Satire vs. irony

Radio news reports about a thwarted terrorist attack in Britain thwarted a radio news report about political satire in America. Oh the irony! Our wonderful interview (which you can hear here even if you can't hear it on the news) got bumped due to the situation in Britain. We're promised that it will air today, but we're not holding our breath (though you can bet your buttons we'll be listening).

It's all about balance. As concerned citizens, we're really, really glad that the British authorities were able to prevent something too horrible to think about. As satirists and comedians, though, the humor in this is not lost on us, dark though it may be. Irony definitely wins this round.

And that idea I had about labeling all our luggage with our cute little postcards? Nope. Not gonna do it. Nowhere is our loss of freedom more evident than at airports. We will pack our little puppet friends very, very carefully in hardshell suitcases subtly but clearly labeled with the words Small Appliance Puppet Theater. But no graphics. No hints of sedition, satirical or otherwise.

To date, we still have our first amendment rights; but we need to be very, very careful about how and where we exercise them, which is, no doubt, why KUT decided to hold off on our story.

But I ask you -- which is more dangerous? The liquid in the bottle on the left or the liquid in the pitcher on the right? I don't suppose it matters. Neither one would make it onto an airplane.