.

So come to find out, a casting call went out for actors with a ‘hicky’ look to do a Republican commercial.  To put icing on that cake, the hickys were supposed to be Republicans.

A Republican ad that shows a couple of regular-looking guys commiserating in a diner about West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin (D) turns out to have been shot with actors, from a script, in Philadelphia.

But not just any actors: “We are going for a ‘Hicky’ Blue Collar look,” read the casting call for the ad, being aired by the National Republican Senatorial Committee. “These characters are from West Virginia so think coal miner/trucker looks.”

“Well hell, if I had known about that ….,” whined Buck Pochek this morning when he overheard Juanita and Thelma talking about it, “I wouldn’t be here fixing your commode.  I would be right up there with Brad and Angelina as a star of stage and screen.”

Buck is uber-hicky.  And he, of course, is a Republican.

Thelma, on the other hand, thought they meant hickys like are on your neck after a night of passion in the backseat of a 1996 Cadillac on the parking lot at the VFW Hall.  Thelma wanted to be a teevee star, too, so she was trying to use the vacuum cleaner to give herself hickys.

“Good Lord, are you trying to tell me that they couldn’t find regular Republican hicks in damn West Virginia?  They had to hire actors to play hicks in damn West Virginia?  That’s almost sad,” Juanita says.

.

I have  strong feelings about the First Amendment.

I know this is going to hack-off a lot of my friends, but I believe that no speech abridging means no speech abridging.  Period.

I am far more aware than most people that unacceptable behavior at a funeral is painfully unacceptable.  I know that hate speech can hurt people.  I know that.  You don’t have to tell me that.

But I am not willing to allow anybody – especially this Supreme Court – define ‘unacceptable.’  If we let them do that, I will have to shuddup by noon today.

I believe that we progressives have to be the ones to stand up for free speech, because we would be the first they would shut down.

I have the right to be wrong, to be rude, to be provocative, to be outrageous, and to be obnoxious.  If I have that right, everyone does.  If am not willing to defend until my death the right of someone to speak words that I  find morally reprehensible and disgusting, then I am not a believer in the foundations of democracy.

I have to be willing to accept the consequences of my speech.  I can get fired.  I can lose friends.  I can get punched in the nose.  But one of those consequences cannot be that my government comes and arrests me and puts me in prison.

Okay, I’ll put the soapbox away and get back to sassy free speech.

.

Our friend Bragg sent this and I couldn’t ignore it!

.

There’s an ongoing battle in Harris County over voter registration, complete with writ twits throwing reams of paper at each other and a Tea party group swearing up and down that “The New Black Panthers” are involved and something really, really bad is gonna happen like maybe Armageddon on steroids.

“There’s a new black panthers?” Thelma asked.

“No,” Juanita replied, “but they couldn’t blame it on Jane Fonda so that was the best they could come up with to scare white people.”

“It seems that the Tea Party does not believe that Democrats should be out registering poor people or dark people to vote.  All voter registration should be done at the country club,  country music concerts, or the AARP meetings,” Juanita announces as she rolls Verdelia’s new perm.

“To its everlasting benefit, the Texas Demcoratic Party is being a brick wall on this and has filed suit to shut up the scaredy cats.  Democrats are perfectly within their rights to register voters and they’re doing a good job of it — too good in Republican’s minds.”

“So, to stop them from continuing this horrible unAmerican activity of registering poor people, the Republicans have reared up and started a rumor that the Democrats are doing something illegal and they all might go to jail if the Republican – repeat, Republican – state attorney general has his way.”

“Woo woo, is that the best Halloween mask you got Tea Partiers,” Juanita laughs.

“I think that what the scardey cat Tea Partiers forget is that they themselves are motivated by fear.  Fear doesn’t work on progressives.  In fact, we are progressives because we have courage,” Juanita says.

I think she’s right.

.

“Now we have scientific proof that Republicans are full of hot air.  Ever since Republicans took over Texas, the heat index has risen.  Don’t argue with me – it’s science,” Juanita told everybody as she marched into the salon this morning, coffee and make-up case in tow.

Triple-digit temperatures will be the norm in Texas within a few decades, and 115-degree heat won’t be surprising, according to the state climatologist.

Two unusually warm summers — in South Texas in 2009 and North Texas this year — are signs of what’s ahead, he said. A recent Texas A&M University news release said the heat could bring water shortages, more severe droughts, crop failures and more difficulty controlling air pollution. Farmers will need to irrigate more.

“Every time Rick Perry opens his mouth, a crop of corn withers.  I hope he’s happy,” she snorts.

“So, maybe JR Labbe owes the Gov an apology after she walloped him upside the head for his ignorant and arrogant behavior last week in front of editorial boards from across the state.”

Gov. Rick Perry managed to embarrass himself, his host and his state in front of a room full of editorial writers from across the country who were in Dallas last month for the National Conference of Editorial Writers’ annual meeting.

On second thought, I take that back. I don’t think there’s much that embarrasses Perry.

The governor’s handlers have known for more than a year that an invitation to address the editorial writers included a Q&A session. Convention Chair Keven Ann Willey of The Dallas Morning News, which hosted the four-day conference, has the signed event contract saying as much.

How do I know? The Star-Telegram was a convention sponsor, and I served on the planning committee.

But two days before the Sept. 23 luncheon speech — a date and time that Perry’s staff selected — the guv’s peeps informed Willey he wouldn’t be taking questions. The reason? No time. Other commitments. Gotta run. So sorry.

“JR, consider this,” Juanita continued, “at the rate Perry’s going with this hot air business, he’d have singed eyebrows by answering questions.”

“And JR, if you’re wondering why Perry skipped the print media and went into the hallway to talk to the teevee cameras, it’s because he’s prettier than he is smart.”