Sunday, October 18
· Recap of the Week – Amy Coney Barrett hearing, Trump town hall
o Great response to the voter who told Trump how “handsome” his smile is – “The man’s got a smile that can light up a cross.”
o I liked John’s point about how vague Trump is about any specific plans for his second term – “He’s not made any promises other than, ‘I will not leave, I will not die, and I will give you COVID, personally.’”
· Main Story – The World Health Organization
o I enjoyed John’s recurring annoyance at Trump claiming the WHO is “literally a pipe organ for China” – misuse of “literally” gets me too.
o Mind-boggling that the annual WHO budget is $2.4 billion, roughly the same as an average U.S. hospital – how?
o Apt description of Trump’s go-to philiosophy – “In his world, you’re either fucking someone or you’re getting fucked.”
o John was understandably shaking his head at Mike Pompeo’s insistence that the U.S. pulling out of the WHO won’t matter because we can simply perform those functions ourselves – on the issue of the U.S. being allowed into a country to study health conditions there, John pointed out, “The WHO has never, you know, invaded a nation or funded a coup.”
o A WHO official responded to the U.S.’s pull-out decision with, “Why take the fire engines away in the middle of fighting a fire?”, and John awesomely added, “Or why edit Kevin Spacey into a movie weeks before its release date?”
o Good point that, when Trump is confronted with any kind of international cooperative agreement that has issues, his only move appears to be “flip over the game board and walk away,” thus giving up America’s seat at the table – right before John said it, I was already thinking about the Paris Climate Accord and the Iran nuclear deal.
· And Now This – There’s an Old Saying in Politics
· Finally – Danbury, Connecticut
o John’s getting his memorial sewer plant!
o John admitted to inviting any citizen of Danbury to receive a personal thrashing from him, but he didn’t think that was any cause for concern – “Clearly, I’m no threat to anybody. I have the physique of al dente spaghetti.”
o Nice analogy for 2020 at the ribbon-cutting ceremony – “This place takes the worst that humanity can produce and transforms it into something we can live with.”
Tuesday, October 20
· Headlines – High early voting turnout, changes to debate rules, Trump rallies
o Trevor was “impressed” at early voters already knowing who they want to be presiden – “There’s two weeks, people! What if Trump becomes presidential? I still think he has a shot!”
o I loved this response to a 94-year-old woman who traveled back to her home state to vote when her absentee ballot didn’t turn up – “Black women absolutely cannot mess around with their vote. Statistically, they bear the brunt of any policy failure, whether it’s housing, healthcare, education, anything. So they make sure to vote! I’ll tell you now, if this entire country was only 94-year-old Black women, voter turnout would be 100%. I mean, on the other hand, no one would know who Timothée Chalamet was, so it’d be a mixed blessing.”
o Trevor ran with Trump’s complaints about why CNN reports on “nothing but the pandemic,” wondering they don’t instead do stories about what former child stars look like now – “Did you know that the little boy from E.T. looks like himself, but much older? Why isn’t that in the news, you dumb bastards?”
o Perfect reaction to Trump’s awkward dance moves – “Whatever tiny percentage of the Black vote Trump had, he has now officially lost.”
· If You Don’t Know, Now You Know – Anti-police-brutality protests in Nigeria
o I liked Trevor’s analogy that if Africa actually were a country instead of a continent, Nigeria would be Texas.
o Trevor was impressed at how united Nigerians are in fighting police brutality – “Normally, the only time Nigerians are this united is when their team is playing in the World Cup or when they’re shitting on another country’s food.”
o Trevor’s summation of SARS – “The good guys who were supposed to stop the bad guys eventually became worse than the bad guys? I mean, I suppose that is one way to end crime. You just take over the crime for yourself.”
o I loved this response to SARS profiling Nigerians for having nice phones – “Criminals don’t use iPhones. They use flip phones, everybody knows this! If you need a phone that you might have to toss down a sewer while the cops are after you, you don’t spring for 5G!”
o Great line – “You know, it’s amazing how, around the world, ‘law and order’ seems to be code for, ‘Let’s beat the shit out of these protesters.’”
· Interview – Actor Matthew McConaughey
o I liked McConaughey’s realization growing up that it wasn’t enough to only journal during difficult times in his life – he had to remember to journal during the good times too, so when hard times eventually hit again, he could look back on better days and see if any habits from then could help him now.
o Nice attitude about the process of digging into his past as he wrote his memoir –“Most of the embarrassment I laughed at, most of the shame I forgave myself for.”
o Interesting story about what ultimately led him to Dallas Buyers Club, an at-times uncertain venture that sprang from the birth of his first son and the question, “Can my work challenge the character in my life?”
· Interview – Chef José Andrés
o Andrés was there to talk about his new initiative, Chefs for the Polls, which mobilizes food trucks to provide food meals for people waiting in line to vote and sounds awesome.
o The fact that people in some poorer neighborhoods are waiting 3-12 hours to vote is horrendous.
Wednesday, October 21
· Headlines – Google antitrust lawsuit, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Twitch stream for the vote, Trump’s undisclosed Chinese bank account, TV reunions for political fundraisers
o I loved the description of AOC as the “supreme villain of your uncle’s Facebook feed.”
o Amusing take on Trump’s Chinese bank account – “Now, on the other hand, maybe you want an American president who pays taxes to China. I mean, this way, when he’s sitting down with Xi, he can say things like, ‘Listen, buddy, I pay your salary! And this is what I think needs to happen!’”
o With all the old TV casts reunited to raise money for the Democratic Party, Trevor did a great impression of a hypothetical Seinfeld season set during the pandemic – “She’s leaving her nose uncovered! She’s a nose nudist!”
· Main Story – 2020 Senate races
o Good analogy – “In many ways, having the White House without controlling the Senate is like getting an iPhone without a charger. Yeah, congrats. You own a $1,000 rectangle.”
o I laughed at Trevor’s reaction to Lindsey Graham’s many donation pleas on Fox News – “Goddamn, man! Lindsey Graham doesn’t sound like he’s raising money, he sounds like he’s being held hostage by Somali pirates.”
o Fun bit about the incumbent Iowa senator who doesn’t know the break-even price of soybeans – “Okay, wow. This is the most Iowa controversy imaginable.”
o And that led into an even better bit, Trevor’s rambling impression of Trump if he were asked the price of a gallon of milk – I don’t remember all of it, but I remember it started with, “That’s such an important question,” wound its way to “Obama spied on my campaign,” and eventually ended with the emphatic declaration, “Burisma.”
· Correspondent Piece (Michael) – “Professional liars” analyze Trump’s debate performance
o From a hypnotist on Michael’s panel – “Trump’s folowers and listeners are almost in a constate state of trance, where his simple messages get through but they’re not being critically challenged, to make sure the critical thinking of the listeners is eliminated.”
o From a former con artist – “What is the expectation of the person you’re lying to? Do they want to believe your lie?”
o All the guys on Michael’s panel were ultimately impressed with Trump’s debate performance, seeing misdirection and sleight-of-hand where I saw a giant mess.
· Interview – Actor Chris Rock
o They started out talking about Rock’s character on Fargo, who Rock said has the common flaw of many criminals – “They’re smarter than you think they are, but they’re not as smart as they think they are.”
o This was a great interview. Trevor and Rock dove into discussing the present-day protests and comparing them with the Civil Rights Movement – Rock kept coming back to, “What is the ask?”, wondering, “Are we asking for things that the powers that be will have to make real renovations to happen?”
o While Rock didn’t denigrate the work of the Civil Rights Movement, he did think their “asks” were comparatively modest, saying, “They didn’t ask for anything that couldn’t have been done with the snap of a finger.”
o When it comes down to it, Rock had a greater interest in equity than equality – “I don’t give a f**k about sitting with white people [i.e. at an integrated lunch counter]. I care about opportunity for my children.”
o This was a really strong statement – “It’s not a privilege to be treated humanely.”
Wednesday, October 22
· Headlines – Trump’s 60 Minutes interview
o I loved Trevor’s impression of Trump thinking he can dictate the difficulty of the questions he’s asked, like choosing the “spice level” at a Chinese restaurant – “Let me get those questions extra-mild, please. I don’t want anything that can make me sweat.”
· A Ray of Sunshine – the Pope supports same-sex civil unions, a spacecraft lands on an asteroid, technological innovation allows a Chinese building to “walk” to a new location, a 14-year-old is recognized for important research on COVID-19 treatment, Obama stumps for Joe Biden
o Great line – “Guys, let’s be real: every marriage undermines ‘the sanctity of marriage.’ Half of all marriages end in divorce, the president has had, what, three wives, your dad is probably having an affair right now…. I mean, this has never been about sanctity, it’s really been about homophobia.”
o I laughed out loud at, “NASA basically flew across the universe just to bitch-slap an asteroid.”
o Great reaction to the Chinese building “walking” – “Did you guys see that?! That building just walked, further than I’ve walked this entire pandemic.”
o Trevor thought that walking-building technology should be used to save Black neighborhoods from gentrification – “Run, barber shop! Run!”
o So funny – “You could tell Obama was having a great time up there, man. He was grilling Trump so hard, Barbecue Becky called the cops.”
· Donald Trump’s 100 Most Tremendous Scandals – #100-76
o New segment, with Roy taking us through the first chunk of Trump scandals in his first term – “We’re gonna celebrate ‘em all: the ones you forgot, and the ones you wish you could.”
o Technically, some of these were either a) Trump just doing something weird that’s not exactly scandalous or b) a scandal involving someone in the Trump camp moreso than Trump himself. Still, there were plenty of worthy entries on the list.
o Most, we just ran through in a quick rundown, but we focused on #76, Trump refusing to divest from his businesses and then those businesses “coincidentally” raking in money through his many trips to his hotels/golf courses, as well as foreign powers appearing to trade expensive hotel stays for presidential favors – sigh.
o That table full of folders of “important documents” proving that he was no longer involved with his companies remains utterly ridiculous – this administration is all about paper as props.
o I loved the phrasing of, “That’s when things get conflicts-of-interesty.”
· Correspondent Piece (Desi) – The Hunter Biden allegations
o I always get a kick out of these pieces, with Desi wired out of her mind after binging on Fox News – “…And the contents are so explosive, I threw my phone into oncoming traffic.”
o I laughed at, “Hunter Biden, aka Hunter Pelosi bin Laden…”
o Another great line – “And by the way, did you know that ‘malarkey’ is Mandarin for ‘I will ban fracking’?”
· Interview – Senator Elizabeth Warren
o In looking at the Supreme Court, Warren pointed out how the majority of Americans support the Affordable Care Act, Roe v. Wade, and addressing climate change – “It’s a way for a diminishing minority to direct this nation with their extremist ideology.”
o Trevor brought up a number of young voters who are expressing the idea, “I’m gonna vote for this party [the Democrats], but one thing I don’t want is a return to ‘normal,’ the status quo, because the status quo wasn’t working.”
o I liked this statement from Warren – “I’m not about Democrat and Republicans, I’m not about those politics, I’m about delivering for the people who need us.”
Friday, October 23
· Headlines – Mitch McConnell’s hands
o Lol, great description – “It’s like he was thinking about doing blackface, but then just decided to start slowly.”
· Main Story – Final presidential debate
o This was my favorite of the contrasting political stances Trevor offered between the candidates – “And on crime, Joe Biden’s priority is to get drug offenders out of prison, while Donald Trump’s priority is to keep himself out of prison.”
o Wonderful line – “Are you kidding me? Did this mother**ker just give a Yelp review for his child prison camps?”
o This was a nice response to Trump’s claim that only asylum-seekers with “the lowest IQ” showed up for their court dates – “Aside from the fact that he’s totally wrong, it’s amazing how Donald Trump thinks that following the law is only for stupid people.”
o The one bit of leeway Trevor was willing to give Trump – “To be fair to Trump, guys, he has spent a lot of time with Stephen Miller, Steve Bannon, Jeff Sessions, and the rest of the dudes, so he probably usually is the least racist in the room.”
· A Ray of Sunshine – A green-furred puppy is born, 2,000-year-old Peruvian etching of a cat
o Puppies, “The most popular thing to adopt in 2020 besides a drinking habit.”
o I loved Trevor squeeing over how “tiny, green, and cute” the green puppy was – “Scram, Baby Yoda! It’s not always about you!”
o I laughed at this line – “What this hill is is ancient Peruvian Facebook. I’m sure, if the archeologists look further down, they’re gonna start finding QAnon conspiracy theories.”
· Interview – Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza
o Really beautiful statement – “Lots of people get involved because they are angry or upset or they’re hurt, but there’s something that transforms in us when we become part of a movement, that transforms it into love.”
o Garza revealed that she was recently visited by the FBI about someone they’d caught who was planning an attack on her, among others – “This is because we push so hard to make sure Black people are treated just like everybody else. We’re not organizing for a world in which Black people are more powerful than anybody else. It’s literally about equalizing the playing field.”
o In discussing The Black Futures Lab’s “Black agenda for 2020,”
o “We that are closest to the pain know a lot about what it’s going to take to shift it.”
· Interview – Actress Rashida Jones
o Jones is no stranger to playing the straight-person role in comedies, and she especially didn't mind playing that opposite Billy Murray in On the Rocks - "Who doesn’t want to sit and listen to Bill Murray theorize all day? I mean, that’s just a joy as a human being, let alone as an actor.”
o I liked what she said about the film appealing to her because there aren't enough "movies
about adult women and their fathers” and she wanted to explore that relationship.
o Trevor liked the film but found all the footage of a pre-pandemic NYC "triggering" - “Why are these people hugging each other?! What are these people doing??”
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