A BLOW TO THE FOURTH ESTATE, BUT NOT JOURNALISM
After much deliberation, one of the most important, irreplaceable figures in the news world is going away. He is leaving a void that simply can’t be filled, and as a result, tens of millions of Americans will no longer have any idea what is going on in the world.
No, we’re not talking about Brian Williams. He’s just a guy who makes $10 million a year to read the news, occasionally host SNL and entertain us with imaginary stories that make him seem far more Murrowesque than he really is.
We’re talking about Jon Stewart leaving The Daily Show. While Stewart always made it clear he was not a journalist, he did some of the best reporting out there. Though always encased in humor, Stewart’s political commentary painted a far more informative picture of the dysfunction in our nation’s capital and its consequences for the average person than all the cable news networks put together.
But more importantly, there are millions of people who have cut the “real” news from their lives and primarily gleaned their political information from Stewart’s Daily Show. You could argue the logic in doing so, but it’s not clear that they were any less politically informed than consumers of Williams’ NBC Nightly News.
You’ll be missed Jon Stewart. Thanks for making the idiots look like… idiots.
DID YOU THINK THAT MICROPHONE WAS OFF?
Tape from a Colorado state senate debate in the all-male, GOP-controlled Senate State Affairs Committee caught state Sen. Tim Neville (R-Littleton) making the conspicuous comment that he found the opportunity to work with one of the only all-male legislative committees “a pleasure.”
Whatever he meant, it wasn’t good.
The audio clip from the hearing is on www.coloradopols.com.
STILL MIXING SUBSTANCES AND WHEELS IN ALL THE WRONG WAYS
Aspen police have cited Lance Armstrong for failing to report an accident and speeding, which is bad, but what’s worse — Armstrong is reported to have hit two parked cars after a night of partying and let his girlfriend, Anna Hansen, take the blame.
Hansen initially told police she was driving home from a party when she lost control of Armstrong’s SUV on icy roads, and that she was behind the wheel because Armstrong had been drinking, according to the Associated Press. She later admitted to lying to try to keep Armstrong’s name out of the press. The Aspen Daily News reported that police responded to a hit-and-run call the night of Dec. 29 and that Hansen met with the officers the next day to report the accident. Police were suspicious of her story and checked with the valet for the art museum party the couple had attended the day before, and the valet recalled helping Hansen into the passenger’s seat and Armstrong driving away. Days later, Hansen acknowledged that to be the case in an interview with the police. She won’t be charged with a crime.
Armstrong, on the other hand, could face misdemeanor charges, fines of between $150 and $300 and up to 90 days in jail.
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