Two Reasons Why I Want to Move to Sweden

Exhibit one: Ann Coulter.

Further proof Ann Coulter can feel no shame: In her offensive defense of fake reporter Jeff Gannon, Coulter wrote, "Press passes can't be that hard to come by if the White House allows that old Arab Helen Thomas to sit within yards of the president." Ethnic slurs aside, the venerable Thomas – who is of Lebanese descent – has been a pioneer for women in journalism. She has been a reporter for nearly 60 years, and has covered every president since John F. Kennedy.

Exhibit two: Alberto Gonzales.

In laying out his agenda for the Justice Department, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales declared the aggressive prosecution of obscenity cases as one of his top priorities and stated "obscene materials are not protected by the First Amendment." Similar to his predecessor John Ashcroft – under his purview, the DOJ spent thousands of dollars to cover up Justice – Gonzales is determined to impose a moral cleansing that has left people questioning the government rather than the so-called violators. In response to the Bush administration-backed House measure approving a significant increase in the maximum FCC fine to $500,000, Rep. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) said that the real victims of such legislation were "free expression and First Amendment rights," declaring that passage of the bill would "make America a less free society." If the bill passes, in comparison to the fines levied by other agencies, "Bono saying 'f-ing brilliant' on the air would carry the exact same penalty as illegally testing pesticides on human subjects."

And that's just THIS week. (Both items courtesy the Progress Report.)