The Bush Dictatorship
June 17, 2002
A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS
We have crossed over into the first stage of a dictatorship when American citizens can no longer exercise their First Amendment rights in the presence of an unelected president who, by his own admission, prefers dictatorships to democracies.
Over the weekend, BuzzFlash headlined several stories about Ohio State University graduates who were threatened with expulsion and arrest if they even silently protested Bush, by turning their backs to him, during their commencement services.
We ran this main headline:
"OHIO STATE GRADUATES WERE THREATENED WITH ARREST AND EXPULSION IF THEY PROTESTED BUSH'S SPEECH. (READ TO BOTTOM OF STORY). THEY WERE "URGED" TO GIVE HIM A 'THUNDEROUS OVATION'"
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/
ap/20020614/ap_to_po/bush_7
We included a first hand account:
We also included the Ohio State University ad hoc site that organized the protest crushed by a regime that has thrown the First Amendment out of the Constitution when the dimwitted prince makes a royal appearance:
It's hardly the first such incident of trampling on the First Amendment by the Bush royalists. For instance, in June of 2001, three people (two senior citizens and a gay man) were arrested for merely holding signs at a public event for Bush:
According to June 6, 2001, excerpts from the St. Petersburg Times Archives:
Bush protesters say rights were muzzled
St. Petersburg Times; St. Petersburg, Fla.; Jun 6, 2001; CHRISTOPHER GOFFARD;
Abstract:
The crowd at Legends Field jostled them, hurled invective, grabbed their signs from their hands and even threw punches, the protesters say. Security officers saw the disturbance and gave the protesters a choice: Give up the signs or leave.
The protesters say the police response muzzled their First Amendment rights. But a Secret Service spokesman called the rally "essentially a private function" that required a ticket for entrance, comparing Legends Field to a church rented for a wedding.
[Katie Hughes] said the police were merely responding to a request from Legends Field security to help remove the protesters. "It appears the signs they were carrying were causing a disturbance with the crowd. It was inciting the crowd," Hughes said. "We showed tremendous restraint."
Foul call at Legends Series: Excerpt from an Editorial
St. Petersburg Times; St. Petersburg, Fla.; Jun 8, 2001;
Abstract:
The Tampa Police Department shares blame for this outrage. Spokeswoman Katie Hughes couldn't even get her story straight. Initially, she said the police were acting on instructions from the Secret Service that signs critical of the president were a security risk. But the Secret Service denied issuing such a policy. Gregory Mertz, the special agent in charge of the Secret Service office in Tampa, told St. Petersburg Times staff writer Christopher Goffard that holding up a sign regardless of its content is an individual right. Hughes then backtracked, saying the police department's actions against protesters were on instructions from Legends Field security.
President Bush's rally at Tampa's Legends Field on Monday was more than just another tightly scripted political event to promote his tax-cut plan. It also turned into a cowardly exercise in suppressing legitimate protest.
The event was advertised as being open to the public, but only Bush boosters were welcome. No one who publicly opposed the president's tax cuts, his environmentally risky energy policy or his national missile defense shield was allowed to enter the stadium, even if they were holding a ticket. Those presidential critics who were somehow able to slide past security were jostled and denounced by the crowd for holding signs that read "Florida Votergate" and "June is Gay Pride Month." The resulting disturbance led to the arrests of the men and women who refused to give up their signs.
A Secret Service spokesman, who insisted that his agency wasn't involved in removing any of the protesters, said rally organizers were within their rights to exclude whomever they wanted because the function was private. If this had been a truly private event, the agent would have been correct. Constitutionally, sponsors of a private event can screen the audience as long as they don't discriminate against a protected group.
However, White House spokesperson Jeanie Mano said "this was a governmental, presidential event." White House staff participated in organizing the rally, along with local supporters and the hosts of Legends Field, a publicly financed stadium. Public employees helped pull together a rally at which the public at large was invited to hear the president. Although Mano also said the event was called "private" by the Secret Service, it had a distinctly public character. It was partly paid for with tax dollars and should have been an event at which all points of view regarding the president's agenda were welcome. A "First Amendment zone" set up by organizers and situated one-third of a mile away from the stadium entrance was not even close to acceptable. All of the United States is a First Amendment zone.
And just one more recent example of the creeping dictatorship, with the recent BuzzFlash headline:
"More Unbelievable Anti-Democracy Actions from the Bush Administration: People Should Not be Allowed to Go to the Courts to Challenge the Bush Administration on Censorship Issues 6/15"
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/opinion
/article/0,1299,DRMN_38_1206925,00.html
We have hesitated until recently to use words like dictatorship and fascism in relation to the Bush administration. But the signs are now too telling.
Take this recent headline we posted about the Chief of our Supreme Court:
"REHNQUIST: "IN TIME OF WAR, THE LAWS ARE SILENT." BE AFRAID, BE VERY AFRAID.
In this time of darkest need for the great gift of American democracy, who still stand up to the tyrants that chip away daily at our precious liberties?
Which Democrat will stop looking at the polls and start taking pity upon the Statue of Liberty who weeps in fear for what the future holds? Which Democrat will stop worrying about election 2002 and start fighting for our Constitutional rights.
And still we await a savior for democracy.
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BuzzFlash Note: We add this letter from a BuzzFlash reader.
Dear BuzzFlash,
I don't know if this is the right address to contact, but I thought I'd give it a shot. After reading the accounts of this weekends OSU commencement, I realized I needed to start doing something.
I can be silent no more!
I can be silent no more. I cannot sit idly by and watch our civil liberties be stripped away. I will no longer tolerate the shredding of the United States Constitution by our government. But most of all, I will no longer dishonor those who came before us. The brave men and women who fought and died to safeguard our freedoms, those ideals and beliefs that made this country great, deserve that much.
Over the last few months, my anger and disbelief have been growing. The Bush administration has waged an all out war on civil liberties, the environment, and the geopolitical community at large. These actions have been carried out under the guise of 'patriotism' and 'the war on terror'. The American public has blindly accepted these actions without question, afraid of the recriminations of speaking out.
On June 14th, President Bush gave the commencement address at Ohio State University. Graduates and alumni planned a non-violent protest called "Turn Your Back on Bush". The simple premise of this peaceful protest was that as the President spoke, those participating would stand and turn away. This simple protest was legal and protected by the First Amendment guarantees of free speech and peaceable assembly. However, the administration at OSU saw it differently. Prior to the ceremonies, an announcement was made. In this announcement it was said that "Please make sure you stand and loudly cheer our President. Our graduates have been requested to do the same, and have agreed to give a loud cheer for Mr. Bush. Also anyone involved in the protest would be arrested and expelled." According to first hand accounts, expulsion meant that those graduates who protested would be refused their diplomas and not allowed to graduate.
I became more and more upset as I read the first hand account of the events. As this person stood to turn her back, she was led out of the stadium by a Columbus police officer with her three-year-old daughter in her arms. She was told that if she left, the charge of disturbing the peace would be dropped.
This is not the first time that the voices of opposition have been intimidated into silence by this administration. A fact not reported in the mainstream media is the presence of "First Amendment Zones" wherever the President speaks. These are areas where dissenters are herded, usually far away and invisible to the President, and more importantly, the media covering the event. To call these areas "First Amendment Zones" is an affront to everything the First Amendment stands for.
I urge my fellow citizens to speak out against the growing tyranny and oppression in America. I urge you to read the foreign press to see how the world views the United States and learn what is not being reported by the American media. I urge you to get involved, write your congressmen, write the papers, call the radio talk shows, and most importantly, exercise your right to vote.
Some of you may say, "Who does this guy think he is?" Let me tell you who I am. I am a father, a son, a brother, and an uncle. I am a proud veteran of the US Navy. But most of all, I am an American citizen, and I will be silent no more.
Christian Salafia
Mesa, Arizona
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