Two Important Updates

OHIO and A.N.S.W.E.R. Updates


Dear Ed.,

Last week, we asked you to join efforts -- along with our partner organizations like Equality Ohio and Progress Ohio -- to counter Ann Coulter's poisonous hatemongering by using her appearance at Xavier University in Ohio to raise awareness and money for the causes and communities she attacks. The response was overwhelming.

Thousands of dollars have been raised for progressive student groups like Xavier's Gay-Straight Alliance, Amnesty International, Habitat for Humanity and Earthcare. And on September 6, while Ann Coulter exercises her First Amendment right to free speech, Xavier's progressive community will be doing the same, with a rally in support of the values that are anathema to right-wing figures like Coulter -- equality, diversity, social justice.

September 6 will be about using a kind of jujitsu against the Far Right. It's frankly amazing to us that anyone finds Coulter entertaining. But we love the idea of progressive students using her appearance to energize their own activism. This creative and productive response to Coulter's loathsome schtick is generating so much excitement that we want to give more Ohioans an opportunity to be part of it.

Some of our allies in Ohio had the fantastic idea to run buses to Xavier on September 6, so a wide variety of Ohio activists -- particularly fellows from our affiliate PFAW Foundation's Young People For program and other progressive students -- could show solidarity with Xavier's progressive community.

Once again, we're asking for a small donation, this time of $10 -- the first $5 for Xavier students, the next $5 for the buses. Anything extra you want to give on top of that will go towards People For's ongoing efforts to take the fight to the Radical Right, nationwide.

Please kick in $10 to help more Ohio students join Xavier's progressive student groups on September 6, and as much as you can to People For's efforts to track, refute and defeat the Radical Right.

Thank you!

Dear Ed.,

The ANSWER Coalition today filed a major Free Speech lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia challenging anti-postering regulations that have been used to fine the organization. ANSWER has been hit with $10,000 fines in the last week.

Stepping up its politically targeted harassment campaign, as we were announcing the lawsuit, the government served fines for posters against the landlord of the building housing ANSWER's office. This is an unprecedented campaign against First Amendment speech and associational rights.

The lawsuit was announced at a press conference held today at the offices of constitutional rights attorneys at the Partnership for Civil Justice (PCJ). The lawsuit can be read in its entirety by clicking this link.

The Free Speech lawsuit asserts that:

The challenged regulations create a hierarchy of speech, allowing broad freedom to post on subjects related to elections or crime prevention, but sharply restricting -- and penalizing with massive fines -- those who post on grassroots political issues. The legal challenge arose in response to the issuance of fines against the ANSWER Coalition for $10,000 because that anti-war organization had used posters urging the public to "March to Stop the War" and to attend the national September 15, 2007, march in Washington, called by ANSWER and led by Iraq war veterans.

The press conference was an example of the broad support for the September 15 March on Washington DC which will be led by Iraq war veterans and their families.
In this email you can watch and listen to the presentations of the speakers and the see some of the extensive media coverage of this unfolding fight. The government's attempt to disrupt the organizing for September 15 has backfired. Support is coming in from all over the country. More than ninety organizing centers are bringing people from their area to Washington DC. Go to www.Sept15.org.


Mara Verheyden-Hilliard,Attorney and Co-founder,Partnership for Civil Justice
Audio Video

Carl Messineo,Attorney and Co-founder,Partnership for Civil Justice
Audio Video

Jihan Hafiz,A.N.S.W.E.R. student organizer
AudioVideo

Eugene Puryear,Howard University student;National Coordinator, Youth and Student A.N.S.W.E.R.
Audio Video Written statement

Tina Richards,CEO of Grassroots America and mother of Iraq war veteran Cloy Richards
Audio Video

Phil Portluck,Social justice activist in Washington DC
Audio Video

Sarah SloanNational Staff Coordinator of the ANSWER Coalition


Audio excerpt

Video excerpt

What are the facts? Statement by the ANSWER Coalitionat the press conference held in Washington DC on August 20, 2007

View the Fox 5 DC News coverage from Thursday, August 16

Read a Letter to the Editor of the Washington Post from Monday, August 20