FREE SPEECH OR JUST BAD MANNERS

In Natan Sharansky's book "The Case for Democracy" he makes reference to the "town square test". If you cannot go to the town square and express your point of view freely without fear of arrest, imprisonment or harm you do not live in a free society. Free speech is not however, an absolute right and an invitation only event at the Capital is not the town square.

We all know you cannot yell "fire" in a crowded theater or make jokes about bombs in the airport. Cindy Sheehan has had plenty of opportunities to express her point of view including during a meeting with the President of the United States of America. The MSM has given her a megaphone that few have access to. Just last week she appeared with Hugo Chavez to lend support to his oppressive rule of Venezuela.

The same crowd that criticize this country and every action of the Bush Administration is up in arms that her attempt to disrupt the State of the Union speech last Tuesday was thwarted. "Free speech, Free speech" they all cry but we heard nary a peep from them when the last administration was really infringing on citizens constitutional rights.

Senator Hillary Clinton was in Chicago speaking at a crowd where several professional liberal hecklers tried to interrupt her speech by shouting her down. A transcript follows below.

HILLARY: You know, I have to say that I appreciate the passion --
PROTESTER'S: Troops out now!
HILLARY -- and the intensity that you feel about Iraq.
PROTESTER'S: Troops out now!
HILLARY: I share it, and you're here expressing your opinion, but let's make sure that people have a chance to be part of a dialog, and I do not believe that they want to hear from you at this moment.

Well I'll give Hilary the benefit of the doubt. I don't know the circumstances of this speech, perhaps it too does not rise to the standard of the public square. How about protesters lining a parade route, surely that should be considered "the public square...............


Hillary 'Goon Squad' Victim Goes Public

One Clinton "goon squad" victim has come forward to tell his story.

The incident took place at New York City's Israeli Day parade at the height of Mrs. Clinton's 2000 campaign for the Senate, where, by all accounts, the-then first lady was roundly booed by the crowd as she stoically marched from block to block.

A member of the conservative Web site FreeRepublic.com, dressed for the occasion as the Devil, joined the crowd to add his voice to the protest. He recounted the episode Tuesday:

"To suppress opposing views in the crowd the Clinton campaign had people on both sides of the street walking the route with Hillary - but behind the barriers. They were carrying professionally printed pro-Clinton signs."

"Before she passed," he recalled, "they shoved me back and got in front of me, holding their signs in front of mine. However, my signs had a 3 foot handle and I raised them up."

At that point, recounts the FreeRepublic protester, "I was poked in the eye by a finger inserted to the eye-hole in my mask."

Oh well, surely this was just an isolated incident, or was it?

In his recently released book "On the Road with Hillary," Mr. Halley details his eight year stint as Mrs. Clinton's advance man, where one of his most important jobs was stifling protests like those staged by FreeRepublic, using even physical intimidation when he deemed it necessary.

"Less genteel souls," Halley explained, sometimes referred to his protest-busters as "goon squads" - although he preferred the term "etiquette squads." "I was proud of the fact that not one of them had ever been arrested," he boasts in the book.
Every now and then, Halley said, even he would have to throw a punch or two.
During a trip to Moscow while Mrs. Clinton was first lady, the advance man recalled:

"A photographer blocked my way and, trying to get a picture of Hillary in her limo, pushed me. I hit him square in the face so hard I thought I'd broken my hand. His nose exploded in an eruption of blood and I was able to shove him out of the way and jump into the lead car.

When it came to his protest busters, Halley says he "never advocated physical confrontation and always insisted that the etiquette squad stay within the boundaries of the law." But in the next breath he confessed, "Sadly, but inevitably, things sometimes got a little frisky, but my recruits knew how to handle themselves.... I had heard rumors that they had been very adamant about defending themselves when set upon by protesters."

Wow a bloody nose and a gouged eye, sounds bad but surely no one was arrested for expressing their point of view?

If you ever, ever diss the Clintons while in their presence you'll get arrested. On July 1996, in the public record, Patricia Mendoza was arrested in Chicago for shouting "You suck, and those boys died!" (in reference to the Khobar towers bombing in June 1996) at Bill Clinton in July, 1996. But the Clinton's SS troops claimed it was a death threat. Yeah, right. Can't even express a dislike in front of the president's face.

After their arrest, the Mendozas spent 14 hours in a Cook County lock-up. Though the Secret Service eventually dropped all charges, the couple, who ran a small electronics business, was soon audited by the Clinton IRS.

Ralph Grayson, special agent in charge of the Secret Service's Chicago office, said his agency has an "ongoing investigation" into the matter.The Secret Service said Mrs. Mendoza made a "threatening statement" to the president.

The "town Square test" no fear of arrest, imprisonment or harm. The Mendozas were arrested and I'd call an IRS investigation harm. The Democrats have been suppressing a government report for over a year which discloses misuse by the Clinton Administration of the IRS. American citizens who were audited by the IRS (some of them repeatedly include Gennifer Flowers, Bill O'Reily and multiple conservative organizations).

The Capital police have made a grave error in apologizing to Mrs. Sheehan and stating publicly that it is not against the rules to wear an advocacy shirt in the Capital. I can just see next years SOtheU with wall to wall slogans and maybe a few commercials on the shirts in the gallery.
If folks had better manners none of this would be necessary.