"Better a fallen rocket than never a burst of light."
~ Tom Stoppard, The Invention of Love

Saturday, February 11, 2017

News Satire Roundup: February 6th-February 9th



Monday, February 6 Nice fakeout with the Super Bowl/African Cup of Nations – I should’ve guessed when Trevor used the word “football” with no qualifiers.  He got to the Super Bowl eventually, including Lady Gaga’s “Elton John interprets Mission:  Impossible”-style halftime show.  More on the ban, this time looking at Trump’s unpresidential reaction to the judge who ordered the temporary stay.  I loved Trevor's remarks on the “so-called judge” thing, and he had good points about authoritarians’ tactics for getting people’s fears to supplant their freedoms.  Good bit on Steve Bannon as the “real president,” featuring Bannon’s general grossness and Trump’s foot-stomping about how he does too call his own shots.  Minnesota(!) representative Keith Ellison was on; I expected a Muslim politician’s perspective on the ban, but he talked about his bid for DNC chair and his plans for how to right the Democratic ship in 2018.

Tuesday, February 7 – We opened on Obama’s post-White House vacation, or as Trevor put it, “Obamacarefree.”  Then, it was onto Trump’s ongoing fight with the media, from bathrobes to coverage of terrorist attacks.  Trevor covered the usual critiques of the list – copious spelling errors, inclusion of the most heavily-covered attacks in recent years, and exclusion of attacks committed by white non-Muslims, the latter of which was handily demonstrated by the White House’s response to the recent attack in Quebec when it was mistakenly believed to have been committed by a Muslim.  Michelle had an awesome piece on Kellyanne Conway’s go-to moves re:  lying to the press.  My favorite was “I see your canceled meeting and I raise you a heroin epidemic?!?”  The guest was Boston mayor Marty Walsh.  After a quick Super Bowl victory lap, he talked about immigration and why he feels strongly about Boston being a sanctuary city.

Wednesday, February 8 – In a story on Nordstrom dropping Ivanka Trump’s brand, Trevor got in digs about voter fraud (with “millions of dead illegal immigrants not buying her clothes,”) the dubious claim that Trump businesses are totally separate from his policies, and the problem of encouraging guilt by association (“...and now, back to the Muslim ban!”)  Amusing story on the Sanders-Cruz debate.  I loved the bits about agreeing across the aisle being “like third base” for senators and Cruz’s bizarre “congratulations” to a woman on her struggle with MS.  Surprise video appearance from Elizabeth Warren on her recent rebuke by Mitch McConnell; I appreciated that she focused on the issue at hand instead of partisan sniping.  Guest Tracee Ellis Ross and Trevor recreated what Black-ish would look like if it were the sort of “Black show” some claim it is, and she shared a crazy story about a narrow miss involving her Golden Globe.

Thursday, February 9 – Trevor brought some perspective with a clip of physical brawling in South Africa’s Parliament.  We got a trio of stories on the intersection between the presidency and Trump family businesses:  Melania’s maybe-plan to make “First Lady” a brand, the military possibly renting space in Trump Tower (loved the line “my landlord made me invade Iran!”), and Kellyanne Conway shilling Ivanka’s clothing line.  Trevor, to let the administration focus on running the country, offered to take up the shilling duties, and he and Desi sardonically showed off an outfit from Ivanka’s line.  Roy looked ahead to the weekend – my favorite bit here was his plea to Japan’s prime minister to lose to Trump in golf so we won’t have to send in troops.  Laura Jane Grace of the band Against Me was the guest.  She copped to the double-edged sword of success for an indie band and discussed her new book, which details her transition.

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