getting news from comedy outlets

Sometimes I wonder if it's any wonder that a younger generation gets its news from comedy shows ... especially when those comedy shows dig into corners that mainstream news reporting cannot or won't go near.

Case in point, the Daily Show with Jon Stewart, who, a couple of days ago, ran a segment on the effect of the Supreme Court's decision to overturn a key provision of the Voting Rights Act. The ruling has led to the imposition of varying new voting rules in southern states, as for example a voter ID card ... which will put an end to the infinitesimally small number of proven instances of voter fraud.

One of the North Carolina interviewees was so straightforward about the new rules that members of the Republican party (the ones most likely to benefit from the latest voting restrictions) asked him to resign ... which he did. Asked directly if he were a racist, GOP official Don Yelton paused long and hard and finally said, "I've been called a bigot." Nevertheless, one of his best friends is black ... a statement so out of synch that it fit right into the comedy framework ... laughter laced with tears. Yelton was forced out of the Republican fold, I suspect, not because his remarks were offensive, but rather because he was stupid enough to make the much-shared sentiments out where others could see and hear them and then rightly associate them with the Republican Party.

Jon Stewart goes for the throat on occasion and, since the mainstream news organizations seem unwilling or unable to do the same, why shouldn't anyone prefer to get their news from a comedy outlet? It may not always be funny, but at least it gets a little closer to the truth.