We Reform Clubbers have to stick together, so in lockstep with Doc Zycher, I wrote a diminutive piece for Human Events decrying the heavy-handed treatment of the lady who heckled Hu.
Here is a slender sliver to whet your appetite:
Apparently it was not enough that the police had her removed afterwards. Not enough that Chinese TV cut off the broadcast of the event until after she was subdued. Not enough that President Bush apologized to Hu for his being discomfited. It was necessary, right here in the U.S. of A., in the land of the free and the home of the brave, to arrest this menace to society before she could wreak havoc on defenseless visiting tyrants. She is being charged with “willingly intimidating or disrupting a foreign official”, says Secret Service spokesman Jonathan Cherry. This carries a maximum sentence of six months.
So poor Hu, all intimidated and disrupted, gets to return home to pull the wings off flies or whatever dictators do for recreation, while a decent woman, a New York City doctor who put her conscience ahead of her career for a day, has to face federal prison. What am I missing here?
2 comments:
Well, I strongly disagree she should be let off, just because China sucks. That's banana republic behavior. (I understand there was no state dinner for Hu---the administration registered its disapproval in a properly civilized way.)
But let me reiterate my opposition to federalizing certain crimes and misdemeanors because they are politically incorrect. I've been pleased that the Supreme Court has struck down attempts to federalize the issues of guns near schools, domestic violence, and blocking abortion clinics.
A penalty of six months in the clink for yelling at a totalitarian is unjust.
Even Klink didn't give six months for yelling.
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