Photo credit: Lyle SandersOn Thursday last week, 10 MoveOn.org people, many of which were veterans, showed up as they have done in the past, to deliver a petition to Rep. Thelma Drake at her local Virginia Beach district office. The staff knew they were coming, and locked the doors, called the police, had them kicked out -- one veteran, who sat quietly, saying he would wait for the office to re-open, got arrested.
Here is an eyewitness account of what transpired, which corrects the one-sided "reporting" given the incident by our local Virginian-Pilot.
What is this? You can't even go to the local congressional office and deliver a petition?
"The police "spokesperson" wasn't even there so she doeesn't realize that her sequence of events is off--10 of us assembled peacefully in the parking lot several yards away from the office before 12 noon--no one in the office could possibly have seen our "demeanor" from that distance, which was peaceful. A man claiming to be the land lord was there in a flash, blocking part of the lot with his big Mercedes even before we could all walk across the lot to the door, as tho. he were waiting for us. They obviously knew ahead of time. We think one of the office staff is on the Move On e-mail list. He was hostile and disrespectful to William, a six-year Vet who has served in Iraq. [William was one of the group.]
By the time we walked across the lot to the door we had been locked out & the people inside ran & hid. Running from constituents! Running from Truth! They are in denial about the irrepareable [sic] harm Thelma Drake's unequivocal support for the Decider's policies have done to Active Duty and Veterans. Yet they insist on escalating troops & creating more chaos, death and destruction.
Tom sat down quietly on the sidewalk with his sign & back to Thelma's door, saying he would wait until Thelma or one of her staff members became available.
We did not start "vocalizing" until we had 3 speeches, from Tom, William & the mother of the AD Marine which was well AFTER the landlord arrived & well AFTER we were locked out. So how could we have been "scaring" them by our "demeanor" & "vocalizations" before that point? They twist the facts to suit their own agenda & hide the fact they weren't doing their job which is to be available to their constituents. They forget who pays their salaries. Our Constitutional rights were intentionally violated by their actions and violent responses.
All they had to do was listen to us for five minutes & accept the petitions on Thelma's behalf. We've been there several times before without incident.
But to lock out citizens & disrepect Vets is a despicable and cowardly act on their part."
These constituents had every right to enter Drake's public office and were prevented from doing so by her immature staff. The fact that her staff is on the MoveOn mailing list shows even greater how stupid her staff is. It shows their cowardness to be pre-medidated. Mature, level-headed people knowing ahead of time that this group was coming would have made sure there were enough chairs in the office to accommodate the group.
Ann Williams, one of the 10 attempting to meet with Drake, explains further...
"All of this could have been alleviated with some simple respect for citizens and Veterans, all of whom had a Constitutinal right to be inside Rep. Drake's office, not outside on the sidewalk directly in front of her office in the cold being threatened by a hostile landlord. And none of us posed a threat to anyone. We did not block traffic, there were no pedestrians around and no business was prevented frm being conducted. Drake's office is tucked away on Euclid with only a single entrance. While we understand the police have a job to do and they were for the most part professional, they must have seen the seen the absudity of the situation."
Tom Palumbo, the veteran arrested, has this to add...
"I said Ms. Drake should come out and meet with the military family and veterans and tell us just what it was- we don't understand about war!All of this was for naught. As noted - they locked themselves inside and sent the landlord to send us on our way. The police arrived and we stressed it was a constitutional right to petition members of congress for redress. We were not blocking vehicular or pedestrian traffic, nor being threatening in any way (save for threatening the values of the GOP).
Bottom line - is that when we were directed to leave, I said I intended to wait to speak with those in those inside, because while these were just letters we wanted to deliver - there were lives hanging in the balance.
I made the decision to stay and speak to Thelma or any one in the office because their actions to barricade themselves inside was the height of arrogance of power - and they have lost sight of what it means to be part of a representative democracy!
I maintain. I am not guilty of criminal trespass - only a concerned citizen who felt the issue needed to be heard. I will refute the charges in court and I intend to subpoena Ms. Drake and others to appear to account for their actions and charges made against me.
I truly appreciate and welcome your support. This issue isn't just about me - it's about all of us who care to have a say in our elected government!
But with that said - anyone knows any Constitutional Law attorneys - please let me know!
Feel free to email me at DissentingSoldier
Yahoo.Com. Respectfully yours,
Tom Palumbo
757-470-9797
Finally, this from Beachmom...
"I mean -- what KIND of country do we live in when veterans of the freaking Iraq war are not allowed to go to a congressional office in their district to give their opinion on that war? I worked to get that woman out of office, but we just live in a Republican district, and we failed. Now we see these consequences and it is so frustrating and sad."
Frustrating and sad, indeed!
http://en.wikipedia....Theory of the Authoritarian Personality
Those persons who admire fascist ideologies, according to the theory, distinguish themselves through their unconventional, prejudice-laden view of social and political relationships. From this background in their personal history arose the assumption that the emergence of certain phenomena such as anti-Semitism and ethnocentrism stands in close connection with this particular personality structure. Because fascistic groupings get support essentially from the right-conservative camp (although that does not suggest that the right-conservative camp invariably lends these groupings such support) parts of the conservative outlook are likewise judged as an expression of this personality structure. As an instrument to measure this outlook, the AS-scale (for "anti-Semitism") the E-scale (for "Ethnocentrism") and the PEC-Scale (for "political-economic conservatism") are used.
The instrument for assessing the underlying authoritarian personality structure was the so-called F-Scale ("implicit antidemocratic tendencies and fascist potential"). This scale is comprised of the following subscales:
* Conventionalism -- uncritical acceptance of social conventions and the rules of authority figures; adherence to the traditional and accepted
* Authoritarian Submission -- unqualified submission to authorities and authority figures
* Authoritarian Aggression -- hostility toward individuals or groups disliked by authorities, especially those who threaten or violate traditional values
* Intellectual hollowness -- rejection of the subtle, subjective, imaginative and aesthetic; little or no introspection
* Superstition and Stereotypy -- ready acceptance of pseudoscience as truth, cliché, categorization; ethnic and religious prejudice; fatalistic determinism
* Power and Toughness -- identification with those in power; excessive emphasis on socially advocated ego qualities; rejection of gentleness; contempt for the weak, unpopular, and powerless
* Destructiveness and Cynicism -- general hostility, lust for violence, extreme pessimism, view of the world as a dangerous place
* Projectivity -- belief in the overwhelming power of evil in the world, even in natural phenomena, and to project unconscious emotional impulses outward
* Sex -- undue concern with reproduction and sexual activity
This incident adds to the mounting evidence that what members of Congress say about supporting our troops is nothing but lip service. For one long week we listened to Republican and Democratic reps. make speech after speech about how they supported the troops. The result was a toothless resolution. The real meaning of that resolution is that Congress will continue to hide behind non-binding double talk as long as they can.
Last week the Wash Post reported on the disgusting treatment that our wounded are getting at Walter Reed Army Hospital. Four years of wounded and billions of dollars spent per week and we still can't provide approriate care? Where is the Congress' support for our troops?
Hand waving speeches will not cut it anymore. Treating our Veterans the way Rep. Drake did will not be tolerated. Those of us who expected Congress to act after the election will now have to put pressure on them to listen to the people. We know we can make a difference in an election. Let's make sure the Congress remembers it.
Start by reporting Rep. Drake's behavior to Senator Warner and Senator Webb.
Supporting our troops means ensuring that our servicemen and service women are only put in harm's way
after all other options, to include diplomatic, have been tried in good faith, and based on solid uncaveated intelligence
for serious reasons that *directly* protect the US and her citizens
with a well thought out and articulated mission and a well thought out and articulated exit strategy
if and only if they have had the appropriate training for the military operation
if and only if they have adequate and appropriate equipment to accomplish their mission with a minimum of risk to their life and limb
if and only if in the event of their deaths, their family members are supported financially as well as emotionally
if and only if the wounded will receive appropriate medical care and appropriate after care
if and only if the wounded will receive a just assessment of their disability by means of a transparent process and means of redress
-----------------------
That's my list so far--please add or revise as you like--and help me think of a way to get such a list dissemanated to the widest possible audience--we need to provide a reasoned alternative against the unstated premise of the "support the troops" mantra that the only way to do so is support our current CinC's unethical, immoral, "ready-fire-aim" foreign policy.
BTW Tom Ricks's "Tom Rick's Inbox" in todays' WaPo lists the ten worst and ten best affect on morale--check them out--no mention of protest against the war--
Thanks
Ruth Fischer
refischer1@verizon.net
(parts of transcript from RK, appear ahead of the below comments)
Congresswoman Tubbs, I believe this type of conduct should be investigated by the ethics committee and this Representative should be reprimanded. I have not contacted Representative Virgil Goode, because I believe the bigotry and racial comments, he displayed against Rep Ellison at his private swearing in on the Koran, shows how Rep. Goode feels about ethics. Yes it is a sad day in American Politics when a constituent cannot address issues with their Representative and feel they will get results. Therefore I am asking you to investigate this issue.
Personally I feel that as a chairperson of a committee, I should have been able to email this request to you, even though I am not a constituent of yours. Could you also look into having all citizens to have the ability to email any committee chairperson.
In the meantime, I stongly recommend that you not wait 3 to 5 weeks for your letter to get to its destination. My suggestion is to call the Rep. office and explain your situation that you want to get a message to the Rep. ASAP. Request to speak to a staff member who can give you their official staff email address, send the email, and call the next day to confirm it was received. Option 2: Call the Rep. office explain the situation, and request the official office Fax number. Fax the letter and call back to confirm it was received.
"The American people are anxious, but they want progress, not defeat. They want to see their elected officials working together to ensure success on behalf of our troops. Simply inserting a sentence, saying you support the troops, is not enough when your actions say otherwise."
Well, locking your office doors, shutting off the lights, and hiding like a fightened child says an awful lot.
Using email is the best way to go IMHO.
RuthF