Oh, the irony of it all

The Piecemakers, the local religious group that some characterize

as a cult, must have had a tough time in May when it settled a libel

lawsuit filed by two county health inspectors.

You see, you can’t get much more antigovernment than the

Piecemakers, and for group leaders to cough up a $20,000 sum to Bruce

Freeman and Karen Newe, two government employees, that must have been

hard to take.

Oh, the irony. And it doesn’t stop there.

In an April 2000 Daily Pilot article, the group’s leader, Marie

Kolasinski, said “We have freedoms given to us by the Constitution.

One of the reasons we start losing them is people abuse them.”

We agree, but that was exactly why settling the case proved wise.

The county workers claimed the Piecemakers libeled them by calling

them “martian reptiles” and “rapists” in a newspaper ad and

newsletter, respectively.

The Constitution doesn’t exactly condone name calling like that.

And the Supreme Court has famously ruled against such “fighting

words.” Call the government what you will in ads and newsletters, but

don’t attack individuals who happen to work for the government.

One question, though: What the heck are martian reptiles?