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In this issue
February 10, 2012
Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: The biblical case against small-mindedness involved diminishing His precious prophet
Caroline B. Glick: The Peace Process is over. Finally
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
Rachel Koning Beals: Gen X Women Continue to Shrink Gender Investing Gap
The Kosher Gourmet by Faith Durand: Who Says You Can't Make Restaurant Favorites at Home?: MANGO AND STICKY RICE
February 9, 2012
Jeff Strickler: An argument a day keeps the divorce away, they say
Clifford D. May: CAIR's Crusade against The Third Jihad
Melissa Healy: Study finds jolt to the brain boosts memory
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
Emily Brandon: 10 Necessities for a Great Retirement Spot
The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: Winter Squash and Red Swiss Chard Risotto is Colorful Cozy Cold Weather Fare (includes detailed dos and don'ts)
February 8, 2012
Rivy Poupko Kletenik: Tree hostility: The auspicious history of the evolution of Tu B'Shevat
Steven Emerson: Planting Trees is Racist?!
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Anne Applebaum: Russia's Potemkin democracy
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
Emily Brandon: 10 Necessities for a Great Retirement Spot
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Kathleen Hennessey and Christi Parsons: Obama not worried that birth-control move will hurt his re-election chances with Catholics, other faithful
Caroline B. Glick: Obama's rhetorical storm
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
David Francis: How to Avoid an IRS Audit
The Kosher Gourmet by Emma Christensen: These homemade energy bars (3 recipes) are far better workout fuel than commercial ones, packing power and taste
February 6, 2012
Scott Peterson: Iran's top ayatollah: We're trumping the West
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Philip Moeller: Where Smart Investors Put Their Money
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: Vegetable Frittata --- leftovers never tasted so scrumptious
February 3, 2012
Rabbi Dr. Warren Goldstein: Living with ideals --- in reality
Caroline B. Glick: Fool me twice
Jonathan Tobin : Adelsonphobia Strikes in Nevada Caucus
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Kimberly Palmer : 8 Ways to Get Ready for Retirement Now
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
The Kosher Gourmet by Faith Durand: A quick cookie recipe: Hazelnut and Olive Oil Shortbread: Sweet, Nutty, and Savory
February 2, 2012
Rabbi Yaakov Rosenblatt : Welcome Home, Governor Perry
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Kelsey Sheehy : 5 Tips for Choosing an M.B.A. Concentration
Rachel Koning Beals : Investors Increasingly Tap Social Media for Stock Tips
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
The Kosher Gourmet by Leela Cyd Ross : Savory vegetable pie is a taste of European bistro with minimal effort and maximal flavor
February 1, 2012
Nara Schoenberg: What to do when you've been dissed
Michelle Malkin: First, They Came for the Catholics
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Lisa M. Krieger: Possible breakthrough in preventing Alzheimer's
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
Susan Johnston: 5 Apps for Organizing Your Expenses at Tax Time
The Kosher Gourmet by Mario Batali: The famed chef's Broccoli and White Bean Soup can easily be a lunch in itself, or a nice antipasto --- and is hard to mess up
January 31, 2012
Paul Greenberg: Separation of Church and State works two ways
Caroline B. Glick: Hamas and the Washington establishment
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: Uncle Sam is joining in efforts to crack down on Islamists' critics
Danielle Kurtzleben: The 10 Worst Cities for Finding a Job
Laura McMullen: 3 Tips to Overcome a Bad Grade in College
The Kosher Gourmet by Faith Durand: Orzo dish mixes plump, chewy grains with caramelized onions, garlic, mushrooms and sweet potato
January 30, 2012
Rabbi Avi Shafran: Blind faith and physics
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
Menachem Wecker: 3 Do's and Don'ts for Healthy Studying in College
The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: Butternut Squash Gratin with Tomato Fondue is a combination of the sweet and creamy
January 27, 2012
Rabbi Berel Wein: What Pharaoh can teach us sophisticates about being stubborn
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
The Kosher Gourmet by Emma Christensen: Barigoule is a light and tangy dish of artichoke hearts stewed in white wine
January 26, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Newt the closet anti-Semite?
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Martin Peretz: One Year Later: The Failure of the Arab Spring
Rachel Koning Beals: Need to Know info before investing in Muni Bonds this year
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
The Kosher Gourmet by Leela Cyd Ross: Curried Coconut Carrot Soup. Need we say more?
January 25, 2012
Andrew Silow-Carroll: Speak politics the Jewish way!
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
Menachem Wecker: Adding an extra 'm' -- marriage -- to that M.B.A.
Melissa Healy: Harnessing shrooms' magic
The Kosher Gourmet by Hilary Meyer: 3 Secrets Leave All of the Comfort in this 'Comfort Food', but few of the Calories
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Jada A. Graves: 6 Careers to Watch in 2012
Jason Koebler: Who Should Have Access to Student Records?
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: This luscious fruit bread marries toasted pecans with juicy pears. Perfect with a pot of tea
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Stephanie Hanes: Toddlers to tweens: Relearning how to play
Jack Kelly : Still ignoring history
Rachel Koning Beals: Awkward Questions You Must Ask Your Financial Adviser
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
The Kosher Gourmet by Emma Christensen: Spanakopita is a golden pie that manages to be healthy yet still taste indulgent
January 19, 2012
Clifford D. May: How terrorists lose their stigma
Suzanne Bohan: Vanquishing social anxieties without drugs
Lisa Fernandez and Sean Webby: In alternative lifestyle, domestic violence means men as victims and women being abusers
Danielle Kurtzleben: The 10 Best Cities for Finding a Job
The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: Three bean soup with gremolata
January 18, 2012
Edward I. Koch: Why the Crocodile Tears, Hillary?
David G. Savage: Supreme Court to Principals: You have been warned
George Friedman of Stratfor: Iran, the U.S. and the Strait of Hormuz Crisis
Jason Koebler: 'Holy Grail' of Flu Vaccines by Next Year
Alex M. Parker: The Off-the-Radar Congressional Targets of 2012
The Kosher Gourmet by Susan Russo: Got soft apples? Make Apple-Maple Walnut Breakfast Quinoa
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
Sharon Palmer, R.D.: Believe it or not, your cuppa joe offers potential health perks
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
The Kosher Gourmet by Emma Christensen: Eleventh-Hour Freezer Pasta, Made Interesting: Ravioli with romesco sauce; Tortellini salad with apples and walnuts
January 13, 2012
Chief Rabbi Dr. Warren Goldstein: Expansion Of Spirit (PROFOUND yet UPLIFTING)
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Rachel Koning Beals:Top Complaints About Daily Deal Sites --- how to avoid missteps
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: Braised Oxtail Stew with Olives
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
Ken Dilanian and David S. Cloud: In secret study, CIA and 15 other U.S. intelligence agencies warn Obama against leaving Afghanistan too soon
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
Menachem Wecker : 4 Technology Must Haves for Online Students
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
Rachel Koning Beals: Should You Invest in Bond Funds or Individual Issues?
The Kosher Gourmet by Faith Durand : Colorful Lentil Salad with Walnuts and Herbs
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
Paul Bedard: Study: Is Fox Too Balanced?
Rachel Koning Beals: Is it Time to Move into Homebuilder Stocks?
The Kosher Gourmet by Carolyn Malcoun: Brothy Chinese Noodles

Half the Sodium (and More Than Twice the Fiber!)

January 9, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: The land-for-peace hoax (MUST-READ/FORWARD/SHARE)
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
Bonnie Miller Rubin: The new college-admission essay: Short and tweet(ish)
Rachel Koning Beals: Why Mid-Caps Stand Out in This Slow-Growth Stretch
The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: Cumin seed roasted cauliflower with salted yogurt, mint and pomegranate seeds
January 6, 2012
Jonathan Rosenblum: Greatness --- and those who sully it
Clifford D. May: The Historian, the Diplomat, and the Spy
Paul Bedard: Study: Obama Is Late Night's Biggest Joke
Rachel Koning Beals: An Investing Guide to Closed-End Funds
The Kosher Gourmet by Faith Durand: Slow Cooker Peppered Beef Shank in Red Wine

Jewish World Review March 19, 2009 / 23 Adar 5769

Hate crimes laws — fighting bias with fascism: The speech I never gave

By Don Feder


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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | Author's Note: I was invited by the UMass Republicans to give this address at a forum at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst on March 11. Due to an organized and highly disruptive demonstration by a mob of socialists. "peace activists" and homosexuals, I was unable to deliver the speech. More on this in a future commentary.

When asked if fascism could ever come to America, Huey Long (the Depression-era governor of Louisiana) replied, "Sure, only here they'll call it anti-fascism."

Hate-crimes laws are fascism in the guise of protecting minorities. They're fascism in crime-prevention drag. They're fascism in the name of combating bigotry and hatred.

Truly, we live in a blessed land. What I'm doing here, this evening — expressing my ideas, not those of the government, not those of the media, not those of the powerful, but my own opinions - is unheard of in much of the world, even at the dawn of the 21st century.

In the 18th century, at the time of the American Revolution, Thomas Jefferson noted that in most of Europe, the views of the king were the views of the kingdom. To express a contrary opinion was to risk life and limb.

In America, freedom of expression and belief includes the freedom to believe things that are manifestly wrong - the freedom to believe things that are dangerous, the freedom to go against public opinion.

Excepting laws against libel and slander, we have the freedom to say things that are hurtful and even hateful. We have the freedom to say things that enrage those who would suppress speech in the name of tolerance.

Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes put it rightly in 1919, when he wrote in his dissenting opinion in Abrams v. United States: "The best test of truth is the power of the thought to get itself accepted in the competition of the market." Holmes added, "I think we should be eternally vigilant against attempts to check the expression of opinions that we loathe and believe to be fraught with death."

In the 1943 Supreme Court case of West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, the majority opinion explained: "If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion or force citizens to confess by word or act their faith therein."

What is a hate crime?

According to a federal law enacted in 1990, a hate crime is one in which there is "manifest evidence of prejudice based on race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or ethnicity, including where appropriate the crimes of murder, non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, aggravated assault, simple assault, intimidation, arson, and the destruction, damage and vandalism of property." This statute requires the FBI to compile hate-crimes statistics, and nothing more.

Federal involvement here is governed by a 1969 law which allows authorities to prosecute a crime that was motivated by the victim's "race, color, religion or national origin," and then only if the offense involves interstate commerce or if the feds act to secure the victim's rights to certain "federally protected activities" — such as voting, enrolling in a public school or traveling on a common carrier.

Lastly, a 1994 law changes federal sentencing guidelines to require enhanced sentences for hate crimes.

In 2007, there was an attempt to amend the law to add "gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability," to the category of protected persons.

Additionally, under this legislation, the federal government would have been free to prosecute such crimes at its discretion, whether or not they interfered with a federally protected right or involved in interstate commerce.

Enhanced sentences for those convicted of such crimes would have included up to an additional 10 years in prison if the defendant "willfully causes bodily injury to any person or through the use of fire, a firearm or an explosive or incendiary device, attempts to cause bodily injury to any person."

The "Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Act of 2007" was passed by Congress but, fortunately, vetoed by then-President Bush. Like The Terminator, it'll be back.

Are hate crimes a serious problem? According to Sen. Edward Kennedy, they are "domestic terrorism" (this from a man who's never seemed overly concerned about foreign terrorism).

In sponsoring his own legislation, our Senator-for-life informed us that there is a national epidemic of hate crimes against homosexuals and the transgendered.

Ladies and gentlemen, there is more of a national epidemic of dengue fever in this country, than there is a national epidemic of hate crimes of all kinds.

According to the FBI Uniform Crime Reports, in 2007, the last year for which statistics are available, there were 16,929 murders and 855,856 cases of aggravated assault in the United States.

By comparison, there were 7,624 hate-crime incidents, involving 9,006 victims. Moreover, of all hate crimes, 32.4 percent were property crimes, such as vandalism.

Of "crimes against persons", 47.4 percent were intimidation — in other words, words alone - and 31.1 percent were simple assault, where no weapon was involved and there was no serious injury. This would include pushing or almost any other physical contact. And so, the vast majority of hate crimes affecting persons (roughly 78 percent) involved only words or an assault in which there was no serious injury or weapon involved.

Of the rest, 20.6 percent were characterized as aggravated assault, defined by the FBI as "an unlawful attack by one person upon another for the purpose of inflicting severe or aggravated bodily injury."

Rounding out the hate-crime statistics, 0.2 percent (2/10ths of 1 percent) of hate crimes involved murders or forcible rape — of which there were 9 murders that year.

To put Senator Kennedy's alleged epidemic in perspective, of all aggravated assaults in 2007, it's estimated that .0013 percent (roughly 1/100th of 1 percent) were hate crimes. Of murders, .00053 percent (roughly 5/1000th of 1 percent) were hate crimes.

Your chances of being the victim of a serious hate crime are comparable to being struck twice by lighting and run over by a high-speed train while skate-boarding on a national holiday. There's a greater chance of drowning in the backseat of Senator Kennedy's car than becoming a hate-crime statistic.

Hate-crimes laws violate the 14th. Amendment's Equal Protection Clause, in that they favor one class of victims over another. The same crimes are treated differently based on the victim's group-identity and the perp's motivation.

Thus, if a man is assaulted because of his race, his assailant will get one sentence.

If the same man is attacked in exactly the same way, with the same outcome, because of his political views, or because he has the misfortune of being a Yankees fan in Massachusetts, his assailant is treated more leniently. If something like the 2007 bill passes, that will also be true of what's termed sexual identity and transgenderism.

At the conclusion of my remarks this evening, if you beat me, shoot me, stab me or attempt to blow me up because of my views, you get one type of punishment. However, if you commit exactly the same offense against my person because I'm a Jew or a Caucasian, you are punished more severely.

Is that fair?

Yes, proponents of hate-crimes laws say, because you have attacked me for what I am. As the American Psychological Association ominously explains, a hate crime is "… not only an attack on one's physical self, but is also an attack on one's very identity."

This is identity-politics applied to the administration of justice. For the left, an attack on a representative of a group (especially a group sanctified as a persecuted minority) is far more serious than an attack on an individual — because, in its worldview, groups count for more than individuals.

Thus, Matthew Shepard becomes far more important than the victims of Jeffrey Dahmer. Shepard's killers "hated," whereas Dahmer was merely hungry.

Along with "the attack on one's very identity," there's a related argument. An attack on a member of group X is somehow an attack on all of X, and results in the intimidation of the entire class.

Let's test the proposition. If you're in a wheelchair and someone 500 miles away is attacked because they're disabled are you intimidated? Angry, perhaps. But intimidated? Will the assault cause you to alter your behavior in any way? Doubtful.

Many of us - we're called grownups - have reconciled ourselves to the fact that there will always be people who hate us because of the color of our skin, the way we pray, our ethnicity, etc.

Humanity being flawed and given to senseless hatred, that's a sad reality. We can admit it and deal with it, or sit in a corner sulking about it and demanding that government do something. That something usually entails punishing thoughts or expression, as well as conduct.

Hate crimes are thought crimes.

If a perpetrator gets 5 years in prison for aggravated assault, but 10 years for hating the person he assaults (if that person is a member of a protected class), clearly, the additional punishment is for his motivation — what he was thinking or believed when the crime took place, the thoughts behind the crime.

It's an attempt to punish ideas — bad ideas, possibly reprehensible ideas, but thoughts, often accompanied by speech, nonetheless.

In hate crimes, motives are all-important, and motivation isn't always what it seems.

Take the 1998 homicide of Matthew Shepard. Was Shepard murdered because he was a homosexual? Possibly. But it's equally plausible that he died because his murderers wanted drug money, and Shepard (weighing in at 105 pounds) was an easy mark. According to a 2004 report by ABC's "20/20," that's what many close to the case believe.

Thomas Jefferson declared: "The legislative powers of government reach to actions only, not to beliefs."

There is a well-founded fear that hate crimes — which are, for the most part, based on actions and words — will eventually mutate into crimes based on words alone.

Witness the case of a group of Christians in Philadelphia who protested a gay pride event in October of 2004.

The incident occurred at Philadelphia's Coming Out Day Celebration, held in a public place, to which Philadelphia taxpayers are forced to contribute $10,000 annually. The "celebration" was picketed by 11 members of a group called Repent America.

These desperate characters, ranging in age from 17 to 72 (the youngest and oldest were women) did no more than peacefully protest. They weren't disruptive. They didn't attempt to block access to the event.

There was no physical contact between the protestors and those attending the event. One demonstrator held a sign that read "Truth is hateful to those who hate truth" — not exactly a lynch mob.

The protestors were themselves harassed by a group called the Pink Angels, who screamed obscenities, blew whistles and held large pink signs in front of them to block their messages.

The police did not interfere with the counter-demonstrators. Instead, they arrested the Christians, a number of whom were charged under Pennsylvania's hate-crimes law called "Ethnic Intimidation."

The Philadelphia District Attorney - who fairly salivated at the prospect of having these miscreants drawn and quartered — got really creative.

The defendants were charged with a number of felonies and misdemeanors, including the aforesaid "ethnic intimidation," criminal conspiracy, possession of instruments of crime (it's unclear whether those were placards or Bibles), reckless endangerment, riot, failure to disperse and disorderly conduct. The D.A. inexplicably overlooked kidnapping, forgery and jaywalking.

If convicted on all counts, each of the defendants could have been sentenced 47 years in prison and $90,000 in fines.

On February 17, 2005, Judge Pamela Dembe, of the Court of Common Pleas for the City of Philadelphia, dismissed all charges against the remaining defendants. After viewing a videotape of the incident which led to the arrests, Judge Dembe announced: "It is clear that there was no violence. There were no threats."

That's interesting. The judge said the case was without merit, but the police insisted on arresting the protestors and the district attorney insisted on treating them as the homophobic equivalent of a combo Klan rally, cross-burning and lynching.

In granting the defendants' motion to dismiss, the judge remarked: "That which is unpopular now, may not always remain so. We can not stifle free speech because some don't want to hear it — or don't want to hear it now."

The prosecution of hate crimes often results in unequal enforcement.

Compare the treatment of the Philadelphia 11 with those participating in a Boston demonstration, on October 29, 2005.

A mob of almost 1,000 left an anti-war rally and descended on Boston's Tremont Temple Baptist Church, where a "Love Won Out" conference was taking place, which included testimony by ex-homosexuals. The demonstrators shouted obscenities and threats of violence and brought a sound truck which was parked near the front doors, blaring the message "Shut it down. Shut it down!"

Do you think those inside the church might reasonably have felt intimidated? Regardless, the police took no action. Apparently, the Boston demonstration was motivated by love and esteem, rather than hate.

When it comes to criminalizing speech, many states are way ahead of the feds.

New Jersey has a law that makes it a hate crime "to communicate in a manner likely to cause alarm or annoyance. " Can you believe it, there are people so depraved that they intentionally cause alarm or annoyance? — the fiends!

In Washington State, it's a crime to "Threaten a specific person or groups of persons and place that person…in reasonable fear of harm to person or property." What is "a reasonable fear of harm"? The law states "For purposes of this section, a 'reasonable person,' is a member of the victim's group." Thus, if a "reasonable member" of the group in question happens to be paranoid, hyper-sensitive or vindictive, and feels "threatened" by any almost sign of disapproval, well, you'd better not raise an eyebrow at them.

Just how far the You-Should-Be-Silenced-Because-I-Feel-Threatened standard can be taken may be seen in an incident that occurred at Ohio State University's Mansfield campus in 2006.

Librarian Scott Savage was concerned about the political imbalance in suggested freshman reading. In an effort to correct this, Savage recommended that freshman read four conservative books — "The Marketing of Evil" by David Kupelian , "The Professors" by David Horowitz, "Eurabia: the Euro-Arab Axis," by Bat Ye'or and (perhaps most shocking of all) "It Takes a Family," by then- United States Senator Rick Santorum.

This blatant attack on the sensibilities of the academic community — recommending conservative books — caused three professors to complain that they felt "unsafe" on campus. One wonders what horrifying scenarios ran through their fevered imaginations: Perhaps they feared the savage beast of the Dewey Decimal System would follow them around campus reading passages from the menacing books.

Given the mindset that dominates academia, it probably should come as no surprise that the entire faculty voted to file charges of sex-discrimination and harassment against Savage for (as their complaint put it) "anti-gay hate-mongering" — all for recommending four books.

It's a wonder that the librarian's detractors didn't don armbands, build a bonfire and march around it, consigning arm-loads of conservative books to the flames. Surely, that would have made them feel safer on campus.

When this insanity came to the notice of the non-academic community, the charges against Savage were quietly dropped.

Still, when it comes to censorship, our neighbors to the north and those ultra-sophisticated Europeans are way ahead of us.

Canada's Human Rights Act was originally intended to ensure "equal opportunity" to individuals who might be victims of discriminatory practices. The law, which sets up a Human Rights Commission to investigate complaints and a Human Rights Tribunal to judge them, has spawned a plethora of provincial equivalents.

The law keeps morphing, so that now discrimination includes hurting the feelings of a victim group. The Human Rights Commissions are usually manned by what a writer on salon.com called "a banal, clerical bureaucrat." Canadian Human Rights Tribunals are the hate-crimes equivalent of the Spanish Inquisition, without the ambience.

In 2001, Hugh Owens, a resident of Saskatchewan, published a small ad in a local newspaper which was illustrated with two stick-figure men holding hands in a circle with a line drawn though it. The ad included a few Bible verses. The Saskatchewan Human Rights Tribunal ordered Owens and the newspaper to pay $4,500 to three homosexuals who were traumatized and scared for life by the stick-figure men.

On New Year's Day 2004, two plainclothes policemen showed up at the home of Canadian Internet journalist Robert Jason to investigate a possible hate crime after a gay activist complained that he was personally threatened by Jason's pro-family website — which, needless to say, he was forced to visit every day, and twice on Sundays. Can anyone say "chilling effect"?

In 2006, well-known columnist Mark Steyn wrote a book called "America Alone: The End of The World As We Know It." Macleans, Canada's largest-circulation magazine, published an excerpt that it titled "The Future Belongs To Islam." That's when the hummus really hit the fan.

A Canadian Muslim group claimed that both Steyn and Maclean's had violated Canada's anti-discrimination/don't-hurt- anyone's-feelings law, by misrepresenting "Canadian Muslims' values, their community and their religion." Misrepresenting the Muslim faith, would that be like saying that Islam is a religion of peace?

Maclean's lawyer, Roger McConchie, observed that according to Canada's anti-discrimination law (hate crimes detached from actual crimes): "Innocent intent is not a defense. Nor is truth. Nor is true comment on fair facts. Publication in the public interest and for the public benefit is not a defense. Opinion expressed in good faith is not a defense. Responsible journalism is not a defense."

Star Chamber proceedings against Steyn and Macleans eventually ended, when even some liberals started complaining about the absurdity of it all.

On the liberal website salon.com, on January 13, 2008, Glenn Greenwald (an author and civil rights litigator who loathes conservative views, including Steyn's work, which he calls "pernicious") wrote: "Empowering the State to punish speech is not only the most dangerous step a society can take — though it is that — it's also the most senseless. It never achieves the intended effect of suppressing or eliminating a particular view. If anything, it has the opposite effect, by driving it underground, thus preventing debate and exposure."

Punishing speech is the objective of American hate-crimes laws, which currently punish views that motivate actions, but which could soon penalize words alone

The Dutch are reputed to be the quintessence of tolerance. They've legalized soft drugs, prostitution, euthanasia and same-sex marriage. It's even legal to have gay sex in Amsterdam's public parks. Soon, it may be mandatory.

But when Dutch tolerance meets political correctness, in the words of the Johnny Mercer song, "somethin's gotta give". That something is freedom of expression.

In January, a Dutch appeals court ordered Geert Wilders to stand trial for making a movie. The court directed prosecutors to charge him with "inciting hatred and discrimination against Muslims."

A member of the Dutch parliament, Wilders made a 10-minute documentary called "Fitna" (viewed millions of times on YouTube) which consists mostly of verses from the Koran, that Wilders says incite violence and death to infidels. There are also scenes of a radical imam doing the ever-popular death-to-the-Jews rumba.

The court's ruling comes six months after Dutch prosecutors announced that Wilder's film contributed to the public debate on Islam and that the parliamentarian had committed no criminal offense.

Now, Wilders will stand trial for trying to further the debate on a subject about which, the left has announced, the debate is closed.

The Organization of the Islamic Conference, which represents nations where minority rights are scrupulously respected (just kidding), admonishes that there is a "thin line separating freedom of speech and the instigation of hatred, animosity and discrimination." The attitude seems to be: We can say it, but if you quote us, that's Islamophobia.

Jordan, an OIC member-state in good standing, is demanding Wilders' extradition to stand trial for the crime of "blasphemy of Islam," which, under Shari'a law, is punishable by death.

By the way, at different times, various imams, sheiks and mullahs have told us that cartoons depicting Mohammed and the Pope quoting a 14th. century Byzantine emperor are also blasphemy of Islam — hence the 2006 demonstrations calling for the pontiff's death.

On January 28, 2009, Egyptian cleric Ahmad Abd Al-Salam spoke on Al-Nas TV, a religious channel broadcasting in Arabic.

His remarks were simply titled "Why We Hate the Jews," and contained such lunatic ravings as — The Jews "invest their utmost efforts… in conspiring how to corrupt the Islamic Nation… This is why we hate them." Also, the Jews "infect food with cancer and ship it to Muslim countries." And "The Jews conspire to bring Muslim youth down to the pit of sexual temptation."

Such rancid rhetoric is heard daily in the Arab media. Should Mr. Al-Salam be extradited to Israel, there to stand trial for slandering Judaism and the Jewish people? In Egypt, you aren't placed on trial for the instigation of hatred, animosity and discrimination against Jews, you get a medal and a weekend at a Sinai resort.

Here's an example closer to home. During the Gaza fighting, the ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) Coalition held an anti-Israel rally in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. There were at least 200 in the ANSWER crowd, and a much smaller group of Jewish counter-demonstrators.

At one point, a woman in a traditional Muslim headdress began cursing the Jews, and shouting: "Go back to the oven" and "You need a big oven, that's what you need" — in reference to the millions of Jews who were cremated by the Nazis during World War II.

Does this qualify as a hate crime? What if the crude anti-Semite made a threatening gesture toward the Jewish activists? What if the Jews had reasonable cause to feel threatened by the much larger pro-Palestinian crowd?

After calling for a resumption of the Holocaust, if the woman had hit one of the Jews over the head with a picket sign, should she be charged with assault or with a more serious hate crime?

Many evangelicals rightly fear that hate-crimes laws will be used against Christians here, as they are in Europe, to punish preaching the Gospel.

Take the case of Swedish Pastor Ake Green. Sweden is one of the European free-speech meccas where speech alone is punished, providing it's hateful and that those offended can claim victim status.

Green, an evangelical pastor from southern Sweden, was sentenced to a month in jail for a 2003 sermon "inciting hatred." The pastor had his sermon, citing Scripture on homosexuality, published in a local newspaper.

In it, he compared Sweden to a biblical city that experienced instant urban renewal, but ended with the words, "What these people need, who live under the slavery of sexual immorality, is an abundant grace… We can not condemn these people. Jesus never belittled anyone. He offered them grace."

In demanding that charges be brought against Green, a spokesman for Sweden's national gay and lesbian organization insisted: "Hatred and defamation is not accepted, just because it is based on religious beliefs or religious scriptures. You have some limits when it comes to freedom of speech." In Europe, limits on freedom of expression abound.

Britain's High Court ruled that Harry Hammond, a 69-year-old evangelical, was properly convicted for holding a protest sign that read "Stop Immorality. Stop Homosexuality. Stop Lesbianism," notwithstanding that, while he was protesting peacefully, he was assaulted by onlookers (dirt was thrown at him, water poured over his head, someone tried to wrest his sign away, and he was knocked to the ground). Hammond was fined 330 pounds and ordered to pay 395 pounds in court costs.

The Anglican Bishop of Chester, Dr. Peter Forester, was investigated by police for saying that homosexuals "could and should seek medical help to reorient themselves."

A columnist for the London Telegraph wrote: "That the bishop should be threatened with prosecution for a perfectly reasonable, if debatable, suggestion will strike people still in their senses as a bad joke, a case of … 'political correctness gone mad.' Unfortunately, it is much more serious than that. Here are the unmistakable beginnings of state thought control."

When he was tried, the prosecutor asked Pastor Green if he would retract his previously stated views. The pastor said he was following the Bible. To this the prosecutor replied, "Then get another Bible." You see how easy it is. If your Bible offends the prevailing cultural ethos, find one that doesn't.

Pastor Ake's Green conviction was overturned by Sweden's high court, when his lawyers threatened to take the case to the European Court for Human Rights.

Easily the most hilarious example of hate speech careening out of control was a controversy in the Disunited Kingdom in 2006.

In an interview on BBC Radio 4, Sir Iqbal Sacranie, secretary general of the Muslim Council of Great Britain, said civil partnerships are "harmful" and "not acceptable." He too was investigated by the police, who declined to press charges.

A British gay group charged Sir Iqbal with homophobia. This caused the Muslim Council to charge the gays with — you guessed it — Islamaphobia. "You hate me!" "No, you hate me more!" Dueling phobias.

I could cite other cases, in Canada and Europe, where individuals have suffered for what they've said in public, on the air, in a letter-to-the-editor or with a protest sign.

This is where American hate-crimes laws will eventually lead.

It shouldn't be necessary to say this, but obviously no one should be assaulted, robbed, raped or killed for their race, religion, ethnicity, gender or lifestyle. Such crimes are abhorrent and condemned by all decent people.

If you think the penalties for these offenses aren't tough enough, by all means, work to make them more stringent.

But don't criminalize speech. Punish the act itself, not the ideas behind it, even ideas you find abhorrent.

For the record, I would not punish the Philadelphia 11, or Mark Steyn, or Pastor Ake Green or the Nazi-sympathizer in Fort Lauderdale, or the Egyptian cleric who claimed Jews infect the food shipped to Muslim countries and conspire to sexually tempt their youth.

Nor would I punish the contemptible cretins who deny that the Holocaust happened — which, by the way, is a crime in Canada, Germany and France.

"I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." That quote, usually attributed to Voltaire, has become a cliche.

Yet it represents 19th century liberalism at its best — the idea that if one man is censored, the freedom of all men is diminished.

Some in this audience may think that those who commit hate crimes are evil, and deserve to be punished more severely than ordinary criminals for the same act.

Some may have no problem with the premise that speech alone should be actionable. If what's said offends them, makes them feel "unsafe," calls their conduct into question, or passes judgment on them, they believe it should be silenced

Be careful, the principle you establish today could come back to haunt you. Thought crimes — which hate crimes manifestly are — is the proverbial double-edged sword.

Recall that it wasn't all that long ago that to step across the race line was a crime in certain states.

Bull Connor, the public safety commissioner of Birmingham Alabama in the early '60s, felt so intimidated by civil rights demonstrators that he used fire hoses and attack dogs against them. One of the arguments white Southerners used to fight for Jim Crow was that integration would make them feel unsafe.

Ultimately, safety for minorities — as well as the rest of us — not to mention the survival of free speech, lies in the unfettered marketplace of ideas.

Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.

Send your comments by clicking here. JWR contributor Don Feder is a former syndicated columnist for the Boston Herald and author of Who's Afraid of the Religious Right? (Regnery) and A Jewish Conservative Looks at Pagan America. He works as a freelance writer and media consultant and serves as the president of Jews Against Anti-Christian Defamation.

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