Sunday, February 21 – The usual suspects in the opening
– the South Carolina Republican primary (guess Trump can check off “fight with
the Pope” on his list of things he can do without losing votes) and some more
obvious hypocrisy on Congress’s refusal to approve any nominee Obama puts forth
for the Supreme Court. I adored the “How is This Still a Thing?” segment on Hollywood whitewashing, especially the show’s
continued disdain for Aloha. The main story was on abortion and
the restrictions different states place on it. A very divisive subject,
of course, but it’s pretty sobering how, even though the Supreme Court has
upheld it as a right, it’s still so vastly undercut. Interesting how driving five hours and having
to stay there three days due to mandatory waiting periods isn’t considered an “undue
burden” to abortion access. It seems like opponents in government are
aiming to “hoop-jump” it into oblivion.
Monday, February 22 – The show picked a rough week
to be off. In playing catch-up, Trevor barely had time to touch on
Scalia’s death, “Apple joining ISIS” (who knew, right?), and Trump fighting
with the Pope/spewing even more Islamaphobic insanity. That said, the
stories they did cover were well-done. The South Carolina story
hit all the right notes: the sobering knowledge that Trump might really be
the Republican nominee, a farewell to Bush, and, my favorite, “Trump’s wife
speaks immigrant??” Really glad the show talked about the Uganda election
and all the shady stuff that went down there; as crazy as this US election is,
at least I can actually exercise my right to vote without government
obstruction. Also, campaigning from a couch on top of a car is
fabulous. The interview with Senator Cory Booker was great – Booker was thoughtful, personable, and
non-inflammatory. Is such a thing still possible?
Tuesday, February 23 – Now we got to talk about the
Supreme Court. After a quick rundown of Scalia’s legacy (from weakening
the Voting Rights Act to making it harder to regulate gun laws – standup guy,)
Trevor addressed the nominating stalemate and inconsistent stances taken by
both sides of the aisle in years past. This was capped by the superb ad
for the fake board game “Congress,” which hilariously captured partisan
gridlock as played out by children.
Jessica’s field piece, interviewing licensed homophobe/alarmist Rev. Manning, was uncomfortable but insane, and I love the poetic justice of his
building potentially being turned into a shelter for LGBTQ youth once the bank
forecloses on it. I like Anthony Mackie in the Marvel movies, but while
his interview was amusing, it was also pretty awkward. It seemed like he and
Trevor were having separate conversations throughout much of the interview.
Wednesday, February 24 – Great show tonight.
The footage of the new Google robot being bullied by its engineers was
bizarre but amusing. Another caucus, another win for Trump – highlights
here included the Pacman Trump graphic and Cruz’s spin to turn two losses into
a victory. Segment of the night goes to Trevor’s brilliant skewering of
Carson’s assertion that Obama was “raised white.” After side-eying the
way Carson equated Blackness with poverty, Trevor challenged the doctor to pass
his own stereotypical “Black test.” The story about Hitler having a micropenis (it's a thing) was mostly interesting to me for how “standup” it
felt. No clips, no graphics, no titles – just Trevor standing in front of
an audience riffing on a particular topic. I wonder if this is a style he’d
like to incorporate more often on the show. Nothing much to say about the
interview with AIRBNB CEO Brian Chesky. Fine, but unremarkable.
Thursday, February 25 – Bit of a lackluster show
for me. The story on Apple’s standoff with the FBI was fine and had some
good lines, but for my money, it just didn’t pop the way great segments of the
show often do. Roy and Jordan’s piece about which Democratic candidate is
more popular with Black voters seemed like a wasted opportunity. They
really didn’t have anything substantial to say about why Black voters would support
either one, and they also didn’t talk about the ways both campaigns have tried
to pander to that community since they left New Hampshire. What I did
like was the interview with former CIA director Michael Hayden. Trevor
did incredibly well, not backing off from questions about civilians killed in
drone strikes and the possibility that U.S actions have contributed to
increased radicalization. So, strong
finish, anyway!
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