It should come as no surprise to anyone that there was a method to the unConstitutional madness that has fallen over Presidential events, i.e., the impressive absence of all dissent (the standard being “Hey, would Riefenstahl have filmed it?“). That method is laid out in a White House manual, obtained from the government in a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of two irritating dissenters in God- and Bush-fearing West Virginia, as reported here by WaPo.
All of those elements we have come to know and love– allowing in only pre-vetted gung ho ticket holders, searching for anything that might have a message of dissent (while encouraging all supportive messages) and prompt responses (whether shouting down or arresting recalcitrant, meaning anything other than totally pro-Administration attendees)… are all conveniently laid out, in short declarative sentences of limited syllable words.
I’ll paraphrase from the late, great Steve Gilliard, God rest his soul, who suggested that it should be enacted, as federal statute, that the Imperial March from Star Wars be played at all Vice-Presidential events. And I’ll quote from Katharine Lee Bates’s America the Beautiful (btw, sung in a beautiful a capella at the commencement of the Pikes Peak Marathon), i.e., that second stanza I referred to a couple of days ago:
O beautiful for pilgrim feet
Whose stern, impassioned stress
A thoroughfare for freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America!
God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law!
What do I think of the Bill of Rights protections of speech, including the right to express dissent to our highest government officials? As Mahatma Gandhi said about Western civillization… I think that would be an excellent idea.
tdog
By way of…….nothing much really,Gandhi was once asked why he met King George V wearing just his trademark dhoti. He replied ‘The King was wearing enough for both of us.’
From what I read in the papers, it seems King Rudy has included these guidelines in his appearance contract.
Talk about losing your way! The NAACP has come out on behalf of millionaire Michael Vick. This is about one month after it came out against Major League Baseball for having less African-American players than before, although the numbers of hispanic players have increased. Yet, it remains relatively quiet about issues facing its former core, working class people of color. Maybe it’s time to end the cocktail parties and fundraisers for this group?