Full opinion text
LYNCH, Circuit Judge. These two appeals, consolidated at the request of all parties, raise First Amendment challenges to the rejection of proposed advertising submitted to a Boston-area public transit system, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (“MBTA”). In Change the Climate, Inc. v. MBTA, No. 03-2285, the MBTA rejected three advertisements designed to raise questions about marijuana laws on the stated ground that the ads would promote illegal use of marijuana among children. The other case, Ridley v. MBTA No. 03-1970, involves the rejection of one advertisement from a religious group on the grounds that the ad violated the MBTA’s guidelines prohibiting advertisements which demean or disparage an individual or group of individuals. Several First Amendment doctrines are at issue. Change the Climate brought suit in federal court on May 18, 2000. The lead argument is that the MBTA advertising space is a designated public forum and so the rejection of the advertisements is unconstitutional. Change the Climate strongly urges the court to decide the forum issue, arguing: Determining the nature of the “forum” at issue is a mandatory first step in deciding a First Amendment case such as the present one because “[t]he extent to which the government can control access depends on the nature of the relevant forum.” Cornelius v. NAACP Legal Defense and Educ. Fund, 473 U.S. 788, 800 [105 S.Ct. 3439, 87 L.Ed.2d 567] (1985). Both the protection provided for the plaintiffs First Amendment expression and the government’s ability to restrict the plaintiffs speech vary according to the forum in which the speech is proposed. Perry Educ. Ass’n v. Perry Local Educators’ Ass’n, 460 U.S. 37, 44-46 [103 S.Ct. 948, 74 L.Ed.2d 794] (1983). A reviewing court’s first action, therefore, must be to conduct a “deliberate analysis, e.g., Chicago Acorn v. Metro. Pier & Expo. Auth., 150 F.3d 695, 702 (7th Cir.1998)” and determine “the nature of the forum first.” New Eng. Reg’l Council of Carpenters v. Kinton, 284 F.3d 9, 20 n. 4 (1st Cir.2002). In Kinton, this Court specifically rejected as “awkward” skipping this crucial forum analysis as a first step “because it requires a reviewing tribunal to know the results of a test before knowing which test applies.” Id. Because the MBTA has created a designated public forum, it argues, “a content-based prohibition must be narrowly drawn to effectuate a compelling state interest,” and the MBTA has violated these standards. In addition, Change the Climate argues, no matter what the nature of the forum, the MBTA’s rejection of its ads constitutes viewpoint discrimination. It also argues that the guidelines under which the ads were rejected must be narrow and objective and cannot leave excessive discretion in state officials, and the MBTA guidelines do not comply. Finally, Change the Climate argues the district court erred in not awarding it attorney’s fees. Lischen Ridley filed suit in state court on January 8, 2002, on behalf of herself and other members of the Church with the Good News (“Good News”). The MBTA removed the Ridley action to federal court. The suit alleged that the MBTA lacked compelling reasons to reject the advertisement, that the rejection of the advertisement was the product of viewpoint discrimination, and that the MBTA’s guideline involved was not narrowly tailored and was too vague to withstand constitutional scrutiny. Although Ridley did not discuss the forum issue in her brief, the brief did note that the outcome of the forum issue in Change the Climate would govern the Rid-ley case. Ridley’s reply brief also argued the public forum line of cases and expressly challenged the MBTA’s assertion that the restrictions were reasonable, a standard of review which applies if the forum was not a public forum. And at oral argument, in response to multiple questions from the court as to the relationship of Ridley’s claims to the forum analysis issue, counsel for Ridley argued that the forum analysis was relevant to Ridley’s claims and could be dispositive of those claims. For example, Ridley argued that if the MBTA had created a public forum as argued in Change the Climate, she would be entitled to judgment on that ground. Further, counsel for both Ridley and Change the Climate moved to consolidate the appeals on the grounds that common issues of fact and law were present and the same lawyers represent both plaintiffs. The district court denied all forms of relief to Ridley on June 5, 2003. The court assumed that the MBTA advertising program constituted a non-public forum and held that the rejections of Ridley’s advertisements were not based on viewpoint discrimination, but rather on a valid “content restriction prohibiting demeaning or disparaging content.” The trial court held that the factual record based on the stipulation was insufficiently clear for it to grant the relief Ridley requested on whether the guidelines were viewpoint discriminatory on their face or whether they were too vague and gave MBTA administrators too much discretion. Nonetheless, the court revisited the Ridley guideline question when it issued its Change the Climate opinion. Oh August 1, 2003, the district court also found for the MBTA in Change the Climate, again avoiding the forum issue. However, consistent with the law on nonpublic fora, the court reviewed the MBTA’s guidelines and its decision to reject these ads under a reasonableness test. The court found that each of the three advertisements provided misleading messages about the legality of marijuana, and that two of the ads targeted minors. As such, the court held, the MBTA’s rejection of the ads was reasonable and not viewpoint discriminatory. The district court also found that the MBTA guideline prohibiting materials which promote illegal activity was not viewpoint discriminatory on its face. Nonetheless, in its Change the Climate opinion, the court also said that the Ridley guideline prohibiting demeaning or disparaging material was “somewhat vague” on its face and “still leaves too much room for arbitrary decisions.” As a result, in its judgment, the district court ordered: The court retains jurisdiction to consider any well supported motion for modification of the MBTA’s amended guidelines and for modification of this Final Judgment grounded on some change of law or change of relevant factual circumstances occurring after the date of this judgment. The motion must be accompanied by a precise showing of the change of law or change of relevant factual circumstances. The court also rejected Change the Climate’s motion for attorney’s fees. In this opinion covering both cases, we address the parties’ arguments about what type of “forum” the MBTA advertising program constitutes. We hold first that the MBTA did not create a public forum. Second, we address whether the MBTA’s pertinent guidelines and its decisions to reject both parties’ advertising are unlawful as a form of viewpoint discrimination or as an unreasonable use of the forum. We hold that the guidelines on their face are viewpoint neutral and reasonable, and that the decision to reject the Ridley ad was neither viewpoint discriminatory nor unreasonable. However, we hold that the rejection of the three Change the Climate ads constituted viewpoint discrimination and was unreasonable. Finally, we consider the challenge that the guidelines at issue in both cases are vague and delegate too much discretion to the MBTA’s employees. We hold that the pertinent guidelines are not facially unconstitutional. I. Facts There are no disputed facts in this case, only disputes as to what conclusions are to be drawn from those facts. Although only the present 2003 MBTA advertising policy is at issue, we recount the history of dealing between the parties, which is pertinent both to the public forum claim and to other claims. Some facts are reserved for discussion as to the particular party. A. Facts as to the MBTA The MBTA is a quasi-governmental organization whose purpose is to provide public transportation in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 161A, § 5. The MBTA provides transportation to 1.2 million customers daily and to 2.5 million people in the Greater Boston area. For many riders, the MBTA is the only transportation option available. The MBTA operates approximately 170 bus routes, four subway lines, a 13-branch commuter rail network, and six ferry service routes. The MBTA has partnered with the Boston School Department to provide transportation to up to 60,000 Boston public school students annually. The MBTA distributed approximately 15,000 to 20,000 passes to Boston students, the vast majority of whom were in high school. The principal purpose of the MBTA advertising program is to generate and maximize revenue. The MBTA has statutory directives both to “maximize and increase total fare revenue and ridership,” as well as to “establish and implement policies that provide for the maximization of non-transportation revenues from all sources.” Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 161A, § 11. The advertising program effectuates this second purpose. The MBTA has about 40,000 advertising spaces, including interior “car card” displays in buses, trains, and trolleys, king size and tail-light exterior displays on buses, and station and platform displays. Through a private advertising contractor, Viacom Outdoor of Braintree (“Viacom”), the MBTA attempts to sell all of its advertising space at the usual commercial rates. If all space is not sold at those rates, the MBTA policy is first that it may, without cost to itself, “display advertisements or announcements calculated (i) to increase its revenue, public travel, or goodwill or (ii) as compensation to companies which provide beneficial services to the Authority or (iii) to be otherwise in the public interest.” Only if there then remains advertising space unsold does the MBTA, as a third choice, sell advertisements at a reduced rate to nonprofit, tax-exempt public charities or governmental agencies to fill the remaining space. The MBTA charges a fee of 50% of the full commercial advertising rate to those nonprofit organizations. The advertisements at issue in both cases here fall into this last category. All advertisements, of whatever type, are subject to guidelines. The MBTA recognizes that its two statutory directives, maximizing fare revenue and ridership and maximizing non-transportation revenue, can at times be at odds. In numerous instances over the years, the MBTA has received significant complaints from its customers about particular advertisements. The MBTA management was concerned such complaints would threaten ridership and fare revenue. Often those ads had been placed by the MBTA’s advertising contractor without seeking prior MBTA approval. The MBTA then reviewed the advertisements; usually the contractor had violated the guidelines by accepting the advertisements. The MBTA has, accordingly, from the inception of its advertising program in 1992, adopted both substantive and procedural guidelines, described below, to limit the types of advertisements it would accept. Indeed, in attempting to increase ridership, the MBTA initiated a Courtesy Counts program and distributes a brochure that says: “We’re committed to courtesy.” B. Facts as to Plaintiffs’ Advertisements 1. Change the Climate Change the Climate, a not-for-profit group, conducts provocative advertising campaigns in order to generate debate about the laws criminalizing the use of marijuana. It has conducted such advertising campaigns in Washington, D.C., in part using advertising on the Metro transit system. It sought to do the same in Boston, starting in 1999, by submitting three advertisements designed to catch people’s attention and make them rethink the wisdom of the drug laws. The first advertisement, (the “Teen Ad”), is a color photograph of a teenage girl with a baseball cap on backwards, with a caption saying: “Smoking pot is not cool, but we’re not stupid, ya know. Marijuana is NOT cocaine or heroin. Tell us the truth ...” Change the Climate sought to place this advertisement on poster cards on the inside of buses. The second advertisement, (the “Mother Ad”), contains a picture of an adult female who is writing on a white board, saying: “I’ve got three great kids. I love them more than anything. I don’t want them to smoke pot. But I know jail is a lot more dangerous than smoking pot.” Change the Climate sought to place this advertisement in MBTA subway stations. The third advertisement, (the “Police Ad”), is a color photograph of two policemen standing in front of an American flag, with text stating: “Police are too important ... too valuable ... too good ... to waste on arresting people for marijuana when real criminals are on the loose.” Change the Climate sought to run this ad on the exterior of buses, as it had done earlier in the Washington, D.C. transit system. All three advertisements also contain the web site address, www.change-theclimate.org. The MBTA’s marketing director, Lucy Shorter, rejected the ads in January 2000. The reasons stated were that (1) the three ads promote the use of marijuana, and (2) the three ads were really “reform” ads as part of an effort to legalize marijuana and as such were in conflict with the MBTA’s policies on drugs and alcohol. She attached to her rejection letter the MBTA’s workplace rules on drug and alcohol use, the advertising guidelines, and the prohibition on advertising tobacco products. It appears the MBTA’s “policies” on drugs to which she referred were internal MBTA workplace rules. There were no advertising guidelines dealing specifically with marijuana or other drugs. The MBTA continued to reject the ads for different stated reasons at later times, as discussed below. In sum, the MBTA’s 2003 revised guidelines prohibit advertisements which promote the use of illegal goods or services or unlawful conduct. The MBTA has stated that each of the ads promoted illegal use of marijuana by juveniles. 2. Ridley Good News has advertised in the past on the radio, in the Yellow Pages, in the newspaper, and via posted messages on vehicles, including a motor home. On November 29, 2001, Ridley submitted the first of what would be three advertisements to the MBTA’s advertising representative, Viacom. The copy read: Christians in the Bible never observed “Christmas” neither did they believe in lies about Santa Claus, flying reindeer elves and drunken parties. How can you honor Jesus with lies? prophet-an-dre.com Viacom initially balked at running the advertisement, saying it fell afoul of the MBTA’s then-guideline (since replaced) permitting it to exclude any “advertisement that is indecent as to child viewers, or is of a nature to frighten children, either emotionally or physically.” After a delay of two weeks and after Ridley’s ACLU attorneys contacted the MBTA, the MBTA decided to allow the advertisement on December 15, 2001, for a four week contract. The advertisement was displayed at the Park Street and Downtown Crossing MBTA stations, two major stations. On December 26, 2001, Ridley asked the MBTA to change the content of the advertisement that was posted in the MBTA system for the last two weeks of her existing contract. The new copy stated: The Bible says in Rev 12:9 “And Satan which deceiveth the whole world.” Yes, Satan set up over a thousand false religions in the world causing wars, racism and hatred in the world. There is only one true religion. All the rest are false. www.prophet-andre. com The MBTA rejected the advertisement, finding both that the advertisement’s own text conflicted with a guideline and that the text referenced a website which, upon examination, contained text that violated that same guideline. The then-extant guideline read: “The MBTA will not accept advertisements ... that denigrate groups based on gender, religion, race, ethnic or political affiliation for display in and upon the Authority’s transit facilities.” Ridley sought a preliminary injunction to force the MBTA to post the second advertisement. The district court denied the request on January 28,'2002, and Rid-ley filed an interlocutory appeal with this court. As recounted below, that appeal was mooted. The MBTA promulgated a new set of “Interim Guidelines Regulating MBTA Advertising” on April 12, 2002. One of the 2002 guidelines provided that the MBTA “shall not display or maintain any advertisement” that is: Demeaning or disparaging. The advertisement contains material that demeans or disparages an individual or group of individuals on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, gender, age, disability, ethnicity, or sexual orientation. The revised 2002 guidelines also reflected the results of an MBTA internal debate over when the MBTA would look at the contents of a website listed in an advertisement. The MBTA had considered the listed website when initially rejecting Ridley’s second advertisement. Under the 2002 guidelines, the contents of a referenced website would only be considered and judged under the guidelines when “the message or sponsorship of the advertisement cannot reasonably be determined without reference” to that website. The 2002 guidelines formalized a more comprehensive review procedure with four different layers of scrutiny (by Viacom, the MBTA Contract Administrator, the MBTA General Counsel, and the MBTA General Manager) before any advertisement could be rejected based on the guidelines. The MBTA told Ridley on April 25, 2002, that under these new guidelines, it would accept her second advertisement. Based on this change of stance, this court dismissed Ridley’s appeal as moot on July 26, 2002. By this time, Ridley no longer wanted to post her second advertisement. On June 13, 2002, she submitted a third advertisement to the MBTA, the one now at issue. The ad stated: The Bible teaches that there is only one religion. There are no scriptures in the Bible that teach that God set up the Catholic religion, the Baptist religion, the Pentecostal religion, the Jehovah’s Witness religion or the Muslim religion. These religions are false. The Bible says in Revelation 9:12, “And Satan, which deceiveth the whole world.” The whole world is going to hell if they do not turn from their ungodly ways. God sent Prophet Andre into this world to teach the people the Truth, www.pro-phetandre.com. The MBTA rejected this third advertisement in writing on August 14, 2002, after the full review procedure, on the basis that the ad demeaned or disparaged a list of specific religions in violation of the 2002 guideline. On January 17, 2003, the MBTA issued a revised third set of guidelines. Under the 2003 guidelines, the MBTA “shall not display” advertisements that are: Demeaning or disparaging. The advertisement contains material that demeans or disparages an individual or group of individuals. For purposes of determining whether an advertisement contains such material, the MBTA will determine whether a reasonably prudent person, knowledgeable of the MBTA’s ridership and using prevailing community standards, would believe that the advertisement contains material that ridicules or mocks, is abusive or hostile to, or debases the dignity or stature of, an individual or group of individuals. The MBTA concluded that the third advertisement did not comply with the 2003 guidelines. The 2003 guidelines explicitly articulated other prohibitions as well: the MBTA will not accept advertisements for tobacco products or ads containing a depiction of firearms or graphic violence, or ads that promote use of illegal goods or services or unlawful conduct. The guidelines also prohibit ads containing profanity, obscene or sexually prurient material or nude images (as those terms are defined in state law), false or misleading commercial speech, libelous speech, or copyright infringing speech. The guidelines further prohibit “political campaign speech,” defined as: “speech that (1) refers to a specific ballot question, initiative, petition, or referendum, or (2) refers to any candidate for public office.” Finally, the 2003 guidelines prohibit any advertisement that contains, implies, or declares an endorsement by the MBTA or the state. II. We engage in de novo review of ultimate conclusions of law and mixed questions of law and fact in First Amendment cases. Hurley v. Irish-American Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Group of Boston, 515 U.S. 557, 567, 115 S.Ct. 2338, 132 L.Ed.2d 487 (1995); Bose Corp. v. Consumers Union of U.S., Inc., 466 U.S. 485, 501, 104 S.Ct. 1949, 80 L.Ed.2d 502 (1984). Change the Climate argues that the MBTA has created a designated public forum and thus its decision to reject any advertising must meet strict scrutiny standards. Public forum analysis itself has been criticized as unhelpful in many contexts, and particularly this one where the government is operating a commercial enterprise earning income from permitting advertising. See, e.g., Laurence H. Tribe, American Constitutional Laio § 12-24, at 992 (2d ed. 1988) (“[Wlhether or not a given place is deemed a ‘public forum’ is ordinarily less significant than the nature of the speech restriction — despite the Court’s rhetoric.”); Frederick Schauer, Principles, Institutions, and the First Amendment, 112 Harv. L.Rev. 84, 97 (1998) (“Of all of the paths down which the Court might go in dealing with the government enterprise cases, the so-called ‘forum doctrine’ appears least satisfactory.”). Change the Climate relies heavily on the public forum argument and requests that the issue be decided. The Supreme Court has discussed different types of fora: traditional public fora, designated public fora, and non-public fora. See discussion in Gerald Gunther, Constitutional Law 1292-94 (12th ed.1991); Tribe, supra, § 12-24, at 986-97. Change the Climate argues that the standard of review for speech restrictions in a designated public forum is strict scrutiny. Ridley admits that a non-public forum (sometimes called a limited public forum) usually results in application of a lesser “reasonableness” standard. We accept ar-guendo these premises that strict scrutiny applies to a public forum’s exclusion of speech. Plaintiffs argue that while the MBTA’s advertising program is not a traditional public forum, the MBTA effectively has created a designated public forum for the expression of ideas because it has accepted a range of advertisements on its vehicles and in its stations. The MBTA says it has not created a public forum at all. If it has, the MBTA insists that it is at most a limited public forum, which is the equivalent of a non-public forum, and that its rejection of the advertisements is within the limits appropriate to a non-public forum. A. Forum Analysis The Supreme Court has repeatedly held that the government must have an affirmative intent to create a public forum in order for a designated public forum to arise. “The government does not create a public forum by inaction or by permitting limited discourse, but only by intentionally opening a nontraditional forum for public discourse.” Cornelius, 473 U.S. at 802, 105 S.Ct. 3439. To determine that intent, courts must consider both explicit expressions about intent and “the policy and practice of the government to ascertain whether it intended to designate a place not traditionally open to assembly and debate as a public forum.” Id. We also “examine[ ] the nature of the property and its compatibility with expressive activity to discern the government’s intent.” Id. As to the nature of the property, the MBTA does run advertisements and so there is nothing inherent in the property which precludes its use for some expressive activity. That nonetheless leaves the issue of whether particular expressive activity may be inconsistent with the nature of the property. The MBTA has determined that some types of expressive activity are not consistent with the commercial enterprise it runs. In the 2003 advertising guidelines, the MBTA states expressly that “[t]he MBTA intends that its facilities constitute nonpublic forums that are subject to the viewpoint-neutral restrictions set forth below.” Nonetheless, a statement of intent contradicted by consistent actual policy and practice would not be enough to support the MBTA’s argument. Change the Climate argues that we should give little weight to this express statement of intent: paying it heed would allow a government the opportunity impermissibly to censor merely by newly labeling the forum in question a non-public forum. The past history of characterization of a forum may well be relevant; but that does not mean a present characterization about a forum may be disregarded. The government is free to change the nature of any nontraditional forum as it wishes. Cornelius, 473 U.S. at 802, 105 S.Ct. 3439. Thus, even if MBTA’s previous intent was to maintain a designated public forum, it would be free to decide in good faith to close the forum at any time. There is no evidence that the 2003 changes were adopted as a mere pretext to reject plaintiffs advertisements. To the contrary, the MBTA acted in response to expressed constitutional concerns about its prior guidelines, and cannot be faulted for trying to adhere more closely to the constitutional line. And if the MBTA revised a guideline merely as a ruse for impermissible viewpoint discrimination, that would be found unconstitutional regardless of the type of forum created. The plaintiffs’ argument assumes that before January 2003, the MBTA had created a designated public forum. That is unlikely: the MBTA has consistently had both significant substantive content limitations and procedural limitations on the advertisements it would accept, and there is little evidence the MBTA affirmatively intended to create a public forum. Even so, the MBTA has not created a public forum in its advertising program under its 2003 guidelines, which are at issue here. Since 1992, the MBTA has had substantive guidelines prohibiting all tobacco ads, and all libelous, slanderous, or obscene ads. Procedurally, it required all advertisers to submit an application to the MBTA’s advertising contractor, which had instructions to send any ads potentially in conflict with the guidelines to the MBTA for review, and the MBTA reserved the right to reject any ad it wished. In AIDS Action Comm. of Massachusetts v. MBTA, 42 F.3d 1, 12 (1st Cir.1994), this court noted that these early guidelines left a lot to be desired. In 1995 the MBTA further prohibited ads which were indecent to, or designed to frighten, child viewers. Then in 1999, the MBTA created new guidelines which, in addition, prohibited ads containing depictions of violent criminal conduct, firearms, profanity, ads harmful to children, and ads that denigrate groups based on gender, religion, race, ethnic, or political affiliation. These prohibitions are not the indicia of an intent to create a public forum. The January 2003 guidelines intensify both the substantive and procedural limitations and protections used by the MBTA. The January 2003 guidelines better define the substantive limitations and further ban ads that promote or appear to promote the use of unlawful goods or services or the commission of unlawful conduct, as well as political campaign ads. Procedurally, the 2003 guidelines also create more stringent mechanisms for MBTA review of potentially prohibited ads. Given the litany of limitations on advertisements from the inception of its program, and the strengthening of those limitations in 2003, the MBTA has, at least by 2003, through its policy expressed an intent not to open its advertising space to all persons and organizations for public dissemination of their views on all topics without limitation. The MBTA’s practice of enforcing its policy further shows that it intended not to create such a forum. In the five years preceding these litigations, the MBTA rejected at least seventeen advertisements that were not in conformance with different aspects of its policy. Various advertisements were rejected for violating, among other grounds, the prohibitions on ads depicting violence, indecency, profanity, denigration of women, and for containing tobacco products. Change the Climate points to one example of a seemingly contradictory enforcement of the policy with respect to ads containing tobacco in an attempt to argue that the MBTA has erratically enforced its written policy. One or more instances of erratic enforcement of a policy does not itself defeat the government’s intent not to create a public forum. See New England Reg’l Council of Carpenters v. Kinton, 284 F.3d 9, 22 (1st Cir.2002) (no government intent to create a designated forum exists “even if [government’s] policy of restricted access is erratically enforced”). By consistently limiting ads it saw as in violation of its policy, even if doing so imperfectly, the MBTA evidenced its intent not to create a designated public forum. Most importantly, the relevant Supreme Court case law compels the conclusion that the MBTA has not created a designated public forum. The only Supreme Court case directly on point, the plurality opinion in Lehman v. City of Shaker Heights, 418 U.S. 298, 94 S.Ct. 2714, 41 L.Ed.2d 770 (1974), found that where a city banned all “political” (i.e., candidate and issues) advertising on its transit system, while accepting commercial as well as religious, civic, and public-service oriented advertisements, the city had not created a designated public forum. Id. at 304, 94 S.Ct. 2714. The opinion found that “[i]n much the same way that a newspaper or periodical, or even a radio or television station, need not accept every proffer of advertising from the general public, a city transit system has discretion to develop and make reasonable choices concerning the type of advertising that may be displayed in its vehicles.” Id. at 303, 94 S.Ct. 2714. Lehman is indistinguishable from the instant case. As in Lehman, the MBTA bans political candidate and some overtly political advertising. As here, the transit system in Lehman did not merely accept ads from commercial entities, but also accepted ads from “churches, and civic and public-service oriented groups.” Id. at 300, 94 S.Ct. 2714. In Lehman, the claimant, as here, was denied access to both exterior and interior advertising space. Id. at 320 n. 12, 94 S.Ct. 2714 (Brennan, J., dissenting). The transit system, as is true of the MBTA here, had written guidelines which were managed by a third party entity, and which involved some exercise of discretion. Id. at 298-300, 94 S.Ct. 2714. Lehman’s rationale that a government instrumentality does not become a public forum simply because it is used for communication of ideas has since been reinforced by later Supreme Court cases. See Perry Educ. Ass’n v. Perry Local Educators’ Ass’n, 460 U.S. 37, 49 n. 9, 103 S.Ct. 948, 74 L.Ed.2d 794 (1983); United States Postal Service v. Council of Greenburgh Civic Ass’ns, 453 U.S. 114, 129, 101 S.Ct. 2676, 69 L.Ed.2d 517 (1981). Lehman was cited favorably in R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul, Minnesota, 505 U.S. 377, 390 n. 6, 112 S.Ct. 2538, 120 L.Ed.2d 305 (1992); and United States v. Kokinda, 497 U.S. 720, 725-26, 110 S.Ct. 3115, 111 L.Ed.2d 571 (1990) (plurality opinion). Indeed, in International Soc’y for Krishna Consciousness, Inc. v. Lee, 505 U.S. 672, 112 S.Ct. 2701, 120 L.Ed.2d 541 (1992), the court, citing Lehman, reiterated that a lower level of scrutiny usually applies when the government acts as proprietor. Id. at 678, 112 S.Ct. 2701. The only Supreme Court case to which plaintiff points is Widmar v. Vincent, 454 U.S. 263, 102 S.Ct. 269, 70 L.Ed.2d 440 (1981). Widmar held that where a state university had a policy of opening its campus facilities for all registered student groups, it had created a designated public forum for such groups and thus violated the First Amendment when it attempted to prevent a religious student group from using such facilities. Id. at 277, 102 S.Ct. 269. Widmar is distinguishable from this case for multiple reasons. First, the purpose of the forum created in Widmar was to encourage expressive activities by student groups. Id. at 265, 102 S.Ct. 269. To implement this purpose, the campus facilities were made generally available to all student groups, without restriction, and so the groups received a form of subsidy from the government. Id. Unlike Widmar, the primary purpose of the MBTA advertising program is not to facilitate expression; rather it is to generate revenue. Further, the restrictions upon use of the MBTA advertising, including the requirement of an application, payment, and the MBTA’s extensive policy of limitation, are far greater than in Widmar. Since Widmar, we know of no analogous Supreme Court case applying the forum analysis which has found that the government had created a designated public forum. See, e.g., Arkansas Educ. Television Com’n v. Forbes, 523 U.S. 666, 118 S.Ct. 1633, 140 L.Ed.2d 875 (1998); Rosenberger v. Rector and Visitors of the Univ. of Virginia, 515 U.S. 819, 115 S.Ct. 2510, 132 L.Ed.2d 700 (1995), Lamb’s Chapel v. Ctr. Moriches Union Free Sch. Dist., 508 U.S. 384, 113 S.Ct. 2141, 124 L.Ed.2d 352 (1993); Cornelius, 473 U.S. 788, 105 S.Ct. 3439, 87 L.Ed.2d 567; Perry Education Ass’n, 460 U.S. 37, 103 S.Ct. 948, 74 L.Ed.2d 794; cf. Legal Services Corp. v. Velazquez, 531 U.S. 533, 121 S.Ct. 1043, 149 L.Ed.2d 63 (2001). In each of these cases, the Court assessed the challenged government restrictions only under the reasonableness/viewpoint neutrality test. Further, the Court has recognized that deference to government intent in determining the nature of the forum may promote, rather than hinder, First Amendment principles: [W]e encourage the government to open its property to some expressive activity in cases where, if faced with an all-or-nothing choice, it might not open the property at all. That this distinction turns on governmental intent does not render it unprotective of speech. Rather, it reflects the reality that, with the exception of traditional public fora, the government retains the choice of whether to designate its property as a forum for specified classes of speakers. Arkansas Educ. Television Comm’n, 523 U.S. at 680, 118 S.Ct. 1633. This court addressed the question of rejection of advertisements by the MBTA a decade ago in AIDS Action, 42 F.3d 1. Although the district court had concluded that the MBTA was a public forum, this court declined to reach the issue. Id. at 9. Instead we held that the MBTA had engaged in dissimilar treatment of advertisements containing sexual content and innuendo, by allowing a rather explicit movie advertisement while rejecting advertisements featuring condoms from an anti-AIDS group. Id. at 10-11. That amounted to the type of content discrimination that “gave rise to an appearance of viewpoint discrimination” which had not been adequately explained. Id. at 11. The decision in AIDS Action does not assist plaintiffs on the claim that the MBTA has created a public forum. In Children of the Rosary v. City of Phoenix, 154 F.3d 972 (9th Cir.1998), then-retired Associate Justice White similarly found that the Phoenix transit system did not create a designated public forum by accepting advertising on exterior panels on buses. Id. at 976. Like the MBTA, the system did not accept advertising from political candidates. The system primarily ran commercial advertising, but did run a small number of non-commercial public service advertisements, excluding political and religious advertising. Id. The case did not, though, address the further issue, which we do, of a transit system which accepts what is apparently more non-commercial advertising. Likewise, one circuit, relying on Lehman, has recently held that advertising space in bus benches was a non-public forum. Uptown Pawn and Jewelry, Inc. v. City of Hollywood, 337 F.3d 1275, 1278-79 (11th Cir.2003). Although the city had previously accepted ads from pawnbrokers, it adopted a new policy prohibiting those ads. The court found this was a permissible content-based restriction, seeking to encourage higher caliber advertising to maximize revenue. The Supreme Court opinions control this case. Nonetheless, we discuss briefly circuit opinions on which Change the Climate relies. Without suggesting we agree with the reasoning in each, each is distinguishable on its facts. In each of these cases, unlike here, the system accepted explicitly political advertising, an important (but not dispositive) factor in forum analysis. In Christ’s Bride Ministries, Inc. v. Southeastern Pennsylvania Transp. Auth., 148 F.3d 242 (3d Cir.1998), a transit system’s advertising space was held to be a designated public forum where the system had an affirmative program to use its space to promote “awareness of social issues” and provide “a catalyst for change.” Id. at 249-52. Under that program, the advertising manager picked issues of public concern for free advertising. Id. at 249. Further, the plaintiffs advertisements had in fact been approved and had run, and were refused only after they had sparked controversy. Id. at 245-46. SEPTA had no guidelines similar to those of the MBTA. SEPTA also had a practice of “virtually permitting unlimited access,” having requested modifications of advertisements only three times. Id. at 252. Similarly, in Planned Parenthood Ass’n/Chicago Area v. Chicago Transit Auth., 767 F.2d 1225 (7th Cir.1985), the court found the CTA had created a public forum where it had accepted a wide range of public-issue advertising, claimed to have a policy of excluding controversial advertisements, but in fact had no such policy, had no written guidelines, had accepted controversial advertisements, and was found to have come up with such a policy solely to defend its decision to reject plaintiffs advertising. Id. at 1232-33. In New York Magazine v. Metro. Transp. Auth., 136 F.3d 123 (2d Cir.1998), the court held that the MTA had created a public forum in the advertising space outside of its buses when it accepted a magazine’s advertisements using the Mayor’s name under written guidelines which imposed no restriction on political speech, then removed the advertisements when the Mayor objected. Id. at 130. Change the Climate’s additional arguments on the forum issue are equally unpersuasive. It argues that the MBTA made an “affirmative” decision to continue to allow non-commercial advertising, despite being advised that potential disputes could be avoided by simply eliminating non-commercial advertising altogether. This argument suffers from several flaws. As a matter of law, under Lehman, the dividing line between a public forum and a non-public forum is not the dividing line between commercial advertisements and paid advertisements from non-profit groups. And under Arkansas Educ. Television Comm’n, the MBTA is not to be put to an “all-or-nothing choice.” 523 U.S. at 680, 118 S.Ct. 1633. Also, as a matter of fact, General Manager Robert Mulhern testified that he rejected a potential solution of removing all non-commercial advertising, because: I believe that there’s a lot of people out there who rely on that information, that some times that — that’s the only practical access to government they have from time to time. For people who live in the inner city that are made aware of important programs or important social services, [I believe] that we truly are performing a public service in another flavor rather than transportation service. We’re letting them know about government services or social services or not-for-profit services that might have a direct impact on their quality of life. By refusing to limit the advertising program solely to commercial advertising, the MBTA was, thus, not evidencing an intent to open the forum to all public discourse. Nor was the MBTA adopting its own program to inform the public about issues, as in Christ’s Bride, 148 F.3d 242. The MBTA’s decision is not inconsistent with a desire not to create a public forum, nor is it inconsistent with the MBTA’s role as a market actor. Finally, plaintiffs argue that, because prior to this litigation the MBTA did not limit advertisements “in a constitutionally permissible manner,” the court should find that it created a designated public forum. This reasoning fundamentally misunderstands the nature of the forum analysis. The focus is on whether the government has intentionally decided to create a public forum. Cornelius, 473 U.S. at 802, 105 S.Ct. 3439. If it has not, then erratic enforcement of a policy would not matter. Further, even if the government had limited ads “in a constitutionally impermissible manner” by engaging in viewpoint discrimination, that would not create a public forum where none was intended. The MBTA’s policy clearly evidenced an intent to maintain control over the forum, and thus the MBTA did not create a designated public forum. As a result, the standard of review is not strict scrutiny. B. Viewpoint Discrimination and Unreasonableness Claims in Both Change the Climate and Ridley Athough the MBTA advertising program is neither a traditional public forum nor a designated public forum, regulations are still unconstitutional under the First Amendment if the distinctions drawn are viewpoint based or if they are unreasonable in light of the purposes served by the forum. Cornelius, 473 U.S. at 806, 105 S.Ct. 3439. The bedrock principle of viewpoint neutrality demands that the state not suppress speech where the real rationale for the restriction is disagreement with the underlying ideology or perspective that the speech expresses. See Rosenberger v. Rector and Visitors of Univ. of Va., 515 U.S. 819, 829, 115 S.Ct. 2510, 132 L.Ed.2d 700 (1995); McGuire v. Reilly, 386 F.3d 45, 62 (1st Cir.2004) (“The essence of a viewpoint discrimination claim is that the government has preferred the message of one speaker over another.”). A distinction is viewpoint based if it “denies access to a speaker solely to suppress the point of view he espouses.” Cornelius, 473 U.S. at 806, 105 S.Ct. 3439. The essence of viewpoint discrimination is not that the government incidentally prevents certain viewpoints from being heard in the course of suppressing certain general topics of speech, rather, it is a governmental intent to intervene in a way that prefers one particular viewpoint in speech over other perspectives on the same topic. See, e.g., Good News Club v. Milford Cent. Sch., 533 U.S. 98, 107-09, 121 S.Ct. 2093, 150 L.Ed.2d 151 (school that has opened its resources after school for the teaching of moral values cannot exclude religious group that wishes to teach about those values from a religious perspective without engaging in viewpoint discrimination); Rosenberger, 515 U.S. 819, 115 S.Ct. 2510, 132 L.Ed.2d 700; Lamb’s Chapel v. Ctr. Moriches Union Free Sch. Dist., 508 U.S. 384, 113 S.Ct. 2141, 124 L.Ed.2d 352 (1993); McGuire, 386 F.3d at 57-59, 64-65 (fact that “buffer zone” statute applying around abortion clinics might incidentally burden anti-abortion speech more than pro-abortion speech is irrelevant to its viewpoint neutrality). 1. Change the Climate: Viewpoint Discrimination and Unreasonableness The advertisements rejected were described earlier. Other material facts follow. Robert Prince, who was the General Manager of the MBTA at the time Change the Climate’s ads were rejected by Shorter, testified that while he had not seen the ads in 2000, he would have rejected all three on the grounds that they encouraged marijuana use among juveniles, and thus were harmful to juveniles and in violation of the then-existing policy. He found the Teen Ad to be “geared towards young people, telling them that marijuana is not cocaine or heroin, so it’s the lesser of two evils, but it’s okay to smoke it.” Prince did not view the ad as sending a message that juveniles should be told the truth about drugs. Prince thought that the Mother Ad was also harmful to juveniles, because the ad implies “that it’s okay to smoke marijuana, which is against the law.” Prince said the words meant “that T don’t want my children to smoke pot, but I know jail is ... more dangerous, so therefore I’m going to overlook the fact that they are allowed to break the law.’ ” Prince said that some people could have the legitimate viewpoint that jail is more harmful to a child than marijuana smoking, but that was not a viewpoint he would allow to be displayed on the MBTA because “[i]t allows [children] to think it’s okay to break the law.” As to the Police Ad, Prince stated: “It’s telling them that the police are not going to take marijuana smoking very seriously, that there are real criminals on the loose, and it’s okay to break the law.” He further stated that the ad “says that smoking marijuana will not be looked upon as a criminal act.” When asked whether he agreed that the ad expressed a viewpoint about how police should be used, Prince replied: “I know this ad tells young people that they should commit a criminal act.” Michael Mulhern, acting General Manager of the MBTA and the person with final authority to accept or reject advertisements, testified that he would reject all three ads under the current 2003 guidelines. The Teen Ad promoted marijuana use, he thought, by implying that cocaine and heroin were really harmful but marijuana use was not. He held these worries although the ad states explicitly that “[s]moking pot is not cool.” Further, he was concerned that the ad was targeted at juveniles, based on the picture of the teenage girl and the fact that the language is written in terms (“cool,” “ya know”) that juveniles would generally use. Mulhern testified that the Mother Ad also promoted marijuana use, and while it was “not as clear” as the Teen Ad, the Mother Ad could also in part be targeted at children. He testified that by depicting a mother stating that she is less concerned about her children smoking pot, the ad sends the message to children that they “can smoke [pot] and still be great kids.” Mulhern testified that he would permit Change the Climate to post an ad advocating the opposite viewpoint, saying: “I’ve got three great kids. I love them more than anything. I don’t want them to smoke pot. But if my kids smoke pot, they should go to jail.” Mulhern testified that the Police Ad was rejected because “it suggests that smoking marijuana is not a real crime,” and so promotes an illegal activity. He disagreed with the view that “police resources should not be used for marijuana prosecutions.” He said he would allow an ad to be posted if it expressed the opposite viewpoint, saying: “Police are important, valuable, good. Police should be used for arresting people for marijuana crimes.” Mulhern conceded that the ad did not target children specifically, but stated that he thought that children were more susceptible to receiving the message that marijuana is not a real crime than were other people. The MBTA also introduced testimony of Cornelia Kelley, the head of the Boston Latin School, a public exam school for grades seven through twelve, which uses the MBTA for transporting more than 2,100 of its 2,400 students. Kelley had the following concern about the Teen Ad: “There is a message there that marijuana is okay; it’s not as bad as cocaine or heroin. And the message, to my mind, that’s a very confusing message for young people. There is a sense there that marijuana is acceptable.” When asked, despite the fact that the ad says that “Smoking pot is not cool,” why it would lead students to think that smoking marijuana is okay, Kelley replied: If you look at that ad, that’s a real mixed message to young people. And the students with whom I deal get a great deal of stimulation in different ways. And what you’re looking at there is not a clear-cut message. And when children ... are that age, we try and see to it that they understand clearly what’s legal and what’s not legal. And that really says marijuana is not cocaine or heroin. It takes marijuana out of the realm of cocaine and heroin, where we consistently tell young people that marijuana is an illegal drug and you will be expelled for it or you will be arrested for it.... Kelley conceded that a student would not be disciplined for expressing the view: “Tell us the truth. Marijuana is not cocaine or heroin,” but stated that she did not think the ad was appropriate to run on the MBTA because it sends a mixed message to students. Kelley testified that she was particularly concerned about the Mother Ad because it appeared to depict a teacher at a chalkboard. She felt that by stating that jail is more dangerous than smoking pot, the ad does not give a clear message to young people that smoking pot is illegal. Kelley also expressed concern that the Police Ad “conveys that police countenance the use of marijuana.” When asked how, she replied that it implies that one will not be arrested for marijuana which is “another mixed message to young people.” Ms. Kelley conceded that her students could easily be exposed to similar ads while walking in the city. The difference was that she considered the MBTA to be an extension of the school house. But even so, she conceded that there had been discussion encouraged in classrooms at the school about the issue of legalizing marijuana. Change the Climate also introduced evidence of two different types of ads: other ads accepted by the MBTA which could be seen as promoting illegal activity among juveniles and ads which encourage compliance with drug laws. It argues this second set of ads expresses the view that the drug laws are sound. Change the Climate introduced several different ads for alcoholic beverages accepted by the MBTA in the past. One is an ad for Trinity Oaks Wine, which contains a picture of a woman in a backless dress being hugged by a man. It states: “Trinity Oaks. It’s not a soap opera. But it is provocative.” At the bottom, the ad states: “Remember the wine,” and has a picture of a wine bottle. Prince testified that this ad was not harmful to juveniles because the ad was addressed to adults. Another ad, for Doc Otis Hard Lemonade, depicts a woman’s mouth eating an ice cube, and states “DO IT ON THE ROCKS.” In the corner there is a bottle of “Doc Otis Hard Lemonade,” an alcoholic lemonade beverage, being poured into a glass of ice, with the slogan: “The perfect way to break the ice.” When questioned as to whether ads such as this were harmful to juveniles, Mulhern conceded that alcohol use was illegal for juveniles, but found that alcohol ads did not fall under this guideline because the ads did not specifically target juveniles. Prince was also asked about this ad and testified that it was not harmful to juveniles because the ad was not addressed to young people, but to adults. When asked how he could tell this ad was “geared towards somebody who’s 22 and not somebody who’s 20,” Prince responded: “Because alcohol for anybody under that age is illegal.” Prince conceded that nothing in the ad protected young people from its influence. Kelley testified that she was also concerned about the advertisements for alcoholic beverages that her students see on the MBTA. The distinction she saw was that alcohol was legal at a certain age but use of marijuana was not legal at any age. Change the Climate also introduced testimony that the MBTA has run numerous advertisements that discourage drug use. At trial, the MBTA stipulated to having run four such ads. One was headlined: “TALK IS BETTER FOR YOUR KIDS THAN DRUGS ... SO TALK!” It has a cartoon picture of “McGruff, the Crime Dog,” as well as 8 pointers for talking to one’s children about drugs, such as: “Tell your kids you don’t approve of the stuff’ and “Tell them to say no ... and that you know they know the difference between right and wrong.” The advertisement finishes by stating: “Follow these steps and you’ll be helpin’ yourself, your kids and me ... take a bite out of crime.” A second advertisement, sponsored by Drug Free America, contains a picture of two children at a playground, with the headline: “Everyday after school, my kid likes to_If you can’t fill in this blank, you need to start asking. It’s a proven way to steer kids clear of drugs. It’s not pestering. It’s parenting. Ask: Who? What? When? Where? Questions. The Anti-Drug.” A third advertisement, sponsored by Partnership for a Drug-Free New England and America, as well as the Office of National Drug Control Policy, states simply: “Are You Waiting for Your Kids to Talk to You About Pot?” And the fourth advertisement, sponsored by the Office of National Drug Control Policy, contains a pair of dice, one with a skull on one side, and states: “Just because you survived drugs, doesn’t mean your children will.” The MBTA’s position under the current guidelines is that it would still reject Change the Climate’s three ads because each ad targets children and encourages the use of illegal drugs. The present guidelines do not prohibit ads “harmful” to children. The MBTA also takes the position that it would permit ads which expressed to adults the viewpoint that the marijuana laws should be rethought so long as the ads said that use of marijuana is illegal. At the outset, it should be emphasized that the MBTA’s guideline itself, which allows rejection of advertisements that promote illegal activity, particularly among children, is constitutional. It clearly serves a viewpoint-neutral purpose, and it is surely reasonable given the characteristics of the MBTA’s advertising program. It is indisputable that the MBTA has a legitimate, viewpoint-neutral interest in not being used as a messenger to convey messages promoting illegal conduct among juveniles. It is also legitimate for the MBTA to consider that it has juveniles among its passengers. Further, as a vendor, the MBTA has a legitimate interest in not offending riders so that they stop then-patronage. All of these are reasons why the guideline itself is constitutional against a viewpoint-discrimination attack. What we focus on instead are the specific decisions of the MBTA to reject the three Change the Climate advertisements. The MBTA’s mere recitation of viewpoint-neutral rationales (or the presentation of a viewpoint-neutral guideline) for its decisions to reject the three advertisements does not immunize those decisions from scrutiny. The recitation of viewpoint-neutral grounds may be a mere pretext for an invidious motive. See Cornelius, 473 U.S. at 811-13, 105 S.Ct. 3439. In practical terms, the government rarely flatly admits it is engaging in viewpoint discrimination. Suspicion that viewpoint discrimination is afoot is at its zenith when the speech restricted is speech critical of the government, because there is a strong risk that the government will act to censor ideas that oppose its own. See, e.g., Texas v. Johnson, 491 U.S. 397, 411-17, 109 S.Ct. 2533, 105 L.Ed.2d 342 (1989) (striking down criminal flag desecration statute); flag-burner’s action expressed “dissatisfaction with the policies of this country,” expression which was “situated at the core of our First Amendment values,” and state had no power to “prescribe what shall be orthodox” (quoting W. Va. State Bd. of Educ. v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624, 642, 63 S.Ct. 1178, 87 L.Ed. 1628 (1943) (internal quotation marks omitted)). Because Change the Climate’s advertisements here reflect core political speech that is critical of existing governmental policy, we are especially wary of viewpoint discrimination. The Supreme Court, as well, has been particularly leery of justifications for quashing speech to adults that rest on the purported protection of children. While the protection of children is a compelling state interest, see Denver Area Telecomm. Consortium v. FCC, 518 U.S. 727, 755, 116 S.Ct. 2374, 135 L.Ed.2d 888 (1996), the Court has carefully examined regulations purporting to rest on this ground, often finding that they sweep more broadly than their goal requires or that they do not serve their goal of child protection at all. See Reno v. ACLU, 521 U.S. 844, 875-79, 117 S.Ct. 2329, 138 L.Ed.2d 874 (1997) (“[T]he mere fact that a statutory regulation of speech was enacted for the important purpose of protecting children ... does not foreclose inquiry into its validity.”); Denver Area Telecomm. Consortium, 518 U.S. at 755-60, 116 S.Ct. 2374; Sable Communications of Cal., Inc. v. FCC, 492 U.S. 115, 126-27, 130-31, 109 S.Ct. 2829, 106 L.Ed.2d 93 (1989); Bolger v. Youngs Drug Prods. Corp., 463 U.S. 60, 73-75, 103 S.Ct. 2875, 77 L.Ed.2d 469 (1983); Erznoznik v. City of Jacksonville, 422 U.S. 205, 212-14, 95 S.Ct. 2268, 45 L.Ed.2d 125 (1975). Almost fifty years ago, Justice Frankfurter found unconstitutional a Michigan obscenity statute; he emphasized that the statute swept too broadly to carry out its asserted aim of protecting children from sexually explicit material. In Butler v. Michigan, 352 U.S. 380, 383, 77 S.Ct. 524, 1 L.Ed.2d 412 (1957), Justice Frankfurter stated: The State insists that, by thus quarantining the general reading public against books not too rugged for grown men and women in order to shield juvenile innocence, it is exercising its power to promote the general welfare. Surely, this is to burn the house to roast the pig.... The incidence of this enactment is to reduce the adult population of Michigan to reading only what is fit for children. Id. at 383, 77 S.Ct. 524. The context of these cases is admittedly not an exact fit. Our case does not involve a criminal prohibition, but only a refusal to accept advertising. The context in Denver Area Educational Telecommunications Consortium is closest: there the issue was the FCC’s ability to control certain sexually explicit content on cable television. 518 U.S. at 734-36, 116 S.Ct. 2374. In both Denver Area and the other cases, the question was whether statutes or regulations had been drafted narrowly enough. Our focus is particular decisions to exclude advertisements, not the facial validity of the guideline. Finally, all of these eases involved the regulation of sexually explicit (but non-obscene) speech; sexual speech is not involved in this case. Still, these differences do not weaken the general principle that a purported justification for excluding speech to adults on the grounds of protecting children will be examined closely to see if the decisions reasonably do protect children. There are various situations which will lead a court to conclude that, despite the seemingly neutral justifications offered by the government, nonetheless the decision to exclude speech is a form of impermissible discrimination. Three are relevant here. First, statements by government officials on the reasons for an action can indicate an improper motive. See, e.g., Vill. of Arlington Heights v. Metro. Housing Dev. Corp., 429 U.S. 252, 268, 97 S.Ct. 555, 50 L.Ed.2d 450 (1977). Second, where the government states that it rejects something because of a certain characteristic, but other things possessing the same characteristic are accepted, this sort of underinclusiveness raises a suspicion that the stated neutral ground for action is meant to shield an impermissible motive. See, e.g., Cornelius, 473 U.S. at 812, 105 S.Ct. 3439; AIDS Action, 42 F.3d at 10-12 (where MBTA claimed to be excluding condom-promotion advertisements because they were sexually explicit and patently offensive, but MBTA allowed other sorts of sexually explicit advertisements, such as movie advertisements, “unrebutted appearance of viewpoint discrimination” is found). Third, suspicion arises where the viewpoint-neutral ground is not actually served very well by the specific governmental action at issue; where, in other words, the fit between means and ends is loose or nonexistent. This situation comes up in a variety of legal settings. See,