Bird’s Eye: Is Jon Stewart part of the election narrative or merely an entertaining divertisement? If the world can’t decide, how can Tikkunista? Is he, perhaps, part of the second coming? (Not Jesus’, but Yeats’: “The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of a passionate intensity”) Juan Cole compares and contrasts the excretable Ted Nugent with Jon’s speech at Last week’s rally. This includes the essential video of Jon’s closing speech, which you need to watch if you haven’t seen it, and a transcript below. Then bird’s eye cameras compare the size of Stewart/Colbert’s rally to Glen Beck’s Tea Party rally, and there’s a photo-collage of the best signs from the rally. Some are wonderful… you’ll feel more optimistic about America after seeing them.
* Ted Nugent vs. Jon Stewart: Fumigating the Democrat Rats vs. Can’t we all Get Along? Juan Cole Informed Comment
Nugent contrasts the vermin in Congress to an imagined organic community of hunters, church-goers, and bowlers, who must mobilize as an “army.” The use of fascist imagery, of solidarity-producing activities producing a martial commitment, is striking. …His flourish is to end on an ominous black and white note. The political battle, he says, is not a matter of choosing good over bad. It is good over evil….I am sympathetic to Stewart’s amazement and disapproval of where political exaggerations in the hothouse petrie dish of 24/7 cable “news” may be taking us. But with all due respect, I think Stewart’s statement mistook the problems as being solely ones of rhetorical imagery. The 80 percent in America have been royally screwed over for 40 years now. They’ve been deprived of a real share in our increasing national wealth, with wages and compensation having been kept down, in part by massive union-busting. They were robbed of whatever little progress they had made by corrupt or greedy unregulated bankers and financiers,who were mostly bailed out with the people’s money. The “tax cuts” of this century were actually a massive transfer of wealth to the ultra-wealthy.
* Photographed Size of Stewart/Colbert’s Rally vs Glen Beck/ Tea Party
* Best Signs from the Rally to Restore Sanity +/or Fear (thanks, Susan!)
