Please raise your hand if you gave any credence whatever, even for an instant, to the unsigned press release on Drudge Report claiming that tepid stand-up comic Ann Coulter had been “banned for life” from NBC for daring to claim the media exhibits a liberal bias. Raise ’em especially high if you believed that a “top source” at the network uttered the following:

We are just not interested in anyone so highly critical of President-elect Obama, right now. It's such a downer. It's just not the time, and it's not what our audience wants, either.

Excellent, thanks.  I want you all at my next poker game.

Addendum: My favorite comment in the thread about this silliness over at Mediabistro:

Why make it a media story with all the talk of banning her? It is not like they have no idea what they are getting when they book her as a guest. Seems to me, they will be obligated to book her now to erase the banning perception.

He’s… so… close… and then the clue just sails on by.

Addendum II: Dave Weigel notes that Coulter has a penchant for playing the victim, falsely claiming that USA Today had “fired” her after the paper sent back a poorly-written piece for rewrites.