Nothing but the truthiness

I value what Stephen Colbert has to say about current events more than I do what any of the major broadcast or cable news networks report. This is alarming. John Stewart keeps his fact reporting honest and his humor tongue-in-cheek; Colbert is a flat-out satirist and he now clearly trumps the passé Stewart in Comedy Central’s evening news hour. I don’t respond to the traditional talking heads of television news broadcasts. They are Rupert Murdoch’s and his cohorts’ puppets, earnestly spreading propaganda and sinister slander. Colbert owes nothing to these cretins of conglomerated media. His popularity undoubtedly makes him a recognizable risk in the eyes of big media, but his delivery allows him to evade the blacklist’s burden. And for that, I respect him. He earns my eyes and ears, if only for thirty minutes. I understand that to hold an opinion on anything discussed during his show, I need to investigate with legitimate sources. But as far as learning the five Ws of the day’s headlines, Colbert is my man.

And by the way, Colbert and Stewart are not the ones deserving of the credit for the satirical, half-hour, down-with-the-kids news program. If Colbert and Stewart are Christopher Columbus, Frank Zappa is Leif Erikson. Zappa pitched MTV in the late-eighties for a thirty-minute news program, to be hosted by the musician/composer himself, which would discuss the day’s news with a comedic, edgy, stick-it-to-the-man flair. Celebrity guest stars would do on-air editorials about special topics. Sadly, the show never went to production, and Zappa passed away long before The Daily Show’s first episode. Thus is the tragic life of Frank Zappa, misunderstood genius.