Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

Palum · Jul 11, 2015

The trans one is just eye roll worthy though. He's trying to roast journalists for asking mostly reasonable questions of dick choppers. His entire shtick is "blowing open" stupid ideas/policies but somehow we shouldn't talk aboutthe huge increase in identity politik and complete lack of medical controls that has basically turned surgical gender change into a routine occurrence.

Alex · Jul 13, 2015

It's really sad that Oliver kinda of compared Cleveland in a better light than Cincinnati in last night's episode. To say all Cincy has is the Bengals is one of the saddest things you could ever say about a place.

The whole taxpayers paying for stadiums thing is nonsense though. Clauses to account for fucking holographic replays? Damn Mike Brown. You think of everything.

Tenks · Jul 13, 2015

If all Cincinnati has is the Bengals then that means Cleveland has absolutely nothing.

Also lets just ignore that Cincinnati is a major hub for insurance and banking

Agraza · Jul 15, 2015

The bail episode was a fantastic episode. I may have overreacted. It's frustrating to see a field I respect specifically for their disrespect turn a blind eye to something that not only deserves but needs to be put under a spotlight.

Mist · Jul 15, 2015

Publicly funded stadiums for private profit and privatized prisons are literally the two things that trigger me the most. More than rape.

Royal · Jul 16, 2015

Almost as bad as private prisons are private probation management services. That's more common than you would think given how seldom you see it talked about and it's still growing. It's how those private prisons continue to make money off of offenders after they are released from prison or even if they're never incarcerated to begin with.

moonarchia · Jul 16, 2015

Mist_sl said:
Publicly funded stadiums for private profit and privatized prisons are literally the two things that trigger me the most. More than rape.

Prison rape in a publicly funded stadium?

BrutulTM · Jul 16, 2015

Don't most stadium bonds have to be approved by taxpayers? I mean you can say that it's bullshit but if people vote for it you can't really call it corruption.

Mist · Jul 16, 2015

BrutulTM_sl said:
Don't most stadium bonds have to be approved by taxpayers? I mean you can say that it's bullshit but if people vote for it you can't really call it corruption.

Yes, but they get voters to do it by lying about the economic benefits of stadiums, which basically every independent study has proven to be nil.

BrutulTM · Jul 16, 2015

How many people are voting for it because of the alleged economic benefits though? They want their team to stay in their city and the owners know that if their current city won't pay it some other city will. Obviously some people are pissed off about it, but this "scandal" is just plain old capitalism.

Royal · Jul 16, 2015

BrutulTM_sl said:
They want their team to stay in their city and the owners know that if their current city won't pay it some other city will. Obviously some people are pissed off about it, but this "scandal" is just plain old capitalism.

If it was plain old capitalism, wouldn't it be more like them either building the stadiums on their own dime (which lead to much smaller stadiums and and probably fewer professional sports franchises across the country, you know market forces at work) or issue stock to generate the revenue for stadium construction (like the Packers)?

BrutulTM · Jul 16, 2015

Not if they can get government will do it for them. Spending your own money when you don't have to is not good business and all types of businesses take incentives to locate to a certain city etc.

Royal · Jul 16, 2015

Of course but that is a departure from capitalism, when you leverage the mechanisms of government to provide you with your place of business.

Sylas · Jul 17, 2015

not really a departure from capitalism, it's local government involving themselves in capitalism. A stadium/sports team/etc is revenue and tax base for the city. If no city anywhere offered incentives, tax breaks, or construction they'd build their own stadiums. If they built their own it would be like amusement parks like Disneyland/etc where they buy up cheap land out in the boonies and turn it into a major attraction. Then you are left with congestion, traffic, needing to expand your metro rails/bus routes out to accommodate all the traffic all while watching the mayor of east bumblefuck 30 miles east of you collect all the revenue from all the business that followed the move.

A stadium is really no different than these megaplex convention centers that cities build for business/trade conferences/expo/etc.

BrutulTM · Jul 17, 2015

I don't see the need to argue semantics. All I'm saying is that there is nothing nefarious going on here. People like having pro sports franchises in their city and are willing to pay them to be there. The franchises know this and take advantage of it as most people would in their situation.

Mist · Jul 17, 2015

BrutulTM_sl said:
Not if they can get government will do it for them. Spending your own money when you don't have to is not good business and all types of businesses take incentives to locate to a certain city etc.

That's the fucking definition of socialism of the worst kind, public funds for private profits.

BrutulTM · Jul 17, 2015

I don't think that is the definition of socialism.

Tenks · Jul 17, 2015

I love how you can track whatever the internet liberals are angry about simply based upon what spoon fed information they're getting from Daily Show or now this show. Reddit has been up in arms about stadiums even though this is far from a new situation. My dad has been complaining about the Bengals stadium for a while now ... and he doesn't even live in the county that pays the tax.

Ambiturner · Jul 17, 2015

Sylas_sl said:
not really a departure from capitalism, it's local government involving themselves in capitalism. A stadium/sports team/etc is revenue and tax base for the city. If no city anywhere offered incentives, tax breaks, or construction they'd build their own stadiums. If they built their own it would be like amusement parks like Disneyland/etc where they buy up cheap land out in the boonies and turn it into a major attraction. Then you are left with congestion, traffic, needing to expand your metro rails/bus routes out to accommodate all the traffic all while watching the mayor of east bumblefuck 30 miles east of you collect all the revenue from all the business that followed the move.

A stadium is really no different than these megaplex convention centers that cities build for business/trade conferences/expo/etc.

Great post except for the part where the stadiums don't bring in reviewing for the city. I'm guessing you didn't watch the episode but decided to weigh on on our anyways?

faille · Jul 17, 2015

I wonder how much revenue is brought in by the players themselves. I assume they all end up living close by and spending significant money on crap from the local area.

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