Free speech? Not in Major League Baseball!

Silly me for thinking America is a free country! The truth about what the United States has become can still be shocking, even after America's 28-year hard frost of fascism that dashed millions of dreams.

Recently, when Miami Marlins manager Ozzie Guillén made remarks that were misconstrued as favorable to Fidel Castro, the incident should have been seen as a rallying cry for free expression. It would have been a golden opportunity to highlight how political speech should be protected regardless of how unpopular such speech may be.

Instead, the Marlins suspended Guillén - just for exercising his free speech. Major League Baseball commish Bud Selig supported the suspension.

The suspension followed demands by right-wing politicians that Guillén be fired. It also followed plans by right-wing Cuban émigré organization Vigilia Mambisa to boycott the Marlins unless Guillén was dismissed. Vigilia Mambisa was also among the right-wing terrorists who violently disrupted the vote recount in the 2000 presidential "election."

If Guillén can be suspended for his comments on Castro, why weren't ballplayers who praised Bush suspended? Why the double standard? Bush is a war criminal who was one of the most thuggish dictators on the planet.

The Marlins' home field is Marlins Park, a brand new stadium that was financed with $360,000,000 in city and county tax funds. I don't know about you, but in my day, if an organization receiving taxpayer funds suspended an employee because of their political statements, that would be considered a clear violation of the First Amendment. In light of this, the city and county should bar the Marlins from using their new stadium.

And, in light of Selig's support of Guillén's suspension, Congress or the Obama administration must remove baseball's antitrust exemption.

In America, free speech is to be respected. Bud Selig and Vigilia Mambisa are like the cheap loudmouths who disrupt Occupy rallies - only worse.