Exclusive Extended Daily Show Interview with David Barton

"The biggest feeling is that [Thomas Jefferson] was an atheist or he was a secularist. And he just wasn't. He was a religious guy." – David Barton, Evangelical conservative activist

Jon Stewart's extended interview with David Barton continues after the jump.

The Daily Show airs Monday through Thursday at 11/10c.

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Tags: Bill of Rights, Books, Christianity, Church v. State, Constitution, David Barton, Religion, Thomas Jefferson

Stephen Colbert on Obama's Secret Plot to Not Take Away Your Guns

The only way this plan could get any more nefarious is if President Obama started buying guns for you himself. I don't think I'd put that past him. The man is a monster.

The Colbert Report airs Monday through Thursday at 11:30/10:30c.

Tags: Barack Obama, Bill of Rights, Constitution, Guns, Stephen Colbert, The Colbert Report, Video

Rick Santorum Is Coming for Your Porn

Limited-government champion Rick Santorum — who so strongly opposes the current President because "he thinks he knows better how to run your lives" — wants to make it illegal for Americans to buy and distribute pornography.

Irony, however, will continue to be tolerated under a Santorum administration…

"America is suffering a pandemic of harm from pornography," Santorum's official website reads. "Pornography is toxic to marriages and relationships. It contributes to misogyny and violence against women. It is a contributing factor to prostitution and sex trafficking."…

Santorum criticized the Obama administration for turning "a blind eye… to the scourge of pornography" and for refusing to enforce obscenity laws.

"If elected President, I will appoint an Attorney General who will do so," Santorum writes. "While the Obama Department of Justice seems to favor pornographers over children and families, that will change under a Santorum Administration."

If it seemed even remotely feasible that Rick Santorum could actually win the presidency, this would be absolutely terrifying. (Though, to be fair, it wasn't all that long ago that I didn't think it was remotely that Rick Santorum would become top choice for president amongst the nation's hard-leaning conservatives. So, maybe I should be scared.)

You know, there are a good number of other countries who have created and upheld morality-based legislation like this. They're called theocracies, and they've managed to install "morality police." The results have been, um… somewhat spotty.

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Related: Rick Santorum to Puerto Ricans: Speak English

Photo by T.J. Kirkpatrick/Getty Images News/Getty Images

Tags: Bill of Rights, Constitution, Men and Women, Primaries, Republicans, Rick Santorum, Sex

Bill Maher Explains the Difference Between Himself and Rush Limbaugh

Since everybody in the media seems to enjoy pretending that Bill Maher calling Sarah Palin "the c word" (as discerning news outlets describe it) is the exact same thing as Rush Limbaugh calling Sandra Fluke a "slut" and a "prostitute," it has apparently fallen upon Maher himself to point out the obvious difference…

"To compare that to Rush is ridiculous — he went after a civilian about very specific behavior, that was a lie, speaking for a party that has systematically gone after women's rights all year, on the public airwaves," Maher told Jake Tapper of ABC News. "I used a rude word about a public figure who gives as good as she gets, who’s called people 'terrorist' and 'unAmerican.' Sarah Barracuda."

Maher added, "The First Amendment was specifically designed for citizens to insult politicians. Libel laws were written to protect law students speaking out on political issues from getting called whores by Oxycontin addicts."

You know what? These are all excellent points, and I totally completely agree. There is no genuine comparison between Maher calling a person who wants to run the nation a bad word and Rush Limbaugh siccing his fan base upon, and impugning the reputation of, a woman giving testimony after being called before Congress. I think it would be a good idea for more people to pick up and spread this very basic truth throughout the media.

You know what? I have another good idea: We could just stop calling women "the c word." That's a thing we could do, isn't it?

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Related: The Daily Show on the Cultural Battle for Supreme Vulgarity

Tags: Bill Maher, Bill of Rights, Constitution, Judiciary, Rush Limbaugh, Sandra Fluke, Sarah Palin

Jon Stewart on the Senate's New "Go to Jail with No Trial Forever" Bill

The way I see it, being locked up indefinitely for reasons that are never fully explained to be is a small price to pay for protecting my freedom.

Coverage continues after the jump.

The Daily Show airs Monday through Thursday at 11/10c.

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Tags: Barack Obama, Bill of Rights, Carl Levin, Constitution, Guantanamo Bay, John McCain, Jon Stewart, Lindsey Graham, Prison, Rand Paul, Senate, The Daily Show, Video