Jon Stewart's Daily Show takes the day's news and by eleven o'clock boils down the biggest story to a sort of moral position that is usually smarter, more wise and funnier than anything the talking heads had to say about it at eight o'clock.
On so many issues, Jon Stewart has been a guiding moral light to me, light-hearted and truly wise. During the Bush years, Jon Stewart diffused fury, and made it possible to breathe amidst the feeling that America was becoming a Patriot Act nightmare.
Jon Stewart is invaluable to American culture. When he makes a decision, a whole generation follows his lead. I've usually been one along with them.
But recently, his segments on 9/11 have not been fair. He unnecessarily defended the Democrats, and specifically his friend Anthony Weiner, after they killed the Responders Bill with a fake vote and no debate.
Then on the Ground Zero mosque, Stewart's position leads him to defend the rights of Muslims by defaming Catholics to make his point. His concern on behalf of religious freedom is rooted in a good place--The Constitution--but his tactic for defaming its opponents is unfair and based on a fundamental mistake (which I also made) about the "hallowness" of the Burlington Coat Factory.
The Burlington Factory was destroyed on 9/11, and so is part of Ground Zero, and is thought, fairly by some, to be hallowed ground. There is no need to mercilessly insult 9/11 Families or their supporters who hold that view.
Jon Stewart has painted a picture of those who criticize the Ground Zero mosque in anti-Catholic caricatures from his August 16th show. I'm not religious, and I wouldn't normally be offended, but it seems so unfair that he would go this route. Stewart employs jokester weapons to destroy critics of the mosque: defamation, mocking and association of an idea with particularly contemptible persons.
The Daily Show has made a mockery of the dumb Catholic New Yorker that would prefer not see a mosque built on top of a building and business that was destroyed on Septempter 11th 2001.
After dropping joke upon joke that Catholics were being haters, child molesters, and phobic for objecting to the mosque, the writers of the Daily Show also wrongly concluded that the Burlington Coat Factory was just a store. The defense on behalf of Muslims left many a Catholic feeling dirty I'm sure.
I'm not sure I agree that the Burlington Coat Factory is hallowed ground, but I would not insult people who might think of it that way. The Burlington Coat Factory was destroyed like other Ground Zero sites on September 11th.
There is reason to question the wisdom of chosing this location for a mosque, because it's on Ground Zero, and people are sensitive about what's built there.
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.chesapeake | Aug 26, 2010, 09:07 AM EDT
Jon Stewart is , generally, a waste of time. He seems to fancy himself as a sort of cerebral version of Howard Stern; but never lets facts get in the way. To build a mosque in that area would be tantamount to rubbing it in our faces; and would also be a tempting target for unauthorized demolition. The overwhelming numbers against the construction csnnot be ignored. Obama has not listened, Reid and Pelosi have not listened... what does it take to get their attention?
Monsoonman | Aug 23, 2010, 08:38 PM EDT
Oh Dennis! I heard an interesting debate the other night between the 911 truther organization and renowned physicists and scientists. Not one of the hundreds of dogs used to locate survivors detected one bit of explosive, even though most of these dogs were cross trained for explosive detection. Not one explosion was heard even though thousands of people were in the vicinity, not one explosion heard....You can listen to the debate at coast to coastam
Monsoonman | Aug 23, 2010, 08:37 PM EDT
Oh Dennis! I heard an interesting debate the other night between the 911 truther organization and renowned physicists and scientists. Not one of the hundreds of dogs used to locate survivors detected one bit of explosive, even though most of these dogs were cross trained for explosive detection. Not one explosion was heard even though thousands of people were in the vicinity, not one explosion heard....You can listen to the debate here: http://www.coasttocoastam.com/show/2010/08/21
DennisQ | Aug 23, 2010, 01:12 PM EDT
Monsoonman, it appears that you're not approaching Kevin Ryan's story with an open mind. It's likely that you searched until you found the "official" line on what he has to say. So, you say, he's not really a steel guy, he's a water guy. And there are quite a number of engineers in the employ of companies that depend on government contracts.
Hollabackgurl's dismissal of Irish-and-Proud may be relevant here. She called him an ideologue and a crank. So I'd hardly expect him to give Kevin Ryan's story a fair hearing either. But unlike the guy who believes the Building Seven nonsense because "he was there" on September 11th, you're at least stating your objections - that's a sign of progress for the close-minded folks who won't even hear what Ryan has to say. Or did you? It sounds like you made some effort. Kudos to you for that.
If the Building Seven nonsense were the only weak point in the whole narrative, I'd say you're as well off in your ignorance. But there's lots more! Tell you what - give Ryan a listen and tell me he's just a conniving Mick out to make a name for himself.
Monsoonman | Aug 23, 2010, 10:14 AM EDT
ROFLOL!!!Kevin Ryan is a former Site Manager for Environmental Health Laboratories in South Bend, Indiana, a subsidiary of Underwriters Labs(UL) responsible for water testing. Steel, water, what's the difference?...So here's the real truth: "Steel loses about 50 percent of its strength at 1100°F," notes senior engineer Farid Alfawak-hiri of the American Institute of Steel Construction. "And at 1800° it is probably at less than 10 percent." NIST also believes that a great deal of the spray-on fireproofing insulation was likely knocked off the steel beams that were in the path of the crashing jets, leaving the metal more vulnerable to the heat.
DennisQ | Aug 23, 2010, 01:56 AM EDT
Brendan, here's an Irish name you can Google - Kevin Ryan. Kevin was an engineer for Underwriters' Laboratories who learned that UL was falsifying data in order to support the government's contention that steel and concrete buildings can burn to the ground like an old barn. He tried to resolve the problem internally but was rebuffed. UL later fired him for going public with the government's deception.
You don't have to believe Kevin Ryan, but you should give him at least a fair hearing. I think he's a credible person, and the story he tells sounds like it could be true. His statements also square with the common sense observation that whatever happened on September 11th was extremely anomalous. There are a number of Kevin's videos on line. I don't think he's in it to draw attention to himself. He seems like a genuinely patriotic guy, and he sincerely believes what he's saying.
Monsoonman | Aug 21, 2010, 06:10 PM EDT
To some a strip club is considered hallowed and have been known to tithe. Some are as confused as a hungry baby in a strip club...go figure.
BrendanPKeane | Aug 21, 2010, 02:19 AM EDT
DennisQ: Let me repeat you expert on s**t all, the Burlington Coat Factory on Park Place was put out of business on September 11th when an airplane crashed through its roof and busted through three floors, rendering the historic 1850s iron facade building a hollowed wreck. Is that hollow shell hallowed? It's at least more than merely next to Ground Zero, it is Ground Zero--a part of New York destroyed on 9/11. Parsing this is sickening. I prefer talking about this with people who care instead of scoring cheap points.
DennisQ | Aug 20, 2010, 06:55 PM EDT
Brendan, you should check your facts. Burlington Coat Factory was not put out of business by the September 11th attack; in fact, the company is thriving. Their 2002 Annual Report barely mentions the incident:
As a result of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, one of the Company's stores, located in close proximity to the disaster, was damaged. The Company believes that the book value of all assets lost is recoverable through insurance. The store has been closed since September 11, 2001, and no reopening date has been determined . . .
GuinnessGrrl | Aug 20, 2010, 04:33 PM EDT
Oh and to Mr. Keane...it's not a mosque ya dillweed!
GuinnessGrrl | Aug 20, 2010, 04:32 PM EDT
If the Burlington Coat Factory is on hallowed ground, is the strip club on the same block hallowed as well?
BrendanPKeane | Aug 20, 2010, 01:27 PM EDT
It was destroyed and put out of business. Only the facade stood. It's crass to diminsh the damage to Lower Manhattan because it wasn't the Twin Towers. If you were in Burlington on that day, you would be called worse than silly for diminshing the damage there.
DennisQ | Aug 20, 2010, 12:58 PM EDT
The Burlington Coat Factory wasn't destroyed on 9/11. Supposedly it was hit by landing gear of the plane, but the entire area was hit by flying debris. I think the critics are saying that when the building was touched by the landing gear, it received some of the holiness of the Ground Zero site.
At some point these people have to start letting go. The area around the World Trade Center was blighted for years before the Port Authority built the Twin Towers. Now that the towers are gone, the blight has returned. Any development in the area is welcome - a consideration Mayor Bloomberg surely had in mind when he endorsed the Islamic Center.
The Burlington Coat Factory is not hallowed ground; in fact the idea is silly.
mcdolan | Aug 19, 2010, 02:34 PM EDT
I agree.
McNabb1966 | Aug 19, 2010, 07:15 AM EDT
There is no debate about it. Is the Burlington Coat Factory located in the pit where the towers stood? No, of course not. But it was close enough to be damaged by debris and it was close enough to be engulfed in that massive, inpenetrable, choking cloud of ash, dust, smoke and debris when the towers came down. These are the facts. The facts clearly outweigh the multitude of red herring arguments that the Left has vomited up in the past week.
orygunirish | Aug 18, 2010, 10:56 PM EDT
I don't hate all Muslims, but I'm sorry the Muslims we hear about still want a Holy war on the United States and it's people, and Jon Stewart I do not watch because I don't like him especially I think he's a bit of and idiot (but that's just me). No I don't think there should be a new mosque should be built on destroyed 9/11 property not because I hate Muslims but because I think it would be disrespectful of all who died there at the hands of some extremist, fanatic Muslims. Yes I know not all Muslims feel that way but let's please give the dead and their families some respect.
LizFlady | Aug 18, 2010, 07:27 PM EDT
Jon Stewart is a totally moronic, idiotic nobody who redundantly says the same things over and over and over again. His skit is getting real old and his show has taken complete nose dive in the ratings. Another year or so we'll all be saying Jon who????
BrendanPKeane | Aug 18, 2010, 05:51 PM EDT
figtirish: I don't want to argue about the balance of anti-Catholic and anti-Jewish jokes on the show. I thought the Good Friday jokes about Jews were more directed at Catholics for being backward and thinking Jews killed Christ. But I might be wrong. My point is that it is unnecessary and crappy to defame one religion in order to protect the rights of another. And Burlington Coat Factory was Ground Zero. People who think it hallowed, are coming from a non-bigoted place in most cases I think, at least in NY. The media is viciously characterizing those who would just prefer a mosque not be built on a building destroyed on 9/11.
figtirish | Aug 18, 2010, 05:22 PM EDT
Brendan, I watched john Stewart and didn't feel the reference was Anti Catholic in the same scene he poked fun at Jews too
HorsesInMdstrm | Aug 18, 2010, 12:38 PM EDT
Good question, shidoobbe - should we forget 12/7/41 (and I was alive then, if very young)? The generation older than I am contains many who hate all Japanese to this day, and extend the courtesy to include all East Asians who look like they could be Japanese. Yet the Japanese are one of our major trading partners and have been our allies for many years. I am truly sorry for your loss. But, how long do you want to keep up the hatred of Muslims, the vast majority of whom did not attack us? If we suppress this location, how close to Ground Zero would you find acceptable? And, while a few critics have said that there are radicals associated with this mosque, most have called them moderate. Do we want to send the message to moderate Muslims that our guarantee of freedom of religion only applies to the religions that we select. As Catholics, we went through that in this country.
shidoobe | Aug 18, 2010, 12:08 PM EDT
dennisQ "It happened; it was a terrible thing; but it was also nine years ago. " HOW INSENSETIVE!!! Should we forget 12-7-1941 as well? Maybe if YOU lost someone on 9/11 like I DID you would feel different. HOW SHALLOW!!!
jdi2269 | Aug 18, 2010, 12:06 PM EDT
YO BRENDAN.....HOW ABOUT TERRORISTS FLY A PLANE INTO YOUR GUINNESS FACTORY>>>>
JamesMurphy | Aug 18, 2010, 10:52 AM EDT
Well said, Dennis Q.
BrendanPKeane | Aug 18, 2010, 09:45 AM EDT
DennisQ: 9/11 is being used to push us further into war every year. The memorial has not yet been unveiled. We live in a new reality that is defined by 9/11.
DennisQ | Aug 18, 2010, 04:05 AM EDT
New Yorkers have been more ready to move on from the events of September 11th than has the rest of the country. It happened; it was a terrible thing; but it was also nine years ago.
Republicans want to keep this thing going the same way certain backward-looking Southerners won't move forward from the Civil War, which some of them still refer to as the War of Northern Aggression. By contrast, New Yorkers are the heirs to a cosmopolitan tradition. It's a port city; it's going to remain the place where vital decisions get made every day. Let the tourists do Ground Zero on their way to visit Grant's Tomb, Harlem, Columbia and Rockefeller Center.
Incidentally, New Yorkers know first hand the experience of a terrorist attack; for instance, what the air smells like for weeks afterwards. It's not the sort of thing that's quickly forgotten.