Letter to Michael Espy
William Thomas
P.O. Box 27217
Washington, D.C. 20038
(202) 462-0757
January 10, 1993
Michael Espy
Presidential Transition Team
Agriculture Department
1120 Vermont Avenue NW
Washington, D.C. 20005
Dear Mr. Espy,
Congratulations on your new position. I am praying that you will
use your increased power with wisdom, because only wisdom will
contribute to a more perfect union.
You will probably agree that without freedom to assemble,
"freedom of thought" and "freedom of speech" -- the true
keystones of any democracy --become nothing more than hollow,
meaningless phrases.
A lot of people who voted for President Clinton believe that
Reagan/Bush policy promoted the regulatory suppression of free
thought and expression, and left this country a greatly
diminished First Amendment. They hope this administration will
have the wisdom to reverse that trend of regulatory abuse.
For much of the past seven years the National Forest Service, one
of the agencies within Agriculture, has repeatedly (albeit, thank
God, unsuccessfully) attempted to implement a regulatory scheme
which would, in any real terms, eliminate the right of the
American people to freely assemble on "public lands." United
States v. Israel, No. Cr-86-027- TUC-RMB (May 10, 1986; 53 Fed.
Reg. 16548 (May 10, 1988), amending 36 C.F.R. Sec. 251.50 et seq,
(1987); United States v. The Rainbow Family, 694 F. Supp. 294,
(June 1, 1989, J. Justice, USED Tex. CA No. L-88-68); 55 Fed.
Reg. 8498 (March 8, 1990), and related draft of proposed
amendment to 36 CFR 251 submitted to OMB (February 22, 1990).
Now, it appears, NFS has somehow managed to obtain an exemption
from President Bush's current moratorium on regulations, and
plans to submit (before January 20th) for OMB's approval, yet
another regulatory attempt to subvert the First Amendment as it
presently applies to peaceable assembly on public lands.
I like to think that the departing administration is just trying
to slip another fast one by the American public before the new
administration even knows what's going on. You have an
opportunity to nip this affront to democracy in the bud, and
reverse the authoritarian inclinations of the preceding
administration.
If my information proves correct, and NFS actually publishes a
rule to restrict public assembly on public lands, please have
them rescind the publication as soon as you are able.
Sincerely, in service to the Creator of life,
Thomas
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