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Both ejections illegal, of both wife of Republican Bill Young, and Cindy Sheehan.
http://glenngreenwald.blogspot.com/2...ar-leader.html
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Learning from Dear Leader
(updated below - updated again, several times)
I disagree with lots of things which Cindy Sheehan says but if the cir stances of her arrest last night at the State of the Union speech are anything like what she describes them as being (h/t Lis Riba), then her arrest is completely disgraceful.
I tend to believe her account because most of the facts she recites don't seem to be in dispute, and the accounts in the major news organizations, which apparently interviewed the law enforcement agencies involved in the arrest, are reporting much the same thing. In essence, Sheehan sat in her seat, took her jacket off, and was wearing a t-shirt which read: "2245 Dead. How many more?" As soon as she took her jacket off, she was pulled out of her seat, arrested, and taken out of the hall.
This is nothing more than a naked attempt to stifle dissent and to create a criticism-free bubble around George Bush. Presidents routinely use all sorts of propagandistic imagery at the State of the Union to decorate their speeches with an aura of regal patriotism. We always see weeping widows and military heroes and symbolic guests of all sorts who are used as props and visuals to bolster the President's message both emotionally and psychologically. The State of the Union speech is hardly free of visual messages and propaganda of that sort; quite the contrary.
But we apparently now have a country where the only ideas allowed to be expressed in our Nation's Capitol while the President is speaking are ones which glorify the Government and its Leader and where dissenting views are prohibited and will subject someone to arrest. Message cleansing of that sort belongs at a political rally in North Korea, not in Washington, DC.
There have been stories here and there of the Secret Service and other federal government agencies exercising the police power of the state for no purpose other than to stifle dissent. Virtually every appearance of George Bush is meticulously and vigilantly staged to ensure that he is surrounded only by agreement and adoration and almost never dissent of any kind.
This is plainly unhealthy and disgustingly contrary to every defining core American value. Our leaders aren't en led to reverence and worship and aren't supposed to want it. Criticism, dissent and divergence of opinion are things which the founders did everything possible to foster, and the idea that someone is dragged out of a speech by the President for silently and peacefully wearing an anti-war t-shirt is disgraceful and embarrassing.
And these attacks on dissent are particularly ironic given that they occurred in the midst of a speech by a President who loves to lecture the world on the virtues of liberty and who holds himself out as the Chief Crusader for freedom and democracy.
In fact, as Cindy Sheehan was being dragged out of the Royal Speech, His Majesty was regaling us with the importance of respecting civil debate, the virtues of diversity and freedom, and the need to protect minority views. It's as if there was some universal force that wanted to provide the most compelling demonstration possible of how disingenuous his speech was, and came up with the idea of having Cindy Sheehan dragged out of the hall for doing nothing other than wearing a t-shirt politely expressing criticism of Bush's war.
UPDATE: The law is clear that Sheehan did nothing illegal and there was no legal basis whatsoever for removing and arresting her for wearing that t-shirt.
In Bynum v. U.S. Capitol Police Bd. (Dist. D.C. 1997) (.pdf), the District Court found the regulations applying 140 U.S.C. § 193 -- the section of the U.S. code restricting activities inside the Capitol -- to be uncons utional on First Amendment grounds. Bynum involved a Reverend who was threatened with arrest by Capitol Police while leading a small group in prayer inside the Capitol. The Capitol Police issued that threat on the ground that the praying cons uted a "demonstration."
That action was taken pursuant to the U.S. Code, in which Congress decreed as follows: "It shall be unlawful for any person or group of persons wilfully and knowingly . . . to parade, demonstrate or picket within any Capitol Building." 140 U.S.C. § 193(f)(b)(7).
As the Bynum court explained: "Believing that the Capitol Police needed guidance in determining what behavior cons utes a 'demonstration,' the United States Capitol Police Board issued a regulation that interprets 'demonstration activity,'" and that regulation specifically provides that it "does not include merely wearing Tee shirts, buttons or other similar articles of apparel that convey a message. Traffic Regulations for the Capitol Grounds, § 158" (emphasis added).
Nothing Sheehan did could even be remotely construed to cons ute a "demonstration." She was sitting quietly in her seat wearing a t-shirt, an activity which is expressly excluded from the activities prohibited by this statute and, in any event, could not possibly be criminalized consistent with the First Amendment. We don't have a system of government -- at least we didn't used to -- where someone can be arrested for wearing a t-shirt that expresses criticism of the President.
Isn't that just the most basic political value that we have? What kind of Americans sit idly and passively by while they watch a fellow citizen arrested and removed from the Capitol during a political speech for doing nothing other than wearing an anti-war t-shirt?
UPDATE II: If you are someone still in need of dispositive proof that Mic e Malkin is one of the most un-American, liberty-hating, disturbing creatures around, please see this rancid post of hers (h/t Mahablog) where she calls for Rep. Lynn Woolsey to be barred from inviting anyone to such speeches in the future because someone she invited wore a t-shirt which was critical of The Leader.
UPDATE III: Apparently, there were some actions taken at the State of the Union speech which -- despite clearly cons uting "demonstrations" (which, unlike t-shirts, are actually prohibited by the U.S. Code) -- were allowed and apparently encouraged:
(The top photo, showing grown men wiggling their purple-ink-stained fingers around in the air, was apparently depicting a demonstration from last year's State of the Union speech. None of the participants in the Purple Fingered Dance Demonstration were arrested or asked to leave).
UPDATE IV: Steve Benen at The Carpetbagger Report has compiled some of the numerous, disturbing incidents where individuals have been banned, and often removed, from Bush speeches because they wore t-shirts expressing anti-Bush views.
As I said in Comments, I would be less inclined to become agitated over this incident if it weren't for the fact that there is a long line of similar incidents where the Administration has clearly taken steps to prevent the President from being exposed to dissent of any type. The White House goes to great lengths to ensure that the Commander-in-Chief appears only with the most regal and glorifying imagery and sloppy, unplanned political messages conflict with that propagandistic stage-managing and are thus expressly prohibited.
Last edited by SA210; 02-01-2006 at 03:27 PM. Reason: to post link and story
Relevance?
The hurricanes and her loopiness killed her thunder, I don't know why anybody cares about her anymore
She was an invited guest to The State of the Union. Don't know if she did anything wrong. On CNN, one of the anchors were saying for no reason other than she might disrupt the speech, and had trouble seeing how that was good enough reason to arrest her.
If that's true, and she did nothing wrong other than just show up as a guest, then her rights were violated.
I guess we'll see what really happened soon.
Who cares? Damn, it's time for her 15 minutes to be over. Michael Moore was more fun to laugh at.
People act like she's MLK or something.
Anyone who is surprised that this adminstration would have someone arrested for what they might do, please go sit in the corner and put on your duncecap.
The only people who need a dunce cap are the ones running around here with their jumping to conclusions mat like ex up above.
She was arrested for demonstrating in the Capitol, which is illegal, and has been enforced with arrests before (by both sides).
Corrupt, no doubt. Their excuse was, she wore a shirt that read "2225, How many more?"
http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/01/...est/index.html
Sheehan arrested in House gallery
Tuesday, January 31, 2006; Posted: 10:26 p.m. EST (03:26 GMT)
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Peace activist Cindy Sheehan was arrested Tuesday in the House gallery after refusing to cover up a T-shirt bearing an anti-war slogan before President Bush's State of the Union address.
"She was asked to cover it up. She did not," said Sgt. Kimberly Schneider, U.S. Capitol Police spokeswoman, adding that Sheehan was arrested for unlawful conduct, a misdemeanor.
The charge carries a maximum penalty of one year in jail, Schneider said.
Schneider said shortly after the State of the Union speech that Sheehan was still being held but should be "out sometime tonight."
An early report from a senior House official indicated that Sheehan was arrested for unfurling an anti-war banner, but that was later found not to be the case. Schneider said she didn't know what Sheehan's T-shirt said.
Sheehan, who became a vocal war opponent after her son was killed in Iraq, was an invited guest of Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-California, who has called for a withdrawal of troops in Iraq and supports legislation for the creation of a Department of Peace.
Sheehan has pestered the Bush administration since August, when she and hundreds of fellow protesters began demanding an audience with the president and camping outside his ranch in Crawford, Texas.
She also recently penned a book, "Not One More Mother's Child."
Sheehan and other relatives of troops killed in Iraq met with Bush during a visit to Fort Lewis, Washington, in April 2004, shortly after Sheehan's son was killed.
During that meeting with Bush, the president refused to look at pictures of Sheehan's son, didn't want to hear about him and "didn't even know Casey's name," she said.
The Vacaville, California, resident has said she'd like to meet with Bush again to discuss her opposition to the war.
Bush has refused to meet again with Sheehan and has taken issue with her calls for a withdrawal of troops from Iraq.
"She expressed her opinion; I disagree with it," Bush said in August. "I think immediate withdrawal from Iraq would be a mistake."
Their excuseThe law = excuse. Good to know where the libs stand. What sucks the most for you guys, is that this pyscho is the face of your party.
T-shirts = the law?
They were waiting for any reason to get her out of there. She has been a very outspoken opponent of Bush.
They didn't want her in there whether she wore a message on her shirt or not. If it weren't the shirt, it would have been a su ious look she gave or whatever other baloney they usually come up with.
Any signs of protest inside the Capitol are illegal. Hey, don't shoot the messenger, it's not my fault the face of the Democratic party is a stupid .T-shirts = the law?
Yes I'm sure giving her more attention was all a part of the Republicans' master plan. Next I bet they'll try to shut her up by assassinating her. Fascists.
A stupid b*** who lost her son to an illegal war?
Stop this crap already. They wouldn't have arrested someone tonight if they wore a "Support the President" t-shirt.
Granted, she is a stupid ... but the whole thing seems rather stupid to me. Who invited her dumbass anyway?
And... are you sure... because you've been like... wrong about this kind of before.
In between shaking their Democratic party pom poms MS-NBC explained it on the air. Keep in mind this was in between them critiquing Bush's speece and throwing a bone to Howard Dean to help him put down W.And... are you sure... because you've been like... wrong about this kind of before
So given the cir stances, I'd take their word for it.
I feel bad about laughing at her, cause I think she's lost it.
I want closure on this Cindy Sheehan issue.
... Paging Mr. Flynt.
Cindy Sheehan IS the 12th Man!
I think she's an attention starved individual who's allied herself with the psychopathic wing of the Democratic party, but since when are we banning people from Capitol Hill because of a t-shirt? She was also an invitee of a congresswoman. I guess the t-shirt makes her more likely to be wearing a belt full of plastique?
This is the state of American politics. Hence why I stopped looking for meaningful solutions long ago.
"My son joined the Army to protect America, not Israel. You get America out of Iraq and Israel out of Palestine and you'll stop the terrorism."
"i am watching cnn and it is 100 percent rita...even though it is a little wind and a little rain...it is bad, but there are other things going on in this country today...and in the world!!!!"
"George Bush needs to stop talking, admit the mistakes of his all around failed administration, pull our troops out of occupied New Orleans and Iraq, and excuse his self from power."
She's not a hero, give it up already.
Last edited by Gerryatrics; 01-31-2006 at 11:50 PM.
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