The First Nerd

This is a fantastically funny speech by John Hodgman, one of my favorite Daily Show correspondents and the PC Guy on Apple commercials, at the Radio and Television Correspondents Dinner. Since I'm blogging about this speech, I guess I'm a nerd, but I'm sure you already figured that one out.

Tyranny or Democracy?

Yesterday, one of my co-workers asked me if I was going to a tea party on April 15. Of course, he said this over the cube panel and not to my face. If he did, he would have seen the look of astonishment on my face. I shouldn't have been surprised. He's a Republican, like the half of our staff - there are only eight of us. Although, I'm not 100% sure if we actually have a fourth liberal in our midst. Anyway, my tea-throwing co-worker has never been a fan of Barack Obama and usually insists on trying to drag me into a political discussion. I refuse to succumb to his challenges. I'm a firm believer that politics should not be a dominant part of the workplace. It's a touchy subject, just like religion. Most people are passionate about both subjects, so I really really try to avoid them. I admit that I have talked about religion at work. No one is perfect.

So, back to the question at hand: tyranny or democracy? I really think that Jon Stewart expresses it best in the following clip. Do we really live in a society where if you degree with the person in power that you go the the extreme of calling him/her a creating a Fascist world or for being tyrannical? That's how I see the talking heads on Fox News - extremists. The part that scares me is that people watch that drivel and believe it and feed on the rage and unpleasantness.

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Just a taste...

After I've had a little time to process my short involvement in the campaign, I'll write a longer blog post. For now, I'll leave you with this clip.



Look closely. I think Stephen Colbert is tearing up.

The Real America?

The Wordy Shipmates

The best part is at the end of this interview.

Clinton on The Daily Show

I'm sorry that I'm late on posting these videos. I think this is a great interview and now I remember why I voted for Bill.

Turn on the time machine...

...and go back five years to a young Stephen Colbert as a correspondent on The Daily Show. Colbert is the king of making outlandish speeches with a straight face.

Emmys

Congrats to a few of my favorite shows - The Colbert Report, The Daily Show, and Mad Men - on winning Emmys this evening.

For your viewing pleasure, here is Stephen's plea for an Emmy from last week.

Stephen Colbert at the 2000 RNC

Flashback to the 2000 RNC and watch a younger Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart.

The Two Faces of Fox News Pundits

I love it when Jon Stewart catches pundits and politicians (on either side) in hypocrisy.

UPDATE: As of September 8, this clip has been viewed on Comedy Central's site, 2,994,135 times. Wow!

Lara Logan on The Daily Show

Lara Logan is tough, honest, and intelligent. I wish that more of her stories made it on the air. I've admired her work on 60 Minutes and her reports on CBS Radio. Maybe she needs to switch networks, because it's obvious in this interview that CBS is not giving her or her stories a fair chance.

Moment of Zen

At the end of every Daily Show, Jon Stewart shows a "Moment of Zen", and usually it's a funny bit from the day's news. Last night, Jon aired a very poignant part of his interview with Tim Russert in 2004, when Tim published "Big Russ and Me". The above clip shows the first part of the interview.



The second part of the interview is probably one of the most informative and insightful moments I've seen on The Daily Show. Please note that Tim and John are discussing the war in Iraq during an election year. Hmmm...does that sound familiar?