SOCIETY KILLING FREE SPEECH

It's beginning to look like we won't need to wait for Big Brother to remove our freedom of speech. It seems like society is doing it on its own. Check these out:

Livingstone won't apologize for slur
The mayor of London is being asked to "withdraw' the comments he made (which I guess is British for "apologize") describing a Jewish reporter as acting like a Nazi concentration camp guard. The article linked to above at the Jerusalem Post's website, fails to explain how calling a Jewish guy a concentration camp guard is a slur. Yes, it's inappropriate, but a slur is when you call a Jew a "kike" or a black man a "nigger." Telling a black man that he's acting like a slave owner isn't a "slur." It may be insulting, but do we know if it was true? If a person acts without mercy, claiming to be "just following orders" then such a criticism is accurate. Like I said, telling anyone that they are acting like a concentration camp guard (Jew or not) is inappropriate, but do his comments merit a national outcry?

OSCAR HOST CHRIS ROCK SHOCK: ABORTION IN AMERICA IS 'BEAUTIFUL'
This one comes to us directly from Matt Drudge of DrudgeReport.Com--he quotes Chris Rock as saying things like "Only gays watch the Oscars" and "Abortions are Beautiful" and also says Rock "blasted" what Drudge called "heartland Americans" (aka white folks who don't live in cities, aka Bush voters). Here are the quotes as Drudge presents them (emphasis added by me):

"Abortion, it's beautiful, it's beautiful abortion is legal. I love going to an abortion rally to pick up women, cause you know they are f**king," Rock said during his club routine.

And another:

"I never watched the Oscars. Come on, it's a fashion show. What straight black man sits there and watches the Oscars? Show me one!"

Rock added: "Awards for art are f---ing idiotic."

And:

"Weird white guys getting overly patriotic, with their f**king flag hats on," Rock said.

"I am not scared of al Qaeda, I am scare of f**king al Cracker."

Now, that last one cracked me up!! The point is, here, that Rock is a comedian. He's being FUNNY. Anyway, so Drudge goes on about how he's really digging a hole for himself in spouting all of this kind of talk before he hosts the Oscars. WHO CARES? Let him say what he wants and if the ratings are lower than last year, then the Academy can find someone else! WHY IS THIS NEWS?

Appeals Court Upholds Ruling in CIA Leak
Remember the case of the CIA agent who had her name released in the press (which is a violation of federal law)? She was the one who just happenned to be married to a guy who spoke out against claims King George was making regarding Saddam and uranium from Niger. Anyway, so these dudes who are reporters should go to jail for releasing this agent's name, not for refusing to give up their sources which is what's happenning here. It's not justive if you go to jail for stuff you did that shouldn't send you to jail. If they did break another law (which they did) then nail them for that. Especially if one of the reporters is Bob Novak.

It seems like every day there is another story about how someone is getting in trouble for something they said.

Whenare we going to realize that words are just words? Words only affect us as much as we let them. No need to start WWX over Chris Rock saying mean things about gays or whatever. International incidents are one thing, I do think politicians should generally watch what they say. However, if something is an honest criticism, let it go. If it pisses off a nation of people for good reason, then that's something else.

Either way, LIGHTEN UP, PEOPLE.

Besides, it's not like Chris Rock is the president and he's talking about how Iran is just spoiling for a fight like someone elsewe know of...

OH YEAH and now parents groups are mobilizing to keep smut off of their kids' mobile phones. (Ha! Get it? mobilizing? Oh, fergetit.)

FCC Wants Children Shielded from Cellphone Smut
Now parents are freaking out because their kids might be able to download pr0n on their phones. Jeez, man--I can barely get my own site to show up on my phone and there are porn sites that can do it? Sheesh.

Here's a clue for parents who have given their kids cell phones: TURN OFF THE INTERNET PART! Most cell phone service providers charge extra to surf the 'net anyway, so they should just cancel that part of the plan--problem solved.