I believe it was my fine state of FL that, a few years ago, allowed one of these women to take her driver's license photo covered up this way.

Which begs the question of how do they deal with crime? I mean, if something happens, would they say, "Well, she was the one wearing the slightly duller 'niquab'."

After all, anyone could wear one and get away with almost anything.

"but my idea of a safe driver isn't a woman with a black tent
over her head with a tiny slit for the eyes"

I don't disagree; she's far from optimum. However, I'd take
her over one yakking on a cell phone or texting while driving.

There's more to the story of our charming Ms Ahmed. She wasn't expelled simply for wearing a niqab:

http://network.nationalpost.com/NP/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2010/03/03/tasha-kheiriddin-what-s-next-burkas-for-gym-class.aspx

First, she insisted on wearing her tent to French language class. When the female teacher told her she could not grade her on elocution & communication without seeing her face, she demanded private instruction in a corner at the back of the classroom, facing away from the other students. Then she demanded that all the male students in the class be moved away, lest any infidel men catch a glimpse of her. Then, when the female teacher went on leave & was replaced by a man, she went right back to square one & demanded to wear her tent to class!

It was these ever-escalating demands that led to her expulsion. The problem with hag-in-a-bags like Ms Ahmed is not that they insist on wearing their tents. It's that they demand that the entire evil system of gender apartheid that goes along with those tents be imposed on everyone around them.

Now, I wouldn't move to Saudi Arabia and expect it to be just like America.

Why isn't this invoked more often? We are a tolerant people but we're not made to be molded to fit the culture of the land you LEFT. If you don't like our freedoms, you're free to go back where you came from.

Deirdre B. Why isn't this invoked more often?

Good question. Mexicans come to this country all the time, and get all kinds of wonderful services...and they don't even have to learn the language.

I have one word:

A S S I M I L A T I O N.

Learn it, people, or go back where you came from.

In a lot of states, this would already be covered. After the Ku Klux Klan got so out of hand in the 1920s, many states and municipalities passed "mask laws." Put in short language---if you're wearing a mask in public it better be Halloween or Mardi Gras, or you're shortly going to be making new friends down at the cop-shop.

It isn't about assimilation at all - it's typical human nature, and all about me, me, me. Some people do not want to assimilate - they want their old culture plus everything they like about the new place to live.

There was just recently a case in Switzerland: a group of convicted criminals - who are also illegal aliens - were to be deported. They don't want to leave - usually, each one has to be tied to a chair, carried onto the plane, tied to the seat in the plane, and forced off the plane at the other end. It takes two policemen for each prisoner to carry this off - so 20 prisoners and 40 police. They like it in the West - rich and easy pickings - who wants to leave?

This time, one of these lovely people was so distraught that he went on a hunger strike for days beforehand. For reasons not yet clear, this guy died while being loaded onto the plane. And we see the unwitting stooges: the leftists are doing their expected hand-wringing, and the deportation was stopped. What would be so bad about keeping these 20 people? Why brutally deport them? Well, because keeping these 20 would be an invitation for the next 200...

These criminals may be more extreme cases than the woman in Canada, but the motivations are the same: they like living in the West, but it's all about taking - they have no interest in giving back.

What is really unfortunate is the reputation that idiots like this give to all immigrants. It is too easy to forget that it can be different.

I was at a kids sports event yesterday. Having just read this blog item, two immigrant kids caught my attention. Here they are, with their parents, at an event where immigrants are a tiny minority. Their parents still struggle with the local language, but they do their best. Meanwhile, their kids have been on the team for a few months, and are totally integrated and accepted. It was a genuine pleasure to see!

> two immigrant kids caught my attention

Whence?

I believe the salute came about from knights who would raise their visors when they encountered another knight. This way you could see the other person's face and be able to read their expressons. Someone that tried to hide their face might be trying to hide something like the fact they are about to attack, or something similar.

To come to a culture where hiding your face is a sign of treachery and obfuscation and expect people not to react negatively to you hiding your face just doesn't make sense. I'm all for freedom, including her freedom to do what she wants, but employers and others she interacts with are also free to treat her the way they want as well.