Truth Is Scarier Than Fiction

Borrowing liberally (and rather shamelessly) from Vidiot, I simply must relay the following, which positively infuriates me and makes me absolutely terrified for what will happen to our beloved America if these arrogant, flagrant abusers of power remain in office:

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More on the story of the anti-Bush protesters being handcuffed and removed from a Bush rally:

An article in the Charleston Gazette has several interesting nuggets of info. Among them:
--the rally/visit was held on state property, i.e., the grounds of the West Virginia Capitol;
--Organizers called it a "presidential visit", not a "rally." State and federal funds were used to pay for the visit;
--Bush/Cheney buttons were sold on the Capitol grounds;
--the protesters, Nicole and and Jeff Rank, were arrested and charged with "trespassing";
--Nicole Rank is a federal employee (FEMA, to be exact);
--the Ranks were arrested by Charleston police;
--the Secret Service, as usual, was in charge of security at the event, and coordinated state, local, and parks polices' actions;
--attendees were required to have tickets, which were distributed by a Republican House member and local employers;
--those who applied for tickets were required to give their names, addresses, birthdates, birth places, and Social Security Numbers.

So....attending a presidential visit on state property is "trespassing"? I'd really like to hear more about this "no-trespassing area" that the Ranks were supposedly standing in. Were no pro-Bush people there as well? Presidential "visits" tend to be fairly crowded events. Were the Ranks just standing all by themselves, wearing their anti-Bush T-shirts, in a restricted area?

The Ranks have been given summonses to appear in court. Their hearing should be interesting.

Oh, and just to add to the irony, here's an excerpt from Bush's speech that day:

"On this Fourth of July, we confirm our love of freedom, the freedom for people to speak their minds, the freedom for people to worship as they so choose. Free thought, free expression, that's what we believe."

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Unfuckingbelievable. The hypocrisy rolls off his tongue like beads of sweat off Shaq's forehead at the free-throw line. It truly sickens me.

If Shrub remains in office, reports of incidents like this will invariably increase as he and his baneful cronies proceed with their assault on our civil rights, those rights guaranteed to us by that document the Bush camp has apparently never read, the Constitution.

Oh, and one more thing, Dubya: if you manage to outlaw abortion, you can rest assured, situations like these will present themselves over and over again.

I'm so frightened for America's future if these religious zealots continue to stomp on the Constitution, ignoring the mandate of separation of church and state and thumping us all on the head with their hackneyed Bibles.

But there is reason for optimism: Campaigning today in Florida, reflecting on the bungled recount of 2000, Kerry and Edwards note that no such thievery will transpire during this year's election, promising that "In 2004, not only does every vote in Florida count but every vote is going to be counted."

Hallelujah.

There are many, especially those who have seen Fahrenheit 9/11, who fear BushCo's blatant manipulation of votes could repeat itself. I believe Gore felt he had no option but to walk away in 2000, after only a brief fight. He was smart enough to realize he simply could not win. But I am becoming increasingly confident that an informed American public will not sit quietly and let their White House be stolen a second time.

Keep it up, Kerry and Edwards. May the force be with you.

Posted by ayelet at July 8, 2004 09:20 AM