Berkely Council tells Marines they're not wanted

[American Patriot]

Petition: “Berkeley CA should be federally de-funded”
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/cutoffberkeleynow?e

[American Patriot]

Here is the email address for the Berkley Chamber of Commerce: assistant@berkeleychamber.com

[American Patriot]

Berkeley Attacks U.S. Marines - MAF Responds! PROTEST OF BERKELEY CITY COUNCIL
Move America Forward ^ | Feb 5, 2008 | Move America Forward

Berkeley Attacks U.S. Marines - MAF Responds!

PROTEST OF BERKELEY CITY COUNCIL

* TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2008

* 2134 MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. WAY – BERKELEY, CA - CLICK HERE for MAP

* Council Meeting Begins at 7:00 PM
(We are asking people to be there early, however – if possible, start arriving by 5:00 PM)

** Also… If you can, please join us for our “picketing” of the City Council Chambers. We will be out there at 2134 Martin Luther King, Jr. Way beginning at 5:00 AM for the morning news. We will have a presence all throughout the day – the next newscasts are at 12:00 Noon, so we’ll want a good size presence there as well.
______________________________________

Click Here to Sign the Petition!

MAF Chairman Melanie Morgan on Neil Cavuto show discussing Berkeley fallout - WATCH IT HERE!!

See our press release responding to the shameful actions by the Berkeley City Council - CLICK HERE

Register your complaint with the City of Berkeley via Phone or Email - CLICK HERE!!

***NEW: "Treason in Berkeley" - CLICK HERE!!

[American Patriot]

This is an email just sent out from Move America Forward: Sent: Tuesday, February 05, 2008 11:47 AM
Subject: Urgent - You're Needed on Tuesday



There has been more fallout in Berkeley, California after the City Council passed a resolution that called our troops "unwelcome intruders" and called upon residents to not cooperate with any military recruiting center in the city.

Anti-military protestors, feeling emboldened by the city's blessing, chained themselves in front of the Marine Recruiting Center and prevented people from entering the facility. The police stood by and did nothing - telling people that they were "trying to remain neutral."

See the video for yourself - HERE.

Photograph from San Francisco Chronicle

Thousands of you have responded to our call to action and registered your protests with the city via emails, phone calls and petitions.

Now, as Michelle Malkin reports, city council members are indicating that they may rescind the resolution at their next City Council meeting that takes place this Tuesday, February 12, 2008 at 7:00 PM.

Move America Forward has already announced our plans for a giant rally outside the City Council chambers at the February 12th Council Meeting. We need people there by 5:00 PM for the council meeting start time of 7:00 PM.

However, since the news media will likely be camped out throughout the day, we will have staff arriving in the morning, and are asking as many supporters as possible to join us for at least part of the day - so there are bodies there for the cameras. Our first Move America Forward staff members will arrive at 5:00 AM (yes, in the morning) - this is when the early morning news programs begin airing in San Francisco.

The City Council Chambers are located at 2134 Martin Luther King, Jr. Way. It's right by Martin Luther King, Jr. Park. Here is a map of the location.

---

PROTEST OF BERKELEY CITY COUNCIL

* TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2008
* 2134 MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. WAY - BERKELEY, CA
* Council Meeting Begins at 7:00 PM

(We are asking people to be there early,
however - if possible, start arriving by 5:00 PM)

** Also... If you can, please join us for our "picketing" of the City Council Chambers. We will be out there at 2134 Martin Luther King, Jr. Way beginning at 5:00 AM for the morning news. We will have a presence all throughout the day - the next newscasts are at 12:00 Noon, so we'll want a good size presence there as well.

---

[Beetle]

There is good news Rick!

[Brian Baldwin]

I don't give a damn if they rescind there stupidity. I think federal funding should be PERMANENTLY denied their city and surrounding area, and all people that are able and in the area should continue to protest and harrass the city officials in any legal manner until such time that the city suffers economically beyond repair. When it is a ghost town maybe we could consider letting up.

[American Patriot]

Editorial




Berkeley goes to war


Wednesday, February 6, 2008

There's nothing surprising - or objectionable - about an anti-war protest outside a Marine Corps recruiting office in Berkeley. Bullhorns, locked arms, chanted slogans: Bring it on if that's the way demonstrators want to oppose the Iraq war.

But what is the Berkeley City Council doing by endorsing statements denouncing these recruiters as "uninvited and unwelcome intruders" and reserving curb space for the convenience of weekly protesters?

Berkeley's leaders have taken the worthy notion of political protest and shoved it over the cliff. While playing up arguments of free speech and organized protest, the council has loaded the deck with insulting language that denigrates the military and embarrasses the anti-war cause.

The motion approved by the council includes a number of remarkable statements: "The United States has a history of launching illegal, immoral and unprovoked wars of aggression" and "The military recruiters are sales people known to lie to and seduce minors."

The move has provoked an uproar. South Carolina Republican Sen. Jim DeMint wants to yank some $2.1 million in Washington money bound for Berkeley schools, food programs and ferries. Sorry senator, we don't see the connection - or sense of fairness.

Two Berkeley City Council members, Sharon Olds and Laurie Capitelli, are hurrying a resolution for the council's Feb. 12 meeting to paper over the harm done. Their idea is to state Berkeley's opposition to the Iraq war and support the troops, no-brainer notions in local politics. The measure would also attempt to undo the damage by also dropping the offending rhetoric of the original resolution that singled out the Marine recruiters. That would be a welcome ending to a foolish crusade.

This article appeared on page B - 10 of the San Francisco Chronicle

[American Patriot]

VFW Condemns Berkeley City Council for Permitting Marine Harassment
vfw.org ^ | Feb. 4, 2008 | staff

KANSAS CITY, Mo., Feb. 4, 2008--The national commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) is furious with the Berkeley, Calif., City Council, calling their actions “outrageous and idiotic” following their recent vote to give the boot to a U.S. Marine Corps Recruiting Station.

“The resolution is a direct insult to not only the Marines Corps, but also to all members of the nation’s armed forces,” said George Lisicki, national commander of the VFW, the nation’s largest organization of combat veterans. “Their recent actions represent a calculated effort to legalize harassment of one of our nation’s most elite military organizations. If there were ever a prize awarded for lack of appreciation and awareness for what our military has contributed to preserving our way of life, the Berkeley City Council would certainly win the trophy.”

The Berkeley City Council, on Jan. 29 by a vote of 6-3, told the Marines at the downtown recruiting station that they are not welcome in the city. Furthermore, by an 8-1 vote, the council voted to give anti-war groups the right to harass the Marines, even giving protestors a parking space in front of the recruiting station. The only council member to vote against both proposals was Gordon Wozniak, with council members Betty Olds and Kriss Worthington joining Wozniak in voting against the council’s resolution to boot the "unwelcome intruders."

“The city council leaders need to be reminded that all the freedoms we enjoy as Americans have been earned by generations of patriots who were willing to fight to protect the liberties we, as Americans, enjoy,” said Lisicki, a Vietnam War veteran from Carteret, N.J.

What Lisicki said also troubled him was the failure of city authorities to do nothing when Code Pink, an antiwar group who originated the complaint against the Marines, defaced the front door of the recruiting station by altering the sign “U.S. Marine Corps Officer Selection Office" to "U.S. Marine Corps Officer Assasination [sic] Office."

“If anyone has earned the right to have a presence in any community in this nation, it would be the U.S. Marines,” said Lisicki. “The Marine Corps is welcomed in every city and town across the America except for the City of Berkeley and by the Taliban and Al-Qaeda in Iraq and Afghanistan."

The national commander also is encouraging its 2.3 million members of the VFW and its Auxiliaries to e-mail or call city council members.

City of Berkeley 2180 Milvia Street, Berkeley, CA 94704 TEL: (510) 981-6900, TDD: (510) 981-6903, FAX: (510) 981-6901 Office Hours: Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. E-mail: clerk@ci.berkeley.ca.us

Voted for Resolution Mayor Tom Bates E-mail: mayor@ci.berkeley.ca.us Phone: (510) 981-7100 FAX: (510) 981-7199

Linda Maio E-mail: lmaio@ci.Berkeley Phone: (510) 981-7110 FAX: (510) 981-7111

Darryl Moore Email: dmoore@ci.berkeley.ca.us Phone: (510) 981-7120

Maxwell Anderson E-mail: manderson@ci.berkeley.ca.us Phone: (510) 981-7130

Dona Spring E-mail: spring@ci.berkeley.ca.us Phone: (510) 981-7140

Laurie Capitelli E-mail: lcapitelli@ci.berkeley.ca.us Phone: (510) 981-7150

Dissenting Votes: Betty Olds E-mail: olds@ci.berkeley.ca.us Phone: (510) 981-7160

Kriss Worthington E-mail: kworthington@ci.berkeley.ca.us Phone: (510) 981-7170

Gordon Wozniak E-mail: GWozniak@ci.berkeley.ca.us Phone: (510) 981-7180

[American Patriot]

Berkeley's anti-Marines declaration prompts bills to strip federal funds
The San Jose Mercury News ^ | February 6, 2008 | Doug Oakley

Uproar over anti-Marine policy

A move to strip Berkeley institutions of federal funds is going forward in Congress in retaliation for last week's City Council vote telling the U.S. Marines their recruiting station is not welcome in the city.

Six Republican senators and an Orange County representative are introducing companion bills called the Semper Fi Act of 2008 that takes away $2 million, including funds from UC Berkeley and a local foundation that provides lunches to the Berkeley Unified School District.

The Senate bill was introduced today by Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C.; Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga.; Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla.; Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas; Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla.; and Sen. David Vitter, R-La. Rep. John Campbell, R-Newport Beach., in introducing a companion bill in the House.

The bills seek to take away $243,000 from the Chez Panisse Foundation, which provides school lunches for Berkeley public schools, and $975,000 from UC Berkeley's Matsui Center for Politics and Public Service to create an endowment and catalogue of papers of Rep. Robert Matsui, a press release from DeMint's Washington office said.

A spokesperson for DeMint said today the bills would also seek to remove other earmarks, including nearly $1 million for a new ferry service and funds for public safety.

"Berkeley needs to learn that their actions have consequences," DeMint said in the release. "Patriotic American taxpayers won't sit quietly while Berkeley insults our brave Marines and tries to run them out of town."

Two Berkeley City Council members this week said they would ask the council on Tuesday to rescind the item declaring the Marines "uninvited and unwelcome intruders."

(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...

[American Patriot]

San Francisco Chronicle
Jon Carroll

Thursday, February 7, 2008

Berkeley is really sorry. It turns out that it didn't want to pick a fight with the Marines. More precisely, it turns out that it didn't want to be seen as picking a fight with the Marines, because all the right-wing zanies in the blogo-radio-sphere will have something to rant about. And they need ammunition just now.

It's a bad season for the right wing. None of the candidates left standing adheres to the conservative orthodox line in every matter. The right-wingers are realizing that there are lots of Latinos who vote, and a nice anti-immigration rally will not play with them. Even those who are concerned with leaky borders are put off by the vitriolic rhetoric. Small-tent Republicanism doesn't really have a future.

Plus, there are a lot of evangelicals who think that poverty and environmentalism are appropriate issues for Christians to care about. They have a genuine desire and feel an obligation to help the least fortunate among us and to be good stewards of the earth.

Christians adhering to Christian doctrine; that's not what Karl Rove had in mind at all. Karl Rove was a "being rich is good for you and poor people lack virtue" Christian. It's a comforting gospel for the comfortable. Just shut your eyes and vote Republican.

And yet, it's not playing in Peoria. It had its chance, and oh, my, look where it got us. Have you checked out the president's proposed budget? Have you considered that maybe printing money will not get us out of this hole? They're printing money in Zimbabwe, and toilet paper costs $417 a roll. Instant karma is going to get you. Really, it is.

But I was writing about Berkeley, which is being silly. Not that "Berkeley" is a single entity - far, Lord knows, from it. But the City Council represents the kingdom of Berkeley here on earth. It decided that it wanted to give the anti-war group Code Pink a special free parking place in front of the downtown Marine recruiting office, so that the organization could more efficiently protest the war in Iraq and those who wish to sign up cannon fodder for that war.

Because, see, there's nothing a city needs more than conflict. It's so good for business, and pedestrians love nothing better than a bracing brawl. See Code Pink provoke the Marines! Because, after all, it's the Marines' fault that we're fighting in Iraq. Without its recruiting posters, the military would be mostly involved in delivering emergency medical supplies to N'Djamena.

Now, I love Berkeley. I really do. With all its contradictions and hypocrisies and experiments in alternative lifestyles, I love it. I haven't lived there since 1976 because of real estate prices (go figure, right-wingers: People really want to live there), but I adore it. It is, in general, a city that is not buying into the dominant paradigm. It wants to blaze a trail. People who try new stuff can look foolish, and the keepers of the fire of orthodoxy love to point out the foolishness. And yet Berkeley persists, God love it. All that organic produce makes it strong.

But there are problems with a homogeneous environment. You know how Trent Lott was brought down by a casually racist comment? I suspect it happened because he said stuff like that all the time in his cozy homogeneous environment. He didn't consider how it might play on the larger stage, where there are fewer shared assumptions.

On the larger stage, a decision that seems utterly unremarkable by Berkeley standards becomes rather more problematic. Provoking a confrontation between two groups both acting in the perfectly legal way - not such a good thing. It invites ridicule without opening a single eye or changing a single mind. Veteran and active-duty soldiers have been bashed so much by their own national government; it seems a little much for a local government to chime in by making their jobs harder. I mean, they are just following orders, and, contrary to popular belief, that is often a valid defense.

And, anyway, it was a symbolic action. It's not as though the young men from Berkeley High were flocking to the Marine headquarters, lured by promises of really cool uniforms plus advanced training in secret electronic stuff. If the politicians of Berkeley were worried about its young men falling among evil companions, they should have done what politicians would always be well advised to do: Trust the families. They have taught their children to know right from wrong, and imperialism from community organizing. Hell, half of the kids have already built latrines in Costa Rica.

Besides, in Berkeley terms, the Marines are less dangerous than the Mel's Diner down the street. Do you know there are people eating cows in there? Yes, our own children, indifferent to bovine suffering, callously chowing down and laughing as they do it. I think somebody needs a free parking place.

Protest is great, but I think everyone should be required to feed the meter.

Does anyone know where the love of God goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours? The searchers all say they'd have made Whitefish Bay if they'd put fifteen more miles behind 'er. They might have split up or they might have capsized; they may have broke deep and took water. And all that remains is the faces and the names of the wives and the sons and jcarroll@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page E - 5 of the San Francisco Chronicle

[American Patriot]

Fury Builds in Berkeley Over City's Anti-Military Resolutions
By Susan Jones
CNSNews.com Senior Editor
February 12, 2008

(CNSNews.com) - It will be another noisy day in Berkeley, Calif., as pro-military and anti-war protesters gather outside the city council chamber to weigh in on three anti-military resolutions the council passed last month.

Move America Forward, a pro-troop group, is leading a contingent of pro-military and veterans' groups in what it describes as a "giant, all-day, protest."

The controversy involves a Marine Corps recruiting station that moved to the liberal bastion of Berkeley in December 2006.

At its Jan. 29, 2008 meeting, the Berkeley City Council passed three controversial resolutions: One said the Marine recruiting station "is not welcome in the city, and if recruiters choose to stay, they do so as uninvited and unwelcome intruders."

A second resolution encouraged the city to go after the Marines by enforcing a local law barring discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. (Federal law says homosexuality is incompatible with military service.) It also encouraged protests aimed at the recruiting center.

And to facilitate those protests, the city council also voted on Jan. 29 to give the group Code Pink a free parking space in front of the recruiting station so it would have a place to conduct its weekly protests -- with bullhorns. (A free sound permit was included with the free parking space.)

At tonight's meeting, the city council will consider whether to revoke the resolution calling the Marines "unwelcome and uninvited intruders."

But that's not enough for Move America Forward and other military supporters, who are demanding that the city council rescind all three anti-military resolutions it passed on Jan. 29 -- not just the one denouncing the Marines as intruders.

"Members of the Berkeley City Council have said they meant no disrespect towards the members of the U.S. military and only meant to protest the war against terrorism, but their actions belie their words," said Melanie Morgan, Chairman of Move America Forward.

"If they are not attacking our brave troops, then why not rescind all the resolutions they passed calling on citizens to work to close the Marine Recruiting Center in town? If they truly believe in free speech rights for all Americans, why not rescind the special privileges they granted only to the anti-military group Code Pink...?"

Move America Forward says the Berkeley City Council is not interested in supporting the troops: It is just trying to "take the heat off themselves" following a national backlash against their actions.

Councilwoman Linda Maio, who led the fight against the recruiting station, said she didn't expect the controversy to "explode" the way it did. She said the council received 24,000 emails on the topic.

"But we'll take the heat and the attacks," the San Francisco Chronicle quoted Maio as saying. "Even though we're under a lot of pressure, I think it's fair to say this war is a misuse of our young people. And we'll stand up for that."

The controversy reaches all the way into the halls of Congress, where Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina (and other Republicans) introduced a bill that would strip Berkeley of pork barrel spending.

The Semper Fi Act of 2008 would rescind over $2 million in hidden earmarks for Berkeley in the 2008 Omnibus Appropriations bill, and transfer those funds to the Marine Corps instead.

U.S. Rep. John Campbell (R-Calif.) introduced a companion bill in the House of Representatives.

Senate Democrats have so far blocked Republican efforts to advance the Semper Fi Act.

Instead of adjourning at the end of the day as usual, the Senate "recessed" twice last week, a move that slows the process of adding new bills to the calendar, The Hill newspaper reported.

"The only reason to recess is to block something, and the thing that got blocked by Reid's stall tactic was the Semper Fi Act," said Sen. DeMint's spokesman Wesley Denton. "Democrats have chosen not to defend the Marine Corps, but to pander to anti-war protesters and Berkeley officials that are actively trying to impede military recruitment."

Reid's office says the recess was called, not to block Semper Fi, but to give Democrats the flexibility to map their floor strategy on various bills.

See Earlier Story:
Marine Recruiters 'Traitors,' Say Code Pink Protesters (18 Oct. 2007)

Subscribe to the free CNSNews.com daily E-Brief.

Send a Letter to the Editor about this article. letters@cnsnews.com

Subscribe to the free CNSNews.com daily E-Brief.

Send a Letter to the Editor about this article.

[American Patriot]

Berkeley City Council to Revisit Vote Against Marine Recruiting Station
fox news ^ | 2/12/2008 | fox news

BERKELEY, Calif. — Two weeks after the Berkeley City Council called U.S. Marine Corps recruiters "uninvited and unwelcome intruders," the council is expected to reconsider its anti-Marine stance Tuesday night.

Large crowds from the left and right are mobilizing for the meeting. The anti-war feminist group Code Pink began a 24-hour "peace-in" Monday night, and the pro-war group Move America Forward planned a day-long demonstration outside City Hall.

The Rev. Fred Phelps, the anti-gay activist and founder of the Westboro Baptist Church, will be there as well, demonstrating against both the Marines and Code Pink. Members of the Westboro Baptist Church routinely picket at the funerals of American soldiers killed in action.

Code Pink activist Zanne Joi said her group is "supporting the troops by being against war and against recruiting."

"It’s because we care about these people that we are standing up against the war machine," Joi said.

On Jan. 29, the city council approved a resolution that included letters to the Marines advising them that their recruiting station is unwelcome in Berkeley. It also called for an investigation into whether the U.S. military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy for homosexuals violated city anti-discrimination policy.

(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...

[Ryan Ruck]

Berkeley City Council to Revisit Vote Against Marine Recruiting Station

Too late, you've already shown your true colors Berkeley.

[American Patriot]

Commie bastards

[American Patriot]

Showdown looms in 'treasonous' Berkeley
CNN ^ | 2/12/2008 | Wayne Drash

CNN) -- Military supporters descended on Berkeley early Tuesday, demanding the famously liberal California college town rescind its vote that says Marine recruiters are "not welcome in this city."

The pro-military demonstrators were met by anti-war protesters who had camped out overnight, setting the stage for a dramatic showdown late in the day when the City Council is to discuss whether to revoke its previous vote.

"Their treasonous action, especially at this time of war right now, is not acceptable," said Mary Pearson, a spokeswoman for the group Move America Forward.

"It's very, very important for everyone to stand united ... to give our Marines and all of our military the greatest respect and honor that they deserve."

Before the sun was even up, about 300 demonstrators -- both pro-military and anti-war -- were already standing toe-to-toe in downtown. Many traded jeers and sneers.

(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...

[American Patriot]

From the Belly of Beastly Berkeley (anti-military attack USMC Recruiting Office)
KSFO ^ | 2/12/08 | Morgan/Malkin

A pause in the action after scrapping with Bezerk Berkeley-ites this morning.

Showdown in Berkeley and the Harry Reid chicken-out; Update: Morning mayhem in Berkeley By Michelle Malkin • February 12, 2008 08:27 AM Update 11:14am. Just received word from Cat Moy with Move America Forward of a physical confrontation by the Code Pinkos against pro-troops supporters. Cat writes:

Berkeley Police Watch “Peace” Freaks attack Patriots

Berkeley erupted in violence Tuesday morning when the Communist, terrorist-supporting anti-war group crossed into Martin Luther King Park and assaulted pro-troop individuals. Riot police stood by, but did not stop the assaults. Police agencies did not respond to calls for help.

Move America Forward, the nation’s largest pro-troop organization, received permits from the City of Berkeley to hold a daylong demonstration in MLK park against the City Council who passed three outrageous resolutions calling U.S. Marines “unwanted intruders.”

“It is mayhem on here,” MAF communications director Danny Gonzalez said from the park early Tuesday morning.

Code Pink was permitted for across the street. The two sides were to stay separated, according to rules laid down by the city. But the city has a history of giving Code Pink special preference. The City Council gave free parking permits and a free noise permit to the radical group, which has helped fund terrorist families in Iraq with a $600,000 gift. MAF Exeutive Director Catherine Moy attempted to get help from the Berkeley police as the mayhem unfolded, but an officer hung up on Moy. Moy asked the California Highway Patrol to help in the emergency, but the CHP refused. “I have never in my life experienced such inaction in the face of an emergency, “Moy said. “I will ask the Federal Government to investigate, as well as the State Attorney General.

(Excerpt) Read more at ksfo.com ...

[PsycoJoe]

There are now only two acceptable outcomes:

Recall the entire council or disenfranchise the fucking community.

[Ryan Ruck]

There is a third...

[American Patriot]

Berkeley after-action report: Gold Star Dad Helps Moonbat find a faceful of dirt to keep him company

Michelle Malkin ^ | Feb. 13, 2008 | Michelle Malkin, Melanie Morgan



The tireless Melanie Morgan of Move America Forward, who spearheaded the protests and backlash, shares details of the outrageous behavior of the Pinkos–and the Berkeley police force:


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., never 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….


…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.
Excerpt.


More here:
http://michellemalkin.com/2008/02/13...action-report/
And here:
http://melaniemorgan.com/

[American Patriot]

Berkeley backs off on Marines, but doesn't apologize
Contra Costa Times ^ | 2/13/8 | Doug Oakley

The Berkeley City Council attempted to make nice with U.S. Marines recruiters Wednesday morning by taking back a letter it planned to send calling the Corps "uninvited and unwelcome intruders" in the city.

But a motion to formally apologize failed.

Instead the City Council with a 7-2 vote at 1 a.m. sought to clarify one of its Jan. 29 Marines motions with new language that recognizes "the recruiters' right to locate in our city and the right of others to protest or support their presence."

The new statement also said the council opposes "the recruitment of our young people into this war."

The council heard testimony from about 100 people who came from as far away as Colorado to weigh in on the issue.

At the same time, the council let stand four other items it passed at its previous meeting, including one encouraging "all people to avoid cooperation with the Marine Corps recruiting station," another asking the city attorney to investigate whether the recruiting station is breaking the city's law against discrimination based on sexual orientation and two items giving the peace group Code Pink a free weekly parking space and sound permit to protest at the Shattuck Avenue recruiting station once a week.

Berkeley High School student Lily Wynkoop, 14, told the council she would like to see the recruiters leave town. The recruiting office is a few blocks from the high school.

"We should feel safe on our own school grounds," Wynkoop said. "But when (the Marines) come around, that's not the environment we get. To those who say Berkeley is un-American, we say we love America, but we hate war."

On the other side of the spectrum of those who got to speak for one minute each was Debbie Lee who came from Arizona. Lee is the mother of Marc Lee, a Navy Seal who died in Iraq last year.

"My son gave up his life for this country, for you me and everyone in this room," Lee said. "I'm appalled at what the City Council has done. You tell us (the Marines) are not welcome in your city, that's appalling. You have offended us deeply. They are not murderers, and you owe them an apology."