"The Daily Show": Week of 6/9/14

[trow125]

6/9: Philip K. Howard (author – promoting book “The Rule of Nobody: Saving America from Dead Laws and Broken Government”)
6/10: Sebastian Junger (author/filmmaker – promoting documentary “Korengal”)
6/11: Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY)
6/12: Christopher Walken (actor – promoting movie “Jersey Boys”)

[Fremde Frau]

Wow, I'm actually looking forward to all of these interviews.

[Victor the Crab]

Actually Jimminy, if Jon stopped watching and commenting on the bullshit and assholery of Fox News and their followers from the Republican party, then the terrorists win (that's Fox News, not Bergdal's father who's not even close to being one).

 

That was a whole lot of nothing with Jason and Jessica. And I'm not sure I really learned anything from Phillip K. Howard.

 

Fuck off, Fox News bitch! You asswipes have unleashed enough hell on earth for a thousand years.

[formerlyfreedom]

Have they never seen Duck Dynasty? Or ZZTopp? Are they Muslim as well? Oh, for fart's sake.

 

*Yes, I've probably dated myself with the ZZTopp comparison.

[The Luvly Junkie]

Yea, it took me a minute to keep up with the Jason and Jessica's bit, but I couldn't help but giggle when Jason ripped his pants. Long enough to show his leg+underwear. I thought Jason was getting a little leaner, but I don't think the change of body-line had any impact on the rip. It's probably just an easy-to-repair wardrobe malfunction when you're flailing around in a suit.

 

Stacy, I'm sure Fox News is acquainted with Duck Dynasty and ZZTopp. To distinguish them from other Muslims, they just check for any rock apparel or a simple American-flag bandana. Fox News is a beard novice, if their male anchors ever tried growing one.

Edited June 10, 2014 by The Luvly Junkie

[Victor the Crab]

Of course Fox News knows who Duck Dynasty and ZZ Top are. It's just that they treat their audience - and everyone else - like they're stupid.

[Lantern7]

It's like I said on TWoP, Jimminy . . . Fox News is like a solar eclipse, in the sense that neither one should be seen with the naked eye. That makes The Daily Show (and The Colbert Report) the cardboard box with the hole in it. Oh, and have fun with your autoerotic adventures! Seriously, that was a random Disney crossover, wasn't it?

[attica]

And I'm not sure I really learned anything from Phillip K. Howard.

 

I'm with you, VtC. "Legislation is complicated" seems awfully facile. Especially when people who don't care about laws have armies of lawyers to exploit all the loopholes: "Well, gee, your two-page bill didn't specify that dumping 50 fuck-tons of my particular sludge into the aquifer was illegal, so you can't fine me, let alone prosecute!" Howard seemed to think that all actors in the social compact are honorable, and they.are.not. (And not for nothing, a lot of the pages of any bill describe funding and organizing principles/hierarchies, which you kind of need if you wanna get anything done on the public dime.)  Feh.

 

I don't think I'll ever not be charmed by Jessica's little 'raise the roof' gesture/shrug.

[Sharpie66]

I loved Jason and Jessica's bit, especially Jessica providing the soundtrack.

 

"And...there she was."

"Bowm, chicka bowm bowm!"

[Hanahope]

Yeah, Fox News knows exactly what they are doing comparing Bergdahl's father's beard to Muslim and purposefully ignoring their love of Duck Dynasty or any similarity to  ZZ Top or the Amish.  But Jon, we need you to keep pointing out the bias and absurdity of Faux News.

[ChelseaNH]

Congress has a long history of micromanaging, and I suspect Howard was looking mostly at regulations that affected government institutions rather than the private sector. 

[ganesh]

I think Real Time did the joke with Duck dynasty and Bergdahl's father's beard. Lots of guys have big beards. They could have just as easily said he looks like Santa Claus in training. 

 

The terrorists that hide behind Islam to do all this stupid shit think they're still fighting the crusades, and this bs isn't helping. 

[Fremde Frau]

I enjoyed the first two segments more than I thought I would. Jessica and Jason are always fantastic, and Jon's monologue was on point. I'm honestly a little tired of the Bergdahl brouhaha, although I realize that the right is still carrying that political football with all of its accompanying "impeach Obama!" crap in the hopes of a touchdown. And it is still very real for Bergdahl, his family, and his unit, whatever his reasons and feelings at the time may have been.

 

Jiminy, as long as people believe what comes out of Fox, I welcome Jon's obsession. Tragically, Fox is not yesterday's news but an undead force that continues to draw energy from those who consume it, its bloggish and radio siblings, and its hate-chain mail on social media. Even more tragically, this undead machine helps to elect extremists into office. Please don't stop, Jon.

 

Philip K. Howard looks like Jimmy Stewart's humorless brother.

 

The extended interview was interesting, if thoroughly depressing. I loved Howard's point about Washington attempting to govern today, and this line: "Even Mussolini made the trains run on time. ... Terrible people will try to do something to please the people. These guys [politicians in the U.S.] have given up." The idea of governance being restricted under an ever-increasing pile of laws that, however well-intentioned, do nothing to make government more efficient or more representative sounds pretty accurate. How will anyone ever be able to slog through it all and effect actual, internal change, given that "decades of accretion" have built these traditions of governance and administration that serve no consistent purpose? I have to say, his "simple law" solution doesn't really seem all that different or helpful. How would these committees, in turn, not get bogged down? It just seems to add another well-intentioned layer of entrenched law.

 

Jon's interlude about the music was such a dad/professor moment. Howard didn't seem to know where this joke was going, and Jon played it so deadpan that I thought he was leading to a joke, too. I guess someone in the audience had left their phone on. Oops!

 

(Good grief, who is Judge Jeanine on Fox? She comes across as the new Glenn Beck. Have they given up even pretending to be legitimate?)

[heebiejeebie]

While I do think that there are plenty of laws that are outdated and even contradictory to others also in force, I find Howard's notion that this is the prime reason why govt' no longer works absurd.  Our legislative branch has long been a gordian knot.  But growing entitlement among congressional lifers on both sides and the easement into filthy lucrative lobbying as their golden parachute is a stronger incentive to sit on their asses and do nothing.  The huge determination by Republicans to cripple the nation to diminish Obama and thumb their noses at the masses that dared to not vote the way the establishment minority wanted is of course also a huge reason.  If all the bleaters and blitherers on the Hill wanted to fix, say, the problems with the Veterans Administration, it could be done.  But that would staking a position.  It would mean taking on the very responsibility that Howard mentions and conveniently forgets is being shirked and ignored because a substanceless career is easier to defend when it comes to re-election and easier to sell to Corporate America when it comes time to revert to the private sector and start peddling influence. 

[dubbel zout]

who is Judge Jeanine on Fox?

Jeanine Pirro. She's held a bunch of elected positions in Westchester County in NY.

[Fremde Frau]

Thank you, dubbel zout. Somehow, I'd missed her as one of the Fox contributors. I wish I could rewind my brain and keep missing her.

 

heebiejeebie, I agree with what you're saying. I think Howard's overall point was concerning the layers of legislation which restrict people who might otherwise want to effect change, like the president, not necessarily the motives of lobbyists and congressional lifers who are content with the way things are. Jon brought up the point that some of it (legislation) seems purposeful to benefit large corporate interests, etc., but Howard seemed to be pointing out that these layers, whether well-intentioned or ill-intentioned, all add up to an overly convoluted system that makes an internal, fundamental change difficult, if not impossible. (I'm not well read in this area, though, so I may be misinterpreting his point.) It definitely doesn't help that governance in this country seems to be mostly about re-election and the prosperity of the political party, and that means feeding lobbyists and corporate interests over that of voters and the country's health at large.

[peeayebee]

I think Real Time did the joke with Duck dynasty and Bergdahl's father's beard.

 

I don't know about Real Time, but I believe Stephen did that bit on TCR.

 

I really loved Jon explaining what 'conscience' means. It's so ridiculous how some people get all up in arms about a word they don't even know the meaning of!

 

Another highlight was the collection of clips of various Muslim leaders during Bush's presidency speaking that blessing. Oh, and the ending with Bohemian Rhapsody was great.

 

BTW, wouldn't Disney have to give permission for them to use Jiminy Cricket? Seems like copyright infringement.

[ganesh]

 

If all the bleaters and blitherers on the Hill wanted to fix, say, the problems with the Veterans Administration, it could be done.

Easily. Some people in congress are already trying to allow vets to go to their own doctors, rather than have to travel several hours to the VAs; e.g., a single payer system. Which was thrown out of the ACA as a compromise/concession to republicans. 

 

The split government pretty much throughout the 80s passed budgets and laws regularly. It's not that long ago and it's not like we've had a million new laws since then that have made everything fubar. Now, it's definitely stuff like trying to repeal the ACA 50 times and use the most filibusters in the history of the nation. I blame both sides really. No one wants to really do anything and no one wants to tell everyone that they need to grow the fuck up. 

[Fremde Frau]

I wonder who did the beard/Duck Dynasty joke first. TDS did it last Tuesday, I think, but I can't recall when TCR did it. (It probably originated from someone on Twitter or Tumblr.)

 

EDIT:

Speaking of how welcome Jon's "obsession" is, here is a report (released today, ref. page 36) which finds that The Daily Show is more trusted by liberals, moderates, and independents than MSNBC to deliver accurate information, and is only slightly edged out by MSNBC with viewers who identify as Democrats. Meanwhile, not only do 53% of Republicans and 48% of conservatives trust Fox, but 26% of independents and 15% of moderates also trust them. That's downright horrifying. I completely disagree with the author of this write-up, that MSNBC is the one with the problem. That Fox is so uniformly trusted is the problem, not that MSNBC is doing it wrong. I'm quite happy, as a liberal, to say that I get my news from a variety of sources and would never trust a single source to deliver it all to me.

 

As far as Jon goes, is he really so influential that O'Reilly is accurate in labeling him the frontman of the "liberal media"? I've read old articles and such, but the show is still a new thing to me, so that concept is hard to wrap my head around, even though I love Jon and the show and continue to be impressed by them. His extended political and other "serious" interviews, in particular, have been a huge part of why I have fallen in love with this show. It feels inaccurate to even call them "interviews" (or debates). They seem like conversations to me, with Jon unapologetically bringing in his own opinions and wanting to understand the other person's point of view, which happens nowhere else on American television in quite the same way. Maybe Charlie Rose? I know some on the left would prefer him to be more hardball, and some on the right feel he's too biased towards liberals/Democrats, etc., but, for me, these conversations hit just the right note of being respectful of the guest and of the audience's intelligence while treating various issues thoughtfully if not always comprehensively or with a sense of resolution.

Edited June 10, 2014 by Fremde Frau

[Victor the Crab]

Wow Dee Dee Benkie. Is your head stuck deep up your ass or what? Smoke breaks? It's obvious you've never played in sports to know what college athletes go through.

 

Considering the stories that Bergdahl's unit were engaged in unethical behavior on their tour of duty - like deliberately running over an Afghan child - and that they were all ultimately given less than honorable discharges, I'd say it was Bergdhal's comrades that abandoned him.

[Jediknight]

I will always support any bashing of the NCAA.  They make billions off of players, but players can't sell anything they own, get a job, accept any gifts, or profit off of their own likeness.  The NCAA is a freaking cartel, they make $11 billion, but the ones that bring that money in don't see a penny of it.  Yeah they get scholarships, but I guarantee the amount of money that let's say someone like Johnny Manziel brought in to Texas A&M in one game against a mid-major, was more than what it would cost to go to A&M for 4 years.

 

Oh well, they should have mentioned that the NCAA isn't long for this world.  It's only a matter of time before the power conferences pull out, and form their own league.

[ABay]

I love The Net! That and Jumpin' Jack Flash showed women using tech competently and helped me explain to family members this newfangled internet (not innerwebz because the web didn't exist yet). Also, Jeremy Northam! Jonathan Pryce!

 

And finally, go UNIONS!

[heebiejeebie]

It's funny how I've changed over the years.  In at least small part thanks to the coverage of topics on this show since Jon took over.  When I was in college, as a non-scholarship athlete I could wax indignant over the fact that scholarship athletes were complaining about getting a free education that was hideously expensive for me and even more so for lots of other brighter students. 

 

Now I'm so hoping the NCAA gets decimated.  While not up there in terms of importance such as gun control and regulation, I would love to live to the day when the NCAA is completely dismantled.  Not going to happen.  But what a happy day when legalized athletic servitude for gross profits comes to an end.  I love college sports and hope to never see those great traditions end.  But when even pros have a hard time to get their organization to recognize health hazards in terms of the physical strain and abuse they undergo, how many hundreds if not thousands of young football players are being used in such a disgusting manner and then completely thrown away when they "blow their chance"?

[Fremde Frau]

How corrupt and petty is the NCAA? To borrow from a recent TDS heading, can they go bye now? I had no idea their rules were so absurd as to punish service men and women for some pick-up game of football.
 
I remember watching The Net when it came out, but the thing that makes me laugh alone in my house is the original Star Trek. Through the years, I have gone from laughing at them for wrongly predicting future technology to laughing at myself when I realized how closely our cutting edge technology mirrors theirs.
 
The interview was heartbreaking, again. I'd like to think that something like a national service, not just military but in other areas like healthcare, would help to unify the country, but obstructionism and politics would never allow it to happen.
 
Doocy responds to Jon with some more of that impenetrable Fox logic:

“@jefsauce: .@sdoocy has no idea what a conscience is http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/10/jon-stewart-fox-news-conscience_n_5477421.html …” that's his interpretation, I'm right

 

Edited June 11, 2014 by Fremde Frau

[dubbel zout]

I was a non-scholarship athlete in a non-income-producing sport at a Big 10 university, so I have mixed feelings about the NCAA stuff. There definitely needs to be some reform, but the idea that athletes aren't being "paid" when they're getting free room and board, tuition, and often a books/living stipend is wrong.

 

It's a complicated issue, and I'm not sure unionizing will simplify or improve things.

[peeayebee]

I think at the very least, the athletes should have their medical expenses paid. Of course that's a lot of dough, but it's only fair.

 

Wow Dee Dee Benkie. Is your head stuck deep up your ass or what? Smoke breaks? It's obvious you've never played in sports to know what college athletes go through.

 

She came off as a caricature at times. I think she was trying to be funny like with the comment about smoke breaks. However, I'm glad she did because it was hilarious seeing the football players smoking while they played.

[Fremde Frau]

Speaking of news outlets again, I feel proud to have made a breakthrough with my ultra conservative father, who just started watching Al Jazeera America after I introduced him to it. He still reads Townhall and Drudge and I bet he visits foxnews.com, but at least he no longer turns his TV to Fox and leaves it there for hours on end. Baby steps.

[ganesh]

What living stipend are scholarship athletes receiving? Because I was only aware they get tuition, room, board, and books covered. There's stories up the ass about how athletes weren't able to attend funerals for relatives because they didn't have the money to fly home or buy a suit and they aren't allowed to accept gifts from anyone. 

 

Spencer Tillman has been arguing long before this union issue that these people should have some kind of monthly stipend, like any other student on an academic fellowship or someone with workstudy. The upside of this is that the players won't be taking gifts and cash from boosters on the sly and universities won't get slapped with scandals like free tattoos. 

 

How reprehensible was that woman? One can certainly level some legit criticisms on unions, but 'worthless'? Come on. If she thinks being in a union means you get to take a smoke break, then I don't think she's quite done her research. 

[b2H]

Anyone waiting with bated breath as to how Jon deals with Eric Cantor's defeat last night?   They've had a whole day to work on it.  I bet it's beyond price.

[dubbel zout]

"Living stipend" might be the wrong term, but a grant for personal expenses is sometimes included.

[Fremde Frau]

Anyone waiting with bated breath as to how Jon deals with Eric Cantor's defeat last night?   They've had a whole day to work on it.  I bet it's beyond price.

 

I'm hoping for a bit of Southern Belle, too, for Lindsey Graham.

[ganesh]

I was referring to a monthly allowance similar to what one would get on work study. A grant is typically a one-time payment.

[Victor the Crab]

Baby eagle dressed as Jesus fired out of a AK15. That's a definite new one. Insane God freak David Brat winning the Republican nomination over Eric Cantor, thus practically giving him the seat. Very bad omen for the country.

 

Nice to find out the Senate passed a bill to help fix the VA mess. Now how will the House manage to dog fuck that one?

 

You Republicans do more than suck at polling, Frank Lutz. Just sayin'.

[ganesh]

There's apparently a bill in the House to deal with the VA mess as well. I don't know if either version has been passed yet. 

[buttersister]

House passed their version--both bills are going to some committee that will try to hammer out their differences. We'll see--nobody I read/heard bothered to enlighten me on what those might be. I count on Jon to follow it. As he called Cantor's next gig as a millionaire-to-be lobbyist. Feh.

[Wax Lion]

My husband was yelling at the TV during the VA technology segment. Sure, it's funny to laugh at old tech but my husband wanted to hear Jon, at the least, turn that into a call for Congress to buy the VA modern computer systems... or, at least, connect it to his jokes about how ineffective the VA's systems are.

 

Still shaking my head at the reporter who had to explain that a chili pepper meant hot as in good looking. Are news audiences that out of touch they need to have the definition of hot explained to them? Also shaking my head at Brat being deemed hot, he looks like the dad of a recurring friend in an 80s family sitcom.

[attica]

I liked the network teaser about Chuck being the second-famous Schumer on Comedy Central. Hee! Snap!

[Julia]

Jeanine Pirro. She's held a bunch of elected positions in Westchester County in NY.

Oh. Wow. How did I not know that Jeanine Pirro ended up at Fox?

Oh, she was so much more than a politician (although she was really bad at that). She was the most entertaining long-running trainwreck in the history of the NYSGOP's doomed campaign to sell themselves to women. Every time she tried for statewide office, something blew up.

She finally gave up running for things after she was caught on tape by the FBI trying to convince Bernie Kerik (the failed Homeland Security candidate/Friend of Rudy who ended up in prison) to wiretap her (convicted felon) husband's yacht in an attempt to catch him cheating on her. Kerik, who used to run NYC's prisons, said everyone was too scared of her husband, which didn't help.

Before she dropped out, though, she was going to be the feisty miniskirted avenger who took down first Hillary and then Andrew Cuomo on behalf of fiscally-conservative socially-moderate republicans in anklebuster heels whose pet pigs had a marble pen in the courtyard of the house her husband built with the taxes he didn't pay.

Weird that she ended up on Fox, though. The NY conservatives thought she was a RINO.

Edited June 12, 2014 by Julia

[dubbel zout]

I can't believe Schumer just laughed when Jon asked him what his e-mail address was. Nice going, Chuck. Ugh.

[solotrek]

I can't believe Schumer just laughed when Jon asked him what his e-mail address was. Nice going, Chuck. Ugh.

You can contact Schumer's office here

[ABay]

If you're Schumer's constituent, he is the guy to email. But as a resident of another state, I would need to email my Senators (Blumenthal and Murphy) and representative (DeLauro) to really have an effect.

[dubbel zout]

I know how to contact Schumer. (That isn't snotty.) I was complaining that Schumer made a point of telling people to contact their reps and then he punts on giving his address and telling people how to find it for others. He just laughs it off, when Jon was being serious. I know he couldn't see Jon, but I don't think it's too much to expect Schumer to say "Google the address." He should have followed through.

Edited June 12, 2014 by dubbel zout

[ABay]

It's true. He should've directed people to one of the many sites where you can find your rep and senators. Or, you know, Google. 8-)

[Julia]

Thomas.gov isn't something you'd have to spell out. But then, Schumer talks a good game about people getting involved, but IRL he only seems to listen if those people have brokerage firms.

Edited June 12, 2014 by Julia

[ganesh]

Schumer made a good point about bringing up legislation. It's not really a big deal that either party has different ideas on how to get things done, but you have republicans voting down the current version of the student loan bill, and when they're asked what they think would be a good solution to the problem, you get nothing. Every issue is like that. 

 

I would think no one would want to be painted as being against young people who just got out of college. It's not like student loan debt is controversial, no one is denying it exists. This seems like an easy 'win'. "Hey look, we all passed a bipartisan bill for student debt so it's less of a burden on young people just getting on their feet after college. Not bad, huh? See, we don't suck."

 

I'm wondering if TDS is going to tackle Perry's new comments on how homosexuality is like alcoholism tonight. 

[eejm]

I'm wondering if either TDS or TCR will discuss the Wilcox/Wilson editorials in The Washington Post about how being a rape victim gives a woman a desired "special status," and that marriage will magically eliminate violence against women.  Both shows have done a good job on lampooning idiotic opinions like this on women's issues before, and I'd like to hear either Jon's or Stephen's take on this round of dumbassery.

[Victor the Crab]

Oh Mess-O-Potamia, how we didn't miss you. We should all be grateful that, when Jason ripped off his Hawaiian shirt, there was another shirt underneath it, and not his naked chest.

 

You shouldn't be denied service and be discriminated for wearing Google glasses. But you do deserve to be loudly called douchebags for wearing them.

[The Luvly Junkie]

Eh, I figured Jason's "self-exposure" gimmick needed an update. Not that I appreciate Jason being leaner, it only leaves the ladies open to the imagination of how he's changed. I'm just glad tonight he got a doubly-whammy. Having both a field piece and a green screen piece wrapped in one seals the deal for this week of episodes. Initially I thought after rewatching Jason's clip of him taking off his Hawaiian button down was inspired by the Iraqi security taking off their uniforms, but the other way around from what he did. 

 

And I agree with you, Victor the Crab. Mess 'O Potamia: a segment that is so classic, that I don't miss it so much after what had happened those years ago. It's funny since the last time I watched this segment it was the one about the troops returning, which I think is the legitimately last Mess 'O Potamia. And just what I asked for: Iraqis wanting more weapons, combat missions, drones, pretty much anything resorting to violence, bloodlust and conquering lands. I'm more of a pacifist, and still don't get what drives these militant rebels to overthrow authority over the the Iraqi capital. I pity the Baghdaddy (er, Baghdadi), only because his knowledge and power he abuses obliviously show the Iraqis are doing more than just defending their country, even if it means more violence. I'm just getting sick of violence as the only resort to driving the militants (or any opponent violently forcing to attack the government) away. 

Edited June 13, 2014 by The Luvly Junkie

[peeayebee]

You shouldn't be denied service and be discriminated for wearing Google glasses. But you do deserve to be loudly called douchebags for wearing them.

 

I agree with you regarding douchebags, but I'm not so sure about the rest. Businesses have the right to refuse service. These "Google Explorers" are not being denied service because of who they are, but because of what they're doing. I think I'd feel uncomfortable sitting near someone wearing one of these, wondering if they're recording me or taking pics. I'm just not sure how society is going to deal with this since it seems here to stay.

 

I loved Jason saying, "These Philip K Dicks…"

[ganesh]

A woman was assaulted in the SF Mission for wearing the glasses, and that's not right. However, if I'm a patron in a bar or wherever, it's perfectly reasonable to ask management to tell whomever to remove their glasses. If I owned a place, I'd probably just put up a sign to let everyone know they can't wear them. 

 

But this group of people have to be ridiculously stupid if they really don't understand why people are going to be opposed to this. If you are that stupid and are that blind to your surroundings that you don't know why it might not be a good idea to wear your glasses, than you probably aren't responsible enough to have them.

 

The reasons were just idiotic. So you don't have to take your phone out of your pocket? I'm sure there are some legit reasons for having them, but because it's easier than taking your phone out of your pocket is flat out stupid. I'm extremely doubtful, that "everyone is going to be wearing them in a year" simply given that they cost $1000+. Who exactly is everyone that can afford that? Especially when the recent release of the Galaxy phone just flew off the shelves. 

 

I liked the piece because JJ was like, "seriously, you guys?" And they were actually that tone-deaf as to why this would be a problem.