Apparently I'm more courageous than most of the newspapers in Europe, too

While U.S. newspapers have been declining to republish any Charlie cartoons, apparently many European newspapers republished some of the Charlie Hebdo cartoons satirizing Islam that prompted the Islamist terror assault on Charlie's offices on Tuesday. However, it appears that a majority did not:

COPENHAGEN/LONDON (Reuters) - Many European newspapers republished cartoons from the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo to protest against killings by Islamist militants seen as an attack on freedom of expression and the continent's tradition of visual satire.
But most front pages expressed solidarity with the 12 people, journalists and police, killed in Wednesday's attack by publishing their own cartoons and editorials that veered away from Charlie Hebdo's more provocative sketches mocking Islam.

Some editors and cartoonists explicitly acknowledged that fear drove the decision not to republish any of the cartoons:

The front page of Austria’s Salzburger Nachrichten showed a cartoon which consists of a black space with ink and a fountain pen in one corner and this hand-written message:
"As a caricaturist I have been of the opinion up to now that there was no topic that cannot be drawn. I have to admit that the tragic incident which took place in Paris yesterday taught me otherwise."

Look, I get it: republishing Charlie Hebdo cartoons about Islam can be dangerous. But the people at Charlie Hebdo knew what they were doing carried risk and did it anyway because that's what they do: they mock religions, institutions and pretty much anything else that catches their eye. (And they plan to keep doing it.) They got attacked because they were alone, just as Jyllands Posten, a Danish newspaper, was alone a few years ago when it published a number of cartoons mocking Islam, including one depicting Mohammed with a bomb in his turban. Jyllands Posten's staff remains under police protection for that "offense," and the paper chose not to republish any Charlie cartoons. If all newspapers -- or even most -- republished the cartoons and quit treating Islam like a delicate flower that can't be criticized, none of them would be alone. There really is safety in numbers, you know. But as long as Islamists believe they can make the media cower in fear and refuse to criticize Islam and Islamists, they will continue to attack -- literally -- anyone brave enough to do so. Almost no newspapers in this country appear to be that brave. The Washington Post published one of the cartoons on today's op-ed page, but won't be publishing any in the news pages. Most other major publications have either not published or cropped out or pixilated the "offensive" portion of the cartoon, as in this picture that appeared in the New York Daily News:

Wait, you blotted out Mohammed but left a caricature of a hook-nosed Jew? Really? Wow. Maybe they'll kill you last.

While it is foolish and shortsighted to let fear drive decisions, this isn't about bravery, really. It's about standing for principle. Free speech is worthless if there are topics that can't be discussed or criticized. That is doubly true if those topics can be designated by the would-be targets of the prospective criticism, and the ban on criticism enforced at the point of a gun. Still think you have free speech under those circumstances? Sure -- you're free to discuss anything you want to, unless someone willing to kill you tells you not to. If you knuckle under to those threats, you don't have free speech. And that's only the first right you'll give up. You can either grow a pair or, like the Daily News, hope they kill you last.

Well, anything worth having is worth taking some risks to keep. While the security budget here at Eff You is low (have you seen the price of ammunition lately?), we shall fear no evil. While I blog anonymously in theory, in practice anyone with any knowledge of the internet could find out my identity in about 45 seconds. In The pixelated Daily News republication, Mohammed is saying "Must not mock." 'Fraid I can't do that. The Daily News acted out of fear. I'm not, so now I'll show you the cartoon the Daily News wouldn't. And I have two things to say to any Islamists who see this and are murderously offended: 1) Please send no more than eight jihadis at a time, so I won't have to reload, and b) refer to the title of the blog -- Eff You:

Hat tip to Hot Air.

I guess we weren't dressing for success

In the last couple days, things have been getting really funky around here. What with the garbage fiasco, the disappearance of a project manager, the email debacle and being made to beg for batches to review, things around this project more and more resemble a goat-roping more than anything else. Apparently, the agency decided too many people were dressed for a goat-roping and cracked the whip, sending this email:

Good morning,We are writing to provide you with a reminder of our dress code policy. Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns.We appreciate you attention to this guideline.
Dress Attire: Professional business attire at work sites is required unless a different dress code is specified. Business casual dress is acceptable at TrustPoint International offices and work sites, unless you are informed otherwise. Acceptable business casual attire includes button down and polo shirts, sweaters, slacks which include corduroy and khaki pants and other professional business attire. **Please note: Jeans are acceptable for your project.
Inappropriate worksite attire includes: t-shirts, jogging suits, sweatshirts, sweatpants, yoga pants, shorts of any kind, flip flops or sneakers.

I don't actually have much argument with the dress code set forth here. I've been technically meeting the code, although the boat shoes I wear to work everyday, while compliant with the code, are far nastier than a lot of the sneakers folks were wearing that are not compliant. Actually, I think most folks are ignoring the sneakers edict. I've suggested that, if challenged, they counter that their shoes are not "sneakers" but rather are cross-trainers, running shoes or whatever else, but not "sneakers." Not sure how that will fly, but folks are still wearing "sneakers," whatever those are.


The weather turning cold has pretty much done away with the shorts and flip-flops problem. However, one aspect of the code was, I think, aimed at a particular person. This person never wore anything but track-suit pants and a tee-shirt. That's right, we're talking about Headphones Boy, Captain Wake and Bake himself. Rumor has it that "someone" spoke to him a couple times about his dress, both before and after the email came out. While a number of people who had been favoring tee shirts a lot promptly changed their ways and located somewhere in their closets shirts with collars. Not so Headphones Boy. Nope. He just fucking quit.


Honestly, there isn't much the law firm or the temp agency could do to make me quit a gig like this -- probably going to last another year, 20 hours a week of overtime for as far as the eye can see. Those kinds of projects just don't come along very often, so I'll put up with some serious shit to keep one. Not sure if Headphones Boy is a seriously principled slack-ass bum or just crazy. But I do know one thing: fucker quit.

Sometimes you have to choose

For about a year and a half, this blog has been almost exclusively about life as a temporary attorney. There have been deviations, especially lately, but for the most part I have have focused on the world of temps, whether it be funny things said at work, manifest injustices rained upon our heads or whatever. Every once in a while, I have made it clear I am a conservative, and the feedback has always made it clear that my audience is, for the most part, not.

This is not a surprise to me. I work with you people, after all, and am well aware of your political leanings. Usually, I have to bite my tongue, because politics is high on the list of verboten subjects at work. By which I mean, of course, that you will get in trouble for being a conservative, but not for being a liberal. Disagree with that statement if you like, but I can tell you it is true. And it is not agency-specific. So I have learned to keep my conservative leanings to myself.

Well, fuck that shit. I look at Instapundit and other sites where comments say they can't give their names because they'll get in trouble at work if people know they are conservatives. I have taken the same approach to this blog. I have generally avoided giving voice to my conservative views, and I have sort of kept myself anonymous. But let's face it. There are ways to find out who I am, and many of the people I work with already know who I am. Several of the agencies I work for suspect who I am, and at least one knows for sure. So far, it hasn't affected my ability to find work.

Nonetheless, I have attempted to maintain my anonymity because, as someone who comments publicly on the foibles of temp agencies, I am subject to reprisals by those agencies. I am not worried that my conservative views will cause me problems in getting hired, because I almost never discuss those views at work. Unfortunately, I have rarely discussed them here, either.

That has ended. I intend to continue posting about the lives of contract attorneys -- temps, to those of you new to this -- and I will continue to post about game food and whatever else catches my interest. Those aspects of this blog will not change.

However, I will no longer shy away from voicing conservative views. Sometimes you have to choose, though, and I choose to stand up for what I believe. I think the recent election and the things that are coming require all of us to decide where we stand and fight to advance that viewpoint. I am unwilling to watch my country circle the drain and remain silent. So I plan to be vocal in my opinions about what is going on politically.

 I realize some of my followers won't like that. I might lose some readers. I guess that's the price you pay. I think if you do a blog, it should be about who you are, or it will suck. I don't want this blog to suck. So if you can't handle some conservative views with your Temp Town commentary, I will miss you. Personally, I think you will be depriving yourself of some interesting Temp Town material, not to mention fabulous game food suggestions. If you leave because you can't handle some conservative opinions, though, I'm really not interested in trying to open your mind. I'm afraid of what I might find.

Update: A friend of mine pointed out that I used to say this more: If you don't like it, please refer to the name of the blog.