Fantasy Colbert League: August 16-August 19

Back to normal – four episodes ahead of us. I just got back from Ocean City, NJ yesterday. I went with a friend who is moving to Chicago for grad school. She mentioned Second City to me on our drive down there and I started listing all the people who went there. I might have scared her a bit, but all my friends know me by now, so I think I was safe. Do you all scare your friends with your vast knowledge of the Colbert world sometimes? Well, here is a little more information…

Richard Clarke worked for the government for thirty years. His most notable role was serving as the National Coordinator for Security, Infrastructure Protecion, and Counter-Terrorism. This made him the chief counter-terrorism advisor for the National Security Council, and he held this role under Bill Clinton and George W. Bush starting in 1998. Clarke released the book, Cyber War: The Next Threat to National Security and What to Do About It in April this year, and has also authored the books, Against All Enemies: Inside America’s War on Terror and Your Government Failed You: Breaking the Cycle of National Security Disasters. After his work for the government, Richard has taken on a number of roles including chairing Good Harbor Consulting, where he advises on issues including corporate security risk management, information security technology, security and IT issues within the Federal Government, and counter-terrorism. He is also an on-air consultant for ABC News and serves as an adjunct faculty member for the Kennedy School at Harvard. In addition to serving for Clinton and George W. Bush, Clarke served for George H.W. Bush for the Counter-terrorism Security Group as the chair. He also held a seat as a member of the U.S. National Security Council. Graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, he later received a Master’s degree from MIT. Richard played a significant role during the 9/11 investigations and was critical of Bush’s choice to invade in the Middle East. He previously appeared on The Colbert Report in 2007.

Fract: And a novelist? Clarke has released two works of fiction: The Scorpion’s Gate and Breakpoint.

John Fetterman

Fetterman becomes a “friend of the show” with his second appearance. His first appearance was back in 2009. John is the mayor of the Pennsylvania town, Braddock, which is a suburb of Pittsburgh. Originally from York, Pennsylvania, Fetterman received a Master’s degree from Harvard University in Public Policy. He joined Americorps and moved to Braddock, eventuallly being elected mayor in 2005 and winning reelection in 2009. His original work for Americorps began in 2001 when he tried to help citizens of Braddock receive their GED. After being elected, John served as a part-time mayor and also ran his school program as the director. His goal is to initiate development of the old town and poor economy, create art programs and community centers, and begin a sort of renaissance in Braddock. He quickly became “America’s Coolest Mayor,” according to the U.K. Guardian. Fetterman also works with the Environmental Defense Fund as an advocate for carbon caps, green technology, and the development of green energy. He even has the town zip code tattooed on his arm to show his commitment to the people of Braddock.

Fract: Close call: Fetterman won the 2005 mayorial election by a single vote.

Tuesday, August 17: Barry Levine

Barry Levine is the newly appointed Director of News for the National Enquirer. Previously, he held the title of Executive Editor and will retain this title as well as taking on the duties of recruiting editors and reporters, training new staff, and indentifying and developing sources for key areas of reporting. This means also that he will be involved in directing every major story in the publication. Barry has worked to turn the magazine, which is known as a more gossip-oriented news source, into a reputable place to find news. He recently decided to refuse a masseuse’s request for $1 million to break a story about Al Gore, instead using police reports. Levine also gained recognition for his work in breaking the story about John Edwards, his affair, and the child that he had as a result. Barry is also credited for his work in reporting and investing the Tiger Woods’ affair that broke last year.

Fract: Truly reputable – there was much talk after the National Inquirer broke the John Edwards’ story that the publication might receive a Pulitzer Prize.

Wednesday, August 18: Thomas French

Thomas French is a journalist with a new book titled, Zoo Story: Life in the Garden of Captives. The book chronicles an account of the Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa, Florida, complete with stories about certain animals like a chimpanzee and Sumatra tigers, as well as the CEO of the zoo. Zoo Story also explores issues of extinction, conservation, and captivity after French’s six years of research that went into writing the book. Before leaving in 2008, Thomas worked for the St. Petersburg Times in Florida since 1981. He has also written the books, Unanswered Cries: A True Story Of Friends, Neighbors, And Murder In A Small Town and South of Heaven: Welcome to High School at the End of 20th Century. South of Heaven is a story about the experiences of students at Largo High School at the end of the 1980′s. In 1998, he won a Pulitzer Prize for Featured Writing for a story about the murderer Oba Chandler who killed three people in Tampa in 1989.

Fract: Early retirement? Not so much. After French left the St. Petersburg Times in 2008, he went on to take the Riley Endowed Chair in the School of Journalism at Indiana University.

Thursday, August 19: Jon Krakauer

Jon Krakauer has a new book, called, Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman, about the life of the NFL player turned Army soldier who was killed in Afghanistan. Krakauer is famous for his non-fiction books. Three of the books he has written include: Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith, Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster, and Into the Wild. Into Thin Air is a novel of the author’s expedition to the top of Mount Everest and Into the Wild was made into an Academy Award nominated movie directed by Sean Penn. In addition to the books he writes, Jon’s work has appeared in Architectural Digest, National Geographic Magazine, Rolling Stone, and Smithsonian. He also worked as a journalist for Outside magazine where he became more well-known. Krakauer is an avid outsdoorman and has mountain-climbed in numerous countries.

Fract: Not that kind of Academy Award: Into Thin Air was honored with an Academy Award, awarded by the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1999 for Literature.

Enjoy the show!