Hmmm....

Jyllands-Posten, the Danish newspaper that first published the cartoons of the prophet Muhammad that have caused a storm of protest throughout the Islamic world, refused to run drawings lampooning Jesus Christ, it has emerged today....

In April 2003, Danish illustrator Christoffer Zieler submitted a series of unsolicited cartoons dealing with the resurrection of Christ to Jyllands-Posten.

Zieler received an email back from the paper's Sunday editor, Jens Kaiser, which said: "I don't think Jyllands-Posten's readers will enjoy the drawings. As a matter of fact, I think that they will provoke an outcry. Therefore, I will not use them." ...

The editor makes a distinction: the Muhammad cartoons were solicited, the Jesus cartoons weren't. Well, yes -- but it's still the case that the paper turned down the Jesus cartoons to avoid giving offense to Christians, then sought out cartoons it knew would give offense to Muslims.

Now, of course, we have right-wingers demanding the publication of the Muhammad cartoons in American newspapers. Well, shouldn't the righties also be demanding the widespread publication of the Jesus cartoons? If we really believe in a free press, we can do no less, wouldn't you say?