eau de porneau.

Free-Speech Case Divides Bush and Religious Right - New York Times

The solicitor general’s office does not comment publicly on its cases. But Mr. Starr, by contrast, was happy to talk about the case and the alignment against him of many of his old allies. “It’s reassuring to have lots of friends of liberty running around,” he said in a cheerful tone, adding: “I welcome this outpouring because it will help the court see that it shouldn’t go too far either way.”

The aforementioned link is merely one in the sea of articles stating that there’s now a divide between Bush and the Religious Right. This is simply not true. There’s a split between people in Bush’s administration and some legal groups that were started by key figures on the Religious Right, namely Pat Robertson.

In any case, while the kid probably shouldn’t have stood in front of the cameras with a sign that said “Bong Hits 4 Jesus,” the whole case is bullshit. In order to buy the argument of either side, you have to accept that either drug use is immoral and its promotion should be hindered at any cost, or people should be able to say whatever they want, however they want, whenever they want.

I really don’t think that there’s anything wrong with a kid displaying a message that’s clearly a joke, even if said message is on TV. I also don’t think there’s anything wrong with people taking bong hits, or people doing so in the name of Jesus. Some may disagree with me, but that’s okay. I said it before, and I’ll say it now, again. This is a bullshit principal’s office debate that’s gone WAY too far.

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