Free Republic

SACRAMENTO — Morning begins on Marty Way. Sprinklers slap across crew-cut lawns, and the rising sun angles through a thick canopy of trees. As neighbors head to work, they hardly glance anymore at the block's oddest sight. The soldier is still there. Affixed under the gingerbread eaves of Stephen and Virginia Pearcy's place is the figure of a U.S. serviceman in desert camouflage and helmet. A balled-up American flag forms the head. A noose is cinched around the neck, just above the sign reading, "Bush Lied. I Died." Early on, TV news cameras caught young vandals tearing down the effigy....

Sacramento -- A painting of the United States sinking into a toilet, formerly on display in the cafeteria of the state Department of Justice, has been moved by Attorney General Bill Lockyer to his 17th floor office, where public access is limited. The artist who created the piece, Stephen Pearcy, said Lockyer's decision to move the painting violated his First Amendment right to political speech. The painting's inclusion in a larger exhibit displayed in the state building sparked protests from some conservatives and served as fodder for talk radio shows. "His office is not public. The decision to move it...

SactoDan/Western Alliance Exclusive Andy Nevis, the CA High School Conservative blogger of the Western Alliance attempted to deliver his petition today. The petition which contained some 3000 signatures demands that Attorney General Bill Lockyer remove the anti-American art contained in the exhibit. One picture in particular, ''Tanks to Mr. Bush'' by Berkeley liberal Steve Pearcy raised public ire. With a Fox 40 News Crew in Tow, Mr. Nevis went into the AG's office at 1300 I Street to deliver the petition. After a brief interview outside the building, Andy went in to deliver the petition. The Guard behind the bulletproof...

The Art of Politics, PatriotismSacUnion.com Staff Report Published: July 29, 2005 (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli) A painting titled "T'anks to Mr. Bush!" by attorney-artist Stephen Pearcy, is displayed in the Department of Justice cafeteria in Sacramento. ** (Photos from Thursday’s protest are located below.)** The California Department of Justice building has become ground zero over a collection of artwork that critics have attacked for being ‘anti-American.’ The most controversial painting depicts the U.S. flag in the shape of the United States being flushed down a toilet. Thursday night the debate was elevated to new heights as more than 600 hundred people...

just received via e-mail URGENT! Air America to Counter Pro-American EventFriends, today on Air America's affiliate, Talk City 1240, it was announced that Air America listeners will be mobilizing to counter our "I LOVE AMERICA" art exhibit and pro-American rally. That rally is set to take place in Downtown Sacramento THIS THURSDAY, July 28th from about 3:30 PM, concluding at 10:00 PM. [Location of event is 1300 I Streets at the corner of 13th and I] + 3:30 PM The "I LOVE AMERICA" Exhibit Opens + 4:30 PM "I LOVE AMERICA" Rally Begins + 7:00 PM Event begins live broadcast...

Patriotic Art Show to Counter Attorney General's ExhibitSacUnion.com Staff Writer Published: July 25, 2005 A painting titled "T'anks to Mr. Bush!" by attorney-artist Stephen Pearcy, is displayed in the Department of Justice cafeteria in Sacramento, Calif., Tuesday, July 19, 2005. This coming Thursday the heated political debate surrounding an art exhibit co-sponsored by State Attorney General Bill Lockyer will intensify when conservative opponents of the Lockyer-sponsored exhibit put on their own, counter exhibit. The Sacramento-based pro-military non-profit group, Move America Forward, has announced it is teaming up with Sacramento talk show host, Mark Williams of KFBK 1530, to put on...

Mark Williams to Launch Protest of Attorney GeneralThe tone in the bully’s voice was almost exuberant; it was certainly smug and self-satisfied. The bully is a creep named Steven Pearcy, and he was trying to buffalo his way onto my Sacramento talk show on KFBK 1530 AM to bask in the glory of the attention he felt due him. Pearcy was boasting about California Attorney General Bill Lockyer’s endorsement of his vile bile, and now Steve Pearcy wanted to take me to task for my role in organizing what is now my second mobilization of the general public to denounce...

Pearcy seeks to intimidate Bloggers I have just received a phone call today at about 12:15 pm from Mr. Stephen Pearcy regarding this blog which I wrote March 9, 2005 about Mr. and Mrs. Pearcy who hung a soldier in effigy (twice) from the eaves of their home in Land Park in Sacramento. I also noted with links vulgar statements posted on Mr. Pearcy’s car. In the call I received from Mr. Pearcy, he informed me that I am guilty of a “tortious interference with a business relationship” because I suggested that people who didn’t like her private actions could...

The man who tore down an effigy of a U.S. solider hung as a protest last month outside a Land Park home will not face criminal charges, the Sacramento County District Attorney Office said in a press release Friday. After a review of Sacramento police reports seeking an arrest warrant for misdemeanor vandalism, prosecutors said there was insufficient evidence because there was no damage to the effigy or the home belonging to Stephen and Virginia Pearcy. Charges for trespassing are not sought because the encroachment was slight and that such cases are not ordinarily prosecuted. A second incident in which...

While media and protesters raged against the military mannequin outside, a very different scene unfolded inside the house on Marty WayDon’t want to live like an effigy: Virginia and Stephen Pearcy pose beneath the second coming of their controversial creation. Stephen Pearcy had little idea what kind of monster he was about to create when he stepped into a surplus store to buy materials for his latest political statement. In fact, all signs pointed to the contrary: Even the store manager, when he found out what Stephen and his wife, Virginia, were up to, showed his approval by telling the...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - The anti-war message a suburban couple hung below the rafters of their home was meant to be provocative: It's a soldier's uniform, complete with helmet and gloves, and the sign "Bush Lied. I Died," painted in black and white. Since Stephen and Virginia Pearcy put up the display, it has been vandalized twice and put up again. Police are investigating the vandalism reports as well as a claim by a military mother that the display should be investigated as a hate crime. "It's a message of dissent over the war in Iraq," Stephen Pearcy said. "The soldiers...