Quantcast
Sat Nov 22 2008 8:28 AM
Email:   Password:     |  Register/Subscribe
Search Site:
Advanced
Search
  Archive

FREE Sample
PDF Edition
The Record Courier
Newspaper Subscriptions

USA Weekend

Home | Back

Sign in Kent gets man a day in court Issued a $125 ticket for advertising 'Impeach' Bush on public property

Email To A Friend
Printer Friendly
Comments
Add to Reddit Add to Digg Add to del.icio.us

By Dave O'Brien

Record-Courier staff writer

For doing what he believes is expressing his First Amendment right to free speech, Kevin Egler has a trial date in Portage County Municipal Court in Kent.

The South Lincoln Street resident was issued a $125 ticket July 25 by Kent police officer Jerry Schlosser for "advertising on public property," according to court records.

His advertisement? A sign reading "Impeach," urging the impeachment of President Bush placed in a small public garden at the intersection of Main and Willow streets and Haymaker Parkway.

Egler, 45, said he has placed more than 450 anti-Bush signs in the Kent area.

Kent city ordinance 503.02 states "No person shall stick, post or attach any advertisement, poster, sign, handbill or placard of any kind or description upon any telegraph, telephone, railway or electric light pole within the city, nor upon any public building, voting booth, flagging, curbstone, walk, step stone or sidewalk, or write, print or impress or in any manner attach any notice or advertisement of any kind upon any public building, voting booth, flagging, curbstone, step, stone or sidewalk" that is the property of the city.

However, Egler said he believes the message on the sign he posted is at issue, not the act itself. He said he can show dozens of other examples of advertising on public property in the city, including U.S. Army recruitment posters, "for sale" signs and other handbills tacked to public property that have not attracted the same attention.

If he can't place them in Kent, Egler said he will move his operations to the Akron area.

Egler, who is not affiliated with any local anti-war groups, hosted a small gathering Tuesday with Chicago activist and poet Mario Penalver, who has undertaken an 800-mile walk from Chicago to Washington D.C. to protest the Iraq War and inspire dialogues on peace.

Joining Penalver are Denver-based activists Brother Raymond Schwab and Brother Elliott Nesch of Beit Shalom Ministries, an evangelical Christian ministry dedicated to protesting the war, who left Denver March 1 on their own mission to Washington D.C.

All three men attended Egler's hearing Wednesday, picketing outside the Kent courthouse with signs saying "Honk for peace" and "Impeach Bush."

The three activists said they are disturbed by what they believe is a political motive behind the ticket.

"We need to be more vigilant in times of war to protect our liberties," Schwab said.

"We can't let fear compromise our Constitution," Penalver said.

Judge John Plough set a pretrial for Aug. 9 and a trial for Aug. 16.




Comments
By Posting to this site, you agree to our Terms of Service Be polite. Inappropriate posts may be removed. Recordpub.com doesn't necessarily condone the comments here, nor does it review every post.

Login above or Register to comment.
   Next 10 Comments of 33 Total Comments
33.
    Posted by Pat8942 September 9, 2007
So many clueless people in the world. George Bush is an Idiot! We are so unfortunate that he is our president and not protecting us and future generations from harm and is stealing our freedoms. My grandchildren will never get to enjoy the same freedoms we used to enjoy. Have you no clue as to the threat that the terrorists pose to us,minimal at best Their Quran tells them that all christians are to be killed! Their motto is "death to christians" Christians aren't my favorite group the're just a bunch of self rightious,hypocritical liars just like politicians.
They won't be killing me as I am no Christian.
Christian beliefs are rooted in terrorism can you say Crusades.

32.
    Posted by JenahBean August 7, 2007
I hope everyone is noticing just how unfair the government/authorities can be... and that the children of the 90's VOTE! it's on us--now lets do it!!

31.
    Posted by AkronRez August 7, 2007
I don't mean to be a forum-hog, but this is classic, exactly what I described.

[Mr. Egler, you got caught violating a minor ordinance. Stand up and be responsible.]

Egler DID stand up and be responsible -- for his precious citizenship, and in defense of freedom, liberty, and the US Constitution. Hence, 'fake patriots' pile on. OBVIOUSLY, it's not the $125. It's about the (God-given) Right to petition the government for redress of grievances, in public, without regards to how much MONEY one afford to spend. Otherwise, the world is owned by Soros and Murdoch, etc. (Sorry, is this too principled?)

[get over it ... whining]
"Independent thinking" which just happens to coincide with scripted talking points. Quit whining about Egler and get over Neo-cons crumbling support over their manufactured disaster!

[How many of our troops are volunteers?]
How many can freely refuse, when they discover the unfit Commander committed actual treason by lying about the mission?

[Name the president who signed NAFTA and the Chinese Trade Agreement?]
More completely unprincipled trash partisan bickering from the 'moral voice' of America. Egler would be (and will be) protesting Hillary's wars too! Just like Sheehan is. Who said Willy was anything less than a Bush crime partner, for decades?

[mistakes have been made]
Classic disgusting 1970's line, WEASEL WORDS, joke on Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In. Good parents punish their kids for such weaseling, but OK if Bush Idolators do it.

[get the facts straight]
'fact' now means 'permitted viewpoint' in 'talking point land'

[Attacks on our troops are not being carried out by Iraqi's]
Oh, yes they are, even the Army said "foreigner" attacks are less than 1%. This is a war against residents, over 90% of Iraqis want America GONE, NOW, and over 70% think killing Americans to eject us is justified. Difficult to create that kind of hatred.

[terrorist attacks will continue wherever our troops are]
Except protecting American soil, where the Constitution says they are supposed to be.

[Do some independent thinking and research. How many terrorist attacks have there been in our country since 09/11/01?]
Independent talking points? Research? Chuckle! How many terrorist attacks on Americans? Tens of thousands? Excepting ONE HUGE CATASTROPHE, none inside America for a while.

None currently needed. Except for pundits and Republicans who said that a NEW terrorist attack, resulting in fear and horros, would boost Pubbie poll numbers. Honorable.

What about the multiple top frgn policy experts who described, in writing, prior to Sept 11, the urgent NEED for Americans to get kicked in the teeth by a 'lucky' 'catastrophic event' and 'security threat', which could then be used to 'trick' 'apathetic' Americans into supporting 'imperial mobilization' and 'aggressive' policy? [all actual 'quotes'] Read context:
http://www.Takeoverw...ism.html

30.
    Posted by CmdrKJon August 6, 2007
I have witnessed hundreds if not thousands of motorists exceeding the speed limit on 59. You can sit out front on the campus and watch it for hours. One motorist gets caught and ticketed, do you think he is being singled out? No, he just got caught.

Mr. Egler, you got caught violating a minor ordinance. Stand up and be responsible, pay the fine and move on. You are perfectly within your rights to voice your opinion. How about buying a billboard? Put signs on your car or house. It is not your right to post signs on public property or property which does not belong to you.

As for your message, get over it. By the time proper impeachment proceedings are carried out and them proper steps to remove the president from office, we would have already elected a new president. This whining has been going on since Bush defeated Gore.

Here is somethings to think about:

How many of our troops are volunteers? Roughly 100% with a margin of error of 0% plus or minus.

As for our jobs being sent out of the country: Name the president who signed NAFTA and the Chinese Trade Agreement? (Here is a hint, he was president between 1992 and 2000.)

Yes, mistakes have been made. But get the facts straight. The attacks on our troops are not being carried out by Iraqi's, these are terrorist attacks which will continue wherever our troops are. Whether it is in Pakistan, Afganistan or anywhere outside our borders.

Do some independent thinking and research. How many terrorist attacks have there been in our country since 09/11/01? Do you think they are just taking a break?

I believe our fuel prices are outrageous. But do you realize that the industrialized countries in Europe pay per liter what we pay per gallon? For those who do not understand the difference, go to your local supermarket and compare a liter of club soda with a gallon of water.

29.
    Posted by michelina1254 August 6, 2007
Are you kidding me! Now let me get this straight here ! The last time I looked this was AMERICA ! Has everyone gone crazy ! Our for fathers gave us the wright of FREEDOM OF SPEACH ! So now that someone is expressing their selfs you get a ticket and a day in court ? Wake up people look around you and where our country is at in these last eight years . American people are working more hours for less pay and still not able to pay for their homes ,health care , food ,or even the gas to put into your cars to go to work. And when winter comes this year how are those who are lower income and middle class suppose to pay there heating bills ? The question here is has the goverment been fair to the AMERICAN PEOPLE ? Can you say to the familys who has loved ones over seas fighting and who has died for our country that they our fighting and dieing for the wright reasons ? Wake up America our for fathers worked very hard to make our country the HOME OF THE FREE and we are letting our goverment let business owners shut their doors to big companies and move them over seas !Can you in your heart say that is being fair to the hard working American who has now lost his job , car and home ! And just so you know that if you are making a six figured income well WAKE up because someday it could be you loosing everything you worked so hard for . Oh im sorry its us middle and lower income people who are paying the high taxs not the six figured income people. What I would like to know here is there is alot of crime in kent and other counties that should be looked into and your wasting the tax payers money on someone who has the wright to FREEDOM of speech ? Wow !

28.
    Posted by petmcgroin August 5, 2007
bush is stoopid

27.
    Posted by Chad Murphy August 5, 2007
Editorial on this topic in Record-Courier, Sunday, Aug. 5, 2007.

26.
    Posted by AkronRez August 4, 2007
[This is the United States against the terrorists and our enemies. Remember divide and conquer. Whose side are you on? The Muslims have vowed to defeat us if it takes 10, 15, or 20 years. Don't be an ostrich and stick your head in the sand and pretend that everything is OK. This is about our survival as a nation.]

The "terrorists" are people who want US out of THEIR streets. A handful of loudmouth Muslims have vowed to defeat the West, mostly meaning defeat our arrogant foreign intervention in THEIR lands and homes.

Bush said we went to Iraq to HELP them. Which is it? Because we are hurting more then helping, and we are unwelcome guests.

Also, the soldiers are nothing more than PROPS they use for PR for the agenda and profits of the private Military-Industrial-Financial-Media-Intell-Security complex. Politicians have stated as much, with regards to Pat Tillman, and others. The MIC designs the wars and tells the politicians what to do and say, and the media cheerleads. I hate to see the troops get used and thrown away like toxic waste by an uncaring govt.

25.
    Posted by AkronRez August 4, 2007
If you impeach one you must impeach them all.
AGREED!

Impeaching Bush should NOT be a political argument about the merits of Hillary or the Democratic party. Forget about Hillary, or Obama, however difficult that may be. Bush swore an Oath (on a Bible, right?) to uphold the Constitution. High Crimes are crimes committed by a person who accepted the responsibility for the public trust. Bush and his cabinet have committed many serious crimes, too many to list here.

A good number of the soldiers want him gone, because they are being held hostage for the "benchmarks" which include turning over 80% of Iraq's oil to US-based multinational corporations. "Winning" is not only impossible because it means subduing/killing 25M Iraqis who want the USA out of their country, and it's definition has been shifting like the reasons we went, winning is UNDESIREABLE, because winning means "ending". This war/wars is slated to last "our lifetimes" or longer. This is a program of PERMANENT war which is designed to not end EVER. NEVER! (Bushcos were honest about that!) ("The boys are never coming home" a Pentagon official named Barnett.)

Bush IDOLATORS cannot see that. (I rarely see Democrats approaching the levels of sickening Idolatry and hero-worship displayed by Republicans. Nobody I have met thinks Hillary is a goddess, nor Kerry nor Willy a god, unless they were hired to think that. Then this weird assumption becomes the argument.)

Our Commons should not be used for business advertising. On the other hand, if the commons cannot be used for free speech, then there IS no such thing as free speech. There is only PAID speech. Voting with dollars. Corporate rule.

And if CERTAIN forms of free speech are SELECTIVELY permitted/punished, then this is a political prosecution. The 'murder' argument is not applicable.

"GET A JOB" This reminds me of "Arbeit macht frei", or "work makes free", the famous sign seen outside Dachau and other concentration camps. Shows you the growing mentality. We are proud non-citizens, slave labor for the Machine. They spent a lot of money getting you to think that way.

Lastly, if criticizing the President is criminal, then citizens should be demanding that EVERY media outlet that howled at Bill Clinton should be shut down for being un-American, regardless of whatever facts or lies they were propagating. I'm not pro-Clinton, but cannot forget how it was "open season" on the President, including some veiled death threats.

24.
    Posted by kimbakj August 4, 2007
I have not seen in the Bible where God protested any wars.Maybe the walk is better suited across Iraq.I'm mean..shoot,you can walk into any fast food place for comfort,jump in a car if your little feets get tired,but I think the "peace activist" would get more notice traisping across the dessert than this little stroll they're taking.And you know what...after the whole May 4th ordeal should'nt the people of Portage County and especially Kent be a little more vigilant about outsiders with other agendas using our land and kids to make their points?It's like painting a big bullseye target on Kent.I personally don't want my kid to get caught in anybody's crossfire on that campus or town.

   Next 10 Comments

Terms of Service Copyright Record Publishing Co, LLC. 1995-2008. All Rights Reserved.
Content may not be republished without the expressed written consent of the publisher.
Dix Communications