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Paying The Price For Petty Vengeance

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By Daniel Ruth

druth@tampatrib.com

Published: October 14, 2008

Talk about being penny-wise and pound-stupid.

Sheesh, this had to be a bit like firing the janitor for leaving the lights on at the Treasury Department right after Secretary Henry Paulson cooked up the $700 billion financial market bailout plan.

Or as high school government teacher Gordon Johnston has learned, while you can't put a price on democracy, petty, cry-baby vengeance can be had for, oh about $4,529, give or take a few cents.

Three years ago, mild-mannered Johnston committed an unpardonable sin rarely seen in our fair village: He stood on a matter of principle, challenging the czars of the National Football League, who had decreed that patrons wishing admittance to a game on the gridiron first had to subject themselves to a cheap-feel pat-down by rent-a-cops.

Aided by those Marxist/socialist/commies at the American Civil Liberties Union, who viewed Johnston's case as a matter of protecting that subversive notion of civil liberties, Johnston argued the pat-downs being forced upon fans at Hellooooooo Sucker Stadium violated the Fourth Amendment protection against unlawful searches and seizures.

Custer Coliseum

Cue "L'Internationale"!

For the past three years Johnston and those ACLU Sacco & Vanzettis prevailed in the courts, leaving Tea Pot Dome Field the only NFL stadium where the completely useless pat-downs were prohibited.

Two weeks ago, the U.S. District Court in Tampa lifted the long-standing injunction and starting last weekend, the heavy petting resumed at Three-Card Monte Stadium.

To be sure, Johnston and his comrades at the ACLU fought the good fight on behalf of the Constitution.

And now the Tampa Sports Authority has decided to go after Johnston by filing documents in federal court in an effort to recover from the public school teacher $4,529 in court costs related to the Custer Coliseum groping.

Chilling Effect

To be sure, using the power of government to go after a private citizen, who had the audacity to question the limits of government authority, ought to have a chilling effect on anyone considering exercising his or her First Amendment rights to "... petition government for a redress of grievances."

Even more bizarre, the agency now trying to punish Johnston for the simple act of citizenship is the same crowd that rolled over like a cheap tart for Malcolm Glazer and his urchins, Assume and The Position, when it came to essentially giving the Bucs owner the ATM code for the public exchequer.

The authority wants to send a message to other private citizens to "protest if you wish, but be prepared to pay for the right," while at the same time it has never lifted a finger to go after Glazer, who has continued to welsh on his long-ago promise to pay for half of Such Road Kill Field.

How shameful is it that the billionaire mogul and his tots, Dead and Beat, can so blithely flaunt their stiffing of the public with the sports authority as happily willing co-conspirators, while a high school government teacher gets stuck with the tab simply for standing up for the Constitution?

And why is no one surprised?

Keyword: Book of Ruth, to read and comment on Daniel Ruth's blog.

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