Just Think What a Bunch of Them Could Do

The following is an excerpt from OpinionJournal’s “Best of the Web” at WSJ written by the editor, James Taranto.

Just Think What a Bunch of Them Could Do
“One Banana Expands North American Presence & Appoints New President”—headline, Agro America press release, Jan. 21

News of the Tautological
“Salary differences are due to more men than women having higher-paying White House jobs”—subheadline, Daily Mail (London), Jan. 21

Bottom Story of the Day
“Man Appears to Fall Asleep During State of the Union Address”—headline, KTAR-FM website (Phoenix), Jan. 21

The Boilerplate Olympics
MassLive.com, a Bay State news site, has another reason why no one should want the Olympics:

Documents obtained by MassLive show that Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh signed an agreement with the United States Olympic Committee that blocks city employees from making negative comments about the Olympics, the International Olympic Committee, or the USOC.

The documents obtained through a public records request indicate that city employees are barred from making comments that “reflect unfavorably upon, denigrate or disparage, or are detrimental to the reputation.”

The documents indicate that not only must all city employees not speak negatively about the games or the organizations connected to them but that they must actively promote the games.

Doesn’t that raise a serious free-speech question? Not according to the mayor’s office:

“Mayor Walsh is not looking to limit the free speech of his employees and, as residents of Boston, he fully supports them participating in the community process. This was standard boilerplate language for the Joinder Agreement with the USOC that all applicant cities have historically signed. The Mayor looks forward to the first citywide community meeting that will be held next week,” said [spokesman Laura] Oggeri.

If we worked for the city of Boston, we’d start touting the Olympics but with prominent disclaimers that our praise is mere “boilerplate.”

For more “Best of the Web” click here and look for the “Best of the Web Today” link in the middle column below “Today’s Columnists.”