Hasan Minhaj’s show took on monopolies and Amazon

It looks like Netflix has decided to put the episodes of its new weekly show Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj free on YouTube, at least for some episodes, no doubt to build up an audience. The third show last Sunday dealt mostly with the abusive monopolistic corporate practices in the US and how it came to be that way, using Amazon as a prime example.

The show was not quite as funny as the first two but it contained a lot of information.

Triumph the Insult Comic Dog goes to Texas

While there he talks to Beto O’Rourke and Ted Cruz and their respective supporters. O’Rourke had the good sense to play it straight but Cruz does not seem to realize that when you try to trade sharp barbs with a comedian, you will always lose because comedians deal with hecklers all the time. This is especially the case when your interviewer has the name ‘Insult’ but Cruz tries anyway and gets drubbed. That happens at the 9:00 mark.

Samantha Bee urges people to vote

I voted at about 10:00am today. While there were no lines, the polling place was busy and most of the booths were occupied. I met a friend there as she was leaving and she said that there was a line when she arrived. We both felt that the turnout was high for an off-presidential year election but what the means is anybody’s guess, though since where we live is a pretty progressive area, a high turnout should be good for statewide offices and issues.

Hasan Minhaj’s new show is brilliant

I just watched the first two episodes of Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj on Netflix and was blown away by them. Each show focuses largely on one issue, somewhat like John Oliver does, but whereas Oliver mixes hard news and analysis in the form of a news show with him as the anchor seated behind a desk, Minhaj uses a high-energy stand-up comedy format to mix hard news with analysis, with him moving around on a stage with large screens behind and below him and talking in a fast pace. He, like Oliver, provides lots of facts and background information that one does not often hear even on news shows but interspersed with plenty of comedic analyses. It really kept me glued to the show. The fact that I agreed with everything he said on both shows may had aided my enjoyment.
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