening to them, it's about who is listening to them. It's also often quite shocking to see what sort of non-mainstream views these people have when they are supposedly the mainstream media.
Fair enough. I see your point. Maybe I’m just getting a worn with the recycle of what I try to avoid generally. Someone like Joy Reid I’d avoid out of principle, same as avoiding a KKK rally.
Why not quote Congress, who affects policy? To me, the big story you missed was how it came out that Pelosi blocked AOC from getting that plum House position. There will be long echos from that.
Keith Olberman is a South Park character version of a pundit.
hes a gift who keeps on giving
“If I don’t go to the hospital for a whole year, where is my money? Why don’t you give me the money back?” No one likes paying for insurance, but this has to be the dumbest thing she's said ever. She doesn't understand how the insurance scheme works does she? Amazingly ignorant, and there is some group of people who listen to her and will follow her advice.
Well, since she gets refunds on her homeowners policy, auto policy, and business policy because she didn't file a claim, it's only natural to expect a refund on the health insurance.
/s
It's funny, my private insurance here in Germany works like that, if I don't submit any doctors bills I get part of my premiums back (up to 50% of the total). Similarly if you don't cause any crashes your car insurance gets less expensive over time, also of course since you're aging out of the age bracket that causes the most accidents.
Before Obamacare I believe there used to be catastrophic insurance in the US where you basically paid for everything except "catastrophes" like cancer etc.. Those plans had to be phased out in favour of plans that cover a lot more stuff which are more expensive, the people who don't use a lot of medical services or none at all subsidizing those that use a lot. What are the odds that Goldberg is for a system that prioritizes personal responsibility and not subsidizing other people, some of whom might make poor health choices? Also, who was paying for her Munjaro prescription?
Health insurance is pretty weird inasmuch as it is not just insurance for rare events but also a scheme to indirectly pay for healthcare.
Is it possible that Whoopi Goldberg could be so ignorant? How about- you go to the hospital and the insurance company refunds your premium and tells you you’re on your own?
To be fair how often do people get a huge bill despite having insurance? I can totally get not wanting to pay for insurance that doesn't pay out claims.
Re: Musk "crashing" Tesla.
My stock is up over 200%. I'll take crashes like that all day every day.
Jen Rubin knows she's a fraud; she just has to embrace it.
AND a short seller.
Right!? Nobody one can be as stupid as they act and still be functional.
I cannot unread the quote from Morgan Freeman. Is it possible to forget but not forgive? He is 87 years old, after all. Perhaps he is just "a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man". Freeman is (was?) one of my favorite actors. Guess he's gone the way of Robert De Niro. Too bad there is not a vaccine for this mind virus that has apparently infected the entertainment industry. In the words of the great Michael Jordan "Republicans buy sneakers too".
I had the same reaction-couldn’t believe Morgan Freeman would say such a thing. Click on the link, it appears this Morgan J Freeman is a middle aged white guy.
My God, thank you, HeyJude. The only way I can describe my mistake is a quote from a golfer (Roberto De Vincenzo) who signed a scorecard containing his wrong score on a hole at the 1968 Masters. This error caused him to miss his chance for the championship. His quote "What a stupid I am" fits me to a T.
Have a Merry Christmas, Brad. Thanks for these always entertaining comps.
"Have the Democrats become the party of the Élites?" with an accent aigu. 😂🤣🤣 Parody could never hope to be as funny as the real world.
Whenever I have the notion that Rachel Maddow or Joy Reid are the biggest progressive nutjobs out there, Keith Olberman reminds me there's always a bigger, nuttier nut job. Well Done Keith!!
“If I don’t go to the hospital for a whole year, where is my money? Why don’t you give me the money back?” — Whoopi Goldberg, Financial Genius
Usually, I comment on a few of these Left-aligned rantings individually, but today I want to point out what's common to them: the lack of a tether between the statements and rationality.
Olbermann saying the New York Times is MAGA.
Joe Rogan only invites pro-Russian guests.
Joy Reid saying there's a meaningful connection between Donald Trump and Joseph Stalin because they both share being named Time's Person of the Year.
Rep. Ramirez saying she would feel unsafe at the Trump inauguration because she is a brown woman.
Dem strategist Jacobus affirming that MAGA women are happy to have no power.
Whether any of them believe what they're saying is less significant than that they are offering them into the public discourse. Because now we can assess them and conclude that these statements are steeped in irrationality and yet are being presented by people who want you to align with Democratic party and Left/progressive causes.
We’ve just been through an election where the guy who was the target of this limited relationship to reality won both the electoral college AND the popular vote. So you would hope the result would precipitate a reorientation of the Democratic party and its allies toward being a bit more open-minded over attitudes and value systems that it has taken for granted as obvious.
And while there's been SOME of that, you still have high-profile people uttering bizarro-world nonsense for public consumption.
People of an elite class frantically pointing to a space and yelling "Threat!"
There is no metaphorical switch to flip for them. No light to turn on and say, "See, it's just the chair and hat rack that made it look like a monster."
At a time when Dem and Left elites are insisting that disinformation by bad actors is leading the populace to make terrible choices -- choices that just so happen to undermine their level of social influence and control those elites wish to have -- they are being advoated for by elites like Olbermann, Reid, Piper, and Jacobus, who are some combination of incurious and unserious, and operate within a self-aggrandizing class that rewards them for staying that way.
they rock bottom after the election.......now they have started to dig
“The scariest words you’ll hear from a voter: ‘I do my own research.’”
Jimmy Dore has a great bit about this. Doing your own research used to mean "reading". The problem with demanding blind trust is that people might choose whom they blindly trust...
“Personally, I think [Kamala] should run for president again if she believes she has the energy to do it.”
She already failed miserably not even managing Iowa even though she was among the best funded democratic candidates at the time. I think she really should run again, just to make the Democrats look like worse hypocrites when they soundly reject her in the primaries again.
I needed that laugh. Thank you, Brad. Just quoting people can highlight so much of the current dysfunction in your post.
I regularly have to do a double take when I see your notes, as I can't initially believe what I am reading, and then I am brought back to reality and realize, no, some people really are that dumb. I need your reminders, clearly. Much obliged!
'“What media are you talking about that’s ‘anti-Trump’”? — Democratic strategist Julie Roginsky, who posed the question to Scott Jennings during a CNN panel'
Hahahahaha
Robert Flaherty laid it out plainly. Legacy media is in the greasy back pocket of the Democratic Party machine. They offer nothing. Especially not ratings.
Brad I don’t see the value of quoting people like Joy Reid anymore as almost no one watches her show anymore & come next year, she won’t have anymore audience. Goodbye legacy media. We won’t miss you at all.
The vast majority of the quotes I pull, an endeavor that requires a lot more time and effort than you probably realize and subscriptions to basically every mainstream media rag out there and a willingness to swan dive into the dark spiritual anesthesia of social media, are those that I think people will find insightful/illuminating/humorous, or that highlight absurd/crazy/hateful/delusional/dishonest takes from left-wing figures rarely subjected to the same kind of scrutiny that their ideological counterparts are, and who benefit from the fact that the world today moves as fast as it ever has and ordinary folks struggle to keep up with a 24/7 news cycle during an era in which attention is ruthlessly monetized and overstimulation is the norm.
I very rarely include quotes from random left-wingers and instead focus on individuals with real influence and power - people with large followings and platforms, people who control significant portions of the institutions we need to make our society function, people capable of contributing to the leftward shift of the Overton window by collectively defining and enforcing in cultural and moral terms what counts as truth and lies, acceptable and unacceptable positions.
Yeah, Joy Reid is a racist moron with a bathwater IQ, and her ratings are tanking. But she's still a top 3 host at MSNBC, a mainstream network that a truly frightening number of Americans continue to rely on to make sense of the world, and she has a shit ton of followers across TikTok, Facebook, X, Instagram, and Bluesky. She's not some marginal figure with zero institutional presence or cachet. Her idiocy is often legitimized. And I think people should be aware of this.
Brad, This is one of my Substack highlights. I appreciate the hard work.
I´m a free subscriber to a bunch of different Substacks that don´t add much value to my life. These Friday quotes though, oh boy, always illuminating, always good for a laugh or an eye roll or a knee slap, a great setup for the weekend. Thanks so much!
Brad, your observation about the attention economy proves why we need to hear what influential people like Joy Reid are saying. Because if she's suggesting some meaningful connection between Trump and Stalin being on the covers of the same magazine, there's a good chance the stupidity didn't start with her, and it isn't going to end with her either.
Her moronic followers will repeat it, others will agree with it, and the contagion of destructive discourse can perpetuate the need for more dumb takes that feed their acclimatization to rage, smug superiority, victimhood. A good journalist shares what people of influence are saying. Each Quotes and Links is an exercise in good journalism.
I would add that it's not really about the mass-appeal of corporate media, it's that important people think that what corporate media and academia have to say is important. A ton of Boomer (and Silent Generation) politicians still only see cable news and NYT and other papers as the only valid information sources and these people hold immense power.
It's not so much about how many are still listening to them, it's about who is listening to them. It's also often quite shocking to see what sort of non-mainstream views these people have when they are supposedly the mainstream media.
Fair enough. I see your point. Maybe I’m just getting a worn with the recycle of what I try to avoid generally. Someone like Joy Reid I’d avoid out of principle, same as avoiding a KKK rally.
Why not quote Congress, who affects policy? To me, the big story you missed was how it came out that Pelosi blocked AOC from getting that plum House position. There will be long echos from that.
None of my usual tools work to circumvent the WSJ paywall.
First link should definitely work, not sure about the second:
https://www.wsj.com/politics/biden-white-house-age-function-diminished-3906a839?st=SeL8jv&reflink=mobilewebshare_permalink
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-extreme-holiday-decorators-spending-thousands-to-deck-every-nook-and-cranny-of-their-homes-11671555653?st=LdQtkC&reflink=share_mobilewebshare
Thanks!