Jon Stewart on the economic collapse

There’s a video clip from The Daily Show with Jon Stewart that I’ve been meaning to link to.  The topics discussed aren’t “breaking news” anymore, but they’re still relevant — such as America’s financial troubles caused by Wall Street firms.   If you haven’t seen this episode before, it’s worth watching.  This clip is only 10 1/2 minutes long.  (I will warn you that there’s a little bit of crude language, although most is beeped out.)

The first part is about a bipartisan financial reform bill that was in the works for 2 years, led by Chris Dodd and Bob Corker.  Eventually, Dodd decided to put out his own bill, which contained regulation that should’ve been implemented the day after the financial crisis began.   If you’re short on time, you can skip to around 4:20 of the video to get to the better part.

Jon Stewart explains why Lehman Brothers imploded, according to a bankruptcy examiner’s report, and he shows how Lehman Brothers hid their worthless junk holdings — some $50 billion.  And Citicorp did the same thing, and Goldman Sachs fueled AIG’s gambles.   And supposedly no one at Lehman Brothers is going to jail for what they did, even though they intentionally deceived everyone watching them by hiding $50 billion of worthless securities (which in some circles is considered fraud).

The best part of the video begins at 6:20, where Jon Stewart discusses the Supreme Court case that says corporations have the same rights as individuals.   So what if individuals had the same rights as corporations?  Jon Stewart puts it in perspective in a way only he can, and it’s classic.  Here’s the link:

The Daily Show: In Dodd We Trust

I don’t always watch The Daily Show, but sometimes it reports more on the important and controversial news than the full-time news networks, and Stewart makes it funny.  Humor is important at a time like this.  It can be very disheartening to see our country’s economy (and our freedoms) being destroyed from the inside out by large corporations, Congress, and the Obama administration.  Receiving that distressing news with some injected humor makes it a little easier to swallow.  (What’s the old song say — “A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down.”)

Chick-fil-A randomness

In celebration of Cow Appreciation Day, Chick-fil-A is running this promotion:

“On July 9, prove you’re no chicken and visit your local Chick-fil-A fully dressed like a cow and receive a FREE Chick-fil-A Meal in celebration of the Cows’ favorite holiday.”

If you have (or can get) a cow costume and don’t mind looking silly, you can get free food.  I wonder how many people do this every year…

It’s nice to see corporations that have a sense of humor.  More companies should follow suit.

must keep eating

I just heard in the news that there’s a woman who must eat every 15 minutes to stay alive.  She eats up to 60 small meals a day, consuming between 5,000 and 8,000 calories per day, yet she cannot gain any weight.   She gets excited if she gains even one pound.  She wears size triple zero clothes.  The doctors say it’s a condition called NPS.

I wonder if I have some type of eating disorder, because I often feel the need to eat big, fattening meals, and I’m unable to lose weight.  🙂  If only there was some important doctor who could offer me some advice…

great quote about France’s soccer boycott

I don’t keep up with soccer (football / futbol), but mixed in with other sports news today I heard of something unusual regarding the 2010 FIFA World Cup.  The players from France’s soccer team boycotted their practice because one of their players was kicked off the team for inappropriate behavior during a game.  If they truly believe they were treated wrongly and unfairly, I could see boycotting a game to make a protest.  I’m not sure how much it helps to boycott your own practices…

France’s coach, Raymond Domenech, was tasked with the job of trying to get his players to practice and be prepared for their match.  Today he said publicly:

“I tried to convince them that what they were doing was an aberration, an imbecility, a stupidity without name.”

I’m pretty sure that’s not the best motivational speech I’ve ever heard.  Maybe something was lost in translation…