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Limits on protests spread to Ga.
(The Associated Press, April 19, 2004)
Robert Randall never knew free speech could cost so much - in dollars and in compromises - until he tried to organize a large-scale, peaceful demonstration for this summer's G-8 summit. The coastal city of Brunswick, where Randall hopes to gather up to 10,000 people to protest the world leaders' summit, passed a law last month that places conditions on public demonstrations. Organizers of protests like Randall's "G-8 Carnival" must put up refundable deposits equal to the city's estimated cost for cleanup and police protection. Demonstrations may only last 2 hours, 30 minutes. Signs and banners may not be carried on sticks that might be brandished as weapons. And the signs may not be larger than 2-by-3 feet. "This law would not exist if the G-8 was not coming here," said Randall, 51, a therapist who has attended demonstrations since the Vietnam War. "It makes it impossible to express oneself through assembly or speech on public property unless you have money." Thousands of anti-globalization protesters are expected June 8-10 when President Bush plays host to the leaders of Britain, Japan, Germany, Italy, France, Canada and Russia on secluded Sea Island. Brunswick, Savannah and surrounding counties have passed ordinances governing protest permits. The American Civil Liberties Union has threatened to sue, saying the laws "place impermissible limits on free speech." Observers say the cities' actions fit a national pattern of managing dissent that constricts constitutional guarantees of freedom of speech and assembly.

posted by An Old Curmudgeon 6:26 AM

 

The hateful free speech of Conservative Christians
"I tell people don't kill all the liberals. Leave enough so we can have two
on every campus - living fossils - so we will never forget what these people stood
for." Rush Limbaugh, Denver Post, 12-29-95

"Environmentalists are a socialist group of individuals that are the tool
of the Democrat Party. I'm proud to say that they are my enemy. They are not
Americans, never have been Americans, never will be Americans." Rep. Don
Young (R-AK), Alaska Public Radio, 08-19-96.

"Homosexuals want to come into churches and disrupt church services and
throw blood all around and try to give people AIDS and spit in the face of ministers."
Pat Robertson again, The 700 Club, 01-18-95

"Two things made this country great: White men & Christianity. The
degree these two have diminished is in direct proportion to the corruption and
fall of the nation. Every problem that has arisen (sic) can be directly traced
back to our departure from God's Law and the disenfranchisement of White men."
State Rep. Don Davis (R-NC), emailed to every member of the North Carolina House
and Senate, reported by the Fayetteville Observer, 08-22-01

NOW is saying that in order to be a woman, you've got to be a lesbian."
Pat Robertson again, The 700 Club, 12-03-97

"We're going to keep building the party until we're hunting Democrats
with dogs." Senator Phil Gramm (R-TX), Mother Jones, 08-95

"Why should we hear about body bags and deaths and how many, what day
it's gonna happen? It's not relevant. So why should I waste my beautiful mind
on something like that?" Barbara Bush, said on 'Good Morning America' the
day before the Iraq war started, New York Times, 01-13-03

"I'm the commander - see, I don't need to explain - I don't need to explain
why I say things. That's the interesting thing about being the President. Maybe
somebody needs to explain to me why they say something, but I don't feel like
I owe anybody an explanation." George W. Bush, Washington Post, 11-19-02

posted by Lorenzo 1:11 PM

 

How Independent Radio Helped Depose Spain's Aznar (And Can Dump Bush Too)
(Heather Wokusch, BuzzFlash, April 3, 2004)
Conventional wisdom says the recent Spanish elections prove Europeans are weenies: weak-willed, spineless losers who enjoy cradling terrorists. But scratch the surface and what you really see is a battle between corporate/government interests and independent media, between those accepting the Bush doctrine as gospel and those with the courage to fight back. . . . Then came the Madrid train bombings, which left over 200 Spaniards dead and 1,600 injured. . . . Aznar's administration immediately went on an ass-covering rampage to blame the Basque terrorist group ETA, even though growing evidence suggested an al Qaeda cell was responsible for the attack instead. Since he had entered the Iraq mess by promising to "guarantee the security of Spaniards from any internal or external threat," Aznar knew he would be lambasted if the bombings had actually been carried out by al Qaeda. . . . So what did Aznar do? Lie. He telephoned the publishers of major daily newspapers to insist they say ETA was responsible for the attack, and Moncloa Palace (the Spanish White House) pressured foreign journalists to blame ETA too. . . . But at the same time, an independent left-wing radio station was doing the unthinkable: airing the truth by contradicting the ETA-bashing version of events. Young listeners quickly mobilized, using SMS text-messages to organize a noisy demonstration outside Aznar party headquarters. Other media soon started questioning the official version of events. . . . Just three remarkable days after the train bombings, Spaniards went to the polls. Aznar's party ended up receiving 9.6 million votes, close to the 10.3 million he had received in the 2000 election which dismisses the theory his supporters rejected him because of the attacks. The election's deciding factor instead was a record 77% turnout including 2 million new (primarily young and anti-war) voters. . . . The result? Aznar's party got the boot and his opponent, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who had warned that invading Iraq would "provoke more hatred and ... instability," was swept into power. Essentially, the Spanish people cleaned house because they were sick of politicians' lies. . . . Face it: when the White House says "You're with us or against us," the "us" in question is not America - it's the Bush administration. Dissenters beware. . . . So hats off to alternative American radio: Thom Hartmann, Radio Left, Air America Radio, Democracy Now, Counterspin, Melanson and every other proud, strong voice out there. You just may be the future of our democracy.

posted by Lorenzo 12:28 PM