| June 16, 2006 Editor’s Desk by Aaron Selbig, insurgent49 The
Triple Crown Of Pandering
It’s been a fiery week here at Insurgent Headquarters.Well, election season is upon us again and the Republicans in Congress, along with the Bush administration, have begun doing what they do best during campaigns ... pandering to the religious right. As a matter of fact, in the last two weeks, they have already scored the trifecta on behalf of their voting base. First, it was the Constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage ... again. That one, thankfully, didn’t go over so well. It was soundly defeated in the Senate, as President Bush and the Good ‘Ol Boy Network knew it would. They don’t care, however, because, after all, it’s not that you really have to believe this crap ... as long as the hate-mongerers at Focus On the Family see that you at least made an effort to write discrimination into the US Constitution. Unfortunately, the fact that same-sex marriage is used as a political tool by Republicans over and over again every election cycle only serves to belittle what is, in reality, the great civil rights battle of our time. We shall overcome someday. Second, conservative Congressmen took aim at “smut” on TV. For years, a group of rabid right-wing “Christians” known as the Parents Television Council have been lobbying Congress to do something about all of the dirty sinning that takes place on the idiot box (never mind turning the goddamned thing off, of course). Their money and influence have finally paid off. On Thursday, President Bush signed into law legislation that increases the amount of fines that come with FCC violations ... by 1,000%. That’s right, heathens ... let a “prurient” anatomical reference slip on a radio or TV broadcast and guess what ... a $325,000 fine. That’s enough to put many small stations out of business for just one violation. By the way, did you know that, in 2003, the PTC was responsible for 99.8% of all FCC complaints nationwide? Not to be outdone, they somehow upped their share to 99.9% in 2004. So ... a tiny minority of zealots who are offended by anything on TV that’s not Touched By An Angel or The 700 Club has the power to decide what’s okay for the rest of the country to watch and listen to. And do you know who the PTC’s number one TV smut peddler is? That’s right ... FOX. Home of Bill O’Reilly and the gallantly waving Stars & Stripes in the corner of your screen. It’s be funny if it wasn’t so not funny. Last but certainly not least, patriotic, freedom-loving Republicans in Washington have already latched onto a third wedge issue that’s been defeated time and time again. Anybody have a guess? Anyone? Bueller? That’s right! Flag burning. Seriously, here we go with the flag desecration thing again, another constitutional amendment aimed at restricting the freedom of all Americans in the name of ... well ... freedom. Because there are so many people out there torching American flags, you know. Before you laugh off this latest installment of election pandering, though, beware: it actually has a chance of passing this time, thanks to a handful of spineless Democrats in Congress (like Dianne Feinstein and Hilary Clinton, for example), who have gotten sucked into the “who’s more patriotic?” contest. I’m going to say this right now in front of God and everybody: I am an Army veteran and would never normally consider burning an American flag under any circumstances; however, if this freedom-snatching amendment passes, I will be the first one out on Fourth Avenue with a gas can, a match and Old Glory. I know ... not very Christian, is it? We progressives can take at least one good sign out of this latest round of conservative giveaways for false Christians: The Republicans are worried. They must be. It’s only June. The election is five months away and they’re already resorting to tactics they normally reserve for August. Their president’s numbers are in the tank, voters are angry and ready for regime change, and this pathetic attempt to solidify their base with divisive knee-jerk issues is all they’ve got. So have at it, Republican majority ... do your worst. You’ve got five months to try as hard as you can to tear the country apart for your own gain. We’ll see you at the ballot box in November, with the Iraq war and Hurricane Katrina on our minds instead of your made-up bullshit wedge issue pandering. Aaron Selbig is an activist and media junkie who resides in an undisclosed location in downtown Anchorage. He is the winner of a 2006 Alaska Press Club award for Best Editorial Writing, host of KUDO 1080 AM's 'The Aaron Selbig Show' and a co-founder of Insurgent49. Aaron may be contacted at editor@insurgent49.com |
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June 9, 2006 June 2, 2006 May 26, 2006 May 12, 2006 May 5, 2006 April 28, 2006 April 21, 2006 April 14, 2006 April 7, 2006 March 31, 2006 March 24, 2006 March 17, 2006 March 3, 2006 February 24, 2006 February 17, 2006 February 10, 2006 February 3, 2006 January 27, 2006 January 20, 2006 January 13, 2006 January 6, 2006 December 30, 2005 December 23, 2005 December 16, 2005 December 10, 2005 December 2, 2005 November 25, 2005 November 18, 2005 November 11, 2005 November 4, 2005 October 28, 2005 October 21, 2005 October 14, 2005 October 7, 2005 September 30, 2005 September 23, 2005 September 16, 2005 September 9, 2005 September 2, 2005 August 26, 2005 August 19, 2005 August 12, 2005 August 5, 2005 July 29, 2005 July 22, 2005 July 15, 2005 July 8, 2005 July 1, 2005 June 24, 2005 June 17, 2005 June 10, 2005 June 3, 2005 May 27, 2005 May 20, 2005 May 13, 2005 May 6, 2005 April 28, 2005 April 21, 2005 April 14, 2005 April 7, 2005 April 1, 2005 |
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