You commit arson you're a terrorist, you murder children you're an insurgent

That's how warped the Palm Beach Post editorial board is.

Contrast this editorial of the Post with today's main editorial which deals with the abortion clinic arson that happened over a week ago. I blogged about this earlier and the law being proposed by the clinic owner Mona Reis that had the backing of West Palm Beach Mayor Lois Frankel. Not surprisingly the Post has come out in favor of this law.

Arson-heightened threat justifies buffer at clinic

What's the basis for the heightened threat? The police haven't caught those responsible nor have given any indication who is responsible. Yes another clinic was torched last year.

Governments must move cautiously with an eye on constitutional rights when considering laws that restrict access or speech in public places.

Absolutely, except the Post never saw how well meaning but misguided laws like McCain-Feingold could be boomeranging now by limiting free speech. Just read here for an example. It's a very murky business when one tries to regulate any freedom of speech. Who is deem what is right and what is wrong?

Still, there is ample precedent for setting some limits on freedoms when events or situations justify it. Police enforce curfews after natural disasters to protect the public and speed recovery efforts. Public airports confine solicitors to specific areas to allow travelers to get where they're going without interference. Panhandlers may be banned from soliciting at certain dangerous intersections to prevent accidents and injuries. All legal restrictions have to meet a threshold of necessity that serves the public good.

The Post doesn't see the difference between public safety laws and legislation helping just one business. By the way I'm not all that keen on regulating pan handlers at the airport. Those in a street can be dangerous. I don't see that at PBIA.

Now its time to hoist the Post by its own petard. This newspaper was the same one bemoaning legislators who proposed special laws for Terry Schiavo.(Which by the way I never felt was approrpriate. I just thought the judge in Tampa should have been overruled by another court) Here we have the same thing happening and the Post doesn't see the contradiction. What's the difference between a law protecting Terry Schiavo only and an abortion clinic only? The ideology a person adheres to.

That threshold of necessity was met recently at a West Palm Beach abortion clinic that is seeking a buffer-zone ordinance to keep protesters away from the property. A suspicious fire damaged the Presidential Women's Center on July 4, closing Palm Beach County's only remaining abortion provider. Last year, another arson fire closed down an abortion clinic in Lake Worth. Mona Reis, owner of the West Palm Beach center, says protesters have become more aggressive in recent years and has asked the city commission to approve a 30-foot buffer zone to prevent them from interfering with patients and those accompanying them. Drivers turning into the clinic parking lot often have been stopped or harassed by a few protesters walking on the sidewalk or in the street.

The buffer zone will do nothing to stop an arsonist who strikes in the night. But the recent attack suggests that someone is willing to turn to violence to shut down the clinic, and the city can't risk doing nothing to thwart another attack that could be against people the next time. Off-duty police hired by the clinic to provide security say the restricted area would give them the few extra seconds that could be critical to turning back an attacker. Pensacola passed a buffer zone law for abortion clinics a decade ago after two doctors and an escort were murdered.

Lets take this part to the shredder

1- Where's the proof that protestors other than the arsonist have become more aggressive. Ms. Reis can hire more security(Good question- where was this security the night of the fire?) but wants the city of West Palm Beach to do it with her. A very funny stance for the Post to be favoring for a city that has a series of unsolved homicides on its hands. Something the Post editorialized about the other day.

2- A buffer zone wouldn't have stopped the attack the Post admits. I agree 100% with the Post, someone wanting to torch the place isn't going to be deterred by a buffer law and the puny penalty that would come with it. The editorial's admittance is direct contradiction of the headline!

3- A few extra seconds for security? Was security there that night or not? If they were, why didn't they stop the fire?

4- Protestors. I used to have a part-time job very close to this clinic. My wife got two pregnancy tests done, we've actually been there. No protestors have ever been seen by either dear wife or I. What is the basis for the claim of protestors harassing patients? Ms. Reis word? I think we need more for that. She is obviously in a conflict of interest wanting to get police to do the work she needs to hire private security to do for her.

Worries that writing a new law will draw anti-abortion extremists from across the nation to West Palm Beach no longer are relevant. The arson already has put the city in the national news, and it appears at least one extremist is already here. Commissioners have to give police the tools they need to preserve safe access to health care, and the city needs to respond aggressively to domestic terrorism.

Further proof the Post editorial board is lost in its ideology. The arsonist is a domestic terrorist, the people resposnible for killing children in Iraq last week are insurgents. How dumb does that sound now Mr. Schultz?

The Police have plenty of tools. Arson laws, assault and battery, to name a few. Enforce these laws which have teeth if needed.

Anti-abortion activists are certain to sue the city if it passes an ordinance, but the city also could be sued by the other side if it fails to protect people seeking legal services. Commissioners and legal staff must keep the focus of the ordinance as narrow as possible and not infringe on the rights of peaceful protesters. More frequent police patrols around the clinic, especially during peak demonstration times, would also help. The clinic should seek injunctions against unruly protesters — the few that cause most of the problems — and the city also should consider rewriting its noise ordinance to make it more enforceable.

The West Palm Beach police need to be protecting the citizens of the city, not just one clinic. Presidential Women's clinic should be treated no different than any other private business in the county.