Jay Leno: Unions...."created the middle class in America".

[Elwood P Dowd]

He had free concerts in Detroit yesterday and today.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/televisionNews/idUKTRE5377MH20090408

Introduced by hometown hero Kid Rock, Leno launched into an 80-minute monologue aimed at anyone and anything from U.S. presidents to air travel and life in Los Angeles.

He riffed on cars, the price of gasoline and ads for brands like Jaguar and Lexus, but steered clear of Detroit, or the struggling U.S. carmakers, as a butt of his jokes.

Leno thanked union members, whose parents and grandparents "created the middle class in America" and told a roaring audience, "God bless Detroit."

"It's bad, but it's not that bad. Things will turn around, they have before." he said.

The arena was set up for about 15,000 seats, and all the tickets were distributed for shows on Tuesday and Wednesday. Parking and soft drinks were free, and other items were discounted as sponsors chipped in to offset the costs.

<snip>

[havocmom]

1. Mr Dowd, your posts are always interesting and much appreciated

Thank you for this one. It is good to know Leno is out there pitching to the working blokes! Leno is a good-natured voice of reason and reminds us of some very important truths.

[Elwood P Dowd]

2. Thank you.

Leno often gets a bad rap here.

[havocmom]

3. Leno is a comdian who tells the truth

Rush just lies about being a comedian.

Isn't Jay from working class stock? He seems very unpretentious and plugged into the real America. And I love it when he demonstrates the shortcomings of our general education. I laugh but am also very afraid at what he points out.

Have you seen him on any of the episodes of Living With Ed? Love it when Bagley bicycles over to Jay's Garage and Leno shuts the lights down. Leno seems to be building quite a collection of old machinery with particular interest in those that created power. Cool stuff.

[Still Sensible]

5. Jay gets an awfully bad rap here, usually.

I've always liked him.

[whathehell]

14. Me too.

[MADem]

15. I suspect it has to do with his warm friendship--and campaign help--to Schwartzenegger.

If you recall, he gave Ahhh-nuld his show as a platform to launch his campaign after Grey Davis' head was placed on a pike.

[Elwood P Dowd]

16. He makes some nasty jokes about Ahhh-nuld almost every night.

Even does a decent imitation of his accent.

[MADem]

19. They're pals, make no mistake.

Letterman makes fun of his dear friends Martha Stewart and Hillary Clinton, too.

[Elwood P Dowd]

4. The tickets were given free to the unemployed.

Stimulate US: Jay Leno shows Detroit some love with free comedy show
Ariston Anderson
Mar 11th 2009 at 12:01AM


With 11.6% unemployment, Michigan is currently number one for unemployment across the country. Mostly to blame is the car industry, as GM, Ford and Chrysler continue to add to their tidal wave of job cuts. Enter Jay Leno, who announced on his TV show last night that he'll be coming to Detroit to offer a free night of comedy for the city's unemployed, April 7 at the Palace of Auburn Hills. It's all part of "Jay's Comedy Stimulus Plan."Leno, an avid car collector, proclaimed Metro Detroit "one of my favorite places." You might be asking, when's the last time Leno was actually there? As it turns out, New Years Eve, when he performed at Caesar's Windsor. Amid the daily bad news of home foreclosures and unemployment, people tend to forget that Detroit is really an amazing city. If you need a reminder, just check out the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Motown Historical Museum, or the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History just to name a few. The Diego Rivera Detroit Industry mural courtyard at the DIA remains one of my favorite places to be in the entire country.

Leno is setting the bar high for his fellow comedians to show their support for our country's unemployed. As Leno is no stranger to performing pro bono (he's performed for military troops around the world) it remains to be seen if performing for the unemployed will be the next big statement of national service. But I for one would love to see our top comedians fill his shoes. I'm talking to you Stephen Colbert, Conan O'Brien, Jon Stewart, Sarah Silverman, and Tina Fey. I bet the Flight of the Conchords could definitely make us forget about our economic woes for an hour. A special Will Ferrell "A Final Night With George W. Bush" Show for the unemployed would be highly appropriate.

Tickets to Leno's April 7th event will be dolled out based on the honor system. Just show up to the Palace box office starting Monday, and say you're unemployed. There's a limit of four tickets per person.

[fujiyama]

6. Not the biggest Leno fan

but it's nice to see him trying to bring spirits up.

He's a big car guy so it's no surprise he's a big supporter of the UAW. Good for him.

[2Design]

7. he usually acts as a rethug - this is nice maybe he is growing up n/t

[SurfingScientist]

10. Uhm, I do not know Lenos past, but he was hitting at B*sh quite a bit...

... over the last 2 years or so that I have been watching his show. He is getting at Bill Clinton on a regular base, but less so for politics than for the Monica affair; these are cheap shots, I agree.

Jay seems especially hard-hitting at those who caused the economic crisis and make the middle class and poor suffer.
Maybe that's related to his background - he grew up in smalltown NY and MA, people here have an amazing no-BS, blue collar, in-your-face attitude.

Looking at his bio (Wikipedia), he seems to be a decent guy. I sure understand that some might find his humor abrasive.

I like him, whether that buys me a DU Tombstone Pizza or not.

[Dogmudgeon]

8. Looks like Bob "Kid Rock" Richie also got religion

He was a flag-waving A-rabb-ass-kicker in 2003. Nice to see him return to the Labor Democrat fold -- better a prodigal than a turncoat. But the Kid shoulda known better -- he had been raised in Trailersville himself. Better late than never.

My grandfather opened the first service station in Philadelphia that did warranty service, in 1927. After mere months of smooth sailing, the economy tanked. Fortunately, he had the service contracts for a small fleet of expensive cars owned by the Melon family and was tight with one of the few progressive family members.

Times got downright bad, but Boy Melon made sure the kids had food and medical care when it was necessary -- and Mom had meningitis at one point.

My grandfather took to the bottle and the marriage broke down. We're seeing the same damn thing happening again. Even the wild gunplay of the 1930s is returning, albeit with much more pathos.

Fortunately, we've lucked out twice, with FDR and now BHO. (Well, I at least I hope so.) Imagine President Palin, or President Gingrich -- and keep active.

And a tip of the hat to Mr. Leno. As always, a class act.

--d!

[applegrove]

9. What a great idea. Free concerts during hard times.

[DemoTex]

11. Day-um! The flag comes out for Mr. Leno.

[WA98296]

12. Hope those gigs lifted some spirits for folks having hard times.

[progressoid]

13. Also sponsored by Coke AND Pepsi.

[Canuckistanian]

17. Good for him

As a car collector, it's good to see him acknowledging the people who actually build them.

:thumbsup:

[fishwax]

18. props to Leno for those free shows

:thumbsup: