the washington post has published at least half a dozen opinion pieces likening donald trump to hitler, as this column has noted <u+2014>and that<u+2019>s not including the one arguing the comparison is unfair to hitler. we don<u+2019>t think trump is hitler. but what do you do if you do? <u+201c> vote for the crook, it<u+2019>s important ,<u+201d> obviously, but somehow that seems insufficient. this is hitler we<u+2019>re talking about, at least in some people<u+2019>s imaginations. surely the situation calls for something more dramatic. i am dramatic, betta stothart might reply, and don<u+2019>t call me shirley! stothart has produced an extraordinary op-ed for the washington post. she doesn<u+2019>t mention hitler, only billy bush, but she does confess that, motivated by her passion against trump, <u+201c>i committed a crime this month, along with two of my friends.<u+201d> murder, she wrote? nah, just unlawful removal of temporary signs, a misdemeanor under maine<u+2019>s traveler information services laws . follow james on twitter stothart is <u+201c>a 52-year-old mom<u+201d> from falmouth, a suburb of portland, maine, who works as <u+201d>a writer and publicist<u+201d> and describes her life as <u+201c>pretty predictable and boring.<u+201d> she is a voter, and a registered democrat; and, <u+201c>motivated to support anyone but trump, i bought my own sign for hillary clinton and have it placed in my front yard.<u+201d> but she insists: <u+201c>i<u+2019>m not a deeply political person. .<u+00a0>.<u+00a0>. i<u+2019>m no political animal.<u+201d> does that make her a political plant? anyhow, stothart and <u+201c>a bunch of moms<u+201d> were sitting around talking about the bush tape, in which a falmouth<u+2014>sorry, foul-mouthed<u+2014>trump describes various offensive behavior toward women. <u+201c>we were angry,<u+201d> she relates. trump was too middle-of-the-road for them, literally: <u+201c>getting trump<u+2019>s name off our median strip seemed like the best way to express our rage.<u+201d> <u+201c>we felt assaulted by the number of signs,<u+201d> she writes. it must<u+2019>ve been a hard number! <u+201c>the idea of <u+2018>cleansing<u+2019> our streets seemed like the fastest way to restore balance and alleviate our election stress<u+2014>at least, that night it did.<u+201d> whereupon stothard and two of the other moms <u+201c>jumped into my jetta wagon, drove down to the strip and got to work<u+201d>: reading this, it occurred to us that probably the community<u+2019>s equilibrium was undisturbed but stothard (along with her friends) had lost hers. later in the piece, she confirms that suspicion, acknowledging that <u+201c>i became unhinged<u+201d> because <u+201c>the depth of trump<u+2019>s predatory behavior toward women<u+201d> had <u+201c>simply become unbearable.<u+201d> ok then. as you<u+2019>ve probably ascertained, stothart got caught in the act<u+2014>else why issue a confession in the pages of a national newspaper? <u+201c>the falmouth police happened to spot us as we were preparing to leave the scene of the crime<u+201d>: stothart, whose court appearance is scheduled for december, expresses some remorse in the post op-ed: on the other hand, she wasn<u+2019>t ashamed enough to forgo the opportunity to pose for pictures with the local newspaper, the portland press herald , which ran a news story she apparently pitched to it based on the then-forthcoming op-ed. the accompanying photo shows a stern-faced stothard, arms crossed, standing amid a row of trump-pence signs (on the side of the road, contrary to the post op-ed, not the median). in the background is a blurry sign that appears to say <u+201c>50%.<u+201d> if trump sees that, expect him to tweet <u+201c>thanks maine!<u+201d> for a favorable poll. the press herald also talked with the man whose signs were stolen, david jones. he said he took care to make sure he fully complied with state law, which requires that political signs carrying the same message be placed at least 30 feet apart. <u+201c>i<u+2019>m really shocked that people are behaving this way,<u+201d> jones tells the press herald. <u+201c>we all have the right to free speech, but apparently some people have a problem with that.<u+201d> an irony of all this is that if the post<u+2019>s other contributors are right and trump is hitler, stealing signs seems a woefully inadequate response. to be sure, there's only so much middle-aged maine moms can do; only congress has the power to declare war. still, they could do more. why not check out every copy of <u+201c>the art of the deal<u+201d> from the local public library and refuse to return them until trump concedes defeat or leaves office? that might be worth an extended essay in the post<u+2019>s outlook section. fox butterfield, is that you? <u+201c>despite plea for leniency, kane gets 10 to 23 months in jail<u+201d><u+2014>headline, philadelphia inquirer, oct.<u+00a0>25 we blame global warming it<u+2019>s wabbit season! <u+201c>democratic operative in undercover video says clinton wanted <u+2018>donald duck<u+2019> to stalk trump<u+201d><u+2014>headline, washington times, oct.<u+00a0>24 problem and solution<u+2014>i problem and solution<u+2014>ii make that 11 hypothesis and proof hypothesis and disproof<u+2014>i hypothesis and disproof<u+2014>ii shortest books ever written <u+201c>what knitting can teach us about parenting<u+201d><u+2014>headline, new york times, oct.<u+00a0>25 hey, kids! what time is it? <u+201c>it<u+2019>s time for me to deal with the shock of the new<u+201d><u+2014>headline, national (abu dhabi), oct.<u+00a0>24 question and answer<u+2014>i question and answer<u+2014>ii news of the tautological <u+201c>wait, the cubs or indians are actually going to win the world series<u+201d><u+2014>headline, espn website, oct.<u+00a0>25 breaking news from 2015 <u+201c>sanders is prepared to be a liberal thorn in clinton<u+2019>s side<u+201d><u+2014>headline, washington post, oct.<u+00a0>25 bottom story of the day <u+201c>opinions of utah women who met donald trump through miss usa, <u+2018>apprentice<u+2019> range from admiration to revulsion<u+201d><u+2014>headline, salt lake tribune, oct.<u+00a0>24 how can we miss you if you won<u+2019>t go away? <u+201c>a white house aide has failed to deny rumors president barack obama is planning to leave the united states if donald trump wins the election,<u+201d> london<u+2019>s daily mail reports: we suppose if this were true, the white house would be constrained not to admit it, lest american voters finally have a positive reason to cast ballots for trump. follow @jamestaranto on twitter. join fans of best of the web today on facebook. subscribe to the best of the web email with one click. (carol muller helps compile best of the web. thanks to irene deblasio, mordecai bobrowsky, tony lima, rob slocum, andrew arthur, dave mulligan, macrena sailor, gene koprowski, michael smith, miguel rakiewicz, debbie wells, richard belzer, bob roenigk, bryan fischer, tom hohmann, ben johnson and rod pennington. if you have a tip, write us at opinionjournal@wsj.com , and please include the url.)
sign, sign, everywhere a sign - wsj
james taranto