The custom of throwing pies at speakers with whom the thrower disagrees has been treated as a harmless prank for far too long. It is a violent assault, and throwers should do significant time in jail. Otherwise, no one can feel secure addressing any public gathering on a controversial topic. A pie may not cause bleeding, but it is humiliating, and it immediately silences free speech.

The lastest victim of this brown shirt tactic is Ann Coulter, who was attacked in Tucson while speaking to a University of Arizon group. Based on her persona, I suspect that the assailants picked the wrong victim. A lawyer like Ann knows how to press her legal case, and a polemicist like Ann is likely to do so to the nth degree.

Go get 'em, Ann. It is time to end this campaign of intimidation against all public speakers.

Thomas Lifson  10 22 04