Controversial economist and self-styled politician Lyndon LaRouche was in Maine Tuesday, at least in spirit.

In front of post offices throughout the state, including Lewiston, Lisbon and Brunswick, LaRouche followers set up signs depicting President Barack Obama sporting a Hitler-style mustache, and actively sought signatures on petitions to impeach the president.

In Lewiston, the sight of the Obama-cum-Hitler image angered people who thought the image was disrespecting the office of the president and the man now seated in that office.

In Brunswick, the “Impeach Obama” effort so angered people that police responded to intervene with a passer-by broke the LaRouche sign.

One woman who lives in Brunswick said she was upset because the Hitler comparison was “degrading the president whom I elected and I still support,” and she found the woman circulating the impeachment petition to be insensitive to the history of the Holocaust.

It didn’t help the situation in Brunswick and in Lewiston that, when challenged, the petition-gatherers declined to answer questions put to them about their actions and motivations. But, hey, there is no constitutional requirement to answer questions. There is, however, a constitutional protection guaranteeing our right to speak freely and assemble peacefully.

At these post office gatherings, the LaRouche petitioners were exercising their First Amendment rights, including petitioning the government for a redress of what they believe to be legitimate grievances.

It’s simple, really. And it’s not like it’s the first time anyone has ever painted a Hitler-style mustache on a president.

President George W. Bush was certainly subjected to that insult during his time in office.

Free speech is no guarantee of acceptable speech, or of agreeable speech, or even of intelligent speech. It’s just the very righteous idea that, as Americans, we get to freely speak our minds and express our opinions without interference from our government.

So, when Brunswick police officers responded to the post office there to deal with the broken sign, they appropriately upheld the petitioners’ right to assemble, to petition and to express themselves because it’s the law of the land. Cheers to them.

No one has ever said we all have to agree. But we do all have the right of free expression, no matter how distasteful or disagreeable it may be to another person. The more disagreeable thing would be for our basic right to free speech to be stifled by dissenting voices.

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Canadian resident Darrell Fudge could be the universal poster man for our increasing dependency on GPS and not having the slightest inkling of where on Earth we’re driving.

Fudge, who lives in Newfoundland, was in the Province of British Columbia when he punched “home” into his GPS. The route on the display took him across the border and into the United States at Coburn Gore on Sunday, as the most direct route available.

The trouble is, the Border Patrol generally frowns on people carrying contraband into the United States, which includes about a pound of marijuana Fudge had hidden under a layer of ice in a plastic cooler.

Fudge was arrested and charged with a single felony count of unlawful trafficking in marijuana, a pretty hefty infraction.

Fudge, who never intended to travel to the United States, quickly agreed to a plea deal in which he admitted to a misdemeanor charge of unlawful trafficking and criminal forfeiture in exchange for paying a $400 fine and relinquishing his 2003 Chevrolet Silverado pickup to our government. No jail time.

After the plea, he was offered a ride back to the U.S.-Canadian border, courtesy of the state of Maine. And, he said, he’s never coming back.

Mr. Fudge offers us all a lesson in reality. While global positioning systems are tremendous tools, it never hurts to have an actual map in the car so you know where in the world you are.

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