Welcome to the home of the very worst of the meretricious poetasters!
number 32 for 8-22-05:
Die, You Miserable Bitch
Censorship is a constant theme of this column with good reason. We are supposed to have freedom of speech in this country, but de facto if you're an atheist, a gay, or anything that scares mothers and the religious, you are silenced or forced into poverty. Here are the stories that are relevant to our freedoms of expression of the week previous.
The major news media is confused as to what censorship is and what censorship isn't, mainly because even the educated news organizations don't understand the two instances where speech ISN'T protected, rightfully.
1) Slander or libel. Purposefully lying to the public about an entity to that entity's detriment, for instance, saying George Bush fucks donkeys and not saying that you're joking.
2) Speech that endangers others directly with malicious intention. For instance, I say, "There's a man with a gun in your closet!" and then you pull a gun and shoot your five-year-old who's hiding in there with a water pistols. The "fire in a theater" rule.
I saw a ton of articles last week where the media went nutty on this pro-choice that pulled an ad equivocating John Roberts's support of a man who bombed an abortion clinic through a factual tie that is non-existent. Consequently, they pulled the ad. The news reports this like it's some kind of issue, like it's not obvious that the group fucked up and committed slander. The news is generally after sensationalism, not the truth, which is why they print such garbage.
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A man in Pasco made a sign about a neighbor he didn't like. It said, "Die you miserable bitch." That's not a nice thing to say, I think. But then, it's not for me, or you, or the police to tell him what to say or what not to say. This is America.
So what the police do instead is endlessly chip away at him in other ways until he ceases his behavior by enforcing every last law they can on his property. His sign's letters were too big, so he has to take it down. He has trash in his lawn, so they cite him.
One might think this a creative way to solve a problem, if it didn't involve prejudice. IE, a man who says something the public doesn't like is having his expression stifled unfairly. Because a man with garbage in his lawn who doesn't make such a sign is left unhanded, this is exceptionally unfair treatment. Do I like this guy? No. He's an ass. But he has a right to speak his stupid ignorant mind, and the police have taken his expression, and that is just patently ridiculous.
Hey, censorship?
DIE, YOU MISERABLE BITCH! (that too large?)
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In Florida, a molester and three children looked up porn on a library computer. The library rules forbid looking at porn or anything that other patrons might find offensive (which I think is ridiculous. There should be a computer in an enclosed area for adults who want to look at media that others might not like. Information, no matter how nasty, is still information, and a library is an information repository.). The librarians walk around and stop people from looking at porn.
The molester broke the rules, the molester told his parole officer. He excused his actions by saying that the three kids were doing it.
They fired the librarian on duty. Because, you know, she looked up the porn, right? Abuse. Miserable abuse of our liberties, and an unlawful firing. I hope she sues and takes the state for all it's worth.
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If you'll note, I am releasing my newest poetry book free of royalties. This is because I believe, fervently, that art is not for money. Art is for spreading relief to the human condition and promoting understanding through shared knowledge.
Google wanted to forward this notion by making all book media available for the public. It began scanning books like crazy, and was going to release public demain books for free and try and create financial deals with publishers for the books still protected by copyright.
They were shut down. Because lord knows, free books for all, well, we as a society stand against that. Right, fired librarian?
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The Bush administration, never satisfied with whatever recent censorship they've promoted, is now objecting to a domain... .xxx, because as the administration states, if the domain is .xxx, kids will know where to look. Never mind the fact that they'd have to find out what comes BEFORE the .xxx on their own, or that perish forbid the fucking parents should stop them from hitting .xxx before they fucking do it if they don't want their kids visiting porn sites...we must stop all of one form of expression just because it pisses off parents. Bullshit. Fuck parents, they're too sensitive, and they need to do some damned parenting.
I hate the idea that this country swarms around...if it hurts the family, it must be stopped! NO! Pull your fucking family together and take them from the things that hurt them! If your kids are wanking off and becoming sexual too early, take away the computer, the R rated movies and the fucking TV! Oh, and you'll have to get rid of books and most other forms of media too. Keep them kids in the dark, because as we all know, what we don't know about we never have to confront. And while you're at it, go live in the woods, you elitist condescending fucks. But don't blame the lumberjacks when your kid fucks a tree or snorts sap. The forbidden is always what kids will seek. If you have a conniption about .xxx, where the fuck do you think the kids will go? So don't tell them not to go to .xxx, or tell no one to go to .xxx, instead, say, "Here's a good book that will teach you about healthy sexual relations and what they mean.", having done the PARENTING thing and read it yourself beforehand instead of reading fucking US and how Anniston wants to squeeze pimples off Pitt's back but Pitt just wants to trade blood with Jolie. Idiots.
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I hate to whale on DC comics because I love the company and really want to work for them some day, but I believe honesty is more important than prospects.
They're censoring an artist and threatening him for depicting Batman and Robin kissing in a satire. Satire, though DC should already know this, is protected speech. For instance, I can write a story about Batman and Robin fucking ALL DAY LONG and exposing their wangs to kid and it's not Libel. It's satire. It's taking known public entities and using them in an atypical situation to make comedy. If I made a fan fiction that was serious and tried to sell it, they'd have a case. But Batman and Robin being gay has been used a bojillion times in eight million medias. It's protected speech.
DC is wrong.
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Two chicks and a dude in a threesome? R rating. Wild Things. Two dudes and a chick in a threesome? NC-17. Why? Because ratings are ridiculous and society is homophobic. This means the movie will make very little money and be unsuccessful, so it's de facto censorship, even if it's not stopping them from putting it out. Look at the Comics Code Authority for de facto similar censorship of old.
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Michael Graham has been fired from his position as a radio talk host because he suggested that Islam was a terrorist organization. It isn't, far from it. In fact, most Islamic people are just like most Christian people. Different traditions, same basic humanity.
He shouldn't have been fired. I disagree with him, but his speech has been abridged. Let me put it this way. I wish the man ill, I don't want his success, I think he's wrong, but WE SHOULD NOT FIRE HIM just because we disagree with him. It's ridiculous, it abridges the freedoms we hold dear, and yeah, it may save the company some money from whiney viewers who don't know how to change the channel, but you know what, companies? Sometimes integrity is more important than fucking money.
In fact, it always is.
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ANCILLARY
Just so you know how fucking stupid George Bush is, he compared the war in Iraq comparably to World War 2 in a speech today.
Tell me, veterans, do you really think invading the sovereign nation of Iraq is anything like liberating the entirety of Europe from a Nazi regime bent on world domination? Just curious if you find that a little arrogant and offensive to common sense.
I do.
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