Monday Motivation(?): We Need Your Input!
From Matt Taibbi to Sylvester Stallone...
Happy Monday everyone!
We are still playing with the format for our Monday Motivation column so we need your input. First off, what about the name of the column? We think the name should basically reflect what we do here — provide a handy guide to the upcoming week, suggest some good TV/movies to watch, interesting articles to read, general complaints, interesting comments etc. Most of all it should be quick, fun and informative. We’ll go with whichever title you choose:
Photo reference
It seems Banter readers are not well versed in classic British comedy as no one appeared to know where the screenshot above comes from. Thankfully you have a resident Brit here to enlighten you all! Here’s where the Ricky Gervais pic above comes from:
What to watch
I’ve been watching ‘Tulsa King’ on Amazon Prime and have been pleasantly surprised, not only by the great script but Stallone’s deft acting. In his advanced age (Stallone is 76!) the former ‘Rocky’ actor seems to have more on screen presence than ever. Not only that, his wry, old world charm is perfectly suited to the story of an aging Mafia don trying to fit into a new city and a new world. It’s funny, quite violent, and surprisingly touching. Stallone carries the show, but there are some solid performances from the supporting cast. It’s not a great show, but a good one worth tuning into for an enjoyable evening.
Matt Taibbi continued
I’m going to be following up on my big Matt Taibbi piece this week given he just published a new Elon Musk ordained series of #TwitterFiles. The latest release purportedly shows a Russian troll tracking dashboard cited by Democrats and media outlets was a “scam”. It’s a tricky story to report on but as usual, Taibbi’s slant is deeply misleading. Stay tuned.
Also upcoming on The Banter this week: The media is ruining the classified doc story, why the MAGA philosophy destroys personal conservatism, The Banter Roundtable Podcast, and more.
Articles to read
Friend of The Banter Thom Hartmann’s take on the horrific police murder of Tyre Nichols is a must read. I have been dismayed by every corner of the political spectrum trying to ram this through their own ideological filter (from “he deserved it!” to “it was White Supremacy!”), and haven’t been able to muster the energy to tackle the terrible topic. Thom’s piece hits all the major points though:
We’ve Seen Too Many People Murdered By American Police: It’s Way Past Time for Genuine Reform
Listen to the podcast goddammit!
If you aren’t listening to The Banter Roundtable Podcast, you are seriously missing out. The latest episode came out yesterday, so if you missed it go right here and load it up:
Also, Banter Members get access to The Emergency Meeting podcast, a shorter but more explosive podcast covering the most pressing/craziest issues of the week. Here’s the latest episode (with brand new sound effects we might add):
The Emergency Meeting: FBI Spy Hunter Worked For Russian Oligarch???
Support The Banter!
Ok, a totally shameless appeal to all our readers to support what we do here at The Banter… We are entirely dependent on you for our survival because we do not accept advertising, have no corporate sponsors, and no benevolent billionaires funding our journalism. You fund the work we do, and we like to keep it that way. It means we have a genuine relationship with our readers and can grow sustainably without outside pressure. We have seen very significant growth in the past 4-5 months and take it as a sign we are doing something right. Members get access to The Emergency Meeting Podcast, our Members Only articles, our locked archive, and Member chat threads so it is well worth it. It’s less than a solitary, not particularly fancy cup of coffee each month and you can get a whopping 60% off today:
We are extremely grateful for your support, so a huge thanks to you all for keeping us going.
Banter Patrons
Some of our immensely kind readers are supporting The Banter at a deeper level and have become Banter Patrons. You can read more about that here if you are interested. We sent out our exclusive Banter Mugs to all Patrons who asked, so please let us know if you haven’t received it (email me at: ben@thedailybanter.com). Remember, Patrons also get Banter Memberships to gift to friends and family, so let us know who you’d like to send them to and we’ll get them set up!
Ben
How about Manic Monday?
How about Mojo for Mondays!