Culture

Stephen Colbert spent a good two minutes discussing the new self-lubricating condoms on Thursday’s Late Show before gracefully pivoting to the latest development with white supremacy. “White supremacists are chugging milk because they want to draw attention to a genetic trait known to be more common in white people than others — the ability to digest lactose as adults,” he explained. “Because for white supremacists, lactose is their only form of tolerance.”

“Now, I know what you’re saying — you’re saying, ‘Stephen, no one is stupid enough to be proud of drinking milk,'” Colbert said, but the pictures don’t lie. And yes, he had pictures. “Pretty exciting stuff, but please move over milk, because toxic masculinity has a new favorite drink, and it’s grape juice,” he said, drawing attention to Welch’s new ad campaign. “That’s right: Men! Grape juice is no longer just a reward for kids sitting through a religious ceremony,” Colbert joked. “Well, Welch’s isn’t the only company looking to seem more macho. We also got a sneak peek at an ad campaign for another childhood favorite that just got manned up.” The fake ad features a very manly Scott Adsit (30 Rock).

The Late Show also circled back to Colbert’s mincing of televangelst Pat Robertson for saying one grisly murder by the Saudi government isn’t worth blowing up lucrative American arms sales. And you can watch that update of The Ten Commandments below.

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Source:: The Week – Lifestyle

President Trump has landed on a familiar theme to try to rev up Republican enthusiasm heading into the final stretch of the 2018 campaign: Immigration. And specifically, Latin Americans crossing illegally into the U.S. via the U.S.-Mexico border. Immigration was in many ways the animating force of Trump’s 2016 campaign, and while Republicans point to the Brett Kavanaugh Supreme Court confirmation battle as a boost to GOP energy, “the president realizes he needs to keep that momentum going,” GOP strategist Matt Moore tells The Wall Street Journal. “Illegal immigration animates the Republican Party base like few other issues.”

But, the Journal notes, “Democrats say the focus on immigration is backfiring by motivating progressives and independent voters,” and the poll numbers, so far, are on their side. Trump’s hardline immigration policies, including the separation of migrant families, are broadly unpopular, but they poll well among Republicans. “Despite Mr. Trump’s focus on the issue, it is barely registering in political advertising by GOP candidates,” the Journal reports. “Less than 11 percent of all ads in Senate, House, and governor races through Tuesday had an anti-immigration message, according to Kantar Media/CMAG.”

Notably, the focus on Trump’s immigration policies may hurt Republicans in the suburban House districts they need to win to keep control of Congress. Trump “clearly views it as one of the reasons for his political success,” says GOP pollster David Winston. “But it’s still all about the economy and jobs.” You can read more immigration politics and the midterms at The Wall Street Journal.

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Source:: The Week – Lifestyle

Stephen Colbert kicked off Thursday’s Late Show with a family-friendly joke about Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s reported post-election report on President Trump and Russia, and Sting’s tantric … prowess — followed by a Gen-X-friendly joke about Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. “Of course the big story continues to be Donald Trump reacting to the likely murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi with a firm ¯_(ツ)_/¯,” Colbert said. Trump has been exercising “an uncharacteristic amount of caution” in rendering a verdict on what happened to Khashoggi and whether the Saudi government is culpable, but on Thursday, the president “gave his hot take on the journalist’s fate”: “It certainly looks” like Khasoggi is dead, and “it’s very said.”

Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo want everyone to cool their heels until the Saudis finish their investigation, “and Saudi Arabia is really making headway with their ‘investigation,’ because today, one of the 15 alleged Saudi killers died in a car accident in Riyadh,” Colbert said. “One down. Right now in Riyadh there are 14 other guys saying, ‘It’s a nice day, I think I’m gonna walk.”

“Trump’s getting some criticism for his bold soft-on-murder stance, but some people still have his back,” Colbert said, showing a clip of televangelist Pat Robertson “downplaying Khashoggi’s murder and prioritizing the financial benefit of siding with Saudi Arabia,” notably when it comes to arms sales. “Thank you, reverend, thank you for capturing the core message of Christianity: How important can one man’s death be?” Colbert deadpanned.

He ended with the profanity-filled shouting match outside the Oval Office between “the White House’s own Statler and Waldorf,” Chief of Staff John Kelly and National Security Adviser John Bolton. (The similarity really is striking.) Colbert counseled a truce: “Fellas, fellas, don’t fight, you’re both terrible.” Watch below.

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Source:: The Week – Lifestyle