Just say, “Enough, no more.”
What we’re doing, right now, to Rush Limbaugh is not censorship. There is no Constitutional right to a radio or television show. When your boss fires you because you’re using his airwaves to say stupid shit which is bad for business, that’s not called censorship. That’s called “the Free Market.” Conservatives worship “the Free Market”, right up until the point it doesn’t like what they want to sell. See further the box office receipts for ATLAS SHRUGGED, PART ONE.
This morning, Whoopi and Barbara Walters wrung their well-manicured hands and worried about the slippery slope of threatening a man’s livelihood. How dare this calm little nobody attack someone through their advertisers? Clearly they’re afraid that this weapon of public outcry could be turned against them at some time in the future, with the nightmarish result that they might have to go a whole week without someone pointing a video camera at them. I hope someone explains to them how they sold out American women this morning, and they feel the appropriate amount of shame.
Forget “slut” and “prostitute”, how does feminazi grab you? No apologies for that appalling neologism seem forthcoming. Limbaugh is a villain, and any legal means to sweep him off the public stage is a boon to humanity. Not merely a villain, he’s a cowardly villain. Right now, he’s terrified of the calm and composed Ms. Fluke and her world of new friends. As so often happens with Right Wing mouthpieces we begin with male adolescent locker room Alpha swagger, and retreat to squeaking out “I was just kidding” when the world takes notice and the advertisers run for greener pastures.
Threaten his livelihood? Hell yes we will. Remember when Rush was on television? Remember Glenn Beck on Fox? Two highly rated shows that don’t exist anymore, because the parade moved on. None of these cowardly hate-mongers are untouchable, and there’s not one who won’t be pushed off the air if enough civilized people say “enough, no more!”
This is a story in motion; in the time it took me to write this he might have lost another advertiser or radio station. If you’re reading this, it’s likely that you’ve seen the petitions, or you’re smart enough to find one and sign it.
So just say it. Enough. No more.
”Susan Komen for the Cure” SUED other breast cancer charities for using the phrase “For the Cure” or the color pink. Remember that? Sounds crazy, right? But no…
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/07/komen-foundation-charities-cure_n_793176.html
Over the years, they’ve paid their CEO and/or President over a half a million in yearly salary, which is shameful for a supposed non-profit.
By now, I’m sure you’ve read about the decision yesterday by Susan Komen to stop giving money to Planned Parenthood. With that organization already under political attack from all sides, this is an intolerable betrayal. This latest outrage, which will directly and negatively affect the health of the most vulnerable women in the country, is just the last straw.
Do me a favor and google “breast cancer research funding”. There are plenty of options out there that haven’t been co-opted, and that aren’t using your money to feather their own nests. Give to them instead. And stop giving to the parasites at Susan Komen.
Oh, and sign this petition, retweet it, etc.
Tell @komenforthecure: Don’t throw @PPact under the bus! http://bit.ly/xKr21O @CREDOmobile #p2 #fem2
(I promise the next one will be funny. But this is just, you know… horrible.)
One could judge this sort of thing as meaningless… but just for your general information, as of this evening:
Rick Santorum Twitter Followers: 93,705
Mitt Romney Twitter Followers: 290,045
Newt Gingrich Twitter Followers: 1,421,418
Barack Obama Twitter Followers: 12,131,895
Just, you know, some raw poll numbers, as meaningful — or not— as any other poll.
by Jonas Polsky
Let’s talk about football. Penn State’s greatest coach, Joe Paterno has lost his job. It had nothing to do with performance, or wins, it had to do with the fact that a child was raped, and he made a judgment call to keep it quiet for the good of the program.
You know how…
A serious problem faced by all religions is this: the believers, the faithful, the religious… they get far too caught up in the concept that their myth, their fairy story, their “bible” is REAL. It’s TRUE. As opposed to concentrating on the useful part: the message.
Ultimately, does it matter if the “New Testament” is true? Does it invalidate the message if none of that stuff really happened? Or is the important part the whole “love thy neighbor” thing? I don’t mean to pick on the Christians here. I don’t think it’s terribly important that Prince Siddhartha faced down all those demons, or that Moses’ staff turned into a snake. Metaphors are beautiful, useful, instructive things.
So here’s our first principle: how about a religion that does not insist on the truth of its fairy tale? How about a religion that insists, rather, that its stories are just that? Stories. Metaphors and allegories. Religion without supernatural faith. Faith placed in the individual’s desire to do the right thing, lead by a shining – and completely fictional – example.
Further, I’ve been thinking about the appropriation of the date and rituals of pagan winter solstice holidays for the Christians own shindig. Why not take a page from their book? There’s our second principle: build our new religion on the bones of older, popular faiths.
I have celebrated “Christmas” every year of my life, but I have never once celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ. I have celebrated the redemption of Scrooge, certainly. The salvation of George Bailey, by his friends and neighbors. The message of love piercing the heart of the Grinch, enlarging it one size beyond the average. Charlie Brown’s friends learning the appreciation of the small and unloved, the meek if you will, as embodied by an ugly little Christmas tree.
As an aside, I think the residents of Whoville are the perfect post-religious Christmas celebrators. They call it Christmas, they clearly believe it is a time of love and celebration, but I don’t recall any visible Christian iconography in their town. Also, one might mention that the Whos have antennae: they’re not even the same species as Jesus Christ.
And let’s not forget Frank Capra’s Jesus: the false prophet John Doe aka Long John Willoughby… whose message was real, even if he was a fake, a corporate media shill. John Doe was prepared to jump off a roof to prove that the “the idea is still good.” My favorite Xmas movie; a clear-eyed depiction of how hard it is to be a messiah in the real world. “Lighthouses, John. Lighthouses in a foggy world.”
Jesus Christ, as a figurehead, means almost nothing to me. But there is a great American myth, of a secular American savior. His story is every bit as fantastical and unbelievable as the New Testament, but there is no pretense of historical reality. Yet he’s a symbol of good and right and morality, truth and justice, that actually moves me and means something to me, absurd as that might be.
The story of his nativity is one of the most re-told stories in mass media. Like John Doe he’s also a Depression-era messiah. An immigrant, an orphan raised by solid American citizens, a god who chooses to live as a man and make a better world. It doesn’t matter one bit that he isn’t real; the message is real, “the idea is still good”, and the metaphor is beautiful and useful and instructive.
Therefore, I would like to propose December 25th as the date Superman’s rocket crashed in Smallville, Kansas. Why not? It’s as good a date as any.
Merry Kentmas
I’m late on this, but this morning I was inspired. Meme courtesy of @Pat_Healy and @JamesUrbaniak.
Here’s a quote from an actual ad I just saw on Craigslist:
We want talented awesome filmmakers who want to have the time of their lives!
Let us know if your looking for experience, have experience, own any gear/resources and can afford to work on a feature for a few weeks. You will be working with an established, experienced team of Filmmakers.
To repeat the jaw-dropper there:
“Let us know if… you CAN AFFORD to WORK on a feature for a few weeks.”
Can you afford to work? I always thought “work” was the stuff you did in order to afford to live.
We should all be so lucky… but “Between the Sheets” is just the name of Lora’s podcast. On which she talks about matters sexual. With experts. Today, I am on her show talking about one night stands. Because I used to be what you might call “slutty”, if I was a girl and society was inclined to view my appetites with disfavor. You can listen “live” here, at 4pm PST:
http://newdissidentradio.com/between_the_sheets.html
Later, it will be archived at that same address. If you scroll down, you can find two or three previous episodes with me (and one starring my wife, Augusta Avallone AKA Penny Starr Jr.), if you feel the need for another couple of hours of me talking filth.
This weekend, a great actor died, and it was the tenth anniversary of 9/11. Oddly enough, I have always associated Cliff Robertson with the aftermath of 9/11… because when Bush was building up to invading Iraq, I couldn’t get this scene out of my head. This scene, probably written in 1974, tells how very inevitable it all was, and that a smart man, paying attention, could see that war coming three decades before it did.
Rick Perry is sort of like a character a Liberal writer would create, to embody all the worst aspects of early 21st Century Tea Party Evangelical Republicanism. Therefore it’s not surprising he’s been compared to Robert Ritchie, the fake good old boy hick Republican Governor played by James Brolin on the West Wing. I have a feeling that if he does end up with the nomination, Obama will “Jed Bartlett” him into well-deserved oblivion, but that time is still pretty far off.
Meanwhile, on the occasion of Perry entering the race… my thoughts from Twitter today, collected helpfully in one place.
1) The Republican Party toys with nominating a secessionist. “2011 Republican” is the antonym of “1861 Republican”
2) In Perry’s announcement, the secessionist said he “believes in America”. So… hypocrite or traitor?
3) I apologize for that last, too simplistic question. Clearly it’s possible that he could be a hypocrite AND a traitor.
4) Someone should make sure that Perry knows he’s running for President of ALL 50 States, not just the slave-owning ones.
5) I actually WANT the GOP to nominate Perry, because it’s the only way to see the Union win the Civil War one more time.
6) Awkward moment at the Iowa straw poll today, when Perry tried to buy Herman Cain for “ten gold pieces and a good mule”.
7) Dear News Media: please ask Governor Perry about his secessionist pandering every day until he’s forced to burn a Confederate Battle Flag on the steps of the Austin State House, or at the very least hug Oprah in public.
Disclaimer: is Perry really a secessionist? Of course not. He talked about it to pander to the worst citizens of our great country. But fuck him, hard, for even pretending breaking up the United States of America was an idea worthy of consideration. That should automatically disqualify you for the job.
The blog with the thoughts and the opinions. For the rest go to: www.davidavallonefreelance.com
