On Board With Kerry, The No-Free-Speech Candidate:

Even his supporters keep saying vote for Kerry because Bush is just so
appallingly awful. I keep looking for a POSITIVE reason to vote for Kerry,
but every day seems to further guarantee that voting for him is going to
instigate the gag reflex.

Previously he distanced himself from the Woopi Goldberg non-scandal of
making a minor joke within a major truth about Bush, & being roundly
criticized for being almost vulgar (even if no more so than Dick "****
You" Cheney). Now there are two comediennes Kerry is distancing himself
from -- Woopi plus Margaret Cho.

Cho was to be a volunteer, unpaid benefit entertainer for the misnomered
"Unity" event by the Human Rights Campaign, which Human Rights turn out
not to included free speech. The (dis)Unity event will coincide with the
Democratic National Convention, & Cho was un-invited to perform because
2) The (dis)Unity fairies thought Cho might be so interesting she would
siphon attention away from the issues of the event (which is not all human
rights, but gay rights); & 2) the (dis)Unity fairies did not want Cho's
raunchiness to reflect on Kerry the way they think Woopi's raunchiness
reflected on Kerry.

The (Dis)Unity fairies first became alarmed when they found out Cho had
been escorted from a show in San Diego for her take on on current events
-- though anyone concerned with even moderate rights would have wanted to
scoot up as close to Cho as they could get, having been hired to speak her
mind comedically then getting escorted outdoors for having done so. Even
the innocuous Linda Rondstat was denied access to her own hotel room after
the Alladin hotel cancelled her performances & escorted her outside merely
for having dedicated a song to Michael Moore. This anti-free-speech
environment is not one that alleged Democrats, Kerry supporters, or anyone
who can even think, should be & pandering to.

If these are the kinds of people supportive of Kerry, there's something
very wrong. When Kerry distances himself even from the simplest issues of
free speech, he proves himself a man unworthy of trust & with no
leadership capacity.

Cho's comedy has been compared to that of Richard Pryor, George Carlin, &
Lenny Bruce, & her brand of humor has also been called "Kinisonian." She
is certainly capable of toning it down & probably would have done so if
asked to (& that would have been bad enough), doing her kids-are-present
or free-tv versions. The nature of her humor has hardly been a secret
until now, but the Human Rights Campaign had no problem with hiring her
until after such anti-free-speech events as her ejection fromn the San
Diego performance, right-wing flack against Woopi Goldberg, or Linda
Ronstadt being fired for a simple song dedication she'd been doing for
weeks. Any kind of "Rights" organization, upon observing such diminishing
of rights, should NOT be out in front of the issue supporting a lack of
rights. Karen Taussig, Cho's manager, said the rescinded invitation was
due to the organization's desire to pander to Kerry who distanced himself
from Woopi & so certainly would not applaud Cho, & the HRC spokesman
indeed referenced the Woopi Goldberg incident as their reason for
cancelling Cho's performance.

Dipshit Mark Shields speaking for the HRC said "The event is designed to
be about the unity of the community behind John Kerry," & in a later
interview said the firing of Cho was "about wanting to keep the focus on
the unity of the gay community." Because, apparently, divisiveness is
unity & war is peace. Dykes 'round here now assum the Human Rights
Campaign is run by a bunch of ****ing sissy nitwits who wouldn't know a
human right if it beat them up in the park. The National Gay & Lesbian
Task Force has justifiably withdrawn from the event not wanting to be part
of an event which is now exclusively identified with No Free Speech
Allowed.

Hooray for the NGLTF -- hiss boo for the Kerry-suckup sissies of the
seriously misnomered Human Rights Campaign. Margaret Cho was last year's
recipient for the Task Force Leadership Award for her ongoing, sincere, &
effective work for the gay & lesbian community; & the ACLU is set to honor
her this coming September with their First Amendment Award. But the Human
Rights Campaign thinks sucking up to the Kerry standard is what matters.

There are now unbounded depths to HRC's merited shame, their devisive
behavior within the gay community, their SELL-OUT to the Kerry campaign's
lowest behavior, & their desire to pander the Bush ideal of free speech
excluding comics like Woopi & Margert & singers like Linda -- though of
course it's fine that Dennis Miller tells anti-fag jokes about
Kerry/Edwards at Bush fundraising events & rallies.

For the Task Force statement of support for Cho, & Cho's publicity release
on this topic, see this page:
http://www.commondreams.org/news2004/0722-03.htm

If Kerry had any sense he'd have his people on the horn to get BOTH Woopi
AND Margaret at the Convention, slapping the no-free-speech thugs in their
collective faces. But nooooooo, his people want DISTANCE.

It gets harder every day, but I have to keep reminding myself, with Bush
the other option, even a dog's pecker wearing a straw hat would be a
better choice. So give Kerry a straw hat.

-paghat the ratgirl

--
"Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher.
"Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature.
-from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers"
Visit the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com