Freedom on the march

"Freedom is on the march." W says that early and often. He was in Ulan Bator, Mongolia (maybe the best name for a country's capitol although Addis Ababa is really good too) thanking the Mongols for helping in Iraq. W must have a soft spot in his hard heart for Ghengis Khan as he said as President-elect, "If this were a dictatorship, it'd be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I'm the dictator." So freedom is on the march? Wish it were marching or even crawling in places like Massachusetts and Colorado.

"ACLU has taken up a small but important story from when W came through on a political dog and pony show. You may remember (and when I say "you" ireally mean "you" as in my one blog reader) in Denver this past March three people were kicked out of a Bush Social Security privitazation campaign stop by someone who by all appearances was with the Secret Service. The three had personally picked up tickets from the the offices of Republican Congressman Bob Beauprez (R-Colo.) and the presidential event was entirely paid for by taxpayers. As they entered they were told they had been "ID'ed" and were warned that any disruption would get them arrested. After being seated in the audience the three were told it was a "private event" and forcibly removed before the President arrived, even though they had not been disruptive. It turns out it was a Republican staffer who kicked them out (and was under investigation for impersonating a Secret Service agent) and that they had been "ID'ed" when local Republican staffers saw a bumper sticker on the car they drove in which said "No More Blood For Oil."

Freedom on the march.

Now there is this from the "Are we really in the 21st Century" file. In Massachusetts the state has warned the upscale Whole Foods supermarket chain that it will risk criminal charges under the state's centuries-old "blue laws" if it goes ahead with plans to open on the Thanksgiving holiday. Many of the state's Puritan-era blue laws, passed in the 1600s to keep colonists at home or in church on Sundays, have been repealed, such as a ban of liquor sales on Sundays. But one that remains in effect requires all stores, except convenience stores and gas stations, to close on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day.

Freedom is marching all right. Just to the tune of loony drummers.

BONUS POSTING: This made me laugh. In fact this Mike Luckovich site of political cartoons should be a daily visit.