The Nightly Show With Larry Wilmore - General Discussion

[formerlyfreedom]

This topic replaces the old The Nightly Show With Larry Wilmore forum which has been vaulted at the location below:

http://forums.previously.tv/forum/961-the-nightly-show-with-larry-wilmore-v/

[ganesh]

Holly piece on gun control was hilarious. That big smile she had killed me. The joke reminded me of on Veep: "If men could get pregnant you could get abortions at the ATM."

 

The panel topic is what works best for the show. 

Edited September 29, 2015 by ganesh

[attica]

That big smile she had killed me.

 

OMG, I totally agree. (And I'm coveting that lipcolor, too. [/shallow])

[TwistedandBored]

Larry was on point last night. Honestly, I wish he would keep it 100 like this all the time. I especially like him giving Jeb! the finger. It was what I wanted to do since I watched his "free stuff" speech. 

[possibilities]

"If men could get pregnant you could get abortions at the ATM."

In the 1970s, there was a commonly used feminist slogan that said: "If men could become pregnant, abortion would be a sacrament." I had a button I used to wear, which said that. I also saw it on posters.

[Hanahope]

Another good dig at VW.  Everyone's taking that shot.

 

The shooting off their dick piece was hilarious.

[attica]

Having been victimized a time or two in my life by friends who adhere to CPT, I laughed really hard at the CCCPT joke. I'm sorry it went over the room.

 

It was fun watching Larry not get BNtSG's dick joke.

[ganesh]

Oh, so many of my friends were on CPT. My ex gf *always*.

 

You know what, Ricky, you've proven to be largely ignorant when it comes to science issues. If you don't see the importance of possible water on Mars, then you shouldn't be on the panel. Go home and smoke all your weed that you love to talk about so much. 

 

If you're trolling, then you're just a jerk. 

Edited September 30, 2015 by ganesh

[LADreamr]

If Larry is going to have something as interesting as Mars and Bill Nye for the show, can he not have such willfully ignorant panelists? I want to know more about this, and Bill barely got a word in. Better yet, don't have a panel at all. Make it a one on one with him. It can still be funny, but have some actual conversation. I did like Nye calling them out, basically saying, all that stuff you actually do care about? You wouldn't have it without the space program.

[ganesh]

Yes, cell phones, computers, etc., and the other two were like, "I don't care, can we make a sex tape?" It's a shame because Larry is passionate about science and space and his own colleagues just trashed him. I have a feeling Yard would have been better because he seems to be able to grasp the big picture, and still say, "I don't think the average person cares about that though." And that's true, the average person doesn't care, which is why the NASA budget is deplorable which is why people don't know much about science, which is why the budget is deplorable, and so on. 

 

This is the same problem with the kid and the clock. The kids today who rip apart clocks and whatever or mess around are the kids going into engineering who make all the junk you take for granted. 

 

What jerks. I hope Larry ripped them a new one after. 

 

Ricky seriously needs a hiatus from the panel. 

[Muffyn]

I think it's time to retire Ricky from the panel for good.  He never adds anything worthwhile.  Bill Nye is intelligent, articulate and excels at explaining science and its importance to people with all levels of prior understanding.  Ricky cannot shut up long enough to listen to anyone.  He was not only useless on that panel, he was harmful, over-shouting Bill whenever he could.  Ignorance and an unwillingness to learn are not funny or appealing.  

 

Mike Yard has really come into his own on the panels.  I don't always agree with him, but I can appreciate his way of presenting his viewpoint.  He listens and reacts to what he has heard.  Holly is wonderful.  I have enjoyed her segments so much.  Can we get other contributors like them and toss Ricky to the curb? 

[bluepiano]

Ricky seriously needs a hiatus from the panel. 

 

Amen. If the context of the show is politics and current events, why don't they have "contributors" who are politically savvy and informed, and might actually have something to contribute. Bragging about your ignorance or apathy is not cool. One of the reasons that the Republicans took control of the House in the mid term election is because a lot of people thought they were too cool to bother to vote.

 

In general, the biggest problem with the show is ignorant panelists who just throw in random BS that contributes nothing. (And isn't funny either). Clearly the panelists are booked well in advance of when the night's topics are chosen. But that just means they need to find a smarter, hipper crop of panelists.

[LADreamr]

I would be happy for Ricky to go, altogether. I never find him funny, just loud, egotistical, juvenile, in the case of last night, just rude, and he sucks the air out of every panel, but adds nothing. Rory would have been better for this one.

[attica]

I've liked Ricky's field pieces, but I agree, his appearances on the panel only illustrate the solipsism of the young.

[LADreamr]

And there are ways of making a panel like that interesting, engaging and fun at the same time. If I had some time with Bill Nye to talk about Mars, I'd like to ask him something like, in the Mars summer, it can be 70 degrees F during the day and -100 at night. If there are Martians, what would they have to look like to be able to handle a climate like that? Or maybe what he thinks is realistic in terms of us actually landing humans there? It could have been so much better.

[attica]

I hadn't even considered the  ramifications of Mars dna and how it would be similar or not to ours. Mind blown.

[possibilities]

I'd rather have them get rid of the panel and have Larry do a focused interview. I've yet to see a panel that didn't seem underprepared and lazy. Some are better than others, but it's rare any is really good. And it always looks like they are doing it so they don't have to actually write anything for the last section of the show. Everyone's sitting there slouching or nervous, not knowing what to expect, and then they throw out stupid stuff. It's not even good improv. Bag it and move on.

 

But I also agree that Ricky is particularly bad, and if they are going to continue with panels, at least they should get rid of him and match expert guests with other panelists who are actually able to take an interest in the topic of the day instead of just trying to shut the whole thing down.

[Muffyn]

The one panel discussion that I thought was fully successful was the African American fathers.  Of course this included four intelligent, articulate men who were willing to openly discuss their roles as fathers and their relationships to their own fathers.  Along with Larry, they were each actively involved in the discussion and had thoughts to share regarding media portrayals of black fathers.  The discussion was given more than one segment.  

 

Otherwise the panels so often devolve into whichever loudmouth with no real opinion about the topic taking over the discussion by being the loudest.

[Kaoteek]

Glad to see I wasn't the only one itching to strangle Velez (and his comedian friend was just as bad) during that awful, awful panel. Man, just as I was praising the show's improvements over at the AvClub, they air this... crap.

Edited October 1, 2015 by Kaoteek

[ganesh]

I felt bad for bill because he said basically, "I think you're trolling me," when Ricky kept interrupting him.

Bragging about your ignorance or apathy is not cool. One of the reasons that the Republicans took control of the House in the mid term election is because a lot of people thought they were too cool to bother to vote.

I would question if he ever voted. When my community college students pulled that same attitude, I dressed them down right quick and that was that.

I think Larry was caught off guard.

[bluepiano]

I'd rather have them get rid of the panel and have Larry do a focused interview. I've yet to see a panel that didn't seem underprepared and lazy. Some are better than others, but it's rare any is really good.

 

I'm with you 100%. I think Larry's smart and well-informed and could be a good interviewer if given the opportunity.

Edited October 1, 2015 by bluepiano

[Arcadiasw]

Glad to see I wasn't the only one itching to strangle Velez (and his comedian friend was just as bad) during that awful, awful panel. Man, just as I was praising the show's improvements over at the AvClub, they air this... crap.

I couldn't even finish watching the segment. It was so frustrating. I'm at the point of muting the TV whenever Ricky Velez is on the panel.

[attica]

Whereas I think Larry is right about the motivation of the PP hearings being the eradication of abortion, I don't think that's all there is. Because we see time and time again that wingnuts are quick to access abortions for themselves, for lovers, for family members. ("'My' abortion is fine but yours is murder", if you will.) It's not Abortion that is the Great Evil. It is bigger: it's Women Having Unauthorized Sex Without Consequences. 

 

Making abortion illegal is one avenue to impose consequences, but it's hardly enough. That's why we see birth control coverage being battled -- it only makes sense to increase access to contraception to reduce abortion rates, but that's not what happens. That's why we see women's health clinics being shut down. That's why we see opposition to cancer vaccines. That's even why we see opposition to free tampons in middle schools -- because if girls get it into their heads that their reproductive health is something to which they have a right, well, SLIPPERY SLOPE to unbridled WHUSWC!!!!

 

In other news, I am always happy to see Marina Franklin. She's super funny. "I'm'a rob somebody!"  It is also fun to watch Robert Reich do some first rate trolling.

[ganesh]

Larry does do some short interviews, and having the panel makes the show different. There's been some good panels ; typically, it's when none of the staff are there. At this point, is rather the panel just be two, if it means the third person is always staff. I know Yard can't be on every panel, but he's the only one who is consistently engaging.

[Hanahope]

The reason the rich must pay more in taxes is because they are the only ones who can afford it.  You just can't ask someone making $50,000 to pay more in taxes because they are probably barely covering their expenses of mortgage, food, clothing, kids, car expenses, utilities, etc., let alone having anything left over to pay for college education (their own or their kids') and retirement and god forbid a vacation.  Even families who make around $100,000 may have similar difficulties, and this is when so many of tax deductions/credits phase out. If there is going to be a reduction of tax brackets, there really needs to be a much higher bracket for income over $250,000, particularly on capital gains.

[attica]

I'm gonna say this here, and I'm betting it won't be the last time: Holly Walker for President!

[possibilities]

Holly is indeed a treasure.

 

I thought Thursday's panel was surprisingly functional. Everyone seemed to be actually thoughtful and able to both listen and speak.

[PepSinger]

Ricky is terrible.

[ganesh]

The community college was not a gun free zone. There's several articles about people who were carrying on campus that very day. In fact, there was an ex-military "good guy" with a gun who said, "it's not smart for good guys with guns to go charging in. The police don't know who the bad guy is, and the good guy could be just putting more people at risk or shoot the wrong person." Of which there is a litany of examples. So, this guy said, he holed up in a classroom with other students and said if the bad guys came in then he would shoot them. 

 

If you're a so-called legit news organization, and I don't think FN is, but they certainly think they are, then you need to do a simple fact check on something like that. It's easy, and it leads me to believe that they deliberately did not, or ignored it, to push some pro-gun narrative. That is reprehensible and detrimental to society. 

 

Huckabee: No one tinkers with the first amendment.

 

Well, technically no. While no one has amended the first amendment directly, there have been numerous court cases that have imposed legal limits on free speech. Most notably, you "can't yell fire in a crowded theatre," which I think has been around longer than I've been alive, and certainly Huckabee knows this. He's pushing his agenda; it's what the candidates do. This one is on the media. You have to follow up on a statement like that. There's also laws on hate speech too. 

 

I've said before, and I've yet to hear it in the news: If we have accepted legal limits to the first amendment, then why can't there be legal limits to the second? The constitution was meant to evolve with society. 

[Hanahope]

While no one has amended the first amendment directly, there have been numerous court cases that have imposed legal limits on free speech. Most notably, you "can't yell fire in a crowded theatre," which I think has been around longer than I've been alive, and certainly Huckabee knows this.

 

Not to mention the laws against slander and libel.  "Free speech" has plenty of limitations, the when, the where, the what, the how.  You can't use "free speech" to excuse such speech or actions that directly endanger or that cause certain harms to other people  Yet, owning a gun, which is almost the definition of 'endanger' has virtually no limitations at all.

[ganesh]

This was a good panel too. I don't know who the woman was, but she was informative and engaging. The guys had a good point too in that the media shouldn't inadvertently glorify these people.

She had a really good point about how the 2nd amendment is set in stone while the 4th is changing all the time.

Yes, there's a learning curve, but the media should be farther ahead by now.

"these things happen" is such a cowardly response. Yes, we will never have 0 mass shootings. But these things are happening with far too much regularity. The do nothing response is clearly unacceptable. Even pro gun people agree. They think more guns are the answer, but still.

[attica]

You can't use "free speech" to excuse such speech or actions that directly endanger or that cause certain harms to other people

 

You also can't use 'religious liberty' to deny marriage licenses to gay people, Mike.

[possibilities]

Can you imagine how it would look if, after a hurricane, the president looked at a flooded city and shrugged and said: "These things happen" and suggested no one do anything? The loved ones of the massacred must feel so slapped in the face hearing that said about what happened in OR.

 

I was disappointed that they re-ran the Sanders interview. I love Bernie, but this show is already under-written with the panels seeming half-assed most of the time. They basically only had one really incisive segment last night. I did love that one segment, thought. The stages of avoidance were awesomely presented, and very true. I really love it when the show offers up that kind of for real commentary, and not just the same generalized outrage everyone is feeling, but that PLUS something that gets beyond the gut reaction and into what's underneath. That kind of additive insight sticks with people and has the potential to move things along. The "WTF" emotion of the day is real and it needs to be acknowledged. But it becomes rote and numbing after a while if all we do is soak helplessly in our own upset.

[trow125]

BTW I was glad to see that Larry's book of humorous essays is being reissued in paperback. It's very funny -- I read it when it first came out in 2009. (He was already a "Daily Show" regular, which is why I picked it up.) Definitely recommended.

[Iboatedhere]

I like to think that young women care about more than duck faces, selfies, and hash tags when it comes to voting for president. I'm 24 so maybe I'm too to old to be considered young with what they were talking about but it always bums me out when people bring up that stereotype. I don't remember who that woman was at the panel but I feel like she should've known better.

[wknt3]

Huckabee: No one tinkers with the first amendment.

 

Well, technically no. While no one has amended the first amendment directly, there have been numerous court cases that have imposed legal limits on free speech. Most notably, you "can't yell fire in a crowded theatre," which I think has been around longer than I've been alive, and certainly Huckabee knows this. He's pushing his agenda; it's what the candidates do. This one is on the media. You have to follow up on a statement like that. There's also laws on hate speech too. 

 

I've said before, and I've yet to hear it in the news: If we have accepted legal limits to the first amendment, then why can't there be legal limits to the second? The constitution was meant to evolve with society. 

 

Huckabee would tell you that the Constitution was not meant to evolve. It was intelligently designed and has not changed at all (don't be giving us no crap about the 14th Amendment!). Jesus and Thomas Jefferson wrote it so that this country would be dominated by white male Christian's forevermore. And as far as your argument about other amendments is concerned the right to be arms "shall not be infringed" while "Congress shall" merely "make no law restricting" those other freedoms. It's right there in the text! I guess you just don't understand the Constitution. Like the rest of the Godless socialists. It has to be interpreted in whatever way keeps wealthy white Christian males in charge and everyone else in their place. For instance those hate speech laws you were talking about? Totally unconstitutional unless they are protecting fundamentalist Christians.

 

I don't think the show has really covered this in depth, but examining this world view and those who promote it would make for a good desk piece.

[walnutqueen]

WTF, Alabama?!?

[Hanahope]

Another example of republican machinations.  Cut taxes so much that your state must impose strict budget cuts.  Direct those budget cuts to services that adversely affect black americans more than anyone else.  Require people to utilize those restricted services in order to exercise their constitutional rights. equals fewer black americans being able to exercise those rights to change the taxes/budget cuts/services. 

[formerlyfreedom]

Just a reminder - discussion of politics as it relates to the show is fine and obviously necessary, but diverging into full political discussions is not allowed. Let's keep it to the show, please - the topics they cover and the panel discussion.

[ganesh]

This wasn't a bad panel, but not as good as the last couple. I get Larry's point, but one of the issues is that Clinton has had a hard time coming off as likeable. I don't know if it's because there's such residual hatred from older people who remember when she was First Lady or what. Obviously, one of the problems is the emails and Benghazi because, once again, the republicans are controlling the political narrative just like in the midterms. That boneheaded congressmen actually went on record saying the hearings on Clinton were entirely political. She should be having her staff and people on the news screaming this from the rooftops. Larry never brought either of those points up. 

 

I liked how in one of the news clips they showed one of the journalists that had been on the panel a few times. 

Edited October 7, 2015 by ganesh

[Hooper]

 

WTF, Alabama?!?

 

Gawd, that was a depressing piece.  I mean, Larry's coverage of it was about as amusing as it could be, considering it was about shamelessly undoing the Voting Rights Act with a full seal of approval from the SCOTUS.  But WTF, Alabama indeed.

[ChelseaNH]

Larry said what I was thinking about high-capacity magazines -- there's a good chance he can get you all.

 

People are also massively overestimating their ability to act decisively and effectively in new, strange and highly stressful situation.  ("But movies!")

[Hanahope]

Also, there's not always the opportunity to get a crowd around you to discuss 'rushing' the shooter, and unless you have enough people willing to be the 1-3 persons who are shot, then everyone is going to get shot.

[brgjoe]

Rupert Murdock and Dr. Ben Carson can ride that racist "forced migration" ship and go fuck themselves. 

 

I think the above is entirely on topic in here and accurate.  :)
 

[attica]

I am always surprised and pleased when Bobcat Goldthwaite shows up for the panel.

 

Good interview with the textbook correcting mom! Although I really don't get why they made her come from offstage --and have to open the door herself (that really struck me weird). Have her start the segment in the chair and just bring the camera to her. That would give another 30 seconds or so of talk time!

[LADreamr]

I was with them on the whole discussion until they said something like, can you imagine if someone said Hillary wasn't woman enough?

Do they think that hasn't been said about her? She's been called everything she could be called, and for decades now. What kind of free ride do they think she gets?

[Kromm]

This was a good panel too. I don't know who the woman was, but she was informative and engaging. The guys had a good point too in that the media shouldn't inadvertently glorify these people.

She had a really good point about how the 2nd amendment is set in stone while the 4th is changing all the time.

Yes, there's a learning curve, but the media should be farther ahead by now.

"these things happen" is such a cowardly response. Yes, we will never have 0 mass shootings. But these things are happening with far too much regularity. The do nothing response is clearly unacceptable. Even pro gun people agree. They think more guns are the answer, but still.

Another day, another goddamn public shooting. - http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/10/us/northern-arizona-university-flagstaff-shooting.html

 

I have a niece in college. I'm starting to be terrified of her being on a campus.

 

Seems to me if this were any weekday other than a Friday, Larry would be up on this horse again.  It's spooky how closely his "how many have to occur before we speak about it" speech is resonating now.

 

Monday for sure he'll be talking about it, short of some other major news story over the weekend.

[walnutqueen]

Between the Texas School Board stranglehold on textbooks and rampant school shootings, we're doing a bang up job for the next generation's education, now, aren't we?

 

Back in the day, youth would be holding protests, peace rallies, sit ins; they'd be organizing busses to transport everyone in Alabama to the 4 remaining DMV offices ... they would be involved and very vocal.  I would like to think they would also VOTE in every election.  But maybe memory wears rose colored glasses (like some of us did, at the time).  Heavy sigh.

[ganesh]

For whatever inexplicable reason, it's legal to carry concealed weapons on my campus. At our orientation, the speaker brought it up like 2 minutes at the end of their talk, everyone laughed at me when I asked about what type of people carried guns on campus, and then busted out and avoided questions. Because I worked up a huge head of steam and was ready to unload. Turns out several department chairs and a couple of other new people acknowledged the validity of my concern.

 

The student body is mostly older here though, so there's that. But really, if need your gun so bad to feel all right when you come to my class, come back when you grow a spine. 

[walnutqueen]

Places where it is inappropriate for civilians to carry a gun: Anywhere except shooting ranges and the wilderness.  Now, was that so fucking hard?  ;~)