A Modest Solution…

I originally posted the following information and commentary onto my Facebook wall…

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg

Blood-Soaked Mayor Bloomberg Announces Homelessness No Longer A Problem In New York City:
http://www.theonion.com/articles/bloodsoaked-mayor-bloomberg-announces-homelessness,34224/

My Commentary: Why should the American government limit itself to murder as foreign policy, when it can easily be used solve domestic problems, too?

(note: in order to curtail any possible efforts to debunk the linked article, I’ll point out that it is actual a satire)

That Awkward Moment When Someone Attempts to Debunk Satire as “Fake” and a “Hoax”

The following debate originally took place upon my Facebook wall…

Picture of irony: a smug, humorless Paul Krugman fails to grasp the subtle nuances of satire, even while being well-versed in sarcasm

RaynPaul Krugman Declares Personal Bankruptcy:
http://dailycurrant.com/2013/03/06/paul-krugman-declares-personal-bankruptcy/

Economist and columnist Paul Krugman declared personal bankruptcy today following a failed attempt to spend his way out of debt.

In a Chapter 13 filing to the United States Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York, lawyers for Krugman listed $7,346,000 in debts versus $33,000 in assets.

(Read entire article here…)

Kevin B.Breitbarted, (fake bankruptcy article) by Paul Krugman:
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/11/breitbarted/

Rayn: Wait… I’m confused, now. I thought this article was supposed to be a parody, not a real news story!

I mean, just look at these two paragraphs:

“The filing says that Krugman got into credit card trouble in 2004 after racking up $84,000 in a single month on his American Express black card in pursuit of rare Portuguese wines and 19th century English cloth

Rather than tighten his belt and pay the sums back, the pseudo-Keynesian economist decided to ‘stimulate’ his way to a personal recovery by investing in expenses he hoped would one day boost his income.”

I laughed my ass off while reading it!

Rayn: *whew* Okay. I’m not bugging out!

http://dailycurrant.com/about/

According to the “about” section:

“The Daily Currant is an English language online satirical newspaper that covers global politics, business, technology, entertainment, science, health and media. It is accessible from over 190 countries worldwide – now including South Sudan.

Our mission is to ridicule the timid ignorance which obstructs our progress, and promote intelligence – which presses forward.”

Another Modest Proposal?

The following correspondence originally took place upon my Facebook wall…

Jenny D.That Mitchell and Webb Look – Kill All The Poor:

Rayn: Dang! For some reason, the short story, “A Modest Proposal,” written in 1729 by Jonathan Swift, comes to mind! If you have some time, check it out:
http://art-bin.com/art/omodest.html

Owning a Slave-Mastering Monster Through Satire

I originally posted the following information and commentary onto my Facebook wall…

Jourdan Anderson completely owns his former "master"

Free man, Jourdan Anderson, completely owns his former “master”

In Rediscovered Letter From 1865, Former Slave Tells Old Master To Shove It:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/01/in-recently-discovered-le_n_1247288.html

(Trymaine Lee) In the summer of 1865, a former slave by the name of Jourdan Anderson sent a letter to his former master. And 147 years later, the document reads as richly as it must have back then.

The roughly 800-word letter, which has resurfaced via various blogs, websites, Twitter and Facebook, is a response to a missive from Colonel P.H. Anderson, Jourdan’s former master back in Big Spring, Tennessee. Apparently, Col. Anderson had written Jourdan asking him to come on back to the big house to work.

(Read entire article here…)

My Commentary: This is an awesome use of satire, and because of its tone, I have no doubt that Jourdan’s former monster of a “master” read the letter through-and-through: a pretty good measure of its success! 🙂