“There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.� —Elie Wiesel

While President Bush and the members of his staff may prefer that he live in a bubble of sorts and be shielded from the views and feelings of those who disagree with his policies, it is simply wrong—not to mention unhealthy for democracy—to trample on the rights of citizens to maintain such insularity. Today, I protest this injustice, as reported by the Denver Post:

Activists’ expulsion cited as Bush rule

A former White House official who ordered three activists expelled from a 2005 Denver public forum with President Bush says it was White House policy to exclude potentially disruptive guests from Bush’s appearances nationwide.

The former official, Steve Atkiss, revealed the policy Friday in an interview after two volunteer bouncers identified him and a current White House staffer, Jamie O’Keefe, as the officials who ordered the so-called Denver Three activists sent away from the event.

The activists had done nothing to disrupt the forum, and two of them sued over the incident.

In sworn legal depositions, bouncers Michael Casper and Jay Bob Klinkerman for the first time named the White House officials who they say ordered the Denver Three to be excluded.

An American Civil Liberties Union legal team is challenging the expulsion in federal court, arguing that it violated the activists’ constitutional free-speech rights. They had obtained tickets to attend the taxpayer-financed public forum about Social Security. [free text]