Prometheus 6   

Congratulations to the winners

THE JEFFERSON MUZZLES

Since 1992, the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression has celebrated the birth and ideals of its namesake by calling attention to those who in the past year forgot or disregarded Mr. Jefferson's admonition that freedom of speech "cannot be limited without being lost."

Announced on or near April 13 -- the anniversary of the birth of Thomas Jefferson -- the Jefferson Muzzles are awarded as a means to draw national attention to abridgments of free speech and press and, at the same time, foster an appreciation for those tenets of the First Amendment. Because the importance and value of free expression extend far beyond the First Amendment's limit on government censorship, acts of private censorship are not spared consideration for the dubious honor of receiving a Muzzle.

Unfortunately, each year the finalists for the Jefferson Muzzles have emerged from an alarmingly large group of candidates. For each recipient, a dozen could have been substituted. Further, an examination of previous Jefferson Muzzle recipients reveals that the disregard of First Amendment principles is not the byproduct of a particular political outlook but rather that threats to free expression come from all over the political spectrum.

THE 2003 JEFFERSON MUZZLES GO TO ...

United States Attorney General John Ashcroft
The 107th United States Congress
Mayor Tom Bates of Berkeley, California
Cedarville (AR) School Board
Washington, D.C.National Zoo Director Lucy Spelman
Tennessee Arts Commission
McMinnville (TN) City Administrator Herb Llewellyn
Whiting (IN) High School Administration
The North Carolina House of Representatives
Utica High School (MI) Principal Richard Machesky

posted by Prometheus 6 at 4/13/2003 11:24:05 PM |