Just got back from Bezerkley tonight --before the City Council's action.
I sent this update e-mail to Michelle Malkin, who has fired up the country with her blogging.
If I were a headline writer I would describe the situation as CHAOS AND ANARCHY IN BERKELEY today.
Not by our side –by the Marine haters and American traitors.
The cops were openly hostile toward the people who showed up at 5:00 a.m., RARELY stepping in to protect the patriots from the assaults that took place against elderly folks, Gold Star parents, Blue Star families and Joe and Jane Citizen who were waving the flags and showing their pride in the Marines. The police allowed hundreds of Berkeley High School kids (accompanied by their teachers) to gather with CodePink, receive their mandatory face masks and F---k Bush t-shirts, and allowed them to mill around our PA where they tried to cut the power cords to the system.
Berkeley police repeatedly allowed CodePink to violate our permits, and never lifted a finger to stop their crowd from interfering with our activities until the very end, after we screamed blue bloody hell.
When Catherine Moy, the Executive Director of MAF called the police to tell them a riot was erupting in the early hours –THEY HUNG UP ON HER.
Cat called the Highway Patrol, who referred her back to the Berkeley police –WHO HUNG UP ON HER.
It was positively shameful.
In the middle of the madness, I appeared on Fox News - PatDollard.com provides the video.
Move America Forward’s attorney Jim Sweeney took depositions from ten people who were assaulted by CodePink, International A.N.S.W.E.R. and socialists who showed up en masse.
The City Council has been notified by fax that we are filing a federal lawsuit for deprivation of our civil rights. We didn’t start this fight, but we are damn sure gonna finish it.
The pro-troops demonstration is still going strong at 7:30 p.m. PST, with all streets around the Berkeley City Council closed off as the CodePinkos continue to receive preferential treatment by the Berkeley PD.
Move America Forward’s sound permit was turned off at 5:00 in the afternoon, while the Pinkos were allowed to use their system to sing Kumbaya and other 60’s peace chants.
Berkeley, the birthplace of free speech, is now officially the center of intolerant hatred for anyone who sticks up for the men and women who are fighting and dying to protect THEIR rights.
Before our sound system was nearly sabotaged, a young man posing as a pro-troop supporter asked to speak to the crowd. I allowed him to talk (about his family’s ‘service’)when he started spewing obscenities about the ‘illegal, immoral, unjust war’ . I grabbed the microphone back, and he tried to clobber me with it.
Gold Star Dad Mark Crowley knocked him to the ground, where he found a faceful of dirt to keep him company.
Our side sang God Bless America, America the beautiful and other stirring songs that seemed to enrage the elderly commies.
25,000 petitions were collected by Move America Forward with the help of other pro-troops groups like Gathering of Eagles, EaglesUp, Vets for Freedom and others.
There were Eagles EVERYWHERE today.
And Patriot Guard Riders.
And American Legion vets.
And members of the Military Order of the Purple Heart.
5,000 petition signatures were also collected by an organization in Washington headed by Nicholas Provenzano, who flew out to Berkeley on the red-eye to deliver to the City Council.
Red, White and Blue Americans rushed to our side from Atlanta, Georgia, New York, Pennsylvania, Colorado, San Diego, and other parts of the United States.
Our crowds numbered into the thousands throughout the day.
So gratifying. So humbling.
People of all ages, races, and political backgrounds (yes even some incensed liberals) honored our active duty service members serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, and in other parts around the world.
We spoke of the sacrifice and the nobility of the military families who support their sons and daughters, husbands and wives.
And we gave a HOOO-AWW especially to our Marines, who find themselves prevented from speaking while under assault, not from a evil enemy abroad, but from the insurgents here at home.
Your readers should be proud and exhilarated by our efforts today.
I don’t know what will happen with the Berkeley City Council, but I would be you that dollars to donuts, they’ll issue some mealy-mouthed WE SUPPORT THE TROOPS, JUST NOT THEIR MISSION crap, and then keep in place all the restrictions that make recruiting on Shattuck avenue all but impossible.
I have no idea how the media will portray this historic event –I can only tell you that 3 TV helicopters were overhead almost all day long, every major media outlet in the Bay Area, as well as national TV and print reporters–but OUR people spoke eloquently, passionately, and with conviction about the hateful attitude that the City of Berkeley has displayed toward the USMC.
