Fwd: Carry a sign, go to jail..new USAPA provisions

[Guest guest]

Tonight, we're gonna party like it's 1984!

By Lu Bauer

 

REGIONAL (Jan 8, 2006): Just when you think the U.S. couldn't become more like a

totalitarian state, our right-wing friends in Congress come up with a new

assault on our freedoms.

 

Maybe " assault, " isn't the right word, because the right wing relies more on

Trojan Horses than battering rams. They slip surprises into 600-page bills, give

no one time to read them, and pass them in the dead of night, when no one is

looking.

 

Here's the latest insult. The House-Senate Conference Committee's proposed

changes to the Patriot Act have two provisions that should frighten every

American. First, Section 602 allows a person to be thrown into prison for a year

for holding up an " unauthorized sign " at a Democratic or Republican national

convention, an appearance by the President or Vice President, or any other event

designated by the Secret Service as a " national security event. " Second, Section

603 criminalizes entering a Democratic or Republican national convention with

" forged credentials, " which may include the common, time-honored practice of

sharing entry passes.

 

Admittedly, the convention provisions are less troubling. Both major

parties' conventions have long been tightly orchestrated pageants, without any

serious debate about the nation's future. I personally experienced how

aggressively the 2004 Democratic National Convention organizers prohibited any

display of disagreement with John Kerry. Still, the parties don't need

government help in stifling dissent!

 

But prohibiting protest when the President comes to town, on taxpayers' dime, to

address the people? Public appearances by Bush and Cheney, financed by taxpayer

dollars, have routinely excluded everyone but the President's faithful

supporters. People have been removed from public events with the President,

because Bush's staff found out they had John Kerry stickers on their cars. But

it isn't enough to remove citizens who respectfully exercise their First

Amendment rights. Now we're going to throw them into prison!

 

Since our nation's founding, freedom of speech has been at the core of the

values we share as Americans, and we have especially protected political speech

in public settings. This is the very kind of speech George W. Bush wants to

criminalize. Apparently, disagreement with the President is a threat to national

security!

 

Public debate has made our communities strong. Most of our progress toward a

fair society, whether ensuring equal rights or ending child labor, has happened

because people with unpopular views had the right to address, inform and

persuade fellow citizens.

 

Now more than ever, we need to exercise our free speech rights. Here are some

opportunities!