I’m The Slime - Frank Zappa

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfUB4Wv5ooI

Don’t take this one personally!!!!

Happy Halloween

“a contrived death match against another guest who is your equally angry, equally mangy opposite…or you’re simply asked to play the yes-man…”
—Sirota

Definitely more like the latter.
When Sirota was featured on UP, the show was lively with some diversity of thought, a good thing.  Frequent interruptions in the 2nd hour, but generated from the energy in the room, rather than from opposing confrontational stances.
(note the open-hand gestures as opposed to fists or fingers)

I wonder if yesterday’s show is more representative of typical UP programming?

Chris Hayes sounds (and looks a little) like Rachel Maddow, but goes lighter with the dripping sarcasm.
Surrounded by nodding-heads, the format resembles an FM version of Hannity’s Great American Panel, except Hannity does feature token Democrats to make for 3-on-1 “discussions.” 

Hayes does allow his guests a good deal more free expression than Hannity, but on either show, since the host and panel largely agree with one another, you find a minimum of interruption and a predictable civility prevails.

Here’s Hannity w/ his G.A.P.  Ignoring content, see if the format isn’t similar.
http://activitypit.ning.com/video/bill-on-hannity-s-great-great-great-american-panel-10-20-11

Up is an excellent show for sampling current left and far-left thinking. 
Knowing that in advance makes it well worth watching.

As for the pre-dawn time slot, that’s a head-scratcher.
(LOL:  I counted 9 coffee mugs for a panel of 5 when Sirota was on.)
But MSNBC’s Sunday morning (7am-10am) fare in my area features all prison shows. 
Great for the kiddies.  WTF? 
Anybody got an idea about why that is?

I’ll watch Hayes and UP again, regardless.
Easy enough to stream anytime.
——

“All it needs is more conservatives willing to actually defend their positions.”
—wildeye

Get your point, but I kind of like UP as it is. 
The Left’s viewpoint on free-wheel: unchallenged, unfiltered.

—

@Joel Rosenberg: damn, I would have bet you were a paid MSNBC shill until you mentioned the un-mentionable: Keith Olbermann.

Agreed. It’s nice to see faces I haven’t seen before expressing views I rarely hear and, apparently, enjoying the discussion. Very free form and not very scripted, there’s an energy there missing from the other talk shows where everyone knows what everyone else is going to say before anyone bothers to say anything. And two hours of his own show has given Chris Hayes the freedom to let those discussions range where they will. All it needs is more conservatives willing to actually defend their positions in an open forum at the break of dawn; I have far more understanding and sympathy for conservative positions when they aren’t couched in familiar talking points. Also: Inequalistan.

I think did well Mr. Sirota to point out the relative benificence of this program. I don’t think one could or should expect to hear the kind of wisdom Mr. Matar struggled to expound throughout the program and succeeded in finally doing so to a certain extent thanks in part to your support and that of the host , to be a regular feature of “Up w/Chris Hayes”, but who knows???

For that, you might do better to watch Democracy Now.

However, having watched two Saturdays worth of the show, I think I may be hooked for at least the short term.

It is a great format which goes against the grain of MSNBC’s typical five or so minute segments, and well beyond that of the Sunday shows.

Chris Hayes should give himself a pat on the back for a job so far….

May he continue to test his corporate media guest moderating piloting skills, and fly as deep into the valley of truth as he can get away with.

“Up” while on at the odd early hours on the weekend is a great reason to have a
DVR, especially on Sunday mornings, with the vapid emptiness of the other lame news discussion shows.  Its nice to have something like that on
instead of the blandness of “Meet the Press” (does anyone remember that show being
relevant), George Will making shit up, or the nonsense on Corporate News
Network.  Of course the absolute best news show on is Democracy Now! that’s
why, without satellite (not unlike Olbermann) you have to see it online.

I agree. I make it a point not to watch weekend shows - I go out of my way to watch Chris Hayes. I think MSNBC has a really great idea.

I don’t enjoy listening to shouting matches fortunately I watch everything on computer and can skip around I think some of the hosts would be amazed at how little of their programs I listen to. I’m also not big on the fair and balanced approach…because I don’t particularly like wasting my time listening to right wingers hold forth I could go to Fox for that.
But Chris Hayes is intelligent, humorous, and everyone on his show has something interesting to say and everyone else listens. It’s refreshing.

Nuts! I thought he was referring to Democracy Now; move
along, nothing new here….

CHARGE! Invade the capital!  Crowd the visitor galleries in both houses and throw
used tampons down on those bastards. Drive ‘em batshit crazy! A bloody
conspiracy, you understand….

You must try linktv.org - television without borders -no corporate funding - news, documentaries, movies from all over the world - many programs are also available online.

First thing Saturday and Sunday morning is a long way from prime time. The powers that be are no doubt quite comfortable putting Hayes there, knowing the audience is much smaller, and that now they can lay claim to “diversified” programming.

If reality hits the airwaves but nobody is there to see it does it make a difference?

This reads like an ad. MSNBC can kiss my a**.
I come here(and a dozen other websites for news, and RT TV for broadcast. Mainstream is selling you death.

“Arabs being asked for their opinion on events in the Arab world—what a concept.”

Not original w/ Hayes. Fareed Zakaria has been doing this on his show CNN’s GPS (Global Public Square) for some time now.

I’ll give Chris Hayes an honest watching.

Thinking of the comeing year (2012) and the endless hours of the presidential
horse race, witch has already been set. I’ve vowed to not watch any of this
pathetic drivel ! If something of importance happens I’m sure I’ll hear about it via
my choice of TV News “DEMOCRACY NOW!” available on both satellite providers,
some cable and of course free on their web site. As far as Chis Hayes show goes
the fact that it’s on at a time when most people will never see it and it’s not repeated
two or three times like the other MSNBC news shows says quit a bit, but perhaps it’s a shift ? We as viewers need to call, email and write letters to these outlets
and voice or disgust at the insulting content they are passing of as “news” But
considering the fact that all these shows were moved from a “news department” to
the “Entertainment division” of the networks is really any wonder ? Let’s keep the
ratings falling and demanding better and more variety of view points !

The pattern of Chris Hayes’ interviews I’ve experienced goes something like this; seemingly deep and important questions, particularly if they are in the fog of the news, are put forward and the sage and often credentialed guests are tasked to provide thoughtful and cogent answers..

One show that comes to mind featured a PHD economist and University wonk . He was tasked to respond to a compilation of ‘most often asked’ questions about the benefits and ills of deficits and debts in the public sector. The man was nothing if not well-spoken and articulate. And except for a noticeable
condescending tone he used when addressing people’s fears of huge deficits and the piling up of public debt he was informative and well-spoken.

We learned the important differences between deficits and debts! .. were told how while personal thrift and investment is a virtue, governments should not be held to any such artificial constraints.. we print money all the time! .. and every administration has spent more than what was taken in during times of need. Much more of the same.. the sum total of which was to accept the dogma of deficit spending.. it’s what’s good for us!

.. and never once was the real issue of government spending, deficit or otherwise, addressed.. WHERE IS THE MONEY GOING AND WHAT DO WE HAVE TO SHOW FOR IT?

Typical support the Dems propaganda. Oh for sure I like it way more than say Fox News propaganda! Yet Hayes or whatever fresh face they put up is and will be focused on preserving current power structures and revenue flow.

Maybe Sirota’s appearance was a little better, I mostly like his views.. I did not watch. Someone who did watch can fill us in, I guess.

Adios!

however, none of u who participated on “Up” belong to political party? and all of u
voted [or stayed home and not voted] for either obama or maccain and thus for all
u.s wars, the 1%, master of the 99%, or for the 10%, master of the 90%?

tell me how close i am to the truth?  and for whom did chomsky, maddow,
goodman, hayes, sirota vote? chomsky tells me he voted for greens. how about
others? how many voted for a socialist or any other second party or even nader?

but even nader, seems, doesn’t belong to a second political party. so, even if
elected, he’d be dead or wld have toe the same line that each prez had to toe up to
now. and there is no change in sight for that! welcome to the ultimate reality and
free fighting show.

I wholeheartedly agree. I would go a step further. What we find today is that both print and Television news is a “cruel and shallow money trench through the heart of the journalism industry, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free ...” In that hallway’s current form, “national news” is a euphemism for New York- and DC-focused content engineered primarily by a closed ecosystem of East Coast elites who believe the only things that matter are Manhattan gossip and Beltway games.

Thanks for bringing this show to my attention.  I only know of Chris Hayes
because he was frequently a guest host on Rachel Maddow.  I forced myself to
abstain from viewing “cable news” a few months ago and found that my overall
stress-level went down dramatically.

I am not surprised to hear that Chris Hayes encourages an actual discussion on his
show rather than partisan shrieking that only leaves you grasping for breath and
wondering how high your blood pressure has become.  In all fairness, I always
found Rachel Maddow to be very polite to her guests and allowed them to speak
without shouting over them, even guests who were clearly her polar opposite in
terms of beliefs.  The other MSNBC hosts are every bit as rude and condescending
as those on Fox whom they love to berate as bullies.  I guess, if one must watch
cable news, enjoy scraps of polite discourse from time to time.