This Bird Has Flown

First the FCC OKs some uses of "fuck" on tv.

Now, a Texas court has ruled that giving someone the middle finger may be crude and rude, but it's legal.

[Link via Drudge]

Comments

[George S. Patton]

Tom from Texas,

I read the Bible every Goddamned day!

[bughunter]

This just brings us one step closer to the day when we can see celebrity nipples on Entertainment Tonite.

Which is the norm for most of the rest of the world...

And Elsa Klensch's Style (on CNN)...

[Douglas Fletcher]

Former Maryland Governor Donald Schaefer once ran the tags on a motorist who flipped him off in traffic, then went to the guy's house the next day and gave him a piece of his mind.

It must have a been a weird experience for the flipper but it was a lot cheaper than what that guy in Texas had to go through. I wonder if all these attempts to inhibit public rudeness might go down easier if, instead of being fined, you had to listen to somebody's nutty grandpa lecture you for five minutes on not being rude.

Well, that's enough social engineering for one day.

[Douglas Fletcher]

"...that's not a dangerous job, a wise man once wrote, it's a calling."

That wasn't a wise man, that was me who wrote that. Yesterday.

[david f]

yup. but for the scheisse video person who performs with cartman's mom, it was a good line...

[Douglas Fletcher]

I'm out of my depth on this one. Sayonara.

[Brad S]

Good decision by the Texas court. Rudeness may be unbecoming, and there's no reason to encourage it. However, there's a big problem afoot when we start making it flat-out illegal to be rude.

[david f]

when life starts to resemble south park episodes, you know you're in a great era.

[Concerned Citizen]

david f,

I was thinking about either a DP Moynihan quote (i.e., defining deviancy down) or something from Gibbon's "Decline and Fall", but I can't improve on South Park. As H. Ross once told his fave talk show host, "it's just sad, Larry."

[david f]

"As H. Ross once told his fave talk show host, 'it's just sad, Larry.'"

well spake...

happytreefriends.com

russell and lumpy are my favorites. if the episode "get whale soon" is up, that's the best one!

drf

(p.s., go cubbies... sigh.)

[Eric Cartman]

Goddammit, why has everything today involved something either going into or coming out of my ass?!!!!

[Kyle]

Cartman, your ass is so fat, when you walk down the street people say, "Goddam! Look at that fat ass!"

[scheisse-video]

ohhh -- cartman, your mom looks hot in this month's edition of crack whore magazine.

that's not a dangerous job, a wise man once wrote, it's a calling.

[Brady]

haha, some guy called 911 cause he was flipped off! i think he should have been arrested for tying up the emergency line.

[Tom from Texas]

In my small-town weekly-newspaper-reporter days, I once covered a case where a former mayor filed "visual assault" charges against a teenager who flipped him off at an intersection.

The police hard a hard time finding exactly where in the lawbooks "visual assault" was listed. There was also debate on whether the finger meant "Go fuck yourself" or "Fuck you" and whether that was enough for the mayor to feel anally threatened by the teen.

Everyone had a hard time keeping a straight face through the proceedings, which lasted about 10 minutes and ended with the judge telling the kid to go home and read the Bible, and the former mayor to go home stop being such an asshole.

[david f]

hey Tom,

a good cure for all!

cheers!

drf

[Mark A.]

"This Bird Has Flown" -- isn't this the subtitle of the Beatles' "Norwegian Wood"?

[nm156]

Okay new contest! Commencing 2 November, all H&R posters are to attempt to decipher the various musical references contained in the topic headlines until 2400 hrs on 8 November. MOst correct answers wins bragging rights (unless, of course, our friendly hosts want to come up with a prize). Any takers?