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So, what lessons did we learn? And what does the future hold?
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Amid the all the hand-wringing, or wailing jeremiads, or triumphant op-eds
out there, *I’ll offer in this election post-mortem some perspectives that
you...
4 days ago
6 comments:
Using Billo The Clown's book as toilet paper? That's an insult to toilet paper!! lol
I'm sorry, but even though this routine is funny, it tells me nothing about what's wrong with O'Reilly's book. I'd like to know the details as to why it's bad.
I do hate the title. "Pinhead" is an archaic term that is now offensive itself. And the fanatics on the right have ruined the term "patriot." Conservatives now make the word mean something like GOP Zombie.
I'd have more respect for O'Reilly if he had just used a plain title like "The Failures of the Obama Administration." His book title instantly makes me think the content is written by a crank. I don't like Colbert's method of humor either - it made me laugh, but I learned nothing.
From by viewpoint Colbert and O'Reilly are doing the same thing.
Jim, this wasn't about the contents of the book. It was about O'Reilly donating copies to the troops, as if that was such a great benefit to them.
I don't know what the book was about, though I can guess. Certainly, "Pinhead" was meant to be offensive. That was the whole point. (And that's why I turned it around and used it for a title here, too.)
I don't know what you thought you'd learn from a comedy sketch, but as I say, this was not about the contents of the book. If you want to know that, you'll probably have to read it yourself.
PS. As far as Colbert and O'Reilly "doing the same thing," note that Stephen Colbert is a comedian on the Comedy Channel. This is humor. If O'Reilly is funny, it's not deliberate, I assure you!
Well, I think the intent of the piece was to make fun of Bill O'Reilly, and indirectly attack the book. If soldiers are burning the books and that's a kind of review. Getting into what people should send soldiers is a whole other issue.
If the piece was about the stuff people send soldiers that they don't want, it should have talked about the variety of items.
I see Colbert and O'Reilly as alike in they are in the business of smearing other people - which makes me cringe.
Political humor is still political first and humor second. Just because it's humor doesn't mean it's not attacking something. In this case it's celebrating book burning, which is a touchy subject with me.
I don't like the holier-than-thou rhetoric on the right, nor do I like the snide I'm smarter than you humor on the left. I think the pundits on both ends of the political spectrum inflame our problems and polarize people's feelings.
The intent of the piece to me seemed clear - that Bill O'Reilly is an idiot and his book is so worthless that it should be burned or used as toilet paper. All that makes me wonder is what the book is about, point by point, and whether or not O'Reilly had any worthwhile criticisms of Obama that the Democrats need to deal with in 2012.
If the book made 12 points and Colbert find 12 ways to refute those points in a funny way, then I'd be happy with political humor.
Heh, heh. Well, I'd say it's a good thing you're not trying to make a living as a comedian, Jim. You'd starve to death!
If it's to work, political humor needs to be humor first and political second. Note that both Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert make fun of Democrats, too, not just Republicans. But they do have a liberal slant (which I agree with - as Colbert said, reality has a well-known liberal bias.)
The intent of the piece was definitely to make fun of Bill O'Reilly, just as Colbert makes fun of everyone, including himself. But if you want a step by step refutation of O'Reilly's book, I suggest that you go somewhere else other than the Comedy Channel.
Yeah I gotta say I'm with Bill on this one Jim. Actually hearing the content of O'Reilly's book is not my idea of a good time, but Colbert's jokes were hilarious. The humor was about O'Reilly's arrogance according to the clip that was shown, he made a point on his show of saying he was going to send a copy overseas for every copy bought. Immediately I was thinking, no one is going to be reading those. It's not surprising to me in the least that they ended up being burned.
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