Journal of Post-Ralphaelite Thought

Former Arkansas Governor/Baptist Preacher Mike Huckabee has the "aw shucks" act down pat. He can spew the most incredibly offensive drivel imaginable and still sound like a reasonable, well-intention person. I bet if he'd been in Salem, Massachusetts he'd have convinced those poor women they deserved to be burned as witches. Brother Huckabee recently compared efforts to legalize same-sex marriage to legalizing incest, polygamy and drug use. He's quoted in The Perspective ( student publication of The College of New Jersey ), as saying, "You don't go ahead and accommodate every behavioral pattern that is against the ideal...That would be like saying, well, there are a lot of people who like to use drugs, so let's go ahead and accommodate those who want to use drugs. There are some people who believe in incest, so we should accommodate them. There are people who believe in polygamy, so we should accommodate them." Afterwards, Huckabee took...

Okay -- if you accused me of link-whoring I'd be hard-pressed to deny it. Ron Paul, anointed as one of the few worthies amongst my erstwhile Libertarian drinking buddies, was on Jon Stewart last night to promote his new book. Despite his rock star status within the ranks of the Libertarians, Representative Paul is technically a House Republican. I'll say I can tolerate his brand of Republicanism a little more than some of the other flavors. Jon Stewart did a pretty good interview,although it seemed (to me anyway) there were times the Representative from Houston was clearly thinking, "What the fuck?" I'll let you decide for yourself why. As Stewart would say, "Here's your moment of Zen..." The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c Ron Paul www.thedailyshow.com Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Ron Paul Interview

The King is dead, long live the King. This is slightly stale, but a recent TIME online survey (we all know how accurate those are) reveals Jon Stewart of the Daily Show is now the most trusted newscaster in America . TIME's handy results page lets you show the numbers state by state. NBC's Brian Williams, a frequent Daily Show guest, takes the number two position. Despite the rampant goofiness of the show, the Daily Show consistently out reports the "mainstream media," in terms of their guests and in the research and preparation for said guests. Don't believe me? Just ask Jim Cramer . And here it is, your moment of Zen .

Clifford May , President of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies , attempts to defend the Bush White House torture policies on the Daily Show. God bless Jon Stewart. The Daily Show With Jon Stewart M - Th 11p / 10c Cliff May thedailyshow.com Daily Show Full Episodes Economic Crisis First 100 Days The above is the televised excerpt; the complete un-edited interview is available on the Daily Show website. Excellent stuff. As always.

By now you've at least heard about Thursday's Daily Show, wherein Jon Stewart pulled off his foolscap and grilled former hedge-fund trader turned business entertainer Jim Cramer about CNBC's (and the business news networks in general) failure to rise above mindlessly parroting the lies and half-truths fed them by the folks who brought you our current financial fiasco. Jon Stewart once again showed his "fake" news show does news better than the "real" news shows: his staff prepped him with a series of clips he rolled anytime his subject protested he was misquoted or hadn't said something. Jim Cramer was left no wiggle room. When was the last time you saw that sort of interview on, say, NBC? It was effective and devastating. By the end, Cramer was contrite and apologetic. Say what you will, Cramer went knowing he was going to get bitch-slapped. He gets marks for doing it anyway - unlike Rick Santelli, who's done little more than whine after Stewar...

By now who hasn't at least heard of CNBC on-air financial personality Rick Santelli's " Rant Heard Round the World, " in which he castigates "losers" who shouldn't get help by the government on their mortgages. Santelli, a former commodity and futures trader turned professional entertainer, launched his diatribe from the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, surrounded by the guys we can thank for $4.00 a gallon gas not too long ago. Short investment lesson: greed whips up panic over the cost of gasoline in 6 months and people investing in futures bid up the price to astronomical levels. Traders make a shitload of money. Fear they paid too much grips investors and the price falls like a stone. Traders make another shitload of money. "On-Air Editor" Rick Santelli's job? Whip up the fear and panic. Down in the pit where Rick prowls there's been a huge market over the last few years in " derivatives :" financial contracts, o...

As funny as he is, Jon Stewart of the Daily Show is often at his best when he stops being funny. Here he is, earlier this week, debating Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee on gay marriage. This was an amazing exchange. I don't think I have ever heard the case put forth for gay marriage rights any better. If I had it in my power, I would have given him an Emmy right there on the spot. The Daily Show With Jon Stewart M - Th 11p / 10c Mike Huckabee Pt. 2