Butch Otter rides again.Rep. Butch Otter Clement Leroy "Butch" Otter (b. May 3 1942, Caldwell, Idaho) has been Governor of Idaho since January 2007. Otter previously represented the state's First Congressional District. He was also Lieutenant Governor of Idaho from 1987 to 2001. ("Butch Otter Rides Again," November) voted against the PATRIOT Act Patriot Act: see USA PATRIOT Act. and in favor of prohibiting flag burning. From a purely libertarian lib·er·tar·i·an n. 1. One who advocates maximizing individual rights and minimizing the role of the state. 2. One who believes in free will. [From liberty. perspective, the PATRIOT Act--to address a situation in which lives may be at stake--is actually more justifiable jus·ti·fi·a·ble adj. Having sufficient grounds for justification; possible to justify: justifiable resentment. jus than a ban on flag burning, which puts neither lives nor property at risk. To Otter, the flag is not your flag or my flag; it is "our brand." But in his attempt to preserve our abstract "property," he has voted to violate our right to actual property and has diminished what our brand represents. The flag that doesn't allow itself to be burned symbolizes prohibition, not freedom. Indeed, if everyone who owned a flag had burned it in protest of this vote, our brand would be stronger, not weaker. Otter's right to fly his flag is not at stake here. No one on the other side wants to force him to burn it. We expect that same right in return. Robert Kraft Robert K. Kraft, (born June 5, 1941 in Brookline, Massachusetts) is the Founder, Chairman & CEO of the Kraft Group, a diversified holding company with assets in paper & packaging, sports & entertainment, real estate development and a private equity portfolio. Chicago, IL |
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