A Jeffersonian Democrat

By JAMES TARANTO

A display of bigotry at the inauguration--but let's not be meatheads about it.

At President Obama's inauguration yesterday, one part of the official program struck a discordant note with many viewers. The Associated Press describes it:

After the first black president had been sworn in, Rev. Joseph Lowery ended his benediction with a rhyme familiar to black churchgoers:

"We ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get in back, when brown can stick around . . ."

There was laughter from the enormous crowd. The 87-year-old civil rights pioneer continued:

"When yellow will be mellow, when the red man can get ahead, man; and when white will embrace what is right. That all those who do justice and love mercy say Amen."

The AP rather hilariously describes this as "a note of racial caution," even though it is far from judicious or circumspect. Is it possible that a wire service scribe is making a play on words--i.e., suggesting, That Joe Lowery, he's such a caution!? Probably not. Our sense is that the AP wouldn't hire someone that clever.
Yet try as we might, and in contrast with several of our readers who've emailed us about Lowery's remark, we are unable to muster any offense at it. Maybe that's in part because over the weekend we saw "Gran Torino," in which Clint Eastwood's character uses racist banter to great comic effect. We've also been watching old episodes of "All in the Family" on the TV Land cable network, in which the late Carroll O'Connor does the same thing. And of course Norman Lear also gave us "The Jeffersons" and "Sanford and Son," sitcoms with black bigots in the lead roles. The actors who played these amusing bigots were all born in the 1920s and '30s--as was Lowery, who is 87.
Unlike George Jefferson, of course, Lowery is a real person and not a fictitious character. In his youth, Lowery was also a genuine hero--an organizer of the Montgomery bus boycott and founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an important civil-rights organization.
One of the striking things about watching "All in the Family" more than 35 years later is that Archie Bunker turns out to be the most sympathetic character. When he argues with his liberal son-in-law, he's right about half the time and wrong about half the time, but you forgive the latter because he was a product of his times. On the other hand, the earnest self-righteousness of the son-in-law is grating, even when he is right on the merits.
So if Joseph Lowery wants to spend his dotage clowning around in a bigoted way, we can afford to indulge him. There's no reason to be meatheads about it.
We Have Ways of Making You Tolerant
A Dutch appeals court has overruled the decision of prosecutors and ordered them to put parliamentarian Geert Wilders on trial for "making anti-Islamic statements," the BBC reports:

"In a democratic system, hate speech is considered so serious that it is in the general interest to . . . draw a clear line," the court in Amsterdam said. . . .

The three judges said that they had weighed Mr Wilders's "one-sided generalisations" against his right to free speech, and ruled that he had gone beyond the normal leeway granted to politicians.

"The Amsterdam appeals court has ordered the prosecution of member of parliament Geert Wilders for inciting hatred and discrimination, based on comments by him in various media on Muslims and their beliefs," the court said in a statement.

"The court also considers appropriate criminal prosecution for insulting Muslim worshippers because of comparisons between Islam and Nazism made by Wilders," it added. . . .

Mr Wilders described the Koran as a "fascist book" and called for it to be banned in "the same way we ban Mein Kampf," in a letter published in the De Volkskrant newspaper.

In November we interviewed Wilders for The Wall Street Journal, and we faulted him for his "fascist book" statement, which he repeated during our conversation. But of course disagreement is one thing, censorship quite another. And while in certain cases Americans can be prosecuted for incitement, Wilders is charged only with inciting an emotion, "hatred," not any violent or lawless action.
During the Bush administration, we often heard complaints from the left that free speech was under attack--but usually the supposed victims suffered nothing worse than harsh criticism. It's as if Dutch Muslims were complaining that Wilders had violated their freedom of speech by saying nasty things about their beliefs.
We Americans can count our blessings that Dutch-style official censorship is a legal impossibility here (although the best minds in American academia have devoted a lot of energy to the effort). It did not necessarily have to be that way. In the 1952 case of Beauharnais v. Illinois, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a criminal libel statute prohibiting any expression that "portrays depravity, criminality, unchastity, or lack of virtue of a class of citizens, of any race, color, creed or religion" and thereby "exposes the citizens of any race, color, creed or religion to contempt, derision, or obloquy."
Beauharnais was never formally overturned, but it was superseded by later decisions taking an expansive view of free speech, especially New York Times v. Sullivan, which made civil libel cases very difficult for plaintiffs to win.
It was perhaps easier for the court to rule in favor of free speech in Sullivan because the plaintiff was an unsympathetic figure--a racist elected official from Alabama. By contrast, Beauharnais featured an unsympathetic defendant, a man who had been prosecuted for distributing white-supremacist pamphlets in Chicago. But later in the 1960s and '70s the court applied its precedents to protect the speech of racists as well.
The principle of free speech is too important to set aside merely because some listeners find a speaker's views noxious. Whatever you think of Geert Wilders's opinion of Islam, the decision to prosecute him is a travesty.
'The World' Against Obama
Bloomberg sends a team of reporters to places ruled by anti-American regimes--Gaza, Iran, Venezuela--and also to Pakistan, to get reaction to President Obama's inauguration. Surprise, surprise, the quotes it collects are still anti-American:

In Venezuela, where President Hugo Chavez repeatedly threatened to cut off oil exports to the U.S. during George W. Bush's administration for supposedly engaging in internal meddling and plots to remove him from power, Maira Rios says she sees little difference between Obama and his predecessor.

Obama "is a black Bush," Rios, a 50-year-old former city worker, said. . . .

In Gaza City's Daraj quarter, Abdel Karim Saleh, 48, struggled to listen to the inauguration over the clanking noise from a generator chained to a wall outside his home. He lost power as a result of the three-week war with Israel that was halted by a cease-fire this week.

Saleh sat in a living room adorned with posters of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and Abdel Aziz Rantisi, leaders of the Hamas movement--considered a terrorist organization by the U.S.--who were assassinated by Israel in 2004. Jews, he said, control America, and Obama won't change its alliance with Israel.

"America has to understand that Islam is the solution and the world sooner or later is going to turn into an Islamic world," Saleh said.

Sorry, Saleh, we are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus--and nonbelievers. And we like it that way. If you want to convert the world to Islam, why not start with Venezuela?
Enemies at Home
Markos "Kos" Moulitsas has an unwittingly funny commentary on President Obama's inauguration:

Watching the celebration of America that is today's inauguration festivities, one thing strikes--the difference between our version of patriotism and the Right's.

For the Right, it's jingoistic "USA! USA! WE'RE NUMBER ONE AND WILL KICK YOUR ASS!" It's alway [sic] us versus someone else. It's confrontational.

Our version of patriotism is a celebration of what makes our nation great. It's the diversity, our people, our communities. Rather than confrontational, it's communitarian.

We don't need to start wars and kick someone's ass to feel proud to be American.

In other words, the Angry Left doesn't need foreign enemies. They're perfectly content to hate their fellow Americans who disagree with them.
Though come to think of it, when Obama said "we will defeat you," we're pretty sure he wasn't addressing Mitch McConnell or Joe Lieberman.
Life Imitates the Movies

• Jessup: "Wait. Wait. I've got a better idea. Let's transfer the whole squad off the base. Let's--on second thought--Windward. The whole Windward division, let's transfer 'em off the base. Jon, go on out there and get those boys down off the fence, they're packing their bags. Tom!" [The orderly comes in from the outer office.] Orderly: "Sir!" Jessup: "Get me the president on the phone, we're surrendering our position in Cuba." Orderly: "Yes, sir!" Jessup: "Wait a minute, Tom." [The orderly stops.] Jessup: "Don't call the president just yet. Maybe we should consider this for a second."--dialogue from "A Few Good Men," 1992
• "Obama Draft Order Calls for Closing Guantanamo Bay"--headline, Associated Press, Jan. 21, 2009

Well, Excuuuuuse Me!

• "You can be a millionaire, and never pay taxes! You can be a millionaire, and never pay taxes! You say, 'Steve, how can I be a millionaire, and never pay taxes?' First, get a million dollars. Now, you say, 'Steve, what do I say to the tax man when he comes to my door and says, "You.. have never paid taxes"?' Two simple words. Two simple words in the English language: 'I forgot!' "--Steve Martin, "Saturday Night Live," Jan. 21, 1978
• "Geithner Apologizes Over Taxes"--headline, WSJ.com, Jan. 21, 2009

That Didn't Last Long

• "Bulls Enjoying Record Year"--headline, Tampa Tribune, Jan. 20
• "Stocks Plummet on Banking Fears; Dow's Worst Inaugural Day Ever"--headline, USA Today Web site, Jan. 20

Noa Nods
Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated in 1995, not 1994 as Israeli songstress Achinoam Nini said in an "open letter" we quoted yesterday.
None Just Left the Room
"UPDATE--Mexico's Slim May Invest in New York Times--Source"--headline, Reuters, Jan. 18
Life Imitates the Onion

• "Family Secret Turns Out to Be Boring"--headline, Onion, Dec. 15, 2004
• "Mom Keeps Pet's Death Secret"--headline, CNN.com, Jan. 16, 2009

If a Reptile Keeper Bit a Komodo Dragon, That Would Be News
"Komodo Dragon in Virginia Bites Aquarium Reptile Keeper During Feeding"--headline, FoxNews.com, Jan. 17
Let's See: Skippy, Jif, Peter Pan . . .
"More Peanut Butter Products Recalled"--headline, MSNBC.com, Jan. 18
. . . Oh Yeah, and Little Debbie!
"Little Debbie Peanut Butter Crackers Recalled"--headline, Associated Press, Jan. 18
'It Was So Good, We All Screamed for It'
"Fred Meyer, QFC Recall Ice Cream"--headline, Seattle Times, Jan. 20
'Full House!'
"The Cost of a Flush Just Went Up in St. Pete Beach"--headline, St. Petersburg Times, Jan. 21
And You Thought College Was Expensive
"Full-Day Kindergarten Will Cost Millions"--headline, Muskegon (Mich.) Chronicle, Jan. 18
What's a Mother to Do?

• " 'Label Your Kids' Among Tips Suggested by Swearing-In Vets"--headline, Washington Post, Jan. 18, 2009
• "Why Labeling Children Is Harmful: ODD, ADHD, Aspergias, Dyslexia, Etc."--headline, DigitalJournal.com, Aug. 15, 2007

Everything Seemingly Is Spinning Out of Control

• "Rampaging Wild Elephants Kill 3 in Northeast India"--headline, New York Times, Jan. 17
• "Sprawl Flattens Frogs, Other Amphibians Struggling to Survive"--headline, Seattle Times, Jan. 21
• "Iguanas Fall From Trees in Florida"--headline, United Press International, Jan. 19
• "Two Minor Girls Married Off to Frogs"--headline, Times of India, Jan. 17
• "Palm Oil Frenzy Threatens to Wipe Out Orangutans"--headline, Associated Press, Jan. 18
• "Firefighters: Flaming Squirrel to Blame in Jones Wildfire"--headline, KOCO-TV Web site (Oklahoma City), Jan. 21
• "Former French President Chirac Hospitalised After Mauling by His Clinically Depressed Poodle"--headline, Daily Mail (London), Jan. 21
• " 'Barney' Becoming Pop Stardom Steppingstone"--headline, Associated Press, Jan. 19

News of the Tautological

• "Airlines Threaten to Move Flights From Atlanta"--headline, Associated Press, Jan. 19
• "A New Day Dawns for America, World"--headline, St. Petersburg Times, Jan. 21
• "Last Israeli Troops Leave Gaza, Completing Pullout"--headline, Associated Press, Jan. 21

News You Can Use

• "Refusing to Have Sex on the First Date 'Increases the Chances of Finding a Good Man' "--headline, Daily Telegraph (London), Jan. 16
• "Cheerleading Can Save Lives"--headline, Knoxville (Tenn.) News Sentinel Web site, Jan. 16
• "How to Get a Panda Preggers"--headline, WRC-TV Web site (Washington), Jan. 18

Bottom Stories of the Day

• "Mazda Has No Plans for Electric Vehicles"--headline, Detroit News, Jan. 19
• "Inauguration Cell Traffic Doesn't Cripple Networks"--headline, Channel Wire, Jan. 20
• "Joe Biden Sworn In as 47th Vice President"--headline, Associated Press, Jan. 20
• "Surveyed Scientists Agree Global Warming Is Real"--headline, CNN.com, Jan. 20

Think Locally, Act Globally
From the New York Times:

The local food movement has been all about buying seasonal food from nearby farmers. Now, thanks to the Web, it is expanding to include far-away farmers too.

A new start-up, Foodzie, is an online farmers market where small, artisan food producers and growers can sell their products. Foodies in Florida, say, can order raw, handcrafted pepperjack cheese from Traver, Calif., or organic, fair-trade coffee truffles from Boulder, Colo.

What a great idea! And why not take it one step further? Farmers could band together and form large organizations--call them "corporations"--to grow and distribute mass quantities of food. Retail operations could be set up in every town; they would be sort of super farmers markets, or "supermarkets" for short. Soon everyone everywhere would be able to buy local food from all over the world!