The paranoid style in American comedy

If you live outside the United States, it's hard to get your head round what's going on with this federal government shutdown thing. Even the people who are shutting the government down don't seem to know what they're trying to achieve. Indiana Senator Marlin Stutzman famously told the press that 'We’re not going to be disrespected,' before demanding that 'We have to get something out of this. And I don’t know what that even is.'

Still confused? Well, it's quite simple, really. It's all about President Obama's healthcare reforms. What's wrong with them? Radio talk show host and filmmaker Alex Jones explains all:

And there you have it. It has become necessary to shut down large parts of the federal government because rambling alien lizard in top hat hearts flabby dude in bad Halloween mask.

You know how people sometimes ask "where are all the right-wing comedians?" Well, I think we just found a couple. Step aside Jon Stewart, you don't know squat about satire, boy. I, for one, welcome our new reptiloid comedy overlords.

Via io9 which, being a science fiction site, identified the alien lizard mask as belonging to one of Captain Kirk's opponents from the original Star Trek series. I seem to remember finding Gorn/the Gorn (I'm not sure whether that was the creature's proper name or its species name) quite frightening as a kid, although it looks hilariously unconvincing now. Come to think of it, I think that thing scared me more than any of the Doctor Who monsters which people commonly cite as sending children of my generation scurrying behind the sofa in terror. It was probably those blank, unreadable silver compound eyes that creeped me out.

The thing is still both 'quite frightening' and 'hilariously unconvincing' in its new incarnation as Tea Party prop.