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Cupcakes, Egos, Little Richard, Covid continues
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Published Monday, May 11, 2020 @ 6:06 AM EDT
May 11 2020

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Today is Monday, May 11, the 132nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. 234 days remain until the end of the year.

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Among other things, today is Eat What You Want Day, Hostess CupCake Day, National Twilight Zone Day, National Women's Check-Up Day, and World Ego Awareness Day (does Donald Trump know about this?)

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Remembering Little Richard (December 5, 1932 - May 9, 2020), "The Architect of Rock and Roll." He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as part of its first group of inductees in 1986. He was also inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. His first hit recording, Tutti Frutti, was included in the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress in 2010, noting its "unique vocalizing over the irresistible beat announced a new era in music".

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Remembering Irving Berlin (May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989), Russian-born Jewish-American composer and lyricist. Widely considered one of the greatest songwriters in American history, his music forms a great part of the Great American Songbook. He published his first song, "Marie from Sunny Italy", in 1907, receiving 37 cents for the publishing rights, and had his first major international hit, "Alexander's Ragtime Band" in 1911. Composer George Gershwin called him "the greatest songwriter that has ever lived," and composer Jerome Kern concluded that "Irving Berlin has no place in American music- he is American music." (full Wikipedia article)

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Remembering theoretical physicist and Nobel prize winner Richard Feynman (May 11, 1918 - February 15, 1988), who assisted in the development of the atomic bomb during World War II and became known to a wide public in the 1980s as a member of the Rogers Commission, the panel that investigated the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. Along with his work in theoretical physics, Feynman has been credited with pioneering the field of quantum computing and introducing the concept of nanotechnology. Here's a great explainer of "The Great Explainer."

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On this date in 1963, Peter, Paul and Mary's recording of Puff, The Magic Dragon reached #2, its highest position, on the Billboard Hot 100.

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On this date in 1968, Richard Harris' recording of songwriter Jimmy Webb's MacArthur Park entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 79, peaking at number 2 on June 22, 1968 behind Herb Alpert's "This Guy's in Love with You". The record won the 1969 Grammy Award for Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s).

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Thoughts of the day:

Where is the future they promised me? The 21st century is just the 20th century all over again, only in high definition.
-Lewis Black

The flight to Mars is six months; eight, if you leave from Newark.
-David Letterman

For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled.
-Richard Feynman

History is not a game of chess, and we're not pawns of historical forces. We're more like marbles of historical forces in a game of Hungry Hungry Hippos.
-John Alejandro King (The Covert Comic)

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Going viral:

"I'm so honored to be your valedictator!" Alec Baldwin as Trump in Saturday Night Live cold open gs a commencement speech to 'the class of COVID-19', drinks bleach, and claims the coronavirus originated in "a lab in Obama."

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As deaths mount, Trump’s disinformation strategy will adapt. Bashing the epidemiological models didn't work. Now, the administration is questioning reality itself.

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The government turned down an opportunity to manufacture millions of N-95 masks here in the U.S. at the start of the pandemic. On January 22, a medical supply company in Fort Worth, Texas, Prestige Ameritech, offered to ramp up production to make an additional 1.7 million N95 masks, noting that the federal government’s stockpile was diminishing. The Department of Health and Human Services declined the offer.

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The Bailout is working- for the rich. The economy is in free fall but Wall Street is thriving, and stocks of big private equity firms are soaring dramatically higher. That tells you who investors think is the real beneficiary of the federal government’s massive rescue efforts. Case in point: Peloton can’t make bikes as fast as people are buying them.

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Trump says coronavirus will disappear without a vaccine. Fauci has said the opposite. Fauci: "It's not going to be over to the point of our being able to not do any mitigation until we have a scientifically sound, safe and effective vaccine."

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Fauci, two others on coronavirus task force to quarantine after being exposed to virus. Because Trump doesn't like to see face masks in the White House.

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How coronavirus — a 'rich man’s disease'- infected the poor. This virus may be remembered as the first pandemic that spread, to a significant extent, from the affluent to the lowly- agitating class grievances in some of the world’s most unequal societies and adding a dark twist to a pandemic that has killed more than 270,000 people.

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The world is taking pity on us... "The country Trump promised to make great again has never in its history seemed so pitiful," wrote Fintan O’Toole in The Irish Times. And he asked: "Will American prestige ever recover from this shameful episode?"

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Fact-checking Judy Mikovits, the controversial virologist attacking Anthony Fauci in a viral conspiracy video. In a video that has exploded on social media in the past few days, virologist Judy Mikovits claims the new coronavirus is being wrongly blamed for many deaths. She makes head-scratching assertions about the virus—for instance, that it is "activated" by face masks. And if you found that 'Plandemic' video convincing, read this too. Even more debunking here.

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Obama described Trump administration pandemic response "chaotic disaster"...

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Roy Horn, 75, of the Siegfried and Roy duo dies of coronavirus. From February 1, 1990, until Horn's career-ending injury on October 3, 2003, the duo performed as Siegfried & Roy at the Mirage Resort and Casino, and was the most popular show in Las Vegas.

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Alfredo and Susana Pabatao Die; Health Care Aides on the Front Lines. Married for 44 years, they both fell ill of the coronavirus and died within four days of each other in the New Jersey hospital where Mr. Pabatao worked.

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How we 'recovered' from the Spanish flu should be a warning for the coronavirus age. We deserve true reform in the aftermath of this crisis, but wishful thinking won't make it so. Given the current climate, it seems highly likely that fear may yet prevail.

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Miscellany:

He didn't file charges in the Arbery case, but he spent years accusing a black grandma of voter fraud.

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A new study involving two subjects with implanted brain-computer interfaces provides the most direct proof yet that human brains replay activities during sleep. Scientists believe the replays allow our brains to weed through the prior day's experiences to identify the stuff that merits long-term storage.

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Things are really rough out there. Please consider donating to Feeding America.


Categories: 1918 Pandemic, Covert Comic, Covid-19, David Letterman, Donald Trump, Lewis Black, Ray Horn, Saturday Night Live, Spanish Flu


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Quotes of the day: David Letterman
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Published Saturday, April 11, 2015 @ 6:59 PM EDT
Apr 11 2015

David Michael Letterman (b. April 12, 1947) is an American television host, comedian, writer, producer, and actor. He hosts the late night television talk show Late Show with David Letterman, broadcast on CBS. Letterman has been a fixture on late night television since the 1982 debut of Late Night with David Letterman on NBC. In 1996, David Letterman was ranked #45 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time. In 2013, Letterman surpassed friend and mentor Johnny Carson as the longest-serving late night talk show host in TV history, at 31 years. On April 3, 2014, Letterman announced he would retire in 2015. He will host the Late Show for the last time on May 20, 2015. CBS announced that Stephen Colbert will take his place. (Click here for full Wikipedia article)

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Anything worth doing is worth overdoing.

Everyone has a purpose in life. Perhaps yours is watching television.

Fall is my favorite season in Los Angeles, watching the birds change color and fall from the trees.

I have found that the only thing that does bring you happiness is doing something good for somebody who is incapable of doing it for themselves.

I saw a robin redbreast in Central Park today, but it turned out to be a sparrow with an exit wound.

I'm a magical being. Take off your bra.
(From Top Ten Elven Pickup Lines)

If it wasn't for the coffee, I'd have no identifiable personality whatsover.

Ivory Soap: 99.44 percent pure, .56 percent deadly radon gas.

New York now leads the world's great cities in the number of people around whom you shouldn't make a sudden move.

New York... when civilization falls apart, remember, we were way ahead of you.

Next in importance to having a good aim is to recognize when to pull the trigger.

People say New Yorkers can't get along. Not true. I saw two New Yorkers, complete strangers, sharing a cab. One guy took the tires and the radio; the other guy took the engine.

The flight to Mars is six months; eight, if you leave from Newark.

The next time, for God's sake, let's at least do a background check before we make someone President.

The Post Office is raising the price of postage. Hey, ammo's expensive.

The worst tempered people I have ever met were those who knew that they were wrong.

There is no off position on the genius switch.

There's no business like show business, but there are several businesses like accounting.

There's only one requirement of any of us, and that is to be courageous. Because courage, as you might know, defines all other human behavior. And, I believe- because I've done a little of this myself- pretending to be courageous is just as good as the real thing.

Traffic signals in New York are just rough guidelines.

Two creative spirits in a relationship, I don't think that's the best way to go.

When you go to the mind reader, do you get half price?

Wherever we've travelled in this great land of ours, we've found that people everywhere are about 90% water.

You look into his eyes, and you get the feeling someone else is driving.

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(April 12 is also the birthday of Tom Clancy.)


Categories: David Letterman, Quotes of the day


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Variations on a theme
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Published Thursday, July 18, 2013 @ 7:10 AM EDT
Jul 18 2013

We live in a country where voting rights get gutted but Sharknado gets a sequel.
-John Fugelsang


"Sharknader" - via Late Night With David Letterman


Categories: David Letterman, John Fugelsang, Observations


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Observation of the day
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Published Saturday, May 11, 2013 @ 3:01 AM EDT
May 11 2013

The flight to Mars is six months; eight, if you leave from Newark.
-David Letterman


Categories: David Letterman, Observations


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Eligible for Social Security: David Letterman
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Published Friday, April 12, 2013 @ 6:21 AM EDT
Apr 12 2013

David Letterman (born April 12, 1947) is an American television host and comedian. He hosts the late night television talk show, Late Show with David Letterman, broadcast on CBS. Letterman has been a fixture on late night television since the 1982 debut of Late Night with David Letterman on NBC. Letterman recently surpassed friend and mentor Johnny Carson for having the longest late-night hosting career on US television. (Click for full Wikipedia article.

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Everyone has a purpose in life. Perhaps yours is watching television.

Fall is my favorite season in Los Angeles, watching the birds change color and fall from the trees.

I saw a robin redbreast in Central Park today, but it turned out to be a sparrow with an exit wound.

I'm a magical being. Take off your bra. (From Top Ten Elven Pickup Lines)

Ivory Soap: 99.44 percent pure, .56 percent deadly radon gas.

New York now leads the world's great cities in the number of people around whom you shouldn't make a sudden move.

The next time, for God's sake, let's at least do a background check before we make someone President.

The Post Office is raising the price of postage. Hey, ammo's expensive.

There's no business like show business, but there are several businesses like accounting.

Traffic signals in New York are just rough guidelines.

Two creative spirits in a relationship, I don't think that's the best way to go.

When you go to the mind reader, do you get half price?

You look into his eyes, and you get the feeling someone else is driving.


Categories: David Letterman, Eligible for Social Security, Quotes of the day, TV


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Quote of the day
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Published Tuesday, December 18, 2012 @ 8:43 AM EST
Dec 18 2012

‎December 21 is the end of the world, the 28th if you happen to be Greek Orthodox.
-David Letterman


Categories: David Letterman, Quotes of the day


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Miscellany
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Published Saturday, November 17, 2012 @ 2:19 AM EST
Nov 17 2012

I think America might just have spent all day obsessing over loss of Twinkies. This is why we're not getting a greatest generation book.
-@pourmecoffee

What if the Mayan calendar ends in 5105, and we've just been holding it upside down?
-Aaron Karo

Hostess will sell the rights to all their snack cakes, and Twinkies will once again pour off the production line of a different company. I wouldn't be surprised if several years' worth of Twinkies aren't already stockpiled in a warehouse somewhere. I mean, It's not like they're going to go stale or anything...

A blonde walks into a bar and asks the bartender for a double entendre. So he gives it to her.

This new thesaurus isn't just terrible, it's also terrible.
-Justin Shanes

Viagra can cause sight loss. So, you can go blind either way.


(YouTube video: The Big Bang Theory Flash Mob!)

James Bond beat Abraham Lincoln at the box office. Boy, it's really been a lousy week for Republicans, hasn't it?
–David Letterman

No hurry- take all the time you have.
-The Covert Comic

Isn't the Twinkie too big to fail? Where's the bailout, Obama?
-The Beachwood Reporter

If you were born in or after April 1985, you have never experienced a colder than average month. If you've lived in Pittsburgh during that period, you've experienced the highest and lowest temperatures on record as well as the greatest 24-hour rain and snowfall totals. So if grandma or grandpa start to tell you how bad the weather was when they were growing up, tell them to stick a sock in it.

It's also interesting to note that in April 1985 Coca-Cola changed its formula and released New Coke.

Post hoc, ergo propter hoc?


Categories: Aaron Karo, Abraham Lincoln, Barack Obama, Climate change, Coca Cola, Covert Comic, David Letterman, Drugs, James Bond, Mayans, Miscellany, Observations, The Beachwood Reporter, The Big Bang Theory, Twinkies, Video, YouTube


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Observations of the day
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Published Friday, October 26, 2012 @ 9:06 AM EDT
Oct 26 2012

Experts say the entire 2012 election could come down to just eight states. The states are: confusion, dismay, depression, apathy, shock, disbelief, despair, and anxiety.
-Jay Leno

After the debate... experts agreed that President Obama won on substance and I thought: Well, big deal, Lance Armstrong won on several substances.
-David Letterman

In fairness to Sarah Palin, "shuck" and "jive" are just two of the many thousands of words she doesn't know the meaning of.
-Andy Borowitz

One week after Election Day, the banks will be closed and the military will be marching in the street.
It's called Veterans Day.

I'm tired of every Republican politician being a medical supergenius on vaginas. I want to hear gynecologists talk about the national debt.
-Bill Maher

This campaign has dragged on so long Newt Gingrich is abandoning it for a younger, hotter, healthier campaign.
-John Fugelsang

Karl Rove said the Tea Party is “not sophisticated;” which is sort of like saying the Jonas Brothers are “not black.'
-John Fugelsang

I have never been more ashamed for a candidate, Politicizing fallen Americans is pitiful and unacceptable.
-Colin Powell

Colin Powell endorsed Barack Obama. Makes sense. They're both moderate Republicans.
-@Indecision

There's something wrong with our politics if we can't even agree about rape anymore.
-Andy Borowitz

I’ll be glad when this election’s over so I’ll know for sure whom I should have voted for.
-Steve Martin

The audience at the debate was instructed to turn off their cell phones because they might interfere with Mitt Romney's circuitry.
-Triumph, The Insult Comic Dog


Categories: Andy Borowitz, Barack Obama, Bill Maher, Colin Powell, David Letterman, Elections, Jay Leno, John Fugelsang, Sarah Palin, Steve Martin


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Three decades of iconic wonderfulness
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Published Tuesday, October 02, 2012 @ 6:18 AM EDT
Oct 02 2012

Late Night with David Letterman observed the 30th anniversary of the iconic disco tune It's Raining Men yesterday with a big end-of-show production number featuring surviving Weather Girl Martha Wash; Paul Shaffer on keyboards; an augmented CBS orchestra; six(!) backup singers; three female dancers; and three male acrobats suspended from ceiling-mounted silk streamers.

No wonder it's Homer Simpson's favorite song.

Why Letterman, you may ask? The song was co-written by Shaffer, the late night host's sidekick/bandleader, and was featured early in the run of Letterman's late night show on NBC- episode 174, which aired on January 12, 1983.

Originally written in 1979 by Shaffer and Paul Jabara, the song was rejected by Diana Ross, Donna Summer, Cher, and Barbra Streisand. Martha Wash and the late Izora Armstead, originally performing as "Two Tons O' Fun," became "The Weather Girls" and released "Men" in October, 1982.

An international hit, it sold 6 million copies worldwide. While it reached #1 on the US disco chart, it only climbed to #46 on the Billboard Hot 100. In April 2001, Geri Halliwell released a cover version that was used in the film Bridget Jones' Diary. It was a big hit in the UK and Europe, but received little airplay in the US.

Used for decades in dozens of films and television episodes, "Men"'s most recent reincarnation is in the Broadway production of the stage musical Priscilla Queen of the Desert- The Musical. It was performed by the show's cast, plus Wash and Shaffer, at the 2011 Tony Awards.

The clip from last night is at the bottom of this post.

My all-time favorite version remains this one. The quality leaves a bit to be desired and the audio is slightly out of sync for the first minute or so, but it's, well, two tons o' fun. Watch the audience, especially when Martha heads into their midst and intimidates those in the aisle seats with her powerful gospel soprano. As Letterman commented later in the show, "They ripped the roof off the joint."

(YouTube video: The Weather Girls perform live on NBC's "Late Night with David Letterman" in January, 1983.)

(YouTube video: Martha Wash and Paul Shaffer lead a lavish (for late night TV) 30th anniversary performance on CBS' "The Late Show with David Letterman".)


Categories: David Letterman, It's Raining Men, Martha Wash, Music, Paul Shaffer, Video, YouTube


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It's Raining Mitt!
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Published Saturday, September 22, 2012 @ 8:36 AM EDT
Sep 22 2012


(YouTube video: Martin Short sings "It's Raining Mitt")

He likes firing people
("I like being able to fire people...")
Doesn't care about the very poor
("I'm not concerned about the very poor...")
He's wealthy and good-looking
("My name is Mitt Romney...")
Yes, that's I guy I'm for

When campaigning in the Deep South
He pretends to like eating grits
Rick Santorum's gone post-mortem 'cause
It's gonna start raining Mitt

It's raining Mitt
Holy heaven
Everyone needs a hit- of Mitt
Under Romney
There's a future in sight
Where all our trees are the right height

It's raining Mitt
What a wager
I'll make you a ten
Thousand dollar bet
So white, rich and fit
It's stormin' for a moment Mitt

President Obama
Mitt Romney says you're to blame
For too much federal spending
Though your healthcare plans look the same
I don't know economics
But when Mitt mentions income tax
Then I guess he must know something
Since his wife drives two Cadillacs
(She drives two Cadillacs!)

It's raining Mitt
I ain't lyin'
It's raining Mitt
No s**t
It's raining Mitt
Let's show the kind of Mitt that we are
And tie the dog to the roof of our car
Mitt, hallelujah
It's raining Mitt...
Good God it's raining mitt, yeah...


Categories: David Letterman, Martin Short, Mitt Romney, Music, Politics, Video, YouTube


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Quotes of the day
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Published Friday, August 17, 2012 @ 8:54 AM EDT
Aug 17 2012

From David Letterman:

"Paul Ryan likes to hunt and we all know that a vice president who hunts is always a good choice."

"In college Paul Ryan drove the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile. So he and Romney have something in common. Both have the experience of driving a car with a dog on the roof."


Categories: David Letterman, Dick Cheney, Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, Political Jokes of the Week, Politics, Quotes of the day


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Political Jokes of the Week
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Published Monday, July 30, 2012 @ 9:24 AM EDT
Jul 30 2012

Mitt Romney is now in London to see his horse compete in the dressage event. Dressage is kind of like horse ballet. Finally something that connects Romney with the average American voter.
-Jay Leno

Mitt Romney said while he is in Europe, he won't be apologizing to anybody. He has nothing to apologize for. A lot of those people overseas now have good jobs because of him. They are very very grateful.
-Jay Leno

The Jim Henson company, which created the Muppets, have cut their ties with Chick-Fil-A because of the company's anti-gay marriage stance. Insiders say the move came after intense pressure from Bert and Ernie.
-Jay Leno

To prepare for the Republican Convention, a strip club in Tampa, Florida has hired a Sarah Palin look-a-like to perform. This stripper is so much like Sarah Palin, she actually has written on her hand, 'take off top, shake breasts, swing around pole.'
-Jay Leno

A cyber attack on Iranian nuclear facilities is causing all their computers to play AC/DC. Today, the attackers said 'If our demands aren't met, tomorrow we start blasting Nickelback.'
-Conan O'Brien

There's talk that Mitt Romney's campaign is paying for Twitter followers. Yes, he's paying for people to like him. Or, as it's called politics.
-Jimmy Fallon

Mitt Romney's search for a vice president continues. As you know, one of Mitt Romney's problems is that he's never hired an American for a job before, so this is new.
-Jay Leno

A new study published by The British Medical Journal found that inactivity can kill you. I mean, these are the kind of findings that just scare the hell out of Congress.
-Jay Leno

Olympics can inspire American kids to get active. Or it can inspire American kids to sit on the couch and watch the Olympics.
-Conan O'Brien

Even though the Olympics take place during Ramadan, some Muslim athletes said they will not fast during games. Then, after sampling the British food, they said, on second thought, fasting sounds good.
-Conan O'Brien

Speaking of Romney, I read that his campaign has raised $10 million in California over the last two days. One million was from a fundraiser while $9 million was from Romney checking a pocket in some old khakis.
-Jimmy Fallon

The European countries are really hoping to do well in the Olympics. If they win gold medals, they can use them as cash.
-David Letterman

And a collection from the prolific Andy Borowitz:

US politics: the opposite of the Olympics. Every 4 years, billions of dollars are spent to show humans at their worst.

I worry that all the pomp and excitement of the Olympics is making the world forget that Kristen cheated on Rob.

Romney: "The Israelis love me. They've even given me a neat nickname: Mittshugenah."

Dick Cheney says Sarah Palin was not ready to be VP, according to We Know That Already, Dumbass magazine.

Romney: "I don't mind that the British keep saying I'm a banker, but why do they pronounce it with a W?"

Mitt Romney is coming across as an out-of-touch rich person in a country that still has a Queen.

If the Internet is any guide, the two things pro-gun people hate most are 1) background check and 2) spell check.


Categories: Andy Borowitz, Conan O'Brien, David Letterman, Dick Cheney, Jay Leno, Jimmy Fallon, Mitt Romney, Olympics, Political Jokes of the Week, Politics, Sarah Palin


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