Dear Bronwyn,

Thank you for noticing my rant. It was inspired by contact with a person who was pushing the GLW at a gathering. The GLW brings up issues that are absent in the mainstream media, and I am happy for them to do so.

However, the GLW seller admitted to me that he would, if he had the power, muzzle the capitalist press.

Possibly the Marxist-Leninists have murdered about 100,000,000 people. I believe that anybody should be allowed to express themselves and push their views. That includes Nazis, Marxist-Leninists, religious fundamentalists and others I have little regard for.

However, when Nazis, Marxist-Leninists and religious fundamentalists defend freedom of expression I will rant against hypocrisy.

isabel berners -

you make the comment that Matthew Johns was stood down, and say that the Footy Show has been subject to similar criticism.

No it hasn't.

Johns was stood down over the group sex incident.

The actual skits performed on Footy Show have not been subject to the same criticism as those on the Chaser.

Actually, I don't think either show should be attacked like this - but fair's fair, and this certainly isn't.

If the Chaser and the NRL Footy Show would only stick to picking on working class people like the rest of the Australian comedy industry, they would be in the clear.

"Well all we know from the Chasers themselves is "we don’t think the Make a Wish Foundation deserves anything other than praise". So either the Chasers are telling porkies or most of the bloggers got it wrong."

blairbar,

Or the Chaser were told to say it or else, or they sniffed the wind themselves and decided that it was better to be seen to voluntarily stop train surfing on public TV. In all, I think it was a partial retreat to appease those who genuinely felt offended by the skit. I imagine that the real targets will remain on The Chaser's radar, although the boys had better be quick because as I understand it, this is the show's last season. Maybe the Make-A-Wish skit was always designed to be part of their shock and awe campaign.

1.RobP:"Or the Chaser were told to say it or else, or they sniffed the wind themselves...be part of their shock and awe campaign"
2.Fractelle" "I thought with a change of government we'd see a bit less of the jackboot brigade."
3.Bronwyn:"With Kevin Rudd's government replacing John Howard's, a large source of ready made material has definitely dried up and the boys quite understandably have to dig a bit deeper."
1.Well RobP, still means they were telling porkies.
2.,3.The Chasers main appeal lies among the 15 to 35 age group; the targets they have selected are those which this group relates to; eg John Howard, Roman Catholicism, Conservatism,George Bush etc. The intent of their "humour" is to make fun of these targets and they have been very successful. However this time their "shock and awe campaign" collapsed. Why? Because this very group has siblings, nieces, nephews and friends with children who have been or are terminally ill. This was something close to their hearts. The clear target of the skit was this group of misguided, stupid people who would waste money on dying children. I guess Bronwyn if this is an example of their digging deeper who knows what the next target will be.
Well Fractelle you have no idea about "jackboot brigades"; to compare Australia over the past 20 years with Nazi Germany only displays your ignorance. By the way one of the largest group of supporters of Nazism in Germany were youth, particularly University students.

Good on you Stuart. From many of the comments here there is certainly cause for concern that freedom of speech is under threat.