† R-E-S-P-E-C-T: You Get As You Give: Instead of allowing President Bush to savor being serenaded with “Hail To The Chief” one last time, Obama supporters in the crowd jeered him with the lyrics to Steam’s only hit: “Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey-ey, goodbye”:

Obama’s Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel was also caught sticking out his tongue and thumbing his nose at someone for some reason (not the former president, The Stiletto hopes). 

Boston Globe columnist Jeff Jacoby ruefully notes:

It is hard to remember now, but Bush originally ran for president on an agenda of restoring courtesy and goodwill to the political sphere. He promised to end the "arms race of anger" in Washington, and pointed to his record of bipartisanship in Texas. "I have no stake in the bitter arguments of the last few years," Bush told the 2000 Republican convention. "I want to change the tone of Washington to one of civility and respect."

Needless to say, things didn't work out that way. Some of that was Bush's fault. As The Washington Post's E.J. Dionne wrote the other day, Bush "was better at announcing policies than explaining them" and "never really engaged his opponents." Despite the tenuous nature of his 2000 victory, he often acted as though he had won a mandate for a sweeping agenda most Democrats opposed.

But it's also true that many of Bush's bitterest foes, including some in the media, never gave him a chance. It became commonplace to describe the 2000 election as "stolen" and the Bush presidency as illegitimate. Democratic candidates vied to outdo each other in anti-Bush invective. For many, "Bush hater" became a label to wear with pride. …

Presidential inaugurations nearly always engender uplifting feelings; sustaining those feelings is a different story. Bush hoped - alas, in vain - to be "a uniter, not a divider." May Obama be blessed with greater success. 

If he is so blessed, it’s because Repubs are less vindictive than Dems.

† Gays Do Not Tolerate Dissent: Part II (second item): Google Maps is being used to target supporters of CA’s Prop. 8, reports The New York Times:

“Some gay activists have organized Web sites to actively encourage people to go after supporters of Proposition 8,” said Frank Schubert, the campaign manager for Protect Marriage, the leading group behind the proposition. “And giving these people a map to your home or office leaves supporters of Proposition 8 feeling especially vulnerable. Really, it is chilling.”

So chilling, apparently, that supporters have filed suit in Federal District Court in Sacramento seeking a preliminary injunction of a state election law that requires donors of $100 or more to disclose their names, addresses, occupations and other personal information. … [Emphasis, The Stiletto.]

James Bopp Jr., a lawyer from Indiana who filed the lawsuit on the behalf of Protect Marriage, said the harassment of Proposition 8 supporters violated their constitutional rights of free speech and assembly. …

In his suit, which is also being argued by the Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative legal group, Mr. Bopp alleges a wide range of acts against supporters, including “death threats, acts of domestic terrorism, physical violence, threats of physical violence, vandalism of personal property, harassing phone calls, harassing e-mails, blacklisting and boycotts.”

So it shouldn’t be surprising to The Washington Post’s Shankar Vedantam that “survey research shows that people are increasingly clustering together among those who are just like themselves, especially on the one attribute that ties the others together - political affiliation”:

Nearly half of all Americans live in "landslide counties" where Democrats or Republicans regularly win in a rout. In the 2008 election, 48 percent of the votes for president were cast in counties where President-elect Barack Obama or Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) won by more than 20 percentage points, according to the Pew Research Center.

The clustering of Democrats in Democratic areas and Republicans in Republican areas has been intensifying for at least three decades: In 1976, only about a quarter of all Americans lived in landslide counties. In 1992, a little more than a third of America was landslide country. …

A consequence of such polarization is that large numbers of Americans no longer have much contact with people belonging to the other party. Many feel the views of their political opponents are not just wrong but incomprehensible.

The Constitution guarantees freedom of association. Unless they work with like-minded people, conservatives quickly learn to keep their mouths shut at the office so as to avoid all manner of opprobrium raining down on them, not to mention a well-earned promotion or raise somehow getting back-burnered. Think The Stiletto is being overwrought? Consider this article from The New York Times:

While the inauguration is a moment of history and celebration for many, it is also turning into a workplace challenge for some employers, especially those with significant numbers of black workers. Some workplaces are shutting down completely. Others are setting up viewing parties, with flat-screen televisions showing the event from cafeterias and conference rooms. …

Human resources consultants said they expected absenteeism to be significant, especially given the long weekend that preceded the inaugural events. …

An in-house party is one way employers can entice workers to come in, said Jay Santamaria, president of BeamPines Inc., a human resources consulting company based in Manhattan. …

As for employees, Mr. Santamaria said, “honesty is key.” He said that one executive at a Fortune 500 company whom he coaches was conflicted because he wanted to go to Washington for the event, but did not know what to tell his superiors.

“I told him to tell the truth and give his superiors a chance to decide with him: if it was going to be a vacation day, a personal day or if the bosses were going to look the other way,” Mr. Santamaria said.

Understand that if an employer “looks the other way” conservatives who treated Inauguration Day day as any other day and manned their posts will not be getting paid for a nonworking day. This is economic discrimination based on political orientation.

Their communities and homes are the only places left where conservatives can freely and openly express support for a candidate or a ballot measure. And thanks to CA law and Google Maps, the barbarians are at the gate.

BTW: The Stiletto does not recall any corporations throwing pizza parties and allowing their workers to goof off for 90 minutes in the middle of the day to watch either of President Bush’s inaugurations, but that's just what her employer did yesterday. The pizza was good. And with her mouth full, The Stiletto couldn't get into any trouble.

Editorial Note:  This post explains the legal definition of domestic terrorism.

† Updates To Previous Posts (third item, Why We Need Gitmo): In boastful, unrepentant admissions of guilt, Ramzi Binalshibh and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, two of the five men accused of orchestrating the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, reports The Associated Press:

“We did what we did; we're proud of Sept. 11,” Binalshibh announced at one point in proceedings that dealt with a number of legal issues, including whether he is mentally competent to stand trial on charges that carry a potential death sentence.

Mohammed, who is representing himself, switched back and forth between Arabic and English, insisting at one point that a uniformed military lawyer assigned to assist him be removed from his defense table. The man, he said, represents the “people who tortured me,” he said. …

“We don't care about capital punishment,” he said. “We are doing jihad for the cause of G-d.”

Within hours of being sworn into office - maybe while he was still wearing his dancing shoes - President Barack Obama ordered military prosecutors at Gitmo to request a 120-day moratorium on all 21 pending cases, which military prosecutors and judges agreed to do.

Meanwhile, The Associated Press reports that Obama’s plans to shutter Gitmo has upset the relatives of the victims of the September 11 terror attacks who had to endure the shock and outrage of hearing Binalshibh and KSM proclaim they were proud of their role in the plot:

"Though the wheels are grinding, they are turning here and this place must remain open and justice must be served," Andrew Arias, whose brother, Adam, was killed in the attacks, told reporters at the base Monday.

"If not here, where?," said Arias, of South River, New Jersey. "Keep it open, let's get the job done."