September 22, 2008

Emmys Political References: And the Winner Is…

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mojo-photo-emmypolitics.jpgI’m embarrassed to admit I even watched part of the Emmys telecast last night, though in my defense it just happened to be on during dinner, and I was flipping back and forth to Die Hard With a Vengeance, at least. The ceremony managed to exaggerate the most infuriating aspects of awards shows, extending the pointless blather and witless tributes while cutting off speeches after about three seconds. Apparently America agreed, as the broadcast achieved the lowest ratings in the history of the Emmys. Congratulations.

One of the few highlights of the show was waiting to see what sly (or not-so-sly) political reference would come next. There were quite a few, with winners and presenters perhaps inspired by the stultifying boredom of the rest of the ceremony. In any event, please welcome Party Ben to present the five nominees for best political commentary at the Emmys broadcast last night.

Thanks Party Ben. It’s an honor to be here tonight. And the nominees are:

Tom Hanks for his “John Adams” acceptance speech
Mr. Hanks referenced the “innuendo, lies, and disinformation” of the Jefferson/Adams election, and then sarcastically stated, “how great we’ve come so far since then.”

Howie Mandel for “Bridge to Nowhere” reference
Mr. Mandel described the baffling show opener featuring reality hosts as being like a pointless elevated roadway which one could say thanks but no thanks to.

Tina Fey for Post-Emmys press-conference Sarah Palin reference
Describing her SNL impersonation of the VP candidate, Ms. Fey stated she wants to be “done playing this lady Nov. 5, so if anybody can help me be done playing this lady Nov. 5, that would be good for me.”

John Stewart and Stephen Colbert for “Prunes Bit”
Mr. Stewart and Mr. Colbert pulled the old comedy switcheroo by announcing they would not discuss politics, then launched into a see-through metaphor for John McCain’s campaign by referring to prunes, “shriveled and hard-to-swallow, but with the experience we need.”

John Stewart for bleak non-joke Bush reference during acceptance speech
Mr. Stewart stated he’s “looking forward” to the next administration, then said “I have nothing to follow that up with, I’m just saying I really look forward to the next administration.”

And the winner is…

John Stewart and Stephen Colbert for “Prunes Bit”! Funny, silly, and charmingly old-school, the bit followed the Colbert strategy of high-wire satire that he executes perfectly on a nightly basis. “What could possibly go wrong,” mumbles the wide-eyed Colbert, stuffing prunes into his mouth. Watch it below!!

WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

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That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

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And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

If you can, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones—that exists to make a difference, not a profit—with a donation of any amount today. We need more donations than normal to come in from this specific blurb to help close our funding gap before it gets any bigger.

payment methods

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