What’s Wrong with the World




No political bumper stickers in D.C. parking lot?

I recently received a fund-raising letter from the Human Life Foundation, written by Maria McFadden. It contained this anecdote:

Just last week I heard from a friend of mine, Larry, who was attending a conference in Washington, D.C. Larry wanted to use the underground parking garage at the Ronald Reagan World Trade Center. Usually, you just flash your driver's license and pop your trunk open, and the attendant glances inside, then waves you on in.

This is standard post-9/11 security at the few federal buildings in Washington that have public parking. But what happened to Larry, a faithful reader of the Human Life Review, was different.

When Larry pulled up at the Reagan Building, he was told to wait. Four armed parking attendants surrounded the van. They asked him to take his driver's license out of his wallet so they could inspect it more closely. They asked him to open the van and they looked around in it.

He asked why the special treatment for him. One of the attendants pointed to the pro-life and pro-adoption slogans on the van, and said such political statements were not allowed in the building.

Larry asked the guards to call their supervisor, which they did. The supervisor approved the van to park, but forbade Larry to take anything out of the van into the building once parked.

Well, let's hope Larry didn't need a laptop or briefcase or, indeed, anything he couldn't carry in his pockets, for the conference he was attending.

I'm going to go waaay out on a limb here and guess that Larry's pro-life bumper stickers were not remotely suggestive of any advocacy of violence. For that matter, I've never even seen a pro-life bumper sticker that was remotely suggestive of violence.

So what cat, exactly, did the attendant let out of the bag when he told Larry why he was being given special security treatment? Was he saying that pro-life sentiments, specifically, were not allowed in the building? It seemeth to me that any such policy would be a direct violation of a kajillion First Amendment court precedents. Was he saying that no political bumper stickers are allowed in the building? Don't make me laugh. A public parking garage in Washington, D.C., doesn't permit any political bumper stickers? You've gotta be kidding. Not to mention the aforesaid kajillion SCOTUS precedents on freedom of, specifically, political speech.

If only the attendant's explanation had been recorded.

What say you, readers? Do you think security at federal parking garages in D.C. really has a policy of not allowing people with pro-life bumper stickers to park? Or a policy of harassing them extra? If so, what, if anything, can be done about it?

P.S. Here's the parking page at the Reagan building. It says you need to show ID and your vehicle will "be screened." Obviously, it says nothing about a prohibition on political bumper stickers.

Comments (14)

He should take his cellphone on a stroll through the parking lot, and the first Obama sticker he sees, take a pic and post it on teh internetz.

I couldn't help wondering, if the attendant actually said word-for-word, "We don't allow such political statements in the building," what was the function of the word "such." Political statements of that kind or such things as political statements? If that latter, that's got to be a lie, because I'm sure there are huge numbers of cars parked there every day with political bumper stickers. How could they possibly keep them out? And if he meant the former, what kind, specifically?

This is probably an outgrowth of Homeland Security's stated focus on "homegrown right wing terrorist groups".

Indefinite detention, or being added to the "no-fly" or "kill or capture" lists will soon follow no doubt.

First question: did this actually happen?

Y'know, Matt, I've given you all the information I have. But yeah, I think it did happen. What can I say? I don't think Maria McFadden is making it up, and I don't believe her reader is making it up. You can believe what you want to believe. I hate to say it, but given many other things that have happened, the prior probability isn't nearly as low as it would have been, oh, fifteen years ago.

I'd be curious to know whose security team it was. They're probably contractors because Federal Protective Service police tend to be some of the most laid back cops you'll ever meet. Most people I know in this area don't even bother to stop speeding around them because they won't even bother calling you in to the locals unless you're being a public menace (as defined around here, that's a minimum of 20mph over and/or aggressive behavior) or on federal land.

"...given many other things that have happened..."

Like, say, this?:


No enemies to the Left but watch out for the Right seems to be the byword. A cultivated paranoia.
And of course islam is the religion of peace and Christians are inbred knuckle draggers who cling to their guns. It takes time to develop this bizarre morality in reverse, but it seems to have taken root.

Yes John. "Every religion has its extremists, wah-waaaah-wah-wah-wah-wah..."

Masked elephant, your eloquence becomes you.

From Terry Morris' link:

"The Secret Service called and said they were at my house," Harrison said.
''When I was on my way there, the Secret Service called me and said they weren't going to ransack my house or anything, they just wanted to (walk through the house) and make sure I wasn't a part of any hate groups."

Oh man! His sign said "Abort Obama Not the Unborn".

Halloween party at a public school ( one of the last schools in America to be allowed to have such a party )

A kid's. costume consisted of Kumi hat, a stick with two buckets, baggy shorts and water buffalo type sandals. His shirt said, "My Grand Dad had three tours of Viet Nam and all I got was this lousy tee shirt".

This is the dialogue I witnessed between a teacher and the student...

"Take that shirt off, boy!"

"Why Ma'am?"

"It's offensive and a distraction"

"We are not in school, this is a party and its free speech"

"We'll, it's in bad taste and I want it off of school grounds"

"I'll be glad to take off my shirt when you remove your offensive NEA/AFT Union For Life and Obama For President bumper stickers from you car which is on school grounds five days a week"

Up The Youth!

I am stationed in DC in federal bldgs...three in the past four years...and on an Army installation as well...what a crock of doo doo this is. I can't pass by more than two cubicles without seeing something related to a leftist slogan, union, group, cause, picture, etc. I've seen everything from Che Guevara to Greenpeace to the latest pic of our President and Nelson Mandella...I mean gvt worker's cubes.

Can you imagine the $$$$ STORM I would get if I put up a picture of Ronald Reagan? I actually have a Reagan and Nancy magnet I bought in the Pentagon Gift Shop that is on my metal file cabinet. Surprised it has not been reported.

Our nation is going to hell on the secular PC Express and the majority of cretins are too stupid to realize it!

This is the reason most people that work in DC do not live in DC, this is a common occurrence in the city.

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