America's terrorist watch list just hit the 1,000,000 mark. Yay! Sort of. Not really. Jon pointed out that Nelson Mandela was only recently removed from the watch list. He said it in a way like Mandela had no business being on the watch list on the first place, which I thought was a bit unfair. Sure, striking Mandela from the list was a move that probably should have happened over twenty years ago and his motivation was anti-apartheid, but once a guy has been the leader of a sabotage against his own government and military, that kind of makes the big boys of other countries nervous about having him around too. I'm just saying.

Ah, yes, I was waiting for this. The media's response to the latest New Yorker cover has been hilariously overblown. As usual, The Daily Show handled this beautifully by sitting back for the most part and just letting the news clips do the talking, cutting in only to shout "Volf Blitzah!" and explain what the Obama campaign should have said instead of being offended: "Barack Obama is in no way upset about the cartoon that depicts him as a Muslim extremist, because you know who gets upset about cartoons? Muslim extremists, of which Barack Obama is not. It's just a f*cking cartoon!" Honestly, the real horror of that New Yorker cover is the weak color palette and lack of line variation. I mean, really. Am I right, or am I right?



The investigate the situation even deeper, big news network-style, TDS sent their boys on the street. Wyatt Cenac, Rob Riggle, and John Oliver attempted to explain satire to everyday folks with mixed results. In the end, they proved that jokes are always funnier when you completely break them down and explain each and every little bit with excruciating detail. That redhead towards the end was fantastic.

John Oliver: Do you not find that offensive? [shows cartoon]
Redhead: It's America, throwing off England.
John Oliver: Where does this end?!
Redhead: ... The American Revolution? I guess?

And I must agree: I've never noticed the New Yorker at any NYC newstand, but I know that the booty-full Vibe is always around if I need it.



The night's guest was Pierce Brosnan, one of the many stars of Mamma Mia! the movie. Hmm... Does Jon Stewart have a bit of a mancrush on the greying Bond? Just look at the picture I used for this post. That is a direct screengrab, folks. I bet fanboy Jon specifically demanded an icon-like halo strategically placed on the massive screen behind Brosnan. I must say, he looked better in this interview than his previous one, in which he was sporting a Dr. Orpheus sort of look, but not really in a good way.



The only discussion about the film itself was the supreme girliness of it all, which is kind of a given. It's called Mamma Mia! for crying out loud (literally, for crying out loud).



Moment of Zen: Fox News looks for subliminal messages, Highlights style.