UPDATED: The Chicago venue has decided to honor their written agreement. The Dinesh D’Souza event in Chicago will go on as scheduled. Score one for Freedom of Speech.
CHICAGO, Illinois, September 18, 2012 – Conservative filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza is set to appear at the Gene Siskel Center in Chicago Saturday for an audience Q&A and special screening of his hit film, “2016: Obama’s America.”
But, three days before the event, the
The problems began last Friday when Chicago Sun-Times columnist Michael Sneed printed an item about the event, which is being hosted by FreeCapitalismNow.com, in her column:
The mean screen: Anti-Obama filmmaker whose documentary “2016: Obama’s
The blowback from the
The Center’s executive director Jean de St. Aubin called me about the “intense political pressure” she was under and how embarrassed she was over a “few phone calls” she had received.
Sneed also told me via telephone that the
Why? Sneed was simply reporting that the event was taking place.
However, in
After all, Chick-Fil-A CEO Dan Cathy just wants to run a business. TD Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts just wants to express his political point-of-view.
I just want to have Dinesh D’Souza to
The Chicago Machine has always prided itself on the tyrannical control of information flow within the city limits and beyond. Free speech for the conservatives that live here has always been an aspiration, not a reality. Business, success, and life, in general, are circumscribed by the heavy-handed tactics of the
On September 19, I received a series of apologetic – but firm – emails explaining there was a “problem” with the use of the contracted theater space for the D’Souza event.
The email from the Siskel Center states, “We have an unfortunate conflict on Saturday afternoon… A program that we host in conjunction with the School of the Art Institute of Chicago every Thursday evening booked a Saturday screening months ago.”
Coincidence? The event with Dinesh D’Souza takes place this Saturday.
I began discussing this event with the
Despite all this, the
The
“I am trying to accommodate you,” de St. Aubin states in a September 18 email. “I know that this is a difficult situation for all of us. I have provided numerous options for you, short of finding a new location, which I would be happy to make recommendations if you would like.”
Translation: Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s office contacted the
This is not first time that Rahm and his cronies have attempted to silence the opposition and it won’t be the last.
George Washington once said, “If freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.”
But we aren’t dumb and we can’t be silent.
So I say to Rahm Emanuel: Let Dinesh D’Souza speak. Let him tell his side of the story.
Let the people decide for themselves.
We have a contract and we are not backing down.
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William J. Kelly is the Chairman of FreeCapitalismNow.com. He is an Emmy award-winning TV producer and conservative columnist and native from
Email questions to him at williamjkellyrebuild@gmail.com.
Find him on Facebook/Williamjpkelly
Read more of Bill Kelly’s Truth Squad in The Communities at the Washington Times.
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