The excellent blogger who calles himself The Audacious Epigone has a devastating post about the current attempt to purge Frances Semler, a 73-year old grandmother recently appointed as one of Kansas City, Missouri's Board of Park and Recreation Commissioners, because she is a member of the local MinuteMen chapter. Councilwoman Beth Gottstein is quoted referring to the Minutemen:

This is one step from the KKK (Ku Klux Klan). My world is totally rocked by this. We fight this every day. I am grieving for my friends in the Hispanic community.

You have to read Epigone's full post to plumb the full depths of hypocrisy, incipient totalitarianism and farce - Semler was appointed by Democratic Mayor Mark Funkhouser as part of a new, allegedly "representative" , i.e. not white male, board. Helpfully, Epigone supplies emails and phone numbers for the six Council Members leading the attack on Semler.

I recently wrote that, as a long-time observer of the patriotic immigration reform movement, I am deeply impressed by the remarkable numbers of ordinary Americans now spontaneously getting involved in selfless local action across the country. Semler's story reminds us that they can pay a real price.