Posted on 03/20/2003 11:20:59 PM PST by stratman1969
Now that the war to liberate Iraq has begun, our nation should put aside partisan differences and come together as one behind our president and our military.
Unfortunately, with some people, that is not happening.
We’ve seen it in comments over the last two days by several elected officials in our government. These people are so blinded by their dislike of George W. Bush that they resort to cheap partisan shots at him. They do this while our men and women in uniform are risking their lives to free Iraq and disarm a rogue regime.
I believe the disharmony they’ve exhibited has inspired nations like France publicly to hinder our diplomacy. Likewise, such rhetoric has inspired the alleged anti-war movement to continue its protests, and even escalate its tactics.
Today, these groups went out into the streets again, attempting to shut down commerce in San Francisco's financial district, as well as other cities across the nation. As I write this, a near riot is taking place in San Francisco.
Protesters at one intersection held banners with the photo of Che Guevara and chanted, ''Bush, you liar. We're going to set your ass on fire.'' Amazingly, this was reported on SFGate.com.
I thought these people were supposed to be ''peace activists.'' That incident didn’t sound very peaceful.
As someone who has counterprotested these supposed ''peace'' activists, I can tell you they are anything but peaceful. They are violent, vitriolic, and hateful. I’ve heard many of them use racist remarks to describe other counterprotesters, yet they claim to be against racism. They call America a ''terrorist nation'' and compare George W. Bush to Adolf Hitler. They say this is ''dissent'' and they are only ''questioning our government.''
Today, the true face of the so-called ''peace movement'' is coming out in their acts of civil disobedience. When people chain themselves to poles, block traffic, and vandalize property, they are not acting peaceful. Their actions are not ''freedom of speech'' or ''dissent.'' Instead, these actions are a form of domestic terrorism.
In a time of war, it is also sedition.
Freedom of expression ends when it becomes criminal and infringes on the rights of other people. Additionally, as our terror threat level has been elevated, these people present a public security threat. Law enforcement gets diverted from its real duty of protecting their communities. At the same time, it takes time and resources away from investigating and preventing possible acts of terrorism.
Even worse, the actions of these mobs only embolden people like Saddam Hussein and threaten to hurt the resolve of our military currently in harm’s way.
Unfortunately, the policy in punishing these people has been one of ''catch and release.'' There is no real punishment for these demonstrators. It is only a small fine and they are released back on the streets to raise more havoc.
This should change now! These hellions should pay a heavy penalty other than a slap on the wrist for disrupting San Francisco and other cities. The organizers of these groups should pay an even heavier price for stirring up the emotions of their groups. They do not have the right to interrupt the daily flow of life of this country. They must not be allowed to get away with disrupting our communities.
True. The most virulent demonstrations have taken place in those cities, such as San Francisco, Chicago, Philadelphia, etc., where the city councils have passed antiwar resolutions. In the three cities I have mentioned above, the governors of the respective states are Democrats and are unlikely to override the lenient treatment afforded by liberal Democrat-run city governments by sending in state troopers or the National Guard. Short of a declaration of war, which has not been made, the Feds can't send in troops or Federal law enforcement officers and arrest the antiwar vermin on sedition charges.
It may be that the true Americans of such cities have no alternative but to deal with these drug-addled, brain dead scum if the local authorities won't do so.
The outrageous disruptions launched by alleged "antiwar" protesters in San Francisco had nothing to do with opposition to the war, nothing to do with changing the foreign policy of this country, and no rational person could possibly endorse them.I agree with him. But neither he or I advocate banning the protests as such, and no conservative should.Masked thugs stopped cars, and tried to drag people out. These "peaceful" protesters had quite an array of weapons: stun guns, crowbars, brass knuckles, and other instruments of mayhem were confiscated from arrested demonstrators. They deliberately blocked streets, tied up the entire city for 8 hours, broke windows, threw rocks, and wreaked havoc, acting like the hooligans they are. Some of them wore masks, demonstrating that they are also cowards. News crews were assaulted with spraypaint, rocks, and other objects.
[...]
It's an outrage that they have been allowed to get away with this. The San Francisco Police Department tells us that these people were mostly cited and immediately released, but if they are arrested again they will be charged. What nonsense! Can anyone imagine what would happen if pro-war demonstrators went on a violent rampage in San Francisco? They would be charged with felony riot and thrown in jail for years.
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