Saturday, November 23, 2019

News Satire Roundup: November 17th-November 21st


Sunday, November 17Last Week Tonight season finale. Today’s Stupid Watergate II update went refuted various defenses from the GOP and Fox News, ranging from, “No, attempted bribery/extortion is still a crime,” to, “Well, if this impeachment hearing isn’t sexy enough for you, take any one of Trump’s umpteen other scandals!” The main story looked at the census, both the reasons why it’s so important to get an accurate count and the ways the administration has tried to undermine it. Trump dismissing the census by claiming it asks “how many toilets you own” was just gobsmackingly absurd, and it’s gross that one late lawmaker had a server full of “this is our evil plan to suppress minority voters” emails (even though it’s obviously good that this evidence was found – it still just disgusts me.) Finally, we got to revisit the “Chiijohn” mascot the show made and sent to Japan, which was very nice after some depressing news.


Sunday, November 17 – Excellent episode on the Trump administration’s various strategies to eliminate asylum in the U.S. We’ve seen so much of this in the last few years, and Hasan gathered it all into one place. Major points included the “Remain in Mexico” policy (it’s sickening that its official name is “Migrant Protection Protocol,” given that its aim is to deter asylum-seeking by forcing migrants to remain in camps along the border for months on end, where they’re vulnerable to violence, kidnapping, and rape,) metering at the border, and the so-called “safe third country agreements” (how can Guatemala qualify as a safe third country for asylum seekers from Honduras and El Salvador if people are fleeing Guatemala too??) I loved the ending, in which Hasan acknowledged that all the “immigrants make this country better” arguments are true but said that the real reason to support asylum is because it’s right.


Monday, November 18 – Loved the British interviewer who shut down Prince Andrew’s euphemistic description of Jeffrey Epstein. We also got opening blurbs on the Netherlands’ Christmas figure “Black Pete” (loved Trevor’s point, “If he’s just black from the soot, then why does he have an afro?”) and Michael Bloomberg just now realizing that stop-and-frisk was bad (I’m sure it has nothing to do with his potential presidential run.) Good story on Trump’s hospital visit for “phase one” of his physical. I loved the bit about how the administration wouldn’t admit it even if he showed up with amputated limbs: “The president’s arms have always been brooms! He uses them to clean up Washington!” More on the impeachment hearings, with plenty on the quote that President Zelensky “loves [Trump’s] ass.” Democratic candidate Tom Steyer was the guest, selling himself as a billionaire who believes in a wealth tax.

Tuesday, November 19 – We opened on the rise of superbugs being worse than we thought (Trevor had a great riff on returning to the 17th century, when you’d start getting your affairs in order after a paper cut,) followed by the continuing protests in Hong Kong. In lieu of an update on the impeachment hearings, the show highlighted “Fartgate,” in which either Rep. Eric Swalwell or Chris Matthews appeared to fart live on the air on Hardball. While the story was silly, I was amused by the fact that the Internet is so obsessed that both parties had to issue official denials. Roy and Michael did a sports piece on some football news, from the Cleveland Browns and the infamous helmet fight, to Colin Kaepernick training again, to an uncomfortable University of Florida tradition. The guest, Lin-Manuel Miranda(!), geeked out over being in His Dark Materials and discussed the “opposing muscle groups” of composing vs. freestyling.

Wednesday, November 20 – Latest debate. We covered Pete Buttigieg flexing his lack of wealth, a showdown between Kamala Harris and Tulsi Gabbard, Andrew Yang taking a rare chance to speak, Joe Biden attempting to swallow his own foot, and everyone being on the same page about Trump. Couldn’t spend the whole show on the debate, though – we had to check in with Gordon Sondland’s burn-it-all-down testimony at the impeachment hearings. Plus, there was Trump’s bizarre address to reporters; I loved Trevor’s comment that innocent people don’t need notes to say they’re innocent. Roy sat down with a group of Black voters to discuss what they want in a president. Everyone side-eyed the one Trump supporter, and they discussed pandering and the tendency to be harder on Black candidates. Great interview with Alicia Menendez, talking about the double-edged sword of “likability” with female candidates.

Thursday, November 21 – First was Trevor’s victory lap for his Grammy nomination (loved him hoping he gets arrested so the news will refer to him as “the Grammy nominee,”) a new tool to measure costs vs. earning potential for different majors, and a teenager’s mad airport dash. Next, we looked at Andrew Yang, whose media coverage doesn’t match his polling numbers. I loved Trevor demanding to know Yang hasn’t brought up the fact he worked for Obama. Interesting CP Time from Roy on Black people’s contributions to Thanksgiving. Among other bits of history, one of Thomas Jefferson’s slaves, Sally Hemings’s brother, is thought to have invented mac and cheese! Great interview with Lena Waithe, talking about Queen & Slim. She was proud that her film has none of the white gaze, and it broke my heart when she talked about wanting to tell stories that humanize Black people so “maybe [the cops] will stop killing us.”

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