Colbert: 'Throw the disabled in the river, see if they float'

During "The Word" segment on last night's Colbert Report, Stephen Colbert discussed the case of an Oregon man who's posting threatening fliers on the homes of people he believes to be disabled.

The man, who goes by "Artemis of the wildland," believes that people on disability are "a threat to democracy" who will bring about "the end of the republic."

He went on to write that "the names of the disabled are being posted where they can be seen by taxpayers."

Colbert agreed with the man on principle, but wondered how the man could tell who was "truly disabled."

After dismissing the tried-and-true method of yelling at traffic and noting who has handicapped plates, he proposed treating the disabled like witches in medieval Europe.

"Throw them in the river and see if they float," he said. "If they drowned, we know they were disabled and deserved every penny of government assistance that, sadly, they no longer need in their watery grave."

"But if they don't drown," he continued, "they were faking it and we should burn them at the stake."