Why Evolution is True is a blog written by Jerry Coyne, centered on evolution and biology but also dealing with diverse topics like politics, culture, and cats.
Here’s an eight-minute Real Time bit in which Bill Maher goes after the media for blowing up the campus protests out of proportion. To counteract this trend, Maher proposes five rules for proper journalistic coverage of the news.
One such rule is that the media should stay away from quoting the “angriest people on social media with too much time on their hands.” Tell me about it!
At the end of the bit, Maher answers the question, “What do we do if he wins?” (The “he” is obvious.)
Here’s Friday’s eight-minute comedy shtick by Bill Maher, but there’s as much seriousness as comedy. The topic: the connection between recent demonstrations about the war and the fulminating narcissism of the protestors.
His comments on gender apartheid in the Middle East and Africa is on the money, as is his characterization of many protestors as using “the cause” to highlight themselves and the idiocy of accusing Israel of “genocide.”
Maher is more serious than usual in this bit, perhaps because he realizes the seriousness of the widespread protests, which could throw the election to the Man Who We Don’t Want Elected.
h/t: Divy
Here’s the latest comedy interlude from HBO’s “Real Time” show with Bill Maher. It’s a ten-minute critique of our obsession with identity, including race. As he says, “We need to stop talking about the things that make Americans different from each other and start honoring the things that make us the same.”
Another quote: “Today’s Democrats should move away from identity politics. It’s not working.” Clearly Maher is not only addressing Democrats, but trying to get them to adopt a strategy that wins elections.
Those who object to colorblindness, like Nikole Hannah-Jones, won’t like this.
And I love the bit at 5:19.
h/t: Mary
Here’s the entire Real Time show for last week, but watch before it’s taken down. It starts 30 seconds in, and has a rather salacious introduction with jokes about Lauren Boebert and Fani Willis.
The intro monologue ends at 6:15; the guests are two congresspeople, Nancy Mace and Ro Khanna, as well as Eric Holder. The main monologue, “New Rules,” starts at 41:15 and ends at 50:45. The rest is afterglowshow.
UPDATE: It’s gone now, but here’s the second monologue:
In this short seven-minute segment from last week’s “Real Time,” Bill Maher confers five “Cojones Awards” for having. . . .well, moxie. (Women can also get the Golden Testicles.) You may recognize some of the winners, and of course, at the end, there’s the winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award, which I have to say is well deserved.
Scarlett Johansson showed up on Saturday Night Live to play Senator Katie Britt, who gave the cringeworthy In-the-Kitchen Republican response to Biden’s State of the Union address. Johansson’s was a great performance (her resemblance to Britt in both appearance and behavior are remarkable), and I’ll show you how great by putting the real Britt video at the bottom. First, Scarlett, whom I could find only on Twitter aka “X”:
Scarlett Johansson – otherwise known as Mrs. Colin Jost – made a cameo appearance during the show’s cold open, playing Alabama Sen. Katie Britt in her much-talked about GOP rebuttal to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address on Thursday.
With one hand firmly raised, Johansson dressed as Britt called out Biden’s “performative” qualities (while fervently denying any performance of her own), delivering her remarks from her kitchen.
”You see, I’m not just a mother,” Johansson said. “I’m a wife, a mother, and the craziest b—h in the Target parking lot.”
The end of the skit saw a well-placed spoof of Jordan Peele’s Oscar-winning racial satire “Get Out,” when Johansson took out a teacup and stirred it, causing Kenan Thompson to freeze with a tear falling down his face.
From Simon:
Sen. Katie Britt delivers the Republican response to President Biden’s State of the Union Address pic.twitter.com/x7mDzO1sWP
— Saturday Night Live – SNL (@nbcsnl) March 10, 2024
Here’s Britt’s real response, about 20 minutes long, starting at 1:18. Brit later admitted that she had no basis for accusing Biden for fostering sex-trafficking across the border.
Bill Maher’s 8½-minute monologue, largely about the advanced age of Joe Biden, aired on Real Time last night. His point: don’t let the opposition define you, and be who you really are. In Biden’s case, that’s being old, and Biden should, says Maher, “own it.”
I’m not sure that would really work, though. Americans watch Biden, and they’re scared by what they see. But there’s also a nice skit of Maher playing an aged Biden (with a walker) giving the State of the Union address.
Watch before they take it down. The ten-minute “overtime” segment, with a strange mixture of guests—Dr. Phil, Batya Ungar-Sargon, and Tim Ryan—is here.
Science posts are hard to write, and now I’m tired. So here’s some lagniappe: the latest comedy monologue from Bill Maher. The theme: the endless kvetching of Republicans about Biden despite the fact that Biden (and the economy) is doing pretty well. However, there should have been more audience reaction to Maher’s comment on Afghanistan’s “war on women.” What’s with that?
And three minutes of his stand-up bit: