Daily Show

Jon Stewart Nails Cliven Bundy: A Welfare Rancher Trying To Pull Off The World’s Largest Cattle Dine-And-Dash

Posted by on April 22, 2014 at 10:09 am. 1 Comments :

The Daily Show returned from a week-long hiatus Monday to deliver an epic smackdown on the deadbeat cattleman in Nevada. Cliven Bundy has been widely rebuked for failing to pay customary grazing fees and declaring that he doesn’t “recognize the United States government as even existing.” The roots of his extremism was exposed here on News Corpse Sunday. The only people who support Bundy’s greedy, self-serving, churlishness are fellow terrorist militiamen and Fox News hosts. But Jon Stewart, as usual, provides one of the best perspectives on the situation that captures the absurdity of the affair in an honest and hilarious manner (video below). He sums it all up by observing that…

“The law isn’t on Bundy’s side. The court isn’t on Bundy’s side. Even the Nevada state constitution, which Bundy claims to abide, isn’t on Bundy’s side. Who the hell is on this guy’s side? […Cue Sean Hannity video montage…] How out there is Hannity on this issue? Sean Hannity has now made Glenn Beck the voice of reason.”

Apocalypse Cow

Shameless self-promotion…
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Stewart’s take thoroughly demolishes any defense of Bundy that could be mustered within the bounds or reason. And his graphic depiction of “Apocalypse Cow” perfectly conveys the radical theo-con leanings of Bundy & Company. However, in searching for the Daily Show video there were some unexpected discoveries that Stewart may not have been aware of:

  • Apocalypse Cow: The Simpsons: Season 19, Episode 17
    Bart tries to save the cow he raised for his 4-H club from the slaughterhouse, and in the process winds up getting accidentally engaged to one of Cletus’s daughters.
  • Apocalypse Cow by Michael Logan
    If you think you’ve seen it all — WORLD WAR Z, THE WALKING DEAD– you haven’t seen anything like this. From the twisted brain of Michael Logan comes Apocalypse Cow, a story about three unlikely heroes who must save Britain . . . from a rampaging horde of ZOMBIE COWS!
  • Apocalypse Cow – Three Floyds Brewing Co. & Brewpub
    This complex, double India Pale Ale has an intense citrus and floral hop aroma balanced by a velvety malt body which has been augmented with lactose milk sugar. With this different take on an IPA we have brewed an ale that is both pleasing to drink and, once again, “not normal.” Cheers!

Cletus, zombies and beer. How appropriate. And who knew this was such a popular theme? Anyway, here is Stewart’s version for your viewing pleasure.

And in honor of the Heifer joke above, please give to Heifer International: Together we have the power over hunger and poverty.

Stephen Colbert To Replace David Letterman: Stay Tuned For Right-Wing Freakout

Posted by on April 10, 2014 at 12:50 pm. 4 Comments :

CBS announced this morning that Stephen Colbert, host of Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report, will succeed David Letterman as the host of The Late Show.

Fox Nation vs. Reality - Colbert

Note: Not actually endorsed by Stephen Colbert, but still…
Get Fox Nation vs. Reality. Available now at Amazon.

Although Letterman only announced his pending retirement a few days ago, Colbert was almost instantly regarded as a top contender to fill the vacancy. His unique brand of characterture and satire has won him numerous Emmys and even a couple of Peabody Awards. When he assumes the position at the Late Show desk he will immediately challenge his peers to up their game in both raw comedy and creativity. It is fair to expect Colbert to reshape the concept of late-night television.

For extra added entertainment pleasure, watch the conservative martinets of Puritan culture grasp their throats and gasp for air as their lungs veritably burst with outrage. Colbert, and his Comedy Central mentor Jon Stewart, have long been targets of right-wing animosity. To the extent that they manage to get the jokes, they despise them and whine about more liberal domination of the news (as if Stewart and Colbert were actually journalists). They tried in vain to mimic the Daily Show and to launch (or relaunch) careers for conservative comics like Dennis Miller, Steven Crowder, and Victoria Jackson.

Just yesterday, Bill O’Reilly devoted his nightly Talking Points Memo segment to Colbert, whom he called “a deceiver” for mocking O’Reilly’s ludicrous defense of income inequality. O’Reilly went on to say that…

“Colbert can be dismissed as clueless, but the guy does do damage because he gives cover to the powerful people who are selling Americans a big lie, that this country is bad, that it intentionally oppresses many of its own citizens. That is a lie. That point of view is shameful.”

Well, O’Reilly is the authority when it comes to doing damage by giving cover to powerful people selling lies. But even as Fox News blasts Colbert and Stewart as hopelessly biased, they have recognized the falsehood in that characterization. News Corpse documented 29 occasions where the Fox Nation website praised Stewart for taking the conservative side on his program. That, however, has never stopped them from asserting that Stewart is a socialist who only satirizes conservatives.

In response to the Colbert promotion, Breitbart News editor, John Nolte tweeted “Low-Rated Hyper-Partisan Lefty to Replace David Letterman.” He previously critiqued Colbert saying that…

“There’s a HUGE left-wing agenda behind what Comedy Central’s Stephen Colbert is doing, and it’s a serious agenda that has nothing to do with satire.”

That’s typical of the viewpoint that Nolte has held for years. In a series of ignorant columns attacking Colbert, Nolte pointed out what he considered to be the poor ratings performance of The Colbert Report. But due to his embarrassing ignorance of the television business, Nolte failed to realize that Colbert’s ratings were better than those of Fox News. What’s more, no knowledgeable person would compare the ratings of a niche cable channel with those of a broadcast TV network. When Colbert moves up to CBS he will inherit the audience that goes along with it.

Rush Limbaugh weighed in saying that…

“CBS has just declared war on the heartland of America. No longer is comedy going to be a covert assault on traditional American, conservative values. Now it’s just right out in the open.”

NewsBusters’ Dan Gainor tweeted…

“Colbert: From liberal asshat pretending to be conservative to liberal asshat who gets to be honest about his asshattery.”

Karl Rove was personally offended by Colbert’s “Ham Rove” bit, which he took as a threat of violence:

“One liberal replacing another one. Only this one apparently knows how to wield a knife.”

Rupert Murdoch’s New York Post published a screed titled “Picking Colbert to replace Letterman? CBS really screwed up,” in which author Kyle Smith (who?) says that Colbert is…

“…only funny if you accept the premise (conservatives are morons) while you snort Mountain Dew out your nose.”

There will surely be more to come from these media geniuses who live in fear of Colbert’s brand of truthiness. If they were smart they would withhold their juvenile insults and accept the fact that CBS made a decision that is in the best interests of their bottom line. They could simply declare that their silly #CancelColbert boycott campaign was a huge success and return to something they have a much longer history of – insulting women and minorities.

The prospect for Colbert’s future as a late-night host are promising. He has an appealing personality and an engaging rapport with the guests he interviews. He is likely to have less political content on CBS, where their Standards and Practices department will keep a tighter rein on him. That will be a loss for those of us who cherish his outlook on society and culture, but you can’t blame him for aspiring to advance his career. And while he may tone it down, he likely will not abandon it altogether.

What many of the people commenting on this news are neglecting to mention is that there will now be a vacancy at Comedy Central. Here’s hoping that Jon Stewart, whose production company put Colbert on as his lead-out, will have some say in the matter of what follows him next. Due to his irreplaceable persona, it will not be possible to slip someone else into the same format. But another snarky news send-up is still the obvious choice to fill out the late-night hour. Perhaps Comedy Central could parody Fox News’ The Five, with a panel show featuring Daily Show regulars like Lewis Black, John Hodgeman, Kristen Schaal, Al Madrigal, Jessica Williams, Wyatt Cynac, etc.

They have no shortage of talent available. And, thanks to Fox News and the rest of the right-wing media circus, they have no shortage of material either.

[Update] On his show last night, Bill O’Reilly ignored the news about Colbert’s new job, but Time Magazine caught up with him and elicited this response: “I hope Colbert will consider me for the Ed McMahon spot.” Proving once again that O’Reilly is hopelessly stuck in the past, his attempt at humor reached back to reference a decades old sidekick, rather than a more relevant choice like Paul Shaffer or Alan Coulter. But O’Reilly would be a good choice for an Ed McMahon role, whose comedic persona was that of an old Irish loudmouth and a notorious drunk.

Bill O'Reilly/Stephen Colbert

Fast Food Fight: The Daily Show’s John Oliver Deep Fries Fox News

Posted by on August 2, 2013 at 10:25 am. 2 Comments :

Fox News / McDonalds

“They sell you something that looks appetizing, but leaves you feeling nauseous for hours afterwards.” ~John Oliver on Fox News

That’s how John Oliver described the similarities between Fox News and the fast food industry. In an epic take-down of Fox (video below), Oliver brilliantly exposed the selfishness, hypocrisy, and stupidity, of the network’s upper-crusty pundits’ callous attitude toward working people who have the gall to rally for a living wage.

The segment features multiple Fox scrooges insisting that workers should be grateful to have any job and stop whining about how toiling full-time in harsh conditions doesn’t provide sufficient compensation to feed and house their families. Oliver notes the risks associated with a multi-billion dollar international conglomerate fairly compensating their employees:

“If you raise the minimum wage. people will never stop working in the fast food industry. They’ll get so comfortable in the hot kitchens, in their acrylic uniforms, relaxing in that grease fog, smelling like processed meat no matter how many showers they take.”

But the real victim of Oliver’s harangue was Fox’s VP of financial news, Neil Cavuto, who bragged about his own youthful experience as a fast food employee. Cavuto touted the opportunities for advancement and months of success he enjoyed slinging fish and chips. Unfortunately, he also demonstrated how ill-equipped he is to be commenting on financial matters. In his fanciful flashback he noted that “it all started at two bucks an hour.” But as Mother Jones reported…

“[T]he math makes the opposite point Cavuto intended — adjusted for inflation, he made a lot more money as a teenager than the fast food employees who walked off their jobs in seven US cities this week. […] $2.22 per hour more than the current federal minimum wage.”

So, there goes Cavuto’s argument against raising the minimum wage. And he set himself up for Oliver to make the astute observation that, “Working at Arthur Treacher’s was the last job Neil Cavuto was qualified for.” Of course, Cavuto is the Glenn Beck of business news. He engages in non-stop, brazenly partisan, propagandizing on behalf of the conservative agenda of his network bosses, Roger Ailes and Rupert Murdoch. Cavuto is a Tea Party boosting, climate science denying, harbinger of economic Armageddon.

Jon Stewart Hammers Fox News For Misleading Editing Of Obama Video

Posted by on June 20, 2012 at 3:32 am. 1 Comments :

Once again, the Daily Show’s Jon Stewart has proved that he’s a better journalist than the dishonest hacks at Fox News and, for that matter, most of the rest of the media. And he’s not even trying to be a journalist.

Ever since last Friday’s announcement by President Obama that his administration would suspend deportation of certain younger immigrants, the right-wing media has been trying to trip up the President’s policy by portraying it as an unconstitutional power grab or searching for some evidence of hypocrisy. On the latter front, Fox News uncovered a video of Obama from last year where he appeared to give Fox just what they were looking for. In the video, as broadcast by Fox, Obama said that…

“I just have to continue to say this notion that somehow I can just change the laws unilaterally is just not true. We are doing everything we can administratively. But the fact of the matter is there are laws on the books that I have to enforce. And I think there’s been a great disservice done to the cause of getting the DREAM Act passed and getting comprehensive immigration passed by perpetrating the notion that somehow, by myself, I can go and do these things. It’s just not true.”

That would seem to close the file on the matter of presidential hypocrisy, were it not for the intrepid investigative reporting of Jon Stewart. On the Daily Show last night Stewart aired the uncut video of Obama (see it below), including the part immediately following the point where Fox News ended their clip:

“…It’s just not true. What we can do is to prioritize enforcement — since there are limited enforcement resources — and say, we’re not going to go chasing after this young man or anybody else who has been acting responsibly, and would otherwise qualify for legal status if the DREAM Act passed.”

In other words, Obama very clearly said, as Stewart put it, “…that he can do the exact thing he just did, but which you said he said he’s not supposed to.” This is a blatant, inexcusable example of deliberately editing video to misconstrue its meaning and deceive their audience.

Sadly, it is not particularly uncommon for Fox News. But their brazen dishonesty doesn’t prevent them from making false claims about others. Yesterday Fox ran a story wherein they charged that MSNBC had edited a video of Romney that they say created a false impression. It wasn’t true, as is documented here, but Fox still featured the allegation prominently on their web site. Perhaps they will now publish a story exposing this new and verified incident of unethical journalism:

Yesterday on Fox News.
Fox News Projection		 Tomorrow on Fox news?
Fox News - Not

Yeah, sure. That’ll happen.

[Video no longer available]

Not So Breitbart: The Case Of Jon Stewart’s Crybaby Apologists

Posted by on June 5, 2012 at 3:24 am. 4 Comments :

John Nolte at Breitbart News has so completely given up the pretense of having anything coherent to say that he has begun prefacing his columns with excuses for why they fail to make any point. Here is how he begins his latest lame assault on his favorite target, Jon Stewart:

“Jon Stewart apologists will crybaby over my analysis of these numbers because crybabying is what Stewart apologists do.”

As a credentialed Stewart apologist, I would like to point out that I am about to “crybaby” over Nolte’s analysis, not because it’s what I do, but because he is such a dumbfuck of an analyst.

Nolte works overtime to be as obnoxious as possible as he seeks to disparage Stewart’s ratings. The absurd angle he tackles is that there is some correlation between Stewart’s late night satirical Daily Show and the puerile Fox News afternoon blabfest “The Five.” For those who haven’t seen it, it features four frothing far-right wingnuts and one impotent, and apparently intoxicated, Fox-style democrat.

After asserting that Stewart is not intellectually honest, and that Stephen Colbert is not funny (and Greg Gutfeld is?), Nolte leaps into his ratings analysis saying that…

“The Five” once again won the viewership battle with the two clowns we are assured are some kind of American phenoms. Gutfeld and company drew a total of 1.478 million viewers, while Stewart and Colbert drew 1.462 and 1.217 respectively.

First of all, anyone who knows anything about television knows that comparing the raw audience totals of two completely different dayparts is meaningless. But Nolte’s faulty reporting extends far beyond that basic fact. He revels victoriously in declaring that The Five won a battle that never took place. But he bases his conclusion on a single, unrepresentative day. So even if you want to make this pointless comparison, it would be more honest to note that the Daily Show regularly posts higher numbers than The Five. In fact, on the days just before, and just after, the day that Breitbrat Nolte cherry-picked, the Daily Show “won the viewership battle” against the five clowns on Fox.

Breitbart on StewartA more honest comparison would be between the Daily Show and the O’Reilly Factor with which it competes head-to-head (although the Factor is a repeat). That’s a contest that Stewart also wins on a regular basis. The Daily Show generally places in the top twenty-five cable programs. But even O’Reilly’s first run broadcast barely squeaks into the top 100.

This is further evidence of Nolte’s proclivity for lying to his readers, a habit he surely picked up from his pseudo-saintly mentor, Andrew Breitbart. Nolte has been viscerally obsessed with bashing Stewart for quite a while, and in every instance he utterly fails to make a coherent argument. But you have to admire his tenacity in persevering despite falling on his face so brutally and frequently.

The Swiftboating Of Obama Begins

Posted by on May 2, 2012 at 10:36 am. 12 Comments :

In 2004 the campaign for president was tarnished by a band buttheads who thought that it would be appropriate to smear the military record of a decorated veteran who risked his life in Vietnam (John Kerry), in order to support a frat boy who evaded combat by leaning on the connections of his famous family (George W. Bush).

The Swiftboat Veterans for Truth launched a well-financed campaign of distortions and lies in order to prevent Kerry from gaining any popular support for his service to the country. And now a similar campaign has begun by a shadowy group called “Veterans for a Strong America” to deny President Obama any credit for his role in finding and killing Osama Bin Laden.

This video is brazenly dishonest in its portrayal of Obama as negligent in praising the efforts of all of those who had a role in Bin Laden’s demise. Obama has repeatedly and effusively honored everyone from foot soldiers to intelligence operatives to diplomats to civilians to the Navy SEALs, etc. There is abundant evidence of that praise had the liars responsible for this video cared to review it. Instead they chose slap together some deliberately deceitful soundbites of the President speaking in the first person.

As usual, it took the Daily Show’s Jon Stewart to set the record straight. He not only shames the producers of the video above by demonstrating how easy it is to be honest, he also makes the undeniable point that any politician would seek and expect some credit for having orchestrated this sort of dangerous mission and seeing it through to success.

Part One:

Part Two:

Republicans would like to steal every speck of gratitude that the President deserves for having been in charge of this operation. They seem to think that the SEALS planned, executed, and gave themselves the order to proceed without any intervention from the Commander-in-Chief. They also seem to believe that the order was a foregone conclusion that anyone would have made in similar circumstances. However, we know that that is untrue because Mitt Romney said specifically that he would not have chased Bin Laden into Pakistan and he criticized Obama for proposing it.

In 2004 there were, unfortunately, way too many gullible people who fell for the fallacies of the Swiftboat Liars. Hopefully that will not be the case today. President Obama was not solely responsible for determining Bin Laden’s fate. He knows that and says so frequently. But he did play an important role and is entitled to list it on his resume.

The Faux Conservative Outrage Over Jon Stewart’s Vagina Manger Routine

Posted by on April 18, 2012 at 3:00 pm. 2 Comments :

Once again the selective fury of the right has conservatives aghast over a comedy bit by Jon Stewart, despite their silence, and even defense of, far more revolting remarks by Ted Nugent that were made in all seriousness.

Last night Stewart performed a routine (video below) mocking Fox News for both their neglect of the GOP “War on Women” and their abundance of wars on just about everything else. Fox declares war whenever there is an topical story that they believe they can twist into a harangue aimed at Democrats or President Obama. Here are just a few of the actual “wars” Fox has declared:

  • A war on Christmas.
  • A war on Hanukkah.
  • A war on Easter.
  • A war on fall holidays.
  • A war on Halloween.
  • A war on fossil fuels.
  • A war on the constitution.
  • A war on ladies’ night.
  • A war on Fisherman.
  • A war on salt.
  • A war on chocolate milk.
  • A war on sugary drinks.
  • A war on food.
  • A nanny state war on spuds.
  • A war on conservative women.

Today Newsbusters has come out swinging with a critique that illustrates how desperately poor their comprehension skills are. They seem to have missed the obvious fact that this was a satire directed at Fox News and jumped straight to a conniption fit over Christians who must now be sorely offended. The more obvious explanation is that the Newsbusters couldn’t really find any fault with Stewart’s hilarious analysis of Fox News so they had to find another avenue for their umbrage. They latched onto the Christian angle for which they got support from the uber-rightist, political operation (disguised as a religious civil rights group), the Catholic League. The League’s leader, Bill Donohue, is taking the war on Jon Stewart to another level:

“We are asking Stewart to apologize. If he does not, we will mobilize Protestants, Jews, Mormons and Muslims to join us in a boycott of his sponsors. Moreover, we will not stop with a boycott; there are other things that can be done to register our outrage. We are prepared to spend the money it takes to make this a nationwide issue, and we are prepared to stay the course..

I must admit that I’m curious as to what other things Donohue has in mind in addition to his boycott threat. Perhaps he is plotting a nationwide prayer vigil to beseech God to smite all comic apostates. And Donohue’s willingness to throw cash at the controversy can only be creating anxiety over at Comedy Central. I’m sure that Jon Stewart is shaking in his clown shoes at the thought of the wrath that is about to come down on him.

Jon Stewart Is Driving Fox Nation Crazy

Posted by on April 6, 2012 at 2:28 pm. 1 Comments :

It is well known that conservatives have a hard time with comedy. Their attempts at it are invariably embarrassing. Their practitioners (Dennis Miller, Victoria Jackson, etc) are notable only for being lame has-beens. Consequently, they spend the majority of their time on the subject bashing comedians they regard as liberals, but who are actually just comedians who recognize that Sarah Palin and Tea Partiers are funnier than health care reform and homeless veterans.

Today on Fox Nation, the featured item at the top of their page (you know, where the most important news of the day should be) is an article about last night’s Daily Show with Jon Stewart. The program was almost entirely aimed at mocking the left with segments on ludicrous expenditures by the General Services Administration and the abundance of emails from Obama’s reelection campaign.

The Fox Nationalists zeroed in on the GSA segment (video below) due to its conclusion where Stewart painfully conceded that Fox News was right to report on the story. And, as usual, they simply didn’t get the joke. What made Stewart’s tearful concession funny was the fact that acknowledging Fox News for doing something right is so rarely necessary or deserved. Nevertheless, the Fox Nationalists are taking pride in Stewart’s mock praise with a headline that says: Jon Stewart Finally Admits to Fox News: ‘You’re Right’

Fox Nation

This characterization of the issue is consistent with Fox’s view, and that of conservatives generally, that Stewart is an unabashed liberal pushing a far-left agenda. Fox News CEO. Roger Ailes, once described Stewart as an “atheist and a socialist.” So the framing of this as Stewart “finally” coming around shouldn’t surprise anyone. Well, unless they have been reading Fox Nation where numerous stories have been published exalting Stewart for taking the conservative side:

  • Jon Stewart Mocks Obama’s Hot Mic Moment
  • Jon Stewart Roasts Obama for Failed SOTU Joke
  • Jon Stewart Mocks CNN Iowa Coverage
  • Jon Stewart Makes Mincemeat Out of Jon Corzine
  • Jon Stewart Takes a Weed Whacker to Obama’s Squandered Green Initiatives
  • Jon Stewart Ruthlessly Mocks CNN
  • Jon Stewart’s Anti-Obama Tirade
  • Jon Stewart Turns on Obama: ‘Did the President Just Quit?’
  • Jon Stewart Savages Democrats: Your Big Plan Is to Label the Tea Party Extreme
  • Jon Stewart Mocks Obama’s Fake ‘Puerto Rican’ Accent
  • Jon Stewart Scorches Obama Over Transparency
  • Jon Stewart Knocks Obama Bus Tour
  • Jon Stewart Mocks Ridiculous Union Protest
  • Jon Stewart Rips Obama for Mosque Flip-Flop
  • Jon Stewart Ridicules Obama Press Conference
  • Jon Stewart: Obama Dances Like White Man
  • Jon Stewart: Obama ‘Delusional’
  • Jon Stewart Scolds Maddow, NBC News For Saying ‘Teabagger’
  • Jon Stewart Mocks CNN to Larry King’s Face
  • Jon Stewart Blasts Obama’s Cartoonish Response to Spill
  • Jon Stewart Mocks NPR
  • Jon Stewart Ridicules Rick ‘Twit’ Sanchez
  • Jon Stewart Pokes Fun at MSNBC’s New Ad Campaign
  • Jon Stewart Obliterates CNN’s Rick Sanchez
  • Jon Stewart Takes Obama to Task Over Weatherization
  • Jon Stewart Mocks Obama’s Teleprompter Dependence
  • Jon Stewart Slams Democrat Healthcare “Incoherence”
  • Jon Stewart Tells Obama to Act More Like Bush
  • Jon Stewart Calls Palin a Genius

For more documented BS from Fox…
Get Fox Nation vs. Reality. Available now at Amazon.

One has to wonder how Fox can publish so many stories demonstrating Stewart’s even-handed approach to issues and still criticize him relentlessly for being hopelessly biased. It’s like they have an ingrained need to hate Stewart for being a pinko comic-subversive, even as they are drawn to him for his humorous honesty. It’s a love/hate relationship that is driving them nuts. They simply don’t know which emotions to embrace. As much as they praise him for knocking the left, they are psychotically compelled to detest him, in part for fear of how their audience would react if they did not.

I wouldn’t expect this disorientation on the part of Fox to subside any time soon. Fortunately for them, they have never had a problem with harboring schizophrenic personalities that are diametrically opposed. That’s how they tolerate their own blatant hypocrisies such as with the recent controversy over unelected judges. And we can all be thankful that, if nothing else, this confusion may keep them from attempting any further forays into their own warped and cringe-worthy comedy routines.

Not So Breitbart: Daily Show vs. Cartoon Network vs. Fox News

Posted by on March 17, 2012 at 3:23 pm. 3 Comments :

The geniuses at Breitbart.com have published another of their astounding revelations that illustrate just how mentally deficient right-wingers can be due to their fixation on bashing anything and everything they regard as liberal.

In a posting that takes obvious pleasure in their analysis of television ratings, the Breitbrats report that Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show and The Colbert Report are not the highest rated programs in the universe.

Breitbrat John Nolte: Just a friendly reminder that less than 1% of the population watch Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. If it wasn’t for the elite media — the same elite media desperate to convince us these two are some sort of national treasures — hardly anyone would watch them at all.

Via TV By the Numbers:

  • TOTAL VIEWERS
    Comedy Central, 11-11:30 p.m. “The Daily Show,” 1.6 million
    Comedy Central, 11:30 p.m.-midnight ET, “The Colbert Report,” 1.3 million
    TBS, 11 p.m.-midnight, “Conan,” 1.0 million
    Adult Swim, 11:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. ET, 2.1 million
    Adult Swim, 12:30-1:30 a.m. ET, 1.4 million

Whatever influence Stewart and Colbert have does not come from the people; it comes from the elite. This dynamic duo of left-wing free speech oppressors are about as populist as caviar.

Wow. What a couple of losers. The Comedy Central pair of media satirists can’t even rate higher than Cartoon Network programs. And it serves them right for all that free speech oppressing they are doing [Note to Nolte: Can you provide an example of this?].

What the Breitbrats failed to notice is that their pet network, Fox News, rates even lower than the Comedy Central late night lineup. For the month of February 2012, “In total day FNC placed fifth (vs. news programming) with 1.093 million viewers.”

Ergo: Whatever influence Fox News has does not come from the people; it comes from the slack-jawed yokels. These bombastic right-wing free speech oppressors are about as populist as roadkill.

Do the Breitbrats really think that they are scoring points by attacking Stewart and Colbert, even though those shows have more viewers than Fox News? How stupid do they think their readers are? (Don’t answer that). I reported long ago that Fox had fewer viewers than SpongeBob SquarePants in an effort to demonstrate how the perception of their influence was overly inflated. I also reported that the highest rated program on Fox (O’Reilly) has about half the viewers of the lowest rated broadcast news program (CBS Evening News). But my comparing a news network to a cartoon network actually makes a point due to the contrast. Comparing a comedy network to a cartoon network is really not indicative of anything. Stewart is the first person to say that his program is not a news program and he is not a journalist.

The Breitbrats seem so ecstatic about this that I hate to spoil their fun. But the next time they attempt to characterize a program as irrelevant, they had better check to see if their own TV pals aren’t even less relevant. It is Fox News that is struggling to have an impact on society, and despite their best efforts, they were unable to prevent a socialist Muslim with no birth certificate from getting elected to the presidency in 2008. They aren’t having much better luck in 2012. This is partly due to idiots like the Breitbrats who continue to embarrass what’s left of the reasonable wing of conservatism.

What Got Into Jon Stewart?

Posted by on July 27, 2011 at 2:09 pm. 5 Comments :

The Daily Show is routinely the most intelligent and entertaining program on television. And it achieves that despite being mostly about politics and the press. Stewart is one of nation’s great satirists and commentators.

However, last night’s episode (video below), while having moments of good humor, hit some surprisingly sour notes that were both unfunny and misrepresented the facts. The show’s first segment was focused on President Obama’s White House speech regarding the debt ceiling crisis. The first sign that Stewart was slipping out of bounds was his mockery of the President for delivering a “belt-tightening” speech in the opulent environs of the White House. Did Stewart expect the President to take a camera crew to a local soup kitchen? Would he have been satisfied if the speech was delivered from the White House laundry room? This complaint simply made no sense.

Then Stewart played a portion the speech where the President described the competing plans to resolve the crisis, saying…

“Basically, the debate has centered around two different approaches. The first approach says, let’s live within our means by making serious, historic cuts in government spending. Let’s cut domestic spending to the lowest level it’s been since Dwight Eisenhower was President.”

Stewart cut the video at that point to mock the President for proposing a plan that sounded more like it came from the Republicans. He would have been right except for the part he cut out that included this:

“Finally, let’s ask the wealthiest Americans and biggest corporations to give up some of their tax breaks and special deductions. This balanced approach asks everyone to give a little without requiring anyone to sacrifice too much.”

Had Stewart left that in there would have been no punchline. It was the core component of the President’s plan that seeks to raise revenue from corporations and the wealthy. It is what distinguishes his approach from the Tea Party/GOP. And Stewart left it on the editing room floor on behalf of mediocre joke. But the worst part came after Obama made an appeal for viewers to contact their representatives in congress:

“So I’m asking you all to make your voice heard. If you want a balanced approach to reducing the deficit, let your Member of Congress know. If you believe we can solve this problem through compromise, send that message.”

To this Stewart offered his patented smirk and queried incredulously…

“That’s your idea? Call your Congressman? Did the President just quit? I mean seriously, you’re the President. You’re asking US to call congress? Oh yeah, sure I’ll the congress. Why don’t you come here and mow my _______ lawn because I got ____ to do. It’s like you’ve given up.”

Stewart’s humor generally contains poignant insights cloaked in hilarity. But on this occasion he is badly adrift. What exactly does he think is wrong with asking the American people to take an active role in their government’s processes? How can he characterize Obama as having “given up” just because he believes that the people’s voice matters? What could be more patriotic than encouraging citizens to get involved?

I’m sorry, Jon, if you think that asking people to participate in government, at a time when their welfare is at great risk, is too much to do. I’m sorry if you have to mow your lawn and can’t be bothered with conveying your opinion to your representative on a critical issue. Many Americans will not have lawns to mow if the nation goes into default, interests rates rise, and they can no longer make their mortgage payments.

The upshot of Stewart’s position is that people should tend to their personal affairs and the President, and others in Washington, should fix everything for us, magically discerning our wishes. That is neither democratic, constructive or funny. And for his trouble, Stewart was the featured headline on Fox Nation with a headline that blared: “Jon Stewart Turns on Obama.” Try again Jon. I’ll still watch tonight.

And, by the way, was it really necessary to suck up to Juan Williams and refrain from challenging any of his self-serving PR? I mean, you couldn’t even make fun of his book title, “Muzzled,” despite the fact that he broadcasts daily on a platform where he reaches millions. I wish I was that muzzled.