The Empire Journal has an excellent discussion of how blogs and other forms of Internet communication play an important role in guaranteeing the right to free speech. They enable us to voice our dissent with government and the powers-that-be and prevent the "heavy hand of censorship" from "slamming its fist down on people who dare to express their First Amendment right..."

We agree wholeheartedly with all that. It's a bit harder, though, to understand The Empire Journal's support of former New York City cop Edward Polstein, who was recently fired for putting up an overly-chatty Internet chat board about the NYPD. Now he's filing a complaint with the New York State Division of Human Rights and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, claiming that he was the victim of retaliation and reverse discrimination.

Is Polstein a do-good whistleblower who is being unfairly punished for publishing a Web site? Or is he an embittered former employee who was given sufficient warnings by the NYPD, violated the terms of his retirement package and willingly sought to humiliate top brass at the NYPD with a series of rants and politically-motivated cartoons? Sometimes, me thinks, it's all too easy to hide behind First Amendment rights.