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

Saturday, June 2, 2018

News Satire Roundup: May 29th-May 31st


Tuesday, May 29 – I loved the story of a West African migrant scaling Paris balconies to rescue a kid, from Trevor telling the guy to keep “the Wakanda stuff” on the downlow to him predicting Africans are going to try and become citizens now by “saving kids.”  Quick story on Roseanne’s cancellation; I liked Trevor’s comment that Trump makes his supporters feel bulletproof because they see him say unconscionable things and get away with it.  I liked the piece on undocumented children, first looking at stories that people have been too quick to jump on without getting the facts, going straight to teeth-gnashing on Twitter, and then pointing out that the administration does enough awful things re:  undocumented children without misinformation.  Roy filmed a racial bias training video for Starbucks, demonstrating the right and wrong ways to interact with Black customers.  Guest Johnny Knoxville regaled Trevor with assorted tales of bodily harm.



Wednesday, May 30 – I’m glad the show touched on recent estimates of the death toll in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, which is 70 times larger than the administration’s “official” count - staggering.  Next up was Trump ostensibly campaigning for a Republican candidate at a rally but also promising to provide infrastructure with his “big beautiful hands” and claiming conspiracy theories about the FBI (handily confirmed by Rudy Giuliani to be an attempt to discredit the Mueller investigation – I loved the joke about never involving Giuliani in your heist plans.)  More on Roseanne’s cancellation, with 1) Roseanne blaming her racism on Ambien, 2) even Fox News finding it indefensible, and 3) one shameless commentator insisting that it’s mean but not racist to compare a Black woman to an ape.  I was impressed with the guest, Tarana Burke of the #MeToo movement, who talked about her work and how the movement has been perceived.

Thursday, May 31 - Starting with a lot of quick blurbs:  a Loony Toons-style death uncovered in a Pompeii skeleton, people wondering where Melania is (with Trevor convinced that her placating tweet is really a con job by Trump,) and other countries promising retaliation against U.S. tariffs.  We also covered Kim Kardashaian’s visit to the White House to urge a pardon for a drug offender serving a life sentence - I loved the bit about always trying to imagine whether or not any person standing next to Trump in an Oval Office photo would make a better president than him.  Ronny reported on a televangelist telling his followers he needs their donations to get a new private jet - featuring the phrase “a long tube full of demons” to describe a commercial airline.  Cynthia Nixon was the guest, talking about her run for New York’s governor and the importance of every politician standing up to protect all people.

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