Black Blood of Babylon

Iran says take a hint from google and, "Don't be evil America, or we'll blow up your buddy Isreal!"

I find Colbert's actions falling parallel to the action of Aristophanes' performance of The Birds most readily. Athens was facing an uncertain military expedition with motives of empire during the Peloponnesian War. Aristophanes play sees idealistic humans transformed into birds to replace the gods in the affairs of men. They construct a wall around the entire earth so that the smell of sacrifice will no longer reach the heavens. The birds were satisfied in their own minds that they could be better rulers than the gods. Eventually the gods cede control to the birds with very little resistence.

Where in the past Aristophanes had been brought to trial for slander in his submissions to the annual festival to Dionysis (god of intoxication and theater), here he seems to say that the Athenians can rest assured they are virtuous enough that the gods will side with them and offer them the right to an extended empire. The substance of the argument and actions ascending to the conclusion are full of questionable content. The birds are described as "father beaters" in that they offer the ability to slander the established custom and action of their predecessors for an elevated god-like existence. The real gods are shown to be petty, near idiotic, and easily mislead by the birds, something that seems quite unusual given any prior account of the gods. The same message seems to resound here in Colberts attack on the 4 branches of government. "Everything is under control! Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain! That man right there! That one! Yeah... pay no attention to him. We've got the blessing of the gods. Everything is going to be okay!" One way or another I'm with Jon Stewart about the balls-alicious-ness.

And in closing I'm just pissed that this manifested itself in reality. Denver Defends Against Numerological Doom and Destruction