AMERICA IN 2017 – AT 9:36 A.M. ET:  We have to guard college campuses if a conservative dares to show up.  From AP: 

BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) -- The University of California, Berkeley has ramped up security as it braces to host conservative commentator Ben Shapiro Thursday night, the latest polarizing figure to raise concerns of violence on the famously liberal campus.

Authorities plan to seal off the campus' central hub, Sproul Plaza, with a "closed perimeter" around several buildings including where Shapiro is scheduled to speak to a sold-out, 1,000-person audience. There will be "an increased and highly visible police presence," the university said in a statement.

For the first time in two decades, officers have been authorized to use pepper spray to control violence after the city council modified a 1997 ban at an emergency meeting this week.

Berkeley city police chief Andrew Greenwood said officers would make "very strong, rapid arrests" of protesters wielding weapons and wearing masks.

Nice to know they're actually being allowed to do their jobs.  That's new in Berkeley.

The city and campus at UC Berkeley have become a flashpoint for the country's political divisions, drawing extremist groups from the left- and right-wing. Four political demonstrations have turned violent in Berkeley since February, prompting officers to come up with new strategies to control rowdy and sometimes dangerous crowds.

"We have seen extremists on the left and right in our city," said Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin, a Democrat who backed the police request to use pepper spray. "We need to make sure violence is not allowed."

Shapiro was invited to speak by campus Republicans, who say the liberal university stifles the voice of conservative speakers.

COMMENT:  I love how the story tries to equate left and right.  In fact, virtually all the violence has come from the left.  When's the last time you saw a violent right-wing protest against a liberal speaker? 

We hope Ben gives his speech freely.

September 14,  2017