high fire hazard this fourth of july due to multiple straw men

This morning, the Amarillo Globe-Republican Ghost— aw, hell, let's just call him by his real name— David Henry the Wingnut shot rubber bullets at a fave Republican target: the ACLU. And like all rubber/glue situations, Dave, your bullets

bounced off the ACLU
and stuck to you.

Dave sez:

The American Civil Liberties Union continues to pick and choose what liberties it considers worth a fight. After ACLU legal pressure, the Webb City R-7 School District in Missouri decided Thursday to revoke its ban on T-shirts with pro-gay messages. One student, with the message "I'm gay and I'm proud" on his T-shirt, said he was glad he could now express himself. That's fine, but we wonder if the ACLU would have involved itself in a lawsuit against the school district had the student wanted to wear a T-shirt with the message, "I'm Christian and I'm proud." Doubtful. If anything, the ACLU would have sued to prevent the student from "expressing himself." It seems there are rights that must be protected, and then there are those that must be restricted. How uncivil.

Hm. See, Dave, it's really not a good debate tactic to just make up your opponent's position. It's called debating a straw man, but usually people at least ascribe straw man arguments to a more vague opponent like "Democrats" or "libruhls". Putting words in mouths of specific people or groups is ungentlepersonly and possibly libelous, not to mention piss-poor journalism. But while we're at it:

The Amarillo Globe-Republican continues to lie and distort the positions of the newspaper's political opponents. After corporate pressure, the AG-R Opinion page editor John Kanelis decided Thursday to turn over all editorial chores to Dave Henry, the rightmost member of the editorial staff. Dave the Wingnut, with the message "I'm against civil liberties and I'm proud" on his T-shirt, said he was glad he could now express himself but even more glad that no one else could; he proceeded to print anti-ACLU diatribes sourced only by the ouija board the Wingnut keeps under his desk. "ACLU Killed Jimmy Hoffa!" Dave the Wingnut fumed on the Opinion page.

That's fine, but we wonder if Dave would have printed such invective directed against the ACLU had the union been engaged in one of its battles supporting the right of the Ku Klux Klan to march. Doubtful. If anything, the Wingnut would joined in the ACLU's suit supporting the right of the KKK to "express itself." It seems there are rights that Dave the Wingnut wants to protect, and then there are those that he wants to restrict. How uncivil.

See how that works, Dave? Not so fun being the straw man is it?

SPACEDARK