The vote totals on the California Recall aren't finalized yet but at the moment, "Don't remove the governor" is leading "Remove the governor" by 28 percentage points. Every single poll (repeat: Every single poll) of the last month or so showed "Don't" leading by double digits, though nowhere near as high as 28 points.

Anyone who wants to charge that the outcome was rigged has to explain how the riggers managed that. And of course, if somehow backers of the governor could have rigged all those polls, they wouldn't have. If your guy looks like a shoo-in, a lot of folks who would have voted for him won't bother to vote…but his opponents will start working extra-hard.

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There's lots of arguing out there about General Mark Milley's actions to make sure a spurned President Trump didn't start a nuclear war on his way out of the Oval Office. Some of the arguing seems to be about what he actually did, not whether or not it was legal or appropriate.

On matters like this, the guy I trust most to comment is Fred Kaplan.

And while you're over there on Slate reading Fred, read William Saletan about Republicans' conflicting arguments against vaccine mandates. Here's an excerpt…

Republicans have been particularly cynical in their complaints about Biden's failure to control the pandemic. They say he hasn't done enough, yet they refuse to let him do more. Ronna McDaniel, the chair of the Republican National Committee, says the president "failed to shut down the virus" because he "failed to get people vaccinated." At the same time, she says the RNC will sue to block the vaccine mandate. Gov. Doug Ducey of Arizona vows to "pursue every legal and administrative option" against the mandate, even as he blames Biden for a "plummeting rate of vaccinations."

I really like these pieces Mr. Saletan writes where he quotes people contradicting themselves and posts links so you can see he's not quoting them falsely or outta-context. I wish more columnists did that.

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Turning to the real important matter: A number of you wrote me to say that the reason the folks who run Jeopardy! have named alternating guest hosts instead of a permanent one is that they really want Mayim Bialik but she can't do it full-time because of her sitcom job. So they're marking time with her (when she's available) and Ken Jennings (when she isn't), hoping for her sitcom to be canceled.

That's probably true. I wasn't particularly impressed with Ms. Bialik but if that's who they want, okay. I just can't believe there aren't others who'd be just as good and could start tomorrow. And what will they do if the sitcom gets picked-up for another season? Another year of temps?

• Simone Biles should get a few more gold medals for her testimony before the Senate committee.

Tickets go on sale Saturday (September 25) for Comic-Con International Special Edition, which is being held at the San Diego Convention Center on Thanksgiving Weekend. Festivities start on Friday, November 26 and run through Sunday, November 28. I would expect a much smaller con than we're used to seeing in that building and I would expect to not get in without Proof of Vaccination and other precautions.

It's all spelled out over on this page but I'll quote the main rule here and since they posted it in red, I'll post it in red…

Participants must also provide verification of full COVID-19 vaccination status or proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours of each day of attending Comic-Con Special Edition or to participate in any SDCC Activity.

After much deliberation, I have agreed to be a Special Guest at the Special Edition. I'll explain my thought process in a day or two here. I'm pretty sure I won't be doing all the usual panels but there might be some.

NOTE: When I first posted this, I erred on the date that tickets/badges go on sale. It is correct now.

The folks who bring us Jeopardy! have announced that for the rest of this year, shows will be hosted by Mayim Bialik and Ken Jennings and that an actual permanent host will be named in 2022. Apparently, Ms. Bialik and Mr. Jennings are good enough to hold down the fort but neither is good enough to be actually given the job indefinitely.

If you can explain to me why the folks running this show are making the decisions they do, please explain it to me — making sure, of course, that it's in the form of a question.

As you know, this week they're running what was supposed to the first week or many hosted by Mike Richards. I watched one and thought of another reason, on top of all that stuff about being a miserable human being, that he shouldn't have been named to that job. The guy isn't very good.

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Neither is Jay Leno as the host of the new You Bet Your Life. If you've never seen this man do stand-up live, you can't possibly understand how good he is at that. I have seen all the great stand-up comedians of my generation perform full sets in person — Carlin, Klein, Pryor, Kinison, Murphy, Albert Brooks, etc. — and Leno is right up there with the best of them. I liked his Tonight Show most of the time and I even sometimes enjoy Jay Leno's Garage even though I don't swoon for cars…

Okay, here comes the "but" right after this photo…

But he is not breathing life into a hoary classic game show. He's showing that its format is obsolete and that he isn't comfy in the role of game show host. The fun seems forced, the contestants seem unnatural and the show can't seem to decide if it wants the players to give the right answers so they can win money or give dumb ones so we can laugh at their cluelessness. Even the prize money seems cheap. Folks are supposed to be excited at taking home amounts that would be consolation gifts on any other show these days.

My TiVo recorded six episodes so far. I watched two, deleted the rest unwatched and told it not to do that anymore.

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I didn't intend to write more about the Recall Thing but I want to throw out this theory: Larry Elder is supposedly saying he'll run again. Maybe he will but it would be like Pat Buchanan running for president, not because he thought he had a chance of winning but because he thought it would be good for his brand. Elder can't possibly believe a guy with his views and past statements has a future in California politics.

The recall was a fluke opportunity. He jumped into a race because no electable Republican wanted to be in it. He got the most votes from people who would vote for anyone who had an "R" after his name on the ballot and he was the most familiar to them. He has shown no interest in governing…but he has increased his fame and probably his listening audience and (I'll bet) his appearance fees when he gives speeches.

If he'd won, he had no plan on how to deal with the state's two biggest problems — COVID and fires — except to rescind mask and vaccination mandates. California is doing pretty good on the COVID front, especially in the areas that the maps show didn't vote to recall Gavin Newsom. If Elder had won and tampered with that and things got worse, we'd see another $300 million recall a.s.a.p. Because his one campaign issue was basically to make the counties where COVID is going down conform to the ones where it's on the rise.

Here is Stephen Sondheim's entire appearance last night with Stephen Colbert. Nice to hear that Mr. Sondheim is still writing and that he sounds alert and sharp, and that he likes the upcoming Broadway revival of Company and the upcoming film remake of West Side Story. All that balances the fact that he doesn't look healthy and apparently could not make an entrance on camera…

You may already be familiar with Mark Wiens, a man with a massive YouTube following.  It's so large that it apparently finances a life of just traveling the world and eating things he loves.  I wonder how many people watch him to live vicariously through his dining adventures and how many just like watching someone who seems to be the most positive, happy and polite person on the planet.

I've only watched a few of his videos because, as you know, I have loads of food allergies.  I can't eat about 85% of what this man consumes and I really don't want to watch someone eating and raving about dinners that would kill me.  But I've yet to see him down anything that wasn't the greatest whatever-it-is ever, prepared by the nicest, friendliest, most skilled chef who ever cooked a whatever-it-is.

I am not mocking this guy.  I envy his capacity to put just about anything into his stomach and to love everything about every dining experience.  Strange restaurants are my personal Danger Zones.

In this video, he and a friend gnaw their way through the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia, which may be my favorite place anywhere to eat — though when I say that, keep in mind that I have not traveled much, in part because of the food allergies.  The Reading Terminal Market is a great place full of great places and in it, Mr. Wiens managed to find and endorse my all-time-fave barbecued chicken, though he missed my favorite turkey place which I like even more…

I'm going to try and write this one post about The California Recall That Lost Big and then get it off my mind and therefore off my blog.  In hindsight, Governor Newsom had this won before it began but we all remember when we thought Hillary had it in the bag…so you tend to be cautious.  And one thing you forget is that in statewide elections, there's no Electoral College.  The person who gets the most votes actually wins.

A month or two ago, there were one or two polls that showed Newsom being ejected but if you looked at the polls as a group, it was clear those were outliers.  One of the few that showed him losing later showed him winning by a wide margin but people kept citing the earlier version.  All the polls for the last few weeks showed him winning by double-digits and while we still don't have the final numbers, they might be better for him than most of that polling.

I don't see that Larry Elder or those who seek to profit from ginning up a case that the election was rigged have any evidence whatsoever.  That won't stop some from saying it because in politics today, it's much better to say "We wuz robbed" than "We wuz beaten."  And, like I said, it's profitable.  How much has Trump profited from Trumpsters donating to try and prove he won?

Someone should ask Elder or those who try and make the case for fraud, "So how did they rig more than two dozen independent polls that showed the recall failing by wide margins?" I guess he'd just say the conspiracy was even bigger than anyone imagined.

Elder was a terrible candidate — no experience governing, no clear idea of what to do except to ban mask mandates and vaccine requirements. There are Republicans who could conceivably score a gubernatorial win in my state but it wouldn't be easy. Most such people chose not to enter the race because they knew they'd have to take moderate positions and talk about "working with" the Democrats…which would lose them Republican support. Former San Diego mayor Kevin Faulconer — a G.O.P. moderate who tried to sound like a full-goose Trumpster — is going to finish with around 8%.

By the way: Read my buddy Ken Levine about his experiences with Larry Elder. The trouble with radio talk show hosts is that their job isn't to spread truth and wisdom. It's to get tune-in and phone calls…and while those could conceivably be the same thing, when they aren't, the option that leads to strong ratings always wins. I wish people of all stripes were more suspicious of those who say what they want to hear.

So what did this thing cost us? The Secretary of State is telling us it could be close to $300 million of taxpayer money.

I dunno…I live in a state with severe fires (especially this time of year) and a lot of problems flowing from homelessness and that COVID thing you may have heard something about. I'll bet if we put our minds to it, we could think of something more helpful to do with $300 million of taxpayer money. We might even ponder whether this was a good time to divert the governor and others in Sacramento from dealing with more serious matters.

It has now been eleven hours and fifteen minutes since I had my third shot of Moderna as a booster. No side effects whatsoever.

The only problem I had: I took a Lyft car to my doctor's office just in case I did get woozy or otherwise didn't feel like driving home. When I came out of the office, I felt fine but when I went to call a Lyft to take me home, I discovered that my cell phone was at 2%.

I don't think that was because of the shot. I think I have a defective battery and I've made an appointment to take it in tomorrow and have a new one installed. But this afternoon out in front of the doctor's office, I quickly shifted to Low Power Mode and summoned a Lyft. The car arrived just as the phone went deader than a right-wing anti-vaxx radio talk show host.

• Larry Elder should be happy tonight. He and his cronies are going to pocket a lot of cash as angry Republicans donate to investigate non-existent fraud. It's a combination of two business models: Donald Trump's and Max Bialystock's.

Well, there's a shocker…and how sad to lose another very funny, smart man. My favorite comedians all tend to be the kind with unique voices…the kind where if someone quoted one of their jokes to you, you could say, "Hey, that sounds like a Chris Rock joke." Or a Lewis Black joke or a Kathy Griffin joke. (I used to use Dennis Miller as a great example of that but if I quoted some of the recent material I've heard him do, you'd say, "Hey, that sounds like a Donald Trump speech.")

But Norm was Norm from the first time I heard him. I wrote about that back here and will quote it now…

I've always found Norm Macdonald to be a very funny guy. I first saw him one night at the Improv. I was there with Victoria Jackson, back in the days when she didn't think folks like me were destined to burn in Hell for destroying America. She wanted me to see this new comedian she'd "discovered" so we saw Norm…and he was quite good. He did 15 strong minutes around 9 PM and then we joined him at the bar and talked a bit. He had to be at the Laugh Factory up on Sunset at Midnight and didn't have a car…so the three of us went to my house to talk, then Victoria and I drove him up to Sunset and watched him do the same material to even better response.

But as funny as he was on those stages, he was even funnier in my living room. It has never surprised me that he's attained such a following.

I don't know what else to write here except that I always found him funny…and honest. Some comics tell stories allegedly from their own lives and even if you're laughing, you're thinking, "That didn't happen." But with Norm, everything funny seemed possible if not probable. Such a loss.

Following up on today's Mixtape entry, here's what the record of "California Dreamin'" sounded like when Barry McGuire did the lead vocal. Somehow, he doesn't sound to me like someone who would stop off in a church and get down on his knees to pray for better weather. Thanks, Steve Stoliar…

Today, it's The Mamas and the Papas with "California Dreamin'," which was a pretty big hit in December of '65. It was written by John and Michelle Phillips and they sang backup on it when it was first recorded by Barry McGuire. McGuire was famous for "Eve of Destruction," which I always thought was a stupid song so it wasn't on my mixtape. Later, McGuire's track on "California Dreamin'" was replaced and it was turned into a Mamas and Papas record. I can't say I was ever that fond of it but I guess I was fond enough to put it on my mixtape.

Here they are performing the song on The Hollywood Palace on January 29, 1966. This is either them lip-syncing to the record or they performed it on the show and someone has dubbed the record over their performance. Since there are no other musicians in sight and since the Hollywood Palace Orchestra didn't play this kind of music, I'm inclined to suspect the former…

I know I quote pundit Kevin Drum a lot on this site but that's because he has a way (often) of cutting through a lot of political jibber-jabber and getting to the basic truth of an issue. Here he is explaining why we're having a recall election today in California. The man's right. He's absolutely right…

For chrissake. I've rarely seen such stream of pseudo-analytic bafflegab in service of avoiding the simple and obvious answer. Here's the deal: The recall is solely the work of "Stop the Steal" Trumpistas who took advantage of the fact that California requires only 1.5 million signatures to certify a recall. Even in their current moldering condition Republicans still make up about a third of all voters, so all the nutbags needed was signatures from the 20-30% of their compatriots in the nutbag wing of the party. Easy peasy, especially if you're gathering signatures at the same time that Trump and Fox News are firing up the nation about corrupt Democrats trying to take the presidency away from him.

• Just looked at the polls for today's recall election in California. Right now, you and I and everyone reading this are within the margin of error to tie Caitlyn Jenner…and we aren't even on the ballot.

You learn something new every day…and if you don't, I do. I found out today that all those Garfield and Friends cartoons I wrote are also on the Tubi streaming channel — and they have been for some time. Tubi is owned by Fox, Pluto is owned by Viacom and they have a lot of programming in common. Looks like I may be able to get two orders of McDonald's fries with my share of streaming revenues.

At the moment, Tubi seems to be running shows from the beginning of Season 7 and Pluto seems to be running the end of Season 7. I have no idea how many episodes each can access. Several folks who wrote in say that these streaming channels often run the same episodes over and over and over and over and over and over and don't have all episodes of a series they stream.