Back in the days when the freak shows toured the land, and people would stand in line to see the bearded lady, the snake-skinned man, the pinhead - you get the picture - there was often an accompanying display...the pickled punk. These were various deformed fetusses preserved in formaldehyde and put on display, fetching a fee from the marks at the fair. They'd often have stories attached to get fair-goers to part with their hard-earned quarters and see what's in the tent. "WITNESS: The Horrible Effects of Opium Abuse"..."MARVEL: Proof of Visitors from Far Planets"..."SEE: The Two-Headed Man"...you get the picture. The show could put whatever story they wanted behind the display to make it interesting, and not simply a macabre display of unfortunate birth defects (although I suppose they could do that, too).

Well, I'm sorry to say that the pickled punk is back, and, you guessed it, he's bashing George W. Bush.

This site: http://www.bushflash.com/ (No clickable link as I'd rather not appear in their referrer list.) has a flash animation and rant attacking the use of Depleted Uranium ammunition by the United States. Warning: The rant points to a "report" showing some very disturbing photos of deformed fetusses characterized as being caused by DU munitions, so use caution while clicking if that sort of thing bothers you.

The report provides no proof of the source of the deformities and amounts to a collection of shocking photos, some of which the author states were sent in from Iraq and all of which purport to show the effects of DU poisoning. Yes, Saddam is on the run, but his propaganda lives on strong.

The flash animation on the site takes its photos from the report and is now making its internet rounds.

Fortunately, I happened over to Steven Den Beste's site and found his recent post on DU, and he points to several more sober links debunking the DU hysteria, including the World Health Organization's report, as well as providing his own excellent analysis.

But none of that will stand in the way of those who want to believe the story provided along with the show, who will believe any story that bashes the US, or bashes Bush as viciously as possible - no matter how transparently and thinly supported. Propaganda like this amounts to nothing more than the modern version of the pickled punk - now provided for free but for the price of internet access. It seems to me there must be something profoundly self-hating about a person who would want to look at stuff like this and believe the worst about it on the flimsiest of stories...but I guess that's another issue.

May I recommend any readers who are looking for a show skip the psuedo-scientific America-bashing, and head straight on over to the real thing (or at least something a bit creative) without the nonsense attached...here (warning: site contains sound - and pickled punks).