Saturday, July 22, 2006

Bush Chided Putin for Restricting Free Speech while People Arrested for Bumper Stickers at Presidential Events!

President Bush is the physical embodiment of irony. I’ve lost count of the number of times he pointed at the stick in another’s eye while ignoring the log in his own. The latest comes courtesy of years of Bush permanent campaign message control.

People at Bush events have been arrested for such offensive actions as wearing a t-shirt, holding a sign, or heaven forbid, driving a car with a bumper sticker. These heinous acts, performed by people with contrary views to the President, are now winding their way through the court system. Two 55 year old teachers in Iowa exercised the same right of free speech as they teach the children, only to be handcuffed and strip searched.

In many cases local authorities drop charges later, the Bush aim of running a clean event already achieved. What’s concerning about this practice is the federal role in establishing and enforcing policy. Secret service agents frequently are the ones identifying “illegal” protest. Had Rosa Parks tried to get on a Bush bus to share a different view, there would be zero chance of that happening. What modern day visionaries are silenced, shuffled off well past the margins of the event? How many Rev. Martin Luther King’s are standing with a handful of followers in the designated protest zone, miles away from the event?

Bush can strike back at Putin’s dig on the new Iraqi democracy with a “Just Wait”. That is exactly what concerns me. What will this President do next in the name of “democracy”?

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