Read I am America (and so can you!) Online
Authors: Stephen Colbert,Rich Dahm,Paul Dinello,Allison Silverman
Tags: #United States, #Political culture, #Humor, #Form, #Political, #Television comedies, #General, #Topic, #Television personalities, #Colbert Report (Television program), #Social values, #Political satire; American, #Essays, #American wit and humor
missing. ip: She might
(Tip: She might
suspects were described
suspects were described
Hispanic drug dealers?
drug dealers?
want to check her ketchup. It
want to check her ketchup. It
as two males in their
as two males in their
Come on, America!
Come on,
Control
America! Control may have turned into
may have turned into
salsa
.
late teens. (Sounds like
late teens. (Sounds like
the borders!)
the borders!)
I m just saying, if you want
·
I m just saying, if you want
Hispanics to me.)
Hispanics to me.)
to keep ants out of the picnic
to keep ants out of the picnic
basket, you build a fence.)
basket, you build a fence.)
I A M A M E R I C A ( A N D S O C A N Y O U ! )
No American editors
My editor, Mr. Salinas, let me go after one column. This was my first cold, hard
wanted that job?
lesson in how “telling it like it is” isn’t always “appreciated like it is.” And I’d say not much has changed in the news game since then. I’ve faced the same prejudices against my in-your-face, take-no-prisoners style at every job along the way.1
The Bad News:
The greatest threat facing America today—next to voter fraud, the Western Pinebark Beetle, and the memory foam mattress—is the
That doesn’t mean
national news media.
you’re off the hook,
iodized salt.
Simple Question with a “Yes” answer: Is the mainstream press too liberal?
Hint: Yes
The answer is Yes.
Need proof? Just look at some of the headlines I’m able to imagine.
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1
Evidently, playing Kaiser Roll Basketball with the deep-fat frier is too “out there” for the Arby’s Corporation.
The Good News:
There are a few journalists who aren’t registered sex offenders. These people work for Fox News. Now, I have a well-cured beef with Fox. “Fair
and
Balanced?” Which is it? Make up your mind! I’m sure guys like Brit Hume and Sean Hannity are well-intentioned, but by trying to present both sides of each story, they’re suggesting that the truth exists somewhere in the middle. You know what’s
really
in the middle?
A cream filling?
The Gray Area.
Shades of gray are for brain tissue and the weak. Neither one has a place in the News Business.
I like my Truth like my coffee: Black or White.
Wake Up Call:
If I die, I know that I’m either going to Heaven or to Hell.
Heaven, just to be clear
There’s no gray area there.
THE TOP MAINSTREAM MEDIA NEWS OUTFITS
THAT ARE KILLING OUR CHILDREN
NPR:
What’s wrong with NPR? Just listen to
Morning Edition
. This is by far the least zany “Morning Zoo” ever to hit the airwaves. Instead of the get-upand-go-larity provided by your local Scott and Tom, or Ted and Zeke, or Denise and Santana, or Coyote Mike and The Beemer,
Morning Edition
presents
“Count your Chickens!
Coyote’s on the Prowl!”
NPR’s measured barbiturate vibe.2
–Z 98.6 Body Temperature
Rock!
CONTENT of MORNING ZOO
CONTENT of MORNING EDITION
4%
57%
15%
Word Jazz
Sound effects
Glowing
descriptions
3%
Contests that
of Fundraising
39%
Gift Mug
Sedition
kill people
6%
Dead air
8%
Promos for the
show you’re
listening to
28%
12%
14%
Wry essays by
Host discussion/presentation of
14%
Prank calls
New Englanders
Light Gray
incomprehensible/illegal sex act
2
Fun Fact: NPR broadcasts at the same frequency as a coma patient’s brainwaves.
153
I A M A M E R I C A ( A N D S O C A N Y O U ! )
Lefties get up on the
It’s a wonder the lefties who wake up to it are able to get out of bed.
wrong side of the bed.
The left side.
I guarantee that if
Morning Edition
had to compete in the free market, you’d hear a lot more prank phone calls to the Supreme Court asking if that’s a gavel
“in their docket.”
WHAT DOES NPR REALLY STAND FOR? Toss a few of these out at the
next East Coast Ivy League Cocktail party you get roped into, and watch Billy Bleeding Heart choke on his brie.3
Nancy Pelosi Radio, Nader Presidential Radio,
Nazi Palestinian Radio, No Penis Radio, Natalie Portman Radio
Try “Nasty Panda Radio”
N
P
Radio (Let your imagination soar!)
(It fits.)
THE “BIG THREE” NETWORKS
CBS
: The Tiffany network is responsible for the perennial Sunday Night PostGame buzzkill,
60 Minutes
. Morley Safer and his team of aged jackals present what I believe is the worst kind of investigative journalism—the kind with investigations. On the other hand, I
like the innovations that Katie Couric has brought to
The CBS
Katie Couric
Evening News
, especially the innovation of having viewers turn elsewhere for news.
NBC
: A lot of people make the mistake of getting their nightly newscast from Brian Williams, when the real star of the
“Peacock” news division is the
Law and Order
franchise. All the plots are “ripped from today’s headlines.”
Brian Williams
ABC
: When Charlie Gibson took the evening news anchor
chair, I doubted he had the heft for the job. But those fears were put at ease once I learned he had changed his name to “Charles
Gibson.” As far as liberal bias is concerned, jury’s still out.
Charlie Charles
Jury’s back in: Guilty!
CSPAN
: CSPAN’s liberal bias is severely underestimated. With its unvarnished gavel-to-gavel coverage of our elected leaders, CSPAN glamorizes big govern
Catch me on BookTV!
ment by showing not only how it works, but that it sometimes
does
work.
Oct. 3rd!
CSPAN 2 may be just as dangerous, but has never been watched.
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3
“Soft-cheese asphyxiation” is the 2nd leading cause of death among intellectuals, after “drinking with
Christopher Hitchens.”