Anyone who doubts that parts of the left are now indistinguishable from bigotry and authoritarianism should read this chilling account in the Honolulu Weekly. It’s about the local ACLU’s decision not to invite Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to debate ACLU national president Nadine Strossen. At first the board enthusiastically supported the decision to invite Thomas to a debate at the annual Davis Levin First Amendment Conference. But three local board members – all black – objected. Daphne Barbee-Wooten made the following arguments against Thomas: “Bringing Clarence Thomas sends a message that the Hawaii ACLU promotes and honors black Uncle Toms who turn their back on civil rights.” In subsequent discussions, this charge was amplified. Eric Ferrer, another black board member, said that Thomas was “an anti-Christ, a Hitler, and it’s like having a serial murderer debate the value of life.” Even worse, warned Ferrer, “There’s a chance, even a likelihood, that a lot of people might like his views.” Heaven defend us from free speech and persuasion. Former ACLU president, Roger Fonseca, opined that Thomas “is an asshole… If not Hitler, he is a Goebbels.” The final insult was the personal assault, now a staple of the left. Barbee-Wooten added, “I have the inside scoop on [Thomas]. Anita Hill wasn’t the only one. When he came [to Hawaii for a visit], he went to strip clubs. … He’s married to a white person.” Miscegenation! Maybe there should be laws against it. To her credit, Nadine Strossen has disowned the local ACLU board, and stood up for free speech, and for Thomas’ distinguished record on the court and courage in facing down the vilification from the left. As for the ACLU in Hawaii, the facts speak for themselves. Thomas remains uninvited; and the lunatics have taken over what was once an asylum for free speech.
CENSORSHIP CONTINUES AT THE FCC: First it was Eminem. Now it’s feminist rap-singer Sarah Jones. The FCC, under Michael Powell, is launching a new campaign to fine and censor what it considers offensive music. With Eminem, they missed the irony. With Sarah Jones, they miss the message. Jones’ hip-hop is designed to counter the misogyny so common in rap. “Your revolution will not happen between these thighs . . . the real revolution / ain’t about booty size,” Jones raps. Not entirely profound, but not exactly obscene and offensive either. Check out the full lyrics and context in this piece from the current Village Voice. It seems to me to prove an ancient and obvious truth. Governments are clumsy, stupid and often dangerous. Give them the power to fine, censor or judge free speech and it will be mere seconds before they commit a misunderstanding, an idiocy, or a fallacy. Michael Powell and the Bush administration seem to walking right into this trap – and it shouldn’t just be Village Voice lefties complaining.
SAFIRE ZINGS THE TIMES: Rare indeed that the New York Times’ conservative fig-leaf, Bill Safire, is actually forced to respond to his own paper’s anti-Bush bias. But his column this morning, while being typically polite, essentially argues that the Times’ recent poll, showing Bush’s poll ratings in a slump, is unsupported by other polls, namely the more-accurate Zogby and Gallup. Safire doesn’t go on to say that the questions posed by that poll were almost ludicrously loaded toward liberal prejudices – or that the blanket coverage of the poll, including an editorial, suggested more than truth-finding was behind the endeavor. Nothing wrong with that, of course – as long as the Times is happy to be seen, as it increasingly is, as a brashly partisan paper, at least as partisan as, say, Fox News. (One example, by the way, of what’s left of the Times’ good old-fashioned reporting and analysis was the extremely good cover-piece in the Times Magazine yesterday on Fox News and Roger Ailes.)
DERBYSHIRE AWARD NOMINEE: “It’s well past time for liberalism to be declared a religion and banned from public schools. Allowing Christians to be one of many afterschool groups induces hysteria not just because liberals hate religion. It’s because the public school is their temple. Children must be taught to love Big Brother, welcoming him to take over our schools, our bank accounts, our property, even our toilet bowls.” – Ann Coulter, National Review Online.
The Dish 