Posted on 02/09/2008 8:00:26 AM PST by coffee260
OK, so 200 Marines stationed in Grand Rapids, Michigan, piled on to five buses and came to Toledo, Ohio, yesterday to practice some urban patrol exercises. The Toledo police knew about the request for the three-day exercise well in advance, but somehow Mayor Carty Finkbeiner didn’t see the memo requesting permission for the event. So when when the first bus arrives at 3:20 p.m. and Staff Sergeant Andre Davis steps off, he is greeted by a city employee and told that the mayor wanted him and his soldiers out of town by 6 p.m. “I wish,” Sgt Davis drily remarked, “they would have told us this four hours ago.”
Indeed.
I gather that Mayor Finkbeiner (a Democrat, readers will be surprised to learn), like the folks in Berkeley, California, can’t think of the United States Marines without having the first lines of “The Destruction of Sennacherib” float through his head (“The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold …”) “The mayor asked them to leave because they frighten people,” said Brian Schwartz, the mayor’s spokesman.
Gee, isn’t that a shame?
Lance Corporal Brandon Bukrey-McCarty recalled how useful such training was when he had been deployed in Fallujah in 2006-2007. The training, he said, “got me used to looking up on rooftops, looking around every alley, every open door.”
Too bad, Brandon! Carty Finkbeiner thinks having U.S. soldiers in town will frighten the voters, so your comrades will just have to do without that training.
The company’s commanding officer, Major Jeffrey O’Neill, was disappointed by Carty Finkbeiner’s cold shoulder—it would, he noted, be difficult to find a suitable alternative venue for the exercise—but “we’re Marines,” he said, “We’ll adapt and overcome.”
I have no doubt about that. I hope part of the adaptation will be to present the City of Toledo—or maybe Carty Finkbeiner himself—with the $10,000 tab that the aborted exercise cost the Marines.
Mayor Finkbeiner can boast on his official website that Tony Packos Restaurant in Toledo was “made famous on the television show M*A*S*H.” But when he has an opportunity to help the men and women who in real life protect this country, including the City of Toledo, he refuses to grant them the sort of permit he would routinely give to a bunch of anti-American activists who wanted to organize a protest march down Main Street. I think it’s disgusting. If I lived in Toledo, I’d be wondering when Carty Finkbeiner was up for re-election and would look forward to sending him out on a 6:00 p.m. bus at the earliest opportunity.
Hat tip for this item to Instapundit.
Staff Sgt. Andre Davis talks to his commanding officer as he leaves the Madison Building after Mayor Carty Finkbeiner requested that the Marines leave the downtown location.
Before he left downtown for Perrysburg Township, Major O'Neill said he was not sure what type of training, if any, his unit could undertake without access to downtown Toledo.
"But we're Marines," Major O'Neill said. "We'll adapt and overcome."
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Amazing!!! I live in urban Minneapolis. If four or forty bus loads of Marines descended on Minneapolis for a training exercise, I'm quite certain it wouldn't frighten me. It might fascinate me to the nth degree. If I could find some perch to watch any part of the training, I would truly enjoy that. No, no, it wouldn't frighten me.
I find it difficult to believe that ANY American citizen would say the "US Marines" frighten him...or her.
This proves once again, Democrats support the military, it's the sailors, soldiers and marines they hate.
Thanks for the ping, george76 and the link to the mayors office, RBurke. Email sent!
On the bright side, when the dirty bombs start going off, and the strapped homicide bombers begin taking out bus stations, it won’t be out here in the Republican countryside.
It will be where the scumbag Democrats don’t want the Marines.
Que sera se-friggin-ra....
Nice name, Finkbeiner.
How about the same to the Ohio Gov , the two senators, the Commandant of the Marines Corps, etc, etc, etc?
>> “But we’re Marines,” Major O’Neill said. “We’ll adapt and overcome.”
Insurgency training.
Did you see the poll on the newspaper site about spending rebate money in Toledo? 61% said they would not.
This is most likely "Bush derangement" syndrome, just as we had Clinton "trust" issues at that time. Maybe having truckloads of Marines hitting your town going rooftop to rooftop isn't a good idea at anytime. Are they practicing for Iraq, or Houston?
Like I said, I love the military and trust Dubya, but we won't have him much longer. I just posted on another thread about Florida wanting to stop sales of "assault" weapons. ( Democrat bill) How would Floridians feel if they now saw Marines dispatched to their cities after a gun ban was passed?
Not everyone in Toledo is happy with this. The Marines had the permission from the Police who’d help set up the perimeter area for them. The Mayor, it appears, acted without consulting any members of city council. But then, he’s known for a ready-shoot-aim approach.
http://thurbersthoughts.blogspot.com/2008/02/marines-told-to-leave-toledo.html
I’d love to have copies of emails sent to the Mayor to mention on my radio show. You can send them to maggie at wspd dot com.
Cut off any future federal CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) funding. That is a discretionary federal award. http://www.hud.gov/offices/cpd/communitydevelopment/programs/
“...Are they practicing for Iraq, or Houston?...”
Given time and they way the country is going, maybe Houston.
Thanks for the email address. I sent him what I think of him, both since I came from Ohio and am a Very Very Proud Marine Mom.
We gotta make this guy the most famous politician in America- even bigger than Obama!
You have to understand—we are used to seeing Marines train on a daily basis. They do all kinds of training here, from bombing runs to water landings to in the woods type of things. We are more uncomfortable when they’re not here.
As for rooftop training, we can’t help them much. Until recently the tallest thing around was the highrise bridge!
I hear what you’re saying, but living near Cherry Point, Camp Lejeune, Seymore Johnson, FT Bragg—gives us a different perspective on military.
Yes, lots of men with guns can be scary. As I said earlier, no biggie to us. Most of the guys here hunt all the time, so perhaps we’re jsut more used to the sight of weapons than others? As another poster said, we’re more apt to watch, or pay no attention at all. The Marines are here to protect us and they can’t do that without training.
It was leaked that the military had passed a survey amongst some of its units and asked them if they would shoot to kill US citizens if they were ordered to give up their guns and refused. This was about the time Britain lost their guns and Australia was talking about it. After Ruby Ridge and Waco, Freepers weren't feeling too safe with the "bent one" in charge. We had reports of "blue helmets"( The UN was voting to ban private ownership of guns) and "foreign looking" soldiers in convoys going across the country. It wasn't a pleasant time in our history. Supposedly the outcome of the survey to shoot citizens was in the single digits. I thought that was too high. Maybe a class in Constitutional law should be mandatory in Basic training now. They sure don't get it in High School.
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What sacrifices are you willing to make?
The more you do what you’ve done, the more you’ll get what you’ve got.
If you’re willing to reallocate your discretionary buying habits, you can make a difference.
I see your point on the 2nd Amendment issue. I was actually thinking about some type of possible jihadist attack on one of our cities which would necessitate such training by the Marines.
Maggiiiiieee! Ms. Eye-On-Toledo, welcome. ;) Thanks for the info.
Just checked out the blog at WSPD hoping to comment there, alas, no such capability. Decided not to shop in Toledo anymore...Maumee, Holland and Sylvania will work JUST fine.
(the traffic light cameras is the other reason)
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