cannabisnews.com: War-on-Drugs Exhibition Starts Free-Speech Battle War-on-Drugs Exhibition Starts Free-Speech Battle Posted by CN Staff on October 05, 2006 at 09:03:48 PT By John Keilman, Tribune Staff Reporter Source: Chicago Tribune Chicago -- Pete Guither's attempt to criticize the war on drugs has become a war of its own.When an exhibition sponsored by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration opened at the Museum of Science and Industry in August, Guither showed up with a sack full of pamphlets denouncing the government's anti-narcotics strategy. But soon after he began handing the pamphlets out, museum officials confined him to what he said was an almost deserted stretch of sidewalk. Then a lawyer for the Chicago Park District told him the pamphlets were "commercial in nature" and that he needed a permit to distribute them at all.The Park District says it's just a matter of keeping its facilities running smoothly. But the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, which has gotten involved in the dispute, calls it "a classic case of free speech.""What you have in this instance is a government-sponsored promotion of their viewpoint on a policy issue, and a citizen who wants to express the opposite viewpoint," said ACLU spokesman Ed Yohnka. "... We don't think this is the kind of speech that requires a permit."The exhibition, aimed at young people, is meant to expose the grim toll of the drug business. It includes a reproduction of a seedy crack house, a gallery of people who died from drug-related causes, and exhibits that link the narcotics trade with terrorism."The concept is, by educating people and getting them to realize how dangerous drugs are, the damage it can do, the people it can destroy, hopefully people are smart enough to realize they shouldn't do this," said DEA spokesman Steve Robertson.Guither, 52, whose day job is assistant dean at Illinois State University, said he has long been a civil-liberties activist. He turned his attention to the drug war with a blog that advocates legalizing marijuana and regulating other narcotics, an alternative to what he calls a futile and destructive policy of prohibition.When he learned earlier this year that a traveling exhibition sponsored by the DEA would visit the Museum of Science and Industry, Guither said he felt compelled to act."I used to practically live in that museum," he said. "I didn't like seeing it perverted into an infomercial for the DEA."On opening day, Guither went to the museum with leaflets criticizing the exhibition and the DEA. He said he approached security guards before handing out the material, hoping to prevent any problems. After a huddle, officials told him he could distribute them outside.For about two hours Guither gave pamphlets to people at the entryways facing 57th Street. But then, he said, a security supervisor told him he was allowed only on a sidewalk between the entryways, where Guither said few people ventured."We had about 100 an hour before then, maybe one an hour after then," he said.Museum spokeswoman Lisa Miner, who met with Guither that day, disagreed with his characterization of the space, saying many people walk though there on a typical day.A few days later Guither contacted officials of the museum and the Chicago Park District, asking that he be allowed to pass out his fliers freely. Park District attorney Timothy King eventually sent this reply:"Per our conversation, I consider your handout to be commercial in nature and therefore, pursuant to our Code, would require a permit to distribute on our property."In an interview last week, King said his judgment "was not a matter of content. I didn't even really give [the handout] a good review. Beyond the nature of the flier, I didn't delve into the content."This is just a matter of how do we keep our parks open to all, and how do we set people up in a manner so as not to interfere with anyone's use."Geoffrey Stone, a constitutional scholar at the University of Chicago Law School, said the flier clearly was not commercial material. But even if it were, he said, the government cannot regulate commercial pamphleteering in public areas if it doesn't cause problems, such as litter or blocked building entrances.Yohnka, of the ACLU, said the group hoped to come to an agreement with the Park District that would establish an area where activists could have better access to people arriving at the museum.He said a similar arrangement has been worked out at McCormick Place, which used to keep activists away from conventioneers.King said the problem could be solved if Guither would apply for a permit, but Guither said he had no intention of doing that."We are not applying to hand out commercial [material]," he said. "It would be like handing out a permit for me to be out on the sidewalk talking."Note: Museum, activist clash over pamphlets.Newshawk: EkimSource: Chicago Tribune (IL)Author: John Keilman, Tribune Staff ReporterPublished: October 5, 2006Copyright: 2006 Chicago Tribune CompanyContact: ctc-TribLetter Tribune.comWebsite: http://www.chicagotribune.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:Drug War Ranthttp://www.drugwarrant.comDEA Museumhttp://www.deamuseum.org/ DEA's Museum Exhibit Shows Dangers of Drugs http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread22061.shtmlNew Museum Exhibit Tackles Drugshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread22060.shtmlDrug-Terror Connection Disputedhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread22058.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #34 posted by whig on October 07, 2006 at 11:25:14 PT Hope Oh. When you said, "You can do better" it came across to me as saying I could do a better job than I was doing.I don't think I'm better than you, though. I have a different approach, and a different voice. Yours is gentle for the most part and very kind. Mine tends to be more ... aggressive. [ Post Comment ] Comment #33 posted by Hope on October 07, 2006 at 11:11:40 PT "Oh Lord" "Please don't let me be misunderstood!" [ Post Comment ] Comment #32 posted by Hope on October 07, 2006 at 11:11:04 PT Whig Celtic Texan needs any "treatment" available. Go for it!What I was trying to say...about the thing you could do better at, than me, because you have a glowing vocabulary and lots of intelligence. (Kaptinemo is so delightfully good at it.)The thing you could do better (Than me, but maybe not better than Kap.) is in not allowing yourself to be reduced to the state of crudity. There's no value in it except some sort of fast release from a stress. Celtic Texan reduces me to the point that I can only think crudity and expletives...which are better left unsaid as far as rational discourse is concerned.Even when I think the crudity after being attacked with a crudity it doesn't release me to anything but anger and certainly not to any constructive thought. [ Post Comment ] Comment #31 posted by whig on October 07, 2006 at 10:58:12 PT Hope Sometimes it's hard to understand one another, especially when we're just words on a screen, and in no particular reply order.I took it that you were upset about either the treatment I gave Celtic Texan, or my use of the "S"-word here regarding that exchange.I responded defensively and I should not have. Could you please tell me what I said that you think I could "do better" in regard to comment #21 which you said in #22 was addressed to me. [ Post Comment ] Comment #30 posted by Hope on October 07, 2006 at 10:12:18 PT idiot moron fool thing I think about it because I haven't found a way to get past it. It may be a Biblical thing..."Agree with your adversary quickly.":0) and of course, the accuser could be right to an extent...an extent that maybe I'm not even aware of.I don't know how to get past it...I think, also, that I fear violence and conflicet and when it seems violent to me...I freeze. I despise violence and cruelty. That's why I'm against the drug war more than any one reason. Trying to figure one's self out is so difficult sometimes. [ Post Comment ] Comment #29 posted by Hope on October 07, 2006 at 10:07:52 PT Ran off and did a chore... Likely, I was thinking more about the chore...than any continuous related conversation...or making sense.The chore calls again. [ Post Comment ] Comment #28 posted by Hope on October 07, 2006 at 10:05:00 PT Lol! Oh Whig! I'm so sorry! That idiot moron fool thing was a musing I was having and posted before I ran and did a chore. I posted it some time after my comment to you and I didn't even think about it! I'm so sorry. That absolutely had nothing to do with what I'd been saying to you! [ Post Comment ] Comment #27 posted by whig on October 07, 2006 at 09:53:41 PT Hope I wasn't 'reduced' to crudity -- is what I'm saying.I used the term that I used because it is what I consider the only appropriate term, and I don't consider it a mistake nor do I believe a better term exists for what I was expressing.I could say "poo" but it doesn't have the same emphasis. [ Post Comment ] Comment #26 posted by whig on October 07, 2006 at 09:50:12 PT Hope On reconsideration, I still think I did exactly what needed to be done, and said what I should have said.I might have been wrong, but I don't think so. [ Post Comment ] Comment #25 posted by Hope on October 07, 2006 at 09:48:27 PT Of interest at Grits http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8597101&postID=116015577925319148 [ Post Comment ] Comment #24 posted by whig on October 07, 2006 at 09:47:53 PT Hope Did I offend you? [ Post Comment ] Comment #23 posted by Hope on October 07, 2006 at 09:44:37 PT Idiot, Moron, Fool. Some the worst...most destructive words in the language. [ Post Comment ] Comment #22 posted by Hope on October 07, 2006 at 08:44:56 PT comment 21 was addressed to Whig. I sure thought I put "Whig" in the subject line. [ Post Comment ] Comment #21 posted by Hope on October 07, 2006 at 08:43:58 PT "seeming crudity" I hate it when I'm reduced to "crudity". You can do better. I know you can. [ Post Comment ] Comment #20 posted by Hope on October 07, 2006 at 08:39:28 PT Kaptinemo It looks like Celtic Texan might be aware that you might have a "cleaver" on hand.I can't believe how polite he is to you. He's never even semi polite to anyone. He's gone to the Balloon Festival in New Mexico, so I guess he'll be back when that's over. It's nice knowing he's at least out of state. [ Post Comment ] Comment #19 posted by Hope on October 07, 2006 at 08:31:21 PT Kaptinemo I've never seen Celtic Texan speak to anyone with any measure of respect...but he does with you!Thank you.I can't talk to the man at all. He usually calls everyone "Idiot". All I can think after he calls me an "Idiot"...is "You moron." Not much in the way of discussion or debate there.Rusty and Grits go toe to toe with him, from time to time...but I have become weak, it seems to me, in "toe to toe" combat lately...for some time, now.I'm so glad you've decided to take him on. And you're doing, as usual, a wonderful job.Thank you. [ Post Comment ] Comment #18 posted by kaptinemo on October 07, 2006 at 06:50:32 PT: "I'd rather be the King's Man than the King" What someone once told me long ago. She had me sized up pretty well. Said I was the sort that stood behind the throne, the invisible right-hand man, working at keeping things going. And to my mind it was true, and that is more my style than anything else. IMHO, More gets done that way. (Wicked grin) But I'm afraid I am no one's idea of a 'prince'. I love to pick my teeth with the bones of prohib egos. I think that's why I can only get the bottom-feeders of their hierarchy to debate me. I dissect rather than chop. But some prohibs skulls are just too thick with fat for such dissection.So, I keep plenty of meat cleavers handy should the need to put aside my turkey carving knife arise. Most just haven't seen those cleavers...yet. [ Post Comment ] Comment #17 posted by whig on October 06, 2006 at 10:29:24 PT kaptinemo By the way, I couldn't do what I do nearly as well if it weren't for you doing what you do. It's important work you are doing, and don't stop please.I can only be taken as seriously as the foundational arguments and support that exist for the position I am taking. I cannot call another person a liar unless there is a credible person putting forward the factual data and explaining it. You are better than me at that, by far, and you are a real prince of a man. [ Post Comment ] Comment #16 posted by whig on October 06, 2006 at 10:26:36 PT Speaking of throwing shit I only throw their own shit back at them.Sorry for the seeming crudity, but this is literally monkey politics and even though I'm only using words, shit is what it is. [ Post Comment ] Comment #15 posted by whig on October 06, 2006 at 10:24:50 PT kaptinemo Some thoughts, if you don't mind, on debating and the purpose of debate.The purpose of debate is not just to win. It is to make sure that the bystanders know who won. The problem with making highly technical points is that you are right and everyone who is educated knows you are right and the adversary even knows it.But the adversary doesn't intend to win by truth, or on the merits of the argument. The adversary seeks only to make you look ridiculous and to make himself look strong. It is monkey politics.The way to dethrone the alpha male of a pack of apes is to throw shit at him. Seriously. Comedy is golden, if you are good at it. Jon Stewart does this masterfully. I'm less comedic, and I have taken the role of playing their accuser, only because it is necessary that someone state what they are doing so that we all know how the game is being played.I don't feel like Satan but I am to them, same as Neil. [ Post Comment ] Comment #14 posted by whig on October 06, 2006 at 10:19:22 PT kaptinemo You and I have a different approach. I hope you don't mind my contributions. [ Post Comment ] Comment #13 posted by kaptinemo on October 06, 2006 at 04:19:47 PT: Friends, I do appreciate it. I haven't crossed swords with Celtic before, but I already had his range within 3 moves. He's made several tactical errors, and his silence in not responding to my points betrays his inability to properly debate. Like most prohibs, as soon as you solidly nail down his objections, he immediately oozes around them with "Well, what about this..." which is usually a 'straw-man' or a non sequiter.I wasn't so much calling for reinforcements as extending an invitation to watch how the prohib mind is defeated via rhetorical jiu jitsu. Think of it as 'target practice'... [ Post Comment ] Comment #12 posted by whig on October 05, 2006 at 16:16:04 PT kaptinemo Does this help?http://tinyurl.com/qb9nq [ Post Comment ] Comment #11 posted by Hope on October 05, 2006 at 15:28:30 PT Kap That man already called me an "Idiot". Of course I went wild and called him a "Monster" first...then I got the "Idiot" reply...so... I'm kind of speechless right now. I'd just as soon not speak with him...but I'm going to run over and see how you guys are doing. [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by kaptinemo on October 05, 2006 at 14:56:54 PT: OT: A debate with a prohib over at GRITS I'm having some fun with a prohib http://tinyurl.com/kl5po over at Scott Henson's GritsForBreakfast http://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/ which I visit as often as I can. Come one, come all, and the 'peanut gallery' is welcome to add to the merriment... [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by Taylor121 on October 05, 2006 at 14:08:07 PT Good to hear Toker00 The sad fact of reality is nothing can really be accomplished without funding to get our message out. The organizations that are making legalization a reality have to have money to pay their employees, lobby our elected officials, and finally to educate the public.If you haven't donated yourself and you are wondering why marijuana hasn't been legalized, well there you have it. Put your money where your mouth is and we can make more progress. [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by Toker00 on October 05, 2006 at 12:14:18 PT Taylor 121 That's the first time I have donated to SAFER, and thanks for the prompt.Toke. [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by whig on October 05, 2006 at 12:12:25 PT Iraq For Sale It is screening in Berkeley on the 20th, so I will plan to see it then. I have to wait until my wife gets home to make my reservation because I want to confirm with her whether she will go as well. [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by Taylor121 on October 05, 2006 at 11:21:59 PT Fund our allies before this November! Our allies need our help before the vote takes place this November. In particular, SAFER is in need of critical funds to get their message out since they do not have a major billionaire backing their efforts!Donate to SAFER's effort to legalize the possession of one ounce or less for adults 21 and over in Colorado: http://www.safercolorado.org/donateDonate to CRCM's effort to legalize the possession of one ounce of marijuan as well as the regulated sale and distribution of marijuana for adults 21 and over in Nevada: http://www.regulatemarijuana.org/home/donate [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by Taylor121 on October 05, 2006 at 11:17:49 PT Pete's blog Pete's blog is incredible. I don't know how many of you follow his work, but it's certainly worth checking out. A good portion of it is devoted to marijuana law reform.http://blogs.salon.com/0002762/ [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by observer on October 05, 2006 at 09:50:12 PT ''just a matter of..'' "This is just a matter of how do we keep...This is just a matter of how do "we" keep up the Disneyland-facade lie of a fake democracy, when we all know it is corrupt, rotten to the core, fascist, authoritarian. This is just a matter of how do "we" keep up appearances, when the stench of the lie begins to make the herd uneasy.Got 'cha. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by Toker00 on October 05, 2006 at 09:38:14 PT Pete, you're Bad, Bad, Bad, Bad, Bad, YOU'RE NATION WIDE!Congratulations Pete.Toke. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by Toker00 on October 05, 2006 at 09:35:03 PT Reality check. Iraq For Sale is just that, (reality check), for the American people. See it as soon as you can. Three thousand people contributed to this movie, NOT a commercially made film. This movie is true, pure American Activism. I was lucky to be one of the contributors a month or so ago, and I got my copy a few days ago. It's so heart breaking that we have allowed Corporate America to abuse our Military, and our Workers.Get the Truth told, get the Times changed.Wage Peace on War! END CANNABIS PROHIBITION NOW! [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by FoM on October 05, 2006 at 09:14:47 PT New Movie About Iraq http://www.iraqforsale.org/ [ Post Comment ] Post Comment