Kevin Binversie, hack propagandist at Wisconsin Distorter, tries to compare arresting political opponents to free speech. Media Hackers gushed all over him as he echoed their talking points, regardless of their baseless hyperbole. Ryan Ekvall, also at Wisconsin Distorter, gave Erwin the open door to paint his own scenario, fitting right into their boss' desired talking points.
And sure enough, late last week, Erwin sent his stormtroopers in to start citing people for exercising their First Amendment rights. How dare they carry a sign! Singing cannot be allowed! They are the very threats to civilization, dammit!
But lo and behold, on Thursday, a court ruling stated that holding signs was indeed free speech. Erwin called his stormtroopers back to regroup.
On Friday, when over 200 people showed up for the Solidarity Singalong, no arrests were made, no tickets were issued.
On Monday, Erwin settled on a new technique that belied his true nature.
Instead of dealing with the alleged crime when it was occurring, Erwin waited and then sent his troopers out to the people's homes to have them pulled out and cited.
Erwin also sent his troopers to the workplace of Bart Munger, of the Capitol Singers, to get his supervisor involved in this act of intimidation.
To be very clear about what is happening: Walker is ordering his police chief to send armed police officers to people's homes and to their jobs and punish them for voicing political opposition. That, gentle reader, is a textbook example of fascism. It's the same as when Walker and Scott Fitzgerald sent state troopers after the Democratic senators last year, even threatening to take the six-month pregnant Senator Julie Lassa feet first into the Capitol so that they could ram through their immoral power grabs.
The fact that Erwin is a willing accomplice and actor in this act of fascism proves him to be a disgrace not only to the uniform he wears now, but the ones he wore as a state trooper and a US Marine.
When given a chance in the Wisconsin Distorter interview to justify his behaviors, Erwin had this to say:
I looked — the administrative code was in place since 1979. So I’m like — what’s different? What did this administration change from the (former Gov. Jim) Doyle administration?Would someone please point out that the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights was written a helluva lot earlier than 1979 and supersedes an administrative code. Furthermore, he has taken a number of oaths to uphold the Constitution, and oath he is now breaking.
And you know what I find out — nothing. It’s written down and we’re moving forward with it.
It does make me wonder if it would be still a violation of Godwin's Law to call these people of acing like the Nazi Brownshirts, if that is indeed what they are doing.
But the news is not all bad.
As I stated a while ago, the Solidarity Singers and anyone else choosing to exercise their First Amendment Rights, you have a back up chorus with the ACLU. In fact, I saw this message earlier tonight on their Facebook page:
For those who share our concerns about recent citations for protest activity at the Wisconsin State Capitol building: While the ACLU of Wisconsin's legal department works with local attorneys to review options for litigation over enforcement of unconstitutional Capitol access rules, individuals who receive citations should contact the Madison Mass Defense coalition at (608) 352-0138 to speak with a National Lawyers Guild attorney for immediate assistance. If individuals wish to further file a complaint with the ACLU of Wisconsin, they can email inquiries@aclu-wi.org or visit the legal link on our website for more on what kinds of cases the ACLU of Wisconsin accepts.I am curious about how much the right wingers who have been cheering on Walker and Erwin are going to be cheering when they have to pay for the legal costs associated with the class action lawsuit coming out of this mess.
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I hope all of the protesters ask for 10 million Euros each (better than dollars)
ReplyDeleteTrue story. Today met a guy for the first time that works in the mental health care field. He stated each time they lock up people for mental issues they try to find out what politicl party they belong too. He stated in nearly ever case it was "REpuclican".
ReplyDeleteThank you, Capper. Apparently another singer had a visit at his home from the Capitol Police last night.
ReplyDeleteI've been an irregular attender of Solidarity Sing-Alongs in the past, but I've been going every day since the crackdown started last week. All they're doing is bringing more people out. Over the summer, there were sometimes only a few dozen people at an SSA, but now there are hundreds.
I wish the right wingers could understand that we're preserving their rights too. (I'm under no delusions that they'll ever provide truthful accounts of what the Sing-Alongs are like, since so many of them still claim that there was millions of dollars in damage at the Capitol last winter.) Imagine what would have happened if the CP had been sent after all the Tea Partiers who were rallying in the Capitol a couple of years ago?
--sue
(Of course there are 'other grounds' upon which to contest these citations, but....)
ReplyDeleteThe question that struck me just now is 'what jurisdiction do Capitol Police have in issuing these citations after-the-fact and off the grounds of the Capitol?'
The after-the-fact issue seems really shaky, since there's no reason they couldn't have approached any of these people at the time. In fact, for the banner holders, the CP actually talked to them at the time on Monday, asking them to hold the banners in their hands rather than using weights to keep them in place; the banner holders complied, the CP officers thanked them, and nothing more was said (one of the banner holders has most of this exchange on videotape). So the CP led them to believe that they were in compliance, and then they were cited for something else. And Erwin goes on TV to say they were asked to remove the banners and refused, which is a complete lie.
DeleteThat said, apparently the CP's jurisdiction covers the whole state, so they apparently can issue citations anywhere. It's interesting, though, that for the man who was cited at work, the CP had to be accompanied by a UW cop.
--sue
In an attempt to follow the twisted logic of the Walker regime, let's assume for a moment that the Prosserised Supreme Court says that Administrative Rules do in fact trump the Bill of Rights, would it not then be possible for a future Governor to issue administrative rules banning Italian suits, Rolex watches and lobbyists from the Capitol?
ReplyDeleteBy the way, if the Capitol Police come to your door, I seriously question whether you even have to open it for them. It's a ticket, not a warrant. Would they kick in someone's door for violation of an Administrative Rule?