Fake news reporter Jon Stewart became the inadvertent center of controversy when a Washington native was asked to leave a Southwest Airlines flight during a stopover in Reno, Nevada.
On October 6, Lorrie Heasley, a lumber saleswomen from Woodland, Washington was flying home from Los Angeles when the airline asked her to cover her t-shirt. When she declined to have her shirt censured, Heasley was removed from the plane.
Southwest's spokeperson Marilee McInnis told the Reno Gazette-Journal that the airline will deny boarding based on decency issues. Unfortunately, they failed to notify Ms. Heasley prior to her initial boarding.
The shirt has awaken a new controversy in our already fragile and fragmented country. When does moral decency take precedence over the freedom of speech guaranteed by our first amendment rights? Sean Hannity of Hannity and Colmes feels that the Constitution must take a back seat when it comes to patriotism, accusing Ms. Heasley of being an idiot on a phone interview during his show.
As to Jon Stewart's connection with the incident, the t-shirt Heasley was wearing had the image of President Bush, Vice President Cheney, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and the phrase "Meet the F*ckers", identical to the title and image of a segment aired on Stewart's Daily Show.
Clearly there is moral outrage to be had and a sense of righteous indignation to be felt regarding this Daily Show shirt incident. I, for one, am personally offended by the "F*cker" shirt debacle. How can anyone and everyone who covered this story and claim to be a reporter fail to recognize the origin of this shirt? It makes me think that investigative reporting really is dead, and it is sad to see that Sean Hannity does not follow Jon Stewart with the same fervency that Mr. Stewart follows his colleague's show.