Politics and Culture

(CNN) -- New Jersey authorities are investigating an announcement made over a public address system at a southern New Jersey Wal-Mart telling "all blacks" to leave the store.

Shortly before 5 p.m. Sunday, an unidentified male accessed the public address system at the Turnersville, New Jersey, Wal-Mart Supercenter Store, Gloucester County prosecutors said.

"All blacks need to leave the store," the voice announced.

Store management contacted the Washington Township Police Department, which opened an investigation in conjunction with the county prosecutor's office, Deputy Police Chief John Dalesandro said.

"The incident is being investigated by both law enforcement agencies as a suspected bias intimidation crime," local authorities said.

Wal-Mart corporate spokesman Lorenzo Lopez said the company is "just as appalled by this as anyone."

He emphasized that Wal-Mart, the world's largest public corporation, is working with law enforcement officials in investigating the incident.

"Whoever did this is wrong and acted in an inappropriate manner," Lopez said. "Clearly this is unacceptable."

Let me get this strait: A guy gets on the Walmart PA and says something about blacks and we need an investigation? It goes to show you that people need to stamp out blasphemy, provided it's directed against something they care about.

Here

The irony is not lost on Gilbert Mayor John Lewis.

The town that celebrates Constitution Week with much fanfare is now trying to wade its way out of an embarrassing controversy over First Amendment protection on religious freedom.

The issue began over a notification sent by town staff to a seven-member local group, all members of the Oasis of Truth Church, to stop meeting at home, citing the town's land development code, which states:

"religious-assembly uses are not permitted in single-family residential structures."

The group contacted the Alliance Defense Fund of Scottsdale, a self-described legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations, which subsequently appealed the town's cease-and-desist

Those deferring to the founders' intent on constitutional matters should not support the constitutional challenge to Gilbert's anti residential church law. The constitution just wanted to prevent a state church like the established Anglican church in Britain. States did in fact have religious tests for office and prohibited certain worship. By making this a federal issue, conservatives undercut themselves. Instead, residents of Gilbert should just change the law.

It's important to argue statistics, projections, effects. It's especially important to independents who just want the best deal. If they could get better health care cheaper, the better.

For those committed to the left or right, the health care debate is all about ideology. If you're on the left, government health care is to be accepted de fide. If you're on the right, you see government health care as a stretch of highway on the road to serfdom.

The Road to Serfdom: Text and Documents--The Definitive Edition (The Collected Works of F. A. Hayek) by F. A. Hayek