An Indiana environmentalist recently caught a whiff of the debilitating civil liberty toxins emitting from officials of the Bush administration. John Blair, whose Valley Watch organization battles big coal and the nuclear industry, carried his "CHENEY - 19th Century Energy Man" sign to a visible location in front of the local government center on February 8. Across the street at the Evansville Convention Center, the Vice President was speaking at a fundraiser for Rep. John Hostettler.

Blair was arrested when he calmly questioned police orders to move at least a block away from the convention center entrance. Government employees and other pedestrians passed by without being accosted by police, but Blair was cited for disorderly conduct and later released. He was arraigned the next morning on a more serious misdemeanor, resisting law enforcement, but in the end the charge was simply dismissed.

The noxious atmosphere drifted over to another free speech believer on April 2. Beth Centz of the Brandywine Peace Community refused an order to restrict her public opposition to the Secret Service's exclusive "protest zone" at Penn State's campus in Media, Pennsylvania, where President Bush was visiting. She was arrested and held until Bush left the area, then released with a trespass citation.

For more information, contact John Blair at ecoserve1@aol.com, or Beth Centz at brandywine@juno.com.