A link to his lodge:Link to Lodge
His email address: PoliteSr14@aol.com
Nelson is quite an interesting gentleman
Posted on 12/07/2004 10:07:49 AM PST by Phantom Lord
Flap erupts over photos of Bush at market stand
Democrat City Councilman Nelson Polite says the photos are inappropriate in a public place.
Others rally behind standholder.
LANCASTER COUNTY, PA - David Stoltzfus says there’s only one reason he would take down the photos of President George W. Bush that he has displayed at his Central Market baked-goods stand.
Bush would have had to have lost the recent election. Instead, he beat Democratic challenger John Kerry to win a second term.
“If it were Kerry that won, he’d be up there,’’ says Stoltzfus, who operates the Upper Crust stand.
Doesn’t matter, says City Councilman Nelson Polite. “It should come down. This is a public market.”
Besides, says the Democrat, “Bush didn’t win here (in Lancaster City). It is like rubbing salt on a wound.”
Polite approached Stoltzfus on Nov. 12 and ask him to remove the pictures. The standholder has refused to do so, prompting Polite to say he will ask City Council to change the law so that all political items would be banned in public places.
Today, Stoltzfus pointed proudly to a photo of a smiling Bush, framed in green, that hangs above his stand.
The photo, attached to the stand portico with four brass screws, has hung there for nearly two years, since Stoltzfus and his wife, Nina, opened the market stand in March 2003.
They sell cakes, cookies and other baked items.
They also have a signed 8-by-10-inch photo of the president and first lady Laura Bush sitting on a shelf below, “right next to the pictures of my grandkids,’’ says Stoltzfus.
“I’m just trying to sell a few cakes and give honor to the president,’’ he says.
But Polite, a Democrat, says the photos should go.
When he approached Stoltzfus three weeks ago, he said the photo offended him and city Democrats.
Polite says he had received complaints from constituents who thought the photos were inappropriate, especially after the presidential election.
The market is public property and displaying political paraphernalia, no matter what the intent, says Polite, is inappropriate and divisive.
Stoltzfus is a Republican, but that hardly matters, he says. He displays the photo to honor the office, not the man.
Polite says political items do not belong in Central Market and if Stoltzfus refuses to take down the photos, he’ll take the matter before City Council to get the city law changed to ban all political items in public places.
“There should be rules,’’ says Polite.
Even if Kerry had won, he’d be asking Stoltzfus to take the photos down, says Polite.
A string of supporters, including Republican Mayor Charlie Smithgall and former Republican Mayor Art Morris, have made their way to the Upper Crust to offer their support to Stoltzfus.
“We have no regulations against it,” says Smithgall. “He is the president of the United States. If he wants to put a picture of (Democratic) Gov. Rendell up, that’s fine by me.”
Smithgall said Stoltzfus asked for a picture of him to hang up.
“I said, ‘Yeah, right.’”
Some of Stoltzfus’ fellow standholders are considering putting up photos of Bush in solidarity with Stoltzfus.
Kim Moyer, at the Lancaster Juice Company, says Polite was “out of line.”
“(Stoltzfus) has every right to put the pictures up. We pays rent here. Anyway, we’re in America.”
Market Master Ernie Thomas said there are no rules about hanging political items at market stands.
Even if there was, says Thomas, “That is our president, whether it is a Democrat or a Republican.”
Jim Zink, the owner of the Herb Shop stand, says he is a Democrat. But he’ll hang a photo of Bush to support Stoltzfus’ right to hang his.
“He has every right to hang it,’’ Zink says of Stoltzfus. He says it doesn’t offend him as a Democrat to see Bush.
What thinly disguised sedition is this?
The picture/portrait of the current president has ALWAYS been displayed in government offices, buildings, public places, etc.
Is the President not the President of this city, this public market too? Could Clinton's picture hang? How about Truman, Washington?
Not only would I leave this pic up, I'd put up a bigger one!
I did and I pointed out what a jerk he really is.
Precisely, the lying liberal elite are trying to accomplish what British force of arms could not.
Hmmmm...we'll never know will we?
But I truly IMHO believe that Mr Polite would never request a Kerry take down.
LOl...just occurred to me..the last election was a Kerry take down...
Dear Mr Polite,
I just read an article about your absurd and childish demand that Central Market vendor, David Stoltzfus, remove a picture of President Bush from his stand because it offends you. How stupid are you? Who do you think you are to demand that a free citizen of this country be denied his First Amendment right to honor the President of the United States? I suggest you grow the hell up and start acting like a man. Mr. Stoltzfus is well within his rights and you are amazingly out of line. Hopefully the fine citizens of Lancaster City will see fit to end your career in public office since you have so little regard or respect for the will of and the rights of the people of this great nation!
Very Truly Yours,
Pgkdan
What an ass. Somebody send him the name of the nearest PEST counselor.
A link to his lodge:Link to Lodge
His email address: PoliteSr14@aol.com
Nelson is quite an interesting gentleman
I just bet the RATS had all kinds of political paraphernalia of Kerry in public view during the election. Oh, I forgot. It's OK for RATS to do it. Double standards is the name of their game. They make me sick. This man has the right to exercise his First Amendment RIGHT!!!
Where can I get a portrait of the Prez and First Lady to
display in my office? I'd like to irritate a bunch of
losers!
Interesting! I come from the day when pictures of the presidents would be posted in our public schools. Is that no longer done?
I think it's bad business to have political stuff in your place of business, but it's no business of the law to force you to remove it.
Bump for L8R, when I can come up with an appropriate methodology of publicly eviscerating this jerk.
would never have known that being 'polite' meant you had anal blockage
I was doing some research, and it appears ex post facto is supposed to apply to both civil and criminal law. Currently, precedent appears to say it only applies to criminal law, however, that appears to be an extremely flawed decision (Calder vs. Bull) by the Supreme Court.
But, if the law is changed, does his hanging of the photo become a criminal offense or a civil violation?
All that aside, as one poster pointed out, there are also free speech issues involved. Which, is probably the better argument.
We had some liberal communist at the main post office in Fort Walton Beach Florida who had a picture of Kerry and Edwards shaking hands displayed on the post office wall. You had to look right at the picture when the postal worker opened the customer service door. Now that's really out of line.
I will add a asswhoopin to that
"E-mail the not-so-polite Councilman Polite:"
dear mr polite,
i read of your contention with the pictures of President Bush at "upper crust" pastry stand, and i would remind you that the first amendment is primarily about protecting political speech.
you deviate from the constitution. you must have been having a silly attack....
in sympathy,
The Pennsylvania Constitution has a rule:
The free communication of thoughts and opinions is one of the invaluable rights of man, and every citizen may freely speak, write and print on any subject, being responsible for the abuse of that liberty.
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