Borys is all over this story.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of
speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to
assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Self elected Luzerne County Republican committeeman Steve Smith is back in the news. He want's to have a hatefest in a park in Moosic but the the locals say he and his ilk are not welcome. The headliner is to be s Merlin Miller, the
presidential candidate of the American Third Position Party. Not on the
ballot in Pennsylvania, Miller believes the U.S. is "degenerating from a
predominantly white, Christian nation" and turning into "a third-world
tower of Babel" because its minority populations are growing, according
to his campaign website. ( I won't link to it).
The Town father's of Moosic are trying to block this relying on a technicality that Smith is not a resident and lied on his permit application but a real resident could apply for a permit.
This reminds me of a controversy in Skokie Illinois from my childhood when some Nazi's wanted to parade in a predominately Jewish town that the Supreme Court ruled that they could do it.
Moosic should defuse this controversy by letting them have their picnic instead of fighting it. Assholes on parade will do more to discredit the haters than letting them drag it through the courts.
And in all truthfulness, they have a right to PEACEABLY assemble. The worst thing a free society can do is to muzzle extremist voices as it only lends them credibility.
ReplyDeleteLet the rally go on. I think the anti-WS crowd will outnumber the White supremacists. ALthough in this area, you never know.
We ain't Skokie.
Where was Boris 3 years ago?
ReplyDeleteSunshine is always the best disinfectant in cases like this, so I agree, let them have their Lilly white picnic. Maybe Congressman Barletta can speak about the evils of immigration. This group seems like his "posse".
ReplyDelete"... Besides the park is not "a political venue," (council President Joseph Mercatili) said, though he did not dispute that the park might have been used for political events, perhaps even by his own election campaign."
ReplyDeleteThat "perhaps," from the Citizens' Voice article, kills me.
How is this any more hateful than urinating on a nativity scene?
ReplyDelete