Let's all take our seats now for the Two Minutes Hate

Yes I've been reading 1984

No I hadn't read it until now

Yes I should be ashamed as I've consumed fuck-all of things that were inspired by it.

But enough of that. Take your seats.

The Jena Six case is an outrage. Even if one assumes the best about everyone. If DA Reed Walter was actually talking to the entire crowd and not just the black students when he said "I could end your life with a stroke of the pen," it doesn't change that he should taste the fucking curb.

And the media have fucked it up. And not only by the lack of mainstream coverage. Everyone else has it skewed. And while I expect no one to be neutral about racism, I would like to hear that of the hundred people summoned for jury duty, only half responded, all white. For that matter I'd like to know if there were black people who didn't respond, which I have yet to find anywhere. I'd also like to hear that no witness, black or white connected the beating to the noose incident. Yes, it was the result of racial tension following the incident, but that's not the point. The reporting of this matter has either been nonexistent or inflammatory

The three students who hung the nooses should have been given much harsher punishment than three-day in school suspension. The school board was clearly prejudiced. And their cutting down the tree was clearly an effort to stop the black kids from getting uppity. But the fact remains that these boys ambushed and beat a single student to the point of unconsciousness. A single student who'd laughed at one of their friends getting beaten up. I won't say I wouldn't have clocked the kid, but what they did was cowardly and appalling.

It wasn't, however, attempted murder. And you know what I said about assuming the best about Reed Walter? Yup. Yank it. Add "Racist" to whatever I was calling him before... oh right. a fascist. Hey, that rhymes, kinda sorta...

Much has been made of the attorney who didn't call any witnesses. Not much has been made of the fact that he was black. Because it doesn't advance the story.

Racism is a real problem in this country. And it's all over this case. Reporters who skew the story? Part of the problem. Those eager to ignore the ugly truth will do so when presented with the smallest stimulus. And the misreporting here certainly qualifies.

All said, it's interesting how the racism of a shock jock gets national coverage for months and this gets jack shit.

Speaking of Don Imus, it's rumored he'll be back. I have nothing more to say about him substance-wise. Thing is, I still want to insult him, and I don't want to be repetititve.

Here goes.

Don Imus may be the ugliest famous person in the world.

Exhibit A:



Exhibit B:



You be the judge.

It should be noted that the only people who didn't like the Elephant Man were assholes.

Speaking of assholes, I've got issues with the "My Anti-Drug" people. Here's the transcript of a radio ad I heard today.

Note that "your kids' MP3 player" doesn't talk about songs that glorify drug use. So Bob Dylan, the Stones, SOAD, Sublime, Nirvana, et all can rest easy. no, it's concerned with blogs and podcasts, specifically referencing this one cat" who says, "weed makes you smarter ‘cause it makes your brain bigger."

"You don't want your kid listening to fools like that... come on now"

Now there are people who have jumped to conclusions about this study, and that's a legit grievance. But I know for a fact that my parents have never heard of the study, and I doubt I'm in the minority here. The message is clear here. The Reefer Madness crowd doesn't want people to read the opposition, and they're taking strides to immunize people against legitimate arguments. Moreover they're ENCOURAGING PARENTS TO CENSOR THE POLITICAL CONTENT OF THEIR KIDS' ONLINE ACTIVITIES.

I'm trying to think of a better use of taxpayer dollars than ads attacking a drug that fights Alzheimer's and is far and away one of the most effective painkillers there is minus the side-effects. A little help?

I wonder what Orwell would have said about what WikiScanner is finding. For those unfamiliar, it's a program that tracks Wikipedia edits made by certain IP ranges. Quite a few major corporations have been waging disinformation campaigns and now they're getting caught. And what do you know? Fox News is leading the way, whitewashing pages about their personalities and trashing sworn enemies such as Keith Olberman Here are some interesting edits that were found...

Mitt Romney on Iowa's courts striking down Defense of Marriage:

"The ruling in Iowa today is another example of an activist court and unelected judges trying to redefine marriage and disregard the will of the people as expressed through Iowa's Defense of Marriage Act."

Here's the secret. Not a single fucking politician actually believes this. They know that the Constitution was designed to prevent tyranny of the majority, and they know that the majority has no right to restrict the rights of the individual. They lash out at activist judges because that's what their people want to hear and so that they can cast their opponents as undemocratic and it's fucking sickening.

Ok, so this is more than two minutes.

Sue me