You too may want "IMPCH W" or "MPEACH W" vanity plates on your car
after reading this peachy story:
http://www.progressive.org/mag_mc050807
Heather Morijah thought it would be cute to have a personalized
license plate on her silver Prius that was almost identical to the one
on her partner.s blue Prius. He had IMPCH W. .This has been literally
one of the most significant experiences of my life,. she says. .It.s
been absolutely humbling to see how many people were willing to go to
bat for me on this issue..
So last fall, Morijah, who lives in Rapid City, South Dakota, paid the
$25 extra for vanity plates to get MPEACHW.
The plates arrived, no problem.
.For a while there, we had blue and silver Prius.s with matching
Impeach Bush license plates roaming around Rapid City,. she says.
.We both feel very strongly about this administration for a large
number of reasons. The big number one would be leading us into an
imperialistic occupation in Iraq to get their oil, and lying to the
American people at the expense of many American lives and many Iraqi
lives. And number two, the horrifying damage they.re inflicting on the
environment in this country and in the world..
Then on April 18, Morijah got a letter from the South Dakota DMV.
The agency .is in receipt of a written complaint about your
personalized plates,. the letter says. .With this complaint I am sorry
to inform you that the set of plates MPEACHW are being recalled. . . .
You will have 10 days from the date of receiving this letter to
surrender the plates..
Morijah says she called up the DMV right away. .I just asked them to
fax me a copy of the person.s letter with the name blacked out. They
wouldn.t it give it to me,. she says. .I asked them for a list of all
the vanity plates they.d issued in the last year, and they wouldn.t
give me that. And I asked for a list of the vanity plates they had
recalled, and I couldn.t get that, either..
So Morijah called Jennifer Ring, the executive director of the ACLU of
the Dakotas.
Ring told her not to hand her over her plates and urged Morijah to
speak to the press.
Morijah, a conservation organizer at the Sierra Club, took the advice
and contacted the Rapid City Journal.
Staff writer Kevin Woster broke the story on May 3.
At that point, the DMV was laying on the horn.
.I.m following the letter of the law,. DMV director Deb Hillmer told
Woster. .It.s offensive to someone and not in good taste and decency.
And the plates are the property of the state of South Dakota..
Hillmer warned in that article that if Morijah didn.t surrender the
plates, the state might sic law enforcement on her to get them.
The article drew instant attention.
.It was a crazy frenzy,. recalls Morijah. The Associated Press picked
it up. CNN did a story on it. And it was all over the blogosphere, she
says.
Her phones were ringing nonstop.
.I literally only received one call that was not supportive, and that
was from Rapid City,. she says. .He told me perhaps my name should be
pariah, not Morijah..
One of her favorite calls came from Pennsylvania, she says, where a
man offered to send her a check for $19.84 in memory of George Orwell.
The ACLU.s Ring then faxed over a letter on May 4 to Paul Kinsman,
secretary of Revenue and Regulation, which oversees the DMV.
.Her opinion may not be shared by everyone in the United States or in
South Dakota,. Ring wrote. .Regardless, her political comments and
criticism are protected by the First Amendment of the United States
Constitution and the Article 4, Section 5, of the South Dakota
Constitution, and the state is not permitted to censor that protected
speech..
Ring pointed out that .political speech such as .impeach George Bush.
is indisputably not .indecent. or .vulgar. in any respect. It may
offend some citizens of South Dakota, but that is not a valid basis
for the State to censor pure political speech..
On May 7, the DMV pulled a U-turn.
Hillmer herself called up Morijah to tell her the news that the state
would not be recalling the plates.
.She was very polite,. says Morijah.
And Secretary Kinsman issued a press release stating, .After reviewing
case law on this issue, we have determined that the plate will not be
recalled,. according to Woster in his follow up for the Rapid City
Journal.
Morijah reflects back on the incident. .This has been literally one of
the most significant experiences of my life,. she says. .It.s been
absolutely humbling to see how many people were willing to go to bat
for me on this issue.. She is especially grateful to the ACLU, she
says, and has newfound respect for its clout.and its commitment.
Morijah hopes that some good can come from the kerfuffle.
.This particular issue has been resolved,. she says. .But I hope the
momentum this has created continues. And not just on the free speech
issue, but also on going forward with removing this incredibly harmful
administration..
via
www.Vote.org
Taking the "mock" out of democracy!
Evan Ravitz, founder (303)440-6838 [EMAIL PROTECTED]
also: www.Vote.org/photos www.Vote.org/paradise
"Fool's gold exists because there is real gold." -Rumi