News Satire Roundup: September 30th-October 4th

Sunday, September 30 – John briefly mentioned Trump getting laughed at at the UN General Assembly and the Philadelphia Flyers’ terrifying new mascot, but tonight was all about Brett Kavanaugh.  After a look at Dr. Ford’s testimony and some of the treatment she received, John examined Kavanaugh’s testimony.  A lot of the usual observations (his belligerence/evasions) and jokes (getting teary over his calendars) – really, I found a lot of the show’s coverage to be variations of things I’d heard before, though I know the hearing has been thoroughly dissected from every angle by now.  What I really appreciated, though, were two points.  1)  The fact that, even apart from the allegations, Kavanaugh’s behavior throughout his testimony belies the idea that he has the temperament to be a Supreme Court justice.  And 2) perhaps more troubling than the thought of the committee not believing Dr. Ford is that they believe her but don’t care.

Monday, October 1 – Fun bit on how hackers accessing names, ages, and hometowns on Facebook is just “using Facebook.”  I always like Trevor’s Melania impression, which he broke out for the Melania-goes-to-Africa piece, and we also got a blurb on Kenya’s Oscar dreams (temporarily) overcoming its homophobia to allow a lesbian-themed movie in theaters.  Trump’s press conference on the “non-NAFTA” deal was crazy – I thought the tone of this story was a little too affable overall, but I loved the joke about Trump insisting that the U.S. get the word “loco” in the deal.  In the piece on the new FBI investigation into Kavanaugh, I thought the ad for CSI:  Limited Investigation was great – “it’s almost like they’re trying not to find anything!”  Great interview with author Carol Anderson, discussing her new book on voter suppression.  The information she shared was sobering, and she really advocating using your vote to fight.

Tuesday, October 2 – Good jokes on the presidential alert system (loved the bit about people dying in natural disasters because they refuse to evacuate in “protest,”) Amazon raising its minimum wage for workers (while reducing workers,) and Netflix planning Choose Your Adventure stories (Trevor’s features Barb and the Demogorgon getting married!)  More on Kavanaugh, looking at the fact that his potentially lying under oath would be as disqualifying as the allegations against him; Michael took a different tack, advocating that we shouldn’t hold “Sober Brett” responsible for “Drunk Brett’s” actions, a la Bruce Banner and the Hulk.  Lewis did a Back in Black on electric scooters – I especially enjoyed the clips of the guy who goes around destroying them.  Lester Holt was the guest, talking about his love for meeting people where they are with the news.

Wednesday, October 3 – I liked the blurb on letters possibly containing Ricin sent to Trump, Ted Cruz, and others, especially the joke that any plan that hinges on Trump reading something is doomed to failure.  We also covered the EPA loosening radiation regulations (why??) and Russian trolls being partially behind the hate for The Last Jedi.  Taking a break from Kavanaugh, the big news was the story on how Trump is less of a self-made man and more of a father-made man; the bit on playground bullies trying to figure out what to do with an 8-year-old millionaire was hilarious.  Desi reported on the “bad boys” of midterms – lots of fraud and misuse of taxpayer dollars, obviously, but there was also a notable candidate who’s campaigning from jail.  The guest, Neil deGrasse Tyson, promoted his new book on the millennia-old tie between astrophysics and the military, in which knowledge translated pretty directly into power.

Thursday, October 4 – Opening blurbs on China hacking phones (I laughed at Trevor’s plan to just disguise his personal data by surrounding it with fake stuff,) more about people dying while taking selfies (Trevor’s bit about drowning was hilarious,) and Chick-Fil-A, in Trevor’s opinion, being less than generous when it gifted a man with free meals for life on his 100^th birthday.  Next was the FBI investigation on Kavanaugh – the conclusion that it’s mostly pointless and really just serves as cover for Republican senators before they confirm him.  So gross.  Desi had a field piece on the Girl Scouts, particularly the fact that they’re not interested in being assimilated by the newly-coed Boy Scouts; I liked the point that “equality” doesn’t necessarily mean “the same.”  The guest was Riz Ahmed, talking about why he prefers “representation” to “diversity” and why rapping about his personal experiences includes the moment the TSA gloves come on.