Matt Wallace
Appearances
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
TDS Time Machine | Earth Day
For decades, children have been enchanted by Dr. Seuss's silly tales, from the Cat in the Hat and Horton Hears a Who, to later stories like the Lorax.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
TDS Time Machine | Earth Day
He's holding his butt. But Terry Burkett, a concerned mother of two, says there's more to the Lorax than meets the eye.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
TDS Time Machine | Earth Day
I had no idea. Could the warm and fuzzy Lorax actually be a radical tree hugger hell-bent on destroying the wood products industry? Burkitt says this is yet another example of moneyed special interests gone too far.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
TDS Time Machine | Earth Day
Yes, with only billions in revenue to work with, mom and pop companies like Weyerhaeuser and International Paper have been backed into a corner. So Burkitt drew on her experience as a mother, and as an assistant plant manager for a wood flooring manufacturer, to write a book that teaches children cutting down trees makes the forest happy. She called it Truax.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
TDS Time Machine | Earth Day
Her book got picked up by a boutique indie publisher called the National Oak Flooring Manufacturers Association. And with nearly half a million copies in print, Truex is fast replacing Lorax in classrooms across America.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
TDS Time Machine | Earth Day
But in any good wood products curriculum, reading materials must be supplemented with hands-on learning. Everything I'm showing you today is waterproof, okay? It's going to last your lifetime. It's an investment, but it lasts your lifetime. Now, when you get Venetian blinds, you're going to want to match the blinds to the flooring. You don't want them to contrast, okay?
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
TDS Time Machine | Earth Day
And remember, the blinds match the floor. Say that. The blinds match the floor. Kids seem to really appreciate the wood products industry. So why didn't Dr. Seuss... I put that question to a Seuss spokesman. So you speak for the trees, correct? I am the Lorax. I speak for the trees. Well, I have a copy of your most recent tax return, and it seems to me you do more than just speak for the trees.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
TDS Time Machine | Earth Day
How do you respond to allegations that you're just a hired gun who will work for any organization that will pay you? You're nothing more than a two-bit shill.