Veni, Vidi, Voting

Hey all!
Gimlet Eyes just got back from the Rally To Restore Sanity in Washington, DC (did you see me? I was right in the middle! With a sign!) and now I’m fired up and ready to go.
First things first.
The rally was incredible. No, it wasn’t partisan. In fact, it really wasn’t political: Stewart didn’t even ask his attendees to vote, let alone to vote for a particular candidate or party. But it was not vague or unfocused. Stewart’s message was simple, beautiful, and smart: disagree with passion, but treat our fellow human beings with compassion. Think intelligently about political choices. And don’t believe everything in the media – particalarly the over-wrought, over-blown under-baked rhetoric.

No, I don’t know how many people were there (though reliable estimates range from 200,000-250,000), but it was probably exactly eleventy billion. Gimelt Eyes gave up on taking the metro out of there, and restaurants from China Town to 9th St were jammed (waiting times of 2 hours and more) for hours after. But it was a beautiful day, the crowd was friendly and respectful, and I did manage to squeeze into a pub for some post-rally nosh and libation.

Was the rally the best 3 hours of Stewart’s and Colbert’s career? No. But it was often funny, sometimes charming, and always smart. (And the Peace Train/Crazy Train/Love Train battle was pure genius.)

But what was the point of the rally? I think Arianna Huffington sumarized it brilliantly today on CNN’s Reliable Sources:

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1010/31/rs.01.html

HUFFINGTON: Not at all. Because they [attendees who rode the HuffPo buses to the rally]wanted to have that sense of community and connection. And that was really what you observed all around the rally when you walked around. It wasn't just what was happening on stage, it was what was happening among people there.

And:

HUFFINGTON: Oh, you can go on shows and disagree with Republicans, or disagree with Democrats. And I do both. The question is, is what you are saying based on fact?

Then, in a moment of unintentional serendipity, Howard Kurtz made Stewart’s point about the stupidity of the media for him with this exchange:

KURTZ: But let's be candid. I mean, Jon Stewart appeals to you because he comes at his comedy and satire and criticism from a liberal point of view.

HUFFINGTON: Well, actually, if you watched his interview with the president, that was a tough interview.

KURTZ: We're going to play that later, but most --

HUFFINGTON: But he exposed the Achilles heel of the president. That's not a cheerleader interviewing the president.

KURTZ: Well, now, but it was somebody -- he came off as a disappointed liberal. But let's leave that interview aside. When I see clips of "The Daily Show" on "The Huffington Post," it's often securing Republican targets. You like that.

HUFFINGTON: Well, that's not at all actually what makes Jon Stewart special. What makes him and Colbert special is the fact that they use satire to speak truth to power. Whether that power is liberal, conservative, in the media, in politics, that's where the power comes from. And people will continue to see this sort of left- leaning show completely missing its appeal.

KURTZ: All right. I think I disagree with that.

Of course you do, Howard.

Ms Huffington also had this to say:

HUFFINGTON: However passionately you may express it, is it based on facts? That is really the key distinction that we need to make. And also, in the progress, are you disagreeing with your opponents or are you demonizing them?

KURTZ: For you it's about the tone?

HUFFINGTON: For me it's about -- first of all, it's about facts. Is it factual? That's key.

KURTZ: Right, but conservatives who disagree with you certainly think they are being factual.

HUFFINGTON: No. They can't possibly think they are being factual when they say that Barack Obama wasn't born here, or when they are saying that Barack Obama is taking us down a communist path. These clearly are not factual statements, and that is really the first distinction.

I mean, really. There are facts, and there are flaming sacks of dog poop. Most of us can tell the
difference. Why does Kurtz seem to find it so difficult?

Here’s an example:

http://www.politicususa.com/en/fox-union-stewart/comment-page-1#comment-36091

“On Fox Business’ Varney and Company, Monica Crowley did her best to discredit the,Stewart/Colbert rally by claiming that union members were being bused in at gunpoint to the rally. She said, ‘Well, but there are a lot of union members who are actually being bused in at gunpoint by their union leadership.’ When Varney countered not at gunpoint, Crowley said, ‘In some cases yes at gunpoint.’”

What do you think? Facts? Or verbal flaming dog poop? Yeah. Flaming dog poop is pretty easy to spot.

Of course, Howard Kurtz wasn’t the only “news” person who really didn’t get it.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/10/30/stewarts-rally-sanity-brings-urgency-chage/?test=latestnews

Oh, Fox. Your skewed perspective is showing.

Fortunately, people noticed.

http://rescuetruth.com/media/fox-news-paints-stewart-colbert-rally-attendees-as-insane-potheads/

(But, wouldn’t you rather hang out with stoned hippies than foaming evangelicals anyway?)

So. Did the rally accomplish anything?

Let’s ask the twenty four-hour political pundit panic conflictinator:

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2010/10/30/masters-of-the-ambivalent/

http://blogs.dailymail.com/donsurber/archives/23749

http://irregulartimes.com/index.php/archives/2010/10/31/john-stewarts-rally-was-not-a-demonstration-of-moderation/

http://www.slate.com/id/2272781/

Or, read/watch this, and answer it yourself:

http://www.examiner.com/political-buzz-in-national/video-and-transcript-of-jon-stewart-s-closing-speech-at-rally-to-restore-sanity

My answer is an unequivical Yes.

The rally restored my faith in America as a nation of basically decent, basically intelligent, basically reasonable people. Despite what the verbal flaming dog poop flingers would suggest.

Do I think Stewart’s rally will sway the election?

No. I get it, he was preaching to the choir. People who honestly believe Obama is a secret Muslim or a Nazi Communist will not suddenly vote Democractic in 2 days. And the crazies are more excited about voting than the rational people this time arounnd.

But.

I don’t think the public is as TEA-bagger happy as the media would have us believe. And I don’t think there is going to be a “Republican revolution” come Wednesday. (But then, I didn’t believe the GOP was “finished” in 2008 either.) Yes, some very unfortunate candidates will win on Tuesday (Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, perhaps Pat Toomey or Sharron Angle), but in other places, people seem to be coming to their senses.

I also keep the faith that, if the GOP manages to take control of the House - they won’t get the Senate - they will have to dial back their crazy no matter how many seats they win.

But, I’m actually not convinced Tuesday is going to be GOP-victory bloodbath that the media keeps telling me it will be. I think the Democratic base is not as suicidal as the media insists they are. I think Independents are not as distractable as the media thinks. And I feel in my heart that people are more reasonable than the media gives them credit for.

In any case, whether he meant to or not, Stewart’s rally inspired me. I’m excited to go to the polls on Tuesday. I’m fired up and ready to go. And I’ll be doing what I can in these final hours to convince my fellow voters to vote rationally. I’m betting there are some 200,000+ people like me who will do likewise.

Thank you, Jon Stewart.

Veni, Vidi, Voting.

Restoring America’s Awesomeness (Through Truthiness)

Say what you will about Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, but they are perhaps the smartest journalists working in comedy, or the most soulful comedians working in journalism. Yes, they are wickedly funny. Yes, they make sometimes jokes best appreciated by a fourteen year-old boy. But Jesus H. Christ, some days they are all that keeps me from sticking my head in the oven.

There are many, many reasons to sport a Stewart/Colbert 2012 bumper sticker. My favorite moments include:

• Jon Stewart channeling America’s fear, pain, and still reminding us of our unquashable optimism on September 20, 2001.

http://faisal.com/a/2010/09/20/1-the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart-9202001

• Stephen Colbert speaking truth to power, the president, and the White House press corps.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-869183917758574879#

• Jon Stewart calling out Paul Begala and Tucker Carlson on the ill-fated “Crossroads.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFQFB5YpDZE

• Stephen Colbert taking Debra Dickerson - and all others who thought candidate Obama might not be black enough (wow. who knew we’d long for those days?) –down a peg.

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/81955/february-08-2007/debra-dickerson

• Jon Stewart single-handedly ending Betsy McCaughey’s career as a “death panel” fear-monger.

http://www.examiner.com/political-buzz-in-national/video-jon-stewart-slams-betsy-mccaughey-on-alleged-death-panels-from-page-425-hr-3200

• Stephen Colbert, in a desert cammo suit and tie, shaving his head in solidarity with our troops in Iraq.

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/229768/june-08-2009/obama-orders-stephen-s-haircut---ray-odierno

I could go on and on and on. But.

I now have an all-time Stewart/Colbert moment.

Last week, after much hype, and a plucky fan-boy facebook page, the satiric geniuses announced plans to host ….. a march on Washington.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/17/stewart-colbert-rally-to-restore-sanity_n_720588.html

How flippin’ awesome is that?!?!?!?! (Immeasurably awesome. That’s how.)

Why? Let me count the ways:

1. They will attract a sizeable crowd. And the crowd will be energetic, replete with sardonic signs, and possibly drunk. They will also be more racially diverse, and younger, than any TEA Party crowd. Will they be bigger than the 9/12 rally, or Glenn Beck’s self-love fest to “Restore America’s Honor”? Well, no one will know for sure. Partially because there is no official crowd estimate of those rallies, and because Glenn Beck and Michele Bachmann can’t count to twenty-one while clothed. (“Don’t tell me there were less than a million people here!” “No, 3 million!” No, dear. Eleventy brazillion people. At least. Or ….. maybe just 80 to 90 thousand. But who’s counting?) So Stewbert can make up any number they want. (I vote for eleventy brazillion and one).
2. As satire, Stewbert will get to play their comedy central personas to the hilt. Stewart will, I’m sure, bring his chalkboard and suede elbow-patched blazer for a hilarious parody of Glenn Beck. Colbert will undoubtedly out-Fox the Fox network in truthy lies told with phony emotion. In any case, any Fox-funded political rally to follow this one, will be anti-climactic, at best. There is no power like that of the gifted satirist, and Stewbert are (is?) perhaps the best of a generation. Once you’ve been pantsed by the jester laureates, you’ve jumped the shark.
3. Even though Stewbert will swear this in a non-political event (I don’t expect guest appearances from actual politicians or pundits), but rather a parody of a non-political political event, this will have a “get out the vote” effect. The rally is happening 3 days before the midterms. It just might wake up the disengaged voters on the left. If this event can show America that the Emperor Has No Clothes (er, the TEA Party has no solutions), sanity might just be restored before the GOP fringe takes over congress.

Lest you think I’m a deranged fan who really, really needs to get out of their parents’ basement and kiss a girl, I’m not alone in my admiration:

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0910/42447.html

Clearly, the boys from Comedy Central are a sleeper cell, at least in the minds of the truly crazy:

http://www.politicususa.com/en/beck-colbert-stewart

Let’s hope, Glenn!

Stewart and Colbert really, really don’t care how anyone votes on November 2. They just want you to think about who you’re voting for and why. Stewbert aren’t partisan hacks. (THe left, from Bill Clinton to Barak Obama, have been on the receiving end of the jester scepter). They don’t blindly worship Democrats, nor blindly condemn Republicans. They ruthlessly mock stupidity and hypocrisy. Sadly, there’s plenty of that to go round on both sides of the aisle.

Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert are satirists of the highest order, as soulful as they are smart; and for much of the last decade, they have been the keepers of America’s sanity. Whether the Rally to Restore Sanity/Keep Fear Alive attracts 50,000 or 500,000 attendees, whether it changes the midterm election results, or simply hastens sunset the misguided TEA Bagger experiment, it will have a positive impact on political discourse in this country. And for that, they deserve a medal.

Conflict Minerals and the "Ore on Terror"

Steven D at the BooMan Tribune pointed out this interesting video on a campaign to raise awareness concerning the grave situation in the Congo:

Profiting from the worst war on the planet that no one in America knows anything about by purchasing "conflicts minerals" from the Congo for their products:

Also from Steven D, and after some nudging from readers, an added a diary covering what you can do about it.


One of the things I have always loved about Blogging is the fact that not only can we start to look at things that are wrong, pick apart stories, facts and ideas... But we can work together on solutions for them when we see these problems for what they are.

Below is the same story unfolding with a different name to the region affected, IMHO, as Jon Stewart and the Daily Show crew give us the "Ore on Terror":

Ore on Terror
Afghanistan will never not know war after tons of incredibly valuable natural resources are found underneath its surface.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Ore on Terror
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party

Jon Stewart on Healthcare

The Daily Show's Jon Stewart takes a look at the healthcare successes of the Democrats:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Democratic Super Majority
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Ron Paul Interview

(h/t GottaLaff :)

McCain's Urgent 10 Day Reaction To Crisis

Jon Stewart of The Daily Show gives one of his best performances as the true leader in punditocracy honesty and integrity when he looks at John McCains 10 day reaction to the bank crisis before parachuting into Washington like a human dirt dart:



If you are interested in Letterman's reaction to McCain canceling his interview... It is well worth the watch because it exposes John McCain for what he is: A Liar. Also, CT Bob has a pretty apt description of what McCain actually achieved with his "Seagull Mission."

It is not Jon Stewart

But that's ok, 'cause skippy says it's not the daily show:

The Iraq Blame Game

And in the Iraqi Blame we have today's contestants:

The Pentagon blames al-Maliki:
"In its required quarterly report on security, political and economic developments in Iraq, covering the February-May period, the Pentagon also raised questions about Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's ability to fulfill a pledge made in January to prohibit political interference in security operations and to allow no safe havens for sectarian militias."

Joe neocon Lieberman blames Iran:
"Having fallen for the Iranian plot to gain control over Iraq, Lieberman now seeks to undo the damage by invading Iran. He is apparently unaware of public warnings that key Shiite leaders in Iraq would take up arms again in support of their co-religionists across the border."

Bill O'Liely blames CNN and MSNBC for reporting on Iraq:
"They’re not doing it to inform anybody about anything. The terrorists are going to set off a bomb every day because they know CNN and MSNBC are going to put it on the air. That’s a strategy for the other side. The terrorist side. So I’m taking an argument that CNN and MSNBC are actually helping the terrorists by reporting useless explosions."

Tony Snow blames the successful plan in place:
"During his press briefing yesterday, White House spokesman Tony Snow said the increasing chaos was a positive sign. The new levels of attacks “fit a pattern that we see throughout the region,” he said, “which is that when you see things moving towards success, or when you see signs of success, that there are acts of violence.”"

The White House blames high expectations:
"A September progress report on the U.S. troop increase in Iraq that President George W. Bush called an important moment for his war strategy is unlikely to be a "pivotal" assessment, officials now say.

Amid unrelenting bloodshed in Iraq and scant signs of progress by the Iraqi government in meeting political benchmarks, the White House sought to temper expectations of a rapid strides resulting from a security crackdown begun at the start of this year."

Bush blames Al Qaeda:
""I join Iraq's leaders in calling on all Iraqis to refrain from acts of vengeance and reject Al-Qaeda's scheme to sow hatred among the Iraqi people and to instead join together in fighting Al-Qaeda as the true enemy of a free and secure Iraq," said Bush, one of several US officials to blame Al-Qaeda."

But nobody, not in the failed bush administration, or the November '06 castrated GOP party, nor any of their few cheerleading supporters that remain, nobody blames the collosal failure of the actual policies that these neocon incompetents have put in place...

Nobody except Jon Stewart:





What a great idea! The idiots are making sure that everyone in Iraq has plenty of weapons to use in the middle of a civil war, while simultaneously adding more American soldiers to the mix for the Iraqi's target practice.

Now... Just who wins in this game? It sure isn't America or US soldiers.

Gulp for GONEzales

It's popcorn time, as John Stewart of The Daily Show catches GONEzo in another lie and points out the impeachability factor based on James Comey's testimony with a GULP:



Side note: Cheney's never looked so good as he does on the Daily Show...

Daily Show: Viacom vs YouTube

I don't know how well this Comedy Central embed works...



Just testing it out here. I won't know if there are comercials or anything like that until I post this and check it out myself.(update: Nope! No commercials, YET, and the video quality is A1 primo)

The BIG problem with these videos?

They expire in a month.

How are we supposed to keep a record of The Daily Show's comedic and politically insiteful genius if it expires? And does their genius expire with this link?