Of chickens and eggs

Some American chicken little says that the sky is falling, and it's all Jon Stewart's fault.

Apparently, a new study has found that young people don't vote, and are increasingly cynical. (You don't say?) It also found that a lot of young people watch The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. (No shit?) Incidentally, a new study has also found that a watched pot never boils, Belinda Stronach has a lot of money, and that George Bush doesn't have a clue.

Here's where it gets funny - according to this blowhard, the clear implication is that Jon Stewart is making people cynical and less likely to vote. The more reasonable explanation, that cynical young people who don't vote like to watch Jon Stewart instead of "hard news" because they're cynical about democracy and what passes for the media already, is conveniently absent from the editorial.

Rest assured, Jon Stewart couldn't possibly do any more than the Bush administration, Congress, lobbyists, big money, corporations, skyrocketing debt, the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections, Ann Coulter, reality shows, the religious right, and a compliant news media have already done to make people cynical about democracy and the media.

Speaking of which, I miss Bill Maher. I can't wait for the new season.

(Hat tip: liberal catnip.)