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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: epicure who wrote (30566)	2/20/2004 4:44:33 PM
From: Neeka	Respond to of 793717

X.....I presume you will feel the same indignation towards democrats for trying to restrict protesters to a certain "free speech zone" during the 2004 Democrat National Convention as you have towards president Bush and the US Government? Do you suppose the Regis T Sabol will accuse the democrats of treating protesters like a gang of Al Qaeda? When Bush came to Pittsburgh on Labor Day, the Constitution left town and the demonstrators were corralled behind a chain-link fence like a gang of al Qaeda. Will John Greely accuse the democrats of trying to silence free speech like he accused the administration of doing in his Februrary 11, 2004 article in Intervention Magazine? The Administration is going after antiwar protestors in Iowa to silence all opponents to the Iraq War. I certainly hope that Warblogging.com writes an article protesting this kind of "Orwellian" behavior.....don't you? Rumor has it that some of the protesters the dems are trying to regulate to these "free speech zones" are Vietnam Vets. M Democrats' plan for national convention challenged The Associated Press BOSTON (AP) - Attorneys are challenging a preliminary security plan for this summer's Democratic National Convention that would limit protesters to a small patch of land virtually out of sight of the convention hall. The plan would restrict protests to a triangle-shaped site near the FleetCenter, which attorneys fear could be obscured from view by buses and television satellite trucks, making demonstrations useless. "What's the point to just have a rally when you don't have an audience for whom the rally is organized?" said Urszula Masny-Latos, executive director of the Massachusetts chapter of the National Lawyers Guild. A spokeswoman for Boston police said the department is committed to accommodating protesters, but because of the urban setting, there are few open areas near the arena suitable for demonstrations. "Our first priority is public safety, but people have a right to come and be heard, and we totally understand that, and we're supportive of that," police spokeswoman Mariellen Burns said. If protesters are restricted only to the small pen without fear of arrest or harassment, attorneys will take their challenge to court, said Carol Rose, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts. The ACLU has joined with the lawyers guild to ask police to change the plan so delegates will have to walk past protesters. Convention organizers are asking groups that want to demonstrate to use a proposed "free speech zone" at designated times, with limited protests allowed outside the zone. A similar situation arose during the 2000 Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles, where protesters were initially restricted to an area blocks from delegates. A federal judge ruled the protest area was unconstitutional and ordered that protesters be allowed to demonstrate in a parking lot across the street from the convention's entrance. (Published 7:54AM, February 20th, 2004) tribnet.com