>> >> stewart: welcome to "the daily show". my name is jon stewart. my guest tonight, my guest tonight, mark fainaru-wada, he has written a book that has rocked the nfl about concussions, wrote it with his brother, fabulous book, happy halloween. >> like one month old, it is just lying there pooping its pants and age gering anyone who who it is not related to. well, yesterday the house energy and commerce committee held the much anticipated hearing, with kathleen sebelius, let's see her try to wiggle out of accountability for this mess. >> let me say directly to the americans you deserve better. i apologize. i am accountable to you for fixing these problems. >> stewart: that was weird.

i wonder if her apology will in any way affect any certain grandstanding type congress people who might have planned on shaming her into apologizing with some kind of weird prop or something. >> i came with a quote from american icon. hold up a poster that says if you are having a problem, it is our problem. and i am glad to hear you base this philosophy to your actions today. >> stewart: now, i am really glad you embrace this philosophy although i paid pretty good money for this sign, and just a heads-up, if you, i got this big sign and it cost a lot of money, that's all. i felt like a (bleep) driving it on top of my car. >> poor guy. how would you feel if you spent all night preparing (bleep) sandwich for your enemy's,

enemies to eat only to have them sit down and unwrap their own (bleep) sandwich. to eat in front of you. so this is congress, well that guy is standing was not that grand, i am sure where that came from. >> is there any penalty to qssi or cgi for not delivering on what they promised? >> users who tried to sign up and were discouraged because of the problems what do you plan to get those folks to come back? >> did the contractors deliver the system that you contracted them to build? >> do you believe that two weeks was enough time to complete testing of the entire system? >> stewart: what a bunch of -- surprisingly relevant questions. those questions were actually quite good from both sides of the aisle. you would almost think they were at this hearing to hear. are we really going to spend three hours of having productive

discourse? >> there is a famous movie called "the wizard of oz" -- >> stewart: whoa! do go on. >> in "the wizard of oz" there is a great line, dorothy, at some point in the movie turns to her little dog toto and says, toto, we are not in kansas anymore. well, madam secretary, while you are from kansas, we are not in kansas anymore. >> stewart: let me just stop you right there. the dog's name is toto. not toootooo. >> the democrats when they came up with a little more on point. >> one of the things that keeps coming up in this hearing because you are from kansas is references to the wizard of oz. >> stewart: for the love of god! >> and people went to see the wizard because of the wonderful things he did. and the affordable care act is doing a lot of great things in iowa. >> stewart: you are really

going to use the wizard to defend your program to say how great it is? did you watch the movie? the wizard is a car la tan. he is a two bit huckster who never gave people anything they didn't already have .. so for the most part the hearing was substantive with a smattering of silly, that doesn't mean there was nobody there just to fill the next campaign ad like cory gardner who spent the first two hours of the hearing drinking red bull and snorting coffee grounds to wait his turn. >> why won't you go into the exchange, you are part of this law and in charge of this law should you be any different than the other americans out there who are losing their health insurance? >> i am part of the 95 percent with affordable, available healthcare if i have affordable work coverage in my workplace i am not eligible to go into the workplace. >> i would encourage you to be just like the american people and enter the exchange and agree to find a way to do that. i don't care. >> it is illegal. >> stewart: did you hear her? it is illegal.

doesn't stop him. well, breaking the law! i encourage you to join billions of, millions of americans who break the law every day. i was, impressive grandstanding, with delivered with panache, but let this missouri congressman tell you how not to take no hypothetical force a moment. >> if it is possible for you to go into the exchange, like all of these millions of americans that are going to the exchanges, will you commit to forego your government insurance plan you are on now and join us in the pool? >> sir, the way the law is written -- >> it is a yes or no. let's say you are wrong on that. yes or no, if you are wrong -- >> i don't want to -- >> stewart: madam secretary, ar, ar, a r, the let's say hypothetically, let's say the south won the war and you, you yourself have a terrible nut allergy would you join? >> let me try this. zero oh, let me finish! if

americans spoke french and, would you then sign up for obamacare? would you do that? >> would you do that? >> madam, madam! listen to me! if i was storing fish in my neck right now as i were speaking, so that i could disseminate -- [ cheers and applause ] >> stewart: would you do it? madam secretary, i yield my spot. of course the master of anti-obamacare grandstanding, tennessee congressman marcia rayburn no matter how (bleep) it is, some people like it. >> how what do you say to lucinda, they liked the plan, it was affordable and liked it but it is being terminated and now they do not have health insurance? >> i will remind you, some people like to drive a ford, not a ferrari and some people like to drink out of a red solo cup

and not a chri crystal stem, yoe taking away their choice. >> stewart: i believe in choice except in marriage and reproductive rights but actually you know, now that i think about it, hold on. let me just -- really, i actually only believe in cup or car choice, that's it. it is just those two. but, it is hardly surprising that blackburn came to the hearing with a witty line prepared like that. she has been looking forward to this hearing for a while. >> the more we heard today, the more questions we had, so we will be ready for secretary sebelius when she comes before us next week. >> we want her to talk with us before she is out the door. we are looking for answers. >> she has got time for jon stewart and "the daily show" but she doesn't have time to come to those of us who are tasked with overseeing this. >> stewart: (bleep) to do with this? what? [ cheers and applause ] >> stewart: i am just trying

to -- huh? kathleen sebelius chose to come here, it was her choice. some people like to go before congress and drink out of a red solo -- freedom hater! she was like blackburn has a lot of questions for sebelius, hopefully three hours will be enough time. the congresswoman to get all the information she so desperately -- wait, she is getting up. thathat is weird. 10:21 she is getting up and is she leaving? oh, my god she is walking out of the room, is she going back to research some insurance facts rams to refill her red solo cup? joining us now is representative marcia blackburn who was in the hearing, asked some terrific questions. she joins us now from our camera right there on capitol hill. >> stewart: not a problem at all, stewart, happy to be here. >> you are not interrupting anything. >> what is so important to tell the tiny amount of americans who watch fox business network it couldn't wait until the hearing you demanded was over?

>> some people don't want to be sipping chardonnay from a chris sell stem, they want beer from a red solo cup, you know. it is a choice. >> stewart: red solo cup! we will be right ba ba

>> stewart: we are back. so as we have been hearing, president obama's healthcare plan rollout is called the worst rollout since crystal meth pepsi and made the president some fierce adversaries. >> if you watch jon stewart you are in deep trouble. >> if you lost jon stewart you are in trouble. >> even jon stewart taking shots at obamacare, what impact does that have on the whole public dialogue? >> stewart: what impact does me have on the public dialogue?

well, it introduces to the healthcare debate the term (bleep) punt. i don't think it has been used prior. and it is now, according to the affordable care act covered. but i guess it is very significant that even jon stewart, even jon stewart has turned against it. i can't recall even i don't know stewart ever doing that before. >> "the daily show" host jon stewart joabl joked that the white house stayers have been reading their e-mails. if he lost jon stewart, i am just saying -- >> even jon stewart has been hammering at this. >> even i don't know stewart was turk on, turning on the president saying he learns everything from the news. >> even jon stewart poked fun at president obama for the poor debate performance. >> even the comics lampooned the president's various statements about a public plan. >> i was wondering what is going to happen on "the daily show" when barack obama when the

democratic house and democratic house and senate and i have to give him credit he is going after him. >> stewart: who is that young whippersnapper mocking the president? >> it is so much newsworthy, it is not like us making jokes about a certain program or is evidence that politician or issue has reached some kind of tipping point for action. although that apparently is exactly the case that they are making. >> should sebelius step down or be fired. >> i called for her resignation, i think when jon stewart and saturday night live are making fun of the job that you are doing and the web site, what that speaks to is the fact that young americans are laughing at the secretary and the web site. >> stewart: is that, if that causes things to end why was the network you were on still on the air? [ cheers and applause ] >> stewart: the senator from wyoming when young americans

laugh at a federal official it is time for that federal official to step down. you never mentioned that to this guy, did you? >> how did he survive our vicious poking of fun. and i seem to remember there was another fellow with that president. dick cheney shot a guy in the face today. >> stewart: two glorious days of cheney shot an old man in the face jokes, did he leave? no! we do a running segment called you don't know dick, did he leave? what did it accomplish? dick. it is an arms race. >> stewart: still on television. arby's. >> arby's. still making sandwiches. filled with, filled with sliced something. >> stewart: what? what was -- what was that? what? what is

that beautiful sound coming from? it can't be, it can't be possible! >> our friends, are our friends back? oh, my god, people! >> they are back! oh! people, i am here to say. that the jokes we do on this program seem to have accomplished very little. >> they don't do (bleep). >> stewart: if you provide purpose a little catharsis or perspective. >> on a good day. >> stewart: maybe on a good day, like most of us, when we complain about stuff it doesn't change. and talking about -- ♪

>> stewart: i have fine bone density. the point is, don't use our jokes as evidence that the thing you hate must be stopped. because i am sure when we joke about (bleep) you like, you will be more than happy to ignore it. we add insult, not injury. >> you are just weak. fueling the populist anger that could really change the system. >> stewart: somebody has been reading salon.com. >> there is one other thing. >> stewart: what's that? >> that thing we always say. >> stewart: oh, i forgot about it. one, two, one, two, three. (bleep)! >> stewart: (bleep)! (bleep)!

(bleep)! (bleep)!

[ applause ] my guest tonight, investigative reporter for espn, new book he cowrote his book is called "league of denial", the nfl concussions and the battle for truth, welcome to the program mark fainaru-wada. [ applause ] >> stewart: i knew it. how are you, mark, nice to see you. >> thanks for having me. >> stewart: the book is called "league of denial", the general sort of synopsis, apparently 250-pound, in shape men smashing their heads into each other repeatedly causes permanent damage and the national football league said to them, uh, no, no, it's cool.

i mean. >> that is really the message, i think steve and i as we did the reporting on the book i think what struck us was the profound level of that denial. you are talking about two decades of denial, sort of trajectory of on the one hand, you know, they are attacking independent scienc scientists te scientists who think they will help the nfl and say look you have this problem that brain damage can be caused by playing in the nfl instead of embracing those guys, the nfl is mocking them, attacking them and trying to deny their very existence in some ways and create their own research arm and that research arm basically puts out paper after paper and a journal coopted by the league itself. >> stewart: right. >> and the papers say, nfl players are fine, like concussions are not a big issue, we don't have a problem with this and you guys are going to be cool. >> stewart: meanwhile, players continue to suffer terrible effects of these concussions, and after passing away, at much earlier ages when they do the, they find this ct. >> right, chronic

encephalopathy, this terrible brain disease called by playing the game. right. >> i mean there are several stories in the book about, one guy for example, dave door son who played for years for the chicago bears, one of the greatest players, really hard hitter and dorson was one of the deniers and spent years saying this was not an issue and before congress talking about it wasn't an issue but during his life, it just falls apart at the end, he really starts to lose it and eventually there is a dramatic scene in the book, kind of a, macabre before he shoots himself in the chest he sort of pays homage to concussions, he lays out a magazine, a sports illustrated about concussions, he lays out disability files about concussions and shoots himself and says please study my brain, clearly there is something going on with that, i want the nfl to look at it and when they do they find indeed he has this disease, cte. >> stewart: the other side of, you know, now you know this, it is not like knowing this stops it. i love watching football and these are grown men making choices for themselves.

you know, lord knows that in terms of athletics, like boxing they know boxing causes brain damage and instead of song boxing, we as americans decide what if we did it without gloves and you could use your knees and elbows. >> yes. again, what, what if we went for the concussions quicker, how about that? >> stewart: i think steve and i have huge football fans, we are season ticket holders we love the sport and the game and, you know, i think it is about informed decision and that was largely, i mean, we went to do the book it was to take a hard look what did the nfl know and when did they know it? at the say time it was to inform people because the discussion is happening, i mean you have players who are really pissed off and upset for two decade it is league was basically telling them look your brain is going to be fine if you play football and then, but then you also have at the lower levels now, and the nfl message trickles down and where the discussion is really happening now and it is sort of interest you have parents talking to their kids about do you want to play. >> stewart: right. >> and i think that discussion is different than the nfl discussion. i don't want the league to change, i love it, as the

brutal, violent sport and i love it. >> stewart: does this all go away if the league, just the one change they make is when you are signed to a professional team they hand you a piece of paper and say, just sign that real quick? >> a release. >> stewart: you may end up with a brain that is like oatmeal, here, sign this. >> well, i think now that issue is sort of done for them, right? >> stewart: right. >> because now the information is out there, either from us or others it is an informed decision and they can't argue anymore, but for two decades you had players who are now saying look, you guys misled us and i think. >> stewart: that is really the issue. >> that is the issue and also that issue trickles down because again the league's message was always about violence for years if you watched and spent time on this, the nfl message about violence, everything was all about the violence of the sport and now if you look at the league it is marketing safety, it is all about, you know, they bring blogers to new york, a section on this, mommy bloggers that come to new york and they are educating them about the safety of the sport and it is all about that message to younger players. >> stewart: everything with the nfl now seems to be, guys, to the players, keep the

violence off the field, please, just do it in your personal lives. take it zero out on the ones you love. >> well -- i mean, clearly the message is, this is -- we need the find a way to be safe. >> stewart: right. >> but that concept is ridiculous at the nfl level. >> stewart: that is sort of the point is what do you do at some level? and five minutes, stick around. "league of denial", on the bookshelves now, it is like a mystery novel and have they read this handle contacted you at the nfl? >> we haven't heard a word from them. >> stewart: that is not good. >> i had nothing to do with this book. mark fainaru-wada, we will be right back with a little bit more. qcxc;a hl&pj7 that's our show.

here it is, your moment of zen. >> once again we are talking

about obamacare because it is about obamacare because it is halloween and let's ♪ two... two, three... ♪ ♪ (snoring) (female giggles) bender (loud whisper): shh! don't wake up fry. (ladybot giggling) shh! my roommate's sleeping! (giggling continues) wake up already! (snorts) huh? i'm about to get down and funky with this ladybot, and i'd appreciate it if as many people as possible could know about it. now can we get some privacy?!