NBC Tries to Hush the Cramer/Stewart Discussion?

Just found this - and if it doesn't add weight to my argument that today's "news" just isn't news anymore, I don't know what will.

http://www.politicususa.com/en/NBC-Censors-Cramer-Stewart

So Just What Is the Media's Role?

I watched the Stewart vs. Cramer Daily Show last night. I'm sure it was a mighty audience. Many of them were disappointed. It wasn't all that funny. It was, instead, another battle in Jon Stewart's crusade to get the media to do its job.

It's the underlying message of his show every single day, yet many viewers probably lose that message because basically, it's just funny.

Stewart's serious. He always has been. When he took on Tucker Carlson and CNN's "Crossfire" he was practically pleading. He wants news. He wants the media to do what we used to believe it does - objectively report the news, investigate what it's told and let us know what is true and what isn't.

Instead, what we have is an alphabet of talking heads all spouting their own view of things and we tune into whoever says what we like to hear. I know it. I know that when I watch Rachel Maddow she's preaching to the choir. I watch Lou Dobbs and want to throw socks at the television. I watch Fox News and wonder if perhaps I have a high blood pressure problem.

So, Stewart asks, where are the watchdogs?

CNBC is the NBC financial network. It has the supposed experts who offer advice to investors. And that's the bottom line, according to Stewart. Who are they talking to?

Is CNBC there to benefit the investor insiders, winking and touching fingers beside their noses as they share information based on lies that influence how the poor schmucks at home invest their money? Is CNBC there to offer the best advice it can to all investors? Is CNBC a watchdog inside the guarded gates? CNBC doesn't really know, according to Jim Cramer.

Cramer admitted the network could have done a better job investigating what it was told, could have been more careful about the advice it offered. Cramer sounded almost contrite when confronted with an interview in which he reveals the depth of his understanding of how to manipulate the market.

The whole confrontation was certainly great press for Cramer. How many people will now watching his show to see if he makes good on his promise to become a better watchdog for the public? But can you trust a thing CNBC does? Why should you?

And that, I'm betting, makes Jon Stewart a very sad funny man.





http://news.bostonherald.com/track/celebrity/view/2009_03_13_Jon_Stewart_hammers_Jim_Cramer_on__The_Daily_Show_/srvc=home&position=7

Thank God for Comedy Central

The Depression had Will Rogers. We've got Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert.



I've loved Jon Stewart since September 11, 2001. He's a real mensch. And he loves this country, despite the fact that he skewers its hypocrisies on a nightly basis. He strikes me as a man with a conscience.

Colbert took me a lot longer. He's a loud, bratty kid. He's cute as hell and he knows it. That can get old.

But the economic crisis has brought out the best in both of them. They're poking fun at the candidates, at the media, and pointing out just how stupid most of the 'solutions' we're being offered are.

I watch CNN a lot. But I'm glued to the television for The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. After a day of reporting on the news, talking to people counseling homeowners in foreclosure, hearing our local congressman rail against the corruption and ineptitude of our government and seeing people lining up at the convenience store buying lottery tickets by the fistful, I need a laugh.

This is Progress?

At first glance, it might seem remarkable that the Republicans are the ones that have a woman on the ticket this year. But look at how they're marketing her: "The Hottest Governor from the Coolest State." I feel a little sick.

I'll admit it - the political scene is suddenly riveting. The Republicans are infatuated with their new VP candidate and the word is out that the Democrats are enlisting Hillary Clinton to take her on.

If I wasn't a believer that women have truly been an oppressed group before, this does it. Think about it: it may have taken decades to get a major party to endorse a black candidate for president...but once he's in the running the race question can, for the most part, be skirted. Yes, there was the whole Jeremiah Wright thing and once in a while someone tosses out a yellow flag on 'The Race Issue'...but except for one mind-bogglingly stupid Georgia legislator who referred to the Obamas as "uppity", Barack Obama and John McCain can debate as two legislators running for president.

But despite Sarah Palin's nasty, dismissive attacks on her opponents, they have to be very, very careful how they respond to her. Because she's a woman.

There's plenty of ammo, to be sure. She jeered at the notion of public service. She exaggerated her own accomplishments as governor, misstated facts to make herself sound more important. She refers to her daughter's decision to have her baby as a "choice" while advocating denying that choice to millions of others. She's got some scary secessionist ties and a record of dismissing environmental concerns as she entreats us to "pray for more oil drilling." This woman is an extremist with very little experience - and the McCain campaign brought her on board knowing that she could become president by default. That political decision speaks volumes about the McCain campaign's concern for this country's future. It's clearly a game and what matters is winning.

But the Obama campaign will have to tread carefully as it pushes back. They know all too well how easily a statement can be turned into a sexist dig...and the media is not only looking for it, but practicing it. I was not a fan of the Hillary Clinton candidacy, but I certainly felt for her when newspeople made cracks made about her clothes, about her emotion (or lack of it) , complained that she was a whiner or had an annoying voice. These are the kinds of remarks that never, ever get made about a male candidate. But Clinton had to slog through that minefield.

If Joe Biden comes down too hard on Palin, he'll be seen as picking on her. Any rebuttals will be examined for sexist language. So it's going to take a woman to do the Democrats' dirty work. And they're calling on Clinton.

She's more than capable. But the fact that she's needed is an eye-opener. The Republicans don't need to find a powerful black Republican to attack Barack Obama. The language allows them to do it without playing the race card. The Democrats have a much more difficult time of it...our language is full of terms that could be seen as sexist. Just about anything we say that refers to someone weaker or less powerful, anything dismissive or condescending...it usually can be interpreted to be sexist - whether we mean it to be or not. And that's indicative of how women are seen in our culture. So it's going to take Hillary Clinton and other strong Democratic women to say what needs to be said about Sarah Palin. Because whenever a man criticizes a woman, whether the criticism is justified or not, chances are the language is going to be a mine field.

"The Hottest Governor from the Coolest State?" Spare me. How about campaigning on smarts? How about campaigning on issues? How about a thoughtful debate on how to stop this country's slide into a deepening recession? What do we have to do to get this country to focus on what's important...campaign with bags over our heads?

I have fallen deeply in love with The Daily Show during these few days. Yes, they're partisan and I like their point of view. But it's not that. No one else is ignoring the stupidity and actually looking at the facts...digging up old interviews that clearly show how candidates and party leaders are contradicting themselves. And when they asked GOP delegates to describe just what those hallowed "Small Town Values" they espouse are, all they could come up with was that it meant no same sex marriages. That's it?

Ask the hard questions. Force yourself to think. Mindless following of anyone, no matter how charismatic they may be, is a waste of a vote. Decide what you truly believe in, then find the candidate who reflects that. Or get ready for a very bumpy ride.