Jon Stewart dropped his usual news satire Thursday and opted for a passionate five-minute commentary on the massacre at a historic black Charleston church that left nine people dead. The Daily Show host apologized for not having any jokes to offer, adding, “I honestly have nothing other than just sadness.” Stewart’s powerful speech addressed U.S. defense spending abroad and a failure to protect American citizens at home, pointing out that blacks in South Carolina are still forced to drive on roads named for Confederate generals. “By acknowledging it,” Stewart said, “by staring into that and seeing it for what it is, we still won’t do jackshit. Yeah, that’s us. That’s the part that blows my mind.”
