Sunday, February 18 – And we’re back! The new season began with the Florida
shooting, as John looked at how the students there are trying to speak out
against the usual “now’s not the time” / “this is not a gun issue” talking
points. He also covered a few
international blurbs – Jacob Zuma’s ousting in South Africa, Australia’s
homophobic “family values” deputy PM impregnating a former staffer, and
Benjamin Netanyahu facing possible corruption charges – before moving onto the
main story, Trump’s vs. the rest of the world.
John questioned what Trump thinks his foreign policy (“America First”)
actually entails and looked at the dangerously-understaffed state department,
the mockery Trump makes of the U.S., and the general havoc he wreaks
internationally. I loved John comparing
foreign affairs to sex: anyone who
insistently shouts, “I always come first!” in every encounter will have a hard
time finding partners.
Monday, February 19 – One more clip show
before the return of new episodes. This
was a President’s Day special on Trump’s unpresidential ways. There were a couple longer segments – Desi’s
piece on how to interview Trump and part of the interview with Michael Wolff –
but there was also a ton of short snippets arranged around particular
themes. “This is Not Normal” included
everything from Trump waffling over denouncing Nazis after Charlottesville to
his “shithole countries” remark, while
“Stable Genius” featured insults to Trump’s intelligence from a wide range of
his own people and completing a “mental fitness” test that involved correctly
identifying a rhino. I liked the bumpers
on either end of each segment contrasting Trump with past presidents – my
favorite was the shots of Bush and Obama shaking hands with Angela Merkel,
followed by a shot of Trump staring blankly ahead while she sits beside him.
Tuesday, February 20 – New episode! After discussing the apparent KFC chicken-shortage in Britain (with Trump poised to offer the one type of
international aid he can!), it was onto the Parkland shooting. Trevor applauded the students for standing up
against “now is not the time” and covered Fox News’s attempt to blame anyhing
other than guns. I loved his own
contributions to the theories, especially his plan to simply get rid of the
common denominator for all school shootings:
schools, obviously! Roy came out to talk Black Panther, reveling in the joyous Black crowds who turned out
for the movie with dancing and drums and pointing out that, in addition to the
importance of the film, it’s also just a dope-ass movie. The guest, Taylor Kitsch, talked about his
role in the miniseries Waco and
finding the motivations behind his character’s horrific actions.
Wednesday, February 21 – Quick blurb about a
Russian curler getting caught doping – I loved Trevor’s impression of someone
hyped up on steroids gently curling.
More on the Florida shooting, with some pro-gun folks accusing the
protesting students of being actors or claiming far-left activists just planted
ideas in their heads. There was a great
line about how these kids might not have a “PhD” in gun legislation, but
surviving a mass shooting ought to confer an “honorary degree.” There was also a segment on the students
marching on the Florida state legislature, where Congress refused to even
debate a bill banning assault weapons but passed one declaring porn “a public
health risk;” Trevor’s contempt for these lawmakers was so satisfying. I enjoyed the interview with Ludacris. In talking about the new season of Fear Factor he’s hosting, he and Trevor
discussed worst fears and why people continue to appear on the show.
Thursday, February 22 – Continuing with the
Parkland shooting, we saw students taking Marco Rubio to task in a town hall –
I loved Trevor’s comment about Rubio’s total inability to read the room in
saying, “We’d have to ban all
semi-automatic weapons!” like it’s a bad thing – and Trump suggesting arming
teachers (and paying them extra for it!) during a White House listening
session. In the clip of a school
practicing just that, I was shocked by the administrator shrugging off the
possibility of a teacher accidentally shooting an innocent student instead of
the shooter – “acceptable risks” and all.
Roy had a piece on Black innovators, honoring the creators of Jack
Daniels, video game cartridges, and super soakers. The guest was the wonderful Lupita Nyong’o. During their mutual geek-out
about Black Panther, she and Trevor
took time out to discuss their big news:
she’s signed on to play his mom in the movie of Born a Crime. Squee!
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