You remember that girl who marched before the TV news cameras to swear her daddy, Rep. Larry Craig, isn't gay (not that there's anything wrong with that)? Yeah, well take that with a grain or two of salt, as her reliablity was called into question when Boise cops noted she has an an outstanding arrest warrant there, according to the Boise Guardian.
In related news, an unconfirmed report indicates Idaho lawmakers, seeking to distance themselves from Craig, have proposed changing the state's name from Idaho to Hedaho.
Thursday, September 06, 2007
Monday, September 03, 2007
STANDING UP FOR JOE
The greatest avelange begins with a tiny pebble rolling downhill.
And so it also is that the most far-reaching court decisions often begin with a neighborhood cat fight.... like the Scopes trial, or the Chicago Seven trial.
And into this mix we might soon add the name Joe Albero.... Let me pause here while I shudder at the very idea the Joe might be right about anything.... okay, let's continue.
The basic facts are that Joe is a firebrand, a loose cannon, a rabble rouser, and he says things that irritate and annoy people. And, make no mistake, it not just public officials that he annoys. He irritates me as well, and I wish he's just take his lithium, take a nap and STFU. That said, however, I have to say that most of what he says about officialdom constitutes what is known as "fair comment."
That doesn't mean his histrionic comments are fair, as in "regular and even," or "free of bias or favoritism." Rather, it means that his political hyperbole largely falls within the confines of allowable political comment in the context of The First Amendment, and if the police chief, the mayor, or any other public official can't stand the criticism then they need to hike up their skirts and tippitoe back into the relative saftey of the private sector.
And every-damned-one of us needs to stand up for Joe, because if the the government is allowed to silence Joe through legal or any other kind of intimidation, then what's to stop them from silencing anyone else whose words they don't like.
And so it also is that the most far-reaching court decisions often begin with a neighborhood cat fight.... like the Scopes trial, or the Chicago Seven trial.
And into this mix we might soon add the name Joe Albero.... Let me pause here while I shudder at the very idea the Joe might be right about anything.... okay, let's continue.
The basic facts are that Joe is a firebrand, a loose cannon, a rabble rouser, and he says things that irritate and annoy people. And, make no mistake, it not just public officials that he annoys. He irritates me as well, and I wish he's just take his lithium, take a nap and STFU. That said, however, I have to say that most of what he says about officialdom constitutes what is known as "fair comment."
That doesn't mean his histrionic comments are fair, as in "regular and even," or "free of bias or favoritism." Rather, it means that his political hyperbole largely falls within the confines of allowable political comment in the context of The First Amendment, and if the police chief, the mayor, or any other public official can't stand the criticism then they need to hike up their skirts and tippitoe back into the relative saftey of the private sector.
And every-damned-one of us needs to stand up for Joe, because if the the government is allowed to silence Joe through legal or any other kind of intimidation, then what's to stop them from silencing anyone else whose words they don't like.
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