The AP reported a anti-abortion march and an anti-war march somehow ended bumping headlong into each other! No violence but a lot of "choice words".

The "Free Speech Zone" goes against the whole first amendment in the first place. NOBODY should get into that stupid-ass animal cage. WE ARE NOT PETS. How dare the cities talk down to us like we will obey every little command they give us that strips us of our FREEDOM. FUCK THAT! And FUCK THEM Too.

There's just no way. I'm not trying to act up or anything, but it's insulting. We have the right to assemble, but only if we do. Otherwise all this talk of a "free country" is about as much bullshit as it's been looking like.

I was under the impression the entire United States was a free-speech zone.

How can the Democratic Party, or any party, countenance such an un-American practice as designating a "free-speech zone," let alone building a cage for protesters.

This adds new meaning to the legal term "prior restraint." It makes the term literal and physical.

All Americans should rise up against this. Our Bill of Rights rights are being picked off one by one.

Tuesday, July 27, 2004

Free silence zone

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER EDITORIAL BOARD

George Orwell's novel "1984" cited oxymorons as tools of state. "War is Peace," "Freedom is slavery" and "Ignorance is strength."

Only two decades after the book's title, we ought to add the phrase: "Free Speech Zone."

At the Democratic National Convention in Boston, a razor-wired concentration camp -- OK, the designated demonstration area -- is supposed to be a safe harbor for protest. Nonsense. The cage is instead an affront to the First Amendment and to the very essence of the American character.

We understand that security is a big deal -- and that the Democrats are keen on shaping a positive image of the fall election season. But the cage goes too far.

Even the federal judge (as he upheld the zone's legality) sadly described the demonstration area "a festering boil." We all know that festering boils are not healthy for democracy.

Political conventions are national conversations about our country's direction for the next four years. They are important theater for the party, but that doesn't require silence from those who disagree.

Everyone ought to have a say: We'll hear from those who want a Democratic Party agenda. On TV, we'll hear from Republican operatives, Ralph Nader and others who would counter the official line conveyed by the Democrats. Free speech works best when everyone has a say. That's why it's essential to also hear the voices of dissent; those voices should be loud, clear and free.

Free speech should never be an oxymoron.

 http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/183636_speeched.html

We've seen the likes of the free speech zone before:

 http://www.starwars.com/databank/creature/sarlacc/

- CB