Saturday, November 06, 2010

Bill Maher Slams Jon Stewart's False Equivalence; We Need MORE Incivility

As much as Phil 'Empty Suit' Griffin might think it so, Keith Olbermann is not the equivalent on the Left of wingnuts in Rupert Murdochs' stable: Hannity, SarahPac, Hucabee, Beck, and the most egregious violator of all, Murdoch himself. To say, as Keith elegantly noted, that he is "equidistant" from these right wing propagandists, posited by Jon Stewart in his flower power 2010 Hippie rally to nowhere, is wrong.

Keith committed a technical violation of MSNBC's standards by not seeking pre-approval before he made modest campaign contributions. Considering that CNBC, with the biggest collection of whackjobs in NBC's employ — from Rick Santelli, fake "father" of the Tea Party with his insane and inane rant on the (one year later) high-flying stock exchange floor, to "Mad Money" Jim Cramer, the prognosticating fool whose wrong predictions keep people coming back for more financial snake oil, to libertarian transplant Dylan Ratigan burning a hole in the midafternoon ratings — aren't subject to this restriction, then by definition the standard that is not universal within NBC was unfairly applied to Keith. (Parenthetically, why is the CNBC "talent" not bound by the campaign contribution standard; do they get a special dispensation/exemption from the suits?)

Which brings us to Phil 'Empty Suit' Griffin himself. Perhaps this suit, who is known for grandstanding, poorly thought through decisions, felt the pressure of seeing Keith Olbermann and Ed Schultz prominently displayed on Jon Stewart's self-indulgent Jumbotron. I could think of better use for Stewart's time, e.g., mobilize his viewers to contribute to desperately needed Free Clinics around the nation. Oh wait, while Stewart and Colbert were satirizing the news — Colbert made a mockery of Congress with his testimony, probably giving his viewers another excuse to stay home and not vote — Keith was singlehandedly promoting the Free Clinics in several different states as a means of helping people in desperate need of medical care and raising the nation's awareness of the need to pass comprehensive healthcare reform. And very quietly, without fanfare, Keith contributed seed money to get these clinics going.

What have you done, Jon Stewart? And you, Stephen Colbert? What did you accomplish with your silly 'Restore Sanity' rally other than fire a self-indulgent, self-serving broadside at "cable networks" of which you're a part, but evidently feel exempt from when taking shots at lying politicians because ... you're a "comedy" and "political satire" channel. Please. You're no different than those you criticize except that your hubris  makes you believe you're special and different. I watch Keith and Big Eddie precisely because they call it like they see 'em and have the facts to back it up. LIARS are LIARS. It's not that complicated.

For all your Cumbaya platitudes that so impressed the Idiot Punditocracy and the Queen Bee with the funny "it wahs saw mawving" accent — 'you go I go' (except if you're sitting in traffic because your Governor Christie axed the Lincoln Tunnel expansion project and someone pulls out a gun and commits an act of road rage) — what have you accomplished? The Democrats — my party because, along with Bill Maher, I want to breathe clean air and drink water that doesn't catch on fire (did you see Keith's pre-suspension report?) — took a "shellacking" according to our President whom you, Stewart, disrespected with the glib "dude." In the last analysis, your hip 18-to-39 demographic audience decided to stay home or hang out at Starbucks drinking overpriced coffee. To me, and I said it before the rally, the test of whether your outsized ego trip accomplished anything was whether you could motivate your audience to vote. You could not.

Stewart and Colbert 'Rally to Restore Sanity' = FAIL!

Thanks to Bill Maher for being the anti-Stewart/Colbert and not pulling his punches or tiptoeing through the tulips. This is WAR, and as far as the nation and our planet are concerned, the comedic satire of Stewart/Colbert are increasingly irrelevant. Take your 'civility', Jon, and shove it up Colbert's ass. Given how it's worked for the wingnuts — racism and name-calling against Obama, targeting Latinos with xernophobic hatred, lies upon lies, violence against the Left, and their primary goal to turn Obama into a one-term president — what's next ye Einsteins of comedy, we're supposed to embrace 'civility' NOW?

There's a new 'Worst Persons in The World' list: Phil 'Empty Suit' Griffin, the corporate lackey; Fox, the Tea Party/GOP propaganda arm; and the numero uno jackasses of comedy and political commentary, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert.

And as we need MORE incivility on the Left, I'll close with this message to them: Goodnight, good luck, and GO FUCK YOURSELVES!

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