As for Trump's claim that even a child would know the numbers referred to assassination, I disagree. I stared at the numbers for 30 seconds and couldn't figure out what they stood for. I had to look it up. And I'm someone who makes a new file folder called "86" File" every year. (It's a file with notes I took during interviews of potential clients, who never became active clients.) "86" to me means something to toss out or discard. It could also mean discarding a person, as in 86'ing someone from your circle of friends. But discarding someone by killing them? Would never cross my mind.

To me, the story here is not about free speech. It has always been the rule here at TalkLeft that comments referring to or suggesting acts of violence against someone else will be removed. I don't want to get sued and have to litigate whether readers' comments are protected free speech. Hiring a lawyer to defend a civil case is expensive. Now there's another reason: I don't want to have to pay for legal representation because a criminal investigation has been initiated over comments posted on TalkLeft that others may view as a threat. When the Government decides to exercise its awesome power against you, it's not a matter to be taken lightly. Whether you think you did nothing wrong is