Jon Stewart warns of a 'sanity resistant' Ebola-fear outbreak in cable news and Congress
Nina Pham, the Dallas nurse who contracted Ebola while treating Liberian patient Thomas Eric Duncan, says she is "doing well," and doctors are hopeful about her recovery. Not that you'd know that from watching the news, says Jon Stewart on Tuesday night's Daily Show. "Clearly the news anchors are having trouble drawing the distinction between a person contracting the disease after working in close contact with an Ebola patient," he said, "and the inevitability of all of us all getting it now! Run!"
This is especially frustrating, Stewart said, because experts on the same news programs uniformly warn against Ebola panic, noting that it isn't an easy disease to contract. "Now let's hear from the opposite of an expert: a congressman," he said, showing an interview with Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas), in which Sessions urges the U.S. to ban all travel from West Africa to the U.S. The congressman from Dallas "is carrying a dangerously mutated, sanity-resistant strain of fear that has now gone airborne," Stewart warned, letting Dr. Sanjay Gupta explain why quarantining an entire part of Africa is a bad idea.
Stewart closed out the segment by turning Sessions' own logic against him, ending up proposing that the U.S. border fence seal off Texas from the rest of the U.S. That was an easy laugh, but it might come back to bite Stewart when he moves his show to Austin in a week and a half. --Peter Weber
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Harriet Tubman made a general 161 years after raid
Speed Read She was the first woman to oversee an American military action during a time of war
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Chappell Roan is a new kind of boundary-setting celebrity
In the Spotlight She's calling out fans and the media for invasive behavior
By Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, The Week US Published
-
Saudi crown prince slams Israeli 'genocide' in Gaza
Speed Read Mohammed bin Salman has condemned Israel’s actions
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Quincy Jones, music icon, is dead at 91
Speed Read The legendary producer is perhaps best known as the architect behind Michael Jackson's 'Thriller'
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
OJ Simpson, star athlete tried for murder, dead at 76
Speed Read The former football hero and murder suspect lost his battle with cancer
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Momofuku's 'Chili Crunch' trademark uproar
Speed Read The company's attempt to own the sole rights has prompted backlash
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Kevin Hart awarded Mark Twain Prize
Speed Read He is the 25th recipient of the prestigious comedy prize
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Is Downton Abbey set to return for a final film?
Speed Read Imelda Staunton reveals that a third movie may be in the pipeline
By Adrienne Wyper, The Week UK Published
-
'Oppenheimer' sweeps Oscars with 7 wins
speed read The film won best picture, best director (Christopher Nolan) and best actor (Cillian Murphy)
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
'Rust' armorer convicted of manslaughter
speed read The film's cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was shot and killed by actor Alec Baldwin during rehearsal
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The Beatles are getting 4 intersecting biopics
Speed Read Director Sam Mendes is making four separate movies, each told from the perspective of one band member
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published