Must-See TV February 7, 2014February 7, 2014 You know, I could save a lot of time writing these things — and you could save a lot of time reading them — if I were sure you watch Rachel Maddow and Chris Hayes on MSNBC every night, and Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert on Comedy Central. They do this far better than me, and they have crack staffs to back them up. I have Renee come in to clean one day a week. All I’d need do is the occasional Borealis update and a recipe or two.* But can you be trusted? And what if you missed the occasional night, and with it this clip of Chris Hayes blasting the Senate for failing to renew unemployment insurance? It passed by a wide majority, but of course that is not enough, because where a principle is involved (in this case, the principle of not helping 1.3 million long-term uninsured most of whom desperately need that help), you can’t let the will of the majority (in this case, 58 senators) trample the rights of the minority. Republicans will tell you they stiffed the unemployment out of concern for the deficit. But that’s why the Chris Hayes clip is MUST SEE. And why it’s so scary that the Koch Brothers and a handful of other billionaires are trying — with frightening prospects for success — to shift even more power to the plutocracy, and in ways that — with lifetime-appointed Supreme Court Justices of the type who decided Bush v. Gore and Citizens United and who gutted the Voting Rights Act — may become harder and harder to reverse. Which is why you have to see Jason Jones on assignment in Coralville, Iowa, for Jon Stewart and the Daily Show. MUST SEE. They failed miserably in Coralville — but have sure been successful elsewhere. For example, in gridlocking our government by knocking some Republican moderates out of Congress and forcing the rest into intransigence for fear they will be knocked out. So much is at stake in November. Are you registered to vote? Can you help? And wait — there’s one more clip you have to enjoy this weekend, if you missed Rachel Maddow’s clip on burning snow. MUST SEE. You will thank me, and that’s what I live for. PFISHING Yesterday I mentioned the Republican National Committee’s attempt to dupe Democrats into giving them money. Today I can pass on this report: Google has added a warning label to that portion of the RNC website. CAT PEOPLE: GOOD NEWS ON OBAMACARE – II Ellen Peterson: “For those people with college age children or recent grads stuck at home without jobs…the CBO report you mentioned yesterday is great news: Older workers who want to retire but have continued to work just for the health insurance coverage can now walk away, opening jobs for younger workers who need to get a start in life. I am struck by the collectivist thinking of the Republicans, who hold up ” the economy” as the be all and end all, much as the old Soviets held up the Five Year Plan, without ever considering the value of increased personal freedom for individual Americans.” *Broccoli: Take the rubber bands off a couple of them and put them in a pot with an inch or two of water. Cover the pot (unless you’re apartment is freezing; then it doesn’t matter). Put the stove on high for 8 or 10 or 15 minutes (it doesn’t really matter; the broccoli will get mushier and sort of gray with time, but that can be good, too), then shut it off. Fork a broccoli bunch over onto a plate, salt and pepper heavily — heavily! — and eat. Oh, boy, is that good. And of course the real secret sauce here is — no, not ketchup, which is ordinarily my secret sauce — a tub of I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Light that you keep next to the plate, forking a little of it onto each of the last few bits, because now you are in (and, yes, there is such a place) broccoli heaven. And, yes, you could go all “grated parmesan cheese” on me, but that only fights with the flavor of the I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Light. Why gild the lily? Just Cook Like A Guy™.