A very important scheduled march against the war has run into a roadblock. Your help is needed in appealing to the Mayor of St. Paul, Mayor Chris Coleman, to issue a permit that does not restrict the route for the September 1st march. Mayor Coleman has granted a permit for the march, but has denied permission for the participants to march from the Capitol to the Excel Centre where the Republican National Convention will be held. The Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War will be in Federal Court on May 16th seeking an injunction that forces the City of Saint Paul to issue permits for the march. http://www.marchonrnc.org/node/25

Please contact the newspapers listed below and call or e-mail Mayor Chris Coleman at 651-266-8510  This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . Ask that he not restrict the march route, but that he issue a permit for the requested route.

Defend free speech rights -- take action today! There is a fast-developing free speech battle between the Bush Administration and those who seek to preserve the National Mall in its current status as a treasured location for mass assembly protest. Every day that Bush stays in office we can anticipate a new assault on civil liberties and the Bill of Rights. It is incumbent upon us all to take action. If Bush gets his way, by the day he leaves office, cherished civil liberties will be eviscerated for decades to come.

The National Park Service (NPS) is undertaking an initiative similar to that launched to exclude protests from New York City's Great Lawn. It will be used to further restrict or ban protest on the National Mall. This is a component of a nationwide campaign of corporate-sponsored organizations working in partnership with government entities that claim that protests, rallies and demonstrations harm grass or "green space" or "natural resources" and must therefore be restricted or banned or shunted off to designated protest pits.