it comes in pints?

Jackass? I don't think so... The word idiot or paranoid psychotic fits the bill much better.

JFH - six of one, half dozen of the other

As pompous as Bill O'Reilly, as smug as Jon Stewart, as self-righteous as Al Franken, and as bugshit crazy as Howard Dean. You have to admit, that's damned ambitious of him.

Brian, with a make up like that, it's amazing he hasn't run for office (yet)

And as crazy as he is, he could be his own opponent AND running mate!

That pic brings a thought to mind - if Katie Couric doesn't work, out, maybe CBS should hire Chevy Chase.

Thanks, Alan, like I didn't already dislike Couric enough without thinking, "Katie, you ignorant slut!"

To think, in the 70s and 80s, we laughed at the idea of comedians doing the news on SNL.

now we have jokers doing it. For "real."

(And I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one who finds Jon Stewart irritatingly smug. I've tried watching his show because my students do - and I want to know where there ideas about the world come from - but I just cannot do it.)

This is, perhaps, an unfair judgment since I have probably watched a grand total of 37 seconds of Jon Stewart ever, but he doesn't strike me as funny.

Brian, thanks for bringing back memories. I miss Gene Siskel, or rather, I miss imagining Roger Ebert saying "Gene you ignorant slut".

I used to love The Daily Show because the right ANd left were skewered equally, but then Jon Stewart got it in his head that he was "relevant," and it just turned into a showcase for BDS.

I've watched clips of "The Daily Show" on Youtube. These are supposed to be the really funny ones because someone took the time and effort to post them.

They're not funny. More pathetic, actually.

To think, in the 70s and 80s, we laughed at the idea of comedians doing the news on SNL.

Only very tangentially related to that thought...several years ago I caught an old episode of Laugh-In[*]. They used to do a News of the Future segment that I really liked. This one had Dan Rowan annoucing: "Flash! News of the future, twenty years from now...today, President Ronald Reagan..." And there he paused for a huge, huge laugh from the audience. Laugh was on them.

[*]One day, people will look back and say, "Laugh-In? What the hell is that about? That doesn't even make any sense!" Will anyone be able to explain it to them?

Actually, if you can find the one about executing the retarded (the segment is called "Waaaaaa?") -- it really is hilarious.

A few years back, I watched a bit of "Laugh-In". Still pretty funny, but MAN the weird shit they did with cameras gives me a headache.

Here it is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwRmEzc4z-s

The lip-synch sucks, so close your eyes.

Okay, Lisa, that was pretty funny. Thanks for finding it.

The "This Week in God" segments (the ones with Stephen colbert) are pretty funny, too.

Really, the whole show was funny until the 2004 election. Then it went downhill fast.

Does anyone remember the old HBO show from the 80s, "Not Necessarily The News?" That was comedy.

(that just made me sound so old)

They would take current news footage and overdub it. The NNTN page at Jump The Shark has a lot of people weighing in on their favorite moments.

One of mine was when they showed Pope John Paul II riding in his bulletproof Pope Mobile and they played the old "Batman" theme over the footage.

Old?

Dear, dear, sweet Shannon. I watched "Laugh-in" in first run.

Hell, I watched "The Addams Family" in first run.

But "Texaco Star Theater" was before my time.

Shannon - I remember. Rich Hall (sniglets guy) is essentially the prototype of mildly-funny comics whose politics eventually sent them on a permanent frolic through the catnip.

I meant that I actually typed out the line: "That was comedy." It made me instantly feel like I was waxing nostalgic over Sid Caesar.

Wait. You mean "The Addams Family" was a TV show? Wow. So that's where those funny movies came from.

;-)

I meant that I actually typed out the line: "That was comedy." It made me instantly feel like I was waxing nostalgic over Sid Caesar.

Wait. You mean "The Addams Family" was a TV show? Wow. So that's where those funny movies came from.

;-)

Yesterday I was waxing nostalgic for the Carol Burnett show. Tim Conway -- now THAT was comedy!

The problem with Olberwomann and Stewart is the same -- they try too hard to be funny, they take themselves too seriously to successfully do snark.

Oh, and I've met Tim Conway -- he's as nice as he is funny.

Tim Conway is classic, especially when paired with Harvey Kormann.