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Jon Stewart on "Energy Independence"

I've written several things about the superficiality of "energy independence" and "getting off oil," but why bother when The Daily Show does it so much better.
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Discussions - 13 Comments

I almost choked on my lunch watching that. What a wonderful explanation to the young of adult cynicism on the topic. "Here's why I roll my eyes when you tell me America is on the verge of ending dependency on petroleum products." Lovely. Thank you!

Good clip. Did you catch his excellent 12-second summary of how today's conservatives and their GOP have gone off the deep end? Nixon describing a healthcare plan that would've sent Glenn Beck and his disciples into a blind rage. For those NLTers who might miss it, Stewart was kidding when he said that Nixon was a Communist.

What are conservatives offering on this current mess, though? No Hope, Why Bother Trying, and More Wars For Oil? No matter how or why Obama's take on things is unappealing, I don't see people reaching for the right-wing alternative (see Barton apologizing to BP), to the extent it's even articulated beyond "Drill, baby, drill" and "Obama's trying to destroy America," etc.

People are catching on that the oil isn't going to last forever, and that our use of it at current levels can be problematic, to say the least (even man global warming deniers see that). They want some ideas and actions that are better than the ludicrous drill baby drill. Reminds me of the guys stuck in a hole they've dug and repeating the mantra "Just keep digging!"

Actually, when Stewart got to his ending bit, my first thought was, "OMG--The John Birch Society was right about Nixon all along!!!"

Ah yes, the John Birch Society - a cosponsor of this year's CPAC. Listed right before John M. Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs!

https://www.cpac.org/sponsors.html

I think they call that 'listing stuff in alphabetical order.'

I wouldn't be too sure that the "right-wing alternative" has no appeal to voters, even given its (from your point of view) lack of articulation. What ideas had the left articulated before 2008? (Besides "George W. Bush is trying to destroy America!")

Or, were the proposed versions of health care reform "articulate"!?!?

Gee, there once was a time when government didn't have to have an idea about everything.

Very perceptive picking up on the alpha order of that listing, Owl. Did I even imply that there was a deeper reason as to why they were next to each other on the list? No. Heck, very few of the groups listed there I would even consider remotely respectable. It's not like OathKeepers, NewsMax, or any Horowitz outfit is honorable company to keep, either. It's just funny that Ashbrook and the Birchers happened to be tucked right together there.

Did I imply that you implied that there was another reason they were listed together? No.

This is why I don't watch Stewart -- no matter how right his opinion may seem, there will inevitably be the Lefty switch at the end. The man is no friend to us.

As for Nixon, no one claims the man was conservative. Wage and prize freezes? The EPA? Affirmative action? There's a laundry list of things that would categorize this man as a liberal Republican. In short, I found Stewart's little switch disingenuous. How atypical!

I will admit that I enjoyed the bit before that little twist at the end.

"Did I imply that you implied that there was another reason they were listed together?"

Then why bother to (snidely) mention what is excruciatingly obvious, with the "I think they call that..." bit??

My point was that, to whatever extent today's self-identified Respectable Right tries to unburden itself from loons like the Birchers, the fact is that they're still operating (sometimes openly, sometimes less so) in the same circles.

And I suppose your exclamation point after “Listed right before John M. Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs!” had nothing to do with being “snide.” But that’s typical of the liberal double standard. And of course, there aren’t ANY “loons” on the left. (Snideness purely intentional.)

I think my comment could only be seen as snide if you actually think that it's shameful for Ashbrook to be working alongside the Birchers on a list of CPAC co-sponsors. If you don't think that, then I don't see how it could be seen as such.

Well, that depends upon what you mean by "working alongside." The Birchers isolated themselves pretty well at CPAC.

Craig was just being a smartass--that's what he does, for the most part. No reason to get bent out of shape (that's his payoff, by the way).

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