TVSquad

It's been quite a week and The Daily Show really has missed a hell of a lot. I'm curious to see how they're going to address everything. Mere seconds into the show, I get a good idea as Jon Stewart hollers out. Yeah. That definitely sums up the week. He sighs and then stares at the camera. "Did we miss anything?" he asks meekly. "I can't leave you people alone for a second". Hasn't he realized yet that the entire world revolves around The Daily Show? Alright then... time for Stewart to rant out all the frustration he's been holding in during the show's break. Take a deep breath and let's go...


In regards to Hurricane Katrina, there's been a lot of outcry against the government and even more outcry from people yelling at the people blaming the government. There's a lot of confusion about where to put the blame. Has the government really messed up, bungling the whole situation? Stewart says the short answer is "yes". Long answer is "YEEEEEEEEEEES". Stewart then goes into a rant against the people saying that it's only the left-wing media and the liberals making it seem like it's all Bush's fault. It's a blatant mess-up of the federal government, not just a bunch of people carelessly passing the buck. The way that Stewart puts it all into perspective is by saying that Hurricane Katrina is George Bush's Monica Lewinsky. The entire federal government is under fire for the actions (or in today's case, the lack thereof) of the leader. The only difference here is that tens of thousands of people were not stranded in Lewinsky's vagina... but it was also called the Superdome. Hm. I would've made a tasteless Katrina/Lewinsky joke with the word "blowing" in it but I guess The Daily Show writers are above me in that way. Anyway, Stewart continues by pointing out that Bush continued his vacation after the disaster for a whole three days. In essence, Stewart is giving a hot cup of "shut the fuck up" to those blaming the left-wing media for exacerbating things. But, he's proud of the media for the way that they've leapt into action by comparing them to some fat, drunk guy that he always saw at a bar he used to work at. The fat drunk would just sit there being fat and getting drunk at the bar... but one day, someone told him that his car was being broken into and he jumped out and beat the crap out of the guys with a tire iron. It's a feeling of "Holy crap! He can move!" Stewart commends the media in this manner (I never thought being compared to a fat drunk would be a compliment).

Correspondent Ed Helms is live from the Superdome -- which looks alarmingly empty. Helms confesses that he's not really in the Superdome but is actually at the Giant Stadium in E. Rutherford, New Jersey. So why isn't he in New Orleans? "... I'm scared," Helms replies. The news that Helms has gathered so far shows that everyone is putting forth all their effort to try and build everything back up. After all, the reputation has been badly damaged. That's right, New Orleans is totally fucked so the government has given up. They're now focusing on fixing Bush's horrible approval rating. Stewart keeps asking about the relief effort until Helms tells him to shut up. Can't Stewart understand the importance of the president's reputation?! And it's not like Bush isn't doing anything at all. He's actually going to build a billion dollar damn in Arkansas. Stewart looks confused... Why Arkansas? It's simple, really. "His plan is to fight the water there so we won't have to fight it here," Helms says. They then display the "Major Disasters of Bush Administration", an A - Z checklist from "Abu Graib" to "Zero people left on Earth" (my personal favorite is V for "Voldemort").

There's been plenty of public criticism over Bush's lethargic response to the disaster, slowly moving from Vacation Bush to President Bush. Stewart gives a run-down of exactly what Bush was doing as Katrina closed in. August 27: Bush is still five weeks into his vacation and chilling in his stetson and denim. August 28: Katrina's getting closer and Bush is still at the ranch. August 29: Okay! Bush has gotten into Air Force One and... taken off in the other direction for a meeting on medicare (at least he's taking care of medication... even if it's not for the people that need it most right now). August 30: The levees break and Bush heads into the eye of... San Diego. He cuts his vacation short for an appearance on Good Morning America and says that the breaching of the levees was not expected. That's very true, Mr. President... it was not anticipated by anyone except the Weather Channel, several news networks, and any random person in a raincoat. But right now, Bush is in full President mode, showing his empathy over Trent Lott's house. Poor senator.

This is a quick personal reaction but I'm really surprised that they haven't mentioned Chief Justice William Rehnquist's death at all. Maybe they're tackling the hurricane today and then moving on to Rehnquist tomorrow... It still feels like it's too big to ignore for even one episode, though.

Anyway, tonight's guest is Marc Siegel, writer of False Alarm: The Truth abou the Epidemic of Fear. Siegel argues that Americans are too absorbed with terrorism and are constantly terrified by it even though it only affects a select few people at any given time. Natural disasters like hurricanes affect a lot more people and should be focused upon more often than terrorism. Siegel also says that the country's leaders are another real source of fear. Terrorists don't really do anything except scare people shitless. Only a few people are actually in danger from terrorism and the rest of the country is panicking. Plus, the government and the media are blowing things out of proportion by calling everything even remotely dangerous a "weapon of mass destruction". Nuclear weapons are weapons of mass destruction, anthrax is not. By putting all these dangers at the same level, Americans don't know what the real dangers are. Clearly this book isn't a happy one... Be sure to read this to your kids at night.

After a reminder to viewers to do what they can to help the Hurricane Katrina relief effort, Stewart leaves us with our Moment of Zen: The weatherman finally snaps!