Sunday, February 21
· Recap of the Week – Texas winter storms/power crisis
o Great summation of Texas being the only one of the lower 48 not to be connected to the federal power grid – “Sometimes, when you’re the only one doing something, it means you’re a pioneer. But sometimes, it means you’re an idiot.”
o This was just a satisfyingly-delivered sentenced – “And then there was the saga of Ted fucking Cruz.”
o I loved this response to Rick Perry claiming that Texans would “gladly” go days without power in a severe winter storm if it meant keeping the federal government out of their state power grid – “As easy as it is to venerate sacrifice, the important thing about sacrifice is that people have to choose to do it.”
· And Now This – Public figures who went to Harvard
o This montage featured such grade-A prizes as Steve Bannon, Jim Cramer, and Lou Dobbs.
· Main Story – Conditions in meatpacking plants
o This made me laugh – “Meat: it’s what I am to any animal above me on the food chain, such as a bear, a tiger, or, let’s face it, a medium-sized pigeon.”
o The story was filled with meatpacking-plant horror stories, from driving workers so hard that they can’t take bathroom breaks to forcing simple first-aid treatment on workers for serious injuries because OSHA only has to be notified if they go to see a doctor (one worker was set to the on-site nurse station 90 times before finally being referred to a doctor.)
o These despicable stories were juxtaposed against cheery corporate video footage of Tyson offering meditation and fitness classes to their office staff.
o A telling statistic, 73% of Tyson’s salaried workers are white, while 68% of their hourly workers are Black, Latinx, or Asian American.
o It shouldn’t need to be said, but here it is – “‘Put a box on your head’ is not an instruction you give [an OSHA inspector] when everything’s up to code.”
o Terrible story about one company being fined a mere $15,000 after 6 plant workers died of COVID, with the family members of one dead worker noting, “His funeral cost more than the fine this company was facing.”
· And Now This – Working remotely on The People’s Court
o Funny bit of the Zoom edition of The People’s Court – I smiled at, “You know I can see you when you roll your eyes at me?”
Monday, February 22
· Headlines – Boeing 747 engine fell apart in midair
o While Trevor of course recognized how frightening and dangerous it was for engine parts to be falling out of the sky onto people’s lawns, “on the other hand, how great is it to get something complimentary from an airline for once? Customer service is back, baby!”
o Great observation that people’s first instinct is to whip out their phones upon seeing that the engine of the plane they’re currently on is falling apart – “I’m going down, but oh, my likes are going up!”
· Pandemic News – U.S. hits 500,000 deaths, vaccine updates
o I really appreciated Trevor saying this, because I’ve had the same thoughts – “The good news is that the number of new infections has plummeted in the past few weeks. But what’s interesting is that the number they’ve plummeted to is where they were last July, which, at the time, everyone thought was so horrifying that the country immediately started locking down again.”
o Impressive story about a senior citizen in Washington walking six miles through the snow to make her vaccine appointment – “Although, if you believe old people’s stories, walking miles in the snow is what they do all the time. They love that shit.”
o I smiled at this impression of the vaccine administrators who figured out that two women were posing as elderly people in the current vaccine priority group – “Hey, wait a minute. If you’re a grandma, how come you haven’t tried to set me up with one of your grandkids yet?”
· Main Story – Texas energy crisis
o Seriously – “$17,000 for electricity? At that point, it’s literally cheaper to burn your own money for warmth.”
o Great burn – “So yes, Ted Cruz has reversed his stance on regulation like it was a flight path to Mexico.”
o This was really well put – “When conservatives talk about freedom from government, they only focus on the good things, but that’s not the whole picture. If you were running a zoo and you told all the antelopes, ‘Congrats, guys, we’re giving you all the freedom to roam around the zoo,’ that’s good news. But it’s unfair not to tell them that the lions are also gonna be given that freedom. ‘Cause that shit is not as good for the antelopes as you make it sound.”
· Correspondent Piece (Michael) – New Zealand’s “Bird of the Year” election fraud
o It was an easy joke, but I liked the crack that the Bird of the Year voter fraud was “shitting on democracy.”
o I laughed at the “dramatic reenactment” of the voting analyst who discovered the election fraud, complete with banging his fists so hard on his keyboard in slow motion that the keys popped off.
· Interview – Instagrammer Sharon McMahon
o McMahon is a former government teacher who runs a popular Instagram account sorting out misinformation. I liked what she said about many people’s struggle to figure out what’s true and what’s not – “They don’t know where to get facts, they don’t know who to trust. They feel like they’re getting played everyday. It’s like a game of Survivor, like, I don’t know what the person’s motivation is, I don’t know if they’re trying to swindle me.”
o This was an excellent point – “The average American today, my experience has been that they have a very difficult time distinguishing between a lie and bias. They believe that those two things are the same.”
o Trevor’s hope for the future? – “In a world with facts, maybe we can get to a place where we agree on reality, and then we just get to fight about what we think about that reality.”
Tuesday, February 23rd
· Headlines – Carcinogens found in new-car smell, uncertainty over Neera Tanden’s Senate confirmation, vaccine distribution scandal in Florida
o Great bit about people with old cars not having to worry about the carcinogens in new-car smell – “The good news is you don’t have cancer. The bad news is you’re a broke-ass bitch.”
o On the Neera Tanden story, Trevor didn’t think we’d have a government left if writing mean tweets about Ted Cruz was a disqualifier for service – “Even Mitch McConnell would be out in these streets like, ‘Ted Cruz looks like Wolverine after a bad divorce. Send. I resign, it was worth it.’”
o Trevor’s reaction to learning that Florida’s governor set up a vaccine center in a white, mostly-Republican community organized by one of his major donors – “Okay, I know this sounds bad, but if you ask me, the most hardcore Republicans should be vaccinated first. I said it! Because think about it: they’re the ones going into bars without masks and feeding each other mouth-to-mouth like baby birds. If we vaccinate their asses, it’ll stop them from infecting the rest of us!”
· Main Story – New restrictive voting bills
o Truth – “Yes, Republicans saw a record number of people exercising their right to vote and were like, ‘Yo, that shit can’t happen again.’”
o I liked this bit – “By the way, you have to love how racists today have to learn so much about Black people just so they can be racist. I mean, back in the day, they’d just say, ‘No Blacks allowed!’ But now, they have to find out what Black people do so that they can ban that. So now, you have racists like, ‘No Souls to the Polls, no one with fresh Tims, and no one who watches Insecure!’”
o My head exploded at that clip of a GOP senator saying – “I do believe that voting in this country is a privilege.”
· CP Time (Roy) – History of Black journalists
o Great comments about the first Black journalist to co-anchor a nightly news program, who was once forced to read the news from behind a screen so people wouldn’t know he was Black – “Imagine having a voice so irresistible that even racists say, ‘You ain’t touching my daughters, but you can penetrate my ears all you want.’”
· Interview – Humanitarian Hugh Evans
o Discussing his organization Global Citizen, Evans highlighted the importance of rejecting vaccine nationalism and making sure that developing nations get vaccines too – “If a new variant emerges from somewhere in the world that’s entirely vaccine-resistant, would good is it? Your vaccine will become redundant. So even if you’re entirely selfish and don’t really care about others, it’s in your own self-interest to care because this is a global challenge.”
o Really well-said – “This isn’t us acting as a gesture of charity. This is truly an act of equity and an act of justice, to make sure that we actually can end the pandemic for everyone, everywhere.”
o Evans had this succinct response to critics who argue that developed nations don’t have vaccines to spare – “If we, just right now, donated half of 1% of all the doses the G7 have already secured, that’s enough to vaccinate every community health worker across Africa.”
Wednesday, February 24
· Headlines – Congressional hearing on Capitol riot, NYPD introduces robot dog
o Trevor wasn’t surprised that an email warning about threats of unrest at the Capitol on January 6th fell through the cracks – “The problem with email is that we just get so many! You know, it’s easy to miss the one that says ‘insurrection at the Capitol’ because it might be below another email with three siren emojis like ‘LAST CHANCE FOR 10% OFF COLORED CONTACT LENSES!!’”
o Loved this reaction – “Wow, a robot dog! What a cool way for the police to say they have too much money and should be defunded!”
o I really liked this point – “You’ve gotta give props to the police for how they’re marketing this robot. ‘Aw, look at our adorable dog!’ No, it’s a cop made out of steel. Like, they can call tear gas party smoke. Doesn’t mean it’s gonna sting any less when they blast you with it.”
· If You Don’t Know, Now You Know – Vaccine disparities for Black Americans
o Trevor coming in hot with the statistics – of the Americans who’ve received vaccine doses so far, 60% are white, while only 5% are Black.
o We looked at the reasons for this, many of which are due to circumstance – “There are two universal truths to living in America. One, every holiday is a mattress sale in disguise. And two, the wealthier you are, the easier it is to access life’s necessities.”
o However, Trevor also looked at many Black people’s justifiable mistrust of healthcare providers, because of everything from the Tuskegee experiments to a shocking number of doctors thinking Black people don’t feel pain as much as white people do, leading their health problems to be downplayed/ignored – “I mean, Black people invented the blues! Nobody feels pain like Black people! (Except for Adele, that woman has been through some shit.)”
o This led us to Black churches banding together to encourage people in their communities to get the vaccine. Trevor thought the only other way to reach that many Black people was by promoting vaccine education in barber shops, but he worried that the discussion might get sidetracked – “No, listen up. Polio is the greatest vaccine of all time!” “The hell it is, man! What about mumps?” “Mumps?! Man, don’t bring that mumps bullshit into my shop!”
o Roy did his part too, playing the part of a pastor preaching the good news of vaccination – I especially loved, “‘Cause if you get the ‘rona, Jesus can’t put His hands on you! He’s social distancing!” and, “Push out the Antichrist and push in the antibodies!”
· Correspondent Piece (Dulcé) – “Strong Black woman” stereotypes
o Dulcé laid it out pretty plainly from the start – “Not all Black women are ‘strong,’ and even the ones that are strong aren’t just that. We like doors opened for us too! Especially by someone with biceps like Michael B. Jordan, abs like Michael B. Jordan, and hair like Michael B. Jordan.”
o She defined a “strong Black woman” as tough, selfless super-women who can overcome any hardship without asking for help – “…So basically every character played by Viola Davis.”
o I liked this line – “So, the time you see a Black woman struggling at work or trying to lift a box, help her. Don’t just stand there like you’re about to see Wonder Woman in action!”
· Interview – Actress Andra Day
o Day was there to discuss her new film The United States vs. Billie Holiday. This was beautifully stated – “One of the things I hear all the time is, ‘Billie Holiday was a very complicated figure.’ And I’m like, ‘There’s nothing complicated about a Black queer woman trying to live free! What’s complicated is her circumstances.’”
o I liked what she said about the transformation/realization she experienced the first time she sang “Strange Fruit” onstage for the role – “This is not a beautiful song. It’s an ugly song, it’s a horrific song.”
Thursday, February 25
· Ray of Sunshine – Texas couple takes in snowed-in delivery driver, bomb squad investigates “suspicious bag” full of kittens, 78 pounds of wool shaved off a rescued sheep, one woman’s ill-timed pre-pandemic tattoo
o I enjoyed this take on the cozy story about the Texas couple taking in the delivery driver – “Aw, that is the sweetest, most heartwarming abduction I have ever seen! This is like if the movie Get Out was made by the Hallmark Channel.”
o We can all agree that finding a bag of kittens is better than finding a bomb – “Although after one week with seven cats in your house, you’ll wish it had been a bomb.”
o I laughed so hard at Trevor’s theory that maybe the kittens were just the bomber playing a “long game” – “And then one night 10 years from now, you open your eyes and your cat is on your chest holding a trigger button like, ‘Boom, bitch. Meow.’”
o After a woman shared the inspirational tattoo, about her “refusal to wear a [metaphorical] mask,” that she got in early March 2020, Desi came on to share a couple tattoo misfires of her own, including “Stop the Steal” and “I <3 Q.”
· If You Don’t Know, Now You Know – America’s energy grid
o In response to the fact that Americans use 5-6 times more energy per person than anywhere else in the world – “Of course Americans consume that much energy! Americans invented a bike that you have to plug in, that doesn’t even go anywhere, and costs more than 10 regular bicycles!”
o I loved Trevor’s reaction to learning that huge parts of America’s electrical grid hasn’t been updated in 30 years or more – “You have to update technology more often than that, people! I mean, imagine trying to get through your life with the first iPhone. You couldn’t even use the Maps app because New York wasn’t a state back then!”
o Apart from outdated infrastructure, climate change, and rogue squirrels, hacking by foreign governments was another major concern – “In fact, you know what they need to do? They need to update the Geneva Conventions for this new kind of warfare. They’ve gotta be like, ‘Okay, look, we can bomb each other as much as we want, but can we agree, no cutting power when there’s a new WandaVision! That’s a war crime!”
· Interview – NBA player Kevin Garnett
o Looking back on his life and career (the subject of his new book, KG A to Z,) Garnett told Trevor, “As you would know, putting all your time and effort into a craft, and believing in yourself, and wanting to grow a passion that’s within you is not ideal in a Black home. Thinking big, dreaming big, all those things go into having a vast imagination and chasing a dream, only to find yourself in your dream, and now you’re in it! Now what do you do?”
o This was a nice compliment from Trevor – “You’re one of those people where, every time I learn more about you, I like you more.”
o I liked Garnett’s description of how he wrote the book encyclopedia-style, broken up into shorter entries, because he knew that kind of book was easier for him to read and wanted to make sure it was as accessible as possible – this idea was further driven home when Trevor noted that the book addresses Garnett’s experiences with having ADD and dyslexia.
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