Schweitzer stands up for free speech, again

Schweitzer hammers a high school's discrimination against the bolo tie and makes the Washington Post. Via Kos:

A Charles County high school's decision to deny a diploma to a senior who wore a bolo tie to graduation didn't offend just the student and his family. Montana's governor is mighty annoyed, too.

"To have some high school say that a bolo tie is not a tie is an outrage," said Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D), who called The Washington Post yesterday after reading an article about 17-year-old Thomas Benya.

"In Montana and anyplace in Indian country, a bolo tie is dressed up. A tie is a tie," Gov. Brian Schweitzer says. (Office Of Gov. Brian Schweitzer)

Cultural Tie Gets in the Way Of Graduation
Charles County student is denied his diploma after wearing a braided bolo tie under his graduation gown as a subtle tribute to his Native American heritage.

"In Montana and anyplace in Indian country, a bolo tie is dressed up," he said. "A tie is a tie."

Schweitzer, who has a collection of more than 30 string ties, called to encourage Benya yesterday and is sending him a Montana state bolo.

The Waldorf teenager first wore his black, braided tie to a graduation rehearsal Tuesday as a symbol of his Native American roots. His paternal grandmother's father and grandfather were born on a Cherokee reservation in Oklahoma.

So Schweitzer stands up for Native American rights and free speech and a high school kid all at once. Brilliant trifecta!