Daily Show & Colbert Report: Forced Rescusitation of America's Ignorant!

Are Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert raping the mind of America or are they impregnating them with a chance of rebirthing intelligence?

As a professor of Critical Thinking (Logic and other forms) I often find an unwillingness to replace opinion with facts among students who interestingly enough, have not yet discovered they don't know what they don't know. Such students will tell us that we all have a right to an opinion. I have to remind them that in my class, they don't, unless those opinions are preceded by supported premises.

But who would dare require students to assume a teacher knows more about the subject than they? Who would dream of denying a child to think candy was more nutritious than vegetables? Who would have the nerve to inflict ignorance with knowledge? Especially in a college?

Stephen Colbert and his progenitor, Jon Stewart of the Daily Show consistently demonstrate not only how hip they are and how funny intelligence can be, but they may be teaching us that the world has a chance after all if we just stop being afraid to laugh at village idiots.

Every night, millions of the highest IQ viewers across the US watch with bated breath to hear pearls of wisdom through the parody and satire that Colbert and Stewart deliver. Stewart has become in a short time, the most preferred interviewer of Presidents, scientists, Nobel Laureates of every discipline, and frankly those in the know... outside the US head of state, of course.

In this clip from Colbert we see a very funny twist on the idea that ignorant people are getting very pissed at being wrong. Enjoy!

Colbert-The WORD: Heated Debate 4min

TCR - heated Debate [4:00m]: Download

Daily Show: Light on an Overcast, Polluted Day!

Only 2 years ago, the average American could not tell you what the Daily Show was, much less which channel it was on and they certainly hadn't watched it. Today, according to Bill Clinton, "It is the source of news for discriminating college students."

I am not a college student but I am among those that read books and usually vote Democratic, except when the Democrat is the rabid, verbose Zell Miller. According to a recent study of the IQs of TV viewers, viewers of the Comedy Central's Daily Show and PBS's News Hour (The Lehrer Report) are the two highest IQ viewers on TV. Fox news came in... (No, not 3rd) but last. But there are a lot of viewers who apparently fall into that low IQ category we will refer to as: The Fox Fools.

Strangely, though Fox's politics is markedly right-wing and ignorant, their entertainment division includes Mad TV, Dirt (about a Hollywood gossip column), and Nip/Tuck (Horned out Plastic Surgeons). It seems that Fox's religion and politics don't mix.

The Daily Show, however, with comedian Jon Stewart at the helm, addresses the issues of the day, every day with extraordinary humor and intelligence. Stewart has interviewed ever major world statesman, some several times. He reads and clearly understands every book on the NY
Times Bestseller's List, then interviews their authors, a list which includes every conceivable member of both Republican and Democratic intelligencia. He even gives equal time to the lesser known parties with people like Ralph Nader. His questions and comments are not only funny, but more insightful than any anchor you will find on any network.

Much like the Simpsons, he appeals to the kids and adults with equal ease. If someone just likes funny jabs at the faux pas of the political elite, he's got it. If they want deeper analysis and big words, he's got that too. If one searches YouTube or Google Video they will find a virtual who's who sitting across from Stewart.

The ratings, month by months are growing and the trend may lead them into the number one spot as we come into the 2008 Presidential Season.

Followed by The Colbert Report, a parody of Fox's O'Reilly, the pair provide an hour of escape from that news that might otherwise make you cry while truly informing you about the horrors of politics from a lighter perspective.

Louis CK on Gay Marriage

If there was ever a time I wished I had a sense of humor is when I am failing to persuade only because I am just NOT funny sometimes. In this piece, Louis CK proves that you can sometimes win by getting other to laugh at just how stupid they really are!

3min32sec