SHAVING THE COST OF BLADES

Tom Ciullo: “You can usually buy Mach 3 Turbo blades on an eBay auction for around $1.25 per blade, vs. the $2.00 or more you will usually pay at your local drugstore/mass merchandiser.”

FINDING THE NEAREST FREE-SPEECH ZONE

Last summer we had the story of the man who held up a NO WAR FOR OIL sign in a crowd gathered to welcome Bush at a South Carolina airport.  He was not only arrested, he was prosecuted with your tax dollars by the Ashcroft Justice Department.  This summer we have the story of a couple charged with trespassing on the Fourth of July for wearing anti-Bush t-shirts at a Bush event in West Virginia.  When they refused to leave the event, for which they had tickets, they were handcuffed and ejected.  Shortly thereafter, on stage, President Bush said, “We're thankful that this nation they created 228 years ago remains free and independent and the best hope for all mankind.”

In part, from the July 8 West Virginia Gazette:

A worker with the Federal Emergency Management Agency who wore an anti-Bush T-shirt at the president's July Fourth rally in Charleston has been sent home to Texas.

Nicole Rank, who was working for FEMA in West Virginia, and her husband, Jeff, were removed from the Capitol grounds in handcuffs shortly before Bush's speech. The pair wore T-shirts with the message "Love America, Hate Bush."

The Ranks were ticketed for trespassing and released. They have been given summonses to appear in court, Charleston Police Lt. C.A. Vincent said Wednesday.

FEMA spokesman Ross Fredenburg would not say Wednesday whether Nicole Rank had been fired.

"All we can say is that our federal coordinating officer, Lou Botta, sent Nicole home," he said. "We cannot comment further, to protect her privacy. Federal privacy laws prevent us from saying anything."

. . . Those who attended Bush's speech were required to have tickets that were distributed by various employers in the area and by the office of Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va.

Those who applied for tickets were required to supply their names, addresses, birth dates, birthplaces and Social Security numbers.

A two-page document given to ticket holders said they were prohibited from bringing certain items to the event, including: weapons, video-recording equipment, food, beverages, umbrellas, signs and banners. T-shirts, political buttons and lapel pins were not on the list of prohibited items.

PLEASE WATCH THIS

I know you don’t all see “The Daily Show.”  But see at least this much – and pass it on.