Land of the Free?

Denver Riot Police

Judge Backs “Denver 3” Bush Speech Removal

The American Civil Liberties Union is criticizing a federal court ruling upholding the ejection of three Denver residents from a speech by President Bush in 2005. The “Denver Three,” as they’ve come to be known, were removed before Bush took the stage. They weren’t being disruptive. White House staffers forced them out after noticing they had parked in a car with a bumper sticker reading “no blood for oil.” Bush was in Denver as part of a national tour promoting his now widely discredited plan to privatize Social Security. The ACLU had sued the White House for infringing on the residents’ constitutional rights. But in a new ruling, US District Court Judge Wiley Daniel said the “Denver Three” had no guaranteed right to be present.

from Democracy Now!

Listen to Our Veterans

Veterans Call for Bush, Cheney Arrest

In Washington, five members of the group Veterans for Peace unveiled a banner at the National Archives Tuesday calling for the arrest of President Bush and Vice President Cheney. The twenty-two-foot-long banner reads: “Defend Our Constitution–Arrest Bush / Cheney–War Criminals.” The veterans occupied a ledge of the National Archives where they began a day-long hunger strike.

from Democracy Now! and Pacific Radio

In a press release, the group described the reasons for its protest:

Bush and Cheney’s serial abuse of the law of the land clearly marks them as domestic enemies of the Constitution. They have illegally invaded and occupied Iraq, deliberately destroyed civilian infrastructure, authorized torture, and unlawfully detained prisoners. These actions clearly mark them as war criminals. Accountability extends beyond impeachment to prosecution for war crimes even after their terms of office expire....

We are not conducting ourselves in a disorderly manner; our action is well-ordered and well-considered. We are not trespassing; we have come to the home of our Constitution to honor our oath to defend it.

from The Los Angeles Times

60-year-old Librarian Ticketed and Threatened with Arrest for Holding a Sign

A sixty year old librarian was asked to leave the sidewalk outside the city owned Denver Performing Arts Complex by four Denver police officers. She was ticketed and threatened with arrest if she did not remove her homemade sign that read McCain = Bush.

If this is city property, wasn't it funded by taxes, thus public space?

Hopefully McCain will have the decency to condemn the acts of these officers and apologize to this US citizen who was exercising her Constitutional right of free speach.

source: The Denver Post

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. - First Amendment to the United States Constitution (The United States Bill of Rights)




"If you believe in freedom of speech, you believe in freedom of speech for views you don't like. Goebbels was in favor of freedom of speech for views he liked. So was Stalin. If you're in favor of freedom of speech, that means you're in favor of freedom of speech precisely for views you despise." - Noam Chomsky

"You have the right to free speech
as long as you're not dumb enough
to actually try it." - The Clash