BS: F*** the Poor

Subject: BS: F*** the Poor
From: Ebbie
Date: 23 Mar 12 - 02:34 PM

I am furious. I am aghast. See Jon Stewart on the Daily Show: "F*** the Poor". I don't believe in capital punishment but it's a good thing that we're not voting on the issue today. It makes my blood boil.

Subject: RE: BS: F*** the Poor
From: gnu
Date: 23 Mar 12 - 02:40 PM

What is the date of the broadcast?

Subject: RE: BS: F*** the Poor
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 23 Mar 12 - 02:50 PM

There purports to be a transcript here - although I can't quite follow it -

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/08/19/1008526/-INCREDIBLE-Jon-Stewart-piece-on-right-wing-class-warfare-

Subject: RE: BS: F*** the Poor
From: Ebbie
Date: 23 Mar 12 - 02:52 PM

That's not the one, though, Richard. This one aired on September 1, 2011- I had not seen it. It is titled 'The Poor's Free Ride is Over.'

Subject: RE: BS: F*** the Poor
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 23 Mar 12 - 02:55 PM

There's one here in August

http://drangedinaz.wordpress.com/2011/08/19/fck-the-poor/

Subject: RE: BS: F*** the Poor
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 23 Mar 12 - 02:58 PM

This might be it - although I can't see the video from here which suits me because I don't want to watch a long TV show, I'd assimilate the info far faster in print -

http://current.com/entertainment/comedy/93424733_jon-stewart-f-ck-the-poor.htm

Subject: RE: BS: F*** the Poor
From: gnu
Date: 23 Mar 12 - 03:09 PM

I can't access it here in Canada. Only recent shows. Can you give me an idea of what you are talking about? Are you pissed at Jon or... who?

Subject: RE: BS: F*** the Poor
From: Ebbie
Date: 23 Mar 12 - 03:35 PM

"By their mouths shall ye know them..."

O'Reilly, Palin, Hannity, Coulter and others talking about how the poor are not paying their way, have absolutely a free ride, "have no skin in the game", there are 'makers and there are takers', "51% of Americans pay no federal income taxes- zero. zip. nada,", "99% of American poor have a refrigerator".

On and on. Not a clue, not a scintilla of understanding of what it is to worry about whether your money will last the month, whether they can afford a new dress or new shoes for school, whether their child has a chance of getting into college if his or her grades slip and therefore might not have a chance at a better future, whether their child might givs up and become a school drop out. And all the daily worries in between.

Do you mean you can't watch the video Richard posted, gnu? It comes through well here. Can you read the comments?

Richard, the whole thing runs less than 10 minutes.

Subject: RE: BS: F*** the Poor
From: gnu
Date: 23 Mar 12 - 03:40 PM

Nope. I am in Canuckistan.

Subject: RE: BS: F*** the Poor
From: Bill D
Date: 23 Mar 12 - 04:48 PM

I don't suppose O'Reilly, Palin, Hannity, Coulter and others noted how many big corporations managed to pay NO taxes?

Bank of America got a billion dollar refund...but because they paid out several billion in bonuses to higher ups, they "didn't make a profit".

Jon Stewart has a way of making the point...

Subject: RE: BS: F*** the Poor
From: GUEST
Date: 23 Mar 12 - 04:56 PM

"51% of Americans pay no income tax."

The first time I heard this it was the more plausible but still pointless "...pay no income tax on April 15." If you say it emphatically it sounds like a scandal.

First of all, "Americans" include children and the unemplyed without an income. They're not supposed to pay income tax.

Second, what wage-earners pay "on April 15," the federal filing date, doesn't mean much. Every worker, including illegal aliens, pays federal payroll tax and Social Security tax with each paycheck. In addition, many people have to make estimated quarterly payments. On April 15, you adjust your total income by taking deductions that are owed to you.

The result is that a great many people get refunds as of April 15 instead of having to send another check for having underpaid during the year. The IRS owes them money.

So, literally, a whole lot of people pay no income tax with their federal tax forms on April 15. But that doesn't say anything about who's paying how much or when.

Subject: RE: BS: F*** the Poor
From: Greg F.
Date: 23 Mar 12 - 05:10 PM

"By their mouths shall ye know them..."

Wrong part of the anatmy- should read 'by their anus shall ye know them'.

Subject: RE: BS: F*** the Poor
From: catspaw49
Date: 23 Mar 12 - 05:21 PM

I agree Bill......Stewart and Colbert make a super one-two punch combo......Both have great ways of making the point.

Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: F*** the Poor
From: YorkshireYankee
Date: 23 Mar 12 - 05:39 PM

Ebbie, the links to shows like The Daily Show, Bill Maher, Colbert Report, etc cannot be viewed outside the US. If you click to view the clip, you just get a message telling you it's not available in your area (definitely frustrating!). I think (but am not sure) that this is the case with any shows broadcast by The Comedy Channel.

So -- we have no real way of knowing what's being referred to without some kind soul taking the time to explain it...

Subject: RE: BS: F*** the Poor
From: gnu
Date: 23 Mar 12 - 08:22 PM

YY... me too, but... here's the deal "without the deal". Stewart and Colbert and Maher and others are scathing comedians who have access to LOTS of info and they are very intelligent. They expose the inane bullshit and downright absolute crap and corruption that goes on in politics in the US and around the world.

Yes, I know you knew that. It's unfortunate you can't watch it. These guys are good. I would vote for Maher as President of the world. I think you can get some stuff on You Tube for all of them. Give it a spin. It's insightful, scathing and funny in a sad way.

Subject: RE: BS: F*** the Poor
From: ChanteyLass
Date: 23 Mar 12 - 09:18 PM

If they see this, they will attack the elderly next.
"http://lifeinc.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/23/10814860-whos-using-government-benefits-mostly-the-elderly">http://lifeinc.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/23/10814860-whos-using-government-benefits-mostly-the-elderly

Subject: RE: BS: F*** the Poor
From: YorkshireYankee
Date: 23 Mar 12 - 11:03 PM

Gnu, I've managed to see them while visiting my family in the US, so (as you say) I know they're good. I'll have a look on YouTube, but my experience so far has (sadly & annoyingly) been that it just won't work when I'm over here. However, I'd love to find out that I'm wrong and can watch them on YouTube (but not tonight, as it's 3 a.m./bedtime)!

Subject: RE: BS: F*** the Poor
From: Janie
Date: 23 Mar 12 - 11:28 PM

Ebbie,

Apparently the full episode for 9/1/11 is not archived and available on the Daily Show Website. It may be that the segment you refer to is archived as a highlight. Can you provide a link, or specify who the interview is with (assuming it is an interview) that allows for a more specific google search for highlights?

No need to create a blue clicky. Just some more info, if availabe, that might help me run your reference down?

Subject: RE: BS: F*** the Poor
From: Ebbie
Date: 24 Mar 12 - 11:55 AM

Janie, the whole segment is on the link that Richard Bridge posted. It features Stewart on a slightly different angle and then he goes on to "rant" about the poor and segues to O'Reilly, Hannity, etc giving their views on taxes and the need to "broaden the base" because so many Americans pay no taxes.

One guy said that the fact that they pay Social Security taxes, etc, means nothing because they get so much money back that it's a wash, i.e. "they have no skin in the game."

I'll see if I can find a transcript.

Subject: RE: BS: F*** the Poor
From: bubblyrat
Date: 24 Mar 12 - 02:06 PM

Well, I am certainly poor . And I'm fucked,too.

Subject: RE: BS: F*** the Poor
From: Janie
Date: 24 Mar 12 - 05:31 PM

Thanks Ebbie. (And Richard.)

Since it is essentially a comedy monologue with the visuals from Fox commentators, I don't think a transcript would be very useful or convey the sarcasm.

Subject: RE: BS: F*** the Poor
From: Ebbie
Date: 24 Mar 12 - 11:49 PM

I haven't found any transcript from any Daily Show more recent than 2004 (strangely enough, the wit and sarcasm comes across well, Janie). The transcriptions appear to have been done as a labor of love, perhaps by a volunteer.

Subject: RE: BS: F*** the Poor
From: WalkaboutsVerse
Date: 25 Mar 12 - 06:02 PM

My poem "For the Poor".

Subject: RE: BS: F*** the Poor
From: kendall
Date: 26 Mar 12 - 09:14 AM

To be a door mat, you must first lie down.

Subject: RE: BS: F*** the Poor
From: VirginiaTam
Date: 26 Mar 12 - 03:53 PM

Hell yeah! Fuck em all. And while we are at it bring back the practice of exposing the vulnerable. Toss em on the rubbish heaps, like the ancient (and some not so ancient) civilisations did (do).

And then, AND THEN, fine them. Yeah! Tax that withered decomposing body for not composting correctly. I mean what the hell is the recycling scheme for anyway?   Yeah! That'll teach em.

Subject: RE: BS: F*** the Poor
From: Ebbie
Date: 26 Mar 12 - 04:01 PM

Tamara, I hope you realize Jon Stewart's take on it.

Subject: RE: BS: F*** the Poor
From: VirginiaTam
Date: 26 Mar 12 - 04:30 PM

Ebbie

While I did not (could not in this country) see this particular show, I am familiar with John Stuart's satire. I can guess what he was getting at from the comments here.

I am just having my own little satirical rant for the benefit mostly of those inhumans who would agree with a Swiftian "Modest Proposal" as a real solution to a problem.

Subject: RE: BS: F*** the Poor
From: Ebbie
Date: 26 Mar 12 - 05:05 PM

Jon Stewart - ahem - devoted an extra long segment to it. The part that absolutely floored me was the people's comments he linked to, like O'Reilly, Palin, Hannity, a couple of legislators and some other illustrious pundits.

Palin said, "The National Endowments for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, all those kinds of frivolous things should be on the chopping block-

Stewart summed it up thus: The government could raise $700 billion by either taking half of everything earned by the bottom 50% or by raising the marginal tax rate on the top two percent.

Subject: RE: BS: F*** the Poor
From: Sandy Mc Lean
Date: 26 Mar 12 - 10:43 PM

"O'Reilly, Palin, Hannity, Coulter"
Do I detect a few Irish names here? Many Irish immigrants to the Americas were poor and destitute after the Great Famine in Ireland. Some would say it was not a famine at all as there was plenty of food for the rich and only the poor starved. In any case you would expect some empathy from those who carry the name of those poor exiles. As a Canadian I only know of Palin, whom I quickly dismiss as a total wingnut, but if the others are of Irish descent and their ancestors had been left to starve would these arseholes have ever have been born?

Subject: RE: BS: F*** the Poor
From: Ebbie
Date: 27 Mar 12 - 12:07 AM

Those people are far from feeling any empathy, i.e. I got mine, Jack. I have never read the history of any of them- it is possible that one or more of them grew up poor and pulled themselves up. I don't care about that; people who are good at selling themselves and are granted a little luck are not in the same boat as those who dropped out of school for one reason or another and simply gave up. We may have equal rights and opportunity and the freedom to choose but the kid who grew up without a mentor or role models may not even recognize the opportunity.