aldenswan.com

Okay, I haven’t written for a while - not that I haven’t a lot to say, it’s just being “in the moment” and the moment is usually ill-timed. Yeah, I know, that doesn’t make any sense at all, but neither does much of what I read, so I figure I’m okay.

I’ve been thinking of bestowing a Free Speech Award to Denmark because of the whole cartoon-Allah thing. I know they’re not even Americans, but you have to admit, this whole thing has given us a great object lesson about Freedom of Speech: As the Apostle Paul said, “all things are permissable, but not all things are beneficial” (my translation). Or, as someone else has said, “Your freedoms stop where my freedoms begin.”

You see, we can guarantee the right of free speech, but we can’t guarantee that others won’t be offended, or throw some free speech right back at you. They may even decide to trample on some of your freedoms in retaliation, not to mention your face. Sure, there are laws against things like that, but the reality is that it hurts just the same. You can say what you want, but just watch out for what comes back at you.

As another wise man once said, “discretion is the better part of valor.”

My own quotable quote on the subject: “Be free, but don’t be stupid.”

I think this award could be shared by a number of people who spoke at Coretta Scott King’s funeral, and used the platform for their own purposes, mainly to throw stones at the Bush Administration. Apparently nothing is sacred to the Left. However, due to a truly standout performance, I will give the award to none other than former President Jimmy Carter.

Carter has excelled lately at saying stupid things in public, and yesterday was no exception. Besides his comment that Hurricane Katrina was a civil rights issue, he slammed the President on the current spying issue, mentioning that King and her family were once, too, victims of wire-tapping.

He failed to mention, of course, that the wire-tapping had been ordered by Bobby Kennedy during the Kennedy-Johnson administration. So, I guess this award should be given for the best use of “selective free speech.”

Honorable mention should go to the Rev. Joseph Lowery, for the best dramatic presentation of rambling, illogical free speech, and to the brave person who invited Michael Bolton to sing.

I have nothing really important to say, except that certain people give me a hard time when I don’t have something new every day, so “this one’s for you.”

Actually, this is important: My son, Elliot, is in a t-shirt design contest, and at the moment has a very slim lead. So, go to www.whatsyourfactor.com and vote for him (”PanicFactor“).

On a completely different note, this weekend I happened to drive by this Chinese restaurant that has a fairly large sign out front where you can change the letters, like some churches have. It said:

Chinese New Year’s Special!
New Menu Items
The Year of the Dog

I’m thinking perhaps I’ll wait until the year of the chicken…

And, last but not least, did you happen to catch the Stones at half-time yesterday? I wasn’t watching, but heard them from the other room. So much for aging gracefully. You’d think perhaps they would have practiced for a gig like that. It kind of makes you appreciate lip-synchers.

But, here’s the strangest thing about the Stones’ appearance: they had apparently agreed with ABC that there’d be a time-delay and bleep-control, and it seems to me that they purposefully included words that they knew would be bleeped. What’s the deal - was this the Stones’ statement in favor of censorship? Or, are they so old that they now have to conspire with corporate America to stage a phony faux pas to try to maintain their bad-boy image? Either way, the whole thing was pretty sad.

Have a great day.
(and remember to vote for Elliot!)