Tuesday, October 25, 2005

WorldNetDaily: Franken 'attacks' right-wing critic

Specifically, he made a skit, under the sponsorship of Amazon.com, in which he kicks a man in the groin, smashed a stool on his back, and then stood by while another person cracks a bottle over the man's head. And how had this man offended? By giving Al Franken's book one star instead of five in Amazon's rating system.

Excuse me, but I always thought that physical violence was out-of-bounds in public discourse. What kind of author uses physical violence to sell his work? What kind of store makes itself an accessory to such an appalling suggestion?

This isn't about Al Franken anymore. This isn't even about his failing radio network stealing vast sums of money from a charity.

This is about a movement effectively declaring itself bankrupt in the marketplace of ideas, and now using physical threats to make their point. Just reading the description of the skit is bad enough; actually playing it is another. (I warn you: the linked video contains images of three counts of assault and battery and two counts of assault with deadly weapons. Parental judgment and discretion are advised.)

I ask you: why hasn't someone arrested Al Franken for the making of terroristic threats and incitement to riot? What does this say of the type of person who would actually respond positively to "advertising campaigns" of this kind? To paraphrase Fox News, I just make the links available. You decide.