How Can A Judge Ban A Person From A CITY For Protesting The War??

[orleans]

i heard someone from code pink talking to randi and that is exactly what has happened to someone from code pink. the woman said a protester was arrested yesterday for READING THE CONSTITUTION! she also said some code pink people have been banned from attending hearings (IN THE PEOPLE'S HOUSE!), some have been banned from the capitol and a radius around it!!

people aren't just being arrested--they are being BANISHED. i think she said she was arrested for holding up a piece of paper with a sign on it (8 1/2 X 11) and was bared from attending hearings--and her probation was that if she got arrested within a year she could spend SIX MONTHS IN JAIL.

for participating in democracy. for exercising her constitutional right to free speech.

WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING???
WHAT THE HELL KIND OF GOVERNMENT IS THIS??

a reverend gets his ankle BROKEN by the cops when trying to attend a hearing
sheehan gets bounced out of state of the union FOR WEARING A T-SHIRT WITH A NUMBER ON IT
and the college kid gets ELECTROCUTED for standing up talking in an open forum at a UNIVERSITY

and people think this is okay? people think this behavior is ACCEPTABLE??

(well, the reverend tried to get back to his place in line. SO WHAT? well, sheehan's t-shirt suggested the war was wrong. SO WHAT? well, the kid was being a jerk and wouldn't shut up. SO WHAT?)


have we lowered the bar so much that even some democrats/liberals/progressives/supposed free-thinkers are all good with this?

why? why? why?

if dems are okay with this shit, if liberals are okay with it, and progressives are okay with it--then what does that make me? because i'm not okay with any of this.

and i don't know how to define myself anymore.

[TreasonousBastard]

1. Where you been? Once was a time you got...

shot for standing up for your rights. By a private security company, no less, because there weren't enough cavalry to chase you down and the FBI wasn't invented yet.

Read the history of Pinkerton's and see where Blackwater stole some of their better ideas from.

Shit, in my own lifetime I remember when you got firehoused, dogs set on you, and if you had a really bad day, lynched. Just a beating, a night in a lockup or a rousting and you had a good day. Sheriff says "Stay outta mah town, boy" and you damn well better stay out of his town.

Too bad Benjamin and some cohorts are getting busted for their civil disobedience, but that's kinda the whole point of civil disobedience, isn't it? What's the point of breaking a law or trespassing if no one gives a shit enough to smoke your ass or haul you off to the slam for a few nights?

They wanna bust up meetings, fine. But they gotta pay the price or it doens't count, and the price now is a lot cheaper than it used to be.

And the publicity is worth a fortune.

[nashville_brook]

2. we've not just lost perspective, we've lost our soul

this isn't our world anymore -- we just "live" in it (as long as we live quietly, not rocking the boat, not wearing tshirts with political messages, not raising a fuss...it's very important that no one get embarrassed for any political action, and remember, all political action is embarrassing once the tasers come out, so best to just voice opinions in accepted venues, Free Speech Zones, that's what they're for, to provide a safe place for speech to be "free."

now, where's my soma...)

[tanyev]

3. Happened all the time in those glorious days back before that pesky Magna Carta.

It's all coming back now.

[rateyes]

4. What the hell kind of government is this?

Fascist.

[thunder35]

5. Police state

[mmonk]

6. When that judge doesn't appropriately

use the constitution in determining what should be done or interpreting law.

[superkia]

7. I dont think the constitution is an issue to maost Americans anymore?

How many of the presidential candidates have been standing up and speaking out about the attack on the constitution? Either people don't care, so most of the candidates don't speak up or most of the candidates like the idea of more power and control for the wealthy and politicians? We are no longer important anymore, the wealthy and corporations are number one now. I think everyone sees that but they refuse to look for a candidate that represents them instead of the corporations, its now all ok by most Americans.

Look at a democratic board like DU and you will see that only a small % of people talk about their candidate standing up for our rights and its ok to most? I don't get it at all!

[Dollface]

8. Kent State

[orleans]

12. (yes...kent state.) n/t

[Bitwit1234]

9. bush got another thing done he wanted ...he packed the courts

with far out right wing judges. We can expect more of this as he gets more and more judges in there.

[mudesi]

10. Because America is an authoritative fascism, and too many people are in denial about it (nm)

[H2O Man]

11. These are the cases

that will be interesting to see appealed. Of course, it depends upon the circumstances of where a person was reading the Constitution, but it sure sounds like they made a good foundation for appeal.