Stephen Colbert to visit the troops in Iraq - updated with proud slogan

Stephen Colbert will broadcast four shows next week from Baghdad, where he says he'll be "Bob Hoping" it for the troops. [...]

Both the character Colbert (silent "t") and the real Colbert (pronounced "t"), a Catholic family man, are ardent supporters of the troops. He has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Yellow Ribbon Fund (a charity that assists injured service members and their families), and he's a board member of DonorsChoose.org, which benefits the schools of military kids.

"Sometimes my character and I agree," Colbert said in an interview at his Manhattan office before leaving for Baghdad. "My character and I both know the Apostles' Creed and my character and I both think it's a shame that we're not talking about the troops anymore."

--lifted from BarbinMD

As y'all may well imagine, I am a fan of Stephen. I love his humor and the crazy persona he assumes in his show. I think his trashing of the previous administration with Bush sitting just feet away was one of the most heroic acts of satire+prophetic speech ever. He's also one helluva decent guy and I delight that he is going.

"I don't want to forget that people are struggling through the things that I sometimes make jokes about," he said.

The 45-year-old comedian says he's not afraid of the danger of visiting Iraq ("I'm not a high value target"). Instead, he said he's only nervous about doing a good show for the troops.

"The show is always about me, it's always about the character," said Colbert. "What's different about this is, it's really about them. If they laugh, I'll be completely satisfied." (link)

I also fully agree that "it's a shame that we're not talking about the troops anymore."

If you'd like to do something for our troops, here are some links:

DonorsChoose.org - the one Colbert works with

If you want to do something to assist our military and their families, please visit anysoldier.com or Fisher House. If you have frequent flyer miles you would like to donate to hospitalized veterans or their families, see Fisher House's Hero Miles program. If you would like to assist the animal companions of our deployed military, information is available here. Sending a care package to a soldier in Iraq or Afghanistan is; read how at anysoldier.com. Other ways to support the troops are in this diary. And don't forget them when they get home. Visit welcomebackveterans.org and Hire Heroes USA to learn what you can do.

From IGTNT

I just ordered two hygiene kits (1 female, 1 male) for a couple of random troops through TreatAnySoldier.com. Not very glamorous but I pray it means some comfort for folks in an inhospitable situation. (Last time I did this it was cookies.)


--the BB