August 21, 2007
ANSWER Files Suit Challenging D.C. Laws on Posters
The antiwar group ANSWER Coalition made good on its promise to fight an order from the city to remove its posters from electrical boxes all over D.C. by filing court papers yesterday challenging local laws that regulate the posting of signs in public places.
As you'll recall, ANSWER, a group that stages regular anti-war protests in Washington, received 65 citations on Aug. 13 for gluing signs onto utility boxes around the city, each with a $150 ticket attached. The group was given 72 hours to remove the signs or pay the fines, adding up to roughly $10,000. ANSWER refused to remove their signs, claiming the fines were politically motivated and that the paste they used to post the signs was legal and water soluble.
In court filings yesterday, the coalition alleges D.C. gives preferential treatment to signs for political candidates, commercial businesses and crime prevention, while targeting grassroots campaigns. They are asking a federal judge to force the city to create a "constitutionally allowable and non-discriminating system" for determining the rules on sign posting before they are allowed to enforce the penalties levied against ANSWER and similar groups.
Photo by Sommer Mathis
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Political canidates have to remove their signs after an election though. I generally agree with them, but they need to clean up their fucking mess.
I completely support what Answer is trying to do as far as the march goes. However, in pursuit of their cause, what's the precendent they're trying to set. If they succeed then by way of the 14th amendment, neo-nazi's or the westboro baptist church could cover our city in their posters as well. Interested in having a clean city, a successful march, and not seeing swastika posters pop up two weeks later.
ANSWER is, as usual, completely off their block with this claim. As usual, they're full of sound and fury, signifying nothing - nothing legitimate, at least.
The District does not discriminate against PACs, so long as said PACs play by the rules. It's not hard to do, but ANSWER is playing the "woe be us" card to try and gain sympathy. If they'd simply adhere to the well-stated guidelines for posting political posters (and these are, for all intents and purposes, political posters, as they're being distributed by a registered PAC), then there would be no basis for DC to impose a fine.
However, they repeatedly ignore the law, and DC finally called their bluff. Kudos to the DC government for finally enforcing a law on the books.
(Now, if they'd only do it for some of the candidates from the 2005 and 2006 elections....)
If they put 'em up they need to be responsible for taking them down. And there is no need to have four of them on one freaking lamppost. And for those that agree with them would you feel the same way if it was the RNC putting up posters for a march in support of the war? I don't give a crap what the posters are advertising I just don't want to have to see them for years after the event.
ANSWER could have avoided this whole hornet's nest by simply printing their poster on a pair of boxer shorts and flying it from the Iwo Jima Memorial.
this intransigent attitude by ANSWER, supported by it's ridiculous lawsuit, will push people like me, who are almost genetically predisposed to be sympathetic to its mission, against it.
there are so many alternate (legitimate) ways in which ANSWER can publicize it's events without defacing city property and forcing DC residents to pick up the tab for cleanup.
ANSWER: grow up!
Exactly... ANSWER is just living up to the stereotype of whiny liberal that Fox News loves to hate on.
It's laughable to think that DC, one of the most liberal local governments out there, would discriminate against ANSWER because of their politics.
Even to make that suggestion opens ANSWER up to charges of being either stunningly stupid or just flat out lying little dorks.
Either way, count me out on supporting them ever again, even though I agree with many of their goals.
If they are so willing to dis the locals, then screw 'em.
Does this mean that ANSWER will need to change its name to reflect the new fight?
ANSWERRTPS (right to post signs)
ANSWERCAW (cover all walls)
ANSWERDPOU (don't pick on us)
ANSWERWDUS (we don't use shampoo)
"We do not own the radio and television airwaves or the big newspapers which are the corporate propaganda outlets for the war machine. All we have is our constitutional and fundamental right to express our point of view individually and collectively, with our words, our writings and in mass assembly. We will not let the government infringe on these rights that are important to all of us. Perhaps Bush and Cheney and the Pentagon brass don't want to have to see posters calling for the end to the criminal war in Iraq when they are driven in their limousines around Washington, D.C."
Are you kidding me?
www.tshirtinsurgency.com
Terrorizing the War on Terror since 2003
It's not about politics. It's not about expression. It's about wheat paste. When ANSWER stops pasting up posters and moves to cardboard posters -- used by candidates and go-go music promoters alike -- their legal problems disappear.
What else would people expect from a communist front organization?
People talk about "I support their goals but.." What are those goals exactly? Having more and more protests that amount to one giant narsicistic waste of organizational time and effort? Legitimizing anti-semitism? Enforcing politically unreasonable ideological uniformity?
You don't have to dig very deeply with this organization to recognize that it's not advocating what most of you truly support (are any of you truly Marxist-Leninist?).
This organization accomplishes nothing except making its members feel self-righteous. It should be rebuked in the harshest way, particularly if you are actually in support of reaching a politically feasible end to the war.
ANSWER: "All propogandists are equal. But some propogandists are more equal than others..."
Contempt for the contemptible.
Man, has ANSWER heard of Cafe Press? Have they heard of Kinko's? Have they heard of leafletting?
Have they heard of - gasp! - the Internet?
Because, if they have, the "corporate media or wheat paste" dichotomy seems a little forced.
I walk past Connecticut and Kalorama on my way to the Woodley Park metro.
Yesterday morning ANSWER posters were on every possible surface.
Last night, on my way home, the posters were all more-or-less gone.
Did ANSWER take them down, or did the city? I doubt there's a vigilante poster remover...people in DC would much rather complain than do anything to actually solve a problem.
Jim - They've got a website. The URL's on the poster.
Man, I gotta get me one of their $40 Che teeshirts to show my solidarity with the masses! It'll go great with my $40 "Stop bitching and start a revolution!" teeshirt.
Because we all know from our Mao that the first step in starting a revolution is to spend $40 on the teeshirt. Take that, yankee imperialist running dog!
haha
I don't think I've ever seen an ANSWER sign in the storefront of a business, or even in the window of a person's house. I've never done poltical canvassing and stuff, but part of the process of spreading the message is going around and ASKING to put up signs. That way you have a dialogue with the people you come in contact with. Of course, the ANSWER folk aren't interested in the nuts and bolts of democracy. It's all street performance.
It's reasonable that ANSWER remove posters for past events, but is that the case or is the city demanding there be no more ANSWER posters at all ever? Not very clear to me.
1) amen, invisible sun. my thoughts exactly.
2) hillman: i wouldn't call DC "one of the most liberal governments out there". we're certainly left of center, but c'mon, we're no takoma park, ann arbor, or san francisco. all of our "liberal democrats" are pretty damn corpratist, capitalist folk. we're socially liberal, for sure, but that might be about it.
3) if all their shit is so water soluble, then why didn't they all wash away in the rain last night? can someone answer that question?
here is the law:
24-1-108. SIGNS, POSTERS, AND PLACARDS
108.1 No person shall affix a sign, advertisement, or poster to any public lamppost or appurtenances of a lamppost, except as provided in accordance with this section.
108.2 The placing of any advertisement on any tree in public space is prohibited.
108.3 No poster or placard shall be publicly displayed or exhibited if it is lewd, indecent, or vulgar, or if it pictorially represents the commission of or the attempt to commit any crime.
108.4 Any sign, advertisement, or poster that does not relate to the sale of goods or services may be affixed on public lampposts or appurtenances of a lamppost, subject to the restrictions set forth in this section.
108.5 A sign, advertisement, or poster shall not be affixed for more than sixty (60) days, except the
a) Signs, advertisements, and posters of individuals seeking political office in the District who have met the requirements §210 of the D.C. Campaign Finance Reform and Conflict of Interest Act (D.C. Code §1-1420 (1981)); and
(b) Signs designed to aid in neighborhood protection from crime shall be exempt from the sixty (60) day time period.
108.6 Political campaign literature materials shall be removed no later than thirty (30) days following the general election.
108.7 Each sign, advertisement, or poster shall contain the date upon which it was initially affixed to a lamppost.
108.8 Each sign, advertisement, or poster shall be affixed securely to avoid being torn or disengaged by normal weather conditions.
108.9 Signs, advertisements, and posters shall not be affixed by adhesives that prevent their complete removal from the fixture, or that do damage to the fixture.
108.10 No more than three (3) versions or copies of each sign, advertisement, or poster shall be affixed on one (1) side of a street within one (1) block.
108.11 Within twenty-four (24) hours of posting each sign, advertisement, or poster, two (2) copies of the material shall be filed with an agent of the District of Columbia so designated by the Mayor. The filing shall include the name, address, and telephone number of the originator of the sign, advertisement, or poster.
I really miss that building that was around the corner from the Waffle Shop, the one that was covered in DECADES worth of posters for gogo concerts and boxing matches and album releases and rallys and the like. Remember those gawdy bright traffic-cone orange signs for EU and Junkyard Band and Little Benny and the Masters and Sugar Ray vs. Evander Holyfield? There'd be these layers of old disintegrating posters hanging off that were 6-inches thick, like tree bark. It gave the gutted, abandoned buildings the look of leprosy, pieces of the 1970s and '80s hanging off them like diseased skin. Beautiful in its own decayed sort of way. Now, all we got is this smug suburban armchair commie ANSWER slop and offers to buy used cars for $50.
This used to be one hell of a country.
I hope this gives the DC AG's office a chance to bring counter-claims. It would be nice to see ANSWER get smacked back by the court (though they'll likely just turn around and claim the court's action is the same government oppressing them or some such BS).
I should clarify.
I support ANSWER's opposition to the current war.
Some of their other crap is fairly stupid.
But I'd submit that DC is quite liberal. Especially socially. Quite on par with even Takoma Park and SF. Our most far leftie proposals don't even get proposed because we know Congress would smack them down, but we're pretty freaking left. Not that I'm complaining necessarily. Just pointing out that accusing DC of targetting a leftist group is just stupid.
I'm just sick of seeing them. If they put up pictures of boobies I might be more interested.
I agree that it's crazy to suggest that DC is targeting a lefty group, but I think that it's still not accurate to call DC quite socially liberal. I've never found DC residents to be that fiercely liberal. They're fiercely Democratic but I don't think your average DC resident is that liberal.
As someone who's lived in both the SF area and DC, I'd agree with Hillman. Yes, DC is a fairly liberal place. I think Kerry got something like 90 pct of the vote in 2004. Sure, the DC Council isn't voting to ban plastic grocery bags or bottled water, like SF. But the idea that the city is targeting ANSWER on ideological grounds is laughable.
i agree with you, moose, post 24. is there a way to hit ANSWER for the costs it is imposing on District taxpayers through it's ludicrous litigation, i.e, court costs and attorneys fees?
also, mikeb, comment 28 is right--the District, with over 90% of its residents voting Democratic in the last election, had the highest percentage for Kerry than any other jurisdiction in the U.S. i hardly think that the government elected by the people of this city is oppressing ANSWER. again, as a dyed-in-the-wool liberal, ANSWER has REALLY TURNED ME OFF to them.
Invisible Sun, how about a way to hit Roy "Pants" Pearson for the costs ANSWER is imposing? He can be the designated payer of frivolous court costs for the next year.
I just want to know why ANSWER insists on plastering not one, not two, but 4 freaking signs on each and every electrical box it can find? Conn Ave. is plastered with this nonsense.
That's pretty much what tipped me over from just plain ignoring the Ramsey Clarke brigade to all-out wishing the group would take up its permanent campaign against the war elsewhere, like, y'know on Mars.
The only way this makes any sense is that A.N.S.W.E.R. knows it's playing to a fringe that will be impressed by tall tales of heavy-handed authoritarianism, and won't take time to learn the details.
Community groups should publicize on blogs A.N.S.W.E.R.'s disrespect of their good, liberal, neighborhoods. That might help dry up their funding and cause them to reconsider their (selfish) cost/benefit calculation.
Anyone remember all of the posters in either 95 or 96 for sitarist/songwriter Sri Chimoy? Every free space in the city was covered,and many didn't come down for a few years. I am thinking it was some sort of cult or something based on the massive postering of the city.
I think that perhaps this argument should be paused, momentarily. And that folks should consider that Fox 5 New and Answer have both served in distracting us from the real point of all of this. The real point is that there is a war going on which is killing millions of people and something needs to be done about it (in the simplist of terms) Of course issues of free speech and public space vs private space etc. are extremely important however I am willing to bet that Fox 5 brought this issue up not out of genuine concern but rather, to distract the general public from what they should really be thinking about and investigating. This political cartoon sums it up...
http://www.sinkers.org/posters/fox5news/fox5news.pdf
I saw a vehicle marked "emergency response unit" removing Answer signs this morning on Rhode Island Avenue. The name is kind of overkill for taking down signs don't you think?
Pro-war people only show up on internet forums. and it's usually from the same IP address.