“That’s just idiotic. (ahem, Jon Stewart is a comedian, u know that don’t you?)”

NO! Really?

Seriously though, yes he is a comedian–and one that I’m convinced is cast in the role of Mark Twain, a sharp wit with the gumption to call it like he sees it, in a way that is both entertaining and critical. That’s a rare gift–and frankly it seems to me that in the past 6 – 8 years, the *only* sharp observations and criticisms that are the backbone of American society have been coming from comedians.

Think about that and chew on it for a while.

I hid the primary content of this post from most folks since it’s not apropos to why many people visit, but that said, I’m not sure which “half” I’d be alienating…the current administration’s policies have historically low approval ratings (as does the congress, FWIW).

As I noted (and as Tom re-iterated), I’m not a partisan for any party, but I do care about policy. On that basis – and that basis alone – I lament what the Republicans are doing to this election. Before their convention, there was a chance that it could be decided on policy, but no more. If it’s really “offensive” to you that I’ve pointed out that the Republicans have re-kindled the culture war distractions which have kept us from serious policy progress in the last 8 years…well, I don’t know what to say. Clearly you think I’m being partisan when I’m simply decrying a lack of seriousness in the part of at least one of the parties contesting this election.

You might not agree with me on policy, but please, don’t pretend that I’m alienating folks by noting that there are logical incongruities here.

Regards

That’s just idiotic. (ahem, Jon Stewart is a comedian, u know that don’t you?)

There’s nothing wrong with that.

What *is* wrong with your commentary is that you dismiss a reasonable and intelligent argument about how the GOP has been in the business of deceiving Americans for the sake of power for at least 8 years, simply because Alex’s viewpoints are coming from the left. And in doing so, you reasonably demonstrate exactly how successful they’ve been at it.

Once upon a time, I considered myself aligned with (what I considered then) the Republican Party–albeit in what used to be a NY way (a friend described it well to me once: socially liberal, fiscally conservative). Even if I hadn’t been trending towards the left, I’d be disgusted with the GOP right now.

And it’s not because I don’t agree with the philosophies behind it (though that’s pretty high up on my list).

It’s because they’ve mastered the media, brought into play propaganda techniques most commonly seen in the more repressive governments in the world, and basically played a huge game of deception with the American public.

In a word, they’ve broken our trust.

If it weren’t for people like Jon Stewart or factcheck.org, most of us wouldn’t know half of what is real and what isn’t–and I think that’s the point Alex is making here.

I also happen to think that if the shoe were on the other foot–i.e. it was the Democratic Party pulling these things–Alex would have no problem ripping them for it as well. I certainly would.

Why did you waste your time writing this? All it does is piss off 50% of potential Dojo users. I find it annoying

For some more interesting and incendiary viewing, you can search on YouTube for “Rally for the Republic” and see what was going on down the street among Ron Paul’s supporters. FactCheck.org, unfortunately, didn’t track that event but I have a feeling it was more accurate than the RNC.