WH bans participants to SS roundtable that don't agree with their plan

[paineinthearse]

PRESS RELEASE BY THE DNC received by email from DNC member. READ ON. THIS IS THE REASON WE ARE DEMOCRATS.

For Immediate Release
April 25, 2005

Contact: Laura Gross, 202-863-8148

BANNED IN THE USA
by ther republicans

WASHINGTON-President Bush and the Republican Party continue to abuse their power by silencing people that don't agree with them. When will the President of the United States actually start listening to all Americans, not just an elite few?

Tomorrow in Galveston, Tex., the White House has banned people from the Social Security roundtable that don't agree with their plan. And, this week, a group of top telecommunications leaders are meeting to discuss industry standards, but only Bush supporters are allowed to attend the meeting.

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No Public Access for Galveston Event. "The Media Affairs office said the president would take no questions from the press and local residents had to be invited to attend. It was unclear Friday how the invitations were being made and to whom. 'I'm not at liberty to even say how people can get a ticket,' said Chris Stevens, chairman of the Galveston County Republican Party. 'It's very tight, very limited access.'"

Republicans Won't Cross the Line. "The Inter-American Telecommunication Commission meets three times a year in various cities across the Americas to discuss such dry but important issues as telecommunications standards and spectrum regulations. But for this week's meeting in Guatemala City, politics has barged onto the agenda. At least four of the two dozen or so U.S. delegates selected for the meeting, sources tell TIME, have been bumped by the White House because they supported John Kerry's 2004 campaign.

The State Department has traditionally put together a list of industry representatives for these meetings, and anyone in the U.S. telecom industry who had the requisite expertise and wanted to go was generally given a slot, say past participants. Only after the start of Bush's second term did a political litmus test emerge, industry sources say.

The White House admits as much: "We wanted people who would represent the Administration positively, and--call us nutty--it seemed like those who wanted to kick this Administration out of town last November would have some difficulty doing that," says White House spokesman Trent Duffy. Those barred from the trip include employees of Qualcomm and Nokia, two of the largest telecom firms operating in the U.S., as well as Ibiquity, a digital-radio-technology company in Columbia, Md. One nixed participant, who has been to many of these telecom meetings and who wants to remain anonymous, gave just $250 to the Democratic Party. Says Nokia vice president Bill Plummer: "We do not view sending experts to international meetings on telecom issues to be a partisan matter. We would welcome clarification from the White House."

[shoelace414]

1. they're nutty

[emulatorloo]

2. Why must I pay for this? How much does it cost to operate Air Force 1?

I don't pay taxes so the GWB can fly aroud the country to entertain pre-screened republicans w his folksy humor.

[paineinthearse]

3. $55,000/hour

That number does NOT include the supporting C5A nor all the support staff.