Fantasy Colbert League Weekly: April 7 – 10

Welcome to No Fact Zone’s weekly roundup of ‘Colbert Report’ guests, created in the spirit of the oft-enjoyed Fantasy Colbert League. While we can’t start up the online version of the game again, we can make it so that you can get the information you need about the guests before they come on the show.

Just like you, we want to be it-getters before the interviews start. So we’ve compiled brief bios, issues or events that Stephen might bring up during the interview, and a fun Fract (Freedom Fact) to impress your fellow viewers during the commercial breaks. Read, enjoy, and see if you can anticipate how Stephen might nail each of the following guests!

Editor’s Note: As always, these guests are subject to change.

Monday, 4/7: Jesse Ventura

Professional wrestler turned actor turned politician Jesse Ventura served as the 38th Governor of Minnesota between 1999 and 2003. He served in the U.S. Navy and as a Navy SEAL, after which he started his wrestling career. He had small roles in a number of movies, two of which also starred Arnold Schwarzenegger. He was elected Mayor of Brooklyn Park, MN, before he ran for governor, and has had his share of controversy in the political and entertainment worlds. He has just published a book titled ‘Don’t Start The Revolution Without Me,’ a novel describing a 2008 presidential election scenario where he is running as an independent. However, Ventura says he has no plans to run for president.

Artist Trevor Paglen may also be a guest tonight, discussing his new book. ‘I Could Tell You But Then You Would Have to be Destroyed by Me: Emblems from the Pentagon’s Black World.’

• Fract: Governor Ventura was not amused when author Garrison Keillor wrote a satirical book about his election in Minnesota with a character based on him, called ‘Me, by Jimmy “Big Boy” Valente.’ Ventura later reconciled with Keillor.

Tuesday, 4/8: Madeleine Albright

United States Secretary of State Madeleine Albright is the first woman to hold the position, during Bill Clinton’s presidency from 1997 to 2001. Prior to that she was the 20th United States Ambassador to the United Nations. She now serves on the Council on Foreign Relations Board of Directors, and is chairperson of the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs . She and Senator Hillary Clinton are close friends, and Albright has endorsed Clinton’s campaign. She has written a new book titled ‘Memo to the President Elect: How We Can Restore America’s Reputation and Leadership.’

• Fract: Madame Albright can leg-press 400 pounds.

Wednesday, 4/9: Jeff Gore

Jeff Gore is a physician at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, studying DNA and the evolution of cooperation using yeast as a model system. He supports the elimination of the penny coin, and has become the spokesperson of the Citizens for Retiring the Penny group. These folks believe that the penny does not benefit commerce and does not serve any useful function.

• Fract: New Zealand and Canada have gotten rid of their smaller coins and/or bills, and The New Yorker suggests that the United States do the same.

Thursday, 4/10: Robin Wright

Author Robin Wright – not the actress – is a reporter for a great number of national and international new publications. She currently covers U.S. foreign policy for The Washington Post. She is the recipient of too many journalistic awards to name here and is the author of a number of books on the Middle East. Her latest work is titled ‘Dreams and Shadows: The Future of the Middle East.’

• Fract: Ms. Wright has reported from more than 130 countries on 6 continents, has covered a dozen wars, and has traveled with U.S. officials from six separate administrations.

• Fantasy Colbert League: October 26-October 29
• Fantasy Colbert League: October 12-October 15
• Fantasy Colbert League Weekly: September 21-24
• Fantasy Colbert League Weekly! August 3rd-7th