Wake Up - I Have A Dream

New York City's Stop and Frisk has been ruled unconstitutional by a judge and so that's why everyone everywhere is talking about it, including Stephen. Apparently it targets minorities at a much higher rate than whites. People who have been stopped and frisked for no reason feel like they have been targeted. Mayor Bloomberg will appeal. He feels like the law has been targeted for no reason.

The TSA is stepping up their "inspections" of people to include more modes of transportation and even such things as sporting events and rodeos. That presents a real problem because horses wear horseshoes which are metal and could set off the metal detectors. Stephen suggested Crocs for the horses.

This is all very disturbing to Stephen. On the show to calm Stephen down was Steven Pinker. He told Stephen that things are not as bad as they seem. Yes, if you watch the news, scary things happen. But that's what the news is all about. News is about the extraordinary events of the day or week. It's not about the mundane. So, calm down. And maybe go out and buy his book. The book is "The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined." It is kind of a big book, but it looks interesting, and I have confidence that any of you reading this would be able to read such a big book.

The guest tonight was Representative John Lewis. Stephen wore himself out just telling the audience a little bit about the accomplishments of John Lewis. The two men talked about the August 28, 1963 March on Washington. Both men were there in Washington, although Stephen was not much more than a blip in his mother's belly. John Lewis was one of the speakers at the March, in fact he is the last surviving speaker from that historic event. Stephen was proud to display his souvenir from when he attended and you can see a facsimile here.

John Lewis also has a book out now. It is a graphic novel which to some means a comic book, but finally comic books are really being valued for their literary contributions, so still a good reason to also consider buying this book. It's called "March: Book One"

I never actually take a stop watch to see how long each interview is on the show, but this one did seem to be a little bit longer. Stephen and John Lewis talked about lots of things. If you did not live through the years of Jim Crow and the Civil Rights struggles, it can be hard to comprehend what happened. Now we see Voting Rights again being threatened. It used to be that some people had to take a test to prove that they were "capable" of voting. Questions even included such things as "How many bubbles are on a bar of soap?" That tells you that the question was pretty much designed to disqualify a person from voting. The struggle continues.

Okay, lots of stuff tonight and you're feeling overwhelmed perhaps. Well, did you to look at Steven Pinker's website? Do it now, here. You don't even have to read anything. Just take a minute or ten minutes and watch the slide show of wonderful photographs. There's birds, butterflies, scenery, people, architecture and just ordinary everyday life. It is very calming and you deserve a little bit of relaxation. So cute... so lovely... so picturesque.....

E=mc Scared

Congress is getting dumber. Ahhhhh. What does that mean? It just means that the speeches they deliver now are geared towards a 10th grade audience rather than the previous 11th grade audience. Personally I think that Congress is just trying to be more inclusive and get younger people interested in all the wonderful things that Congress has accomplished these past few years.

The Word for Monday's show was Sink Or Swim. (Technically Word Word Word.) The seas are rising and are anticipated to rise a meter, which is a metric measurement and so we may not have to worry about it here in the mathematically progressive USA. However, that's quite a bit of water. If you have ocean-front property, you may be in trouble. Luckily, North Carolina Republicans have come up with a sweet solution. They simply want to outlaw the data. That's right, they have a new bill that would outlaw the climate models. (Sea, no evil.) This is a brilliant solution. Another would be to stick your head in the sand. Of course, you would want to have a friend nearby to tell you when the water is rising and getting too close to you.

BKAD, or Better Know a District, is one of Stephen's most patriotic segments of the show. By now he should have been able to breeze through all the Districts. Sadly, there are way too many that we don't know. In fact, there are whole states that we know absolutely nothing about. Stephen is of course fixing that. He made an agreement with Nancy Pelosi to support her Disclose Act. She, in return, would encourage Democratic Representatives to come on The Colbert Report to be interviewed by Stephen. It is proven fact that anyone on The Colbert Report gets the famous Colbert Bump.

So anyway, Stephen has two Democrats booked for this summer. Yea!!! But he needs more. That's where you come in. Head over to Colbert Nation. Do you see Stephen's smiling face up in the right hand corner? It says Better Know A District. Click on that. It's the Represent-O-Map 6000. Then click on your Congressional District. If you don't know your District, use the Search Box-Thingy 4500 below the map of the USA. Either click or search and you will get a nice photo of your Representative and a form email (the best kind) to send. Get your Representative on the show. Make him or her famous. Send your Representative an actual email. You can also view The Archives to see if your Representative was already better known.


The most popular Representative seems to be Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton which is interesting. As popular as she is, she has the worst voting record, having never cast a vote. It is a fascinating interview and valuable civics lesson. And we can see Stephen flatter himself.

To remind us all of what BKAD is all about, Stephen interviewed Representative John Lewis for BKAD and also as the guest. Representative John  Lewis is from Georgia's 5th District. John Lewis knew the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr since he was 18 and John Lewis was the youngest speaker at the 1963 March on Washington. In 1965, he led marchers across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in a historical event that came to be known as Bloody Sunday. Stephen mentioned that he also was at the 1963 March on Washington and may have been the youngest attendee since he was with his mother in that she was pregnant with him.

Stephen and Representative Lewis also discussed the new book that John Lewis has written - "Across That Bridge: Life Lessons and a Vision for Change." You can get this book at most bookstores or download it from iTunes.

Exciting Guests This Week

Tonight is Representative John Lewis and he will most likely talk about his new book, "Across That Bridge: Life Lessons and a Vision for Change." There are bridges that I can think of that he might be talking about.

Golden Gate Bridge
Bridge Over Troubled Water
Brooklyn Bridge
Bridge to Nowhere
London Bridge
I-35 Bridge in Minneapolis

There are many, many more.

Chances are that the bridge he is talking about is the Edmund Pettus Bridge, making it a historically important bridge rather than one that is a work of art or architecture. We'll find out soon.

Tuesday's guest is Jill Biden. I know I've heard that name somewhere, I just can't remember. Neil Patrick Harris on Wednesday and Regina Spektor on Thursday. It's going to be a great week of guests which should make Stephen's job that much easier.