Rudy Giuliani: First Amendment Terrorist

In 1997, Rudy Giuliani focused on bus advertising, not NYC security, fire and police communications, or the location of the command center.

As a reader of New York Magazine , I followed the abuses of the Big Apple's mayor. The prospect of Giuliani becoming President is scary.

When personally offended Giuliani is quick to react without much thought. Valerie Plame would not have been outed, she would have been shot, Benjamin Franklin's printing press would be torched, and the Watergate would have been bombed, not burgled.

That year, New York magazine advertised that it was ''Possibly the only good thing in New York Rudy hasn't taken credit for.''

The mayor was not amused and immediately ordered the ads pulled from the city buses:

A unanimous panel of the federal appeals court in New York (2nd Cir.) lifted an emergency stay in early December that had prevented New York magazine from running a controversial advertisement ridiculing New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani.

The unanimous three-judge panel ruled in an expedited appeal that the advertisement did not irreparably harm the city, permitting the magazine to resume the campaign.

The court also denied the city's request to halt the campaign until a full appeal is heard.

The controversy began in late November, when Giuliani pressured the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to pull the advertisement from city buses. The ad claimed New York magazine was "possibly the only good thing in New York Rudy hasn't taken credit for."

Giuliani said he objected to the advertisement because it violates his rights to privacy and is not protected speech under the First Amendment. City officials also cited a state law that forbids city officials to allow their names to be used for commercial purposes.

For the full case: 1ST AMENDMENT VIOLATED BY REFUSAL TO DISPLAY AD WITH NICKNAME OF NYC MAYOR ON BUSES.