...because they are the best people, two unrelated articles:
Why Neoconservative Pundits Love The Daily Show
Scientist Tackles Ethical Questions of Space Travel
Showing posts with label The Daily Show With Jon Stewart. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Daily Show With Jon Stewart. Show all posts
August 10, 2009
May 04, 2009
A Jane Harman Update.
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | M - Th 11p / 10c | |||
| Your Government Not at Work - Jane Harman Scandal | ||||
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Last week The Daily show aired a hilarious summary (see the above video) of a scandal involving Rep. Jane Harman (D.- California) in the segment "Your Government Not at Work." The simplified version goes like this: Harman, a supporter of the recent semi-legal wiretapping, was caught by that very same wire-tapping program as she told Israeli lobbyists that she would pressure the Justice Department to lessen the espionage charges faced by a number of Israelis if the lobbyists would in turn pressure Nancy Pelosi to appoint Harman to better committees.
Though Harman denies that she actually lobbied for this result, it looks as if Harman's end of the bargain has been completed: charges have been dropped against the Israelis who may or may not have been acting a bit too liberally with state secrets. While it's clear that Harman does not have the pull to achieve this result (somehow I doubt any Representative could kill a Justice Department investigation single-handed), it is nonetheless a very entertaining addition to "Your Government Not at Work."
May 01, 2009
Jon?
I know I don't agree with all my friends on this issue (in fact, I may not agree with anyone more than Cliff May) but agree or disagree, is this not Jon Stewart at his douchiest? All the yelling and interrupting ... (besides being wrong, not to mention his comments on Truman, for which he apologized)
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | M - Th 11p / 10c | |||
| Cliff May Unedited Interview Pt. 1 | ||||
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| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | M - Th 11p / 10c | |||
| Cliff May Unedited Interview Pt. 2 | ||||
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| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | M - Th 11p / 10c | |||
| Cliff May Unedited Interview Pt. 3 | ||||
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March 14, 2009
Roundup of Stewart/Cramer reactions
Yes, the whole thing has been overblown. No, it doesn't really matter. Yes, Jon took some cheap shots, easy to do on his home turf. But to be honest, I agree with everything he's ever said about the news media, both the other night with Jim Cramer (the extended version online is worth watching, btw) and a few years ago on Crossfire. The reaction has been great for both pure entertainment purposes and serious analysis of Jon's role in this crazy world.
Highlights:
Andrew Sullivan @ The Atlantic ("what Stewart has done is rip off that little band-aid of faux solidarity for a modicum of ethical and moral accountability")
"Tim F." @ some blog called Balloon Juice ("For a reason that escapes me, people who are paid to understand politics all seem to think that “access” to people with a PR staff will get them some special insight when the only difference between speaking to them anonymously and asking their spokesperson is that the person can lie and most people will never know. Naturally the public would know if you called him on it, but then he wouldn’t take your calls. Catch 22!")
Bruce Watson @ Daily Finance ("[Stewart] is, effectively, America's fool. In the classic context, a fool was the only one in a king's court who could speak the truth because he was also the only one capable of making it palatable")
Megan McArdle, also @ The Atlantic (she has the problem that many do with Stewart - that he can basically say whatever he wants and then retreat to "don't take it seriously; it's a comedy show." I have no problem with this - people should be able to distinguish news from entertainment, even when they begin to resemble each other - but I'd be interested in what you guys think)
Yes yes I want to sleep to Jon Stewart. Whatever, I have no responsibility to be objective here. I will, however, quit plugging Comedy Central for a while.
Highlights:
Andrew Sullivan @ The Atlantic ("what Stewart has done is rip off that little band-aid of faux solidarity for a modicum of ethical and moral accountability")
"Tim F." @ some blog called Balloon Juice ("For a reason that escapes me, people who are paid to understand politics all seem to think that “access” to people with a PR staff will get them some special insight when the only difference between speaking to them anonymously and asking their spokesperson is that the person can lie and most people will never know. Naturally the public would know if you called him on it, but then he wouldn’t take your calls. Catch 22!")
Bruce Watson @ Daily Finance ("[Stewart] is, effectively, America's fool. In the classic context, a fool was the only one in a king's court who could speak the truth because he was also the only one capable of making it palatable")
Megan McArdle, also @ The Atlantic (she has the problem that many do with Stewart - that he can basically say whatever he wants and then retreat to "don't take it seriously; it's a comedy show." I have no problem with this - people should be able to distinguish news from entertainment, even when they begin to resemble each other - but I'd be interested in what you guys think)
Yes yes I want to sleep to Jon Stewart. Whatever, I have no responsibility to be objective here. I will, however, quit plugging Comedy Central for a while.
December 13, 2008
He's gone
Hall & Oates did a great tribute to Alan Colmes (who's leaving Hannity & Colmes this year) on Thursday's TDS in a reworked version of "She's Gone." I thought the lyrics were worth posting:
Anytime you need a token liberal
Nothin' but a body to fill a chair
The barest shadow of a person
Alan Colmes is always there.
But all those years of non-existence
Can really run a person down.
Now he's leaving Hannity forever
Alan, please don't go!
You're the only non-douchebag on that show
He's gone. Bye bye,
Oh why
He was the Tango to his cash
And he's gone.
Oh why
To the extent
That I hadn't noticed he was there
But he's gone.
Oh why
What went wrong?
He's gone. Bye bye
Oh why?
He was the Laurel to his Hardy
He's gone
To spend
More time
Not being seen with his family
He's gone
What went wrong?
December 04, 2008
Liberal media hypocrisy
So I don't know if you guys watch The Daily Show and Colbert Report as religiously as I do, but if you didn't see it you should check out last night's episode on comedycentral.com.
Firstly, there was a great, funny but half-serious Stewart/John Oliver bit about the Mumbai attacks. Just worth watching.
But then, Ariana Huffington was the guest, proving what I knew from previous interviews with her but always manage to forget: Bitch is crazy. Just crazy accent (not her doing, obviously, just adds to the effect), crazy mannerisms, crazy awkward quasi-flirting with Jon. The whole segment is essentially her call for everyone to "blog your secret passions" and, rather than mulling over and refining your random thoughts before putting them out in the world, immediately posting them on the internet. And using it to form intimate relationships without that pesky face-to-face contact. Not what I want to read, but I guess I have no real problem with people doing that, but if that's what the head of The Huffington Post considers the standard, my respect for it has lowered considerably.
But that's just her wackiness. The part I'm really pissed off at this: The night or two previous, Jon had done a great segment comparing MSNBC to Fox News (kind of obvious, but still funny and worth checking out). Chris Matthews is Bill O'Reilly, Joe Scarborough is Combs, etc., including Keith Olbermann as Sean Hannity ("partisan ideologue who fears for the world if it's in any way touched by the hands of his political enemies"). So Ariana was clearly offended by it and says something to the effect of "liberal bloggers are blogging very angrily about that." Jon seems genuinely surprised ("don't people have better things to do?"), as was I: I mean, it was a comedy bit, right? So I went to HuffPo to check it out, and indeed, people are mighty pissed that Jon defiled their god, Olbermann, but putting him the same sentence with the devil, Hannity.
I hate Hannity as much as anyone - more for being an ignorant asshole than a conservative - and I tend to agree with Olbermann's positions more often, but Jon's assessment was correct: they're both over-the-top partisan ideologues. And this is the part that pisses me off: All over liberal blogs, especially HuffPo, and even in real-life conversation, I hear people blasting Bill O'Reilly, Fox, & Co. for their spin tactics, selective information, and misleading, out-of-context quotations, and lauding Olbermann as a hero. He's exactly the same, just on the other side. It frustrates me to no end that these people hide behind the argument of journalistic integrity, when that's clearly not what's important to them - it just sounds better than "he's a jerk whom I disagree with."
Ok, sorry, this has turned into a rant. But I find lack of logic among the people I agree with much more frightening than any amount of power, misinformation, or pure evil in the hands of those I don't.
Firstly, there was a great, funny but half-serious Stewart/John Oliver bit about the Mumbai attacks. Just worth watching.
But then, Ariana Huffington was the guest, proving what I knew from previous interviews with her but always manage to forget: Bitch is crazy. Just crazy accent (not her doing, obviously, just adds to the effect), crazy mannerisms, crazy awkward quasi-flirting with Jon. The whole segment is essentially her call for everyone to "blog your secret passions" and, rather than mulling over and refining your random thoughts before putting them out in the world, immediately posting them on the internet. And using it to form intimate relationships without that pesky face-to-face contact. Not what I want to read, but I guess I have no real problem with people doing that, but if that's what the head of The Huffington Post considers the standard, my respect for it has lowered considerably.
But that's just her wackiness. The part I'm really pissed off at this: The night or two previous, Jon had done a great segment comparing MSNBC to Fox News (kind of obvious, but still funny and worth checking out). Chris Matthews is Bill O'Reilly, Joe Scarborough is Combs, etc., including Keith Olbermann as Sean Hannity ("partisan ideologue who fears for the world if it's in any way touched by the hands of his political enemies"). So Ariana was clearly offended by it and says something to the effect of "liberal bloggers are blogging very angrily about that." Jon seems genuinely surprised ("don't people have better things to do?"), as was I: I mean, it was a comedy bit, right? So I went to HuffPo to check it out, and indeed, people are mighty pissed that Jon defiled their god, Olbermann, but putting him the same sentence with the devil, Hannity.
I hate Hannity as much as anyone - more for being an ignorant asshole than a conservative - and I tend to agree with Olbermann's positions more often, but Jon's assessment was correct: they're both over-the-top partisan ideologues. And this is the part that pisses me off: All over liberal blogs, especially HuffPo, and even in real-life conversation, I hear people blasting Bill O'Reilly, Fox, & Co. for their spin tactics, selective information, and misleading, out-of-context quotations, and lauding Olbermann as a hero. He's exactly the same, just on the other side. It frustrates me to no end that these people hide behind the argument of journalistic integrity, when that's clearly not what's important to them - it just sounds better than "he's a jerk whom I disagree with."
Ok, sorry, this has turned into a rant. But I find lack of logic among the people I agree with much more frightening than any amount of power, misinformation, or pure evil in the hands of those I don't.
November 14, 2008
Jon Stewart is totally my boyfriend, part a bajillion
Who saw his interview with Bill O'Reilly last night? It was EPIC.
I don't know how to post videos from the web, and this dumbass computer won't even load comedycentral.com's video page, but go there! Watch it! Revel!
I don't know how to post videos from the web, and this dumbass computer won't even load comedycentral.com's video page, but go there! Watch it! Revel!
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