Posted on 08/08/2006 5:22:47 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
Roadside camping and parking bans are constitutional, a federal judge ruled, blocking protesters from pitching tents or placing portable toilets in ditches near President Bush's ranch.
Protesters sought to make a smaller makeshift campsite than what Cindy Sheehan set up a year ago off the winding, two-lane road leading to Bush's ranch, said attorney David Broiles, who sued on behalf of Sheehan, of Berkeley, Calif., and four other anti-war demonstrators.
But less than a week after asking the protesters and McLennan County officials to try to reach a compromise, U.S. District Judge Walter S. Smith ruled unexpectedly late Monday that the county ordinances enacted last fall are constitutional.
"I can't speculate about why," Broiles said, adding that his clients may appeal the ruling or continue trying to reach a compromise with the county.
Herbert S. Bristow, one of the attorneys who represented the county in the lawsuit, said he was not surprised by the judge's ruling because the ordinances - banning parking on parts of 14 roads near Bush's ranch and prohibiting camping in any county ditch - were well-researched.
Last fall, county commissioners banned roadside camping and parking after Sheehan's small group of protesters swelled to several thousand people on weekends and locals complained of the noise, traffic and odor from portable toilets.
Sheehan and a handful of protesters sat in chairs across from a roadblock near Bush's ranch again Tuesday, where she also released 18 balloons with postcards saying she wanted to meet with the president.
Sheehan kicked off her summer protest Sunday on a 5-acre lot she bought last month. The land near downtown is more than 7 miles from the ranch, much farther from the group's second protest site, a 1-acre lot a sympathetic landowner let the group use until recently.
"Witch in the ditch" made me laugh. Good one:):)
******swelled to several thousand people on weekends and locals complained of the noise, traffic and odor from portable toilets.
Way to go Judge Smith!
The other thing that makes me wonder about these idiots' sanity is that they are doing this during one of the hottest spells of this Texas summer. You'd have to be nuts to purposfully stay outside in this weather.
uh hum.
I feel for all the locals who have had to put up with the crap the left has been doling out there.
The left have done one helluva job making complete and utter nuisances of themselves, but that seems to be about all the left is good for these days.
Seven (7) miles??? The way the MSM was portraying Cindy's new parcel, I thought the only way to the Bush ranch was via her property. Gee am I disappointed :(
You are certainly on the mark. It seems incredible to me as a rancher here in Texas that we have such uncaring idiots that we have to put up with. I'm here on the record to say that all of us ranchers here in Texas are laboring under the worst drought of the last four decades. We have already sold the majority of our herds at a loss. (Could George Soros save a farm or ranch with all his millions?.---dream on.) There is no water---4 inches of rain since last October. At that time we were already 16 inches behind for the year, 2005. The grass is gone, hay has gone from 4.25 a bale to 9.75---that's if one can find any. The temperature is in the triple digits---for the last 25 days. Our reservoirs are now mud flats that one can walk or drive across. Water rationing is in effect as well as burn bans. Already in Ft. Worth, TX people are drawing guns over the water restrictions. Those of us who have stock tanks still have to provide our cattle with expensive coop water since our lakes are so low we can't afford for the cattle to wade out across mudflats and get bogged down in the mud. This requires we spend time with logging chains and tractors to "suck" our cattle out of deeep mud. Usually they are so stressed that they die any way of trauma.
I'm a proud 12th generation American. I love America. At one time I thought we were all in this together. No more. I don't know what happened, but when we're are all gone I hope there is someone out there that has a clue about why they are starving, and are resting comfortable about what they have destroyed. Einstien once said we are only here because of a six inch layer of soil and the fact that occasionally ---it rains. The sad truth is that sometimes it doesn't. We don't need the likes of Cindy Sheham and her ilk muddying the waters in an already desperate place. We're in the business of feeding a nation while others are feeding egos and indulging their insanity. To Hell with them all.
Time for a good old fashion cattle drive over to the nearest waterin' hole, every day!
Maaawwwwoooo!
Cummin Thru!
Yep, a few longhorns in the ditch, why oooops!
Lady, get outn under my longhorn!
Wow, your post certainly puts everything in perspective.
I hope things improve for you very soon....you've got a good head on your shoulders. If I had my way, you would be the next governor of Texas!
I'm afraid it is going to get much worse before it gets better. Central Texas weather is best described as a series of droughts separated by floods. We had droughts that lasted 5 years or more in the 1910s, the 1930s and the 1950s. We are overdue for another.
Are you telling me that this drought is not being caused by "global warming"! Shame on you! I'm going to give AlBore your phone number--LOL!
If it is wetter than average, it is proof positive of global warming caused by Bush and those damned SUVs.
If it is warmer than average, it is proof positive of global warming caused by Bush and those damned SUVs.
If it is cooler than average, it is proof positive of global warming caused by Bush and those damned SUVs.
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