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Politics : Libertarian Discussion Forum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: freeus who wrote (543)	7/27/1998 6:43:00 PM
From: Liatris Spicata	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 13060

freeus- In my opinion, the worst atrocity against liberty committed by Sleazebag Bill and his friends- other than those tragic instances that led to loss of innocent life- concern HUD's efforts to muzzle free speech. I understand these efforts continue to this day. The most egregious example occurred when HUD sent its KGB-wannabees to harass citizens who were peacefully protesting government housing in their neighborhoods. James Bovard, one of my favorite journalists (except when I disagree with him) wrote an article entitled "The Growing Farce in Fair Housing" in the July issue of Freedom Daily, published by the Future of Freedom Foundation (www.fff.org/freedom/daily). This sprightly monthly rag is available to all for the modest price of $18 in funny reserve notes ($25 for foreign subscriptions). But I digress. In towns from New York to Berkeley, CA, HUD has demanded of private citizens engaged in peaceful protest about HUD's housing programs that they provide letters they had written to public officials or newspapers, or petitions regarding their protest. These mini-stormtroopers demanded names, addresses and phone numbers of anyone who had indicated support for the group's efforts. To quote Bovard, "John Deringer, who lived next to the soon-to-be shelter complained: 'We didn't feel we had done anything wrong, but we were very, very intimidated. The threat was we could be fined $100,000 and jailed if we didn't give them the information they wanted. It was chilling.' " As I recall, HUD's stormtroopers backed off when the Wall Street Journal started making noises about this and HUD realized they were not merely dealing with private citizens with few resources to fight a lengthy legal battle. But what I find most impressive in Bovard's article is a small quote from HUD Assistant Secretary Roberta Achtenberg who wrote in the Washington Post, "In every case of this nature, HUD walks a tightrope between free speech and fair housing. We are ever mindful of the need to maintain the proper balance between these rights." Funny, I don't recall the Constitution of the United States saying anything about "fair housing". Seems to me I do recall something about Congress not abridging the right of free speech or peaceful assembly. Bovard says it better: "Apparently, there are two separate versions of the Bill of Rights- one for private citizens and the other for federal bureaucrats and politicians. This is the only possible explanation, since the word 'balance' does not occur in the copies of the Bill of Rights which ordinary citizens have access to." Within my political memory, I don't think I've heard of a worse abuse on the part of the federal government of constitutionally guaranteed right of free speech or assembly. Of course the courageous bureaucrats backed off when someone with some real muscle entered the scene, but it's still a classic example of the contempt that modern "liberals" have for basic individual liberties. Larry