I must confess that I'm generally not a big fan of the raunchy Comedy Central cartoon series "South Park." However, you've got to give series creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker credit for being equal opportunity offenders.

On Wednesday night, the latest "South Park" episode was to feature a satirical take on the Muhammed cartoon controversy with a special appearance by Muhammed himself -- or at least a cartoon of him.

Unfortunately, it didn't end up happening -- Cowardly Central censored the cartoon out of fear of violence. Michelle Malkin kindly provided Cowardly Central's explanation:

Dear Viewer,

Thank you for your correspondence regarding the "South Park" episodes entitled "Cartoon Wars." We appreciate your concerns about censorship and the destructive influence of outside groups on the media, entertainment industry and particularly Comedy Central.

To reiterate, as satirists, we believe that it is our First Amendment right
to poke fun at any and all people, groups, organizations and religions and we will continue to defend that right. Our goal is to make people laugh and perhaps, if we're lucky, even make them think in the process.

Comedy Central's belief in the First Amendment has not wavered, despite our decision not to air an image of Muhammad. Our decision was made not to mute the voices of Trey and Matt or because we value one religion over any other. This decision was based solely on concern for public safety in light of recent world events.

With the power of freedom of speech and expression also comes the obligation to use that power in a responsible way. Much as we wish it weren't the case, times have changed and, as witnessed by the intense and deadly reaction to the publication of the Danish cartoons, decisions cannot be made in a vacuum without considering what impact they may have on innocent individuals around the globe.

It was with this in mind we decided not to air the image of Muhammad, a decision similar to that made by virtually every single media outlet across the country earlier this year when they each determined that it was not prudent or in the interest of safety to reproduce the controversial Danish cartoons. Injuries occurred and lives were lost in the riots set off by the original publication of these cartoons. The American media made a decision then, as we did now, not to put the safety and well being of the public at risk, here or abroad.

As a viewer of "South Park," you know that over the course of ten seasons and almost 150 episodes the series has addressed all types of sensitive, hot-button issues, religious and political, and has done so with Comedy Central's full support in every instance, including this one. "Cartoon Wars" contained a very important message, one that Trey and Matt felt strongly about, as did we at the network, which is why we gave them carte blanche in every facet but one: we would not broadcast a portrayal of Muhammad.

In that regard, did we censor the show? Yes, we did. But if you hold
Comedy Central's 15-year track record up against any other network out there, you'll find that we afford our talent the most creative freedom and provide a nurturing atmosphere that challenges them to be bold and daring and places them in a position to constantly break barriers and push the envelope. The result has been some of the most provocative television ever produced.

We would like nothing more than to be able to look back at this in a few
years and think that perhaps we overreacted. Unfortunately, to have made a different decision and to look back and see that we completely
underestimated the damage that resulted was a risk we were not willing to take.

Our pledge to you, our loyal viewers, is that Comedy Central will continue to produce and provide the best comedy available and we will continue to push it right to the edge, using and defending the First Amendment in the most responsible way we know how.

Sincerely,
Comedy Central Viewer Services

Bolshevik Storytelling.

There were a couple of lines in this load of garbage that really stood out.

First is Cowardly Central's appeal to authority -- most of the rest of the U.S. media didn't show Muhammed Cartoons, so we're just following their lead. This would be the first time -- Cowardly Central has OK'd "South Park" cartoons that feature feces raining down on a cartoon Jesus -- something the other media outlets Cowardly Central claims as authority figures would never do.

Second, Cowardly Central lauds its own defense of free speech over the years -- as long as the only practical effect of its free speech is a ton of nasty letters from the Parents Television Council. If they offend someone whose practical effect on Cowardly Central is that they might need to hire some more security guards, then forget about it. Cowardly Central is nothing more than a paper tiger when it comes to the defense of free speech.

In other words, if Christians had a tendency to mix up Molotov cocktails and throw them at broadcast offices, then Cowardly Central would cave to that too. Is there a double standard here? Certainly. And the thing is that these different standards as they apply to different religions only emboldens the violent, radical Islamists.