Jon Stewart Plays Six Degrees of George W. Bush

The Fox News crowd is predictably appalled that anyone would pass some blame for the Gulf oil spill onto George W. Bush. But as Jon Stewart pointed out on last night's Daily Show, they were more than glad to fault Bill Clinton anytime something went awry during the Bush administration. Of course, blaming Bush and blaming Clinton are both incredibly unfair. Because all this stuff, from 9/11 to Katrina to both recessions, is obviously William Henry Harrison's fault.

The Daily Show airs Monday through Thursday at 11pm / 10c.

Tags: 9/11, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Dick Morris, Economy, Energy & Oil, Fox, George W. Bush, Gulf Coast, Jon Stewart, Laura Ingraham, Recession, Rudy Giuliani, Sean Hannity, Steve Doocy, The Daily Show, Video, William Henry Harrison

The Daily Show's Best Ben Bernanke Moments

As you know, the rumors have been all over the place. First it looked like he was out, and now they say he's still in. Of course the biggest question in either case is, how will the markets react? Well, that and will he go back to Jen? I guess all we can do is sit back and wait for Angelina to make a decision. And while we do that, why not enjoy these Daily Show videos about Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke?

Slim Thug: Still a Boss

The list continues below.

The Daily Show airs Monday through Thursday at 11pm / 1oc.

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Tags: Alan Greenspan, Ben Bernanke, Economy, Federal Reserve, Henry Paulson, John Hodgman, Jon Stewart, Recession, TARP, The Daily Show, Video, Wyatt Cenac

The Recession is Officially Over, For Whatever That's Worth

Crack open your finest can of beans, America, it's time to celebrate! According to Federal Reserve Chairbeard Ben Bernanke, the recession that's been going on for the past year and three-quarters is OVAH. Dunzo. Finito. Down for the count.

Final tally? America: 1. Econopocalypse: 0!

"From a technical perspective, the recession is very likely over at this point," Bernanke said in responding to questions at the Brookings Institution. "It's still going to feel like a very weak economy for some time because many people will still find that their job security and their employment status is not what they wish it was."

The recession, which started in December 2007, has claimed a net total of 6.9 million jobs.

Okay, okay. America: 1, Econopocalypse 0 + 6.9 million.

But who's counting? If you get all technical with the technical economic data, it spoils the fun.

Tags: Ben Bernanke, Economy, Recession

Jon Stewart Interviews Peter Schiff

On last night's Daily Show, Jon Stewart sat down with author and commentator Peter Schiff. In the face of laughter and condescending sneers, Schiff prophetically predicted the current economic crisis years ago, so naturally, many are now wondering if he'll run for office. But what I want to know is, who does he like in the next Super Bowl?

The Daily Show airs Monday through Thursday at 11pm / 10c.

Tags: Chris Dodd, Connecticut, Economy, Jon Stewart, Recession, Senate, The Daily Show

The Bad News: Economy Shrinkage, Robot Overlords and Man-eating Mice!

Economy Suffers Continued Shrinkage! Apparently, there are "piggy bank half-full" economists, and "piggy bank half-empty" economists. Clearly, it's a safer bet to listen to the bean-counters who favor negativity — the US economy shrunk more than expected in the first quarter by 6.1%. Who wants some more boot leather soup? [usatoday.com]

Meet Our Future Robot Master! Tech giant IBM seems actually proud about it's recent advancement in artificial intelligence — "Watson," a computing system designed to beat humans at the quiz game "Jeopardy." Great job, nerds. First it's "beat the humans at game." Then it's "download self into battle tank." And finally, it's "beat the humans… into goo." I've seen the documentaries. [pcmag.com]

Torture Thy Neighbor! A recent survey suggests that the more religious you are, the more likely you are to condone torture. Has this country gone down some kind of evil rabbit hole? I repeat: those people most likely to follow a religion about brotherly love and forgiveness can rationalize brotherly sadism and waterboarding. [cnn.com]

Mice Get Munchies, Make Meal Of Man! Oh, jeez. Will somebody fire somebody? Some really old war vet in an old folk's home was attacked and chewed on by multiple mice, because the institution can't arrive at a way to curtail the infestation of vermin. Horrible. Total bad news. [abc.com]

Tags: Great News/Bad News, Recession, Robots Are Dope!, Torture