@csgordon @volkris @Clackable @stopgopfox @Mastopoet @GreenFire
Wow! That is a consideration none of the media is covering.
Republicans are already advocating for criminal penalties for indebtedness, including debtor's prison. John Oliver described how States are evading prohibitions on prison labor using the indebted.
During Reconstruction, debt was how many PoC lost their land grants or ended up in chain gangs.
Perhaps John Oliver isn't the best source for unbiased coverage of the people he's shown such outright derision for?
Or... for anything else in particular? I mean, the guy is pretty dumb.
Funny commedian, but pretty ignorant.
But so often I see clips of Oliver saying things that are inconsistent with how (for example) government functions or easily debunkable based on two seconds of research on congress.gov.
He says false things pretty routinely.
Saying that he has a good research staff doesn't mean much when he clearly promotes falsehoods. I guess it just means his statements are intentional lies.
Source?
In my years of watching the John Oliver show, I've seen lots of jokes meant to discomfit the wealthy and their enablers.
Not once has he failed to clarify an error. His research is impeccable and widely sourced & verified.
Spreading your disinformation isn't something I'm going to do. Blocking.
Yeah, the fact that he doesn't admit his errors is part of the problem.
All the time I see him saying stuff that doesn't, for example, check out with regard to the actual legislative process in Congress. He'll make comments about how some piece of legislation is doing, comments that don't actually square with the rules of the chamber.
Or he'll talk about something the President has done that is the responsibility of a different branch of government, or he will talk about economic stuff that doesn't reflect the way the Federal Reserve operates, and on and on.
The guy just really doesn't know what he's talking about. He's a comedian. And I'm really disappointed that he doesn't stick to just being a funny guy, that he spends his time spreading false information instead of funny jokes.
@volkris
John Oliver gets the infotainment aspect of the average American.
Derision gets people out of their comfort zone.
They go looking for facts to bolster their position & find out they've been lied to by Fox News and softsoaped by mainstream media.
Oliver has a top notch research staff and the ability to get people to listen.
Getting people to read boring stuff, accept expertise as valid, and change their minds is a talent that's rare.