Jon Stewart vs. the Truth
after waiting at the book-signing at borders for stephen colbert to finish with his impromptu appearance at the 'glamour' awards (to introduce nancy pelosi, no less), and learning of his CHANGE-induced smirkathon, i left thinking 'he may be funny but he doesnt give a sh*t"
which reminded me of a Daily Show from this past June (25th), when the guest was Steve Vogel, author of "The Pentagon: A History".
http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=89062&title=steve-vogel
while pimping the guy's book, Jon Stewart derisively brings up 'conspiracy theories' about what did or didn't hit the Pentagon, and offers mr. vogel an opportunity to 'debunk'..
but then @ 5:14 , Mr. Stewart says, and i quote:
"the reason that the building survived was because roosevelt originally thought 'this would make a great library', and he reinforced it because he thought it was gonna have books in it when it was done with the war..."
even though he'd just discussed the 15-year-long renovation project at the Pentagon, involving steel plate reinforcement, blastproof glass, and kevlar wrapped around the concrete/rebar columns, jon stewart fails to connect that renovation with the fact that the only section of the Pentagon which had undergone this upgrade (Wedge 1) was the same section that was struck on 9/11.
and mr. vogel did nothing to correct him, in fact the assertion seems to have originated in his book, as a heartwarming anecdote about roosevelt that diverts attention from a critical analysis of what really happened at the pentagon on 9/11.
basically, don't expect Truth from the funny people.
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Though I've understood this
Though I've understood this for quite some time, I'm glad that now people are starting to understand that "political comedians" are in themselves gatekeepers in their own right. They serve a function, otherwise they wouldn't get to have their own television programs, let alone achieve (inter)national fame.
Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert are no better than the likes of Bill Maher and Dennis Miller. They address the most peripheral issues, never the most consequential, and they scoff at those who seek to bring the most critical topics to light, as we've seen recently with Mr. Maher. Thanks for addressing this as there are still many naive progressives who view Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert as beacons of truth.
Maybe youve never heard of
Maybe youve never heard of "funny man" George Carlin,
but he is not one to shy away from saying exactly what
needs said.
Stewert and Colbert could take a lesson...
Yup, but Carlin is a rare
Yup, but Carlin is a rare exception. And even so, what exactly is he doing to raise awareness about the Coup de Tat taking place here? Is he calling for mass strikes or tax refusals? Is he talking about false flag terrorism? Is he warning the public of what's coming? When HE is forced off the stage for good, then what might he say about what he wishes he would have said when he still had the chance? He may not be gate-keeper extraordinaire like Noam Chomsky or Steven Colbert, but he's certainly not shouting from the rooftops about how we need to REALLY start taking on the mainstream media.
Total pessimist
I've long been a fan of George Carlin, but in more recent years, while still funny, he's shown himself to be so thoroughly jaded and disgusted with just about everyone that it's not surprising that he doesn't try to stir people to action, because he basically thinks there's nothing we can do. 'This country was bought and sold long ago,' I've heard him say, and he pretty much accepts that that's the way things are going to stay. He sounds like someone who believes that the human race is on a collision course with disaster, and it will deserve it because it will have brought it on itself through its own mass stupidity.
yikes
.
yikes
completely forgot about Carlin. but not about the condition described above, which i think is most appropriately termed 'carlinitus'. that kind of apathy/ambivalence is the biggest obstacle to any progress towards actual factual Truth. b/c these days the most common response i get when mentioning 9/11 in public is an exasperated eye-roll.