Friday, August 24, 2018

News Satire Roundup: August 19th-August 23rd


Sunday, August 19 – Of course, we opened on Rudy Giuliani on TV saying that “the truth isn’t true” and somehow denying collusion by describing collusion – I honestly don’t know what the administration’s intention is with him.  Disturbing story on Fraser Anning in Australia’s Senate calling for a “final solution” in banning Muslim migration, along with fellow senator Bob Katter who backed him up.  I really liked the main story on Trump’s trade war.  I appreciated the detail, not just on the many ways it’s hurting rather than helping the economy (such as the steel/aluminum tariffs creating about 25,000 jobs while losing over 400,000,) but also on the extraordinary degree to which Trump fails to understand the most basic facts about trade, trade wars, trade deficits, tariffs, and so forth.  As with so many Trump-related things, it was alarming to listen to his insane claims and outright completely-wrong “explanations.”

Tuesday, August 21 – It’s another clip-show week, today’s theme being family separation at the border.  The episode drew from a bunch of different desk pieces, Michael’s report on “liberal outrage” driving voters to Trump, and the interview with Rep. Karen Bass looking at the impact on the foster care system.  I’ll just hit some highlight points/jokes from the episode.  Refuting the idea that it’s not that bad because of how “nice” the cages are (i.e., no one whose child gets snatched asks how nice the van was.)  Comparing the Democrats to “an iPhone 5 after 5:00 p.m. – they have no power” after Trump complained about his hands being tied against “the Democrats’ law” that he “hates.”  Racist arguments from the past reappearing in the present, such as the “how at how nice those cages are!” echoing descriptions of internment camps – I actually love that whole segment and wish they could’ve revisited more of it.

Wednesday, August 22 – Today looked at anti-Black racism in America – not openly-racist administration policies or presidential tweets, or white supremacist marches, but rather the daily grinding-down that Black people experience simply existing in America.  There were a number of “white people calling the cops oo Black people” stories, for the apparent crimes of hanging out at Starbucks, playing golf, sleeping in their dorm common room, and selling bottled water.  Re:  Starbucks, I again loved the joke that Black people show up late because they get arrested for loitering if they’re early, and I was glad to revisit Dulce’s remarks on “Permit Patty.”  The second half of the episode looked at other recent events involving racism:  troubling school curriculum on slavery, the racist tweet that got Roseanne canceled, and Kanye West suggesting that slavery was a “choice” (featuring Roy in the trailer for 12 Years a Voluntary Slave!)

Thursday, August 23 – The theme for this episode was “So Much Winning,” a general catch-all topic for Trump’s varied claims of success.  First up was Trump overestimating his net worth by $95 million to Forbes Magazine in the ‘80s.  There were such “brilliant” ideas of his as moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and launching “Space Force!”, as well as the credit he claimed for his (Nobel Peace Prize-worthy?) role in the summit between North and South Korea.  The show also covered his weirdness at the release of U.S. prisoners from North Korea (variously thanking Kim Jong-un for being so “excellent” to the prisoners and obsessing over ratings) and, most worryingly, revisited Justice Kennedy’s resignation and the prospect of Trump’s presidency shaping America and its laws for decades to come; the sequence of clips they picked for Trevor’s incredulous “this man?!” bit are still perfect.

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