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The Daily Show was on break last week, which meant it missed out on all of the farmers-turned-pseudo-militia fun of the Cliven Bundy story. So Jon Stewart spent the first few minutes last night playing catch-up – in a new segment titled "I don't get it."
To be honest, Jon, neither do we. Can you explain what's going on? "It is your standard 'boy has cow, boy breaks law for 20 years, boy loses cow' story," Stewart said. Or at least it was, until a bunch of armed ranchers showed up to help Bundy defend his farm in a standoff with federal officers. And exactly what kind of people came to the defense of Bundy? People like Richard Mack, who explained their tactics: "We were actually strategizing to put all of the women up at the front. If they're going to start shooting, it's going to be women that are going to be televised all across the world getting shot by these rogue federal officers."
"He seems nice," Stewart quipped. Yes, these are the sorts of people we're dealing with here.
"I understand this is the West, everyone wants to romanticize it, last frontier of liberty ... [But] how is this guy Bundy a hero for ignoring federal law, and what is the justification?" Stewart asked.
Here's Bundy's answer: "I abide by all of Nevada state laws, but I don't recognize United States government as even existing."