We have crossed over into the first stage of a dictator****p when
American citizens can no longer exercise their First Amendment rights
in the presence of an unelected president who, by his own admission,
prefers dictator****ps to democracies.
Over the weekend, BuzzFlash headlined several stories about Ohio State
University graduates who were threatened with expulsion and arrest if
they even silently protested Bush, by turning their backs to him,
during their commencement services.
We ran this main headline:
"OHIO STATE GRADUATES WERE THREATENED WITH ARREST AND EXPULSION IF
THEY PROTESTED BUSH'S SPEECH. (READ TO BOTTOM OF STORY). THEY WERE
"URGED" TO GIVE HIM A 'THUNDEROUS OVATION'"
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/
ap/20020614/ap_to_po/bush_7
We included a first hand account:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/cgi-bin/duforum/
duboard.cgi?az=show_thread&om=27823&forum=DCForumID35
We also included the Ohio State University ad hoc site that organized
the protest crushed by a regime that has thrown the First Amendment
out of the Constitution when the dimwitted prince makes a royal
appearance:
http://www.turnyourbackonbush.com/
It's hardly the first such incident of trampling on the First
Amendment by the Bush royalists. For instance, in June of 2001, three
people (two senior citizens and a gay man) were arrested for merely
holding signs at a public event for Bush:
According to June 6, 2001, excerpts from the St. Petersburg Times
Archives:
Bush protesters say rights were muzzled
St. Petersburg Times; St. Petersburg, Fla.; Jun 6, 2001; CHRISTOPHER
GOFFARD;
Abstract:
The crowd at Legends Field jostled them, hurled invective, grabbed
their signs from their hands and even threw punches, the protesters
say. Security officers saw the disturbance and gave the protesters a
choice: Give up the signs or leave.
The protesters say the police response muzzled their First Amendment
rights. But a Secret Service spokesman called the rally "essentially a
private function" that required a ticket for entrance, comparing
Legends Field to a church rented for a wedding.
[Katie Hughes] said the police were merely responding to a request
from Legends Field security to help remove the protesters. "It appears
the signs they were carrying were causing a disturbance with the
crowd. It was inciting the crowd," Hughes said. "We showed tremendous
restraint."
Foul call at Legends Series: Excerpt from an Editorial
St. Petersburg Times; St. Petersburg, Fla.; Jun 8, 2001;
Abstract:
The Tampa Police Department shares blame for this outrage. Spokeswoman
Katie Hughes couldn't even get her story straight. Initially, she said
the police were acting on instructions from the Secret Service that
signs critical of the president were a security risk. But the Secret
Service denied issuing such a policy. Gregory Mertz, the special agent
in charge of the Secret Service office in Tampa, told St. Petersburg
Times staff writer Christopher Goffard that holding up a sign
regardless of its content is an individual right. Hughes then
backtracked, saying the police department's actions against protesters
were on instructions from Legends Field security.
President Bush's rally at Tampa's Legends Field on Monday was more
than just another tightly scripted political event to promote his
tax-cut plan. It also turned into a cowardly exercise in suppressing
legitimate protest.
The event was advertised as being open to the public, but only Bush
boosters were welcome. No one who publicly opposed the president's tax
cuts, his environmentally risky energy policy or his national missile
defense ****eld was allowed to enter the stadium, even if they were
holding a ticket. Those presidential critics who were somehow able to
slide past security were jostled and denounced by the crowd for
holding signs that read "Florida Votergate" and "June is Gay Pride
Month." The resulting disturbance led to the arrests of the men and
women who refused to give up their signs.
A Secret Service spokesman, who insisted that his agency wasn't
involved in removing any of the protesters, said rally organizers were
within their rights to exclude whomever they wanted because the
function was private. If this had been a truly private event, the
agent would have been correct. Constitutionally, sponsors of a private
event can screen the audience as long as they don't discriminate
against a protected group.
However, White House spokesperson Jeanie Mano said "this was a
governmental, presidential event." White House staff participated in
organizing the rally, along with local sup****ters and the hosts of
Legends Field, a publicly financed stadium. Public employees helped
pull together a rally at which the public at large was invited to hear
the president. Although Mano also said the event was called "private"
by the Secret Service, it had a distinctly public character. It was
partly paid for with tax dollars and should have been an event at
which all points of view regarding the president's agenda were
welcome. A "First Amendment zone" set up by organizers and situated
one-third of a mile away from the stadium entrance was not even close
to acceptable. All of the United States is a First Amendment zone.
And just one more recent example of the creeping dictator****p, with
the recent BuzzFlash headline:
"More Unbelievable Anti-Democracy Actions from the Bush
Administration: People Should Not be Allowed to Go to the Courts to
Challenge the Bush Administration on Censor****p Issues 6/15"
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/opinion
/article/0,1299,DRMN_38_1206925,00.html
We have hesitated until recently to use words like dictator****p and
fascism in relation to the Bush administration. But the signs are now
too telling.
Take this recent headline we posted about the Chief of our Supreme
Court:
"REHNQUIST: "IN TIME OF WAR, THE LAWS ARE SILENT." BE AFRAID, BE VERY
AFRAID.
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/nation/1455502
In this time of darkest need for the great gift of American democracy,
who still stand up to the tyrants that chip away daily at our precious
liberties?
Which Democrat will stop looking at the polls and start taking pity
upon the Statue of Liberty who weeps in fear for what the future
holds? Which Democrat will stop worrying about election 2002 and start
fighting for our Constitutional rights.
And still we await a savior for democracy.
* * *
BuzzFlash Note: We add this letter from a BuzzFlash reader.
Dear BuzzFlash,
I don't know if this is the right address to contact, but I thought
I'd give it a shot. After reading the accounts of this weekends OSU
commencement, I realized I needed to start doing something.
I can be silent no more!
I can be silent no more. I cannot sit idly by and watch our civil
liberties be stripped away. I will no longer tolerate the shredding of
the United States Constitution by our government. But most of all, I
will no longer dishonor those who came before us. The brave men and
women who fought and died to safeguard our freedoms, those ideals and
beliefs that made this country great, deserve that much.
Over the last few months, my anger and disbelief have been growing.
The Bush administration has waged an all out war on civil liberties,
the environment, and the geopolitical community at large. These
actions have been carried out under the guise of 'patriotism' and 'the
war on terror'. The American public has blindly accepted these actions
without question, afraid of the recriminations of speaking out.
On June 14th, President Bush gave the commencement address at Ohio
State University. Graduates and alumni planned a non-violent protest
called "Turn Your Back on Bush". The simple premise of this peaceful
protest was that as the President spoke, those participating would
stand and turn away. This simple protest was legal and protected by
the First Amendment guarantees of free speech and peaceable assembly.
However, the administration at OSU saw it differently. Prior to the
ceremonies, an announcement was made. In this announcement it was said
that "Please make sure you stand and loudly cheer our President. Our
graduates have been requested to do the same, and have agreed to give
a loud cheer for Mr. Bush. Also anyone involved in the protest would
be arrested and expelled." According to first hand accounts, expulsion
meant that those graduates who protested would be refused their
diplomas and not allowed to graduate.
I became more and more upset as I read the first hand account of the
events. As this person stood to turn her back, she was led out of the
stadium by a Columbus police officer with her three-year-old daughter
in her arms. She was told that if she left, the charge of disturbing
the peace would be dropped.
This is not the first time that the voices of opposition have been
intimidated into silence by this administration. A fact not re****ted
in the mainstream media is the presence of "First Amendment Zones"
wherever the President speaks. These are areas where dissenters are
herded, usually far away and invisible to the President, and more
im****tantly, the media covering the event. To call these areas "First
Amendment Zones" is an affront to everything the First Amendment
stands for.
I urge my fellow citizens to speak out against the growing tyranny and
oppression in America. I urge you to read the foreign press to see how
the world views the United States and learn what is not being re****ted
by the American media. I urge you to get involved, write your
congressmen, write the papers, call the radio talk shows, and most
im****tantly, exercise your right to vote.
Some of you may say, "Who does this guy think he is?" Let me tell you
who I am. I am a father, a son, a brother, and an uncle. I am a proud
veteran of the US Navy. But most of all, I am an American citizen, and
I will be silent no more.
Don
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