The USBF should represent the whole country, not the right-wing war-mongers and profiteers currently in charge.

tOM

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If you want a really good laugh, go to the United States Bridge Federation’s website and read their “Statement of Damage.” Amid the statement’s numerous non sequiturs, lapses of logic, and general tone of hysteria, one passage in particular stands out: “Certain members of VCW have complained that the USBF apology to the WBF and the Chinese Contract Bridge Association for the VCW’s conduct was unwarranted. This reflects a complete disregard for the fact that the Chinese government, which does not exactly have a history of sympathetic views toward political dissent, provided the bulk of financial support for both the 2007 World Championship and the 2008 World Bridge Olympiad.”

So let’s be clear about what they’re saying: Because the totalitarians who rule China don’t have “sympathetic views toward political dissent,” the Federatin thinks that the players who held up the sign and the USBF should adopt the same attitude. Especially since China provided some of the funding. In other words, the USBF is perfectly willing to sell out bedrock American values to totalitarians in exchange for a little funding. Sorry folks, but freedom is messy — the USBF will just have to explain that to their Chinese friends.

Let’s not forget, also, the punishment the USBF is trying to impose: a one-year suspension, an apology drafted by the USBF and signed by the players,and 200 hours of community service for the cause of bridge(doing what, teaching bridge to inner city kids?). As Keith Olbermann suggested on MSNBC last night, the USBF should change its name to the Soviet Bridge Federation. They’re a bunch of petty tyrants and they are the real embarrassment to our country. It’s depressing that so many writers on this website are so blithely willing to jettison cherished American ideals in favor of a prissy decorum and unthinking obedience to the hysterics who run the USBF.

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Mike’s America has it just right. If a team held up a terrifically offensive (to almost all) sign – would everyone then be yelling “oh; it’s just free speech?”

I think not.

Rather than have the “sign police” at tournaments – better to just have NO signs.

Do it on your own time – when you are not receiving an award for your nation – on the dime of the organizations that sponsored and sent you to the competition.

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JDL, perhaps not. But “We love Clinton” or “We love Bush” is not politically as offensive as making a negative statement for the man who is representing your country’s leadership. The point is, it is an inappropriate forum to make such a statement; yet liberals are the ones who always can’t seem to help themselves abuse the podium at nonpolitical events to make political statements. It’s a dis-ease among them. In their private lives, rather than simply being satisfied with positive bumper stickers and t-shirts about their politics, they overwhelmingly always have to trash the other side with negative slogans. In the past two weeks, I saw junkmobiles that even had anti-Bush stickers plastered on the side, and on the front-end of the vehicles; not just the rear.

When was the last time you saw a Hollywood celebrity step up to accept an Oscar and make a political slam against a Democrat politician?

So, no. Both sides do not engage in it.

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Come on people – If the ladies held up a sign saying “We Love Bush” instead of “We did not vote for Bush” do you think they would be subject to the same kind of sanctions? Both signs are political but the latter would have undoubtably gotten a free pass.

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The kicker was she was making a statement on somebody else’s dime and reputation. If she had formed a seperate group called “Bridge Against Bush,” then I wouldn’t have a problem with it.

What’s it like for a sponser? Imagine the sponsers waking up to angry letters and E-mails claiming they are some how unAmerican for supporting an anti-American organization. A friendly game of bridge just became a major PR disaster that could cost the company money in the form of fewer customers not to mention the money and time needed to win them back. This probably wouldn’t hurt the sponsers as much as if it was a NASCAR event, but it doesn’t take much to ruin a reputation or have a minor incident become a major one. Just talk to Howard Dean about his one time scream to find out how little it takes.

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“By trying to address these issues in a nonviolent, nonthreatening and lighthearted manner,” the French team wrote in by e-mail to the federation’s board and others, “you were doing only what women of the world have always tried to do when opposing the folly of men who have lost their perspective of reality.”

OK… So it would be perfectly fine then if I stood up at my table in this hall with a large sign that read: “Go F$&# yourself you skanky, dumbass whores!!!”

Hey… it’s free speech and apparently it’s appropriate whenever, wherever and for whatever anyone wants to do it.

Right?

Well of course we know the answer to that. It’s ONLY appropriate if you are bashing President Bush, or conservatives, or Christians…. If I were to hold up MY sign I WOULD BE ATTACKED and denounced for exercising the same offensive speech rights these Bridge Playing @#$@)#$()@)$#@ did!

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You know, in the grand scheme of things, who gives a flying care about the “bridge club” and why give them more attention than they deserve? But what gets my goat is the mentality behind the action; it’s a prevalent endemic attitude amongst many liberals who have dissolved the barrier and distinction between what is appropriate, and what is “anything goes”.

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How dare a private organization have rules and try to enforce them!

You sure can hold up a sign, but not if your part of an a non-political organization that forbids it. If you do then you get in trouble with that organization. Unlike China which puts you in jail for this kind of conduct, the only thing that will happen to these idiots is that they lose the right to play in that private organization for awhile.

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I hope these lady bridge players are punished swiftly so that people in China and in other parts of the world don’t get the wrong idea and think it is OK to criticize your leaders.

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