Keep fear alive - Rally to Restore Sanity

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SUMMARY

The forum discussion centers around the "Rally to Restore Sanity" and the "March to Keep Fear Alive," both events organized by Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart. Participants express a desire for a political movement that counters fear with reason, while also acknowledging the entertainment aspect of these rallies. The events aim to engage the "Busy Majority," those who feel overlooked in political discourse. The discussion highlights the potential for these rallies to become significant political gatherings, despite skepticism about their long-term impact.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of political satire and its role in contemporary discourse
  • Familiarity with the works of Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart
  • Knowledge of grassroots movements and their dynamics
  • Awareness of the cultural context surrounding the Tea Party and similar movements
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the impact of political satire on public opinion and activism
  • Explore the history and evolution of grassroots movements in the United States
  • Analyze the role of media personalities in shaping political narratives
  • Investigate the effectiveness of rallies and public demonstrations in influencing policy
USEFUL FOR

Political activists, media analysts, and anyone interested in the intersection of comedy and politics will benefit from this discussion.

Ivan Seeking
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America, the Greatest Country God ever gave Man, was built on three bedrock principles: Freedom. Liberty. And Fear -- that someone might take our Freedom and Liberty. But now, there are dark, optimistic forces trying to take away our Fear -- forces with salt and pepper hair and way more Emmys than they need. They want to replace our Fear with reason. But never forget -- "Reason" is just one letter away from "Treason." Coincidence? Reasonable people would say it is, but America can't afford to take that chance.

So join The Rev. Sir Dr. Stephen T. Colbert, D.F.A. on October 30th for the "March to Keep Fear Alive"™ in Washington DC. Pack an overnight bag with five extra sets of underwear -- you're going to need them. Because, to Restore Truthiness we must always...
http://www.keepfearalive.com/

"I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore!"

Who among us has not wanted to open their window and shout that at the top of their lungs?

Seriously, who?

Because we're looking for those people. We're looking for the people who think shouting is annoying, counterproductive, and terrible for your throat; who feel that the loudest voices shouldn't be the only ones that get heard; and who believe that the only time it's appropriate to draw a Hitler mustache on someone is when that person is actually Hitler. Or Charlie Chaplin in certain roles.

Are you one of those people? Excellent. Then we'd like you to join us in Washington, DC on October 30 -- a date of no significance whatsoever -- at the Daily Show's "Rally to Restore Sanity."Ours is a rally for the people who've been too busy to go to rallies, who actually have lives and families and jobs (or are looking for jobs) -- not so much the Silent Majority as the Busy Majority. If we had to sum up the political view of our participants in a single sentence... we couldn't. That's sort of the point...
http://www.rallytorestoresanity.com/

These guys kill me. But I am curious to see what happens. I don't know if this is just going to be a media event, or if it will grow into a true political "grassroots movement", in the spirit of, and in opposition to the tea party. I know Huffington and Oprah have their fingers in the pie.

The Daily show, while sold as comedy, has actually broken a news story or two. Jon Stewart does some pretty good political interviews. And Colbert just testified before a Congressional committee - the result of a "stunt" on his show - about migrant farm workers.
 
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If I get fired from work tomorrow for missing a mandatory training meeting, I'm going to take that opportunity to go to this rally. Otherwise, I doubt I can get off work.

It sounds like it will be a blast. The internet has been coming up with some great sign ideas.
 
I doubt it will become a movement, but as Jack says, I would bet that it's going to be a hell of a lot of fun.

I'd add that politics aside, it's great to see someone (Stephen Colbert) treat congress like the ineffectual clowns they are.
 
I know people planning to go to the rally to restore sanity. They want to show the tea partyers that they're outnumbered.
 
Evo said:
I know people planning to go to the rally to restore sanity. They want to show the tea partyers that they're outnumbered.

That notion crossed my mind as well.
 
Evo said:
I know people planning to go to the rally to restore sanity. They want to show the tea partyers that they're outnumbered.

It's a wonderful idea, but I don't think it's possible to outnumber idiocy and fear.
 
nismaratwork said:
It's a wonderful idea, but I don't think it's possible to outnumber idiocy and fear.

We got Obama elected, didn't we? Talk about a stacked deck! Until he won in the Iowa primary, I gave him no real chance.

The first time I saw him on Meet the Press, I think about April of 2006, I thought, "Damn! If only this guy had a chance..." I shudder to think how much I would have bet against him.
 
Ivan Seeking said:
That notion crossed my mind as well.
I'm buying airfare for a few of them, I can't go myself. They're more than welcome to carry a lifesize cardboard cut out of me! :approve:
 
Ivan Seeking said:
We got Obama elected, didn't we? Talk about a stacked deck! Until he won in Iowa, I gave him no real chance.

OK, you have a point...
 
  • #10
nismaratwork said:
It's a wonderful idea, but I don't think it's possible to outnumber idiocy and fear.

We could out-party them, I bet.

I wish I could go to this - sounds like it's going to be a blast!
 
  • #11
Will they be streaming the event? They need to provide a means of online participation.

Course it would probably be best not to mention that until everyone is committed to the trip. :biggrin:
 
  • #12
Unless I misunderstood something, the "Sanity" rally is at the same time as Jon Stewart's own effort. Why, dare I ask? They should be combined, perhaps even on opposite coasts to spread the influence, rather than working at cross-purposes.
 
  • #13
Danger said:
Unless I misunderstood something, the "Sanity" rally is at the same time as Jon Stewart's own effort. Why, dare I ask? They should be combined, perhaps even on opposite coasts to spread the influence, rather than working at cross-purposes.

These guys are all working together.

Has Fox news met its match in the Comedy channel? How poetic would that be??
 
  • #14
Ivan Seeking said:
These guys are all working together.

Has Fox news met its match in the Comedy channel? How poetic would that be??

Hey didn't Colbert get enough votes to have Nasa name something after him??
 
  • #15
Wait, I thought fear was good - wasn't that the upside to the gulf oil spill?
 
  • #16
  • #17
russ_watters said:
Wait, I thought fear was good - wasn't that the upside to the gulf oil spill?

See, we really did have an uncontrollable spill in the gulf, and it really was 65,000 barrels per day, and not 1000 barrels per day, but Obama is not a secret Muslim plotting against America, and he really was born in Hawaii. See the difference?

...of course the latest from Coulter et al is that he's simply not a Christian. I guess he doesn't pass their divinity test.
 
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  • #18
Ivan Seeking said:
See, we really did have an uncontrollable spill in the gulf, and it really was 65,000 barrels per day, and not 1000 barrels per day, but Obama is not a secret Muslim plotting against America, and he really was born in Hawaii. See the difference?

...of course the latest from Coulter et al is that he's simply not a Christian. I guess he doesn't pass their divinity test.

Well said, although was 65K bbl the final figure?
 
  • #19
nismaratwork said:
It's a wonderful idea, but I don't think it's possible to outnumber idiocy and fear.

Agreed for fear, but is it idiocy or just the result of social behavior, known as http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Students/hrb9701.html. Obviously it is far too optimistic to assume that we can counter that with reason.
 
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  • #20
Andre said:
Agreed for fear, but is it idiocy or just the result of social behavior, known as http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Students/hrb9701.html. Obviously it is far too optimistic to assume that we can counter that with reason.

I wish I disagreed with you, but I don't... ignorance and fear is a snowball rolling downhill, but reason and sanity is like Sisyphus trying to get in its way and roll it up the mountain.
 
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  • #21
I'll be there. I've never been to Washington, D.C., might as well go for a picnic :biggrin:

If any of you show up - set up a PF camp, so I knew who's lunch to take :biggrin:
 
  • #22
I'm thinking about going and still might, but I just got spent a week in DC last month and don't really have a strong urge to go back mostly because the hotels there are so dam expensive.
 
  • #23
America, the Greatest Country God ever gave Man,
sorry .. I only read this statement .. and stopped.
Why is this in a Politics forum ? .. right at the start it involves some unproven/unsubstantiated claim about potential mythical beings and what they may or may not have done.


Re: Keep fear alive - Rally to Restore Sanity
These ideas are from comedy/entertainment shows, and should not be considered as anything else.
 
  • #24
Alfi said:
sorry .. I only read this statement .. and stopped.
Why is this in a Politics forum ? .. right at the start it involves some unproven/unsubstantiated claim about potential mythical beings and what they may or may not have done.


Re: Keep fear alive - Rally to Restore Sanity
These ideas are from comedy/entertainment shows, and should not be considered as anything else.

Hi, I'm Satire and it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance! :rolleyes: Satire has a long tradition in politics, or is that you're simply not familiar with Mr. Colbert's shtick?
 
  • #25
nismaratwork said:
Well said, although was 65K bbl the final figure?

More or less.

Crone's calculations show that about 2.4 million gallons of oil gushed into the gulf every day until the riser was cut on June 3, after which the rate swelled to 2.9 million gallons daily. And the total escaped oil: 4.4 million barrels, or 184.8 million gallons.

These latest numbers are slightly higher than the daily estimates provided by the Flow Rate Technical Group, a government panel appointed to measure the spill. But Ira Leifer, a marine scientist at University of California, Santa Barbara's Marine Science Institute and a member of the panel, says the distinction is meaningless...
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2010/09/latest-oil-flow-estimate-tops-government-numbers.html

At 42 gallons per barrel, we land between 60K and 70K barrels per day.
 
  • #26
Alfi said:
sorry .. I only read this statement .. and stopped.[/quoite]

Why is this in a Politics forum ? .. right at the start it involves some unproven/unsubstantiated claim about potential mythical beings and what they may or may not have done.


Re: Keep fear alive - Rally to Restore Sanity
These ideas are from comedy/entertainment shows, and should not be considered as anything else.

So your complaint is that you read one sentence, and you can't figure out why this is in the political forum? And you don't you see a problem with your approach?? :biggrin:
 
  • #27
Ivan Seeking said:
So your complaint is that you read one sentence, and you can't figure out why this is in the political forum? And you don't you see a problem with your approach?? :biggrin:

He's probably still traumatized from reading 'A Modest Proposal' as a policy work... :-p ...probably put off by the baby back ribs recipes.
 
  • #28
Ivan Seeking said:
More or less.


http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2010/09/latest-oil-flow-estimate-tops-government-numbers.html

At 42 gallons per barrel, we land between 60K and 70K barrels per day.

...And the government believes that bacteria have consumed 75% of THAT?! What a steaming pile of sh- crude.
 
  • #29
Some things can be made into satire, but some things should be taken seriously, or at least relatively seriously. Those of you who consider yourselves Americans should be very concerned with the very real decline of the nation you support.
 
  • #30
Movie Idiocracy comes to mind. The US is going down that route right now, with likes of Christine O'Donnel and Sarah Palin.
 

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