Salon

Weirdly, last night’s “Broad City” was full of public servants: Not just special guest star Hillary Clinton, presidential candidate, but also employees of the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, at various stages of disaffection. As Ilana (Ilana Glazer) searched for a new job after being fired two weeks ago, Abbi (Abbi Jacobson) braved the DMV to renew her license. As is always the case with “Broad City,” the everyday events of the 20-something women quickly wandered into the surrealism of sketch comedy. But this week, with a former First Lady and presidential hopeful on set, “Broad City”’s immature aimlessness read all the more poignant.

Abbi and Ilana represent the youthful enthusiasm that Clinton so desperately has tried and failed to capture in her campaign; their haphazard enthusiasm for Hillary Clinton as a feminist icon exists in a mirror universe to our own where Senator Bernie Sanders hasn’t captured the screaming-college-student vote. And yet it is kind of a tantalizing one. The campaign office Ilana walks into is sleek, modern, and colorful, with a “HILLARY” poster on one wall that looks a lot like the famous Shephard Fairey “HOPE” poster of then-candidate Barack Obama. The arrow-H logo of the campaign is rendered in different color palettes around the office, and one is blown up to corporate-logo size, behind front desk. Anyone who has actually worked on a campaign would marvel at the luxe and trendy facilities enjoyed by the Clinton volunteers, as well as the distinct lack of clutter.

But for Ilana, and for “Broad City”’s vision of Hillary Clinton, the world of politics is one of positive energy and possible change, of optimism and acceptance. 

For almost a year, a Saudi-led coalition of Middle Eastern countries, backed and armed by the U.S. and U.K., has been bombing Yemen, the poorest country in the region. Saudi Arabia hopes to destroy Yemeni rebel groups such as the Houthis, and has bombed hospitals, homes, schools and even a refugee camp in the process.

Civilians have paid a heavy toll for the conflict. Thousands have been killed, and human rights groups have for months accused the coalition of committing war crimes.

Less than three weeks ago, the Saudi-led coalition bombed a market near Yemen’s capital Sanaa, killing at least 40 people, most of whom were civilians. This week, the U.S.-backed coalition bombed another market, killing at least 41 civilians, wounding scores more.

Three weeks after Chris Rock hosted the White People’s Choice Awards (formerly known as the Oscars™), the Asian-bashing that took place during the ceremony has unexpectedly prompted some Asian members of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences (AMPAS) to become activists for diversity in film.

Rock’s opening monologue for the ceremony had been “brutally” hilarious regarding America’s race problem, but he was sharply criticized in its wake for having reduced “diversity” to a literal Black and White issue, largely omitting Latinos, Natives, Middle Easterners, Asians, and women in general from his riffs. When Rock eventually brought three Asian children onstage, there were used as props for a woefully bad joke about accountants and sweatshops. It did not help that the only other time Asians were mentioned was in a crude ad-lib by comedian Sacha Baron Cohen.

“After at least 150 years of Asians existing in America,” Rebecca Sun commented, “this year’s Oscars jokes about them still began with ‘dedicated, accurate and hardworking’ and ended with ‘tiny dongs.’ They were tired attempts at humor, and utterly unsurprising—the worst sin in comedy.”

In 1989, The Rolling Stones’ original members ended their seven-year hiatus and embarked on an ambitious and profitable 115-show tour of Europe and North America.

The American leg, named after their comeback album “Steel Wheels,” began in August in Philadelphia and ended in December in Atlantic City.

The final show, at the Boardwalk Hall (f.k.a Convention Center), aired on pay-per-view and — like the Miss America Pageant, also held at the Hall — was to be sponsored by the adjacent Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino.

Even in the late-‘80s, however, The Stones didn’t want to be associated with Trump. So they cut a deal with him, stipulating he wouldn’t be involved in any promotional capacity outside of Atlantic City and, amazingly, wouldn’t be allowed at the show itself.

I’ll be honest: I don’t like Hillary Clinton. Personally, there’s plenty to admire about the former secretary of state: She’s incredibly bright, broadly experienced, and undeniably competent. Politically, though, she represents a broken system, a system of capitulation and obfuscation. There’s no point in denying that.

I don’t consider myself a Democrat, though I vote for Democats almost without exception. Gore Vidal once said that “There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party – and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat.” I tend to agree with that, now more than ever. And I suspect most people of the left do as well.

I’ve felt the Bern for months, and I’ve felt it publicly. If you’ve read any of my pieces on Sanders and Clinton, you know exactly where I stand. Bernie is the most authentic politician I’ve encountered – at any level of government. I had no illusions about his prospects of winning this race; it was always a long shot. Nor was I confused about Sanders’ ability to change government if he was miraculously elected. Everything about our system is resistant to change.

“America’s in the middle of a real political storm — a real tsunami — and we should have seen this coming.” – Marco Rubio

It was always inevitable, I suppose. The Republican Party has debased itself for decades – courting racists, placating religious lunatics, and using the culture wars as a political wedge. Candidates like Donald Trump and Ted Cruz and Sarah Palin are natural outgrowths of this conservative ecosystem; they’re exactly what you’d expect it to produce.

This is the climate Republicans have cultivated, and what we’re seeing now is the logical conclusion of those efforts.

In every interview I’ve had in the last seven years, when asked about my biggest accomplishment, I’ve responded unequivocally, “My son.” Some interviewers smiled genuinely. Others gave the obligatory polite smile while their eyes told me they were annoyed I’d bring up something so personal in a professional setting. I never regretted my answer, and was always eager to expound, not just to brag about my baby, but to connect for them all the ways in which growing, nurturing, grooming and raising life challenged me to be a better woman, translating most relevantly to being a better professional.

Knowing how much I adore my own child, I am never surprised that other parents feel the same. So even when a superstar like Beyonce is asked about her greatest accomplishment, and responds, “Out of everything I’ve accomplished, my proudest moment, hands-down, was when I gave birth to my daughter, Blue,” I’m totally unsurprised. But per usual, feminists tell us that feminism decrees that women always be mindful of its ever evolving and increasingly restrictive tenets, crafting their responses as such, even at the expense of the woman’s autonomy.