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  To: Editor,

        Courier Journal

        Louisville, KY

Date: 06/29/2003

RE: USA Weekend Article - First Amendment Center Poll June 27-29th issue of USA Weekend

     I read with interest your USA Weekend article regarding First Amendment rights and your "scientific poll" regarding how well Americans know their rights.

    Your article showed only 5 questions that were asked by the poll; however, I think you intentionally omitted a critical question.     

    Let me suggest this one: The so called campaign finance reform act (BCRA) will limit your ability to participate in the election process by restricting your use of the "free press" in order to put forth your political ideas and opinions within 30 days of a primary election or 60 days of a general election. The USA Today and affiliated newspapers (including the Courier Journal) are exempt from the election laws and can print anything they wish whenever they wish up to and including election day; however, the law WILL apply to average citizens and citizens groups.

    Does the USA Today and Courier Journal have special "free press" rights over and above that of the average citizen and does the Congress and/or US supreme court have the authority and consent of the citizens to alter your most precious First Amendment rights?

    The answer, of course, is NO!

    Why then would you (USA Today & Courier Journal, etal.) pretend to be concerned about the American citizen's knowledge of First Amendment rights and omit such a glaring question in your poll at a time when this very question IS before the US supreme court?

    The answer is an easy one, your corporate owned and other newspapers and broadcast media are the beneficiaries of such a blatant attack on the First Amendment "free press" rights of the average American citizen!

    This is a prime example why the corporate owned media should NEVER enjoy greater freedom of the "printing press", or free speech rights, than that of ordinary average US citizens. If you were truly concerned about our knowledge of First Amendment rights, you would have been sounding the alarm on this blatant gutting of the First Amendment rights of average citizens. It makes me ill to see your phony concern about the average citizen's knowledge of their First Amendment rights when you continue to allow this to be unnoticed by the average citizen! How could anyone trust you?

John Riley

Louisville, KY 40222

502-425-5783 

CC: Editor, USA Weekend

_______________________________________________________

http://www.usaweekend.com/03_issues/030629/030629rights.html

Issue Date: June 29, 2003

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