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03 Aug 2011 00:49

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U.S., World: Jon Stewart’s words of inspiration from a soldier in Khandahar

  • We cooperate and we fight as hard as we can, because there will perhaps be disappointment but there will be no shame.
  • A specialist in the 655th TC, writing to Jon Stewart • In a letter Stewart mentioned on Monday’s episode of “The Daily Show.” Stewart used the episode to pay tribute to the soldiers fighting overseas after he paid a visit to Khandahar this past weekend. After displaying several t-shirts that he had promised to wear, he read some of his observations and thank yous. Stewart then read this quote from a letter from a young specialist, from one of the nicest letters he’s ever received. source

19 May 2011 16:26

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Politics: Jon Stewart dominates Bill O’Reilly’s own poll

  • Credit where credit is due: The O’Reilly Factor’s viewer polls always have a big stamp on the bottom that says “NOT A SCIENTIFIC POLL,” and that’s as true now as it was when we didn’t find their outcomes so amusing. That said, such a disclaimer also means O’Reilly and his people probably didn’t have to unleash this dispiriting (for him) result to the world. Just look at that map! Jon Stewart is one of the most convincing and talented talkers in the public eye, and it’s his willingness to have nuanced yet incisive debate with his ideological opposites that make him so. source

17 May 2011 00:36

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Politics: True story: Bill O’Reilly loves him some Weather Girls

  • Stop attacking The Weather Girls, they’re one of my favorite groups. … yeah, I love them.
  • Bill O’Reilly • In the process of a highly entertaining verbal spar with “The Daily Show” host Jon Stewart, O’Reilly let this bit of info slip. It’s worth mentioning that Stewart wasn’t attacking The Weather Girls so much as using “It’s Raining Men” as an example of non-literal songwriting, but let’s be honest, that’s of less interest than imagining Bill O’Reilly jamming out to the high energy, synthesized tones of their hit single. Big ups to Martha Wash! Down with C+C Music Factory! source

23 Feb 2011 10:30

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Politics: Anderson Cooper on getting bashed for calling Mubarak a “liar”

  • I’m not big on calling people names, or I try not to take political stands, but based on facts the guy’s lying.
  • Anderson Cooper • Talking on last night’s Daily Show about the bizarre controversy that followed him when he claimed, on-air, that Hosni Mubarak was “lying” about what was happening in Egypt. This was actually a thing for a little while, and other journalists went out of their way to criticize him. Cooper wondered aloud why journalists are “afraid to say that something that is demonstrably not true is not true…I’m not quite sure why so many people kind of shy away from that.” Our best reasoning? They went to the David Gregory school of journalism. source

19 Dec 2010 12:10

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Politics: Kirsten Gillibrand: 9/11 first responders’ health bill still on table

  • We have the votes we need. We have indications from several Republicans that they very much want to vote for this bill.
  • Sen. Kirsten E. Gillibrand • Revealing her hopes of resurrecting the 9/11 first responders’ health care bill before Christmas – this time with GOP support. If this does in fact happen (Gillibrand suggests that they’ve found ways to pay for the bill, which was the main sticking point for the GOP), we think that it will be to Jon Stewart’s credit that this happened, because his cheerleading of this bill kept it on the front-burner even when it looked like it was relegated to the back-burner. Fingers crossed that the $7.4 billion bill passes. source

09 Nov 2010 10:51

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Culture: (Most) other late-night hosts commend Conan’s return

  • I want to congratulate Conan O’Brien and his crew. They’re back on television tonight. I don’t know when… son of a bitch! They’re on the same time as me. Now I’ll never be able to watch me.
  • Jon Stewart • Making a hilarious but well-placed commendation of Conan O’Brien’s return to late night on last night’s “The Daily Show.” Letterman, George Lopez and Craig Ferguson also made some pretty good send-offs to the returning late-night host. Note that none of those guys are on NBC. Just saying. (On a side note, Leno’s getting fellow pariah Christine O’Donnell later this week. Fitting?) source

01 Nov 2010 19:08

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Politics: After the party: Reddit and Fark feel used by Stewart & Colbert

  • delight After weeks of heavy suggestion from the Internet, specifically Reddit, Comedy Central goes forward with “The Rally To Restore Sanity.” Everyone’s estatic.
  • dissing One of the co-founders of Reddit asks Stewart at a press conference how the Internet helped influence them to do the rally. His response? “It didn’t hurt.” Ouch.
  • drama Drew Curtis of Fark loudly rips Comedy Central for giving the Internet too little credit for sparking the idea. It’s the angriest we’ve ever seen Drew. source
  • » The lesson to take here: DO NOT PISS OFF THE INTERNET. EVEN IF YOU’RE JON FREAKING STEWART. THEY WILL TURN ON YOU.
 

31 Oct 2010 22:04

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Politics: Max Headroom: Examples of amplifying everything & hearing nothing

  • We hear nothing Jon Stewart had this killer line during his twelve-minute rant: “If we amplify everything, we hear nothing.” It’s so relevant to this video that you know that the second this moron starts yelling that you can ignore basically anything he says. He obviously heard nothing in the speech.
  • Missing the point And here’s someone who missed the whole point of the whole driving-through-the-tunnel analogy, which is that we have our differences and such but we’re just normal people. This guy instead suggests that “sanity” will be restored by Tuesday’s election. Not the same thing, buddy.
  • Here’s the point You know what critics of the rally are missing out of all of this? The inherent, almost simplistic euphoria that was around the event. The excitement that was there. There’s no politics in this video. Only a simple exchange between a random dude and a hot girl holding an “America” sign. Fuck yeah!

31 Oct 2010 20:26

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Politics: DC Metro numbers suggest huge “Rally to Restore Sanity” crowds

  • 350,000 number of trips the DC Metro has on an average Saturday
  • 825,437 number of trips the DC Metro had yesterday source
  • » To put it in perspective: The rally had the highest Saturday ridership ever – passing the record set in June 1991, when a rally was held for Operation Desert Storm. That rally gave Metro around 786,358 trips that day. And assuming the riders went round-trip yesterday, that means 237,719 extra riders were on the Metro yesterday. That doesn’t mean 237,719 extra people – the tally doesn’t account for multiple trips by the same rider – but suffice it to say that the crowd was really huge yesterday. And no, the Beck rally (which also took place on a Saturday) didn’t even rate in the top five (which is what we know you were really wondering).

30 Oct 2010 19:36

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Politics: Stewart/Colbert rally: The highlights of the awesomest event evah!

  • There were many great moments in today’s Rally To Restore Sanity and/or Fear. But above is probably the best. The way Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert raided their record collections to pull three well-known artists that have nothing in common (other than really famous songs with word “train” in the title) was brilliant. Cat Stevens/Yusuf Islam hasn’t exactly been in the spotlight for a good thirty years, partially by choice. And, as certain conservative pundits will remind you, he said something very stupid 21 years ago. So what? If anything, Stewart’s use of Islam only proves the point of the rally. Other key parts of the day:
  • oneThe Mythbuster dudes turned the rally into a giant science experiment, complete with “The Wave.” Awesome use of a crowd.
  • twoStephen Colbert first came out using a contraption not unlike the one used to rescue the Chilean miners. LOL. Freaking brilliant.
  • three Jon Stewart said this: “Sometimes the light at the end of the tunnel isn’t the promised land, it’s just New Jersey, but we do it anyway.” source
  • » Oh, and the signs! We can’t forget the signs. There were many of them. Here are some of the highlights. And here are some more. And to the users of Reddit: Way to come out in force for this one! Digg only wishes it had this kind of influence on current events.