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The City Club of Cleveland was incorporated in 1912 as a non-partisan forum for debate. The club's home is the City Club Building, formerly the Citizens Building, in Downtown Cleveland. Known as "America's Citadel of Free Speech", it is the longest continuous independent free speech forum in the country and generally considered one of the top three speaking forums in America.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Encyclopedia of Cleveland City Club of Cleveland )〕 Membership is open to anyone and all programs are open to the general public, although members are charged lower prices to attend most forums and given preference in making reservations to certain programs. ==Speakers== The City Club has hosted sitting U.S. Presidents and Vice-Presidents and other notable citizens of the United States and the world.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=City Club of Cleveland History )〕 Archbishop Desmond Tutu called the club "a beacon, a symbol and a sentinel for freedom, for justice, for tolerance" when he spoke there.〔http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnP21_PInLI〕 The first President to have appeared at the City Club was Theodore Roosevelt; every President since Jimmy Carter has appeared at its podium.〔Cho, Janet, Plain Dealer, July 22, 2005〕 President George W. Bush spoke to the club on the third anniversary of the United States' invasion of Iraq. Because the City Club of Cleveland does not allow questions from the audience to be pre-screened, President Ronald Reagan declined to appear before the Club, but when questions were raised by the media about his mental acuity, Reagan sought out an appearance before the Club to refute those charges. The day after Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in 1968, Senator Robert F. Kennedy gave his "On the Mindless Menace of Violence" speech at the club. In 1976, as part of the United States Bicentennial, the club held a forum in Britain, the club's first outside the United States.〔Segal, Grant, Plain Dealer, July 30, 2011, "Bob Cavano, led City Club, several other civic groups"〕 Debates before the Club have swayed Ohio elections. Before John Glenn defeated Howard Metzenbaum in the 1974 Democratic Senate primary, Glenn responded to a charge in an earlier debate that he never had to make a payroll: During the 2010 Congressional elections, in which the Republicans regained control of the House of Representatives, John Boehner on August 24, 2010, announced a five-point plan at the club that he said would provide an effective economic alternative to the Democrats’ course.〔 (Carl, New York Times, August 24, 2010 "Boehner Urges Obama to Fire Economic Team" http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/25/us/politics/25boehner.html )〕 Sometimes politicians avoid appearing at its forums because it would provide exposure to their opponents in a political race. Congressman Dennis Kucinich, who complained vociferously about being excluded from debates among the Democratic candidates for President, has several times refused to debate his opponent for Congress in The City Club of Cleveland debates.〔 (Pete, Scene, March 20, 2007 "Kucinich is a Hypocrite" http://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2007/03/20/kucinich-is-a-hypocrite )〕 The club has been criticized for bestowing its "Citadel of Free Speech" award upon Justice Antonin Scalia, who then refused to allow his speech to be broadcast. The Board of Trustees of The City Club defended its actions by noting that the press was welcome to attend the special presentation and report upon the event.〔 (David G., Los Angeles Times, March 20, 2003 "Some 'Mystified' by Award to Scalia for Free Speech" http://articles.latimes.com/2003/mar/20/nation/na-scalia20 )〕 Other recipients of the Citadel of Free Speech award include John Glenn, Martin Luther King's aide, U.N. Ambassador Andrew Young, and CNN founder Ted Turner.〔Spector, Harlan, Plain Dealer, May 19, 2012, "Cleveland's City Club honors media mogul Ted Turner with free speech award"〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「City Club of Cleveland」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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