Among the stops for Cho’s State of Emergency Tour are San Antonio, Texas; Memphis; Portland, Ore.; Minneapolis; Madison, Wis.; Charlotte, N.C.; and Jacksonville, Fla.

Her current itinerary of what are widely considered electoral “swing states” winds down in Little Rock, Ark.; on October 30, just in time for Election Day.

Cho was the reluctant recipient of an unexpected publicity bump in late July when the Human Rights Campaign announced it was “uninviting” the outspoken comic from a gay and lesbian unity event scheduled during the Democratic National Convention in Boston.

According to a Cho spokesman, the HRC said it was dis-inviting here for fear of creating “a potential media firestorm,” and referenced the recent criticism of Whoopi Goldberg’s routine at a Kerry fund-raiser. Ironically, Cho is set to receive a First Amendment Award from the American Civil Liberties Union.

Back in the non-partisan world, MTV Networks announced that Cho will produce and star in one of the programs anchoring its Logo channel marketed to the gay and lesbian community. The channel is aiming at a February 2005 debut.