BROTHERHOOD OR ELSE!

New Jersey's senior Senator, Frank Lautenberg stated publicly last Friday, that we must adopt German hate speech laws.  This was in response to a single arson incident at a local synagogue.  Quoth the Senator, "The Germans don't let a racist word get out with out prosecution."http://www.njtvonline.org/njtoday/video/njtoday-january-13-2012/ That's very efficient of them but then they've had practice haven't they?  Perhaps as a sign of advancing senility, the eighty eight year old Senator congratulated the Germans in this exercise in totalitarian repression as a successful way of preventing Nazism.  I must admit, there is something to this.  The Nazi's can't come back to power and impose censorship if it already exists.  Bravo!

Lautenberg's call for repression is also a bit premature.  The arsonist(s) have not been caught.  If we don't know who they are, how do we know they are responding to the siren song of some Bergen County  Goebbels?  The arsonist could be some insane homeless person, or a Muslim, or may be a very angry Jew with an axe to grind with that particular Rabbi.  Before trying to interfere with my first amendment rights perhaps Lautenberg might try to make a cause and effect case.

Anti-semites are not the only people Lautenberg wants to silence.  He said the following of Tea Partiers.

"That’s not what they want. They want — they want other people not to be able to have their own opinions. They don’t deserve the freedoms that are in the Constitution! But we’ll give them to them anyway."
So it's comforting to know the Senator may grant some of our rights, even though in his judgement, we don't deserve them.

Lautenberg however is not a wholly consistent enemy of freedom of expression.  Twice, once in 1995, and again in 2006,  he voted against any restriction on burning the American flag.  So it seems that blood is thicker than his patriotism.  This man represents the disgusting little state of New Jersey perfectly.

Note: 2/7/2012.  A suspect in the case has been arrested and seems to have acted alone.  His attorney claims that he is deranged.