The Deafening Silence

Watch this video, via Steve Hanson, of recent events at the State Capitol:



Those people weren't creating a disturbance. They weren't disrupting proceedings. They were sitting there peacefully. The fact that this is going on in Wisconsin, that this is going on anywhere in America, is simply intolerable and outrageous.

And for the conservatives and the Republicans who see this and have nothing to say, then I say to you that you have not one damn thing to say about the protesters at all, whether they be #wiunion or #occupy. Your deafening silence in this assault on the Constitution and on the principals of this country says more about you than any words could ever express.

While I cannot and do not condone some of the reported behaviors of some of the #occupy protesters, I would still rather stand with them than anyone who sees this and either condones it or accepts it in their silence.

And while your silence says everything I'd care to know about you, pictures are still worth a thousand words, silent or otherwise:

Madison's No Free Speech Zone

On Sunday, March 27th, the Sargent family went to the Capitol Building in Madison to show their support for the working people of Wisconsin.  The two oldest boys had painted a homemade sign which read "Solidarity Forever" and wanted to display it to show their support.

However, an unfortunate chain of events occurred in what otherwise a routine exercise of free speech as shown in two videos. The first one shows two Capitol Police officers speaking to the boys:



After the minute the officer gave the boys to think about their course of action, the police came back and confiscated the sign:



The police then led the family to the station and gave the boys' mother a citation worth $205.50 for having the banner out.

As I mentioned, the family's last name is Sargent. The father is Justin, who is an aide for Senator Chris Larson. The mother is Melissa, who is a small business owner and a Dane County Supervisor. They have four sons, ages 13, 11, 5 and 1.

One or the other of these videos have been going around the Internet already.  I've also seen a third one that includes the trip to the police station.  The comments, as one might suspect, have been running the gamut.  Many are supportive of the family, especially the boys, praising them for their courage.  Others are more snarky, accusing the parents of using their children as pawns.

I will admit I had torn feelings regarding this.  On one hand, it warmed my old heart to know that the youth of this state were recognizing that their futures were in peril and wanted to stand up for themselves.  On the other, I questioned whether the children were there on their own and if not, if the parents had put them up to it.

I've heard similar stories on Twitter, Facebook and the blogs to know that people were getting citations for peacefully exercising their free speech rights. I was also aware that there are many who contend that Scott Walker and his Department of Administration were violating not only a court order regarding access to the Capitol and how they may demonstrate, but even the state and federal Constitutions.

Given these events, I made effort to get in contact with the Sargents. After some emails, I was fortunate enough to speak with Melissa Sargent on the phone.

She told me that her two oldest boys, the ones holding the signs, are studying social sciences in school.  She also said that the boys have been to the Capitol several times in the past six weeks to watch as these historical events unfold. Having seen these events, the boys made their own sign and wanted to go to show their support.  She said that they went to allow the boys this opportunity, as well as to make sure they understood how to do it peacefully and respectfully.

Melissa shared that her business had been hit by taggers who had spray painted "Recall Walker" on the side of her building, and knows how expensive it is to have it cleaned up before getting cited for it, and wanted to make sure her sons knew the right way from the wrong way of protesting.

Melissa told me that she felt that her sons were targeted only because their sign was of a larger size and because they were hanging it over the side of the railing.  She noted that many people were walking around all parts of the Capitol Building with smaller signs and weren't even spoken to by the police, much less cited for anything.

As we discussed how the events unfolded, she shared that the police officer that was speaking during the video was the exemplary of professionalism and has no hard feelings for him.  She added that she has a lot of respect for the officers and recognizes that they are between a rock and a hard place during these times.  She said that she understands that none of this is their fault.  She said that they were simply following orders and doing what they had to do to keep their jobs.  She added that she was also aware that the Department of Administration was to blame and that they were the ones violating the court order and the Constitution.

Melissa credited the police for their professionalism and their understanding of people's feelings for being one of the main contributing factors that these six weeks of protests have been so peaceful and why there has been so few arrests.

Melissa did add that she felt the other officer in the video (the one who took the sign from the boys) was less than professional.  She said he made a condescending remark, accusing her and her husband of "using their kids."  She said that she had to ask him to not speak to her anymore because he was so rude.

I asked her pointedly if she was using her children to make a point. She said that she was not.  She pointed out that her children were following some amazing people throughout American history who stood up to exercise their rights.  Then she said something that I thought summed it up nicely:

"Even though they're not old enough to vote, they still have their voices and they have the right to use their voices in positive ways."

I am fully aware that people on both sides of the aisle will be unfortunately using her boys for their own political purposes.  There will be some on the left that will put the image up there and say how evil Walker and his minions are for wanting to give the boys tickets.  There will be some on the right that will disparage the Sargents for "exploiting" their children.

I think both sides are wrong for doing that.

I also think that this shouldn't even be about the boys in the sense that they are children. Instead, it should be about the boys in the sense that they were the ones caught on tape of yet just another example of how Scott Walker and his administration is willing to go to any extreme they fell necessary to suppress the rights of the people and to further his ideological agenda.

Whether it is trying to strip workers of their rights, trampling our constitutional rights of Freedom of Speech and Freedom to Assemble, denying the right to know what our government is doing and that they are following the law themselves, or any of the other wrongful acts being done by Walker and his Republican allies, it needs to stop.

It has become fully apparent to any but the most devout Walkerites that these actions have absolutely nothing to do with fixing budgets or creating jobs.  It is solely to grab as much power as they can to ride roughshod over the people in order to benefit their special interest friends.

It is also just another example of why the elections on April 5, as well as the recall efforts, are so very important.  It will take a long, long time to clean up the mess that Walker has created in less than three months.  It will only take longer, or even make it impossible, if we don't show Walker and his ilk that the Constitution is still valid and why the phrase "we the people" has as much significance, if not more, as the day it was written.

AFTERWORD: Melissa Sargent said that she is to appear in court on April 8.  When asked, she said that she does not know what they will do that day.  She said that she would need to speak to a lawyer, or even several, before making that decision.  But she added that at the moment we were speaking with each other, her inclination was to fight it.  She said that she does not believe that Mike Huebsch , the Department of Administration and Administrative Code has the authority to override the State or U.S. Constitution.

Ron Johnson and His Not Ready For Prime Time Politics

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is reporting that Ron Johnson, who can't decide if he is a TEA Partier, a Republican, or both, has pulled out of two meetings with TEA Party groups. Johnson is claiming a scheduling conflict, but there are some who think that it is because he bombed out during a vetting session in Chippewa County.

According to the report, Johnson got several of the nuttier positions down pat, such as denying global warming and showing disdain for the United Nations.

But in other areas, he proved to be not quite loony enough for the Mad Hatters, such as questioning the Patriot Act and showing an unwillingness to just outright abolish the IRS.

The one thing that should alarm any sane person, whether they are on the right or the left, is this (emphasis mine):

A video of Johnson's 45-minute vetting Friday by the Rock River group shows the Oshkosh businessman alternately at ease and somewhat defensive. He explained he is not a scholar of the Constitution, adding that it "is not an easy document" and is "hard to study unless you do it in detail."

If he were to win, his job would include following and defending the Constitution. Not only that, but he would be expected to propose and vote on laws that are Constitutional or even to alter the Constitution. How in the world can he do that if he does understand the thing in the first place?

Someone should clue the Republicans that it takes more than just a big bank roll to be a good candidate, much less someone able to adequately represent the people of Wisconsin.

Sheriff Reverend Or Reverend Sheriff?

One would think that a sheriff would know something about the law, and at the very least, would know about the Constitution.

But not here in Milwaukee County:

Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. erred in 2006 when he forced his deputies to listen to a Christian-themed presentation, according to a unanimous ruling from a federal appeals court panel.

In doing so, Clarke violated the constitutional separation of church and state, said the appeals panel Thursday in upholding a lower court decision.

This shouldn't really surprise many people. Clarke has a long history of ignoring the law.

Zach does a good job in pointing out the obvious constitutional conflicts, and how Clarke should have handled it.

Illy-T also touches on this topic, with even more disturbing implications.

What is almost as bad as the fact that the County's top law enforcement agent not only held the Constitution is such blatant disregard, but when he lost in court, he was not satisfied and actually appealed the ruling.

In other words, he violated the constitution, then fought it in court at taxpayers' expense, and then appealed and lost again in appellate court, again at the taxpayers' expense.

Where is the supposed Citizens for Responsible Government when their is such a flagrant abuse of the Constitution, the court system, and our tax dollars? I guess they are just a bunch of hypocrites after all.

Republicans Want To Hear Your Pillow Talk

It was reported over the weekend that Bush's warrant-less wiretapping including Americans serving in the military and aid workers calling home to their family and their spouses. From CNN:

Adrienne Kinne, a former U.S. Army Reserves Arab linguist, told ABC News the NSA was listening to the phone calls of U.S. military officers, journalists and aid workers overseas who were talking about "personal, private things with Americans who are not in any way, shape or form associated with anything to do with terrorism."

David Murfee Faulk, a former U.S. Navy Arab linguist, said in the news report that he and his colleagues were listening to the conversations of military officers in Iraq who were talking with their spouses or girlfriends in the United States.

According to Faulk, they would often share the contents of some of the more salacious calls stored on their computers, listening to what he called "phone sex" and "pillow talk."

Both Kinne and Faulk worked at the NSA listening facility at Fort Gordon, Georgia. They told ABC that when linguists complained to supervisors about eavesdropping on personal conversations, they were ordered to continue transcribing the calls.

As if the trampling of the Constitution and the right to privacy by the current administration wasn't bad enough, McCain has already supported the right for gratuitous titillation for his administration if he is allowed to steal the election.