Cool Hunting

Twenty-two years ago the year 1984 came and went and we were all supposed to breathe a collective sigh of relief. We weren't faced with a perpetual war with shifting adversaries; our own citizens were not being detained and held indefinitely without charge; dissenting voices were common in the mainstream media; and partisan debate was not branded as disloyalty to the nation.

Arguably, in this new century some of these chillingly anti-democratic tendencies are becoming more and more common. But fortunately the t-shirt (like the bumper sticker) is still a form of free expression protected by the first amendment—as long as you don't wear it to any State of the Union addresses. Are you listening Cindy Sheehan?

This month Klaus Industries has released a t-shirt that states plainly: "2006 is the New 1984." Agree or disagree it's provocative to ponder and the intricate, strangely familiar logo is printed on American Apparel tees, natch.

Prove to the nation that you're not too paranoid by donning one of these stylish tees and, through the month of March, a dollar of every purchase will be donated to the ACLU.