American Nazi Party adopts Salem (OR) road

[stevedeshazer]

The county OKs the group to avoid a free-speech lawsuit

Marion County has allowed a Portland-area skinhead group to adopt a rural Salem road as part of a volunteer litter clean-up program.

<snip>

County officials say they were legally advised that excluding the organization would violate a constitutional right to free speech. Their choices, they said, were: allow the group to join the program, remove all of the signs from the program or refuse the group and risk a lawsuit.

Commissioner Sam Brentano said he wanted to turn the organization down anyway and face whatever lawsuits came.

He was outnumbered by commissioners Patti Milne and Janet Carlson. The commissioners did not vote on the issue, but gave staff direction by consensus.

Milne said she considers it strictly a constitutional issue that goes to the core of being American.

more:

http://159.54.226.83/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050128/NEWS/501280372/1001

[primavera]

1. One elegant solution...

There was a case a few years back in either Mississippi or Alabama, I can't remember which, when the Klan wanted to adopt a highway and the county faced the same quandary. When the Klan fought for and was likewise awarded the right to participate in the adopt a highway program there, the county changed the name of the highway to the Rosa Parks Expressway. Strangely, the Klan lost interest in the project almost immediately after that...

[stevedeshazer]

2. Good idea

If the Nazis want to fulfill their "adopt-a-road" duties, they have to put on red vests and pick up all the trash twice a year on that stretch of road. That ought to be a fun time.

[dhinojosa]

3. It was Missouri, and as far as OR, they can call their highway...

the Auschwitz Memorial Highway.

[stevedeshazer]

4. In Oregon, it should be called Mulageta Seraw Rd

He was an Ethiopian man brutally murdered by Oregon skinheads about 15 years ago. They took a baseball bat to his skull.

[Supersedeas]

5. Elegant but sad....the solution is about as grim that the problem itself

[AllegroRondo]

6. I live near that highway

its a stretch of I-55 just south of St Louis.

The KKK never bothered to clean the highway and was booted from the program. And for some reason, their signs kept getting cut down.

[HuckleB]

7. Beautiful!

[gottaB]

20. Marion County Board of Commissioners

http://commissioners.co.marion.or.us

Dear Commissioners,

Please consider renaming the stretch of Sunnyside Road between Cordon Road and 82nd Ave. Imagine a name that would turn away Nazis, and signal your understanding of the seriousness of the danger that the Nazi movement represents. I suggest Gideon Hausner Way, in honor of the Israeli Attorney General who prosecuted the case against Adolf Eichmann.

Sincerely,

gB

[Endangered Specie]

21. "The Elie Wiesel Highway"

[SemperEadem]

23. Recently, they went to court to keep the road adoption

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=162x1594

[struggle4progress]

8. Could there be a moral obligation to litter?

[ak]

19. yup

Might be a good place to download the brownload in the ditch??

[MissB]

9. Update from today: Signs have been torn down.

http://www.katu.com/stories/74502.html

SALEM, Ore. - Two controversial road signs that were put up in Marion County have already been ripped down.

The road signs read, "The American Nazi Party has adopted a two mile stretch of Sunnyview Road" and were put up by Marion County officials one week ago.

On edit: the best part was that the fools spelled "American" wrong. :evilgrin:

[stevedeshazer]

11. thanks for the update

[HuckleB]

12. That was FAST! Here's the link to an article in this morning's Oregonian.

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/110700390220660.xml

"Rabbi Gary Schoenberg of Portland said he was so angry over two adopt-a-road signs recognizing the American Nazi Party that he was tempted to drive to Marion County and pluck them from the ground himself. But someone beat him to it.

Sometime early Friday afternoon, the sign closest to the Salem city limits on Sunnyview Road disappeared. Earlier in the week, someone damaged an identical sign about 3 miles down Sunnyview and county public works crews removed it.

The county signs -- among more than 100 in Marion County that mark volunteer efforts to clean up roadsides -- were particularly hard to see during the same week as the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi death camp of Auschwitz, Schoenberg said.

The county has gotten dozens of complaints about its decision to post the signs. Sam Brentano, chairman of the Marion County commission, isn't surprised. "We just look stupid," he said. "But maybe we are."

..."

[Supersedeas]

16. Vigilantes against Nazi's and Commissioners who 'look' stupid

[HuckleB]

17. Yeah, the commissioner's quote was great.

[DrWeird]

10. I'm glad they provided a map.

Now I know where to dump my trash.

[Kadie]

13. Check out this guys response to the signs.

Reich turn ahead: Mike Navarro takes a dim view of American Nazis participating in the Adopt A Highway program in Salem, Ore. He briefly tacked a poster that reads "They only pick up white trash" to the sign.

[HuckleB]

14. Sweet! Now that's one sign I wish they would have left up for a while.

:hi:

[oasis]

15. I like that guy's spirit.

[leesa]

18. Good. Get it out there. Make it perfectly clear that racism is alive and

well in America. Maybe it will wake some of the dead-heads up.

[Endangered Specie]

22. Notice there mispelling of "American" on their application:

http://www.katu.com/team2/story.asp?ID=74502



And they call themselves the master race :eyes: :nopity: