Author: Michael A. Ventrella

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Duck dodgers in the 21st Century

Nobody’s First Amendment’s rights are being violated here.  Anyone who tells you otherwise just doesn’t know what they’re talking about.   daffy_duck_dynasty_by_michaelcrutchfield-d6m08qz

Mr. Duck Dynasty Guy has every right in the world to say whatever hateful things he wants to and there is nothing the government can do about it.

He doesn’t have the right to his own TV show.

If you work for someone, they can regulate your behavior when it relates to your job.  If your words or actions can make the company look bad, they can do something about it, and for  many big-paying jobs (such as TV star), that’s even in your contract.

The First Amendment prohibits the government from infringing on your speech.  It doesn’t protect you against all consequences of your speech.

But conservatives are up in arms over this issue.  These are the same people who cheered when liberal commentators Alec Baldwin and Martin Bashir were removed from MSNBC for things they said.  They  happily approved of radio stations removing the Dixie Chicks from their airwaves because of an interview they did.  And they loved it when Bill Maher lost his TV show for his comments.

This is different, though.  It must be.  I’m sure.  I mean, otherwise, these people would be gigantic hypocrites, right?

“But all he did was confirm his conservative Christian beliefs,” they counter.  (Personally, I can’t recall the part of the Bible where Jesus talked about how happy blacks were living under Jim Crow segregation laws.)  Nothing he said insulted these conservatives.

But is that the standard?  “As long as you don’t say anything to upset people who already think exactly like you, you’re fine”?

What if he had said “I think we should kill all gays and worship Hitler”? Would they have objected to him being removed then?

This is just a matter of degree, and the conservatives who are complaining weren’t personally upset by this so can’t understand how others could be.  (This helps to support to the whole “conservatives can’t feel empathy” theme — “It doesn’t affect or bother me personally so therefore it isn’t a problem.”)

This was a business decision.  A&E knew advertisers would start boycotting the show and they made a financial decision to take action.  That’s their decision to dodge the Duck.

And the First Amendment has nothing to do with it.

Editorial cartoon of the day

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New Mexico joins the 21st Century

New Mexico is the latest state to stop discriminating against gay couples.  new_mexico_rainbow

There’s been a lot of progress this year as more and more states recognize the inequality of it all.  The sad news is that almost all of the states left are Republican states and many of them have Constitutional amendments the specifically prohibit gay marriage.  Those will take either another amendment to repeal it or a decision from federal courts stating that these amendments are unconstitutional.

And then there is my home state of Pennsylvania again, the only state in the northeast behind the times. It’s also the only state in the northeast with a Tea Party governor and a legislature dominated by Republicans (thanks to gerrymandering, since more people voted for Democrats). Despite the fact that a majority of Pennsylvania citizens support gay marriage, it’s not going to happen until we get rid of the politicians who do not represent us.

Gay marriage (or as we like to call it “marriage”) will happen over the United States eventually.  It’s inevitable.   Deal with it.

Editorial cartoon of the day

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Make-believe people can only be one color?

Here we go again.  People are still debating whether a make-believe character can be a color other than their own.

Many conservatives cannot stand the idea of Santa possibly being black.  Why, the idea of such a thing!  Ronald Reagan would have never stood for it. nancy_reagan_mr_T_12 (Here, of course, is where I insert a picture of Mr. T performing as Santa at the White House in the Reagan administration.  Come on, you all knew that was coming.)

But it’s not just Santa.  I’ve seen science fiction geeks get all crazy when someone suggests that Superman could be black.  “But he’s not!” they scream.

Well why not?  Geez, he’s not even from earth.  He could be green with yellow polka dots.  Why would that distract from truth, justice, and the American way?  (OK, well, admittedly it would make it harder to pose as mild-mannered Clark Kent…)

There are indeed instances where the race or gender or sexual orientation of a fictional character is important to the story — but if it’s not, who cares? Why does it matter one bit what race Santa is?

That’s what I can’t quite figure out.

Editorial cartoon of the day

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Join the fight against affluenza

by Guest Blogger Jesse Hendrix

Much attention has been paid to the recent tragedy in Texas, where a wealthy teenager who killed 4 people while driving drunk and was given a sentence of probation and treatment instead of jail time. logo_affThe teen’s lawyer argued that he was suffering from Affluenza, an inability to understand the consequences of his actions brought on by wealth and privilege.

While this case is a tragedy and a miscarriage of justice, it may finally bring attention to the dangerous epidemic of Affluenza.  Affluenza effects thousands of wealthy Americans and it’s more virulent cousin, Affluenza-by-proxy is suffered by millions more.

There are many possible symptoms of Affluenza including:

Belief that you are immune to the consequences of your actions;

Belief that your personal wealth is more important than the lives and fortunes of others;

Paranoia that the poor, unions, or the government are coming to steal all your wealth;

The belief that Ayn Rand was a genuine philosopher, and that selfishness is a virtue; and

Immunity to factual information.

The widespread prevalence of Affulenza among the richest members of society is responsible for  hardship throughout the country. When CEOs triple their own pay while refusing to raise wages for low-paid workers, that’s Affulenza in action. When Republicans in Congress refuse to extend unemployment benefits and insist on food stamp cuts, that’s Affulenza as well. When Donald Trump turns tragedy into insanebirther conspiracy theories, that is a mind completely ravaged by this disease.

What makes Affulenza so dangerous is that its sufferers are driven to spread it. Affluenza is spread through audio-visual means via vectors such as Fox News and talk radio. This allows the disease to spread to non-wealthy people in the form known as Affuenza-by-proxy. Sufferers of this variant demonstrate the symptoms above combined with a delusional belief that wealthy sufferers have the best interests of the country at heart.

Unfortunately there is no cure for Affuenza. But there is treatment available. If someone you know might be suffering from this condition, it is important to separate them from the causes. Exposure to non-biased news sources can ease early cases of Affluenza-by-proxy, but full blown cases take more intensive treatment. Those with a fully developed case of wealth-driven Affluenza can only be treated by forcing them to confront the consequences of their actions.  This requires a careful balance of popular and government pressure.

While fighting other diseases requires funding, fighting Affluenza can only be accomplished by keeping the money away. As a concerned member of the public your most potent tool is carefully deciding where to spend your money. If a business is demonstrating signs of being run by a sufferer, take your business elsewhere. The only way to help sufferers of this disease is reduce their access to the wealth and power that cause it.

Together we can put an end to Affluenza.

Reproduced from Politlcal Moll and used with permission.

Jesse Hendrix writes political satire at http://www.stoptellingliesaboutliberals.com. Questions, comments, good jokes and job offers can be sent to him at jessemhendrix@gmail.com

Editorial cartoon of the day

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Texas don’t need no science larnin’

All of the Republican candidates for Lt. Governor in Texas have reaffirmed their commitment to forcing schoolkids to learn creationism because the Constitution knows not to mess with Texas.Flintstones

These candidates may be dumb, but they’re at least smart enough to couch it in words that in their tiny little minds makes it OK — “We’ll teach both theories.”

Next, they’ll require astronomy teachers to also teach astrology, and chemistry teachers to teach alchemy, because you know, let’s be fair here.

Mind you, the only creationist story they want taught equally with valid science is theirs.  They don’t mean some American Indian creation story, or some Hindu one!  Ha ha!  Those aren’t real religions!  Everyone knows the Constitution only allows for Christian beliefs.  It’s in there somewhere, they know it, it has to be.

Let’s see… remind me again why Americans score so poorly in science?

Editorial cartoon of the day