Real Free Speech Supression

--> by Mark Adams

Via: Bob Cesca at HuffPost

AP: WASHINGTON - In a surprise outburst that cast a diplomatic shadow, a screaming protester confronted President Bush and Chinese President Hu Jintao and interrupted the welcoming ceremony on the White House lawn Thursday. Bush later apologized to the Chinese leader.

"President Bush, stop him from killing," the woman shouted, to the surprise of hundreds of guests spread across the lawn on a sunny, warm day. "President Bush, stop him from persecuting the Falun Gong" — a banned religious movement in China.

* * *

The Secret Service identified the protester as Wenyi Wang, 47. Secret Service spokesman Jim Mackin said she had been charged with disorderly conduct and that a charge of intimidating or disrupting foreign officials also was being considered.

When the government supresses speech, arrests someone for speaking up, that's a First Amendment question.  It's not a "federal case" everytime some blogger does something boneheaded and gets called on it.  Censorship is not the same as self-restraint.   Uncivilized discourse is not necessarily illegal even though it should be universally condemned. 

I know this for a fact because not only does Rosemary agree with me on this point, but so does Wince:

Mark was right, and I was wrong.

Freedom of Speech kicks in when you get charged with a crime for shouting at a communist dictator, in America, right after your President just told the Chinese President:

"China has become successful because the Chinese people are experience the freedom to buy, and to sell, and to produce -- and China can grow even more successful by allowing the Chinese people the freedom to assemble, to speak freely, and to worship."

Now let me get this straight.  The Commander In Chief of the world's most lethal military machine, the leader of the planet's most dominant economy, the President of the most successful democracy in history tells you to lighten up on the oppression thingy, and you aren't supposed to be intimidated.

A lady in the crowd "Gluckerts" a press pass and yells at the leader of a billion people, and she's going to be charged with intimidation?

Okay.  That's a great lesson for the kids.  It was just as sad seeing her news organization turn their back on her.  Maybe, since she must have known she'd be in jeopardy for her actions, it would have been better if she had shouted in the form of a question.


See?  That would have made her sound like a friendly Foxpert and not some crazed protester.  Now she'll be lucky not to end up in Club Gitmo.