Here are two wild and crazy liberal guys, doing whatever it is that men do instead of lifting up their shirts.
Jon Stewart showing it for free. Must be hard to know that much. How does he fit his head through the door? A genius. And he called Tucker Carlson a "dick." Also a connoisseur of insults, apparently.
Tim Ryan, rappin' with a sound track. Courtesy of a fan. Bless the hip-hop generation.
You won't be able to sit still, I guarantee. I think K. Grease needs a sound track for his life. I was thinking of the Shaft theme. Or else Pee Wee Herman's "Tequila" bit.
(Look, I looked for a version of the Shaft theme that did NOT try to load 3 or 4 aggressive spywares, but couldn't find it. If someone can suggest something....)
(Nod to MP, via AWV (with friends like that....?). And a nod also to SdM. Now practice your defense against that slow near side draw.)
7 comments:
KGM,
I'm confused. Do you think John Stewart erred in calling them partisan hacks? Or was it more his mannerisms? Or do you think that Crossfire is in fact a good thing?
I think that it is ALL entertainment.
J. Stewart disgusts me. He and Al Franken both think that everything is so obvious, and that the only reason that the vote is not 100% for lib Dems is that people aren't bright, and they are misled by "the media", whatever that is. The smugness (and, being disgustingly smug myself, K. Grease KNOWS smug) is just too much to bear.
Now, sure, O'Reilly and Hannity are as bad, or worse. But I expect more from comedians on the left. Irony! Where is the self-deprecating irony?
And, why call Tucker Carlson a dick? TC has publicly repudiated the Bush administration, has said he will either not vote or will hold his nose and vote for Kerry. For one entertainer to go on some other entertainer's show, and call that host a dick, is just outrageous. Stewart is just so used to everyone SUCKING his dick, on his own little show, that he has lost the perspective that kept him grounded.
KGM,
Interesting that you and I had such different perspectives regarding the same event. I'm certainly not a huge fan of Stewart, but it seemed to me that he wasn't taking a particularly lib Dem position. It seemed more like he wanted to criticize Crossfire for pretending that half an hour of shouting means something. I sympathize with that.
As for the "dick" comment, I take it that the dissonance you cite between Stewart using that term and Carlson's repudiation of Bush means that you think Stewart called Carlson a dick because of Carlson's conservative status/views. My impression was that Stewart was responding to Carlson basically saying Stewart had no right to criticize what Crossfire does but should instead just be funny and talk about O'Reilly and vibrators. Still a pretty harsh comment, but it didn't seem a completely unreasonable one given what was pretty rude behavior on Carlson's part ("You sniffed Kerry's throne," "butt boy").
So, in sum, do you think you might not be reading Stewart completely fairly? Even a smug, all-conservatives-all-idiots guy like Stewart might be right regarding Crossfire not being so good for public discourse.
Fair points all.
But Crossfire reflects the state of public discourse, rather than causing it.
And, if Stewart wants to raise the level of discourse, how does calling another entertainment host a dick, on the air, accomplish that?
Stewart doesn't want to raise the discourse. He just wants people to look at him so he can strut and preen.
KGM,
Interesting point about cause and reflection. Do you think that anything in television media is ever wholly one or the other? It might be reflective first, but it seems like the influence of television news is such that it quickly becomes an aggravating part of that which it reflects. Crossfire might not cause people to shout at each other about politics, but it certainly limits the world of the possible. Four often well-educated, well-informed people can't carry on anything within shouting distance of a reasoned debate in a format where their putative purpose is to inform the public. But the more it calls itself debate, and the more we accept the application of that name, the less chance there is that anyone of us will know what the word is supposed to mean or how to do it.
Stewart probably didn't help his case there at the end. But the whole thing had derailed well before then. But heck, KGM, I didn't mean to talk your ear off. I just don't want a pretty valid point lost in what is apparently a lot of (perhaps justified, I don't know much about him other than he's generally liberal) animosity towards Stewart.
Ah, a breakthrough.
Our Korn fan/journalist has cut throught the murk.
1. Daily Show is hilarious, and smart. No complaints. I also happen to think Al Franken is very funny.
2. I never said calling TC a dick was slander. Clearly correct. But to what end?
3. Ed has it right, though he stopped short of saying it. Stewart thinking that he would raise the standards of Crossfire, just by showing up--THAT is what really knotted K.Grease's knickers.
4. Point is not liberal/conservative, though at first I didn't realize it. Why hold liberals to a higher standard? (That's what I was doing, w/o admitting it) They think TV can be better. And, by and large, they are right. Many of them are elitists, in the same sense K. Grease is (though THEY won't admit it). Shows like CROSSFIRE just suck, and Tucker Carlson REALLY IS a dick. Conservatives think that TV is a tool, a technique, a way to dominate and win.
Mark me a liberal, then.
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