Oh yeah?

The censorship nazis are at it again. This time, a 27 year veteran of the Iowa State Patrol has just been suspended for 30 days over an e-mail that he sent while off-duty and at home. According to KTEV:

OMAHA, Neb. -- An Iowa State trooper who was investigated after it was shown that he forwarded an e-mail showing mug shots of people wearing Obama t-shirts has been suspended for 30 days.

Sgt. Rodney Hicok was at home and off-duty when he forwarded the e-mails, said an official with the Iowa Department of Public Safety Bureau and Professional Standards.

The e-mail made disparaging remarks about 15 people in the photos and referred to Obama as having "quite a fan base."

Hicok was not making a racial statement, the official said, but, rather, a political statement.

In a statement, Hicok said, "I am deeply sorry for my actions … I apologize to anyone this e-mail may have offended, as well as my family, citizens in my community and Iowa taxpayers."

Hicok ended his statement by saying he guaranteed "nothing like this will ever happen again."

"I regret what happened and wish I could take it back," Hicok said in the statement.

He violated the department's policy and his permanent file will reflect the suspension, the official said.

The 27-year veteran, who has no prior offense on his record, will also attend DPS training on policies and procedures.

OK, I've seen the e-mail. It was just a compilation of mug shots put together by The Smoking Gun and it isn't graphic, racist, sexist or otherwise insulting to any group of people...except that group that voted for Obama, obviously. You can go to the link, or you can see it here. It's nothing but an amusing observation about criminals and their apparent presidential choice. Click on the picture to enlarge it and you'll note that every one of these arrestees is wearing an Obama shirt. Surprised? I don't think that anyone really is. Everyone knows that criminals prefer the party that promises to give them something for nothing in exchange for a vote, and that's why Dems court the felon and incarcerated prisoner populations every election season. Frankly, this has circulated for a few weeks now and I really didn't find it worthy of passing along...until now, that is.

Suspending a veteran trooper for a month just for forwarding this from his home computer on his own time? That's outrageous. So Sgt. Hicok, Lagniappe and I have your back on this one. I'LL forward it via this blog, and if you're department has a problem with that, well they can send someone clear out here to kiss my ass. They can't suspend me now, can they? Heck, they can't even force me to write out a humiliating statement of public apology like they did you. And I don't see anything to apologize for. The photos are actual mug shots--public records--and the fact that they're all wearing Obama shirts is just that...a fact. The Democrats court these people. Why is it somehow wrong to point out the obvious?

Well what's wrong is punishing a man for something that he did on his own time as an individual. Political speech is deserving of the highest level of protection per our founding fathers and 200+ years of case law, and that applies to every citizen, including those who work as police officers, and when any citizen's political speech is suppressed or punished, we as a nation need to stand in support of that person. But because this one is a police officer, he's got my support just as a matter of principle. Mess with one of us, mess with all of us. And thanks to this blatant violation of a good man's First Amendment rights, I'm betting that this collection of Obama supporter mug shots is going to get a lot more visibility than it ever would have otherwise.

If you agree, spread this around please.