The Banter Brief: Warren Disembowels Bloomberg, Good Omens, And Returning Whales!

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1. Most Important Story Of The Week

The disembowelment of Michael Bloomberg

It all started so well for Mr. Bloomberg. Unlimited ad money, a fractured Democratic party, and an opportunity to prove he was America’s billionaire savior — the true antidote to Donald Trump. That was until the former Mayor of New York met Elizabeth Warren at the Nevada Democratic debate, who proceeded to disembowel him on live television.

“I’d like to talk about who we’re running against: a billionaire who calls women ‘fat broads’ and ‘horse-faced lesbians,’” said Warren. “And no, I’m not talking about Donald Trump, I’m talking about Mayor Bloomberg.”

It got worse and worse for Bloomberg who spent all night fending off attacks from everyone on the stage. But it was Warren who delivered the most withering blows, mercilessly

“Democrats are not going to win if we have a nominee who has a history of hiding his tax returns, of harassing women, and of supporting racist policies like redlining and stop and frisk,” said Warren. “Look, I’ll support whoever the Democratic nominee is, but understand this: Democrats take a huge risk if we just substitute one arrogant billionaire for another. This country has worked for the rich for a long time, and left everyone else in the dirt. It is time to have a president who will be on the side of working families and be willing to get out there and fight for them. That is why I am in this race. And that is how I will beat Donald Trump.”

If the Democrats are looking for someone to take the fight to Donald Trump, that person clearly emerged at the Nevada debate. And it wasn’t Mayor Bloomberg.

That being said, Bloomberg has so much money it is possible he can rebound. If that’s the case, here’s how to square it with your conscience:

MEMBERS ONLY: If It's Mike Bloomberg Or Fascism, The Choice Isn't Hard To Make

No candidate is perfect, but as flawed as they are, they are all infinitely better than Donald Trump, including Mike Bloomberg, says Ben Cohen.

2. Poll Analysis

Trump: His approval rating average is unmoved since last week (43.3%).

Democrats: Good news for Bernie Sanders, and bad news for Joe Biden. Sanders is up and leading in all national polls, while Biden is dropping fast. Elizabeth Warren is tied with Sanders in her home state of Massachusetts — a positive sign for the Senator as she struggles to stay in the race.

2020: A Quinnipiac University poll found Trump leading the top Democratic contenders in Wisconsin by between 7 and 11 percentage points, but found him trailing races in Pennsylvania and Michigan. This is totally bad news for Democrats, but Wisconsin is ground zero for 2020 and a state they really need to win.

3. Quote Of The Week

“If you have followed this man’s business career, or witnessed the last three and a half years, you will notice that Trump never concedes anything. So why do we assume he would concede an election? And who would make him? And when you examine the nature of the party he has now remade in his image, and observe its evolution in recent decades, you see that the GOP’s core belief seems to have become that the other party is inherently illegitimate, and must be crushed by any means to hand. Which means to say that the GOP is a party now dedicated to the maintenance of its own power before any other principle. That was the core meaning of Trump’s nomination. It means that we have no idea if we’ll see a normal transfer of power this fall if the president loses.”

- Andrew Sullivan on the new power Trump has acquired since his acquittal in the Senate

4. What to Watch

Good Omens

Good Omens is a unique, blisteringly funny miniseries based on the 1990 Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman novel. The series, co-created by Amazon Studios and BBC, revolves around an unlikely collaboration between angel Aziraphale (Martin Sheen) and demon Crowley (David Tennant), who form an unlikely alliance to stop the approaching Armageddon (happening next Saturday, just after tea).

Aziraphale and Crowley, who have known each other since the Garden of Eden, have become too fond of their human existence, and each other, and don’t want to see it all disappear. In order to stop the end of the world, the duo have to try to locate and kill the Antichrist, who unfortunately seems to have misplaced...

The religious jokes in Good Omens never stop, and the witty banter between Aziraphale and Crowley alone makes the show worthwhile. It’s gaudy, extremely camp, and very good fun, and easily one of the best series to watch on Amazon Prime right now.

5. Good News

According to the BBC, scientists are reporting a “remarkable” collection of blue whales in the waters around the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia. This is significant given whales were almost completely driven out of South Georgia due to hunting in the early 20th century:

Their 23-day survey counted 55 animals - a total that is unprecedented in the decades since commercial whaling ended.

South Georgia was the epicentre for hunting in the early 20th Century.

The territory's boats with their steam-powered harpoons were pivotal in reducing Antarctic blues to just a few hundred individuals.

To witness 55 of them now return to what was once a pre-eminent feeding ground for the population has been described as "truly, truly amazing" by cetacean specialist Dr Trevor Branch from the University of Washington, Seattle.

The scientists tracking the whales apparently identified various different species “both visually and acoustically through their song repertoires.”

See you next week!

(image via the BBC)

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