Cliff May, president of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and former roving reporter for Hearst (which syndicated Thomas’ column), in a letter urged the company “strenuously” to “cut all ties” with Thomas “as quickly as possible.”

It seems an odd reaction, especially for conservatives, who are accused regularly of thought crimes and hate speech by outfits like Media Matters, which are in the business of smearing and discrediting those who disagree with them…

Of course, I am not suggesting that Thomas has a birthright to sit in the front row at a White House news conference (a situation that hasn’t made sense for at least three decades) or that anyone has an inalienable right to pontificate about the world for a newspaper chain or anyone else.

And no, I can’t mourn the loss of Helen Thomas’ detestable opinions. But at the same time, I can’t help but feel some trepidation about the ease in which some voices — in this case, one voice that is probably more honest than others of similar ideological disposition — can be expelled from the conversation simply for offending.