However, I strongly support Mr. Adams's right to speak freely and to associate with whomever he wishes.
Those rights are guaranteed to Mr. Adams, to me, and to you by the Constitution and by the blood our armed forces. Chris Adams is simply the emcee, the master of ceremonies at an economic forum tonight on Loyola's campus. To ask a former journalist to emcee such an event is not unusual, and often enough has nothing to do with the chosen emcee’s political leanings. Ask yourself this: If a liberal news reporter moderated (emceed) a forum of conservative politicians, would you brand the reporter as a conservative? Of course not. Chris Adams is a former professional journalist.
Therefore, I would urge anybody who can to attend tonight's Americans For Prosperity (AFP) event at 1062 W. Sheridan Road in the Loyola University -Damen Hall - Finnegan Auditorium complex. (Click the poster for details.)
Why is this important? For several reasons:
The Constitution Says He CanChris Adams has come under attack (see related story) for being associated with the sponsoring organization, the Americans for Prosperity. It is said that the AFP is "right wing." The First Amendment to the Constitution says, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
To Fight Hypocrisy
How many readers of this blog are sympathetic to the ACLU, or may even donate to it? The ACLU has frequently fought for the legal rights of neo-nazis to speak or assemble publicly. I am no fan of nazis, neo or otherwise, and I am not even a fan of the ACLU for the most part. However, I agree that ideas need a free and unfettered environment, and sometimes ideas come along that we disagree with or are even offended by. Nevertheless, as Americans we at least tolerate those ideas because we understand that to shut down one voice is to endanger every other.
Most of the voices crying out in the 49th Ward against Chris Adams’s involvement with the AFP event are being hypocritical. Those same voices give lip service to free speech, they demand it for themselves, and they decry the Bush Administration for trying to limit it. Many of those voices will proudly tell you that they are card-carrying members of the ACLU – which means that they support the rights of neo-Nazis to peaceably assemble or to speak in public. Oh, but to tolerate Chris Adams acting as emcee for an economic development forum?!? “No, no!” those voices cry out, “that is not acceptable!!!”
Because Chris Adams would not challenge your right to emcee a “liberal” event
From the AFP's mission statement: “Americans for Prosperity (AFP) and Americans for Prosperity Foundation (AFP Foundation) are committed to educating citizens about economic policy and mobilizing those citizens as advocates in the public policy process. AFP is an organization of grassroots leaders who engage citizens in the name of limited government and free markets on the local, state and federal levels. The grassroots members of AFP advocate for public policies that champion the principles of entrepreneurship and fiscal and regulatory restraint.”
Sounds harmless enough. They are encouraging discussion, an open exchange of ideas. What’s wrong with that? From my perspective, there is nothing wrong with this. But some of the voices screaming about the Adams involvement in tonight’s event are afraid. They are very afraid.
The Joe Moore Gang is especially afraid of free speech, and, for that matter, honest speech, particularly when it challenges their worldview of taxes, higher taxes, and more taxes. Moore and his gang love government, the bigger the better, and the AFP is a voice against this. The AFP and groups like it threaten lifelong bureaucrats like Todd Stroger and Joe Moore and the rest of the usual suspects. Power is challenged. Authority is challenged. Hey, we cannot challenge authority now, can we?
Moore’s people do not like honest speech, either. For example, they have been spreading lies about Jim Ginderske, especially to people north of Howard. They’ve been telling people, falsely, that Ginderske is a Republican and just wants to get rid of all the black people. This is so far from the truth that it would be funny if Joe Moore was not our alderman and did not know better. Jim Ginderske is a Democrat and an 18-year member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW).
When a reporter writes something about Joe Moore that he finds objectionable, he will call that reporter and complain or even threaten. I have heard this first hand from a few reporters who have experienced the wrath of Joe Moore. And no, I am not naming names.
I don’t intend this to be a promo for Jim Ginderske, so please excuse one more example that involves him. Back in December, Jim Ginderske put out a press release stating that El Mexicano liquors on Clark Street was selling individual cans of inexpensive malt liquor, which violated a promise made by the store’s owner to stop doing that. Ginderske’s people had found that El Mexicano was still doing it, and handed out press releases telling people so. The very next day, Moore’s people passed out a release calling Ginderske a liar by saying that Moore’s people inspected El Mexicano and found that they were not selling single cans. Moore’s people were lying, and this was proven the next day in a video (click to view videos: 77-second summary or the 6-minute detailed version).
This exposes Joe Moore himself to be a liar. How many times have we heard him say that he wants a free exchange of ideas for improving the business climate in Rogers Park? How many times has he said he is not anti-business? If that were true, he and his people would not be spreading hate speech and fear about Chris Adams or the AFP. Joe Moore himself would be in the audience, listening and taking notes. He would not be afraid of the speakers at tonight’s AFP event, which will feature representatives of organization such as the Alliance of Business Leaders and Entrepreneurs, or Kendall College, or the Small Business Development Center.
There is knee-jerk reaction by some people to the phrase “right wing,” which Moore and his sycophants have branded the AFP. They hear the phrase and assume there is something evil going on. There is not. They hear the phrase and feel they must throw stones at the AFP whether they understand the AFP or not. They don’t.
Then there are the “yellow journalists” or, more accurately, “yellow bloggers” who play this for kicks or because they think it will increase their web traffic. They pick up on controversy as a fly goes to – you know. There is nothing illegal or immoral about emceeing a forum about exchanging economic ideas. But because the Moore Gang has been screaming about it, one or two yellow bloggers in the hood have played it up. Perhaps these bloggers have no basic understanding of the Constitution, or perhaps they have not bothered to research the AFP. Maybe they just hate Chris Adams and lunge at anything that smells of blood, even where there is none. I don’t know.
I hope to see you there tonight. Together, we might learn something. At the very least, we may learn more about the AFP. Then, if you still think they are evil, you will be better prepared to combat them if and when the Glorious Revolution comes.
How did our meeting go? Were a lot of us there?
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