Ersatz The Daily Show/The Colbert Report Spoiler and Chat Thread

Ersatz (adj.)- a cheap imitation of inferior quality.

Welcome to your ersatz The Daily Show/The Colbert Report Spoiler and Chat Thread.

Tonight's repeats are from 5/13/08 (Bill Moyers, TiaRachel thread here) and 5/15/08 (Andrei Cherny, TiaRachel thread here).

Of course there are other things on the hypnotoad tonight-

The Hypnotoad.

"Television is a vast wasteland"

Take a look-

PBS- Charlie Rose (Ted Sorenson)	A&E- CSI: Miami
ABC Family- 700 Club	AMC- The Longest Day
Animal- Animal Cops: Houston	Cartoon- Family Guy, Family Guy
CNBC- Deal or No Deal	CNN- Anderson Cooper 360
truTV- Investigators	Discovery- Deadliest Catch
Disney- Suite Life of Zack & Cody, Hannah Montana	E!- E! News, Chelsea Lately
ESPN- Sports Center	ESPNC- Classic Rodeo 1995: Competition in Reno
ESPN2- Baseball Tonight	Good Eats (Tender Is The Loin 1), Unwrapped
Faux Noise- BillO	FX- Coach Carter, King Of The Hill
Golf- Playing Lessons, Golf Central	History- Clash of the Cavemen
HGTV- Buy Me, Sleep On It	Lifetime- Will & Grace, Will & Grace
MSNBC- Lockup	MTV- True Life
National Geographic-America's Port	Nickelodeon- Home Improvement, Home Improvement
Vs.- WEC 6/1 Preview: Faber vs. Pulver	Oxygen- Deion & Pilar: Prime Time Love, Deion & Pilar: Prime Time Love
Sci Fi- Star Trek: Enterprise	Speed- Pinks, Pass Time
Spike- CSI: Crime Scene Investigation	Style- Clean House
TBS- Bill Egnvall Show, Bill Egnvall Show	TCM- The Eagle Has Landed
TLC- Jon & Kate Plus 8, Jon & Kate Plus 8	TNT- The Closer
Travel- Life's a Trip, Life's a Trip	TV Land- M*A*S*H, M*A*S*H
USA- Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	VH1- Flavor of Love 3

Just horrible.

MSNBC is on their weekend Lockup Crime and Pedophiles schedule which inspires me to share this piece about the media from Glen Greenwald-

The Politico's John Harris admits now what he denied last year
Glenn Geenwald, Salon
Monday May 26, 2008 07:32 EDT

In addition to how destructive is the premise that readers and viewers crave trivial political reporting, that claim also seems quite factually dubious. The same media outlets which operate on this assumption -- network news programs and newspapers -- watch as their viewership and readership disappears. Given their performance, they shouldn't be particularly confident in their ability to know what the public wants. Moreover, polls consistently show that Americans hate the type of political coverage our establishment press feeds them.  ... Specifically, Americans overwhelmingly believe "media coverage" of the 2008 presidential race focuses "too much on trivial issues": They also say -- again, overwhelmingly -- "that large corporations have too much influence over what the news media reports" and "most journalists don't make the effort to get the whole story": Similar data demonstrates that Americans overwhelmingly believe that the media provides far too little coverage of substantive issues and policy debates and far too much coverage of petty gossip and personality-based attacks. It's therefore unsurprising that the news media is held in the lowest esteem of all institutions -- even lower than the widely reviled Bush-led "executive branch" -- and that perception is only worsening: Leave to the side (for the moment) the question of whether political journalists have an obligation (by virtue of the numerous privileges in the law and otherwise they are given) beyond maximizing ratings. The standard excuse that journalists like Harris give for their obsession with insipid gossip -- "it's what The People Want" -- is the opposite of what The People say when they speak for themselves. And while it's possible that what The People say they want is not really what they want, the declining audience and influence of establishment news outlets across the board is potent evidence of how false is the justification that the political media focus on irrelevancies because it's what The People demand. The political media focuses on trivialities because it's easiest, because it's what they do best, and because it's the way that they (and the sprawling corporations that own them) avoid alienating those in political power on whom they depend.

BillO was exceptionally stupid tonight, all offended on Juan William's behalf at some Syracuse University professor who is calling Juan out on his self hating excuse making for the all the Republican racists at Faux including our esteemed Mr. Sylvia's Restaurant (I want some motherfucking Iced Tea, on a plane).

It's a repeat from the 13th evidently and Newshounds has some pretty good coverage.

Deal or No Deal replaces Cramer because the markets were closed to day.  The rest are the usual suspects.

Yawn.

Family Guy is PTV and Brian Goes Back To College.

Maybe our heros in repeats will divert us.

Bill Moyers was good.  Scalia and Aasif are the setups.

Stephen celebrates Craft Beer week with a fine PBR.  There is a Wørd.  Candy bombers is a yawner interview.

Oh well, new shows tomorrow which will at least have the virtue of novelty.  There is certainly no competition.

•  Vent Hole

  So Summer has started.

  by ek hornbeck on Mon May 26, 2008 at 07:55:39 PM PDT

•  And for your reading pleasure...

  the diary right above mine.

  by ek hornbeck on Mon May 26, 2008 at 08:01:40 PM PDT

  •  Missing Some Grinder tags

    Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, Community, series

    Sample
    http://www.dailykos.com/...

    by JML9999 on Mon May 26, 2008 at 08:03:43 PM PDT

    •  Eh.

      I'll get to it.

      Or someone will help me out.

      Yes I am that lazy.

      by ek hornbeck on Mon May 26, 2008 at 08:05:06 PM PDT

      •  You're welcome...

        How in the hell do I still have TU status? I haven't done much of anything around here lately, and I've been deliberately avoiding TDS/TCR, which was pretty much exclusively responsible for my TU in the first place.

        by PerfectStormer on Mon May 26, 2008 at 08:06:30 PM PDT

        •  I keep telling people...

          it doesn't take much.

          by ek hornbeck on Mon May 26, 2008 at 08:07:58 PM PDT

          •  Which is kind of sad...

            I've been noticing a distinct turnover in UIDs lately, especially in the primary diaries. I look at them and go "Who ARE these people?" The only interesting new regular we've picked up is JeffLieber. And one previously-okay regular has been spamming threads with all kinds of off-topic bullshit lately, which is starting to bother me...

            by PerfectStormer on Mon May 26, 2008 at 08:09:51 PM PDT

            •  Hmm...

              Well, after 6 years some topics are just not as exciting as they once were.

              There is good stuff if you look for it. UM and Sardonyx tonight for instance.

              by ek hornbeck on Mon May 26, 2008 at 08:12:36 PM PDT

              •  Like Tuna Casserole

                You don't find many diaries on the Topic ;-).

                by JML9999 on Mon May 26, 2008 at 08:15:30 PM PDT

              •  I read both of those, actually.

                UM is wonderful, as always. Top Comments has kind of run its course, IMHO. I usually complain about their crowd being catty and insular, but I suppose that's merely a function of the fact that I'm not a member of their crowd--I suppose a member of their crowd could come over here to Grinderville and accuse us Grinderinos of being catty and insular...

                by PerfectStormer on Mon May 26, 2008 at 08:16:07 PM PDT

                •  But we ARE!

                  It's part of out charm.

                  by ek hornbeck on Mon May 26, 2008 at 08:16:52 PM PDT

                  •  <pulls out Grinderino decoder ring>

                    WONDER TWIN POWERS ACTIVATE!.

                    No, really, we need a secret handshake.

                    by PerfectStormer on Mon May 26, 2008 at 08:17:48 PM PDT

                    •  Oh and...

                      there's that new Olberman Thread.

                      Happy to say I kind of encouraged that at the start.

                      by ek hornbeck on Mon May 26, 2008 at 08:20:57 PM PDT

                      •  Meh

                        I'm never home when KO is on the first time, and if he says anything particularly interesting I hear about it for days here on the Toobz.

                        His last Special Comment, on the other hand, was ten minutes of the best television I've ever seen.

                        by PerfectStormer on Mon May 26, 2008 at 08:22:23 PM PDT

•  Just you and me, eh ekkie?

  Meh.

  Most. Boring. Weekend. Ever.

  My BFF is back in Michigan for the first time in three years, yet due to our her ridiculous inability to make any plans, I didn't get to see her.

  I did read a fairly decent book, Jennifer 8. Lee's The Fortune Cookie Chronicles. It gets a little preachy about poverty, but the sections on kosher duck and the origins of General Tso's chicken were fascinating, as was the discussion on human trafficking.

  Other than that? Bored off my ass.

  As long as I'm here, one more pimp for DianeS's awesome Memorial Day series at MichLib. If you have a second, check it out.

  by PerfectStormer on Mon May 26, 2008 at 08:02:20 PM PDT

  •  Well...

    I've been pretty busy actually.

    Downloaded some games from HotU and now I'm trying to make most of them work.

    by ek hornbeck on Mon May 26, 2008 at 08:04:04 PM PDT

•  OT, for anyone who was interested in...

  the arrest of my high school friend's father that I mentioned last week, here's a NY Daily News article about it, which includes a picture of their house.

  I also just learned today that my friend's brother (who's around 28) was working for the father, and the cops seized the diamond engagement ring he'd just recently given to his fiancée.

  by Trix on Mon May 26, 2008 at 08:03:47 PM PDT

  •  And I also learned that...

    the father has been held in Riker's Island since Thursday.

    by Trix on Mon May 26, 2008 at 08:07:03 PM PDT

•  Also

  I should note that I had a mishap in pouring vanilla vodka into my glass of Diet Coke this evening, so I'm having a hard time feeling my face. It's kinda...numb.

  by PerfectStormer on Mon May 26, 2008 at 08:04:22 PM PDT

  •  Here you go-

    Vodka Vote.

    by ek hornbeck on Mon May 26, 2008 at 08:13:57 PM PDT

•  Yum. Unwrapped Loins....

  On Good Eats. Sounds much better than the ham n cheese I am eating at work.

  by undercovercalico on Mon May 26, 2008 at 08:04:41 PM PDT

  •  Does your Schadenfreude taste like

    Pork Loin, mine does.

    by JML9999 on Mon May 26, 2008 at 08:06:38 PM PDT

    •  I had visions

      of beef tenderloin sear roasted and then covered with a little blue cheese sauce.

      But Pork Loin is alright. The description wasn't "loin specific" so I filled in the blanks.

      by undercovercalico on Mon May 26, 2008 at 08:12:18 PM PDT

      •  He's doing Beef now.

        Was he doing Pork earlier?

        by ek hornbeck on Mon May 26, 2008 at 08:15:48 PM PDT

        •  No idea...

          I am relying on you because oddly enough they did not want to put a nice flat screen on the wall in our office. Can't imagine why.

          I wasn't sure what loins were being presented. I just decided it should be beef. I like pork but I am a Memphian and we have weird ideas about what to do with it.

          by undercovercalico on Mon May 26, 2008 at 08:21:05 PM PDT

          •  Steak Au Poivre now.

            by ek hornbeck on Mon May 26, 2008 at 08:23:12 PM PDT

          •  Beef

            coated in cracked black pepper. Later he will deglaze the pan with cognac and make a pepper-cognac cream sauce.

            Yes, I watch entirely too much AB.

            by PerfectStormer on Mon May 26, 2008 at 08:23:15 PM PDT

            •  LOLz

              BOB's COGNAC!

              Clearly a greeked bottle of Hennessy.

              by PerfectStormer on Mon May 26, 2008 at 08:24:01 PM PDT

            •  Sigh......

              I just ate a fig newton and my ham n cheese.

              The sauce sounds divine, is he using heavy cream or something else? This is venturing into porn territory, I might have to stop.

              by undercovercalico on Mon May 26, 2008 at 08:29:22 PM PDT

•  PBS Charlie Rose with Ted Sorensen

  Ohhh Oooooh Aaaaaah!

  by LNK on Mon May 26, 2008 at 08:05:20 PM PDT

  •  "Charlie Rose" by Samuel Beckett

    by Trix on Mon May 26, 2008 at 08:08:30 PM PDT

•  <sigh>

  From the "Things That Piss Me Off" Department...

  The valedictorian at Morehouse College (a "traditionally black" school) this year just happens to be a white guy named Josh Packwood. Apparently this is the first time this has ever happened, which is why it's somehow newsworthy.

  The president of Morehouse gave a speech referring to Packwood as a "Euro-American."

  I don't know why it bothers me, but it does. Would I feel the same way if I were black and the situation was reversed, and the valedictorian were referred to as African-American?

  by PerfectStormer on Mon May 26, 2008 at 08:20:38 PM PDT

•  John and Kate Plus 8 Marathon

  Oh God please make it stop.
  I was forced to watch this all fucking weekend.

  by Sam Loomis on Mon May 26, 2008 at 08:24:28 PM PDT

  •  What the heck...

    is that about anyway?

    Just the title is enough to make me not want to watch it.

    by ek hornbeck on Mon May 26, 2008 at 08:25:32 PM PDT

    •  sextuplets and a set of twins

      Family filmed for TLC reality show.  It's not a bad show actually, just not good enough to have to watch all weekend.

      It works out good for that family, because of the TV show they get free trips from companies like Disney and some ski resorts, etc.  Gotta be hard finding that money on yer own with 8 brats running around.

      by Sam Loomis on Mon May 26, 2008 at 08:27:47 PM PDT

•  So instead of Cramer...

  We have Bears & Balls.

  by ek hornbeck on Mon May 26, 2008 at 08:45:29 PM PDT

•  No more re-runs!

  by ek hornbeck on Mon May 26, 2008 at 09:00:17 PM PDT

•  There's a pattern here

  In addition to how destructive is the premise that readers and viewers crave trivial political reporting, that claim also seems quite factually dubious. The same media outlets which operate on this assumption -- network news programs and newspapers -- watch as their viewership and readership disappears. Given their performance, they shouldn't be particularly confident in their ability to know what the public wants.

  This is entirely too reminiscent of the performance of the club of automobile producers at the top of the corporate elite who decided that Americans would want huge trucks and SUVs, and who paid for enough legislative votes to get tax breaks for their customers. It also sounds like the club of oil company owners who decided that Americans would want to burn up all the oil possible in the shortest time possible, or if they didn't want to, they had to be told to want to. We're being told that we want media stories that villify criminals as sport, rather than look long and hard at the deep multilayered crises we've allowed the corporate power elites to drive us into. That's how power works in our country.

  But effective solutions require accurate analysis. See, for an instance of drawing an accurate outline of the mess we're in and what it's gonna take to get out of it, see
  Wake Up, America. We're Driving Toward Disaster by By James Howard Kunstler.

  by howardfromUSA on Mon May 26, 2008 at 09:39:27 PM PDT

  •  The upside is...

    maybe the BBC will buy out CNN like Mercedes did Chrysler.

    by ek hornbeck on Tue May 27, 2008 at 07:14:46 AM PDT

•  Where are the pictures of MARS on television?

  I channel-surfed all evening looking for some coverage with Phoenix Lander pictures. I even watched the NASA channel, where those guys sit their with their headphones and laptops, which was cute but hardly satisfying.

  What gives? That thing went all the way to MARS with MY friggin' tax money and I just wanna see some goddamn pictures on a screen bigger than my laptop's. Is that so much to ask of our national news media?

  by ninshubur on Mon May 26, 2008 at 10:54:56 PM PDT

  •  Nah.

    We're all ignorant rubes who think the world is flat and the moon is made of cheese.

    Mars?  Isn't that where the little green people who what to steal our women live?

    by ek hornbeck on Tue May 27, 2008 at 07:12:33 AM PDT

•  Would you cheat in advanced physics...

  If it was the only thing keeping you from graduating?

  Really?

  Setting aside the insanity of forcing non-physics majors to pass A.P. as a requirement for graduation, I would have to say yes.

  Because, really, advanced physics?

  Algebra, calculus, even trig has some plausibility for future use.

  Advanced physics...unless I'm an undead Owen Harper...useless.

  by Wave Breaker on Mon May 26, 2008 at 11:24:25 PM PDT

  •  Well...

    I do find the String Theory controversies amusing.  I'm a fan of 26 dimensional bosonic string theory myself because, shallow and one dimensional as I am, I think you can never have enough dimensions.

    Would I cheat?  Those who know me say I don't have the morals of a dog.

    On the other hand I don't lick myself and drink out of toilets.

    by ek hornbeck on Tue May 27, 2008 at 07:10:31 AM PDT