Earth Hour and the pandas of soft fascism

I once pitched a very small potatoes proposal to a local councillor over lunch regarding raising awareness for the need for low income housing. It involved a small voluntary gesture of public engagement.
"It'll never work," he said, not unkindly. "People will reject it on the grounds that somewhere somebody they don't know might benefit from it."
I laughed.

I laughed again when I read "Earth Hour's soft fascism" by Peter Foster in Wednesday's Fanatical Post."Take back the night!" he exhorts, and he's serious about it! but it's in Friday's "Don't lie down with pandas" that he gets down to it. There is, he warns, the likelihood that Earth Hour will give its sponsor WWF not only power but "the potential for earning big bucks" so "keep those lights burning brightly between 8 and 9 on Saturday night".

What a complete ass.

Canadian Cynic links to Foster's amusing blogging counterparts in the rightardosphere who apparently celebrated their own voluntary gesture of public engagement on Saturday night by running their dishwashers with no dishes in them and seeing how high they could crank the thermostat before they passed out in a pile of cheetohs from heat prostration.

From CC's comments :
"i suppose that means that when i launch 'world hygiene hour' we can expect matthew and kate's kult kids to shit their own pants in defiance. hmm, i guess i should get cracking on organizing 'no drowning in the toilet' hour too." by pretty shaved ape

and

"Anyways, don't forget folks, Monday, April 7 is our first annual Lib-Left-sponsored "Don't Slash Your Wrists Day." And of course Friday June 6 is Latte-Sipping-Torontonians-sponsored "Don't Drink 750 ml of Vodka and Swallow Two (2) Fistfuls of Sleeping Pills Day."Fall schedule should be available any time now."
by ¢rÄßG®äŠŠ

Heh. Earth Hour has turned out to be more humorous than I expected.
H/T to Vanity Press for the Foster link

Update : 30 million people worldwide turned out the lights at 8pm but they were still burning brightly at Harper's house and his third floor office in the parliament buildings. No word yet on whether cheetohs and dishwashers were involved.

Cross-posted at Creekside