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Emmet C. Burns is an idiot
Sep. 8th, 2012 05:58 pmNot just for his overreaching attempt to silence someone because doesn’t like the bully pulpit fame made possible, lots of people do that. Burns is a Maryland legislator. He took exception to a member of the Baltimore Raven’s speaking out in favor of same-sex marriage. Ok, he’s allowed.
What he did in response, straight up stupid. He wrote a letter, to the owner of the franchise telling him to muzzle the players.
That’s a public servant, using his office (and some implied threats, which I left out) to try to muzzle someone else. To stifle his exercise of First Amendment rights, by means of that person’s boss.
Got that? He asked a team owner to ...take the necessary action, as a National Football Franchise Owner, to inhibit such expressions from your employee . Further he described them as, “injurious”. In what way? The only way I can see is injurious to his attempts to keep same-sex marriage from being recognised in Maryland, i.e. injurious to his political agenda.
He also thought that making his attempt to quash someone’s rights known to the media was a good idea. So he’s an idiot at least twice over.
Chris Kluwe, a punt-kicker for the Minnesota Vikings took, quite reasonable offense at that, and took the time to respond. It’s an intereseting letter. It’s not polite. Which is fine. Anyone who so abuses his office, and so fundamentally fails to understand what his role as a delegate to a legislature is; who attempts to use his governmental office (he wrote that letter on his official letterhead paper... it was a formal communication as a politician) doesn’t deserve to be coddled. It’s also, if you look past the verbiage, and the rhetorical style, very much to the point.
By using your position as an elected official (when referring to your constituents so as to implicitly threaten the Ravens organization) to state that the Ravens should "inhibit such expressions from your employees," more specifically Brendon Ayanbadejo, not only are you clearly violating the First Amendment, you also come across as a narcissistic fromunda stain. What on earth would possess you to be so mind-boggingly stupid? It baffles me that a man such as yourself, a man who relies on that same First Amendment to pursue your own religious studies without fear of persecution from the state, could somehow justify stifling another person's right to speech. To call that hypocritical would be to do a disservice to the word. Mindfucking obscenely hypocritical starts to approach it a little bit.
He’s right. If someone were to send such a letter, in the reverse, to someone; saying they ought not use their pulpit to speak on (insert social issue here) and should inhibit their parishioners from doing the same, Mr. Burns would be up in arms; raging against the suppression of religious liberty. Brendon Ayanbadejo is famous. He can’t make a political statement and have his status as a football player disappear. So Burns is asking the Ravens to fire anyone who speaks out on politics in a way he doesn’t like. That’s what the inclusion of, “injurious” means.
I can only hope that Mr. Burns is not returned by his constituents. I would like to think, no matter what they think of same-sex marriage, that they are appalled by someone who is so lacking in the basic understandings of how the world works, how the gov’t he is a part of is supposed to function, and who is opposed to actually having people take part in politics.
What he did in response, straight up stupid. He wrote a letter, to the owner of the franchise telling him to muzzle the players.
As a Delegate to the Maryland General Assembly, and a Baltimore Ravens Football fan I find it inconceivable that one of your players, Mr. Brendon Ayanbadejo, would publicly endorse Same-Sex marriage, Specifically as a Raven Football player....
I am requesting that you take the necessary action, as a National Football Franchise Owner, to inhibit such expressions from your employee and that he cease and desist such injurious actions. I know of no other NFL player who has done what Mr Ayambedejo[sic] is doing.
Please give me your immediate response.
Sincerely
(signed)
Emmet C. Burns
c.c. Media
That’s a public servant, using his office (and some implied threats, which I left out) to try to muzzle someone else. To stifle his exercise of First Amendment rights, by means of that person’s boss.
Got that? He asked a team owner to ...take the necessary action, as a National Football Franchise Owner, to inhibit such expressions from your employee . Further he described them as, “injurious”. In what way? The only way I can see is injurious to his attempts to keep same-sex marriage from being recognised in Maryland, i.e. injurious to his political agenda.
He also thought that making his attempt to quash someone’s rights known to the media was a good idea. So he’s an idiot at least twice over.
Chris Kluwe, a punt-kicker for the Minnesota Vikings took, quite reasonable offense at that, and took the time to respond. It’s an intereseting letter. It’s not polite. Which is fine. Anyone who so abuses his office, and so fundamentally fails to understand what his role as a delegate to a legislature is; who attempts to use his governmental office (he wrote that letter on his official letterhead paper... it was a formal communication as a politician) doesn’t deserve to be coddled. It’s also, if you look past the verbiage, and the rhetorical style, very much to the point.
By using your position as an elected official (when referring to your constituents so as to implicitly threaten the Ravens organization) to state that the Ravens should "inhibit such expressions from your employees," more specifically Brendon Ayanbadejo, not only are you clearly violating the First Amendment, you also come across as a narcissistic fromunda stain. What on earth would possess you to be so mind-boggingly stupid? It baffles me that a man such as yourself, a man who relies on that same First Amendment to pursue your own religious studies without fear of persecution from the state, could somehow justify stifling another person's right to speech. To call that hypocritical would be to do a disservice to the word. Mindfucking obscenely hypocritical starts to approach it a little bit.
He’s right. If someone were to send such a letter, in the reverse, to someone; saying they ought not use their pulpit to speak on (insert social issue here) and should inhibit their parishioners from doing the same, Mr. Burns would be up in arms; raging against the suppression of religious liberty. Brendon Ayanbadejo is famous. He can’t make a political statement and have his status as a football player disappear. So Burns is asking the Ravens to fire anyone who speaks out on politics in a way he doesn’t like. That’s what the inclusion of, “injurious” means.
I can only hope that Mr. Burns is not returned by his constituents. I would like to think, no matter what they think of same-sex marriage, that they are appalled by someone who is so lacking in the basic understandings of how the world works, how the gov’t he is a part of is supposed to function, and who is opposed to actually having people take part in politics.
