Ask A Gay Man: Politics Edition

Recently, YouTube fashionista William Sledd was on MTVU discussing the 2008 presidential candidates and their weblogs. I’m not going to lie -- I was totally excited to see my favorite “gay man” cross media platforms -- but I also think his perspective was spot on. There is something really awkward about seeing Hillary Clinton sitting in a plush floral chair “chatting” with the nation. And Tom Vilsack looks like he is in a college library, being swallowed by a mountain of books. What are your campaign managers trying to prove here?

Walmart's Selling Hipster T-shirts with Nazi Emblem

Have you ever pulled an image from the web without knowing its origin, historical or otherwise? I certainly have.

Recently, a blogger from Maryland, realized that a skull t-shirt being sold at Walmart was actually silk-screened image of “Death Heads.” Members of the German Nazi SS wore The Death’s Head -- an historic image of hatred that has been over-shadowed by the swastika -- symbol during WWII.

Aware that a media conglomerate won’t even sell CD’s with curse words on it, Rick, from the blog Bent Corner, informed the nearest employee of the history implications of the design. Apparently the employee didn’t think the shirt was that “big a deal” and was more bothered by shirts promoting the, "sexually promiscuous Smokey and the Bandit."

According to the Consumerist, four days after Walmart's PR firm promised the item's removal, the t-shirts bearing Nazi SS imagery could still be found on the shelves.

The news broke online late last week and I just happened to stumble across this video over the weekend. A sketch from Mitchell and Webb showcases the symbol and pokes fun at the origin of the Nazi emblem. Maybe the designer knew what he was doing after all.