NBC: Charges against Sheehan to be dropped

[Roon]

WASHINGTON - Charges against antiwar protester Cindy Sheehan, who was arrested after a scuffle over a T-shirt she wore to the State of the Union address, will be dropped, officials told NBC News Wednesday.

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/11120353/

[LeftNYC]

1. What were the charges?

Reality based T-Shirt Wearing...

[CottonBear]

16. Reality based T-Shirt Wearing! I like it! n/t

[chelsea0011]

2. Really? I thought she'd be sent to GITMO.

[ret5hd]

3. scuffle??? scuffle??? talk about desperate spin!

[ixion]

28. exactly. There was no 'scuffle'

there were only dumbass brute thugs who harrassed someone who pays their salary. :grr:

[pokercat999]

136. Having lived in the DC Metro Area for ten years

I met several Capitol Cops. If they are all like the ones I met, the force is a joke.

[mark11727]

46. Memo from Karl --- "Three security officers are still in the hospital...

...after deranged Gold-star Mom nearly destroys the upper gallery."

Must see teevee --- film at eleven.

[sabra]

4. scuffle?

more like man-handling by the Capital security hard-ass

[Skinner]

5. Check out this quote

“We screwed up,” a top Capitol Police official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

He said Sheehan didn't violate any rules or laws.

[LeftNYC]

8. lawsuit...nt

[mistertrickster]

139. Yup that's what I was thinking too. Raise some money for our side.

nt

[CottonBear]

17. Ruh roh. n/t

[Lerkfish]

19. OMFG!

now I don't know what to laugh at, that they think this will make it better, or that they admit their incompetence ONLY to deflect from their fascism.

[suffragette]

55. That's it exactly.

And they do it repeatedly. With Cindy, with New Orleans, over and over.

"... they admit their incompetence ONLY to deflect from their fascism."

[Jawja]

82. But I betcha he was given

ORDERS to find a reason to get her out of the building. I just betcha.

[Warren DeMontague]

101. Really? You mean it's NOT against the law to wear a t-shirt

containing an words, numbers, or an opinion?

Well fuck a duck, Andy Griffith-- I guess you learn something new every day.

[MADem]

102. DIDN'T violate any rules or laws!

Damn, I KNEW it--the rules apply to the MEMBERS, not the guests. If there was a dress code on the Hill, John Kerry wouldn't have gotten away with testifying in fatigues....now there's a political statement for ya!

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

134. Watch neanderthals' heads explode HERE:

It was all part of the Vast Left Wing Conspiracy! They infiltrated the police! WAAAAAAAAHHHH!11!11!!cos(0)11!!

http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1569829/posts :rofl:

[displacedtexan]

6. Someone finally checked the rule book?

Now, it's time to press charges against the fool who frog marched her out
and kept her from participating in such a historical experience.

[VaYallaDawg]

12. Seems to be the standard anymore.

Manhandle first (invade first, bomb first, etc., you get the picture) - then check the rules later.

[canichelouis]

105. Ain't that the truth

[NVMojo]

133. it shows their inexperience for sure!

[leesa]

137. They know the rules. They got her out, didn't they?

Nothing will happen to them, will it?

[wordpix2]

49. you mean the Constitution that gives us the right to free speech & t-shirt

wearing?

[The Backlash Cometh]

7. They know they're going to lose in court for false arrest.

They're not stupid.

[ginnyinWI]

9. naturally

They wouldn't want an emprisioned "martyr" on their hands. This will hush it up, they expect.

[Auntie Bush]

29. But they did manage to find a lame excuse to keep her from meeting or

seeing bush* and more importantly bush* didn't have to see her and prevent her from taking any attention away from him. He needs total adoration! I hope she sues the hell out of him. I also hope this doesn't set a prescient of imprisonment over every little thing after causing all that trouble and then just say "S,we made a mistake!" It was total harassment! Cindy should ask/demand an apology!

[KarenS]

10. hmmmmm,,,,, perhaps they were afraid of a little lawsuit,,,,

my disgust is complete on this appalling display of Power & Censorship.

[TrogL]

11. what scuffle?

There's nothing in the article (or any other news reports) about Cindy doing anything other than wearing a T-shirt and walking various places.

[Jersey Devil]

50. looks like the edited the article to take out "scuffle"

At least give them credit for that, but, who knows, maybe DUers bombed them with mail to make it happen.

[TrogL]

58. I've still got it in cache

Old version:

Charges against antiwar protester Cindy Sheehan, who was arrested after a scuffle over a T-shirt she wore to the State of the Union address, will be dropped, officials told NBC News Wednesday.

New version:

Charges against antiwar protester Cindy Sheehan, who was arrested after an incident involving a T-shirt she wore to the State of the Union address, will be dropped, officials told NBC News Wednesday.

[KansDem]

13. "who was arrested after a scuffle" ???

MSRNC makes it sound like Ms. Sheehan resisted arrest. Not what I heard on the Randi Rhodes show just a few minutes ago.

charged her with unlawful conduct How can wearing a T-shirt with the number of American dead in Iraq be viewed as "unlawful conduct?"

I hope she sues and sues BIG.

[SillyGoose]

14. Oh, so now they admit she broke no laws....how very convenient for them.

“We screwed up,” a top Capitol Police official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

He said Sheehan didn't violate any rules or laws.

[Atman]

20. This guy got a call from Karl...

"Your turn to take one for the team, Chief! Your loyalty will be duly noted."

[louis-t]

31. He'll be running Homeland Security soon.

[Canuckistanian]

61. Mistakes like that can get you promoted

And REALLY big screwups get you a medal.

[mod mom]

68. Or maybe a medal of freedom is in his future! nt

[ishtar66]

122. Still warrants a lawsuit....

Her constitutional rights were violated.

[MADem]

104. Top Cap Police official--That was probably Terrance Gainer

He really isn't an asshole--he used to work for the DC police. It's refreshing, anyway, that someone ADMITS their fuckup in our nation's cap--the usual routine is ass-covering.

[gademocrat7]

15. Talk about overzealous,these people are really over the edge.

I hope Cindy sues them.

[Maat]

18. I want to hear from OldLeftieLawyer on this one.

I knew they would drop the charges - this would have made a great lawsuit, they didn't want this going before any court, and it possibly would have resulted in a law or policy being struck or precluded.

This was clearly a content-based action, and the government certainly had no compelling interest here that could be demonstrated in order to preclude this activity.

Stinkers - they got their way, and then made sure it would go no farther. This is an age-old technique. Too bad we don't have a press with a spine that would confront them on it.

[Scooter24]

21. She still has a case...

because she was still harmed by the action.

Not filing charges does not dismiss her Constitutional rights claim.

[CottonBear]

23. Can a citizen sue the federal government? n/t

[kath]

37. yes - agree that she definitely should still sue.

[Maat]

39. I see that, but I'm wondering how hard it would be to proceed civilly.

She could sue on an assault and battery theory (torts) ... maybe suing on a violation of civil rights would be a better choice, because Congress has expressly delineated the right of an aggrieved individual to sue the federal government in such an instance.

Of course, the best thing would have been a suit involving the criminal charge ... but they didn't want that, did they?

Just thinking out loud.

[MadisonProgressive]

87. How about false arrest? Can't you sue over that?

[Maat]

140. Sorry I'm late responding - and yes, you can sue over that.

But that's not what I'm worried about. Assuming that is one of her causes of action, and she sues, she still has to piece a certain level of immunity to get to the offender personally. Moreover, I think that she has to frame things a certain way in order to be able to sue the government, for the government essentially has to give permission to be sued in almost every instance. I think that using the civil rights statutes, which authorize suits, might be a good strategy. And, well, at this point, I'm sure she has some good lawyers helping her frame this in the proper way. I hope they figure out something clever, go forward, and I'll be the first one to contribute to the fund.

[MADem]

106. Yep, they detained her....unlawfully

Plus, they bruised her....and let's not even get into the humiliation of being frog-marched out of the House....

[Vadem]

150. Cindy should still sue their asses off!.....n/t

[Cooley Hurd]

22. Check out MSNBC.com's front page graphic:

:wow::grr:

[Spazito]

26. Love it!

Am going to keep that one for a while!

[jor_mama]

132. New caption for this picture

Though you'd have to use a small font:

We screwed up again and again ...

NBC: Police say Sheehan didn't break law at Bush speech, Bush compound in Crawford, in California, at the White House last year, etc., etc.

[Az_lefty]

35. Oh I love that graphic....

[LiberalFighter]

99. Caption should say "We screwed up again"

[sinkingfeeling]

24. If she 'broke no laws', then who really pulled this stunt? Do you think

it was done to 'warn' all of us, Un-americans?

[democrank]

25. This is beyond the beyond.

Cindy lost her son in a war she thinks is unjust. If anyone earned the right to wear this tee shirt, it`s Cindy.

[GreatCaesarsGhost]

27. bottom line is they just wanted her out of there.

was she going to stand up and ask about the war?

[EVDebs]

30. Her 'ouster' diverted attention to the lack of anything new in SOTU speech

The real news is that Bush/Cheney are playing from a script written in 1973 by Nixon for use with Saudi Arabia...

http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/europe/01/01/britain.nixon.ap/

and the facts regarding a new poll of Iraqis

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=2426187&mesg_id=2426187

shows us why the Quakers are being spied upon here in the US while OBL & Co. are running free in the Afgan/Pakistan mountains.

[LuckyLib]

88. absolutely. It's a two-fer. They oust her just in case she

might "shout out" and then drop the charges, but the story spreads a little smoke around to help cover a totally full-of-it SOTU speech.

[daleo]

32. Why is the spokesman annonymous here?

"“We screwed up,” a top Capitol Police official said, speaking on condition of anonymity."

There is no reason this can't be on the record. "Speaking on condition of anonymity" has become a reflex these days.


"They told her she was being treated the same as Sheehan, who was ejected before the speech. Sheehan had wrote in her blog Wednesday that she intended to file a First Amendment lawsuit."

So, the Republican congressman's wife was (supposedly) ejected after Cindy Sheehan.

"Beverly Young was sitting about six rows from first lady Laura Bush and asked to leave. She argued with police in the hallway outside the House chamber."

It should be easy to find video of this woman somewhere, if she was sitting so close to Laura Bush. I would like some verification of her story.

[HuffleClaw]

53. i've yet to see a shred of proof that it even happened.

that 'story' appeared much later than the cindy incident. i'm highly dubious. i want pictures.

[caduceus111]

74. Disgusting...

There is no reason this can't be on the record. "Speaking on condition of anonymity" has become a reflex these days.

Agreed. How come no one takes responsibility anymore in our government?

"Beverly Young was sitting about six rows from first lady Laura Bush and asked to leave. She argued with police in the hallway outside the House chamber."

So was Ms. Young arrested too???? If not, the Capitol police have a real civil rights problem on their hands. They can't selectively arrest people whose message is not to their liking.

=caduceus=

[MadisonProgressive]

89. Only immature children don't accept responsibility

I'm just sayin

Oh, and the puke wife was NOT arrested.

[MADem]

107. That had to be Gainer, had to be

It doesn't do for him to say anything ON the record, since his department is sure to be sued, and he knows it. He will probably end up on the stand if that is the case, discussing CP policy and guidance.

Gainer is a straight shooter, I have to wonder who made that call, and who gave the order--was it the SGT at Arms straight to a lackey? Some GOP operative/staffer?

I doubt it was Gainer himself, but you never know.

[TechBear_Seattle]

33. She wasn't on national TV, so mission accomplished

I am getting very tired of how the Junta uses arrests without valid charges to remove "distractions" until the media moment has passed.

[Vinca]

38. The Junta needs to pay.

Not only was Cindy falsely arrested, her name was broadcast in a negative fashion far and wide as a result of "not breaking any laws."

[TechBear_Seattle]

43. Good point: it was not just to remove her, but to discredit her as well n/

[onenote]

56. well, that didn't work did it...

particularly after they told Beverly Young to leave. So much for marginalizing Sheehan.

[Caoimhe]

80. Once again, they told Young to leave

they didn't arrest her, handcuff her and fingerprint her, take her to jail for over four hours.. Now they imply the two women in T-shirts were treated the same, and hope that Americans are too uninformed to realize the difference.

[onenote]

94. the point is that without Young being tossed,

a lot of Americans would think whatever happened to Sheehan was just fine. Now a lot of them think that both Sheehan and Young were victims. Was Sheehan more of a victim? Of course, but who gives a rats ass. The point is that the media and the RW would've defended the treatment of Sheehan, but now they can't.

onenote

[Caoimhe]

42. Exactly

They did a pre-emptive strike on Cindy, so that no cameras would capture her face at any time while Bush spewed his lies. It's sickening!

[onenote]

63. is there footage of her being escorted out?

I haven't seen any, which makes me wonder whether the cameras would've caught her at any point. She indicated that she was in the first row of the fifth gallery and I don't recall the cameras showing much of anything other than the lower gallery where pickles and the guests of the administration were sitting. If they were able to film her, you'd think someone would've caught her ejection/arrest on film

My take is that this wasn't a big conspiracy, it was overzealous capital hill cops. Frankly, from the administration's standpoint, Sheehan has gotten a lot more publiclity, and a lot more favorable publicity, for getting booted out than would've been the case had she been allowed to stay. These guys are usually smart about this kind of thing (Rovian and all that), so my bet is that this wasn't a pre-emptive strike, it was a fuck up.

onenote

[Caoimhe]

73. I don't think so and here's why

The press had said the day before that Sheehan was coming. The White House couldn't uninvite her, she is a US Citizen. All eyes were probably on her when she came in. News shows were already talking yesterday morning about having a Hillary cam and a Cindy cam to see their faces while Chimp spoke. They can't exactly get rid of Hillary, but Cindy is a real thorn in their side and has been arrested for protesting before. She also isn't a lawmaker, she was a guest of a lawmaker.

I think that the cops were told to look for ANYTHING they could grab her for. As it was we saw closeups of Hillary but since Cindy was gone.. none of her. All that matters to the Rove junta is that everything go smoothly for the Chimp while he is in front of a live camera. They knew Cindy was not afraid of voicing her opinion, and since that opinion is contrary to everything Chimp wants to feed the public, they couldn't afford to have her get any camera time. The rumor at first was that she had a banner. That was rescinded but to most Americans, that's all they heard/saw. They tuned in to the coverage of the speech, and any commentary the news parrots had for the duration of the speech. The Rovians and the corporate media were able to frame the how and why that Cindy wasn't there, and paint her as a radical activist at the same time, knowing that the public wouldn't pay attention long enough to care about the later retractions and clarifications.

I think the fact that the Republican legislators wife, who wore the Support Our Troops shirt wasn't cuffed and stuffed speaks volumes. They wanted to prop her up and say SEE.. she got in trouble too.. after the fact, to quell any bad publicity. They should have arrested both or neither and at least been consistent.

Just my opinion.

[onenote]

77. but why no footage of her being escorted out?

If they were focused on her they'd have captured it on film and they'd be showing it 24/7. The fact that they showed Hilary doesn't really tell us anything, since she was on the House floor within easy camera range, not up in the fifth gallery.

The fact there is no footage and that the story of her being booted is drawing more attention than her presence would've gotten is what has me thinking that there was no big plan here, just over aggressive policing.

onenote

on edit: this is not to say that the capitol Hill cops weren't tipped off to keep a watchful eye on her in case she did something disruptive and that someone pulled the trigger (so to speak) as soon as they saw anything, even though it wasn't disruptive. But I doubt that there was a predetermined plan to boot her no matter what.

[Caoimhe]

78. There are several photos of her being escorted out

Yet none of the Republican Legislators wife.. not a one. Hmmm

[onenote]

92. but no film

and I think Young left, rather than was escorted out. But the question is whether there is a net gain in sympathetic publicity for Sheehan the way things played out as opposed to what would've happened if she had been allowed to sit up in the fifth gallery. I think the answer is to that is obvious. Indeed, the media are such cowards these days, I doubt they would've shown Cindy more than once if at all.

onenote

[MADem]

108. It happened before the show started--if anyone has footage, it is

probably CSPAN. I'm sure if they look through their B-roll they might find some.

The networks were focused on the prom stroll of the Senators to the House at the time she was grabbed up out of there.

[onenote]

115. if Cindy being there was such a big deal, they'd have noticed

But my bet is that they weren't planning to cover her presence at the SOTU and the arrest, fortuitously, has given her more attention than she would've had otherwise. And thanks to Bev Young,the RW can't just paint Cindy as some crazy that -- oh my -- wore a t-shirt to the SOTU. Worked out well for us, bad for them.

onenote

[MADem]

120. The word hit very late in the day that she would in fact attend

She was scheduled, initially, to be at an ANTI SOTU protest.

I think they would have cut to her at any mention of Iraq. And surely they would have cut to her AND the pro military family with Laura when Chimp started in on his speil about honoring the servicemembers and the families...it would have been GREAT TV, and made the speech a bit interesting.

The networks will cowtow, but they won't miss a chance for four-star visuals if they are available. They can easily placate the powerful with disdainful words and commentary, but no way would they have passed up that shot if they saw it going down.

[onenote]

123. well, Reuters has a photo of her being shown to her seat on arrival

So its not like the press didn't know she was there.

onenote

[MADem]

125. Sure, but one still photographer isn't gonna sit there waiting for her

to DO something, never mind a videographer--the reaction shots were what they were counting on from her, not shots of her sitting and waiting for the event to begin. It was fortuitous that the few still shots were even made...the Prom King and Queen March is a HIGHLIGHT of the SOTU, and you can be assured of good shots while that is going down (Trent Lott and Hillary marched in together, it looked like a wedding party there for a bit!). They took photos of as many interesting people as possible, and I will bet IF--big if--one of the CSPAN camera operators was aware of it, they might have gotten a shot of her getting dragged out....but when those doors open, all eyes -- as well as cameras -- tend to go that way. It's just where the action is! Usually, anyway...

[onenote]

138. then its not surprising there's no photos of Young, is it.

She claims to have been confronted about her shirt after the speech began; so, as you point out, there's no reason to think there would be a photographer up in the gallery watching her. Or video cameras pointed in her direction. I'm still surprised that there's no video of Cindy being tossed because it happened before the speech began -- in fact from the photos I've seen, it must have happened significantly before the speech began since there are tons of empty seats in the gallery at the time.

My point is that the press wasn't focused on Cindy before and probably wouldn't have focused on her during the speech. In which case whatever "plan" supposedly was in place to remove her backfired, since more people have heard about Cindy and seen her shirt than ever would've been the case had they left her alone.

onenote

[Voltaire99]

129. "They can't exactly get rid of Hillary, but Cindy is a real thorn"

Exactly.

No need for the cops to get rid of Hillary at all; she is perfectly obedient at all times, the very model of a Stepford politician. Need support for a war? She's on board! Corporations needing more? It takes a village!

Sheehan, though: gadfly extraordinaire. This woman, a Dorothy Day or Emma Goldman for our time, is the light of our nation. I would follow her anywhere and count myself fortunate. Her simple defiance and plainspoken dissent put to shame every one of the millionaires (and a certain billionaire) who presume to represent us.

Democratic politicans, watch Cindy: this is leadership.

[Zhade]

131. Damn straight.

NT!

[PegDAC]

149. Perish the thought

that * be confronted with any evidence of the result of his actions!
:sarcasm:

[mark11727]

128. Heaven forbid the public "accidentally" catches a glimpse...

...of Cindy (and her teeshirt!) during *'s speech...!

Oh. My.

[onenote]

57. self delete

[katinmn]

34. Rep. Young should have stood up for Cindy, too

but that would be un-Republican.

Criticism from Rep. Young
Holding up the shirt his wife wore, Rep. Young said on the House floor Wednesday morning: “Because she had on a shirt that someone didn’t like that said support our troops, she was kicked out of this gallery.”

“Shame, shame,” he scolded.

[Caoimhe]

75. They only bitch when it's them or theirs n/t

[against all enemies]

36. Water board her - she'll admit to something.

[derby378]

40. Suddenly I don't feel like listening to DC police...

If they don't understand the law, then they sure as hell can't enforce it.

[PatrioticLeftie]

41. Well...

They sure didn't make that look intentional, didn't they?

[EC]

44. I'll just bet ** wouldn't come out of hiding until she was gone

He probably sent someone to make sure she was out of there first....

[LiberalinNC]

45. My ass they "screwed up"....they didn't want Cindy there!

:mad:

[HuffleClaw]

47. a 'scuffle' ?????

BULLSHIT! they pounced on her, grabbed her and dragged her out of the gallery. there was NO scuffle. and they also lied about warning her. and about the banner that didn't exist.

[Mistwell]

48. What about Dave Delp's case?

Should Dave Delp have sued the Capitol Police for being kicked out during the Clinton impeachment hearings for wearing a t-shirt that said "Clinton Doesn't Inhale - He Sucks."?

I suppose the answer is yes (though I am sure the statute of limitations has expired).

[Spazito]

54. Nice try, but this has already been debunked

especially as the 'story' doesn't even have him being arrested ergo no case so even made up stories can't seem to get it right, rofl.

[Mistwell]

70. What the heck?

What are you talking about debunked? I remember him being pulled out! If you think he was not pulled out for that shirt, you give me a link to it.

In my opinion, it's a violation of a person's first amendment rights to be kicked out of a public political forum for expressing your opinion on your t-shirt. I do not think it requires an arrest to make a case of it. Obviously, I think the Dave guy was a fool. I was just saying that I suppose, if I am going to be consistent, he should have sued as well. Make it a precedent across the board - don't kick people out for their t-shirts, no matter what political position they take.

[MADem]

118. Wasn't that guy a member of a far right conservative web community?

Perhaps you have a link to a published story that says anything about it at all. I don't have any recollection of it.

[CAcyclist]

143. Clinton has had hecklers removed, maybe that's what you

are remembering. If he had ever had a person removed for simply wearing a t-shirt with a slogan he didn't like, the right wing assassination squad on his heels would have seen to it it was all over the media immediately.

[CAcyclist]

145. How come when I google Dave Delps the only thing that

comes up relating to what you are talking about comes from Freepland? If this were a legitimate story, there'd be a link to the reality-based news media.

[Catchawave]

51. Will she be in NYC April 29th ? nt

[swimboy]

52. Will this please bite somebody's right-wing ass?

I have almost stopped hoping that anyone will be held accountable for these offenses against free speech and common sense.

Goddamn fucking fascists.

Yeah, I'm mad.

[jarjarbinksisgod]

60. i normally refrain from using the f-word..

but in this case, it's entirely appropriate.

[MadisonProgressive]

90. Well, we're still wating!!??

[jarjarbinksisgod]

114. ffff

fffffffffffffff....

no. i think i'll wait until the rules of government are suspended and bush is voted in for a 3rd term. :)

[redqueen]

62. Same here, swimboy.

Except take out the 'almost'.

[lavenderdiva]

59. is it just me, or does anybody else think the reporting of this story

is VERY interesting? First, that MSNBC would actually put the headline, 'We Screwed Up', FRONT and Center is amazing to me. Then that they are even reporting the whole story made me raise my eyebrows.

One other thing that I find amazing: it seems to me that this story has actually eclipsed the SOTU itself, IMHO. This story seems to be everywhere, and what people are talking about. Not what Shrub actually said.

[onenote]

64. which is why I don't think this was planned by the administration

in advance. It gives Cindy far more exposure than she would've gotten just sitting up in the fifth gallery, probably getting no, or next to no, television time.

onenote

[sgtyellerdawg]

66. Something seems fishy...

Is it just me or does it seem like the only reason they dropped the charges on Cindy was because Bill Young's wife got booted out, too? Think she and her husband didn't pitch a hissy over that?? Can't be locking up those nice GOP folks now can we??

[Caoimhe]

79. Bill Young's wife wasn't arrested or charged

So there was no specific CHARGE for the Youngs to protest or for the mallcops to drop, he just had a tantrum because that's what Rove & Co wanted. He screams "outrage" about his poor wife's poor treatment, yet she was just escorted out, not cuffed and stuffed like Cindy. And he doesn't bother to mention Cindy. These facts are not unintentionally left out.

[0rganism]

65. Agreed, this is very strange, I don't see the angle. Who does it serve?

Most of the time, it's easy to find and finger the spin. This time, not so much. Like you say, Cindy coverage has eclipsed the actual speech, and that's... well, I haven't seen anything like it before, that's for sure.

The "scuffle" bit getting replaced is interesting too. Who wanted that word slipped in there?

Or maybe I'm trying to read too much into the whole thing, and really it's just a tale of a hurried scoop-crazed media running amok with the latest news whatever the sources.

[MadisonProgressive]

91. It served one purpose, and one only

Rove said get her out. End of story.

[onenote]

93. well then happy day, cause Rove has lost his touch

Tossing Sheehan worked to her (and our) advantage far more than allowing her to stay where she would've largely been ignored and most of the country wouldn't know a thing about her or her t-shirt. Now its a big deal story. And because Bev Young also was tossed (or claims to have been tossed), Sheehan actually is being cast as the victim not as a kook, which is what would've happened otherwise.

I know a lot of Capitol Hill cops and they are by and large good people doing a very difficult job (how would you like to have to protect all of the preening prima donnas that work on the Hill?)
They don't take their orders from Rove. But this time they got overzealous and fucked up.

onenote

[MadisonProgressive]

96. They wouldn't take orders from the POTUS?

I think * told Rove to get rid of her. Rove might have tried to talk him out of it, but * is such a dumb ass he told Rove - JUST DO IT!

[onenote]

111. Nope they don't

Karl Rove could call the Capitol Hill police until he was blue in the face. It would be easier for Rove to contact the networks and tell them not to put a camera on Sheehan than it would to get them to toss her. As has turned out to be the case, it wasn't in their interest for Sheehan to become a "story." And if all they wanted her is out, why arrest her. Again, just a case of overzealous cops.

onenote

[MadisonProgressive]

141. I personally think they'd defer to the wishes of the POTUS

[Name removed]

67. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[kitty1]

69. Who invited her there to begin with.?

The PR people must have known that there could be some serious s### disturbing if she showed up, so why did they invite her?
Maybe they knew she would make a political statement by doing something like this, and it would make her look like an idiot and trouble maker to other Americans.
They want to take away any bit of credibility she might have with admirers.

[onenote]

71. she was invited by several liberal Democrats

including Lynn Woolsey of California and John Conyers. I don't think they were part of some conspiracy.

onenote

[kitty1]

72. That makes sense then..

I'm glad they invited her if that's the case. I I thought the GOP had the final say over who could attend and I couldn't understand her being invited.
She had every right to be there, and if she want's to make a statement so be it. Her shirt was just stating a mathematical statistic. That's a far cry from a protest. You'd think she had incited a riot or something. They're such idiots there.

[PegDAC]

83. The GOP

doesn't want * to be reminded of the price of his actions.

[goodhue]

76. Rep. Woolsey gave her a ticket

Read Sheehan's own account . . .

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/020106Z.shtml

This afternoon at the People's State of the Union Address in DC, where I was joined by Congresspersons Lynn Woolsey and John Conyers, Ann Wright, Malik Rahim and John Cavanagh, Lynn brought me a ticket to the State of the Union address. At that time, I was wearing the shirt that said: 2245 Dead. How many more?

After the PSOTU press conference, I was having second thoughts about going to the SOTU at the Capitol. I didn't feel comfortable going. I knew George Bush would say things that would hurt me and anger me, and I knew that I couldn't disrupt the address because Lynn had given me the ticket, and I didn't want to be disruptive out of respect for her. I, in fact, had given the ticket to John Bruhns, who is in Iraq Veterans Against the War. However, Lynn's office had already called the media, and everyone knew I was going to be there, so I sucked it up and went.

I got the ticket back from John, and I met one of Congresswoman Barbara Lee's staffers in the Longworth Congressional Office building and we went to the Capitol via the underground tunnel. I went through security once, then had to use the rest room and went through security again.

My ticket was in the 5th gallery, front row, fourth seat in. The person who in a few minutes was to arrest me, helped me to my seat.

* * *

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/020106Z.shtml

[KAZ]

81. Yeah, a real idiot.

And we certainly don't want to make any trouble. If I was in the habit of using a roll-eyes, this would be da place.

[MadisonProgressive]

84. HOW FUCKING CONVEEEEENIENT!!!!

[mousie]

85. Police "Apologize"!! Oh PLEASE!!!

"The officers made a good faith, but mistaken effort to enforce an old unwritten interpretation of the prohibitions about demonstrating in the Capitol," Capitol Police Chief Terrance Gainer said in a statement late Wednesday.

"The policy and procedures were too vague," he added.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060201/ap_on_go_co/state_of_union_sheehan

[Pithy Cherub]

86. the capital hill police were doing a heckuva job...

:eyes:

[selmo7]

117. cause they love peace right?

I mean they're doin' their job...their job...for peace. They loooooove Freedom....

[DawgHouse]

95. Were there any other arrests?

My freeper neighbor claims that other people were arrested for wearing "Support the Troops" shirts during B* SOTU. She also told me that people were arrested during Clinton's SOTU addresses for similar things.

[daleo]

109. No, there were no other arrests

A Republican congressman's wife claims she was asked to leave, because of her "support the troops" shirt. But there is no actual documentary evidence of this that I am aware of. Nor have any corroborating witnesses come forward, that I am aware of.

[WestMichRad]

97. "OOPS! We goofed."

"I didn't mean to have her dragged out and arrested. My bad!"

Earlier: "Let's distract them from the issues with a manufactured incident."
"Hey, Yeah, good idea, Karl !"

Just why are we wasting our time with this? It was done to provide a media diversion from the lies and delusions of what what Chimpy blathered about in the SOTU. We should be talking not about this bullshit, but about what is needed for the future of the country and how to get this ass and his cronies out of office.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

135. The sad thing is, "OOOPS! We did it again!" is also apropos here -nt

[Dunvegan]

98. So people are saying a t-shirt (a simple black cotton shirt, actually) is

...an insult to the "dress code" of the SOTU address? Is the shirt nice cotton? Is it simple black? Is it neat, new and pressed?

Is the wearing of this shirt an act of vile non-decorum?

I've heard this crap just too much in the last day.

How about the following:


Crying, squealing, and running out and then back into your husband's Congressional hearing and wearing couch covers = This is Okay? This is good dress code? This is Washington decorum?

This was a move promoted as a PR move by the Swiftboat PR company: "The always-alert Creative Response Concepts, a conservative public relations firm, sent this bulletin: "Former Alito clerk Gary Rubman witnessed Mrs. Alito leaving her husband's confirmation in tears and is available for interviews, along with other former Alito clerks who know her personally and are very upset about this development."

In case that was too much trouble for the journalists, the firm also e-mailed out a statement from the Judicial Confirmation Network calling "for the abuse to stop."

Obviously Mrs. Alito couldn't follow decorum or a dress code. And Mrs. Alito's husband is alive.
=======================================================================


<b>In her first speech on the floor of Congress, Jean Schmidt (R) was screeching, screaming, and smearing a long-standing member of Congress and former decorated Marine (Murtha) a by calling him a coward while wearing a gymnastic sweatshirt = This is Okay? This is good dress code? This is Washington decorum?</b>

Jean Schmidt, just said that (her opponent, Hackett) being an American vet from the Iraq war is the wrong kind of experience for a member of Congress. Jean Schmidt, the Republican candidate in the August 2nd Special Election, is funding her campaign in a manner that shows her place in the corrupt Republican Party. She's funding her campaign with PACs and dirty money from Tom DeLay. Jean Schmidt was also busted for hiding gifts from fat-cat lobbyists.

Obviously Mrs. Schmidt couldn't follow decorum or a dress code. And Mrs. Schmidt's husband is alive.
=======================================================================



A Gold Star mother quietly wearing a black shirt with the number of young Americans that gave their lives for a war based on lies at the SOTU address was manhandled and ARRESTED = Crime? Non-Washingtonian dress code? Lack of Washingtonian decorum?

Like hell.

[gr8dane_daddy]

121. Everytime I see the ScHmIdT outfit...

I think of what Stephanie Miller called it. Looked like her outfit was inspired by a bad 4th of July napkin.

[earth mom]

151. Cindy looks like she has the weight of the world on her shoulders

in that photo! :cry:

Time to sue the rat bastards! Cindy did NOT deserve this! :grr:

[Charlie Brown]

100. Cindy still needs to sue

She was targeted b/c of the sentiments on her shirt and was held on bogus charges for four hours.

"I'm sorry," does not make that right, nor does it give Sheehan the four hours she lost of her life back.

Sue the bastards.

[mvd]

103. The message was sent by the police, though

Next step will be holdings for extended periods.

[onenote]

112. get a grip

The cops admit they screwed up. They publicly apologize. And you think that's supposed to send a warning?

onenote

[mvd]

113. It's all after the fact

I bet it would happen again.

[selmo7]

119. Sure it would

It's always easier to make the "mistake" and then apologize later.

[Cha]

110. WHAT Scuffle?

And for the other tee shirt.."..Defending our Freedom"..What Freedom?

[selmo7]

116. Best T-Shirt Slogan

I WENT TO THE STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS AND ALL I GOT ARRESTED FOR WAS THIS LOUSY T-SHIRT!!

Randi Rhodes today - not sure if it's her exact quote, but it cracked me up. I think we should ALL wear T-shirts that say this.

God Love Ya Cindy!!!

[cliss]

124. Let's see - how many times

has Cindy Sheehan been arrested now? I think once in Crawford. I read about the one time in Washington. Maybe 2 times.

So this would be the 3rd arrest. What happens after that many? Won't she have a hard time getting a job? Do your sentences get longer after each arrest?

She's really paying a high price for her activism.

[barry kivik]

126. Charges

Wasn't it just terrible? She the best thing we've got going for us.

[barry kivik]

127. What?

What about Raven?

[Dunvegan]

130. Let's hope the "Disruption Law" and other nusance laws...

...aren't the lead up to felony arrests that finally add up to a "three-strikes" situation.

[fromthegroundup]

146. A long time coming.....

This country is so politically polarized right now that the side with the media upperhand has begun to successfully construe anyone critical of the president as near treasonous in order to garner support for policies/laws such as these. Who needs razor wire fenced in camps when you have one of the world's largets prison systems?

[Mrspeeker]

142. off the real subject

The media loves this stuff becasue it takes your eyes and ears off the true issues at hand!

[demo dutch]

144. What Freedom of Speech! Now we're arresting mothers of soldiers who died?

Ludicrous!

[abex]

147. This woman should have our unequivical support..

Sheehan's personal account of the violation at <counterpunch.net>

[Joey Liberal]

148. Cindy should sue n.t

[Starlight]

152. There was a third person who was removed by police.

"A foreign-born American citizen who was the guest of Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Fla., also was taken by police from the gallery just above the House floor, Hastings said Wednesday.

The congressman met with Gainer and House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., about the incident.

“I’d like to find out more information,” Hastings said in an interview, identifying the man only as being from Broward County in Florida. “He is a constituent of mine. I invited him proudly.”"

I haven't seen *ANY* explanation as to why this man wasn't allowed to stay. It doesn't appear he was guilty of anything other than being born in another country. :eyes:

[fromthegroundup]

153. Sheehan Wasn't Welcome But a Saudi Accused of Support for al Qaeda Was

Read article here:

http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0202-32.htm

[kitkat65]

155. Gee, I wonder if they ever tapped al-Faisal's phone lines?

[kitkat65]

154. How much more "appropriate" does Sheehan need to be?

<snip>
However, State of the Union guests don’t receive any guidelines, according to Deputy House Sergeant at Arms Kerri Hanley. “You would assume that if you were coming to an event like the State of the Union address you would be dressed in appropriate attire,” she said.
<snip>