Catholic Anti-War Activists Persecuted by BushCo.
Wed Jun 15, 2005 at 09:00:59 PM PDT
The Catholic Church gets the good Bushkeeping Seal of Approval when the leadership are oppressing women and molesting children, but the marks are not so high when the rank-and-file are true to their faith and
oppose the war-mongering death machine in Iraq:
On March 17, 2003, in protest of the impending U.S. invasion of Iraq, Danny Burns, Peter DeMott, and sisters Clare and Teresa Grady poured small bottles of their own blood on the walls, floor and an American Flag in the foyer of a military recruiting center in Lansing, N.Y.
Charged with criminal mischief, the activists, who have been dubbed the St. Patrick's Four, spent four days in jail and in April 2004 were tried at the Tompkins County Courthouse. During their weeklong trial, the defendants, all of whom have children, said they carried out their protest as Catholics and parents who wanted to warn members of the military and potential recruits about the illegality and immorality of the war in Iraq.
You will respect my authoritAH!
"As parents, we know the love of our children and hold deeply the belief that we are all God's children. It is never OK to kill another of God's children and it is especially grievous to send one's children, our children to another land to kill other children," said Clare Grady, a mother of two.
The jury voted 9 to 3 in favor of acquittal, leading some to conclude the case of the St. Patrick's Four was closed. But in February, a federal grand jury charged the four activists, all of whom were arrested during a previous demonstration at the Lansing recruiting station, with two counts of criminal trespass, destruction of government property and conspiring to induce "by force, intimidation and threat, officers of the United States to leave the place where their duties as officers of the United States are required to be performed."
The "criminal trespass" was on public property. "Destruction of government property?" They poured some blood. Defaced, maybe. The lack of distaff presence in the recruiting center is telling -- if there was a woman in the joint they could've told 'em a little cold water applied quickly works wonders. And conspiracy to threaten and intimidate? Well that's a rich one. Military recruiters are now cowed by a couple of testy peacenicks. OxyLimbaugh will no doubt soon proclaim that this is why recruitment levels currently suck.
Shorter BushCo: "States rights? What about 'em?"
cross-posted on my blog at http://firedoglake.blogspot.com
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