Houston Crackdown on Right to Peaceful Protest, Freedom of Speech...

Yubanet.com ^ | 11-18-06

[Snickering Hound]

Oooof, next time take your out of town demonstrators to a sympathetic liberal Mecca!

I think these guys are going to be munchin on baloney sandwiches behind bars a while!

[BenLurkin]

Call in the INS too.

[fat city]

Who is going to clean up this mess?

[I_Like_Spam]

The SEIU has a lot of bread, and these out of town protestors have no connection to the area.

This bail seems a bit excessive to insure that these suspects make it to trial, but a substantial bail is certainly in order.

[CindyDawg]

Don't mess with Texas, esp Houston, who is still dealing with their last bunch of guests.

[Texas_Jarhead]

"Call in the INS too."

I imagine one would find that most are not illegal aliens as they were brought in from out of town. Otherwise, why not just use local members? Just my speculation of course.

[Snickering Hound]

They shut down traffic at Rusk and Capitol in Downtown Houston during afternoon rush hour.

KTRK is reporting tonight that the union has decided to return to the bargaining table after this debacle.

[CindyDawg]

Dang. Life without parole.

[Luke Skyfreeper]

This is freakin' outrageous.

Can they sue the DA?

[CindyDawg]

I suppose they though they would get a fussing and be turned loose. Who do they think they are, Cindy Shehan?

[The Spirit Of Allegiance]

Houston workers are paid an average of $20 a day, with no health insurance for part-time work.

---

PARTIAL DAY = $20 a day.

Federal Minimum Wage still applies...

Sounds like getting a second part-time job or a full-time job would be an option.

[isthisnickcool]

In every city, the janitors work for many of the same national cleaning firms in buildings owned by the same national commercial landlords. But, while janitors in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and other cities make more than $10 an hour, have health insurance and full-time work, Houston workers are paid an average of $20 a day, with no health insurance for part-time work.

Somebody needs a raise to $888,888 an hour....

The DA needs to do the same thing the next time the illegals take to the streets.

[lastchance]

I have to respectfully disagree. Even if this group did not have any required permits to assemble the bail set is outrageous. Remember how the RICO lawsand buffer zones have been used to silence anti-abortion protestors. Remember how speech codes are used to quell conservative opinions on campuses. Remember how peaceful protest helped this nation realize such things as the wrongs of racial segregation.

I have no argument with arresting these people if they were disobeying the law or ignored a peace officers order to disperse. If there were illegals in the crowd by all means INS should be contacted, with the view they should be deproted.

However the American citizens arrested should not be subject to a bail that is far in excess of that for assault, murder and other crimes against person and property. Our laws and courts should never be used as political weapons to stifle peaceful dissent or protest.

[isthisnickcool]

This isn't a stand alone incident. They have been disrupting Houstonians over and over using people that don't even live in Houston. They don't have to mess with the public over a private matter. Comparing people that are bitching about jobs they are not forced to take to abortion is silly.

[Kirkwood]

The last thing you should do when picketing is stop traffic. Any sympathy or goodwill you might have amongst people commuting is lost forever. If you want to picket, do so on that nice sidewalk over there and stay the hell out of the streets.

[uremus]

In one breath these whiners refer to $10 an hour wages, and then refer to $20 a day for the janitors. Apples and Oranges. What is the hourly comparison of wages, and what is the daily hours worked under existing contracts for the janitors now?

[domenad]

Civil disobedience.....is still disobediance.

[rlpfly]

"More than 5,300 Houston janitors are paid $20 a day with no health insurance, among the lowest wages and benefits of any workers in America"

Maybe these people should get real jobs.

[lastchance]

My objection was to the very high bail set for American citizens. I still think legal peaceful protest by citizens is a legitimate expression of speech.

I do favor the deportation of illegals and have no objection to arresting those who are gathered illegally or ignore orders to disperse.

I do not doubt some were disruptive- reason enough to haul them to jail. But if the article truly reflects bail set for other violent crimes the bail was excessive.

In that case I hold that bail was used to indimidate these persons from engaging in legal, peacefull protest and not as a means to insure their appearance in court.

If a court finds that the protests were illegal by all means levy the appropriate fines and penalties but until then the US citizens are assummed innocent.

[isthisnickcool]

I understand that the union has brought in people who have been paid by the union and instructed to illegally disrupt traffic in Houston again and again. To make their point in their personal dispute with businesses. Which has nothing to do with people driving on Houston streets and costs people time and money.

Texans are prudent people and the DA is simply letting the union know that such things won't be put up with. So he's hitting them in the pocketbook. Seems to me that this is not much different than what the union is doing. Note that the union started all of this. Not Houston motorists.

Don't mess with Texas and don't block the streets in Houston.