The Mountaintop

Tonight we learned about anchor babies and grappling babies and apparently there is a difference between the two of them. I also think they both are very different from baby anchors.

The memory is a wonderful thing. It allows us to go back in time and recall what was happening. But it can't match the ability of someone with a host of interns to do research and shed light on how it affects the present and the future. Case in point. Newt Gingrich has a lot of good ideas, or so it would seem to the casual observer. However, Stephen had an in-depth look at Newt Gingrich and many of the James Bond movies that starred Pierce Brosnan. What seemed like a lot of good ideas at first glance ends up being the same ideas that many of the villains in those movies had. So, is a good idea still a good idea if it's the villain's idea? Something for us all to ponder. Thanks, Stephen for reporting on this.

And in what can only be called a sad shame, Norway has a severe butter shortage. Seems like they have a fad diet that lets you eat lots of butter and now it's all gone. (How will they be able to make Christmas cookies?) It's gotten so bad that butter can actually cost $740 for one pound of butter. With prices like that it was inevitable that butter would be smuggled across the border from Sweden. While Norway suffers from lack of butter, Stephen suffers from lack of common sense. One of Stephen's favorite ways to eat butter is the summer favorite butter on the cob. With those cute little holders on each end of the stick of butter, and some nice butter spread on the stick of butter, it makes for a tasty treat. It's easy to see why butter would be an important component of a great diet plan. Stephen really appreciated the commercials tonight.

Samuel L. Jackson was on the show tonight and it was somewhat ironic. You see, Samuel L. Jackson is portraying the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. in the Broadway Play, "The Mountaintop." And Stephen Colbert was osmotically at King's March on Washington back in 1963.

There's also something I wondered about just as Stephen was dashing over for the interview. Samuel L. Jackson was tweeting, apparently for the benefit of Stephen's audience. What would the March on Washington have been like back in 1963 if the internet and Twitter would have been available? That sounds like a book that someone should write. It could be either science fiction or historical fiction, or a combination of the two.

I Was a Drum Major

First off, let me say that I sincerely hope Cinnabon accepts Stephen's apology.

That being said, Stephen discussed the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial in Washington D.C.

Stephen mentioned that he was in Washington D.C. for the March on Washington back in August of 1963. Some might wonder how that is possible since he wasn't even born until about 8 1/2 months after the March. Well, his mother was there, and so by the mathematical principle of association, so was he.

I have not seen the Memorial yet, but hope to see it next time I am in Washington D.C. But sadly there is controversy. One of the quotes is actually not what Dr. King said. The quote that is chiseled there says, "I was a drum major for justice, peace, and righteousness."

Many people would agree with that. He is remembered for exactly those things. But what he actually said was this, "If you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice. Say that I was a drum major for peace. I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter."

It seems like not a day goes by that some prominent politician, actor, or business leader is demanding that some news source issue a correction about an incorrect quote. People who make speeches spend a lot of time working on the speech to get every word just the way they want it so that it says exactly what they mean.

So, while it may not seem like it's worth making a fuss over, you would surely think that if all that time and money was going to be spent making the Memorial, that it would be done correctly. What I get out of the original quotation is that he knew he had played an important part in the history of this nation, but he hoped people would remember the work that was done and not focus on the man. What the quote on the Memorial seems to suggest is that he was boasting. That's my take on it.

The quote should be corrected on the Memorial. Restore Truthiness.

Moving On.

TV Good. As you may remember, the Colbert Super PAC ran an ad in Iowa suggesting that voters in Ames write in Rick Parry's name. That's Parry with an "A". Well many people did write in Parry's name, but the Iowa GOP will not release the results to say whether or not all the names were spelled Parry. Stephen's good friends over at WOI tried to find out, but the short and long answer was the same - NO. The Iowa GOP would not release the results. So, again, Truthiness loses.

Stephen's guest tonight was Robin Wright. They talked about the political situation in the Middle East. She said that the people there had made such a difference in a short time for making dramatic changes in the politics and governments. After some more discussion, she said that debt could actually be our biggest enemy. Stephen suggested invading VISA.

Her book is Rock the Casbah - Rage and Rebellion Across the Islamic World. As Stephen would say, "Go buy it."

Dedicate the Dream

My original plan for Saturday and Sunday was for Stephen to go to Washington D.C. and be a regular tourist there and also to be there for the Dedication of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial. However, this is what Harry E. Johnson, Sr., president and CEO of the Washington D.C. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation, Inc. released about Dedication Day:

"In consultation with the National Park Service, the Mayor's office and FEMA, it is with a heavy heart and enormous disappointment that we announce that, in the interest of public safety, we are forced to change our plans."

The Dedication will be held sometime in September of October. For now, Stephen can visit www.DedicateTheDream.org.