John Green is probably my favorite author whose work I've never read. He writes novels for a somewhat-targeted audience that does not include me and it's been quite a while since I've read any novels, even ones aimed at my demographic. But I like the way he talks and thinks and maybe someday, they'll add a few more days to the week and I'll read something he's written. He is just completing a promotional tour for his latest book, Turtles All The Way Down. He has also recently been promoting a thing called Pizzamas, which is a holiday week that he and his brother Hank invented.

John and Hank make several videos each week, talking to each other for our benefit. Take three minutes and watch this one that John released a day or three ago. Kind of an interesting story…

This is from David Corn…

CIA chief Mike Pompeo: Putin attacked 2016 election.
DNI Dan Coats: Putin attacked 2016 election.
FBI director Christopher Wray: Putin attacked 2016 election.
NSA head Mike Rogers: Putin attacked 2016 election.
Putin: I did not attack 2016 election.
Trump: I believe Putin.

What has always bothered me about Judge Roy Moore is his disinterest in enforcing laws he doesn't like. That's not what judges are supposed to do. The whole idea of The Law is that we agree on what's illegal in the same way we all agree on who's going to occupy political office. Sometimes, we decide by direct vote. Sometimes, the decisions are made by those we choose by direct vote.

A police officer doesn't get to decide that there ought to be a law that says you have to speak English and then arrest you if you don't. A judge doesn't get to say there shouldn't be a law against selling cocaine and then turn any cocaine dealer free. The fact that some people think God would want something else done is not a part of our legal system. But Moore thinks it is and that he (he, Roy Moore…not He, God) is the spokesperson for what God would want.

So I don't like the guy and let's be honest — I am more inclined than some to believe the allegations against him are true. That's because I have long seen him as a person who believes his judgments of what's proper supersede actual laws. If a bunch of bank tellers swore he'd robbed their bank, I'd probably figure yeah, he probably did and he can probably cite something in the Bible as proof that God wanted him to do it.

I also caught his big denial interview the other night with Sean Hannity and thought he was evasive and contradictory. The Washington Post, which broke the whole story in the first place, has posted the text of that interview with annotations that point up the contradictions.

I am also of the mind that if you have the truth on your side and you want to present your defense, you go on with someone who's going to ask tough questions, not a guy like Hannity who's eager to make you look good. Moore might as well have been interviewed by one of his political cronies who are out there now, saying Moore's accusers should be prosecuted. Want to understand why some women are so hesitant to report abuse? There it is, people.

If you can spare eighteen minutes, my friend Paul Harris did an excellent segment on his radio program about Roy Moore and you can hear it here. I'm not so sure those who want Moore's political stance to triumph can be dissuaded from voting for the guy. We're so polarized in this country now that there are those on both the right and left who would vote for Hitler over a guy of the opposition party…but I would hope they would at least understand the choice they're making.

Last Monday evening, Paul and I discussed some of this in person, across a table on which each of us was devouring chicken parmesan. He was in town and as he mentioned here on his blog, I took him to see The Black Version, a local improv troupe which I have repeatedly recommended on my blog. Paul, as you'll read on his, was equally impressed.

Included in our evening were two other folks — my lovely friend Amber and my not-quite-as-lovely-as-Amber-but-still-lovely-in-a-different-way friend Howard Green, who works at Disney and who was one of the other folks behind the June Foray Tribute at the Motion Picture Academy in September. They both loved the show, too. The Black Version will next perform on Saturday evening, January 6 and my God, can you imagine? The year's almost over and I'm booking 2018 already. If you're geographically able to be there on 1/6/18, you can get tickets (as I have) at this webpage.

Also, mentioning Amber makes me think I should say one more thing here…

All this talk about Sexual Harassment is a very good thing, I believe. Yes, there is the potential for false or unwarranted allegations but I still see that as a small, unavoidable downside in correcting what has long been a massive injustice in our society, not only against women but sometimes even men. No one, because they are not as powerful or not as strong or not as able to control a situation, should be forced into sexual relations against their wishes. That is one grave wrong. Another is when minors under the age of consent are involved in sexual relations even with their consent. We all know this. We just need to do a better job of policing it and that starts with identifying it when it happens.

Now, here's where I part company with some people…

Some people are conflating those two wrongs with the situation where an older man is involved with a much younger woman…and I suppose they'd also think an older woman/much younger man match-up was wrong too, though I never hear that. My view is that if the adults are consenting and the adults are adults, it's nobody's business but theirs. This applies to boy/girl, boy/boy or girl/girl and there is no "slippery slope" to fear there. It does not inevitably lead to boy/ostrich or girl/girl/boy/camel.

My last lady friend — the one I was with for twenty years, the one who died last April — was six years older than me. My current lady friend is four decades younger, though of course old enough to drink (though she doesn't), vote (that she does) and get involved with a 65-year-old writer (and I can't fathom why but she does that too). In the past, I have been involved with women both younger than me and older and it has never mattered to me or whoever the lady was at the time. Not in the slightest. If we're adults and we're consenting, it should never matter to anyone else.

Had lunch today with this very talented gentleman. We discovered, among other things, that he worked as an apprentice artist for Hanna-Barbera back during the time I was working there. In fact, since he was working partly for the great artist-producer Doug Wildey, and my office was next to Doug's then, we probably met briefly there. In any case, he does a great impression of Doug, as perfect as any of the ones he does in this video…

A busy day ahead…but hey, isn't there something a wee bit refreshing about Louis C.K. accepting some responsibility for his own sordid actions? He not only said he did it, he seems to have even had a little actual understanding of why he did it and why it was wrong…and it didn't look like he was setting himself up to take a two-week sensitivity course and then proclaim himself healed and redeemed. My respect for the guy has gone up in some ways, down in others.

I have no idea what the scandal in the Roy Moore case is going to do about his chances of victory. Some are saying it'll help him. Some are saying it'll hurt him. I don't think anyone knows. After the Trump victory, I'm less inclined than ever to think we can look at the old standards of what would kill a candidate's chances and project what it'll mean in the next situation. All I know is that a lot of people who want him to win are willing to overlook any damn thing he does but still try to claim the moral high ground. There's way more honesty on display in the Louis C.K. case.

Steve Bacher has this to say and ask…

Your item about the forthcoming Colbert Trump spinoff show reminds me of something that has always annoyed me about the show. (And no, it's not the fact that Colbert doesn't seem to know how to comfortably bring an interview to a close. He always sounds like his guests are just getting into the groove when he thanks them and cuts to commercial. But that's another annoyance.)

The Late Show has numerous talented contributors who make the comedy bits stand out, including the fellow who voices the animated Trump and the animated God, but they've never received any credit and to this day I still have no idea what their names are. I think this is tremendously unfair to the performers. When you think about how many successful careers have been spawned by The Daily Show, for example, imagine if those men and women had never had their names put out there during the show.

My main annoyance with Mr. Colbert's show is how clearly (and sometimes, heavily) it's edited and I think that's one of the reasons his interviews often have awkward endings. It's like they consciously over-record and then cut, which makes it not feel organic. I still like the show — it's the only one of those shows I TiVo every night — but I wish the interviews weren't so choppy and, sometimes, hurried.

The other night, he had Gilbert Gottfried on and (a) the spot was too short to get anything going and (b) I've never seen two funny men who fit together worse. Gottfried on a talk show is usually about making the host feel uncomfortable and I don't think there's anything anyone could do in Colbert's guest chair that would make the host uncomfortable.

I believe the voices of the animated Trump on Colbert's show and also of God are done by a member of his writing staff named Brian Stack. He's the guy with the red hair who is nearly always involved in the cold opening blackout. He was a writer for Conan O'Brien both in New York and Los Angeles and often turned up on those shows in sketches — like he was the ghostly crooner, the traveling salesman, a member of the Slip-Nuts, the Interruptor and many more. Funny guy. Colbert ought to bring him out as Brian Stack occasionally even if he doesn't have something to plug.

Today, we bring you another nice Disney medley from the folks at Voctave…

Two news stories today…

Roy Moore, the Republican nominee for the open Senate seat in Alabama, is facing an accusation from a woman who says that he initiated sexual contact when she was 14 years old and Moore was a 32-year-old assistant district attorney.

Comedian Louis C.K. has been accused of sexual misconduct toward several women, including masturbating in front of them to their horror and embarrassment, according to a report in The New York Times.

What do these two men have in common apart from the fact that neither one of them should be in a position of trust and leadership? I would say it's that neither one of them should come as a surprise to us. That is, assuming they're true. In Mr. C.K.'s case, I've yet to see a denial from him or even a single friend coming forth to say, "I know him and he would never do that kind of thing." I suspect no matter what happens here, he's Guilty Forever.

Judge Roy Moore? When someone devotes his life to scolding people about their personal morality, demanding they adhere to his, you gotta figure at least a 50% chance that that guy is hiding something way worse than those he condemns. That doesn't mean Moore's guilty but none of the folks taking sides really care. The opinions I've seen expressed so far are pretty consistent with whether the person expressing that opinion wants to see that Senate seat remain Republican. This would apply to both those who think he didn't do it because they want him to win and those who think it'll cause the G.O.P. to lose so he should step down for the good of his party. And of course, there are those who want to see the Democrats grab the seat so Moore must be guilty.

Moore's "friends" who are urging him to get out of the race are sure not doing the man any favors, especially since it appears to be too late for that. Absentee ballots have already gone out with Moore's name on them for the special election on December 12 and it seems to be past the deadline to put someone else on the regular ballot. I especially don't get statements like Mitch McConnell saying, "If these allegations are true, he must step aside." If you want him out of the race, Mitch, don't frame it so if he does get out, it's a confession. Leave him some wiggle room to claim he's innocent but for the good of the party and/or to devote his full energy to clearing his name, he'll step aside for now and run next time.

I do wonder if any Republicans are worried that if they have Trump in the White House and Moore in the Senate, their party will get branded as a safe haven for sexual predators. If it were me, I'd be more worried about becoming the party that wants to increase taxes and/or lessen the safety net for the poor and middle class so that rich people won't pay very much in taxes.

• Okay, how many people had Judge Roy Moore and Louis C.K. in today's pool?

My pal Bruce Kimmel is directing a new old musical that's about to have its world premiere in Los Angeles. The Sherman Brothers — Richard and Robert — once wrote the score to a show called Levi, which was based on the life story of Levi Strauss, a German immigrant who came to America in search of a better life and wound up inventing better pants. The show was not produced in Robert's lifetime but his brother Richard is still (happily) with us and he entrusted the show to Bruce. It opens for a limited run here in Los Angeles on November 17 after a preview performance on November 16. I'll be there opening night. Tickets for the run are still available and they're real cheap. Read about the show here. Order tickets for it here.

I think Democrats are overcelebrating their victories yesterday. Then again, at least they're overcelebrating wins. They used to overcelebrate not losing too badly.

The animated Donald Trump figure who appears often on Stephen Colbert's show is getting his own series. That's two shows starring Trump parodies, the other being The President Show on Comedy Central. I finally got around to sampling The President Show, by the way, and it's pretty good.

Kevin Spacey recently completed a film called All the Money in the World that's scheduled for release just before Christmas…but he won't be in it then. They've refilmed all his scenes with Christopher Plummer. Hey, filmmakers! While you're at it, could you refilm all of George Lazenby's scenes in On Her Majesty's Secret Service with a younger Sean Connery, all of Barbra Streisand's scenes in Hello, Dolly! with Barbra at her current age and all of Steven Seagal's scenes in anything with anyone? Thank you.

Here's eight minutes of a recent conversation with Jerry Seinfeld.

I like Jerry Seinfeld and can't think of one person I've ever met or heard of who disliked him. I know a lot of people don't care about him but no one seems to actively dislike the guy. That's one of the things I like about him — that he always seems like such a nice guy. Another is that he seems to genuinely love the job of stand-up comedian. A lot of guys who do it don't. They see it as shitwork they have to do to become a movie star or get on a series. Seinfeld is one of the few who does it out of joy…

I'm watching today's televised car chase, not to be confused with today's mass shooting. The California Highway Patrol is chasing a guy who's doing 100 on the 605 freeway in a stolen 1999 Ford Taurus.

Why does anyone steal a 1999 Ford Taurus? Isn't the penalty the same if you steal a 2018 Infiniti?

I'm just watching to see how many times the news anchors can say, "This person is showing no regard for the safety of others" and "This is an extremely dangerous situation."

• It was a mistake for Twitter to double the length of tweets. Don't they know no one reads anymore?

• Remember, everyone: If you get a selfie with a famous person and you post it online, it means you're just as important as they are.

This is a group called Voctave and they sing real good…