As someone who makes a living mocking the online content that could become illegal under the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), Jon Stewart was at a loss Wednesday night when he realized he couldn't even look up information on the bill he'd been hearing so much about on Wikipedia because of the blackout.
"What do they expect us to do?" Stewart asked, holding back tears. "Go to the library? Like a common masturbator?"
However inconvenient, the blackout of sites like Wikipedia Wednesday aimed to show how SOPA -- the bill that would give the government unprecedented power to block websites suspected of piracy -- could really affect the Internet. As an opponent of the bill, Stewart didn't get why some lawmakers would want the government to be able to block websites, given that they couldn't remove them entirely.
"It's sort of like coming up with a plan to prevent teen pregnancy that includes filling penises with cement," Stewart explained.
Aside from lamenting the possible loss of his fair-use rights, Stewart turned his mockery to the people supporting the bill in Congress, specifically one Rep. Mel Watt (D - North Carolina) and other lawmakers who were seen fumbling through an explanation of the bill and calling those who might understand it "Nerds" on C-SPAN, showing how little they really knew about SOPA's implications and web culture in general.
"Really? Nerds?" Stewart asked. "You know, actually, I think the word you're looking for is 'experts.'"
To drive the point home, Stewart turned the focus on himself and how much he relies on online content to produce "The Daily Show" night after night. Watch the full segment above and hear a little about Stewart's already-full plate when it comes to dealing with legal copyright claims, even before the murmurs of SOPA began.