@GottaLaff Looking back, part of Stewart’s comedy was always both-sides-ing. But it didn’t seem harmful back then. Other shows, like South Park, were doing it too.
But Stewart and other people and shows pushing empty both-sides narratives were doing a lot of harm to the world. I wish we’d all pushed back harder back then.
@GottaLaff Dont know a lot about this fellow but the age thing made a few appearances in the UK press. Even outlets I would have thought would have given it short shrift. We had the same "represent both sides" during brexit (how did that go after?). People with no ability were put up against experts so a news org could claim balance when there never was any, there was an interesting Venn diagram of ability . This age thing seems to have been a coup for the T camp.
@GhostOnTheHalfShell@GottaLaff I think Stewart's extensive commentary & expanded clarification on that issue has already ruled out that possibility.
The harsh criticisms that followed will only make him dig his heels in deeper.
Stewart is no ally or of Biden nor trump, but unfortunately, not of Democracy either.
I hope you're wrong (but I am not going exclude that you might be right). TBH I have only seen small samples of his stuff for the last few years and may be missing a great deal of context.
I don't think Stewart has to be or necessarily should be an ally of Biden. He's making remarks in line with (left-wing) foreign and domestic observers regarding Biden and Trump and US Politics. A lot of people have called into question the nature of US politics for years now; they rightly ask if gerontocracy isn't a (symptom of a) problem. This has been complicated by the nature of the rivals.
Trump is an aged, deadly menace to the US.
Biden is just darn old.
Biden is a darn old Statesman and faithful sreward of the U.S. Constitution and the U.S. middle class (if not the Public Health + the sovereignty of foreign nations not in Europe).
Fully agree. But as a person who has long been uncomfortable over US gerontocracy, I respond differently to Stewart's monolog and I can see why others are dismayed by it.
@GottaLaff I was annoyed by her take. I deleted it part way through reading and my unsubscribe due to her poor interpretation. What he said was on point. Both are old but there’s a huge difference he pointed out very clearly.
I think the fear of facing the age issue triggered a negative response for a few from the message intended. Jon made it clear when he used T’s flub ups when implication he was talking about Joe.
@GottaLaff Jon’s shtick is always dragging on (a topic). Perhaps, since it’s been a topic of late, he addressed it, pointed out more so T is actually the dimwit not Biden, now next week move on.
‘When asked about President Biden running again, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-NY) told CNN: “I know who I’m going to choose. It’s going to be one of the most successful presidents in modern American history.”’
@GottaLaff Watched it, loved it, and love him. The first block of the show was poignant, powerful, and showed the hypocrisy of our political system. If you’re an extremist, you probably hated it or didn’t think it was because he punched down at power brokers from both parties.
But the former President got the worst of it and rightly so.
@GottaLaff I wasn’t speaking about you, per se, Laffy. When I wrote “If you’re an extremist”, it was a general statement to those on the thread.
I’ve observed that the folks who dislike Jon Stewart are generally the furthest from center. I’m guessing that’s cuz they resist seeing that they, too, hold flawed positions & double standards.
This is why I loved his first block on Monday night. The age “debate” isn’t a debate: it’s manufactured. On both sides.
@thetechtutor I included myself because I did hate it. I thought it was self defeating and perpetuated the ageism bashing. He should have gone after Hur, not taken half the show to make Biden look like a doddering old fool.
And I love Jon Stewart! But I don't like when he both sides stuff. Irks me.
@GottaLaff i'am on Jon Stewarts side - you can't ignore the fact that both are old. The one is a #fashist#gopisevil, the other a decent man. But you need to tackle the issue upfront. #evilgop will come after it anyhow.
@DrGeraintLLannfrancheta Not the point here. It’s about equating the two. And to spend half the show bashing Biden’s age when he’s doing a great job, as opposed to going after a fascist, was unbelievably destructive. Ageism is wrong. Both-sidesing is wrong. The two candidates are not equal in any way, shape or form. The way he went about talking about age was disgusting and self defeating, not fair or just an acknowledgment of Biden’s age. Show me where Biden’s age has disrupted democracy.
Dude passed the Green New Deal. He just called it the Inflation Reduction Act. Transformative legislation, it's already turbocharging our transition to a wind/solar/electric economy and creating tons of jobs to boot.
Of course, you'll never hear about it in the media because they're too busy talking about his age.
@GottaLaff@DrGeraintLLannfrancheta but people are already repeatedly talking about Joe’s age whereas Jon pointed out that he’s still capable and that Joe’s definitely not Trump.
@GottaLaff@DrGeraintLLannfrancheta I would love to say to people bashing Biden for stumbling, "ok then - we have this political speech on that teleprompter over there, the material is kind of dry and there are tens of millions of people watching so don't fuck it up or there will be all hell tomorrow".
Guaranteed 99% of them don't even get more than a few words out before they are flapping their cheeks. (Do feel free to play along at home folks)
@GottaLaff Jon Stewart is not funny. He had great writers years ago, but he doesn’t have them now. He’s a limousine liberal, he’s got his money, so he really doesn’t care about the normal person who struggles in the world he helped create.
I like Jon... but really think he was off base by quite a bit here. No, Biden doesn't deserve double scrutiny. I see what Pres. Biden has done over the last 3 years and it's a more than admirable job... not for his age... for any president. I get Jon's schtick... it failed at one of the most important times in our history. The stakes are far to high for what he tried to pull off. I agree completely with Mary on this one.
Jon is right about one thing.... "I’m not saying you don’t have to worry about who wins the election. I’m saying you have to worry about every day before it and every day after, forever."
@GottaLaff Mary's not wrong, but likely went too far, by making the assertion that Stewart was responsible for trump in 2016, etc.
Just wait. He's about to make a complete mockery of his critics and the audience will eat it up.
@GottaLaff
Jon Stewart is one of those Bernie Bros that helped spread Russian malinformation about DNC support for Hilary and has never gotten over it.
@2rawtooreal put out a nice video with some receipts. Here's just a short clip from the four minute video. It's a damn good campaign video imo.
@GottaLaff
I use Bernie Bros for the ones that didn't vote for Biden and helped put Trump in office. That was their choice in our democracy of course, but they need to take ownership of the results of the choice they made imo.
@GottaLaff
Jon Stewart is a Bernie supporter, but I haven't heard him questioning Bernie's age. In fact, he doubled down his support for him after Sanders' heart attack, but now he's attacking Joe Biden for being too old.
I apologize for bringing up Bernie Sanders in my reply. I didn't know that you are a big supporter and that's fine.
It seems clear that Jon Stewart attacks against Democrats is related to his support for Bernie Sanders which is why it came up.
@GottaLaff
I think that who Jon Stewart preferred in 2016 and 2020 is the reason that he appears to despise Joe Biden which is the question you asked me. He of course may have other reasons related to taxing rich people or something, idk.
This year's contest is between Biden/Harris and whoever the GOP nominee is along with the No Labels, Green Party and independents.
We don't know if Republicans are going to nominate a potentially criminally indicted candidate yet.
@GottaLaff
I get your point about refraining from using terms like Bernie Bros that can make people upset though and I'll try to refrain and retire it.
@GreenFire I appreciate the apology, but this isn’t about my feelings. It’s about gratuitous slams against Bernie and/or Bernie supporters, when in fact, Bernie is irrelevant here, no matter how much of a fan Jon is of his.
It stirs things up against Bernie unnecessarily, it’s irrelevant to this election.
I’ve been a Bernie supporter for decades. Why? Because he’s one of the few Washington politicians with the courage of his convictions, and he is able to push back effectively when it counts. He’s a force for Good in Washington. Having said all that, when it came down to voting, I went for Clinton. @GreenFire@GottaLaff
@GreenFire@GottaLaff@2rawtooreal I voted for Biden but are we all pretending he isn’t old as fuck and does have verbal slip ups constantly? The Dems could field a candidate between, say, the ages of 50 and 70, if they wanted.
@GreenFire@GottaLaff@2rawtooreal a culture that respects stepping aside for the competent. Boomers never let go of shit, which is why we have a choice between the Antichrist and a possibly forgetful great-grandpa.
So you’re of the opinion that the best candidate the Dems can find is a guy in his 80s, in the entire political class of the USA? Ok then.
@openbuddha@GottaLaff@2rawtooreal
Joe Biden has been known for his gaffes for a long time. Heck, Robin Williams joked about it and he's been dead even longer than Beau has.
Joe Biden is doing a terrific job and we have a saying where I come from, "Don't switch horses midstream". If you think that you can do a better job than our elected leaders, I encourage for you to run in order to prove that your opinion is worthwhile.
I wonder since you are pushing disinformation from our adversaries.
@GreenFire@GottaLaff@2rawtooreal lol. What disinformation? That he reliably fucks up names and locations in speeches? I just have to watch current events for that. Wonder away, though. Clearly you’re of the opinion that our only hope is an 80+ year old white dude. Really ponder that sometime and then ask the Dems why they can’t possibly groom a younger person? I’d kill for someone as young as Obama was at this point. Maybe he’d remember who runs Egypt.
Before you call for the incumbent to drop out please learn about the 1968 election campaign that gave us Nixon.
It should be obvious to everyone why Russia and our other foreign adversaries are trying so hard to get Biden out of office since he's done such a good buttressing democracy here and abroad, but Americans are basically too selfish to think about the big picture it seems sadly.
@openbuddha@GottaLaff@2rawtooreal
All of this rampant ageism and disrespect for our elders just stuns me, but I guess Trump has made our political discourse a lot more coarse.
Just wait and see. It's going to be beautiful to watch that experienced, wise, and compassionate public servant operate without having to worry about another election ever for the first time in his long career.
@GreenFire@GottaLaff@2rawtooreal when my grandfather was his age, he’d retired for over 15 years and worked on genealogy and building electronics. He’d been an incredible electrical engineer for over 40 years but he wasn’t out there trying to design parts for new planes. He understood about stepping back and advising the next generation or two, not holding onto things until death. Boomers never let go.
@openbuddha@GottaLaff@2rawtooreal
If Joe Biden had of had his way, he'd be traveling with his grandchildren, but too few Americans voted in 2016 so he had to come out of retirement and try to do what he was the best positioned to do, help save our country.
I'm willing to let him get another term to continue making things better. You do whatever you want while blaming boomers like me for whatever you want dude.
Hmmm, I got a reply from this guy in my notifications, and I can see it there, but when I click on it I get an error, and I see zero posts under his profile.
Does this mean he's blocked me? I don't really mind that - it's totally his right - but I am kinda curious. Does anyone know if that's what being blocked looks like? (I use Tusky, if that matters.)
Ah, one link opened in a browser and I can see that he posted two counter-arguments to me, and then blocked me.
I'll drop two comments, and then stop, because even as I'm doing this I can feel how silly this is getting.
1 - "I just about guarantee that I’ve voted in more elections in my life than you have." The first presidential election I voted in gave Reagan his first term. You're wrong there.
2 - I watched in 1999 as bullshit media narratives pushed the election away from Gore , and within a few dirty tricks and a kinda corrupt Supreme Court of GWB.
R's have gotten dirtier and the court's more corrupt, and here come the narratives.
All I care about is what will keep the fascists out, and if your need to speak your truth will discourage others, to hell with it.
@GreenFire Anyone who is stupid enough to think we can run another candidate now, and who says whatever it is @openbuddha is blathering about gets a block.
Wow. The ageism and apparent ignorance of this one is staggering.
You could be 35 years old and if every word you say outside your bedroom was made public from multiple video angles, we could construe arguments that you're senile too. You'd gaff too. A lot. We all do.
Gaffing is a very natural thing for literally every human being with the capacity for speech. Why gaffs are looked at as political weakness is entirely about how they're framed in the media.
@GottaLaff I watched the first eight minutes, all belittling Biden, with a 30 second nod to the insane orange pustule. I'm done with him. Worst travesty, NOT FUNNY
@GottaLaff What was that? I closed TDS when it became clear where he was headed. Do we think Flanky McHedgerows has some leverage over Jon? Gotta appreciate Mary. If only she had as large an audience as TDS. (I miss Trevor already.)
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