Comparing President Bush to the Birmingham, Ala., police commissioner whose resistance to the civil rights movement became synonymous with Southern racism, Rep. Charles Rangel recently said of the president: "George Bush is our Bull Connor.'

Not only is the New York congressman totally out of control with such an absurd comparison, he demeans the struggle of African—Americans who were viciously abused by the southern racists of the 50's and 60's. In 1963, the animal known as 'Bull' Connor, turned fire hoses and attack dogs on blacks, including Martin Luther King Jr., as they demonstrated in favor of equal rights.

Using such mind—boggling analogies only further illustrates the level to which some politicians will sink in their attempt to demonize this president. Mr. Rangel, speaking at a Congressional Black Caucus town hall meeting, spent his portion of the forum reminiscing about the civil rights struggles of the 1960s, and calling on his audience to undertake similar action today, inciting them to "revolution" after the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina and particularly its impact on indigent blacks in the Gulf Coast region.

"If you're black in this country, and you're poor in this country, it's not an inconvenience, it's a death sentence," he barked.  Rangel, a Democrat who has represented part of New York City  for almost 35 years, has run off at the mouth many times before. Yet, that type of inflammatory language has never hurt him at the polls. That's the trouble with having a 'safe seat.' Mr. Rangel can behave like a foul—mouthed jerk, use asinine metaphors with impunity, provoke the partisan crowd with hate—filled rhetoric, and still be reelected. One of these days, the people in his district will wise up, kick that charlatan out, and elect someone of substance. Incidentally, has anyone ever heard of a Congressional White Caucus?'

Of course not! You've never heard of an American White Bar Association either. Yet, the National Bar Association is a group of black lawyers. Then, there's everything from, The Nat'l Association of Black Journalists, to The Nat'l Black Police Assn; even the Nat'l Assoc. of Black Scuba Divers, and hundreds of other organizations with skin pigmentation in the titles.

Is this the result of decades of struggle to eliminate the odious plot by bigots to enforce segregation of the races? Can you imagine a group of whites starting a business or any other collective entity and labeling it "white"? They would immediately be branded as racists, and every black demagogue in the country would be holding press conferences to demand that the group be investigated by the FBI.

During the last 3 or 4 decades, we have fostered a climate of political correctness in this country that has effectively stifled the majority of the population. Muslim Minister, Louis Farrakhan, can use hateful, anti— white, anti—Semitic remarks with impunity because, according to Al Sharpton, another race—baiter, 'Blacks don't have the power to enforce racism, therefore, they can't be accused of it.'

Not only is speech no longer free in America, but thoughts are in jeopardy too. A few years ago when a white staffer in the Washington DC mayor's office used the word 'niggardly' in reference to spending cutbacks, he was accused of thinking racist thoughts when he used the word. What he actually said was, 'In light of budget cutbacks, we will have to be niggardly with funds.'

The origins of the word go back to the 1300's in England, long before the birth of the USA. It means, stingy or miserly, and has no racial connotation whatsoever. Nevertheless, after unmerciful criticism from black groups, the white guy was forced to resign, though he was later reinstated when the limited vocabulary of his critics led to public laughter. There can be no doubt that a black guy, saying the very same thing, would have escaped public obloquy, and his job would never have been in jeopardy. Hence, we have become a society so polarized that we are even intolerant toward the phonetic linkage that may be associated with certain words.

Moreover, any references to race are quickly leaped upon and distorted to intimidate the speaker. Pointing out that blacks commit crimes way out of proportion to their percentage of the population is viewed by some as a racist statement, its truth notwithstanding. Yes, the fact that blacks, as a percentage of the population, are also at the low end of the socio—economic spectrum, adds the cause and effect to the equation. One would think most people understood that poverty leads to crime, not skin color. However, that shouldn't mean we have no right to articulate crime stats for fear of being labeled, bigots. If speech is free, it shouldn't cost people their jobs or their reputations.

Bob Weir is a former detective sergeant in the New York City Police Department. He is the excutive editor of The News Connection in Highland Village, Texas. BobWeir777@aol.com