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Free speech, baby.

So now in the "new" United States of Obama, a citizen expressing his First Ammendment right is to some, "un-American!" This is just the beginning.

It's perfectly acceptable for Wm Ayers(proud American, esteemed college professor, and rumored next Sec. of Education), to be shown on a magazine cover trampling on the flag is merely the right of free expression!

God help us all!

My right to fly a flag in a certain manner in protest (though I would never do it) is tantamount to a person's right to burn a flag in protest.

Obama hasn't taken all of our rights away yet, Doug. Please be patient before you start echoing Obama's edicts.

Tony, you kill me. Are you defending William Ayers now?

Come on, it's not as if he's escaped any criticism. If you want to hear it from me, here goes: I think he's unAmerican on account of using potentially deadly explosives as a form of political expression and for stomping on Old Glory.

And who the heck says President Obama is going to stop anyone from flying the flag upside down? I'm not suggesting that.

But I sure wouldn't enter a business that was showing that sort of disrespect for our flag.

That's my First Amendment right.

Doug, don't get mad at Tony. He's clearly a sensitive flower. When one of his fellow right-wingers gets criticized for something, he feels as though the First Amendment has been violated. It's silly and inaccurate and a complete misreading of what the First Amendment means (see Palin, Sarah), but that's how he feels. Responding to him will just make him feel worse, you cad.

Thanks, Andy.

I've sparred with Tony for many years and let me say this in all seriousness: He can take a punch (rhetorically speaking). It may be impossible to hurt his feelings.

Isn't that right, Tony?

Um, that was sarcasm, Doug. I don't really believe that Tony has easily hurt feelings. But right-wingers act as if they do when they're so quick to claim free-speech victimhood. As you and Roch rightly noted, both the boorish act of hanging the flag upside-down and your criticism of it are fully consistent with the First Amendment. I wonder if Tony understands that.

I understood the sarcasm but just want to add a serious note about Tony.

Did you get it, Tony?

Anyway, I think Tony is going to enjoy the next four years.

Right Doug, as you know I can take it as well as didhing it out, but I don't turn the other cheek! Let me say for the record, or the News & Record, that I did not intrepret the flag thing as disrespecting the flag, but rather expressing a negative opinion about the new president, something, of course, that the "lovable left" has never done to the current president! Or at least never done so quite as benignly!

Andrew, quickly, hide your 401-K! How about the new America where there are no secret ballot union elections? Is this an America that anyone older than 2 days remembers!

Der Furher does not like dissent. Herr Bingaman-Goebels, and the brilliant Chucky Schumer, two of der Furher's Information Ministry Generals are already talking about revising the "Fairness Doctrine." It will just like the good old days in East Germany! I guess I'm in big trouble when the re-educations camps begin to spring up!

Tony, you're a trip. It's bizarre to compare a duly elected president to Hitler, but hey, that's our Tony.

As for my 401-K, I'm still in, bro. I'm in it for the long term, and this too shall pass. And for the record, I'll note that I'm not in favor of reintroducing the Fairness Doctrine. I'm no fan of Fox News, but I certainly don't think biased news organizations like Fox should be censored or corrected or whatever. There are enough options out there to get real news.

Finally, I agree with you about the upside-down flag. Sounds like Constitutionally protected speech to me. But I say the same thing when someone burns a flag. Are you equally consistent?

I draw the line if someone tries to burn the flag at my front door.

Andrew, you missed the point concerning your 401-K. George Miller, another minion of der Furher, has plans to "nationalize" your 401-K. Surely you've heard about this one. The tax deferred contributions are costing the government considerable billions in lost tax revenues, which they want! Besides, it's not fair that some should have more in their account than others so the incoming regime wants, besides recoupment of the lost tax revenue, so they have a plan to make the distributions more fair, you know, that old Capitalist philosophy of "spreading the wealth" or "economic justice!" Yeah, one has to be on the far right fringe to oppose those ideas!

Andrew, you missed the point concerning your 401-K. George Miller, another minion of der Furher, has plans to "nationalize" your 401-K. Surely you've heard about this one. The tax deferred contributions are costing the government considerable billions in lost tax revenues, which they want! Besides, it's not fair that some should have more in their account than others so the incoming regime wants, besides recoupment of the lost tax revenue, so they have a plan to make the distributions more fair, you know, that old Capitalist philosophy of "spreading the wealth" or "economic justice!" Yeah, one has to be on the far right fringe to oppose those ideas!

Andrew, you missed the point concerning your 401-K. George Miller, another minion of der Furher, has plans to "nationalize" your 401-K. Surely you've heard about this one. The tax deferred contributions are costing the government considerable billions in lost tax revenues, which they want! Besides, it's not fair that some should have more in their account than others so the incoming regime wants, besides recoupment of the lost tax revenue, so they have a plan to make the distributions more fair, you know, that old Capitalist philosophy of "spreading the wealth" or "economic justice!" Yeah, one has to be on the far right fringe to oppose those ideas!

Oops, sorry, I don't know how this got repeated. I guess the computer thought it was so good it wanted to be certain there were enough copies for everyone. This never happened with my old Royal typewriter. Oh, how I already miss the good old days!

Easy, Tony. Quit punching your keyboard.

Guys, Ayers is a much better fit for Dept of Homeland Security, not Education. Kind of like how the banks hired famous bank robber Willie Sutton for a security consultant.

I would like to let Mr. George Miller know that I am ready to hand over my 401K's and IRA assets so that he can have them at his disposal. The fact that I have spent 40 years accumulating these assets should not give me a concern in the least. As I am sure, that Mr. Miller has received divine intervention in his mind and he knows exactly the right uses for these resources. Right?

Ace ie the place with the racist hardware man.
(The owner had the day off, right.) All Ace
stores are individually owned, the company told me when I emailed.

Yes. We had a letter the other day from the owner of another local Ace denouncing this one.

http://blog.news-record.com/opinion/letters/archives/2008/11/market_street_store_isnt_repre.shtml