Picked up my copy at lunch today.

This is, of course, a direct ripoff of this classic magazine cover:

http://www.davemark.com/?p=217

One man’s ripoff is another parody.

Except that the original is National Lampoon. Can you parody a parody? I guess…I just wanted to point out that the concept wasn’t original.

I’m sure some of the whippersnappers around here didn’t even know that National Lampoon started out as a magazine before getting into the movie business.

Is this David D’s cat by any chance?

If the cat is named Arlen, he’ll probably change colors while they’re not looking.

The Philadelphia City Paper claims a circulation of 94,000.

The message is that what Michael Vick did is okay???

Good grief.

Animal Lover.
Put away the cat shirt and the stickers on your subaru .
Please- get a life.
The peta comeback is so lame.
The City Paper demographic is what used to be Arlen’s home turf.
The article is pretty stratight up.
get over it.

The cover is immature and unnecessary.

Bruce – thanks for the cultural context. I do know National Lampoon was/is? a magazine, but only had a vague awareness of the original reference.

I’ll concede Animal Lover’s charge of immaturity, but I have to side with Sheamus. The latent 12 year old in me just picked himself up off of the floor after falling off of his chair laughing when this popped up on the screen.

Besides, the cat is clearly Photoshopped so it’s clear that no animals were actually jeopardized in the making of the cover.

One thing I’ve noticed is the irreverant irony and sarcasm that constantly punctuate the communications among members of Generations X and Y are starting to spill into traditional political discourse – vis this cover and the “Sestak Drinking Game” article by Colby Itkowitz in the online Morning Call last week.

Correction – “Sestak-Specter Drinking Game” – don’t want to leave old Arlen out of the fun.

As a kitty lover, I object!

Interesting. I thought the City Paper was only good for advertising porn outfits. At least Sestak’s got one “newspaper” in his column, even if it will end up at the bottom of most people’s hamster cages before actually being read.

I love animals and find it horrific that Joe Sestak claims 100%/A+ score from the Humane Society but does not condemn this garbage. This crap is the type of smut I would expect out of a group that airs an ad with a picture of a cancer patient. Joe Sestak loves hipsters and the Philadelphia City Paper is nothing more than the Village Voice for wannabe sh*thead hipsters. Condemn this cover Joe Sestak!

As an animal lover and a political junkie, I object to this multitude of objections over an outstanding cover!

The primary aside, the cover is indeed objectionable, and I highly doubt that either Representative Sestak or Senator Specter found it enchanting. No respectable public official would. Given the gun violence that plagues the city of Philadelphia (and other major urban centers), firearms should not be a source of amusement. Perhaps The City Paper should ask past victims of gun violence how they feel about this ill-considered cover. Perhaps The City Paper should remember how many hapless children in Philadelphia live in almost constant fear of gun violence. Perhaps we should all remind ourselves that ours is a society wherein many innocents are often brutally slain. Many journalists purport to be socially conscious; covers like this suggest otherwise. For those who argue that I should “lighten up,” I would ask you to reside in Kensington with a low-income minority family for a few years, and see if your perspective changes. I assure you, it probably would.

How bout’ reconsidering your characterization of this cover, Mr. Hirschhorn? You are a city resident – you should definitely know better. Sorry.

One more time-
GROW UP and stop the PC mock outrage and purple prose talking point larded high school debating tactics.
The cover is solid political humor aimed specificaly at the hyperventalated blog crazies and wannabe politcal trolls on both sides.
It is a good thing to laugh at yourself to keep opinions in perspective.

Sorry Sheamus. HS has it right. It is the wrong message given that the City Paper is prominently displayed all over a city plagued by gun violence.

Sheamus: Some subjects (like firearms) simply should not be sources of amusement. Without empathy – the ability to put yourself in another’s shoes – society cannot survive and thrive. I would ask you to cast aside “humor” for one moment, and empathize with those who have to reckon with gun violence every day. Or that you consider those who have been unfortunate victims of gun violence in the past. Give it a try. Try to recapture your humanity, and stop trying to find amusement in every @#! thing you see or experience.

I would ask you to do the same, Mr. Hirschhorn.

They should replace the cat with a police officer that has a wife and 3 kids. That would more accurately depict what’s going on in that disgusting dump of a city.

Nat Lamp cover – January 1973
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Natlamp73.jpg

Hate Sestak and Animal Lover,

Not surprised at all by your anti-gun, anti-2nd Amendment rhetoric. It seems to fit your M.O. on the far left!

Hate Sestak, having been a victim of your Driveby Keyboard Violence myself, by having to read your posts, I am asking our beloved PA 2010 to curtail your typing. The use of your keyboard as a weapon offends me, and I would ask PA 2010 to seek and find out all of the families and individuals who have been affected by your dangerous typing, and get statements from them, so we can know the full affect of your damage.