We don't need no stinkin' first amendment ...

Main Entry: joke
Pronunciation: jOk
Function: noun
Etymology: Latin jocus

1 a : something said or done to provoke laughter; especially : a brief oral narrative with a climactic humorous twist b (1): the humorous or ridiculous element in something (2) :an instance of jesting
2 : something not to be taken seriously

Example: Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Ala., can't take a fucking joke.

There are very few comedians left in the world that I enjoy. Sam Kinnison is dead, Eddie Murphy hasn't has a decent film since 1988, and Dennis Miller sold his soul to the religious right. Maybe it's me. The train of public opinion left with Larry the Cable Guy ... and I just wasn't on board.

I do enjoy watching Bill Maher. I liked Politically Incorrect back then ... and I love Real Time now. He's sharp. He's witty. And that is the problem. He's sharper than the majority of our politicians so, of course, they're threatened by his intelligence, his wit, and (most importantly) his numbers.

If Bill Maher didn't have a following, HBO would make the decision to cancel Real Time themselves ... without any input from Congressman Bachus. After all, HBO is the network that offers us Sex in the City, TaxiCab Confessions, and Deadwood ... a series that boasts 1.27 fucks per minute. Trust me ... intelligent discourse and political humor from Bill Maher isn't even a blip on their "controversy radar."

But who am I to defend Bill Maher? He does it much better himself ...

"And by the way, these "comments" were part of a longer, scripted comedy piece in the modest proposal tradition. I can see why administration supporters would want to deflect attention away from the gist of the piece, which was this: now that we can't meet our recruiting goals, maybe it's the people who were so gung ho for this war to begin with who should step up and go fight it. But of course it's always easier to distract people."

Read the whole statement from Bill Maher before you decide whether or not he's guilty of treason, as Congressman Bachus would have you believe. Better yet, watch the whole show show ... then you'll have an idea of the context and format of his comedy.

We are going to hell in a handbasket, people ... and if we aren't allowed to make a joke without being called treasonous, we're in deeper trouble than I suspected.

You must really consider the circus
It just might be your kind of zoo
I can’t think of a place that’s more perfect
For a person as perfect as you.

The Greatful Dead - Hell in a Bucket