Wednesday, October 20, 2004

I am doubly blessed having grown up in the great State of New Jersey and living in New York City.

There is a long list of people from New Jersey and their accomplishments that make me proud to hail from the Garden State.

There are also a number of natural wonders, important historical events and just plain weird facts that swell me with pride.

Thomas Edison, inventor of the lightbulb, phonograph and motion picture, Frank Sinatra, the voice, Bruce Springsteen, Count Basie making sweet melodies, Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep on screen, Kevin Smith's Clerks, Mallrats and Dogma, the battles of Monmouth and Trenton, the beaches, the boardwalk, the tomatoes and corn, the first traffic circle and the invention of the bar code to name but a few.

Today, Jon Stewart, proud son of New Jersey has joined the list. For: Calling Paul Begala and Tucker Carlson hosts of CNN's CROSSFIRE (as proxies for the media in general) out on their disregard for truth and substance in favor of sensationalism, spin and theater in his blistering appearance on Crossfire, the left vs. right yellfest. Some highlights:

STEWART: Now, this is theater. It's obvious. How old are you?
CARLSON: Thirty-five.
STEWART: And you wear a bow tie?

CARLSON: You need to get a job at a journalism school, I think.
STEWART: You need to go to one.

CARLSON: I do think you're more fun on your show. Just my opinion.
CARLSON: OK, up next, Jon Stewart goes one on one with his fans... (CROSSTALK)
STEWART: You know what's interesting, though? You're as big a dick on your show as you are on any show.

http://www.ifilm.com/ifilmdetail/2652831

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0410/15/cf.01.html