I’m preparing to host tonight’s Mike Malloy Show, so not much time to go into details or deep background. Suffice to say, once again, Jon Stewart and The Daily Show have shamed the bulk of the mainstream media by demonstrating, in just a matter of minutes, what journalism looks like. Or is supposed to. His entire show last night became devoted to one single issue.
It starts here, in the first segment, with Stewart taking his final shot of the year (on his final show of the year) at Senate Republicans who have shamefully “filibustered” to avoid voting on the “Zadroga Bill”, an act to provide health care funding for 9/11 first responders, many of them suffering and dying from severe issues, including cancer and other serious respiratory disease, along with the failure of Fox “News” and the major broadcast networks (ABC/NBC/CBS) to even mention the story and the outrageous insult by those who have, for years, pretended to give a damn about 9/11 and those who gave their lives in responding to it…
Next, in perhaps the most important/journalistic segment, Stewart interviewed, in studio, four New York City first responders, some of them suffering from cancer following the toxic, hazardous conditions they worked in, with inadequate protection, on the day of, and in the months following 9/11, and allowed them to respond directly to the behavior of GOP Senators and Fox “News”…
Lastly, Stewart speaks with his guest, former and future Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, former Governor of Arkansas and current host of a Fox “News” weekend show, about the GOP’s outrageous position on the bill, and Fox’s hypocritical failure to virtually even mention it…
And that’s what journalism looks like. Is that so frickin’ difficult?! Thanks to Stewart, The Daily Show and Comedy Central for the reminder. Again.
[The extended web interview with Huckabee, largely concerning his book, his possible run for the Presidency, and on Fox “News”, can be viewed here.]
Don’t get me wrong, the Daily Show & Jon Stewart were great last night, but the implications of Stewart’s words 3,378 days ago, and what they show about todays sordid debate seem (to me at least) even more relevant.
Check it out: 9/11 First Responders Bill, Recalling The Spirit of Jon Stewart
P.S. Good luck hosting the Mike Malloy show tonight, you’ll love the youtube video on our site of him giving me a shout out 😉
Now, will Jon (or Colbert or Olbermann or Maddow or Maher) follow this up by interviewing 9/11 victim’s families and Richard Gage or David Ray Griffin or Jesse Ventura? I think not.
Geraldo Rivera did such an interview a few weeks back. What is keeping MSNBC from doing the right thing, like Geraldo did on FOX? What does MSNBC have against discussing the real 9/11 investigation that the 9/11 victim’s families and millions of Americans want?
Here is Geraldo on WTC #7:
http://buildingwhat.org/buildingwhat-appears-on-geraldo-at-large-on-fox-news/
Poor Huckabee, Stewart left him with nowhere to go!
Front-running populism today is trying to pick up the pieces of the fact that Jon Stewart’s producer assaulted a “truther”. Nice work idiots.
scientific journalism… preach it Brad, PREACH it or why not just turn off all the comments.
Of all the rethugs that aspire to the presidency Huckabee is the only one that is marginally acceptable. While his alliance with the right wing Christians is more than a bit off putting, his beliefs are not all that different from those of Jimmy Carter.
The one thing that is in his favor is a real populist POV toward the average American’s plight. If the rethugs were smart he would be their 2012 candidate – but being smart doesn’t seem to be their long suit. And, regardless of his personal commitment to a populist revival the over reaching commitment to the corporations that the rethugs are slavishly chained to would stifle any noble motives he might have.
I’d like to thank Jon Stewart, from the bottom of my broken heart, for shining a light on these – my wonderful, hilarious, heroic recovery workers – I believe he is responsible for securing the only health care I(we)will receive.
There isn’t a single day that goes by that I don’t think about the incredible men and women (and dogs and strippers) I worked with in Lower Manhattan after the attacks. They are among the best souls I’ve ever met, and my great hope is that one day I’ll be surrounded by the likes of them again.
Their quiet extinction is proof to me that death is a promotion. Looking forward to our reunion when it’s time for my own graduation. Can’t wait, really. I just can’t sit in the same classroom with the likes of Tom Coburn
anymore
and not want to constantly kick his ass at recess.