WHY I DON’T CARE IF SEAN HANNITY GETS WATERBOARDED

If you haven’t heard, Sean Hannity has said he’s willing to be waterboarded on camera and for charity to prove that it’s a harmless way of getting The Enemy to talk.

That was four days ago. Sean’s probably trying to work out which faith-based charity wouldn’t mind getting proceeds earned from a guy willing to endure torture just to prove that it’s not.

My initial reaction was that, if Hannity ever actually goes through with it, it will certainly be Must-See-TV, if only for the chance to see Sean Hannity cry like a baby.

However, giving it some thought, I’ve decided that Hannity getting waterboarded, satisfying as it might be, is ultimately no big deal.

Here’s why.

1. It’s already been done.

Fox News’ Steve Harrigan did the same stunt three years ago and marveled at how effective yet harmless it was. Christopher Hitchens (who previously advocated waterboarding) had himself waterboarded last year and concluded that by God it IS torture. Note that one of these people had the freedom to draw whatever conclusions he liked.

2. It won’t prove anything.

The official conservative position on waterboarding and torture generally falls into two narrow, simplistic and contradictory camps: (1) “Waterboarding isn’t torture because it’s nicer and more civilized than thumbscrews and red-hot pokers up yr ass,” and (2) “Even if it is torture, who the fuck cares as long as we use it on terrorists who deserve anything we do to them no matter how cruel it is, and if torturing 100 Muslims saves just one American life (even if 99 of those Muslims were innocent) it’s still worth it!”

Both the Harrigan and Hitchens demos have been used to back these points, respectively. So no matter what happens to Hannity, Fox News wins, even before you consider the ratings bonanza they’ll get from it. Indeed. You could charge Super Bowl prices for a 30-second spot on the “Sean Hannity Waterboard Adventure”.

Which makes sense, because in the end it’s just a media stunt to boost Hannity’s ego and further his agenda. And when it’s over, no one will be any wiser for it.

EDITOR’S NOTE: If it’s wisdom you seek, I recommend the Hitchens write-up. It’s probably the most balanced assessment of both sides of the torture debate you’ll read, and makes it clear that the torture question is a LOT more complex than simpletons like Hannity like to make it look.

That’s entertainment,

This is dF

I TAKE MY COFFEE LIKE I TAKE MY PLAYTIME GEAR: BLACK AND SHINY

ITEM [via Violet Blue]: SF Weekly journalist Matt Smith brags about his role in having fetish porn site Kink.com kicked out of a California state funded, nonprofit job enhancement training program – simply because he’s positive that all of the people you see in BDSM/fetish porn are either Evil or the victims of Evil, and that yr taxes shouldn't pay for Evil.

Not that he ever actually asked anyone who works at or for Kink.com (all of whom are also taxpayers). Cos, you know, they’d just lie about it and stuff.

So, as a public service, Team Def provides balance to the Force in 3, 2, 1 ...



PS: Smith has apparently been getting a lot of negative coverage and commentary for his hack job. He’s been responding with the lame My First Amendment Rights Are Bigger Than Yr First Amendment Rights defense – i..e. “My First Amendment right to say what I want means yr not allowed to criticize me for it”.

Sounds like someone needs to cut back on the caffeine, etc etc.

DISCLAIMER: Okay, I admit all this is an excuse to post that picture. But I happened to see this story on Tiny Nibbles and thought it was worth passing on, as people like Matt Smith annoy the almighty f*** out of me.

Take five,

This is dF