john oliver

John Oliver Gets Help from Sarah Silverman in Crusade is Against Predatory Lenders

Many have tried – few have succeeded – to take out the predatory loan industry. These are companies that convince people who are desperate for cash to get by for a few days with a few hundred bucks typically advanced on a coming paycheck or a car title, but with like a 400% interest rate. John Oliver gets a little help from comedian Sarah Silverman who gives you a few other options instead of going to a Pay Day Loan shark.

John Oliver has a happy political topic: Impending nuclear annihilation

Everytime I think about nuclear weapons I think of growing up watching the movie War Games.

“How about a nice game of chess?”

But, John Oliver wants to remind you about the 1950’s and the warm fuzzy optimism about how we’re all going to be ok when hit by a nuclear bomb because we can just hide under our desks or even a friendly picnic blanket! But what about things like ICBM’s (intercontinental ballistic missiles) controlled by computers that use floppy drives? Sorry, America, that’s been a little compromised.

If you’re afraid of the end of the world here’s a gif of a sleepy kitten whose belly is being rubbed:

John Oliver gives Americans the uncomfortable reality of our American Dreams

Oh John Oliver, I love you so so much.

Highlights from this week include Oliver citing a Pew poll from January that says among other things

65% of Americans think the gap between the rich and poor has increase in the last 10 years
60% of Americans believe the system is rigged to favor the wealthy. But wait here’s the funny part:
60% also believe that most people will make it if they are willing to work hard.

So as Oliver says “Yup, I can clearly see this game is rigged. Which is what’s going to make it so sweet when I win this thing!!” Then he laughs at financial consultants on TV who help people understand how to protect their imaginary lottery winnings.

John Oliver: Paying for things you don’t like is part of being a person

Once again, John Oliver nailed it on Sunday night. He had some choice words for Hobby Lobby before Monday’s Supreme Court ruling and the idea that a corporation can have religious beliefs. This is all you need to know:

“If you really want to be treated like a person, Corporations, then guess what? Paying for things you don’t like is what it feels like to be one. If corporations want to be people, they should have to take the rough with the smooth. Corporations should have the lifespan of a person. 79 years – 75 if they’re based in Mississippi. Oh and female companies, you only get to make 83 cents on the dollar. Sorry Wendy! I guess it’s just that Burger King must have worked harder!”

He’s making a great joke, of course, but he’s on to something. As Lizz Winstead points out “Remember when people used to be people? #Nostalgia.” Boy… those were the good old days, huh? When do you suppose we can become a corporation so we can have more rights?

John Oliver: You can prevent cable company f*ckery

The only two words that provide more boredom: Featuring Sting. But it turns out Net Neutrality is actually hugely important. It means all data has to be treated equally. Here is 13 minutes of absolute genius by John Oliver telling us why Net Neutrality is a BFD: The internet in its current form is not broken, and the FCC is currently taking steps to fix that.