#15 There has been coverage of this on Blackfive. This whole incident becomes a battle for the fundamental principles of how we conduct business in our Republic. Here is what I commented there:
I went to UC Berkeley, 1966 through 1970, and obtained a BS in Civil Engineering. Despite riots, sit-ins, national guard, barb wire, tear gas, etc etc, I did get an excellent education. I was back in Berkeley 12 years ago, and I had enough. The actions of the city government in the case of the Marines recruiting office is your free introductory offer into what leftists and marxists have to offer.....more of the same, scaled up.
Regardless of one's political feelings about the Marines, they have the right to rent office space. People have a right to go there and conduct their business. It is against the law to chain an exit on a facility open to the public during business hours. The Fire Marshal has a legal right to have those perpetrators arrested for doing so.
I think that the Marines have a perfect legal right to get some bolt cutters and remove any chains or cables blocking the entrance to their business. Those doors and entrances are private property, belonging to the landlord.
As with the Haditha Marines case, this is a fundamental issue that the Bush Administration has absolutely failed to engage. When Rep. Jack Murtha shot off his mouth and smeared the Marines in public statements, the President and Sec. Def. Rumsfeld said NOTHING. They needed to say that the allegations of murder w/r/t Haditha are serious charges and will be handled through the established military justice system. They needed to say that Jack Murtha was out of line with statements made to the media, and he, as a United States Senator, should know better. His actions could seriously compromise justice. But nothing was said.
Similarly, the President or the Attorney General needs to say that a Federal recruiting office in Berkeley, California is being blocked by individuals, and the local police appear to not be enforcing local laws. Individuals seeking to do business with the Marine recruiters are not being allowed to exercise their civil rights, which are guaranteed by the US Constitution. In light of this situation, the President is directing that the Justice Department immediately investigate this situation to see if Federal Law is being violated, and if so, arrest those individuals committing those crimes.
Not doing so is giving into lawlessness, and in effect sanctioning the actions of Code Pink, the Berkeley City Council, and the Berkeley Police Department. If the government does not protect the people, then the people will protect themselves, and Americans are good at that when they are pi$$ed off enough. We do not want to go there. And the Code Pink folks do not want to go there, for sure.
This is another battlefield of an age-old war against tyranny and lawlessness. One cannot walk away from this one. It has to be engaged. The tactics are different than Guadalcanal, or other great battles, but the stakes are just as high.
Sorry for the long rant, but this whole thing brings back very bad memories of my Berkeley days. |
Berkeley's City Council voted two weeks ago to send a letter to a downtown recruiting station advising the Marines they were not welcome. In a session that stretched into early Wednesday, the council said they recognize recruiters' right to be in Berkeley. The council reiterated its opposition to the war but said, "We deeply respect and support the men and women in our armed forces."