The Spin Cycle: Odd News Items That Say A Lot

By Al Perrotta Published on August 15, 2018

Sometimes the news spins so fast something will fly off and smack me in the face … or the funny bone. They may not be major stories in the eyes of the mainstream media, but they say a lot.

Comedians Given Instructions on How to Do Sketches Dealing With Transgenders

Vermont made history Tuesday night when transgender candidate Christine Hallquist won the Democratic nomination for governor. But don’t be expecting Hallquist to get the comic treatment all major candidates are subjected to.

The Stream’s Rachel Alexander sent this Blaze article along to me: “Authoritarian Memo Sets Rules on How ‘Trans,’ ‘Non-Binary’ People Should Be Treated in Sketch Comedy.” The memo was written by Chloe Koser of the improvisational comedy group Upright Citizen’s Brigade.

Read for yourself:

Twitter (redacted by The Blaze)

Twitter (redacted by The Blaze)

This may require a deeper analysis. But here’s my initial impression, as someone who wrote comedy professionally for decades and hung out with countless comedians, sketch comedy writers and improv types: Any comic performer or writer worthy of the name would rip the thing in half on first sight.

Or at least would make fun of it incessantly to the point Koser ripped it up herself.

But is it a joke? Koser refused to confirm or deny to The Blaze whether it was legit. I’m guessing it’s real.

The bigger issue? We have so descended into madness that we have to ask.

By Koser’s edict, nobody with Hallquist’s original body parts could portray Hallquist. In fact, no straight person could. And John Goodman has to beg forgiveness for portraying Linda Tripp on Saturday Night Live back in the ’90s.

By Koser’s logic, Robin Williams wouldn’t have been allowed to play the space alien Mork. However, a space alien could play Robin Williams.

You can see where this is going: “Knock-knock” jokes will be banned because they may offend homeless people. However, homeless people are free to tell knock-knock jokes. Unless, of course, they are a straight man pretending to be a woman in a sketch about knock-knock jokes.

However, a transgender candidate knocking on the door of a homeless shelter and telling jokes? That’s okay. Unless of course the jokes are about Muslims.

Twitter Says the Darndest Things

My Tweetdeck rolls with the latest tweets from news organizations. Every once in a while, it pops out two in a row that tell you everything you know about the media and political world we’re in.

Two immigration tweets

So what’s more relevant? Sessions’ dinner choices or some illegal immigrant’s life choices? Even if we secure the border, there’s little defense against silly.

Now the restaurant itself, El Tiempo in Houston is getting a barrage of grief for serving Sessions. As The Daily Signal reported, staffers have been threatened, a dumpster was set on fire, and the restaurant was temporarily forced to shut down all social media. All by the “tolerant” left.

On the plus side, I think I figured out a sure way to lose weight and save money. Join the Trump administration and have the resisters keep you from eating out.

Newspapers to Launch Unified Assault on Trump Thursday

On Thursday, 100+ newspapers — if you remember what those are — will simultaneously publish editorials attacking President Trump for criticizing elements of the press as an “enemy of the people.”

You may think it’d be hard for the journalism community to coordinate one assault against one person. Then again, as blogger Praying Medic points out, they have plenty of experience.

You know what’s funny? If Trump stopped talking about the press today by week’s end these same people will be whining like rapper Eminem about how Trump is ignoring them.

Please Support The Stream: Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.

Meanwhile, a memo to CNN’s Jim Acosta: Remember last week when you went on Late Night with Stephen Colbert and insisted you didn’t want to be part of the story? People who don’t want to be “part of the story” don’t book themselves on entertainment programs to talk about how they’ve become part of the story.

It’s like saying you don’t want to indulge in desserts while standing at the counter of Baskin-Robbins.

And Finally, Sam Adams

And Finally …

Just as I was about to wrap up this puppy, here comes this new tweet from The Hill.

That would be Samuel Adams beer, named after the guy who helped ignite the American Revolution, — helped create the United States of America … because taxes were too high.

 

Al Perrotta is the Managing Editor of The Stream and co-author of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Immigration.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Like the article? Share it with your friends! And use our social media pages to join or start the conversation! Find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, MeWe and Gab.

Inspiration
The Scarcity Mindset
Robert Morris
More from The Stream
Connect with Us