Missed civics class
In a misguided attempt to appear ‘fair and balanced,’ the San Francisco Chronicle syndicates Debra Saunders, who may be one of the most poorly educated syndicated conservative columnists writing in the U.S. today. In particular, she seems ignorant of the actual contents of that conservative fetish, the U.S. Constitution. In a recent rant against the Occupy Oakland movement, she attempts the following bon mot:
“Free speech does not mean free camping.”
If memory (or cut and paste) serves me, free speech shares the First Amendment with a prohibition against:
“…interfering with the right to peaceably assemble ”
Except for a few miscreants, the camping has been relatively peaceable.
It’s not the first time that Ms. Saunders has demonstrated her ignorance of Constitutional law. I understand why the paper feels the need to have a token Reactionary in the editorial section, but why did they pick the most stupid one?
Stumble it!
Tags: Debra Saunders, First Amendment, Freedom of Assembly, Freedom of Speech, U.S. Constitution