Light years out past dumb and dumber!

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2023

Could a "news show" get dumber than this? For what it's worth, we'll pass this along:

"Actor and comedian Jamie Lissow is currently a regular weekly guest on the #1 rated late night talk show, Gutfeld!, on Fox."

We don't offer that description to single Lissow out. We don't mean to assign him special blame for what we saw on that "cable news" program last night.

The blame should go to all involved, or perhaps to the gods. That said, the aforementioned Gutfeld! actually is a 10 p.m., weeknight show on the Fox News Channel. 

It's hosted by the perpetually angry young Master Gutfeld, who interacts each weekday night with a four-member panel of guests. 

Last night, he closed a long angry opening monologue about annoying and irresponsible public protests in the manner shown below. He then introduced his guests:

GUTFELD (12/19/23): I'll tell you this. If I'm in my car and you're superglued to the road, consider yourself a speed bump, Bitch!  

[AUDIENCE LAUGHTER]

Because unlike you, I've got a life and I've worked hard for it!

[AUDIENCE APPLAUSE]

ANNOUNCER: Welcome tonight's guests!!

GUTFELD: He asked Santa for new material. Actor, writer and comedian Jamie Lissow...

The introductions continued from there. The four guests included two little-known comedians along with Tyrus, the former World's Heavyweight Champion from the National Wrestling Alliance. Plus, one highly specialized sports activist who degraded herself and her issue by appearing on the show. 

This group proceeded to engage in an endlessly scatological, spectacularly stupid set of ersatz discussions concerning an array of news-adjacent pseudo-topics.

As you can see if you watch the tape, the program was built around a nearly endless display of the types of emission typically known as "dick jokes." The level of smutty double entendre was only surpassed by the truly spectacular level of dumbness put on display through the hour. 

As always, the subtext was an endless level of rolling resentment directed at lessers and Others. "Consider yourself a speed bump, Bitch," the angry host declared. 

(Crazily, the host seems to believe that he has "worked hard" to attain his station in life.)

It's astounding to think that a program this dumb could be classified as a "news" show. That said, Fox has been aggressively trending in this defiantly dumbbell / tabloid direction over the past several years.

It would be hard to get any dumber than last night's Gutfeld! slagathon, but there's every chance that the "cable news" industry will give it a try. For today, we'll offer this suggestion:

Set aside a chunk of time and watch the first few segments of this deeply unwatchable program. Some death of brain cells may occur—but you'll be getting a look at the evolution which has plainly been underway in the prime-time programs at Fox.

Fox News has been tilting this way through the rise of Gutfeld himself, but also through the promotion of snark king Jesse Watters to the 8 p.m. weeknight slot. Guest segments by comedians are also common now on other prime-time programs. 

For the record, the prime-time lineup starts at 5 p.m. with The Five. During that program, four Fox-scripted panelists beat up on a guest liberal who serves as the program's fifth guest, with Gutfeld himself routinely cast in the most prominent role.

Has our culture ever been this dumb and degraded? Click that link, then ask yourself this other basic question:

Can a modern nation really expect to survive or prosper this way? Also, how does such mindless drivel rise to such a level of prominence without a word of critical commentary from those in the outside, developed world?

Last evening, the dumbness was general over Gutfeld! Fox News has been moving this way.


79 comments:


  1. I thought it was a satirical show. Sorta like the "Colbert" shit.

    Do you have similar problems with Colbert, or do you consider Colbert not only good, decent (obviously) but also thoughtful, insightful and well-balanced?

    Inquiring minds want to know.

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    1. I liked Colbert long ago. I haven’t seen him recently.

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    2. I still like Colbert. During covid we got to see his decency in his treatment of his family and his show staff, who he continued to pay throughout the writer's strike, out of his own pocket, as an act of solidarity.

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    3. Out of his pants, actually, where he's usually shoving the money.

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    4. It was ugly when Somerby said that about Maddow and it is just as ugly to say it about Colbert, who actually is a good decent person, and not in the pro forma sense that Somerby uses those words.

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    5. Steven is a highly paid, good, decent person.

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    6. Who did Colbert threaten to hit with his car on public television?

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    7. A seed that's too cold doesn't sprout and a heart that's hateful won't bear fruit. It will stay in the Earth hating her, for what it assumes must be a defect in its neighbors

      Even if Colbert joked about actually hurting someone with a vehicle, two wrongs don't make a right. That's a sickness of the mind. Why do you want to see a corpse? What's funny about the putrid fumes of a carcass on the street to you?

      Tell me how Colbert made that funny, I'll wait.

      Death jokes aside, the people who need this kind of harsh gallows humor are not threatened in any literal way. They're egging you on to be remorseless toward your fellow human being in December no less. Deep down they feel reassured that maybe the person has it coming, and Death itself is no match for the power of hating the Other. That's comedy for you! Luciferian comedy.

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    8. Colbert once told a joke you didn’t like. For Gutfield it is his whole act.

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  2. I don’t watch Fox News. I am Korbi.

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    1. We liberals are forbidden to watch Fox News. Somerby is no liberal.

      I am Corby.

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    2. I am not a liberal, and I do not watch Fox News, but I am Quorbie.

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  3. Violent state Zionism was and is a mistake. Maybe non-violent non-state Zionism would have succeeded, maybe not. But the Zionism that was was actually implemented has been a disaster.

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    1. Read the Old Testament.

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    2. Then don't pretend you know anything about the history of Jews and whether non-violent non-state Zionism is even a thing, historically speaking.

      Is having 6 million Jews killed in the Holocaust worse for the Jews than having to kill some Gazans to live in peace? From the Israeli perspective, is the formation of Israel a "mistake"? Not in comparison to what has happened to Jews elsewhere across time.

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    3. Jews have suffered a real genocide. Palestinians are still throwing a temper tantrum (Muslim-style) because they weren't given as large a territory as they wanted 100 years ago. Do these wrongs sound comparable? Not to me.

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    4. I don't think an ethnocentric ideology can be non-violent.

      It's simple: your (imaginary) ethnic group needs lebensraum. Unless you're planning to get it on Mars, you will have to get rid of the people who already live there, somehow. It seems unlikely that it can be done without violence.

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    5. Jewish people could have immigrated to Palestine and become good citizens. A lot of them wanted to do just that. Unfortunately, others wanted their own state and resorted to violence.

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    6. @3:38 PM
      I understand. Non-political, sort of a "spiritual" movement. But I'm not sure it's possible. Politics tends to infiltrate and corrupt this sort of thing anyway. Although, who knows.

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    7. The UN did not help create the nation of Israel because the Zionists were violent. If that worked, the Palestinians would have had a state long ago. Being violent suggests that a people would be bad neighbors and are not ready for statehood.

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    8. "lebensraum" is the German word used to justify WWI. It is offensive to use it in this context, and you know it.

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    9. no, you moron, it was Hitler's justification for attacking eastern europe and russia in WW 2.

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    10. Any possibility that anyone here will say something intelligent?

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    11. Jews immigrated to America, didn’t try to expel the Americans, and became good citizens.

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    12. The Americans didn’t attack them either. You left that part out.

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    13. The Americans didn't attack the Jewish immigrants BECAUSE the Jewish immigrants didn't expel the Americans and didn't take over the country.

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    14. The difference is that Americans were the majority in the US whereas Jews were the majority in Israel despite Palestinian claims. If Palestinians were the majority why did they keep losing, especially early on? Every single war, even with multiple Arab allies! Maybe Allah doesn’t want them to take over Israel?

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    15. Jews weren’t the majority before Zionism.

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    16. Neither were Palestinians.

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    17. Wtf does this have to do with the post above?

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  4. The Daily Howler is boring. I’d rather visit a porno site.

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  5. "Plus, one highly specialized sports activist who degraded herself and her issue by appearing on the show. "

    Is there some reason why Somerby cannot actually identify the people who appeared on the show, so that we can judge for ourselves?

    Among other omissions, Somerby neglects to place that opening dialogue in the context of a pro-Palestinian demonstration that was blocking traffic. The entire rant was against such protesters. Somerby also fails to mention that the second comedian was a right wing woman who calls herself a feminist while promoting right wing anti-woman measures. And of course, he never mentions what the highly specialized sports issue might be. I am inclined to consider activists who will suffer any amount of abuse to promote their cause to be noble, not demeaned, but not if it is some right-wing Moms4Liberty cause that will deprive others of their rights and do no good for anyone. So, it matters when Somerby doesn't say who appeared, so that we can figure out for ourselves who or what was demeaned.

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    1. Riley Gaines and Jamie Lissow.

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    2. Yes, I found them myself by reading the show transcript. Would it kill Somerby to inform his readers?

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    3. Anonymouse 3:06pm, he linked it.

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    4. Do you think readers should have to watch Fox News in real time just to find out the name of the guests appearing on the show? Why? Is it Somerby's goal to encourage liberals to watch Fox? That would accomplish it, assuming they want to know enough to sit through that garbage.

      This is another instance of Somerby's failure to acknowledge the creative work of other people. Those other comedians worked hard to establish themselves as comedians and earned their gig on Gutfield (even though it wouldn't be to my taste, they ARE being paid for appearing). Somerby won't give their names because he resents their success and doesn't care about his own audience at this blog. Just like he doesn't want to promote that activist's cause by mentioning it or her.

      And just like Somerby would not be mentioning who wrote or sang various song lyrics he has "borrowed" for his own purposes, if we were not complaining about it. But that is intellectual property theft, as would repeating Gutfield's joke without his name be.

      My current theory is that Somerby is as narcissistic as Donald Trump and he doesn't give other people credit when warranted because he simply doesn't care about anyone but himself. It slips his mind that his readers might want to know which comedians appeared, or that those comedians earned the publicity and should be given it, whether we agree with their politics and like their jokes or not.

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    5. In academia, where professors are not paid anything extra for their research or creative activities, giving others credit for their contributions is the main and only form of "pay" and one's reputation is how one gets a better paying job or promotion. So it matters a lot in such fields, where there is no actual money but only fame at stake. Somerby deliberately tramples the conventions for recognizing others. He was taught how to do it at Harvard. Perhaps he considers that just another Harvard affectation that he can scoff at, like using a napkin at the dinner table. Or maybe he is a lout. My vote is for the latter.

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    6. The link contained written info on the guest list. You did not need to start the vid to see it.

      sheesh…

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    7. And Somerby could have just typed the names.

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    8. I make no excuses for Somerby. I am Corby.

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  6. I’ve never seen Gutfeld’s night time gig, but he can be funny and insightful via The Five.

    Jesse Watters is just unwatchable.

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    1. Fox News is unwatchable. I know, because I never watch it.

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    2. Anonymouse 2:58pm, I used to tell the old man that a little Jesse goes a long way.

      I was wrong. Any Jesse is too much Jesse.

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    3. The old man is lucky.

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    4. Cecelia IS the old man. She may identify as female online but she does not play one in real life.

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    5. Anonymouse 3:48pm, I play the part of a small town sheriff with a trigger-happy deputy in real life. Or maybe I play the part of a folksy southern attorney in a white suit.
      I that mixed up.

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    6. anon 3:48 If there was a contest to determine the stupidest commenter on this sight, you'd be running neck and neck with anon 3:54. though I can't rule out the possibility that you're both the same person.

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    7. AC/MA People would care more about who you find stupid if you were a little smarter yourself. But you’re not.

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    8. sight should be site, for instance

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    9. anon 6:32 I doubt you speak all anons (all 3 of them?), but I'm quite sure I'm smarter than you.

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    10. AC is smarter than me, no question.

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  7. No one would expect a standup comedian such as Somerby to like or find funny those rivals who have arguably done better in terms of fame and money than Somerby ever did. The male comedian Somerby denigrates is appearing in and producing sitcoms and movies. The female comedian, who Somerby doesn't even name, is at least appearing on TV and not just CSpan.

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  8. A comedian needs to know his audience and present jokes that will be funny to them, not necessarily the comedian himself or herself. Judging by the transcript, these people are obviously playing to the right wing, representing their prejudices and what will make viewers laugh. Crudity does it every time, as does anger, misogyny and bashing of lefty protesters.

    Somerby pretends he doesn't share these hot-button joke topics by objecting to the dick jokes and smut (using his own double-entendre "emission"). He has always had a kind of Catholic prudery, as when he objected to Maddow's tea-bagger jokes that wrote themselves. But the so-called smut isn't the most degrading and objectionable part of the humor. It is the angry bashing of all the usual right-wing targets, the hate. And if Somerby finds sex more degrading than hate, something is wrong with him. Liberals find Fox (and Gutfield) unwatchable because of the offensive targeting of hate objects, not because of dirty jokes. Somerby objects to the dumbness and smut. We are truly on different planets and Somerby is on the red one, not our big blue marble.

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    1. Anonymouse 3:02pm, it doesn’t surprise anyone that you would find dumb smuttiness less objectively offensive than jokes from a political perspective that you don’t share.

      You do that while you vilify your political contrarians, call Bob a poseur, and slather your own posterior in gold leaf.


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    2. I don't like smutty jokes. I am Corby.

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    3. Hate is not a "joke from a political perspective." The Catholic church itself considers hate worse than sex. Hate represents an attack on others, which is what Gutfield did against those protesters, using words of course. There was nothing funny about anything he said unless you hold hate in your heart toward the butt of his "jokes".

      Here are the sins in increasing order of severity:

      Lust.
      Gluttony.
      Greed.
      Sloth.
      Wrath.
      Envy.
      Pride.

      Hate is part of wrath, but putting oneself above others who are different (immigrants, gays, women) is a sin of pride and that is the worst sin according to Catholic theology. You may be an evangelistic Christian, so most of these would be virtues for you, especially greed and lust, judging by the actions of Christian House members and TV preachers.

      Somerby is big on Envy, judging by the way he talks about female, black journalists and comedians, those awful women who hold the jobs he himself covets and tried hard to get, but failed. He still carries that chip on his shoulder even though God says "knock it off".

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    4. For Boebert it is sloth too.

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    5. Anonymouse 3:45pm, you’d be more convincing if you took the sour grapes out of your mouth and the beam out of your eye.

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    6. It is understandably hard for you to attack me for my sins when you know absolutely nothing about me. Even so, this is the lamest remark anyone has made today, in a blog full of lame comments by trolls.

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    7. Anonymouse 4:01, I hit right on the mark then, huh?

      “Thou hypocrite.”

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    8. Think what you want. This is not personal even if trolls attack the person when they have no response.

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    9. Please. You make sure it’s personal every singe day. It’s your job description.

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    10. Trump exhibits every one of those sins, in massive amounts. That is why evangelicals love him.

      And in the spirit of Trumpmas, Extreme Right wingers are vermin, you included Cecelia. No insult intended. You’re welcome.

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    11. I am not an extreme right winger, but I am vermin.

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    12. Anonymouse 5:55pm, this is far less insulting than that other pose you tried today.

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    13. pose? do you mean post?

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    14. Hypocrites accuse others of hypocrisy.

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  9. Somerby has not yet caught on that Gutfield is not a news reporter but a comedian himself. His show is not a "news show" as Somerby calls it.

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  10. Kevin says Trump can be a candidate unless he’s actually convicted.

    https://jabberwocking.com/convict-trump-first-then-bar-him-from-office/

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    Replies
    1. read the comments on his blog. he is not right about that.

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    2. Most polls show Hispanics and Blacks dislike liberal women.

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    3. I’m getting the feeling that it’s you who dislikes women.

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    4. Main reason given: "Talk too much".

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  11. I have become Korbi, destroyer of blogs.

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  12. Somerby is no liberal. You all are right winger trolls funded by Russia via Iran and Qatar.

    I play bridge. My finger smells funny. I am nice. My brain doesn't know where my finger has been.

    I am Corby.

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