# Stewart/Colbert Rally on the National Mall: 30 Oct 2010 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 17, 2010, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stewart-colbert-rally-on-the-national-mall-30-oct-2010/554053 "2010-09-17T05:03:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 15
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stewart-colbert-rally-on-the-national-mall-30-oct-2010/554053/281 "2010-11-01T00:23:37Z")
> [@pancakes3](#): > > i was confounded by the amount of people who brought their kids, especially wee little babies to this thing. why? to what end? indoctrination into irreverence? it just seemed odd. It was a fun live show. Come on, man, calling anything to do with kids indoctrination is against the spirit of the whole thing. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stewart-colbert-rally-on-the-national-mall-30-oct-2010/554053/282 "2010-11-01T01:04:34Z")
Beck, O’Reilly and ilk are going to have such a field day with the fact that the-artist-formerly-known-as-Cat-Stevens was introduced as Yusuf instead of as Yusuf Islam and that a rally to praise reason and sanity in political discourse in American featured an English Muslim who supported the fatwa against Salman Rusdhie. I’ll admit I have a couple of issues there as well, but they’re ameliorated a bit by Stevens later amendments to his comments on Rushdie and much moreso by the fact he was one of the few prominent Muslims to uncategorically condemn the 9-11 attacks. Plus say what you will about Yusuf Islam, you’d probably much rather have him for a next door neighbor than Ozzie, also an odd choice to perform in a rally dedicated to reason and sanity. OTOH, Tony Bennett could hardly have been better chosen. And great pipes for an 84 year old who’s lived a life of hard partying. I’m guessing that Stewart and or Colbert already have their Osbourne/Stevens-Islam defenses worked out, perhaps even some kind of trap. Neither are dull wits after all. I’m still trying to figure the angle though- of all the American talents they could have gone after (a Dolly Parton or even an appearance by Oprah [who’d given her blessing] would have seemed far more "reason"able). C’est la vie. Yusuf/Cat still sounds great. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stewart-colbert-rally-on-the-national-mall-30-oct-2010/554053/283 "2010-11-01T02:57:53Z")
I was really disappointed that they had The Roots play for 40 minutes at the beginning. Not that The Roots are bad or anything but I called my mom halfway through to see if she was watching (my parents are dangerously close to falling in to a big vat of Tea) and she said she had wanted to but turned it on to find this rap band playing and just moved along. They had all the right performers for all the different age groups but IMHO starting it off with a really long roots-rap concert may have turned away a LOT of people. WRT Islam/Ozzy…I think it was just the juxtaposition of songs that they thought would be funny (“Peace Train” vs “Crazy Train”), and two artists who would definitely show up. Islam was on Colbert’s show not too long ago and Colbert was jizzing himself. I’m pretty sure he’s a big fan - even though he “brought” Ozzy. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stewart-colbert-rally-on-the-national-mall-30-oct-2010/554053/284 "2010-11-01T03:03:31Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > I’m guessing that Stewart and or Colbert already have their Osbourne/Stevens-Islam defenses worked out, perhaps even some kind of trap. Neither are dull wits after all. I’m still trying to figure the angle though- of all the American talents they could have gone after (a Dolly Parton or even an appearance by Oprah [who’d given her blessing] would have seemed far more "reason"able). Here’s the angle: Yusuf - _Peace Train_ Ozzy - _Crazy Train_ OJs - _Love Train_ ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stewart-colbert-rally-on-the-national-mall-30-oct-2010/554053/285 "2010-11-01T03:04:22Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Beck, O’Reilly and ilk are going to have such a field day with the fact that the-artist-formerly-known-as-Cat-Stevens was introduced as Yusuf instead of as Yusuf Islam > and that a rally to praise reason and sanity in political discourse in American featured an English Muslim who supported the fatwa against Salman Rusdhie. I’ll admit I have a couple of issues there as well, but they’re ameliorated a bit by Stevens later amendments to his comments on Rushdie and much moreso by the fact he was one of the few prominent Muslims to uncategorically condemn the 9-11 attacks. Plus say what you will about Yusuf Islam, you’d probably much rather have him for a next door neighbor than Ozzie, also an odd choice to perform in a rally dedicated to reason and sanity. Who else were they going to get for a battle of train songs, Arlo Guthrie and Crosby, Stills, and Nash? ---
**Author:** ![Alienhand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8edcca/32.png) [@Alienhand](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alienhand)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stewart-colbert-rally-on-the-national-mall-30-oct-2010/554053/286 "2010-11-01T03:34:55Z")
_sigh_ [Yusuf](http://www.amazon.com/Yusuf-Cat-Stevens/e/B000APWG0W/ref=ntt_mus_dp_pel) is a stage name. This is what entertainers do. When you introduce entertainers, you use their stage name ([see?](http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/227669/may-14-2009/yusuf)). No one on stage was named Kid Rock, Ozzy or Jon Stewart. Not at posters but media idiots who can’t use Google. ---
**Author:** ![Alienhand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8edcca/32.png) [@Alienhand](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alienhand)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stewart-colbert-rally-on-the-national-mall-30-oct-2010/554053/287 "2010-11-01T03:41:40Z")
deleted ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stewart-colbert-rally-on-the-national-mall-30-oct-2010/554053/288 "2010-11-01T03:46:12Z")
> [@Alienhand](#): > > \*No one on stage was named Kid Rock, Ozzy or Jon Stewart. Actually, Jon legally changed his name to Stewart [back in 2001](http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/crime/names-news). ---
**Author:** ![Alienhand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8edcca/32.png) [@Alienhand](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alienhand)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stewart-colbert-rally-on-the-national-mall-30-oct-2010/554053/289 "2010-11-01T03:52:04Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > Actually, Jon legally changed his name to Stewart [back in 2001](http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/crime/names-news). Whoops, thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stewart-colbert-rally-on-the-national-mall-30-oct-2010/554053/290 "2010-11-01T03:56:21Z")
Not a problem, citizen. Nitpicker awaaay! ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stewart-colbert-rally-on-the-national-mall-30-oct-2010/554053/291 "2010-11-01T06:02:56Z")
> [@Alienhand](#): > > _sigh_ > > [Yusuf](http://www.amazon.com/Yusuf-Cat-Stevens/e/B000APWG0W/ref=ntt_mus_dp_pel) is a stage name. This is what entertainers do. When you introduce entertainers, you use their stage name ([see?](http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/227669/may-14-2009/yusuf)). No one on stage was named Kid Rock, Ozzy or Jon Stewart. > > Not at posters but media idiots who can’t use Google. I know that, but specifically it’s the stage name of Yusuf Islam, who also records as [Yusuf Islam](http://www.amazon.com/Footsteps-Light-Chi-Yusuf-Islam/dp/B000LAZDF6/ref=sr_1_3?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1288590051&sr=1-3) and maintains the official website [YusufIslam.com](http://www.yusufislam.com/). (Before performing as Cat Stevens he performed as Steve Adams; neither Cat Stevens nor Steve Adams was ever his legal name but Yusuf Islam is.) Ozzy’s not a stage name so much as a nickname he’s had since childhood; one of his brothers goes by Oz. Tony Bennett was born Antony Benedetto and didn’t change his name until the 1970s when his sons did as well, but he paints under the name Benedetto. Anyway, my point is unchanged: it’s probably going to be an issue that they introduced him as Yusuf instead of Yusuf Islam. It’s certainly going to be an issue with Stewart critics that they gave a stage to an artist [who supported the death threat against an author](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_Stevens%27_comments_about_Salman_Rushdie) in the name of religion at a Rally to Restore Sanity, and while I’m a huge fan of Cat Stevens and of Jon Stewart here the latter’s judgment is a bit hard to defend. YI has backpedaled in later years, but his original comments were rather damning. ---
**Author:** ![Alienhand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8edcca/32.png) [@Alienhand](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alienhand)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stewart-colbert-rally-on-the-national-mall-30-oct-2010/554053/292 "2010-11-01T13:38:17Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > I know that, but specifically it’s the stage name of Yusuf Islam, who also records as [Yusuf Islam](http://www.amazon.com/Footsteps-Light-Chi-Yusuf-Islam/dp/B000LAZDF6/ref=sr_1_3?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1288590051&sr=1-3) and maintains the official website [YusufIslam.com](http://www.yusufislam.com/). (Before performing as Cat Stevens he performed as Steve Adams; neither Cat Stevens nor Steve Adams was ever his legal name but Yusuf Islam is.) > > Ozzy’s not a stage name so much as a nickname he’s had since childhood; one of his brothers goes by Oz. Tony Bennett was born Antony Benedetto and didn’t change his name until the 1970s when his sons did as well, but he paints under the name Benedetto. Yes but. Entertainers choose what they call themselves even if it’s Jimmy Pardo instead of James Pardo (who went as Jim before doing standup). > [@Sampiro](#): > > Anyway, my point is unchanged: it’s probably going to be an issue that they introduced him as Yusuf instead of Yusuf Islam. It’s certainly going to be an issue with Stewart critics that they gave a stage to an artist [who supported the death threat against an author](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_Stevens%27_comments_about_Salman_Rushdie) in the name of religion at a Rally to Restore Sanity, and while I’m a huge fan of Cat Stevens and of Jon Stewart here the latter’s judgment is a bit hard to defend. YI has backpedaled in later years, but his original comments were rather damning. It’s your point being correct that exasperates me (which is why it was directed “not at posters”, it was more me screaming at my TV). Except, I’m not concerned with what Fox will do, they’ve written their narrative and if they can use some bits of reality, so be it. It’s everyone else. One of the local 1/2 hour news broadcasts had a 5 minute segment on the rally on Sunday. The first ~3 minutes had clips from DC and some from the local gathering. The next ~2 minutes were the anchor talking to some idiot who thought Stewart was trying to secretly indoctrinate everyone by hiding YI’s real name. YI’s comments only got a mention. In those 2 minutes, his comments could have been played or read along with his walk backs while still having time to discuss his appearance with a sane person who thought it was inappropriate. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stewart-colbert-rally-on-the-national-mall-30-oct-2010/554053/293 "2010-11-01T13:55:45Z")
Given that Yusuf was on stage and playing for all of 5 minutes at most, I find it hard to ascribe any strong motives there. It was a freaking skit. An argument that Jon was trying to dredge up anti-American fervor by reminding people of slavery by bringing The Roots on for 40 minutes would be more likely. ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stewart-colbert-rally-on-the-national-mall-30-oct-2010/554053/294 "2010-11-01T15:05:19Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > Near the beginning, Jamie and Adam did a bit on timing the wave. Which was quite useful, as it enabled me to determine that I was exactly 15/53rds of the way back from the stage. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stewart-colbert-rally-on-the-national-mall-30-oct-2010/554053/295 "2010-11-01T15:43:59Z")
[This video](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHHAKS2LLxY) is a prime example of Poe’s Law: I honestly don’t know if it’s legit or parody. ---
**Author:** ![Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/face_intentionally_left_blank/32/288_2.png) [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stewart-colbert-rally-on-the-national-mall-30-oct-2010/554053/296 "2010-11-01T15:50:20Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > [This video](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHHAKS2LLxY) is a prime example of Poe’s Law: I honestly don’t know if it’s legit or parody. Free speech doesn’t mean everyone’s worth taking the time to listen to. Your link is my cite. "Cat Stevens! Cat’s in the Cradle!"Um, that’s not his song, dude. It’s not parody, Sampiro, that’s a Real American ® ---
**Author:** ![Alienhand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8edcca/32.png) [@Alienhand](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alienhand)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stewart-colbert-rally-on-the-national-mall-30-oct-2010/554053/297 "2010-11-01T16:19:22Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > [This video](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHHAKS2LLxY) is a prime example of Poe’s Law: I honestly don’t know if it’s legit or parody. [He seems earnest about it](http://www.insignificantthoughts.com/). This is the guy who (internet) famously tried to get his AOL account canceled a few years ago and recorded the phone call. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stewart-colbert-rally-on-the-national-mall-30-oct-2010/554053/298 "2010-11-01T16:26:33Z")
Ahh, so it is real. I was afraid of that. You know, if you’re morbidly obese and a slob and you want to vlog then there’s good news and bad news. The bad news is there’s no short fix to being morbidly obese- just gotta exercise and eat right or have surgery and all that jazz- BUT the good news is that being unshaven and slovenly both have quick fixes. Ten minutes, TOPS, a little shaving cream and a razor, even a cheap one, if you don’t have an iron I’ll bet you there’s something wash and wear that looks better than that stained undershirt, badda bing badda boom summer-winter-summer-winter you’re done. So quick a fix in fact that until you clean up I’m going to assume you’re parodying a “real Amur’can” by being a slob until you do it. Obesity isn’t anything to be ashamed of- Taft was president and Chief Justice- but how many folks do you think would have voted for him if he didn’t shave or wear clean clothes? For those who aren’t familiar, there’s a [GD thread on the rally’s racism or something](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=13089268&posted=1#post13089268). ---
**Author:** ![Tanbarkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a698b9/32.png) [@Tanbarkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tanbarkie)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stewart-colbert-rally-on-the-national-mall-30-oct-2010/554053/299 "2010-11-01T17:20:07Z")
It’s absolutely hilarious to me that the criticisms of Stewart’s rally are exactly the kind of nitpicky bullshittery that spawned the rally in the first place. Stewart’s racist because his crowd was white (which it wasn’t, BTW - two minutes of watching the footage would have revealed all manner of minority presence)? Stewart supports a fatwa against Salman Rushdie because he brought in a guy with controversial opinions to help out in a comedy routine? For God’s sake, the whole point of the rally is that you can find common ground with people with whom you have disagreements and work to solve problems despite your differences. It saddens (but doesn’t surprise) me that Stewart’s detractors would, naturally, miss his message and try to bring him down with their useless brand of incoherent, sensationalist punditry. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stewart-colbert-rally-on-the-national-mall-30-oct-2010/554053/300 "2010-11-01T17:40:22Z")
Gosh, I never knew I was white, so that means _I was born a poor [del]black[/del] white child. I remember the days, sittin’ on the porch with my family, singin’ and dancin’ down in Mississippi._ I saw plenty of blacks there; I wish there had been more but we were far from non-existent. And I also saw plenty of Muslims, either self-identified or in traditional Middle Eastern garb (not to assume Middle Eaterners are always Muslim). I stood right next to a Muslim family, including one daughters boyfriend, so obviously that group was seriously interested in representing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stewart-colbert-rally-on-the-national-mall-30-oct-2010/554053.md?page=14) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stewart-colbert-rally-on-the-national-mall-30-oct-2010/554053.md?page=16)