it was 40 years ago today...

...that four students at Kent State University were gunned down by National Guardsmen for "failing to disperse" while protesting Tricky Dicky's invasion of Cambodia. Is that before your time? You can read the Wiki article on it here. Nine others were wounded and ironically, two of the students killed weren't even taking part in the demonstration. . To commemorate the event, last night police in Philadelphia tasered a teenager who had jumped onto the field from the stands during the Phillies' baseball game. .

Now I admit, the kid was a jerk. And I would have booed him and said bad things about his mama for him pulling this stunt. But does that justify tasering him? He posed no threat (watch the video of it out on YouTube), and people have died from being tasered. .

The truth is - we were living in a police state forty years ago, and we are living in a police state now. You can protest if you're a dittohead tea-bagger, and you can physically slap liberals at Town Hall Meetings on Health Care. But if you are protesting the war (remember Cindy Sheehan?) or interrupting America's pastime, you will be arrested at best, and shot or tasered to death at worst.