Another Straw Man

While I was driving through the remote desert between LA and Vegas, I was twirling the dial on the Red Shark's radio and caught a fundo Xian station out of Fort Stinking Desert. On it the radiovangelist was railing about the return of the "Fairness Doctrine" if those atheistic commie-pinko liburuls get their way.

He ranted and raved about his station having to give equal time to atheists and satanists if the doctrine is reinstated, and followed it up (naturally) with a plea for money to fight the commie bastards every step of the way.

It would be funny were it not so sad. I could just picture his listeners, huddled around their cheap transistor radios in the shade of their 1950s-era trailers, wondering where their next meal was coming from but not worrying about it since they'll send the money they'd use to buy it to this suit-wearing charlatan.

Even in the hey-day of the Doctrine, religious broadcasters were pretty much exempt, and there are no plans to change that now. Even the modest proposals for a return to the Doctrine -- which have gone nowhere -- have not included religious broadcasters.

Not that they shouldn't be included. I'm sick and tired of the fundo Xians in this country skirting the constitutional separation of church and state, and I'd like to see them start paying taxes if they are going to be politically active on the part of the Rethug party (as I would if they were active on the part of the Dems).

But this is just another classic "straw man" argument, something that the wingnuttery has elevated to an art form.