Where is the anger over this!?

[12th Doctor]

I'm Going to Kill the President the Play is all the rage among Liberals in NYC.

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2004/8/10/92740.shtml

Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2004 9:25 a.m. EDT
NYC Welcomes GOP With 'Kill the President' Play

In advance of the GOP convention at the end of this month, New York City is being plastered with stickers that read "I'm Gonna Kill the President" - supposedly an advertisement for a new off-Broadway play staged by the anti-war protest group United for Peace and Justice.

"It's the name of a new comedy to run in the East Village during the Republican Convention," WABC Radio's George Weber reported Tuesday morning.

Weber called the box office to find out what could be funny about the murder of an American president, and got this recorded response:
"Howdy," chirped a spokesman. "You've reached the information and instruction hotline for 'I'm Gonna Kill the President - a Federal Offense."

The unidentified voice goes on to explain that the play is the story of a young man's plot to kidnap the president in hopes of sparking a revolution that installs a puppet Democracy - featuring real puppets.

The play also includes an audience participation segment where theater-goers are supposed to crank call the White House to demand that President Bush end the war in Iraq.

"If you're some kind of law enforcement agent or official, hang up now," the information hotline concludes. "There's nothing illegal happening here. Just some old-fashioned, constitutionally sanctioned fun."

After Weber's report, WABC's "Curtis & Kuby Show" was deluged with callers outraged over the radical thespian stunt.

Even Communist lawyer-turned-commentator Ron Kuby sounded irked, explaining, "Generally speaking, you cannot directly threaten the president's life." While the play might be "on the proper side of the First Amendment," he said, "it's not by much."

---------------------------

Before anyone says anything, who gives a crap if it is reported by NewsMax?  It is still true.

[elcorazon]

I don't understand the article.  

[Defarge]

So?

[The Duke]

I don't understand the article.  

How can you not understand it?  Its very straightforward.  The anti-war crowd is now putting on a play where killing an elected official is treated as a joke.

So?

So, its Federal Crime to threaten the President's life, you dumb@$$.

[??????????]

This is clearly an example of sedition if I've ever seen one.

[Posterity]

"If you're some kind of law enforcement agent or official, hang up now," the information hotline concludes. "There's nothing illegal happening here. Just some old-fashioned, constitutionally sanctioned fun."

Nothing illegal?  Threatening to kill someone is fun?  What are these people thinking?  Unbelievable!  I'm sure the FBI will be paying them a nice little visit.

[Fritz]

Was I supposed to be angry about this?

If it were a serious threat, that would be one thing, and if that were the case I would agree with you all.  But this is obviously not a serious threat.  You are giving it more attention than it deserves.

[Defarge]

I don't understand the article.  

How can you not understand it?  Its very straightforward.  The anti-war crowd is now putting on a play where killing an elected official is treated as a joke.

So?

So, its Federal Crime to threaten the President's life, you dumb@$$.

Indeed it is.  But I see no one threatening anyone here.  I merely see satire.  Very funny satire, one must admit, considering that the whole point of this exercise is to create this exact reaction from you conservatives.

[agcatter]

Libs have no problem with this for sure,  Trouble is, it plays right into the hands of Republicans.  Swing voters don't like this sort of thing.

[Akno21]

It's all a joke. Calm down.

[Giant Saguaro]

Tasteless and shameful, there's no low to which they won't stoop. You cannot threaten the President's life and I hope every one of these people is checked head to toe by the law. At least people got angry about it, though. Now they need to take it a step further and make this news, put the spotlight on it. That's what needs to happen. But they won't probably because they're "thespians" and they're just practicing free speech! Sure, so are the swift boat vets, but they're not even allowed to say Kerry wouldn't make a fit President in a book. Sad. I mean this is why I read the other day that from someone's perspective this crowd hates Bush more than bin laden and way more than Hussein. It's just hatred - aren't these people supposed to be about peace and all that? I mean at least with the terrorists you KNOW what side they're on; they don't pretend to be on any side other than the one that's anti-America. Pretty bad when AT LEAST you can give them that compared to people in your own country.

[A18]

Cool ad. Are you sure it wasn't an al Qaeda promotion, though?

[Dr. Cynic]

I don't really care if it's a joke or not. As long as they don't kill him, I don't give a damn about it.

[The Duke]

The following is an abridged version of the conversation we jsut had.

PLAYWRIGHT: I'm going to kill Bush, ha ha ha, just kidding.

CONSERVATIVE: Uh, you know that you just committed a Federal crime, right?

LIBERAL: Come one, you're too uptight about things.

[Defarge]

Tell me where it says "I'm going to kill Bush" where it can be interpreted at all seriously.

Conservatives are so predictable, which makes arguing even more fruitless

[Gabu]

Yes, it's in poor taste, but it's obviously a satire looking for shock value, which is exactly what it got.  Nobody has said that they're going to kill Bush.  "I'm Gonna Kill the President" is the title of the play.

I find it amazing how conservatives always accuse liberals of being against free speech but then want this charged as an act of sedition.

[Nation]

Agreed, Gabu. Poor taste, yes, but it certainly riles the feathers of conservatives, which is always a hoot.

[Dr. Cynic]

Conservatives are funny when they are mad. Plays and movies that are satire always make someone mad. Just relax and roll with it.

[Q]

This is such crap.  The fringe loonies like these bring the political process to the lowest common denominator.  Why can't obviously-creative people engage in thoughtful political debate instead, and perhaps be taken seriously?

[stry_cat]

Nobody has said that they're going to kill Bush.  

I can show that this statement is false.

They're saying:

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Now the word "Gonna" is (according to dictionary.com) informal usage and is a contract of "going to."    The word "President" (again according to dictionary.com) can mean "The chief executive of the United States, serving as both chief of state and chief political executive. "  I know some people don't keep up with these things, but the current President's name is Bush.

So...as far as I can tell what is being said is that they're going to kill Bush.  

Now I do agree that Bush is the problem, but we should not defend these people by telling everyone that they're not saying what they're really saying.  

[Giant Saguaro]

Uh excuse me, but HELLO! Hello, people, lefties, it is a crime to threaten to kill the President. The fact that it is "the President," emphasis on the, implies THIS President. Because what other President could it be, especially considering the context in which this sorry excuse for a play or story is written?

This is not satire. Satire is a literary work (or film) holding up the shortcomings and vices of humanity for ridicule. Okay, since killing the President is a bad thing, maybe it's a satire on these people and how extreme their views are. In that light, it might be all that bad. Only if it were written from that point of view.

[Dr. Cynic]

It doesn't imply this President, so therefore it's not a crime. It just says the President. It could be 20 years in the future, or whatever. I've seen shows that discuss the same topic. The characters are different, so It's not a federal crime to put on a satire like this, and yes, it's satire, because both sides are held in Negative light.

[Giant Saguaro]

It doesn't imply this President, so therefore it's not a crime. It just says the President. It could be 20 years in the future, or whatever. I've seen shows that discuss the same topic. The characters are different, so It's not a federal crime to put on a satire like this, and yes, it's satire, because both sides are held in Negative light.

Well, we disagree. It clearly implies this President if for no other reason than the calling of the White House over the Iraq war that they want to have happen. It references things going on now, these people have a visceral hatred of this President, so yes it does imply him.

You know, you would have to work pretty hard to make this fit the definition of satire. You would have to bend it up pretty good and do a lot of theorizing to make it fit. This is vile and reactionary, anyway; satire is thoughtful, reaches a broad audience, and is quite comical. That's not to say there is no shock value in satire - there certainly can be, and you can look at 18th century reaction to Swift's A Modest Proposal to understand that, which is, of course, considered an early example of satire. Like I said, I can see reading this as satirical on the idiots who want to assassinate the President, but that's obviously not how they want it to be read. I mean how is it funny outside of that? Killing the President is funny?

[Dr. Cynic]

The idea is a bunch of idiots want to kill an idiot President. Neither side is portrayed well, and I suppose we'll continue to disagree.

[The Duke]

The idea is a bunch of idiots want to kill an idiot President. Neither side is portrayed well, and I suppose we'll continue to disagree.

As if killing an diiot president is okay, but if he were smarter you'd be outraged.