Supposedly if you are on Chinese soil and search Google for “Tiananmen Square” you will not receive any results that mention a student revolt, death, demonstrations, worldwide outrage – nothing like that.  This link to the Huffington Post illustrates the point succinctly – China censors Google. Of course, Google allows this to happen, but that is not the point of this article.

Tiananmen Square Student Tank Protest

Chinese ability to muzzle their citizens is masterful, bordering on amazing.  Yahoo has a microblogging site called Meme, that is now available in Chinese, but the world’s largest audience of Chinese speakers and readers cannot access this site because the Chinese government has blocked access on the mainland.  Yes, Yahoo’s Meme in Chinese is not available in China.

Facebook, Twitter and many other blogging and social networks have been blocked at times or are currently blocked to Chinese Internet users.  Some members of the government believe that increased online access can lead to social instability and unrest and have requested that websites “monitor” content.

If faced with these restrictions in the USA, there would be a revolt of citizenry, as we are accustomed to and granted certain freedoms, whereas the Chinese are just now able to own personal property, wear (fake) Nike shoes and watch (bootlegged) Hollywood movies.  My question is, are we as Americans better off with China becoming more open and democratic or with their government running the show?

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Sarah Palin on the Oprah Winfrey Show

Ever since Palin burst on the scene as a virtual unknown at the Republican National Convention as John McCain’s improbable running mate, she has gone from overnight sensation, to a running joke to tabloid fodder, for various reasons.  I honestly felt McCain stole the election when I heard her acceptance speech – I was blown away by her communications skills, and felt her blue-collar background, teamed with a card-holding union member husband and heart-string-pulling autistic child sealed the deal.

Then something happened.  She went dark the week following the convention and everyone assumed she was being coached by Team McCain for the grilling she would face as a vice-presidential candidate.  The coaching was piss-poor and the liberal, Obama-loving press turned her into the class dunce, whether accurate or not.  Palin went from an asset to a liability in a matter of weeks, and was ridiculed at every level.

Fast-forward one year, and Palin has mysteriously stepped down from her elected position as governor of Alaska, entered into a feud with Levi Johnston, the father of her illegitimate grandchild, and written a book that will pad her bank account to the tune of several million dollars.  Good for her on the dollars.

Closed-Minded Liberal Bookstores Spit on Sarah Palin’s Book

I am writing this entry at the Portland Airport and can buy her book at the many kiosks, or at any local Border’s or Barnes and Noble.  Yet there are many holier-than-thou independent bookstores that have chosen not to stock the book for no other reason than she is Sarah Palin – Republican.

Imagine for a moment if Bob’s Books in Hackensack, decided not to carry either of the Barack Obama books because his is a democrat?  Reverend Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson would mobilize the troops and protest, targeting all who enter the store with insults and deem the owner and patrons as racist scum.  TV camera crews would paint the store owner as intolerant, closed-minded and hateful, and you would have the reporter finding the tree-hugger in the crowd to get a juicy quote on how such despicable acts in this day and age are unacceptable and how he/she felt we have, as a society moved beyond censoring a community from books.

Liberal Censorship of a Republican is OK, Apparently

Witness the liberal double-standard of the #1 book on the Amazon.com Best Seller List: Nathan Embretson of Pendragon Books in Oakland, California, states in the San Francisco Chronicle, “Our customers are thinking people, they aren’t into reading drivel,” while Emily Stackhouse, the unbiased clerk at San Francisco’s Cover to Cover stated that the book “would gross us all out,” and that “you carry (books) because of freedom of speech, but a book like that is just gross.”  Apparently freedom of speech applies to liberals and to muzzle a Republican is humorous.

There are no pickets outside either bookstore by the National Organization of Women or any other group that would show up if they refused to stock Hilary Clinton’s “Living History” book.  Clinton, you see, is a democrat, and by virtue of her political affiliation has built-in virtue, and her book demonstrates insight and a value to the greater good of society.

That is the rule for republicans – deal with censorship; the regulations are different for liberals.  Liberals cannot be racist, intolerant or closed-minded; it’s not in their DNA.  They believe in free speech – provided the speech is in agreement with what they believe.  Deviate or disagree and they will berate, belittle and call you names.

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