Freedom of Speech for Some, Miniature American Flags for Others

You're still digesting those slabs of pattied beef and washing the firework soot off your flag-colored silk shirt. Why not keep the 4th of July spirit going a little longer with the Boston Phoenix and the 9th annual "Muzzle Awards"? Alongside the expected stories of war-on-terror hysteria (who knew Mitt Romney was a lunatic?), there are between-the-cracks tales like this.

Log on to Conte2006.com—a Web site operated by an antagonist of Worcester County district attorney John Conte—and you will see something unusual: streaming video of a man being arrested in his home.

Here's something even more unusual: even though the video was posted with the permission of the arrestee, State Police have threatened Conte2006.com's webmaster, Leominster resident Mary T. Jean, with arrest, prosecution, and up to two years in prison if she doesn't remove it from her site.

There's also a story about a student pilloried for failing to salute the flag. It's like a bizarro episode of the Sean Hannity show—and I don't just mean author Dan Kennedy has a normal-sized head and a college degree.