While Borders was quick to ban little known secular humanist-oriented publication Free Inquiry in March when it ran The Cartoons That Dare Not Show Their Face, it apparently has no problem carrying the latest issue of liberal stalwart Harper's, which has the same cartoons in it.

Now that these cartoons are in Borders' stores, will the riots that Borders claimed they feared back in March promptly ensue? And if so, can Harper's editor Lewis Lapham use his famous time machine to clean up the mess retroactively?

Fire up the Tardis, Lew!

Of course, it's worth noting that Robert Bidinotto's The New Individualist beat both magazines to the punch; hopefully Bidinotto will have some thoughts on Border's recent flip-flop.

Update: Robert's posted his thoughts:

Borders could have climbed one rung out of hell, in my estimation, had the company publicly acknowledged something to the following effect: "We over-reacted in March to security concerns in our decision not to carry Free Inquiry. We apologize to that magazine, and to those customers who were inconvenienced by our decision. We realize and affirm the importance of standing up for fundamental rights to free expression. Therefore, we will not make the same mistake in the case of Harper's, whose June issue we are carrying on our newsstands."

Such crow-eating might regain the company a small measure of respect and credibility: after all, it's the least they owe to Free Inquiry.