Reposted, with permission, from Leaning Straight Up.

Note:  I found this video right as I was finishing this, but it is revealing, so I am bumping it to the top.  The video features a few Council Members, including Wozniak opting for more common sense, and Anderson who claims this was “not a diatribe against the Marines”, despite his earlier diatribe against the Marines in Clip 5 of this post.  And yes…I saved it.

Today, the city council in Berkeley was meeting to discuss, among other items, a new resolution concerning the Anti Marine Corps resolution passed last week.  Via Michelle Malkin:

Here’s the council agenda item:

From: Councilmembers Olds and Capitelli

Recommendation:

1) That the City Council, through adoption of this item, publicly differentiate between the City’s documented opposition to the unjust and illegal war in Iraq and our respect and support for those serving in the armed forces.

2) Rescind point 2 of Item 12, of the January 29, 2008 Berkeley City Council Agenda, “Marine Recruiting Office in Berkeley,” regarding communications with the Marine Recruiting Station in Berkeley.

Financial Implications: None

Contact: Betty Olds, Councilmember, District 6, 981-7160

The item they refer to is the original resolution from last month, Item 12 which stated:

Recommendation:

1. Direct the City Attorney to investigate and report back to Council within 60 days on City options for enforcing Chapter 13.28 of the Berkeley Municipal Code, prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, with respect to military recruiting offices in Berkeley;

2. Direct the City Manager to send letters to the Marine Corps Recruiting Station at 64 Shattuck Avenue and to General James T. Conway, Commandant of the United States Marine Corps, advising them that the Marine recruiting office is not welcome in our city, and if recruiters choose to stay, they do so as uninvited and unwelcome intruders;  Abstain – Worthington.

3. Encourage all people to avoid cooperation with the Marine Corps recruiting station, and applaud residents and organizations such as Code Pink, that may volunteer to impede, passively or actively, by nonviolent means, the work of any military recruiting office located in the City of Berkeley.

So they, if passed, still want to interfere and encourage interference with the Marine Recruiting Station, they just wont write the letter calling them unwelcome.  I wasn’t able to stream it tonight, so I do not know if the motion passed or failed.  SF Gate notes they appeared to be backing off.

 The first notes from today were at Michelle Malkin:

Just received word from Cat Moy with Move America Forward of a physical confrontation by the Code Pinkos against pro-troops supporters. Cat writes:

Berkeley Police Watch “Peace” Freaks attack Patriots

Berkeley erupted in violence Tuesday morning when the Communist, terrorist-supporting anti-war group crossed into Martin Luther King Park and assaulted pro-troop individuals. Riot police stood by, but did not stop the assaults. Police agencies did not respond to calls for help.

Move America Forward, the nation’s largest pro-troop organization, received permits from the City of Berkeley to hold a daylong demonstration in MLK park against the City Council who passed three outrageous resolutions calling U.S. Marines “unwanted intruders.”

“It is mayhem on here,” MAF communications director Danny Gonzalez said from the park early Tuesday morning.

Code Pink was permitted for across the street. The two sides were to stay separated, according to rules laid down by the city. But the city has a history of giving Code Pink special preference. The City Council gave free parking permits and a free noise permit to the radical group, which has helped fund terrorist families in Iraq with a $600,000 gift. MAF Exeutive Director Catherine Moy attempted to get help from the Berkeley police as the mayhem unfolded, but an officer hung up on Moy. Moy asked the California Highway Patrol to help in the emergency, but the CHP refused. “I have never in my life experienced such inaction in the face of an emergency, “Moy said. “I will ask the Federal Government to investigate, as well as the State Attorney General. It is one thing to give free parking places to the City Council’s special interest anti-war groups, it is another to take sides and endanger the lives of others.”

Move America Forward and other pro-troop organizations will stand in support of the Marines all day Tuesday until they can enter the City Council chambers to address the City Council.

 This was later confirmed by Melanie Morgan:

If I were a headline writer I would describe the situation as CHAOS AND ANARCHY IN BERKELEY today.

Not by our side –by the Marine haters and American traitors.

The cops were openly hostile toward the people who showed up at 5:00 a.m., never stepping in to protect the patriots from the assaults that took place against elderly folks, Gold Star parents, Blue Star families and Joe and Jane Citizen who were waving the flags and showing their pride in the Marines. The police allowed hundreds of Berkeley High School kids (accompanied by their teachers) to gather with CodePink, receive their mandatory face masks and F—k Bush t-shirts, and allowed them to mill around our PA where they tried to cut the power cords to the system.

Berkeley police repeatedly allowed CodePink to violate our permits, and never lifted a finger to stop their crowd from interfering with our activities until the very end, after we screamed blue bloody hell.

When Catherine Moy, the Executive Director of MAF called the police to tell them a riot was erupting in the early hours –THEY HUNG UP ON HER.

Cat called the Highway Patrol, who referred her back to the Berkeley police –WHO HUNG UP ON HER.

It was positively shameful.

In the middle of the madness, I appeared on Fox News - PatDollard.com provides the video.

Move America Forward’s attorney Jim Sweeney took depositions from ten people who were assaulted by CodePink, International A.N.S.W.E.R. and socialists who showed up en masse.

The City Council has been notified by fax that we are filing a federal lawsuit for deprivation of our civil rights. We didn’t start this fight, but we are damn sure gonna finish it.

The pro-troops demonstration is still going strong at 7:30 p.m. PST, with all streets around the Berkeley City Council closed off as the CodePinkos continue to receive preferential treatment by the Berkeley PD.

Move America Forward’s sound permit was turned off at 5:00 in the afternoon, while the Pinkos were allowed to use their system to sing Kumbaya and other 60’s peace chants.

So on one side we had Code Pink, International ANSWER, The World Can’t Wait  and other anti war groups, and on the other we had Move America Forward, A Gathering of Eagles, Patriot Guard Riders, The World Can’t Wait  and members of the Military Order of the Purple Heart.

 I searched around Code Pink’s site but didn’t find any information on today’s protest.

Caosblog has some info on some of the double standards applied to MAF which the Code Pink team did not have to have:

What is required of MAF that is not required of Code PINK?

-sign language intrepreters for hearing impaired

-porta-potties for the disabled.

-shut down the sound system at 5:00 when the rally is scheduled to begin

Caos also has some pictures up here.

Another good source for info on today’s face off is Rosemary.

 was unable to make it to Berkeley today, but I have some very good links that I can introduce to you and links of which you are already aware. This first link is one of a very good writer. I could not tell which side of the protest he would be defending, which means he was very professional. It’s a shame he is not a journalist.

His blog is Political Blotter and his article is The scene at the Berkeley Marine protest. He has pictures, quotes, and links. I recommend his site, because I was impressed by it. Stop over and encourage him. He did a very good job.

That Site, Political Blotter says this:

Early on, the protestors faced each other across Martin Luther King Jr. Way, with the CodePink, World Can’t Wait - Drive Out the Bush Regime, and other anti-military protestors in front of City Hall and the pro-Marines protestors — many of them organized by Move America Forward — in MLK Jr. Memorial Park. Chants dueled back and forth across the street — “Shame on Berkeley!” vs. “Shame on Bush” — as cars passed between, honking their horns in support of one side or the other.

Each side had an enormous U.S. flag hanging on its side of the street; the pro-ban side’s flag, however, had its stars re-arranged into a peace symbol.

Among the signs people carried (see if you can guess which side of the street they were on): “All recruiters lie — if they told the truth, no one would enlist;” “City Council supports our troops with contempt;” “You can’t attend college in a body bag;” “Boycott Berkeley for bashing our boys.”

Things got tenser as the pro-ban crowd crossed to the pro-Marines side of the street, but in a few places — despite some shouted profanities and enough rhetoric to choke a debate club — actual dialogue occurred. Read more about it after the jump…

CodePink cofounder Medea Benjamin and some of her pink-clad cohorts were first to cross at about 11:35 a.m., carrying a banner and posing for photos with fingers raised in Vs as a peace salute. Police formed a line behind them, and on the other side stood several pro-Marines protestors carrying flags; two of them each raised a single digit in a different kind of salute, before switching to a thumbs-down gesture.

…

Here are a few excerpts of what I heard:

“We do support the troops but we do not support an illegal war… This (military) system is sucking young men and women in, and it is using and abusing them.” – Retired U.S. Army Col. Ann Wright, 60, now an antiwar activist

“Without our Marines, Army, Air Force, Navy, National Guard, Reserves and Coast Guard, the terrorists will win. I am for America, and Berkeley has overstepped its bounds… These people don’t have a clue about courage, it’s shocking and shameful. And I don’t want one cent of my taxpayer dollars to go for anything for Berkeley… Berkeley needs to be taught a lesson, the rest of the world doesn’t care how fruity they are.” – Lisa Disbrow, 56, a Moraga schoolteacher

“This isn’t about the Marine recruiters’ free speech; they have billions of dollars with which to lie to youth.” – World Can’t Wait youth organizer Giovanni Jackson, 26, of Berkeley

“I was appalled, it’s ridiculous… If anybody wants to join the Marine Corps of their own free will, let ‘em do it. I signed on the dotted line… I wouldn’t trade that for anything, I’m a better person because of it.” – former U.S.M.C. Sgt. Eamon Kelly, 24, of Alameda

“The citizens’ speech has already been repressed when the Marines moved into Berkeley without asking us.” – attorney Sharon Adams, author of a zoning-code amendment initiative that would restrict the location of military recruitment centers

“I’m just wondering what teacher brought them (Berkeley students) down here… We don’t even teach about any of our wars in school any more, so how would they know? But we did fight to give them that freedom.” – Veterans of Foreign Wars state commander David Norris of Tracy

“Nancy Pelosi had the power to end the funding for this war and she didn’t,” putting her among government enablers “who proclaim that they are for peace but will not stand for peace. These people need backbone, they need courage, and they’re going to get it from you.” – Rabbi Michael Lerner, founder of the Tikkun community and cofounder of the Network of Spiritual Progressives

“The crowd here for years has been telling our troops they don’t belong in Iraq. Now they have the gall to tell them they don’t belong in America? … They (the troops) are honorable, they’re noble, they’re professional, and to see them attacked this way is appalling.” – Gold Star Mom Debbie Lee of Surprise, Ariz., whose son, Navy SEAL Marc Alan Lee, was killed in Iraq on Aug. 6, 2006

“I wish somebody had cared enough about me to tell me the other side of the story before I joined the Marine Corps.” – USMC veteran Jeff Patterson

“I think the citizens have a right to go into the Marines if they choose to.” – a 14-year-old Berkeley High School student

“Now the whole world is going to be watching what’s happening here in Berkeley… Let’s show the rest of the country how Berkeley we can be, how loving we can be.” – Medea Benjamin, cofounder of Global Exchange and CodePink Women for Peace

In summary, I would say the protest was exactly what most people expected.  Hopefully I will have some idea of how the meeting itself went later.

On a side note I found this on the Council’s agenda:

17. Letter To Canadian Officials Requesting Sanctuary For U.S. War Resisters (PDF) 

From: Councilmember Worthington

Recommendation: Send a letter to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Diana Finley and Liberal Party leader Stephane Dion requesting that the government of Canada establish provisions to provide sanctuary for U.S. military service members who are living in Canada to resist fighting in the Iraq War.

Financial Implications: See report

Contact: Kriss Worthington, Councilmember, District 7, 981-7170

Is there anyone who is still not convinced that these people are still living in the 60s?

Final segment to this blog is the stunt pulled by Harry Reid to delay discussion on the Sen DeMint “Semper Fi” bill to remove Berkeley’s federal funding.  Using an obscure recess tactic delayed it but didn’t kill it.

Well, Harry Reid managed to stymie movement on DeMint’s measure. He used a rare maneuver to delay the vote until later today–giving the council a chance to backtrack and giving cover to the Dems. A Senate staffer told me: “It’s truly incredible that they went to such great lengths to avoid having to deal with this.”

Par for the course for the Move On-bought-and-owned Dems.

The Hill reports:

Senate Democrats left two days of legislative business officially open last week, hobbling GOP efforts to bring up a bill punishing a liberal California city for scolding Marine Corps recruiters.

Republicans said Democrats clearly wanted to avoid being forced to choose between the Marine Corps or Berkeley, Calif., known for its liberalism and fervent anti-war positions.

But, compare that to his later comments:

A Hill staffer sends the following partial transcript of Harry Reid’s comments to a reporter on the siege at Berkeley:

QUESTION: Do you think the statement made by the Berkeley City Council was appropriate? What should the response of the United States Senate be?

REID: To be very honest with you, I don’t know what the Berkeley City Council said. I have enough trouble keeping track of the Las Vegas City Council, so I’m sorry…

QUESTION: They said the Marines were not welcome in Berkeley.

REID: Well, if they said that, I’m disappointed. The Marine Corps should be welcome anyplace in the United States.

And what that says to me is that he jumped on a partisan bandwagon having no clue what was at issue, or at stake.

Way to go Harry.

So there is today’s summary.

I am sure there will be much more tomorrow.

Trackback URL for this post:
http://peacethugs.com/wp-trackback.php?p=19

Categories: Berkeley, CA, assaults on recruiters
Tags: