Suppressing free speech

[Guest guest]

M

Tue, 29 Mar 2005 23:37:39 -0600

Suppressing free speech

 

 

 

Suppressing free speech

by kos

Tue Mar 29th, 2005 at 08:36:51 PST

 

This is incredible:

Very rarely does the everyday public get a glimpse of what happens

behind the scenes in a normally-secret Bush Administration.

 

But Monday, March 28, the Secret Service called three everyday people

into their offices to discuss why we were kicked out of a presidential

event in Denver last week where Bush promoted his plan to privatize

Social Security. What they revealed to us and our lawyer was fascinating.

 

There we were - three people who had personally picked up tickets from

Republican Congressman Bob Beauprez's office and went to a

presidential event. But as we entered, we were told we had been

" ID'ed " and were warned any disruption would get us arrested.

 

After being seated in the audience we were forcibly removed before the

President arrived, even though we had not been disruptive. We were

shocked when told this presidential event was a " private event " and

were commanded to leave.

 

More astonishingly, when the Secret Service was contacted the next day

they agreed to meet with us this Monday, March 28 to discuss the

circumstances surrounding our removal. We had two big questions going

into this meeting:

 

1. How is the Bush Administration " ID'ing " citizens before

presidential events?

 

2. Why was an official taxpayer-funded event called a " private

event " - leading to citizens being kicked out?

 

Most shocking of all, we got answers to both questions.

 

The Secret Service revealed we were " ID'ed " when local Republican

staffers saw a bumper sticker on the car we drove which said " No More

Blood For Oil. " Evidently, the free speech expressed on one bumper

sticker is cause enough to eject three citizens from a presidential

event. (Similarly, someone was ejected from Bush's Social Security

privatization event in Arizona the same day simply for wearing a

Democratic t-shirt.)

 

The Secret Service also revealed ticket distribution and staffing of

the Social Security event was run by the local Republican Party. They

wanted us to be clear that it was a Republican staffer - not the

Secret Service - who kicked us out of the presidential event. But this

revealed something else that should be startling to all Americans.

 

After allowing taxpayers to finance his privatization events (let's

call them what they really are after all,) and after using the White

House communications apparatus to set them up, Bush is privatizing the

ticket distribution and security staffing at his events to the

Republican Party. The losers are not just taxpayers, but anyone who

values the First Amendment. Under the banner of a " private event " the

Republican Party is excluding citizens from seeing their president

because of the lone sin of expressing the wrong idea on a bumper

sticker or t-shirt. The question for Americans is - will we allow our

freedom to be privatized?

 

Karen Bauer, Leslie Weise. Alexander Young

Denver residents

I was emailed this account by the people involved, so it's straight

from the horse's mouth. The AP did a story on this as well.

" They hadn't done anything wrong. They weren't dressed

inappropriately, they didn't say anything inappropriate, " Recht said.

" They were kicked out of this venue and not allowed to hear what the

president had to say based solely on this political bumper sticker.

 

" The very essence of the First Amendment is that you can't be punished

for the speech you make, the statements you make, " Recht said.

So to emphasize -- the White House uses taxpayer dollars to finance

these propaganda events. THEN, in order to keep out anyone who might

be critical, they " outsource " ticketing and security. That way they

can label the events " private " and kick out anyone they want in

violation of the First Amendment.

 

Who in Congress will step up and call for an investigation?

 

 

 

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/3/29/113651/512