As you may have heard, A&E has suspended Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson for spouting some not-very-surprising hillbilly homophobia in an interview, including that tired old saw of comparing homosexuality to bestiality. HEE-HAW! HEE-HAW! (This is what happens when networks base much of their schedule around reality shows about undereducated country folk. It's funny! Until it's not.) Anyway, after hearing about Hillbilly Phil's suspension, the Tea Baggies leapt at the chance to be outraged... because they always do.


Time's TV critic James Poniewozic sighs deeply and explains to this idiot why he's an idiot.

Losing your job for saying something that embarrasses your private employer–even if that is a media outlet–is not a free speech issue. It is not a First Amendment issue. It may be dumb, it may be justified, but it is not a constitutional violation.

So is now a good time to start screaming at Fred Meyer and Walgreens to get those Duck Dynasty coffee mugs, T-shirts, birthday cards, and mouse pads off their shelves?