So why would I have anything to say about Fox News then? Well, I see clips on Youtube every now and then. Also, I see bits on The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. In the case of the two comedy shows, often all they have to do is just roll the clip and the audience is already laughing. All Stewart and Colbert have to do is point out the obvious.
Anyway, often when this happens, I feel the need to write a blog about something stupid that Hannity, Beck, O'Reilly, whoever said. Then I realize that all I'd be doing is repeating the points that Stewart and Colbert made. In other words, I'd be like those conservative bloggers who watch the Fox News shows and then just repeat AD NAUSEUM those same talking points. (Ever hear of William Ayers?! Oooh!!! Scary!!!!) I didn't want to create some sort of liberal echo chamber with my blog.
With that said, I just have to say something about what a total idiot Sean Hannity is. I'll include the clip from The Daily Show at the bottom if you want to watch it. Shoot, in order to be "fair and balanced" I'll also include of Douchebag Magoo's show as well. Basically, what's going on is that Hannity is once again blaming Obama for everything from athlete's foot to Megan Fox's acting. This time, however, he's going on about how water is being withheld from some farmers in order to save a fish.
Hannity is of course outraged by all this. He points out that it's just a two-inch fish. After all, trying to save a fish that's so small is really dumb! I mean, if it were a tuna, then we'd have something to talk about here. But two-inches? Why the hell are they even there in the first place? They're obviously God's (Odin's) mistake.
Well, John Stewart already pointed out the stupidity of his complaint, as he's blaming it all on big government. However, if Hannity bothered with things like fact-checking (or maybe he does and just doesn't care) he'd know that there wouldn't even be farms there in the first place if it wasn't for the government. While this certainly goes a long way to proving Hannity's incompetence as a journalist, I'll give his viewers and supporters a pass on that. After all, I sure as hell didn't just happen to know that those farms exist due to government stimulus from the Roosevelt era either. (Although that doesn't surprise me.)
What really gets me with Hannity is his continuous pointing out of the fact that the fish is just two inches. What also gets me is that no doubt his viewers think that this is a good point. Of course, Stewart makes fun of this too, but am I the only one who's deeply disturbed by the fact that there are so many people who don't even have a concept of fourth grade biology? By Heimdall's beard! I remember learning about the food chain in elementary school! Are these people really so stupid that they don't think that killing off this one small fish could potentially have a devastating impact on the entire ecosystem? (And, as Stewart pointed out, putting another industry completely out of business.)
I realize by now that I'm really not doing much more than echoing what's already been said. However, I guess my problem is that I don't even find this a good piece for comedy. With this issue alone, Sean Hannity proves that he's either a total idiot or a complete cynic. Which is worse? I'm not sure. What's also disturbing? As much as I don't want to believe it, we have a lot of really stupid people in this country. If it's not that, we have a lot of people who are so scared that they've shut their brains off, and that still amounts to nothing more than stupidity.
Today's "Stan Lee Challenge" title is a tribute to Fantastic Four #56 - "Klaw: The Murderous Master of Sound"
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Where the Riled Things Are | ||||
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8 comments:
Too bad that Hannity is not an endangered species. I read on the banner underneath that they are going to shoot 2000 ducks in the NY area, because it was ducks who brought down the plane over the Hudson. Do they ever mention that the ducks are not native to this area but were brought there to breed for the purpose of being used for hunting?
I'm no defendant of Sean Hannity, he's a dipshit. But is he wrong in this case? I agree that the size of the fish is irrelevant, but the only argument I've heard in favor of saving the smelt is, "it's an endangered species." That isn't a very compelling reason to deprive California farms of irrigation. It's not like this is some keystone species. It's tragic that all of these farms were saved in the depression by subsidies only to be put out of business by the same government just to boost the delta smelt numbers.
Matt,
I wouldn't go so far as to say that this isn't a serious issue and that maybe buried deep down he has a point that's worth considering. (Actually, the farmers do - I won't give him credit for anything.)
My issue has more to do with the cynical way he presents this. He's only jumping on this because it's one more way of making the Obama administration look bad.
As for the endangered species thing being the only argument, wasn't that guy from the fishing industry saying that its disappearance would also effect the salmon and other ocean fauna? That seems to be as equally a devastating proposition as the loss of these farms.
As I understand it, the smelt is an indicator species. It's not important in and of itself, but it serves as a gauge for the relative health of the watershed. The thought is, what's good for the smelt is good for the salmon. The fact is, invasive species like bass have a way bigger impact on salmon and smelt populations. I don't understand how shutting off pumps is going to change that.
But, I agree with your thoughts about Mr. Hannity. He's pretty much only good at polarizing an issue.
btw, I blogged this. :)
Matt,
I hate it when you use facts to support your points. Therefore, my response will be as follows:
SHUT UP!!! SHUT UP!!! SHUT UP!!!!
It's great to see Hannity sticking up for the farmers and all of the workers, who I'm sure are all 100% legal US citizens. I'm looking forward to watching Sean Hannity Presents "A Very Special Cesar Chavez Day Celebration."
Interestingly, as I was driving through this area today, I was talking about posting a blog on the same topic...
I don't know who this katherine person, but she's celebrating the festivities of Blog-a-Day month. That makes her OK in my book.
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